Macau has dropped its mask-wearing policy while outdoors starting today.
However, masks are still required for visitors travelling on public transport.
From February 27, people in Macau are no longer required to wear masks when outdoors
Macau’s government has advised individuals who develop flu-like symptoms to wear a mask when in public, and that members of the public should carry face masks with them when commuting around the city.
Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post reported that Hong Kong may allow residents to stop wearing masks by the end of next month, lifting a mandate that’s been in place for almost three years.
The 2023 Mekong Tourism Forum (MTF 2023), hosted by the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia and co-organised by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, will take place from April 25 to 27 in Sihanoukville city, the capital of Preah Sihanouk province.
Based on the theme Rethinking for Resilience and Digitalisation, tourism ministers and leaders, NTOs, NGOs and private sector representatives, will discuss ways to rethink post-lockdown tourism in China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as a collective and dynamic sub-region.
This year’s Mekong Tourism Forum will be held in the capital of Preah Sihanouk province
The conference programme will address job creation, gender equality, food safety and hygiene, digital transformation and a geographically-dispersed tourism approach.
Five key ideas will be addressed during MTF 2023: rethinking tourism to put people and planet first; developing local food production networks with a focus on safety and hygiene, while reducing food waste; using new digital technology to boost tourism start-ups and small- and medium-sized businesses; improving training so that tourism workers have the skills to adapt; and advancing equality of opportunity and fair treatment for women in the private and public sectors of tourism.
Thong Khon, minister of tourism for Cambodia, said: “With my tourism colleagues from around the Greater Mekong Subregion, we will work hard to ensure that tourism re-establishes itself as an engine to create sustainable prosperity for our citizens. The MTF 2023 agenda has a clear focus and will address those issues.”
To showcase sustainable tourism practices in the destination, delegates will have the opportunity on the last day to join many of the local excursions and post-tours such as Sihanoukville city tour, Koh Rong Island, diving, mangrove tour, kayaking, and community-based ecotourism exploration.
The MTF 2023 will also host a Sustainable Tourism Exhibit on April 25 and 26. It will comprise over 20 exhibitors highlighting responsible and sustainable tourism, community-based tourism and local community products.
An estimated 150 international delegates are expected to attend the forum.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has named Franck Droin as general manager of Mandarin Oriental, Macau.
In his new position, Droin will oversee day-to-day hotel operations, leading the team in delivering operational excellence and innovative guest experiences.
Prior to joining Mandarin Oriental, Macau, the native French and German national was general manager of Mandarin Oriental in Vietnam.
Liz Ortiguera has resigned from her role as CEO of PATA.
In a press statement, PATA vice chair Benjamin Liao recognised Ortiguera’s effort in leading the association “during a difficult period for the industry”.
Ortiguera leaves her role as CEO of PATA
Commenting on her exit, Ortiguera said: “I had the opportunity to work with some deeply committed, hard-working and talented individuals within the PATA team as well as our valued members and partners.”
“I am confident that PATA, with its diverse member base of industry leaders, can continue to support and lead our industry’s recovery and growth,” she added.
Sneaker Con will make its foray into South-east Asia with the first regional edition to be held in Singapore this April.
Well regarded among sneakerheads as the world’s premier sneaker and street culture show, Sneaker Con is a global event that has been held in more than 40 cities since its inception in 2009.
Sneaker Con SEA is expected to boost Singapore’s position as a vibrant and attractive lifestyle destination
Sneaker Con SEA is expected to attract participants from around the region, and bridge the gap between regional and global brands and designers.
Alan Vinogradov, Sneaker Con cofounder, said in a press statement: “The first Sneaker Con SEA in Singapore is going to be the beginning of a South-east Asian journey for us and the community out there. We are going to bring influencers, creators and most importantly the sneaker community together for this special occasion, and it’s going to be wild.”
Held by Sneaker Con and O4X, the two-day event also benefits from Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) support.
Ashlynn Loo, STB’s director for attractions, entertainment & tourism concept development, said: “Events like these add to Singapore’s tourism offerings, and boost our position as a vibrant and attractive lifestyle destination. The convention also complements our existing suite of experiences for street culture lovers, which we hope visitors will also get to explore when they come to Singapore for this event.”
Highlights of Sneaker Con SEA include trademark events such as Marketplace, where over 200 international and local renowned brands and collaborations are showcased; Trading Pit, said to be the backbone of every Sneaker Con and where event attendees will buy, sell or trade their favourite kicks and network with fellow sneakerheads; and Ballin’ and Sk8ing, where basketball, football and skateboarding activities will be conducted.
The ticketed event will be held at Singapore Expo, Hall 5 from April 1 to 2.
In support of Hong Kong Tourism Board’s (HKTB) Hello Hong Kong campaign to welcome tourists back to the city, flag carrier Cathay Pacific is giving away 80,000 round-trip air tickets to Hong Kong.
This Cathay Pacific promotion is open to South-east Asian residents who are also airline members, with activities to be rolled out in phases, beginning with Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines on March 1, 2 and 3, 2023 respectively, and then Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia in stages two weeks later.
Cathay Pacific is giving away 80,000 air tickets to encourage travellers to visit Hong Kong and discover new experiences; Hong Kong Palace Museum pictured
Cathay Pacific’s ticket giveaway joins Airport Authority Hong Kong’s (AAHK) World of Winners campaign, which puts 500,000 free tickets to Hong Kong up for grabs. This is open to markets around the world.
To participate, Cathay Pacific members will need to visit the campaign website, sign in with their membership details, and answer three questions correctly.
Dominic Perret, Cathay Pacific’s regional general manager for Southeast Asia, said the campaign would boost Hong Kong’s destination promotions in the region.
Vivian Cheung, Chief Operation Officer of AAHK, said: “As part of the relief package for Hong Kong’s aviation industry during the pandemic, AAHK provided liquidity support to the home-based carriers in 2020 by sponsoring air tickets in advance. The air tickets will be used to promote traffic recovery when the pandemic subsides.
“Hong Kong has opened up and we are eager to welcome visitors from different parts of the world. Various new services and facilities are ready at HKIA (Hong Kong International Airport) and we are looking forward to providing passengers a brand new airport experience.”
Trip.com Group has designated tours and experiences B2B platform Globick as its global connectivity partner for direct connections with operators worldwide.
Globick will provide new API integrations between various Trip.com Group platforms, including Trip.com and Ctrip, and tours, events, experiences, theme park and activities operators. This will expand the range of premium products available for Chinese travellers and other important global source markets.
Globick’s API integrations with Trip.com Group platforms will expand the latter’s range of tours and experiences for travellers
While current integrated partners of Trip.com Group will continue their cooperation in the same manner, the Group will now integrate new chosen operators and aggregators with a direct contract via Globick’s B2B connectivity platform.
Chang Liu, general manager of attractions international business with Trip.com Group, said: “As the China outbound market opens up – and other source markets globally begin to travel internationally in earnest – we want to have the best connectivity solution in place for our tours and experiences partners. Globick’s cutting edge direct connectivity platform enables us to reduce costs and provide our partners with an improved, more efficient experience that will lead to increased sales.”
Xavier Boixeda, co-founder & CEO of Globick, said: “Connectivity is often the missing link in the tours and experiences space, and we feel that this partnership validates our vision to use innovative technology to bring travel sellers and both operators and aggregators together via efficient direct contracts.”
Scoot will begin resuming services to and from China, and will be ramping up flight frequencies across its network to destinations such as Australia, Greece, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia.
Scoot will progressively increase its total flights to China from 14-times weekly to 26-times weekly by stepping up flight frequencies to seven of its existing points – Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Tianjin and Zhengzhou.
Scoot builds back services
In April, flights to Haikou, Ningbo and Xi’an will resume, bringing the total number of weekly flights to China to 42-times weekly. Services to Nanning and Shenyang will restart in May, totalling 57-times weekly flights to China by the end of June.
For other destinations, flight frequencies to Athens will increase from two-times to four-times weekly and from 10-times to 12-times weekly for Perth.
Services to Sapporo via Taipei will also increase from three-times to four-times weekly and flight frequencies to Tokyo via Taipei will now be 12-times weekly. The airline will fly to Langkawi seven-times weekly and to Manado four-times weekly.
Scoot services to the Gold Coast will be suspended after July 17 – customers with existing bookings will be notified of their options.
Returning for its seventh year, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Meet the Winemaker series promises an impressive guest lineup that includes new and familiar specialists.
A new addition to the series is Emma Walker, a Master Blender at Johnnie Walker who holds the highest rank in whisky craftsmanship. She will join the September 17 sailing on Norwegian Prima as it sails through Northern Europe. Cruise guests can learn the brand history and savour the wide range of aged whiskeys.
Also new is chef Ashley Breneman, who began her career studying at Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute and has worked for numerous celebrity chefs, including Gordon Ramsay on the hit show MasterChef. She is now the executive chef at Certified Angus Beef. She will be on the July 9 sailing aboard Norwegian Encore to Alaska.
Fourth-generation winemaker Miguel Torres, who pioneered planting Cabernet Sauvignon in Spain, creating Mas la Plana in 1970, will meet with guests aboard Norwegian Encore’s April 9 Eastern Caribbean voyage.
Returning fan-favourite hosts include celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez, world-class winemaker and member of the historic fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo; Napa Valley icon Michael Mondavi of the Michael Mondavi Family Estate; and The Drinks Business Master Winemaker of the Year 2023 recipient Gérard Bertrand, among others.
The regular series provides wine enthusiasts and gourmands an exclusive opportunity to engage with winemakers and connoisseurs through enriching and interactive seminars and activities on board. Cruise guests can also purchase wines on board that are otherwise only available by visiting the wineries directly.
Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line, said: “These unique sailings offer a rare opportunity to get one-on-one exposure to esteemed winemakers and their collection of wines, all while visiting multiple destinations and enjoying an unforgettable vacation.”
More information can be found on the Meet the Winemaker series site.
Major Chinese OTAs have reported a spike in the number of searches for the Maldives as soon as the Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption with the resort destination came into effect last week.
The agreement, signed between the two countries on January 2022, allows citizens of both to enter each other’s land for tourism purposes without a visa for stays of up to 30 days.
Chinese travellers are swiftly booking up the Maldives as visa waiver comes into effect
According to China’s Qunar, the number of searches for the Maldives increased by 126 per cent on February 17 – the very day the visa waiver came into effect – compared to the day before.
A Qunar spokesperson also told Global Times that searches for hotels in North Male Atoll had tripled on the site, while reservations for February had doubled compared with the previous month.
Search and reservation numbers are expected to continue to rise.
Trip.com has also reported strong Chinese interest in the Maldives, with the visa waiver spurring a 50 per cent month-on-month increase in bookings for Maldives-related products as of February 6.
China was the Maldives’ top source market pre-pandemic, contributing 300,000 visitors in 2019 – 17 per cent of the destination’s total visitorship.
According to the Maldives Ministry of Tourism, the destination has welcomed 8,015 Chinese visitors since the start of this year and up till February 15. While not in pole position at this point, China remains within the country’s top 10 markets, occupying eighth spot.
Prior to joining Mandarin Oriental, Macau, the native French and German national was general manager of Mandarin Oriental in Vietnam.
Also new is chef Ashley Breneman, who began her career studying at Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute and has worked for numerous celebrity chefs, including Gordon Ramsay on the hit show MasterChef. She is now the executive chef at Certified Angus Beef. She will be on the July 9 sailing aboard Norwegian Encore to Alaska.
Liz Ortiguera has resigned from her role as CEO of PATA.
In a press statement, PATA vice chair Benjamin Liao recognised Ortiguera’s effort in leading the association “during a difficult period for the industry”.
Commenting on her exit, Ortiguera said: “I had the opportunity to work with some deeply committed, hard-working and talented individuals within the PATA team as well as our valued members and partners.”
“I am confident that PATA, with its diverse member base of industry leaders, can continue to support and lead our industry’s recovery and growth,” she added.