As lockdowns worldwide continue, more and more destinations are taking the virtual route to keep the travel dream alive. Following Airbnb and Viator, travel search engine Kayak is fuelling wanderlust with the launch of its virtual travel hub featuring a selection of curated city guides.
Kicking off with curated virtual guides to Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin and London, the virtual travel hub is now live, with additional destinations set to be released in the coming weeks.
Kayak’s new initiative allows quarantined travellers to visit destinations like Berlin (pictured)
Beyond access to a virtual tour of the destinations, users will also be able to experience a curated selection of local recipes; a playlist for each city; a language lesson covering commonly-used phrases; a virtual tour from local museums and galleries; as well as a list of books, TV series and movies related to that city.
For example, those paying a virtual visit to Amsterdam will find a preview of the Rijksmuseum, an immersive look at the city’s scenic views with a helicopter tour, and a step-by-step guide on recreating the Netherland’s well-loved Stroopwafels.
Virtual visitors can also learn how to order a beer, ask for directions and greet new people in Dutch, as well as find out more about all the recent cultural updates, such as recommended books and films.
The site also gives users all the tools and information they need to plan their next trip, from daily itineraries to destination highlights.
Evan Day, country manager UK, Kayak, said: “At Kayak, we understand that these unprecedented times can bring a lot of emotions to the fore, from uncertainty and anxiety, to boredom and restlessness. Having a level of escapism and something to look forward to, are now more important than ever.
“The virtual travel hub aims to give users a fun, exciting distraction, whether you’re wanting to learn something new, ‘visit’ your favourite destination or get a preview to a location you plan on visiting.”
Singapore’s circuit breaker measures holding all non-essential businesses and community activities on lockdown will be extended for another month to June 1, announced prime minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday.
This comes as the city-state saw 1,111 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the tally to 9,125.
Singapore extends its circuit breaker period by another month; Marina Bay Sands skyline pictured
While the vast majority of these cases were detected in migrant worker dormitories through methodical testing – only 20 of them were Singaporeans and PRs – Lee asserted that the extension was necessary to “prevent new clusters from forming and bursting out of control”.
He said: “Unfortunately, the number of unlinked cases has not come down, and this suggests that there is a larger, hidden reservoir of Covid-19 cases in the community that we have not detected. We must press on to bring down the number of daily cases to a single digit, or even, zero.
“The government will continue to help our businesses and workers cope during the extended circuit breaker period. Provided we have brought the community numbers down (by June 1), we can make further adjustments and consider easing some measures.”
Japan’s struggling tourism industry has been dealt a fresh blow ahead of the Golden Week holidays, as the government declared a nationwide state of emergency on Friday, in response to the continued rise of new coronavirus cases.
The country-wide “soft lockdown” until May 6, is a widening of the state of emergency declaration – covering Tokyo and six other prefectures – that was introduced on April 7.
Japan’s tourism industry takes a further hit with the extension of the state of emergency nationwide; tourists in Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto pictured
It follows pleas from prefectures to be included, as well as calls to curb domestic travel during Golden Week. The week-long series of national holidays between late April and early May is usually a peak period for Japanese travel, providing vital income to tourism suppliers.
With many prefectural governors now asking residents to refrain from non-essential outings and non-essential travel between prefectures, the travel trade has been dealt a second major blow, following the drying up of international business.
In Kagoshima Prefecture, which has seen six Covid-19 cases as of April 17 according to the Statista Research Department, Shozo Kikunaga, CEO of travel agency and bus tour company GSE, said that revenue is down 90 per cent.
Over in the prefectures of Kagawa and Okayama, which have reported 24 and 18 Covid-19 cases respectively, Benesse Art Site Naoshima has shuttered its 18 art facilities and one hotel in response to the declaration.
“We had lots of cancellations from overseas guests earlier in the year due to the crisis, particularly for our hotel,” said Sanae Oota, the organisation’s spokesperson. “We also had fewer domestic bookings for Golden Week compared to previous years, and now those bookings have to be cancelled.”
Japan hotels are also bracing for a further hit. STR reported 64.8 per cent occupancy in February, which dipped to 30.5 per cent in March.
Attractions across Japan, including Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art, Nara National Museum and Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, have also been closed until further notice.
Hong Kong-headquartered booking platform Klook has reduced its global headcount and furloughed a portion of its workforce as part of its latest cost-optimisation measures for weathering the Covid-19 storm.
The layoffs and furloughs will impact 10 to 20 per cent of the organisation’s headcount across most of its functions.
Pandemic forces Klook to shed staff and impose pay cuts
Ethan Lin, CEO and co-founder of Klook, revealed to TTG Asia that all of the company’s co-founders, including Bernie Xiong and Eric Gnock Fah, will forego their pay “until the end of the crisis”.
Its leadership team has also taken voluntary pay cuts, said Lin, and the company will implement a temporarily reduced work week. Furloughed employees will continue to receive healthcare coverage and applicable benefits, including access to Klook’s Employee Assistance Program.
Lin expressed: “The world is concerned about the devastating impact of Covid-19 and there is no travel at the moment, rightfully so.”
He lamented that these “painful decisions” had to be made to ensure that Klook can weather this storm, protect the long-term success of the organisation, as well as lead the recovery of the industry when the time comes.
Founded in 2014, Klook’s rapid and exponential growth elevated it into one of Asia’s symbols of start-up success. The company recently began expanding into Europe and North America, and as of September 2019, had more than 1,000 staff across more than 20 offices worldwide.
Pre-pandemic, it had raised a total of US$520 million in funding from investors including Sequoia China, TCV, Matrix Partners and Goldman Sachs.
CLIA is working with various stakeholders on a new health framework post Covid-19
Cruise lines, long referred to as “floating petri dishes”, have found themselves at the centre of a raging debate amid the coronavirus crisis, with cleanliness and hygiene standards of cruise ships called into question.
In response, a new health framework is being developed by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and its members to “uphold the safety of guests and prepare for future operations” post Covid-19.
CLIA is working with various stakeholders on a new health framework post Covid-19
CLIA Australasia & Asia managing director Joel Katz said the industry was working with medical experts and health authorities internationally to lay a new foundation for the cruise sector as it prepared for its long-term recovery.
“While cruise operations are suspended, we are using this time to define the new landscape we will work within and make sure we’re ready when the time comes to sail again,” he said.
“Many teams of people around the world are working in tandem with experts to ensure we learn as much as possible from these unprecedented events and exceed community expectations in our response.”
Katz said maritime policy work underway within CLIA would define the specific screening, cleansing and medical protocols that cruise lines would adopt globally, in addition to those already in place.
He said while it was too early to discuss specific procedures being developed or the timing, the industry’s priority would be to ensure the safety and security of guests, crew and the communities that cruise lines visit.
“The challenges before us are great and there is no quick fix, which is why we have embarked on a process that will be extremely thorough and will address the concerns that communities and authorities expect to see us confront,” Katz said.
He said once finalised, the new protocols would provide further opportunity to communicate with industry stakeholders, government and the wider public to provide reassurance on future cruise operations.
Katz added: “Our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by Covid-19. The cruise industry is not alone in having to confront this disease, but we will aim to set standards that other sectors may follow when it comes to our response.”
Indonesia's tourism stakeholders are clamouring for airlines to provide cash refunds instead of credits and vouchers
The Indonesian Travel Agents Association (ASTINDO) is the latest in a long line of trade bodies calling on airlines to give cash refunds instead of vouchers or credit values, to enable its member travel companies to maintain cash flows and refund their traveller clients.
This is as several cash-strapped major airlines are refusing to provide refunds for cancelled flights amid the pandemic, and are instead offering customers credit vouchers.
Indonesia’s tourism stakeholders are clamouring for airlines to provide cash refunds instead of credits and vouchers
The massive drop of flight frequencies and the increasing number of partial or full lockdowns applied by destinations have resulted in a major drop in ticket sales. IATA reported a drop of more than 90 per cent in ticket sales between January 26 and April 17.
Pauline Suharno, secretary general of ASTINDO, said in a statement: “Airlines are having liquidity problems due to the minimal sales and they also have to take care of their operational costs, so they have taken the option to refund tickets in the form of vouchers (for international airlines) or a topped-up deposit value (for domestic carriers).”
Pauline added that during the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak from January till mid-February, airlines advised passengers to postpone their trips, but still allowed them to cancel and get cash refunds.
“However, when Covid-19 was labelled a pandemic (by the WHO) and destinations started taking drastic measures in a bid to break the spread of the virus, airlines have changed their policies. Now, with no cash refunds, passengers have no choice but to postpone their trips,” she told TTG Asia.
And this situation has caused cash flow issues for travel agents, according to Pauline.
She explained that as payments made by corporate and government clients to agents were on credit terms, agents needed to pay for the flight tickets to IATA on their behalf, so the funds in the airlines’ account belonged to the agents.
“Some of our members’ corporate clients had cancelled their trips before they paid us. Understanding that airlines would refund payments we had made then, they only paid us service fees. Now, with the airlines changing the policy, we need to go back to clients with the vouchers,” she said.
However, other issues surface, as some of these credit vouchers are only valid for up to a few months, and will be lost if not used within that period, , explained Pauline.
She elaborated: “On the customers’ end, they may have problems with their businesses due to Covid-19 and will not be able or need to travel again later. What happens if the ticket holders, who were initially scheduled to go on a business trip to a destination do not need to go there anymore and instead, to a different city, which is not served by the airline? Or what if these travellers are not working at the same company anymore?”
On the domestic front, Pauline said the agents risked losing their top-up deposits in the case that an airline declares bankruptcy.
“What if the airlines cannot withstand the onslaught of (Covid-19)? Is there any guarantee that (if the airline were to collapse) that consumers and travel companies can get a full refund? Looking at past experiences, when Linus Air, Batavia Air, and Adam Air collapsed, no funds were returned to either consumers or agents. Tens of billions of rupiah belonging to consumers and travel agents became part of the airlines’ assets as the funds were settled in the airlines’ bank accounts,” Pauline said.
ASTINDO has sent letters to Indonesian airline companies, including Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, Sriwijaya Air, Lion Air and AirAsia, to request the transfer of funds to travel agents but has received no positive response.
“ASTINDO, therefore, is requesting all airlines to refund the ticket payments in cash as under the current circumstances, all sectors of the industry, especially travel agents, are in need of cash flow,” she said.
Tokyo’s Narita International Airport has turned its baggage claim area into a makeshift cardboard hotel to temporarily quarantine international arrivals awaiting their Covid-19 test results.
As of April 3, all passengers entering Japan must be tested for Covid-19 as part of the government’s measures to slow the spread of infections.
Cardboard hotel in Narita airport
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Ordinarily, the result is communicated to the passenger within six hours but delays in processing have, at times, increased the waiting period to two days.
Passengers who can be picked by a friend or family member can leave the airport immediately after being tested. However, as passengers are banned from using public transport or flying domestically until they have been tested negative for Covid-19, those that cannot be picked up have been stranded in airport hotels or in the airport itself.
With hotels reaching capacity, the airport’s operator introduced the cardboard beds. The sturdy structures, which each include a futon mattress and quilt, are typically used in evacuation centres during times of disaster. Beverages and snacks are also being offered to passengers while they wait.
Arriving passengers who test positive will be requested to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Although Japan has denied entry to foreign nationals from 73 countries and regions since April 3, Narita International Airport welcomed 582 international flights in the first week of April, down from 3,661 in mid-January, according to Narita International Airport Corporation.
Covid-19 testing is not yet carried out on domestic passengers, but Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport began temperature checks on Friday for all passengers departing on domestic flights, in a bid to allay fears that the virus will spread across the country as a result of travel during Japan’s consecutive national holidays in early May.
Passengers with symptoms may be refused boarding at the airline’s discretion.
Despite the Covid-19 downturn, Australian residential developer Crown Group is ploughing ahead with its plans for expansion, having secured land for its first property in the US – a mixed-use high-rise condominium and hotel tower in Downtown Los Angeles.
The project is part of a joint venture with Singapore-based Magnus Property and ASRI, the lifestyle arm of Indonesian property developer Agung Sedayu Group.
A rendering of Crown Group’s upcoming property set to rise in Los Angeles come 2024
The group is progressing entitlements with Los Angeles City Hall for the proposed tower, which is earmarked for the south-east corner of South Hill and 11th streets at the convergence of Downtown’s financial, fashion and South Park districts.
Slated for completion in 2024, the 43-storey tower will be designed by Koichi Takada Architects.
The upper floors of the building will comprise 319 condominiums with an exclusive residents’ retreat over the top two floors.
Crown Group is also in discussions with several luxury hotel brands to incorporate a 160-key hotel set within the lower levels of the building.
CapitaLand has appointed Kevin Goh as its CEO for lodging.
In his new role, Goh will oversee CapitaLand Group’s lodging business, which is one of the company’s three pillars for sustainable growth, alongside fund management and investment/development.
Goh will concurrently serve as the CEO of the property giant’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited, a role he has held since 2018.
He is a key member of the senior leadership team responsible for managing and executing the group’s growth strategies.
Having been with the CapitaLand Group since May 2007, Goh has held various leadership positions in Ascott such as COO, managing director of North Asia, and regional general manager for East and South China.
Beijing-based boutique operator Bespoke Travel Company last week launched its live talk series, where experts and guides host seven broadcasts on Zoom for audiences around the world on topics ranging from true crime to tea appreciation and hand-pulled noodle classes.
Founder Sarah Keenlyside said The Bespoke Speaker Series kicked off with New York Times bestselling author Paul French in conversation with historian Jeremiah Jenne about the vibrant group of foreigners – known as the Peking Aesthetes – who lived and partied in Beijing during the 1930s.
Bespoke tea expert Tracy Lesh leads an online talk on Chinese tea appreciation on Zoom as part of the travel firm’s speaker series
The second was helmed by tea guru Tracy Lesh, an American and former mortgage lender, who moved to China in 2007.
Keenlyside said the speaker series would create a new revenue stream for the company, adding that self-guided programmes would also be rolled out as touring is still banned in the country.
“The (outcome of the) launch was better than I anticipated and that was a nice surprise. We had nearly 80 participants and about 50 people have signed up for the (discounted) all-access pass,” she said.
Buoyed by the initial success, and keen to reach a wider audience, Keenlyside is now looking at curating a series for the US market, a key client source, with a more user-friendly broadcast time.
“Paul (French) encouraged us (to do so) and because he is a big name, we knew that (his endorsement) would help us a lot and gave us the confidence to do it,” she said.
The concept took about three weeks to develop and Keenlyside believes that the company’s strength lies in its partnerships with experts and specialists who possess in-depth knowledge of Beijing and Shanghai.
Apart from generating income, Keenlyside said she and her team could continue their mission to promote cross-cultural understanding and enable people in lockdown situations learn more about Chinese culture.
Bespoke is turning to social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to market the speaker series. Prices range from about US$11 per talk or US$56 for the full access pass to all seven talks.
