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Asia/Singapore Tuesday, 7th April 2026
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SG travel companies diversify for survival

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The current economic climate may present the least attractive time to launch new businesses, especially in the travel and tourism space, but two tourism companies in Singapore have chosen to dive into new areas of specialisation.

Outbound tour specialist EU Holidays is now developing an inbound arm in response to a rising trend for city tours and staycations, according to director Wong Yew Hoong. He revealed plans to promote inbound tours and hotel stays to locals, relying on short videos highlighting local attractions on social media to reach out to potential customers.

Yeow: “opportune” time to grow a blockchain travel club

The company will also be putting up travel merchandise for sale to support operational costs at its premises.

Also embracing a new business concept is James Yeow, chairman, OMT group of companies. He described this period as “opportune” in growing travel club Blockchain in Travel by OMT – a strategic partnership inked between the group and China blockchain data sharing platform Changyou Travel Alliance.

Members use Changyou Travel Coin – a cryptocurrency – to pay for travel packages, as well as a variety of local and overseas merchant products and services that the group is growing.

With the absence of third-party intermediaries, Yeow shared travellers can expect a reduction of 15 to 25 per cent in travel costs, delivering “a win-win situation for both consumer and business.”

“Blockchain technology will revolutionise the travel industry, as decentralising the booking marketplace allows service providers to connect with customers directly and they (customers) stand to gain from the transparent nature of prices and potential fees, creating a better experience,” Yeow explained.

Accor creates €70m fund to help staff and partners affected by Covid-19

By TTG Asia
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Accor's Paris head office showing love to the world

French hospitality group Accor has unveiled a €70 million (US$76 million) ALL Heartist Fund to assist its most vulnerable staff, partners and medical workers impacted by Covid-19.

This amount has been withdrawn from the Accor’s Board of Directors proposal for a 2019 dividend payment of €280 million, after consultation with the Group’s main shareholders JinJiang International, Qatar Investment Authority, Kingdom Holding Company and Harris Associates.

Accor’s Paris head office showing love to the world

The fund will assist the Group’s 300,000 employees, and will be pledged towards their Covid-19-related hospital expenses, for those who do not have social security or medical insurance; furloughed employees suffering great financial distress; and individual partners facing financial difficulty. In addition, the Group will further deploy its solidarity initiatives to support frontline healthcare professionals and non-profit organisations.

Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of Accor, commented: “Welcoming, protecting and taking care of others is at the very heart of what we do. In light of the urgency and the scale of the situation, we have decided to act in an immediate and meaningful way, in the spirit of our values and commitments. Through this impactful gesture, we wish to express our solidarity and gratitude to all those demonstrating courage and selflessness during this crisis. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the Group’s main shareholders. Without them, the ALL Heartist Fund would not have been possible.”

This decision has received unanimous support from the Board members, who collectively decided to reduce their attendance fees by 20 per cent to the benefit the Fund. Additionally, Bazin will forego 25 per cent of its compensation during the crisis. The cash equivalent will also be contributed to the Fund.

Across the Group, mitigation measures that have been implemented since February include travel bans, hiring freezes, reduced schedules and/or furloughing for 75 per cent of global head office teams for 2Q resulting in a minimum €60 million reduction in G&A expenses for 2020; as well as reviewed its recurring investment plan for 2020 resulting in a €60 million reduction in capital expenditures.

The Group is further streamlining all other costs (e.g. sales, marketing, IT), in line with lower systemwide revenues. Accor also shared that it has more than €2.5 billion in cash on hand and an undrawn revolving credit facility of €1.2 billion, thanks to its recent asset-light transformation and cash preservation strategy.

Today, more than half Accor branded hotels worldwide are closed, likely over two-thirds in the coming weeks. One piece of good news is the confirmation of initial recovery of the Chinese hotel market, with mild improvements in occupancy and F&B activity.

“I also want to pay a special tribute to the Accor teams around the world. They are facing the current crisis with admirable courage, dedication and professionalism. As our industry is going through tough times, we have to make tough decisions, but Accor has a strong balance sheet which will enable it to withstand this crisis and emerge with strength during the recovery period. I am confident that Accor will soon rediscover the road to growth,” Bazin added.

Hotel occupancy in Singapore surge with guests in isolation, displaced Malaysian workers

By Pamela Chow
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Hotels in Singapore that have been designated as facilities to house citizens on stay-home notice (SHN) are keeping hospitality alive for the new demographic of guests, as well as ramping up precautionary measures and operational procedures to tackle the sudden spike in occupancy.

The designated properties – including names like Pan Pacific Singapore, Parkroyal Collection Pickering, Royal Plaza on Scotts, Six Senses, Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa Resort and Spa, Conrad Centennial Singapore and Village Hotel – have had to pivot from coping with zero demand to a hive of activity after the Singapore government blocked out more than 7,500 rooms for periods upward of one month.

Conrad Centennial Singapore has been designated to house returning Singaporeans from the US and the UK

“Our team members are provided personal protective equipment – including an apron, surgical mask and gloves – when they deliver, collect and remove food, laundry and refuse. In the 14-day period that a guest is serving his or her SHN, our team members will not be able to provide housekeeping services. (However,) we will provide a regular change of fresh linen, as well as meals for guests,” shared Mike Williamson, general manager, Conrad Centennial Singapore, which has been officially designated to house returning Singaporeans from the US and the UK from March 27, 2020.

Williamson added: “During this period, the hotel will be closed to other visitors and guests, and recreational facilities including the pool and fitness centre will be temporarily suspended. Nevertheless, our restaurants remain open to the public.”

Similarly blocked out are Village Hotel Albert Court, Village Hotel Sentosa and The Elizabeth Hotel, operated by Far East Hospitality (FEH). Under the SHN directive, apart from their rooms, each property’s F&B tenants have also been closed to public and will only provide meals to SHN guests.

To compensate the hotels and cover operation costs, STB and the relevant government agencies “have worked out a reasonable per diem for hospitality operators”, shared Arthur Kiong, CEO of FEH.

The Singapore-based hospitality group has gone the extra mile to cater to the needs of this unique guest profile. For instance, it has designated a separate queue system for elderly and mobility-impaired guests, placed staff on standby to assist with purchasing and delivering any requested necessities, as well as deployed an “e-Buddy” system where crew are trained to check in on all guests daily via phone.

“We are also planning a series of engagement activities with our SHN guests to keep morale up during this time,” said Kiong.

Other hotels that have not been earmarked as designated facilities have also extended their rooms to house affected communities, such as the workforce displaced by Malaysia’s lockdown and other affected foreign workers.

On Tuesday, RedDoorz announced that as part of its Red Heroes initiative, it is working closely with Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower to provide accommodations for foreign workers serving their SHN and affected Malaysian employees. It is currently exploring alternative support, including the supply of rooms for frontline healthcare professionals.

“For those serving out their SHN, we’ve introduced health and well-being kits in select hotels, which includes energy bars, essential vitamins and personal hand sanitisers,” said a RedDoorz spokesperson.

In another instance, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport is offering a 14-day SHN room package at S$130 (US$90) nett per night for the Deluxe King room. The package includes an in-room exercise mat, 50 per cent off the in-room dining menu, as well as 50 per cent off selected laundry services.

137 Pillars names Anne Arrowsmith corporate GM

By TTG Asia
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Anne Arrowsmith has been promoted to corporate general manager for 137 Pillars Hotels & Resorts, which owns and manages two luxury properties in Thailand.

In her new role, Arrowsmith will oversee all aspects of operations for both 137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok and 137 Pillars House, reporting directly to the owners and working with them on several potential new properties that are currently under development.

The British national joined the group in 2016 as general manager at the luxury all-suite 137 Pillars House Chiang Mai, which opened in March 2012 and was refurbished in 2019.

The big lure of little lodges

By Marissa Carruthers
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As travellers become more aware of their footprint and the impact they have on locals, hopes are being pinned on Myanmar’s mounting eco-lodges piquing the interest of conscientious tourists seeking to truly immerse themselves in local life.

Myanmar is home to diverse landscapes, rich culture – it has 135 ethnic tribes – and a series of off-the-beaten-track spots that tick all the boxes for modern travellers. Community- and eco-tourism is a niche steadily being developed across the country, pushed by the rise in lodges and boutique resorts built and operated sustainably while working with struggling rural communities.

Charmaine Goddard, general manager at Wah Phyu Villa, which rose in the coastal village of Magyizin, Ayeyarwady in February, said: “With global warming at the forefront now more than ever, people are more aware of what they do when they go on holiday; they want to know they’ve benefited local people.”

The eco-lodge is among the latest to open amid a strengthening movement of sustainable and community-driven tourism across Myanmar.

Goddard added: “We get a lot of private bookings and people ask what we do with our waste and how we work with villagers. It’s huge, and becoming a very big part of tourism.”

In 2011, the newly-formed Ministry of Hotels and Tourism set about launching a series of community-driven tourism products across the country under its Community-Based Tourism (CBT) initiative.

Several have since sprung up across Myanmar with the aim of ensuring communities benefit from the predicted rise in visitors while driving tourists to undiscovered areas.

As well, recent years have seen tourism entrepreneurs build sustainable lodges that work directly with neighbouring villages to share the tourism dollar and help improve life.

Swe Yi, co-owner of Loikaw Lodge by the Lake in Kayah State, said: “CBT is probably the most sustainable tourism approach in Myanmar as it can significantly contribute to poverty reduction and paves the way for a sustainable, economic tourism model.”

Yi and her husband Jens opened the 12-room lodge in October 2016 and learned about the newly-developed CBT initiatives of the Kayan, Kayah and Kayaw tribes, funded and led by the International Trade Centre.

Under the initiative, a series of programmes were developed to offer visitors culturally-rich experiences in villages across the state. Its success saw similar initiatives roll out in other areas of the country, including Kachin and Shan states, Magway Division in Myaing, and Chin State.

Yi, who continues to send clients to villages, added: “It’s important the best practices of these programmes is shared to accelerate the learning for communities who want to start their own programmes. At the same time, it’s important the government, private industry and respective communities agree on a framework that helps CBT develop in a sustainable manner.”

Kyaw Swar opened A Little Eco Lodge in his home area of Inle Lake in late-2016 with the aim of using tourism as a tool to elevate the lives of the impoverished communities he grew up among. He has since landed two awards from the Product and Package Innovation Competition run by UK Aid for his innovative community-led projects for ikat weaving, and a treasure hunt-style cookery class in a neighbouring village. He recently added four rooms, bringing the total to 10.

He said: “Travellers want to be more responsible and think about how and where the money they spend is used. This is a great opportunity for Myanmar, especially small-scale entrepreneurs and locals. They can’t compete with larger global and local businesses that have resources, finance, knowledge and technology. By developing CBT, communities can earn directly from clients.”

Edwin Briels, managing director of Khiri Travel Myanmar and co-founder of Lalay Lodge, which opened this February in the remote fishing village of Maung Shwe Lay in Ngapali as a sustainable lodge that works hand-in-hand with villagers, said this movement is opening up new opportunities by appealing to the longhaul markets of Australia, Europe and the US.

He also noted an increase in interest from regional travellers seeking authentic, immersive experiences. Said Briels: “We are seeing a lot more regional travellers wanting to go back to an Asian village atmosphere; almost like stepping back to the old days of Asia.”

The sustainable lodge trend is also helping develop new destinations and encourage visitors to veer away from Myanmar’s main tourism spots. As arrivals grow, it is hoped this will alleviate the issue of over-crowding that other regional tourism stars have struggled with.

Said Goddard: “Because Myanmar’s tourism industry is behind other South-east Asian countries, it can pick up on the mistakes of others and learn from them. The government doesn’t want to see places over-run, so it encourages sensitive development in emerging destinations.”

But to truly tap into its tourism potential, there has to be closer work between the government and private sector to push and promote such initiatives. Noted Yi: “The big challenge is to market these lodges and experiences to international markets, which can only be done with government and private industry support.”

Pushing for change

By Karen Yue
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CrescentRating has been sharing insights on the Muslim travel market for the last 11 years. What would be the organisation’s proudest milestones?
We have contributed a few things to the tourism and hospitality industry over the years, specifically in improving the understanding of halal travel in the marketplace. It is very satisfying to see that in the last few years, the marketplace has started to embrace Muslim travellers.

One of the achievements we’ve been very happy with is our partnership with MasterCard (to jointly produce the annual Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index), which started in 2015.

CrescentRating did not start off wanting to do research; we just wanted to rate Muslim-friendly hotels. But we realised that without real data and intelligence, it was hard to convince people with our words.

Fast forward today, we’re the leading voice on halal travel intelligence.

We have just released our Mastercard-CrescentRating Halal Travel Frontier 2020 report (in January).

In a couple of weeks, we will release another report that will consolidate all the tools we have developed, and make them available to the trade.

Has CrescentRating been able to resolve the common pain points for Muslim travellers when they visit non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations?
The pain points for Muslim travellers have remained largely the same, especially when it comes to travelling in a non-OIC.

There is still a lack of halal restaurants in these destinations; in hotels, there is either a lack of halal food or there are very limited halal food options on the menu.

On the bright side, however, the situation has improved a lot over recent years, particularly in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

There are more than 100 halal restaurants in Taiwan today, whereas there were probably only a handful five or more years ago.

While the number of halal restaurants have gone up in some non-OIC destinations, there remains the challenge of credibility. There are two credibility issues Muslim travellers face with halal restaurant claims – one, the claim is incorrect and made due to ignorance, as the restaurant operator doesn’t truly understand what being halal means and requires; two, the claim is a deliberate falsehood.

Can CrescentRating help to tackle this challenge?
Yes, we can. Our solution is to focus on education. We need to educate restaurants – in fact, as many stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry as possible – what halal means through our CR Academy.

Our second solution is to encourage restaurant operators to get external validation by approaching their local halal authority, or use our rating system which we have employed in destinations such as Taiwan.

Beyond restaurants, tourism and hospitality industry stakeholders can reference our faith-based services needs model, which we upgraded last year.

There are four areas within the Need to Have advisory (Halal Food Service, Salaath Prayer Facilities, Water Friendly Washrooms, and No Islamophobia), and three of them are relevant to hotels.

You cited Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong as examples of destinations that have done well in welcoming Muslim travellers today. It is interesting that they are all in North Asia. Are there no shining examples in South-east Asia, where there are sizeable local Muslim communities and should therefore be naturally welcoming?
It is a misconception that destinations with a Muslim population are ready for halal tourism.

Take Jordon as an example. It is a Muslim-majority country (and an OIC member) but its tourism industry was established for the last 20 to 30 years to serve travellers from Europe and Japan – big source markets at that time – and not Muslim travellers.

Understanding what a Muslim does does not translate into knowing how to treat and welcome Muslim travellers.

I like to think that because Taiwan and Japan, for instance, have such little understanding of Muslims at the beginning that they tried their very best to study halal needs and be as hospitable as possible.

How does Singapore fare? Muslims make up the third largest religious group in the population.
CrescentRating has a few projects going with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). One of them coming up soon is a 44-page guide book that details halal dining offerings in Singapore, hidden cultural activities and local Malay entrepreneurs and business owners that travellers can discover.

I also got to speak at ASEAN Tourism Forum this year in Brunei about halal travel trends, at the invitation of STB.

I’ve told STB that Singapore has the potential to be a more welcoming destination for Muslim travellers, and one of the things it can do is to leverage Singapore’s Muslim family assets to attract this segment of travellers.

Clearly, CrescentRating has done a lot to improve the world for Muslim travellers and guide destinations towards this lucrative travel sector. But I’m sure you have more up your sleeves.
Yes, well, we are looking at doing a few more things (laughs).

First, we will continue to produce more and more data on halal tourism and make them public to improve awareness and deepen knowledge.

We are also hoping to produce the CrescentRating Playbook – that’s the working title – and have it contain as many insights as possible to help the tourism and hospitality industry find their way around halal tourism.

Second on our list is to work with even more destinations to help them better cater to Muslim travellers. We have projects with Uzbekistan, which is an up-and-coming destination; South Africa, where we have a partnership going for some time now; and Hong Kong, where we have just started but need to take things slow due to the (Covid-19) outbreak.

Thirdly, we are improving our CR Academy. We have an online programme on now for hotels and restaurants, but we hope to expand it to serve more sectors of the industry.

An industry with heart: Poor in business for now but rich in generosity

By Karen Yue
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As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on the world and our lives, travel has become such a dirty word.

The act of travel now is regarded as an act of defiance and selfishness, never mind the purpose. How dare you not stay home!

The travel and tourism industry is greedy, for continuing to promote staycations, vacations, and encouraging customers to only postpone their trips instead of just refunding their hard-earned money.

So the public say, from behind the safety of their mobile devices and desktops.

For those not in the travel and tourism industry, it must be hard for them to imagine the struggles people employed within are facing.

World Travel and Tourism Council has estimated that one million travel and tourism jobs are being lost daily around the world. That’s one million people suddenly faced with no source of income for only God knows how long. Many of them may not even find another job soon enough because many other industries and businesses are struggling too.

Despite a painful present and an uncertain future, many travel and tourism companies have chosen to protect their staff by resisting retrenchment for as long as their resources last, with or without government handouts.

Many have also chosen to demonstrate selflessness and grace by volunteering time and resources to help their country and community in the battle against the pandemic.

Airlines have been helping to transport medical devices and supplies, and even healthcare workers, to places in need.

Hotels, resorts and convention centres have – and some ready to do so now – converted their facilities into isolation centres or temporary homes for frontline healthcare workers who are afraid to go home to their family.

The travel and tourism community, as I know it, is hardly greedy and selfish. We seek humour in tough situations and we reach out to lift one another, even if we are competitors in the business.

When Singapore had a shortage of masks and hand sanitisers early on in the outbreak, my friend Daniel Tan, who runs a culinary school for tourists in Singapore, delivered a fabric mask and sanitiser – both of which he made himself, catching me right before my trip to ITB Berlin. Just in case I needed them, he told me.

When cruises everywhere were hard hit by bad publicity around infections onboard, the Royal Carribean Cruises team in Singapore visited agents and media partners with little gifts of snacks and cheerful notes to lift the mood.

They didn’t have to, but they did.

These are stories that need to get out more in the mainstream media, to remind the world of the human side of the travel and tourism industry. And when the crisis is over, this industry is more than ready to get back to its job of helping people create beautiful memories as well as broaden their mind and heart to different cultures and environments.

PATA officers and executive board to take extended term

By TTG Asia
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PATA officers and the Executive Board will have their term extended until the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Leshan, China from September 3 to 6, 2020.

This comes as the the 69th Annual General Meeting, initially planned to be held alongside the PATA Annual Summit in Ras Al Khaimah this May, was postponed to March 23-26, 2021.

PATA officers and the Executive Board will have their term extended until this September

Along with the decision, the PATA board has also confirmed that the term of elected PATA officers will be extended for an 18-month period from September 2020 to May 2022.

As well, CEO Mario Hardy has agreed to extend his term until May 31, 2021, to continue providing leadership to the association in these challenging times. The search for a new CEO will begin this September.

The association has made provisions for the AGM to be held online should the Leshan meetings also fail to take place.

Booking.com, Expedia and Trip.com face competition law breach probe

By TTG Asia
0

Three major OTAs, namely, Booking.com, Expedia.com, and Trip.com, have agreed to remove parity clauses in their contracts with accommodation providers that hinder market competition and deprive consumers of choice, following a probe by Hong Kong’s competition watchdog.

The Competition Commission (CC) said in a statement that these clauses require accommodation providers in Hong Kong to always give the OTAs the same or better terms than those they offer in all other sales channels, with regards to clauses on room prices, conditions and/or availability.

Expedia is one of three major OTAs found to have breached competition law by Hong Kong’s competition watchdog

The CC also said that in turn, this may have the potential effect of reducing the incentive of OTAs to offer lower commission rates in the first place. As a consequence, buyers of accommodation services, such as hotel guests, may not benefit from lower and more varied room rates.

It added that these clauses may potentially soften competition among OTAs, as well as hinder entry and expansion by new or smaller OTAs, depriving consumers of the benefits of effective competition.

In response to the CC’s investigation, the three travel conglomerates have proposed to remove those clauses of concerns in their existing and future contracts with accommodation providers.

Although the watchdog deems the proposed commitments as “appropriate to address its concerns and it, therefore, proposes to accept them”, on Tuesday, it launched a public consultation on the proposed commitments.

The commission said that it will consider all representations received by the deadline, which will be posted on its website, before making its decision on whether to accept the proposed commitments.

Accor pushes out staycation deals across Singapore

By TTG Asia
0

Accor Singapore has rolled out a host of new staycation offers in several of its properties across the island nation.

The “suite life” at Raffles
Soak in the lush greenery of the gardens at Raffles Singapore on your weekend retreat to a spacious suite at S$795++ (US$554++) and enjoy a complimentary second night stay. Package includes an upgrade to Courtyard Suite, late check-out at 4pm, daily breakfast for two at Tiffin Room, $100 nett dining credit at Raffles-operated restaurants and bars, Raffles Spa and Raffles Boutique, a history tour with the Resident Historian, as well as a 15 per cent discount at Raffles-operated restaurants and bars, Raffles Spa, Raffles Boutique and the Floral Boutique by Raffles.

A sanctuary retreat at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa
Escape the hustle and bustle of the city and while away on a weekend sanctuary at Sofitel Singapore Resort & Spa from S$388++ per room night. Indulge in the finest wines and a curated meal with a night stay in the resort’s Luxury Room, followed by a massage at So Spa to complete your weekend escapade.

A weekend getaway at Swissôtel Merchant Court
Enjoy your weekend getaway with your family at Swissôtel Merchant Court Singapore with rates starting from $185++ per night, available every weekend on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The offer includes daily buffet breakfast for two, 20 per cent off dining at the hotel’s outlets, 15 per cent off a la carte spa treatments at Pürovel Spa & Sport, late check-out till 3pm, and complimentary Internet access.

Satisfy your cravings at Ibis Singapore Novena
ibis Singapore Novena is offering a complimentary local dish – options include laksa, chicken satay, beef kway teow and nasi goreng – at the hotel’s restaurant Oopen Pasta & Grill per guest per stay, with rates starting from $162++ per room per night for two.

Relax & recharge at Novotel Singapore on Stevens
Relax and recharge in the lush urban paradise at Novotel Singapore on Stevens from $180++ per night with daily breakfast for two and complimentary access to the National Orchid Garden at the UNESCO Heritage Site, Singapore Botanic Gardens. The offer also includes complimentary Wi-Fi access, complimentary shuttle bus service to and from Orchard Road, 24-hour room service and a 24-hour laundromat.

For a full list of all staycation deals at Accor branded properties, visit https://all.accor.com.

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Sister Publications
TTG Asia TTGmice TTG India TTGssociations TTG Asia Luxury
TTG Asia | Thailand pivots to regional tourism hub
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TTG Asia | BBTF 2026 to focus on gastronomy and destination readiness