Elena Nazarovici has been appointed as director of sales at The Sanchaya.
Elena joins The Sanchaya from The Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, Maldives, where she spent two and a half years, having joined the team as sales manager and working her way up to director of sales & marketing.
With more than 15 years of global experience in the hospitality industry, she has also cut her teeth at Domina Coral Bay Hotel, Resort, Spa and Casino in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; as well as InterContinental Doha the City in Doha, Qatar.
Singapore’s travel agencies are scrambling to adapt to sliding demand, as industry titan Singapore Airlines (SIA) pulled a hefty roster of flights connecting to destinations such as Frankfurt, London, Paris, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, Bangkok and Jakarta.
The temporary measure, which affects both SIA and SilkAir flights, is meant to cushion the blow from “weak demand as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak”, said the airline in a statement on February 18.
Singapore travel agencies muse initiatives to cushion the impact after Singapore Airlines cut flights across its network
This announcement has caused a ripple effect across Singapore’s outbound travel industry.
While the airlines will provide alternative flights to customers whose bookings are affected, Dynasty Travel will have to reshuffle some of its itineraries to accommodate the changes, explained Alicia Seah, the travel agency’s director, public relations & communications.
Meanwhile, boutique tour platform Seek Sophie is offering free date changes for booked trips, an easier cancellation process and automatic refunds.
“If such changes are outside the local businesses’ policy, Seek Sophie will cover the costs so that the local businesses don’t suffer even more losses,” said Jacinta Lim, the platform’s co-founder, which works with sustainable in-destination operators.
She added: “We definitely understand from a business perspective why SIA and SilkAir decided to thin their flights – but we hope that by doing so, this does not cause more uncertainty to travellers’ plans. We really hope that other travel companies will come up with their own initiatives to help travellers out during this tough time.”
These measures are expected to persist as the industry weathers a worsening storm.
At press time, Dynasty Travel reported a slowdown in sales by 40 to 50 per cent, while Seek Sophie registered a dip of 10 to 15 per cent in bookings, with a five per cent increase in rescheduling and cancellations. In addition, DMC Diethelm Travel (Singapore) stated that it has received more cancellations than rescheduling for longhaul trips to Singapore.
“As the travel demand is weak, we are bracing for a slowdown in the first quarter and probably into 2Q2020. The majority of customers who have not booked their holidays will adopt a ‘wait-and-watch’ approach until the current situation stabilises, which we hope will be by May or June 2020,” shared Seah.
In preparation for demand to eventually pick up again, agencies are exploring potential recovery measures. Seah revealed that Dynasty Travel is planning to launch collaborations “sometime in March” with destinations that have not been significantly affected by Covid-19, such as Australia, New Zealand, the US, Dubai and Europe.
Diethelm Travel is also awaiting an “all clear” by the World Health Organisation to launch a recovery campaign, aimed at enticing clients to rebook travel to Singapore.
“We are also asking hotels to provide specials to agency staff, so we can invite them to Singapore and instil confidence in them to promote Singapore,” said Judy Lum, Diethelm’s general manager.
The Singapore government will throw a lifeline to businesses and staff who have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, and this will come in the form of financial assistance and additional relief for the hardest-hit sectors of tourism and transport.
Finance minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his Budget speech on Tuesday (February 18) that the government will earmark S$4 billion (US$2.8 billion) this year to help stabilise Singapore’s economy and tide workers and businesses through the economic slowdown.
Singapore government grants US$2.8 billion to aid businesses in these challenging times
Heng also announced additional aid for the tourism, aviation, retail, food services and point-to-point transport services sectors, as they have been directly affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, according to The Straits Times.
Redeployment programmes will help employers in these sectors retain and re-skill workers, while the funding period for re-skilling will be extended from three months to a maximum of six months, said the report.
More than 330,000 local workers are expected to benefit from this programme, and the Jobs Support Scheme.
As well, a property tax rebate of 30 per cent will be granted for the year 2020 for the accommodation and function room components of licensed hotels and serviced apartments, as well as prescribed MICE venues.
International cruise and regional ferry terminals will receive a 15 per cent property tax rebate, while Singapore’s two integrated resorts will receive a rebate of 10 per cent.
A year-long temporary bridging loan programme will be introduced to provide financial aid to tourism businesses.
The loan limit per company will be S$1 million, while the interest rate will be capped at five per cent. The Government will take on 80 per cent of the risk of the loan.
Furthermore, the aviation sector will receive rebates on aircraft landing and parking charges, on top of rental rebates for shops and cargo agents at Changi Airport.
Changi Airport will receive a 15 per cent property tax rebate.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its regional subsidiary, SilkAir, will temporarily reduce flights across its global network in the next three months to May, due to weak demand as a result of the coronavirus epidemic.
Affected destinations include Frankfurt, Jakarta, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Paris, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo, according to two travel advisories on the SIA and SilkAir Facebook pages.
Singapore Airlines cuts flights due to weak demand amid the Covid-19 epidemic
“We will continue to monitor the situation and make further adjustments as necessary,” the carrier stated in the same post, and affected customers will be notified and re-accommodated onto other flights.
The latest move follows major flight cuts by SIA to mainland China and Hong Kong.
Demand on flights to South Korea and Japan has been the hardest hit after China, according to DBS analyst Paul Yong who quoted SIA’s management team during a results briefing to analysts on Monday, reported Channel NewsAsia.
Currently, Singapore’s tally of 81 cases of the virus is the second-highest outside of China, after Japan. Last week, the Singapore Tourism Board projected visitor arrivals this year to fall by about 25 to 30 per cent due to the outbreak.
Khiri Travel has become the first DMC in South-east Asia to be Travelife certified across all its offices.
In the last few days, Khiri Travel’s operations in Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos earned Travelife certifications for the first time, joining offices in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar which retained existing certification over the last few months.
Khiri Travel gains Travelife certification across all its offices
Travelife certification is awarded to tour operators after rigorous systems, policy and procedure checks onsite by Travelife auditors. The three-stage Travelife process acknowledges the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development CSR guidelines, which include labour conditions, human rights, environmental responsibilities, biodiversity and fair business practices across the company and its supply chains.
Khiri Travel CEO Herman Hoven said: “With full Travelife certification in all our destinations, clients can rest assured that they are working with a responsible operator who cares about the bigger picture and has the processes and metrics in place to prove it.”
Khiri Travel was one of the first DMCs in Asia to be Travelife certified in 2015. Since then, Khiri has been a proactive supporter of the responsible tourism agenda advanced by Travelife, leading DMCs and PATA through its Tour Operators’ Sustainability Working Group.
The Travelife standard for tour operators is also formally recognised by the UN-supported Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
Commenting on Khiri Travel’s full accreditation in seven destinations, Naut Kusters, general manager of tour operators and travel agents for Travelife, said: “I am delighted that Khiri Travel continues to be a front runner in sustainability. Khiri has always been willing to share its experience and enthusiasm with other companies, for example, through PATA’s working groups.”
Kusters believes sector-wide engagement can become a turning point for the tourism industry in Asia.
“By working together, leading DMCs can set industry standards and positively influence the behaviour of suppliers,” he said.
Booking.com has announced the finalists of its 2020 Technology Playmaker Awards, which recognises and celebrates women who are transforming businesses, industries, and communities through technology and inspiring the next generation of female technology leaders.
This year’s finalists include a software developer leading a “coding caravan” that teaches programming to girls in Kyrgyzstan; the founder of an online educational platform that promotes financial inclusion among girls and women in Argentina; and an organisation that aims to coordinate the international technology community’s response to the needs of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people.
Winners of Booking.com’s 2020 Technology Playmaker Awards will be unveiled at an awards ceremony next month
This year’s shortlist consists of 45 finalists across nine categories representing 20 countries, including Australia, Bolivia, Japan, India, Nigeria, the UAE, and the UK.
Collectively, their contributions range from technology innovations in MedTech and female health, renewal energy, fintech and digital payments, to creating opportunities for women technology entrepreneurs and women-impact startups, and elevating the discussion surrounding diversity and inclusion in technology to new levels.
“Each of this year’s finalists has demonstrated outstanding achievements in technology, whether through innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, business leadership and community impact, mentorship and inspiration for the next generation, or the pursuit of greater inclusivity. Whether from emerging economies or more established tech epicenters, these women technologists and advocates for diversity, are joined together by a remarkable talent and optimism for what the future of the tech sector will bring,” said Gillian Tans, chairwoman of Booking.com.
Winners will be chosen by an esteemed 14-member judging panel and thereafter be announced at an awards ceremony on March 26, 2020 in London.
Macau’s casinos will reopen for business on Thursday, as the 15-day shutdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 comes to an end.
However, the South China Morning Post reported that the order will remain for other entertainment premises such as pubs, karaoke bars, cinemas and steam rooms.
Macau’s casinos to reopen for business on Thursday after coronavirus shutdown
Secretary for economy and finance Lei Wai-nong said the closure order would not be extended and casino operators had 30 days to return to full business.
As part of safety precautions, casino visitors would be required to wear a mask and have their temperature checked at the entrance.
The closure was put in place on February 5 to curb the coronavirus after it was found that two casino workers were among the ten infected cases in Macau.
Macau has not reported any new cases of the virus since February 4.
Macau lawmaker Au Kam-san was quoted by the report as saying that the lifting of the closure order of casinos was expected. “Gaming industry is too important to Macau. The government could not afford to let it close for too long. There could also be pressure from the casino operators because they are still paying the staff while the casinos are closed.”
There are 39 casinos in Macau and the gaming sector employs more than 56,000 people, some eight per cent of the city’s population, according to the report.
The closure marks the longest-ever shutdown of gambling activities in Macau since 1999, and the second such suspension, after Typhoon Mangkhut caused a 33-hour shutdown of Macau’s casino industry in 2018
Singapore-headquartered The Lux Collective has signed two new hotels in Dali and Pu’er that will be located along the ancient Tea Horse Road, once a famed trade route through Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet.
Opening in 1Q2021, Lux* Tea Horse Road Dali will nestle at the base of the Cang mountain range, offering views of the famed Erhai Lake. The 180-room resort will be within walking distance of the Dali Ancient Town and part of the Yue Shan Hai project comprising residential and retail facilities.
Lux* Tea Horse Road Pu’er is slated to open in 1Q2021
Opening later in the same year, the 50-room Lux* Tea Horse Road Pu’er will be part of a mixed-use complex that will also feature several amusement parks, natural hot spring, wellness club as well as high-end residential villas.
Travelport has signed new multi-year content agreements with Regional Express, Solomon Airlines, Air Vanuatu, Samoa Airways and Air Tahiti Nui, which will provide the airlines continued support from its technologies and solutions.
“We are delighted to continue the collaboration with Travelport, which has been a trustworthy partner of ours. The pioneering platform and solutions of Travelport have provided strong support for our growth and we look forward to commencing the new phase of our partnership,” said Brett Gebers, CEO of Solomon Airlines.
Travelport renews partnership with five airlines in the Pacific region, including Samoa Airways
“The increasing appeal of the Pacific to global travellers has given us great confidence to further explore this region. We already have a strong presence in Australia and New Zealand, and have been gradually expanding our ties with Pacific Island airlines. We believe the ongoing or planned fleet renewal and infrastructure development by these carriers will significantly rejuvenate the regional tourism sector,” added Chris Ramm, vice president, Asia Pacific, Air Partners at Travelport.
Travelport’s technologies and solutions enable more than 68,000 agencies worldwide serving hundreds of millions of people to search, book and sell air content and inventory.
NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organisation, and Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development (ATEED) have signed a city-to-city tourism agreement, which will boost the tourist flow between both countries.
The two-year agreement, which was formalised on February 17 at an industry ceremony at Ōrākei Marae in Auckland, will enable both companies to cross promote their respective destinations and boost visitorship through reciprocal marketing and promotion.
New York City signs tourism partnership with Auckland
The agreement will cover the five boroughs of New York City to the four corners of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, encouraging each destinations’ communities to connect through storytelling, ideas, business opportunities, and contacts.
The new tourism partnership between New York City and Auckland comes as Air New Zealand (ANZ) prepares to launch a new direct service between the two destinations, beginning in October 2020.
ANZ chief strategy, network and alliances officer Nick Judd said: “Our non-stop flight will cut travel time by around three hours, putting New Zealand in easy reach of New York and the Eastern Seaboard.”
The partnership also demonstrates the respective destinations’ commitment to leading global change around economic, environmental and social sustainability, with a focus on sustainable and responsible tourism.
ATEED chief executive Nick Hill said: “Like New York, Auckland is committed to addressing the challenges of climate change and this commitment will ensure that the growth in visitor numbers enriches our region beyond the economic benefit, helping us protect and improve our environment, our unique identity and cultural heritage, and quality of life.”
