Club Med will be opening its first green resort near Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia’s Sabah state, in the northern part of Borneo island late 2022.
Located at Kuala Penyu Beach, Club Med Borneo Kota Kinabalu will feature 400 rooms, including 40 luxury suites, an all-day buffet restaurant serving international cuisines which also features a gourmet lounge, an a la carte specialty restaurant, a free-flow bar, a pool bar, and children’s club facilities.
Club Med to open its first green resort near Kota Kinabalu late 2022
Also available is a full range of Club Med facilities, including up to 30 types of land and water sports activities, and excursions to discover Kota Kinabalu and Sabah.
Club Med is collaborating with owners, Sabah-based Golden Sands Beach Resort City, to create the brand’s first large-scale sustainably-built BREEAM-certified beach resort in Asia-Pacific.
Club Med has been building resorts “with a focus on minimising the environmental footprint through efficient energy consumption, treating and recycling water, promoting renewable energy sources and waste recycling techniques,” said the company in a statement.
Its partnership with the Building Research Establishment for Club Med Borneo from the outset will create a benchmark for the hotel group to construct new resorts that meet stringent BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) standards.
Wellness tourism is projected to grow from a US$639 billion industry in 2017 to US$919 in 2022, with Asia expected to be the biggest growth market valued at US$252 billion in two years’ time.
Changing wellness expectations have also gave birth to new business opportunities for wellness tourism specialists, noted Susie Ellis, chairman & CEO of Global Wellness Summit.
Wellness tourism is growing amid a rising trend towards greater health consciousness
Speaking at the opening of the event in Singapore last week, Ellis said that one prominent trend is the rise in health consciousness among stressed-out city-dwellers, which drives demand for accessible urban wellness resorts.
“Most people, when they travel, are looking for remote areas with beautiful settings and resorts. Not so much anymore, because people are living in the city and they are feeling the stress in the city so they also want to find a place in the city get their wellness experience,” she noted, citing Six Senses New York, the first urban resort for the hospitality brand, as an example.
The wellness sabbatical concept is heating up too, observed Ellis. “Wellness sabbatical is just starting out, and we are seeing people going away for a longer period, like three weeks, while still being plugged in and doing work at some level,” she said.
An example of a company that answers the needs of the wellness sabbatical concept is US-based Amble, which works with nonprofits, nature conservancies and small towns to provide unique experiences and affordable lodging to burned-out creative professionals who want to recharge and explore at the same time.
Slow walking, hiking, cycling and pilgrimages are also gaining greater traction, while spiritual seekers, consciousness explorers, and women wellness travellers will be segments to watch.
Urban air mobility solution Volocopter, which is kickstarting its trials in Singapore, has launched its first public Proof of Concept flight at noon yesterday.
Held as part of the 26th Intelligence Transport Systems World Congress from October 21-25, the Proof of Concept flight is a piloted flight taking place at The Float @ Marina Bay. The two-seater aircraft is the second generation of vehicles, called Volocity, which can fly up to 35km per ride.
(From left) Skyports’ Duncan Walker & Volocopter’s Florian Reuter at the launch of Volocopter’s first public test flight
Volocopter’s CEO Florian Reuter shared: “We follow the regulations for a high degree of safety as set by the European Authority for Aviation Safety, which are as high as those set for the commercial airlines. We want to turn our vehicles fully autonomous as soon as we can.”
He explained that although the aircraft have the capability to be fully autonomous, the concept of urban air mobility can still benefit from public acceptance and familiarity. As such, the public trials and commercial flights upon launch will be manned by a fully licensed pilot.
In anticipation of the scaling up of demand and operations, Volocopter has also signed with car partners Mercedes Benz and Didi to produce the aircraft in large quantities, said Reuter.
Along with the test flight, Volocopter also unveiled a prototype of The Volo-Port, a full-scale air taxi vertiport created in collaboration with Skyports. This hub is where passengers will be registered through biometric or traditional passport processes, clear security checks, as well as embark on their flights.
A series of these vertiports are set to pop up across the island as both companies continue to meet with various attractions and landlords in Singapore, said Duncan Walker, managing director of Skyports.
He added: “The end game is for the pricing of each ride to be comparable to a taxi ride. This is a transport solution that is meant to be for the masses. We aim to fly to places that are harder to access and are pain points of travel, and certain routes already look interesting to us – for example, getting from Marina Bay to Sentosa Island. It is possible to get a taxi, but some tourists might want to take a more scenic route.”
Over the following days, Volocopter will hold infrastructure showcases to potential destinations in Singapore, as well as mayors, politicians and regulators from other Asian cities, to pique interest in the solution.
“If we get any major buy-ins, there are many Asian cities that we are excited to go into,” said Walker.
Go-Jek CEO and co-founder Nadiem Makarim has resigned from the ride-hailing firm to join Indonesian president Joko Widodo’s new cabinet, according to a report by The Straits Times.
Group president Andre Soelistyo and the other co-founder Kevin Aluwi would take over as co-CEOs of the US$10 billion firm, the report quoted Go-Jek as saying in a statement. The firm also added that it had “planned for this possibility and there would no disruption to our business”.
Go-Jek chief Nadiem Makarim resigns to join Indonesia’s new cabinet
“The president discussed with me about human resources, bureaucratic reform and efforts to boost investment,” the report quoted Makarim as saying to reporters, adding that his cabinet post remains unspecified. Indonesian media have linked the 35-year-old, who hails from a prominent Jakarta family, to a possible cabinet post in a new digital economy ministry or in education.
Makarim’s departure from Go-Jek comes at a time when the Indonesian unicorn is pursuing funding to compete with Singapore-based rival Grab, whose biggest shareholder Softbank said in July will invest US$2 billion into Indonesia through Grab, facing off with Gojek in its home market.
Go-Jek raised over US$1 billion earlier this year from backers including Alphabet’s Google, and Chinese tech giants Tencent and JD.
Malta’s tourism arrivals have traditionally been dominated by European markets, with the UK, Germany and Italy as the forerunners. However, recent economic and political issues in Europe have spurred the island to look to the Far East to expand visitorship.
“UK arrivals have slowed because of Brexit, and Italy is facing financial problems. We want to diversify into new markets, such as Japan, South Korea, China, and Australia. We are now at 2.7 million tourists, and the biggest growth is coming from these new markets,” shared Carlo Micallef, deputy CEO & chief marketing officer of Visit Malta.
Malta looks to tap into new markets in Asia; Marsans Harbour in Valletta, Malta pictured
As part of its latest efforts to court Asians, Malta struck a partnership with Manchester United Football Club as an official destination partner. The agreement, inked in September, will see Malta being featured as the “players’ destination of choice” during the club’s events overseas, as the country is a popular holiday spot among the players and home to the oldest active Manchester United supporters’ club.
Such a partnership would be effective in Asia, where Manchester United is a household name, and can lend its star power to the destination, said Visit Malta’s manager – marketing, Xiaolong Wu.
Malta has also been added to Qatar Airways’ roster of flights, which can bring even more travellers from Asia. The destination has also signed an MoU with four Chinese tour operators.
Micallef said: “Our aim is to establish longhaul direct flights, but we must build up demand first to justify such an investment. We are not far off, because arrivals from China and Japan are growing steadily, and the number of South Koreans visiting Malta this year has tripled.” Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia are next on the agenda.
Meanwhile, Malta is also enhancing its tourism capability, such as welcoming Asian tourism students, investing in Mandarin-speaking tour guides and hospitality staff, and implementing more multilingual signage across the island.
With only a few months before downtown Hanoi is transformed into a Formula 1 street circuit, Asian Trails Vietnam has secured various deals with suppliers and accommodation providers before, during and after the first week of April next year, the DMC announced in a statement.
Hanoi’s successful bid for Vietnam Grand Prix 2020, which will take place from April 3 to 5, 2020, has led to steep increments in hotel rates in the city over this period. As the dates draw nearer, rooms and suites in the city are filling very fast, with enquiries still pouring in, said the company in a statement.
Asian Trails Vietnam sells deals around the upcoming Vietnam Grand Prix 2020
As an official ticket reseller for Vietnam Grand Prix 2020, Asian Trails Vietnam says it has been able to secure “great accommodation deals” packaged around this iconic sporting event.
The DMC added that while it is committed to work in line with submitted requests, contractual agreements during these days cannot be honoured. The company’s inbound team will continue seeking out deals for any budget.
Archipelago International, which is among Indonesia’s largest hotel management groups, has joined forces with Grab to launch GrabWheels, an on-demand e-scooter sharing rental service in the country.
Dedicated pick-up and drop-off electrical charging stations have been installed across many Archipelago hotels, encouraging hotel guests and residents alike to rent the scooters through the Grab mobile app.
Archipelago International partners Grab to launch e-scooter sharing rental service GrabWheels across its hotels in Indonesia; Grabwheels mobile bikes parked along a corridor in Singapore pictured
E-Scooters, charging stations and safety helmets are provided and fully maintained by Grab, while the Archipelago hotels provide strategic locations for the stations.
Archipelago International’s president and CEO John Flood said that the partnership is aimed at “enhancing guest experience through technological advancement while reducing the impact on the environment and making a sustainable difference in the locations where we live and work”.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) – comprising Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Oceania Cruises (OCI) and Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC) – has announced a new organisational realignment in the Asia-Pacific region.
The strategic move will provide a more distinct focus for each respective brand under the NCLH banner, and will be in alignment with the head office in Miami, following the recent appointment of Harry Sommer as president and CEO of NCL.
From left: Steve Odell, Ben Angell, and Felix Chan
The new direction will see Steve Odell spearhead the company’s upper-premium and luxury brands as senior vice president and managing director OCI and RSSC APAC, with Ben Angell as vice president and managing director NCL APAC.
Angell’s new appointment means that he will be overseeing the sales, marketing and passenger services functions for NCL across the APAC region. Reporting to Angell will be Felix Chan, vice president and general manager NCL Asia.
Meanwhile, Odell will oversee the sales, marketing and passenger services functions for OCI and RSSC across Asia-Pacific.
Odell has over 20 years of experience working with luxury brands across the Asia region. He was instrumental in establishing the luxury cruise business in Asia from his first tenure in the region in 2001 and has worked with travel partners in all the key regional markets. He was a founding board member of the Asia Cruise Association, prior to the establishment of CLIA in the region.
Reporting to Odell in Asia will be Constance Seck, director of sales OCI & RSSC South-east Asia and India; Chisato Morita, general manager OCI & RSSC Japan; and Holly Kong, director of sales OCI & RSSC North-east Asia.
Lion and dragon dance display in front of Raffles Hotel Singapore
Raffles Hotel Singapore, Accor’s flagship property which already soft-opened in August, last Friday marked its official return to the city’s hospitality scene with a grand ceremony featuring a traditional lion dance ritual and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The official reopening of the iconic hotel, which is owned by Qatar-based Katara Hospitality, was graced by guests from Singapore’s business and cultural community.
Raffles Hotel Singapore Official Opening Ceremony
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Lion and dragon dance display in front of Raffles Hotel Singapore
Raffles Hotel Singapore representatives cutting the ribbon at the hotel’s official opening ceremony
Raffles Hotel Singapore representatives cutting the ribbon at the hotel’s official opening ceremony (Pictured; from left: Raffles Hotel Singapore’s Amy Ang, Accor Asia- Pacific’s Michael Issenberg, Raffles Hotel Singapore’s Jennifer Tan, Katara Hospitality’s Andrew Humphries, Accor’s Sébastien Bazin, Raffles Hotel Singapore’s Christian Westbeld, Raffles Hotel Singapore’s Lyna Lim, and Raffles Hotel Singapore’s Jesmine Hall)
Dragon dance performance
Homegrown singer, Kit Chan, performing with the children’s choir from CHIJ Kellock
As part of the hotel’s reopening celebrations, Raffles Hotel Singapore held a fundraising festival, with all proceeds going to non-profit organisation, Community Chest Singapore, benefitting about 80 charities.
The reopening event also featured performances by homegrown singer Kit Chan, indie-pop band The Sam Willows, singer-songwriter Inch Chua, and musician Jeremy Monteiro alongside a jazz quartet and singer Alemay Fernandez. Suite activities and curated culinary experiences also took place around the property.
Accor’s chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin said that the return of this flagship property to Raffles Hotel and Resorts paves the way for the brand’s expansion to new destinations like Udaipur, London and Boston.
The restoration of the historic property, which was led by interior designer Alexandra Champalimaud and supported by architecture and design firm Aedas Singapore, sees the addition of new suite categories, lifestyle experiences and exclusive dining concepts to the hotel.
The revitalised Raffles Singapore, which sees the addition of 12 new suites, offers all-suite accommodations across nine categories: State Room Suites, Courtyard Suites, Palm Court Suites, Personality Suites, Residence Suites, Promenade Suites, Studio Suites, Grand Hotel Suites and Presidential Suites. Residence, Promenade and Studio suites are the latest additions to the hotel’s existing line-up.
The Raffles Arcade has been newly outfitted with Raffles Boutique and various bespoke retail brands. F&B options at the hotel include restaurants headed by Michelin-starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic; French master chef Alain Ducasse; and Singaporean chef Jereme Leung, known for his innovative Chinese cooking. The refreshed Long Bar also features the hotel’s most famous cocktail, the original Singapore Sling.
Its name may not ring a bell yet among Asian travellers and trade members, but Azerbaijan’s tourism leaders are keen to change that by launching a destination awareness campaign worldwide, including in South-east Asia.
Azerbaijan Tourism Board is making its debut presence at ITB Asia this year, led by CEO Florian Sengstschmid to explore collaborative opportunities with Asia’s travel agencies and encourage travellers to explore the country’s rich blend of modernity and antiquity through its ‘Take Another Look’ campaign.
Azerbaijan is stepping up destination promotion efforts to attract more Asian travellers to the country; Flames Towers in Baku, Azerbaijan pictured
“Our main objective is to put Azerbaijan on the map,” Sengstschmid told the Daily. “After that, the second step is to activate events in Azerbaijan to increase trade engagement.”
In 2018, Azerbaijan welcomed 2.8 million international visitors, while the projection has been raised to four million by 2023. “This will put us at 10 per cent growth each year,” said Sengstschmid.
In Asia, China and India are biggest visitor source markets, while South Korea and Japan are posting strong increase in overnights. ATB is set to open a marketing office in Seoul later this year.
For South-east Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are on the radar for ATB, as outbound travellers from these three markets are on the rise and Singapore travellers, in particular, are keen to seek out new places, noted Sengstschmid.
Most recently, Azerbaijan implemented a simplified new electronic visa procedure to allow visitors to easily obtain a visa when travelling to the country. Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are eligible for visa upon arrival, while Thailand and Vietnam are eligible for the e-visa system.
However, Sengstchmid recognises that Azerbaijan is still “too new” to be promoted as a standalone destination, therefore a more effective strategy is to co-market the country in the Caucasus region with neighbouring Georgia.
Destination promotion efforts for Azerbaijan are still nascent, admitted the NTO chief, coming after the former Soviet state looked to tourism as a new economic revenue generator following sharp declines in global oil prices in recent years. ATB too, he said, was only founded a year and a half ago in 2018.
Despite being a newcomer on the global tourism scene, Azerbaijan’s transport and hospitality infrastructure and hospitality is already well developed, courtesy of its oil industry, said Sengstschmid.
The country is there already home to international luxury hotel brands like JW Marriott, Four Seasons and Hilton, although the country’s surging interest in tourism is also attracting hospitality players to invest in wider segments across the sector, according to Martin Kleinmann, president of Azerbaijan Hotel Association. “Everybody is there and eager to grow,” he said.
