Once opened to Muslim pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia has made tourist visas available to non-religious travellers for the first time as part of its move to diversify its economy away from oil.
Obtainable via Saudi embassies and consulates across the world, the tourist visa allows for a stay in the country of up to three months (90 days). It will be valid for one year, with multiple entries allowed. The cost of applying for an e-visa or a visa on arrival is 440 riyals (US$117) plus VAT.
Saudi Arabia has made tourist visas available to non-religious travellers for the first time (Pictured: Aerial view of Riyadh downtown in Saudi Arabia)
In addition, citizens from 49 countries will also be able to apply for an e-visa online or obtain a visa on arrival into Saudi Arabia. A dedicated online portal at visitsaudi.com has been launched and electronic kiosks are available at airports.
The 49 countries eligible for e-visas or visas on arrival include the US, the UK, China, Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Japan. The e-visa scheme will be extended to other countries in due course.
Foreign female visitors are exempted from wearing the obligatory head-to-toe abaya robe, but they will still be required to dress modestly. Mecca, meanwhile, remains off-limits for non-Muslims.
Opening Saudi Arabia to tourism is a key milestone in the implementation of Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil.
In the first phase of the programme, from 2019 to 2022, the focus will be on attracting first-time visitors to discover Saudi. The second phase of the program, from 2022 onwards, will focus on enticing visitors to experience Saudi.
As part of phase one, over 20 new tourist sites will be developed, while phase two will see several massive projects will come online, including Neom, Amaala, the Red Sea Project, Al-Ula, Qiddiyah and Ad-Diriyah.
By 2030, the aim is for tourism to contribute up to 10 per cent of the country’s GDP, compared to just three per cent today; as well as achieve 100 million international and domestic overnight visits a year.
Singapore is on course to close out 2019 with record high hotel transaction volumes of S$2.5 billion (US$1.8 billion), buoyed by increasing tourist arrivals, infrastructure developments and limited hotel supply, according to JLL.
The latest research from the global real estate consulting firm reveals that Singapore’s hospitality industry has seen an uptick in properties changing hands, including the sale of existing assets and land sites, totalling approximately S$1.7 billion so far this year.
Hotel investment sales in Singapore in 2019 likely to hit new high at US$1.8 billion: JLL
“Despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, there remains a strong weight of global capital seeking opportunities in what our investors perceive as safe haven destinations. As a key global gateway city, Singapore remains high on our clients’ radar, largely supported by its positive trading performance, strong visitor arrivals and new tourism initiatives,” explained Nihat Ercan, managing director, head of investment sales Asia, JLL Hotels & Hospitality.
In September, JLL advised OUE in an agreement to sell Oakwood Premier OUE Singapore at S$289 million – the largest hotel transaction in Singapore to date this year. The buyers are joint venture firms formed by Hong Kong financial services firm AMTD Group and hotel operator Dorsett Hospitality International, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed property giant Far East Consortium International.
“This deal represents the unwavering investor confidence in Singapore. The city’s hotel sector remains resilient with average room rates per night and occupancy levels staying positive. Notably, occupancy registered at 93.8 per cent in July 2019, the highest monthly level since 2005,” said Ercan.
With the island nation attracting more than 11.1 million visitors in the first seven months of 2019, tourism is expected to continue to support hotel trading performance. Major inbound source markets showing notable year-on-year growth during the period include China (+5.2 per cent), Japan (+7.3 per cent), the Philippines (+6.0 per cent) and the US (+11.5 per cent), according to Singapore Tourism Board’s latest figures.
The local government has also put in place several infrastructure developments, including plans to introduce new attractions at the Greater Southern Waterfront, the expansion of Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, as well as a new ecotourism hub in Mandai, and an integrated tourism development at Jurong Lake District.
“The overall outlook for Singapore’s tourism sector is positive and the hotel market is expected to benefit from the robust supply and demand fundamentals in the short to medium term,” said Adam Bury, senior vice president, investment sales Asia, JLL Hotels & Hospitality.
He concluded: “In the long term, we foresee that the government’s strategies and infrastructure investments will support Singapore as a desirable destination for tourists as well as attract investors seeking stable secure capital appreciation.”
Thailand, Japan and Singapore have topped Hotelbeds’ list of the top 10 destinations for Chinese outbound tourists during the seven-day Chinese National Day holiday period starting October 1.
According to the global bedbank’s booking data, five of the top 10 international destinations this year are Asian, but non-Asian destinations are growing in popularity too. Thailand tops the list, followed by Japan, Singapore, the US, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, the UK and Australia.
Non-Asian destinations such as the US is growing in popularity among Chinese travellers during National Day holiday (Pictured: Grand Teton National Park near Jackson Wyoming in the US)
In 2017, there were only two non-Asian destination countries – the US and Italy – on the list of the top 10 China outbound destinations. In 2018, the number of non-Asian destinations increased to four – the US, Italy, France, and Spain – and this year, that number has increased to five.
Chinese travellers are also travelling to a wider range of countries, with Chinese bookings through Hotelbeds totalling 113 different countries during the National Day holiday period, up from 106 in 2017 and 111 in 2018.
Hotelbeds’ managing director Carlos Muñoz said: “Every year, the Golden Week period drives a surge in hotel ADRs and increases volumes of travel bookings significantly, especially in those top destinations for Chinese travellers.”
He added: “Aside from the traditionally popular destinations for Chinese travellers such as Thailand, this year, we are thrilled to see high demand from Chinese travellers to visit non-Asian destinations, such as the US, the UK, Italy and Spain, with total booking for us via 113 different countries around the world.”
To cater to China’s fast-growing outbound tourist market, Hotelbeds recently hired a new China managing director to grow its fourth biggest source market.
China National Day holiday, also known as Golden Week, is a seven-day national holiday in China that takes place from October 1 to 7. This holiday season was introduced in the year 2000 to help boost domestic tourism and to allow families to make long journeys to visit relatives.
According to the China National Tourism Administration, a total of seven million Chinese mainland tourists travelled aboard during the seven-day National Day holiday in 2018.
Radisson Hotel Group has signed its “biggest hotel management deal in 2019 in Australasia” to enter New Zealand with four new hotels comprising 777 keys and covering three brands, namely, Radisson Blu, Radisson Red and Park Inn by Radisson.
Four agreements with subsidiaries of NZ Horizons and Remarkables Hotel, the privately-owned companies specialising in hotel development in New Zealand’s South Island, will lead to the launch of brand new Radisson Blu and Radisson Red hotels in Queenstown, and Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson hotels at Lake Tekapo.
A rendering of Radisson Blu Resort Lake Tekapo, which is one of four hotels the hospitality group will be opening in New Zealand
Slated to open in 2021 and 2022, the four new properties will add a total of 777 rooms to New Zealand’s hospitality sector.
In Queenstown, Radisson Blu Hotel Queenstown, Remarkables Park and Radisson Red Queenstown, Remarkables Park will sit side by side in a new low-rise development, which will be close to the city’s international airport and within walking distance to a planned convention centre and the proposed cable car that will directly connect to the Remarkables ski fields.
The 171-key Radisson Blu Hotel Queenstown, Remarkables Park will house facilities like an executive lounge, F&B outlets, a fitness centre and an event space, whereas the 257-room Radisson Red Queenstown, Remarkables Park will feature an art-inspired lobby, F&B outlets, a 24-hour fitness centre and meeting spaces. Both properties are scheduled to open in 4Q2022.
In Lake Tekapo, a new low-rise hotel complex will host the 112-room Park Inn by Radisson Lake Tekapo, which is on track to open in 2Q2021, and the 237-room Radisson Blu Resort Lake Tekapo, which will follow in 4Q2022.
The Radisson Blu resort will feature facilities such as an executive lounge, multiple restaurants and bars, a fitness centre, spa, heated indoor swimming pool, and conference and banqueting space.
The two Queenstown hotels are being developed by Remarkables Hotel while the Lake Tekapo properties are being created by Tekapo Lake Resort and Tekapo Sky Hotel, both subsidiaries of NZ Horizons.
Like Sabre, Travelport has also implemented Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) KrisConnect programme – the airline’s initiative to leverage IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard.
Damian Hickey, global vice president & global head of air travel partners, briefed representatives of around 200 agencies on Travelport’s NDC implementation roadmap for SIA at the recent launch of the airline’s expanded KrisConnect programme in Singapore.
Travelport has implemented SIA’s KrisConnect programme
He also offered a preview of the intuitive new NDC-enabled process which agencies can soon expect, as Travelport prepares to launch the next phase of its NDC delivery.
“As one of the first Asian airlines to begin exploring new distribution capabilities, we are very pleased to have been working hand-in-hand with SIA since the the start of its journey,” Hickey said.
“Close collaboration with the agency community is crucial to the smooth delivering of a complex process like NDC; and we will continue to partner SIA and the wider travel industry to deliver to travellers an elevated, personalised booking experience.”
Since KrisConnect was first launched in late 2018, Travelport has been working extensively with SIA to integrate its NDC content, ahead of general availability from April 2020.
Functionality is expected to be launched through Travelport’s NDC-enabled points-of-sale, starting with initial pilots with a small group of agency customers in the coming months.
Agencies connecting to KrisConnect through Travelport will gain access to customised offerings that are tailored to customers’ needs and preferences. SIA will also offer agencies a wider range of fares and other content come April 2020. All of this will be delivered through an intuitive, user-friendly interface integrated into the Travelport systems they are already familiar with, said the travel technology company.
Norwegian Cruise Line has debuted Six, the critically-acclaimed British pop musical about Henry VIII’s six wives, on board Norwegian Bliss, Breakaway and Getaway beginning this month.
From Tudor queens to pop princesses, Six is a historical retelling of Henry VIII’s six wives. Each leading lady takes centrestage to share her personal story and reclaim her identity. Remixing 500 years of heartbreak into a celebration of 21st century girl power, the production features lively performances and music by an all-female band.
British pop musical Six debuts on Norwegian Cruise Line
From its premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 to its recently announced debut at the Brooks Atkinson on Broadway in spring 2020, the musical was written by aspiring young playwrights Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss and produced by Andy and Wendy Barnes of the Global Musicals theatre company, songwriter George Stiles, West End producer Kenny Wax and Broadway impresario Kevin McCollum.
Six had performed on Norwegian Bliss on September 1, 2019, and will be followed by Norwegian Breakaway on November 10, 2019 and Norwegian Getaway on April 23, 2020.
Vietnam-based hospitality group Fusion has appointed Aye Mon to the role of group spa director.
In this newly-created role, she will oversee and expand Fusion’s wellness concept throughout Vietnam, working closely with resort and spa managers to develop the brand’s all-spa-inclusive concept that sits at the heart of its wellness ethos.
Aye first joined the group in 2016 as spa director for the Cam Ranh destination, taking responsibility for the resort spa’s beauty, health and wellness programmes, and guiding a team of therapists and treatment specialists. She was then promoted to executive assistant manager at Fusion Resort Cam Ranh, and was responsible for the resort’s daily operations.
She boasts more than a decade of industry experience with companies including Sofitel Wanda Beijing, Anantara Spa in the Maldives and Doha, and InterContinental Asiana in Saigon.
To keep or not to keep? Such is the quandary that is facing Madhavan Menon, chairman & managing director of Thomas Cook India (TCIL), as he mulls a brand name change for the India-based company in the wake of Thomas Cook’s fall announced earlier this week.
Calling the past few days one of the “toughest” days in his career due to the association with the iconic Thomas Cook brand, Menon had to embark on a communication blitz in the immediate wake of UK-based firm’s collapse to clarify and reiterate the separate ownership of TCIL since the latter’s acquisition by Fairfax Financial Holdings in August 2012.
Thomas Cook India’s Madhavan Menon faces a brand name quandary in the wake of Thomas Cook UK’s demise, even though the two entities are separate
“It’s been some of the toughest days that I’ve faced, because obviously by association (most people) will tie us to Thomas Cook UK. It’s very unfortunate but when I look at it, I think ‘thank god we got out seven years ago’,” said Menon, speaking to TTG Asia on the sidelines of yesterday’s TTG Travel Awards in Bangkok, where Menon was in attendance to receive an award for TCIL in the category of the best travel agency in India.
Yet, the contrast between the fortunes – not to mention future – of the two Thomas Cook entities could not be more stark.
While the beleaguered Thomas Cook Group needed to service a massive 1.7 billion pound (US$2.1 billion) debt pile until its ultimate liquidation early Monday morning, TCIL is in a “financially secure” position, the company said in a statement earlier this week.
Still, Menon sees the loss of iconic brand names from the global tourism industry as “a major disaster”. He said: “Thomas Cook is a name that is 178 years old and it’s suddenly gone. And in all probability, we will be the only Thomas Cook left.”
But that’s where the astute travel business leader also sees an opportunity, especially as other Thomas Cook subsidiaries in Europe hang in balance.
While challenging the last couple of days might had been for Menon, the days ahead are unlikely to be any easier for Menon as he evaluates the options of whether to keep the Thomas Cook brand name.
“The reality is that we have heritage and pedigree behind us,” he said. “I keep telling myself, with 138 years in India the brand equity is huge. In one month’s time, or perhaps even 10 day’s time, people will stop talking about Thomas Cook and maybe there’s an opportunity. I don’t know, but I don’t want to lose out on it.”
Menon recounts to TTG Asia why he senses an “opportunity” when he received the award from TTG Asia Media’s Darren Ng (left) and Pierre Quek (right) on stage. He said: “When Darren said to me, ‘you’re the *only Thomas Cook that survives!’, to me that’s a positive thing, that many people out there must be wondering the same thing. The reality is out there there is an opportunity.” [*Editor’s note: In Asia, there’s still Thomas Cook China]The company, as a brand licensee, has use of the Thomas Cook name until 2024, but “a complete brand name transition plan” is already lying in wait for the past eight months, according to Menon, and that could be implemented any time a decision is made.
“So the decision we need to make today is whether to make the brand transition today, or do I wait one year to make the brand transition. I think there are a lot of factors that have to be evaluated – what’s the damage to the brand, how quickly will people forget it and move on, etc. We have to figure out all these things at the moment,” said Menon.
Whichever name that TCIL ultimately takes, Menon sees far greater importance – and opportunity – in how it “reprojects” itself from a legacy company into “an experiences company”.
He added: “Today’s travel is changing so fast with OTAs, the Oyos and Airbnbs of the world, but we believe we have a segment which is package tours and that is where we play our role. We’re in the DMC business, which is a little bit more uncertain because they depend on source markets to aggregate and give business for them, but I genuinely believe we sell experiences and don’t do anything else.”
So, for a businessman who prides himself on rational decision making, where does he stand on the Thomas Cook brand retention?
“My heart tells me hold me to hold on to the brand, but my brain tells me to research and not make a decision yet. I’ve got a market research company and brand evaluation company looking at it – this all happened in the last 48 hours,” Menon stated.
“I need data to tell me. If I get data and I make a decision, right or wrong I’ll never regret it. But if I make a decision on a hunch, I guarantee that if something goes wrong I’ll blame myself for it,” he added.
“Perhaps one or two years from now, you will still see us calling ourselves Thomas Cook India. Who knows?”
It’s been a week of apprehension for many inbound tourism players in Indonesia after demonstrations broke out in Jakarta to demand lawmakers to halt the passage of controversial bills.
Australia issued an official travel advice in response to the recent gathering of hundreds of thousands of Indonesian students to protest against changes to controversial bills including one that would criminalise extramarital sex – something seen by travel trade players as a potential threat to Indonesia’s tourism industry.
Street rallies led by student protestors in Jakarta have prompted safety concerns among foreign visitors to the city
On its official Smartraveller page, the Australian government wrote: “We’ve updated our travel advice to include new information about possible future changes to Indonesia’s criminal code… We haven’t changed the level of our advice – ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ in Indonesia, including Bali.”
The Australian government has advised its citizens to monitor the local media for information about possible new safety or security threats, to check with hotels, tour guides or employers about local safety and security concerns, and to avoid known flashpoints, such as protest areas.
Like Australia, the US has strongly advised its citizens to avoid protest areas where demonstrations are occurring and to exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings or protests.
The US Embassy & Consulates in Indonesia’s official website also contains a warning to travellers to be aware of their surroundings and to keep a low profile.
In Jakarta, the rally resulted in clashes between the police and the protesters but the protest area was contained to the House of Representatives compound in Senayan, with the majority of the capital unaffected, without public facilities suffering major damages.
But the university student rally, which kicked off on Tuesday, caused anxiety among inbound travel agents. Anita Utami, sales manager of Dwi Tour Jakarta Branch, said that on that day, her travel agent partner in Japan called her continuously, bombarding her with questions about safety issues in Jakarta as her Japanese guests were scheduled to transit in Jakarta and stay in a hotel near the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
“I told them, ‘Don’t worry. It is safe as the protest area is very far from the airport’,” she said.
According to Dwi, 75 per cent of her inbound clients visit Indonesia for business and 25 per cent for leisure. None of them made cancellations due to the rally, she said. But she expressed concern that although the rally only took place in a small part of the city, it could potentially deter travel to the country due to misunderstandings caused by heightened media coverage over the student protests.
Hasiyanna Ashadi, managing director of Marintur Indonesia and chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) Jakarta chapter, expects Tourism Ministry’s Tourism Crisis Center (TCC) to take action during the staging of rallies in Indonesia. According to her observation, the centre only operates in certain conditions, such as natural disasters and terror attacks.
She said that the TCC could assist inbound tourists and people from outside Indonesia in obtaining useful information about demonstrations, including the location of protests, so that they would not be misinformed that the political unrest is happening across the entire capital city.
“Jakarta is a big city. I don’t want the city’s tourism to collapse entirely because people think that rallies are (happening) everywhere,” said Hasiyanna.
With leisure travellers making up 80 per cent of total inbound arrivals to the country, Marintur’s guests stayed calmed this week, according to Hasiyanna. She, however, hopes that the Criminal Code rally will not persist like the anti-former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama rallies two years ago.
Hasiyanna, whose clients are mostly from Europe, recalled that the Ahok rally made people scared to visit Jakarta because it happened several times, noting that it caused the number of her inbound visitors to decline by 10 per cent at that time.
Jongki Adiyasa, executive director of Ina Leisure Tour & Travel, said that Jakarta and Bandung were the most favourite destinations for his guests who were mostly families from the Middle East. The rally in Jakarta, however, did not cause them to postpone or cancel their trips.
“The tourism industry is facing difficult times right now, not only in Indonesia but also in other countries. Even our big brother like Thomas Cook collapsed. I hope (protestors) think twice before they take to the streets. If this rally continues, it will make potential inbound tourists reluctant to visit,” he said.
Pirantie Basa, director of sales of Harris Vertu & Yello Hotels Harmoni, said that the demonstrations did not affect her business as it happened far from her hotel.
She expects the rally to end soon. If it continues, she hopes that the protesters do not move to the areas around the State Palace, which is closer to her hotel.
“When post-presidential election protests escalated in the middle of this year, we lost residential meetings worth hundreds of million rupiah in one day just because of a rally in front of the Constitutional Court (MK) and General Election Commission (KPU). Streets leading to our hotel were blocked, and many made cancellations at that time,” she said.
Pirantie, therefore, welcomes President Joko Widodo’s plan to move Indonesia’s centre of administration to East Kalimantan and retain Jakarta as the financial capital. If it becomes a reality, business people in Jakarta will no longer be affected negatively by political rallies directed at the government or lawmakers, he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story wrote that the students were protesting against changes to a corruption law, which is non-existent. They were protesting against controversial bills.
Hyatt Hotels has rolled out Caption by Hyatt, a new select service lifestyle brand “designed to inspire personal connection” through “comfortable, flexible and communal spaces”.
Caption by Hyatt hotels will be anchored by a distinctive F&B experience that will be a mash-up between café, market and bar. Hotels under this brand will feature all-day drinks and sharable snacks, spaces designed for guests to plug in anywhere, flexible and multi-purpose spaces for lounging and small events, as well as a rotating calendar of DIY and hosted events, from trunk shows to local beer tastings.
Distinctive F&B experiences will anchor hotels under Caption by Hyatt, a new select service lifestyle brand introduced by Hyatt
Hyatt’s vice president of global brands Heather Geisler said: “At Hyatt, we believe in the power of personal connection. By listening to our guests, we know that whether they are traveling alone or with a friend, they are looking to connect with others in an environment that is authentic and approachable.”
“We intend for the Caption by Hyatt brand to be a global growth driver domestically and internationally in dense urban markets, emerging neighbourhoods and high foot traffic areas,” said Jim Chu, global head of development for Hyatt.
“We believe the brand is primed for strong growth as it can flex and adapt to suit the needs of different locations and markets and can offer a more sustainable approach to design and operations.”
