Myanmar Tourism Marketing (MTM) and the Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF) have signed an MoU with Myanmar model-actor Paing Takhon to collaborate on a number of market development initiatives to encourage more Thai tourists to Myanmar.
Paing Takhon was also appointed by MTM in a year-long role as Myanmar’s tourism ambassador to promote the country among the youth population in Thailand.
MTM has appointed Paing Takhon (above) as Myanmar’s tourism ambassador
Thailand is the second largest tourist market source for Myanmar, after China. There are about 25 daily direct flights between Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai) and Myanmar (Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw) which opens many opportunities to further boost tourist arrivals from Thailand and beyond.
Targeting the regional markets, MTF will continue to promote Myanmar’s core destinations as well as new destinations through roadshows, trade shows and media fam trips for journalists.
Tourism businesses in South-east Asia are operating as usual with no cancellations or tour itinerary changes, as the prevailing haze enveloped populated cities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and caused air quality to drop to hazardous levels.
The haze was due to ash and smoke bellowing from more than 5,000 hot spots in Indonesia, caused by the illegal burning to clear land for palm oil and paper plantations in Indonesia.
Agents indicate tourists are unfazed and still willing to travel to haze-hit countries like Singapore and Malaysia; hazy conditions in Singapore pictured
Mohd Akil Yusof, managing director of Kuala Lumpur-based Triways Travel Network, shared: “Forward bookings are looking good. We don’t have any cancellations and tours are running as normal. We encourage guests to wear face masks when they are outdoors and to stay indoors as much as possible.
“Our guides also give guests the option of walking around and looking at the sights up-close and taking photographs or sitting in an air-conditioned bus.”
Oscar Choo, director of operations, CPH Travel Agencies, in Kuching, Sarawak, shared: “Bookings are coming in as normal despite the haze. We had four bus loads of cruise tourists visiting the Semenggoh Nature Reserve (last week) and no one cancelled because of the haze. We provide guests with face masks and advise them to stay hydrated.”
Sabah-based Myne Travel’s senior manager, RoseMawaty Adil Embun, said that the area had been receiving daily rain in the afternoons in recent days. “We offer face masks to guests going for outdoor tours but many do not take them as the haze is not that bad.”
Malaysia’s tourism, arts and culture deputy minister Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik was reported by the Malay Mail to have said that the haze had not affected the number of tourist arrivals to the country.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Grand Prix 2019 continued to take place over the past weekend, despite coinciding with the city’s worst air quality in three years.
Inbound tourists appeared to be largely undeterred by the hazy conditions. Xperience Singapore’s director Jane Goh shared that she was still bringing groups in for the Grand Prix weekend and has a line-up of incentive groups coming in this week.
Clients from the longhaul markets appear unfazed by the haze and “usually wouldn’t wear masks” while venturing about town, Goh observed.
Likewise, it’s also business as usual for food tour company Wok ’n’ Stroll. Its founder & CEO, Karni Tomer, said: “(The air quality is) terrible, but I haven’t heard any complaints from my clients. Four years ago, when the PSI hit 250, I still had clients – I simply brought masks and explained the situation (to them).”
Tourists are still coming to Singapore and heading out to eat even in these hazy conditions, Tomer added.
Big Almaty Lake in Tien Shan Mountains in Almaty, Kazakhstan, pictured
To cater to an increasingly discerning clientele, travel buyers are showing a greater appetite for novel and exotic destinations still untouched by mass tourism – and Central Asia appears to tick all the right boxes.
The region is dubbed the “last tourism frontier” by Air Astana’s CEO Peter Foster, sentiments that are also borne out by buyers at this year’s PATA Travel Mart (PTM) in Nur-sultan, Kazakhstan, which marks the first time a PATA event is held in Central Asia.
Buyers at the recent PATA Mart 2019 revealed that this year’s destination piques their interest; Big Almaty Lake in Tien Shan Mountains, Kazakhstan, pictured
Several buyers new to PTM said they were drawn to the mart this year because the host destination, Kazakhstan, is a fascinating and largely-unheard of country to them. This is also in line with PATA’s aim to promote emerging and less popular destinations for tourism.
Miroslav Konarik, sales manager for Czech Republic-based Periscope Skandinávie, which specialises in outbound travel for clients based in Scandinavia, Scotland and Iceland, told TTG Asia: “This is my first time in Kazakhstan, and is also my first time at PTM. I joined because the destination is interesting, and I’m excited to find out what the country has to show.”
Aside from “being on the lookout for new destinations”, Konarik is also interested to develop products to less-travelled destinations in the region such as Georgia and Armenia, adding that they are more “interesting than Thailand”.
Similarly, Madalina Nan, manager of outgoing department at Romania-based Atlantic Tours, indicated she would like to see more of Central Asia.
“This is unlike any traditional countries we cover, and not many people know about it,” she opined.
Meanwhile, Brazil-based Venturas’ relationship manager, Leonardo Monteiro, revealed: “Apart from Kazakhstan, I’m also interested in surrounding countries like Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, which are all new to me. Also, the region is affordable. My company offers adventure activities like trekking, and cultural experiences, so I’m on the lookout for ground handlers and DMCs.”
Maria Ignatova, general manager of Bulgaria-based Opma Tpaben, hopes to seek out new contacts and network with local sellers at the mart, as her “clients are interested in Kazakhstan as a destination”.
Asian buyers are registering interest in Central Asia too. Paul Yeh, president of Shih Chun Travel Service in Taiwan, believes that Central Area will be a new destination that sophisticated Taiwanese travellers would be interested in.
“I’m hungry for new ideas to sell to high-end Taiwanese travellers, who are already very well-travelled,” he shared.
Instead of selling Kazakhstan as a potential mono destination, Yeh intends to add Kazakhstan to an existing India itinerary, as the country is “easier to visit after India”, rather than flying through Beijing.
Likewise, Fei Xin, deputy general manager outbound of Suzhou China International Travel Service, wants to explore possibilities in bringing high-end Chinese groups to Central Asia.
Xin noted: “The (Chinese) government is pushing the Belt and Road Initiative, but the general public is not familiar with countries along the route, along with its visa requirements, modes of transport, history and culture. Hence, we hope to establish a network that can benefit our business.”
Airbnb announces intention to become a publicly-traded company
Vacation rental giant Airbnb has announced plans to list its shares on the stock market in 2020.
In a short statement posted on its website, the company did not give any details on how it plans to list its shares, but Reuters believes that it is widely expected to take a direct-listing route. A direct listing to go public is a process in which no new shares are created and helps companies save millions of dollars in underwriting fees.
Airbnb announces intention to become a publicly-traded company
According to Reuters, Airbnb has not given any details on whether it was profitable in 2Q2019 but has previously said that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation were positive for 2017 and 2018.
On September 18, Airbnb released a statement stating that in 2Q2019, the company achieved more than US$1 billion in revenue, and is the second quarter in its history in which the revenue exceeded US$1 billion.
Since its founding in 2008, Airbnb has evolved from a home-sharing site into a full-service travel company. This year in June, the company added Airbnb Adventures, a new collection of multi-day experiences for small groups hosted by local experts, to its platform.
The Hong Kong protests have taken a toll on the tourism industry as a whole, with no light at the end of the tunnel yet; protests at the airport earlier in August
Ovolo Group’s founder & CEO, Girish Jhunjhnuwala, has called on the Hong Kong government to bail out the local hospitality industry, in light of the current economic downturn in the region.
Widespread anti-government strikes in Hong Kong have hit the country’s retail, aviation and financial sectors hard, with the tourism industry bearing the brunt of the city’s protest movement.
The protests in Hong Kong have taken a toll on the tourism industry as a whole, with no light at the end of the tunnel yet; protesters occupying the airport earlier in August
In light of the current situation in Hong Kong, Jhunjhnuwala issued a statement, urging the Hong Kong government to “lend a helping hand” to struggling local businesses during these trying times.
“It’s devastating to see the effect that the recent situation in our city has had on local businesses, particularly those of us in the hospitality industry. As reported by the South China Morning Post, tourist arrivals year-on-year have fallen by five per cent in July and an alarming 40 per cent in August – the largest decline since the SARS outbreak in 2003. Group arrivals from the mainland have also dropped by 90 per cent in the first 10 days of September.
“When our businesses weather tough times, those whom are hit the hardest are not the top-level executives but our team members – the employees working at the forefront of our organisations. It’s those members of society, that unfortunately, are the ones who are now facing reduced hours, reduced wages or in some cases, even redundancies.
“With this in mind, it is imperative the Hong Kong government and Hong Kong Monetary Authority both step in to lend a helping hand to local businesses who are struggling during these times – not only to ensure we reduce negative economic impact and avoid loss of wages or jobs, but to ultimately protect Hong Kong’s status as a thriving tourism hub for years to come.”
New Zealand's All Blacks and South African Springboks in action at the ongoing Rugby World Cup. Photo credit: Rugby World Cup Japan 2019
Advanced flight bookings to Japan suggest rugby fans from the UK, New Zealand and Ireland will be on the ground in force to support their teams during this year’s Rugby World Cup, according to research by Travelport.
With three teams from the UK – England, Scotland and Wales – taking part in the Rugby World Cup, it’s no surprise to see the surge in flight bookings to Japan during the tournament coming from the nation, said the travel technology company in a statement.
New Zealand’s All Blacks and South African Springboks in action at the ongoing Rugby World Cup. Photo credit: Rugby World Cup Japan 2019
With New Zealand looking to add a third win to their back-to-back victories in 2015 and 2011 respectively, the All Blacks will see good support from the stands with the number of tourists heading to Japan up 70 per cent year-on-year, it added.
Not only does the average traveller booking 134 days in advance, the study also revealed that New Zealand fans were “the most forward-thinking travel planners, keen to secure their ticket early”.
As part of its study, Travelport analysed booking data from all global distribution systems to Japan, as of September 12, 2019, arriving from September 18, 2019 to November 4, 2019. The company then ran comparable data for the same period last year to identify trends.
A 2021 opening has been given to the Universal Beijing Resort
The Universal Beijing Resort (UBR), which is Universal Studios’ Beijing theme park, will be opening in 2021, the company said on its official WeChat account.
Upon completion, it will be the largest Universal theme park in the world.
A 2021 opening has been given to the Universal Beijing Resort
The park project was announced in 2014, and will be the fifth Universal theme park worldwide, and the third in Asia.
Additionally, UBR will also debut two hotels, namely, The Universal Studios Grand Hotel and the Nuo Resort Hotel – Universal Beijing Resort.
Located in Beijing’s Tongzhou district, UBR will be served by a dedicated subway station with two metro lines, reported China Daily.
UBR is owned by Beijing International Resort, which is a joint venture between Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment and Universal Parks & Resorts, which operates under Comcast NBCUniversal.
Outrigger Hospitality Group has appointed Kenny Kan as senior vice president and chief development officer for the Hawaii-based hospitality brand.
In his new role, Kan will oversee the company’s growth initiatives, both in Hawaii and around the globe, and help execute the company’s strategic growth strategy by increasing the Outrigger portfolio through acquisitions of resort properties and securing management contracts in Hawaii as well as global resort destinations.
Working closely with the CFO and general counsel, Kan will work towards further propelling the hospitality brand into impactful global expansion and sustainable development.
His role also entails reinforcing development across all three tiers of ownership and management, including: Outrigger Resorts, the “by Outrigger” branded portfolio and third-party managed assets.
He will report directly to Outrigger’s president and CEO, Jeff Wagoner.
Most recently, Kan served as vice president, capital markets and treasurer, for Alexander & Baldwin – Hawaii. He previously served in a corporate finance and strategic planning role for the Outrigger Hospitality Group.
Kan has also held leadership positions in The Resort Group in Hawaii, private equity firm Grove in New York and Goldman Sachs in Tokyo.
Global designer residence and hospitality company, Yoo Worldwide, has ramped up its expansion in the region with the appointment of Krongsak Paramacharoenroj as the group’s associate director of business development – South-east Asia.
Based at the company’s Bangkok’s office, he will report to Rich Millar, Yoo Worldwide’s vice president of business development – Asia Pacific.
In his new role, Paramacharoenroj has been tasked with driving the expansion of Yoo across South-east Asia.
Following his graduation, Paramacharoenroj oversaw the development of two restaurants and two boutique hotels in Thailand, before joining real estate and hospitality consultancy, C9 Hotelwork. There he worked on various consulting assignments for leading property developers and international hotel brands.
Cross Hotels and Resorts has expanded its presence in Vietnam with the signing of a hotel management agreement for the X2 Vibe Halong Bay, in collaboration with Halong Bay Hotel Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of Vietnamtourism – Hanoi JSC.
Set to open in late 2023, the 470-key, 39-storey property will be located in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay, less than 60km from Van Don International Airport and a few hours from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi.
Rendering of X2 Vibe Halong Bay, the group’s fourth property in Vietnam
Catering to both leisure and MICE travellers, the hotel will house facilities like an outdoor swimming pool, meeting and function rooms, an all-day dining restaurant and a fully-equipped gym.
X2 Vibe Halong Bay will be Cross Hotels & Resorts’ fourth property in Vietnam, following the debut of X2 Vibe Viet Tri Hotel last August, and the signing of the luxury X2 Hoi An Resort & Residence (open 2020) and Away Hoi An (open 2021).
Cross Hotels and Resorts currently operates 24 hotels across three distinct brands in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
