Why
Iya Valley is peppered with numerous surprises for the experience-hungry traveller, with local stories and historical tales waiting at every turn. The humble making and cooking of soba (buckwheat noodles) – one of Shikoku’s specialities – is one such example.
What
Deep in the valleys of Tokushima’s rugged mountains sits a quiet studio run by Tsuzuki-san, an elderly soba master who supplies the noodles to restaurants and hotels across the region.
Classes taught by Tsuzuki-san are peaceful, but at the same time, fun and even challenging. She guides participants through the soba-making process, and the workshop is followed by a meal of vegetable tempura, cold dishes, and free-flow soba. As time drew to a close for my class, Tsuzuki-san brought us from noodle stirring to a heart-stirring end with a short performance of her award-winning folk singing.
How
We participants first had to don aprons and bandanas, before Tsuzuki-san embarked on the soba-making experience. She started by demonstrating how to mill soba grains with a hand-powered millstone. We then moved on to kneading, cutting, and finally, boiling the noodles.
Although she was only able to converse in Japanese and through hand gestures, Tsuzuki-san was encouraging and good-humoured, patiently guiding us in milling and kneading the soba.
The meal that followed was simple but scrumptious, and filled me with contentment as we sat on tatami and cushions in the cosy, homely restaurant. Tsuzuki-san’s performance at the end was the cherry on top of an enjoyable afternoon.
Verdict
Ideal for smaller travel groups or even solo travellers, Atelier Tsuzuki is one of Iya Valley’s truly hidden gems that offer an indelible taste of Tokushima.
Duration: Approximately two hours Rate: 1,350 yen (US$12.30) Contact
Website: iyajiman.com
Wholesale Partners (WSP), the wholesale tours company of Chan Brothers Group of Companies, has launched the Travel Industry Staff Specials (TISS) programme offering discounted tour packages worldwide for personnel in the travel industry.
Following the launch of its white-label solution last October, WSP has created a site allowing industry professionals to book its over 1,000 tours at special rates, with different offers to be featured monthly.
Wholesale Partners pushes out Travel Industry Staff Specials programme offering discounted tour packages worldwide for travel personnel
TISS is now open for registrations for personnel from the airlines, tourism offices, hotels, car rental, cruise and travel media segments in the region.
The TISS site provides registered users with the tour itineraries, destination information, departure date, live status and prices of tours to over 100 countries worldwide.
Users can browse for tours by regions or destinations, understand the itineraries or watch the videos to have a feel of the holiday experience in the different countries.
For enquiries, email enquiry@wholesale-partners.com or log on to www.wholesale-partners.com to register for a TISS account.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is expecting 3.18 trillion baht (US$105 billion) in overall tourism revenue for Thailand in 2020, or a four per cent year-on-year increase.
This includes 2.02 trillion baht from international tourists (up three per cent) and 1.16 trillion baht from domestic tourists (up five per cent).
Thailand expects to rake in US$105 billion tourism revenue in 2020
The outlook for 2020 follows the overall tourism situation in 2019, which is estimated to generate 3.06 trillion baht (four per cent increase over 2018), comprising 1.96 trillion baht (up four per cent) from 39.77 million international tourists (also up four per cent), and 1.10 trillion baht (up three per cent) from 167 million domestic trips (up one per cent).
Thailand welcomed her 39 millionth tourist on 27 December, 2019.
In 2020, TAT is seeing positive demand from international markets, such as the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR., Myanmar and Vietnam), Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Spain, Eastern Europe, Israel, and the US.
As well, the Chinese, Singaporean and Middle Eastern markets are showing signs of recovery. Meanwhile, arrivals from Japan, Hong Kong, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia and Latin America are expected to remain stable or show a slight growth.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said: “TAT’s target for 2020 is based on several favourable factors, ranging from the government’s stimulus measures, TAT’s focused marketing strategies and promotions of emerging destinations, new air routes, and the positive outlook of international tourists to Thailand from key source markets.
“TAT is preparing to overcome several challenges, including the effect from the China-US trade war, the rise in consumption tax in Japan, and Brexit. The strong Thai baht, Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, World Expo 2020 Dubai and stimulus visa schemes from country competitors have also been taken into consideration when laying out our tourism marketing strategies.”
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) is pursuing legal action against the newly-established Malaysia Association Tour Agency (MATA) to stop the latter’s use of the MATA acronym.
MATTA honorary secretary-general Nigel Wong said in a statement that it has issued a letter of demand through its lawyers to MATA, citing trademark infringement, misrepresentation and the deliberate passing of MATTA’s name and goodwill.
MATTA is suing the newly-registered MATA for trademark infringement
“MATTA’s solicitors have demanded that MATA cease and desist using the infringing mark and infringing name and have demanded a public apology to be published in leading national newspapers, failing which MATTA will instruct its solicitors without any further delay to commence legal proceedings,” Wong said.
He added that MATTA has received complaints because of confusion in the marketplace over the similar-sounding acronyms, which has also resulted in misreporting in the media – a recent article in The Star incorrectly stated the name of MATA’s president as the president of MATTA.
According to the Registrar of Society (ROS) records, five of the founding and current office bearers of the newly-registered MATA are also the current office bearers of Association for Travel Agencies of Umrah & Hajj Malaysia (PAPUH). Out of the five, two are current office bearers in the Malaysia Tourism Council, Wong pointed out in the release.
On September 11, 2014, MATTA held an Extraordinary General Meeting which voted overwhelmingly to expel all five of the aforementioned office bearers for causing moral and material damage to MATTA.
MATTA is also seeking an explanation from the ROS on how the registration of MATA could have been allowed by the ROS and has also instructed its solicitors to look into this issue.
When contacted, MATA president Mohd Khalid Harun told TTG Asia that the association is “not violating anybody’s trademark” and declined to comment any further.
MATA was registered in October 2019 with ROS Selangor and announced to the public in early November 2019 when they started a membership drive.
More than 30 luxury properties are expected to enter Marriott International’s portfolio of luxury brands this year, adding to the hotel company’s existing count of more than 420 hotels and resorts across nearly 65 countries and territories.
In 2020, the Ritz-Carlton brand will debut in Morocco, expand its presence in Japan, China and Mexico, and work towards the inaugural voyage of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection expected in June 2020.
Marriott to add more than 30 properties to its luxury portfolio in 2020
Elsewhere, St Regis will make its foray into Cairo, and expand its resort portfolio with the opening of The St Regis Kanai Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and open The St Regis Dubai, The Palm.
Lifestyle brand W Hotels will add properties in Philadelphia, Toronto, Chengdu, and Melbourne, and complete renovations in Washington DC, San Francisco and New York Union Square.
Meanwhile, more than half of W Hotels’ properties in North America, are undergoing or have completed multi-million-dollar renovations, including W Washington D. C. and W San Francisco, and most recently, W New York – Union Square.
The brand is also slated to debut in Italy with the planned openings of W Milan and W Rome.
The Edition brand, a collaboration between Marriott and boutique hotel creator Ian Schrager, is expected to debut in Iceland’s Reykjavik come 2020, with planned openings in Tokyo and Dubai as well.
The Luxury Collection anticipates openings in locations spanning the globe, including Nashville and Budapest, Hungary, as well as Hobart, Australia.
JW Marriott is spreading its reach globally, with several planned for the US, and one each in Istanbul; Danang, Vietnam; Nara, Japan; Muscat, Oman; and Monterrey, Mexico.
Archipelago International has signed three new hotel deals just before the end of 2019.
Debuting in 2021 is the 226-key Harper Hotel Mandalika Kuta Lombok, located right on Lombok’s Kuta Beach and within easy access to the Moto GP Lombok. The hotel will feature three meeting rooms, the signature Rustik Bistro & Bar, and Lombok’s very first beach club.
Archipelago closes 2019 by signing a trio of hotel deals, including one on Lombok’s Kuta Beach
Opening its doors in Sumatra’s city of Padang will be the 312-room Aston Minangkabau, which will feature a number of event spaces, as well as dining and wellness facilities.
Archipelago’s eighth presence in Yogyakarta will be marked by the arrival of the 150-key Royal Malioboro by Aston, located just a stone’s throw from the famed Malioboro street.
What started as a travel community created with friends and family in 2017, soon blossomed into a full-fledged boutique travel agency Beyond Expeditions for Singaporean millennial Scott Tay.
The Singapore-headquartered boutique agency specialises in small group tours limited to six participants to off-the-beaten-track destinations in Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Ladakh.
Beyond Expeditions' founder Scott Tay's travels
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When asked why he picked Mongolia as part of the tour itinerary, Tay told TTG Asia: “I was tired of working and took a long break, and one of the places I visited was Mongolia. What I liked about the country was the sense of freedom out in the countryside. I felt liberated, and there was nothing to distract me from living in the moment. Everything was so crisp, clear, and I swear I could even hear the birds chirping louder. This is precisely why I want to introduce more people to Mongolia.”
Tay added that he saw a way of bridging the geographical distance between Mongolia and Singapore by helping to fill the logistics gaps, given that he has visited the East Asian country countless times since founding his company in 2017.
Additionally, online information surrounding Mongolia is not readily available, while local operators typically sold similar packaged tours visiting the same tourist attractions.
A typical winter itinerary for Mongolia, for instance, may include a 30-minute husky ride for a group with a large travel agency. For Tay who hopes to give his travellers the unique experience of a nomadic life, he puts them on a three-day husky sledding expedition that includes bonding with the dogs and camping in the wild, on top of mushing through the snow.
To spread the word about Beyond Expeditions, Tay has hosted sharing sessions at Travel Revolution, as well as run numerous ads on Facebook and Instagram – the latter targeted at millennials. Business has been growing year after year, with Beyond Expeditions having served over 300 clients to date.
Besides millennials, Tay shared that some of his travellers are in their late 30s and 40s, with more of those in their 40s dropping him enquiries in recent times. His largest group of clients, however, are solo female travellers, which account for a whopping 98 per cent.
“There are many Singaporean ladies who are very curious about travelling to these off-the-beaten-track destinations, (and would like a group to travel with to err on the side of caution),” explained Tay.
While Tay is currently contented with Beyond Expeditions’ portfolio, his future goal is to have a repertoire of five countries, which will evoke a strong sense of adventure and bring about unique experiences.
“We are positioning ourselves as travel specialists. If I were doing, say, more than five countries, I don’t think I’d be a specialist anymore,” he said.
Echoing the sentiments of other tourism industry leaders, Tay believes that experiential travel will continue to grow in popularity, and there will be a shift away from “typical Singaporean holidays like shopping trips to Bangkok”.
“People are starting to tire of the conventional way of travelling. They crave for more experiences that will leave an imprint in their hearts,” Tay opined.
Alongside regularly scheduled group trips, Tay also runs charity expeditions in collaboration with local NPOs such as Singapore Cancer Society and Down Syndrome Association.
He elaborated: “We don’t embark on these tours for our own leisure, and we try to get our friends and family to support us in the cause by donating money directly to the organisation while we put in the effort in walking – or kayaking – for the expedition. The journey is usually harsh, for example, (trekking through) Mongolia (during winter lows of) minus 50 degrees celsius together with other cancer survivors.”
Beyond collecting donations, Tay and his expedition crew aim to inspire others in similar situations through these voyages, as well as send a strong message to cancer survivors and patients that there is life after cancer.
“For me, it’s about having a purpose. And I’m always up for trying and learning new things every day. That is what excites me and keeps me going,” Tay concluded.
Single apps for all travel needs, passport free travel, and mobile app check-in are the top three new travel norms expected by travellers in the 2020s, according to new research by Agoda.
With the continued advancement of technology, revolutionary travel apps, and better connectivity, people expect a lot more from their travel experience in the next decade, said the OTA in a statement.
Asian travellers expect technology developments to simplify travel in the 2020s: Agoda
Specifically, South-east Asians expect these technological advances to simplify travel, according to the survey which polled over 16,000 adults between December 12, 2019 and December 18, 2019. Half of all respondents in Indonesia (56 per cent), Singapore (54 per cent), Malaysia (53 per cent), Taiwan (50 per cent), the Philippines (48 per cent) and Thailand (48 per cent) consider this to be the norm in the next decade, compared to only a third of people in the UK and the US (33 per cent).
One in two South-east Asians also view mobile app check in, which allows guests to skip the registration queue, download their room access key and go straight to their rooms, as the norm in the 2020s, with Singaporeans (54%), Filipinos (53%), Malaysians (58%) and Thais (49%) most expectant of this trend.
Meanwhile, Singapore (50 per cent), Vietnam (47 per cent), the Philippines (45 per cent), China (44 per cent) and Australia (41 per cent) are the top five origins most likely to see a future with passport-free travel. In the UK and the US, they are less expectant of this advancement, with only one in five respondents expecting it to be the norm within the next decade.
Timothy Hughes, vice president of corporate development at Agoda, said that “the 2020s will be defined by the power of data and machine learning. This will enable companies like Agoda to provide personalised, more relevant recommendations to make booking travel even easier”.
He added: “Asian travellers, in particular, are enthused by, and expectant of, technology developments that enhance and simplify their travel experience. Asian-based companies are now leading the world in technology adoption and development to achieve this. I expect to see Asia press ahead with that lead in the 2020s – especially in areas such as video and augmented reality, improved mobile services with more chat and voice solutions, and payments to help bring the ‘unbanked’ online”.
Universally, people want to increase the amount of travel they undertake in the 2020s, with 40 per cent of respondents globally wanting to explore more of their own country, while 35 per cent is keen on international travel.
There is also a growing trend in responsible tourism, with more than a quarter of respondents desiring eco-friendlier travel choices in the next decade.
Travellers from Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia are most keen to make eco-friendlier choices, perhaps in light of the recent closure of Maya Bay in Thailand, and the Boracay rehabilitation programme in the Philippines.
Travellers in the 35-44 and 55+ age groups are most likely to want to explore their own countries and territories more (40 per cent and 42 per cent respectively), with those from China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Vietnam choosing domestic destinations as their top three wishlist destinations for the coming decade.
Meanwhile, South Korean and Japanese travellers see themselves taking more solo trips in the next decade, while Taiwanese and Indonesians would prefer taking a sabbatical or gap year.
Asian destinations dominate the global travel wishlists for the next decade, as travellers from both Asia and the West showcase a growing curiosity for Asian countries, with Kyoto emerging as the world’s most desired destination to visit in the 2020s, followed by Bangkok and Bali.
Travellers in the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia want to cross off their own capital cities from their travel lists. Meanwhile, only travellers from South Korea, the UK, and Australia didn’t choose a domestic destination on their travel wishlists for the next decade.
American and British travellers alike are most excited about visiting New York in the coming decade, with New York also a top three choice for travellers from Australia, Japan and South Korea. Both Malaysian and Indonesian travellers would like to visit Makkah by 2030.
Travel loyalty programmes holds immense potential in Singapore, with 43% of Singaporean travellers using travel loyalty programmes and 83% of those enjoy using it, according to a study by Criteo to uncover latest insights on loyalty programmes.
Criteo’s Why We Book study, which are based on responses received from May to July 2019 from 1,027 residents in Singapore that had travelled abroad for leisure in the past six months, also found that loyalty programmes encouraged travellers to be loyal to a specific brand (77%) and like the brand more (76%).
Loyalty programmes spur 77 per cent of Singaporean travellers to be loyal to a specific brand: study
Travel loyalty programmes are popular in Singapore, with 43% surveyed being members of at least one travel loyalty programme, found the study. Singapore occupies the highest share in Asia-Pacific and second globally after the US (47%). The popularity of such programmes is low in Europe, with Italy and Spain tied at the lowest share at 20%.
“Travel is a competitive and complex space with great growth potential in Asia-Pacific. The region’s rising middle class and growth in the digital economy are enabling more Singaporeans to look for different travelling options. This has contributed to an increase in travel loyalty programmes that are enjoyed especially among the older travellers such as Millennials, Gen X and Boomers and Silent,” said Pauline Lemaire, director of large accounts, Southeast Asia at Criteo.
Targeted travel loyalty programmes and user friendliness drive loyalty
Among all responses, the study found that travellers prioritise a simplified booking experience. When it comes to their reasons for booking directly with an airline or hotel, travellers remarked that “it is easier to change or amend my booking” and “I am used to booking this way”. As such, travel operators should aim to provide a seamless experience to retain customers to encourage repeat visits and purchase.
To do so, travel operators should serve highly relevant ads, so travellers complete their bookings quickly. In fact, a separate customer loyalty study by Criteo titled Why We Buy, which polled 1,000 residents in Singapore in July 2019, revealed that Singaporeans are open to receiving targeted advertising.
Some 62% reported having a positive experience with online ads when they help with product discovery and 58% enjoy it when a personalised discount is offered. This finding complements the demand for a smooth and personalised travel booking experience. Thus, travel operators should consider developing personalised loyalty programmes with rewards and benefits that appeal to individual travellers.
Travel loyalty programmes get lost on Gen Zs
Travel presents a huge opportunity among Gen Zs in Singapore, with 55% expecting to spend more on travel in 2019. However, this segment is not motivated by travel loyalty programmes and few utilise them. As Gen Zs are less engaged with loyalty programmes, they use it less often and 52% of Gen Zs even forget that they have signed up for one.
The shares for members of at least one travel loyalty programme by age group are as such: Gen Z (25%); Millennials (46%); Gen X (41%); as well as Boomers and Silent (48%).
“As Singaporean travellers are open to receiving relevant ads, travel operators should look to develop more dynamic loyalty programmes and offer different types of rewards to various customer segments. Those who can make the travel experience and booking process easier will earn traveller loyalty. To truly understand what each traveller desires, it is important to understand the full customer journey from browsing to purchase with the help of a strong full-funnel solutions provider,” said Lemaire.
Travellers perceive that airlines and OTAs provide the best prices
In Singapore, different types of travel loyalty programmes come with varying levels of engagement. Travellers who choose to book directly with hotels do so out of habit (38%) and not necessarily because they are members of the hotel’s loyalty programme (24%).
The top reason travellers book directly with airlines and OTAs is to find the best prices. Some 39% of travellers surveyed believe that OTAs typically offer the best prices, while 32% find that booking directly with airlines gets them the best prices.
Vietjet welcomed two new Airbus A321 aircraft at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, bringing its total fleet count to 80.
The arrival of new aircraft, registered as VN-A521 and VN-A542, on December 31, 2019 is in time to serve the peak travel demand during the Lunar New Year festive season as well as fulfil fleet expansion plans for 2020.
Vietjet receives two new Airbus A321 aircraft at Tan Son Nhat International Airport
VN-A521 is the third 240-seat A321neo ACF (Airbus Cabin Flex) aircraft to be used in the world.
The new aircraft features leather seats and premium interior decoration. Additionally, VN-A521 boasts an innovative cabin structure and adopts the advantages of the most modern Airbus aircraft, including comfortable seat zone, fuel consumption savings by a minimum of 16 per cent, noise reduction up to 75 per cent, and emission reduction up to 50 per cent.
Vietjet currently owns one of the world’s newest and most modern fleet with an average age of only 2.7 years, operating at “the highest quality and safety (standards)”, said the company in a statement.
