TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Thursday, 29th January 2026
Sister Publications
TTG Asia TTGmice TTG India TTGssociations TTG Asia Luxury
TTG Asia | Intrepid Travel appoints country GM
TTG Asia | Thailand hotel owners pivot to flexible costs as supply growth slows
TTG Asia | Philippines steps up tourism marketing in Asia
Page 1187

Is Asia’s booming tours and activities marketplace ripe for disruption?

By Xinyi Liang-Pholsena
0
Quinby: tours and activities sector expected to grow faster in APAC than other regions in the world (photo credit: Facebook/Arivaltravel)

The tours and activities marketplace has been one of the hottest and most closely watched segments in travel and tourism in recent years, with growing acquisitions and investments pumped into the segment.

At Arival’s inaugural Asia event in Bangkok earlier this week, co-founder and CEO Douglas Quinby said the tours and activities sector in Asia-Pacific has been “significantly growing faster” than other regions and is expected to post an average of seven per cent in the 2017-2022 period, versus four per cent in the US and three per cent in Europe for the same five-year period.

Quinby: tours and activities sector expected to grow faster in APAC than other regions in the world (photo credit: Facebook/Arivaltravel)

“Asia-Pacific will add US$150 billion in gross market value over this five-year period – this is equivalent to the entire travel markets of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong. This is extraordinary,” Quinby remarked.

As the fourth largest tourism sector in the region after airlines, hotels and rail, gross bookings for tours and activities in Asia-Pacific is expected to reach US$45 billion in 2019.

“Investors of all types have poured US$1.2 billion into start-ups of all types in our industry since 2017. Where has all the money gone? You guess it – Asia,” Quinby added. This, he says, is a nod to how the in-destination sector is becoming a key and growing revenue generator in the region.

“But not all this investment has gone to one particular OTA in Hong Kong,” he quipped, alluding to the fresh injection of US$225 million that Klook has snagged in its latest funding round.

Wilfred Fan, chief commercial officer at Klook also attests to the “excitement” that investors are seeing in Asia’s tours and activities segment, even as the tours and activities sector is characterised by “fragmentation” in terms of connectivity, suppliers, operations, transactions and payments.

In Asia, a “newcomer” to the tours and activities sector, “connectivity is just at the beginning,” noted Fan. “Most service providers are not yet connected or still rely on physical bookings… The infrastructure and technology platforms are already there, but operators don’t know where to go. There is huge amount of untapped potential.”

Blanca Menchaca, CEO and co-founder of Singapore-based B2B technology and distribution specialist BeMyGuest, agreed: “We are just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to online distribution. In Asia, the majority of tour operators are just starting to sell online, and a lot of activities are not even online.”

With a mobile-savvy travel population, tour operators and suppliers more used to legacy booking systems, and OTAs hungry to scale up their content and marketshare, all these point to an imbalance in demand and supply in Asia – and that disruption in a fast-growing but fragmented industry is probably not too far off.

Renato Domini, CEO, Panorama Destination, certainly thinks so. “The next two years are going to be disruptive,” he said. “DMCs have to reinvent and continue to invest in product innovation, not just offer sightseeing tours.”

In anticipation of unrelenting changes in the tour operating space that the digital travel economy will bring, Panorama Destination has already restructured the company with a new department to look at OTAs – which has been a “good distribution channel” for the DMC so far, Domini revealed.

While tours and activities sector in Asia is comparatively less mature than the US and Europe, travel consumers in the region are ahead of other regions in its mobile usage – a key factor that will enable the region to pivot its growth and unlock further opportunities in the in-destination marketplace.

The connectivity gap underpinning the tours and activities sector have also spurred the growth of a vibrant reservation technology development, Asia and worldwide. BeMyGuest, for instance, will pump its undisclosed amount of Series B funding into improving its technological initiatives as it enters its next stage of growth.

Global players in online travel have also moved into the space, as evident in TripAdvisor and Booking Holdings announcing their respective acquisitions of tours and activities tech providers Bokun and Fareharbour last year.

What’s clear is that Asia’s exciting tours and activities sector is just starting to sizzle.

Sabre rolls out airline platform updates, teases intelligent retail solution for hotels

By Pamela Chow
0

Sabre has added new features to its first-to-market Sabre Commercial Platform for airlines.

The year-old platform will now feature a Schedule Exchange solution and a refreshed Irregular Operations (IROPS) Reaccommodation solution, Cem Tanyel, president of Sabre Airline Solutions, announced at the Sabre Technology Exchange in Las Vegas this week.

Schedule Exchange helps airlines minimise costly passenger disruptions using a more sophisticated method to schedule publication and distribution of flight information, and lays out the foundation for end-to-end dynamic scheduling.

The refreshed IROPS Reaccommodation product features a redesigned and intelligent interface as well as enhanced algorithm that determines the best solution for flight disruptions based on airlines’ business rules and traveller details, and then automatically rebooks passengers.

The new product runs twice as fast and offers better resolution for large disruptions.

This intelligent platform “enables airlines to better meet their customers’ shifting expectations, while (increasing) revenue”, said Tanyel. He added that there will be “more (solutions) on the way this year” for the Sabre Commercial Platform.

Sabre will soon also catapult the hospitality industry towards intelligent advanced retailing with SynXis Intelligent Retailing, which is slated for an early-2020 launch.

Jeff Henley, manager, solutions consulting, Americas at Sabre Hospitality Solutions, introduced the upcoming solution in a teaser presentation at the Exchange, and described it as a model for “retailing beyond the room, or even without the room”.

SynXis Intelligent Retailing will enable hoteliers to sell not just room ancillaries, but also present a guest with related and highly targeted products – from tours to clothing – in real time during the booking process.

These recommended products are determined through machine learning based on a customer’s own preferences and the consumption patterns of similar users.

The result is a shopping and booking process that is dynamic, personalised and transparent about product expectations, said Henley.

Sabre is currently working with Langham Hotels in Hong Kong to pilot this solution this year, after which it will run on a test-and-learn phase for the next two quarters. The ready-to-market launch is slated for 2020.

Sundar Narasimhan, senior vice president, Sabre Labs and Product Strategy Vision, asserted that Sabre is casting a heavy focus on intelligent advanced retailing, and that SynXis Intelligent Retailing is one of its first concrete steps towards the goal of making it an industry-wide mainstay by 2025.

Thai Airways sets up new department targeting fly-cruisers

By Suchat Sritama
0
Nipatorn Singhagan, manager of the new Special Leisure Department,

Thai Airways International (THAI) is targeting the fly-cruise market from Thailand through the launch of a newly established Special Leisure Department, which will soon roll out promotions combining flights and cruises in the UK, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.

With the move, the airlines is hoping to ride the growing popularity of cruising to expand to new markets, as well as gain a competitive edge on tougher routes.

Nipatorn Singhagan, manager of the new Special Leisure Department

Nipatorn Singhagan, manager of the Special Leisure Department, said the promotions will be launched within the year.

She is upbeat about the appeal of fly-cruise packages in the Thai outbound market, with the product still relatively novel in comparison to land holidays.

Sumate Sudasna, managing director of Conference and Destination Management (CDM), said cruises sell because they can be the more cost-effective and fuss-free way to travel, bringing entertainment, F&B and more together in one place.

“Cruise itself is not new for the market. But people (take repeat cruise holidays) because they are priced 30 per cent cheaper than vacations on land,” Sumate said.

Meanwhile, Nipatorn shared that the new department is also focussed on other non-leisure segments. To target the meetings and incentives segment, for example, the department is offering options like seat upgrade, onboard welcome announcement, and fast track lane at immigration.

Ubud in consideration for UNWTO’s pilot gastronomic destination

By Tiara Maharani
0
Sun rising over a paddy field in Ubud, Bali

Ubud in Bali could become the first gastronomic destination endorsed by the UNWTO, fanning Indonesia’s hopes to develop gastronomic and culinary tourism.

Arief Yahya, Indonesia’s tourism minister said Ubud’s run for UNWTO recognition is part of the country’s overarching strategy to develop gastronomic tourism. “The richness of culture and tradition in Indonesia produces interesting gastronomic diversity. If gastronomy is properly developed, it can be (an important tourism asset).”

Sun rising over a paddy field in Ubud, Bali

According to data from the Ministry of Tourism data, around 30-40 per cent of tourist spending goes to food-related consumption. The ministry also projects 35 per cent of overseas travellers will visit the country to explore gastronomy by 2030.

Vita Datau, chief of the tourism ministry’s acceleration and tourism development team, said that Ubud is picked due to its readiness for gastronomic tourism and support from the regional government.

Vita added: “Another consideration is that the culture of local wisdom is still very strong in Ubud. Each dish presented (tells a story). This is important because one of the UNWTO assessment points is (the food’s ability to reflect) the diversity of cultures and local (produce and ingredients).”

To become a UNWTO prototype for gastronomic world destination, there are five standard criteria that must be met, including lifestyle, local products, culture and history, the story behind the dish, and nutrition and health.

Roberta Garibaldi, lead expert from UNWTO, explained that there are three stages of assessment, namely “inventory of assets and attractions, verification and analysis, and stakeholder recommendations”.

Aditya Amaranggana, project specialist at UNWTO, added that there are four objectives of the programme carried out in Ubud – building the image of Ubud as a gastronomic tourism destination, creating a gastronomic tourism cluster in Ubud through the participation of local communities, developing innovative products and experiences in terms of gastronomic tourism, and encouraging integration between individuals and companies in Ubud and the rest of Bali.

She said: “UNWTO will see how gastronomy is developed so that it supports sustainable development and creates new jobs.”

After Ubud, the Ministry of Tourism hopes that Bandung, Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang will become the next gastronomic destinations in Indonesia.

Goco Hospitality to create wellness destination in Almaty

By TTG Asia
0
Aerial view of the resort

Global wellness consultancy, development and management firm Goco Hospitality is developing a wellness resort within a former Soviet-era sanatorium in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Located on 100ha of forested land with vistas of the Alatau Mountains, Goco Life Alatau is scheduled to soft launch in July 2020.

Goco Life Alatau
1 of 3
Aerial view of the resort
Rendering of the resort's exterior
Suite

Goco Life Alatau will have a gross floor area of 45,000m2 and 212 guest rooms or suites.

The heart of the resort will be the 4,000m2 medical and wellness centre. It will provide guests with access to medical diagnostics, imaging and treatment equipment, along with a team of medical and wellness professionals.

This will be combined with traditional Chinese medicine, a medical aesthetics centre, hydrotherapy, a dedicated spa and extensive heat and water experiences. Guests will enjoy tailored wellness programmes that support them in their goal of living their healthiest possible life.

A 2,000m2 thermae will provide family-friendly activities, with an aqua park, a thermal circuit and indoor and outdoor pools fed with natural mineral spring water.

Guests can also dine at any of the resort’s four health-focused F&B outlets, and the adjacent 18-hole golf course and extensive local hiking routes allow for leisurely outdoor recreation.

An indoor gym and “mind and body studio” are complemented by outdoor tennis and basketball courts and a jogging track.

Around 1,900m2 of meetings and events spaces will allow Goco Life Alatau to host a range of events, from conferences and business meetings to weddings and other gatherings.

VIP guests at Goco Life Alatau will also enjoy the privacy of their own wing, with luxurious accommodation, alongside dedicated meeting, medical and spa facilities.

Radisson Collection to make APAC debut in Australia’s Blue Mountains

By TTG Asia
0
Radisson signs first APAC hotel under the soft brand in Australia

The first Asia-Pacific hotel in the Radisson Collection is set to open in a restored historical building in Australia’s Blue Mountains come 2023.

Imperial Hotel, A Radisson Collection Hotel will mark the rebirth of one of Australia’s first major “tourist hotels”, which opened in 1878. In its history, it has hosted prime ministers and royalty, including King George V and George VI. It remains an iconic building today and the symbol of a prosperous era in Mount Victoria.

Radisson signs first APAC hotel under the soft brand in Australia

The original Imperial Hotel building will be restored and a collection of chalets will be built in the property’s 7,500m2 grounds.

Upon reopening, the hotel will feature 60 keys, an all-day dining restaurant, a lobby lounge, bar, gastro-pub and a fitness centre. The hotel will welcome visiting celebrity chefs, while a ballroom, outdoor terrace and marquee will serve as venues for events and weddings.

The hotel is located within a one hour and forty-five minutes’ drive from downtown Sydney via the Great Western Highway that connects the city with the Central West Region of New South Wales.

Imperial Hotel, A Radisson Collection Hotel will complement Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney and offer opportunities for two-centre holidays in New South Wales.

“The regional launch of the Radisson Collection, our newest brand, represents an important milestone in our Asia-Pacific expansion strategy… We look forward to creating a vibrant epicenter for visitors and the local community in the Blue Mountains. This will write a new chapter in the tale of this Australian icon,” said Katerina Giannouka, president, Asia Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group.

Radisson Collection is a soft brand bringing together one-of-a-kind properties that typically boasting uncommon locations, distinctive design, and a selection of local insider activities.

Four Seasons veterans to head new Bangkok hotel

By TTG Asia
0
Barta (left) and Jasjit Singh Asi

Ahead of its opening later this year, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok has announced the appointment of Four Seasons veterans, Lubosh Barta and Jasjit Singh Assi, as general manager and hotel manager respectively.

Barta began his Four Seasons career 15 years ago at the company’s former location in Bangkok, where he was director of F&B. From there, he transferred to Chiang Mai before taking on his first general manager position in Koh Samui and later opening Four Seasons Hotel Seoul as general manager as well.

Barta (left) and Jasjit Singh Assi

A native of the Czech Republic, his career also includes positions in Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

Assisting Barta will be Jasjit Singh Assi, the hotel manager who will be responsible for day-to-day operations.

After joining Four Seasons in his native country of India, Assi rose through the F&B divisions in Chiang Mai and Sydney before returning to Mumbai in his first assignment as hotel manager.

Cambodia’s Song Saa Private Island welcomes new GM

By TTG Asia
0

Experienced luxury hotelier Donald Wong has joined Song Saa Private Island as general manager.

With 17 years of sales and marketing experience under this belt, where Wong’s previous positions include director of global sales for the Pacific at Raffles Hotels & Resorts; and director of sales and marketing for Raffles’ two properties in Cambodia – Le Royal, Phnom Penh and Hotel d’Angkor, Siem Reap.

Wong then joined Aman Resorts in 2006, where he spent time as resident manager of Amankora in Paro, Bhutan, before becoming general manager of sales with Aman Resorts in South Asia and China.

In 2011, he joined The Siam Hotel in Bangkok as director of sales and marketing. He then moved to the The Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong in the same capacity, and later re-joined Aman as general manager of Amantaka in Luang Prabang.

Airbnb goes after high-end market with new Luxe tier

By TTG Asia
0
The Airbnb Luxe tier has been launched with 2,000 exceptional homes; Te Kahu in Wakana, New Zealand

Building on expertise gained from its acquisition of Luxury Retreats in 2017, Airbnb has launched Airbnb Luxe, a new tier above Airbnb Plus, which the home rental giant says will enable it to “meeting the needs of every traveller at every price point”.

Boasting more than 2,000 high-end homes, the new luxury tier provides access to outstanding properties with dedicated trip designers to deliver bespoke experiences and services.

The Airbnb Luxe tier has been launched with 2,000 exceptional homes; Te Kahu in Wakana, New Zealand

Each home in the tier must pass an evaluation across over 300 criteria in both design (e.g. premium materials and finishes, rare features) and function (e.g. chef-grade appliances and the proper amount of bathrooms corresponding to each bedroom).

The homes are also evaluated by the special attributes they possess, their location and surroundings, as well as the services that come with them – like the medieval farm-to-table experience of Castello di Vicarello in Tuscany, or the cutting edge, yet eco-friendly design of Te Kahu in New Zealand, or the chef, driver and butler services that come with Grace Bay Residences in Turks and Caicos.

Each Airbnb Luxe booking provides 24/7 access to a dedicated trip designer who will ensure the stay is tailored to the traveller’s needs throughout their trip. This includes ensuring smooth booking and check-in, coordinating local bespoke experiences and activities, and arranging a range of services from childcare to private chefs and in-house massage therapists – or even personal training sessions in a private gym.

“Today’s luxury traveller is craving more than just high-end accommodations; they seek transformation and experiences that leave them feeling more connected to each other and to their destination. With Airbnb Luxe we are applying the same approach we’ve used since we launched Airbnb more than 11 years ago – creating local, authentic and magical travel moments now in amazing places to – to reimagine the way people think and experience luxury travel,” Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder, CEO and head of community

In Asia-Pacific, Bali, Ko Samui, Phang-nga, Phuket, South Island and Sydney currently have homes in Airbnb Luxe.

Beyond the region, guests may choose from homes in New Zealand and South Africa, castles in France and historic villas in Tuscany. Literary fans may seek inspiration and beachfront luxury at The Fleming Villa in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his famous spy novels. Others may prefer complete privacy and exclusivity by booking an entire island with its own self-declared time zone at a private atoll in French Polynesia, Nukutepipi, curated by Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil and Lune Rouge.

In addition to chateaux and chalets, Airbnb Luxe will also open the door to remarkable places to stay in cities. Building on the places to stay already available in cities like London and Los Angeles, the company will be adding Luxe properties in at least 12 more cities this year, including Milan, Paris and Austin.

The launch of Airbnb Luxe also helps meet increasing demand from Airbnb guests for luxury properties and experiences. In 2018, the number of Airbnb bookings for listings worth at least US$1,000 per night increased more than 60 per cent. The increased interest in luxury travel on Airbnb is consistent with broader trends: analysts believe the luxury travel market is worth more than US$200 billion and poised to grow in the years ahead.

Bali, Sentosa and India next in line for Raffles’s APAC expansion

By Rachel AJ Lee
0
Private Pool Villa

Hot on the heels of recent openings in Maldives and Shenzhen, Singapore’s Sentosa island, Bali and India will be among the next destinations to welcome Accor’s luxury hospitality brand Raffles.

Set to open next to Sofitel Sentosa Resort & Spa in 2022, the Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa will be the brand’s second property in Singapore. The resort will feature 61 keys, ranging from the 260m2 one-bedroom villa to the 450m2 four-bedroom villa, each sporting its own private pool and garden terrace area. Other facilities on the 100,000m2 resort site include a bar, restaurants, fitness centre, three function rooms, the Raffles Spa, as well as butler service.

Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa rendering
1 of 3
Private Pool Villa
Villa entrance
Ballroom

The hotel will be the outcome of a partnership with property investment and development company Royal Group and global design studio Yabu Pushelberg.

When asked about the room rate at Raffles Sentosa, Michael Issenberg, Accor’s chairman and CEO Asia-Pacific, said it was too premature to disclose, but added that introductory rates for a suite at the soon-to-open Raffles Hotel Singapore will start from US$875.

Similar to the Sentosa property, Raffles Bali will boast 32 private pool villas across 23ha of land in the Jimbaran area. The resort, set to open in 2020, will also feature a Writers Bar, spa, and restaurant.

Raffles Udaipur will also open next year, marking the brand’s first foray into India. The 101-suite property will occupy its own private island in the middle of Udai Sagar Lake in Rajasthan, and will also feature the 1,100m2 Raffles Spa, rooftop restaurant, swimming pool, and the Raffles Long Bar and Writers Bar.

After which, the second Raffles property in India will open in 2022 in Jaipur, part of a larger complex that currently houses the Fairmont Jaipur. The hotel will have 50 suites with private pools.

Raffles currently boasts a collection of 14 properties worldwide, with Accor aiming to reach 20 by 2025. There are currently another eight to 10 Raffles properties in the pipeline, of which 50 per cent will be located in Asia-Pacific.

Flagships for Europe, the US and Middle East are also in the pipeline, including the Raffles London (2020) in the former War Office, Raffles Boston Back Bay Hotel & Residences (2021), and Raffles Palm360 Resort Hotel & Residences (2021), respectively.

1...1,1861,1871,188...2,877Page 1,187 of 2,877

Tried and Tested

What to Buy Now

 
Subscribe To
Advertise With Us
 
Asia-Pacific's Leading Travel Trade Business Resource Since 1974

  • All Rights Reserved

Copyright TTG Asia Media Pte Ltd © 2025-2026
Sister Publications
TTG Asia TTGmice TTG India TTGssociations TTG Asia Luxury
TTG Asia | Intrepid Travel appoints country GM
TTG Asia | Philippines steps up tourism marketing in Asia
TTG Asia | Thailand hotel owners pivot to flexible costs as supply growth slows