TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Monday, 27th April 2026
Page 1249

Uber rolls out submarine rides in Great Barrier Reef

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This underwater ride is the first of its kind and will offer an unfiltered lens at the Great Barrier Reef

Tourism Events Queensland is partnering Uber to launch scUber, the world’s first rideshare submarine experience, in the Great Barrier Reef.

scUber will also support the ongoing protection and conservation of the world’s largest coral reef system through Uber’s partnership with Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.

This underwater ride is the first of its kind and will offer an unfiltered lens at the Great Barrier Reef

From May 27 to June 18, scUber will be available for a limited number of riders to request through the Uber app.

The scUber experience will be rolled out in Heron Island, off the coast of Gladstone in the Southern Great Barrier Reef region from May 27, before moving to the coast of Port Douglas in Cairns & the Great Barrier Reef region from June 9.

Priced at A$3,000 (US$2,073) for two riders, the experience includes:
– pickup and drop off from rider’s location with the Uber app;
– scenic helicopter ride to either Heron Island (for riders requesting from Gladstone) or the Quicksilver Cruises pontoon off the coast of Port Douglas (for riders requesting from Cairns, Port Douglas and Palm Cove);
– one hour ride in a scUber submarine;
– a half-day snorkel and tour of the Great Barrier Reef

Tourism Events Queensland’s CEO, Leanne Coddington, commented: “In late 2018, consumer research identified that exploring the Great Barrier Reef in a submarine was the most desired future travel experience sought by visitors. scUber makes this wish a reality and reaffirms Queensland tourism’s commitment to providing locals and visitors alike with truly remarkable ways to explore nature’s wonderland.”

Study finds HZMB brings in higher-spending tourists to Macau

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Macau saw 182,000 visitors over the recent seven-day National Day Holiday period

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) has been bringing high-spending visitors to Macau, according to a recent study by Hong Kong-based marketing research firm CSG Research.

During the research period, visitors who travelled to Macau via the HZMB have spent MOP4,280 (US$530) per head on average, 32% (MOP1,038) more than those who arrived through sea ports (Macau and Taipa Ferry Terminals). In addition, visitors who arrived in Macau via the HZMB spent more than double (117%) on shopping, as well as 40% more on entertainment than those who travelled to Macau through sea ports.

Visitors who travelled to Macau using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge have been found to spend more than those arriving at sea ports; historic centre of Macau with tourists pictured

According to the data from Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), the total number of people who entered the HZMB daily stands at 15,836, bringing the total number of visitors to 1.5 million in 1Q2019, which was 14.1% among all Macau visitors (10.4 million). Those high-spending visitors who travel to Macau via the HZMB could potentially generate MOP 16.4 million in additional revenue.

In addition, due to easier access brought about by the HZMB since its opening in October 2018, the study also found that 78% of visitors who travelled via the bridge expressed their intention to visit Macau more frequently while only 32% who travel through sea ports would like to revisit Macau.

Moreover, while 37% of visitors who travelled via HZMB stated that they would stay longer in Macau, only 17% of those who entered Macau through sea ports stated the same intention.

Visitors who entered Macau via HZMB also travelled in larger groups, the study revealed. An average group size of 2.6 persons was recorded, much larger than the 2.2 persons per group of those arriving through sea ports. Furthermore, 38% of visitors who travelled via the bridge entered Macau in groups of three or more, compared with only 24% of those who travelled through sea ports.

Derek Yu, research director of CSG, commented: “The HZMB is yet to function to its full capacity, as it is presently limited to licensed vehicles only. But official data has already shown that visitors’ numbers surged with 21% yearly in 1Q2019. From our study, it is estimated that the potential contribution of the bridge to the Macau economy is MOP16.4 million per day.

“The increasing importance for these high-value visitors to shop and enjoy entertainment provides opportunities for Macau to establish itself as a destination which offers the best entertainment and world class shopping,” he added.

Dusit expands footprint in China with hot springs resort

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A rendering of the upcoming Dusit Thani Hot Springs Wugongshan

Thailand-based Dusit International has signed a hotel management agreement with Jiangxi Honglv Real Estate to manage Dusit Thani Hot Springs Resort Wugongshan, in China’s south-eastern province of Jiangxi.

Scheduled for a 2021 opening, the province’s first internationally-branded hot springs luxury resort will have 300 guestrooms and suites. The piece de resistance will be the outdoor and indoor hot springs providing a choice of therapeutic, aromatic, splash and foot reflexology pools.

A rendering of the upcoming Dusit Thani Hot Springs Wugongshan

Other facilities will include an all-day dining restaurant, a fully equipped gym, a swimming pool and a luxury spa.

The resort is approximately 30 minutes by car from Pingxiang High-Speed Train Station in the south-east of Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province. Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, and Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, can both be reached in one hour by high-speed train.

Represented in China by Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts, Dusit International currently operates six hotels in China and has 30 properties in the pipeline. Dusit recently signed hotel management agreements for Dusit Thani Longcheng, Changzhou, Jiangsu; and Dusit Thani Dali, Yunnan.

Dusit-branded hotels set to open this year include Dusit Thani Sandalwoods Resort Shuangyue Bay Huizhou, Guangdong; Dusit Thani Longcheng, Changzhou; Dusit Thani Wetland Park Resort, Nanjing, Jiangsu; and Dusit Thani Wellness Resort Suzhou, Jiangsu.

Oakwood Premier OUE Singapore raises a glass to gin with latest package

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Brass Lion Distillery, Singapore’s first standalone micro-distiller

In celebration of World Gin Day on June 8, Oakwood Premier OUE
Singapore has collaborated with Brass Lion Distillery – Singapore’s first standalone micro-distillery – to launch a Oops, I’ve Ginned! Staycation Package.

Prices start from S$380++ (US$276) per night, and the package includes a stay in a one-bedroom serviced apartment; complimentary breakfast for two at SE7ENTH restaurant; a DIY cocktail kit comprising a full-sized bottle of Brass Lion Distillery’s Singapore Dry Gin and other ingredients for two; a guided tour of Brass Lion Distillery for two on Saturdays at 17.00; and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Brass Lion Distillery has collaborated with Oakwood for a staycation package

Guests may opt to have their names on the bottle to bring home as a keepsake, where the personalisation service comes at an extra cost.

To learn more about the tipple, guests may also join the guided tour to learn more about the distillery and its hand-crafted distillation process over a welcome cocktail. The craft spirits maker will also cap off the tour with a tasting flight of three different gin expressions. Transport to and from the distillery will be arranged by Oakwood.

In addition to this offer, The Bar at Oakwood Premier OUE Singapore has teamed up with Brass Lion Distillery to whip up three concoctions – Coco Clover, French 75, and BLD Martini – featuring the Singapore Dry Gin. Guests may also purchase bottles of the Singapore Dry Gin at S$108++ per bottle.

The Oops, I’ve Ginned! Staycation Package is available for stays from Saturday to Sunday from June 1 to December 1, 2019. Reservations can be made from now until November 20, 2019. Terms and conditions apply.

Beyond Jakarta, travel to rest of Indonesia spared effects of unrest

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Bali is a more popular tourist destination than Jakarta in Indonesia. Broken Beach on Nusa Penida in Bali pictured

As Jakarta continues to be gripped by riots and demonstrations opposing president Joko Widodo’s re-election, agents are recommending limited travel to the Indonesian capital for the time being while inbound demand to other destinations in the country appear unaffected.

“The riots, like terrorist attacks and natural disasters, cause a lot of disruption to the travel flow. However, as the riots in Jakarta this time were a result of the elections, it was more predictable and therefore easier for us to handle and ensure our customers’ safety. We have already contacted our clients who are there and confirmed their safety, and we have made arrangements for those who wish to return immediately,” Toru Ikuta, president & CEO, Asia-Pacific headquarters, JTB told TTG Asia.

Bali is a more popular tourist destination than Jakarta in Indonesia. Broken Beach on Nusa Penida in Bali pictured

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is advising Malaysians to stay away from areas where protestors are expected to demonstrate.

In a statement issued on May 22, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that while the situation in central Jakarta is currently under control, the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta has reported that big demonstrations are likely in the near future in front of the offices of the General Election Commission and the Election Supervisory Board, in central Jakarta as well as other cities throughout Indonesia.

With the Malaysian school holidays starting today for the states of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu and on Saturday for the rest of the country, agents contacted said they have no bookings for Jakarta.

Tours to other parts of the country will carry on as usual, as agents continue to closely monitor the situation in Indonesia.

K Subramaniam, director, SC Southern Tours & Travel based in Johor, said he has not received any booking cancellations and there is strong demand for Batam and Bali from the southern state of Johor.

Mint Leong, managing director, Sunflower Holidays, also sees continued strong demand for Bali strong among Chinese and Russian clients who combine Malaysia with Bali. For the Malaysian family travel segment, the company has not received any cancellation or postponement requests for Bali and Bandung.

Likewise, Ikuta also shared that most of JTB’s customers travelling to Indonesia typically head to Bali rather than Jakarta, hence the agency is not heavily impacted by the current situation.

  • Additional reporting by Pamela Chow

Banyan Tree, Mandai Park unveil new details, design plans for Singapore eco-resort

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Illustration of treehouses at the resort. Photo credit: Mandai Park Holdings

The Mandai eco-resort to be operated by Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts will be white labelled, among the new details revealed by the Singapore-based company and Mandai Park Holdings (MPH) yesterday.

Scheduled to open in Singapore’s new Mandai wildlife district in 2023, the 338-key Mandai resort is designed by local architectural firm Wow Architects.

The yet-unnamed hotel will be built on a 4.6ha site, which currently houses the Singapore Zoo’s back-of-house facilities.

There will be a mix of standard and family rooms within a sprawl of hotel buildings, as well as 24 elevated treehouses scattered across the treeline.

Every room will emulate a “perch” that is integrated into the surrounding vegetation, and the treehouses will resemble seedpods. Connecting the buildings is a network of elevated walkways, which also link to a rooftop garden and a pool.

Mike Barclay, group CEO of Mandai Park Holdings, announced that the resort will work with Mandai’s wildlife parks – the Singapore Zoo, the new Bird Park, the Night Safari and the River Safari – to create programmes and activities for resort guests.

These can include pre-opening experiences or back-of-house tours, he explained. Wow Architect’s managing director, Wong Chiu Man, added that other potential activities include farm-to-table foraging at the resort’s rooftop garden as part of a roster of F&B experiences.

Furthermore, this resort – which will be operated by Banyan Trees Hotels & Resorts – will be a white label property, shared Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings.

He explained that the Mandai resort will offer “an unprecedented access to nature” that is distinct from the brand’s other properties, and will offer rooms starting from an “extremely affordable” price range.

The project is overseen by an environmental impact committee comprising academics and professionals, and has been designed to minimise disturbance to the vegetation of the site.

The decision to open a resort in Mandai comes after a 2014 survey by MPH, which found accommodation as the top request by the general public for the district, said Barclay.

Addressing the other developments in the Mandai wildlife district, Barclay said that the first public opening – by end-2019 – is the nature link bridge connecting Mandai Lake Road to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Larger-scale openings will follow, namely the new Bird Park, the north section of the new Rainforest Park followed by its south section.

By 2020, the Mandai wildlife district will also welcome two new indoor attractions as well as refreshed attractions at the remaining wildlife parks.

The Mandai resort sits on the east of the district and will open as the final phase of the project.

I Asia Thailand partners Diethelm for sales across Asia

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Screenshot from the I Asia Thailand website

Bangkok-based I Asia Thailand will start selling products in the Diethelm Travel Group network.

The new partnership will combine I Asia Thailand’s existing network with Diethelm Travel Group’s portfolio of travel services and experiences across Asia, making them available to a broader market of travellers.

Screenshot from the I Asia Thailand website

“Partnering with Diethelm Travel Group and offering its unique products is a natural next step for I Asia Thailand,” said Nick Critelli, general manager of I Asia Thailand. “We’ve already built a solid reputation and array of offerings across Thailand and now are looking forward to opening up a number of new products and destinations across Asia to our partners and guests. I believe working with other DMC’s will make our companies stronger in the future”

Founded in Thailand in 1957, Diethelm Travel Group has fully licensed and insured offices in Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Hyatt carves out dedicated lifestyle division

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Alila Yangshuo

Following its acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality late last year, Hyatt Hotels has announced the launch of a new dedicated lifestyle division that brings together Hyatt’s and former Two Roads Hospitality’s lifestyle brands, including Andaz, Hyatt Centric, Alila, Hyatt Centric, Joie de Vivre Hotels, Thompson Hotels and tommie.

“With the introduction of a dedicated lifestyle division, we’re able to dive deeper into our guests’ preferences and further carve out Hyatt’s role in this important segment,” said Mark Vondrasek, chief commercial officer, Hyatt.

Alila Yangshuo

The move is the first of its kind for Hyatt, this new cross-functional division centres on the development, positioning and execution of Hyatt’s lifestyle portfolio.

Frederic Flageat-Simon, former CEO of Two Roads Hospitality Asia, has been installed as the global head of lifestyle operations.

Based in Chicago and reporting to Hyatt’s Americas group president, Pete Sears, Flageat-Simon is responsible for the continued integration of the Two Roads brands into the Hyatt portfolio, and developing the global operations strategy for Hyatt’s new lifestyle division.

Heather Geisler has also been named vice president of global brands, and she will be responsible on driving global brand awareness around Hyatt’s lifestyle division brands.

Flageat-Simon and Geisler will work closely to cultivate and refine the lifestyle brands and grow this business segment. They will also collaborate with the commercial services organisation on key commercial brand functions, including digital strategy, loyalty, sales and wellbeing, driving a heightened focus on the sustained growth of Hyatt’s lifestyle portfolio.

New Tokyo DisneySea area named Fantasy Springs

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Oriental Land, the owner of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, has unveiled Fantasy Springs as the name of the eighth and newest Tokyo DisneySea themed area, with a largest-to-date investment of 250 billion yen (US$2.3 billion) in this project.

The port is being developed together with a new Disney hotel, and both are scheduled to open in the fiscal year 2022 (which ends March 31, 2023). These announcements are part of a large-scale expansion that the Tokyo DisneySea Park is currently undergoing.

A rendering of the upcoming Fantasy Spring port

Themed to a magical spring that leads to a world of Disney fantasy, Fantasy Springs will comprise three areas inspired by Disney films – Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan. The new port will be themed to a magical spring that leads into a world of Disney’s fantasy, and will have waterfalls and ponds.

In addition, overlooking Fantasy Springs and situated inside Tokyo DisneySea will be a Disney hotel that offers deluxe and luxury accommodations.

The four attractions, three restaurants and one shop in Fantasy Springs, as well as the new Disney hotel, have all been newly developed exclusively for this expansion.

Tokyo DisneySea is currently also gearing up for the launch of their newest attraction, Soaring Fantastic Flight, scheduled to launch on July 23, 2019.

Earlier in December 2018, Oriental Land unveiled plans to build a Toy Story-themed hotel and a new Beauty and the Beast attraction in the park.

Travel Trade Maldives unveils third edition

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Travel Trade Maldives (TTM), the largest travel trade show to be held in the Maldives, is scheduled to host its third edition from June 11 to 13.

Over 100 resorts and 200 plus local and international travel producers are expected to exhibit and participate in the event, which has four main component, namely TTM Travel Summit, TTM Pre-scheduled Meetings, Maldives Supplier Expo and TTM Awards & Gala Night.

2,000 meetings already pre-scheduled for this year’s edition

Themed Travel Tech & Analytics, this year’s summit will take place on June 11 at Bandos Maldives and cover topics such as analytics, dynamic pricing, digital and AI potential.

Over 150 key travel professionals are expected to participate in this platform, with speakers from organisations such as TTG Asia, Make My Trip, Axis Rooms, Padi, Booking.com, Qatar Airways, TTN Middle East and more.

The inaugural Maldives Supplier Expo which was held for first time in 2018, is an invitation-only event, where exhibiting companies can meet key decision makers including engineering directors, head chefs, procurement managers and CFOs from the Maldives. Exhibitors & Visitors can pre-schedule meetings via a software.

Over 50 suppliers and over 100 key decision makers in the hospitality industry are expected to visit the event.

As well, 2,000 pre-scheduled meetings have already been set to take place at TTM. TTM organiser Orca Media Group (previously Maldives Getaways) expects to have over 3,000 meetings scheduled by the end of the month, discussing what it estimates to be U$1 billion worth of business contracts.

A major focus of TTM is to address ways in which demand would meet the ever-growing supply planned for country’s tourism industry. It is estimated that by the year 2020, Maldives would have over 50,000 beds.