Food waste costs the hospitality industry alone an estimated $100 billion annually, with the figure set to increase further by 2030. In Asia, a growing hospitality sector means that food loss is likely to increase too. However, the opportunity for businesses to cut costs is considerable with the launch of new artificial intelligence (AI) technology to solve our food waste problem. Hotels, caterers, supermarkets and other hospitality companies cut costs by 3-8% in the first year of use.
Intent to tackle the problem at scale, Winnow’s new AI technology – Winnow Vision – automatically recognises discarded foods through a smart camera that sits above the bin. This development ensures that chefs have the insight they need to drastically reduce their waste without taking time away from busy kitchen teams.
The introduction of AI into the kitchen ultimately means that chefs receive better data to cut waste. Kitchen teams operate more efficiently too as minimal data entry is required to identify waste streams high in volume and cost.
The launch follows a testing phase that began in January 2018 with partners IKEA and Emaar Hospitality Group. In this time, Winnow Vision surpassed the level of accuracy of kitchen teams in categorising waste foods. As more data is collected, the model will get even more accurate.
Installed facing down over the kitchen bin, a photo is taken every time food is thrown away and the weight is logged by the scale connected underneath. Through a comparison of a previous photo and the new photo, the system is able to detect the newly wasted item.
This is the first time that AI has been deployed at scale to tackle food waste in commercial kitchens. More than 75 systems have been installed already, including 23 IKEA stores and a number of hotel restaurants around the world. With eight offices globally and three across Asia in Singapore, China and Thailand, Winnow is able to deploy the technology to hospitality businesses at scale.
IKEA has made great progress in tackling its waste. In UK stores, food waste is reduced by over 50% with Winnow Vision. This initiative has resulted in more profitable and efficient kitchens and sets the wider business on course to meet their goal of 50% food waste reduction by August 2020.
Hege Sæbjørnsen, Country Sustainability Manager for IKEA UK & Ireland, said: “We have set ourselves an ambitious target to cut our food waste by 50% across our operations before end of August 2020 and our partnership with Winnow is critical to realising that goal. We know that food waste is a complex issue, but Winnow Vision demonstrates that solutions to help tackle this don’t have to be.”
Winnow’s existing system is used by over 1,200 kitchens around the world. So far, Winnow has helped commercial kitchens save more than $30 million in annualised food costs, or 23 million meals saved from the bin.
Through the automation of food waste management, thousands more kitchens can take advantage of Winnow’s technology. Looking forward, the business aims to save the hospitality industry $1 billion annually in food cost savings by 2025.
If you wish to learn more about how Winnow Vision and understand how it could help to reduce costs for your business, request a demo today.
Bolstered by record arrivals last year, Bintan Resorts has unveiled a slew of new hardware developments with the aim of doubling its room inventory by 2021 and tripling visitor numbers by 2023.
Frans Gunara, executive director, Gallant Ventures, parent company of Bintan Resorts, said at a media briefing earlier this week: “In 2018, we crossed the one million visitor mark for the first time. This is a 18.4 per cent year-on-year growth.”
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Doulos Phos, The Ship Hotel
Doulos Phos, The Ship Hotel
Overview of Doulos Phos, The Ship Hotel's grounds
Anchor-shaped island
Rendering of Marine Life Discovery Park
Among the upcoming attractions are the Treasure Bay Bintan Organic Farm (opening 2Q2019) and the 2.8-ha Marine Life Discovery Park (opening 4Q2019), while soon-to-open hotels include an as-yet-unnamed glamping tepee-style tent hotel (opening 2Q2019) and Doulos Phos, The Ship Hotel.
The glamping-style hotel will open with 40 keys, but will carry 100 keys upon completion.
Set for a June opening is Doulos Phos, The Ship Hotel, a 104-cabin hotel located within the 130m-long, 104-year-old MV Doulos passenger ship beside the Bentan Telani Ferry Terminal. This property will boast resort-like facilities – built on the land that surrounds the ship – spanning a swimming pool, spa complex, all-day-diner, as well as a maritime museum.
The new additions will boost Bintan Resorts’ inventory from its current 2,000 keys to 4,000 keys by 2021, Gunara added.
A new airport currently under construction will feature a 3km-long runway suitable for widebody aeroplanes, something the current airport cannot accommodate.
Gunara added that Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air, and Lion Air are already onboard, and the company is in talks with other airlines such as Korean Air to fly to Bintan.
“By the time the airport is ready, just from the airport alone, we’re looking at a million visitors alone. If volume goes up, a second runway will be built. Our end target is three million international visitors by 2023,” Gunara told TTG Asia.
“We are also confident that Bintan Resorts can contribute significantly to the 20 million international visitors target that the Indonesian ministry of tourism set out for 2020,” added Gunara.
Other upcoming developments that will soon break ground include the Chiva-Som Resort and Wellness Centre (opening 3Q2022), as well as branded international hotels such as Hotel Indigo, Novotel and Four Points by Sheraton.
The island is also using sporting events to draw more visitors to the island. In addition to the Bintan Triathlon and Ironman 70.3 Bintan, Bintan Resorts will be hosting the second edition of the International Bintan Marathon later this year from September 7-8.
When asked about Bintan’s growth trajectory, Peter Lee, director of One Adventure, a Singapore-based wholesaler who has been selling Bintan for 25 years, shared with TTG Asia: “I think Bintan will keep on growing, especially with all the new resorts coming up, as well as the newly-created attractions.”
But with Bintan facing competition from regional destinations “as airfare promotions (elsewhere) can sometimes be much lower”, Lee pointed out that it’s “necessary to create new resorts and activities to create the awareness”.
Overall, the domestic market is still Bintan’s largest at 40 per cent, with the next two being the Chinese market at 24 per cent, while Singaporeans make up 18 per cent.
The debt-ridden Indian carrier Jet Airways has suspended flights to and from Singapore, after its founder stepped down as chairman of the board and lost majority stake to lenders in a move expected to open the company up to important investments.
Passengers will be refunded their ticket prices, Singapore’s Straits Times was told, while Changi Airport advised affected passengers to contact their booking agent or the airline to find out what options are available to them.
Jet Airways aircraft in Changi Airport Singapore
As it sinks deeper into debt, Jet Airways has been trimming operations down from its peak of nine services a day: three each from New Delhi and Mumbai, two from Bangalore and one from Pune. About a month ago, the number was down to two, according to The Straits Times.
Without an LCC flying India-Singapore routes, travel between the two countries could get more expensive. Compounding the reduced competition, some say there’s a limit to how many flights a Singaporean carrier can mount to India.
Indian media are reporting that Jet Airways has received an expression of interest from four companies to buy a stake in the airline. They are believed to be Etihad Airways, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, TPG Capital and Indigo Partners.
Global business aviation company VistaJet has launched VistaPet, a programme designed to help four-legged passengers feel welcome, including through care kits and pre-flight courses to combat pets’ fear of flying.
VistaJet says it has seen a 104 per cent increase in the number of animals flown over the last two years. One in four VistaJet Members flies regularly with their animal companions, and an estimated 30 million people travel with their pets each year.
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Yet, the company says travel standards to date have failed to reach expected service levels, with 75 per cent of owners distrusting commercial airlines to safely care for their pets, making the journey stressful for both animal and human.
VistaPet has been designed in collaboration with veterinary practitioners, groomers, dieticians and coaches to respond to the needs and challenges faced when travelling with animals.
Through the programme, VistaJet provides passengers flying with pets care kits, sleep mats and balanced menus, in addition to travel advice, global flying regulations and fear of flying courses.
Given the lack of standardisation in rules for the transport of pets around the globe, VistaJet’s customer service team advises passengers on the relevant regulations that apply to their flights and destinations – including details for vaccinations, microchips, certificates and permits.
VistaJet can also arrange fear of flying courses for dogs, in partnership with The Dog House. The four-week course is aimed at desensitising pets to what they could experience during a flight – the smell of fuel, the sounds of jet engines, cabin air pressure and the movements of air turbulence.
On board every flight, passengers will receive a VistaPet Pochette – a travel bag containing bio-organic pet food, treats created by Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux, water-free shampoos and soothing wipes for pets, and rope toys.
There will also be a menu designed to keep pets hydrated, while VistaJet Cabin Hostesses can offer natural flower essences to mix with pets’ drinking water to aid relaxation during the flight.
While flying regulations require that animals are kept on leash or in a travel cage for take-off and landing, during flight pets can relax by their owner’s side on a handmade sleep mat. A full cabin reclean is included as standard after every pet flight.
The Qantas Group has announced that Alison Webster, who was appointed CEO of Qantas International in November 2017, has resigned and will officially step down on April 24, 2019.
Effective immediately, Narendra Kumar will act in the role of Qantas International’s CEO until a permanent appointment is made.
Narendra is the former CFO of Qantas International who currently oversees planning for key changes to the airline’s longhaul fleet.
Asian Travels Network's Facebook page; one of its latest posts advertising online bookings through its Dhaka-based partner, whose website is still up
Singapore’s Asian Travels Network has been suspended from conducting travel agent activities from April 4, 2019 until further notice, in accordance with the Travel Agents Act (Chapter 334).
The suspension is a result of the company’s failure to submit its audited statement of accounts within six months after the close of its financial year, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a notice.
Asian Travels Network’s Facebook page; one of its latest posts advertises online bookings through its Dhaka-based partner, whose website is still up
The submission of audited accounts is a requirement under the Travel Agents Regulations. STB explained that failure to do so within the stipulated deadline raises concern over a company’s ability to meet the minimum financial requirements as mandated under the law.
During the period of suspension, Asian Travels Network is required to fulfil its existing obligations to its customers, but will not be allowed to accept new travel bookings.
A new initiative spearheaded by Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development (ATEED) is encouraging youths to consider a career in tourism to help address the growing skills shortages facing New Zealand’s largest export industry.
Go with Tourism aims to shift the perceptions many young people have about careers in tourism and provides a platform to connect talent with potential employers.
More youth need to join the tourism industry to plug the shortage
A soft launch of the platform began last month – including cinema advertising, and promotional material around the city in the form of bus backs and posters – has already generated significant activity, according to ATEED. More than 300 young people have already registered their interest, and more than 100 employers are set up to be matched with job-seekers.
Steve Armitage, ATEED general manager – destination, says getting more young people into tourism is one of the key strategic imperatives to emerge from the Destination AKL 2025 strategy and is critical to supporting the sustainable growth of Auckland’s and New Zealand’s visitor economy.
“The industry is facing growing skills shortages to support the record numbers of visitors coming here, yet there is a strong pool of young people across the country – one in every eight – who are not working or in study,” he says. “We need to better connect with this untapped talent so that we can get them into quality jobs and grow our region’s existing and emerging tourism businesses.
“Go with Tourism introduces a new platform to promote the stories of young people who are already making their way in the world and enables those who are still considering their career paths to explore the wide range of long-term employment opportunities within the tourism sector.”
Tourism is New Zealand’s largest export industry, and with international visitor numbers increasing every year, an estimated 36,000 additional tourism workers are needed throughout the country by 2025 to meet growing demand.
“We know that this initiative itself will not solve all of these challenges and further advocacy work is necessary if we are to successfully attract the talent the sector is crying out for. This will include further engagement with central government about how tourism can be better recognised in the school curriculum and reflected in policy development,” said Armitage.
A nationwide research project led by ATEED and Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) was commissioned last year to discover what New Zealanders, particularly young people, think about working in tourism. The resulting report, Tourism Youth Perceptions, found that there is stigma associated with the industry.
Tourism Youth Perceptions also found that parents, who have the biggest influence on their child’s career path, tend to have limited understanding of the breadth and depth of opportunities within the tourism sector.
As well as attracting young talent to the tourism industry, Go with Tourism will provide employers with insights and supporting resources to share best practice on attracting, recruiting and retaining youth.
Kimpton Da An, Taiwan
Kimpton Da An Hotel has opened in Taipei’s Da’an District, giving the brand its first operating property in Asia. The hotel features 129 rooms and the brand’s signature elements such as in-room yoga mats, a Morning Kick-Starter and the daily social hour for guests to mingle. Guests can also take part in wellness morning yoga on the rooftop, free fitness and wellness classes or explore the city with complimentary bicycles. For F&B, the hotel offers The Tavernist, which embraces Taiwan’s organic movement and works closely with local farmers and food producers.
Nam Nghi Phu Quoc, Vietnam
The Unbound Collection by Hyatt made its South-east Asia debut with Nam Nghi Phu Quoc. Nestled within an oasis surrounded by beaches, the resort offers 51 villas and 63 guestrooms. There are four F&B venues: all-day-dining restaurant Ocean Reflection, Tree House for contemporary Vietnamese and Thai dining under a banyan tree, and the Rock Island Club, located on its own island a short boat ride from the resort. Other facilities include a spa, outdoor pool, fitness centre and kids’ club, while activity options such as paddleboarding, kayaking, cycling and pontoon boat tours are also available.
Favehotel Sidoarjo – East Java, Indonesia
Favehotel Sidoarjo in East Java has joined Archipelago International’s portfolio of 51 favehotels. Located within the city’s CBD and 25 minutes from the Juanda International Airport, the hotel offers easy access to nearby Surabaya and aims to serve as a base for business travellers in the area. favehotel Sidoarjo offers 118 guestrooms, including 16 suites with city views, the Raflesia Ballroom for over 600 guests, four meeting rooms (166m2 or 118m2).
St Regis Hong Kong
St Regis Hong Kong is now welcoming guests, having just opened in the city’s Wan Chai district. It offers 112 rooms and 17 suites ranging from 50m2 to 240m2 in size. Dining concepts include two restaurants by Michelin-star chefs – L’Envol for French haute cuisine and Rùn, for Chinese fine-dining – an all-day dining restaurant and The St Regis Bar. For meetings and events, the hotel has 1,115m2 of across five venues, counting The Astor Ballroom, which spans 518m2 with a cathedral high ceiling design and enjoys direct lift access from the 72-bay private carpark, and the Rockefeller Room for corporate meetings or more intimate gatherings. Other facilities include an outdoor veranda, heated swimming pool and poolside bar, as well as a health club with a spa treatment room.
The Fantauzzo, Australia
The Fantauzzo, an Art Collection hotel inspired by Australian painter Vincent Fantauzzo, has opened within Brisbane’s new cultural hub, Howard Smith Wharves. Carved into the cliff under the iconic Story Bridge, The Fantauzzo is said to be a blend of architecture, nature and art. The six-storey hotel offers 66 suites, a relaxed Italian eatery Polpetta on the ground floor, a rooftop pool and bar, gym and function rooms. Seven original artworks and 500 giclée prints feature throughout the hotel, while guests can enjoy complimentary art tours, in-room art channels and libraries to get up close and personal with Fantauzzo’s work.
As the traditional New Year in several South-east Asia approaches, TTG Asia would like to wish our readers in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos a happy Songkran, Thingyan, Moha Sangkran Chhnam Thmey Khmer and Pi Mai Lao.
DMOs are also taking the opportunity to invite travellers to visit these countries to experience the traditional merit-making and modern-day revelry associated with the Water Festival.
Thingyan in Myanmar
During the Burmese New Year Water Festival (April 13-17), key tourist destinations will boast their own celebrations, including the inaugural floating Thingyan festival in the Inle Lake featuring thousands of boats and barges at Inle Cultural Heritage Trust Complex in Nyaung Shwe, and Yangon’s first-ever Inya Splash Walk, taking place on the Inya Road with celebrities, entertainment, food vendors and other activities, according to Myanmar Tourism Marketing.
Thailand, meanwhile, is using Songkran to promote tourism in such emerging destinations like Tak, Mukdahan and Ranong, as well as supporting activities in eight other provinces (Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Ayutthaya, Phuket and Songkhla) to showcase local traditions of the annual Thai water festival.
“Thailand’s emerging destinations and secondary cities have a unique charm that is often found in smaller towns around the world. Some traditions are maintained in these places that might have faded in larger more established destinations like Bangkok or Pattaya,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand.
FlowRider and Skydiving simulator on the Spectrum of the Seas, the first of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship
With cruise penetration in some fast-growing markets in South-east Asia as low as 0.02 per cent in recent times, education is an important next step for the region’s travel agents to expand their revenue horizons.
FlowRider and Skydiving simulator on the Spectrum of the Seas, the first of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship
Cruise passengers originating from Asia crossed the four million mark in 2017, up 20.6 per cent over 2016, and as of late last year was the world’s fourth largest cruising region, said Jiali Wong, regional manager, Asia, Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) during a travel agent seminar held by the association during ITB Asia.
While China is the region’s largest source market, Wong pointed out that “almost every market in Asia saw double-digit growth”.
The statistics reflect healthy consumer interest in a region where travellers are starting to “recognise cruise holidays as a relaxing and value-for-money option”. It also helps that cruise is “a natural fit” for families, a key travel segment in Asia, she pointed out.
Indeed, family travel presents a lucrative segment for cruises in Asia, according to Steve Odell, senior vice president and managing director Asia Pacific, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
“One of the most important trends that we (are seeing) in Asia is multi-generational travel. A lot of times in Asia it’s the grandparents hosting the family, and we have big extended family groups coming out from most markets, particularly Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand,” he commented.
Cruising a last bastion for agents
Said Wong: “Unlike a lot of travel segments, where consumers are starting to book direct, travel agents remain a key distribution channel for cruise lines.
Costa Venezia
“In fact, the majority of cruises have over 80 per cent of their products listed by travel agencies. This translates to potential for travel agents to tap into the cruising segment to increase sales,” she added.
Cruise lines are also stressing the key role that agents play in the distribution and booking of cruises.
“The airline and the hotel business have educated travellers to book online but agents still play a major role in our booking process because a cruise is a more invested experience (than a car ride or flight),” said Odell.
“Agents still have a fundamental role in the booking process because people have a lot of questions about cruises. We have online booking tools, and a growing number will book online, but these will be second- and third-time cruisers who are over the line of what they are buying,” he continued.
For Genting Cruise Lines, OTAs are responsible for just 17 per cent of bookings in China, but this is already a good deal ahead of any other country in the world in terms of online distribution, according to Siv Forlie, senior vice president – revenue management. “All in all, 75-85 per cent of business comes from agencies, online and offline,” she added.
Although Genting is “working very hard” to push online sales with e-commerce strategies and website revamps, she said the online format is often a “disaster for selling cruises” due to the amount of content that needs to be displayed for consumers to make a decision.
“When it comes to still being dependent on third parties, traditional partners are not moving as fast into the Internet age, although we tell them the Internet is here to stay.”
Plugging the knowledge gap
Amid the cruising boom in Asia, penetration rate in some fast-growing markets in South-east Asia remain as low as 0.02 per cent, underscoring the need for the region’s travel agents to enhance their product knowledge and marketing capabilities to tap the growth potentials.
Dining on board World Dream
CLIA’s Wong stressed that travel agents “need to be more cruise-educated by taking the next step to familiarise themselves with products”. CLIA is stepping up support for travel agents looking to sell cruises, through training and accreditation as well as sharing resources such as marketing toolkits.
Having joined forces with the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents in November 2018, CLIA Asia is stepping up its efforts to drive cruise education and awareness in Malaysia with its latest MoU signing with Malaysia Cruise Industry Association (MCIA).
“CLIA Asia’s mandate is to provide essential training, resources and support to travel agents in the region. Globally, we see that cruise markets with the highest market penetration have the most “cruise educated” travel agents,” Joel Katz, CLIA Australasia & Asia managing director said.
The partnership with MCIA with provide CLIA with the opportunity to better equip members with better skills to promote and sell cruise holidays, while MCIA will leverage CLIA’s expertise to educate their travel agent members and raise the profile of cruise tourism.
Cruise leaders can’t stress enough the value that this sector brings for specialist advisors.
Seeing “huge opportunity” for agents, Odell said: “Agents in the region haven’t been brave enough to say they are cruise specialists. Australia is quite a sophisticated cruise market with a lot of cruise specialists, and they are people who say they only sell cruises. But in Asia it’s still a big issue – and a big opportunity,” he remarked.
“Agents should also think what they can potentially earn from selling cruises. We are quite often an inclusive product where they are earning higher value commissions, (compared what they make from hotels and airfares). With cruising they are generally selling four to five days of travel – we pay very generous commissions.”
Odell hence urges travel agents to “find the right partner, utilise the resources that partner can give you and become a specialist”.
“It’s about partnerships – agents can’t do it on their own, and we can’t do it on our own. There’s a lot of money to be made (in cruising),” he stressed.
Indonesia: low penetration translates to growth opportunities
In Indonesia, the outbound cruise market was showing an alluring 40.2 per cent year-on-year growth, Wong shared last year. Yet, the most recently published figures from CLIA showed that one in 5,600 Indonesians were cruising, putting the penetration rate at only 0.017 per cent.
The knowledge gap and lack of cruises departing from the country’s key outbound travel cities are major obstacles, according to some travel agents polled.
Selayar Kepulauan Lestari – which has been offering yacht and cruise itineraries out of Bali, servicing mainly European travellers – is now pivoting into Indonesia’s outbound cruising market.
Company spokesperson Iwan Syahlani shared with TTG Asia plans to undergo the association’s accreditation programme to steer his company into the cruising market.
He said: “(As the numbers show), there is a large potential market of Indonesians wanting to enjoy cruising around the world.”
“Unlike in Singapore, there is (little) happening in Indonesia to educate travel agents and help them better understand cruise tourism,” Iwan said, adding that he would like to learn more about cruise products before rolling out marketing campaigns in “big city markets” like Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya.”
Apart from CLIA’s training and accreditation, Iwan was also pursuing learning opportunities with a Jakarta-based consultant in cruise line marketing.
Further highlighting the importance of education for travel agent is the proliferation of cruise products in the region, not only in terms of capacity but also the types of offerings available.
“Ships are moving more and more to the east. This year we’ll see almost 38 cruise lines represented in Asia with more than 78 ships. There is also more variation in the types of cruise products,” CLIA’s Wong pointed out. For example, in addition to large ships, small luxury cruising is also catching on in Asia.
But for Katarina Indrawati, EMFA Tours & Travel in Indonesia, product knowledge and marketing alone are insufficient to help sell cruises to Indonesians.
Cruise sales are just beginning to come in at the agency, which offers Royal Caribbean and Genting cruises. In 2017, she said customers were seeking information on the products. By late 2018, they began making bookings.
“It took a long time to provide the information and (convert into sales),” she said, explaining that the lack of cruise departures from Indonesia’s main outbound travel cities is a big obstacle, particularly as fly-cruise could still be relatively pricey for her clients at the moment.
“It’ll absolutely help if we have cruises departing from (primary outbound cities). I think there are little to none (other than from Bali) for now. Genting stops in Surabaya, but it is not the point of departure. Indonesian cruisegoers would have to buy tickets to Singapore and back, on top of the cruise product.”
“Air tickets can sometimes be priced quite high. Cruises set the schedule, so we have to buy the ticket accordingly and cannot rely on (seasonal) airfare discounts.” – Additional reporting from Xinyi Liang-Pholsena
