Chiang Rai’s Wat Rong Khun, one of the most recognised temples of Thailand, will light up each evening this year-end with a 100 million baht (US$3.2 million) project by Index Creative Village and Thai visual artist Chalermchai Kositpipat.
Wat Rong Khun Light Fest will mark the first time that the White Temple, which receives over 10,000 visitors a day and over two million people a year, is open to visitors at night, according to Chalermchai, who is also the builder of the popular attraction in Chiang Rai.
Concept of an illuminated White Temple
Running from November 22 to December 22 this year, the multimedia show will use over 100 lasers and 3D mapping techniques to bring an all new night-time experience at the temple. Two performances – each lasting 60 minutes – are available daily at 18.30 and 20.30 during this period, and are limited to only 1,000 seats per show.
Tickets are priced from 400 to 1,150 baht, and are available for purchase via Thai Ticketmaster or 083-989-6926 and/or 083-989-6831. For special promotions for tour groups, email jrl@index-creative.com and/or psp@index-creative.com .
Part of the proceeds from the sales of tickets will be donated to Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital.
Panglao in Bohol (pictured), along with El Nido, Siargao and Coron identified for rehabilitation
As more Philippine tourist destinations are being looked into for rehabilitation, the Philippine Department of Tourism is urging local operators to comply with laws related to sustainable development, while assuring destinations will not face complete shut-down, unlike the case of Boracay’s clean-up last year.
“Rehabilitation is not exactly closure,” tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat emphasised while disclosing that Panglao in Bohol and El Nido in Palawan are currently being rehabilitated.
Panglao in Bohol (pictured), along with El Nido, Siargao and Coron identified for rehabilitation
Siargao will follow “soon” and Coron in Palawan is being looked into as well, with the responsible and sustainable management of major tourists spots said to a priority as part of the NTO’s new direction.
Non-beach destinations will not escape scrutiny, with the task force also looking at Baguio, which is beset with the depletion of pine trees it is noted for, and overbuilding issues.
Boracay was abruptly closed for six months last year as part of its ongoing rehabilitation, causing thousands of job losses, economic woes for island residents dependent on tourism for sustenance, and billions of pesos in losses to airlines, hotels, travel agents and tour operators.
This time however, only establishments that have violated environmental and related laws will be shut down until they comply.
In the ongoing rehabilitation of the Manila Bay, for instance, Puyat said at least five hotels would be closed if they fail to comply within three months. Several restaurants and other establishments were already closed.
For beach and sea destinations, the government inter-agency task force including the Department of Tourism basically checks the coliform level of the waters, sewage disposal, compliance with easement and environmental rules, among other areas.
Puyat said that last November, Panglao and El Nido were given six months to follow easement and environmental laws, however their mayors were “a bit hard-headed”.
If these two destinations still don’t comply after the sixth month, she said they will discuss next steps.
As more destinations are identified for rehabilitation, Boracay is now believed to be cleaner and more tourist-friendly and is on the second part of its rehabilitation covering the repair of roads leading to its timberland. There still are establishments that remain closed pending their compliance with environmental and other regulations.
Aerial view of Yokohama's Minato Mirai seaside district
Two soon-to-open piers that will result in the largest port capacity in Japan, fast-growing cruise arrivals and an increasingly visitor-friendly seaside precinct are why Yokohama is a seaport destination to be reckoned with, the Yokohama Convention & Visitors Bureau is eager to show.
In 2019, 190 cruise ships will arrive in Yokohama, 90 of them foreign flagged, a 25 per cent increase over 2018. Japan is the top cruise destination in Asia, and Yokohama is the most frequently visited Japanese port for English-speaking passengers.
Aerial view of Yokohama’s Minato Mirai district
Still, the Yokohama Convention & Visitors Bureau says the port city remains often overlooked due to its proximity to Tokyo, despite being a worthy destination in its own right. “If you have ever taken a cruise that lists Tokyo on its itinerary, unless your ship was very small, you almost certainly docked, not in Tokyo, but in the Port of Yokohama.
“Sadly, travellers unknowingly arrive at Narita or Haneda Airport a day before their cruise and immediately take an expensive taxi ride into Tokyo with all their luggage. Then, the next day take another expensive taxi ride to Yokohama. They ignore Yokohama, which is not only more convenient, it is a worthy city in and of itself,” the CVB argued in a statement.
On top of “port of the future” Minato Mirai, home to visitor attractions including museums, and the Osanbashi International Passenger Terminal, Yokohama will soon have two new cruise-receiving piers. Daikoku and Shinko piers will open in April and November 2019 respectively.
With the opening of these two piers, the CVB says the Yokohama port will be the largest in Japan in terms of capacity, able to accommodate seven ships at one time.
While Daikoku will receive mostly freight ships, it will also be open to some larger cruise ships such as the Queen Elizabeth II.
In fact, in terms of “super large ships,” 2019 arrivals will be 11 times greater than 2018, according to the CVB.
The five-story Shinko Pier, also known as Yokohama Pier 9, is currently scheduled to open in November 2019. Occupying an area of 30,290m2 on a site footprint of 17,700m2, this new port will be dedicated to passenger cruise ships.
The complex will also include dining, entertainment and a new five-star hotel to be operated by the Yokohama Grand Intercontinental.
The hotel’s first floor will house the CIQ (Customs, Immigration & Quarantine), whereas the second floor will showcase both the hotel restaurant and lobby. Shinko’s top three floors will be devoted to luxury guest rooms, all over 45m2 in size.
The land adjacent to the new Shinko Pier terminal will be developed into Hammerhead Park and Promenade. This park will incorporate the historic Shinko Pier Hammerhead Crane, Yokohama’s first quay crane, installed in 1914. The plan is for it to become a second symbol of the city, akin to the nostalgic Red Brick Warehouse.
Carnival Corporation, which includes the Princess and Costa brands active in Japan, has preferential use rights and will host over 80 vessels at Shinko annually. Other vessels will dock one or two times in spot arrivals.
Cruise lines that will dock at Shinko include: Royal Caribbean, Windstar, MSC, Azamara, and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Some 400,000 cruise ship passengers are expected annually.
On April 27, 2019 alone, four large cruise ships will dock in Yokohama on this same day, bringing as many as 10,000 passengers in total:
MSC Splendida (137,936 tons; 4,363 passengers) at Daikoku Pier
Azamara Quest (30,277 tons; 694 passengers) at Daikoku Pier
Norwegian Jewel (93,502 tons; 2,376 passengers) at Yamashita Pier (an additional backup port!)
Diamond Princess (115,906 tons; 2,706 passengers) at Osanbashi Pier
In April 2019, the Skywalk section of the Bay Bridge will reopen during super large ship dockings at Daikoku pier.
After months of negotiations involving different investors, India’s Hotel Leela Venture has confirmed it will sell four of its hotels and a property to a fund sponsored by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management for Rp39.5 billion (US$576.4 million).
The shareholding of the company will remain unaffected after the sale.
Rooftop pool at Leela Palace Delhi
The company will sell Leela hotels at Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Udaipur and its property in Agra to Brookfield. The Leela brand will also be transferred to Brookfield for all hospitality businesses.
Quoting a statement issued by Leela, Reuters reported that proceeds from this deal will be used to repay existing lenders of the company.
Hotel Leela Venture will continue to operate its hotel in Mumbai and own some land in Hyderabad and its development project of residential apartments with Prestige Developers in Bangalore.
After months of negotiations involving different investors, India’s Hotel Leela Venture has confirmed it will sell four of its hotels and a property to a fund sponsored by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management for Rp39.5 billion (US$576.4 million).
The shareholding of the company will remain unaffected after the sale.
Rooftop pool at Leela Palace Delhi
The company will sell Leela hotels at Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Udaipur and its property in Agra to Brookfield. The Leela brand will also be transferred to Brookfield for all hospitality businesses.
Quoting a statement issued by Leela, Reuters reported that proceeds from this deal will be used to repay existing lenders of the company.
Hotel Leela Venture will continue to operate its hotel in Mumbai and own some land in Hyderabad and its development project of residential apartments with Prestige Developers in Bangalore.
Adventure in travel is not just the domain of the young, according to a recent study.
Travel publisher Rough Guides released its findings from a poll of 2,000 adults age 40 and above shortly after its foray into creating bespoke trips “packed with personality and adventure”.
Older travellers still adventurous with holidays
The study showed that over 40s reckon they have only visited a quarter of the countries they dream of going to around the world with popular backpacking destinations New Zealand, Canada, and Australia top of the list. It also emerged that more than six in 10 are already looking forward to at least one trip abroad in 2019.
Notably, three in 10 in the over 40s age group reckon they are more adventurous with their holiday choices now than they ever used to be, with 38 per cent preferring to go off the beaten track when they travel abroad.
Rather than sitting by the pool, a fifth of over 40s have tried snorkelling on a trip abroad and more than one in 10 have been on a safari.
On top of the propensity to see the world, age also affords greater freedoms to travel. Nearly half of over 40s polled say they go on more holidays now than at any other point of their lives, with six in 10 putting this down to having more money now than they did in the past.
A quarter think it’s easier to get away and go jet-setting around the globe because their kids are older, while 46 per cent have more time, according to the research. Another 40 per cent think their lives have simplified enough so they now have more freedom – in their 50s or beyond – to see the globe.
Aimee White, editor at Rough Guides, said: “Travel is no longer the sole preserve of the young. It is important that the travel industry gives older travellers the same opportunities to have adventurous travel experiences as younger people if they want to and not dismiss them as being too ‘old’ or ‘boring’.”
Lack of clarity around a key term for calculating the goods & services tax (GST) rates for hotels is spelling trouble for consumers booking hotels in the peak tourist season.
Zuzu Hospitality Solutions, a Singapore-based yield management service provider for independent hoteliers, has announced its regional expansion on the back of completing a S$5 million (US$3.7 million) Series A investment round.
Completed in 4Q2018, the Series A round for Zuzu was led by Wavemaker Partners with other existing investors Golden Gate Ventures, Convergence Venture, and Alpha JWC Ventures as well as new investors Access Ventures and Line Ventures.
Regional expansion on the cards for the yield management service provider
The company was founded in 2016, and had raised a seed round of US$2 million in 2017 to allow it to invest in its product development.
With this new round of funding, the company is expanding its Asia-Pacific operations from its launch markets of Indonesia, Taiwan and Singapore.
The company has appointed veterans in the industry, Jake Coleiro as country manager for Australia and Prae Wattanalapa as country manager for Thailand.
According to Zuzu, less than one in 10 of the over 300,000 independent hoteliers globally use any sort of revenue management software. More than 10,000 of these independent hotels are in Thailand while Malaysia and Australia have 5,000 each.
Zuzu delivers an outsourced yield management solution for independent hotels. It couples a proprietary hotel operating system with a service model delivered by specialist revenue managers, said to deliver an average uplift of 30 per cent in online revenue.
Co-founder Dan Lynn said: “Zuzu is now the only complete outsourced yield management solution for independent hotels. Rather than dropping a piece of software on a hotel and expecting them to figure it out for themselves, we provide both the software and the service. We let hoteliers outsource their yield optimisation so they can focus on hospitality.”
RV Kalaw Pandaw, one of the ships deployed for India itineraries
Pandaw has ordered a new 14-cabin K-class ship for Myanmar, deeming the fleet expansion necessary as demand grows.
While the political situation in Myanmar has been linked to a decline in mainstream routings, Pandaw says the demand for small ship expeditions in the country has increased.
RV Kalaw Pandaw, one of Pandaw’s existing ships deployed for India itineraries
Moreover, having deployed three K-class vessels to India, the boat operator finds it necessary to order one more to meet the increased demand for Myanmar cruises, principally on the Upper Irrawaddy, Chindwin and Delta expeditions into remoter untouristed parts of the country.
Many of these are now fully booked for the coming season and a support vessel is “urgently needed”, Pandaw stated.
In the tradition of naming all K-class ships after original Irrawaddy Flotilla vessels, the new build is to be named the Kanee Pandaw, and is being built in Mandalay.
These safari-style vessels offer outdoor or indoor dining, run-round promenades and indoor and outdoor living space. The cabins are slightly smaller than on Pandaw’s larger ships.
Like all Pandaw’s expedition ships the Kanee will carry mountain bikes and is being aimed at a younger demographic and family travel into these remote reaches.
Pandaw founder, Paul Strachan, commented: “We began in Burma 25 years ago and remain attached to the country and its people. Since we started the Pandaw Charity in 2008 the company has funded the Pandaw Clinics programme providing essential health care to a whole region of the country; to me it is a personal mission to ensure that our business in Burma, despite recent political setbacks, continues to prosper so that we can maintain these funding commitments.”
Cebu Pacific expands route network
Cebu Pacific (CEB) will expand its domestic destination network with thrice-weekly flights between Manila and Marinduque, commencing on April 1.
The route will be operated by subsidiary Cebgo using its fleet of brand-new ATR aircraft on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The hour-long flight will shorten the travelling time from Manila to Marinduque by seven hours; the original trip takes eight hours by ferry and land transport.
In addition, CEB will launch three new domestic routes from Clark International Airport. CEB will mount daily flights between its hubs in Clark and Iloilo; as well as between Clark and Bacolod, starting August 9, 2019. Beginning October 9, 2019, CEB will mount daily flights between Clark and Puerto Princesa in Palawan.
Garuda spreads wings to Nagoya
Garuda Indonesia will soon launch a four-times weekly service between Jakarta and Nagoya on March 23.
Available on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the route will be operated with an Airbus A330 aircraft that offers 36 business class and 186 economy class seats.
GA884 will take off at 23.35 from from Soekarno Hatta International Airport and arrive in Chubu Centrair International Airport at 07.25 the next day. Return flight GA885 will leave Nagoya at 10.00 and arrive in Jakarta at 15.00.
Hainan Airlines launches two new routes
China’s Hainan Airlines has launched two new routes to Japan and France.
The first is between Haikou, capital of Hainan Province, and Osaka. The route will utilise a Boeing 737-800 aircraft and operate thrice-weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The outbound flight takes off from Haikou at 08.40, and will arrive in Osaka at 13.40. The return flight will depart Osaka at 14.40, and land in Haikou at 19.15.
On March 24, Hainan Airlines will also launch a weekly flight between Guiyang and Paris.
The airline will be serviced by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and takes off every Sunday. HU731 will depart Guiyang at 01.30 and arrive in Paris at 06.20. The return flight, HU732, will leave Paris at 12.30, and arrive back in Guiyang at 08.30 the following day.
This is the airline’s fourth non-stop route from mainland China to Paris following Xi’an-Paris, Chongqing-Paris and Shenzhen-Paris.
SIA embarks on wellness journey with Como
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Singapore-based wellness brand Como Shambhala, part of the Como Group, have signed an MoU to bring wellness-related in-flight offerings to travellers.
Under the initial phase of this partnership, Como Shambhala will introduce its wellness cuisine on selected SIA flights in 2H2019.
These dishes will feature seasonal ingredients sourced sustainably. A new wellness menu featuring specially curated dishes will then be introduced across all classes, and co-developed dishes will progressively be made available in SIA’s Book the Cook service.
Lufthansa and Amadeus renews technology partnership
The Lufthansa Group and Amadeus have renewed their longstanding technology partnership.
Through the deal, Amadeus’ Altéa Passenger Service System (PSS) will continue to provide Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines with their IT systems for reservation, inventory and departure control. In addition, the Lufthansa Group and Amadeus are also expanding their partnership to add further areas of collaboration. Areas in which Amadeus technology is supporting the Lufthansa Group range from operations, and merchandising & shopping to disruptions management.
Emirates passengers flying to Dubai from Phuket or Bangkok are entitled to complimentary visa
Emirates passengers flying to Dubai from Phuket or Bangkok are entitled to complimentary visa
For a limited period, Thai passengers flying to Dubai with Emirates are eligible for a free 96-hour complimentary visa.
Passengers flying from Bangkok and Phuket before December 12, and who purchase tickets to Dubai before March 31, 2019, will be eligible for the offer. They will also be entitled to special fares that start from 16,110 baht (US$507) for Economy Class, and from 47,420 baht for Business Class.
The complimentary visa can be arranged by contacting Emirates’ office in Bangkok at least 10 days before departure date.
Travellers visiting Dubai or making a stopover in Dubai until March 31, 2019 can also benefit from discounts and other privileges across 500 participating retail, leisure and dining outlets with My Emirates Pass. To enjoy the discounts, passengers need to present their boarding pass and a valid form of identification.
Adventure in travel is not just the domain of the young, according to a recent study.
Travel publisher Rough Guides released its findings from a poll of 2,000 adults age 40 and above shortly after its foray into creating bespoke trips “packed with personality and adventure”.
The study showed that over 40s reckon they have only visited a quarter of the countries they dream of going to around the world with popular backpacking destinations New Zealand, Canada, and Australia top of the list. It also emerged that more than six in 10 are already looking forward to at least one trip abroad in 2019.
Notably, three in 10 in the over 40s age group reckon they are more adventurous with their holiday choices now than they ever used to be, with 38 per cent preferring to go off the beaten track when they travel abroad.
Rather than sitting by the pool, a fifth of over 40s have tried snorkelling on a trip abroad and more than one in 10 have been on a safari.
On top of the propensity to see the world, age also affords greater freedoms to travel. Nearly half of over 40s polled say they go on more holidays now than at any other point of their lives, with six in 10 putting this down to having more money now than they did in the past.
A quarter think it’s easier to get away and go jet-setting around the globe because their kids are older, while 46 per cent have more time, according to the research. Another 40 per cent think their lives have simplified enough so they now have more freedom – in their 50s or beyond – to see the globe.
Aimee White, editor at Rough Guides, said: “Travel is no longer the sole preserve of the young. It is important that the travel industry gives older travellers the same opportunities to have adventurous travel experiences as younger people if they want to and not dismiss them as being too ‘old’ or ‘boring’.”