TTG Asia will be taking a long-awaited break from December 14 after a very fruitful year. We’ll be back on January 7, 2019, and we look forward to continue to bring you the most breaking news in the travel trade.
The entire TTG Asia Media team wishes all readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Shinta Mani Hotels has made two senior management appointments in Cambodia.
Kenan Moumin is appointed the general manager of Shinta Mani Angkor and Shinta Mani Shack Angkor. Moumin has experience in the upscale and luxury resort scene, having worked for companies including Starwood and Marriott in Central China as well as AccorHotels, where he was part of the Accor Executive Leadership Program in Australia.
Amara Colenthier is named the villa manager of Shinta Mani Angkor – Bensley Collection. Of French Khmer ancestry, Colenthier is a hotel and restaurant management graduate with experience in the luxury hospitality scene.
Heritage Line is introducing a new ten-suite vessel, Ylang, which will make its maiden voyage on August 17, 2019, plying the waters of Lan Ha Bay.
The 3D2N Senses of Lan Ha journey explores the region of Lan Ha Bay, a quiet extension of the famed Halong Bay, offering on- and off-shore experiences.
The cruise includes active excursions from cycling to leisure hiking on the island of Cat Ba and visits to a remote Lan Ha Bay fishing village. All excursions are paired with a wellness leitmotif on the vessel, including a free half day for guests to choose from swimming, kayaking or spa and yoga.
Ylang begins her journey from a pier on the small island Cat Hai near the city of Hai Phong (approximately 1.5 hours’ drive from Hanoi).
All 10 suites are dedicated to a particular blossom which typically represents a season in Vietnam. Among these are four Regent Suites with floor space up to 54m2. All Regent Suites are individually designed, and the front facing ones feature a Jacuzzi on their balcony.
Heritage Line has started offering contractual rates to accredited business partners.
The Philippines will soon adopt a new marketing strategy focussed on psychographics rather than demographics, and anchored on responsible tourism and stewardship.
The new direction, to be complemented by a “refreshed” It’s more fun in the Philippines campaign, is in keeping with changes in global realities that are already shaping travel and tourism, said Tourism and Promotions Board’s (TPB) new COO, Marie Venus Tan.
While in the past, “we looked at (tourists’) demographics – age, propensity to travel, income, where they come from, religion and so on, we are now going to start looking at psychographics – what motivates people”, she told TTG Asia at the sidelines of the Kain Na (Let’s Eat) culinary tourism launch in Davao City last Friday.
TPB’s plans and programmes for 2019 specify that its marketing and promotions focus will be on “people’s interest”, and will shift from “hard sell” to “soft power”, building on culture, gastronomy, Filipino values and the country’s unique national assets.
“The paradigm has shifted to people looking at experiential travel… No longer are people just wanting to go to a hotel and relax at the beach,” Tan said.
She added that the destination has been marketed using the same photos over and over again, and with the same stories. This has put its products in comparison with too many competing offerings not just globally, but also regionally.
“So if we talk about the beach, other destinations (in Asia) will always say, ‘we have the best beach, mountains, waterfall’. All of that is always debatable. So we’re now branching into a new direction that will really bring out what is uniquely ours.”
She said there are many aspects that the destination can anchor on to interest tourists, with further details to be announced at a later time.
“Security is no longer an issue; safety is no longer an issue when deciding where to go because people are now looking at destinations to fulfil their interests. We kept so many things for the Philippines for too long.”
Tan further shared that the TPB’s new marketing and promotion strategy will be anchored on the overarching pronouncements of tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat on responsible tourism and responsible stewardship.
The TPB will also look at trending global interests like nature, food, slow travel, artificial intelligence, climate change, mobile wallet, shared economy, etc.
Strategic marketing directions, the TPB’s 2019 plans showed, would consider factors such as tourist spend and duration of stay
The Japan Association of Vacation Rental (JAVR) – founded by nine major vacation rental and travel agencies including Airbnb – will soon be launched, with the founding committee working to establish it as a general incorporated association in early 2019.
Its founding committee is made up of Agoda International Japan, Airbnb, Booking.com Japan, Ctrip International Travel Japan, HomeAway, Hyakusenrenma, Space Market, Tujia Japan and Rakuten Lifull Stay.
The nine founding companies will go on to be on the board of directors, with Yasuhiro Kamiyama, CEO of Hyakusenrenma, and Natsuko Kimura, Japan country manager of HomeAway as the association’s first joint representative directors.
The association will promote Japanese vacation rentals to inbound travellers to Japan as well as to the domestic market.
In collaboration with Japan Tourism Agency, the newly established JAVR will aim to contribute to the development of the tourism industry in Japan and grow vacation rental businesses such as vacation rental, ryokan business utilising residential facilities, vacation rental in the national strategy zone and event vacation rental.
To achieve this, the Vacation Rental Association will work to ensure smooth operation of related projects and “improve cognition” and the institutional environment.
Since May 2018, Japan Tourism Agency has shown support for the founding committee of the association. Before the preparation meeting to confirm the establishment of the association on December 11, discussions with overseas and domestic major vacation rental travel agencies had already been ongoing for over half a year.
India nationals can now enter Myanmar with visa-on-arrival (VOA) at Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw International Airports, as part of the Myanmar government’s move to facilitate easier access for tourists visiting the country.
With VOA, passport holders are not require to obtain pre-arranged approval, and can apply for a visa which will be granted instantly. The fees for the visa on arrival is US$50.
In early October, Chinese nationals from the mainland were also granted VOA into Myanmar, while tourists from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau were granted visa-free entry.
The visa relaxation measures were granted in a move to attract more Asian tourism into Myanmar, which this year saw a sharp drop in arrivals from key European markets.
In a statement, Myanmar Tourism Marketing (MTM) reiterated that although 2018 has been a challenging year for the destination, hopes are high that “tourism will bring positive change to this culturally diverse nation”.
May Myat Mon Win, MTM chairperson, commented: “We continue to believe that tourism is a good way to connect people and to bring development and peace all over the country for any race or religion, and we do call to tourists from all over the world to continue visiting Myanmar.”
India nationals can now enter Myanmar with visa-on-arrival (VOA) at Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw International Airports, as part of the Myanmar government’s move to facilitate easier access for tourists visiting the country.
With VOA, passport holders are not require to obtain pre-arranged approval, and can apply for a visa which will be granted instantly. The fees for the visa on arrival is US$50.
In early October, Chinese nationals from the mainland were also granted VOA into Myanmar, while tourists from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau were granted visa-free entry.
The visa relaxation measures were granted in a move to attract more Asian tourism into Myanmar, which this year saw a sharp drop in arrivals from key European markets.
In a statement, Myanmar Tourism Marketing (MTM) reiterated that although 2018 has been a challenging year for the destination, hopes are high that “tourism will bring positive change to this culturally diverse nation”.
May Myat Mon Win, MTM chairperson, commented: “We continue to believe that tourism is a good way to connect people and to bring development and peace all over the country for any race or religion, and we do call to tourists from all over the world to continue visiting Myanmar.”
New Delhi has become the second Asian city after Bangkok in Air Italy’s network, with Mumbai soon to follow as the airline plans further expansion to better connect India and North America via Milan.
The new Italian airline commenced a thrice-weekly New Delhi-Milan service last week, continuing its foray into Asia that kicked off with a five-times-weekly flights between Bangkok and Milan in October. On December 14, it will start plying the Mumbai-Milan route three times a week.
Air Italy has also entered into an interline agreement with Air Vistara, which will help expand its reach to other markets within India.
Apart from focusing on point-to-point connectivity, the airline is expecting Asian markets like India to generate healthy demand for its new North American routes including New York and Miami, where it commenced operations earlier this year.
“We promote Italy as a destination. However, we are also offering customers connectivity to New York and Miami through our hub in Milan. Whenever a airline provides hub connectivity the demand increases significantly. Though there are other airlines like Air India that are offering point-to-point connectivity between India and Italy, we are the only option for travellers that are looking at onward connections to North America,” said Rossen Dimitrov, COO, Air Italy.
On its strategy to expand its North American network, he shared that the airline will be launching new destinations in the US including San Francisco and Los Angeles in April 2019. Air Italy also plans to launch a new service to Toronto in summer 2019.
He added that Air Italy is also planning to enhance its connectivity to Asia, without disclosing the destinations the airline is looking at.
“For us Asia is a priority market and there are some other destinations in the continent on our radar. We are presently evaluating those markets. We will make announcement in this regard at the right time.”
The carrier is enhancing its longhaul fleet with the Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The airline’s fleet size is expected to increase from the current 15 to over 50 by 2022, with new Boeing 737 Max aircraft part of the mix.
Correction: The story earlier reported that Air Italy has entered into a codeshare partnership with Air Vistara, but the airline has clarified that it is actually an interline agreement. The story has been updated.
A Paramount Picture-branded theme park is set to open within an upcoming multi-billion-dollar integrated entertainment resort in South Korea’s Incheon.
A development by Inspire Integrated Resort, an affiliate of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE), the Inspire integrated resort is scheduled to open in phases from 2022 onwards.
The 40-plus ha Paramount-branded theme park with a connecting entertainment and retail village is scheduled to open as part of phase 1B of the project in 2025.
Paramount controls a collection of brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount Players, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies.
It is one of the brands on the growing list of strategic partners for Project Inspire, according to Mario Kontomerkos, CEO of MGE. “Aligning with highly sought after and recognised brands (sharing) mutual goals is a key component to the creation of the world’s first true integrated entertainment resort.”
Phase 1A of the development, spanning over 170ha of Incheon Airport’s nearly 437ha IBC-III parcel of land, is scheduled to break ground in May next year and open in 2022.
It will include a five-star resort hotel with over 1,250 keys, a 15,000-seat concert and sports arena, casino space with 150 table games and 600 slots/electronic games, a hemispherical dome featuring over 4,500m2 of climate-controlled indoor pool space comprising rides, dining and retail.
A conference and convention space that includes the largest hotel ballroom in Incheon/Seoul at 5,617m2 is also expected to open as part of phase 1A of the project.
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has been appointed by Fubon Hospitality Management to manage Rosewood Taipei, set to launch in 2024.
Rosewood Taipei will feature 191 rooms and 27 suites; five restaurant and bars; residential-style meeting and function facilities; Sense, a Rosewood spa with four treatment rooms; an indoor pool and a fitness centre.
Located in Taipei’s Xinyi district, the hotel sits at the intersection of new and old neighbourhoods, with sites such as Taipei 101 and Si Si Nan Cun cultural heritage village at the property’s doorstep.
The Taipei property will add to Rosewood’s growing Asian footprint, with Rosewood hotels in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Yangon and Guangzhou scheduled to open in 2019.
Other recently announced Rosewood hotels in Asia include Shanghai; Shenzhen; and Hermana Mayor, a private island in Zambales, the Philippines.
