From left: Ctrip's Kane Xu and Tourism New Zealand's Gregg Wafelbakker
The Ctrip Institute of Customized Travel Business and Tourism New Zealand are joining hands to develop a training programme to help tour experts offer more relevant products and services in the destination amid a growing wave for bespoke travel among Chinese holidaymakers.
Both parties will also carry out joint data sharing, user analysis and marketing to better cater to Chinese customised travel needs.
From left: Ctrip’s Kane Xu and Tourism New Zealand’s Gregg Wafelbakker
Titled “New Zealand Travel Expert + Customized Travel”, the programme will include specific sections dedicated to families and newlyweds, key target groups in the programme.
The NTO and Ctrip will award graduates with the New Zealand Customized Travel Training Certification, which they say is a “jointly recognised accreditation within the customised travel profession”.
Divided into gold, silver and bronze, the certificate permits the graduate to service travellers as their personal customised travel expert.
Tourism New Zealand will also sponsor a trip to New Zealand for the top three customised travel graduates, enabling them to better understand the destination and the type of services needed to cater to the demands of their customers.
The partnership, Ctrip Institute of Customized Travel Business’s first with a tourism bureau, was in response to the increasing demand for more personalised holidays to New Zealand.
According to Ctrip’s Customised Travel platform, demand for more personalised and in-depth experiences of New Zealand has increased by 150 per cent year-on-year over the last year. These travellers not only stay in New Zealand much longer than those who travel to New Zealand as part of a tour group, but also travel to more regions and participate in more in-depth travel activities, Ctrip said in a statement.
X2 Vibe Viet Tri Hotel, Vietnam
Located 60km from Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, in Vietnam’s north-eastern region, is the X2 Vibe Viet Tri Hotel. This is the first property of BHMA’s – Flight Centre Travel Group’s hotels and accommodation business – in the country. The 60-key property enjoys a waterfront location by Van Lang Lake in Viet Tri, the capital city of Phu Tho Province, and offers amenities such as a restaurant, meeting rooms, coffee shop and rooftop bar overlooking the lake.
The Calile Hotel Brisbane, Australia
The newest to the TFE Hotels Collection portfolio is the The Calile Hotel. Located on Brisbane’s James Street, the property offers 175 guestrooms including nine suites and two premier suites. Each room features a Bluetooth sound bar, motorised blackout blinds, 55-inch television and complimentary Wi-Fi. Recreational spaces span the Lobby Bar, poolside restaurant with open-air cabanas, fitness centre and spa. There are several multifunctional spaces as well, such as the Grand Ballroom – which is divisible into four smaller rooms.
Hotel Gracery Seoul, South Korea
Fujita Kanko has expanded its Hotel Gracery brand beyond Japan’s shores to launch its first overseas property in South Korea’s capital city. The 335-room property stands in the Myeongdong area, three minutes away from the City Hall subway station. On-site facilities include a restaurant and a concierge desk.
Somerset Maison Asoke Bangkok, Thailand
Set to welcome its first guest on September 28, 2018, the brand-new Somerset Maison Asoke Bangkok features 125 keys comprising studio and one-bedroom serviced apartments. On-site facilities include a fully-equipped gym, a heated swimming pool, sky garden, and a restaurant. Bookings are now open.
Keith Tan will be STB's chief executive with effect from October 28
The role of chief executive at the Singapore Tourism Board, left vacant since Lionel Yeo stepped down in June, will from October 29 be filled by Keith Tan Kean Loong, currently the deputy secretary (policy) of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).
After Yeo served up his six-year term as STB chief, Melissa Ow, STB’s deputy CEO, was appointed acting CEO with effect from June 1 until a new chief assumes the post.
Keith Tan will be STB’s chief executive with effect from October 29
As deputy secretary (policy) of MINDEF, Tan is responsible for defence policy, strategic communications, national education and total defence. He played a key role in strengthening Singapore’s defence relations with key international partners, enhancing MINDEF’s strategic communications capabilities and deepening MINDEF’s partnerships with the private and people sectors in support of Total Defence.
He also helped to grow MINDEF’s public and social media engagement efforts as well as oversaw efforts to apply data analytics in public communications and policy making.
Key projects he oversaw included the signing of the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the setting up of So Drama! Entertainment and extending the reach of Total Defence and National Education through innovative means such as gamification.
Prior to MINDEF, Tan held various senior leadership positions including
senior director, PS21 Office at public service division, institute director, Institute of Governance & Policy at Civil Service College; and director, foreign economic policy division at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Loh Khum Yean, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Trade and Industry, expressed optimism that Tan’s leadership experience “will equip him well to lead STB to achieve its next lap by pursuing quality tourism and driving tourism development”.
An earthquake struck an area near Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, early Thursday morning
Japan was still picking up the pieces from Typhoon Jebi when an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck the country’s northern island of Hokkaido this morning.
According to media reports, at least 19 people were missing and 120 injured in Hokkaido after the earthquake struck near Sapporo at 03.08 this morning, which triggered a landslide that caused serious structural damage.
An earthquake struck an area near Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, early Thursday morning
The disaster also hit Hokkaido’s main airport, New Chitose Airport, which will be closed for at least Thursday. Shinkansen trains have also been halted in some areas.
A series of smaller shocks, including one with a magnitude of 5.4, followed the initial quake, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
Residents have be cautioned to brace for potential big aftershocks in the next few days, although JMA stated that the quake posed no tsunami risk.
The country is still reeling from what’s said to be the worst typhoon it has seen in 25 years. On Tuesday, Typhoon Jebi battered western Japan, killing 11 people and injuring hundreds more, according to media reports.
A bridge to Kansai International Airport was damaged after winds of up to 216km/h sent a 2,500-ton tanker slamming into the bridge.
Some 3,000 travellers were stranded overnight, before boats began ferrying people out of the airport yesterday. After safety inspections, buses were also allowed to run on one side of the bridge.
Some countries issued advisories on travel to Japan after the disaster. Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “In view of the situation caused by Typhoon Jebi in Japan, Singaporeans should defer non-essential travel to Osaka during this period. Singaporeans in the affected areas are advised to take all necessary precautions for their personal safety, monitor the local news closely and heed the instructions of the local authorities.”
It added: “Singaporeans whose flights have been affected should also check with your airlines or tour operators for up-to-date flight schedules, and may wish to consider alternative transport arrangements, including flights out of nearby airports such as the Kobe Airport.”
SIA customers will be able to choose from airlines' flight and more than 170,000 hotels
Hotelbeds Group and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have joined forces to launch a holiday packaging partnership, offering bundled flights and hotel accommodation solutions to the airline’s customers.
Through this new collaboration, SIA customers will be able to curate their own holiday packages leveraging Hotelbeds Group’s dynamic packaging platform, with real-time selection of flights from the carrier’s network plus more than 170,000 hotels. More than 24,000 transfer routes and 18,000 activities such as theme parks and museums from Hotelbeds will be made available progressively.
SIA customers will be able to choose from airlines’ flight and more than 170,000 hotels
Packages will first be introduced in Australia, and will be progressively made available on SIA’s website across Singapore and other parts of Asia Pacific, as well as Europe, India and North America. SIA customers will also be able to earn KrisFlyer miles on the total package value purchased.
Meanwhile, Hotelbeds Group will also provide a dedicated team – primarily based in Singapore – responsible not only for promoting the wide range of hotels available for the ‘Singapore Airlines Holidays’ product but also for customer service, pricing and product optimisation.
The stretch between Ion Orchard (pictured) and Mandarin Gallery is the designated zone for the Mickey Mouse and Friends light-ups
Characters from Disney and Disney-Pixar are coming to Singapore’s Orchard Road shopping belt this Christmas for the annual A Great Street light-up event.
The first branded light-up in the event’s 35 years history is a result of a three-year partnership between the Orchard Road Business Association (OBRA) and The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia (Disney).
The stretch between Ion Orchard (pictured) and Mandarin Gallery is the designated zone for the Mickey Mouse and Friends light-ups
It is also supported by the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) Leisure Events fund. Ranita Sundra, director, retailing and dining, STB, said: “The event, along with the other Christmas festivities in store, are part of our ongoing efforts to redevelop Orchard Road into an integrated lifestyle and leisure precinct.”
Named Disney Magical Moments, the event runs from November 10 to January 1 with four themed zones, Disney Princess, Mickey Mouse and Friends, Frozen and Toy Story.
The Great Christmas Village, launched last year, will return for a longer run at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza. It will run from November 15 to December 26, featuring an array of activities including amusement rides and a duplex carousel complete with a special seat carriage for wheelchair riders.
Timbre Group, as an OBRA partner, will also oversee the Timbre X Food Village, comprising food kiosks operated by local brands such as New Ubin Seafood and Two Wings.
Come 2022, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will manage a new luxury resort on Phuket Island.
Mandarin Oriental, Phuket will be located on one of the few undeveloped beachfront sites left along Millionaire’s Mile’s winding coastline, the hotel company announced in a statement.
View of Laem Singh Beach
Occupying 9.5ha of land in Laem Singh Bay, all the hotel’s 105 rooms, including 37 pool villas, will provide views of the Andaman Sea.
The site encloses a white sand beach with rocky outcrops, providing access for snorkelling and swimming.
Mandarin Oriental, Phuket will also offer an all-day dining venue, specialty restaurant, sunset bar, beach club, spa, fitness centre, kids’ club, two outdoor swimming pools, as well as flexible function facilities.
The snow holiday market has seen rapid growth in Asia-Pacific, and continues to be dominated by the higher-income travellers, according to the region’s first snow holiday report launched by Club Med.
The study, supported by market research specialist Insightzclub, sampled 5,500 respondents across 11 markets from China to Australia.
In the last three years, there were 238 million travellers in the region’s snow holiday market – and over half (138 million) were recorded in the last 12 months.
Japan is a top choice for a snow holiday in the region; Tateyama, Japan pictured
Top snow hunters in Asia-Pacific
Not surprisingly, China is the largest market of snow enthusiasts, followed by India and Japan.
However, markets with little or no snow such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia are showing strong growth, albeit from a smaller base, as they seek more experience-based holidays and fresh, clean air.
Currently snow holidays remain the preserve of the new affluent class and above. Some 85% of Asian snow holiday goers enjoy a household income of US$4,000 or more – 33% higher than the comparable general Asia-Pacific population.
While the average age of the snow holidaymaker is 38 years old, countries with large millennial populations such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India are a younger average age of 34 years old. Japan is the oldest average age of 45 in line with its national demographic.
Women hit the slopes
Notably, while holidays are traditionally male dominated, the report shows some markets pointing to a strong female bias and growing interest in outdoor snow adventures beyond skiing and snowboarding.
Hong Kong (57%), Singapore (56%), Malaysia (58%) and Australia (54%) led the ranking bias towards more female snow holidaymakers, while Japan (83%) and India (70%) were clear male strongholds.
Beyond winter sports
Unlike in North America and Europe markets which are very ski and snowboard centric, Asia-Pacific travellers are looking for a much more diverse snow experience, sometimes with no ski/snowboard practice at all.
With food at the heart of many Asian cultures, it is not a surprise to see eating local delicacies (53%) top the list, followed by spending time with family and friends (51%) and other mountain fun activities (50%) rounding off the top three.
Local attractions (47%) and contact with nature (47%) are also popular considerations. Spa makes into the top 10 activities for a well-rounded holiday with resorts expected to be well-equipped with access to all the necessary facilities.
Significantly, 29% also cited doing nothing as a reason to go to a mountain destination indicating a desire to just get away from it all and enjoy their environment.
Where snow hunters are going
Nine out of 11 markets reported Japan as their top choice for a snow holiday in the region.
Behind Hokkaido, resorts in South Korea were attractive across Asian markets, ranking second while the nascent Chinese snow holiday scene came in a strong fourth. With the conclusion of the Winter Olympics, PyeongChang in South Korea in 2018 and the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, interest in both these destinations continues to be fuelled.
The surprise came from Switzerland, ranking third regionally and first among longhaul destinations.
For Indian snow enthusiasts, Switzerland was the most popular destination, partly fuelled by the prominence of the country in its Bollywood movie scene. St Moritz in Switzerland was the top longhaul destination for Asians looking for a snow getaway.
With increasing competition and demanding tech-savvy, modern consumers, hoteliers are facing technology pressures to innovate on dual fronts: retaining current customers, while also attracting new ones by utilising their existing networks.
Vasudevan Venkatakrishnan
Amazon recently announced a partnership with Marriott International to roll out their voice-controlled Echo devices across select properties in the US, aimed at deepening guest engagement through seamless voice-first experiences.
However, as much as technology is the next big thing that will transform the hospitality industry, the technologies used are incredibly fragmented. These include systems for property management, central reservation, customer relationship, revenue management or channel management systems. Global trade association Hotel Technology Next Generation, for example, lists just under 50 product categories on its website for systems commonly used in hotels.
There is also resistance to change and adopt newer technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence and robotics, not just because of the technical challenges and added cost in integrating these systems, but because we need to be convinced that new technology can positively impact the bottom line.
At the same time, hotels of today are also being reminded that customers and a committed staff remain at the heart of hospitality. At a recent international hospitality forum, Peter Verhoeven, global director of partner services at Booking.com, said: “Everything you do has to be customer-centric. If the customer doesn’t find what they want, they will leave and never come back.”
The message is clear: The hospitality industry is a business where the bottom line matters, and at the centre of the business is the customer.
For hotel employees and management, sensors throughout the hotel can help track guests’ locations, the facilities currently in use, as well as to signal staff when additional amenities are needed. Hotels can now deploy service robots for example, to deliver items to guestrooms, allowing for staff to be deployed elsewhere.
Through judicious use of technology, hotels can find ways to maximise guest satisfaction. Hotels can look to apps and sensors to streamline the guest registration process and unlock a room door. Once checked in, guests might request for extra towels, or order room service via a mobile app. IoT-enabled technologies like LED lighting and automated climate controls help make for a personalised and comfortable stay, while smart TVs allow guests to catch their favourite TV shows.
Whether for the guest or employee, seamless experiences should be built on the back of an efficient network system – from the Wi-Fi access points to the switch, cloud and IoT.
Studies have shown that free Wi-Fi is the hotel amenity travellers want the most, while 65 per cent of guests log in to the Wi-Fi within seven minutes of arriving. With mobile and online customer service channels, staff can quickly jump on top of any customer issues that might pop up. For hotel staff involved in back-end operations, the ability to access critical work applications via mobile and handheld devices make for a more flexible and agile way of working.
Looking beyond technology, hoteliers shouldn’t forget that their customer-facing employees, who work closely with both the hotel systems and guests, can be tapped on to provide deeper insights into the gaps existing within the various systems and processes of a hotel business.
At the end of the day, when used right, technology can not only translate knowledge of guest preferences into crucial action plans to help hoteliers improve the guest experience, but also be the difference between the guest having a good or a great stay. And if hoteliers can consistently ensure great experiences for their guests, they’ll keep coming back.
Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company, builds secure wired and wireless access networks for organisations that place a premium on connectivity experiences for end-users with their partners.
AirAsia Group’s plans to get a Chinese LCC off the ground has been quashed after failing to secure a deal with partners.
In a filing, AirAsia said that a non-binding agreement signed last year for a joint venture with China Everbright Group and the Henan government has lapsed and would not be extended.
AirAsia abandons its plan to set up an LCC in China
Among other factors for the non-renewal of the agreement is the inability of the LCC in obtaining a licence to operate domestic flights, AirAsia co-group CEO Kamarudin Meranun told The Star.
He was also quoted to have said that the airline might revisit its plan to establish a LCC in China if the time is right.
When the agreement was inked last year, AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes had stated that China represents the final piece in the LCC’s Asia expansion. It already has affiliates in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Japan and Vietnam.
According to a Bloomberg report, Malaysia’s prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is currently reviewing projects signed by his predecessor, at the risk of ruffling feathers in Beijing. He had previous criticised Chinese investment in his country.
