Nikie Mok has been appointed director of sales & marketing at W Kuala Lumpur.
She was most recently the director of sales and marketing at Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral.
The hospitality veteran has been in the industry for over 18 years. She first began her career at Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur, before rising up the ranks at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel to become assistant director of sales – corporate, meeting & convention.
She has also spent time as director of sales at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur Hotel and Renaissance Kuala Lumpur.
(First row, from left to right) Dean Rossilli, Area General Manager for Malaysia, ONYX Hospitality Group; Clinton Lovell, General Manager of Amari Watergate Bangkok; Ingo Domaschke, General Manager of OZO Pattaya; Sanjeev Kapoor, General Manager of Shama Sukhumvit Bangkok and Ekamai Gardens Bangkok
(Second row, from left to right) Sanjiva Gautamadasa, General Manager of Amari Vogue Krabi; Porntip Pibarnwong, Hotel Manager for Amari Residences Bangkok, Chiva Bangkok Hotel and Amp Am House; Sirilak Buahom, Hotel Manager of Sukhothai Heritage Resort
Onyx Hospitality Group has made seven key hotel leadership appointments as part of its ongoing growth and expansion across the Asia-Pacific region.
Dean Rossilli has been named area general manager for Malaysia to pave the way for the group’s plans to have six hotels open across the three key gateway cities of Peninsula Malaysia by 2021.
Clockwise from top left: Dean Rossilli, Clinton Lovell, Ingo Domaschke, Sanjeev Kapoor, Sirilak Buahom, Porntip Pibarnwong and Sanjiva Gautamadasa
Currently based at Amari Johor Bahru, Rossilli joined Onyx from the Pan Pacific Hotels Group where he held general manager roles in Indonesia and Singapore. Throughout his 25-year career, he has assumed various leadership roles with companies and brands such as GLH Thistle, Marriott, Renaissance and Sheraton in Australia, the UK, the US and South-east Asia.
Clinton Lovell is the new general manager for Amari Watergate Bangkok. Joining Onyx from Minor Hotels, Clinton was general manager at Avani Atrium Bangkok as well as Anantara Seminyak Bali. He also held earlier leadership roles with Accor Hotels in Bangkok, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Siem Reap.
Rossilli and Lovell will both report directly to David Cumming, regional vice president of operations for Onyx’s expanding presence across Bangkok, Malaysia and Laos.
In addition, veteran Onyx general manager Ingo Domaschke has moved from his previous Koh Samui-based role to Pattaya as opening general manager for Ozo Pattaya, scheduled to open in 2020.
He is also part of the pre-opening task force for the early 2019 relaunch of Amari Pattaya Ocean Tower and unveil of the new Amari Pattaya Ocean Suites, offering his expertise from the refurbishment and recent relaunch of Amari Koh Samui.
In Bangkok, Sanjeev Kapoor has been named general manager of Shama Sukhumvit Bangkok and Ekamai Gardens Bangkok. Sanjeev joins Onyx from Oakwood where he served as general manager for Oakwood Premier in Bangalore. His hotel career started with Hyatt in Melbourne, before taking on leadership roles with Crown Resorts, The Leela Group in New Delhi and TFE Hotels in Melbourne.
Sanjiva Gautamadasa joins the the company as general manager of Amari Vogue Krabi. Of Sri Lankan heritage, Sanjiva has held various leadership roles with Alila Hotels in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and with Jetwing, Oberoi and Dubai International Hotel.
Two female leaders have also been promoted to hotel manager roles. Porntip Pibarnwong has been named hotel manager for Amari Residences Bangkok, Chiva Bangkok Hotel and Amp Am House. She was previously director of sales and marketing at Amari Watergate Bangkok.
Sirilak Buahom is now hotel manager for Sukhothai Heritage Resort, having been promoted from her previous role as guest relations manager at Amari Watergate Bangkok.
Vietjet starts sales on Hanoi-Tokyo route
Vietjet has opened sales on its Hanoi-Tokyo (Narita) flights, set for launch on January 11, 2019. Operating daily, the flight departs from Hanoi at 00.55 and arrives at Tokyo at 08.00. The return flight takes off at 09.30 at Tokyo and lands in Hanoi at 14.00.
AirAsia X takes off for holy city of Amritsar
AirAsia has inaugurated flights to Amritsar in India, operated by its longhaul affiliate, AirAsia X. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, flight D7188 departs Kuala Lumpur at 19.20 to arrive in Amritsar at 22.30. The return flight, D7189, is scheduled to leave Amritsar at 23.45 and land in Kuala Lumpur at 08.05.
Bangkok Airways and Jet Airways enhance codeshare pact
Bangkok Airways and India’s Jet Airways have expanded their existing codeshare agreement to provide greater choice to passengers travelling through the combined networks.
Under the expanded agreement, Jet Airways will place its marketing code on Bangkok Airways’ flights beyond Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Koh Samui, Krabi, Phuket, Sukhothai and Trat in Thailand; Phnom Penh, Siem Reap in Cambodia; and Da Nang, Phu Quoc in Vietnam.
Bangkok Airways will also place its marketing code on Jet Airways’ flights beyond Mumbai to destinations like Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, Goa and Chennai; as well as beyond Delhi to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.
This is in addition to the existing arrangement, which has been in place since October 2013, which saw Jet Airways placing its code on Bangkok Airways’ flights between Mumbai and Bangkok while Bangkok Airways places its codes on Jet Airways’ flights between Bangkok-Mumbai and Bangkok-Delhi.
This month, the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) Open Hotels Weekend programme returned for a second run with registration numbers soaring 50 per cent.
Over two weekends, 22 hotels opened their doors to jobseekers and the general public, offering a behind-the-scenes look at working in the hotel industry. Participating hotels include Amara Singapore, Hilton Singapore, Pan Pacific Singapore and Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.
Participants get hands-on during the Open Hotels Weekend
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Photo credits: Debbie Y Photography
Some 1,250 participants registered for these tours, 50 per cent more than the number of registrants in the first run of the programme in October last year.
“The hotel industry is a very dynamic and exciting one and the sense of satisfaction that one gets from working in this industry is like no other. By bringing jobseekers and the general public on a hotel tour, we hope to show first-hand the wide and diverse variety of roles in the hotel industry and hopefully generate interest in these roles,” said Ong Huey Hong, director, hotels and sector manpower, STB.
The tour itineraries varied from hotel to hotel, with some organising cocktail mixing masterclasses and tea appreciation sessions, and others showcasing their housekeeping robots and herb garden.
Networking sessions and on-the-spot job interviews were also available at most hotels, expediting the hiring process for hotels and jobseekers. More than 500 job vacancies are available, with over 100 roles ranging from front-of-house positions such as concierge, guest relations executive and restaurant manager, to back-of-house roles such as housekeeping coordinator, sales manager and communications executive.
The Open Hotels Weekend programme comes under the Hotel Careers Campaign that was launched in July 2017 by the STB, in partnership with the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA); Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union; and the hotel industry.
Also part of the three-year campaign, which seeks to create awareness and improve perceptions of careers in the hotel industry, is the 100 Ambassadors of Happiness initiative. The stories of 100 hotel employees – handpicked from front office operations, F&B, data analytics and revenue management roles, among other vocations – are currently shared on the campaign website and marketing materials, as well as with jobseekers during recruitment events. So far, about one-fifth of these ambassadors have been announced; the remaining ones will be rolled out progressively.
Another initiative is the Work-for-a-Stay training programme targeting millennials. First held between December last year and March this year, the training programme saw participants completing a 10-day stint at a hotel, and receiving allowance and a complimentary one-night hotel stay at the end of their stint.
The soon-to-launch Ayana Lako di’a, a phinisi ship that will sail around the Komodo Island
The Indonesian government’s ‘10 New Balis’ directive is poised to open up myriad tourism opportunities across the country, but investors, hotels and tour operators are seeing varying levels of readiness on the ground that are as distinct as the destinations themselves.
Dadang Rizki Rahman, deputy minister for destination and industry development, Indonesia Ministry of Tourism, said: “Based on our experience in the last three years, there is a strong correlation between investment and the growth of arrivals. The more arrivals a destination gets, the bigger the investment poured into it.
The soon-to-launch Ayana Lako di’a, a phinisi ship that will sail around the Komodo Island
“That explains why Bali, Jakarta and Riau Islands (the top three destinations in the country) continue to attract investments and the number of hotel rooms keeps growing.”
Belitung, an island east of Sumatra, is a clear illustration of this. The destination rose to fame among Indonesian travellers after Belitung novelist Andre Hirata’s Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops) trilogy became a bestseller and movie hit.
The close proximity of Belitung to Jakarta (an hour’s flight away) facilitated its growth as a tourist destination, attracting hotel brands like Golden Tulip, Fairfield by Marriott and Santika Premiere.
Adjie Wahjono, operation manager of Aneka Kartika Tours & Travel Services said: “It was the domestic market that fostered the growth of the island’s tourism, attracting investors to open hotels to meet demand.”
The government’s strong promotion of the ‘10 New Balis’, which Belitung is part of, has helped to draw interest of both travellers and operators to the destination.
Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air launched a charter service from Singapore between December 2017 and January 2018, while Garuda Indonesia is planning a daily charter service between Belitung and Bali in October using CRJ aircraft with 100 seat capacity.
Garuda Indonesia, director of cargo and international commercial, Sigit Muhartono, said: “We will start with a chartered service to create demand and support the government’s efforts to open up new tourist destinations.”
Sigit said it is part Garuda’s network development strategy to connect the “New Balis” with the world, and Singapore’s hub status will also be tapped to drive traffic into these emerging destinations.
And with Belitung queries from overseas partners now on the uptick, Adjie sees the need for more attractions and activities suitable for international travellers to be launched, in order for the island to continue down its tourism growth trajectory.
Similarly, Komodo is seeing pent-up demand for the destination since the tourism authority started promoting the island intensely since the late 2000s, but infrastructure and facilities still lag behind.
With Komodo Airport’s passenger traffic growing at 30 per cent annually, the authorities are expanding the runway of the airport from 2,250m to 3,200m to accommodate wide-body aircraft, coming on top of the new and bigger passenger terminal opened in 2015.
More hotels are opening in Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo, and mid- and upmarket cruises are entering the market to offer day and live-aboard cruises around Komodo National Park.
Set to open on September 15 is the five-star, 205-key Ayana Komodo Resort, which will be followed in October with the launch of Ayana Lako di’a, a specially built phinisi ship for cruising around Komodo Islands.
Amid the visitor surge, Komodo needs better management to prevent visitor congestion and strains on the infrastructure, cautioned Ng Sebastian, managing director of Incito Vacations.
“Management needs to be stepped up. For example, the pier (at Rinca Island) can be overcrowded with boats at times. There needs to be a queue management system or schedule for boats.”
However, infrastructure development alone does not always immediately convince investors to put their money into a destination.
Lake Toba has been improving its infrastructure in recent years, with the Silangit International Airport now in operation connected by direct flights from Singapore and the Kuala Tanjung harbour built.
The Lake Toba Tourism Authority has reportedly received domestic and foreign investment interest, but is yet to announce any materialised hotel or projects.
It’s a similar story for the Mandalika Mega Project in Lombok, which took a long time to take off. For more than a decade the government has undertaken numerous ways to attract investment, but despite the growth of arrivals to the destination, the flow of investment in facilities did not pour in as expected.
Hospitality investors and operators TTG Asia interviewed over the years were often quick to paint Lombok as an up-and-coming destination with a bright future, but in reality they would adopt a wait-and-see stand when it comes to actual investment on the ground.
Seeing this, Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), which spearheaded Mandalika’s development in 2015, took the initiative to invest in hotels by working together with state-owned developers Wijaya Karya and Pembangunan Perumahan, as well as international operators Accor (for the Pullman brand) and Club Med. Both hotels are now under construction with a targeted opening in 2020.
Henri Giscard d’Estaing, CEO of Club Med, said in a statement regarding the Lombok property: “We foresee Club Med Lombok to receive a high volume of international attention and clients, and raise global awareness for Lombok as a premium holiday destination.”
Abdulbar Mansoer, president director of ITDC, said: “By investing in these hotels, we expect international travellers, hotel operators and investors to develop properties in Mandalika.”
ITDC’s hotel investment strategy, which comes on top of the government’s incentives for investors – like providing land title for up to 80 years and one-stop licencing office on site – appears to have built up the confidence of hospitality investors and operators.
Edwin Darmasetiawan, director of ITDC said: “Today, we have 2,500 hotel rooms in the pipeline within the next five years, attracting international investors (among others) from the US, South Korea and France.”
Other hotels coming up in the pipeline include Royal Tulip, Aloft, Mysk by Shaza and Shaza hotels.
Overseas tour operators have different views on how these developments would work for them.
Karine Hosan, owner and manager of Travel Truck France, opined that tourism stakeholders in Indonesia needed to promote these new destinations extensively to create international awareness, even at this stage when the developments were still under progress.
“Clients look for new destinations and we believe Indonesia has a lot to offer, but we need to be informed of these destinations,” she said.
Ram Samtani, general manager of Singapore-based Ramesh Travel Service, said: “There needs to be the right (supporting) infrastructure in the destinations. There is no need for an (international) airport if airlines do not see it feasible to fly to a destination, for example.” – additional reporting by Tiara Maharani
As part of a rationalisation exercise, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) is considering the closure of Tourism Malaysia offices in Osaka (Japan), Auckland (New Zealand) and Almaty (Kazakhstan).
The closures are seen as a way of reducing operating costs, which range between RM67 million (US$16.3 million) to RM70 million annually for each of the three offices under review, said deputy minister, Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chi.
The tourism ministry is hoping to bring down operating costs with the closures
There are currently two Tourism Malaysia offices in Japan, one in Osaka and the other in Tokyo. Should Tourism Malaysia decide to close the Osaka office, its promotions in Japan will be taken over by the Tokyo office. Similarly, its office in Sydney will manage promotions for both Australia and New Zealand.
Raaj Navaratnaa, general manager at New Asia Holiday Tours & Travel, opined: “The MOTAC should not emphasise on cost-cutting measures but instead look at the value that these tourism offices can bring. It is no point closing the Osaka office and making Tokyo office look after the Japanese market if it does not include getting additional staff and having proper marketing plans in place to tap the Japanese market.
“I think the reason Tourism Malaysia offices are not doing well is because they failed to tap the potential of these markets. We have to re-engineer packages to meet the needs of each market.”
Commenting on the closure of the Almaty office, Asutra Convex managing director, Azizi Borhan, remarked that Central Asia is a market with great potential for growth, despite it is also a seasonal market. He said: “Tourism Malaysia should develop a long-term strategy on how to further develop this market.”
In the first four months of 2018, arrivals from Japan saw a small decline of 0.8 per cent to 131,241 tourists while New Zealand saw a growth of 4.8 per cent to 16,747. Inbound arrivals from Kazakhstan remains small at 5,642, although this represents a significant 44.7 per cent growth from the preceding year.
Team Frozen Lime Asia (from left): Pow Zhi Hoe, Aileene Thangaveloo, Serene Lam, Jagdish Sandhu, Adelina Pillai, Kenji Chen
Team Frozen Lime Asia (from left): Pow Zhi Hoe, Aileene Thangaveloo, Serene Lam, Jagdish Sandhu, Adelina Pillai, Kenji Chen
Singapore-based Frozen Lime Asia (FLA) has been appointed GSA for Small Luxury Hotels of The World (SLH) member hotels in Asia.
The specialist in revenue, distribution as well as sales & marketing for hospitality and tourism in Asia will focus on generating corporate meetings and leisure group leads for SLH member hotels from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia.
SLH, a collection of independent hotels around the world, has over 120 hotels in its Asia-Pacific stable.
Following a year in his role as director of sales at The Sanchaya, Jared Green will now assume an expanded capacity as director of sales and marketing.
In his new role, he will handle strategic partnerships with Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, Preferred and other consortia accounts, while developing global marketing initiatives.
The beachfront estate in Bintan features 29 villas and suites plus a private residence. It is also home to two restaurants, a bar, wine cellar with an ocean view, library and 50m infinity pool, among other facilities.
The PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2019 (ATRTCM 2019) will be held in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India from February 13-15.
The three-day event, hosted by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, comprises a one-day travel trade mart and one-day conference that brings together public and private sector tourism professionals involved in adventure travel and responsible tourism.
Rafting in the River Ganges, Rishikesh
“The PATA ATRTCM has enjoyed outstanding success in recent years in Thimphu, Bhutan; Chiang Rai, Thailand; Luoyang, China, and Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE and we (now have) the opportunity for the first time to focus upon the opportunities for adventure travel and responsible tourism in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India,” said PATA CEO Mario Hardy.
Guarded by the hills of northern Uttarakhand, the city of Rishikesh has been dubbed `Yoga Capital of the World’. It shot to fame in the 1960s when The Beatles came to stay with their guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
But besides its temples, pilgrimage sites and the Ganges River, Rishikesh is today becoming known for adventure sports such as white-water rafting, cliff-jumping, kayaking and camping. It also serves as a gateway to the Garhwal Himalayas, being a designated starting point for treks to numerous Himalayan pilgrimage centres and shrines.
PATA is offering early bird discounts for all registration fees until October 31, 2018, while special rates are available for Uttarakhand delegates.
For more information or to register for the event, please visit www.PATA.org/ATRCM or email ATRTCM@PATA.org.
Artist impression of the 18-storey InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland
Artist impression of the 18-storey InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland
The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has unveiled two new signings in Asia-Pacific, an underground hotel project on the site of a former quarry in Shanghai and the other with a waterfront location in Auckland.
Scheduled for opening in 4Q2018 is the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, an 18-storey hotel with two floors above ground, and 16 below ground, including two floors underwater.
The Shimao Group development will reach 88m underground in a deep pit of a former southwestern Shanghai quarry, standing out in the current architectural landscape dominated by high-rise buildings, IHG said in a statement.
With a construction area of more than 61,000m2, the hotel features 336 rooms and suites that all boast balconies looking out to waterfalls from the surrounding cliffs.
Rendering of the InterContinental Auckland
Meanwhile in New Zealand, the group has partnered Precinct Properties to open the InterContinental Auckland, the brand’s second signing in the country after the InterContinental Wellington.
Set to become the brand’s flagship in the country, InterContinental Auckland will feature 244 guestrooms, 90 per cent of which will offer water views, several F&B options, a gym, and meeting facilities.
The hotel will form part of the Commercial Bay mixed-use development on the city’s waterfront at 1 Queen Street, which also features shopping and dining outlets, as well as a 39-level office tower.
The hotel is within easy reach from the New Zealand International Convention Centre, Viaduct Harbour, Britomart precinct, Wynyard Quarter, Vector Arena, the international cruise ship terminal, Sky City and Sky City Casino. Auckland Airport is 20km away.
