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.
Middle three, from left: World Rewards Solutions' Jakkapan Rattanapet, Airport Made Easy's David Dennis and Datatrade Group, Hong Kong's Monica Chan
A tripartite agreement to expand reach into Asia’s upscale lifestyle segment has been inked between World Rewards Solutions, Airport Made Easy and Datatrade Group, Hong Kong.
The recent MoU creates two new strategic global partnerships for World Rewards Solution as it aims to expand in Asia, with Hong Kong-based Datatrade serving as the exclusive reseller of loyalty programme solutions while Airport Made Easy will contribute to expanding the customer base in Asia and drive business growth as an exclusive partner.
Middle three, from left: World Rewards Solutions’ Jakkapan Rattanapet, Airport Made Easy’s David Dennis and Datatrade Group, Hong Kong’s Monica Chan
Jakkapan Rattanapet, founder and managing director of World Reward Solutions, revealed that his lifestyle service company, a provider of a complete-cycle rewards programme, was launched to seize the promise of an industry currently valued at US$4 billion globally with an average annual industry growth rate of four per cent.
World Reward Solutions’ service hence has a focus on customer relations management, which entails building a strong relationship with organisations and premium clients, often including foreign business travellers coming to Thailand from China and other countries around Asia.
Today, organisational sales make up about 80 per cent with a strong increase in the segment of foreign business travellers coming to Thailand from countries including China and South Korea in the region, the statement from World Reward Solutions read.
The first year of business will be dedicated to growing the company’s customer base in the country. Following this, the plan is to tap into the markets of neighbouring countries with new branches in Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia to achieve the goal of a 500 million baht (US$15.1 million) turnover by 2020.
World Reward Solutions uses a digital solution to look after customers with a specially created platform which can analyse client demands to custom-design a set of services. This includes creating reward and loyalty programme solutions which match the purpose of the organisation.
A key part of the strategy is in collaborations aimed at tailoring service offerings to customers. This includes the personal assistant service and car and driver rental service at airports around the world.
“We may not have branches around the world, but our team’s experience, as well as our global partnerships, provide us with a network which permits us to perfectly look after our customers both inside and outside of the country,” Jakkapan said.
South Korea will have its first paperless mobile tax refund solution with a partnership between Alipay and Global Tax Free (GTF), a tax refund agency.
Paperless tax refund has been making headway in destinations around the world in recent years. Shortly after Tourego launched its paperless tax refund platform in late 2017, Alipay and GTF rolled out a similar service for Chinese tourists in Singapore early this year. Alipay also initiated a real-time tax refund service in Europe in early 2017.
Incheon International Airport
The new service in South Korea simplifies the process by enabling Chinese tourists to skip in-city and airport tax refund counters.
To process tax rebates and receive RMB refunds, Chinese tourists need only to scan their passports at self-service kiosks prior to leaving South Korea and scan tax refund receipts on the Alipay mobile app within 90 days of purchasing.
“Since 2013, Alipay has continuously explored ways to expedite tax refunds for Chinese tourists to enhance the outbound travel experience. Alipay users can already receive tax refunds at more than 80 airports and a growing number of in-city shops globally after processing at a tax counter,” said Danny Chung, general manager of Alipay Korea.
“With this unique new function, Alipay users can skip the queue and process tax refunds on their mobiles, without filling out and submitting any paper work. This will both save time and make it easier to claim refunds,” added Chung.
According to a statement from Alipay and GTF, South Korea is now the world’s most convenient destination for tourists to claim tax refunds. Approximately 10,000 merchants in South Korea support the GTF tax refund service.
Shah-I-Zinda memorial complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Outbound travellers from Singapore are coming to tour planners with higher budgets and interest in farther-flung destinations, revealed travel agencies at the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) Holidays 2018 fair last weekend.
Such travellers, which can range from young families to older couples, are more willing to spend more time and money on “in-depth” experiences in less-explored destinations, shared Wong Yew Hoong, director of EU Holidays.
Shah-I-Zinda memorial complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
“The average spending power of the customer has increased a lot compared to 10 years ago. Our premium packages are selling much better than our cost-saver packages,” he observed.
An emerging trend is chartered flights, which EU Holidays has rolled out to destinations like Bhutan and Uzbekistan. Hokkaido is another popular choice for year-end winter travel.
Repeat visitors, in particular, are scheduling more vacation time to enjoy mono-destination travel, said Wong. For instance, the agency has rolled out a 10-day train travel package through Switzerland.
Japan National Tourism Organization’s executive director, Singapore, Katsufumi Sato, noted that Singaporeans are becoming increasingly adventurous with their travels in Japan, choosing to explore regions outside of Tokyo and Osaka, such as Mie and Nagoya, due to increased accessibility through direct trains and flights.
Dynasty Travel has also rolled out new add-on tour packages to complement its popular 15-day charter cruises to Antarctica, allowing travellers to visit nearby destinations such as Brazil, Chile and Argentina. Such packages can run up to 29 days.
As a result, this trend is paralleled by a demand for higher-quality local experiences, noted Alicia Seah, Dynasty’s director of public relations & communications. For example, its latest tour to Australia’s Red Centre includes a sunset viewing and barbecue dinner at Uluru Rock, and a trip to Israel includes a Shabbat dinner with a Jewish family in their home.
Earthquakes have caused widespread damage to homes
Lombok was yesterday rocked by a series of earthquakes, the fourth major one in three weeks.
The first measured 6.3 on the Richter scale shortly before midday, followed nearly 12 hours later by one measuring 6.9 and several more aftershocks, according to the US Geological Survey.
Earthquakes have caused widespread damage to homes
Five people were killed by the quake late Sunday evening and scores injured.
Lombok has already seen two devastating quakes on July 29 and August 5, leaving over 500 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.
The most recent earthquake also triggered landslides at Mount Rinjani, which has been closed since the July 29 earthquake.
Diethelm Travel Group has appointed industry expert David Carlaw as its UK sales representative.
The trade veteran has been in the travel industry for more than 30 years, and was most recently head of faraway product for Premier Holidays.
Carlaw’s product management and direct contracting experience in Asia-Pacific, in particular in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Hong Kong and China, is expected to provide hands-on support to Diethelm Travel Group in key markets, the DMC said in a statement.
“Between David’s extensive career, commercial knowledge and refined understanding of operational elements – not to mention his familiarity with Asia – I’m confident he’ll provide our clients with service and solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations,” said Victor Mogilev, Diethelm Travel’s group director of sales.
Chinese tourist taking a photo of the statue of Liberty in New York City
US president Donald Trump’s tit-for-tat trade war with China appears to have caused a significant slump in Chinese visitors to the US that could cost the American tourism sector dearly this year, according to ForwardKeys.
Weekly bookings from China to the US were up 2% from the last week of February (after the Chinese New Year holiday) to March 23 when the first tariffs took effect.
Chinese tourist taking a photo of the Statue of Liberty in New York City
Since then, ForwardKeys data shows the year-on-year figure to August is down by 8.4%, falling further as new rounds of tariffs have been announced.
ForwardKeys said the negative impact on the Chinese currency, which has fallen 7.5% against the US dollar since tariffs were introduced – meaning tourists’ money buys less – and warnings from Beijing about US travel security risks, have likely further influenced the trend.
ForwardKeys’ data reveals that for the rest of the year, Chinese outbound bookings to the US are 9.6% behind where they were at the same time last year, whereas Chinese outbound bookings worldwide are ahead by 5.5%.
This pattern of growth worldwide but slowdown to the US is consistent in every month except October. A general setback in October is due to this year’s Mid-Autumn festival falling at the end of September, which draws departures at the start of the busy National Day Golden Week holiday into September from October.
The biggest impact has been on bookings for group travel (six or more passengers) from China to the US, currently behind for the rest of 2018 by 34.4% compared to last year.
FIT bookings are behind 3.9%, with leisure travel being worse affected than travel for business or travel to visit friends and relatives, ForwardKeys pointed out.
By way of a benchmark, Chinese bookings for travel to Canada were up 4.8% to the end of July and are currently ahead 8.0% for August to December.
ForwardKeys CEO and co-founder, Olivier Jager, said: “Our findings strongly suggest that president Trump’s trade war has had a significant impact on Chinese tourism to the US. Looking at the year to date, we see a setback in Chinese tourism arrivals of just under 5%. If that continues to the end of the year, we estimate that the cost to the US economy will be north of half a billion US dollars in 2018.
“Chinese spending in this sector is significant – it amounts to the largest category of US services exports to China. It is unquestionable that the Chinese appetite for visiting the US is diminishing, and that is bound to worry the US travel industry.”
