NokScoot to add Osaka to Japan network
From October 28, NokScoot will launch thrice-weekly Bangkok-Osaka flights, served with the Boeing 777-200 wide-body jet configured with 415 seats. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, flights depart Don Mueang International Airport at 23.50 for arrival at Kansai International Airport at 07.10 the following day. It then leaves Kansai International Airport at 08.30, arriving back in Bangkok at 12.45.
Phuket links to South Asia get a boost
GoAir will commence flights to Phuket from October 11, and to Malé, the capital of Maldives, from October 14. The carrier will operate thrice-weekly services from Mumbai to Phuket and Malé respectively, and twice-weekly flights to the two destinations from Delhi. It also intends to start flights to Phuket and Malé from Bengaluru in the “very near future”.
Vietnam Airlines to launch Danang-Osaka flights
Vietnam Airlines will launch the first non-stop flights from Danang to Japan on October 28, serviced with Airbus A321 aircraft. The seven return flights each week will depart from Danang at 00.20, and from Osaka at 09.30. The duration on each sector is estimated to be around four and a half hours.
Cebu Pacific takes off for Macau
Starting December 7, Cebu Pacific will operate four-times weekly flights between Cebu and Macau. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, flights leave Cebu at 18.50, and arrive in Macau at 22.00. Return flights leave Macau at 22.45, and arrive in Cebu at 01.45 the next day.
Hackers are stealing miles from frequent flier accounts
Stolen frequent flyer accounts and rewards points are a hot commodity on the dark web, according to a study by Comparitech.
Looking at listings on Dream Market, Olympus Market and Berlusconi Market, the research firm found that dark net prices of stolen frequent flyer miles are resold “at a fraction” of their real-world value.
Hackers are stealing miles from frequent flyer accounts
Airlines points are typically worth between one and two cents each, according to the Comparitech article, bringing the value of 100,000 miles to US$1,500-US$2,000.
This is compared to US$884 for 100,000 miles under the KrisFlyer, Emirates Skywards, ANA All Nippon and Asia Miles programmes, accurate at the time of Comparitech’s research.
Stolen miles are used for retail redemptions, resold to grey market mileage brokers, or exchanged for rewards such as flight upgrades, which are then sold on to unsuspecting customers on websites.
Unlike with flight purchases, “members are not required to enter a password or PIN number when spending points at retailers, and retail staff often don’t ask for an ID”, the article states.
It is this lack of verification that has made frequent flyer miles a profitable target for hackers and thieves.
“And because most of us don’t use or check our frequent flyer accounts very often, the theft can go unnoticed for months”, according to Comparitech.
While it’s against the terms of service for most rewards programmes, points are sometimes resold by grey market mileage brokers, who typically buy unused points and use them to get business- and first-class upgrades and other bonuses for their clients, stated the article.
Hackers steal miles by breaking into personal accounts. They obtain credentials through various ways, including breaching a data server or phishing individual account holders.
To prevent miles from being stolen, Comparitech has the following recommendations:
– shred your boarding pass after a flight
– never post a photo of your boarding pass online
– use a strong and unique password for your frequent flyer account.
– monitor your account for suspicious activity
– don’t put your airline account number on a baggage tag
– avoid using public Wi-Fi to access your account
MAH is trying to get more Middle Eastern airlines to fly to Langkawi; Langkawi International Airport pictured
Now in hot pursuit of foreign carriers, Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAH) is offering financial support for overseas airlines, as well as negotiating for the launch of flights along strategic routes.
Mohamed Sallauddin Mat Sah, general manager, airline marketing at Malaysia Airports, expressed hopes for Qatar Airways and one unnamed Indian airline to commence flights to Langkawi by this year-end.
MAH is trying to get more Middle Eastern airlines to fly to Langkawi; Langkawi International Airport pictured
MAH is in talks with Qatar Airways on launching flights to Langkawi, although the return route to Doha has not yet been decided. For now, Qatar Airways could either fly direct from Langkawi to Doha, or via Penang (Langkawi-Penang-Doha).
Enticing Middle Eastern airlines to fly direct to the island destination of Langkawi is in line with Langkawi Development Authority’s ambitions of growing foreign arrivals and attracting more high-yield tourists from the Middle East.
Currently, foreign airlines flying to Langkawi are limited to only five cities – Singapore, Chengdu, Kunming, Guiyang, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Despite the lack of international air connectivity, Langkawi has proven a popular choice with travellers. In 2017, Langkawi International Airport registered 2.7 million passenger traffic movements with a 14.6 per cent increase in international passengers. From January to June 2018, international passenger traffic movements increased by 23.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2017.
There is also untapped potential in the Indian market. At present, no India-based airline flies to Malaysia, with existing routes served only by Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia and Malindo Air.
K Thangavelu, Grandlotus Travel Agencies managing director, believes that the destination as well as Indian travellers stand to benefit from having an Indian airline, with its strong domestic network, fly to Malaysia.
He said: “Passengers will benefit from better airfares if they take a connecting flight from the same airline. Currently, the Malaysia–India route is served by scheduled airlines from Malaysia flying to the main cities in India. Indians travelling from smaller cities will have to travel to metro cities and the main capitals of India to take these flights.”
To sweeten the deal for new foreign airlines, MAH has a support programme for new airlines flying to Malaysia which includes landing fee waiver for a year.
Furthermore, Malaysia Airports together with Tourism Malaysia will continue to offer funds supporting airlines’ promotion of Malaysia in overseas markets through the Joint International Tourism Development Programme. The programme, which was introduced this year, will be extended into 2019.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated that Qatar Airways was looking to commence flights to Malaysia by this year-end. The airline already has flights to including cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The story has been updated.
From left: IHG's Kenneth Macpherson and Clarence Tan; and Siam Sindhorn's Chalaluck Bunnag and Chonpreya Pacharaswate
Bangkok will welcome a Kimpton hotel when InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) brings the boutique brand, which it acquired in January 2015, into the Thai capital come 2020.
Kimpton Bangkok will mark the brand’s first in Thailand, and second in South-east Asia after Bali.
From left: IHG’s Kenneth Macpherson and Clarence Tan; and Siam Sindhorn’s Chalaluck Bunnag and Chonpreya Pacharaswate
The outcome of a management agreement between InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Siam Sindhorn, Kimpton Bangkok will feature 349 guestrooms, including 124 serviced residences.
The new-built property will offer two dining establishments, a hotel swimming pool, gym, spa and seven meeting rooms. Serviced residence occupants will have access to the executive club.
It will be located an hour’s drive from Suvarnabhumi Airport, in the heart of Bangkok’s Langsuan area and beside Lumpini park, and will form part of the 8.9ha Sindhorn Village mixed-use development with retail and dining options.
Malaysia Airlines, together with Amadeus, has launched MHchat, a new feature which helps travellers book flights and pay through Facebook Messenger.
Jointly developed with Malaysia Airlines as its pilot customer, the Amadeus Chatbot for Airlines is a new solution designed to make it easier for travellers to book flights, retrieve bookings and ask questions through a social media messaging platform customers are already familiar with.
Malaysia Airlines’ latest digital development is a 24/7 available chatbot via Facebook Messenger
On Facebook Messenger, Malaysia Airlines’ customers can use MHchat if they want to look up flights or ask a question related to a booking. The bot will search, locate and push offers or information using artificial intelligence.
Travellers can even complete a transaction, make a secure payment and receive the travel itinerary all within the same app.
The Amadeus Chatbot for Airlines can be customised for any airline, delivering customer satisfaction, more revenue opportunities as well as cost-savings around customer care, according to the launch partners.
Amadeus said it will continue to drive technology improvements and bolster the chatbot with new features including multi-language support, adding ancillary services to an existing booking, and integration with Amazon’s Alexa for voice capabilities.
The PATA Recovery Advisory Group is calling attention to itself to help ensure members are aware it can help in times of crises; the 2015 Nepal earthquake pictured
With the frequency and severity of natural disasters occurring around the world, PATA is calling attention to its Recovery Advisory Group as an avenue affected destinations can look to for tourism recovery assistance.
According to PATA, the advisory group assists member destinations in identifying key challenges facing the sector and providing turnaround strategies during periods of sudden decline in tourism arrivals and earnings as a result of natural or man-made disasters.
The PATA Recovery Advisory Group is calling attention to itself to help ensure members are aware it can help in times of crises; the 2015 Nepal earthquake pictured
The members of the PATA Recovery Advisory Group are formed on a skill-based volunteering basis, leveraging the specialised experience and expertise of individual PATA members to spearhead recovery efforts in the fields of marketing, branding and media, budgeting and financing, and safety and security.
PATA says previous recovery efforts have been successful in such destinations as Nepal, after the devastating earthquake in April 2015, and following the Bali bombing incident in 2002.
“The effects of global warming have only increased the severity and frequency of devastating weather events around the world and we have already seen this take place in India, the US, Puerto Rico, Japan, Hong Kong, and Macau, China, to name a few. As PATA has often talked about the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, it is our duty to provide assistance when needed,” said PATA CEO Mario Hardy.
“The PATA Recovery Advisory Group is in line with our activities on advocacy, human capital development and sustainability, but one which we would rather not have to call upon. Nevertheless, PATA will always continue to advocate responsible tourism development that benefits, rather than destroy, our communities.”
Cities with the largest construction pipeline in APAC include Jakarta (pictured), Seoul and Tokyo
In its fifth year of continuous growth, Asia-Pacific’s total construction pipeline, excluding China, is at an all-time high of 1,749 projects, or 369,045 rooms, according to a recent report by analyst Lodging Econometrics (LE).
Pipeline totals are up a remarkable 306% by rooms and 270% by projects from the cycle’s low of 473 projects (90,946 rooms) recorded in the first quarter of 2007 when LE first began tracking development in Asia.
Cities with the largest construction pipeline in APAC include Jakarta (pictured), Seoul and Tokyo
Countries in the region are facing strong economic headwinds. Economies are slowing and many currencies compared to the dollar are falling, adversely affecting real estate investment. According to LE, this suggests that the pipeline peak may soon be near.
At the end of the second quarter, projects currently under construction soared to a record high of 968 projects (215,523 rooms), as developers rushed to get their projects in the ground.
Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 379 projects (74,556 rooms) and projects in the early planning stage stand at 402 projects (78,966 rooms).
The Asia-Pacific region had 173 new hotels (30,332 rooms) open in the first half of the year, with another 187 new hotels expected to open in the second half, bringing the total forecast for new hotel openings to 360 by the end of 2018. The LE forecast anticipates new hotel openings to continue ascending with 385 new hotels expected to open in 2019 and 399 in 2020.
Top countries in Asia-Pacific’s construction pipeline, excluding China, continue to be led by Indonesia with 394 projects (66,759 rooms). India follows with 214 projects (33,535 rooms), then Japan with 206 projects (41,146 rooms). Next are Thailand with 142 projects (34,381 rooms) and Malaysia with 140 projects (37,332 rooms), both Thailand and Malaysia show construction pipeline counts at all-time highs.
Cities in the Asia-Pacific region with the largest construction pipelines include Jakarta with 101 projects (19,325 rooms); Seoul with 80 projects (15,490 rooms); Tokyo with 67 projects (15,322 rooms); Kuala Lumpur with 57 projects (14,974 rooms); and Bangkok with 52 projects (11,975 rooms).
The top four franchise companies, accounting for 40% of guest rooms in the total construction pipeline, are AccorHotels with 223 projects (47,221 rooms) and Marriott International with 210 projects (48,325 rooms). InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 147 projects (33,616 rooms) follows along with Hilton Worldwide’s 86 projects (18,997 rooms). Both IHG and Hilton show double-digit pipeline growth year-on-year and their counts are at record highs.
Top brands in Asia-Pacific’s construction pipeline, excluding China, include AccorHotels’ Ibis brands with 74 projects (14,811 rooms) and Novotel with 46 projects (10,765 rooms). Marriott International’s Courtyard has 30 projects (5,927 rooms) and Sheraton has 27 projects (6,560 rooms). IHG’s Holiday Inn has 58 projects (14,288 rooms) and Holiday Inn Express has 34 projects (6,968 rooms), while Hilton Worldwide’s DoubleTree has 31 projects (6,474 rooms) and the full-service Hilton Hotel & Resort has 27 projects (6,719 rooms). IHG’s Holiday Inn and Hilton’s DoubleTree and full-service Hilton Hotel brands are also at record highs.
From left: Club Med's David Gulgaz; Atout France's Catherine Oden; and Club Med's Sebastien Portes
Club Med is collaborating with ski school, Ecole du Ski Francais (ESF), to deliver advanced skiing programmes to China’s winter sports enthusiasts seeking “a more professional and sophisticated level of instruction”.
With 73 years of experience across 230 ski schools in France, ESF has developed its own teaching method and offers different levels of instruction depending on age and ability. The teaching method will be adapted to Chinese needs and be delivered by Chinese instructors after training with ESF.
From left: Club Med’s David Gulgaz; Atout France’s Catherine Oden; and Club Med’s Sebastien Portes
Gino Andreetta, Club Med’s Greater China CEO, said: “The advanced teaching methods employed by ESF will no doubt attract more and more of China’s sophisticated young travellers to Club Med in China as they seek out the very best instructors and facilities, further helping to position the country as a regional leader in the skiing sector.”
Already with 21 ski resorts across five different countries, Club Med has plans to expand further in the winter sports sector. Having recently opened Club Med Tomamu in Hokkaido and Club Med Grand Massif Samones in the French Alps, Club Med is hoping to deepen its presence in the region by opening new resorts in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Thaiwoo, China, both 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics sites respectively.
Al Meroz Hotel, a halal hotel in Bangkok, is offering the 7D6N Martial Arts Package.
The package includes six-night accommodation on deluxe room inclusive of buffet breakfast; five days of Thai boxing lessons with twice-daily training; round-trip airport transfers and shuttle services to Thai boxing classes at LKT Muay Thai Gym; five meals of international buffet lunch at the hotel; and six meals of international buffet dinner at the hotel.
If a Thai boxing holiday up your alley, look no further
Other inclusions in the offer are a welcome drink; Wi-Fi in room and public areas; coffee and tea in room; late check-out till 16.00; and a 20 per cent discount on F&B at all the hotel’s outlets.
Guests can also use hotel facilities such as the swimming pool and public prayer room.
Valid until December 31, the package is priced at 31,900 baht net (US$983; single occupancy) and 41,900 baht (twin-sharing).
PHIST 2018 saw over 550 tourism professionals from around Asia head to the JW Marriott Mai Khao in Phuket, debate the key issues regarding island sustainability and agree to #fight4phuket
At the inaugural Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism Forum 2018 (PHIST), hotels and tourism groups pledged to establish a model for the sustainable development of Asian islands, with the focus currently on plastic usage and its purported detriments.
The pledge commits stakeholders to reducing, reusing and recycling single-use plastic in Phuket, with the goal of eventually eradicating them in all hotels, as well as to undertaking a youth community education programme to raise grassroots awareness of the problems surrounding plastic usage.
PHIST 2018
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PHIST 2018 saw over 550 tourism professionals from around Asia head to the JW Marriott Mai Khao in Phuket, debate the key issues regarding island sustainability and agree to #fight4phuket
Deputy governor of Phuket Khun Prakob Wongmaneerung
C9 Hotelworks' Bill Barnett
From left: Phuket Hotels Association's Anthony Lark, and Greenview's Eric Ricuarte
From left: Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas' Bernhard Bohnenberger; Thai Hotels Association's and Sukosol Hotels' Sukosol Nunbhakdi; Central Pattana's Wilaiporn Pitimanaaree; and Phuket Hotels Association's Anthony Lark
The PHIST tattoo
PHIST gathered over 550 delegates from countries including Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong at the JW Marriott Mai Khao in Phuket to debate key issues.
At the Green Groove area, regional suppliers headlined an exhibition of Asia’s cutting-edge producers and inventors of sustainable products for the hospitality and tourism industries.
“We need to fight for Phuket. It is as simple as that. And we can’t do it alone. We need to do it together,” said Phuket Hotel Association president and managing director of Trisara, Anthony Lark.
“We have worked to build an inclusive coalition of public and private sector tourism groups who understand the critical need to act and think long term. We hope the Phuket Pledge will be a start and ultimately become a model for us and other islands regionally to come together for the sake of sustainable island tourism in Asia,” he added.
PHIST was opened by the deputy governor of Phuket, Prakob Wongmaneerung, and featured experts in their respective fields, focusing on marine and coastal tourism, sustainability, youth education and community tourism.
The event was co-organised by Phuket Hotels Association, C9 Hotelworks led by managing director Bill Barnett and Greenview CEO Eric Ricaurte, with support from tourism bodies including the Ministry of Sports and Tourism.
