Fans at the run dressed up as their favourite Star Wars character
The two-day May the 4th be with you Festival in Singapore concluded with a bang on Saturday after drawing legions of fans from the lion city and around the region.
Presented by event organiser Esprimo and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, the festival included the Star Wars Run, a special appearance by Albin Johnson, fan performances and costume marches.
Fans at the run dressed up as their favourite Star Wars character
The second edition of the Star Wars Run saw over 10,000 local and overseas participants across three race categories, including the competitive 10km, non-competitive 5.4km and the inaugural 540m Young Jedi Dash – a category specially designed for children aged four to nine years.
Runners in the non-competitive 5.4km were roused up in a flag-off where Light and Dark side participants ran in opposite directions, and were treated to a pyrotechnics display that illuminated the Singapore skyline.
Fans got up close and personal with Albin Johnson, founder of 501st Legion, the international Star Wars costuming organisation, who was roving festival grounds with his special pink astromech droid, R2-KT.
Festival-goers were also treated to a line-up of classic themes by Singaporean Star Wars tribute band Dark Empire, who performed famous pieces such as The Imperial Suite, The Imperial March “Darth Vader’s Theme” and Star Wars Main Theme.
Dusit Thani Hua Hin has appointed Pipat Patthananusorn as general manager.
A Thai national, Pipat brings with him more than 22 years of managerial experience in luxury hotel chains since starting his career in the sales department of Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok. Spells with Royal Orchid Sheraton, Four Seasons and Anantara Siam followed, serving as the executive assistant manager of the latter. He also had a stint as general manager of Pacific World Bangkok.
In 2008, he was elected to the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association’s executive board of directors as co-chairperson of the service development committee, a position he still holds.
Amadeus wants to be the company to pull together private and public sectors to enhance connectivity within smart cities
Asia’s Smart Cities market is burgeoning and Amadeus Asia-Pacific is firing on all cylinders to be the leader in the travel & tourism segment that holds the promise of millions of dollars worth of contracts.
Amadeus identifies at least three Smart Cities projects in Singapore, Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor and Hong Kong that it wants ‘in’ and believes two cities in Australia will also soon offer opportunities. In Singapore, it is already in talks with the Economic Development Board, Singapore Tourism Board and Changi International Airport, according to Simon Akeroyd, Amadeus Asia-Pacific’s vice president, corporate strategy and business development.
Smart Cities, simplistically, refers to the effective use of information and communication technologies to save people’s time and improve their quality of life. In Asia-Pacific, more advances have been made in sectors such as fintech and security surveillance than travel & tourism, Akeroyd said.
Amadeus wants to be the company to pull together private and public sectors to enhance connectivity within smart cities
“There are three Smart Cities or zones projects I see in Asia that are being RFP-ed (request for proposals) today or will be in the next six months. If they put up an RFP, we will respond with our portfolio (of IT solutions). Getting one of those for me will be a coup,” he said.
The expected scope of the projects is, however, nebulous at present. For example, a major focus of Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor is “to improve existing connectivity and foster innovation” in the three eastern Thai provinces Chonburi, Rayong and Chachoengsao which span over 13,000km2. Core areas of development in the travel & tourism sector are the expansion of U-Tapao airport, the development of high-speed railways and facilitating an increase in arrivals to the Eastern seaboard.
Akeroyd acknowledged: “The scope is very broad and not very defined. It’s a problem but also an opportunity. What the government means is, ‘help us, tell us what we need to do’.”
Amadeus in turn has defined four large actions it wants to offer:
Attract: Help attract more arrivals through travel intelligence, digital advertising and Amadeus Video Solutions
Facilitate: Help facilitate smart travel with the various solutions it has. One such example is iCUSS, movable check-in kiosks that can be rapidly deployed and relocated for use by the traveller or the airport staff to provide full-service operations, giving greater freedom and flexibility to passengers throughout their journey to and around the airport. It has worked with Hong Kong International Airport on this.
Connect: Help connect travellers to smart commuting through solutions such as Amadeus Ambient Service that enables ambient interactions that deliver the right service at each step of a traveller’s journey.
Serve: Support cities to serve first-hand tourist information to their visitors via solutions such as Mobile Amadeus CheckMyTrip and Amadeus Destination Content.
Amadeus is not the only one in Asia that wants a piece of the pie. Think Accenture which has introduced ‘The Connected Traveller’, or SITA, a leader in providing IT seamless travel solutions to airports and airlines. But Akeroyd sees opportunity, not competition, to connect the fragmentation in the sector. He aims to position Amadeus as the technology company that helps pull together the private and public sectors to advance the development of seamless door-to-door travel experiences.
“It’s a similar approach to Amadeus Next (the startups platform he launched in Asia-Pacific), which is to create a kind of a central meeting point for all the interested parties. We would invite them – startups, airport authorities, DMOs, NTOs, etc – to gather around this initiative of Smart Cities. We try to attract them to a community that’s not Amadeus-only business. With Amadeus Next, for example, we bring people together and, if we have the money, we’d jump in for sure. The idea is to promote the idea of mobility initiatives, smart travel & tourism, not just us being commercial,” he said.
Added Akeroyd: “The ambitions and requirements of smart cities are so varied that it is unlikely that any one player will be able to do everything. So, we will all most likely have to collaborate. Therefore I suspect that the key to becoming the ‘Smart City leader’ is to be the best collaborator.”
But why is Amadeus Asia-Pacific jumping up and down about this now?
Two reasons. The region is the epicentre of urbanisation, with 22 of 39 megacities (by population size) worldwide being in Asia-Pacific, 11 in China alone, according to CityMayors Statistics cited by Amadeus. Additionally, travel & tourism is surging in Asia. A recent WTTC study shows the world’s top 10 fastest growing tourism cities are all in Asia.
Not only that, governments in Asia have made “an amazing step forward” in digitising cities and have been more open about sharing information, Akeroyd said. On the other hand, the private sector is investing in enabling true mobility across the entire travel journey.
“When I talk about, say, bike share in Europe, Europe does not get it. I tell them it is not just about bike share in Asia. For these startups, it’s a new way of creating critical mass – they’ve got hundreds of millions of users using their apps in a habitual way and will start moving from bikes to selling bus and train tickets, shorthaul low-cost air tickets – I suspect it is something that will surprise Europe,” he said.
Asia is the ideal testbed for Smart Cities initiatives compared to Europe, Akeroyd added. “Asia is less legacy system bound. It is also more excited than burdened by the idea of innovation. Sometimes in Europe, innovation is treated as a problem. Asia sees it as a positive step to grow; Europe sees it as ‘how do we accommodate the innovation’.”
The second reason is Amadeus has, over the last five years, been building its back end, which makes it equipped now to pursue Smart Cities initiatives, said Akeroyd.
“Originally we’re known for making search technology and booking. But we’ve been buying the IT back end of many parts of the travel journey, programmes that run hotels, rail, airports, airlines, etc, that it enables us to connect the journey, increase the amount of touch points for travellers moving down the line,” he said.
Last year, Amadeus said it committed US$800 million to R&D for innovation globally, half directly linked to technologies that furthered its Smart Mobility initiatives including biometrics, traveller identification, IoT, massive data platforms and passenger handling solutions.
The National Heritage Board (NHB) of Singapore has refreshed its Bukit Timah Heritage Trail with new historical sites and updated features for easier accessibility.
The trail now features a total of 38 heritage landmarks, including the newly added Bukit Timah Railway Station, St Joseph’s Church, Former Command House and Fuyong Estate.
Alvin Tan introduces one of the historical sites located along the trail
NHB has also installed eight new trail markers to highlight and describe sites on the trail, as well as introduced three 2.5km-long thematic routes for visitors to explore different segments of Bukit Timah.
Themed trails include the Kampong Life Trail, WWII Legacy Trail and Leisure and Learning Trail, and vary between one to two hours each.
Alvin Tan, assistant chief executive (policy & community) of NHB, said: “Recent travel trends have shown that there is an increasing demand for more local and authentic experiences. Through our heritage trails, we hope to encourage tourists to explore the other parts of Singapore, not just the usual tourist landmarks.”
The trail has also helped place heritage buildings such as Masjid Al-Huda and Hoon San Temple – religious sites in what was once a kampong village – on the radar for visitors.
Goh Su Pheng, admin manager of Hoon San Temple, told TTG Asia that he is expecting more visitors with increased awareness of the heritage temple the trail is likely to bring.
Information, guides and route maps for the Bukit Timah Heritage Trail are available in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil on NHB’s heritage portal, roots.sg, and at selected locations such as the National Museum of Singapore, the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Former Ford Factory.
Tan revealed that NHB is currently working on a walking trail through Orchard Road, which will be unveiled in July or August this year.
Branagan, former chief technology officer at GTA, will assume the role of technology director of the group
Following an integration with Tourico Holidays and GTA, Hotelbeds Group has announced technology updates, including the appointment of a technology director for the whole group and the transition of all its bedbank brands onto the same technology platform by year-end.
Further to confirmation of the company’s top leadership team and new departmental structure in January, Chris Branagan, previously chief technology officer of GTA, has now been appointed director of technology for the group.
Branagan, former chief technology officer at GTA, will assume the role of technology director of the group
Branagan will become a member of the company’s executive committee and be responsible for the development and implementation of technology across the group’s platforms, systems and tools to enhance the bedbank’s technology offering.
The group has also revealed that all its bedbank brands – Hotelbeds, Bedsonline, Tourico Holidays, and GTA – will all be transitioned onto the same technology platform by the close of this year.
“We will be updating our partners in due course to explain how they will benefit from these changes,” said Branagan.
Following the integration, there is now a portfolio of over 170,000 hotels selling to over 60,000 travel intermediaries globally via the group´s proprietary B2B technology platform.
To focus on its bedbank core, the group is also selling its destination management division back to TUI.
Artist impression of Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg, scheduled to open in 2020
At least five new hotels will open in Melbourne over the next few years, among them two Hyatt Hotels and three from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
Firstly, Hyatt has entered into into a management agreement with PEC Portfolio Springvale for a 200-key Hyatt Place hotel. The hotel will form part of a mixed-used complex, which will also include co-working facilities and retail stores.
Artist impression of Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg, scheduled to open in 2020
Hyatt Place Melbourne Springvale will be located at the intersection of Springvale and Dandenong Roads in the heart of the Monash Employment and Innovation Cluster, which is home to a number of academic institutions, businesses and medical facilities. It will become the second Hyatt Place hotel in Australia upon its expected opening in 2020.
Over in Melbourne’s CBD, a Hyatt Centric is also expected to open in 2020 on Downie Street, a management agreement with developer Little Projects.
Hyatt Centric Melbourne will feature 280 guestrooms and suites, a restaurant, and rooftop bar offering views of Melbourne’s Yarra River and Southbank. Located close to Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Center and the Crown Entertainment Complex, this will mark the second Hyatt Centric-brand hotel in Australia.
Also upcoming in the CBD in 2022 will be a dual-branded Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn. The property will front onto Bourke Street Mall on one side and Little Collins St on the other.
The A$200 million (US$150 million) mixed-use development will include international retail stores and a combined 453-room hotel – 181 in Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins and 272 in Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall. There will also be F&B outlets, a gym, meeting spaces, and a distinct guest lobby and room experience for each brand. The development will enjoy shared back-of-house services and facilities that create common-sense efficiencies.
IHG has also signed a deal with Barnes Capital to open a design-led Holiday Inn in the Coburg suburb.
When it opens in 2020, Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg will enjoy views across the town and its surrounding landscape, including Coburg Lake Reserve. It will feature a gym and large meeting facilities, as well as a bar and all-day dining restaurant. The 150-room new-build will show off a bold, new design statement for Holiday Inn, created by architects Hachem.
IHG currently has 47 hotels operating under four brands – InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express – in Australasia with another 17 in the pipeline.
Abu Dhabi recorded a 61 per cent growth in Chinese arrivals last year; Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi pictured
The UAE’s implementation of visa-on-arrival for Chinese tourists in November 2016 has yielded dramatic results, spurring greater efforts from tour operators and hoteliers to reach out to Chinese visitors.
Speaking to TTG Asia at the recent Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, Naveen Saldanha, managing director at Royal Arabian, observed: “The UAE has been promoted in China for the last 10 years but the tremendous change and growth came after the visa-on-arrival facility was introduced for Chinese citizens. We saw a year-on-year growth of 30 per cent from the Chinese market last year.”
Abu Dhabi recorded a 61 per cent growth in Chinese arrivals last year; Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi pictured
Similarly, Mark Kirby, general manager of Armani Hotel Dubai, remarked that the visa-on-arrival facility “has resulted in strong growth” from the Chinese market.
The hotel recorded a year-on-year growth of 70 per cent from China in 2017. Year-to-date, the growth has been 40 per cent compared to same period last year.
Jamal Abdulnazar, CEO, Cozmo Travel, shared: “The visa relaxation inspired us to open our offices in China. Our focus is on tier-two cities in China, where there is an excellent volume of business.”
On top of the relaxed visa policy, inbound tour operators said the UAE’s tourism offerings – including newer products – has also helped to attract Chinese tourists and better compete with other popular destinations in Europe and Asia.
“More and more Chinese are looking to visit new and unexplored destinations. The UAE offers a host of new and unique leisure attractions like Louvre Abu Dhabi, which debuted last year,” added Jamal.
Even emirates like Fujairah, currently getting few Chinese tourists, are devising strategies to tap this market.
“Our source markets have been European countries like Germany but now our focus is also on China. We are planning to open our representation office in China to help us market our destination. We are also meeting many tour operators from China to understand the needs of travellers from there,” said Omar Bani Hamour, coordinator, marketing and exhibitions, Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority.
Hotel players such as Emaar Hospitality Group are also working towards making its properties appealing to the Chinese market through initiatives like launching a website in Mandarin.
Armani Hotel Dubai’s Kirby also shared: “Besides translating our website in Mandarin, we have hired Chinese-speaking staff not only in the front office but also in our kitchens. We have also introduced signage in the hotel in Chinese. Going ahead, we plan to use popular social media platforms in China like WeChat and Weibo to target affluent Chinese travellers.”
Official figures show that Dubai recorded 764,000 overnight tourists from China in 2017, a growth of 41 per cent over 2016, while Abu Dhabi recorded more than 372,433 hotel guests from China last year, up over 61 per cent. And with a growth of 45 per cent over the previous year, Sharjah recorded 126,000 hotel guests from China in 2017.
A recent report by the consultancy firm Colliers International projected Chinese tourist arrivals to the UAE to grow by 20 per cent in the coming years.
Al Meroz Hotel, a halal hotel in Bangkok, is offering the Ramadan Delight stay package to usher in the Muslim holy month.
Running from May 15 to June 17, the offer includes one night’s stay in a superior room, breakfast Suhoor and Iftar, round-trip transfer from to and from the airport, complimentary late check-out until 15.00, free in-room coffee/tea set, free shuttle service to a nearby shopping complex, as well as a welcome fruit plate and drink.
The package is priced from 4,900 baht (US$155) net per room night for single occupancy, 5,900 baht for double occupancy and 7,400 baht for triple occupancy.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has added its LCC brand, Scoot, to the HighFlyer programme – the former’s frequent-flyer programme for SMEs.
From May 2, corporate members of SIA’s HighFlyer programme will be able to earn five HighFlyer points for every S$1 (US$0.75) spent on tickets if their SIA or SilkAir travel itineraries include a Scoot-operated flight segment and are booked through SIA’s corporate booking platform or an appointed travel agent, for eligible booking classes and destinations.
A Scoot plane at Changi Airport Singapore
These points may be used as full payment, or part payment for SIA and SilkAir tickets, upgrades and selected ancillaries.
Highflyer members will also have the option to redeem HighFlyer points for travel on Scoot-operated flights later this year.
Scoot’s inclusion in the HighFlyer programme marks the latest addition to its many existing products and services suitable to business travellers, such as the premium ScootBiz cabin on its 787 Dreamliner fleet, with in-seat power and Wi-Fi connectivity, said the carrier’s CEO, Lee Lik Hsin, in a press statement.
Earlier in April, SIA announced that it was adding Lufthansa and Swiss as partner airlines to the HighFlyer programme, where SMEs could obtain points on eligible sectors flown by the carriers.
Victoria Dockside, the ambitious 3 million-square-foot global art and design project along Hong Kong’s iconic Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, is set to make waves with a ripple of exciting theatrical, art and cultural happenings. It is poised to be a new global art and design district, taking Hong Kong to a new cultural frontier.
Image: Adrian Cheng, Founder of K11 and Executive Vice-Chairman and General Manager of New World Development
Announcing the phase one launch of Victoria Dockside today, Adrian Cheng, Founder of K11 and Executive Vice-Chairman and General Manager of New World Development, was joined by over 1,000 local and international influencers and guests from art, creative media and lifestyle sectors at the Make Waves party at K11 Atelier, the first office building under the K11 brand. The venue K11 Atelier sits within Victoria Dockside, and is the first workplace to integrate art, people and nature in one state-of-the-art building. It also redefines the modern work space with its Vertical Creative City concept, creating an inspiring office environment for the next-generation workforce.
The theme “Make Waves” hints at the disruption brought by Victoria Dockside. At the launch event, guests were led on a fascinating journey through the “Make Waves” exhibition which charts the evolution of the district from 1845 to the present.
Reviving the iconic Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront
Image: Victoria Dockside Tsim Sha Tsui
When the site was still known as Holt’s Wharf in the early 20th century, it already played a pivotal role in the city’s rise to the busiest port in the world, establishing Hong Kong’s reputation as the Gateway to the East. Following the opening of New World Centre in 1978, this area became a stronghold for international brands in the city and hosted some of the most innovative “happenings” Hong Kong ever witnessed. Forty years on, now as Victoria Dockside created by the cultural enterprise New World Development, it is set to trigger a new wave of disruptions in design, the arts, culture and sustainability. It will be the game-changer that will once again, break through traditions to create a new paradigm for the world.
Adrian Cheng, the mastermind behind the US$2.6 billion Victoria Dockside, said, “Our vision is to make waves at this world-class destination by providing a blank canvas for artists, designers and businesses to maximise their creativity and help create one of the most exciting new neighbourhoods of tomorrow.
Image: Victoria Dockside Hong Kong
“We are committed to establishing new frontiers with Victoria Dockside for Hong Kong. It will offer a kaleidoscope of experiences against the backdrop of one of the most impressive views in the world. This new district will provide a space for locals and international visitors alike to unwind from the chaos of everyday life. And the site will once again become a landmark in Hong Kong, bringing new disruptions and a new scene to the city.”
#MakeWaves in Design
Ten years in the making, the Victoria Dockside masterplan was led by Cheng and created by acclaimed architectural firms, and over 100 designers and consultants across the globe, including renowned names such as Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), and landscape architect James Corner Field Operations (JCFO). At K11 Atelier, the interior of the mixed-use office tower was crafted by the Japanese Design studio Simplicity, best known for creating minimalist, people-centric hospitality spaces.
#MakeWaves in Art and Culture
Fringing Victoria Dockside are the newly relaunched green space Salisbury Garden and Avenue of Stars – the promenade is scheduled to reopen in February 2019. These public spaces, both re-designed by New York Highline designer James Corner with the participation of Hong Kong designers such as LAAB, One Bite Design Studio, Urbis Limited and Ronald Lu & Partners, make for a welcoming blank canvas for artistic installations, performances, open-air concerts and other cultural events such as movie screenings. These spaces also offer the perfect view of the Victoria Harbour fireworks display.
#MakeWaves in Workplace
Image: K11 Atelier
Key to the first wave of Victoria Dockside is K11 Atelier, the first K11-branded Grade A office building with in-house cultural programmes to connect the next-generation workforce. Its main lobby doubles as a Community Space with a coffee kiosk and breakout area surrounded by greenery and natural wood. It offers an exceptional ambience for creative minds to connect, collide and inspire each other. K11 Atelier tenants will also be offered access to the ‘K11 Atelier Academy’, a myriad of programmes ranging from spiritual and physical wellness, to productivity, success, culture, creativity, and team building.
#MakeWaves in Sustainability
Referencing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Cheng pioneered the “New World Sustainability Vision 2030” and steered the Group to curate business offerings that reflect the elements and benefits of “Green”, “Wellness”, “Smart” and “Caring” in every project. This vision is fully realized in Victoria Dockside.
K11 Atelier holds two top-class green building certifications, and its energy usage intensity is 1.5 times lower than typical Hong Kong office buildings. The façade of K11 Atelier is integrated with one of HK’s largest photovoltaic solar systems, creating enough power to operate around 220 coffee machines.
The entire district is set to fully open in 2019, with a new wave of announcement coming in June 2018. It will also feature an ultra-luxury Rosewood Hotel and Rosewood Residences. The new art and design district will reinvigorate the Victoria harbourfront and create the most exciting new neighbourhood for both Hong Kong residents and the city’s 60 million annual visitors.
