Hilton has named Navjit Ahluwalia as senior vice president and country head, India and Jatin Khanna as vice president and head of operations, India.
Effective immediately, Navjit will oversee Hilton’s 33 hotels trading and under development, including the recently opened Conrad Bengaluru, while leading the company’s growth strategy in the country.
Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks Hotel
An Indian native, Navjit brings to Hilton 30 years of hospitality experience, including over 13 years at Marriott International where he held key leadership roles, the most recent being senior vice president responsible for expanding the company’s portfolio in South Asia.
Jatin, who assumes his position next month, takes over operations from Andre Gomez, who will be moving to a new role elsewhere in the company.
Also an Indian native, Jatin holds over 20 years of operations experience, including with both InterContinental Hotels Group and most recently Marriott International, where he managed the company’s full portfolio in Bengaluru city as vice president, Bengaluru and general manager for the Bengaluru Marriott Hotel.
Ready for guests to come knocking: (from left) Club Med Greater China's Gino Andreetta, Fosun Tourism Group's Qian Jiannong, Idera's Takuya Yamada and Club Med's Xavier Desaulles
Club Med Tomamu Hokkaido opened for business last week, with over 600 guests from over 20 countries present to celebrate the official launch of the year-round ski resort.
Ready for guests to come knocking: (from left) Club Med Greater China’s Gino Andreetta, Fosun Tourism Group’s Qian Jiannong, Idera’s Takuya Yamada and Club Med’s Xavier Desaulles
Unveiled at the opening ceremony are features including Japan’s largest indoor wave pool, Mina Mina beach, open all year; four dining concepts including specialty restaurant Haku, which serves up farm-to-table yakiniku barbecue with local Hokkaido and Wagyu beef; and winter attraction Ice Village, a frosted forest complete with ice slides, an ice restaurant and bar serving cocktails in ice glasses.
Containers repurposed into pop-up accommodation in Greenland
An innovative breed of accommodation is aiming to shape the future of hospitality, and has its sights set firmly on South-east Asia.
In the modern age of travel, where mass tourism can have a detrimental effect on the environment and people are seeking out unique experiences, Danish start-up Poshtel PopUp believes it has found the solution.
Containers repurposed into pop-up accommodation in Greenland
It plans to “challenge the hotel industry and the dominant logic around it” by offering a sustainable alternative to traditional beds, according to co-founder Kristoffer Bloom.
Having snapped up a fleet of shipping containers, the company’s vision is to transform them into luxury, eco-friendly pop-up suites that are affordable and can be transported anywhere in the world.
Said Bloom: “We often see ourselves as part of a greater movement… sustainability is one of the main factors. Sustainability has moved from being a niche to a necessity. Not (simply) stickers about towels on the floor; we mean deeply embedded responsible behaviour in every piece and element of the business. You can pretty much view the suites as banks of raw materials.”
Franchise deals being negotiated round the globe
With the first project recently opening its doors in Copenhagen, franchise deals are being negotiated across the globe, with prospective sites in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia currently being explored. Projects in Japan and South Korea are also likely to pan out.
“Our plans for South-east Asia are big as the opportunities are endless. In this part of the world, it feels like every corner tells a new story, it’s rich in exciting cultures and rapid growth that opens new possibilities,” Bloom said.
“These traits have led to a lot of over-tourism during the last two decades. This has (led) a lot of travellers to seek out the unexplored. Poshtel’s highly-modular construction method combined with out high concentration on sustainability allows us to enter new, unexplored frontiers.”
Pushing the sustainability element, Poshtel has also designed a utility unit in a box called The 5th Element. This is an off-the-grid utility unit that provides power, water and waste management that is 100 per cent solar powered.
“With this technology, we can really challenge the boundaries of what is today possible in the industry, and that’s exactly what we set out to do,” added Bloom.
The iconic Merlion structure on Sentosa Island and the Singapore Cable Car running from Mount Faber into Sentosa are primed for a suite of enhancements in 2018.
The developments will be made under the new One Faber Group, an autonomous subsidiary of the Sentosa Development Corporation that also manages other attractions such as Sentosa’s night show Wings of Time, FUN Shop and Faber Peak Singapore.
Fine dining in the sky products to be designed for couples and families
A refresh of content and attraction experience will be given to Singapore’s largest Merlion structure, located in Sentosa, to be fitted with augmented and virtual reality elements, Lim Suat Jien, managing director of One Faber Group, told TTG Asia in an interview.
Lim added that by popular demand for the “romantic and intimate” Dining on Cloud 9 – which arranges a fine-dining experience on cable-car rides between Harbourfront and Mount Faber – the product will soon be extended to also run on the Sentosa line, and will also offer family-friendly packages.
“On the Sentosa line, we’re going to introduce a more ‘family’ feel with a picnic-in-the-sky concept. For this, we will bring bento sets. It’s a picnic with a difference,” revealed Lim.
She confirmed that the refreshed Merlion is scheduled to be unveiled in 2Q2018, while cable car dining on Sentosa Line would be launched in 2018.
This follows the group’s launch of its new brand video, key visual and tagline – “One Escapade, Countless Experiences” – last Friday. With this new branding, One Faber Group will look into creating a “seamless experience” between Mount Faber and Sentosa, which are connected by the Singapore Cable Car, described Lim.
More recently, the group has opened the Dusk Restaurant and Bar that overlooks the Harbourfront skyline, and enhancing the Wings of Time show with on-ground elements such as mascot meet-and-greet sessions during special occassions.
The group is also incorporating its new developments into its regional outreach to target markets such as India and China. The latter will be engaged through popular platforms such as WeChat and Alipay.
About a third of the more than 400 national park sites across the country are completely closed
Many key tourist attractions and national parks have had their regular operations disrupted due to the US government shutdown, which began on Saturday.
The federal government will stop paying staff for duties that are classed as “non-essential”, which affects many but not all tourist facilities in the country.
About a third of the more than 400 national park sites across the country are completely closed
The partial government shutdown will not affect front-line staff in international and domestic aviation – air-traffic control, Customs & Border Protection and airport security in the US – as these are classed as essential workers and therefore will continue to report for duty and be paid as normal.
The Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service (NPS), has issued an “Important Shutdown Notice” to announce that the NPS is “conducting no park operations and providing no visitor services”.
The National Parks Conservation Association estimated that about a third of the more than 400 national park sites across the country are completely closed, reported the Los Angeles Times.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday announced that the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which was forced to close on Sunday due to the federal government shutdown, will be open for visitors on Monday, with New York state picking up the tab for federal workers.
In San Francisco, one of main destinations in the Bay Area, Alcatraz, is affected by the shutdown. Ferries are still running to take tourists to The Rock, and the island will stay open. However, rangers will not be available to give tours and tourists won’t be able to visit at night either.
Most American museums will not be affected as the vast majority are not fun by the federal government.
For visitors to the US, the ESTA system for online travel authorisation will continue to function as normal.
Tan's "City in a Garden" vision came to be hugely pivotal
Founding CEO of Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, Kiat W Tan, will step down from his role on February 15, to be succeeded by current COO, Felix Loh.
With a career built around the stewardship of nature, Tan has dedicated over 30 years to conserving the natural heritage in an increasingly urbanised Singapore.
Tan, with his vision of Singapore as a “City within a Garden”, played a pivotal role in the development of the city’s green spaces and key attractions
He was instrumental in the conceptualisation and development of Gardens by the Bay, and has also held several senior appointments, including founding CEO of National Parks Board from 1990 to 2006.
Envisioning Singapore as a “City in a Garden”, Tan intensified Singapore’s green spaces through the development of more green lungs and corridors. He also laid out the master plan for the redevelopment of Singapore Botanic Gardens and spearheaded its transformation into a world-class botanical institution.
He introduced the Singapore Garden Festival in 2006 and was instrumental in helping Singapore win the opportunity to host the 20th World Orchid Conference in 2011.
After his retirement, Tan will continue to play an important role in the progress of the Gardens as corporate advisor. This will include providing landscape and horticultural advice for the upcoming development of the Founders’ Memorial at Bay East Garden.
His successor, Loh, a horticulturist by training, joined the Gardens four years ago and has more than 20 years of experience in parks management, horticulture and landscape industry development, and policy development.
A former National Parks Board scholar, Loh had also served in the Ministry of National Development in various capacities, overseeing infrastructure policies, human resource, finance and corporate development functions.
Emirates has a combined 178 A380s in its existing fleet and on order
Talk of the Airbus A380 falling off the production line has been thrashed for now with Emirates announcing a US$16 billion order for 36 additional Airbus A380 aircraft, with 20 firm orders and 16 options.
With no orders made on the A380 last year, and some in the industry pegging it a less viable and efficient aircraft compared to the Dreamliner, Airbus COO John Leahy reportedly stated last Monday the company might have to axe the A380 should Emirates not put down an order.
Emirates has a combined 178 A380s in its existing fleet and on order
Just days after, Emirates extended this very lifeline to the A380. The 36 additional Airbus A380s will be delivered to Emirates from 2020 onwards – together with the airline’s 101-strong A380 fleet and its current order backlog for 41 aircraft – will bring the airline’s commitment to the A380 programme to 178 aircraft, worth over US$60 billion.
Some of the new A380s will go towards fleet replacement, according to Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group.
“We’ve made no secret of the fact that the A380 has been a success for Emirates. Our customers love it, and we’ve been able to deploy it on different missions across our network, giving us flexibility in terms of range and passenger mix,” Ahmed explained.
Other winning qualities of the A380, he added, are “the technology and real estate on board” which have given the airline “plenty of room to do something different with the interiors”.
Commented a more optimistic Leahy: “This new order underscores Airbus’ commitment to produce the A380 at least for another 10 years. I’m personally convinced more orders will follow Emirates’ example and that this great aircraft will be built well into the 2030s.”
In Spain, intercontinental flight bookings for 1H2018 are 4.4 per cent ahead of where they were at the same time last year, with Indonesia and Thailand the South-east Asian destinations growing fastest in popularity, according to ForwardKeys.
Forecasting travel patterns based on forward booking data, ForwardKeys reported that interest in Indonesia is up 14.1 per cent, while Thailand is seeing a 13.7 per cent increase in demand from Spanish travellers. As well, Vietnam ranked the 10th fastest growing longhaul destinations for Spaniards, up 11.7 per cent. Other Asian destinations ranking in the top 10 fastest growing destinations are the Maldives (+29.1 per cent) and China (+25.3 per cent).
The longhaul destinations currently showing the greatest growth in bookings are Egypt (+60.6 per cent) which is recovering from a period of internal political unrest; the Dominican Republic (+48.8 per cent) which is benefitting from a new winter-season flights operated by Wamos Air; and Cuba (+42.6 per cent), which has been experiencing a tourism boom.
Specifically for the Easter holiday season (March 19-April 1), the longhaul destination currently most in demand among Spaniards is the US, which has a dominant 28 per cent share of the segment. The next most popular intercontinental destination is Thailand with a 10 per cent market share, followed by Cuba, Argentina and Japan, all with a four per cent share.
Overall, the flight data company expects growth in longhaul travel to be lifted by new routes from Barcelona and Madrid as well as greater enthusiasm for Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt and Thailand.
Commenting on the findings, CEO of ForwardKeys, Olivier Jager, said: “This is a healthy outlook. One has to be particularly pleased for Egypt, as it is a fabulous destination that has suffered greatly in recent years and, like Spain, is heavily dependent on tourism.
“Also, one cannot help but be impressed by Thailand’s and Cuba’s progress in attracting Spanish visitors, as both have significant shares of the market and are showing strong growth in forward bookings.”
Banikarim, appointed global CMO in 2015, will leave Hyatt after April
Hyatt Hotels Corporation will realign its corporate leadership team and operations to allow for faster execution of its growth strategy, announced president and CEO Mark Hoplamazian.
The key changes, expected to be completed in 2Q2018, include the formation of a new commercial services portfolio at the executive committee level to combine guest and customer engagement functions under a new chief commercial officer position.
Banikarim, appointed global CMO in 2015, will leave Hyatt after April
The company is also consolidating managed and franchised hotel operations and owner relations into one portfolio, reporting to Chuck Floyd, global president of operations. The legal and corporate services portfolio is also being realigned under new leadership.
“In order to achieve our growth potential and capitalise on opportunities that come from rapidly-emerging consumer, industry and competitive developments, we must be leaner and more agile,” said Hoplamazian. “This starts at the top with our leadership, and we are making changes to streamline the executive committee and to better enable us to maximise our core hotel business and continue our expansion into new lines of business.”
Reporting directly to Hoplamazian, the chief commercial officer will oversee a portfolio that includes global sales functions, global marketing functions, the global contact centers and information technology. The selection process for the chief commercial officer is expected to complete in the second quarter.
As a part of the organisational realignment, two executives have decided to transition out of Hyatt later this year. Global chief marketing officer Maryam Banikarim and global head of capital strategy, franchising and select service Steve Haggerty will leave Hyatt in the coming months. Their positions will be eliminated upon their departures.
Banikarim will continue to lead the marketing organisation through the end of April, and Haggerty will remain at Hyatt as a special advisor to the CEO through July focused on executing important transactions, among other things.
Margaret Egan, who has served as interim general counsel since last October, is promoted to general counsel, reporting to Hoplamazian.
The loyalty and new business platforms area led by Mark Vondrasek as well as the data, innovation and business transformation area led by Alex Zoghlin will remain in place, with both Vondrasek and Zoghlin continuing to report directly to Hoplamazian.
Ten day option now available for the Mergui Archipelago cruise
Pandaw River Expeditions has developed an extended cruise of Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago after receiving positive response to the original seven-night version of the itinerary – its first ocean cruise – launched in November 2017.
Onboard the Andaman Explorer, the 10-night Burma Coastal Voyage will depart from Yangon, providing greater ease for guests who previously had to take a flight to the town of Kawthaung to embark the ship. Once in the Mergui Archipelago, the new itinerary will visit a number of islands not included in the seven-night sailing.
For the southbound route, passengers will embark in Yangon and sail down the Yangon River to cruise out to sea. On day two, the Andaman Explorer will moor in the estuary at Kaikkame and passengers will travel by car to Thanbyuzayat to visit the war graves and to explore Mawlamyine, a colonial outpost annexed by the British in 1824. The ship will cruise all day on day three, with an island stop for guests to swim and explore ashore, while day four will see the ship anchor in the mouth of the Dawei creek.
Ten-day option now available for the Mergui Archipelago cruise
The Andaman Explorer will on day five anchor off Myeik, allowing passengers to spend a full day exploring the architectural marvels of the old British port town. Day six starts with a morning visit to Port Maria in Lun Lun Island, populated by Karen people, before sailing to Bailey Island for snorkelling or swimming. On day seven, the ship will cruise through the archipelago and make a stop for guests to swim and snorkel.
Passengers will visit Tann Shey Island on day eight, which forms the main part of Lampi marine national park, to explore the mangroves by kayak and spot wild monkeys. On day nine, the Andaman Explorer will sail the Loughborough Passage, where dolphin sightings are common, and stop to visit a Mokkein sea gypsy village on Phi Lar Island.
And on the final day, the ship will moor off Coxcombe Island to explore the secret lagoon by swimming or by kayak. Andaman Explorer will then continue to Kawthaung, the bustling port city where the cruise ends. After an evening discovering the city and a last night onboard, passengers will transfer to Kawthaung Airport for flights to meet their onward connections.
The Andaman Explorer features 10 suites, with separate sitting room area and private bathrooms.
Prices for the Burma Coastal Voyage start from US$4,450 per person, based on twin occupancy and US$6,350 for single occupancy. This includes 10 nights on Andaman Explorer, local transfers, all excursions stated, entrance fees, guide services (English language), main meals, jugged coffee, selection of teas and tisanes, local soft drinks, local beer, local spirits, mineral water, crew gratuities, kayaks & snorkelling equipment.
The original seven-night The Mergui Archipelago itinerary will continue to operate with departures available from January – April 2018, October – December 2018 and beyond.
For reservations and more information, call (44)-208-326-5620 or go to www.pandaw.com.
The longhaul destinations currently showing the greatest growth in bookings are Egypt (+60.6 per cent) which is recovering from a period of internal political unrest; the Dominican Republic (+48.8 per cent) which is benefitting from a new winter-season flights operated by Wamos Air; and Cuba (+42.6 per cent), which has been experiencing a tourism boom.
