Stay package includes complimentary tickets to Disney on Ice show
The 464-key New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel has launched an exclusive Disney On Ice Room Package.
Guests can book a City View Room at a starting rate of HK$2,050 (US$262) per room per night to enjoy two complimentary tickets to the Disney On Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic show valued at HK$400 each, as well as a special Disney On Ice gift pack.
Stay package includes complimentary tickets to Disney on Ice show
The Disney On Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic show will be performed from January 25-28 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Reservations are open now until January 18, for stay any time from January 26-28.
Sala Hospitality has appointed Erwin van der Veen as general manager of Sala Samui Chaweng Beach Resort. He has been part of the pre-opening team since November 2017.
Prior to joining Sala Samui Chaweng Beach Resort, Van der Even was general manager at The Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort in Malaysia.
Before that, he spent over a decade with Hilton Worldwide in South Korea, Nigeria, Thailand, Japan and the UAE, rising through the ranks of the F&B department before being promoted to director of operations, then hotel manager.
Sala Samui Chaweng Beach Resort and Spa is scheduled to launch in two phases, starting on January 16 with the opening of the Beach Wing comprising 52 pool villas and pool suites. The second phase will be completed 12 months later in 2019, and will comprise 83 rooms, pool villas and pool suites, as well as the Sala Spa and Sala Gym, a garden swimming pool and a Garden Pool Bar.
The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) is cutting back on consumer fair and tradeshow participation in favour of digital advertising.
“We will substitute our presence with advertising on digital portals and encourage industry players to sell their packages through online platforms,” stated STB’s acting CEO Mary Wan Mering.
STB investing in digital advertising
She added that the tourism board will be “very selective” about which B2B travel trade fairs to participate in. In particular, STB intends to be present at niche fairs for suitable offerings like birding, diving and caving.
STB is also in the midst of researching what shows to attend in order to reach out to key markets including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe, according to Wan.
“This year, we are deliberating whether to attend ITB Berlin where traditionally we used to have space under the Tourism Malaysia pavilion,” she told TTG Asia.
TTG Asia understands that STB’s shift towards digital marketing is in line with the state government’s push for the digital economy and cost savings.
On a local level, STB will not be participating in the MITA Fair, which takes place in Kuala Lumpur from January 19 to 21, or the MATTA Fair in Kuala Lumpur this March.
However, it will be at the MATTA Fair in September, where sellers typically target holidaymakers for the year-end school holiday break from November 23 up to the New Year.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) made changes in its Asia-Pacific operations that it said will further leverage corporate resources there and strengthen its presence in the China market.
Steve Odell, senior vice president and managing director Asia-Pacific, has expanded his role to include China operations along with the greater Asia-Pacific region. Alex (Yucheng) Xiang has been promoted to managing director of the China operations, reporting to Odell.
Odell now also heading up China operations
David Herrera, previously president of China operations and based in Shanghai, will relocate back to Miami as senior vice president strategy and corporate development. He will report to Frank Del Rio, president and CEO.
Herrera established the company’s Shanghai and Beijing offices in 2015 and has worked closely with travel partners and government officials there. Under his leadership Norwegian Cruise Line successfully launched Norwegian Joy in 2017.
With this dedicated ship, Herrera and his team achieved the fastest growth of any market for NCLH in 2017. Norwegian Joy will sail its first full year in China in 2018, essentially doubling the company’s capacity in the region.
With Xiang’s promotion to managing director, he will serve as the first senior officer in the region. Xiang has been with the China team since its start. As vice president sales he has played a critical role in the region’s success to date. Xiang’s promotion is effective February 2, when he will assume leadership of the Shanghai and Beijing teams.
Prior to joining NCLH, Xiang held a number of senior executive roles in sales, marketing and business development, including deputy general manager, sales & marketing in China for Royal Caribbean Cruise Service (China).
Odell’s expanded role involves overseeing the greater Asia-Pacific region, including China. He joined the company in October 2015 to spearhead the launch of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Sydney. Odell has 30 years of cruise industry experience, 17 of those in Asia.
In his expanded role, he is responsible for the strategic expansion, vision and continued growth for NCLH in the fast growing Asia-Pacific market. He is currently chairman of CLIA Australasia and a founding board member of the Asia Cruise Association. Odell will continue to report to Sommer.
Singapore’s passport now ranks the world’s second most powerful, after Germany, in the 2018 Henley Passport Index released this week.
This is Singapore’s highest ranking on the index in 10 years, and the city remains the best-performing country in South-east Asia.
Singapore passport in second place
Germany – whose passport gives visa-free access to 177 countries – continues to take top spot for the fifth year running. Following in third position are the UK and Japan (175 countries).
Malaysia ranks second in the region, and 12th globally, with Malaysian nationals enjoying visa-free access to 166 countries.
Hong Kong, which moves up one place in the latest edition of the index to be ranked 21st globally, sees its passport holders enjoying visa-free access to 155 countries in total.
Meanwhile, China emerged as one of the three biggest climbers in the 2018 Henley Passport Index, moving 10 spots to 75th place.
Chinese passport holders gained visa-free access to 10 more countries since the last ranking, and are now able to enter 60 countries without a visa.
In terms of the biggest improvements in access, China ranks only after Georgia (up 15 spots to 53rd) and Ukraine (up 14 spots to 44th), which both completed the visa-liberalisation process with the EU in 2017 and gained access to 30 and 32 new countries respectively.
Notably, Indonesia moved up seven places and now ranks 72nd globally, having signed visa agreements with countries such as Qatar and St Kitts and Nevis in 2017.
Of the 199 countries featured on the index, 143 improved their rank over the past year and 41 maintained their positions. In terms of visa-free access, only seven countries saw their level of access reduce over the past year: Azerbaijan, Algeria, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, Laos, North Korea and Syria all lost visa-free access to a single country.
By contrast, 18 countries maintained their level of access year-on-year, and the remainder of countries (174 in total) saw an improvement in their level of access compared to 2017.
“Despite the world experiencing huge disparity in the levels of travel freedom between countries, and an growing tendency towards immigration-hostile policies, only a small minority of countries on the 2018 Henley Passport Index lost access,” observed Jennifer Lai, managing partner of Henley & Partners Hong Kong.
“These findings reflect the fact that, while certain countries are tightening their borders, others are in fact becoming more migrant-friendly, as they seek to tap into the immense economic value that migration can bring.”
Chatbot for flight search and booking being tested in Thailand
Amadeus is piloting an AI-powered bot that connects travel agents to users of popular chat app, Line.
Developed in partnership with India-based GoHero.ai, the bot – named @flightbot – will be tested with Thai travel agencies and the travellers they serve before rolling out in other markets across the Asia-Pacific region.
Chatbot for flight search and booking being tested in Thailand
“With the new 24/7 bot on Line, travellers using @flightbot will gain direct access to Amadeus’ global content and technology via Amadeus-connected travel agencies with just the touch of a button, including a range of available flights and options to choose from,” said Simon Akeroyd, vice president, corporate strategy and business development, Amadeus Asia Pacific.
Line users can search for and befriend @flightbot, chat privately with the bot and receive assistance for any flight-related queries. Throughout the test period, the bot will address queries related to air travel bookings, departure city and destination, and flights with the best prices, in either English or Thai.
The goal is for @flightbot, which is in constant learning mode, to ultimately be able to provide round-the-clock conversational replies that can meet the personalised needs of travellers.
The AI-powered service will also provide travel agents with a secure and streamlined transaction process, where travellers can complete payment via the chat.
Air traffic growth in Asia-Pacific brings new challenges
The international air transport industry achieved its safest year on record in 2017, with a total of 10 major accidents involving western-built aircraft resulting in 55 fatalities, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
This represents a loss rate approaching one major accident for every four million flights, which AAPA attributes to the efforts of regulators and industry safety stakeholders working in close collaboration.
Air traffic growth in Asia-Pacific brings new challenges
Looking at western-built commercial jets, there were three major accidents which resulted in a total of 40 fatalities. Asia-Pacific carriers experienced one major accident involving large western-built commercial airline jets, with zero crew and passenger fatalities.
Commercial turboprop operations also achieved significant safety performance improvements, according to AAPA. In 2017 there were seven major accidents involving this type of aircraft, which resulted in a total of 15 fatalities, including one major accident involving an Asian operator which resulted in two fatalities.
Andrew Herdman, director general of AAPA, commented: “With the demand for air travel growing continuously, the world’s airlines are now responsible for safely transporting over four billion passengers each year. About one third of those passengers are being carried by airlines based in Asia-Pacific, on some of the busiest routes in the world. Understandably with this responsibility, safety is always our first priority.”
Herdman continued: “For Asia-Pacific, the growth in demand for air travel brings with it challenges requiring more attention. Governments need to focus on wider issues related to aviation infrastructure capacity constraints and congestion, the need for more effective regulatory oversight and investments that provide a future air transport system meeting prescribed international standards, not only for safety, but also for environment, security and other key performance standards.”
Ctrip is partnering the Priceline Group’s restaurant reservations platform, OpenTable, to allow Ctrip mobile app users to book from tens of thousands of restaurants across North America.
OpenTable app
With the agreement, Ctrip has become OpenTable’s first partner in the Mainland China market. Available in six languages, the Princeline group platform already has over 43,000 bookable restaurants in more than 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.
The tie-up comes as North American destinations rise in popularity among Chinese travellers. According to Ctrip’s data, Chinese visitors to North America in 2017 spent on average RMB16,000 (US$2,456) per person. Both the US and Canada were included on Ctrip’s 2017 Top 20 Popular Country list, with three US cities in the top 10 for longhaul trips, and Canada seeing over 60 per cent growth year-on-year.
Centara Hotels & Resorts has appointed Allen Thomas as vice president business development.
Reporting to Centara’s deputy CEO Markland Blaiklock, Thomas will be responsible for executing the company’s plan to grow its hotel stable from 58 to 134 properties over the next five years.
Thomas has 28 years of experience in the hospitality sector, including, positions with HPL and Como Hotels, and most recently Resorts Holdings International.
Malaysia Airlines relaunches Brisbane flights
Malaysia Airlines will reinstate flights between Kuala Lumpur and Brisbane from June 6.
From Brisbane, MH134 pushes back at 23.20 to reach Kuala Lumpur at 05.50 the following day. Out of Kuala Lumpur on the return leg, MH135 takes to the skies at 09.50 to reach Brisbane at 19.50.
The service will run four times a week, providing 120,000 seats to/from Brisbane airport on the Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The airline will be operating the route every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Other routes between Kuala Lumpur and Australia are to Sydney (twice daily), Melbourne (twice daily), Perth (daily) and Adelaide (four times a week).
Eurowings links up Bangkok and Munich
German low-cost airline Eurowings will begin twice-weekly flights – on Mondays and Saturdays – between Bangkok and Munich starting on June 15 this year.
The inaugural flight will leave the Bavarian capital on June 15, whereas the first flight from Bangkok is going to take off on June 16.
AirAsia launches Macau-Phuket flights
AirAsia has begun daily flights between Macau and Phuket.
Taking three hours and 45 minutes, flights will depart Phuket at 05.20 and arrive at 10.05. The return flight will depart Macau at 10.40 and arrive in Phuket at 13.05, taking three hours and 25 minutes.
Apart from this route, Thai AirAsia offers a variety direct flights to Macau from Thailand, including Don Mueang-Macau (four flights a day), Chiang Mai-Macao (one flight per day) and Pattaya (U-Tapao)-Macau (four flights per week).
Tianjin Airlines adds Auckland to network map
Tianjin Airlines now flies from Auckland to Tianjin via Xi’an, making it the second intercontinental flight between China and New Zealand for the airline.
GS7968 will depart Auckland on Saturdays at 22.05 and arrive in Tianjin at 11.25 the following day, while GS7967 will depart Tianjin at 21.10 and arrive back in Auckland at 19.05 the following day on Fridays.
Finnair adds longhaul frequencies to Asia
Finnair will add several frequencies to some of its longhaul Asian destinations, namely Osaka, Hong Kong, Delhi and Phuket, for the 2018/2019 winter season.
Finnair’s route to Osaka will now become daily during the winter season with two additional frequencies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Two additional frequencies will also be added to the Hong Kong route on Fridays and Sundays, for a total of 12 weekly frequencies.
As well, Finnair’s route to Delhi will become a daily destination during the winter season with the addition of a flight on Wednesdays, and a fourth weekly frequency will also be added to the Phuket route on Mondays.
Malaysia Airlines relaunches Brisbane flights
