Overnight cruise operator Bhaya Group has appointed Andrej Stein as general manager.
In this role, Stein will be responsible for managing the group’s day-to-day operations and overseeing all operational aspects of its 19 vessel fleet. He will also foster the destination-focused experience, ensure customer service excellence and bring cultural enrichment to guests.
He started his career with Bhaya Group as cruise manager for The Au Co Luxury Cruise in 2012, and worked his way up to become operations manager, then director of operations.
The German brings with him over 14 years of industry expertise gained from key operations and leadership roles he held across UK and Vietnam with InterContinental Hotels Group, Radisson Hotels and De Vere Hotels.
Former secretary-general of ASEAN and former Thai foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan died of an acute heart attack on November 30. He was 68.
Surin reportedly collapsed while preparing to speak at the Thailand Halal Assembly 2017 at BITEC in Bangkok. He was rushed to Ramkhamhaeng Hospital, and pronounced dead at 15.07.
Surin Pitsuwan, the former ASEAN secretary-general, was involved in the peace process as facilitator and negotiator in the region
Surin was secretary-general of ASEAN from 2008 to 2012. A statement issued by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said he “contributed greatly to the advancement and interest of ASEAN, as well as the promotion of ASEAN on the international stage. His outstanding personality, knowledge and wisdom were truly recognised by global leaders”.
As a champion of ASEAN tourism, Surin had always exhorted the region’s tourism public and private sectors to be mindful of sustainable development. In one of his last speeches directly related to tourism, in June last year when he delivered a keynote at the Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2016, he called on the ASEAN tourism industry to pay equal attention to the socio-cultural pillar of ASEAN integration, not “over-focus” on its economic impact.
The “tapestry of contrasts” of ASEAN’s 10-member countries made it such an attractive destination and, because of this diversity, the regional travel and tourism industry should pay equal attention to the socio-cultural and political-security blueprints of ASEAN, “not just economic, economic, economic all the time”, Surin said.
While intra-ASEAN commerce was only about 27-28 per cent of the total trade volume, intra-ASEAN travel constituted about 47-48 per cent of the total and it was “within striking distance” that intra-ASEAN could hit the 50 per cent mark this year, the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, he said. Thanks to low-cost airlines, transportation was no longer an issue in ASEAN connectivity. The challenge now, said Surin, was managing growth – how to improve services and enhance sustainability.
“If we are not careful, we will have problems of congestion and environmental impact, which will also impact the cultural resources that we value. It’s the software not the hardware. It’s the management, not the transportation systems anymore.
“Tourism is supposed to be one activity that creates opportunity for everyone. Let us make the ASEAN destination attractive, sustainable, accessible and playing the role of equalising that income.
“Tourism is a goose laying golden eggs. We can’t starve it, nor can we over-feed, nor ignore it, nor take too much advantage of it.”
At the same time, he called on the tourism industry to put pressure on the immigration and safety authorities to expedite a single visa to allow people to move more seamlessly through the region, but also for the industry to not just focus on doing business but be involved in the broader goals of creating a better world for future generations.
While tourists had the luxury of being on the move for leisure and pleasure, he urged the audience to think of the humanitarian suffering of the millions of people who were on the move to escape suffering and violence.
Amadeus Next startups, GoHero, BorderPass and CarePod exhibited at the Amadeus Airline Regional Community meeting in Singapore in November 2017
Amadeus Next will expand into three new Asian markets, namely China, Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as new industries, as it turns two years old with a list of 33 startups it has powered.
China is where the “tech companies are leading the charge for entrepreneurship”, it said, while Indonesia and Vietnam are “two of the most promising markets for the startup ecosystem”.
Amadeus Next startups, GoHero, BorderPass and CarePod exhibited at the Amadeus Airline Regional Community meeting in Singapore in November 2017
The move will see Amadeus Next work actively with relevant stakeholders to support startups on the ground. In addition to helping entrepreneurs identify suitable customers and partners, the Amadeus Next startup community also provides a platform for ideas sharing between fellow entrepreneurs.
It also intends to enter into new industries such as Xank, CarePod and Global Himalayan Expedition. Xank explores the effect of blockchain on the South-east Asian travel sector, a key area of focus for Amadeus in 2018. CarePod creates new enterprise solutions to boost airline ancillary, including improving the experiences of “pet owner” passengers and their pets throughout the entire air travel process. Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) is a social enterprise focused on providing energy, education, connectivity and livelihood access to remote Himalayan villages.
“Working with GHE proves sustainable development and cultural tourism can go hand in hand. We are always on the hunt for interesting startups with a CSR or sustainability angle, this will be another priority in the coming year,” said Simon Akeroyd, vice president, corporate strategy and business development, Amadeus Asia-Pacific.
“We will also continue to explore other verticals such as fintech, insurtech and IoT to discover emerging technologies and trends before they reach the travel sector.”
Akeroyd said the tech startup scene in Asia is booming, with nearly a third of the world’s private unicorns valued at US$1 billion headquartered here. With more travel startups in Asia-Pacific achieving unicorn status, such as China (Tujia) and Indonesia (GO-JEK), Amadeus is committed to propelling the travel tech startups in these markets, on their journey to becoming the next big thing, he said.
Berlin-based online booking platform for travel activities, GetYourGuide, has closed a US$75 million Series D funding round and is stepping up its Asian presence.
The latest round was led by Battery Ventures and all of GetYourGuide’s existing venture partners, including KKR, Spark Capital, Highland Europe, Sunstone Capital and Nokia Growth Partners (NGP).
GetYourGuide has more than 31,000 tours, activities and attractions in more than 7,300 destinations around the world in its database
The new capital will be applied toward international expansion and technological development.
“We are experiencing explosive growth this year and have stepped up to become the largest online booking platform for travel activities,” said Johannes Reck, CEO of GetYourGuide. “It’s our goal to significantly disrupt the in-destination travel experience in the years ahead.”
The booking platform has launched four new domains – Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Mexican Spanish – for its platform, bringing the total number of languages supported on GetYourGuide to 18.
Earlier this year, the company opened regional offices in Hong Kong and Bangkok.
Scoot will commence flights to Berlin in 2H2018, its second European and third longhaul destination.
The airline intends to launch ticket sales for Berlin in 1Q2018. Subject to regulatory approval, the four-times-weekly Singapore-Berlin flights will be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Scoot’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Lee Lik Hsin, Scoot’s CEO, said: “Scoot’s merger with Tigerair Singapore earlier this year has greatly strengthened our position, standing us in good stead to launch and sustain our longhaul operations. Athens has lived up to our expectations while bookings for Honolulu have been very promising.”
Scoot’s current route network comprises 62 destinations across 16 countries, with services to Honolulu launching this month, and Kuantan flights commencing in February 2018.
A Taiwanese e-commerce and blockchain company is bringing to the market what it claims is the world’s first blockchain hotel management service.
Darren Wang, founder and CEO of OwlTing, said: “With the launch of OwlNest, our team, already working with hotels and hostels in the US, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, will bring OwlNest to over 30,000 hotels by 2019. We expect the advanced blockchain technology behind OwlNest to create huge value for hotels and travellers by solving critical pain points.”
The OwlNest Blockchain Hotel Management Service will be an incorporated accommodations management platform to assist hotels around the world
OwlTing said it is essential for hotels to strike a balance between pricing for visibility on major OTA channels and pricing for profitability on their own websites. Hotels also need to better understand their returning customers and adjust marketing strategies more proactively, which OwlTing said incumbent technology solutions cannot fulfil.
OwlNest Blockchain Hotel Management Service, through a cloud-based and integrated platform, aims to help hotels reduce operating costs and improve customer experience and profitability.
In a statement, the company elaborated that its services could help hotels design customised pricing packages, identify returning customers, collect customer preferences and automatically adjust promotion campaigns for seasonality and customer behaviour more easily.
The platform’s scalable design also enables hotels to earn more revenue by adding on-premise services, local experiences and other travel partners to an integrated dashboard.
OwlNest also supports multiple payment gateways such as credit card, PayPal, WeChat Pay, Alipay, Apple Pay, and other blockchain-based payment services in the future.
Who better to get Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018 off to a bright and beautiful start than this bevy of flight attendants from Thai Airways International, Thai Smile, Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air?
They joined a parade held by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in collaboration with tourism organisations at the Siam Discovery Center in Bangkok recently.
Location The St Regis Kuala Lumpur is within walking distance to KL Sentral station, a hub for the city’s three different rail lines including the KLIA Express that travels between both international airports (KLIA and klia2) and KL Sentral station. The hotel also offers shuttle services to the station.
The hotel is located close to the city’s largest park, Perdana Botanical Garden, and Islamic Arts Museum. Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and the retail offerings of Jalan Bukit Bintang are just 10-15 minute drive away.
Caroline Astor Suite
Room The hotel has 208 guestrooms range from 63m2 for rooms to 138m2 suites, some of the largest in the city.
I stayed in a one-bedroom suite, which has a large living room, dining table, lounge area and work space. The bedroom comes with a walk-in wardrobe with ample closet and luggage space.
I was impressed by the detail that went into the suite, such as the safe concealed behind wall panelling. It was so well hidden I would not have noticed if my butler, Wan, hadn’t pointed it out.
St Regis Kuala Lumpur’s lobby
Facilities The hotel has every facility a bleisure client would require – from a gym and fitness instructor who can help create a personalised programme, to a spa, swimming pool and yoga room.
I thoroughly enjoyed my hour-long foot massage at the spa. The Jacuzzi is also memorable as the water was warm and the jets powerful, just the way I love my hot tub dips.
For meetings, the grand ballroom stands out with its digital canvas of 47 LED screens that surround, enabling organisers to have high impact presentations. This is complemented by 16 versatile meeting rooms.
F&B The hotel offers six dining options. I was impressed by the Japanese restaurant, Taka by Sushi Saito, which features creations of three-star Michelin chef Takashi Saito in his only venture outside of Tokyo. I’ve always been hesitant about Japanese cuisine, but the Tako (octopus dish) and Otoro (tuna belly), the best sushi I’ve ever tasted, changed my mind.
The hotel is also known for afternoon tea at The Drawing Room, featuring cakes and entremets.
At Botero, the sommelier hospitality and ornate ambience cresated by Botero’s 3m-high horse sculpture captivated me.
I had breakfast at The Brasserie, and enjoyed local favourites such as Roti Canai and Nasi Lemak. In the evenings, the space transforms into a contemporary French-Mediterranean bistro.
Service As one would expect of a St Regis, the service was excellent with attentive, friendly staff who anticipated my needs before I realised them myself.
I was completely indulged by the 24/7 butler service, a brand signature. Butlers take guests to their rooms and help them settle in – setting up Wi-Fi on all devices, offering complimentary garment pressing, unpacking and packing, and help with making external reservations. I was thoroughly pampered throughout my stay.
Verdict An unforgettable experience with personalised anticipatory attention from butlers.
No of rooms 208 Rates From RM800+ (US$195) per room per night Contact details
Tel: (60)-3-2727-1111
Email: stregis.kualalumpur@stregis.com
It is essential that tourism is sensitively managed if the target of attracting four million visitors to the Mekong River by 2020 is achieved, tourism stakeholders warn.
At 4,350km in length, the Mekong River runs from China to Vietnam, slicing through six countries that offer varying cultures, traditions and experiences. And with many communities living on its banks relying on the waterway for survival, river-based tourism is emerging as a sector that has huge untapped potential.
Tourism stakeholders fear that if river tourism to the Mekong is not managed properly, will lead to negative impacts on the environment and congestion; Mekong River, Vietnam, pictured
The opportunity to develop river-based tourism is growing exponentially, said Jens Thraenhart, executive director of Mekong Tourism. He added: “We want to grow the cruise industry to more than four million passengers on the Mekong by 2020. People are looking for experiences of a lifetime and the Mekong region has the potential to deliver that.”
However, Pierre-Andre Romano, general manager of EXO Cambodia, expressed fears that this volume of visitors may lead to congested waters and have a negative impact on the environment, if managed incorrectly. He added huge investment would need to be ploughed into developing adequate infrastructure, such as docking facilities.
He said: “The boats cannot sail all year round so care needs to be taken that the waters don’t become too crowded.”
Thraenhart said the emphasis needs to be on developing more boutique tours and cruises, in line with community-based tourism models. He said several deluxe offerings have launched in recent months, paving the way for more to follow.
But Christopher Gramsch, Khiri Laos general manager, said developing river-based tourism in Laos is becoming increasingly challenging due to the volume of dams being built in the country’s drive to become the battery of South-east Asia.
It was recently announced boat trips on the Nam Ou are no longer possible between Muang Khua and Muang Ngoi.
He said: “This was one of the last scenic boat cruises we could offer clients. It seems the energy sector is more important than ecology and tourist boat cruises. The dams clearly have impacts on the tourism sector, and are a problem not only for Southern Laos but also for Cambodia and Vietnam.”
Millennium Hotels and Resorts' Lee Richards with M Social's Aura
M Social snagged a double win at the International Data Corporation Asia/Pacific’s inaugural IDC Digital Transformation Awards for its efforts to address manpower shortages with innovative solutions.
The two awards – “DX Leader for Operational Transformation in Singapore” and “DX Leader for Operational Transformation in the Region” – were in recognition of the hotel’s introduction of the region’s first Front-of-House Autonomous Service Delivery Robot, or AURA.
Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ Lee Richards with M Social’s Aura
AURA has been integrated with various subsystems in the hotel, such as networks, elevators, and telephony.
“I believe (such solutions) enables us to stay relevant in the face of manpower crunch and business disruptions,” commented Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C).
“We have been heeding the government’s push for automation. After the success of AURA, M Social (more) recently debuted a second robot AUSCA, the world’s first robot chef that can serve up egg dishes for dining guests,” he added.
“Earlier this year AUSCA, the world’s first Front-of-House Autonomous Service Chef Robot prototype, started work at M Social’s Beast and Butterflies restaurant, making sunny-side up and omelette dishes for guests,” said Lee Richards, vice president of operations Singapore for Millennium Hotels and Resorts.
AURA will be rolled out to other M&C hotels in Singapore hotels next year, according to Richards.
