TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Thursday, 1st January 2026
Page 1495

Blacklane goes green

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Reduce your carbon footprint with Blacklane

All Blacklane rides are now green, with the company committed to offsetting the carbon footprint of all rides across the 250 cities and 50 countries it operates in.

This is believed to be the first time a ride service is launching a global carbon-neutral programme. Blacklane offsets carbon emissions by funding a wind farm near Pune, India, where 40 wind turbine generators produce electricity with no fossil fuel consumption.

Reduce your carbon footprint with Blacklane

Jens Wohltorf, CEO and co-founder of Blacklane, said: “Quality rides (that do not) compromise the environment benefit travellers, drivers and the world. They also align companies’ business travel needs with their sustainability goals.”

To deliver its promise, Blacklane is partnering Carbon Footprint, the UK government’s provider, to offset ministerial travel carbon dioxide emissions. The company calculates Blacklane’s carbon emissions based on ride distances and vehicles in the fleet.

Aman brings 15-year Shanghai project to fruition

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Amanyangyun, the fourth Aman location in China and the first in Shanghai, will open on January 8, 2018, after a 15-year-long relocation of a Jiangxi forest and reconstruction of a historic village.

Fuzhou-born entrepreneur Ma Dadong and Aman had worked together to oversee the transportation and replanting of 10,000 trees – including the 80-tonne Emperor Tree – and the disassembly and rebuilding of 50 antique houses, which were displaced by a new reservoir project in Fuzhou.

Amanyangyun is the result of a 15-year-long conservation initiative

On the 10ha Amanyangyun 27km southwest of Shanghai, the 50 disassembled antique houses have been restored into 26 guestrooms, 13 of which are four-bedroom Antique Villas measuring 8002 to 1,000m2, and including a private pool and Jacuzzi as well as a courtyard. Amanyangyun will also offer 24 newly created 65m2 Ming Courtyard Suites, with two private courtyards attached to each.

Aman Residences converted from 12 of the historic homes will also be available.

On the grounds of Amangyangyun is Nan Shu Fang, which also made the journey from Fuzhou, a modern-day recreation of a 17th century scholars’ studio. Guests can use this space to practise traditional crafts such as calligraphy, music and painting, or to watch one of Amanyangyun’s Kunqu Opera performances.

Another highlight is the 2,840m2 Aman Spa – one of the largest in the Aman collection – housing eight treatment rooms, two double spa suites, relaxation areas, a sauna, plunge pool, Jacuzzi and two swimming pools; indoor and out.

The spa building will also house the fitness and movement centre, while the Cultural Discovery Centre will welcome children age five to 12, and have a dedicated programme for teenagers. Programmes include wetland visits, classes on Chinese farming techniques, lantern making, paper cutting, pottery moulding and tea ceremonies, as well as Chinese shadow puppet shows.

The property will offer five restaurants and bars – Chinese restaurant Lazhu pays homage to Jiangxi province; Japanese restaurant Nama; the lakeside Arva for Italian farm-to-table style dishes and sharing plates; The Bar and Cigar Lounge; as well as the 200-seat Banqueting Room.

Other facilities include a 200m2 herb garden and 25-seat cinema.

China urged to pump up ‘toilet revolution’ efforts

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Public toilets on Tiananmen Square in Beijing

Chinese president Xi Jinping issued a directive last Monday for continued efforts in improving the country’s toilet conditions, in order to encourage greater domestic tourism and international arrivals.

The campaign, termed ‘toilet revolution’, was first launched in April 2015 to upgrade hygiene and living standards in both rural and urban areas, reported Xinhua News Agency.

Public toilets on Tiananmen Square in Beijing

The China National Tourism Administration recently announced plans to build and upgrade 64,000 toilets between 2018 and 2020.

In his recent address, Xi urged the country to maintain its efforts in improving public toilets, announcing: “This work must be a concrete part of advancing our country’s revitalising strategy and we must make great efforts to fill these shortcomings that affect the quality of life of the masses.”

Under the ‘toilet revolution’ campaign, the central government has reportedly pumped more than RMB1 billion (US$150 million) into revamping more than 68,000 public toilets, exceeding its initial three-year goal of 57,000.

An example includes popular Beijing tourist attraction Temple of Heaven, a park whose toilet-paper dispensers are fitted with facial recognition technology that limits each user to 60cm of paper every nine minutes.

Tourism Western Australia enhances agent engagement in new campaign

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Hamersley Gorge in Karijini National Park, Western Australia

Tourism Western Australia (Tourism WA) has teamed up with Travelport to promote Perth and Western Australia to travel agents within Australia.

The targeted trade campaign has been launched since October 16 to stimulate interest among travel agents within Australia, raise awareness of destination experiences and spur more tourist arrivals.

Hamersley Gorge in Karijini National Park, Western Australia

Over the past month, the campaign engaged over 200 agents who have completed a mini-training portal and referred friends and colleagues to participate in the training, according to Tourism WA.

Based on bookings done on Travelport’s platform, there was a 16 per cent growth in October for WA, compared to the same period last year.

New hotels: Avani Hua Hin Resort & Villas, Sherwood Suites, and more

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Avani Hua Hin Resort & Villas
Avani Hua Hin Resort & Villas in Thailand offers 185 rooms and suites, as well as 11 one-bedroom and two-bedroom villas with direct access to the main pool. Facilities include a spa with nine treatment rooms and Hammam, gym, kids club, an all-day dining restaurant and a jazz lounge. Guests can also choose to do watersports such as kite surfing, sailing or stand-up paddle board yoga. Event planners can make use of a 900m2 meeting space, which can accommodate banquets of 500 people. It can also be reconfigured to five smaller venues.

Sherwood Suites
The new-build in the heart of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City features 157 apartments over 20 storeys. Studios weigh in at 57m2, one-bedroom units range from 61m2 to 81m2, while two-bedroom apartments offer between 91m2 and 118m2 of space. Each apartment is furnished with flatscreen TVs, contemporary Italian designer furniture, luxe mattresses, and come with fully-equipped kitchens and marble bathrooms with rain showers. Facilities include a 20m-long covered pool, jacuzzi, pool bar, 65-seat restaurant, games room, kid’s club and a 24-hour gym with sauna and steam room. Guests will also be able to avail the free hourly shuttle bus that stops at at several Saigon attractions such as the Reunification Palace and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Novotel Singapore on Stevens and Mercure Singapore on Stevens
AccorHotels has opened two hotels – a Novotel with 254 guestrooms (pictured above) and a 518-key Mercure – in an integrated lifestyle complex at the edge of Singapore’s Orchard Road. In total, the complex boasts facilities such as 14 dining outlets ranging from Thai to Mediterranean, two outdoor pools, a tennis court and a function space that can accommodate more than 500 guests. As well, the complex features a series of pods housing an additional nine F&B outlets offering both local and international cuisines.

Ascott Raffles City Shenzhen
The Ascott has expanded its footprint in China with the opening of its third property, the 182-room Ascott Raffles City Shenzhen, in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District. The serviced apartment will be part of an integrated development which comprises a mall with more than 200 shops and a 23-storey office tower. Lodgings range from studios to three-bedroom apartments, all of which come with a well-equipped kitchen and high-speed wireless Internet. Facilities include an indoor heated swimming pool, breakfast lounge, gymnasium, aerobics room, reading room, sauna, children’s play area, business centre, and several meeting rooms.

Courtyard by Marriott Bandung Dago
Situated at Jalan Ir. H. Juanda 33 Bandung is the 187-room Courtyard by Marriott Bandung Dago. Rooms are designed to be hybrid zones for both working and resting, while the property’s lobby features media pods, complimentary Wi-Fi and a variety of seating zones. On the property is Momo Café, the hotel’s all-day dining venue, with a wide selection of local and international dishes. Other facilities include a sauna, outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, spa, kids’ club, as well as a business centre with several computer terminals. There is also 1,260m2 of space spread across 15 event venues, where the largest can accommodate functions of up to 500 people.

Sammy Carolus helms Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit

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Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit, scheduled to open in 3Q2018, has appointed Sammy Carolus as general manager.

Carolus has been part of the Hyatt family for over 25 years, commencing his career in 1992 as a sales associate at Bali Hyatt.

He progressed through various sales and marketing positions at Bali Hyatt, Grand Hyatt Bali, Hyatt Regency Hua Hin & The Barai, and Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. In 2010, he returned to Hyatt Regency Hua Hin & The Barai as general manager and, in 2016, was general manager of Grand Hyatt Taipei.

Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit will be the very first Hyatt Regency hotel in Bangkok. The hotel offer 273 rooms including 21 suites, as well as facilities such as an all-day restaurant, swimming pool, and over 1,300m2 of meeting space.

Low-income Malaysians can apply to be trained as local hosts under new scheme

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Adam: local hosts will not compete with traditional tour guides

Malaysians with a household income of RM4,000 (US$974) and below may qualify for a new scheme designed to train and certify 2,000 local hosts as ‘Tour Buddies’ to local and foreign tourists.

The Digital Sharing Economy initiative was recently introduced by the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) in collaboration with government agency, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation.

Adam: local hosts will not compete with traditional tour guides

Participants will be screened through interviews.

MITA secretary-general, Adam Kamal, shared: “The idea is to provide them training to earn supplementary income. They will not be competing with tourist guides as they will only offer their services within the area that they live and to small groups like families and FITs.”

After the course, MITA will assist participants in registering with any of the existing tour sharing economy apps available such as ToursByLocals and ShowAround.

From next month through to April 2018, participants will be trained on how to use the Tour Buddy mobile app to access information on local places of interest including their history and what dining and retail spots are in the area.

The training will also touch on soft skills such as how to meet and greet tourists and the do’s and don’ts when accompanying tourists.

The initial training in December will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Langkawi and Johor Bahru. Subsequent trainings will be expanded to East Malaysia.

LCC Norwegian mulls adding more longhaul flights to Singapore

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Sande: more longhaul flights from Singapore wanted

After making its entrance in Asia with the launch of Singapore-London flights last month, LCC Norwegian yesterday said it is considering increasing frequency on the route, as well as connecting the Lion City to Scandinavia and European cities.

On top of bumping up frequency between Singapore (Changi) and London (Gatwick) to daily, from four times weekly, the carrier is hoping to add connections from Singapore to Barcelona and Rome, Lars Sande, the airline’s senior vice president, sales & distribution, shared.

Sande addressing agents in Singapore yesterday

However, its biggest concern now is navigating the law that prevents Scandinavian airlines from flying over Russia; a ruling that the team is working with the governments to repeal, Sande disclosed.

Sande announced this to travel agents in Singapore yesterday, during Norwegian’s first travel industry outreach event in Asia, where he said there is still little to no awareness of the airline.

He shared that Norwegian seats sold to travel agents will automatically include add-ons such as two check-in bags and seat selection. The airline currently has an online agent portal and agent training platform.

Sande added that Norwegian “controls” its costs by investing in areas such as selective crew distribution, limited branding and advertising as well as newer and more fuel-efficient aircraft.

Its longhaul routes are served by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, and shorthaul flights by the Boeing 737.

Another differentiator for Norwegian is complimentary Wi-Fi on 90 to 95 per cent of its 737 fleet, said Sande. The airline is looking to install Wi-Fi on the rest of its fleet in the coming months.

Bali airport reopens with air space deemed safe for flights

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Flights starting to resume at Ngurah Rai, but Lombok airport now closed

As flights in and out of Bali begin to resume with the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport reopening yesterday, Indonesian president Joko Widodo is urging all relevant parties to render assistance to stranded travellers and get them home.

The airport started to operate again at around 15.00 (local time) yesterday following a meeting by related institutions and stakeholders in Bali. The decision came after the Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation was decreased from red-green to orange-green, indicating that Bali air space was safe for flights.

Flights starting to resume at Ngurah Rai, but Lombok airport now closed

However, Lombok International Airport has been closed again since 10.30 up to midnight, as volcanic ashes are blowing south and southeast of Mount Agung, AirNav Indonesia announced.

Jokowi urged: “The stranded passengers (should) be served and handled with care. Don’t let them (go) unmanaged when trying to leave the island. I instruct the minister of transportation, minister of tourism, Bali governor and all regency heads on the island to join hands in handling the impact of Mount Agung eruption.”

Announcing the opening of the Bali airport, Wisnu Daryono, director of operations of AirNav Indonesia, the airline navigation service operator, said while all flights in and out of Bali can now operate normally, AirNav Indonesia will continue monitoring developments related to the activity of Mount Agung, which continues erupting.

“It is the duty of AirNav Indonesia to control the airline safety in the country’s air space. Therefore, we strive to give maximum services. We have opened crisis centres in Jakarta and Denpasar to continue monitoring for 24 hours any developments together with the regulator and related stakeholders,” he added.

He also appealed to the public to monitor updates closely and follow instructions.

Garuda Indonesia restarted services out of Denpasar last night with eight domestic flights.

Hengki Hariandono, vice president corporate secretary of Garuda Indonesia, said: “All services to and from Denpasar will operate with a few schedule adjustments on November 30. We invite passengers to check periodically our schedule as we work to minimise passenger buildups.”

Garuda has deployed bigger aircraft and added extra flights on certain routes out of Surabaya and Lombok.

More airlines are expected to resume services and add extra flights today.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific will operate one service to Bali while Hong Kong Airlines will add one flight on top of its two daily services today for some 1,600 Hong Kong holidaymakers stranded on the island, according to the South China Morning Post.

Hotelbeds sees rebound in Turkey bookings

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Istanbul and Antalya (pictured) most popular

Hotelbeds Group is reporting a 40 per cent increase in total transaction value of Turkey hotel reservations in FY2017/18, which saw the troubled destination rise from 11th to ninth most booked in EMEA for the group.

The recovery has been led by a sharp return in the number of British travellers, who have become the largest source of bookings via the Hotelbeds Group platform, including through the recently acquired Tourico Holidays and GTA.

Istanbul and Antalya (pictured) most popular

Germany is the second top feeder market, while in third place is Saudi Arabia, which has seen “strong increase” in bookings since the beginning of October.

The rebound in interest in the destination has led to the group reviewing its portfolio of hotels, with plans now to contract a further 400 hotels in the coming months, ready for the upcoming summer season.

Additionally, bookings made through the Hotelbeds Group platform have also revealed a preference for urban destinations, with Istanbul and the Antalya region as the most in-demand locations.

Hotelbeds also observed recovery in both average prices and hotel occupancy rates, with the average rate per night staying stable at around 50 euros (US$59.30) and total roomnights growing in line with total transaction value at around 40 per cent as well.

Sam Turner, responsible for sales and sourcing of Hotelbeds Group, commented: “Since the beginning of the new financial year on October 1, we have noticed a clear recovery of Turkey as a destination for all of our group’s businesses

“We feel this is due to the general travelling public feeling that stability has once again returned to the country. However, other source markets such as Saudi Arabia and Iran have grown strongly, and whilst the numbers are much smaller we have nonetheless seen a doubling in the number of Spaniards reserving hotels for the destination.”