Akaryn Hotel Group has appointed Thomas Singenberger as hotel manager at Akyra Sukhumvit Bangkok, set to open 1Q2018.
The Swiss national brings more than a decade of executive level experience, and has held senior positions at The Okura Prestige Bangkok and Pullman Bangkok Grande Sukhumvit.
With AirAsia commencing its first route between its southern hub of Johor and Kolkata, West Bengal’s capital, agents in Malaysia are expecting to see a shift both in consumer demand and business opportunities towards the state.
Commenting on the five-times-weekly flights commencing November 28, Raaj Navaratnaa, general manager, New Asia Holiday Tours & Travel, said: “This is an important route because in the past, Indians used to bypass Johor on their way to Singapore. These new flights will create a shift, where we will see Indians wanting to stay primarily in Johor Bahru.
“It will also create more interest among repeat visitors who have already been to Kuala Lumpur and Resorts World Genting. Johor will become a new destination which has it all, soft adventure, beaches, islands and man-made attractions such as golf courses, theme parks and shopping outlets.”
Ahead of the launch, a buyer-meet-seller event that brought together 30 outbound agents from Kolkata and 15 inbound tour operators and hotels from Johor was organised by the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA), AirAsia and Tourism Johor.
MITA secretary-general, Adam Kamal, said the event provided new business opportunities for small and medium sized operators from the state of Johor, a departure from “concentrating solely on large tour operators from Kuala Lumpur”.
Indeed, inbound agent from Johor, Chali Ng, director of PSHolidays, said: “In the past, we played a supporting role with bookings for transport and tours coming from agents from Kuala Lumpur. At the recent B2B session, I made many contacts of outbound Indian agents and hope this will lead to more direct bookings.”
Despite the developments, Tesy Antony, director, Daya Kukuh Travel, opined that it remains a challenge to market Johor as a mono-destination for four-day stays without sufficient “world-class attractions” in the state.
The agency is hence looking at four-day packages combining Johor with Singapore or Johor with Malacca.
Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa
This property is Marriott International’s first in Sri Lanka. Located along the country’s southern coast, the beachfront hotel features 200 rooms and suites most of which come with balconies. Facilities include three outdoor swimming pools, a fitness centre, the Quan Spa, a kid’s activity centre and four speciality restaurants. For events and meetings, the resort has 3,360m2 of combined indoor and outdoor spaces, including a banquet space that can host up to 2,000 guests.
InterContinental Perth City Centre
Offering 240 rooms, the new 16-storey InterContinental Perth City Centre is situated in Perth’s King Street precinct. The hotel is adorned with specially-commissioned sculptures, paintings, bespoke ceramics and glass works by renowned local artists. Menus at the property’s four F&B venues also focus on regional food producers, growers and brewers. Meeting and event planners can consider its Gallery Meeting Suites, comprising four light-filled suites, a central lounge area, private al fresco terraces and display kitchen.
Ibis Styles Phuket City
AccorHotels has opened the ibis Styles Phuket City in Phuket’s Old Town. There are 137 rooms spread across four room types in the four-storey property. The Standard Doubles and Standard Twins feature a double bed, ensuite bathroom, LCD TV, free Wi-Fi, a fridge, tea- and coffee-making facilities, a safety box and work desk. Families can choose from the Family Rooms or Family Suites. On-site amenities include the Harmony Restaurant & Bar, as well as an event space that can accommodate 10 to 850 guests.
Fairfield by Marriott, Visakhapatnam
A Fairfield by Marriott has opened in Visakhapatnam, the capital of India’s Andhra Pradesh state, just five kilometres away from the airport. The property, located in the Marripalem neighbourhood, features 121 rooms. Facilities include Kava the all-day dining restaurant, The Bar and Lobby Lounge, The Market (a 24/7 store for guests to purchase snacks and beverages), a business centre and several meeting rooms.
Sheraton Guangzhou Nansha Hotel
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has opened in the district of Nansha in Guangzhou. The hotel has 291 guestrooms and suites, all of which come with floor-to-ceiling windows to allow scenic views of the city and the Jiaomen River, as well as a 55-inch flatscreen TV, and a work space with high-speed Internet access. Facilities include a fitness centre, seasonal outdoor swimming and whirlpool, sauna, four F&B options, and 2,000m2 of versatile event space.
Projects with a total investment value of US$2.9 billion were presented to delegations of investors at the Regional Investment Forum, which took place in Padang, West Sumatra from October 15 to 17.
Thomas Lembong, head of Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), said there were five projects with an estimated value of US$2.3 billion around Lake Toba (Sumatra), 10 projects in the Borobudur area (Central Java) with an investment value of US$562 million and two hotel projects totalling an investment value of US$60 million in Tanjung Kelayang (Belitung).
Apart from these three development areas, BKPM and the Ministry of Tourism also brought to the table five other destinations that were part of the 10 New Bali development areas plus two areas in West Sumatra, namely Gunung Padang integrated resort in Padang City and Mandeh Beach marine tourism development in Pesisir Selatan Regency.
Lembong said: “Tourism is a sector with 30 to 35 per cent growth rate, way above the average national investment which is (around) 12 to 14 per cent annually.”
Arief Yahya, tourism minister, also revealed projections that tourism would become the biggest foreign exchange earner for Indonesia in future. “Preparing the attractions and amenities (facilities and infrastructure) as well as accessibility is our priority, especially for the 10 priority destinations,” he said.
Speaking on the importance of events such as the Regional Investment Forum, Arief said investment in the tourism sector is key as a sign of investor confidence and could change the game for Indonesia in the face of competing destinations.
Data from BKPM showed investment in the tourism sector is growing. In 2013, investment in tourism was US$602 million, contributing 1.5 per cent to the total national investment.
“In the first half of this year, the investment on tourism reached US$929 million, or 3.8 per cent of the total national investment,” Arief said, explaining that the growth rate in terms of contribution to the total national investment more than doubled.
The Regional Investment Forum 2017 was attended by dignitaries from government agencies, the senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (Central Bank), foreign diplomats, as well as investors from 13 countries in Asia, the UAE, Europe and the US.
For Khoun Tola, Cambodia’s tourism industry has provided him with more than just a job; he also gained a way to elevate his fellow countrymen and women from the poverty they were born into.
Raised in a small village south of the capital Phnom Penh, Tola was determined not to follow in the footsteps of his forefathers and go into gruelling agricultural work. At the age of 17, he moved to Phnom Penh where he worked to pay for his education, eventually graduating from the Royal University of Phnom Penh with a degree in tourism management.
During his studies, the 31-year-old developed a passion for eco- and community-based tourism, seeing it as a way to showcase Cambodia’s natural beauty while providing a sustainable form of income to some of the country’s most underprivileged communities.
“I really wanted to use everything I had learned to help develop the country and help the disadvantaged and poor young people,” he said.
Upon graduation five years ago, his ambition and drive immediately landed him a job with Cambodia Development Rural Tours (CDRT), which runs tours and initiatives in remote areas, giving visitors the chance to delve into rural Cambodian life. “This was one of my favourite subjects and something I really wanted to focus on,” said Tola.
In the last five years, Tola has helped drive the project forward, developing a network of homestays and unique tours that take guests into the heart of the Cambodian countryside that take in locals along the way, such as spirit masters, bamboo sticky rice sellers, fishermen and Cambodians who are tirelessly working to protect the endangered nature that dots the country.
He has also played an instrumental role in pushing forward CDRT’s hospitality training programme, Le Tonlé Tourism Training Center, which recruits the poorest Cambodians aged 16 to 35 – those whose families earn less than US$1 a day – living in Kratie and neighbouring provinces, and equips them with skills to work in housekeeping, cooking, waiting and reception.
To date 95 per cent of graduates have found employment.
“Seeing the students move forward is incredible,” said Tola. “Seeing them grow from being so shy, having never seen a foreigner, to speaking English and having confidence makes me so happy because I came from that.”
Determined to grow the business further, Tola and the team are currently working on developing more tours into the country, as well as launching a cooking programme for students.
An additional five rooms are currently being added to the Le Tonle guesthouse in Kratie, next to the restaurant, which provides income for the hospitality training project, as well as a place for students to hone their new-found skills.
“There is so much potential and so much more we can do, and I am happy to be part of this,” said Tola.
The Cote d’azur, known as the French Riviera, is courting South-east Asian travellers as ASEAN rises as France’s second largest Asian market after China.
The Cote d’Azur Tourism Board has over some years promoted the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France in India and China, claiming a 50 per cent growth in the Indian market this year.
Eric Dore, Comite Regional du Tourisme Cote d’Azur’s managing director, said: “We have more than 150 nationalities that visit the region, and we can’t promote everywhere in the world so we choose to focus (on one market) at a time. Every year we develop new markets. And now we’ve decided to invest in South-east Asia.”
South-east Asia’s economy has also grown, resulting in higher-spending individuals who are willing to spend on longhaul travel, he said.
In fact, according to Dore, Europeans spend an average of 80 euros (US$94) a day in the Cote d’zur while Singaporeans, for example, spend 120 euros a day.
Longhaul travellers from South-east Asia usually spend a week or more there compared to Europeans who make up 80 per cent of the inbound tourist segment and stay four to five nights.
Aside from Singapore, both Atout France and the Cote d’Azur Tourism Board also visited Indonesia.
Morad Tayebi, Atout France’s regional director ASEAN, said Singapore is a mature market with the tendency to produce repeat travellers who head to places like the Cote d’Azur as they’ve already visited Paris. On the other hand, Indonesians are usually first timers who would head to Paris first.
Indonesia ranked its top ASEAN market in 2016 with 150,000 travellers, followed by Malaysia with 130,000 visitors and Singapore and Thailand with 120,000 visitors each.
Atout France is eyeing other source markets in the region including Vietnam and the Philippines, he said.
Overall, France welcomed 83 million visitors last year, of which 700,000 were from South-east Asia, making it the second largest Asian market for France after China. Atout France is targeting 100 million tourists by 2020.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) will expand Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, a hospitality chain it acquired in 2015, in Asia, while its wellness-centric Even brand is expected to make a first appearance in Greater China in 2019.
Set to mark Kimpton’s Asia debut is the Kimpton Bali, which will open with 50 villas on the Nusa Dua coast in 2019.
Kimpton Shanghai Jing’an is poised to launch in 2021 featuring 150 guestrooms and 120 villas that originally belonged to the British-American Concession. Also slated for 2021 opening is the 251-room Kimpton Resort Sanya Haitang Bay, which will enjoy direct beach access.
The first of four Even Hotels to open in China will be the Even Hotel Sanya Yalong Bay, scheduled to launch in 2019 with 134 rooms and 92 villas and an “athletic studio” with translucent walls.
By 2020, IHG expects to also manage a 250-key Even Hotels within the Shanghai Tourism Zone project and the 290-room Even Hotel Jinan South (in the Shandong capital).
In addition, the 250-room Even Hotel Chongqing Central Park will open as part of a sports-themed complex and development zone.
Meanwhile, IHG will continue expanding in Vietnam with dual openings in Sapa in 2021 – the 200-key InterContinental Sapa Resort and 275-room Holiday Inn Resort Sapa. The Hotel Indigo Phu Quoc Starbay is also set to open in 2021.
Skyline Enterprises has pumped S$14 million (US$10.3 million) into its Skyline Luge attraction in Sentosa, adding two new Luge tracks and a new Skyride.
The dearth of third language-speaking tour guides has been an overlooked issue over the years.
Consider this. The Philippines has only one qualified Korean-speaking guide even as South Korea has been the top source market – comprising nearly 25 per cent of tourist arrivals – for many years, prompting the hiring of some 200 Koreans to serve as tour guides in Cebu.
There’s also an insufficient number of Mandarin-speaking guides, an irony in a country with a large population of Chinese. As such, hotels and resorts catering to Chinese tourists have taken to hiring university students in Chinese-speaking countries for a short stint.
“It’s been a perennial problem, and the Department of Tourism (DoT) needs to tackle this problem seriously,” said Angel Ramos Bognot, president and managing director of Afro Asian Travel and Tours.
The DoT, which licenses tour guides, has an existing programme and training template, but a third language programme has not been implemented, said Bognot. He further suggested implementing a scholarship programme for third languages.
To cope with the shortage, tourism undersecretary Alma Jimenez announced that they would be tapping into overseas Filipino workers – who already speak foreign languages like Chinese and Japanese – to become tour guides.
For Madrid Fusion Manila, which requires interpreters fluent in Spanish and “nannies” to guide Spanish participants around the country, gets volunteers from wealthy families who are well-acquainted with Spain and its language.
Marisa Nallana, secretary-general of the Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers (PACEOS) which helps in organising the annual gastronomy event, said their Spanish counterpart does the screening and interviews. Interpreters have to be well-versed in food and cuisines because are required to translate into English, what the Spanish chef is explaining, on the go.
Tourism stakeholders in Singapore are rolling out tours that are promising to cast a spotlight on fading businesses and bring more travellers to the city state.
Featuring old-school trades such as traditional baking, ancestral paper-house making and Arabic perfume mixing, these tours bring out cultural flavours of Singapore beyond its modern attractions.
Tribe, one of the pioneers of such tours, offers excursions led by locals and experts in related fields, such as a master paper-house maker and one of Singapore’s last traditional bakers.
The concept can “disrupt the way tours are usually conducted”, said Tribe’s co-founder Jason Loe. He explained: “Singapore has so many layers to peel back and discover… We like our guests to come away with an authentic slice of life in Singapore.”
Similarly, tour operator Journeys takes guests to the heart of cultures and businesses oft forgotten in modern Singapore. A third of its tours include visits to traditional trade shops where guests can also interact with the owners, said its executive director Savita Kashyap.
Stops include a Chinese funeral supplies shop, a popiah (spring roll) stall, an Indian flower garland shop and a traditional Arabic perfume mixer.
Joseph Sze, project director of Siam Express, observed that travellers – especially visitors from China – are now more drawn to such shops, especially in Haji Lane and Little India, for products that “cannot be found in their own countries”.
The endangered rickshaw business has also been given new life. Operator Trishaw Uncle recently refreshed its services with GPS-guided trishaw tours through heritage districts such as Little India, Kampong Glam, Chinatown and the Civic District.
Its managing director, Png Yiow Beng, noted that such tours are growing in popularity among the youth segment. Trishaw Uncle is also attracting younger drivers who are “are very passionate about introducing Singapore’s history and landmarks”, he added.
Hoteliers have also jumped on the bandwagon; The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, for instance, offers complimentary monument and maritime tours, and has recently partnered with Jane’s SG Tour to offer experiences covering Singapore’s oldest mosque, a pre-war medical institution and culinary classes on local cuisine.
“Stories told enable travellers to appreciate Singapore on a deeper level and stay longer, beyond just a quick stopover,” said Cavaliere Giovanni Viterale, general manager of The Fullerton Hotels Singapore.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Economic Development Board in August launched a unified destination brand, which aims to tell “a fuller Singapore story beyond tourism… about this destination and its people”, said STB chief executive Lionel Yeo.
Through promotional efforts, the Passion Made Possible brand will also see operators roll out new tours highlighting heritage businesses – such as Wok ‘n’ Stroll’s food trail featuring new-generation hawkers, Ruby Dot Trails’ family businesses of Kampong Glam and Tribe’s past-to-present industry tour.
STB has identified 15 target markets for this brand, including China, India and Indonesia, Australia, the UK and US.
STB has also been expanding its marketing efforts to tier-two cities in key source markets Indonesia, China and India, said its director, strategy planning & incentive policy, Rachel Loh.
As of April 2017, year-to-date international visitor arrivals from targeted tier-two cities in Indonesia, China and India reached 170,000 (+11 per cent year-on-year), 315,000 (+17 per cent) and 58,900 (+ eight per cent) respectively.
Loh added: “We remain hopeful for a year-on-year growth of one to four per cent in tourism receipts and one to two per cent in international visitor arrivals for 2017.”
At the Imbiah Station starting point, riders can choose from a variety of tracks including the new 658m-long Expedition and 638m-long Kupu Kupu (“Butterfly” in Malay) trails, on top of the existing 628m-long Jungle Trail and 688m-long Dragon Trail. All four tracks total a length of 2.6km.
Another addition is Skyride, which spans 315 metres, offering views of Sentosa, the Singapore city skyline and South China sea on a four-seat chairlift.
These enhancements are expected to decrease waiting times for the rides, said Danny Luke, general manager, International Luge.
Since its opening in 2005, Skyline Luge Sentosa has hosted more than 13 million rides.