Scott Barber has been appointed Travelport’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand, replacing Kaylene Shuttlewood who has held the role for the past three years.
This is Barber’s 10th year with Travelport, with his most recent role being the director of commercial strategy Asia-Pacific, based in Singapore. Prior to that, he was based in Sydney as the global head of optimisation and execution for a key customer.
With this new appointment, Barber will be responsible for managing operations and reinforcing Travelport’s business in Australia and New Zealand. He will continue to report to Mark Meehan, Singapore-based managing director Asia-Pacific for Travelport.
Meanwhile in Travelport’s air commerce team, Sue Carter has been named commercial director, Pacific. A seasoned executive in the airline technology space, she is responsible for driving Travelport’s commercial strategy for airlines in the Pacific region.
Also based in Sydney, Carter reports to Chris Ramm, Travelport’s senior commercial director for the Indian Subcontinent, North Asia and Pacific in Singapore.
To usher Chinese New Year and welcome the airline’s 10th millionth passenger onboard, HK Express commercial director Jonathan Hutt earlier this week greeted guests dressed in a traditional God of Fortune costume and gave out red packets containing discount codes from a golden ingot.
Operations director Simon Wu, meanwhile, donned a captain’s uniform and distributed goodie bags to guests.
The airline duo surprised HK Express’ 10th millionth guest, travelling on the Hong Kong-Osaka (Kansai) flight, with a voucher entitling her to one-year unlimited travel aboard the LCC to any destination in the route network.
Scott MacDonald has been appointed general manager of Courtyard by Marriott Sydney – North Ryde.
He will oversee all areas of the hotel’s day-to-day operations, sales and administration, as well as associate development and team management.
MacDonald steps into the new role with more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. His career commenced with Marriott International in 1998 at Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Gold Coast, followed by various roles in several Sheraton properties in Sydney and Fiji.
Cruise passengers could bring US$90 million in retail spend to Penang
More cruises called in Penang last year than anywhere else in Malaysia – including the country’s former top cruise destination of Port Klang – bringing new business opportunities for the state’s tourism players.
Penang’s Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal received 270 cruise calls last year, a significant lead over Port Klang’s 166 calls. This represents a leap for Penang compared with 2016, during which Port Klang led with 142 cruise calls versus Penang’s 117.
Cruise passengers could bring US$90 million in retail spend to Penang
The number of passengers from international cruise calls to Penang in 2017 also surged to 438,369 from 182,277 in 2016.
This year, Penang is looking at welcoming 1.8 million passenger arrivals through 350 cruise ship calls. With an average spend of US$50 per passenger, Penang can look forward to a revenue of US$90 million in retail spend from cruise passengers this year.
Welcoming the new opportunities Penang’s rising status as a cruise destination has brought to the tourism sector, Suleiman Tunku Abdul Rahman, director of communications, Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa and Golden Sands Resort, commented: “It is good for business. Everybody benefits, from the trishaw riders, souvenir shops, cafes to restaurants and hotels. We work with cruise liners for day trips to Golden Sands Resort where cruisers have lunch or high-tea. They use our facilities such as the swimming pool and showers.”
Danny Tan, manager – Tourism Promotions at Penang Global Tourism, said: “Penang has been very aggressive in marketing and promoting the destination to cruise liners. Last year we produced a brochure on Penang with suggested places to visit and things to do within three to six hours. (These were) distributed to cruise liners and targeted cruise passengers who did not purchase a shore excursion package from the cruise operator.”
Cruises that call in Penang with a minimum of 1,500 passengers are entitled to a special welcome ceremony at the cruise terminal, another recent initiative of Penang Global Tourism. It includes local performances as well as a showcase of Penang’s local snacks and fruits, shared Tan.
Penang’s cruise terminal is located within the UNESCO Heritage Zone bustling George Town, the state capital of Penang. It is also walking distance to tourist areas such as Armenian Street, Beach Street, Little India and China Town.
China, the US and UK have issued travel advisories
Some resorts in the Maldives were reporting cancellations from Chinese tourists on Tuesday despite assurance from the government that the country remains safe for travel after a state of emergency was declared.
Since the declaration, the Chinese government has urged its citizens to avoid visiting the Maldives until the situation improves. The US and UK have also updated their travel advisories urging their citizens to avoid areas where violence and unrest was likely.
China, the US and UK have issued travel advisories
In the Maldives, the Tourism Ministry assured that all tourism-related businesses will be operating as usual and the situation in the Maldives remains stable.
Abdulla Ghiyas, president of Maldives Association for Travel Agents & Tour Operators (MATATO), said resorts – particularly those near the airport – had reported full bookings for the next two weeks, which covers the Chinese New Year on February 16.
Now however, “emails are flowing in, phones are ringing, constantly seeking information in the situation”, said Ghiyas, who is also deputy managing director at Inner Maldives Holiday.
The executive director of a resort, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added: “While we don’t rely too much on Chinese clientele, I am getting reports that there have been many cancellations at other properties.” He added that a good number of those resorts had been fully booked due to Chinese New Year holidays.
According to local media reports, guesthouses in the Maldives have also been affected. Mohamed Karam, president of Guesthouse Association of Maldives, was quoted as saying: “There have been more than 50 cancellations from China bookings at my guesthouse alone, I have been receiving updates about several other guesthouses facing the same issue.”
Typically the capital of Male has been the centre of political developments and their ensuing events. Many of the Maldives’ resorts are on outlying islands.
Research by global hotel cloud platform SiteMinder has unveiled that the top 15 booking channels that generated the highest revenue for Thailand hotels in 2017 spanned a wide distribution spectrum.
The lists are based on the 72 million hotel reservations that passed through SiteMinder’s channel management solution during the year to produce US$21.5 billion in gross revenue for the company’s 28,000 hotel customers around the world.
A mix of B2B and B2C channels made the top 15
The presence of both B2B and B2C platforms among the top-performing booking channels reaffirms the value of having a diversified hotel distribution strategy, stated SiteMinder’s managing director Mike Ford.
“These lists are testament to the incredible, material impact that a broad distribution strategy, which caters to a diverse business mix from various feeder markets, can have on a hotel’s bottom line,” commented Ford.
“They also prove the enormous – and growing – value of direct and corporate bookings, with hotel websites and GDSs featuring in almost every list this year. Additionally, we see that hotels continue to look to the wholesaler sector as an important provider of guests, with a number of the world’s leading bed banks featuring in every list globally.”
Notably, Ctrip has climbed one spot this year, showing the growing appeal of Thailand to Chinese travellers, pointed out Glenn Andrews, managing director – Asia at SiteMinder.
Meanwhile, Rakuten made its debut appearance on the list, a reflection of the growing value of Japanese travellers to the Thai hotel market, he added.
Thailand’s top 15 booking channels collectively contributed 87 per cent of all revenue that passed through SiteMinder’s channel manager for hotels in the country in 2017, proving their effectiveness in attracting, reaching and converting today’s consumer.
The top 15 revenue-generating booking channels for hotels in Thailand were:
1. Booking.com
2. Expedia
3. Agoda
4. Hotel websites (direct bookings)
5. GTA
6. Hotelbeds
7. Ctrip
8. Fusion Holidays
9. Traveloka
10. HotelTravel
11. Rakuten
12. Hostelworld Group
13. Flight Centre Travel Group
14. Asia Travel
15. HRS – Hotel Reservation Service
Wincastle Travel's flagship store now has a Club Med boutique
All-inclusive resorts operator Club Med has joined hands with Hong Kong-based premium travel agent Wincastle Travel to launch its first in-store boutique in the city targeting affluent Hong Kong travellers.
Located at the Wincastle flagship store in Grand Plaza, the boutique features brightly coloured furniture and floor-to-ceiling backdrops of Club Med locations, while Wincastle’s customer service consultants are on hand to explain how Club Med works.
Club Med’s in-agency boutique is its latest way of reaching its target audience in Hong Kong
Sebastien Portes, general manager of Club Med for Hong Kong and Macau, said: “We wanted to bring to life some of the Club Med experience to our potential guests and creating an in-store boutique with a like-minded partner, Wincastle Travel. This is an innovative way to reach our core customers in the Hong Kong market of affluent couples, active families and executives.”
Jamie Lam, assistant general manager of Wincastle Travel, said: “In a time when so much travel engagement takes place online or in the digital sphere, travel agents still have an edge where trusted human interaction can make a difference complemented by offers that are not available online.”
Club Med plans to roll out further in-store experiences across Hong Kong with other travel agent partners, the company said in a statement.
To celebrate its grand opening, the Club Med Boutique is running an exclusive Wincastle Travel special offer – available until Feb 14 – where a child (aged between 4 and 11) travels free to selected Club Med resorts in Asia. These include Kabira, Japan; Bali and Bintan, Indonesia; Cherating, Malaysia; Phuket, Thailand; and Guilin, Yabuli and Sanya, China. This offer is also available for the Chinese New Year and Easter holidays.
The boutique is located at Wincastle Travel, Room 1608, 16/F, Office Tower One, Grand Plaza, 625 & 639 Nathan Rd, Mong Kok.
Kate, an intelligent check-in kiosk that autonomously moves to busy areas to alleviate congestion, is being trialled at Kansai International Airport.
Through artificial intelligence and geo-navigation, the product by SITA moves to parts of the airport where additional check-in services are required.
Kate is an intelligent check-in kiosk that can autonomously move to busy areas in the airport as required
Kate’s collision avoidance technology, combined with various data sources, decides where it should be – whether at a busy area or to a docking station to recharge when power source runs low.
The trial will run for one month starting in February at Kansai International Airport’s Terminal 1, servicing airlines including Air France, Air China, Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, KLM, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines and United Airlines.
SITA has been the technology partner of Kansai Airports – the operator of Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport – for the past three years.
Singapore is rolling out a suite of events, attractions and updates for 2018 and beyond to keep visitors coming.
Among the events are Design Orchard, a transformation of the Orchard Road shopping belt; the International Champions Cup held until 2021, and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) partnership with The Walt Disney Company, which will see Marvel- and Disney/Pixar-themed activations running through 2018 and 2019 respectively.
May The 4th Be With You Festival 2017 kicked off a three-year collaboration between STB & The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia. Photo credit: Twitter/@STB
Speaking to TTG Asia at the recent ATF in Chiang Mai, STB’s executive director, communications & marketing capability, marketing group, Oliver Chong, said: “The Star Wars activations in 2017 saw many families and travellers come from around the region and beyond to take part in the festivities. We expect to see the same for the Marvel and Disney/Pixar franchises in the coming three years.”
The country will also continue to host the Formula One Grand Prix, which Chong shared has so far attracted 450,000 international spectators that form 40 to 50 per cent of the race crowd.
To appeal to more Malaysian travellers – a market that ranks fourth in international arrivals for the city-state from January to October 2017 – STB will promote weekend getaways with a family focus.
STB will also reveal remaining programmes under its new Passion Made Possible brand, and these will target travellers keen on night life, arts and culture as well as sports and adventure. As well, the brand will launch in Germany and Australia in 1Q2018.
Diethelm Travel Group has appointed a new partner representative, Veronika Bulowski, who will be responsible for facilitating the company’s presence and growth in the German, Austrian and Swiss markets.
Reporting directly to Victor Mogilev, group director of sales, Bulowski will work closely with the Diethelm Travel team to represent the brand and drive sales of all products from its 13 different destination countries within the three specified markets.
Bulowski possesses 10 years of PR, marketing and sales experience within the tourism industry, and she has has previously worked with a number of tourism boards and agencies, such as the Macau Government Tourism Office and Jordan Tourism Board, DMCs and leading hotel brands.
Born in the Czech Republic and raised in Germany, Bulowski is fluent in German, Czech, English and French.
