Singapore’s Republic Polytechnic (RP) has announced MoU signings with 14 new industry partners and a revamp of one of its diploma programmes to support the hospitality sector’s transformation.

The initiatives were unveiled at the institution’s School of Hospitality (SOH) Industry Day last Friday, in line with the day’s theme of Ready Employers, Ready Employees.

New partners Frasers Hospitality, Eureka Technologies, DRx; photo credit: Republic Polytechnic School of Hospitality

The school’s Diploma in Wellness, Lifestyle and Spa Management will be renamed Diploma in Wellness and Hospitality Business, and updated with new modules to equip students with relevant skills and up-to-date knowledge on wellness industry trends.

SOH will also collaborate with its 14 new partners – spanning the hospitality, events, wellness and F&B sectors – on areas including the test-bedding of technologies and development of processes to enhance productivity, and providing RP students with more opportunities for skills training.

Dilmah Singapore will also provide a Dilmah School of Tea classroom and training room, and explore setting up a joint lab with RP.

The latest partnerships bring SOH’s total number of MoU partners to 41.

Examples of productivity-enhancement solutions that the school (under the Hospitality Solutions Centre) has rolled out include Singapore’s first hotel front-of-house Autonomous Guided Robot at M Social Singapore Hotel, known as Automated Room-service Associate, in collaboration with StarHub and robotic vendor, Savioke. The Millennium & Copthorne group now plans to deploy the solution across all its Singapore hotels.

At 30 Bencoolen Hotel, RP also launched the Smart Room and Integrated Solutions Ecosystem in collaboration with Eureka Technology, Saflok and Amadeus to resolve electrical defects before affecting the guest experience.

The second edition of ITB China, which will take place at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition from May 16-18, 2018, is offering exhibitors who register early by August 31, 2017 a 10 per cent discount on stand fees.

Interested parties may register at www.itb-china.com/exhibitors/exhibitor-registration/.

Since online registration for ITB China 2018 opened, the number of exhibitor sign-ups has surpassed that seen at the same time last year for the show’s inaugural edition, according to the show organiser.

David Axiotis, general managed of ITB China, said he is expecting the exhibition space will become “scarce again” despite having significantly increased the overall scale of the event.

ITB China 2017 saw the participation of some 600 exhibitors from 70 countries alongside 10,000 attendees.

In its latest effort to lure Singaporean travellers and highlight newly rejuvenated districts, the Taipei City Government has launched a 3D2N free-and-easy foodie tour package to be sold at the Taipei booth at the 2017 NATAS Fair, which is taking place this weekend.

Pegged with return flights on China Airlines, the package centres on Taipei’s “Five Distinct Flavours”: Classic Taiwan Tastes, Everyday Aromas, Hotpot Hotspots, Refreshing Sweet Treats and Gifts-to-Go.

Food locales featured were recommended by 14 travel agencies in Singapore, including ASA Holidays and Nam Ho Travel.

Chien Yu-yen, commissioner of the Department of Information & Tourism from the Taipei City Government, observed that while Singaporean travellers are well-versed in identifying popular places to visit, not many are aware of that some old districts have been recently rejuvenated.

“We hope to promote these places such as Beimen (Taipei Old North Gate) and the Dadaocheng district,” Chien told TTG Asia at the Fun Taipei Salon yesterday.

The S$545 (US$399) package also comes with a Taipei food guide, in addition to more than S$2,000 worth of dining, retail and boutique hotel room rate vouchers.

Taipei has also partnered with Scoot to offer the same travel guide and vouchers to the LCC’s Taipei-bound flyers. This promotion will run until January 31, 2018.

Beyond this package, Singapore’s Dynasty Travel is also pushing lesser-known Taipei locales such as Wufenpu, Ruohe and Tianlu, said director of public relations & communications, Alicia Seah. “Taipei is a must-visit, and there are many things to do and eat besides hotspots like Taipei 101 and Ximending,” said Seah.

The number of travellers from Singapore to Taipei rose 8.9 per cent to 195,442 in 1H2017, compared to the same period last year.