Pacific World and Singapore-based boutique agency Aonia have entered a strategic alliance to enrich their offerings and cater to a global clientele.

“Bringing together (our) strengths will enable us to offer a holistic solution to clients across the Asia region,” said Selina Chavry, Pacific World’s global managing director.

“From event design and production to on-the-ground logistics and meeting execution to measuring ROI, no matter which country they choose to host their event, we’ll be able to accommodate our clients in a more distinct and impactful way.”

Commenting on the partnership, Daniel Chua, Aonia’s chief executive, said: “Together, we can now offer customised boutique service along with the power and presence of a worldwide destination and event management company with local staffing in more than 40 countries and 100 destinations around the globe.”

A new traditional Chinese wooden junk boat, aqua luna II, has joined the aqua luna family to offer harbour cruises of Hong Kong’s iconic skyline.

Commissioned by Aqua Restaurant Group, aqua luna II is the younger but larger brother to the iconic red-sailed junk aqua luna, which was launched over a decade ago by founder David Yeo.

aqua luna II

Measuring 29m in length and holding up to 80 guests on its two decks, aqua luna II boasts sails that feature an ornate blue-and-white dragon of the Ming Dynasty, often seen on antique Chinese porcelain.

In Chinese, aqua luna and aqua luna II are named after Hong Kong pirate Cheung Po Tsai, who sailed Hong Kong waters over 100 years ago and is said to have stored his stolen treasures in the caves of Cheung Chau. Aqua luna is Cheung Po Tsai and aqua luna II is Dai Cheung Po (big brother of Cheung Po) – indicating its greater size.

The aqua luna fleet, with its two traditional Chinese junk boats, offers 45-minute evening harbour cruises while in the day guests can explore locations around the harbour on the aqua luna’s hop-on/hop-off Harbour Discovery Tour.

From May 1, longer daytime cruises are available to a wider list of destinations including Stanley, Cheung Chau and Lamma Island for its nature trail.

A new offering is the Dim Sum Cruises, which allows guests to enjoy signature dishes prepared by Dim Sum Library, Aqua Restaurant Group’s dim sum and modern Chinese restaurant.

To celebrate the launch of aqua luna II complimentary rides will take place on May 13 and 14 for all Hong Kong ID holders (from 12.00 – 17.30). From now until May 31, all the restaurants in Aqua Restaurant Group will be randomly serving dishes and cocktails in Ming Dynasty plates and cups. Anyone lucky enough to be served the Ming Dynasty ceramic will get complimentary tickets for the new aqua luna II.

Specialist adventure tour operator Rove has now expanded into Vietnam, bringing its countries of operation up to a total of eight, in addition to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

The new tours explore the remote reaches of northern Vietnam, and include activities such as trekking, cycling and kayaking. Designed with both casual and enthusiast adventurers in mind, the trips are conceived to ensure that travellers are given the opportunity to engage with the local communities and experience the spirit of the country, the travel startup stated in a release.

Rove was established by co-founders Holly Richter, formerly of Backroads and Exo Travel, and Struan Robertson, formerly of SpiceRoads, last year.

Salam Standard has launched the Premium Hotel Classification scheme which rates hotels based on their number and standard of Muslim-friendly facilities and services, with an emphasis on rigorous hotel checks and audits.

The scheme – which classifies hotels under Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum tiers – aims to improve quality, standards and transparency for Muslim travellers, while boosting the global visibility of accommodation that meet this demographic’s faith-based needs.

For example, at Bronze-rated properties, all rooms have a shower and toilet or bathtub and toilet and a prayer mat and praying direction (Qibla/Kibblat), or they are available on request, whereas Platinum-rated accommodation offers several additional benefits including halal food that is certified by a recognised body, while the entire premises is alcohol free.

Properties or hotel groups will be subject to checks to ensure they meet the required criteria, with audits conducted by a qualified committee of Islamic tourism experts, including Salam Standard representatives.

The committee reserves the right to reject applications if they do not meet the minimum criteria, and will also conduct regular inspections to ensure standards are upheld at Salam Standard-rated properties.

According Salam Standard, the four-tier system will simplify the user experience by providing Muslim travellers using the service or that of sister company Tripfez with clear guidelines on what is offered, safe in the knowledge it has been checked and audited.

Following Singapore, Thailand will be the second country in South-east Asia to boast a Michelin guide, announced the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in a press conference last week.

TAT has entered into a partnership with Michelin Travel Partner to publish a Bangkok edition of the Michelin Guide. Expected to be released by the end of 2017, the Michelin Guide Bangkok will feature a bilingual Thai and English edition that is available in print and digital version.

(From left) Saksan Triukos, managing director of Michelin Siam; Lionel Dantiacq, president and managing director – East Asia and Australia, Michelin Group; Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, minister of tourism and sports of Thailand; Kalin Sarasin, chairman of the board of TAT; Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor

The guide will be jointly promoted by TAT and is projected to boost overall food spending per head of tourists in Thailand by 10 per cent, the NTO said in a statement.

Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor, said: “We hope that this partnership between TAT and Michelin will boost high-quality tourism in Thailand, while helping visitors get more out of Thailand’s rich culinary scene. The guide will also inspire local restaurants to improve their quality and raise the bar in terms of gastronomic excellence.”

Bangkok will be the focus of the first Thailand based Michelin Guide, with restaurants and eateries from other Thai destinations to be included in later editions.

In Asia, the Michelin Guide is also available in China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The number of foreign tourists arriving in Japan continued its upward trajectory in 1Q2017, although a sharp decline in per capita spending is attributed to Chinese visitors exercising more prudence with their cash.

According to Japan Tourism Agency, an estimated 6.5 million people visited the country in the first quarter, up 13.6 per cent on the same period last year. The total amount those visitors spent came to 967.9 billion yen (US$8.9 billion), up four per cent on the previous year, although the expenditure per person tumbled 8.5 per cent to 148,066 yen.

Souvenir shops at Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo

Significantly, while the number of Chinese arrivals climbed 25.2 per cent to nearly 1.7 million during the three-month period, they spent 14.9 per cent less per person.

“Last year, Chinese visitors’ main purpose for visiting Japan was to go shopping; this year, they are more keen to visit cultural and historic sights and see scenic spots,” said Nori Hayashi, director of sales for Tokyo Asean Service.

“Also, they are spending significantly less on accommodation than previously,” he told TTG Asia. “Before they were staying at big city hotels; now they are choosing cheaper business hotels or Airbnb-style accommodation.

“We are seeing this reduced spending most clearly in Chinese travellers, but also in arrivals from Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong,” he added.

Another factor has been the introduction of an import tax by the Chinese government on tax-free goods purchased in Japan, negating the savings.

Yukihiko Hashimoto, of the marketing division of Celebrity Cruises in Japan, agrees that the reduction in spending is most visible among Chinese travellers.

“We are hearing that stores in port cities are working harder to attract Chinese visitors and to encourage them to spend money,” he said.

Despite the reluctance of a large proportion of Japan’s inbound tourists to splash out – a trend that travel agents expect to continue – they say there has been no impact as yet on the price of Japan packages and tours.