Refugees arrive in Lesbos, Greece, via boat from Turkey

TRIPADVISOR will contribute at least US$5 million from the TripAdvisor Charitable Foundation to aid the humanitarian refugee crisis, an announcement made ahead of the White House’s Private Sector Call to Action Roundtable that took place at the UN Headquarters yesterday.

For its initial contribution, the foundation will expand its partnership with The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Mercy Corps, providing US$1 million over two years to each organisation.

Additionally, the company has committed to providing in-kind support in multiple areas through its TripAdvisor Media Group.

The company’s contributions seek to address four key areas identified: meeting urgent humanitarian needs in Europe and the Syria region; enabling access to critical information via technology solutions for refugees to make smart and informed decisions along their journey; providing essential education and empowerment opportunities for refugee youth; and supporting and strengthening resettlement opportunities in the US, and in other host communities.

“Last summer as thousands of refugees arrived on the shores of Greece, TripAdvisor was one of the first companies to respond with relief support, also raising the profile of the crisis with their millions of subscribers worldwide,” said David Miliband, president and CEO of IRC.

“TripAdvisor’s leadership in the travel sector and continued investment will be invaluable in addressing the needs of refugees.”

Nevertheless, Steve Kaufer, CEO of TripAdvisor, acknowledged: “No single company or organisation can tackle this crisis singlehandedly and our (contribution) is only a small fraction of what is desperately needed.

“With the state of the issue, governments around the world need to do more to find and implement lasting solutions; however, it’s incumbent upon the private sector to leverage our unique expertise, resources and capabilities in partnership with nonprofit organisations.”

TripAdvisor first made a donation to both IRC and Mercy Corps through its foundation one year ago.

Tokyo International Airport is commonly known as Haneda Airport

SHORTAGE of runway space at Tokyo’s airports has led Japan’s ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to permit both international and domestic flights to use Haneda International Airport’s Terminal 2 from March 2020.

At present, the terminal is dedicated to domestic flights, but arrivals and departures are expected to increase in the coming years and soar as Tokyo prepares to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

Terminal 1 presently serves Japan Airlines while All Nippon Airways’ flights primarily operate out of Terminal 2. The third terminal is solely used for international flights, but its location forbids the expansion of the concourse and the parking positions for aircraft.

The ministry intends to remedy the problem by expanding Terminal 2 and creating a new area for international flights.

The expansion work will include new entrances and exits, immigration screening facilities, duty-free shops, restaurants and waiting areas.

Access to the airport will also be revamped, with names of stops on the Keikyu Line and the Tokyo Monorail that presently link the airport with central Tokyo likely to be renamed to avoid confusion for travellers going to the international and domestic terminals.

The ministry plans to increase annual takeoffs and landing at Haneda from 90,000 a year at present to 129,000 a year in 2020.

The addition of nearly 40 per cent more flights a year will bring in around seven million more travellers annually, a number that existing facilities at the airport would not be able to cope with.

Construction work at Haneda is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2017.

Perhentian Island, Terengganu

TOURISM Malaysia is confident arrivals from Singapore will pick up this year despite the record low in 2015 which saw a seven per cent drop from 2014 to 12.4 million.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, the newly appointed director of Tourism Malaysia – Singapore office, Ishak Ismail, said the latest statistics showed an increase of 3.2 per cent in Singapore tourist arrivals into Malaysia.

Explaining this “significant increase”, Ismail said: “One of the key advantages for Singapore tourists is the better exchange rate which makes it very affordable for them to travel to Malaysia.

“There are also other factors like increased flight connectivity and more LCCs entering the competition.”

As such, he expressed optimism that visitor arrivals for 2016 will be “definitely better” than last year. He is targeting for every Singaporean tourist to travel to Malaysia at least four times this year.

He added he aims to lure Singaporeans beyond cities like Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Johor Bahru as there is “a lot of untapped potential” in the north-east region of Malaysia.

Highlighting the upcoming Visit Terengganu Year 2017 campaign as an example, he said: “This state will leverage its well-known snorkelling and diving islands, Redang and Perhentian, to promote tourism in the mainland.

“I am sure a lot of (Singaporeans) have not been to this part of Malaysia before so we want to give them something new to see in Malaysia that they may not even realise existed.”

Ismail said they will be working closely with travel agents to further market and promote Terengganu.

EMIRATES is rerouting its New Zealand service, making Auckland its final stop instead of Christchurch.

The planned reroute of EK418/419 will come into effect from October 30 and alters the current service plying to Christchurch from Dubai via Bangkok and Sydney.

According to Emirates, the reroute is being done to cater to increasing demand to certain New Zealand destinations from Thailand.

Daily flights depart Bangkok at 19.30 and will arrive in Auckland at 15.55 the next day, after a stopover in Sydney.

The return service then departs Auckland at 16.30, makes a stop in Sydney at 17.55, before arriving in Bangkok at 01.10 the next morning. The service then continues to Dubai, arriving at 06.45.

Shyam Rai Temple, Bishnupur

IN ITS pursuit of more international arrivals, West Bengal Tourism has rolled out a series of initiatives targeting tourists from China, which currently number few to the eastern Indian state.

“We have already hosted 17 Chinese travel agents for a fam trip to the state in January this year. We plan to host another group of agents, most probably (in October). We are also looking to (work with the Institute of Chinese Language) to develop a pool of trained Mandarin-speaking guides, which are in shortage at present,” said Surajit Bose, additional director and joint secretary to West Bengal Tourism.

Besides launching a digital advertisement campaign in China in addition to advertising in Chinese magazines, it will also participate in Chinese trade shows to highlight its tourism products.

In addition to Darjeeling and Sunderbans National Park that are already popular among international tourists, West Bengal Tourism will promote cultural attractions like Santiniketan and Bishnupur – famous for its terracotta temples – to Chinese tourists.

Several tour operators from the state have also set up offices in China to grow the market, said Bose.

Welcoming the NTO efforts, Debjit Dutta, chairman, Indian Association of Tour Operator (IATO) West Bengal chapter, said: “There is already direct air connectivity available between Kunming and Kolkata. China is a potential market for us and we expect to record more Chinese tourist arrivals with the state tourism department promoting West Bengal.”

AIRASIA will start a daily service between Phuket and Siem Reap from November 7, becoming the first airline to link these two popular destinations in South-east Asia together.

The flight will depart Phuket at 06.20, landing in Siem Reap at 07.45. The return flight will take off from Siem Reap at 08.40 and arrive in Phuket at 10.05.

Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of Thai AirAsia, believes the LCC can stimulate tourism at both cities and bring ASEAN closer together.

“AirAsia’s intention is to create the most extensive flight network and to open up new opportunities in ASEAN. The Phuket-Siem Reap route perfectly encompasses all of our goals,” he said.

The new route has a promotional fare of 1,490 baht (US$43) per way until October 2 for travel between November 7, 2016 and October 28, 2017.

According to Thai AirAsia, which currently operates 15 routes to seven countries, its thrice-daily flights from Bangkok to Siem Reap maintain a year-round load factor of 85-90 per cent.

A NEW luxury travel report confirms yet again that this is market where specialised travel agents are needed.

While High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) are becoming modest about displays of wealth, travel is “still a place for unabashedly individualistic and hedonistic experiences” and it is also “a place where around two-thirds of all luxury travellers still rely on specialist advisors and travel agents to make their high-end trips a reality”, said Carolyn Childs, co-founder of MyTravelResearch.com and author of the report, Luxury Travel and the Visitor Economy: Key Insights and Trends, during a press conference yesterday at the Luxperience trade show in Sydney.

But she warned would-be entrants into the sector: “When servicing luxury clients, there are no days off and no off days.”

She added: “Luxury travel is a high reward, high investment sector. Suppliers need to invest in service, design, quality and uniqueness at all times.”

Quoting a Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, she said the Asia-Pacific region now has the fastest accumulation of new HNWIs in the world, growing at around 10 per cent per year. America and Asia-Pacific have approximately five million HNWIs each, and Europe around 4.5 million.

Childs said that since the global financial crisis in 2008 there has been a new emphasis on privacy and less ostentatious displays of wealth.

The luxury market is now defined by nine key trends:

• Less dominance of the 40-60 year old age group, especially in emerging markets such as China and India
• A new focus on experiential travel
• More mindfulness and wellbeing
• More events-oriented (eg, solar eclipses or music festivals)
• A new commitment to learning and enrichment
• The rise of responsible travel
• A new focus on family life in travel
• Traditions re-imagined, making ‘old’ products attractive to younger luxury travellers, especially those from China and India
• The growth of river and ocean cruising and private yachting