A GROWING number of countries worldwide are issuing travel advisories to Singapore as cases of Zika infection in the city-state climbed to 115 (as of August 31) in less than a week.

After Australia and Taiwan first issued travel notices for those travelling to Singapore, the UK, US and South Korea have also now done the same.

Nations are warning against travel to Singapore especially for those who are pregnant or planning to conceive.

“Singapore’s first cases of locally transmitted Zika virus were confirmed in August 2016. You should discuss your travel plans with your healthcare provider if you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant,” stated the UK government on its foreign travel advisory portal.

For South Koreans, they will receive a text message with a Zika warning when they arrive in Singapore. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also advised South Korean women to avoid pregnancy for two months after returning from a country on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list.

Singapore was added to the CDC list with a Level 2 alert, which encourages travellers to practice enhanced precautions.

“Because Zika virus is primarily spread by mosquitoes, CDC recommends that travellers to Singapore protect themselves from mosquito bites. Sexual transmission of Zika virus is also possible, so travellers are encouraged to use condoms (or other barriers to prevent infection) or not have sex,” stated CDC on its website.

Pregnant women should not travel to Singapore at all, CDC further cautioned.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s neighbouring countries Malaysia and Indonesia have stepped up measures including thermal screening at airport terminals and border crossings.

“Zika will create fear for tourists wanting to holiday in Singapore and it is bad for the tourism industry,” commented Abdul Rahman Mohamed, general manager of Mayflower Holidays in Malaysia.

“The government must be very transparent in containing the outbreak to create confidence. This must be managed properly.”

The Singapore Tourism Board has stated that it is premature to consider any impact on tourism for now.

Singapore inbound operator Tour East concurs. “At this moment, there is no immediate impact. We have not received any cancellations and I have made a few calls to my contacts in the inbound segment and it is the same feedback,” assured Judy Lum, senior vice-president sales & marketing at Tour East.

“We hope there will be minimal impact despite the travel advisories especially with so many people willing to travel to Brazil during the Olympics despite the high level of infection in Brazil. I believe the fear of Zika virus is not as magnified as the press made it out to be.”

The virus has been found to be locally transmitted, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH), meaning those infected were not known to have travelled to Zika-infected areas recently.

The MOH alongside Singapore’s National Environment Agency is currently ramping up efforts to contain the spread of the disease, which includes identifying potential clusters for vector control efforts.

Additional reporting from S Puvaneswary

ACTIVITIES, tours and attractions provider BeMyGuest has opened an office in Hangzhou, China as part of expansion plans in the market.

Headed by general manager He Xiaoxing, the new office is set up to provide capacity for increased customer support, engineering and key leadership functions for the Chinese market.

BeMyGuest China will continue focusing on its B2B business in China with its API already integrated with Chinese OTAs such as Ctrip.

Additionally, it is offering Chinese travel agents a wholesale platform, BeMyGuest’s Agents Marketplace, to provide them access to industry rates and products specifically for Chinese travellers.

“BeMyGuest China will allow us to increase our capabilities in key areas that align with our current and future growth plans. This will allow us to expand our core teams to support the growth we are experiencing while giving us dedicated facilities to host partner briefings and attract talent to join the team,” said Clement Wong, CEO of BeMyGuest.

“Under the leadership of Xiaoxing, we are very confident of scaling our Chinese business. Our team is excited about the rapid growth we are experiencing in China and this move represents a commitment to continue to build on the success our team has accomplished in the world’s largest outbound travel market.”

HERTZ has launched the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards loyalty programme in China, Singapore, Japan and South Korea, allowing users in those markets to earn and redeem points in participating countries.

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards is free to join and has added membership benefits including fast pick-up and drop-off of their booked car, free additional drivers, members only discounts, access to exclusive promotions and service information.

Members earn one reward point for every US dollar or its equivalent spent on rentals and select optional service charges. Points can then be redeemed for a day, a week or a weekend rental towards a selection of cars.

Participating countries for points redemption include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US.

“It’s fantastic to be able to launch the Gold Plus Rewards programme and to give our dedicated members in China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea access to premium tiers, providing them with even more reasons to rent with Hertz,” said Eoin Macneill, vice president Hertz Asia-Pacific.

To celebrate the launch, Hertz is offering its Gold Plus Rewards members residing in China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and selected European countries up to 550 bonus points when booking their Hertz rental.

In order to receive the bonus points, members need to book their vehicle by September 30 and complete the rental by December 31.

Best Western Cebu Sand Bar Resort

BOOKING revenue arising from online sales channels has overtaken sales derived from traditional travel agents for the first time for Best Western Australasia.

Its head of commercial Steve Richards said 1H2016 booking revenue surged 19 per cent year-on-year with the bulk of sales attributable to internet transactions.

“The balance has finally tipped – the majority of our business is now coming through the online channels,” he said.

Richards expects online sales to increase further when parent company Best Western Hotels & Resorts launches a new global website in early October.

Preferred partnerships with TMCs have also been delivering results for the company on the corporate front. “The Flight Centre preferred partnership has been particularly effective,” he revealed.

He added that the company’s record-breaking free breakfast marketing initiative also contributed to the strong surge in internet bookings.

“It was our most successful ever marketing campaign, delivering more room nights to members than anything we’ve ever done,” said Richards.

A POWERFUL typhoon has battered large parts of northeast Japan, with airlines forced to cancel more than 100 flights and operators of trains and ferries also halting services.

Typhoon Lionrock was so severe that Japanese authorities ordered the evacuation of around 410,000 people in areas deemed to be at risk of storm surges or landslides.

More than 35,000 homes lost power after the storm came ashore on the Pacific coast at around 18.00 on Tuesday evening. The typhoon had winds of up to 162kph and rainfall of 8cm per hour was recorded in some districts. Authorities said one month’s worth of rain has fallen in just two days.

All of northern Japan and Hokkaido have been affected, with flights into Sapporo curtailed and bullet train operations in the region delayed or cancelled.

Travel firms in northern Japan have been affected, although operators said they had escaped largely unscathed.

“We started receiving cancellations on Monday, with 14 people cancelling and an additional 18 cancelling on Tuesday,” said Shuichi Matsuda, president of the Capital Hotel 1000 in Rikuzentakata.

“But the hotel is in operation and the building has sustained no damage. During last year’s typhoon, part of the hill facing the ocean was damaged so we rebuilt that earlier and will stay vigilant to make sure it is not damaged again,” he said.

Aya Yokosawa, an official of Marugoto Rikuzentakata, which promotes tourism and study trips in the town, said the organisation had not received any cancellations, although a group of students visiting from Osaka had been moved to an emergency evacuation centre.

“We have been quite lucky because although it was one of the biggest typhoons we have seen in this region, it did not do much damage,” she said.

The storm has crossed the country and moved out into the Sea of Japan, where it has been downgraded to a low pressure system.