TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Saturday, 11th April 2026
Page 239

Marina Bay Sands reveals new brand vision, completes Paiza Collection transformation

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AirAsia Cambodia expands its reach abroad

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Fan Bingbing celebrates the launch of Genting Dream’s inaugural Melaka trip

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Ring in the festive season at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore

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Aviation roundup: Cebu Pacific, Jetstar Asia and more

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Virtuoso’s global expansion drives executive realignment

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Virtuoso has appointed Thatcher Brown as senior vice president, global products and Jennifer Campbell as senior vice president, global events.

Brown joins Virtuoso with an extensive background in developing successful luxury hospitality and lifestyle brands on a global scale. He most recently served as chief commercial officer and head of joint operations for Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, joint owner and operator of Four Seasons Yachts.

From left: Thatcher Brown and Jennifer Campbell

In her new role, Virtuoso veteran Campbell will focus entirely on the organisation’s growing roster of events. She will continue to build her team in each region, ensuring relevance and consistency across all regional and global events, while also delivering value to attendees.

Grand Westside Hotel

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Pool

Sarawak’s new campaign highlights sustainable tourism and unique heritage

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Singapore Tourism Board partners Skyscanner to boost visitor numbers

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Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Skyscanner have inked a two-year agreement to promote Singapore as a preferred travel destination.

Signed by STB chief executive Melissa Ow and Skyscanner CEO John Mangelaars on October 15, this multi-year collaboration will focus on joint marketing campaigns, enhancing brand awareness, and developing a unique stopover solution to attract more visitors to Singapore.

The partnership aims to drive more inbound visitors to Singapore

STB expects 15 to 16.5 million tourist arrivals and S$27.5 to S$29 billion (US$20.7 to US$21.9 billion) in tourist spending in 2024.

The positive recovery in visitor arrivals comes off the back of Singapore’s growing pipeline of visitor experiences – some notable openings over the past two years alone include Bird Paradise, The Palawan @‌Sentosa, Sentosa Sensoryscape, Children’s Museum Singapore, as well as new accommodation offerings like 21 Carpenter, Artyzen Singapore, The Singapore Edition and Mercure Icon Singapore City Centre.

STB’s Ow remarked: “Taking a market-led and consumer-centric approach, we look forward to layering our own customer insights on top of Skyscanner’s machine learning capabilities for sharper targeting, and to co-ideate with Skyscanner improvements to the consumer journey for stopover bookings.”

“We are delighted to be collaborating with one of the region’s leading destination organisations, where our machine learning capabilities will be utilised to increase awareness and consideration for Singapore as a destination for travellers,” added Mangelaars.

Singapore’s fifth wildlife park to open in March 2025

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Singapore’s fifth zoological park, Rainforest Wild Asia, will launch its first phase at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve in March 2025.

Accessible from Mandai Wildlife West, Rainforest Wild Asia is set to offer a very different set of experiences, inviting guests to embark on journeys of discovery in this rainforest-inspired attraction.

The largest animal habitat in Rainforest Wild Asia is home to the Malayan tigers, photo by Mandai Wildlife Group

The 13-hectare Rainforest Wild Asia features 10 distinct zones, allowing guests to select their preferred level of adventure while exploring an immersive rainforest environment.

Wide elevated walkways with sheltered rest stops ensure accessibility to all including families with strollers and wheelchair users, providing opportunities for easy strolls to view diverse rainforest landscapes and animals. For a more rugged experience, guests can venture along forest trails scattered with fallen logs, boulders, streams and bridges. Those seeking adrenaline-pumping experiences can purchase harnessed experiences and guided tours offering high-element traverses across rock faces, freefall jumps and challenging caving adventures.

Flexible habitats will be introduced at Rainforest Wild Asia for the first time. Different animals, such as red dholes and babirusas, will be featured at various times of the day. These dynamic habitats provide stimulating environments for the animals, encouraging natural behaviours while allowing visitors to observe.

Rainforest Wild Asia will be home to 29 iconic animal species, including new-to-Singapore species like the threatened François’ langur and the Philippine spotted deer. In recreating the rainforest setting, close to 7,000 South-east Asian trees and shrubs have been planted to supplement the existing protected patches of rainforest.

The next phase will see the opening of Rainforest Wild Africa, inspired by the diverse landscapes of the Afro-Tropical region and Madagascar.

“Our newest park celebrates the rainforests of our region, which are home to a vast array of natural wonders,” said Mike Barclay, group CEO of Mandai Wildlife Group. “This immersive design gives our guests the chance to witness how different animals thrive in distinct rainforest settings. Most importantly, we hope to create strong feelings of connection to nature and a renewed determination to cherish and protect our planet.”