Volcanic ashes from the eruption of Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi had prompted the authority to close Manado’s Sam Ratulangi International Airport from April 18 to mid-day April 22, leading to flights and at least one event being cancelled.
At press time, the airport has resumed normal operations as of yesterday.
Since the eruption, passengers (mainly domestic) stranded in Manado have been looking for alternative routes via Gorontalu, Palu City and Ternate, shared Reenaldo Wangkar, managing director of Welcome Manado Wisata.
However, this incurred extra costs for passengers as they had to buy a new ticket.
Some international passengers were also left stranded as Scoot flights between Friday and Monday were cancelled.
Reenaldo noted that with the airport closure status updated only every 24 hours, this proved challenging for passengers as they had to “reschedule at each airline’s office everyday”.
Jouvendi Rompis, chairman of the Indonesian Travel Agents Association (ASTINDO) North Sulawesi Chapter, said: “Some tourists have been having problems returning home because of the closure – moreover many international divers, who were scheduled to dive in North Sulawesi, were stuck in Jakarta and Singapore.”
Reenaldo added that his tour groups for April 26 and 27 have already considered cancelling their trips, thus he has had to offer to reschedule their bookings, and is also prepared to refund the groups if rescheduling was not possible. The two groups are from Singapore (32 pax), and a Catholic pilgrimage group from Jakarta (10 pax).
“There was an important United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) event in North Minahasa which (has been) postponed until June. (As a result) some of our transport rental orders for the event were cancelled,” he continued.
On a more positive note, Reynold Mawikere, owner of Manado Golden Travel and secretary of ASTINDO North Sulawesi Chapter, shared that reports from his members showed that this month was incidentally a slow one, stating that “there are many open trips for next month” which are fully-booked.
He added that with Mount Ruang located about five-hours’ boat ride away from Manado, the eruption has not had a significant impact on the tourist attractions around Manado.
For guests who are already in Manado, Reynold commented they can still “continue to visit existing tourist attractions unless the specifications for photography are affected due to visibility”.
He first joined Millennium Hotels & Resorts in 2014 and played a pivotal role in the development and curation of the M Social brand – he also served as general manager of M Social Singapore, its inaugural global hotel.
The names are almost similar – The Travel Corporation and Travel Corporation Asia – but they are different. Can you introduce Travel Corporation Asia please?
Kempinski Hotels has revealed plans to open a duo of dual-branded Kempinski and Bristoria hotels in Yangzhou Economic Development Zone in China.
Both hotels are scheduled to complete in 2025.
The hotel management agreement was signed by Kempinski Hotel Group with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone Culture and Tourism Group Co.
When complete, the lakeside Kempinski Hotel Yangzhou Nuoyuan will offer 93 rooms and suites, and facilities like a swimming pool, spa, gym, fitness centre, and a ballroom.
Next door, Bristoria Hotel Yangzhou will have 312 guestrooms and a wide selection of meeting rooms and function spaces.
Easily accessible from Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport in less than an hour and linked directly to Nanjing and Shanghai via high-speed train, the hotels located are also close to some of Yangzhou’s cultural highlights, with activities including Guqin art, engraving printing technique, paper-cutting technique, Fuchun tea making, and more.