New hotels: La Quinta by Wyndham Parnell Auckland, Pan Pacific Jakarta and more
La Quinta by Wyndham Parnell Auckland, New Zealand
The 116-key La Quinta by Wyndham Parnell Auckland is nestled in the city’s heart with access to some of Auckland’s top attractions, including the Auckland Domain, Auckland Museum, Auckland Art Gallery, Spark Arena, and Commercial Bay.
Facilities include a fitness centre, restaurant, lounge area, and event venues.
Pan Pacific Jakarta, Indonesia
Pan Pacific Jakarta has launched as the tallest luxury hotel in Jakarta. Located in Thamrin Nine’s iconic Luminary Tower, the hotel’s 158 rooms and suites are spread across levels 71 to 90. The hotel features a Japanese restaurant, rooftop bar, indoor pool, gym and club lounge.
For easy access throughout the city, guests can enjoy seamless connectivity to the city’s modern MRT, LRT, and Commuter Lines, including a nearby Airport Train service that offers a fuss-free route to and from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
The Royal Park Hotel Ginza 6-chome, Japan
The Royal Park Hotel Ginza 6-chome is located in the centre of Tokyo, and offers accommodation, a restaurant, bar, communal bath area, and luggage storage space.
Nearby the hotel are attractions such as Ichibabashi Park, Tsukiji Outer Market, Nihon Tenji Seitei no Chi, local temples and shrines like Tsukiji Honganji, and traditional performances of Kabuki.
There are two metro stations within easy access – Ginza Station and Higashi-Ginza Station – and the nearest airport is Tokyo Haneda Airport, just 15 km from the hotel.
Navi Mumbai Marriott Hotel, India
Situated on the bustling Thane Belapur Road, the Navi Mumbai Marriott Hotel is 26 km from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, and 12 km from the upcoming DB Patil International Airport.
The hotel features two restaurants, bar, club lounge, rooftop pool, spa, fitness centre and meeting spaces.
TFE Hotels announces key GM appointments
TFE Hotels has announced several key hotel general manager appointments across its Adina, Vibe and Travelodge network in Australia and New Zealand.
Having been with TFE Hotels for 15 years, Shaarn Letele is the new hotel general manager of the soon-to-be-refurbished Adina Apartment Hotel Sydney Darling Harbour.
Frances Ryall joins TFE Hotels fresh from a stint with IHG, where she was operations manager of Crowne Plaza Coogee. She will head as hotel general manager at Vibe North Sydney.
Meanwhile, Arthur Rojas, who started his career with TFE in 2011, has been named cluster general manager of Travelodge Melbourne Docklands and Adina Apartment Hotel Melbourne Southbank.
In Auckland, New Zealand, Annabell Javinez takes on the role as general manager of Travelodge Hotel Auckland Wynyard Quarter, while Suzanne Pentecost has been appointed general manager of the 164-key Adina Apartment Hotel Auckland Britomart.
PATA unveils new trends that redefine the new Asia-Pacific tourism landscape
PATA’s Navigating the Path to Tourism Recovery webinar on June 6 revealed that new consumer preferences and habits have emerged in 1H2024 in Asia-Pacific, a tourism sector recovering from the pandemic years in an uneven manner.
The post-Covid tourism surge from 2022 was initially powered by more affluent tourists seeking relaxation amid nature, user convenience, sustainable and authentic local tourism experiences, all enabled by heightened digitisation of travel.
Travel experts convened at the webinar said those trends have since evolved and that megatrends such as value for money, seamless booking and payments, and travel that aligns more to consumer values are now the hallmarks of post-lockdown tourism in the region.
Caroline Bremner, senior head of travel research at Euromonitor International, stated destinations that deliver safety, relaxation, value, good quality food and drink and access to natural attractions would continue to do well. She noted that younger (Gen Z) travellers preferred personalised, authentic local experiences, with price not so much of a consideration, whereas the older baby boomers seek value in their travels.
Free cancellations, easy digital payments, reliable user reviews, free upgrades and personalised recommendations (especially from family or friends), turn lookers to bookers, said Bremner.
However, tourism experts addressing the webinar said that Chinese outbound tourism was still lagging, dampening tourism performance in destinations across Asia-Pacific. Indeed, China’s neighbouring destinations such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Macau may not fully recover until the end of 2026 due to Chinese travellers opting to stay home or travel domestically instead of abroad.
Destinations such as India and Thailand which have all but recovered – or in Singapore’s case, exceeded – their high point 2019 tourism arrival levels did so by attracting tourists from markets such as Australia, Europe and the US to compensate for stay-away Chinese and Japanese.
China as a destination has its challenges too. Anyu Liu of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, revealed that international tourist arrivals into China are currently only around 80 per cent of 2019 levels, and may only return to around 96 per cent by the end of 2026. Liu added that inflation, labour supply challenges and regional conflicts were dampening recovery.
Addressing the issues raised by the webinar around the region as a whole, PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid remarked that tourism in Asia-Pacific could be enhanced by air capacity improvements, better land-based regional connectivity, improved training to attract and retain skilled personnel, and an easing of visa restrictions.
Artificial intelligence in travel
Looking at a quickly-arriving travel tech future, the webinar speakers noted that artificial intelligence (AI) was a big concern as it could be manipulated to perpetuate bias and misinformation, especially in travel marketing. AI needs to be used responsibly and carefully as a travel enabler, said Bremner.
Therefore, it is necessary to keep destination information honest and up to date as AI bots perpetually scrape the internet for publicly available data.
The speakers also noted that AI was already being used to suggest travel itineraries and to train hospitality staff in educational settings.
As for whether AI bots could replace tourism forecasters in universities, Liu shared that they conducted internal tests to see if ChatGPT could generate more accurate forecasts. “So far we’re safe,” he quipped.
PATA will release its mid-year tourism forecast reports on 39 Asia-Pacific destinations on June 25.
Skyscanner reports substantial growth in Indian market
Skyscanner has seen significant growth in the Indian market over the past few years, with India emerging as one of Skyscanner’s top five markets, driven by a surge in both international and domestic travel searches.
Hugh Aitken, vice president, strategic relations and development, Skyscanner, who was on a visit to New Delhi last week, shared: “India has grown substantially for us in the last couple of years. India is now one of our top five markets. Since 2019, we have seen a 121 per cent growth in bookings via Skyscanner for international destinations in India and a 639 per cent growth in domestic bookings. Comparing January this year with last year, we saw a 35 per cent growth in international searches. We are seeing substantial growth in the Indian market.”
Skyscanner has strengthened its partnerships with all major Indian airlines and OTAs to ensure travellers have access to the best prices, content, and choices. Earlier this month, Skyscanner announced a partnership with Indian carrier Akasa Air, offering the latter an audience of over 110 million monthly users searching for flights on Skyscanner platforms.
Aitken noted: “As a marketplace, we have on one side, travellers, and the other side, partners. We have strong partnerships with all the Indian airlines and OTAs. In the last few years, we have worked towards building our partner size for the marketplace so when travellers come to Skyscanner in India, they know they can see the best prices, best content, and the best choice.”
To enhance its local presence, Skyscanner launched a Hindi site last year and is considering introducing its platform in other regional languages. The company has also noted a growing trend of Indian travellers seeking inspiration on Skyscanner, and searches from India – without a specific destination in mind – have grown by over 55 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022.
According to Skyscanner’s research, 61 per cent of Indian travellers planned on taking more trips in 2024 versus 2023, which is higher than in the US (44 per cent) and the UK (32 per cent) and represents the highest intent among the markets in Asia-Pacific – Singapore at 54 per cent, South Korea at 46 per cent, and Australia at 38 per cent.
Aitken noted that on average, Indian travellers planned on taking three trips in 2024, compared to the 2.5 trips recorded in 2023.
Skyscanner is also seeing Indian travellers exploring new destinations. The top trending destination for Indian travellers is Danang, Vietnam, with a growth of 1,141 per cent. Other top outbound destinations for Indian travellers in 2024 include the cities Dubai, London, Bangkok, Toronto, and Jeddah. Domestically, the top destinations are New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Goa, and Hyderabad.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Skyscanner is observing a preference for shorter-term booking windows compared to other markets. While 40 per cent of American travellers plan longhaul travel more than three months in advance, in Asia-Pacific, it is only 28 per cent.
Editor’s note: This copy has been amended with updates from Skyscanner relating to several data points.
Frasers deploys Sabre’s SynXis Retailing
Frasers Hospitality and Sabre Hospitality have formed a strategic partnership to deploy the latter’s latest solution, SynXis Retailing, as part of Frasers Hospitality’s retailing strategy, marking a pivotal step in its commitment to retail innovation and superior guest services.
Building upon a strong partnership established in 2009, this collaboration saw Frasers Hospitality enrol one of its properties in the Preferred Launch Partnership programme as a pilot to tap into the capabilities of SynXis Retailing to elevate the overall guest experience. The outcome of the programme surpassed expectations, with the pilot property reporting a significant increase in ancillary revenue. The Retail Studio also complements the existing SynXis Booking Engine which offers a more personalised guest experience and seamless booking process via Frasers Hospitality’s platform.
SynXis Retailing provides hospitality players with the ability to “sell anything”, presenting an opportunity to introduce new revenue streams to properties with limited amenities, such as serviced residences. This flexibility enables hoteliers to enhance offerings for guests across their portfolio, from policies and services to food and beverage options, and even activities and experiences from third-party suppliers.
Sabre Hospitality president Scott Wilson said: “This collaboration underscores our shared commitment to innovation and delivering unparalleled value to hoteliers and guests alike. Hospitality retailing plays a pivotal role in this endeavour, as it allows hospitality companies to not only offer accommodation but also to curate personalised experiences and ancillary services tailored to individual guest preferences.”
“We look forward to leveraging Sabre Hospitality’s latest solutions to analyse guest preferences and personalise our offerings as part of our purpose and commitment to curate and enrich guest experiences,” added Mark Chan, chief operating officer of Frasers Hospitality.
Sustainability, heritage themes central to Bali and Beyond Travel Fair 2024
Calls for collaboration among Indonesia’s travel and tourism players to drive quality and sustainable tourism are resounding at the 10th Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF 2024) that kicks off today.
Speaking at the event earlier today, Ida Pandita Mpu Brahmananda, who is known to industry players as I Gede Pitana, tourism expert and professor of tourism science at Udayana University Bali, underlined the importance of collaboration in successful implementation of regenerative tourism.
He also urged industry players to ride on the tourism strength of Bali to spread business and benefits throughout the country.
Indeed, the annual BBTF’s mission has been to emphasise Indonesia’s varied travel and tourism destinations and products beyond popular Bali as well as the resort hotspot’s latest developments.
The theme at BBTF 2024, which runs from today until June 14, is Exploring and Experiencing Sense of Indonesia’s Beauty. Content highlights diverse attractions across the country as well as sustainable practices in preserving nature, culture and heritage. The event also aims to foster collaboration that facilitate quality and sustainable tourism.
I Putu Winastra, committee head of BBTF, told TTG Asia: “Last year, the event focused on how the industry was stepping up efforts on sustainability. This year, we expect to see resulting products that meet the demands and needs of today’s travellers.”
BBTF 2024’s exhibits promote products and experiences in the categories of adventure, nature, rural, gastronomy, community-based and health – particularly emphasising on the current mounting interests in wellness and medical tourism.
Some 460 buyers from 45 countries will connect with 282 seller organisations during the B2B sessions on June 13 and 14.
Eleven provinces, comprising of Bali, Jakarta, West Nusa Tenggara, West Java, Central Java, Riau Islands, Yogyakarta, East Nusa Tenggara, Bangka Belitung Islands, South Sulawesi, and East Kalimantan are participants this year.
Additionally, Nepal, Timor Leste, China, the US, Malaysia, South Africa and Iran are also at the show.
Putu said: “We have been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in inviting and selecting buyers, and are happy to see many new buyers from countries we have not reached before, such as Panama and Bulgaria.
“We are also happy to see more international sellers participating this year. Last year we had five; this year seven. This shows that BBTF is seen as a good platform for them to do business.”
BBTF attendees this year have access to an upgraded event app that functions on android and iPhone devices, allowing them to pre-schedule appointments with ease.
TBO goes public to accelerate growth of travel agencies in Asia-Pacific
Travel distribution platform TBO.com has completed the public listing of its equity shares in India via the National Stock Exchange of India and the BSE Limited, raising approximately US$186 million.
The investments will be used to further enhance the TBO.com’s technology and services as well as expand into new markets in the region.
The public issue received an overwhelming response across all categories of investors, being oversubscribed 86.70 times overall. The Qualified Institutional Buyers portion was subscribed 125.51 times, while the Non-Institutional Investors portion received a subscription of 50.60 times. The Retail Individual Investors portion received 25.74 times, while the portion reserved for employees received 17.82 times subscription.
The company was listed on May 15 this year on the aforementioned Indian stock exchanges with a premium of 50 per cent plus over the issue price.
TBO’s two-sided technology platform enables suppliers and buyers to transact seamlessly with each other. For buyers, the platform is an integrated, multi-currency, and multi-lingual one-stop solution that helps them discover and book travel for destinations worldwide, across various travel segments such as leisure, corporate, and religious travel.
The TBO platform has a strong presence in Asia-Pacific and connects over 159,000 buyers across more than 100 countries with over a million suppliers. Their global impact was exemplified by the anchors attracted before the initial public offering, which included the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and institutional investors from countries like Norway, Japan and India.
“TBO’s listing on the Indian stock exchanges marks a significant milestone in our company’s journey. This accomplishment paves the way for new opportunities, enabling us to drive innovation, expand our reach, and enhance value for our shareholders and customers,” said Gaurav Bhatnagar, co-founder and joint managing director, TBO.com.
Dusit International to manage dual-branded luxury resort and residences in Phuket
Dusit International has signed a partnership agreement with VillaCarte Group, a Phuket-based real estate development company, to manage a dual-branded luxury hotel and apartment complex at the heart of VillaCarte’s Layan Verde Project on the west coast of Phuket, Thailand.
Slated to open in 2027, the 398-key Dusit Collection – Layan Verde hotel is set over five buildings, while another five buildings will be under Dusit Residences – Layan Verde comprising 388 rooms.
Guests and residents of Dusit Collection and Dusit Residences Layan Verde will enjoy a range of premium lifestyle facilities, including an all-day dining restaurant, fitness centre, swimming pool, kids club, rooftop bar, and banqueting space.
Located just 800 metres from Bang Tao Beach, Layan Verde spans over 108,000m² and will also encompass a shopping centre and an ocean club.
The hotel and apartment interiors will be finished with eco-friendly, moisture-resistant materials while advanced EDGE-certified technology will be implemented to decrease water and electricity consumption by up to 45 per cent.
“This project perfectly complements our existing Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket resort and further strengthens our commitment to providing exceptional hospitality experiences in Phuket,” said Siradej Donavanik, vice president – global development, Dusit International.
VillaCarte Group co-CEO, Vadym Bukhkalov, added: “Alongside Dusit’s renowned five-star standards of service and growing global portfolio of Dusit Hotels and Resorts, we were also impressed by the size and scale of the upcoming Dusit Central Park project in Bangkok. Its design, seamlessly integrating a luxury hotel and residences with sustainable features like a public roof park, aligns perfectly with our own commitment to creating a harmonious blend of nature and contemporary luxury at Layan Verde. This shared passion for sustainability is the cornerstone of our exciting and promising partnership with Dusit. We’re confident it will be a long-term collaboration filled with meaningful success.”
Cathay Pacific to connect Hong Kong and Riyadh
Cathay Pacific is launching direct flights to Riyadh from Hong Kong starting October 28 this year.
The airline will offer three return flights per week (Monday, Thursday and Sunday) between Hong Kong and Riyadh using its modern Airbus A350-900 aircraft, featuring Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins.
This new service will offer more travel options and greater convenience for those travelling to and from Saudi Arabia.
Choice Hotels Asia-Pacific, in conjunction with Choice Hotels Japan, has welcomed 22 new properties under the group’s flagship Comfort brand. The new additions, signed under a management agreement with Hoshino Resorts, extends Choice Hotels Japan’s portfolio to 96 in key destinations and are strategically situated to complement the locations of existing hotels.
These new properties include Comfort Inn Shiojiri Kita Inter, Comfort Inn Sana Fujioka Inter, Comfort Inn Suwa Inter, Comfort Inn Toyokawa Inter, Comfort Inn Tosu, Comfort Inn Chiba Hamano, Comfort Inn Kumamoto Miyukifueda, Comfort Inn Utsunomiya Kanuma, Comfort Inn Fukui, Comfort Inn Fukushima Nishi Inter, Comfort Inn Niigata Chuo Inter, Comfort Inn Nagasaki Airport, Comfort Inn Hitachinaka, Comfort Inn Tsuchiura Ami, Comfort Inn Kofu Isawa, Comfort Inn Zentsuji Inter, Comfort Inn Munakata, Comfort Inn Ichinoseki Inter, Comfort Inn Karuizawa, Comfort Inn Himeji Yumesakibashi, Comfort Inn Kurashiki Mizushima, and Comfort Inn Kagoshima Taniyama.
With domestic and inbound demand at all-time highs, president and director of Choice Hotels Japan Takeya Muraki is pleased to extend the group’s presence in key locations for business and leisure guests.
He said: “We have more guests than ever seeking accommodation options across Japan and we’re confident these new additions establish us as the brand of choice for travellers seeking reliable, value for money accommodation.”