Korean Air has released a new inflight safety video featuring a virtual Korean Air flight attendant giving safety instructions within a virtual setting.
The airline seeks to reach out to its diverse customer base of all ages and cultural backgrounds with this new concept, and hopes to garner passengers’ attention and increase viewers’ engagement levels.
Virtual flight attendant Rina demonstrates how to put on a life jacket in Korean Air’s new safety video
The video covers topics that passengers must know such as how to store carry-on luggage, wearing a seatbelt, prohibited items during the flight, cabin smoking regulations, procedures in the case of cabin pressure abnormalities, locations of the emergency exits, and how to put on a life jacket.
This is the first time an airline has created a safety video featuring virtual humans. Taking place in the Korean Air Safety Lounge, the virtual space was created to make it easier to explain and understand the inflight safety rules as presented by flight attendant Rina, a virtual human who has completed safety training at Korean Air’s Cabin Crew Training Center and was appointed as an honorary flight attendant. MAVE, a four-member virtual girl group that debuted in January 2023, play the role of passengers following the safety instructions.
Korean Air will begin to play the new safety video on all flights starting from January 4, and the video has also been released on the airline’s official YouTube Channel.
“This will become a great example of the synergy created between the aviation industry and digital technology. We intend to change perceptions of inflight safety videos with these new ideas, and make them more relatable and engaging for passengers,” said a Korean Air representative.
Silversea has officially named Silver Nova during an intimate ceremony in Fort Lauderdale on January 4, honouring maritime traditions to welcome the Ship of Light to its fleet.
As a customary tradition of Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), bagpipes resounded through Silver Nova’s theatre to mark the commencement of the ceremony, followed by a performance of the US national anthem and an exclusive screening of a commemorative video to honour Silversea’s 30th anniversary, which the brand celebrates this year.
Nina Compton (middle) has been named as godmother for Silver Nova
After the vessel received blessings from Reverend Sanford Sears and Rabbi Adam Watstein, Silversea’s president Barbara Muckermann and RCG’s president and CEO Jason Liberty announced Silver Nova’s godmother, Nina Compton, a celebrated chef, restaurateur, and television personality.
Rounding out the ceremony, Compton – accompanied by captain Cosimo Pontillo – officially named Silver Nova and triggered a magnum-sized bottle of champagne to smash on the ship’s hull, before Liberty led guests in a toast to mark the momentous occasion.
Thrill-seekers can now experience Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park from as low as 98 ringgit (US$21) from now to June 30.
Enjoy rides and attractions in Genting SkyWorlds at these new lower prices for bookings via Resorts World Genting’s website and mobile app.
Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park rings in 2024 with special prices till June 30
In addition, families and groups can take advantage of the Buy More Save More 1-Day Ticket Combo.
The Malaysian theme park is open from 11.00 to 18.00 – after a day at the park, visitors can see the park’s enchantment extend into the night with great vibes, good food and live entertainment at Gohtong Way, the perfect after-hours spot for families and friends to chill and bond over street food with fountain shows and views.
Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park and Gohtong Way are closed on Tuesdays, except on Malaysian public holidays.
La Vie has appointed Justin Furkhanas as group manager – business support and hotel openings, Mely Liu as group business development manager, and Jacob Batt as business development manager.
Furkhan will lead the pre-opening and conversion processes for all new hotel openings. Boasting leadership experience across luxury brands such as The Fullerton and InterContinental, he will navigate the hotel opening operations, concentrating solely on spearheading the operational efforts.
From left: Justin Furkhanas, Mely Liu, and Jacob Batt
Liu has over a decade of experience across commercial operations, revenue management, reservations, events management and operations. Her new role is focused on developing new sales opportunities and building a robust sales platform while managing an assigned client base.
Batt brings with him a diverse background in hospitality and will be responsible for multiple Australian properties, optimising daily room revenue, maintaining the highest service standards, championing brand ascendancy and orchestrating occupancy surges to fortify each hotels’ vitality.
Paradox Singapore Merchant Court has named Christine Choo as its general manager. She will spearhead the overall strategic executive management and operations of the hotel.
An accomplished hotelier with over 10 years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry, Choo brings along her wealth of experience in operating resorts and hotels in destination-centric locations in Singapore since 2011.
She was most recently area general manager (Sentosa Cluster) at Far East Hospitality Singapore.
Stuart De San Nicolas has been appointed as the new cluster general manager for Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas, Avani+ Fares Resort and NH Collection Maldives Havodda.
With over 30 years of hands-on industry experience, he joins Minor Hotels from Conrad Bora Bora Nui, where he helped to elevate the resort’s luxury offerings through his position as general manager.
Trip.com Group reflects on the dynamic landscape of travel over the past year, and offers insights into the top travel trends, AI revolution, and sustainable journeys in 2024.
China’s border reopening sparks global travel surge
With the opening of China’s borders, travel was greatly boosted by a wave of Chinese travellers with a pent-up demand for overseas travel. Trip.com data unveils a significant rise in outbound travel bookings, showcasing a six-fold increase compared to 2022. This trend is especially prominent during holiday periods, such as the eight-day Golden Week in October 2023 which witnessed an eightfold surge in outbound travel.
Music concerts featuring international acts are anticipated to sustain their prominence as the most sought-after global events
The data also revealed that Chinese travellers have a strong interest in visiting South-east Asia, with Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia topping the list of preferred outbound destinations in 2023.
China’s inbound travel is also showing steady signs of recovery – there was a four-digit growth in visitor numbers in 2023 as compared with the same period in 2022, surpassing 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
China’s top source markets for inbound tourism include South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the US, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Thailand, the UK and Germany. These visitors’ preferred destinations in China are Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Zhuhai, Hangzhou, Foshan, Xiamen, Zhongshan, and Chengdu.
AI takes centrestage in predictive planning for 2024
The travel landscape is undergoing a paradigm shift, driven by the widespread integration of AI. An example is Trip.com’s TripGenie, launched last year, which is an advanced AI travel assistant integrated into the Trip.com mobile app, helping travellers plan their journeys – from crafting bespoke itineraries, enabling instant bookings and delivering lightning-fast responses to user queries. The personalised travel assistant can respond to queries as well as recommend tourist spots, shopping destinations and even provides booking links, images and city maps.
Expanding beyond TripGenie, Trip.com also introduced AI-powered curated lists to enhance the booking experience for users, such as Trip.Best that recommends the best travel options, Trip.Deals that shows top flights, accommodations, and other travel deals, and Trip.Trends which features the most popular travel topics and events based on user searches. These dynamic compilations are tuned to user preferences derived from real-time data, providing a sneak peek into the future of travel planning in 2024.
Based on searches on Trip.Deals, global users have shown particular interest in the following top five destinations: London, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Paris, and Hong Kong.
Music festivals and theme parks lead the way
The world of travel in 2024 is embracing the fun trend of event tourism, with festivals and iconic theme parks emerging as the cornerstones of trips.
Theme parks specifically, are poised for a stellar rise, having witnessed an impressive 65% increase in bookings in 2023 compared to 2019 levels. The top 10 theme parks in 2023 globally include Hong Kong Disneyland; Universal Studios Japan, Ocean Park Hong Kong; Universal Studios Singapore; Tokyo Disneyland; Tokyo DisneySea; Everland, South Korea; Universal Studios Hollywood; Legoland, Malaysia; and Adventure Cove Waterpark.
Theme parks also made five of the top ten most popular attractions globally in 2023, with Singapore Zoo, Gardens by the Bay, The Peak, S.E.A Aquarium, and Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan also making the top 10 list.
Concerts featuring international acts are anticipated to sustain their prominence as the most sought-after global events, promising a thrilling 2024 filled with unforgettable cultural experiences.
In 2023, the category of event+ticket became one of the most sought-after products on Trip.com’s platform, with concerts and music festivals such as Jay Chou’s Carnival World Tour in Bangkok and Wang Leehom’s ONE concert in the same city were shown as the top two most popular concerts respectively.
These concerts also resulted in a surge in hotel and air ticket bookings, for example, searches for air tickets to Bangkok exhibited a substantial increase of 213%, while the number of hotel stay bookings in Bangkok on December 9 spiked by 129% when comparing the same two weeks. Additionally, flight bookings from China recorded a significant rise of 118%.
The rise of sustainable travel and event tourism in 2024
For 2024, two pivotal trends look to be shaping the travel landscape – sustainable travel, and the ascent of event tourism. More than a numerical projection, these trends signify a shift in traveller consciousness and preferences.
According to Trip.com Group’s latest ESG report, more than 16 million customers have opted for low-carbon travel options, signalling a rising interest in eco-friendly exploration.
The group’s low-carbon hotel standard initiative was also launched in 2023 with promising results. With over 1,500 partners shortlisted as low-carbon hotels, this suggests that sustainable accommodation is set to become a major trend.
Event tourism, encompassing concerts, festivals, and sporting events, is poised to gain momentum in 2024. With the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the ticket+hotel category is expected to be a sought-after product, underscoring the growing importance of events in shaping travel choices.
Regal Hotels Group, Cosmopolitan International Group, and the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore a strategic partnership in hotel development and management.
The objective of the MoU is to acquire, own, develop, and manage a network of sustainable hotels, serviced apartments, and centres of innovation under Regal Hotels’ iclub brand to foster tourism, innovation, and technology exchange between China, including Hong Kong, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The partnership will help build Saudi Arabia’s presence in the tourism, innovation, and sustainability sectors
The potential partnership will aim to leverage the combined strengths of Regal Hotels and Cosmopolitan, together with MISA’s expertise in shaping and driving investment into high value tourism opportunities.
Regal Hotels intends to build about 100 hotels around the world worth US$5 billion with an emphasis on the Middle East. According to Regal’s vice-chairman and managing director Poman Lo, the company plans to have about 30 hotels in Saudi Arabia. She said: “We are delighted to partner with MISA to accelerate our shared vision of becoming a global leader in delivering world-class services through our hospitality management expertise and embracing sustainable technologies.”
Regal Hotels will integrate cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices into their hospitality and real estate projects, with plans to finish construction by 2035. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment will help secure funds for the projects, and Regal is also open to accepting capital from investors in Mainland China and Hong Kong.
The MoU will also help build the Kingdom’s presence in the tourism, innovation, and sustainability sectors, noted MISA’s deputy minister of investment, Saleh Al-Khabti.
Meanwhile, Cosmopolitan expects to contribute its experience and expertise in project management of real estate and hotel development projects in Mainland China and Hong Kong.
Furthermore, Regal Hotels and Cosmopolitan will evaluate opportunities to invest in an asset management platform through joint ventures, investment funds, and/or publicly listed companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and/or Hong Kong.
The 31st Travel Tour Expo (TTE) and the ninth International Travel Trade Expo will be held from February 2 to 4 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Pasay City in the Philippines.
Organised by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), the TTE 2024 will spotlight how the Philippine tourism and hospitality industries have levelled up to make domestic and international trips for Filipinos more worthwhile through exclusive deals and packages on air fares, tours, and accommodations.
Philippines’ Travel Tour Expo will be held from February 2 to 4 at the SMX Convention Center Manila
TTE 2024 will host more than 200 participating exhibitors with 702 booths, and anticipates a turnout of 100,000 travel enthusiasts. Booths will include airlines, domestic and international travel agencies and tour operators, hotels and resorts, cruise liners and shipping, merchandisers and more. It will also serve as the launchpad for new destinations, affordable tours, transportation choices, tailor-fit accommodations, and various payment options to cater to every voyager.
“Many travellers are eager to make up for lost time. Revenge travel has undeniably played a role in the resurgence of tourism – more importantly, people have realised that life is short. This renewed eagerness to travel, to live life and experience other places and cultures is definitely long-term,” remarked PTAA president Evangeline Tankiang-Manotok.
While digital platforms have made travel more accessible, convenient and personalised, TTE 2024 chairperson Patria Chiong said that “travel agencies offer people-to-people connection” and offer ever-ready assistance “in case of misconnections, missing luggage, insurance”.
This event is sponsored by Tourism Promotions Board, Union Bank of the Philippines, AirSwift Transport, Philippine Airlines, TIEZA, PLDT, and Taiwan Tourism Bureau.
Jetstar Asia’s inaugural flight from Singapore to Wuxi took off on December 28, 2023 from Changi Airport to Sunan Shuofang International Airport, marking the start of the Singapore low-cost carrier’s second direct route to mainland China.
Operated by Jetstar’s expanding fleet of Airbus A320s, the service will commence with two weekly return flights on Mondays and Thursdays.
China’s Wuxi welcomed Jetstar Asia’s inaugural flight from Singapore
It will then increase to four weekly services from January 15 to meet growing demand, flying every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
She was most recently area general manager (Sentosa Cluster) at Far East Hospitality Singapore.
With over 30 years of hands-on industry experience, he joins Minor Hotels from Conrad Bora Bora Nui, where he helped to elevate the resort’s luxury offerings through his position as general manager.
