The iconic Sydney Fish Market in Australia has embarked on a major transformation valued at A$750 million (US$497 million), with works covering the market itself and surrounding bays.
The reimagined Sydney Fish Market is set to open in late-2024, and is expected to be the “most significant building by the harbour since the Sydney Opera House” for the destination.
The reimagined Sydney Fish Market is set to open in late-2024
Post-transformation, the purpose-built, operational fish market will also be a major culinary attraction. Its distinctive wave-shaped and scale-patterned roof will pay homage to the fishing industry, while simultaneously collecting rainwater for use. The amphitheatre staircases and the foreshore promenade will wrap over the working wharf, allowing visitors a glimpse into the market’s operations.
Sydney Fish Market plans to activate the world-class site through an ongoing calendar of events, engaging and educational activations, and vibrant tourism experiences.
Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is transforming into a winter wonderland with a spectacle of lights this Christmas season as well as special dining events.
Drawing inspiration from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, this year’s festive theme, A Waltz of the Lights, is animated with over a million sparkling lights and candles with a 15m-tall Christmas tree and an army of nutcrackers.
Christmas is in the air at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Throughout the Christmas and New Year season, there will be dining specials featured at the hotel’s French fine dining restaurant Le Beaulieu, Le Club Bar, angelina, and the newly-renovated modern Vietnamese restaurant Spice Garden.
Enjoy four special Christmas Eve dinners and a Sunday Brunch on December 24, with prices ranging from three million to 5.2 million dong (US$123 to US$214).
Then on Christmas Day, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi will host brunch and a series of dinners at its restaurants, ranging in price from 2.8 million to 4.5 million dong.
For New Year’s Eve, there will be gala dinners and countdown parties to usher in 2024, while on New Year’s Day, the hotel’s culinary team helps kick off the New Year with a special brunch and an exclusive New Year’s Day family barbecue.
In addition, there is an exclusive festive spa treatment at Le Spa du Metropole, such as a 1.5-hour Thai foot massage and made-to-order facial. Also, traditional festive hampers featuring homemade and imported gourmet products are available for purchase.
Accor Plus members receive a 10 per cent discount for all events.
Artotel Group rolled out plans to achieve its goal as a prominent Indonesian hotel company at the Artotel Group Leaders Summit (AGLS) 2023 in Yogyakarta last week.
The summit was held for the first time since the company acquired Kyriad, Dafam and Maxone brands to join the group’s Artotel and Rooms Inc brands, and was attended by 150 internal leaders.
Artotel Group aims to strengthen its branding by adopting a transformational mindset for the company
Eduard Pangkerego, chief operating officer, Artotel Group, acknowledged stiffer “competition in the hospitality industry” even as the company sought to become “a leader in our own country”.
“We are facing international big boys who have established their presence here,” he noted, adding that attention must also be paid to changes in market segments and the business ecosystem.
“What we need to do is to strengthen our brands and be different from the rest,” he remarked.
Eduard shared that the group could tap into the growing quiet luxury segment, where high-end travellers look for an understated elegant stay without an overt display of wealth.
As such, Artotel Group has adopted a transformational mindset for the company, which sets out to provide lifestyle experiences to guests instead of just being a product provider. The company also aims to change its mindset from property ownership to owning customer relationships, from becoming a leading company to an industry’s trendsetter, and from highlighting Indonesia’s Arts to showcasing Indonesia’s creative economy.
“When (the founders) started the company in 2012, the Artotel brand highlighted arts; now we are focusing on creative economy,” he said, adding that hotel general managers and managers have to challenge their teams’ creativity and “do things differently”.
He said: “I’m not talking about doing things out of the box but having fun in the box, doing new things within our (core businesses).”
Each Artotel Group portfolio gets personified “to define each brand’s style, character and what it offers”.
Artotel Group’s brand personification is the Creator, which signifies being innovative in doing things; the Artotel brand is the Explorer – observing, finding and doing new thing; Dafam brand is the Localist; Maxone is the Jester, built for fun-loving and playful travellers; Kyriad is the Voyager, where the stay is part of the journey; Rooms Inc is the Collaborator, which features a community hub to connect guests while blending technology and lifestyle.
Elaborating on the future of the Dafam brand, Eduard said it would be exported to Saudi Arabia, where the group is finalising three management contracts with the Kingdom, with a total of 2,000 rooms.
Erastus Radjimin, founder and CEO of Artotel Group, further shared that apart from the Saudi properties, the company is working on leads to bring its brands overseas, in destinations like Bangkok, Laos, and Malaysia. The goal is to have over 160 hotels by 2026.
Now, its portfolio comprises 104 properties with more than 100,000 keys in 36 cities across Indonesia. There are 43 hotels in the pipeline, all located in 28 cities across Indonesia and set to open between 2024 and 2025.
The Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DoT) has announced that the country has breached its target of 4.8 million international visitor arrivals before year end.
Tourism secretary Christina Garcia Frasco made the announcement during the DoT’s first Philippine Golf Tourism Summit held at Grand Hyatt Manila on November 28.
Panellists in discussion at the first Philippine Golf Tourism Summit
As of November 27, the country has registered a total of 4,822,530 visitors who visited the country, with foreign tourists comprising the bulk of arrivals at 4,430,725, while the remaining 391,805 are returning overseas Filipinos.
Specifically, South Korea remains the country’s top source market for foreign arrivals which brought in 1,271,602 tourists, followed by the US with 797,181, Japan with 272,735, China with 242,107, and Australia with 225,464.
Frasco shared: “Tourism continues to drive growth and provide income and jobs nationwide. With the implementation of the National Tourism Development Plan 2023 to 2028 approved by President Marcos, we are beginning to see the merits of our strategies towards increasing connectivity, convenience, and equality in tourism development and promotions, as well as the invaluable partnership of our tourism stakeholders in the private sector.”
She attributed the achievement to the liberalisation of visa policies, the building of tourist rest areas, the establishment of the first ever multi-platform tourist call centre, the construction of tourism roads, the development of cruise, education, medical, gastronomy, and sports tourism, expansion of dive tourism, and heritage and cultural tourism caravans and all other initiatives that have been lobbied by the DoT to attract visitors.
The DoT is also positioning the Philippines as a global hub for sports tourism, including golf.
Currently, the country has over 100 golf courses spread across Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Santa Barbara Golf Course in Iloilo Province, one of the oldest golf courses in Asia.
“Golf tourism represents a promising frontier for the Philippines and this summit highlights our proactive approach in understanding, nurturing, listening to the golf tourism industry and developing this niche as part of our tourism industry portfolio,” added Frasco.
“We are hopeful that this first Philippine Golf Tourism Summit can be a catalyst and serve as a platform to gather insights, recommendations, and concerns, paving the way for informed decisions and strategies as well as a unified national government tourism policy towards golf tourism that can be aligned with our local government units all over the country.”
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Tourism Australia have signed a new multi-year strategic marketing deal to jointly promote leisure tourism to Australia.
This renewed agreement follows a separate agreement between Tourism Australia and SIA, signed earlier this year, aimed at promoting business events travel to Australia.
The partnership will see Singapore Airlines and Tourism Australia promoting travel to Australia
The three-year agreement will see the two parties provide joint funding to promote travel from a number of key inbound markets including the UK, Germany, Singapore, India and Indonesia. It is an extension of an existing partnership that sees collaboration to promote Australia as a premier tourism destination.
The Singapore Airlines group, including low cost carrier Scoot, currently operates more than 140 services per week from seven Australian cities direct to Singapore.
SIA’s chief commercial officer, Lee Lik Hsin, commented: “This partnership with Tourism Australia will allow us to jointly promote leisure travel through our Singapore hub, further driving traffic from key markets so that our customers can explore the beauty and diversity of Australia in 2024 and beyond.”
Tourism Australia’s managing director, Phillipa Harrison, added: “At this critical time when international travel is continuing to rebuild and return to growth, we are excited about formalising our partnership with Singapore Airlines to urge more travellers to choose Australia for their next holiday.”
Korean Air has launched its inaugural flight on November 27 to Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island.
Phu Quoc is the airline’s fifth scheduled destination in Vietnam after Danang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang (Cam Ranh Bay).
Korean Air adds daily services to Phu Quoc in Vietnam
The daily service departs Seoul Incheon at 15:45 and land in Phu Quoc at 19:50. The return flight departs Phu Quoc at 21:20 and arrives in Seoul Incheon the following day at 04:50. Travellers from Vietnam may also transit conveniently at Terminal 2 on Korean Air’s extensive network to 13 destinations in North America and nine destinations in Japan.
Prepare your taste buds for an immersive dining experience as Le Petit Chef takes centre stage at Restaurant Espoir in Singapore from December 13.
Building on its previous success, this unique experience is renowned for its innovative and theatrical dining concept, combining cutting-edge technology with exquisite cuisine to deliver a one-of-a-kind gastronomic adventure. Patrons will witness a miniature chef guide them through a virtual world, preparing delectable dishes right before their eyes.
Le Petit Chef returns to Singapore this December
Choose from two exclusive five-course menus for adults, starting at S$168 (US$126). Specialised vegan and junior menus are also available – the show is not recommended for children below five years of age.
Restaurant Espoir is now open for reservations for December 2023 and January 2024.
Dorsett Hospitality International has appointed Harmesh Singh as the new general manager for Silka Maytower Kuala Lumpur, and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the hotel.
Having worked in the industry for more than 20 years, Singh has experience in sales and marketing as well as operations, and was most recently the director of sales & marketing for WEIL Hotel in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Manta Air will start direct flights from India to the tropical paradise of Maldives from January 2024.
The airline will operate direct flights from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport to the Maldives’ Dhaalu Airport, allowing visitors to avoid transiting through the main Velana International Airport at Male, and gaining direct access to many luxury resorts located in Dhaalu atoll.
Manta Air will fly direct from India to the Maldives, and will handle the immigration processes at Dhaalu Airport
Manta Air will provide easy immigration processes exclusively for its guests at Dhaalu Airport, enabling quick transfers. Dhaalu Atoll is host to several resorts, including Kandima Maldives, Niyama Private Islands, St Regis Maldives, RIU, Baglioni, Angsana Velavaru, and Sun Siyam Iru Veli.
All flights will arrive in the Maldives in the mornings and depart late in the evenings for India.
With nearly 30 years of experience, Henssler has held senior leadership positions in Europe, the Middle East, and China.
Having worked in the industry for more than 20 years, Singh has experience in sales and marketing as well as operations, and was most recently the director of sales & marketing for WEIL Hotel in Ipoh, Malaysia.
