Banyan Tree Samui in southern Thailand has introduced a new free-of-charge activity for all its guests – the twice-weekly aromatherapy workshops aim to encourage guests to unlock the mystery of the ancient traditional practice.
During the workshop held at Banyan Tree Gallery Samui (the resort’s on-site boutique), they can select which essential oils they would like to create including cedarwood, rosemary, lavender, ylang-ylang, bergamot, peppermint and pine. Guests will learn how extracts from plants are obtained – either a process of expression or steam distillation – to yield aromatic oils that can be used for healing.
Banyan Tree Samui has introduced aromatherapy workshops for guests
The hotel also provides oil burners and incense in each villa with a daily rotation of fragrances as part of the turndown service.
Among the other aromatherapeutic activities provided for guests is a Sense of Nature Walk, which feature guided tours around the property to discover and explain some of the tropical flora and fauna.
Accommodation booking platform AltoVita is bringing its Smart, Safe, Sustainable Summit to Singapore on September 6, marking the first time the event series moves out of London.
Taking place at Swissôtel The Stamford, the interactive and engaging event now turns its sights onto the Asia Pacific region — a region that is experiencing rapid growth in both employee relocations and corporate travel following the lifting of restrictions.
The event, which proudly includes TTG Asia as a media partner, brings together the extended stay accommodation sector with experts from the fields of relocation, talent mobility and corporate travel.
A series of thought-provoking panels and roundtables will shed light on the latest trends and best practices in leveraging data intelligence and technology to drive innovation. This will be a timely event, as many destinations are experiencing a highly competitive environment where accommodation prices are rising.
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Organisations now need to balance rising travel and accommodation costs with their business objectives and sustainability commitments, so the summit will also explore the Asia Pacific region’s corporate housing landscape in detail, tackling key issues such as:
How do mobility and travel managers harness technology to select accommodation that aligns with their corporation’s sustainability goals?
What are the best ways to push down costs? How do businesses give employees more accommodation choices, beyond traditional serviced apartments, but maintain the highest safety standards?
What can a corporation do to embed diversity, equity and inclusion into their corporate housing programme?
Who’s speaking?
Naveen Marshal, Senior Manager Global Mobility, Siemens
Guia Trinidad, Talent Mobility Business Partner, Stripe
Suvarna Mishra, Chief Human Resources Officer, Sodex
Arabelle Chaw, Director, Global Account Management, Sirva
Rowen Wong, Regional APAC Manager, WHR Global
Spencer Reynolds, Head of Global Mobility Strategy, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Kerwin Guillermo, Global HR Compliance Enablement, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Mario Ferraro, Global Leader – Client Strategy, IT
Sus Banerje, Head of Commercial and Operations, TruTrip
Tawa Ravadee Resort Prachinburi WorldHotels expanded its portfolio in Thailand with the signing of Tawa Ravadee Resort Prachinburi. A member of WorldHotels Distinctive, the exceptional upscale property showcases the grace and charm of Thai heritage.
Home to 199 rooms and suites, the enchanting retreat which emphasises the outdoor living space, promises unique and welcoming stays for discerning travellers.
Overlooking a lake and surrounded by lush forests and rice fields in the Prachinburi province, close to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Khao Yai National Park, and about two and a half hours’ drive east of Bangkok, the exquisite resort is ideal for leisure sojourns, cultural adventures and out-of-town events.
Infused with the charm of the Dvaravati style, Tawa Ravadee Resort Prachinburi is also an outstanding destination for events, with 10 meeting rooms and a dedicated convention hall that can host 1,000 guests.
Event organisers and planners are spoilt for choice with the diverse venues available for varying events from corporate retreats to one-of-a-kind wedding celebrations.
Tawa Ravadee Resort Prachinburi
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Tawa Ravadee Resort Prachinburi is an exceptional upscale property that showcases the grace and charm of Thai heritage
The enchanting retreat houses 10 meeting rooms and a dedicated convention hall that can host 1,000 guests
The resort is home to 199 rooms and suites
Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport The largest hotel complex at Japan’s busiest airport, Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport, a member of WorldHotels Distinctive, allows leisure and business travellers ease of accessibility to the airport and other popular tourist destinations in Tokyo.
A convenient central point, the 1557-room hotel is also directly connected to numerous shopping options, restaurants offering both local and international cuisines, a large-scale conference hall, bus terminal, and even natural hot springs complete with views of airplanes and Mount Fuji.
Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport is the ideal choice of accommodation for travellers who prefer to have all the conveniences and needs within easy reach for a comfortable stay.
Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda
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Guests can enjoy hot springs, complete with views of airplanes and Mount Fuji
Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda is the largest hotel complex at Japan’s busiest airport
The hotel has 1557 rooms of varying room types
Expanding footprint in Asia Both properties are new additions in WorldHotels’ portfolio, a privately held hotel soft brand within the BWH Hotels.
Founded by independent hoteliers dedicated to the art of hospitality, WorldHotels offers one of the finest portfolios of independent hotels and resorts around the globe, expertly curated to inspire unique, life-enriching experiences that connect people and places.
WorldHotels comprises four unique collections, each with its own personality and style to appeal to the needs of today’s travellers. The collections include WorldHotels Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Crafted and WorldHotels Distinctive.
What’s more – its Status Match…No Catch programme for the WorldHotels Rewards (WHR) enables guests to match their existing loyalty programme status (at other hospitality brands) with the equivalent WHR elite tier.
Are your clients keen on a status match to qualify for WorldHotels Rewards? For a fuss-free experience, guests can complete the Status Match…No Catch procedure at the front desk by emailing the support team at StatusMatch@bwh.com.
Guests can also initiate a status match on their own by completing the form, available on worldhotels.com here.
Silver Nova’s asymmetrical ship design – said to be the industry’s first and one that allows for innovative use of spaces for guests – has attracted immense interest from both travel agents and travellers, resulting in a large showing of first-time guests who will sail with the new luxurious vessel on August 14.
According to Silversea Cruises, some 400 new first-timers along with 200 loyal Venetian Society programme guests will set sail on Silver Nova’s maiden journey, a roundtrip from Venice that will call at many of the Adriatic’s most iconic destinations over seven days, including Piran in Slovenia; Zadar, Dubrovnik, Split, and Rovinj in Croatia; and Kotor in Montenegro.
Silversea Cruises executives discuss cruise tourism opportunities with the launch of Silver Nova
Barbara Muckermann, president and CEO of Silversea Cruises and member of Royal Caribbean Group’s executive committee, said the “category-breaking” Silver Nova “will move us farther away from the old images of cruise ships and open up the market for us further”.
Silver Nova is the first in Silversea Cruises’s Nova Class to launch and, with capacity for 728 guests, is the largest in the cruise line’s complete fleet. Her design has created several highlights including long stretches of spaces that grant guests unblocked views of destinations she calls at; high and airy atriums; a greater selection of suites, including top-end ones in the aft (back of the ship); a 130m² pool area – largest in the cruise line’s fleet – with an abundant supply of deck chairs; and expanded spaces for Silversea Cruises’s signature Sea and Land Taste (S.A.L.T) destination deep-dive culinary experience programme.
Muckermann said: “Silver Nova will allow us to reach resort customers who may have never considered a traditional cruise ship, but will now do so after seeing our pretty cool product – and with the insane price hikes that we are seeing on the hotel side, I think the incredible value our cruise offers will come forward.”
Beyond strong interest from new guests for Silver Nova, Muckermann revealed that the company’s database is also showing “a lot of new agents and new guests” for other itineraries.
However, the new kid on the block is not expected to alienate loyal Silversea fans. Muckermann said travel partners on the preview sailing have expressed joy over the introduction of suites in the aft, an accommodation type that their regular Silversea Cruises guests have been desiring for a long time.
She said: “Even though this class of ship is so different (from what we have), the reaction we get from our loyal guests has been much more positive than what we got when we introduced our Muse Class. While the Muse Class was an evolution, it changed a lot of the language of the brand. So, with the Nova Class, we kept some beloved heritage spaces and evolved other types of experiences.
“I like to think that we have achieved a good balance based on the feedback we have received. Our guests are happy that we have given them some new things while retaining their familiar comforts. This is very important when you are developing a heritage brand.”
At the same time, Silver Nova’s abundant open spaces will now allow the cruise line to “work on a regionalisation of our deployment”, revealed Muckermann.
She pointed out that Silver Origin is ideal for the Galápagos Islands, while Silver Endeavour is perfect for the Polar regions. “In the same way, Silver Nova is the best warm water luxury ship,” she commented.
“By allowing the regionalisation of our deployment, we can bring programmes like S.A.L.T to the full extent with deeper content because we can commit more time to a certain destination and region,” said Muckermann.
Following shortly after the July launch of Silversea Academy, an exclusive training platform designed to empower travel agents in the world of ultra-luxury cruising, the ultra-luxury cruise line is reaping more frequent bookings from trade partners.
Kenneth Yau, director of sales, Greater China, told TTG Asia that the more active agent partners in his region who have completed the course, have been able to now generate “very frequent bookings”.
Silver Nova will sail her official maiden voyage on August 14
“While not everybody has done everything (on the training platform), the feedback I get from a lot of our partners in Greater China has been quite positive,” said Yau during Silver Nova’s ongoing exclusive preview sailing for some 200 select travel agent partners and media representatives.
Silver Nova will sail her official maiden voyage on August 14.
Further articulating the value Silversea Academy brings to trade partners, Philippa Walker, marketing director, Asia-Pacific, said the featured content brings clarity to the various classic and expedition products offered by the cruise line. Having completed the programme, travel agents will be able to talk their customers through Silversea Cruises’ experiences “with confidence”.
“If a customer is spending US$20,000 on a holiday, they want to know that they are putting their money down with a trusted partner,” she remarked.
Walker emphasised the cruise line’s continued respect and reliance on the travel agency network.
She detailed: “In Australia, for example, travel agents represent quite a large percentage of our business. A lot of our Venetian Society (loyalty programme) guests continue to rely heavily on our travel agent partners because their complete travel experience is not made up of only cruises; they also book air and pre and post accommodation. They might come to Europe for six weeks, and spend two of those weeks on a Silversea cruise.
“Also, our guests love the fact that should something go wrong, they have someone on the other end of the phone to offer solutions.”
Silversea Cruises’ support for travel agents is not limited to the new Silversea Academy. It boosts travel agent earnings by paying out commissions even on future bookings made by their guests directly with the cruise line. Additional opportunities to earn more with Silversea Cruises are also created through limited-period specials. For example, in May this year, the cruise line introduced an incentive for its Travel Partner Appreciation Month, where a new confirmed booking on any expedition cruise made in May and June would enter travel agents into a weekly prize draw for a chance to win a gift card.
Furthermore, travel agents are supported by the comprehensive Travel Partner Resource Center, which comprises insightful webinars and the Travel Partner Appreciation programme. Of these support features, Walker said the Marketing Central tool is most loved.
Walker shared: “Nowadays, travel agents don’t just sell to customers – they have to market and find new customers. They used to rely on us to do everything for them, but with Marketing Central, they can easily create Silversea flyers, ads and social media content on their own while staying on brand. They only need to click some buttons to produce the marketing materials they need.”
Yau added that Marketing Central offers travel agents across the world and different time zones the flexibility to manage their own marketing activations.
“We are operating in a very globalised world, so we need to appreciate that different trade partners work in different time zones and different markets may have different ideal timings for marketing activation,” he said.
Australia’s Gold Coast’s destination marketing body, Destination Gold Coast, has been assimilated into newly-formed mega body, Experience Gold Coast.
Experience Gold Coast is the amalgamation of Destination Gold Coast, Study Gold Coast, Major Events Gold Coast, Home of the Arts and Placemakers. From September 4, 2023, the activities of each of the five existing entities will be delivered under the umbrella of Experience Gold Coast. Destination Gold Coast will retain its brand and remain operating under this name.
Destination Gold Coast’s activities will be delivered under the umbrella of Experience Gold Coast from September; Gold Coast Broadwater, pictured
The proposal to move under the umbrella of Experience Gold Coast was endorsed and put forward by the Destination Gold Coast Board during the recent Extraordinary General Meeting, which saw more than 200 members vote in favour of the proposal.
Destination Gold Coast’s chair Adrienne Readings said the proposal is in the best interests of the Gold Coast, Destination Gold Coast, and its members, who “resoundingly backed” the vote. This marks an “important part of history for Destination Gold Coast as an independent membership-based organisation for over 47 years”, she noted.
“By aligning with Experience Gold Coast, Destination Gold Coast is going to be part of a stronger and broader organisation dedicated to growing the visitor economy.
“The improved visitor economy co-ordination across tourism, education, events and arts and culture is going to be a critical point of inflection for the city in rebuilding an even stronger strategy for the future of the Gold Coast,” Readings said.
Destination Gold Coast’s interim chief operating officer, Rachel Hancock, said the entity will continue to play the most critical role in driving visitation through marketing, sales, and trade activations.
She shared: “Destination Gold Coast remains focused on the rebuild of the city’s visitor economy under a three-horizon strategy designed to continue growth towards the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“Our 2023/24 Action Plan is underway and was backed by council earlier this year with additional funds to support aviation attraction and business events subvention. With this endorsement, we’re not taking our foot off the pedal as we re-establish market share.”
Resorts World Cruises has unveiled its six-day-five-night Naha-Miyakojima cruise aboard Resorts World One, which will depart every fortnight from Hong Kong, starting October 1, 2023.
Resorts World One will depart from Hong Kong every alternate Sundays to Okinawa – vacationers can also choose between the five-night Naha-Miyakojima cruise itinerary and the two- or three-night Sanya cruise itineraries.
Resorts World One will depart from Hong Kong fortnightly to Okinawa, Japan
The ship will sail to the islands of Naha and Miyakojima in the Okinawa prefecture, which are renowned for having some of Japan’s best beaches and tropical coastlines, natural beauty, rich cultural heritage and seafood cuisines.
As part of the cruise itinerary, vacationers will also cruise to Miyakojima, an island considered as one of the most beautiful spots in Japan.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Hongkong Land for a new Hyatt Centric hotel slated to open in 2025.
Hyatt Centric East CBD Chengdu will mark the entry of the Hyatt Centric lifestyle brand into China’s southwest region.
Rendering of Hyatt Centric East CBD Chengdu which opens in 2025
It will be situated in the heart the city’s bustling downtown area and will be part of The Ring, a new high-end, mixed-use project developed by Hongkong Land, integrating office towers, shopping mall and a lifestyle hotel.
Stephen Ho, president of growth and operations, Asia Pacific, Hyatt, said: “Chengdu draws tourists from all over the world who are keen to explore its rich culture and renowned gastronomy. With its focus on authentic local experiences, we believe Hyatt Centric East CBD Chengdu will be the perfect location for savvy travellers seeking to be immersed and inspired in the destination.”
“With Hyatt’s expertise and innovative approach to hospitality, Hongkong Land is confident that Hyatt Centric East CBD Chengdu will become a sought-after choice for business and leisure travellers alike,” shared a spokesperson from Hongkong Land.
Western Australia is home to more than 1,200 wildflowers floral species, 60 per cent of which cannot be found anywhere else on earth. During wildflower season, from August to November, the vast landscape in the area bursts into vivid hues of pinks, yellows, reds, and purples, providing photographers and nature lovers a feast for the senses.
Tourism Western Australia’s country manager for Singapore and Malaysia, Ava Ang, said: “A blanket of wildflowers will add romance and beauty to any travel experience, but being among nature is also a great way to enhance your health and well-being, with plenty of opportunities to learn about the unique ways Aboriginals have used flowers as a source of nutrition and medicine for thousands of years.”
Western Australia is home to one of the largest collections of wildflowers on earth, with more than 1,200 floral species (Photo: Tourism Western Australia)
During this season, there are plenty of opportunities to capture that perfect photo with the beautiful flowers. In Perth, pack a picnic and visit Kings Park and Botanic Gardens (Kaarta Koomba); or drop by Araluen Botanic Park for the Yates Springtime Tulip Festival from August 18 to late September.
To explore more botanical wonders around the state, there is also the Mullewa Annual Wildflower Festival from August 24 to 27; Kalbarri National Park which boasts dazzling wildflowers among dramatic gorges; and several hot spots such as Leeuwin-Naturalist National Park, Stirling Range National Park, Fitzgerald River National Park, and Bluff Knoll.
Ambassador Cruise has launched its Ambassador Signature overnight sailing on the relatively uncharted waters of Lan Ha Bay, just south of Halong Bay.
The one-night voyage on the new 39-berth vessel that made its maiden voyage in July will take passengers to Lan Ha Bay’s 300-or-so karst islands and limestone outcrops that are every bit as beautiful as Halong Bay.
The one-night voyage on Ambassador Signature will take passengers to Lan Ha Bay
The vessel boasts designer cabins in four different categories – Ambassador Balcony, Executive Ambassador Balcony, Ambassador Balcony Suite, and the Captain’s View Ambassador Suite. All cabins come with a private balcony and spacious bathroom.
Ambassador Signature features a spa, a plush piano lounge, and an expansive sundeck, with a strong focus on gastronomy showcased via evening menus curated by Michelin-starred chef David Gallienne.
The sailing will offer optional excursions such as a visit to Viet Hai, a traditional floating fishing village; and a tour through Light and Dark Cave by bamboo boat or kayak.
