Discova Japan has appointed Takahiro Kondo as the new regional contracting manager, stationed in Tokyo, Japan.
He brings a wealth of expertise and experience in the travel industry to the company, having worked for many years in various capacities, including product development, contract management, and supplier relations.
In his new role, Kondo will be instrumental in driving innovation, developing new travel products, and cultivating strategic partnerships with local suppliers.
Emirates has named Rashed Alfajeer as the manager for Singapore and Brunei.
He succeeds Rashid Al Ardha, who has moved on to manage the airline’s operations in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Alfajeer embarked on his professional journey with Emirates a decade ago when he joined the Emirates Commercial Outstation Management Trainee Programme in 2013. He has held several key positions around the globe, and was most recently the manager for Iran and Central Asia.
Centara has appointed Pannarat Tantrativud as the new assistant vice president – CRM & customer service.
She will be responsible for leading Centara’s CRM and loyalty strategies, as well as the Customer Contact Centre, ensuring optimal customer service, relationship management, retention and commercial returns.
Prior to joining Centara, she was the general manager at Scale 360 Co.
Outbound demand for holidays to China are strong for this coming autumn and winter seasons, share outbound agents from Malaysia.
For the lack of direct flights to Harbin, Apple Vacations’ group managing director, Koh Yock Heng, shared that the company’s solution is to organise charter flights during the 2024 Chinese New Year period, with the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival as a draw.
The tour packages were sold at the recent consumer MITM Travel Fair held at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur. According to Koh, 30 per cent of the 287-seat charter flight capacity by Malaysia Airlines was sold during the three-day fair.
He added that packaged tours for autumn departures to Tibet and Inner Mongolia also sold well during the fair – these tour packages depend on first-tier cities, Beijing and Shanghai, as gateway cities.
Koh also welcomed the recent announcement by Malaysia-headquartered AirAsia regarding improvements in air connectivity to China.
AirAsia will soon resume flights from Kota Kinabalu to Hangzhou starting with three flights weekly from September 2, while sister airline AirAsia X will be increasing services from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing from four to five flights weekly from September 1, and from Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai from four to seven-times weekly commencing September 15.
AirAsia X will also increase frequencies from Kuala Lumpur to Hangzhou from three to four flights weekly from September 30.
Patrick Law, managing director, Confidence Travel & Tour, shared that the improvements in air connectivity between China and Malaysia bodes well for both countries.
Law was happy with the take-up rate of his company’s sale packaged tours with fixed departures to Guilin and Yangshuo at the recent MITM Travel Fair. After a three-year lockdown, China is now high on the radar for many Malaysians looking for an affordable medium-haul destination to explore.
Adam Kamal, director of Suka Holiday which specialises in tours for the Muslim outbound market, hoped that the improvements in air connectivity between Malaysia and China will also result in reasonable airfares on AirAsia and AirAsia X.
Observing that four-night tours to Beijing and Shanghai were most popular among the Muslim family segment, Kamal shared that the confidence level among Muslim travellers to China has returned, and the company will be starting group departures to China from August.
With the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 happening in Manila in less than a month, the Philippines has launched tour packages for locals and 50,000-plus foreigners to complement the highly-anticipated sporting event.
The Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa), Hotel Sales and Marketing Association, Tourism Congress of the Philippines, PATA Philippines Chapter, and a consortium of 10 travel agencies will offer attractive airfares, hotels and tour rates from August 1 to September 30, shared Philtoa president Fe Abling-Yu.
Southeast Travel Corp. general manager Marlene Insigne said the tour packages will be sold through a travel app or an online booking site which will also be clickable from the FIBA World Cup Philippines website, as well as on the Department of Tourism (DoT) website, all social media apps of DoT attachés and regional offices, participating hotels and resorts, and the consortium of 10 tour operators.
Insigne added that the link will also be available to the different social media apps of the national basketball association Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, and other sites of Cignal TV.
Manila, Jakarta and Okinawa will co-host the World Cup from August 25 to September 30, of which out of 92 games, 52 will be in Manila as well as the final phase between September 5-10.
“Sporting events are always a big boost to domestic tourism and the FIBA Basketball World Cup, by its sheer number of spectators from abroad and from the country, is going to be a big contributor to further growing tourism this year,” Abling-Yu said on the sidelines of the launch of Philtoa’s 34th Philippine Travel Mart (September 1-3, 2023).
Other sources commented that the preparations to drumbeat Philippine tourism is “super late” and “rushed”, adding that it would have a far greater impact if the tourism aspects were given sufficient time, thought, planning and preparation.
When asked whether metro Manila is prepared for the scores of VIPs and spectators, Arjun Shroff, managing director, Shroff International Travelcare, remarked: “(Thinking of) how to take care of them is a beautiful issue to worry about as hotels are set and ready for the big crowd that will be distributed all over, including Alabang and Quezon City.”
He added: “The World Cup will definitely elevate August, normally a shoulder season, into a peak season.”
Amadeus has joined forces with China’s retail platform, Meituan, in a partnership that will bring more benefits to the users on both sides.
Hoteliers using iHotelier Channel Management’s network of 400+ global and local channels will be able to connect directly to Meituan to share their availability, rates and inventory, further maximising their distribution capabilities and driving demand to their properties.
Meanwhile, Meituan’s platform is favoured among millennials in China, and enables its hundreds of millions of users to book anything from restaurants, movie tickets and travel itineraries. With this new partnership, Meituan will give its users access to new hotel content across the world.
“We’re happy to partner with Amadeus to expand the hotel inventory on our platform. We’re confident that together, we can boost travel bookings and help more travellers build better journeys,” said Vincent Xie, general manager, overseas lodging, Meituan.
“(Meituan’s) understanding of the market and user experience in China is unparalleled. We are proud to enable our iHotelier customers to connect to Meituan users,” added Malcolm Cheong, general manager, hospitality, China, Amadeus.
SC Capital Partners (SCCP) has teamed up with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) to acquire a portfolio of 27 resort hotels in Japan from Daiwa House Industry.
The hotels are in major tourist destinations across Japan, capturing both domestic and inbound demand. The investment strategy will focus on increasing top-line revenue, rebranding initiatives, improving distribution channels, and refurbishment works.
The portfolio was acquired for approximately US$900 million and includes a total of 7,124 keys. Japan Hotel REIT Advisors Co. (JHRA) will play an integral role in capturing the recovery and maximising the further growth of the portfolio.
Suchad Chiaranussati, chairman and founder of SCCP Group, said: “This is a rare opportunity to acquire one of the largest and most prominent hotel portfolios in Japan. The extensive platform and network we have built in Japan over the last 13 years, particularly in the hospitality space, puts us in a unique position to capitalise on the long-term relative value of this highly sought-after sector.”
“Japan’s real estate sector continues to deliver superior returns, and the country’s hotel market is well positioned for growth from the rebound of travel,” added Mohamed Al Qubaisi, executive director, real estate department, ADIA.
Meanwhile, Takashi Murata, global co-head of GSAM is confident that these assets in Japan are “well-situated to benefit from the rebound” and through the implementation of their strategy, will be “positioned to attract further demand and generate differentiated returns”.
South Korea’s ONDA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CMH Solutions to expand and digital transform the Turkish hotel industry.
Under the agreement, ONDA will offer its cloud-based hotel management solution to hotels in the Turkish market, initially providing its SaaS-based hotel management solutions to hotels that CMH Solutions newly opens this year. ONDA also plans to expand its offering to a broader range of CMH-operated hotels in the future.
Since last year, ONDA has provided its property management system to luxury chain hotels and resorts, including Ananti at Gangnam. It has also built strong partnerships with global technology companies through the online room distribution system ONDA Hub.
Operating over 25 large hotels and resorts, CMH Solutions will be spearheading the distribution of ONDA’s cloud-based hotel management solutions in Turkey.
This collaboration will further develop the existing relations between the two countries, with the introduction of ONDA’s branded hotels in Turkey, including SoTA (State of The Art) Collection.
CMH Solutions will undertake the development, construction, and operation of ONDA-branded hotels in the country, while ONDA will provide the SaaS hotel management solutions.
Gardens by the Bay in Singapore presents its latest floral display in the Flower Dome – Orchid Extravaganza: Orchids of the East Tropics.
The new exhibit explores the botanical connection of the orchid, a flower that has been widely hybridised into a multitude of diverse and beautiful forms, where many popular hybrids in the region have origins that can be traced back to native orchids of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
From now to September 17, Orchid Extravaganza: Orchids of the East Tropics will showcase elements that unite the five countries – from orchids to architecture to culture. It will display more than 7,000 orchids, including the native species from each country.
There will also be recreations of traditional houses from each of the five countries, such as the ancestral house of the Torajan people in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, with its boat-shaped roof; and other cultural elements showcased such as traditional games, artefacts, music instruments, and more.
In addition, Love, Kebaya, a travelling exhibition curated by Singapore’s National Heritage Board will return to Gardens by the Bay. The exhibition takes visitors on a journey to discover the iconic kebaya, and its significance to the region’s shared cultural identity and living heritage.
For more information, visit Orchid Extravaganza 2023.
Shangri-La Singapore has welcomed Xavier Pougnard back as its hotel manager.
With a career spanning 23 years, Pougnard brings with him a wealth of experience in operating international five-star luxury hotels in key cities across Asia, Egypt, and the US since 1996.
Previously at Shangri-La Singapore from 2014 to 2019, he returns to the hotel from his most recent role as store leader at Apple Singapore, and will be responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the hotel.
