Country Inn Premier – The Prominence, Dehradun, which opens in August, has appointed Sarthak Mathur as its operations manager.
With over 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry, he brings a wealth of expertise to the hotel. He will be responsible for all aspects of hotel operations.
He previously worked with Marriott International and Radisson Hotel Group.
Rapid growth in international arrivals this year has strengthened Japan’s tourism rebound, but not all parts of the country are seeing equal recovery.
Japan welcomed 1.9 million visitors in May, equating to 68.5 per cent of the number in May 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
Destinations that were popular pre-pandemic are showing a faster rebound than others, particularly Tokyo, which hosted three million international overnight visitors in March, a 20 per cent increase on March 2019. The prefectures of Kyoto and Ishikawa (home to Kanazawa also known as “little Kyoto”) have also rebounded strongly, reporting visitor numbers at 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Niigata Prefecture, meanwhile, welcomed only 70 per cent of the number of visitors it did pre-pandemic, prompting the local government to launch a new promotion of the famous snow sports area as a year-round destination.
“We would like to attract more visitors in summer to places like Sado Island and bring the number of foreign tourists to the pre-Covid level,” said a prefectural government representative.
Officials have attributed each region’s degree of rebound to ease of access and availability of travel and destination information.
International arrivals at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport reached 98 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in May, while local airports have an average international arrival recovery rate of 16 per cent, largely due to the slower resumption of international flights, according to aviation intelligence company OAG.
Still, regions that welcome chartered flights, such as Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku and Toyama Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, which both resumed chartered flights from Taiwan in the spring, are showing a faster recovery, albeit also thanks to innovative campaigns such as Toyama’s tie-up with Airnnb to offer a free stay in one of the prefecture’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed villages.
Tochigi Prefecture is also enjoying a strong rebound, according to a prefectural government representative who attributed proximity to Tokyo as a key factor.
Singapore is now officially the most powerful passport in the world according to the Henley Passport Index, which is based on exclusive and official data from IATA, knocking Japan off the top spot for the first time in five years.
Coming in first, Singapore passport holders are able to visit 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free.
Germany, Italy, and Spain all move up into second place with visa-free access to 190 destinations, while Japan, now shares third place with six other nations – Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden –with access to 189 destinations without a prior visa.
The UK jumps up two places on the latest ranking to fourth place while the US plummeted a further two places to eighth spot with access to just 184 destinations visa-free.
Of the countries sitting in the Top 10, the US has seen the smallest increase in its score on the Henley Passport Index over the past decade, securing visa-free access to just 12 additional destinations between 2013 and 2023. Singapore, by comparison, has increased its score by 25, pushing it five places up the ranking over the past 10 years to number one spot.
The three weakest passports in the world includes Afghanistan, which remains entrenched at the bottom of the Henley Passport Index, with a visa-free access score of just 27, followed by Iraq (score of 29), and Syria (score of 30).
Meanwhile, Henley & Partners has conducted exclusive new research into the relationship between a country’s openness to foreigners – how many nations it allows to cross its borders visa-free – and its own citizens’ travel freedom, gauged using the Henley Passport Index.
The new Henley Openness Index ranks all 199 countries worldwide according to the number of nationalities they permit entry to without a prior visa.
The Top 20 ‘most open’ countries are all small island nations or African states, except for Cambodia. There are 12 completely open countries that offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to all 198 passports in the world (not counting their own), namely: Burundi, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives, Micronesia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu.
At the bottom of the Henley Openness Index, four countries score zero, permitting no visa-free access for any passport – Afghanistan, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, and Turkmenistan. They are followed by five countries that provide visa-free access to fewer than five other nationalities – Libya, Bhutan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, and India.
Trip.com Group has introduced a series of enhanced services aimed at empowering travellers through AI-led capabilities and knowledge.
To ensure a seamless and hassle-free booking experience for its users, the group has launched a series of AI-enhanced curated lists, which include Trip.Trends, Trip.Best, and Trip.Deals.
Trip.Best enables global travellers to select the best experiences a destination has to offer, including flights, hotels, and attractions, as well as lifestyle choices such as restaurants, nightlife, bars, and shows. This list is curated by examining various travel products on Trip.com and scoring them based on an algorithm, with only the top one per cent of products featured.
Trip.Deals is designed for budget-conscious users who are looking for the best deals on flights, accommodation, and travel destinations. The list is curated based on various factors, such as historical and projected price changes, as well as current travel expenses.
Trip.Trends tracks the most popular travel topics and events in different markets, based on user searches across various platforms including Trip.com, mainstream online search engines, and social media. This feature provides users with up-to-date information on the most exciting and current activities and events worldwide and in their local areas.
Speaking at Trip.com Group’s AI-driven strategy press conference, James Liang, co-founder and executive chairman of the board, Trip.com Group, said: “Tourism will continue to be an important industry in a smart society, as it satisfies people’s innate desire to travel and explore. Artificial intelligence cannot replace this experience but can help to advance it.”
With the Kota Kinabalu-Beijing and Kota Kinabalu-Macau inaugural flights registering more than 90 per cent of seats filled, AirAsia is confident these newly-launched routes will continue to receive a strong demand from tourists and travellers.
The maiden flight from Beijing on July 2 recorded 172 guests (92 per cent full) and the inaugural flight from Macau on July 16 welcomed 169 guests (93 per cent full).
AirAsia’s mid-haul airline, AirAsia X (AAX) also recorded a remarkable load factor for its first flight from Chengdu (Tianfu) to Kuala Lumpur on July 1 with 376 passengers (99 per cent full). Based on the increasing forward demand, AAX has recently increased the frequency from twice weekly to thrice weekly.
“The impressive load factors from AirAsia will not only foster stronger international relations and open up new opportunities for economic growth and cultural exchanges for Sabah as a whole, but also bring us a step closer to achieving our aim of registering more 2.2 million tourist arrivals this year,” said Christina Liew, minister of tourism, culture and environment Sabah.
“We are on the right course for a steady tourism recovery and we welcome AirAsia’s commitment in increasing its flight frequencies and launching more flight services in support of the government’s relentless efforts to boost the tourism industry in Sabah.”
AirAsia now operates 21 domestic and international routes to the state with a total of 300 flights weekly to/from Sabah, now with the addition of daily flights to/from Beijing and four weekly flights to/from Macau.
AirAsia Malaysia currently flies 14 routes to/from China with over 104 flights weekly from Kuala Lumpur to Guilin, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Kunming, Shenzhen, Nanning, Shantou and Macau; Kota Kinabalu to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Beijing and Macau; and Johor Bahru to Guangzhou.
AAX flies four routes to/from China with over 22 flights weekly from Kuala Lumpur to Chengdu (Tianfu), Beijing (Daxing), Shanghai, and Hangzhou.
“With the strong demand for more China flights from this hub, we look forward to increasing the frequency and adding more routes in the future,” said Riad Asmat, CEO, AirAsia Malaysia.
Thai Airways International Public Company (THAI) has strengthened its airline route network with the Bangkok-Yangon and Bangkok-Dhaka services, both of which commenced on July 16.
The airline will operate 14 flights per week between Bangkok and Yangon, while the services between Bangkok and Dhaka will increase from three to seven flights per week.
THAI also currently operates flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Dhaka.
In conjunction with Shark Awareness Day, Resorts World Sentosa adds two new offerings to its range of scuba diving programmes at S.E.A. Aquarium.
Visitors can learn about sharks at the new AWARE Shark Conservation Specialty course, while the PADI Discover Scuba Diving programme offers unique opportunities for marine life lovers to explore the underwater world below.
Priced at S$488 (US$369) and designed for certified divers aged 12 years and above, participants will learn about the importance of shark conservation during the AWARE Shark Conservation Specialty course, and experience swimming alongside over 100 sharks from 12 different species.
They will also learn about the value of sharks to marine ecosystems and economies, causes of declining shark populations, and how to become a shark defender during the eight-hour sessions held Tuesdays to Fridays for up to four participants.
S.E.A. Aquarium’s PADI Discover Scuba Diving is designed for non-divers aged 10 years and above, with two-hour sessions held Tuesdays to Fridays for up to four participants. It is priced from S$299 per head.
Diving into the Open Ocean Habitat, the largest habitat within S.E.A. Aquarium, participants will have fun picking up and practising new scuba skills under the guidance of experienced PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) professionals, while getting to know and develop appreciation for the underwater world. They will also be presented a certificate upon completion of the course.
For more information, visit Resorts World Sentosa Singapore.
Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) has appointed Nizran bin Noordin as its new director general.
He will lead ITC to greater heights through transformational initiatives that capitalise on muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality.
With over 23 years of experience, he was formerly the group chief executive officer and executive director of Majuperak Holdings.
Hyatt Centric Melbourne has named Mark Foxwell as the new general manager. He will be responsible for all aspects of the hotel operations.
He has over 28 years of experience with Hyatt, including 14 years in general management roles in Australia, Japan and China.
IATA has advised Sri Lanka to develop an aviation blueprint so as to generate greater economic growth and prosperity through having a stronger aviation industry.
IATA’s regional vice president for Asia-Pacific, Philip Goh, pointed out that “aviation connectivity can play a much bigger role in Sri Lanka’s economic development and social advancement” but requires government support in “developing Colombo as an aviation hub”.
He said that IATA is ready to provide support, and that the government and industry stakeholders need to “collaborate on developing an aviation blueprint to strengthen the aviation industry’s competitiveness and bring greater prosperity to Sri Lanka”.
IATA’s study in 2018 showed that Sri Lanka’s aviation sector supported some 700,000 jobs and contributed US$8 billion to the GDP, with the potential to increase to over one million jobs contributing nearly US$30 billion to the GDP by 2038.
During his keynote speech at Aviation Day Sri Lanka, organised by IATA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL), Goh suggested three areas to consider in the aviation blueprint: facilitating sustainable growth, safety, and sustainability.
Under facilitating sustainable growth, Goh said: “Sri Lanka’s aviation blueprint needs to facilitate the sustainable growth of the industry and having an updated airport masterplan is the first step. I urge the government to engage in a consultative approach involving airlines to ensure that industry input is factored in.”
He urged Sri Lanka to digitise processes for passenger and cargo facilitation, and that doing so will address capacity constraints, increase efficiency and improve the travel experience.
While recognising much has been done in recent months to lower the cost of jet fuel, Goh suggested that the government should review and consider placing limits or capping the amount on marked up fuel supply at the airport.
Goh also stressed the importance of staying safe while growing sustainably. IATA will support the aviation industry in Sri Lanka by conducting safety related training in August for CAASL and Sri Lankan Airlines, by utilising the International Airlines Training Fund. He also encouraged the government to explore how the IATA Operational Safety Audit and IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations can be used to contribute to greater aviation safety in Sri Lanka.
Finally, Goh called on the government to adopt a comprehensive consultation process involving airlines and other aviation stakeholders as the government develops sustainability policies, such as ensuring the availability of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in the country.
