UNWTO digs deeper to uncover more top tourism villages
Following two successful editions of its hunt for the world’s most outstanding tourism villages that are able to drive rural development and local well-being, UNWTO has opened its third call for applications to its Best Tourism Villages initiative.
Launched in 2021, the initiative is one of the pillars of UNWTO Tourism for Rural Development Programme. It has recognised more than 70 tourism villages from almost 40 countries. Qualification is determined by an independent advisory board based on a set of criteria covering nine areas, including Cultural and Natural Resources; Economic Sustainability; Tourism Development and Value Chain Integration; and Health, Safety, and Security.
Here in Asia, the tourism villages of Malaysia’s Batu Puteh; Philippines’ Bojo; Japan’s Miyama; Indonesia’s Nglanggeran; India’s Pochampally; South Korea’s The Purple Island, Ungok and Pyeongsa-ri; China’s Xidi, Yucun, Dazhai and Jingzhu; and Vietnam’s Thái Hải were awarded the recognition over the last two years.
Besides recognising tourism villages that meet all nine stringent requirements, the initiative also encompasses an Upgrade Programme, which helps villages just shy of making the cut to address gaps identified in the evaluation process; and the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Network, which brings representatives of both recognised villages and those in the Upgrade Programme together to trade experiences and good practices.
UNWTO secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Tourism can make a real difference for rural communities, delivering jobs, supporting businesses and celebrating and protecting traditions. Through Best Tourism Villages, UNWTO is recognising those rural destinations that committed to making tourism a pillar of opportunity and well-being.”
UNWTO’s Members States can present up to eight villages through their National Tourism Administrations (NTAs) and via this form.
Applications will close on June 23, 2023, and the winners announced later this year.
Minor Hotels names Craig Cochrane as chief people officer
Craig Cochrane has been appointed as the new chief people officer of Minor Hotels.
He will oversee people and culture functions for Minor Hotels in his new role, including employee engagement, maintaining a strong company culture and leading learning and development programmes for the group.
Cochrane joins Minor Hotels from Accor Hotels where he served as senior vice president of talent & culture – Turkey, India, Middle East & Africa.
Singapore Tourism Board, Flight Centre Travel Group to boost travel to the city-state
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) have inked a three-year multi-million-dollar Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive increased visitation to Singapore via FCTG’s global network.
This is FCTG’s first global agreement with a destination partner since the pandemic, which will see both partners teaming up to jointly promote Singapore in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, Canada and South Africa. In addition to mono-destination holiday packages, dedicated “stayover” packages will be developed to entice visitors to stay and experience Singapore before continuing their longhaul journey.
Aside from joint marketing campaigns, the partnership will also set aside support for FCTG consultants to deepen their knowledge about Singapore through training and familiarisation experiences. These efforts will equip agents with up-to-date information about Singapore and effectively make them tourism ambassadors of Singapore, sharing their experience and knowledge with prospective travellers around the world.
“This MoU underscores just how much FCTG values Singapore as a major player in the Asia-Pacific travel market. Now that more of the region’s carriers have resumed routes through Singapore, FCTG is excited to work with STB to cast the limelight back on the city and remind the world just what a spectacular travel destination Singapore is,” said Graham Turner, CEO of FCTG.
STB’s chief executive Keith Tan added: “STB will be able to showcase the many new hotels, experiences and attractions that have been launched in the past few years, so that travellers can experience even more of our beloved Singapore – our City in Nature.”
HK Express to restart Takamatsu-Hong Kong service
Flight services from Takamatsu (Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku) to Hong Kong will resume from April 16.
The flights will operate three times a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays) from April 16 to October 26.
Detailed schedules, including flight names and arrival/departure times at Takamatsu Airport, will be determined and announced in due course.
American Airlines to offer new fares on Sabre
Sabre Corporation and American Airlines (AA) have teamed up to make the airline’s NDC offers available to travellers through Sabre’s global distribution system (GDS).
Starting on April 3, Sabre-connected travel buyers, agencies and developer partners will be able to shop, book, and service AA’s NDC content, including paid seats, through Sabre’s Offer and Order APIs, the agency point-of-sale tool, Sabre Red 360, and the online booking tool, GetThere.
Thomas Rajan, vice president, global sales at American Airlines, commented: “Through Sabre’s network of travel retailers, we’ll be able to provide our enhanced, rich NDC content to travellers worldwide. This will open new business opportunities to American Airlines as well as our travel retail partners, and deliver a better, more tailored experience to the customers we all serve.”
Travel buyers connected to the Sabre GDS will be able to choose enhanced offers from AA such as the Main Select and Flagship Business Plus fares, ancillary products and the lowest fares available in these channels. They will also have access to more descriptive information on AA’s flight offers as well as seat selection enabled in the booking path.
“While it is still early days for NDC bookings, making this rich NDC content from the world’s largest airline available in Sabre channels is an important step towards the maturing and scaling of NDC distribution,” said Kathy Morgan, vice president, NDC and airline supply, Sabre Travel Solutions.
Travelport, Saudia Airlines renew distribution agreement
Travelport and Saudia Airlines have extended their partnership with the signing of a multi-year extension on their distribution agreement.
The agreement will see Travelport continue to provide travel agencies around the world real-time access to Saudia Airlines’ wide selection of travel content, products and services.
Travelport will also continue to collaborate closely with Saudia Airlines to execute Travelport Rich Content and Branding initiatives, streamlining service procedures, and delivering a modern travel retail experience.
Arved von zur Muehlen, chief commercial officer at Saudia Airlines, commented: “Travel distribution is under rapid transformation and we are working to widen our network and product offerings. Travelport is an established partner to support Saudia’s growth and product differentiation and personalisation strategy.”
David Gomes, head of commercial, air partners EMEA at Travelport, added: “With our Travelport+ platform, we are committed to work closely with partners like Saudia Airlines to deliver a superior, modern travel retailing experience with a wider range of choice and richer content for our customers.”
New hotels: Le Méridien Melbourne, Capella Sydney and more
Le Méridien Melbourne, Australia
Originally built in the 1850s, Le Méridien Melbourne overlooks the Parliament House, Spring Street, and the east of Melbourne.
The property offers 235 guest rooms including 14 suites, and comprises facilities such as a rooftop pool, gym, café, bar, restaurant, and conference venues.
The hotel also offers on-site parking, and high-speed Internet access.
Capella Sydney, Australia
Capella Sydney boasts 192 guestrooms and suites that features a bespoke collection of vegan, sustainable in-room amenities designed in partnership with Haeckels.
The hotel also features a lounge area, known as Aperture, which occupies the original courtyard of the old building, as well as two drink-and-dine venues, spa, and heated indoor pool.
Guests can join the walking tour and hear stories about the history of the Department of Education building, now Capella Sydney, and learn about the culture, crime and convicts that shaped the city.
The Aviary Hotel, Cambodia
Celebrating the beauty and diversity of Cambodia’s culture, art and wildlife, The Aviary Hotel is a 43-room boutique establishment offering four room types – the Sambok, Tailorbird, Kingfisher, and Sarus Crane.
On-site are two pools, spa, salon, and dining and retail concept, The Aviary Square.
TRYP by Wyndham Pulteney Street Adelaide, Australia
TRYP by Wyndham Pulteney Street Adelaide is set in the heart of Adelaide’s central business district.
The 120-key hotel is within walking distance of multicultural restaurants, bars, decorated laneways, and boutique shopping at the Adelaide Central Markets and Rundle Mall.
Just a short drive from Adelaide Airport, the hotel is just minutes away from football and cricket matches at Adelaide Oval, Glenelg Beach, and the Adelaide Zoo.
A fun family wellness holiday at The Farm
The Farm at San Benito is offering holistic healing and transformative retreats for families with curated creative activities for the kids – even furry members are welcomed!
Located in Lipa, Batangas, just a 90-minute drive from Manila, families seeking the ultimate getaway can indulge in The Farm’s immersive wellness experience, with medically supervised health programmes carried out by internationally-trained medical doctors and licensed health professionals.
Both adults and little ones can also enjoy spa treatments, including body scrubs and massages.
Together, families can Indulge in water therapy at the Family Acqua Wellness, or retreat to one of The Farm’s luxury pool villas to relax and cool off by the pool.
With so many activities available, children are kept occupied with creative Mandala Flower Meditation, yoga, kite flying, organic farm tour and vegetable picking, pet feeding, arts & crafts, and more.
For F&B, the vegan restaurant serves up dishes made from all-natural ingredients grown and hand-picked from the resort’s organic garden. An outdoor family picnic in the gardens can also be arranged by The Farm.
For more information, email reservationsteam@thefarm.com.ph.
TTG Conversations: Five Questions with Kurt Weinsheimer, Sojern
ChatGPT is one of the most powerful and exciting communications innovations in recent times, with clear beneficial use cases for travel and tourism companies, says Kurt Weinsheimer, chief solutions officer at Sojern.
In this episode of TTG Conversations: Five Questions, Weinsheimer discusses the potential uses as well as limitations of ChatGPT for travel and tourism companies, how Sojern is harnessing ChatGPT, AI and big data for more precise traveller engagement, how ChatGPT will change the role of content creators and marketers, and more.
Hong Kong’s tourism industry has clawed back 49 per cent of pre-pandemic traffic for the March 2023 period, with daily arrivals hitting 82,0000 for the same month.
This compares with a weaker 32 per cent of pre-pandemic traffic and just 16,000 daily arrivals in February 2023.
Speaking at Hong Kong Tourism Board’s (HKTB) annual Tourism Overview on March 30, executive director Dane Cheng said a major rebound would happen in 2H2023, allowing the destination to meet its arrival target of 25.8 million by the end of the year.
The event, themed, Striding Forward in a Steady Recovery, reflects HKTB’s confidence.
Cheng said: “Our estimated 26 million arrivals would equate to 40 per cent of pre-pandemic traffic. I think we may do better, but there are a lot of factors at play.”
He shared HKTB’s four strategic focuses for recovery: driving strong recovery across all travel-related sectors; strengthening Hong Kong as an event capital; developing the Greater Bay Area for tourism and multi-destination tourism; and maintaining close partnership with the trade and enhancing the service quality.
Citing an example for the fourth focus, Cheng said training is being provided to more than 1,500 tour escorts and guides, to arm them with better cultural and heritage knowledge.
More details on source market performance were provided during the market update sessions. Short-haul markets in South-east Asia has returned to 47 per cent of pre-pandemic numbers, with Thailand leading the way, followed by Singapore and the Philippines.
HKTB will conduct travel trade missions to Kuala Lumpur and Manila this May, followed by Jakarta and Bangkok in July, to deepen engagements and secure more business conversions.
The China market is expected to recover gradually for a start. The market has returned to 51 per cent of pre-pandemic traffic in March, with 64,000 visitors per day. Arrivals from Guangdong province dominate, as air access from other parts of China to Hong Kong remains limited. At press time, only 40 per cent air of pre-pandemic air capacity is back, with connections between Hong Kong and 26 Chinese cities. Before, Hong Kong had flights to 43 Chinese cities.
HKTB noted strong pent-up demand among Chinese travellers, especially those aged 20 to 39. It aims to convert same-day travellers to overnight guests via immersive travel experiences offered by new and improved attractions and infrastructures.
While HKTB chairman Pang Yiu-kai is confident in Hong Kong’s tourism recovery, he acknowledged that the journey would be progressive.
“We believed that the ramp-up period is typical in other destinations, and so are the issues faced by our travel trade. It would take time (for transportation to resume) due to lack of labour.”