Santika Indonesia Hotels and Resorts is planning to open more hotels in third-tier destinations to spur deeper tourism flow into the country.
Santika Lahat in South Sumatera, Santika Premiere Lampung City, and Santika Linggarjati, Cirebon West Java are targeted to open between May and August this year, while Santika Blitar in East Java and Santika Cibadak West Java will welcome first guests around the end of 2023.
Santika’s Sudarsana (centre) believes that the right accommodation supply in lesser-known destinations can create travel demand
Sudarsana, general manager business development of Santika Indonesia Hotels and Resorts, told TTG Asia that experience have shown that the right accommodation supply in lesser-known destinations can create travel demand.
Citing Garut in West Java as an example, Sudarsana said tourism potential there used to be stifled by the lack of properly developed and managed hotels.
“As soon as we opened our hotel (Hotel Santika Garut), business came to us,” he remarked.
Similarly, Gunung Kidul Regency in the southern part of Yogyakarta boasts new tourist attractions, but accommodation is lacking.
“Travellers to Yogyakarta stay in town and take (an hour or so) to get to the attractions. The opening of (Hotel Santika Gunungkidul-Jogja) has not only attracted leisure travellers (to the destination), but also business events as we have sizeable ballrooms there,” he said.
Meanwhile, the group continues to expand its portfolio in developed and popular cities, such as Jakarta and Bandung. Amaris Kalimalang in Jakarta and Santika Pasir Kali in Bandung are scheduled to launch this March.
These 2023 openings will inject an additional 1,500 rooms to Santika’s current inventory of 17,000 keys across 112 hotels in Indonesia.
Nobu Hospitality and Enevoria Development have signed an agreement to build a beachfront Nobu hotel and 300 Nobu-branded residences on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah.
The large-scale project, occupying a total area of 70,000m², will include a spa and fitness facility, swimming pools, and the exclusive Nobu restaurant featuring contemporary Japanese cuisine.
Nobu Hospitality and Enevoria Development will develop a Nobu hotel and 300 residences on Al Marjan Island
The second Nobu hotel to open in the UAE, Nobu Al Marjan Island, will further boost the hospitality sector of Ras Al Khaimah, which has recorded sustained growth in tourist arrivals in line with the leadership’s strategy to promote destination tourism and position the Emirate as a global hub.
Trevor Horwell, CEO of Nobu Hospitality, commented: “The charm of Al Marjan Island is the ideal setting for our guests and in developing a community who are seeking an authentic destination lifestyle and living experience.”
In 2022, Ras Al Khaimah recorded its highest visitor numbers, welcoming more than 1.13 million overnight arrivals, marking a 40 per cent increase in international visitors. This shows that the Emirate is right on track to achieve the target of attracting three million visitors year-on-year by 2030.
With the post-Covid recovery, airports and airlines are looking to accelerate their investment in technology to digitalise their operations and speed up the passenger journey by offering more self-service options, revealed SITA’s 2022 Air Transport IT Insights report.
The industry’s IT spend is projected to continue its steady year-on-year growth trend since 2020 to support this push for digitalisation, with a full 96% of airlines and 93% of airports expecting their IT spend to stay the same or increase in 2023, compared to 2022.
Airlines and airports are investing in key technologies to ensure travellers experience a smooth journey
Last year, airline and airport IT spend rose to an estimated US$37 billion and US$6.8 billion respectively.
David Lavorel, CEO, SITA, said: “Air travel has recovered faster from the pandemic than anyone in the industry had initially expected, particularly in Europe and the US.
“While the recovery is welcome, airports and airlines have found themselves on the back foot with staff and resource shortages. This has put strain on operations, resulting in an increased risk of congestion, delays, cancellations and mishandled baggage. Digitalisation is seen as key to addressing these challenges, providing more scalability and flexibility.”
Digitalising operations to achieve more with less
Airlines are placing great emphasis on IT tools to manage irregular operations and provide the best passenger experience possible even amid staff shortages.
Over the next three years, 90% or more of airlines are investing in IT service management enhancement and disruption warning systems, as well as business intelligence initiatives for aircraft turnaround management, passenger processing, and baggage processing.
Business intelligence solutions are at the forefront of airport IT investment priorities too, with 93% or more planning business intelligence initiatives for asset management and flight operations by 2025.
The emphasis on agility, adaptability to disruption, and prompt communication with customers and stakeholders is clear – by 2025, half of airports are seeking to implement automated predictive alerts prior to flight disruption events, as well as business intelligence initiatives to enable scaling of operations based on demand.
Streamlining the passenger journey with smart technologies
Both airlines and airports are investing in key technologies to smooth the passenger experience across every step of the journey, to help curb bottlenecks and in turn allow redistribution of key staff resource to focus on more complex tasks. Biometrics and self-service technologies are seeing major emphasis.
Airlines have identified self-service technologies as key to help manage irregular operations, and this remained their top investment priority in 2022, with touchless solutions and biometric ID management following closely.
To support effective baggage management and empower passengers following a period of significant disruption, a majority of airlines plan to provide real-time baggage tracking information to passengers by 2025.
Airports are similarly prioritising self-service initiatives, placing strong emphasis on self-check-in and self-bag drop, with 86% planning implementation by 2025.
Airports’ implementation of a secure single biometric token across all touchpoints has surged from just 3% in 2021 to 39% in 2022, with over half planning implementation over the next three years.
This signals a strong commitment to the next-generation travel experience where passengers can breeze through the airport using their face as their boarding pass.
Sublime Samui Villas (SSV), a villa management specialist operating on a consultancy basis in the Samui market since 2016, has launched a dedicated office offering exclusive property management and marketing services to a portfolio of luxury private villas in Koh Samui.
With the objective of being a ‘One-Stop Solution’, the company is already well-known on the island, with an understanding of the needs of both customers and owners, as well as a network of contacts including owners, guests, partners and suppliers.
Sublime Samui Villas has opened a one-stop solution office to offer property management and marketing services to luxury private villas in Koh Samui; Baan Sang at Five Islands Estate pictured
It also has international links to partners, global and local agents, photographers, media, influencers and press connections to build visibility and drive bookings for its clients.
Founder and managing director, Frank Jerusalem said: “We believe that there is an opportunity to provide a highly-experienced and personalised service to villa owners. We want to build a portfolio of the island’s finest properties and provide owners and their guests with exceptional signature services and operational standards.”
With an experienced, highly motivated and committed-to-service-excellence team in place, and most importantly, based in Samui, it will enable SSV to respond quickly and provide on-site support and peace of mind for overseas owners.
SSV management services include comprehensive commercial and legal responsibility for its properties, as well as preventive maintenance and regular inspections.
Jerusalem added: “SSV provides a private chef service with the island’s best connoisseur chefs, offering Thai and world cuisine, private airport pick-up services for every guest, personal welcome for each guest at their villa, and on-site assistance for the villa manager throughout the stay.”
Set amid the homelands of the Hmong community, Avana Retreat is featuring new Batik (traditional painting and dyeing) classes led by a local Hmong artist.
The classes will be held at Avana Retreat’s 50-year-old Stilt House, an on-site museum, to help guests connect with the local customs and traditions.
Learn the art of Batik conducted at Avana Retreat’s Stilt House museum
The sessions will introduce to participants a beeswax art and indigo-dyeing technique that has been used for generations in the surrounding highlands.
Complimentary 60-minute sessions are held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with guests learning about the beeswax painting process – each participant will get to create their own unique patterns or use traditional Hmong designs.
There is a paid option for a 2.5-hour comprehensive class that is more hands-on and only available by reservation.
Avana Retreat also offers a tour of a nearby Hmong craft village where guests can watch this intricate art being created with a deeper knowledge of the story behind it.
Private workshops cost from US$50-75 per person and are only available to in-house guests.
Jeremie de Fombelle has been named as The Lux Collective’s chief sales and marketing officer.
With over two decades of leadership and operational experience in luxury hospitality management, he will focus on awareness-driving strategies for the company’s portfolio of brands globally across channels.
Based in Mauritius since 2014, he was most recently regional general manager for Mauritius and Reunion Island for Lux* Resorts & Hotels.
Dusit International has appointed Makoto Yamashita as pre-opening general manager of ASAI Kyoto Shijo and area general manager – Kyoto, Japan.
Bringing more than 30 years of marketing and operational experience to the role, he will be responsible for spearheading the opening of ASAI Kyoto Shijo and Dusit Thani Kyoto, ensuring both properties meet their financial and operational objectives.
Prior to joining Dusit, Yamashita was area general manager of Mori Trust Hotels & Resorts in Tokyo and Nagano.
Continued destination marketing under the ASEAN banner as well as the progressive relaxation and removal of travel restrictions by member states throughout 2022 have yielded more positive tourism numbers for the South-east Asian region.
At the February 5 press conference concluding the 26th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers (26th M-ATM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, meeting chair Sandiaga Uno, minister of tourism and creative economy, Indonesia, noted that destinations in the economic grouping have altogether achieved a 1,706.61 per cent year-on-year increase in tourism receipts based on preliminary figures for 2022.
Tourism ministers of the 10 ASEAN member states and their economic partners met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia last week during ATF 2023
ASEAN member states have also recorded 1,222.99 per cent year-on-year increase in international arrivals, while hotel rate occupancy has improved by 16 per cent over the same period.
Destination marketing efforts fuelling the return of tourists to the region include social media content, digital campaigns and activities bearing the new brand and tagline, A Destination for Every Dream.
The Meeting emphasised the need for member states to deepen their collaboration with relevant partners in the areas of destination marketing. It also commended initiatives that were supported by external partners, such as the Intra-ASEAN Tourism Recovery Campaign, which received support from the Canadian Trade and Investment Facility for Development, as well as ASEAN’s collaboration with regional travel trade publisher and event organiser TTG Asia Media and the Sub-Regional Secretariats to amplify the call to visit South-east Asia.
Focus ahead will be on accomplishing even more key measures under the Post-Covid-19 Recovery Plan for ASEAN Tourism. These include developing regional cruise tourism and the promotion of new and lesser known destinations in the region.
Sandiaga recognises that connectivity improvements – not just within South-east Asia but also from markets outside of the region – are crucial for ASEAN member states to achieve these joint tourism goals.
In the case of Indonesia, direct flights to and from India are still lacking despite the latter being the “lowest of the low-hanging fruits” for tourism.
Philippine Tourism secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said tourism heads have agreed to work on boosting air lift by identifying airports that can be used to operate additional direct flights for the purpose of driving tourism flow into both key and emerging destinations.
She added that some of the new flights – either scheduled or chartered – may be launched this year for routes within South-east Asia as well as to and from ASEAN-Plus Three partners China, India and South Korea.
Tourism development across the region will also consider responsible and inclusive growth for all, and the need for greater digitalisation.
Laos, a landlocked country traversed by the Mekong River and known for its natural beauty, French colonial architecture and Buddhist monasteries, will play host to ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) from January 15 to 19, 2024.
TRAVEX meetings between buyers and sellers will be held at Laos ITECC Exhibition Centre in capital city Vientiane. Meetings among ASEAN tourism government bodies and private sector tourism organisations will also be hosted in Vientiane but the venue has not been finalised at press time.
Sengsoda (second from left): many new discoveries in Laos
There will be organised tours for buyers and media to Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.
Sengsoda Vanthanouvong, deputy director-general of Tourism Marketing Department, shared that approximately 350 sellers from South-east Asia and 200 foreign buyers are expected next year.
Sharing excitement about her country playing host next year, she said: “It will be an opportunity for Laos to showcase new products and services in Vientiane and elsewhere, as well as our local hospitality to tourism professionals.
“So much has changed in Vientiane since we last hosted ATF, also in the capital, back in 2012. This will be an opportunity for overseas tourism operators to see what Laos has to offer as well as to network with our tourism players.”
The Philippine travel trade is in support of an e-visa platform that is being studied for top inbound markets.
This came as Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr instructed government agencies to act on the proposal by the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector to extend e-visas to Chinese, Indian, South Korean and Japanese travellers in order to attract them to visit the country.
Philippines to consider extending e-visas to Chinese, Indian, South Korean and Japanese travellers
Mary Ann Ong, inbound general manager of Bridges Travel and Tours, specialises in Chinese inbound and has suggested having a visa-upon-arrival (VUA) for Chinese nationals, just like Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
While there is already a VUA for certain Chinese nationals entering the Philippines, the process is quite complicated. Ong commented that in other countries, travellers had to simply pay a fee at the counter before gaining entry.
“That’s the VUA that we are looking for (in the Philippines),” she said.
However, when applying for a Chinese client years ago, Ong discovered that in the Philippines, the client still had to submit papers that she had already sent to the immigration for approval before departure. When her client arrived, he had to pay a fee in Philippine peso – the only currency acceptable – which meant going to another counter to convert the currency. This process can be difficult for a tourist who cannot speak English.
Ong said VUA is not the same as e-visa, however, e-visas for Chinese visitors are “already an improvement” since the required documents can be submitted online and immigration issues the visa to them directly – unlike pre-pandemic when the documents had to be submitted through an agent to immigration.
Rajah Travel’s president and chairman, Arleen Clemente, believed “that recognising machine-readable passports and cooperation with foreign authorities in terms of interfaced database is the first step to having visa-upon-arrival or even visa-free.”
Clemente added: “The e-visa requires the passage of law or administrative order to effect this and must be vetted. This means that it should be a long-term plan for implementation. Having said that, they also have to lay the groundwork for that.”
The Department of Tourism is targeting 4.8 million foreign arrivals this year which Ong said is achievable if Chinese travellers start arriving in July.
China has approved group travel to 20 countries including the Philippines, however, negotiations for mounting charter flights and updating the rates for both countries need to be settled in order for China to start selling.
Brian Ong, public relations head of Hotel 101 Management Corp in the Philippines, said they are expecting Chinese travellers to pick up: “Since pre-pandemic, we have worked towards building awareness for the Hotel 101 brand in China, even in the second-tier cities.
“Being the master franchise owner of Jinjiang Inn Philippines, it also helped with brand recognition among the Chinese travellers. It will be easy for us to win back the market as we once again offer competitive rates and services.”
Based in Mauritius since 2014, he was most recently regional general manager for Mauritius and Reunion Island for Lux* Resorts & Hotels.
