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.”
Cruise tourism is making an overwhelming comeback in the Philippines this year, with 30 cruise ships scheduled to call at the country’s ports this year.
Records from the Department of Tourism (DoT) showed that these cruise ships will carry up to 200,000 pax and make 139 port calls spanning 46 Philippine destinations.
Buensuceso: revenge travel is for real
Cruise throughput for 2023 represents a 56 per cent increase from 128,000 pax recorded in 2019.
At the recent PATA Philippines Chapter business assembly, Verna Buensuceso, assistant secretary for product and market development and OIC-undersecretary, tourism development, said: “It certainly looks like revenge travel is for real.”
Seabourn Cruise Line will send the first cruise ship – Seabourn Encore – to the Philippines since the pandemic disruption, arriving February 9 with a 600-pax vessel. It will call at Puerto Princesa and Coron in Palawan before arriving in Manila for shore excursions, and then onwards to Boracay.
Silversea Cruises is returning too, with Silver Shadow calling at Kalanggaman Island, Romblon and Bohol before Manila.
While fewer ships will sail to the Philippines this year compared with 2019, a number will be expedition ships making repeated calls at various ports and island destinations throughout the year.
New destinations this year include Ilocos Sur, Kalanggaman Island in Leyte and Romblon. Bohol is also getting popular among cruise ships.
Another positive note is the development of the Salomague port in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur which can take in large ships of 3,000 pax or more.
Filipinos slake their thirst for travel with brisk demand this year for certain destinations in Asia and beyond, as gleaned from the huge crowd on the first day (February 3) of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association’s (PTAA) three-day Travel Tour Expo 2023.
South Korea and Japan are on top of most people’s list, but South Korea’s dazzle has dimmed due to tighter visa application rules.
The overwhelming response during the PTAA Travel Tour Expo 2023 shows how much Filipinos are eager to travel
“Japan has always had a close affinity with the Philippines and mostly, whatever purpose they have, there is always a touch of culinary experience they want to enjoy. Similarly, the association to (South) Korea is on K-pop and Telenovelas but they also want a bit of the culinary experience,” said Aileen Clemente, president and chair, Rajah Travel.
Other tour operators at the expo said that in Asia, travel to Bangkok is picking up, as well as to Singapore and Hong Kong which has opened up. Dubai is another favourite choice because, like South Korea, it always has new tourism offerings.
Mike Hain, groups manager, Corporate International Travel and Tours, Inc. (CITTI) said that travellers now prefer experiential over seeing, and that “it’s lovelier selling a tour that touches the emotions”.
Hain cited a tour to Finland where all the passengers – the elderly included – felt they had returned to their younger years when they met with Santa Claus, short of sitting on his lap.
CITTI started selling all-in Silversea cruises, mainly for expeditions to the Arctic and Galapagos, which received positive feedback – the demand comes from seasoned travellers who want to try something different. The same holds true for off-beat destinations in Scandinavia.
With many Filipinos having travelled to Asia, they now tend to go for longhaul destinations like Europe, Canada and the US. Turkey’s value packages and out-of-this-world scenery remain popular too.
Filipinos are a pro in religious pilgrimage, and although it is increasing this year, 2024 and 2025 will be much better, said Enes Esen, managing director of DB Tourism.
In Europe, Esen said the religious sites of Rome, Lourdes and Fatima are in demand. He explained that while Europe is an expensive destination, so are Japan and South Korea.
Clemente commented that Filipinos also travel more as families. Although they want to celebrate and appreciate life and love as they travel, more importantly, they want to go to destinations where they trust the “emergency response” should anything happen to them.
UOL Group Limited (UOL) and its hotel subsidiary Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG) have teamed up with Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to launch a programme that aids children living in rental housing.
The UOL-PPHG Community Uplift Programme is part of Community Link (ComLink) efforts to provide these underprivileged children with a range of enrichment and learning opportunities specifically tailored to meet the developmental needs of children, such as rock-climbing activities as well as arts and crafts classes.
The community uplift programme provides underprivileged children with enrichment and learning opportunities
Plans are in the pipeline for more enrichment activities to be rolled out over the next three years, with the aim of promoting learning outside of the classroom and developing well-rounded children with diverse interests and experiences.
ComLink is an initiative launched by MSF in 2019 to connect families with children living in public rental housing with community resources and government services, and to journey alongside them towards stability, self-reliance, and social mobility in their life circumstances.
Said Wee Wei Ling, executive director of sustainability partnerships, lifestyle and asset, PPHG: “We are delighted to launch the UOL-PPHG Community Uplift Programme, which gives children from underprivileged backgrounds the opportunity and exposes them to meaningful and interesting activities so that they can learn new skills that they would otherwise not have the chance or means to pursue.
“By launching this programme in collaboration with MSF and our partners, we hope our collective effort will be able to bring about a bigger impact in meeting the needs of children living in rental housing, and to build their confidence and resilience.”
UOL and PPHG will continue to co-host the activities at various retail properties and hotels under their portfolio. Their employees will also be volunteering their time to participate in the programme with the children and their families.
In addition, UOL will be contributing about S$150,000 (US$113,294) of in-kind support towards the UOL-PPHG Community Uplift Programme over the next three years and will continue to encourage the participation of UOL’s retail tenants to collaborate and provide activities for the children.
The Venetian Macao will be presenting a night of star-studded entertainment on February 18 at the Cotai Arena.
The Night of Stars Concert will give music lovers a treat with performance by popular music artistes such as Cantopop diva Sammi Cheng, William So, Pakho Chau, WeiBird, Dear Jane, and rising singers Cloud Wan and Janees Wong.
The Venetian Macao will host The Night of Stars Concert on February 18
Tickets are priced from HK$280 (US$35) and will go on sale on February 8.
BOC Sands Lifestyle UnionPay and ICBC Sands Lifestyle Mastercard cardholders can enjoy 15 per cent discount.
Onyx Hospitality Group has reinforced its expansion plan with a number of strategic promotions to achieve the group’s core business objectives.
From left: Chutima Fuangkham Kennedy, Wuthivet Vetchabutsakorn, and Hathairat Naenkwaen
Chutima Fuangkham Kennedy is the new promotion – vice president, marketing, and has been with the company for 13 years. Her experience and expertise fall within the digital marketing arena, where she was responsible for building the group’s digital marketing team and successfully deliver double-digit ROI throughout her career.
With more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance, Wuthivet Vetchabutsakorn joined Onyx in 2021 and is the group head of finance. He was with Asset World Corporation Public Company Limited where he served as chief financial officer.
Hathairat Naenkwaen first joined the company in 2017 as OTA partnership director. In her new role as promotion – senior director, sales & distribution, she will drive the strategic revenue performance across distribution as well as sales and key accounts.
Singapore’s landscape is constantly changing, and the silhouette of the central business district now has a new sight.
CapitaSpring is a 51-storey skyscraper, designed by celebrity architects the Bjarke Ingels Group in collaboration with Carlo Ratti Associati, distinctive for its sleek aluminium façade.
Sky Garden at CapitaSpring
Intersecting it are orthogonal pin-striped fins that lend tantalising glimpses into pockets of green terraces and communal spaces at multiple elevations.
As one of the tallest buildings in Singapore at 280m, it is hard not to miss the subtext: design matters to the country.
It is not just the architecture that is eye-catching; there are interiors and landscaping created by big international names.
On a local level, there is a burgeoning made-in-Singapore scene that translates into unique retail experiences perfect for meaningful souvenir shopping, among others.
What all this means is that Singapore is increasingly becoming a destination for design aficionados.
“Design now permeates every part of the country, whether in the form of beautiful, useful products, services and experiences that elevate individual lives, or on a systems level, that yields large-scale, national impact,” pointed out Dawn Lim, executive director of the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg).
Tourists will feel this most keenly first through the architecture of the colonial, heritage, modern and contemporary styles.
Fiamma, Capella Hotel Singapore
For instance, Marina Bay Sands by Moshe Safdie is now a compulsory stop for visitors to Singapore, as is his Jewel Changi Airport on the way in or out of the country.
Lesser known but no less important is the impressive collection of modern buildings, many of which were constructed after Singapore’s independence in 1965. The equivalent of Generation X in human terms, these include Golden Mile Complex by Design Partnership and the Church of St Bernadette by Alfred Wong.
Themed tours are occasionally planned by Docomomo (Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of Modern Movement) Singapore for tourists to explore and get acquainted with them.
“We have one of the highest concentration of modernist buildings in the world and while each has its own unique story to tell, they contribute to the broader narrative of the pioneering phase of our urban renewal,” said Ho Weng Hin, chair of its executive committee.
Tucked in between all that brick and mortar are landscape design attractions that hold their own.
There is the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Gardens by the Bay, by architects Wilkinson Eyre and Grant Associates. The National Orchid Garden within was recently enhanced by CPG Consultants and Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl. Geometrical shapes that have fan-like forms and a similar roof incline make up the new and revamped structures that are then unified by a meandering trail.
There are also countless restaurants and bars across the city-state that wow with their interior design and compel visitors to sit, sip and feast for hours.
The multi-award-winning Andre Fu Studio from Hong Kong has just completed two: Italian restaurant Fiamma in Capella Singapore, and the cellar of steakhouse 665°F in Andaz Singapore.
Then there are the Singaporean designers gradually making their mark on the local and global stage, fronted by retail concepts that just as alluring.
Oasia Hotel Downtown
Visit the atelier of Roger&Sons, a wood specialist that creates everything from outdoor benches to refined chess sets.
Fashion label Ginlee Studio offers a Make In Shop Experience, a bag-design workshop where shoppers will learn how the brand’s signature pleats are crafted and take home their own customised pleated bag.
Furniture brand Scene Shang has a loft in the suburbs that is worth visiting to immerse in a lifestyle steeped in Asian heritage.
“The design industry has emerged as a creative force – leading Singapore’s drive towards an innovation-driven economy and playing a critical role in making the city a liveable and loveable one,” expressed Dsg’s Lim.
Serving up a slightly different type of design is Tribe Tours, which developed an itinerary focused on three architecture winners of the President’s Design Awards, the highest accolade in the country.
The Hunt for the Green Treasure, as it is called, is gamified to make it more accessible to the man on the street, and includes exclusive entry to a home at public housing project SkyVille @ Dawson.
“People have the perception that design is high-brow, intellectual and difficult to understand. But we beg to differ and want to tell the world that good design is everywhere and accessible to everyone,” said Law Yock Song, who heads partnerships & business development for Tribe Tours.
He is incredibly optimistic that design can be used as a hook to lure more tourists to Singapore.
“It might not be the main purpose of the visit, but it can inspire travel and spark curiosity about the destination,” Law said.
Beyond made-in-Singapore products, Dsg’s Lim hopes that tourists will also understand that design in the local context embodies an attitude to improve lives – given how the country wrote its own playbook in almost every aspect of governance.
