Accor offers summer deals in Australia, New Zealand
With summer just around the corner, Accor is offering a selection of vacation ideas in Australia and New Zealand from as low as A$159 (US$107) per night.
Hotels in Australia include Queensland’s Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, Mantra South Bank and Mantra Legends Hotel Surfers Paradise; Pullman Sydney Hyde Park and Fairmont Resort & Spa Blue Mountains, MGallery by Sofitel in New South Wales; Novotel Canberra in Canberra; Victoria’s Mantra on Russell and Peppers Marysville; Mövenpick Hotel Hobart and Novotel Devonport in Tasmania; The Adnate Perth – Art Series and Pullman Bunker Bay Resort in Perth; and Northern Territory’s Mercure Darwin Airport Resort.
For New Zealand, properties in North Island include SO/ Auckland and ibis Wellington, and in South Island, BreakFree on Cashel Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa.
In addition, members Accor Plus will receive an additional 10 per cent off promotional rates.
For more information, visit ALL.com
Macau’s tourism prospects rise, bolstered by eased restrictions
Brought to you by Macao Government Tourism Office
Macau is racing along the path to recovery, drawing 182,000 visitors over the seven-day National Day Holiday period, exceeding the expectations of Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO).
The gaming and entertainment destination in Asia is showing no signs of slowing down with visitor arrival figures set to grow further with the resumption of electronic issuance of travel permits from China to Macau from November 1.
The government’s latest easing of inbound requirements from ‘7+3’ to ‘5+3’ from November 12 serves as another booster for tourism numbers.
Under the new policy, visitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan and any foreign countries entering Macau must spend five days in centralised medical observation at designated hotels and three days of home isolation after. Travellers are also required to take tests during this period.
Committed to promoting the city as a safe and quality destination, MGTO has been rolling out exciting new tourism offerings to welcome visitors back in a big way.
Recent monthly city happenings include “November Formula” under the brand-new “Experience Macao, Unlimited” promotional campaign in line with the 69th Macau Grand Prix, and the upcoming “Dazzling Winter” in December, where both visitors and locals will be mesmerised by the city’s glittering lights.
Fresh experiences and attractions
A string of new tour experiences has been unveiled as part of the ongoing government-sponsored programme of local tours. The itineraries are packaged with an exhilarating mix of new and traditional attractions.
For example, the Macao Highlight Tours include visits to the Macau World Heritage sites, gastronomy-themed and maritime tours, alongside latest attractions like the revamped Macau Grand Prix Museum, Macau teamLab SuperNature, as well as GoAirborne and Zipcity Macau at Lisboeta Macau.
The newly-renovated Macau Grand Prix Museum now houses six times its original capacity and the new Formula 3 simulator – highly resembling the design of a Formula 3 car cabin – offers interactive, close-to-reality racing experiences which will fascinate Grand Prix fans and museum-goers alike.
GoAirborne’s first indoor skydiving centre features a stunning 15m tall, competition standard wind tunnel, within the Lisboeta Macau integrated resort.
Meanwhile, teamLab SuperNature involves a complex, three-dimensional interactive space with varying elevations that spans 5,000m2 , filled with mind-boggling works by art collective, teamLab, while Zipcity is Asia-Pacific’s first urban zipline attraction.
Besides, visitors checking out Taipa and Coloane can tap on newly-launched virtual experiences, “Arraial na Taipa” and “Arraial em Coloane”, spotlighting interactive AR installations set up in various iconic tourist spots. Tourists can also scan the QR codes on the signs in the district for offers such as lucky draws, cash coupons, discounts and souvenir giveaways too.
New hotels and unique homegrown brands
Visitors in Macau are spoiled for choice when it comes to luxury and boutique accommodation options. From the classic The Londoner Macau, fashion-inspired The Karl Lagerfeld Hotel and Palazzo Versace Macau, to the world’s first Line Friends presents Casa De Amigo, they have all descended upon the Cotai Strip recently.
Twelve hotels are also currently under construction and new additions in the pipeline include Treasure Island Resort World Hotel, Andaz Macau and Raffles at Galaxy Macau.
Scheduled to open in December 2022, W Macau – Studio City will also form part of the Studio City Phase 2, a multi-complex development that includes indoor and outdoor water parks, cineplexes and meeting facilities.
Beyond Michelin-star outlets and international shopping complexes, gastronomic adventures and retail therapy abound at homegrown speciality brands under the Distinctive Shops Programme offering 14 restaurants, 11 F&B venues and 19 retailers.
Supported by the government in phases, the first pilot rollout features unique restaurants and retailers in the district around Rua de Cinco de Outubro, imbued with cultural and historical significance.
Ready to include Macau in your tourism offerings?
Explore the city’s exciting attractions here.
G Adventures supports travel tech start-up in reforestation efforts
G Adventures has invested in a restorative travel technology start-up, Reforest, to support local communities in preserving their ecosystems via tree planting.
Based in Brisbane, Australia, Reforest is a digital platform connecting travellers with local communities that are actively restoring their ecosystems using reforestation. Travellers can give back by having their own trees planted in places where community tourism relies heavily on the preservation of the local environment, while receiving tangible, visible, scientific data measuring the positive impact of the trees planted on their behalf.
Reforest is also designed to help travel companies understand their carbon footprint, and connect them with local projects to support their reforestation efforts. The platform then converts the hard science of climate action into personalised interactive experiences for companies’ customers, who can then continue planting trees.
Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures, noted that travellers are increasingly looking to ensure their travels have a meaningful impact and tree planting is an effective way to both reverse climate change and support community tourism.
He said: “Travellers want to see natural beauty, so we need the world’s most beautiful places to be around for as long as possible, and to stay as pristine as possible. The Reforest platform will help us achieve that goal and help combat climate change, as planting trees is one of the easiest ways to help decrease emissions.”
Daniel Walsh, co-founder of Reforest, shared that G Adventures’ stake gives the company the means to improve its technology, and expand its offering by marketing the platform more widely within the global travel industry.
In addition to customers being able to see the trees planted on their behalf and track the cumulative restorative impact of their trip, the drone-based footage and satellite imagery “brings ground-breaking tangibility to the restoration projects and offer powerful impact personalisation”.
Further East returns to Bali for third instalment
The third edition of Further East, themed New Horizons, returned to Bali earlier this month from November 7-10, 2022, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Held at the Alila Seminyak and organised by This is Beyond, this year’s show – now called Further East APAC – also expanded its focus to include the Australian and New Zealand markets.
Calling the pandemic a “gamechanger”, Serge Dive, founder and CEO of This Is Beyond, said that 2022 has gone through a “reboot”, and is a “new chapter” for the tourism industry.
For instance, Dive pointed out that sustainability and climate change have become essential considerations for tourism businesses. He added that as tourism recovers, this is an opportunity to think of how the industry can build back better as well.
Meanwhile, Jinou Park, founder of Normal, built on the topic of surviving in the new era in his presentation Igniting your Brand’s Purpose Post-Pandemic, and stated that it was important for travel businesses to have clear branding and purpose in mind.
This comes as lockdowns and restrictions have caused a change in consumers’ behaviours, where they have had to pause and adapt to a new way of life. This, in turn, develops “new habits” that remain post-lockdown, Park said.
For instance, among the millennials and Gen X-ers, their spending is now more “purposeful”. Expectations of travellers have also changed post-lockdown, cautioned Park, where hospitality providers now need to take into consideration more personalised experiences, and ensure the highest levels of well-being and care are provided.
Park added that remote work, and living spaces in destinations with a high quality of life and excellent transportation, will also be in demand moving forward.
Further East APAC 2022 was attended by 137 exhibitors, 37 per cent coming from Indonesia, eight per cent from Australia and New Zealand and the rest from other Asian countries. A total of 140 buyers attended the show, where 70 per cent were from outside Asia-Pacific.
Malaysia Airlines to suspend services to Brisbane
Malaysia Airlines will be implementing a route rationalisation exercise in 1Q2023 with the suspension of the Kuala Lumpur-Brisbane route effective March 27, 2023.
Operations on non-stop flights between Kuala Lumpur to four other existing Australian destinations – Adelaide, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne – will continue, providing up to 43 direct services a week between Australia and Malaysia.
Customers who need to travel to Brisbane can leverage on Malaysia Airlines’ codeshare and oneworld partner, Qantas to connect from Sydney and Melbourne to Brisbane.
Malaysia Airlines’ group CEO Izham Ismail explained that the decision to suspend services to Brisbane was to ensure the airline could “operate and utilise our fleet at an optimum level” while maximising revenue on every route.
He added that the airline’s Australia network will be at 98 per cent capacity of pre-pandemic levels by March 2023, with forward bookings to the Australian cities, excluding Brisbane, showing great demand beyond 1Q2023, with numbers significantly ahead of the same period in 2019. Full recovery is expected by 2024.
“This year we added new destinations from Kuala Lumpur to Doha, Haneda and Yogyakarta as well as from Kota Kinabalu to Singapore; and will continue to explore markets that spur economic growth for the country, while helping business and trade,” he shared.
The last flight on this route will depart Brisbane to Kuala Lumpur on March 26, 2023.
Scoot attains IATA membership
Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines Group, has attained full International Air Transport Association (IATA) membership, joining a community of 300 IATA members across 120 countries.
To be eligible for IATA membership, airlines need to meet IATA’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) standards for safety in airline operations.
IATA membership is only open to airlines operating scheduled and non-scheduled air services. Maintaining an IOSA registration, and complying with the IOSA programme, an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline, is a condition of IATA membership.
As part of the IATA membership, Scoot will have the opportunity to help drive priorities within the aviation industry and participate in member conferences that bring together representatives from leading international airlines. Being a member also gives Scoot access to IATA training in major fields such as aviation safety and security, operational efficiency and excellence, sustainability, as well as programmes that help strengthen the capabilities of aviation industry professionals.
Leslie Thng, Scoot’s CEO, said: “We are honoured to become an IATA member. This international recognition affirms our dedication to upholding safety for our passengers. Through the decade, we have continued to enhance our operational resilience and improve our customers’ experience. Looking ahead, we hope to continue to pave the way in redefining and elevating value-travel in our industry.”
Accor launches new ibis Styles in Indonesia’s BSD City
Accor has signed ibis Styles Serpong BSD in Greater Jakarta, scheduled to open in 2Q2024.
Joining a growing collection of more than 20 ibis Styles locations across Indonesia, the 165-key hotel will offer an all-day restaurant, lounge, pool, fitness centre, kids’ pool, multiple meeting spaces and a ballroom that can host up to 600 guests.
The new ibis Styles hotel will be located a 15-minute drive from Indonesia’s largest convention centre and surrounded by major business, retail, and lifestyle centres. Less than an hour’s drive away are Downtown Jakarta and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
BSD City is a planned city first developed in the 1990s and has grown into a major urban area housing business parks, residences, retail malls, lifestyle centres, medical facilities, schools, and universities.
Discover the Philippines seas with Amanpulo
Amanpulo, a luxury beach resort in Palawan, Philippines, introduces a new adventure, The Golden South Sea Pearl, which takes guests beyond the bounds of Pamalican into the Palawan archipelago to explore the birthplace of the eponymous national gem.
Guests are invited to discover the story behind these living gems and the intricate art and science of how it has come to possess their unique lustre amid the pristine waters that produce them.
A chartered helicopter will bring guests on a 45-minute flight across the archipelago to Taytay, Palawan, for an exclusive visit to the pearl farm of Jewelmer to witness the processes with a guided tour of the oyster hatchery and laboratory for pearl grafting and harvesting, alongside an opportunity to witness the local divers in their daily trips to the underwater farm.
After the tour, a speedboat will take guests to a secluded beach for a Filipino-style picnic lunch and the option to snorkel around the bay’s untouched coral garden.
Reservations for the tour are required at least five days in advance.
For more information, visit Amanpulo.
Centara extends management agreement for Krabi resort
Centara Hotels & Resorts has signed a new agreement with Anda Beach Resort Co. to continue managing Centara Anda Dhevi Resort & Spa Krabi for another 10 years.
The resort features a 43m-long swimming pool complete with a swim-up bar, waterslide and direct pool access rooms. Other facilities include a children’s pool, spa, fitness centre, steam room and three dining venues.
Centara Anda Dhevi Resort & Spa Krabi is about 20 minutes from Krabi Town and a 45-minute drive away from Krabi International Airport. It is also near to beaches Nopparat Thara and Ao Nang.
The Mulia Hotels & Resorts (MUHR) and Trip Affiliates Network (TA Network) have signed an agreement enabling MUHR to access TA Network’s online direct booking solutions for offline travel agencies, wholesalers and corporate travel intermediaries.
TA Network’s managing partner Ho Siang Twang shared that hotels will “need to implement an even higher level of automation in managing their direct booking partnerships with their preferred agents and corporates” in this post-pandemic environment where there are widespread staffing shortages.
Bagus Artadi, director – revenue & digital distribution, The Mulia Hotel said: “TA Network solutions has enabled Mulia Hotels & Residences to manage the conservative wholesale contract digitally which makes our B2B distribution more efficient and effective.
“Additionally, we will have access to business opportunities to work with several major channels integrated with the TA Network and our onboarding process with new partners will be faster.”