Fly Bangkok to Taipei on Thai Vietjet from US$99

August 24, 2022

Thai Vietjet celebrates the inauguration of its Bangkok-Taipei service with the Super Deluxe Sale offering deluxe fares starting from US$99.

It includes 20kg of checked baggage, free seat selection, priority check-in and flexibility with unlimited flight changes at no charge.

Thai Vietjet is having a Super Deluxe Sale to celebrate its inaugural Bangkok-Taipei service

This special promotion is available for booking from August 25-31, for travel between September 15, 2022 to March 25, 2023.

The service from Bangkok to Taipei currently operates one flight a week on every Thursday, with more frequency to be added subject to the region’s ease of travel restriction.

For more information, visit Thai Vietjet.

Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh welcomes new GM

By TTG Asia

August 24, 2022

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Juan Mercadante is the new general manager of Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh.

The Mexican has overseen a succession of projects with Hyatt during his tenure, including rebranding, deflagging, and pre-opening properties in five different continents. These include Hyatt Regency Almaty Kazakhstan, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill and Hyatt Regency Dubai.

In 2012, he returned to his hometown to join Hyatt Regency Mexico City as a hotel manager before advancing as a pre-opening general manager at Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen Resort, the first Grand Hyatt brand in Mexico.

Before his move to Cambodia, Mercadante was pre-opening general manager at the first Andaz brand in South Korea.

Mandarin Oriental strengthens global sales team

By TTG Asia

August 23, 2022

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Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has announced three senior appointments.

Raphael Lanfant has been appointed global vice president of channel sales and will oversee the global revenue growth and the effectiveness of the newly formed Global Channel Sales and Distribution organisation. Based in Singapore, he was previously the global head of international hotel partnerships in Alibaba.

From left: Geoffrey Webb, Joanna Flint, Raphael Lanfant and Celine Du

Geoffrey Webb is the new vice president of global sales partners and will oversee the five regional sales hubs responsible for driving revenue from travel agencies and tour operators globally. Webb joined Mandarin Oriental in 2019 as director of commercial strategy for Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. A seasoned hotelier with over three decades of operations and luxury hospitality experience, he will be based in London.

As the new vice president of global industry partners, Celine Du will be responsible for Mandarin Oriental’s global corporate and key account revenue. With 25 years of experience in luxury hospitality, Du has held senior roles at Shangri-La and IHG prior to joining Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. She will be based in Hong Kong.

Malaysia makes destination pitch to Japanese travel partners

By TTG Asia

August 23, 2022

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Tourism Malaysia concluded last week a familiarisation trip that brought nine travel agents and media representatives from Japan to Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Penang for a four-day, three-night stay.

This was held in conjunction with Malaysia Airlines’ inaugural direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo (Haneda Airport) on August 14.

Tourism Malaysia showcased the country’s offerings to travel agents and media representatives from Japan during the fam trip

Participants experienced a mangrove tour at the award-winning Kubang Badak Biogeotrail in Langkawi; jet-skied on an island-hopping tour; attended a cooking demonstration at Kunang-Kunang Heritage Villas; and immersed themselves in a conservation and sustainability programme initiated by The Datai Langkawi.

They also visited tourism landmarks such as Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers and Penang’s George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Japan was one of Malaysia’s top 10 international tourism source markets pre-pandemic, with 424,694 arrivals from Japan in 2019. To attract more Japanese arrivals, Malaysia will participate in the upcoming Tourism Expo Japan 2022 in Tokyo this September, stated Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, director-general, Tourism Malaysia.

Singapore to drop mask-wearing indoors

By TTG Asia

August 23, 2022

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With the Covid-19 situation stabilised, Singapore is ready to phase out its indoor mask-wearing policy, said prime minister Lee Hsien Loong during the National Day Rally on August 21.

Details on this will be made at a later date.

Singapore will soon phase out its indoor mask-wearing policy

Currently, while masks are optional in outdoor settings, they are mandatory indoors, in places such as shopping malls and offices.

With the reduced requirements, masks will be optional in most indoor settings. However, masks will still be required on public transport, where people are in prolonged close contact in a crowded space; and in healthcare settings where there are vulnerable people, Lee said.

Sofitel and Emblems to join Hann Lux integrated resort

By TTG Asia

August 23, 2022

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Accor and Hann have deepened their partnership with a new signing that will see the former bring its Sofitel and Emblems brands into the Hann Lux luxury integrated resort in Clark City, the Philippines.

Sofitel Clark will comprise 300 guest rooms while the Emblems Clark will feature 200 guest rooms, and both will place guests within easy reach of high-end fashion stores, French inspired cafes and convention facilities.

From left: Accor’s Garth Simmons and Hann Philippines’ Daesik Han

The new hotels will feature all-day dining and speciality restaurants, as well as swimming pools, spas, fitness centres, meetings and conferencing spaces, and executive lounges.

“We are proud to expand our strategic relationship with Hann in this landmark multi-agreement signing. This reaffirms the trust and confidence owners place in Accor, our relationship driven-approach towards partners, and the popularity of our brands powered by strong distribution and lifestyle loyalty platforms,” said Garth Simmons, CEO, Accor, Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, in a statement.

“We are also thrilled and extremely proud to introduce two very special properties to vibrant Clark. Sofitel Clark and Emblems Clark will both bring an iconic sense of luxury to Hann Lux, and we are delighted to be working with our valued partners, Hann Philippines, to bring their unique vision to life,” he added.

The latest agreement adds to Accor and Hann’s 2019 partnership for Banyan Tree Clark, Angsana Clark, Mercure Clark and Swissôtel Clark. The first phase of Swissôtel Clark launched in February 2022, with the broader hotel complex set to debut later this year.

Saudia launches inaugural Seoul-Riyadh service

By TTG Asia

August 23, 2022

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Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has commenced its first direct flight from Seoul to Riyadh in line with its strategy to expand its network of more than 100 global destinations.

Ahmed Alwassiah, chief operating officer, Saudia, said: “With this milestone route, Saudia is not only connecting the Kingdom to more of the world ‘touristic-ly’, but also helping to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and services, allowing both countries to enhance their local businesses, logistics framework, and manufacturing infrastructure.”

Saudia expands its network with the launch of the Seoul-Riyadh service

The flight schedule between the two countries will be under constant review to ensure that flights and seating capacity meet operational requirements.

Sabah, Penang partner to boost Malaysia tourism

By TTG Asia

August 23, 2022

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Sabah and Penang will be embarking on a cross-promotion of their respective tourism attractions after signing a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) on August 20.

Sabah Tourism Board’s (STB) chairman, Joniston Bangkuai, and Penang Global Tourism’s (PGT) Yeoh Soon Hin, described the MoC as a “momentous” event, noting that the two states share a similar commitment to the positive impact that tourism might have on the people and the economies of their respective states as well as the nation.

The partnership between Sabah and Penang will see better flight connectivity between both states and the development of tourism products to attract more visitors to Malaysia

Some of the partnership goals include improving flight connectivity between the two states and facilitating the engagement of key parties in relation to the development of products and tourism.

Joniston shared: “I do think that this MoC is the first step to help us realise our friendship initiatives through tourism and hopefully it will lead to a similar collaboration with other states.”

SBT and PTG should establish a key performance indicator to assess the efficacy of their partnership and adjust as needed to realise their goals, he suggested.

Yeoh was optimistic that the partnership would help to boost the economies of both states and make them more resilient in the face of future challenges. With both parties sharing tourism ideas and creating dual destination packages for domestic and international markets, it would attract more visitors to the country.

“To me, the key to tourism success is breaking down siloed approaches. To succeed, we must work together, and this important partnership is a step to achieve our common goals,” added Yeoh.

Japan may scrap pre-arrival Covid tests within weeks

By TTG Asia

August 23, 2022

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Japan is considering the removal of pre-arrival Covid-19 testing requirement for vaccinated inbound travellers, with a decision likely to be made within weeks, reported Japanese media on Monday.

Current regulations require Japan-bound travellers to show a negative PCR test result within 72 hours of departure.

Travellers bound for Japan may soon no longer need to perform a pre-arrival PCR test

The government will also consider raising the daily cap on people arriving in Japan from the current 20,000.

Japan’s stringent controls over arriving travellers has put a damper on the country’s efforts to rebuild tourism. Even with its reopening to leisure group tours since June 10, the country’s inbound recovery remains slow.

Indonesia promotes tourism offerings in metaverse

By TTG Asia

August 22, 2022

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Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and Magnus Digital Indonesia, an ad-tech marketing consultant and part of the Volare Advertising Network, have developed a metaverse channel to promote Indonesia’s offerings.

WonderVerse Indonesia aims to promote the beauty and uniqueness of Indonesia to the rest of the world as well as to encourage tourism and creative economy players to promote their products digitally.

The MoU signing for WonderVerse Indonesia

Minister of tourism and creative economy, Sandiaga Uno, said: “We are currently in a transitioning period where digitalisation becomes the driving force behind transformation and new platforms that will boost tourism promotion. We are finding ways to accelerate technology development as metaverse is a place where we can conduct activities interactively.”

WonderVerse Indonesia is divided into four parts called “lands”, with more lands to be added in the future.

The Lobby is where visitors can interact with endemic animals, and enjoy digital galleries containing works by Indonesian artists, and a wide screen showcasing a variety of upcoming excitements. WonderFun Land showcases traditional games, performances and entertainment; WonderGoods Land is an online marketplace; while WonderReal Land allows visitors to directly purchase flight tickets, hotels, and accommodation in the top five destinations they want to go to for their holiday.

“WonderVerse Indonesia can become a (source) of information and provide great benefits for Indonesia in terms of digital, travel, and the creative economy,” opined Hendra Liman, CEO, Magnus Digital Indonesia.

WonderVerse Indonesia is accessible from anywhere through its desktop site, with future plans for virtual reality (VR), creating opportunities for the tourism industry and the creative economy to reach the younger generation.

Fly Bangkok to Taipei on Thai Vietjet from US$99

Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh welcomes new GM

Mandarin Oriental strengthens global sales team

Malaysia makes destination pitch to Japanese travel partners

Singapore to drop mask-wearing indoors

Sofitel and Emblems to join Hann Lux integrated resort

Saudia launches inaugural Seoul-Riyadh service

Sabah, Penang partner to boost Malaysia tourism

Japan may scrap pre-arrival Covid tests within weeks

Indonesia promotes tourism offerings in metaverse

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