Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong has relaunched the series Tour the World in Hong Kong to take guests on a holiday experience to Thailand.
The We Miss Thailand room package includes accommodation for one-night, breakfast for two, a choice of a Thai-themed lunch or dinner buffet for two, as well as other sweet treats.
Engage in the “Songkran Water Fight” at the infinity pool
The highlight is the exciting session of “Songkran Water Fight” where guests can experience a fun time with water guns at the hotel’s infinity pool.
There are also optional activities such as an electrifying Muay Thai class or a relaxing Thai massage session at additional cost.
Location
Mercure Langkawi Pantai Cenang sits on the buzzing Pantai Cenang beach, affording guests easy access on foot to numerous duty-free shops, restaurants and bars, spas, souvenir shops as well as tourist attractions such as the Laman Padi Langkawi Museum and Underwater World Langkawi.
The hotel is also a mere 10-minute drive from Langkawi International Airport.
While the hotel boasts a superb location, it is tucked away from the main hub, sparing guests from street noises.
1 of 3
Mercure Langkawi Pantai Cenang Hotel
Superior room
Rice Garden
Rooms
The hotel packs in 164 large rooms, with sizes ranging from 35m² to 38m².
I spent my stay in a superior king ocean view room on the fourth floor, which allowed me enjoyable views of the Andaman Sea.
My room was very comfortable, with a firm mattress and pillows that felt just right as well as a minibar that offered complimentary soft drinks.
While there was plenty to do around the hotel, I found lazing on the plush bed and surfing through 20 international TV channels just my cup of tea for the moment.
I was also impressed by the stability of the hotel’s complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi.
F&B
The all-day dining Rice Garden restaurant is the only F&B venue in the hotel, and it serves local and continental breakfast as well as Malaysian favourites for lunch and dinner.
I had a thoroughly enjoyable meal there, gobbling down some unique dishes such as Malaysian spice lamb flat bread and the Cenang 4 Seasons Special, which was a delicious salad comprising mango, Thai fish cake, mini spring roll and chicken in screw pine leaf.
Guests can choose to dine indoors in an air-conditioned setting, or sit on the terrace to enjoy the ocean view and breeze.
One will never be short on gourmet options, as beyond the hotel lies numerous eateries, from hawker centres and fast food chains to casual and contemporary restaurants – all of which are within walking distance.
Facilities
Located in the hotel lobby is the 99 Islands Lounge and Bar that overlooks the open-air swimming pools for adults and children, as well as the poolside terrace.
There is also a 24-hour fully equipped gym and a Kid’s Club stocked with board games and reading materials.
The hotel caters to small events through a theatre-style ballroom on the third level. This can seat 200 guests, or be partitioned into two smaller spaces. In addition to the ballroom are three small meeting rooms on level two. All venues are fitted with state-of-the-art audiovisual facilities, and feature natural daylight and floor-to-ceiling windows.
There is also a dedicated banqueting team to support event planners.
Service
Excellent! I loved the hassle-free check-in and the efficient service at the restaurant where my plates were cleared from the table each time I got up for second helpings at the buffet line.
Verdict
Fantastic hospitality, with attentive and friendly staff who made me feel right at home.
Number of rooms: 164 Contact details
Tel: +604 9525888
Email: HA3M7@accor.com
Covid safety concerns are powering private air charter business as Asia opens up, observed travel players.
Air 7 Asia, the regional division of US-based Air 7, has had to expand its fleet of three aircraft based in Singapore to six in recent months in order to cope with bookings that have “gone through the roof”, revealed executive director Stefan Wood.
Air 7 Asia needs to expand its fleet of private jets to cater to rising demand; Gulfstream pictured
The current fleet comprises a Beechcraft Premier, Lear 60, Falcon 2000, Gulfstream 150 and two Gulfstream 450s.
“To cater to our current demand, we realistically need another three aircraft in Singapore,” remarked Wood, who expects demand to only rise further as more Asian governments ease their travel requirements.
While the early days of the pandemic and travel disruption brought a wave of corporate bookings, driven largely by repatriation and urgent business travel needs, Wood said recent and forward charters were mostly for leisure and family travel.
“There are families that have not seen each other for quite some time, and they are flying from around South-east Asia to reunite,” he said.
Between scheduled commercial flights and private air charters, Wood said the second option was winning travellers over with safe distancing assurance and the promise of travel convenience.
“Travellers feel assured that they are with their family or people they know. With post-lockdown travel recovery, big airport hubs are very busy at check-in and airplanes are packed with 100 to 300 people. For private air charters, travellers only need to turn up to us at Seletar Airport, if in Singapore, and 10 minutes later they are on their aircraft and ready to take-off to their desired destination. They will land in a private jet terminal and a short moment later be in their limousine to take them wherever they want to go next,” he said.
Over in India, private jet charter operators have reported the same spike in demand, fuelled by wealthy Indians wanting to skip busy commercial flights amid the pandemic.
According to a news report by Asia Financial back in December 2021, demand for both the charter and purchase of private jets have soared. It reported that India’s fleet of 515 private aircraft has expanded by 25 per cent since October 2021.
While Mike Harlow, general manager of bespoke travel operator Scott Dunn, agrees with the advantages of private jet travel, he told TTG Asia that demand among his customers has remained consistent since the pandemic started.
Wood: people that choose to fly to Singapore and use it as a gateway to Asia can easily transfer onto a private jet to get to places where airlines do not fly
Furthermore, with Asia transitioning to live with Covid, Harlow said “80 to 90 per cent of our guests are less worried, and are generally comfortable enough to travel via scheduled flights”.
Scott Dunn customers typically travel in business class or better, which provide a much higher level of privacy and distancing between passengers compared to economy class.
According to Harlow, customers who favour private jet charters now are those travelling in a family group, especially when they are with vulnerable younger children, or those who have traditionally used private jets pre-pandemic.
In Singapore, where there are limited numbers of private jets available for charter, wealthier travellers are choosing the convenience of scheduled services, which are building up capacity, observed Amy Lai, vice president, head of sales, UOB Travel.
“Singapore-based clients wanting to activate a charter may have to request for the jet to come to Singapore first, sometimes all the way from the US, and that pushes costs up,” Lai explained.
“For this reason, we see stronger demand for private air charters coming into Singapore than going out.”
Greater accessibility
Indeed, international and regional airlines have been scaling up scheduled services into and within Asia in recent weeks to cater to growing travel demand.
According to OAG, global airline capacity for the week of April 18, 2022 sits at 85.7 million seats, which is 22 per cent behind the same week in 2019. Its report for the week identified South-east Asia as the region with the strongest air capacity growth, rising by 4.3 per cent on the previous week with 44,000 more seats.
Wood is unfazed. In fact, he welcomes the expansion of scheduled services in the region.
“Singapore Changi Airport has been no-go for private jets throughout Covid. It was only in March that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore reopened the airport to private jets, and that is fantastic. A lot of people that choose to fly to Singapore and use it as a gateway to Asia can now easily transfer onto a private jet to get to places where airlines do not fly,” he explained.
Private jet access is a boon to many private island resorts across Asia, which are gaining popularity among holidaymakers who want to rest and relax with loved ones in safe isolation. Banwa Private Island in the Philippines’ Palawan region works with Ascent Flights Global to offer guests direct flights from Manila via seaplanes and helicopters.
Furthermore, as airlines are not immediately returning services to pre-Covid levels, Wood is certain that private air charters will remain hot.
“For example, Phuket used to have 12 direct flights a day from Singapore to Phuket. At the moment, there is just a handful. If people want to go from Singapore to Phuket on a Friday afternoon after work, and return on Sunday night, there won’t be an easy option (with scheduled services). Private jets are the only way,” he said.
Not just for the rich and famous
Wood is hopeful that as more travellers come to appreciate the value of private air charters, they will also realise that such services are not just “toys for the rich and famous”.
He said a private air charter that is shared among friends would cost the same as a business class seat for each, but with elevated privacy, social distancing and travel ease.
“We have a group of seven friends chartering us in May – departing Friday afternoon to Phuket where they will spend a night, head over to Koh Samui for brunch and a great night out on Saturday, and onwards to a luxury boat trip on Sunday before flying home. We will touchdown in Singapore at 22.00. Now, that is a rockstar weekend!” he said.
Cash-strapped Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) of the Department of Tourism (DoT) is hopeful that the relaxed rules on foreign ownership will accelerate the much-needed funds from foreign investors.
TIEZA chief operating officer, Mark Lapid, said it joined Dubai Expo 2020, which ended in March, to encourage foreign investments in tourism – this follows recent amendments to the Foreign Investment Act (FIA) which allows foreigners, for the first time, to set up and fully own domestic enterprises in the Philippines.
TIEZA hopes the revised Foreign Investment Act will attract foreign investors
Previously limiting foreigners to 40 per cent business ownership, Lapid said the change in the FIA is a good start. There are certain exceptions to 100 per cent foreign ownership, whereby foreigners can manage hotels and related properties, but cannot own land.
He disclosed that the DoT’s investment and infrastructure arm is badly hit by the tourism lockdown since it depleted its main source of funds – the US$38.78 (1,620 pesos) outbound passenger travel tax – forcing TIEZA to discontinue all of its projects.
While 50 per cent of outbound travel tax collection goes to TIEZA, the rest are divided between two other government agencies.
Despite having no travel tax collection and income from its projects, TIEZA remitted US$227.7 million to the Bureau of Treasury to support purchase of medical facilities and equipment in response to Covid-19, helped fund the Philippines’ hosting of the WTTC 21st Global Summit, and bankrolled the construction of the new Cloud 9 view deck in Siargao, which was ruined by the super typhoon in December.
Its operating entities Gardens of Malasag Eco Tourism Village in Cagayan de Oro, Banaue Hotel and Youth Hostel in Banaue, and San Fabian Beach in Pangasinan were used as temporary quarantine facilities during the pandemic.
TIEZA is also encouraging more private sector investments in tourism projects, and Lapid mentioned there are a few corporations showing interest.
Prior to the pandemic, TIEZA had approved joint venture guidelines for private sector participation in developing, operating, managing and disposing of its properties and facilities.
Barring any more lockdown, Lapid calculated that TIEZA will be able to hit US$19 million in travel tax collection by the end of the year. Its collection had already hit US$2.5 million in April since the Philippines opened its international borders earlier in February.
Klook and KAYAK have expanded their integration to enable KAYAK users access to one of the largest inventories of Things-to-Do across the Asia-Pacific region.
This integration follows that of Klook and KAYAK’s car rental coverage last year, giving KAYAK users access to 500 vendors across 9,000 destinations – one of the largest inventories in the region.
Klook and KAYAK enable KAYAK users to have greater access to more activities
“We’re excited to be expanding our integration with Klook which will enable KAYAK users to have greater access to an extended variety of attractions and experiences,” said Elia San Martin, vice president and general manager of APAC, KAYAK.
“As travel continues to rebound in the APAC region, we are helping travellers access more travel options than ever before.”
Marcus Yong, vice president, global marketing, Klook, said: “The enhanced API-connectivity between the two companies will enable the post-pandemic traveller to have seamless access to the best things-to-do and car rentals globally. Borders in APAC are gradually opening up as measures ease. This is an opportune time for us to be at the forefront of travel recovery in the region and build on that momentum with KAYAK – especially as it brings more travellers over from the US and Europe to experience joy in Asia.”
Both companies may also look to explore a series of co-marketing initiatives showcasing travel deals and opportunities for users in the region.
The return of Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) to Sabah now makes it accessible for tourists from Brunei and other countries to travel to the Malaysia state.
RBA is the second foreign airline to resume direct flights to Kota Kinabalu, following Singapore’s low-cost carrier Scoot which had recommenced operations to Kota Kinabalu on April 29.
Sabah officials welcoming arriving guests on RBA’s inaugural flight to Kota Kinabalu
From May 6, RBA flies twice weekly from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kota Kinabalu – with the 40-minute flight operating on Fridays and Sundays.
State assistant minister of tourism, culture and environment, and Sabah Tourism Board chairman, Joniston Bangkuai, said in a press release that the return of foreign carriers is a great indication for the tourism and economy of Sabah.
“The connectivity from Brunei will help with transiting international passengers, especially from routes that were previously in service from Australia, the UK, the Middle East and Japan.”
He added: “Sabah is ready to accommodate tourists, and we hope that more foreign airlines will begin direct flights to Kota Kinabalu. With more direct flights from cities across the ASEAN region, we can expect an increase in visitors.”
RBA sales vice president passenger, cargo, and charter sales, Christina Chua, said Kota Kinabalu is an important destination for RBA and there are plans to increase the frequency of flights in the near future.
Sabah Tourism Board is also collaborating with Suria Sabah Shopping Mall and Jesselton Duty Free to provide discount vouchers for Brunei travellers on RBA to welcome them back to Sabah.
Accor made its debut in Langkawi with the opening of the four-star, 164- key Mercure Langkawi Pantai Cenang. This is the only international hotel brand on Pantai Cenang, a popular public beach on the western shoreline of Langkawi.
With the newly opened Mercure Hotel, Accor now has a total of 21 properties in Malaysia including six Mercure hotels.
Keh: towards year-end, international tourists will form the bulk of guests
Mercure Langkawi Pantai Cenang’s general manager, Jasmine Keh, shared that forward bookings were promising during the promotional period up to June 30 with opening rates from RM448 (US$103) per night including breakfast for two.
Guests are predominantly locals as Malaysia had only recently reopened its borders to international tourists. Keh opines that towards year-end, international tourists will form the bulk of guests as Langkawi, especially Pantai Cenang Beach, has always been popular with foreign tourists.
Mercure Langkawi Pantai Cenang offers comfortable accommodation, Wi-Fi and meeting facilities. Its ballroom, which accommodates up to 200 people in theatre seating, along with three small meeting rooms, are ideal for both business and leisure events.
The hotel boasts breathtaking ocean views and lush hillside greenery, and is within walking distance to the beach, Dataran Pantai Cenang, Cenang Mall, duty-free outlets, and numerous restaurants and souvenir shops.
Keh said the hotel will collaborate with Tourism Malaysia and Langkawi Development Authority to promote the hotel and destination locally and internationally, targeting niche segments such as diving and soft adventure seekers as well as the destination wedding market.
With its many Instagrammable locations, Langkawi has always been a popular destination for weddings and honeymooners from India, China, Europe and the Middle East.
Ally Bhoonee, executive director, World Avenues Travel & Tours, said: “There is a shortage of four-star hotels on Langkawi Island – the opening of Mercure will add inventory in the four-star category and provide more hotel options for travellers.”
Carnival Corporation has completed the installation of nearly 600 food waste biodigesters across its fleet in support of ongoing food waste management and reduction efforts as part of its overall commitment to environmental compliance.
The technology has been added to ships from the company’s nine cruise line brands.
Carnival Cruise Line is the first major cruise line to employ biodigesters across its entire fleet
The biodigester technology uses a natural aerobic digestion process inside each machine to efficiently break down food waste utilising a mix of beneficial microorganisms, processing anything that is consumable by a human. Performing automated digestion 24 hours per day, the biodigesters are strategically placed in key areas of the ship where food is processed, making it easier and more efficient for crew members to manage and control food waste. Additionally, the machines capture non-food items or other materials accidentally mixed with food waste, providing an additional layer of protection for environmental compliance on each ship.
Since first piloting the technology in 2019, Carnival Corporation and its nine global cruise line brands have continued to expand the use of these systems across their fleets.
Carnival Cruise Line is the first major cruise line to employ biodigesters across its entire fleet.
The installation supports Carnival Corporation’s aggressive food waste management objectives, as part of its 2030 sustainability goals. These goals support the company’s circular economy focus area by including a commitment to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in unit food waste by 2022 and a 50 per cent reduction in unit food waste by 2030. These new goals build on the company’s latest achievement of reducing food waste per person by over 20 per cent at the end of 2021, which doubled its original goal of reaching a 10 per cent reduction in food waste by the end of last year, relative to a 2019 baseline.
New data from ForwardKeys on May 6 reveals that Russian outbound tourism, already severely handicapped by pandemic travel restrictions, has fallen even further, because of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.
In the week commencing February 18, before the outbreak of war, outbound international air tickets from Russia stood at 42% of pre-pandemic levels. However, in the week immediately after the invasion, issued air tickets fell to just 19%. Since then, flight bookings have sunk deeper still and have been hovering at around 15%.
The top five destinations for travel are Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and the UAE (Photo: ForwardKeys)
Due to war-related sanctions on civil aviation, Russians are unable to book flights to many of their favourite destinations in the West; thus, they book trips to the Middle East and Asia instead.
Olivier Ponti, vice president insights, ForwardKeys, said: “The war with Ukraine, and the consequent sanctions on flying, have effectively caused Russia’s outbound tourism market to dry up. Those people who are still flying comprise a small, affluent niche, who are forced to holiday in Asia and the Middle East rather than in Europe, which is their favourite destination in normal times.”
An analysis of flight bookings made between February 24 (the start of the invasion) and April 27 reveals that the top five destinations for travel between May and August, in order of resilience, are Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and the UAE. Bookings to Sri Lanka are currently 85% ahead of pre-pandemic levels, to the Maldives 1% behind, to Kyrgyzstan 11% behind, to Turkey 36% behind and to the UAE, 49% behind.
However, Sri Lanka’s position at the head of the list is not a true reflection of the island’s attractiveness as a destination. Instead, it is a consequence of terrorist bombings, which scared away visitors in 2019, the pre-pandemic benchmark year.
Further analysis of the recent tickets booked to Turkey and the UAE suggests that a very substantial proportion are affluent Russians going on holiday, based on the number of seats sold in premium cabins tripled, compared to 2019, with the average trip duration for premium travellers being 12 nights in Turkey and 7 nights in the UAE.
Changes to flight schedules, following Russian hostilities in Ukraine, have been ongoing since the beginning of the invasion, with the recent cessation of flights to Russia by Air Baltic on April 14, and EgyptAir’s resumption of daily direct flights between Cairo and Moscow on April 22.
Outright ban on elephant tourism will hurt a long supply chain of small local businesses and communities
Tour operators under pressure to shift towards more responsible models
Public-private sector efforts ongoing to transition to ethical and sustainable elephant tourism
World Animal Protection (WAP) is optimistic that an unprecedented tourist void in the past two years is the catalyst for venues to rethink what the London-based animal rights activist slams — and bans — as “cruel” business practices such as riding. Its ideal is “observation-only” and ultimately, an end of captive elephants used for commercial tourism.
For Chiangmai-based Asian Captive Elephant Standards (ACES), a company that audits elephant venues, it is a chance to advance regulation and education that will enable venues to still offer riding and other “touching” activities without harming the mammals. ACES joins a huge voice in Thailand maintaining that outright bans of venues will not only hurt elephants, but owners, mahouts and a long supply chain of small local businesses and communities.
Thailand has the largest number of elephants used in tourism
“Elephant tourism can be a well-regulated, cruelty-free and culturally respectful experience for post-pandemic travellers,” said ACES communications and policy advisor, Ingrid Suter.
Both camps of thought mean well. But has the moment for a reset passed, or is there still time for change? Thailand has scrapped its terminally complicated Test & Go scheme, and simplified the much-maligned Thailand Pass. Tourists are already flocking in, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand forecasting seven to 10 million tourists this year and 20 million next year.
According to a WAP report, Taken for a Ride, published in 2017, Thailand has the largest number of elephants used in tourism. At around 2,200, that’s roughly twice as many as elephants in tourism in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Laos and Cambodia combined.
Starving but surviving
Despite media reports of captive elephants starving to death as venues shuttered and the tourist dollars to feed them dried up, elephants overall have survived the ordeal, observed John Roberts, Minor’s director of sustainability and conservation, based at the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort, 75-minute drive from Chiang Rai airport.
He said: “There isn’t an official count but it hasn’t been as disastrous as we predicted at the beginning (of Covid-19). There have been deaths due to old age or related to gastrointestinal issues, but there has also been breeding going on, although I wish not. An elephant is pregnant for 18-23 months, so one that was conceived just before the pandemic would have been born three months ago.”
Keeping the elephants fed during the pandemic has been “very difficult”, he added.
An adult Asian elephant needs about 150kg of food a day and spends two-thirds of each day feeding on grass, according to WWF. It costs about US$18,000 a year to feed one jumbo, estimates the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, whose largest single donor is Minor International.
Fundraising by the likes of Thai Elephant Alliance Association, Human Elephant Learning Programs (H-ELP) Foundation and WAP, and live streams by venues for donations, are a key lifeline.
More pressure
With elephants alive and the return of elephant tourism, tour operators can expect a bigger shift towards observation-only models, and eco-friendlier, community-based models with activities such as visits to elephant conservation centres and trekking among nature.
Consumers are also more environment conscious, while animal rights groups are stepping up the lobby.
WAP puts the pressure directly on tour operators and OTAs. Its global head of campaign-wildlife, Nick Stewart, told TTG Asia that as tourists begin to return, it will launch new campaigns.
Stewart: we have highlighted the issues around wild animals being made dependent on humans
This includes the second edition of its Tracking the Travel Industry report, revealing which travel companies have improved their offerings in the last two years and which ones are “laggards”. In its first report in 2020, the laggards included companies such as Get Your Guide, Klook, Musement, Expedia and Flight Centre.
In the UK, the group is part of a lobby for an Animals Abroad Bill to pass through Parliament. This will ban domestic advertising of venues abroad where elephants are exploited.
Campaigning has not stopped since Covid-19, said Stewart.
“We have highlighted the issues around wild animals being made dependent on humans, and how this can be devastating when external factors such as the pandemic impact humans’ ability to care for them,” he said.
To prevent the dependency from worsening, in 2020, the lobby group sent an open letter to the Thai government calling for a temporary ban on elephant breeding. More than 190 other organisations signed the letter.
Its team in Thailand has also been gaining signatures for the government to introduce a new elephant bill that focuses on a breeding ban “to make this the last generation of elephants suffering in captivity for tourist entertainment while the existing ones should be able to live out the remainder of their lives in elephant-friendly conditions”, said Stewart.
Another perspective
Realistically, that is unlikely to happen. Human-elephant contact in Asia has existed for 4,000 years and elephant tourism will not disappear, argues the other camp. So, the better way is to set up common standards, backed by science on elephant welfare, and help camps rise to these standards, it says.
Work on this is on-going in Thailand, but there is a new regional movement. ACES and PATA are collaborating to work with NTOs, DMCs, tour operators and elephant venues towards responsible, ethical and sustainable elephant tourism, said Suter. The project is funded by Germany-Thailand cooperation, GIZ.
She explained: “We are looking at a cohesive move forward for elephant tourism, focusing on community and mahout engagement, job creation, responsible travel and cultural appreciation, (safeguarding) the captive elephant population as threats face the wild populations.”
Suter: organisations that take a more balanced approach are more likely to assist the voiceless members of the elephant community
Suter reminds that there are humans involved, not just elephants.
Mahouts, for one, are “the most voiceless members of the elephant community”, added Suter.
She said: “Animal rights organisations vilify mahouts – they typically don’t help them. Donors want to help elephants, not people, even if those people care for the elephants on a daily basis.”
She decries the unbalanced emphasis on animal rights.
“Organisations that take a more balanced approach are more likely to assist the voiceless members of the elephant community,” said Suter, citing H-ELP as an example. The Australian foundation uses “humane, evidence-based training initiatives, education, engagement with local communities and relevant stakeholders” to improve elephant welfare in Asia, it says on its website.
Looks like the moment for a reset of Asia’s elephant tourism has not passed.
