The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi has used the pandemic downtime last year to enhance its offerings in hopes of drawing well-heeled family holidaymakers and increasing their average length of stay.
Currently, the average length of stay is 1.5 days for a domestic tourist, and 7.2 days for an international tourist.
A new addition to the 119-key resort is its 85.26m² Eco-Discovery Centre which dives into the underwater world of Langkawi. Among features within the facility is the sea cucumber reproduction project, where visitors can learn how the sea cucumber plays a valuable role in the marine ecosystem of Langkawi, and the importance of its preservation.
Another new attraction is Teratak Mahsuri, an alfresco cabana by the ocean, where guests can reconnect with nature.
To enhance the guest experience, the resort also includes a surprise element upon check-in, such as gifting children below the age of 12 with an activity bag.
With the revamp, the resort is targeting Gen Y vacationers travelling with young children from both domestic and international markets, shared the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, Zulkifli Rahman.
However, he is banking more on the domestic market through 3Q2022 as the reopening of the island to fully vaccinated travellers since September has only seen “insignificant” number of arrivals from the traditional markets in Europe such as the UK, Scandinavia, and Germany, partly due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Last year, the domestic market accounted for 97 per cent of total guest volume, but Zulkifli hopes that by 4Q2022, the ratio of domestic to foreign guests will be more balanced.
Plans to attract Gen Y travellers include social media engagements to promote the resort’s offerings and outdoorsy activities. The resort will also work with travel partners on special tactical campaigns from time to time.
Hong Kong-based Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) has signed an agreement with Amadeus to make its schedules and fares available to travel agencies worldwide via the Amadeus Travel Platform in 1Q2022, to coincide with the expected commencement of flights.
Amadeus-connected travel sellers will be able to search, book and service reservations on GBA. Through the Amadeus Travel Platform, they will gain access to the airline’s flight schedules, load changes, seat maps, ancillary services and fare families as well as real-time flight updates.
These options will empower travel sellers to tailor offerings to their customers’ specific requirements, generating more value for both customer and airline.
GBA has applied for the rights to operate in 104 destinations across the region, including mainland China, as well as North and South-east Asia. The carrier has already leased three Boeing 737-800 aircraft and plans to grow its fleet to 30 aircraft over the next five years.