Garuda Indonesia will axe 97 routes next year to prevent the beleaguered Indonesian flag carrier from falling even deeper into the doldrums.
If the plan goes ahead, the number of domestic and international routes served by Garuda will be reduced to 140, from 237.
Majority of the 97 routes that Garuda is planning to drop are in its international network
In a recent meeting with lawmakers, Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, vice minister of state-owned enterprises, said that majority of the suspended routes are in the airline’s international network, including Amsterdam, London, and South Korea.
Apart from low seat load factor, the planned suspension is in line with the decrease of fleet size from 142 to around 50 to 60, according to Kartika. It is also in accordance with state-owned enterprises minister Erick Thohir’s instruction for the airline to focus on serving its domestic network.
In response, Jongki Adiyasa, executive director of Ina Leisure Tours and Travel, remarked that if Garuda were to shift its focus to the domestic market, it would be like “a big fish in a little pond”.
“(Garuda) is domestically a strong player because the quality of its service is far better than that of its local competitors,” he pointed out.
However, Jongki opined that the suspended routes would have minimum impact on Indonesia’s inbound traffic as, based on his observations, the majority of travellers had opted for other international airlines like Thai Airways which offer better prices than Garuda.
Hasiyanna Ashadi, managing director of Marintur Indonesia, is similarly unbothered about the impact Garuda’s flight cuts will have on inbound traffic as she said there are other international airlines, such as Emirates and Etihad, to bring visitors to the country.
She added that she understood Garuda’s decision to reduce international routes as it can be hard for airlines to project inbound demand amid the pandemic, given the ever-changing travel regulations and restrictions.
Instead of keeping its international routes during this “uncertain time”, it would be wiser for the airline to reorganise and reposition itself for survival, she said.
Myanmar will reopen land border crossings with China and Thailand next month ahead of a planned resumption of international air travel by 1Q2022.
The decision comes as vaccination rates have improved significantly amid clear signs of economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a statement by the Ministry of Information.
Myanmar to reopen its land borders with China and Thailand next month; Sule Pagoda in Yangon pictured
Maung Maung Ohn, minister of information, said travel restrictions will be eased by January 2022 at Muse which borders Ruili city in China’s Yunnan Province and at the three Myanmar towns of Tachileik, Kawthaung and Htee Kee which border Thailand.
Travel at border crossings with Laos, India and Bangladesh are currently permitted due to lower incidences of infection.
According to the statement, the government continues to receive vaccines mainly from China through donations and national procurement programmes.
A total of 14.4 million citizens above the age of 18, or 42.5 per cent of the population, have received at least one dose of vaccine as of Friday. This will increase to 50 per cent of the population by end of 2021.
With the acceleration of the vaccination programme, coupled with a fall in Covid-19 cases, the State Administration Council is accelerating resumption of social and economic activity to restore national stability following the challenges of the pandemic and the internal social unrest.
To prepare to resume international air travel, six government ministries are coordinating efforts to standardise testing and safety procedures such as social distancing, contact tracing and quarantine as well as vaccination status certification, the minister said.
“Air travel is important to facilitate the return of Myanmar citizens, expatriates, aid and development workers, and international business travel. We must ensure that hotels, transportation, health facilities, airports and airline operators are ready to meet the standard operating procedures. We will keep various embassies informed of progress,” he said.
The minister also said the government is cautiously assessing infection rates abroad ahead of the European winter. “Once our vaccination programme reaches targets and if global infection rates drop, we intend to resume international air travel in the first quarter of 2022,” he said.
“This will benefit not just tourism but also commercial activity and bilateral social, cultural and development activities and exchanges. In recent months, we have received substantial foreign interest in investments and business opportunities. These parties are eager to travel to Myanmar to conclude transactions.”
Despite clear evidence of economic sabotage and the effects of the pandemic, economic activity has largely restarted across most parts of the country with the onset of the dry season last month, the minister said.
He added: “Myanmar is recovering from challenges of a health pandemic, an economic downturn and social and political disturbances. The vaccination programme and the economic recovery efforts are gaining momentum… Business confidence is returning especially in major cities where religious activities recently have all been well attended. The resumption of air travel will be an important catalyst for tourism, the return of foreign investments and international business activities.”
As of November 12, the country has recorded a total of 511,717 cases of infection and 18,899 deaths due to Covid-19.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) have signed a two-year MoU to co-promote both destinations, develop tech solutions to benefit the two countries’ respective industries, and boost bilateral tourism.
Under the partnership, KTO and STB will jointly drive destination and product awareness through marketing and promotional activities to capture pent-up tourism demand as international travel gradually resumes.
STB’s Keith Tan and KTO’s Ahn Young Bae ink pact to enhance bilateral tourism (Photo credit: STB)
This includes a new cartoon series, featuring the character Hojong from KTO’s set of mascots Kingdom Friends and STB’s Merli, which will be officially launched following a successful pilot social media event in April this year. The video campaign will see both characters coming together to introduce attractions from their respective countries.
Both organisations will also support tourism start-ups to develop technologies that will benefit the tourism sector. For example, STB will support Korean start-ups through the Singapore Tourism Accelerator programme to develop quality solutions and pilot them within Singapore’s tourism industry.
To kick off the partnership, KTO and STB will progressively launch familiarisation trips for trade and media partners to promote safe travel between both destinations under the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) launched between Singapore and South Korea on Monday, allowing quarantine-free travel between both countries for fully vaccinated tourists.
Ahn Young Bae, president, KTO, said: “I am optimistic that this MoU will play a key role in reviving tourism between both countries, and we are excited to welcome more Singapore travellers to South Korea.”
Keith Tan, CEO, STB, added: “South Korea is a key source market for Singapore, and as international travel gradually resumes, we look forward to welcoming South Korean visitors back. We are confident that this partnership with KTO will drive awareness of Singapore’s new and reimagined offerings, expand the capabilities of our industry, and support the overall recovery of our tourism sector.”
The partnership reflects STB’s continued efforts to raise the attractiveness of Singapore to South Korean travellers. Last year, STB and Studio Dragon Corporation signed a three-year partnership to promote Singapore as a destination in South Korea through the production of Korean dramas in Singapore.
South Korea is an important visitor source market for Singapore, ranking ninth out of 15 top visitor source markets in 2019. Singapore received about 646,000 South Koreans in 2019, a three per cent increase over 2018.
Cambodia’s tourism players are celebrating after a snap decision on Sunday (November 14) saw the nation become the first in South-east Asia to fully open to vaccinated travellers with no restrictions.
“Christmas has come early for the tourism and hospitality industry in Cambodia,” said Nick Ray, consultant for CamDMC, on the news that the country has fully opened to fully inoculated tourists.
Cambodia’s sudden move to fully reopen borders comes on the back of its successful vaccination drive
Prime minister Hun Sen made the surprise announcement on Sunday that from the following day (November 15), fully vaccinated travellers from any destination are welcome without quarantine.
Inbound travellers must present a negative PCR test result taken 72 hours before departure and undergo a free rapid test on arrival. Once given the all-clear – an estimated 10- to 15-minute wait – arrivals are free to enter the country with no quarantine or restrictions on movement.
The requirement for health insurance has also been scrapped. While the visa-on-arrival service remains suspended, tourist e-visas can be applied online in advance of travel.
Virginie Kury, general manager at Asian Trails Cambodia, said: “This means we’re back to business and the economy will slowly be able to restart. Guides, hoteliers, restaurateurs and all staff in tourism businesses will be able to breathe again by earning a decent salary.”
The move also means Cambodia is the only South-east Asian country to fully reopen with very few restrictions, presenting an opportunity the industry is hoping to seize.
Jacques Guichandut, managing director of All Dreams Cambodia, said: “This means we are the sandbox for South-east Asia and can really be seen as one destination. It will encourage the tourism sector to reconsider Cambodia and change the image we had.”
The announcement supersedes previous plans to stagger Cambodia’s reopening. This was slated to start on November 30, with vaccinated arrivals spending five days at the coastal resort of Sihanoukville, Koh Rong island or the Dara Sakor area of Koh Kong.
The Cambodian premier said the full opening was due to Cambodia having vaccinated more than 88 per cent of the population. Third booster jabs are being rolled out countrywide.
In spite of the full opening, Guichandut predicts initial recovery will be slow, and will only start to pick up in 1Q2022. With Cambodia’s inbound international arrivals pre-Covid predominantly from Asia, he added predicting a full recovery is tough as quarantines continue to be widespread across the region.
Tourism Australia has had to shift its focus to the domestic market during the pandemic. What were some of the challenges over the past year and how did you address them?
When Covid-19 emerged last year, Tourism Australia had recently returned to domestic marketing for the first time since 2013, with the launch of the Holiday Here This Year campaign, in response to the 2019-20 summer bushfires. With the pause of international travel due to the pandemic, we were ready to refocus greater attention on marketing to an Australian audience to encourage domestic travel.
Apart from the challenges of travel restrictions and having some stop-start moments to getting travel up and running again, one of the challenges we found as we returned to market domestically is that Australians may not know what’s on offer in their own backyard as well as they think they do.
Typically, the domestic holidays people take tend to be similar each year while the research and dreaming goes into the big overseas trip. So, our domestic marketing has also encouraged Australians to think differently about domestic holidays and to travel more like an international traveller would when exploring their own backyard.
What do you see are the biggest needs of the tourism industry right now, and what are you doing to meet them?
The thing that will really support the industry in getting back on its feet is to have people travelling again, and the pathway to achieving this is through vaccination. That’s why in August we launched the It’s our best shot for travel initiative, which was designed to encourage the community to support the tourism industry by getting their Covid-19 vaccination.
Australia’s plan is to rely less on lockdowns when vaccination rates reach 70-80 per cent. How confident are you that domestic tourism will return then and why?
We know from our consumer research that there is pent-up demand for travel, and Australians are keen to take a domestic holiday. Research shows that Australians want to travel again. Our Travel Sentiment Tracker from September shows Australians are increasingly feeling like they need a holiday, with 67 per cent indicating they want to take a holiday in the next six months.
In 2021, we have seen that demand for domestic travel reach a new high for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with Australians booking more domestic holidays and spending more when they travel. After many months of decline, the figures for May 2021 (prior to the Delta outbreaks) show that overnight trip expenditure exceeded 2019 levels by nine per cent or an additional A$540 million (US$407.1 million). The average spend per trip also increased to A$778, up 25 per cent compared to May 2019.
What are your plans now that the Australian government has announced the reopening of international borders?
Our intention is to ramp up our marketing as quickly as possible, with a focus on converting interest in Australia into bookings. We know there will be increased competition between destinations looking to rebuild their visitor economies, and returning to pre-Covid levels of travel will take time. However, we are certainly looking forward to, once again, welcoming visitors from our key markets to Australia.
Since the launch of its guest experience management platform Xperium in 2018, India-based RepUp has seen its portfolio grow to nearly 30,000 rooms across South-east Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the US.
Xperium leverages AI to deliver analytics and automation that drive revenue, increase guest satisfaction and streamline operations for hospitality businesses.
The company plans to add another 30,000 rooms to its Xperium platform by end-2022: Prashar
Unlike most similar products on the market that only have transactional data about the guest, Xperium provides data such as the number of visits, average spend, average feedback score, online reviews, and more.
This data, along with the company’s in-house machine learning models, enable hotels to personalise guest experience based on purchase behaviour, past visits, feedback and guest preferences. This allows hotels to maximise revenue per guest through upselling and to offer relevant offers that have higher conversion rates through targeted omnichannel marketing.
“We have seen three to seven per cent additional revenue generated for our clients as a result of targeted marketing campaigns, upsells and direct bookings,” said Pranjal Prashar, CEO and co-founder at RepUp.
“Hotels use our solution in many ways, from highly specific campaigns like sending a freebie to guests on their fifth visit to simple upsells like room upgrades, spa packages, etc. Hotels have also been using the platform for remarketing to past guests or selling use-later vouchers during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Many of the company’s hotel clients used the platform to promote staycation/daycation packages, F&B offerings to customers within driving distance, and spa packages during the pandemic, shared Prashar.
And, despite the pandemic, the company expects to double its portfolio by the end of next year.
“We have a very healthy sales pipeline in these markets because of new partnerships and integrations built during the pandemic, and we expect to add another 30,000 rooms by the end of 2022,” said Prashar.
“In 2022, the markets of US, Middle East and South-east Asia are going to bring in an additional 15,000 rooms, whereas 10,000 are going to come from previously churned customers that stopped subscription due to the pandemic.”
He added the company has partnered with Guesty and a few other platforms to venture into a new vertical – vacation rentals, which is expected to contribute another 5,000 rooms.
Creating multiple local PMS partnerships is key to growing the company’s business since a lot of hotels prefer to use regional PMS players, explained Prashar.
During the pandemic, the company integrated with many PMS and strengthened its partnerships in target markets with key players, including Oracle, WINHMS, IDS, Cloudbeds and Hotelogix.
RepUp was among nine companies picked to be the pioneer cohort of the Singapore Tourism Accelerator, launched in October 2019 by the Singapore Tourism Board. The company’s participation in the programme pushed it to expand to other industry verticals, revealed Prashar.
“We opened up a new vertical dedicated to covering attractions, and the Singapore Tourism Board was a key part of this initiative. Customer experience and reputation is a larger problem for not just hospitality, but any customer facing brand,” he said, adding that the company has also ventured into the luxury retail segment which it is “highly optimistic” about.
Prashar said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the hospitality sector’s recovery, and has plans to strengthen the company’s presence across the globe over time.
He noted that the markets in which Xperium has a presence in are starting to see a pick-up in activity, and that global hotel occupancy has reached 60 per cent, almost double the occupancy figures in 2020 – which, though far from 2019 numbers, are “a big improvement”.
“Our direct focus is going to be in the Middle East, Africa and South-east Asian markets because we have a good presence there and the growth opportunity is immense. We are also expanding in the US through a partnership model with existing players in micro markets,” he said.
A new seaplane terminal at the Maldives’ Velana International Airport is scheduled to open next year, followed by a second runway, officials said.
State-owned Maldives Airports Company general manager Hassan Areef said while there may have been delays, work is progressing in these two major developments at the country’s main international airport.
Construction of seaplane terminal at Velana International Airport delayed
The Maldives, with a fleet of over 55 planes, has one of the largest seaplane operations in the world as the over 200 resorts in the archipelago are all accessible only by sea or air. “We are hoping to open the new seaplane terminal next year followed by the new runway,” said Areef.
The tourism industry has expressed concerns over delays at the airport due to overcapacity and long waiting times for incoming aircraft.
According to Ahmed Karam, a guesthouse owner and former president of the Guesthouse Association of the Maldives, the delay in opening the second runway at the airport is affecting the growth of tourism.
“The capacity at the airport has increased over the years and more airlines are flying in. Planes have to circle the airport for 20-30 minutes before landing due to the traffic,” he said.
However, Areef said while seasonal traffic has increased – with Maldives expecting a solid winter season of arrivals – these delays are nothing new and seen in most international airports including Heathrow in the UK.
“Once when I was travelling to Turkey, we had to circle several times over Istanbul airport. This is a common occurrence in many airports,” he told TTG Asia.
He also pointed out that the airport delays are due to European carriers arriving at the same time and not according to arrival slots allocated. “Some of them arrive earlier than the scheduled times which then creates some delays,” he said.
Abdulla Ghiyas, former president of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, said there has been an increase in scheduled flights operated by airlines like Emirates, Flydubai, Qatar Airways, Etihad and British Airways. “There are also several charter flights operating,” he added.
The airport caters to some 35 international airlines connecting the Maldives to over 40 destinations. Passenger capacity has been increasing, with the airport currently catering to three million people annually. A new terminal being built, which is scheduled to be ready by 2023, will cater to 7.5 million passengers.
Meanwhile, a new apron, part of the airport redevelopment project covering an area of 35,000m2, was opened this month. It can accommodate a maximum of nine aircraft.
The Maldives is targeting 1.3 million tourists this year, with operators saying this figure would be easily achieved due to steady arrivals and a positive winter season in spite of the pandemic.
Tourism Australia has kicked off a campaign to welcome Singaporean citizens back to Australia, ahead of the opening up of quarantine-free travel for vaccinated citizens from Singapore to Australia on November 21.
The two-phase campaign, with the tagline We’re Excited to Welcome You Back, features destination imagery of the participating jurisdictions of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. It commenced on November 12, with the next phase to roll out on November 21.
“As one of our largest inbound markets, we have long held strong tourism ties with Singapore, so we are really excited to be welcoming this market back,” said Brent Anderson, Tourism Australia regional general manager South and South-east Asia.
He noted that Australia has long been a popular travel destination for Singaporeans, who spent A$1.53 billion (US$1.12 billion) on their travels here in 2019, and with more than 80 per cent repeat visitation.
“Australia’s relative isolation from the rest of the world, coupled with its sparsely populated land and natural wonders, have never been more precious and desirable, and we hope Singaporeans will jump on the opportunity to fall in love with Australia all over again,” said Anderson.
As part of the campaign, Tourism Australia is working with a range of key distribution partners to drive bookings and boost recovery for Australia’s hard-hit tourism economy, including Chan Brothers, UOB Travel, Dynasty Travel, CheapTickets.sg and Klook who will provide tactical offers aimed at stimulating travel to Australia from Singapore. Details of the available travel offers and packages are available on australia.com.
Tourism Australia is also partnering with Singapore Airlines and Qantas to support the recovery of the airline industry and recommence services into Australia in the coming months.
Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, will launch a new service between Singapore and London’s Gatwick Airport via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.
In addition to being the sole LCC to operate non-stop flights between Bangkok and London, this will also mark the airline’s entry into the UK.
Scoot expands Europe network to London’s Gatwick Airport
The carrier will operate three weekly Singapore-Bangkok-London services between December 16-27, and one daily service on the same route between December 29-30.
Flights will resume in March 2022, with two-times-weekly services from March 22. This will be increased to three flights per week from March 27.
All flights will be operated by Scoot’s widebody Boeing 787 Dreamliners offering both Economy and ScootPlus cabins.
With the addition of London, Scoot will serve more than 30 destinations in December, as it progressively builds back to its pre-Covid coverage of 68 cities.
Singapore will extend its vaccinated travel lane (VTL) scheme to India, Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as the country continues with the gradual reopening of its borders.
Under the VTL, Singapore will allow entry for travellers from Indonesia starting November 29; and travellers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE from December 6, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in a press release on Monday (November 15).
The latest extension of Singapore’s VTL scheme brings the total number of VTL countries from 16 to 21
CAAS said that it also plans to launch a VTL for India for entry into Singapore from November 29.
Fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore under the VTLs are not subject to quarantine or stay-home notice, and just need to undergo Covid-19 testing. Unvaccinated children aged 12 years and below will be allowed to travel under the VTL into Singapore if they are accompanied by a traveller who meets all the requirements.
CAAS noted that Indonesia, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are in Category II of MOH’s country/region classification for border measures; with similar or lower Covid-19 incidence rates than Singapore.
The VTL started on September 8 with two countries – Brunei and Germany. With the latest extension, the total number of VTL countries will increase from 16 to 21. Consequently, the quota for all VTL countries will be increased from 6,000 to 10,000 travellers daily, said CAAS.
Countries that Singapore has established VTLs with are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
The country will also be launching VTLs with Malaysia, Finland, and Sweden from November 29.
Myanmar will reopen land border crossings with China and Thailand next month ahead of a planned resumption of international air travel by 1Q2022.
The decision comes as vaccination rates have improved significantly amid clear signs of economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a statement by the Ministry of Information.
Maung Maung Ohn, minister of information, said travel restrictions will be eased by January 2022 at Muse which borders Ruili city in China’s Yunnan Province and at the three Myanmar towns of Tachileik, Kawthaung and Htee Kee which border Thailand.
Travel at border crossings with Laos, India and Bangladesh are currently permitted due to lower incidences of infection.
According to the statement, the government continues to receive vaccines mainly from China through donations and national procurement programmes.
A total of 14.4 million citizens above the age of 18, or 42.5 per cent of the population, have received at least one dose of vaccine as of Friday. This will increase to 50 per cent of the population by end of 2021.
With the acceleration of the vaccination programme, coupled with a fall in Covid-19 cases, the State Administration Council is accelerating resumption of social and economic activity to restore national stability following the challenges of the pandemic and the internal social unrest.
To prepare to resume international air travel, six government ministries are coordinating efforts to standardise testing and safety procedures such as social distancing, contact tracing and quarantine as well as vaccination status certification, the minister said.
“Air travel is important to facilitate the return of Myanmar citizens, expatriates, aid and development workers, and international business travel. We must ensure that hotels, transportation, health facilities, airports and airline operators are ready to meet the standard operating procedures. We will keep various embassies informed of progress,” he said.
The minister also said the government is cautiously assessing infection rates abroad ahead of the European winter. “Once our vaccination programme reaches targets and if global infection rates drop, we intend to resume international air travel in the first quarter of 2022,” he said.
“This will benefit not just tourism but also commercial activity and bilateral social, cultural and development activities and exchanges. In recent months, we have received substantial foreign interest in investments and business opportunities. These parties are eager to travel to Myanmar to conclude transactions.”
Despite clear evidence of economic sabotage and the effects of the pandemic, economic activity has largely restarted across most parts of the country with the onset of the dry season last month, the minister said.
He added: “Myanmar is recovering from challenges of a health pandemic, an economic downturn and social and political disturbances. The vaccination programme and the economic recovery efforts are gaining momentum… Business confidence is returning especially in major cities where religious activities recently have all been well attended. The resumption of air travel will be an important catalyst for tourism, the return of foreign investments and international business activities.”
As of November 12, the country has recorded a total of 511,717 cases of infection and 18,899 deaths due to Covid-19.