Tourism Australia has relaunched its Aussie Specialist Programme worldwide with a newly upgraded website and the addition of new modules.
The virtual launch in Indonesia which took place yesterday (October 14) via Zoom was joined by 264 travel consultants from Jakarta, Surabaya and other parts of the country.
Travel agents showcase their boomerang paintings during a webinar workshop held by Tourism Australia
The webinar workshop, which highlighted Australia’s indigenous culture, encouraged the Indonesian outbound travel consultants to spice up their itineraries with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural experiences.
Apart from a tutorial on products and services, the travel consultants were also taken on a virtual cultural guided walking tour. As well, in line with the theme, a boomerang painting competition was held among the agents.
The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) has been called upon to be more vocal in fighting for the reopening of domestic tourism which, in pre-pandemic times, has shown to reap manifold more returns than the international market.
In 2019, domestic tourists reached 110 million and tourism earnings from them totalled 3.14 trillion pesos (US$61.8 billion), said tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in submitting to the Senate the proposed 2022 budget for DOT and its attached agencies.
Repeated cycles of lockdowns have hindered Philippines’ tourism recovery; tourists at Esmeris Farm, a campsite and local attraction in Laguna pictured
It compares favourably to pre-pandemic foreign tourists totalling 8.26 million and contributing 482.61 billion pesos (US$9.5 billion) in foreign exchange receipts.
Senator and former tourism secretary Richard Gordon told the DOT to be more vocal in asserting the importance of reopening domestic tourism. “I don’t think we should remain locked up. We should open up places that we can corral such as Palawan,” he said.
Gordon noted the “magic of tourism,” citing 2019’s figures of the country recording 110 million domestic tourists – “practically the whole of Philippines” – resulting in considerable contributions to the economy, including tourist dollars, income tax paid by tourism establishments and 5.7 million jobs generated.
Moreover, domestic tourism is likely to bounce back faster than foreign inbound based on DOT’s forecast under three recovery scenarios: upside or mild, medium to harsh, and downside or severe.
For 2022, the domestic market is forecast to recover 61 per cent of its 2019 levels under upside or mild scenario; 49 per cent under medium or harsh, and 35 per cent under downside or severe.
In contrast, over the same period, foreign inbound market is seen to recover 43 per cent of its 2019 levels under upside or mild scenario; 22 per cent under medium to harsh; and 22 per cent under downside or severe.
And as the travel trade concur that the focus should be on reviving domestic tourism, Philippine Tour Operators Association president, Cesar Cruz, said that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) should have a better approach than lockdown and halting leisure travel whenever a Covid-19 surge happens.
“After being in this situation for more than one-and-a-half years, there should be a better approach… I believe that no single tour operator can really make it (if this stop-start lockdown cycles continued),” Cruz said during the Second Tourism and Technology Forum organised by the Tourism Promotions Board.
“At least for domestic tourism, we are pleading the government to review the travel restrictions, the actions to be taken when (a new Covid outbreak) emerges… Please consider what could be the positive effect of tourism, especially on the economy and lives of the people,” Cruz said.
He pointed out that India, for example, is still allowing domestic travel even though parts of the country remain at high-risk for Covid-19; while the focus of tourism marketing in China, Australia and Japan is on the domestic market which has been keeping their travel sectors afloat.
Cruz further highlighted the pent-up demand for travel in the Philippines, as people were eager “just to get out of the house, and even (trips within a) 25 to 50 km radius is enough”, citing a demand spike during the short time that those from metro Manila were allowed to travel to other destinations.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore has been renamed as the Mandai Wildlife Group, which will be the new corporate entity encompassing both the zoological park operations and the ongoing rejuvenation work at the Mandai precinct.
Singapore’s wildlife parks will be located together in the new integrated destination that is being named Mandai Wildlife Reserve. With the parks now under one brand, the group also announced changes to the visual identities of its parks.
A keeper at Mandai Wildlife Reserve in the new uniform (Photo credit: Mandai Wildlife Group)
While the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari retain their names, River Safari has been renamed River Wonders, and the new bird park replacing the Jurong Bird Park will be named Bird Paradise.
Dedicated to bird conservation, the new park will house one of the largest numbers of threatened avian species under human care. The reserve will also feature Rainforest Wild, which offers explorations within a rainforest setting.
A new Masterbrand Mandai that embodies the passion and commitment for a thriving, biodiverse planet was also unveiled alongside the new corporate identity. Its new tagline, Come to life, serves both as an invitation to come closer to nature and experience the wonders of wildlife at Mandai Wildlife Reserve, and a call to take action and protect the planet by making better choices every day.
“Mandai Wildlife Group is committed to the vision of thriving wildlife and human communities living side-by-side, in well-functioning ecosystems”, said Group CEO, Mike Barclay.
“In working towards this vision, our focus therefore goes beyond protecting animals and habitats, to encompassing community support, championing sustainable living and promoting nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change. Our rebranding comes at a critical time when action is urgently needed to mitigate climate change and reverse the devastating decline in the earth’s biodiversity.”
The Group will continue to support field conservation work by deploying its wildlife expertise in the areas of conservation planning, veterinary services, animal care and research.
Aside from the new developments under the new Mandai Rejuvenation Project, Mandai Wildlife Group continually re-invests in its wildlife parks.
Among the enhancements in the pipeline for the existing parks include a new amphitheatre at the Night Safari and a revamped Kidzworld in Singapore Zoo. In complementing the suite of virtual learning journeys and back-of-house guided experiences, the group will also roll out the Ranger Buddies, an expanded programme with phygital activities.
The rollout of the new brand identity and logos, along with additional visual assets, has commenced with a change in the group’s corporate attire and the rollout of new platforms such as the website, social media channels, e-tickets, and key park signages. The complete brand changeover is expected to take place by the end of 2022.
Khiri Travel Sri Lanka has created four ecotourism tours in the country for visitors interested in respecting nature, going local and giving back.
From Mirissa on the southern tip of Sri Lanka, guests can sail in a catamaran with a marine biologist to spot blue whales and dolphins. The trip includes swimming, stand-up paddling, and a seafood lunch on board.
Guests can volunteer in a seagrass restoration project in Sri Lanka with Khiri Travel’s new ecotourism offering
In the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka, the Trails of Matale trip lets guests talk to villagers and hike through pepper, cinnamon and coffee plantations before savouring a banana leaf lunch.
In the Kandy hill country, Khiri has created an educational tour of herb gardens in the forest to show how spices such as cinnamon are cultivated. The trip includes a mug of locally grown “wild coffee”, a forest curry lunch and a donation to a reforestation foundation.
Guests can also help with a seagrass restoration project in the Puttalam/Kalpitiya area in the north-west of the country. The experience involves getting muddy and wet in a lagoon planting seagrass, which is an important breeding ground for sea life; followed by a Sri Lankan meal.
Khiri has since January 2021 been offsetting guests’ holiday carbon emissions by charging US$1.50 per person per day. The process is being carried out in cooperation with ClimateCare which helps companies such as Khiri Travel with the technical fulfilment of carbon offsetting.
Since October 7, fully vaccinated tourists can enter Sri Lanka without quarantine, and they only need to present a negative Covid-19 PCR test result taken within 72 hours of embarkation for Colombo.
Frasers Hospitality has opened the doors of a new tower at Fraser Suites Hanoi, which has been decked out with a luxurious sky lounge and pool offering panoramic views of the West Lake district.
Set to be launched in December, the Sky Lounge and Pool will feature a 72m² rooftop pool and daybeds. At night, the area will be transformed into a lively venue, with the property’s resident DJ providing live entertainment. Additionally, the new tower features apartments which has been fully fitted with modern conveniences.
The new tower at Fraser Suites Hanoi will feature the Sky Lounge and Pool slated to open in December
Guests will also have access to Elite Fitness, one of the most luxurious gyms in the city with a variety of classes for fitness enthusiasts. The new facilities and amenities add to Fraser Suites Hanoi’s current offerings such as its jacuzzi and meeting facilities.
The property’s expansion also brings about elevated F&B offerings. Scheduled to open in December, contemporary Japanese restaurant Mizumi provides exclusivity with private dining and a teppanyaki area. For those who enjoy curated dining experiences, the restaurant’s omakase offering is carefully paired with selected Japanese whiskey and sake.
The Ascott Limited (Ascott) has formed a strategic partnership with Vietnamese developer Sun Group to manage Vietnam’s largest serviced residence integrated development.
Under the agreement, Ascott will manage 1,905 units across three serviced residence brands – The Crest Collection, Ascott The Residence, and Citadines Apart’hotel – within Sun Group’s Tay Ho View Complex in Hanoi, an integrated development in the city’s exclusive waterfront Tay Ho district.
Ascott’s three serviced residences will sit within the Tay Ho View Complex in Hanoi
Currently only available in France, this is the first time The Crest Collection will debut in Asia. In addition to Ascott’s trio of serviced residences, which are expected to open in phases from 1Q2023, the integrated development also comprises commercial and retail elements.
Ascott The Residence will offer 1,167 units comprising suites, studio, one- to four-bedroom apartments and duplex units, while Citadines Apart’hotel will offer 710 units comprising studio, one- to four-bedroom apartments and duplex units. The Crest Collection will offer 28 exclusive units, comprising three- and four-bedroom duplex apartments.
Facilities at the three properties will include residents’ lounges, a reading room, gyms, Michelin-starred restaurants, a club as well as a sky bar.
With the addition of the three serviced residences, Ascott’s portfolio in Vietnam comprises about 9,200 lodging units in over 30 properties across 12 cities.
With approximately 1,600 hotels spanning 14 trusted brands across Asia Pacific, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts holds a leading presence in key business and leisure destinations across the region.
This portfolio is supported by the Wyndham Rewards loyalty programme. Designed for the everyday traveller, members earn a guaranteed 1,000 points with every qualified stay, or 10 points per dollar (whichever is more).
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Wyndham Rewards members may redeem points for a range of rewards, including free nights at approximately 50,000 hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally through affiliation with Wyndham Destinations.
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With small group travel poised to gain traction post-pandemic, Switzerland Tourism, Kuoni Tumlare and Swiss Travel Systems have joined hands to launch a joint campaign promoting mini group tours via train in Switzerland among South-east Asian markets.
Two years in the making, the initiative promotes guided tours using only public transport options such as trains, ships and buses.
Tripartite partnership between Switzerland Tourism, Kuoni Tumlare and Swiss Travel Systems taps on trend for small group travel post-Covid
Reto Kaufmann, vice president – sales & operations South-east & South Asia, Kuoni Tumlare, shared that this new product rollout is “timely” as it taps into the post-pandemic preference for travelling in small groups to limit potential risk exposure.
“The underlying concept is to offer visitors to Switzerland a more sustainable way to explore Switzerland using the Swiss public transportation network,” he said, adding that the exclusive itineraries offer “a value-for-money proposition” for certain travellers.
The mini group tours leverage the Swiss Travel Pass which offers unlimited journeys by train, bus and boat for consecutive days; and includes free travel for children up to 16 years and reduced cost for young adults.
“The need for more private and tailor-made travel coupled with an increasing desire to reduce one’s impact on the environment were the triggers for this project,” said Batiste Pilet, director South-east Asia of Switzerland Tourism.
“With the progressive recovery of the industry, the whole supply chain needs to reboot, and for us, as an NTO, it is a great opportunity to exploit new trends and rebuild better the industry, with a stronger focus on the customer experience and towards more sustainability.”
Reto added: “As a matter of fact, we have received first requests for incentive groups that aim for a more sustainable way of travel with the goal to reduce their carbon footprint while in Switzerland.”
While the ideal group sizes for these small guided tours are two to nine persons, larger groups can also be accommodated, Reto said. He pointed out that as reservations can be made on most of the trains and lake cruises, travellers need not worry even when travelling in a larger group.
Switzerland Tourism and Kuoni Tumlare are working with travel agencies in the region to promote exclusive itineraries for these mini group tours by co-financing the marketing efforts.
Said Batiste: “In the early stage of the recovery, we wanted to support our key agents to regain visibility in their market and reconnect with their customers. After the (travel) disruption, we believe that this will speed up the recovery of their sales channels.”
Moreover, by partnering with Swiss Travel Systems, the initiative offers clients door-to-door baggage handling services, with two options available. Travellers can have their luggage transported from their departing country direct to their first overnight hotel and subsequently for every hotel booked in the programme, or hand over their baggage at the arriving airport in Switzerland to be sent to their first overnight hotel and to the rest of the hotels based on their itinerary.
Batiste believes that the demand for this mode of travel spans across the different markets in South-east Asia.
“The product itself is customisable to accommodate the clients’ preferences; however, the trends towards smaller groups and sustainability are global and should find resonance in every market in the region,” he said, adding that by working with agents, they can better meet each market’s specificities.
Reto said they have seen a gradual take-up of bookings right after the product’s soft launch in all South-east Asian markets as well as in India, and expects demand to further grow towards the year-end holiday season as travel restrictions ease across Asia.
He added that given Switzerland’s reputation as “an extremely reliable and safe destination”, they are projecting an “over-proportional buy in” into these packages.
Philippine tourism leaders are clamouring for one integrated app to serve post-pandemic domestic travellers, while contending that human touch is here to stay even as the industry gears towards smart tourism.
At the Second Tourism and Technology Forum organised by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), it was revealed that the current digital platform leaves much to be desired, with local government units (LGUs) of various destinations having varying apps for approving tourists’ entry, contact tracing, QR codes and the like.
Usage of a common app across the Philippines will help make travel easier and less complicated, says trade; passengers undergoing safety checks at airport in Panglao, Bohol pictured
Monette Iturralde-Hamlin, PACEOS (Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers) vice president for conventions, said the tourism industry needs one integrated app that can be used across the entire country to facilitate the return of travel.
He explained that having one integrated system would simplify health and safety protocols when travelling, and make for a better quality app.
Philippine Tour Operators Associations (Philtoa) president Cesar Cruz said that while tourists in overseas destinations only have to register their details on one app, domestic tourists in the Philippines had to, at one time, fill in their details on about four different apps and obtain four QR codes.
Calling the procedure “complicated”, Cruz questioned why the other LGUs aren’t able to adopt Bagui City’s Visita app so that only one app needs to be used so as to enable efficiency and encourage more domestic travel.
Jojo Clemente, president, Tourism Congress of the Philippines, agreed on the need for an integrated app and, in future, a global app when international travel returns.
Clemente, however, stressed on “the need for human touch”. He said that technology can only do so much, and human touch is needed to enhance the experience, for instance, when people get frustrated booking online.
Concurring, Margie Munsayac, chair of Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International, said: “People are more comfortable talking to a human being than a chatbot because they can get the information they want.”
Both Clemente and Munsayac said the challenge for the industry is how to add the human touch into the customer experience, while maximising digital connectivity.
Singaporeans are eager to travel abroad again, with Airbnb seeing a rapid surge in searches by Singaporean travellers to all eleven vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) destinations, following the announcement by the government on the expansion of the scheme to include nine new countries.
According to Airbnb’s internal data, the UK, South Korea, the US and France topped the list of most searched international destinations by Singaporean guests from October 8-10. This was followed by Germany, Italy, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Brunei.
The UK and South Korea top the list of most searched global destinations by Singaporean guests on Airbnb
Additionally, searches for Airbnb accommodation in South Korea, Denmark and Italy saw a significant spike.
Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb’s general manager for Southeast Asia, India, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said: “Renowned for being enthusiastic globetrotters, Singaporeans are clearly excited about once again dusting off their passports and planning a trip abroad. Many are looking to take advantage of international travel opening up to revisit favourite destinations, seek out new experiences and reconnect with loved ones.”
Wildlife Reserves Singapore has been renamed as the Mandai Wildlife Group, which will be the new corporate entity encompassing both the zoological park operations and the ongoing rejuvenation work at the Mandai precinct.
Singapore’s wildlife parks will be located together in the new integrated destination that is being named Mandai Wildlife Reserve. With the parks now under one brand, the group also announced changes to the visual identities of its parks.
While the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari retain their names, River Safari has been renamed River Wonders, and the new bird park replacing the Jurong Bird Park will be named Bird Paradise.
Dedicated to bird conservation, the new park will house one of the largest numbers of threatened avian species under human care. The reserve will also feature Rainforest Wild, which offers explorations within a rainforest setting.
A new Masterbrand Mandai that embodies the passion and commitment for a thriving, biodiverse planet was also unveiled alongside the new corporate identity. Its new tagline, Come to life, serves both as an invitation to come closer to nature and experience the wonders of wildlife at Mandai Wildlife Reserve, and a call to take action and protect the planet by making better choices every day.
“Mandai Wildlife Group is committed to the vision of thriving wildlife and human communities living side-by-side, in well-functioning ecosystems”, said Group CEO, Mike Barclay.
“In working towards this vision, our focus therefore goes beyond protecting animals and habitats, to encompassing community support, championing sustainable living and promoting nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change. Our rebranding comes at a critical time when action is urgently needed to mitigate climate change and reverse the devastating decline in the earth’s biodiversity.”
The Group will continue to support field conservation work by deploying its wildlife expertise in the areas of conservation planning, veterinary services, animal care and research.
Aside from the new developments under the new Mandai Rejuvenation Project, Mandai Wildlife Group continually re-invests in its wildlife parks.
Among the enhancements in the pipeline for the existing parks include a new amphitheatre at the Night Safari and a revamped Kidzworld in Singapore Zoo. In complementing the suite of virtual learning journeys and back-of-house guided experiences, the group will also roll out the Ranger Buddies, an expanded programme with phygital activities.
The rollout of the new brand identity and logos, along with additional visual assets, has commenced with a change in the group’s corporate attire and the rollout of new platforms such as the website, social media channels, e-tickets, and key park signages. The complete brand changeover is expected to take place by the end of 2022.