SIA to serve dishes from famed hawker brands on select flights
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has launched an initiative to support and collaborate with leading Singaporean brands to offer unique on ground and inflight experiences for its global customer base.
Under the initiative, dubbed Singapore Showcase, SIA has worked with several Singaporean hawker brands to make their dishes available to customers on board the airline’s flights out of the city-state.
These include Boon Tong Kee’s chicken rice, Bismillah Biryani Restaurant’s chicken dum biryani, Song Fa bak kut teh, Qiu Lian ban mian, Kok Kee wonton noodle, as well as the Beach Road prawn noodle.
Starting from September 2021, each hawker dish will be available on rotation on the inflight menu in first class and business class on selected flights departing from Singapore. There are plans to introduce popular dishes by other famous brands in the coming months.
This initiative is also a celebration of Singapore’s Hawker Culture, which was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021, said the airline in a release.
As well, the carrier has partnered local media production and distribution companies such as Encore Inflight, Mediacorp, and MM2 Entertainment to offer more Singaporean content in its KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system from this month. This will include Singaporean movies, documentaries, TV series, music, and podcasts.
SIA has also worked with Scent by SIX, a Singapore artisanal perfume label, to develop a signature scent for the airline. Dubbed Batik Flora by Singapore Airlines, the scent includes floral notes from flowers in SIA’s new batik motif and aims to provide “a unique sensory experience” for the airline’s customers.
The scent will be progressively introduced at key customer-facing SIA locations from October 2021, starting with the SIA service centre at ION Orchard. Customers will also be able to enjoy this signature scent at SIA’s redeveloped SilverKris Lounge at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3, when it reopens.
Batik Flora by Singapore Airlines will be produced in the forms of reed diffusers, pillow mists, and an eau de toilette fragrance, and will be available for sale exclusively on KrisShop.com from October 2021.
Step this way into a world of arts and culture
Brought to you by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO)
Once upon a time a valuable intermediary for international trade between Asia and the western world, Macao today continues to play an important role in connecting different worlds. However, that connection now feeds the exchange and appreciation of arts and culture.
Central to Macao’s recognised status as global arts and culture hub is Art Macao, a massive festival that occurs once every two years to bring the world’s artistic community together with public and private sectors to share diverse visual arts experiences.
Running between July and October this year, the Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2021 adopts the theme, To Create for Well-being, in hopes of reshaping the humanistic spirit in a post-epidemic era through creative ideas.
As the destination transforms into a gallery and art garden for the festival, visitors are invited to explore several sections: Main Exhibition, Special Exhibition of Resorts and Hotels, Public Art Exhibition, Creative City Pavilion, Selected Works by Local Artists and Collateral Exhibition, among many others.
The Main Exhibition, themed Advance and Retreat of Globalization, is curated by Qiu Zhijie, one of the most influential contemporary artists in China and dean of the School of Experimental Art of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. It invites visitors to reflect on and discuss the theme of globalisation through an artistic lens, while echoing the geographical and cultural identities of Macao. The Main Exhibition features a collection of over 100 artworks from more than 40 artists from Mainland China and beyond.
Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2021 also sees the participation of other prestigious cities such as Nanjing, the City of Literature; Wuhan, the City of Design; and Linz, the City of Media Arts.
A host of venues supporting the event includes Macao Cultural Centre, Macao Contemporary Art Center, Tap Seac Gallery and Mong-Ha Villas, as well as integrated resorts such as Galaxy Macau, City of Dreams, MGM Cotai, The Venetian Macao, Grand Lisboa Macau and Wynn Palace.
Beyond the arts
Visitors to Art Macao will discover far more to do and see in the destination, with the help of new information counters set up within six local hotels and integrated resorts. Macao Government Tourism Office hopes these facilities will provide relevant destination information and promote programmes offered by the Macao Highlight Tours and Stay, Dine and See Macao projects.
Stay, Dine and See Macao features local tours and hotel staycations for Macao residents, with the aim of supporting the local hospitality trade. The project is expected to spur domestic spend in communities, driving a revival of the tourism and related industries. Up till July 31, a total of 32,961 participants have embarked on local tours, and 44,497 overnight guests have enjoyed local hotel packages.
Meanwhile, Macao Highlight Tours programmes are tailored to introduce visitors to Macao’s history, cultural landscape and “tourism+” elements. Themed itineraries include Amazing one-day tour with MAK MAK, and Private helicopter charter ride.
These information counters are located at: Grande Praça of MGM Macau; Business Center of Wynn Palace; Lobby of Studio City; Lobby of Grand Lisboa; ground floor (near Tastes of Asia) of Galaxy Macau; and West Lobby of The Venetian Macao. Operating hours are from 10.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 19:00 daily.
As Macao continues to craft meaningful activities for visitors, hotel accommodation options are expanding too. The destination welcomes the opening of the Lisboeta Macau integrated resort and the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort.
Lisboeta Macau by Macau Theme Park And Resort offers 820 guestrooms across three unique themes – Lisboeta, Line Friends presents Casa De Amigo, and Maison L’Occitane. A plethora of entertainment options adds to its charms, from heart-racing fun at GoAirborne Indoor SkyDiving and Zipcity to lifestyle indulgences through gastronomic adventures and retail therapy at themed night market and malls.
The Grand Lisboa Palace Resort in the Cotai district, developed by SJM Holdings, reflects Macau’s history of Sino-Western cultural exchange through its architecture, facilities and services. Luxurious accommodation and an impeccable line-up of world-renowned, first-to-Macau and trendsetting F&B brands come together to promise an exceptional stay for guests.
Getting there is half the fun
There are now new ways to get around Macao, with the opening of the Barra-Coloane Ferry Route. This is the first route that uses Barra Pier as a waypoint, offering travellers a 25-minute voyage that takes in views of Macao, Cotai, Zhuhai Shizimen Central Business District, Hengqin, Coloane and other iconic landscapes. The route also offers nature lovers a look at mangroves and resident egrets.
Also new to Macao is the MAK MAK Light Rapid Transit (LRT) Pass, launched on August 1 to allow Air Macau passengers to redeem their boarding pass for a special LRT pass at the Macau International Airport. The redemption is valid within seven days of arrival in Macao, and the pass grants holders unlimited rides on the Macao LRT network for three days. Thereafter, the ticket can be recharged with more credits for further rides.
For more travel updates and inspirations, follow Mak Mak Macao (on Instagram), Stopover Macao (on Facebook), and Macao Moments (on Twitter), or visit the Macao Government Tourism Office website
APAC hotel construction pipeline drops slightly in 2Q2021
Asia-Pacific’s hotel construction pipeline, excluding China, registered a slight decline in 2Q2021, dropping to 1,701 projects and 364,487 rooms, down 11 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, year-over-year, found a recent report by Lodging Econometrics (LE).
At the end of Q2, the region has 852 projects with 195,940 rooms under construction. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 390 projects with 73,447 rooms, while projects in the early planning stage stand at 459 projects with 95,100 rooms.
Countries in the Asia-Pacific region continue to face the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic to varying degrees. Some border closures and other travel restrictions have had a significant impact on the region’s economies, which rely heavily on tourism.
While breakouts, emerging variants, and slow-to-rollout vaccines have prolonged the road to recovery for many countries in the region, there are positive signs for the industry’s recovery and post-pandemic future, as many developers are optimistic and ready to move forward with long-delayed plans.
Countries with the largest pipelines in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, are led by Indonesia with 318 projects (51,197 rooms). India follows with 282 projects (37,617 rooms), then Vietnam with 180 projects (70,135 rooms). Next are Thailand with 135 projects (32,135 rooms) and Japan with 133 projects (27,567 rooms). These five countries account for 62 per cent of the pipeline projects in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China.
Asia-Pacific markets with the largest construction pipelines are led by Jakarta, Indonesia with 71 projects (12,376 rooms). Next is Seoul, South Korea with 63 projects (12,300 rooms); and Bangkok, Thailand with 48 projects (12,033 rooms). Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia follows with 45 projects (13,406 rooms); and Phuket, Thailand with 30 projects (6,637 rooms).
The top franchise companies in the region, accounting for 47 per cent of guest rooms in the total construction pipeline, are Marriott International with 260 projects (56,159 rooms); Accor with 217 projects (49,819 rooms); InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) at 142 projects (29,154 rooms); and Hilton Worldwide with 90 projects (21,089 rooms); and Hyatt Hotels with 72 projects (14,297 rooms).
Top brands in Asia-Pacific’s construction pipeline, excluding China, are IHG’s Holiday Inn at 51 projects (10,229 rooms); followed by Accor’s Novotel and Ibis brands with 49 projects (10,879 rooms) and 40 projects (7,980 rooms), respectively. Marriott International’s top brands at the close of 2Q are Fairfield Inn with 40 projects (6,334 rooms) and Courtyard at 37 projects (7,950 rooms).
Additionally, during 2Q2021, the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, saw 44 new hotels accounting for 7,010 rooms open. The region had 103 new hotels (18,534 rooms) open in 1H2021. There are another 216 new hotels (46,273 rooms) expected to open in 2H, bringing the expected total for new hotel openings to 319 new hotels (64,807 rooms) by the end of 2021.
The LE forecast anticipates new hotel openings to continue ascending with 330 projects (67,241 rooms) expected to open in 2022 and 350 projects (64,635 rooms) in 2023.
International travel searches on the rise, finds Expedia report
Travel search volumes globally continue its growth momentum, fuelled by vaccine rollouts and easing of international travel restrictions, according to Expedia Group Media Solutions’ 2Q2021 Travel Recovery Trend Report.
The quarterly report combines Expedia Group first-party data and custom research with actionable insights to help travel marketers on their road to recovery.
“Throughout Q2, we continued to see strong global search growth, rising international searches and lengthening search windows, among other key milestones,” said Wendy Olson Killion, senior vice president, media solutions. “Our optimism for the near-term travel rebound remains strong, and the latest Travel Recovery Trend Report will provide travel brands with insight into shifting traveller behaviours and attitudes around the world, while also highlighting industry accomplishments and progress to-date.”
Among key findings from the report are that travel searches globally are growing. Building on the momentum seen in Q1, monthly global search volumes continued to grow in Q2, increasing more than 70 per cent quarter-over-quarter. The ongoing rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and changes to travel restrictions around the world further drove searches, contributing to steady week-on-week volume.
In Q2, positive global search volume was seen during 11 of the 13 weeks in the quarter – a sharp contrast to the fluctuations seen throughout Q1 and 2020.
The sustained quarter-over-quarter global search volumes also align with a more optimistic consumer attitude for post-pandemic travel. According to Expedia Group’s Traveler Value Index Research, which surveyed respondents in eight countries around the world, 72 per cent of consumers are planning on travelling over the next 12 months.
As travellers continued to opt for trips closer to home in Q2, half of global searches again fell within the 0 to 21 days search window. However, the global search window is lengthening, indicating that traveller confidence is rising, and they are taking advantage of summer travel and starting to plan trips further out. Global searches 22 to 90 days out accounted for more than 35 per cent of searches in Q2, up nearly 25 per cent quarter-over-quarter.
Fifty-five percent of global domestic searches fell within the 0 to 21 days search window, while searches 22 to 90 days out increased by nearly 20 per cent quarter-over-quarter. Global international searches for the 31 to 90 days out search window increased 30 per cent from Q1. In Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), searches 22 to 90 days out represented more than 40 per cent of international searches in Q2, up from 15 per cent in Q1.
Although travel shoppers continue to show preference for domestic travel, global international searches in Q2 show signs of a rebound. During multiple weeks in Q2, global international search growth outpaced domestic, likely in part due to broadening global vaccine distribution, growing green lists and easing international travel restrictions in parts of the world.
The positive impact of vaccination progress is visible in Q2 international search data. When compared to search volumes during 2Q2020, EMEA, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Latin America (LATAM) all saw increased search volumes from America in 2Q2021, showing that travel to destinations within these regions represent an attractive opportunity for vaccinated Americans.
During Q2, beach and city destinations made up the top 10 booked destinations around the world, though more cities are entering the top 10 or moving up in ranking in each region, including Chicago and Atlanta; Seoul and Jeju City; Copenhagen and Paris; and Houston and Mexico City. New York made the list of top 10 booked destinations globally, and within all regions, except APAC.
Regionally, the top 10 booked destinations were primarily for destinations within the same region, following Q1 trends. However, LATAM travellers booked more international trips in Q2 compared to the predominately regional bookings seen in Q1. New York, Miami, Las Vegas and Orlando appeared on the LATAM top 10 list in Q2, while Houston and San Antonio again made the list.
The growing popularity of city destinations dovetailed with rising hotel demand during Q2. Global hotel demand increased more than 10 per cent quarter-over-quarter, while global hotel length-of-stay remained consistent with the average trip duration seen in Q1.
Travellers are also increasingly interested in sustainable travel practices, whether that’s reducing their carbon footprint or easing the burden of overtourism in a travel hotspot. Recent research from Expedia Group and Wakefield shows that nearly three in five travellers are willing to pay additional fees so their trip can be more sustainable, indicating that they consider environmental and social consciousness to be worthwhile.
Tourism, hotel associations slam Bank Negara Malaysia governor’s stance on loan moratoriums
The travel trade has hit out at Bank Negara Malaysia’s governor for her recent statement that waiving the accrued interest payment on loans during the current six-month moratorium will have significant impact on banks and the country’s long-term recovery from Covid-19.
Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus had pointed out that the total individual and SMEs loans eligible for automatic moratorium amounts to about RM1.4 trillion (US$329 billion), or around 73 per cent of total banking system loans in the country, and that waiving the accrued interest payment under the moratorium would have significant long-term consequences.
In response, Uzaidi Udanis, president of the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA), said in a press statement that the association is deeply saddened and “disappointed” at the governor’s statement.
“The industry is in crisis and all tourism players are facing a tough time trying to stay afloat due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are at war and the banks should be together with the people to overcome this crisis,” he said.
“Bank Negara should encourage the banks to look into the industry’s plight and their survival rather than just (the) bank’s profit. There is no point if the banks’ profits look good while the nation entrepreneurs are in crisis.”
Uzaidi questioned why the banks couldn’t extend support to the tourism industry, which is the third most important economy sector in Malaysia.
He also called on Nor Shamsiah to step down and give way to a capable candidate, if she were unable to come up with a tenable solution, instead of putting the burden on bank customers with loans.
Uzaidi noted that it has been almost 20 months since tourism players have lost their income due to the pandemic, and appealed to Bank Negara to extend the moratorium and waive the moratorium interest for the tourism industry.
Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners president, Teo Chiang Hong, said he was both “disappointed” and “appalled” by the governor’s statement which was “ignorant to the prevailing critical business situation faced by business operators, especially (those) from the tourism industry and hotel sector (whose businesses) had (been at a near) standstill for more than 1.5 years”.
He noted that the hotel sector suffered an estimated loss of RM6.5 billion in 2020, with equally grim prospects expected for this year.
Teo further highlighted that hotel owners faced critical cash flow issues as they had to continue paying operational costs despite their businesses not generating any revenue.
He called on banks to be more sympathetic to the predicament of the tourism industry, and urged Bank Negara Malaysia to assist businesses to stay afloat during this crisis. Teo pointed out that while “waiving interest on loans during moratorium will not make banks go out of business”, it will be “a great help to the business operators”.
Sri Lanka enforces night curfew to curb Covid-19 spike
Sri Lankan authorities have imposed an indefinite nationwide night curfew which will come into effect on Monday (August 16) night as the country faces a rising tide of infections linked to the fast-spreading Delta variant.
The curfew will be imposed from 22.00 to 04.00 daily, along with a ban on social gatherings, public events and seminars.
Government officials said if the number of infections continue to rise sharply, longer curfew hours and lockdowns will be considered.
The curfew, which was announced on Sunday (August 15), comes a week after healthcare personnel urged the government to impose a nationwide lockdown or curfews as capacity reaches breaking point at hospitals across the country amid a Delta-fuelled spike in Covid-19 cases.
Sri Lanka recorded 3,435 Covid-19 cases and 161 deaths on Sunday, bringing the total tally to 354,968 infections and 6,096 deaths.
Tourism industry sources said that the rising number of infections in Sri Lanka coupled with hospital capacity constraints have led to concerns among foreign tourist operators about promoting the destination.
As of July 31, a total of 19,337 tourists visited Sri Lanka this year, marking a decline of 96.2 per cent from last year when 507,311 tourists visited the country from January through March 18, 2020 when the airport closed.
Meanwhile, the ongoing inter-provincial travel ban has derailed the country’s domestic tourism recovery and placed further pressure on hotels grappling to stay afloat during these challenging times.
TTG Conversations: Five Questions with Arthur Kiong, Far East Hospitality
Despite Singapore’s move to grant more freedom to fully vaccinated Singapore residents as well as travellers, as she begins her endemic Covid strategy, inbound tourism recovery will continue to face a tough ride ahead due to slow vaccination rates as well as strict pandemic and border controls across her traditional top source markets, projects Arthur Kiong, CEO of Far East Hospitality.
In this episode of TTG Conversations: Five Questions, Kiong also discusses how initial travel recovery would look for Singapore, the fate of 425 licensed hotels in the destination once the government’s support schemes taper off in 2022, how labour challenges will add to hoteliers’ woe, the need for a new quality tourism definition to rebuild traveller interest in Singapore, and more.
Victoria braces for more lockdowns before Christmas
Tourism groups in Victoria are calling for more financial support from the government and flexible employment arrangements as the state braces for more lockdowns before Christmas.
The Victorian state government has confirmed it will extend its current lockdown – its sixth iteration – until September 2. A curfew has also been imposed from 09.00 to 17.00 for the two-week duration. At press time, there are currently 205 active Covid-19 cases in Victoria, compared to more than 7,000 in New South Wales.
Businesses have also been warned to expect snap lockdowns to be the new normal until Christmas, when a target of 70 to 80 per cent vaccination rates are expected to lead to a change in government policies about imposing sudden lockdowns.
The government initially responded to the latest lockdowns with a A$400 million (US$294 million) package for almost 100,000 impacted businesses, co-funded by state and federal coffers. A further A$367 million was offered when the seven-day lockdown was extended. But tourism representatives say the measures are not enough.
“While these business support programmes are welcomed by the industry, the reality is they don’t really come anywhere near compensating the businesses for the losses that they incur from all these lockdowns,” said Felicia Mariani, chief executive of the Victoria Tourism Industry Council.
“The businesses that support the state’s visitor economy have reached the end of their ability to bounce back from these rolling lockdowns and residual restrictions. There is simply little or nothing left in the tank for tourism businesses to continue under the weight of these recurring setbacks.
“We’re calling for a much more comprehensive, targeted and sustained programme for tourism, hospitality and events. We also need to see both state and federal governments reintroduce a wage subsidy scheme, similar to the NSW JobSaver program, targeting those industries most affected by the pandemic restrictions. As well, we need to see flexibility in Fair Work provisions reintroduced to ensure that businesses can tread water until we accomplish the rates of vaccination,” she lamented.
Apart from more funding, Adventure Tourism Victoria (ATV) is also calling for more hospitality businesses to be considered eligible for compensation.
“There are certain parts of the tourism industry that have been forgotten,” said ATV’s president Alex Hill. “If you don’t have a liquor license with a food license in Melbourne, then a lot of these grants aren’t available to you. For example, if you just have an accommodation venue, or one with a small lobby bar or if you’re a nightclub then a lot of these grants just don’t apply to you.
“(Plus) you’ve still got a lot of operators that are chasing lockdown grants from three lockdowns ago. All these business owners and operators are digging into their own capital or their own savings or building more debt trying to keep their staff employed,” he continued.
Brett Butcher returns to helm Langham Hospitality Group
Langham Hospitality Group (LHG) has welcomed Brett Butcher back as CEO.
Butcher previously served in the same role for five years from 2009, but left the group in 2014, and returned as CEO of GE Hospitality Asset Management Limited in 2017, a position that he will continue to hold.
No stranger to LHG, Butcher will provide guidance in the operations of the group’s hotels, spearhead all hotel owner relations, and solicit new management contracts in key destinations around the world.
The Australian has grown with LHG as senior vice president of sales, marketing and brand, as well as managing director of Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong (later rebranded Cordis, Hong Kong.)
Prior to LHG, Butcher served in various operational and executive roles for nearly 20 years across the Pacific, North America, and China.
Etihad Airways has partnered with Singapore-based technology company Affinidi to advance the aviation industry’s ability to process Covid-19 test results more efficiently for a more seamless traveller experience.
Currently, travellers are required to book pre-departure tests at accredited healthcare institutions and present the health reports with negative test results to airlines and immigration authorities before they can board their flights. However, the lack of a global standard for digital health credentials impedes the verification process.
Affinidi’s travel verification and interoperable solution reads and authenticates various verifiable QR codes on health reports in a confidential manner, regardless of the issuing authority and format, allowing airlines to process health credentials more seamlessly.
Since March 27 this year, Etihad has been trialling Affinidi’s travel verification solution to authenticate the digital health credentials of passengers travelling from Singapore to Abu Dhabi.
Through this partnership, Etihad was the first airline to trial Affinidi’s Healthcare Network Assessment programme in Bahrain, Cairo, the Maldives, Manila, and Jakarta. Etihad said that it will continue to extend the Affinidi Healthcare Network Assessment across more destinations in its network “over the coming months”.