TAT’s new Phuket commercial rides on star power
A new marketing campaign to promote the reopening of Phuket for tourism has placed strong emphasis on sports tourism, with some of the most memorable aspects of the destination being told through the eyes of three Leicester City FA Cup 2021 winners – James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Backed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in partnership with the King Power International Group, the Phuket is Now Open campaign comes under the theme, Amazing Thailand, Now even more Amazing.
Tanes Petsuwan, TAT deputy governor for marketing communications, said: “The campaign forms part of the Royal Thai Government’s efforts to prepare the island (for) fully vaccinated visitors under the Phuket Sandbox model from 1 July, 2021.”
Fronting the campaign is a video commercial titled, Amazing Moments in Phuket. While sharing memorable experiences that await all visitors in Phuket through the three Leicester City FC players, the commercial also highlights sporting activities available in the destination, such as scuba diving, snorkelling, surfing, sailing, parachuting and triathlon, as well as natural attractions, the local old town and Thai cuisine.
The video commercial began distribution on global channels and publicity channels of King Power, Leicester City FC, and Dug Out on June 16.
Stay Aman, wear Aman
Aman’s renowned sanctuaries in some of the most memorable locations in the world have now inspired a collection of quality apparel and accessories, allowing the brand to expand outside the parameters of its hotels and resorts.
The new retail collection, The Essentials by Aman, comprises activewear, loungewear, knitwear, swimwear, resort wear and soft accessories. Every piece is designed, developed and manufactured in Italy. Colour palette and prints are reminiscent of Aman destinations, from warm terracotta capturing the vibrancy of Amanjena, Marrakech to deep green celebrating the azure seas and olive groves of Amanzoe, Greece.
In keeping with Aman’s sustainability ethos, The Essentials collection will feature timeless and versatile pieces to ensure long-term wearability.
Join a Singapore Sling masterclass, visit a bee farm, and more
Singapore Airlines’ travel experiences platform Pelago has expanded its collection of activities for experience-seekers in Singapore.
The collection spans a diverse range of activities, from food and spirits, to nature, wildlife, and family-friendly activities.
For instance, foodies can learn how to whip up popular local dishes in an interactive three-hour cooking class, held in a pre-war shophouse in Chinatown; while spirits enthusiasts can try their hands at recreating the iconic Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel Singapore.
Nature lovers can embark on a rainforest expedition and seek out nocturnal wildlife or plan a family outing at a local bee farm and learn fascinating details about bees’ ecosystem, behaviours, and more.
Pelago features content written by an in-house team of journalists. All experiences mentioned in the articles on the platform are bookable, allowing consumers to build a customised itinerary based on what they read. Consumers can also explore the site through different topics such as food and drink, art and culture, hidden gems and popular attractions.
When international travel conditions eventually normalise, consumers will also be able to access collaborative planning tools on Pelago to plan their trip itineraries.
The site currently contains more than 200 curated experiences, including exclusive ones such as the Dale Chihuly: Glass In Bloom exhibition at Gardens By The Bay. More activities will be added in the coming months.
“Think of Pelago as a travel magazine that you can be inspired by and book directly on the platform. We have carefully selected a wide range of experiences that will appeal to consumers with diverse interests and passions. Although many aspects of travel have changed, we hope to enable people to embark on adventures and experience different cultures in the city we live in,” said Siddharth Shanker, CEO, Pelago.
Pelago offers flexible cancellations and refund policies. In addition, KrisFlyer members can pay for their bookings directly on the platform with KrisFlyer miles, and also earn KrisFlyer miles with each booking.
Sabre taps Gopass Global to mitigate travel risks
Sabre Corporation has partnered with travel risk management platform Gopass Global to help deliver its Covid-19 biosecurity risk analytics capabilities to the travel industry.
Gopass Global solutions leverages advanced analytics to deliver a single view of all of the biosecurity risk elements of a trip, thereby boosting traveller confidence.
Under the deal, travel agents across the globe now have access to Gopass travel risk management capabilities via the Sabre Developer Partner platform. By integrating with Sabre’s shopping APIs, Gopass populates a quantifiable risk score onto each travel option and displays the information to agents, who are then able to better advise their customers.
Powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence, Gopass Travel Risk Optimizer provides travellers with an end-to-end analysis of all aspects of travel and their risk exposure in the cycle of travel. Gopass Global data also looks at country conditions such as infection rates, government policies and data reliability. Putting this all together, agents can obtain a risk score out of ten per flight itinerary, enabling them to clearly identify the lowest risk rates overall.
“For the travel industry to open up, recover and grow, it is vital that we are able to reduce and mitigate the risk of travel so we can instil renewed confidence in travel for both the leisure and corporate traveller,” said Mark Radford, CEO, Gopass Global.
“It’s clear leisure travellers want to know about potential travel risks so they can avoid or mitigate them. But this is especially critical for corporate travel as we learn to live with this pandemic. Companies need to ensure they are taking their duty of care to employees seriously when it comes to travel. It’s essential, therefore, that travel agents, and ultimately travellers, have all of the critical information they need at their fingertips when planning their trip to make the decisions that are right for them.”
KTO to host four-in-one travel expo
The Korea Tourism Organization will be holding a new, hybrid travel expo from June 29 to July 13, 2021, bringing four tourism events under one umbrella for the first time.
The Korea International Travel Expo (KITE 2021) will kick off on June 29 with an opening ceremony at the Paradise City Hotel in Incheon. The programme line-up will include keynote speeches by Berlin Tourism and Congress CEO Burkhard Kieker and Singapore Tourism Board assistant chief executive Chang Chee Pey, a performance by Korean longboarder Ko Hyojoo as well as a night-time drone show.
The event will kick off with the Korea MICE Expo from June 29 to July 2, featuring a roadshow, CVB showcase, and an exhibition on meeting technologies.
This will be followed by the Korea Travel Mart from July 5-7. Highlights include discounted Korean products, early-bird flight ticket prices to South Korea, a live travel talk show with a K-pop star, and an online fam tour for overseas buyers.
Taking place from July 8-9, the Korea Luxury Travel Mart will feature a tourism conference, as well as a virtual fam tour showcasing luxury tourism and related products.
Wrapping up the expo will be the Korea Medical Wellness Tourism Fair from July 12-13, featuring a conference, virtual wellness programme, and medical consultations for overseas delegates.
Delegates can expect to obtain the latest information on South Korean tourism in relation to the four sectors, engage in one-on-one video business consultations with Korean sellers through a new online platform, and gain insight into post-Covid-19 tourism in South Korea. Over 1,500 domestic and overseas buyers, as well as thousands of visitors, are expected to attend.
Contactless ticketing system launched in Nami Island
rezio, a SaaS platform that provides an all-in-one booking solution for travel operators and activity providers, has created a contactless experience for visitors to popular tourist attraction Nami Island in South Korea.
Through its online-merge-offline (OMO) cloud integration solution, rezio has successfully powered the ticketing solution for Nami Island, providing more than 100,000 visitors a safe and seamless contactless experience amid the pandemic since its launch in June.
The cloud integration solution by rezio enables customers to purchase tickets online, receive their e-tickets with QR codes and enter the attraction via the electronic turnstile by scanning their tickets, completely omitting the need for physical interactions.
Self-service ticketing e-kiosks are also available on-site, which eliminates the need for long queues and unnecessary exposure to crowds. Employees of Nami Island are also able to manage the crowd within the attraction at any one point of time through the real-time inventory notification.
IHG grows India footprint with signing of Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Jalandhar
IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Samplast Resorts to develop Holiday Inn Express & Suites Jalandhar GT Road.
The new-build, 110-key hotel is expected to be operational by 1Q2024.
Located on the Grand Trunk Road, also known as NH1 which connects the country’s capital city of Delhi to Amritsar, the hotel will be a short drive from the city’s CBD as well as shopping destinations. Additionally, the hotel will have an adjoining strip mall that will offer multiple dining options for hotel guests.
On-site facilities will include a bar and lounge, fitness room, meeting rooms, 1390m² of banqueting space, as well as signature amenities.
Pandemic prompts more travellers to book directly
Covid-19 has resulted in a shift in consumer preference towards booking holidays directly, instead of going through an OTA, a recent GlobalData poll has revealed.
According to the GlobalData Live Tracker Verdict Poll of 156 respondents, some 39 per cent of respondents said they would typically book directly, followed by 17 per cent that opted for OTAs and price comparison sites. The data and analytics company attributed this shift to the flexible cancellation and straightforward refund policies offered by direct booking.
Gus Gardner, associate travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, commented: “The pandemic has caused a significant shift in consumer booking habits.”
He noted that a previous survey in 3Q2019 showed that OTAs were the most popular booking option, followed by direct booking with a hotel or airline. The GlobalData Q3 2019 Consumer Survey, which polled 29,744 global respondents, found that 44 per cent of respondents preferred booking through an OTA, 36 per cent directly with a hotel and 34 per cent directly with an airline.
“However, some OTAs have been extremely slow to issue refunds and have received a raft of bad press as a result. This has knocked travellers’ confidence to book through intermediaries,” Gardner said.
He added: “Direct booking channels are likely to have experienced an increase in popularity due to the fragility of booking a trip in the current situation. Travellers now desire the highest level of flexibility, and it is no wonder that direct booking channels’ flexible terms, easy changes and quick refunds are winning travellers over.
“Further, the ability to make changes online places the power back into the traveller’s hands and streamlines the whole process. By booking directly, the traveller cuts out the middleman, considerably speeds up the change/refund process, and increases their satisfaction.”
Cindy Kong joins Mandarin Oriental, Singapore
Mandarin Oriental, Singapore has appointed Cindy Kong as hotel manager.
In her new capacity, Kong will spearhead initiatives to drive operational excellence and ensure high levels of guest satisfaction.
A veteran in the hospitality industry, Kong has amassed over 20 years of experience with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, with her most recent role being the hotel manager of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.
The Malaysian is no stranger to Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, having worked here in 2000 as a guest services executive, before taking on the role of guest services manager three years into her term.
After her six-year stint in Singapore, Kong moved on to Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur where she held managerial roles in the Front Office department, and later took the helm of the hotel’s rooms division as director of rooms before joining Mandarin Oriental, Macau in the same capacity.
Data and analytics company GlobalData has identified disastrous business impact on various tourism-related industries in Japan should a complete ban on attendance be passed for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Although a decision has yet to be made about the acceptance of domestic spectators, GlobalData said the prospect of a complete ban cannot be dismissed.
Ralph Hollister, travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, commented: “The prospect of no attendance would take things from bad to worse for Japanese businesses involved in the tourism sector. The wait for the announcement on spectatorship with be agonising for all businesses involved, as domestic attendance would at least allow for the recouping of some losses.”
Hollister said a a no-crowd attendance would hurt Japan’s lodging, airline, and retail industries.
He expects further bankruptcies in the lodging sector to surface in the event of a complete spectator ban, following on from 2020’s 57.3 per cent increase in hotel bankruptcies from the previous year, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
“Many Japanese hotels were built and refurbished in time for Tokyo 2020. According to GlobalData, the number of hotels that opened in Japan between 2013 (the year that it was announced that Japan would host the Olympics) and 2019 increased by 9.1 per cent, showcasing the investment that has occurred,” said Hollister.
He added: “If the Games are played behind closed doors in 2021, hotel bankruptcies could well exceed 2020 levels, as many smaller businesses will not be able to deal with a second summer of rock-bottom occupancy rates. Additionally, the large hotels built to directly cater for the Olympics will remain empty, leaving stakeholders in the lurch with little return on investment.”
Airlines would also have to brace for deep impact, warned Hollister
“The one-year delay has added to the woes of major airlines operating in Japan, which originally anticipated fleets at full capacity over the summer of 2020,” he commented.
On May 7 this year, Japan Airlines posted an annual net loss of US$2.6 billion, and All Nippon Airways reported its worst ever annual loss of US$3.7 billion for 2020. With overseas spectators having already been barred from the event in 2021, the airlines’ most valuable customers are out of the equation.
Hollister said: “If domestic visitation is also banned, meaningful recovery will look like even less likely. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways dominate both domestic and international routes. According to GlobalData, these two industry heavyweights controlled 48.7 per cent of the Japanese airline market in 2019, which also means that they will have taken the most impact from the pandemic on top of the potential impact of no visitation for the Olympics.”
Japan’s retail sector would see reduced return on investment made in anticipation of the Games.
“Many retailers in Tokyo would have been expecting a significant boost to revenues due to visitation created by the Olympics. Alike other industries involved in tourism, the retail sector has invested heavily in the build up to the Olympics. Many new concepts have been trialled to improve retail and touristic experiences for the Games, including mixed-use spaces that offer retail, food stands, coffee shops, art, cultural events and product launches.
“If no visitation is allowed, minimal returns will be seen on this kind of expenditure for the event, further forcing Japanese businesses into the red,” he warned.