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.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Jalandhar GT Road is slated to open in 1Q2024; Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport pictured
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.
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.
Travellers prefer booking directly with providers amid uncertainty, according to a GlobalData poll
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.”
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.
• Government initiatives, including the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers scheme, have helped support local travel agents and spur domestic demand
• Some agencies have quickly pivoted to new business models to raise revenue during travel standstill
• Cruise sales are also helping to buoy agency revenues
Nam Ho DMC developed a full-fledged logistics business when the pandemic brought travel to a standstill
The numbers don’t look too bad: Between February 2020 and end-May 2021, 137 travel agents (TAs) in Singapore ceased operations. However, only 38 TAs cited the pandemic, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). The rest gave other reasons such as change in business focus and/or retirement of the founder, especially smaller agencies. Annually, some 120 to 140 TAs exit voluntarily.
STB’s website lists 1,122 “active” travel agents, meaning they hold licenses. But many may be dormant, or downsized. Shuttered shopfronts in Beach Road and Chinatown suggest coach and regional tour operators and ticketing agencies are seriously affected.
Of the 137 travel agencies that shuttered since the start of Covid, only 38 cited the pandemic as the reason
Despite Covid-19 severely impacting all travel sectors, the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS), which represents about a quarter of TAs, saw more than 80 per cent renewing their membership.
“We will not see strong signs of travel recovery in a while,” acknowledged NATAS president Steven Ler. “The next six to nine months will be crucial as any further delay in borders reopening will be detrimental. There’s no single set of travel standards or protocols, and this adds to the complexity of cross-border travel arrangements as restrictions are slowly eased.”
He advocated government and industry coming together to redefine travel and build a more sustainable and resilient industry. “NATAS is working on many fronts with government agencies to dovetail efforts to prepare the sector for recovery.”
The art of adaptation
The challenges posed by the pandemic have shown that continued adaptation is a key strategy for survival. Aided by government support, travel agents in Singapore have proven a resilient lot, adapting on the fly and evolving their product portfolios to suit local tastes.
Kenneth Lim, STB director, travel agents & tourist guides, said: “As a whole, our tourism industries have been resilient and adapted their business models and products. Travel agents must ensure they have the relevant skills to cater to the changing needs and preferences of consumers. To that end, STB has launched various initiatives to ensure that our tourism sector is ready for the future of travel.”
Indeed, TAs interviewed were grateful for the generous government wage subsidies and training grants, fee discounts and SingapoRediscovers Vouchers (SRV) for domestic tourism. To reduce costs, some relocated their offices; others released surplus staff for safe distancing ambassador duties.
Participating TAs commended the SRV scheme. Yvonne Low, executive director, The Traveller DMC, said the team drew upon their skill in catering to international tourists, scoured Singapore and launched Origin Journeys – enriching experiences for participants of all age groups.
She said: “The three most popular tours are True Blue Peranakan Experience, co-hosted with a Peranakan restaurant; Pulau Ubin including Chek Jawa; and Hainanese Heritage Tour which includes a food workshop, tea appreciation and Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel. Food-related tours are more about the culture: interacting with restaurant-owners who share openly about their culture, community and love for the particular cuisine.”
Marshall Ooi, director, Nam Ho Travel, said: “Singaporeans are now exploring remote places such as Pulau Ubin and Kranji and enjoying novelties like a Singapore River cruise with scrumptious seafood dinner. The experience is key, their discovery and enjoyment facilitated through interactive storytelling.”
Tour East Singapore has also adapted tourist itineraries to suit local customers. Non-citizens don’t enjoy SRV subsidies, so they book on Eventbrite. General manager Dominic Ong said: “We have about 120 customers monthly, with a minimum of two to go. Among our eight tours – mostly walking itineraries – the Colonial Charm theme is most popular as participants can appreciate the civic district from a different perspective.”
On criticism that SRV tours are expensive, operators said they are actually “high cost, low margin”. Due to safe management measures, groups are kept small. Costs include tourist guide fees, transport and commission to the booking platform (typically 20 per cent). Moreover, meals are not standard fare but customised menus.
Betel Box Tours continued its walking and food tours without joining the SRV scheme, promoting its Katong, Geylang and Chinatown staples on the firm’s website. When food tours were suspended during the latest five-week curb on dining out, virtual events provided an opportunity.
Owner-director Tony Tan said: “We conducted an educational tour of the URA City Gallery for about 50 students of an Australian university by teaming up with National University of Singapore and Urban Redevelopment Authority. Partnership is important and we’ll be developing more virtual options.” He admitted technical challenges as outdoor and indoor tour conditions are different. Guides also must be good at telling stories and handling equipment in live tours.
Creative pandemic pivots
For Nam Ho DMC, creative thinking extended beyond routine activities. Pre-pandemic, it relied heavily on the Indian market. With that dormant, it deployed its fleet of vehicles by developing a full-fledged logistics business with its own warehouse. It also launched an online B2B marketplace for non-travel products and another for local consumers to buy food items from South-east Asia and China.
Co-founder and director, Mahesh Pawanaskar, said: “Due to the pandemic, our travel business shut down but what came to our rescue is the most valued asset – our people. The biggest learning point is that it is not just about survival of the fittest, but also survival of the most agile and adaptable.”
Similarly, without Japanese inbound and outbound business, JTB Singapore developed side-lines, including a self-service vending machine to dispense Singapore souvenirs at Connect@Changi since foreign visitors can’t venture outside the facility. Raffles Hotel merchandise is also stocked. Selling Japanese spa amenities, confectionery and sake on e-commerce platforms will begin soon.
JTB Singapore deployed a self-service vending machine, which dispenses unique souvenirs, at Connect@Changi
Cruise sales also helped to keep TAs afloat. “We have good take-up of the two- and three-night cruises to nowhere (operated by Dream Cruises and Royal Caribbean),” said Chung Kek Yoong, chief executive, Pacific Arena. “There is a lot of pent-up demand for leisure trips and also to reunite families. This segment will probably drive travel when borders gradually reopen.”
Citing the raft of measures to ensure travel can resume safely, he added: “Granted there will be many hurdles ahead, but travel is simply too crucial to the economic well-being of many countries.”
STB’s Lim affirmed: “We will work closely with travel agents and tour operators to provide mentorship and consultancy support, drive partnerships, support product development and facilitate relevant regulatory approvals to address gaps in Singapore’s tour landscape, while developing future-ready tours that can continue to draw both local and international visitors.”
A new travel training company has launched, offering a range of e-learning courses designed to help industry players upskill in preparation for the post-pandemic rebound.
Progressive Travel Training (PTT) is spearheaded by three travel professionals specialising in training and recruitment – Fi Morrison-Arnthal, Tony Macdonald and James Roberts – who also run Progressive Travel Recruitment.
Progressive Travel Training offers an initial suite of 12 training courses for the travel industry
Initially, PTT is offering agents a programme of 12 e-learning courses, co-authored by senior travel industry experts and PTT co-founder Fi.
Three of the modules are available for free, including a stress management course designed to support travel professionals tackling tough working conditions during the pandemic. The other two free courses are migrating to remote travel home working and blog writing to boost travel business.
Delivered in bite-sized chunks, the flexible training e-courses allow professionals to visit and return to the learning at any time.
Starting from INR3,097 (US$42), the paid courses are as follows: how to sell travel and achieve sales success, managing travel consultants to sales success, complaint resolution and great travel customer service, increase your travel enquiries using Facebook, time management (working smarter not harder), presentation skills in travel, get noticed and get the travel job, and successful corporate travel account management.
By providing training that is either free or 90 per cent cheaper than traditional one-day courses, PTT’s founding vision is that travel professionals who might now be responsible for their own learning costs after being made redundant or going self-employed during the pandemic are still able to pursue their career development, and that employers who want to invest in their teams but have faced tough trading conditions over the last 12 months can still do so, the company said in a press release.
Fi said: “It’s apparent that formal training and in-house trainers are a luxury many travel businesses and agents cannot currently afford and, while there is plenty of online training available covering destinations, product and GDS skills, travel industry employees are frustrated about the limited soft skills available. We have launched Progressive Travel Training to address that need, and to give back to the industry we love – sharing everything we know with a community that is ready to progress and come back post-Covid thriving.”
The full suite of online learning courses can be accessed here.
Thailand’s Centara Hotels & Resorts has renewed its commitment to environmental sustainability with new long-term goals to meet climate-related targets.
The 10-year roadmap includes measurable goals for four key initiatives, including a 20 per cent reduction in energy and water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and the amount of waste sent to landfills.
By 2025, Centara aims to eliminate single-use plastic items in the entire guest journey
To achieve these goals, the group is implementing solar power projects, and installing sub-metering systems for water and electrical management. Energy conservation measures and heating system upgrades are being implemented wherever possible and embedded into daily operations.
The plan also entails ensuring that the waste management policy is being strictly followed by the individual property, especially keeping food waste reduction in focus.
By 2025, Centara aims to have all of its properties certified to an international sustainability standard, as well as eliminate single-use plastic items in the entire guest journey.
“By adopting sustainable, green practices, we are actively choosing to be more aware of our environmental impact. This not only protects the natural surroundings that enhance the guest experience in so many of the locations where we operate, (but) also creates long-term benefits for the company, our customers and our employees,” said Thirayuth Chirathivat, CEO of Centara Hotels & Resorts.
“Setting long-term sustainability goals allows us (to) incorporate green practices into our identity and ensures that all our stakeholders are aligned with Centara’s values and vision for a more mindful, ecologically conscious future.”
Tour operators in Malaysia are keeping busy preparing for the reopening of borders, even as authorities extend the country’s third movement control order (MCO) which should have ended yesterday (June 14) by a fortnight until June 28.
The extension of the nationwide lockdown, based on recommendations from the health ministry, was deemed necessary as the number of new Covid-19 cases remain high.
Under MCO 3.0, extended until June 28, inter-district and interstate travel is banned
On Friday, when the government made its announcement to extend the lockdown, the health ministry reported 6,849 new cases that day, the highest single-day rise in new cases recorded last week, with a record 912 patients warded in intensive care units.
As bans on inter-district and interstate travel remain under the extended lockdown, the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) has postponed its eTravel Fair to August 15-19. The eTravel Fair, featuring domestic travel packages, was originally scheduled from June 17-21.
While domestic travel has temporarily come to a standstill, Adam Kamal, secretary-general at MITA, shared that the association is currently disseminating information to its members on all the financial assistance that various government agencies has made available to the travel trade.
Tourism players whom TTG Asia spoke to predicted that the lifting of domestic travel is unlikely to happen anytime soon, and some were using the downtime to upskill their staff and invest in product development.
Mint Leong, managing director, Sunflower Holidays, projected that interstate travel will only be allowed to resume this year-end, and that only those vaccinated will be allowed to cross state borders.
In the meantime, her staff are keeping themselves occupied by watching webinars, documentaries and online programmes on destination marketing while working from home.
Leong shared that she herself has been keeping busy by watching online cruising videos uploaded by various cruise companies. She will also be attending the upcoming virtual IT&CM China as a trade buyer to engage with Chinese sellers on product updates as well as to listen to the online presentations during the show.
Yap Sook Ling, managing director, Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel, shared that the company is using the downtime to prepare more tour packages in anticipation of the reopening of the country’s borders which she hoped would happen sometime next year.
The company is also leveraging its online B2B system to sell to their overseas partners rooms, tickets and tours to destinations that have already opened up. Furthermore, the agency is also providing training programmes in critical thinking, reservations and sales for its staff.
Yap stressed that at the end of the day, achieving herd immunity quickly is vital for the survival of the local tourism sector, and that the government’s move to ramp up the national Covid-19 immunisation programme is a step in the right direction.
A 175-key Four Seasons hotel will be opening in Japan’s third-largest city of Osaka come 2024.
Four Seasons Hotel Osaka will be part of the One Dojima Project, a high-rise mixed-use tower that will also feature residences by Brillia, as well as a meeting hall that serves as a base for tourism and business. Located in the Kinki region of Osaka, the building will be approximately 195m high, with a total floor area of approximately 85,000m².
The One Dojima Project, which began construction on August 1, 2020, is a collaboration between Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Japanese developer Tokyo Tatemono Co. and Singapore-based real estate company Hotel Properties Limited.
Bali tourism stakeholders are being encouraged to take proactive action to attract domestic travellers while international travel remains largely restricted amid the threat of Covid-19.
Speaking at the seventh edition of the Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF) held last week, Sutrisno, head of Bank Indonesia (BI) Bali Provincial Representative Office, cited BI statistics showing that the Indonesian outbound traffic pre-pandemic reached 11 million trips, with a total spend of US$11 billion.
Bali tourism stakeholders urged to tap domestic market; tourists viewing terrace rice fields in Bali pictured
In the meantime, the national third-party funds in 1Q2021 rose by 9.3 per cent, and in April alone, the growth was 12 per cent compared to the same period in 2020. Meanwhile, Bali’s third-party funds declined by 3.8 per cent in 1Q2021 as people withdraw their savings and sold their assets due to declining businesses.
Sutrisno said: “This means that people are saving. Those people (living in big cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, and Medan), who usually travel overseas, are saving on travel expenditure because of the closed borders. This domestic market presents a big potential for Bali (tourism players) to tap.”
Rizki Handayani, deputy of tourism products and MICE, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (MoTCE), urged Bali tourism stakeholders to take proactive steps to attract domestic visitors by conducting sales and marketing activities in major cities like Jakarta, promoting health and wellness tourism.
“Sustainable, health and wellness tourism are trending and they are priority programmes (for the MOTCE) to develop,” she said, adding that Bali has what it takes to tap this booming trend, with its spa and wellness offerings, natural and cultural attractions, and myriad of healthy food options.
“On the medical tourism side, we have lost markets to (neighbouring and overseas) destinations,” she said, adding that Indonesians have been going abroad to seek not just treatments for illnesses, but also aesthetic procedures.
Bali, with its clinics and nature-filled environment, has the capacity to meet that demand, Rizki stressed.
“International markets remain important, but instead of just waiting for these markets to come back, let’s work this huge domestic potential,” she said, adding that Jakarta is a market that presents big opportunities.
Rizki encouraged the trade to create new thematic wellness programmes, as well as tap the youth with voluntourism, related to environment and social development.
After being canned in 2020, BBTF 2021 was held from June 10-11, connecting 145 sellers from 14 provinces in Indonesia with 132 Indonesian buyers offline and 57 international buyers from 20 countries online.
Singapore-based cruise services startup NaviAsia is partnering with European Cruise Service (ECS) to drive the development of Asia as a cruise and leisure destination.
Started in January this year, NaviAsia specialises in offering cruise services such as shore excursions, ship agency, ground handling, destination management and in-house training programmes.
Yee: ECS partnership enables NaviAsia to adopt best practices in preparation for Asia cruise resumption
The organisation is helmed by two industry veterans with more than 40 years of management-level experience – managing director, Julieanne Yee and general manager, Adrian Wong.
ECS has been the main provider of cruise services for foreign cruise ships calling at Norwegian ports and fjords for over 160 years and is the market leader in shore excursion operations and ships agency services rendered to cruise ships calling upon ports in Northern Europe.
The collaboration will see NaviAsia drive the partnership’s business throughout Asia, with ECS providing support with their experience, expertise, best practices, contacts and systems for accelerating growth.
Speaking to TTG Asia, Yee said that NaviAsia is currently working on preparation for cruise resumption based on the potential requirements from each of the cruise brands and exploring potential new islets declared as “Green Zone”, which can be of interest to cruise clients in the event that borders remain closed for the key destinations.
According to Yee, cruise clients are finding it difficult to grapple with the varying protocols required in the different countries. “With the cruise resumption already started in Europe, the partnership enables us to adapt best practices across continents and prepares us for cruise journeying to Asian waters,” she said.
However, another hurdle looms – as the source markets for most international cruise brands comprise of mainly non-Asians, recovery may take longer than expected as it is challenging for them to travel longhaul to Asia to join the cruises.
Despite the concerns, Yee remains optimistic about the industry in Asia. “Singapore has been, and will continue to be, an important cruise hub for cruise liners deploying in South-east Asia. Apart from Singapore, the opening of borders within the neighbouring countries is equally important for a successful Asia cruise deployment.”
A new travel training company has launched, offering a range of e-learning courses designed to help industry players upskill in preparation for the post-pandemic rebound.
Progressive Travel Training (PTT) is spearheaded by three travel professionals specialising in training and recruitment – Fi Morrison-Arnthal, Tony Macdonald and James Roberts – who also run Progressive Travel Recruitment.
Initially, PTT is offering agents a programme of 12 e-learning courses, co-authored by senior travel industry experts and PTT co-founder Fi.
Three of the modules are available for free, including a stress management course designed to support travel professionals tackling tough working conditions during the pandemic. The other two free courses are migrating to remote travel home working and blog writing to boost travel business.
Delivered in bite-sized chunks, the flexible training e-courses allow professionals to visit and return to the learning at any time.
Starting from INR3,097 (US$42), the paid courses are as follows: how to sell travel and achieve sales success, managing travel consultants to sales success, complaint resolution and great travel customer service, increase your travel enquiries using Facebook, time management (working smarter not harder), presentation skills in travel, get noticed and get the travel job, and successful corporate travel account management.
By providing training that is either free or 90 per cent cheaper than traditional one-day courses, PTT’s founding vision is that travel professionals who might now be responsible for their own learning costs after being made redundant or going self-employed during the pandemic are still able to pursue their career development, and that employers who want to invest in their teams but have faced tough trading conditions over the last 12 months can still do so, the company said in a press release.
Fi said: “It’s apparent that formal training and in-house trainers are a luxury many travel businesses and agents cannot currently afford and, while there is plenty of online training available covering destinations, product and GDS skills, travel industry employees are frustrated about the limited soft skills available. We have launched Progressive Travel Training to address that need, and to give back to the industry we love – sharing everything we know with a community that is ready to progress and come back post-Covid thriving.”
The full suite of online learning courses can be accessed here.