Qatar Airways launches two-way conversion programme with Grab
Qatar Airways Privilege Club has struck a deal with Grab that allows its members to convert their Qmiles to GrabRewards points, and vice versa.
Through this partnership, 1 Qmile can be converted into 1 GrabRewards point and used to pay for Grab rides or orders. Privilege Club members can also convert 1,200 GrabRewards points into 100 Qmiles, further enabling members to reach their travel goals and enjoy an array of exclusive benefits, including flight rewards, cabin upgrades, extra baggage, Cash + Qmiles, and more.
Qatar Airways CCO, Thierry Antinori, said that its partnership with Grab allows its Privilege Club members “to tap into food delivery, ride-hailing and cashless payment services with their Qmiles”.
He added: “As the world continues to overcome the global Covid-19 pandemic, many people are planning to travel and now is the time to start collecting as many Qmiles as possible for upcoming travels. This new partnership between Privilege Club and Grab helps our members reach their future travel goals and return to the skies even sooner.”
Marriott adds Malaysia hotel to Tribute Portfolio
Marriott International has signed an agreement with Malaysian property developer IOI Properties Group to rebrand the current 151-room Palm Garden Hotel in Malaysia into a Tribute Portfolio hotel.
Located in the 318ha IOI Resort City and on the edge of the Palm Garden Golf Club, the hotel will undergo a renovation and begin operating later this year as the Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, under the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio.
The hotel will feature a signature Thai restaurant, an alfresco bar, two large swimming pools, and a recreation centre with obstacle courses and various team-building facilities. For events and meetings, there will be 11 multifunctional event spaces including a ballroom with over 550m².
Vaccination is only the first step in this journey towards travel resumption
Over the last six months, we have seen travel gain hope with gradual reopening of borders and travel bubbles which then lead to a complete shutdown once again, as the second wave of infections hit more fiercely in some regions. At the centre of all these changes has been the focus on streamlined vaccination drives on which hinges the future of a safe and healthy global community.
While vaccination is the first step towards furthering a robust system that can help bring back the lost hope in travel, it will be necessary to keep more layers of checks at every step of the travel cycle even after the world is vaccinated, with the intention of keeping safety at the heart of the travel journey. In this light, travel and health credentials could play a game-changing role if integrated effectively in cross-border journeys.
To fulfil the promise of getting travel back on track, countries have not only streamlined the vaccine rollout, but they are also preparing a robust system on how the credibility of vaccination can be embedded in helping movements across borders with the help of the right credentials.
Governments continue to assess the effectiveness of digital identification modes like vaccine passports, digital green certificates planned by the European Commission, etc. to ensure that the future of travel is not just ready, but also safe.
Going beyond robust vaccination drives
For the past year, the advancements in health and travel tech were largely limited to screening and planning of travel. However, as the virus continues to pose more challenges, the question remains as to how sustainably the industry can address the anticipated rebound.
There is no doubt that going forward, the industry as a whole will require a more holistic approach towards the revival of travel that aligns with the realities of the constantly evolving scenario. Keeping this in mind, several stakeholders have introduced initiatives that incorporate an almost futuristic approach to travel – where human interventions and physical touchpoints can be reduced to curb the spread of Covid-19.
These include cloud lockers that allow safe storage and sharing of documents, e-passports, and eVisas that enable digital alternatives to travel documents, and lastly, the need for travel health credentials and their integration in global travel processes. These changes are slowly moving beyond concept stage and becoming a reality with the industry coming together as a binding force.
An interesting example of this includes an initiative by the World Economic Forum called Known Traveller Digital Identity (KTDI) that brings together a global consortium of individuals, governments, authorities, and the travel industry to enhance security in global travel. KTDI allows people to manage their profile and collect digital ‘attestations’ of their personal data, allowing them to consent to what data to share and when. The more attestations a user shares, the better it is for authorities to process travel seamlessly and smoothly.
Awareness will take us a long way
Understanding travel processes and being mindful of Covid-19-related requirements that vary from country to country beforehand will be critical. To help manage this, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently announced a Destination Tracker in preparation for the restart of international travel.
The Destination Tracker is the result of both organisations joining efforts to boost confidence and accelerate recovery of the tourism sector when borders reopen. It is a free online tool that allows governments to provide information on Covid-19 requirements for travel and the measures in place at the destination. This can allow potential travellers to have a well-researched travel plan in place beforehand, with all the information verified by trusted bodies.
While these efforts aid the travel-planning journey, another critical intervention in international travel rests in the visa application process. As we move forward, adopting solutions such as eVisas and ePassport gates that allow essential travel documents to be digitally processed with added layers of data security, will only bring us closer to a digital-first future.
Although these are shifts to be considered at a governance level, collaborating and outsourcing these credential services will only see an upward trend as governments look to best optimise safety. A recent example of the same is the collaboration that VFS Global led with the technology company Accredify to issue health certificates that allow seamless travel from Indonesia to Singapore, providing for a safe bubble transit. The hope is to extend that model to more ‘safe travel’ corridors.
Undoubtedly, the introduction of travel-health credentials and verified information channels will help restore tourism in a seamless and well-screened manner. However, the revival of tourism will need to move beyond singular efforts and adopt a holistic approach that can help streamline the entire process of international travel with minimum risks to the traveller in the new normal.
ForwardKeys rolls out DMO-specific dashboard
ForwardKeys has launched a new data platform to help tourism boards and DMOs use big data and air ticketing insights in real-time and in actionable ways to speed up the process of recovery planning.
Destination Gateway is an intuitive dashboard and provides for users and business departments with different skills to reach their respective business goals.
Tourism boards and DMOs can monitor their destination’s performance, marketing efforts, and air connectivity at the click of a mouse. A new feature has recently been added to monitor travel recovery more effectively due to the ever-changing travel restrictions and regulations.
“At all stages of development and testing, we included a handful of our DMO clients and partners for their additional perspective, making Destination Gateway unlike many other products available in the market,” said ForwardKeys’ CEO and co-founder, Olivier Jager.
Luis Millan, market researcher and co-developer of Destination Gateway, added: “Nowadays, it is very easy to get overwhelmed by the variety of data and tools out there for tourism bodies. The pressure to be a data-driven organisation is strong. So, this is why I think Destination Gateway will quickly become a favourite as it combines so many aspects relevant to DMOs in the one place and it is not hard to navigate and pretty enough to show in presentations and reports too.”
Cruise cancellations spill in as Singapore enforces new restrictions
Singapore’s month-long Phase 2 Heightened Alert restrictions, which kicked off on May 16, has resulted in cruise cancellations, according to two major travel agencies.
Under latest restrictions, cruises out of Singapore must reduce their on-board capacity to 25 per cent, suspend outdoor activities and dining-in services, as well as limit travelling groups to two guests per cabin.
Both Dream Cruises and Royal Caribbean International, which operate special cruises out of Singapore for local residents, will continue to do so but with new health and safety provisions.
Koh Chong Wee, general manager at Citystate Travel, told TTG Asia that nearly 20 per cent of customers have cancelled their bookings. However, the majority are still keen to cruise, so assistance has been rendered to help affected customers postpone their trips to preferred future dates.
Over at Dynasty Travel, as many as 80 per cent of cruise customers have opted for cancellation while the remaining 20 per cent have decided to postpone their trip to the next school holiday period in November and December this year.
Dynasty Travel’s director of public relations and communications, Alicia Seah, said: “The current social distancing measures of limiting travelling groups to two guests per cabin is a big challenge as most of our customers are (cruising) with family and friends (and are in) groups of more than three or four persons.”
With Phase 2 Heightened Alert restrictions expected to run until June 13, sailings in the first two weeks of the June school holidays are affected. Most of the bookings for that period are from families with school-going children.
Koh explained that this group of passengers might have difficulties postponing their trips to the third or fourth week of the June holidays due to high occupancy. “Their only choice is to postpone to year-end school holidays. This might result in some customers cancelling the trip totally and asking for full refund instead of postponing it,” he added.
Singapore’s cruise industry was able to restart in late-2020 amid the pandemic when the Singapore Tourism Board launched a pilot scheme for round-trips that are only open to local residents. At a time where cruises have not resumed in many parts of the world, the success of these cruises-to-nowhere programmes has resulted in Singapore accounting for one-third of global cruise travellers.
Strong business leads, high value orders emerge from The Great ASEAN Travel Fest
Organisers of The Great ASEAN Travel Fest earlier this month have reported encouraging business performance for participating travel and tourism companies.
Close to 800 live business meetings were conducted online over two days, and 97 per cent of exhibitors expect travel orders to result from these interactions. Fifty-five per cent of travel orders are said to be valued above US$250,000.
Despite the challenging travel landscape, the inaugural event attracted keen interest from buyers across the world. South-east Asian buyers made up the majority at 54 per cent of total attendance, a reflection of expectations that intra-regional travel will be the first to recover.
European and American buyers made up 11 per cent and six per cent respectively, indicating continued longhual interest in South-east Asian destinations.
Ricky Effendy, sales manager, business development with Hilton Bali Resort, Indonesia, said the property’s participation in The Great ASEAN Travel Fest has “helped to enhance our branding among buyers in the marketplace as we await borders to reopen”.
For Rovani Aliff, manager travel design and reservations South East Asia with Panorama Destination, Indonesia, the event brought “really good connections” with buyers from Asia and beyond, such as Zimbabwe and Turkey.
Attendees also found the event format easy to use and the programmes interesting. Jimmy Sim, manager – head of MICE & special projects with WTS Travel & Tours, Singapore, said the event was “different and refreshing” and “worthwhile to attend again”.
The Great ASEAN Travel Fest was organised by TTG Asia Media, and was held on May 4 and 5.
Fresh, green summer draws at Higashiyama Niseko Village
Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve is welcoming summer with special stay packages and four summer lifestyle programmes exclusive to guests.
Priced from 63,333 yen (US$581) per room, per night, the stay packages include overnight accommodation, complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea for two as a Book Direct Benefit, and flexible booking changes.
Various stay package options are available, such as The Maserati Experience, which include usage of a Maserati Levante – Special Edition for self-drive and Maserati in-room amenities.
Meanwhile, the four summer lifestyle programmes are designed for guests with intermediate to high fitness level. Options include a full-day Majestic Mount Yotei Hike, full-day Lake Toya e-Bike Adventure, half-day Scenic Mount Annupuri e-Bike Ride, and half-day Niseko Leisure Ride. All come with to-go lunch box and photo memories made by hotel staff on a GoPro.
For more information, email reservation.higashiyama@ritzcarlton.com.
The Travel Corporation makes DMC portfolio available for white-labelling
The Travel Corporation (TTC) is granting white-label access of its extensive DMC portfolio to leisure and corporate travel companies, and has created new solutions to facilitate improved ground-handling processes for users.
Gavin Tollman, president of TTC, who oversees the project, said the move was in response to partners who wanted “an operational solution with the quality, knowledge, infrastructure, consistency and financial resilience to deliver on the ground in a new post-pandemic world”.
Tollman remarked that few knew about “the depth and breadth of TTC’s Destination Management portfolio” and were “excited when they realised we could provide that solution across multiple destinations worldwide, affording them deeper access to the award-winning expertise and service for which our brands are well recognised”.
TTG owns numerous industry-leading brands such as Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Contiki, Red Carnation Hotels, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and Evan Evans Tours, as well as 12 DMCs offering holidays, local experiences, corporate travel and ancillary services across Africa, Europe, the Americas and the South Pacific.
To support industry partners, TTC has launched a dedicated website and a series of new tools, including marketing assets and training. In addition to working with the 12 DMCs, users also gain access to TTC’s in-market teams across 40 offices worldwide.
The DMC programme is available for English-speaking markets, and offers guided custom group trips in a number of languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, German and Italian.
“We hope to be able to present this hassle-free and risk-free opportunity to a wider range of leisure and corporate travel businesses,” said Tollman.
Sri Lanka locks down airports for 10 days
All international airports in Sri Lanka will prohibit passengers from disembarking between May 21 and 31 in the country’s latest move to curb a rising tide of Covid-19 infections.
The decision by the director general of civil aviation on May 19 will affect both Sri Lankan residents and foreign tourists, and joins an island-wide lockdown order passed earlier this week that will apply from this weekend and into next week.
The new restrictions will impact Wesak on May 26 and 27, a festival that marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, the spiritual leader of Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese community.
Sri Lanka has seen a recent spike in cases, with daily caseloads of over 1,500 and deaths topping 1,000 on May 18. The total number of cases as at May 18 was 147,720.
The border restriction will not apply to departing passengers, emergency aircraft, freight operations and humanitarian flights, as well as passengers transiting through Colombo to another destination.
The move is regarded as a further blow to Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which has been seeing only a trickle of international arrivals despite reopening her borders on January 21, 2021.
Devindre Seneratne, managing director at JourneyScapes Travels and former president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators, told TTG Asia that the association supports the government’s efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic by imposing necessary lockdowns.
“It’s unfortunate that tourism gets affected but this is beyond anyone’s control,” he remarked.
Travel agency owner Nilmin Nanayakkara is bracing for inbound cancellations, but also acknowledges that health is a priority for all.
Despite the ongoing crisis, tourism authorities are continuing their marketing efforts. One of their most prominent effort is fielding Sri Lankan Tourism chairperson Kimarli Fernando in numerous interviews on international channels such as BBC and CNN to promote the country’s tourism draws.
Shangri-La Group has launched family experience brand Fam.ily that will focus on creating experiences for multi-generational families and supporting guests on their parenting journeys.
The Fam.ily brand logo comprises two parts: ‘fam’, the shortened word for ‘family’, and ‘ily’, the abbreviation for ‘I Love You’, connected by an infinity symbol. At the centre of the symbol is a heart-shaped knot, symbolising the love shared by family members and the strong ties that bind them.
Through Fam.ily, guests can take part in a wide variety of activities that have been specifically designed to encourage learning through play and shared experiences through co-discovery across generations.
Pilot Fam.ily programmes will be rolled out at four properties across Mainland China this summer. Additionally, families can stay in themed family suites that have been thoughtfully designed to accommodate multigenerational groups.
To support customers in their parenting journeys, Fam.ily strives to build a supportive community where parents can connect and exchange experiences through multiple channels, such as online chat groups and family events. Thought leaders and experts in parenting and child development will also be engaged to share their knowledge with the Fam.ily community. These experts will share ideas and tips for fostering bonds across generations and achieving work-family balance.
Accompanying the launch of Fam.ily is a UGC campaign on Weibo and Red that invites followers to post a short video capturing an authentic reaction from their family when hearing “I Love You” using the hashtag #香亲香爱我爱我家 for the chance to win prizes.