Etihad Airways extends Verified To Fly initiative globally
Etihad Airways has extended its Verified To Fly travel document initiative, enabling travellers to validate their Covid-19 travel documents before arriving at the airport, to routes across its global network.
The Verified to Fly service is available for the majority of Etihad flights. Passengers can sign up by visiting etihad.com/en/manage and following the instructions to submit their travel documents.
Guests will receive confirmation once their documents have been approved in line with government requirements. Verified travellers enjoy fast track check-in at the airport through the dedicated Verified to Fly desk for a quicker and smoother experience.
Launched in June, Verified to Fly has proven a successful tool helping people return to travel, providing passengers with confidence they have the necessary documents to meet government Covid-related travel rules to be allowed to fly. With Etihad’s Verified to Fly programme, passengers are only sharing their data with the airline itself, with no third-party involvement.
AirAsia moves into grocery delivery space in Singapore
AirAsia has expanded into the grocery delivery services market in Singapore, with the launch of AirAsia Fresh, a new feature embedded in the airline’s super app.
This comes after AirAsia launched its food delivery service, AirAsia Food, in Singapore in March.
Lim Ben-Jie, head of e-commerce for AirAsia super app, said in a statement that AirAsia Fresh offers consumers in Singapore an “alternative to order their groceries at better value, while at the same time, providing support to merchants, especially small businesses, in digitising their operations and diversifying their revenue stream”.
AirAsia Fresh merchants in Singapore will be offered a zero per cent commission rate for the first month, with “attractive” commission rates in the subsequent months, according to Lim.
To celebrate the launch, AirAsia is offering shoppers free delivery with a S$40 (US$29) minimum spend from now until July 26.
Cross Hotels appoints Biz M Asia as GSA in Japan
Cross Hotels & Resorts has appointed Biz M Asia as its general sales agent (GSA) in Japan, as part of its expansion plan in the East Asian country.
Biz M Asia will represent Cross Hotels & Resorts and all hotels in the group’s portfolio in the Japanese market, and support the opening of the Away Okinawa Kouri Island Resort property.
The team will be led by Mary Tolentino, who has over three decades of experience in sales and marketing and representing international hotel brands and independent properties in key destinations.
Tolentino will be responsible for driving the group’s growth strategy in the Japanese market, and working towards establishing Cross Hotels & Resorts as the preferred hotel brand for Japanese travellers both domestically and abroad. Cross Hotels & Resorts has seven hotels in Japan.
Biz M Asia specialises in selling to professional wholesalers, retail leisure travel agencies as well as corporate and group travel, all of which are key markets for Cross Hotels & Resorts.
Royal Caribbean extends Singapore sailing season for third time
Royal Caribbean International has extended the Singapore season for Quantum of the Seas through February 2022.
This marks the third season extension for Quantum in Singapore, since it resumed service here in December 2020. The cruise liner will continue to offer three- and four-night “cruises to nowhere”.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to extend Quantum’s ultimate ocean getaway through early next year, providing Singapore residents with more time to relax and unwind. Despite the constantly evolving circumstances, Royal Caribbean remains consistent in delivering a wonderful holiday experience,” said Angie Stephen, managing director, Asia-Pacific, Royal Caribbean International.
“We know that with her remarkable breadth of activities, delicious meals and unparalleled views, Quantum has many fans in Singapore, and there continues to be an overwhelming demand for sailings.”
To date, on 60-plus ocean getaways, more than 82,000 guests have safely sailed with zero occurrences of Covid-19 on board.
Modern travel retailing needs to evolve beyond great offers: industry players
Modern travel retailing will need to understand how customers think and behave, engage in real time, and deliver more content and best value to establish a memorable experience, opined industry leaders speaking at a recent Travelport trade webinar.
In explaining the impact of neuroscience on the travel purchase decision, Paul Zak, a neuroscience expert and CEO of Immersion Neuroscience, said wearable software devices can monitor the heart rate to measure oxytocin, a hormone released when people experience an emotion. Immersive experiences cause people to take action. When action and emotional resonance co-occur, experiences are enjoyable and memorable.
“Brands use the Immersion Neuroscience platform to create value,” said Zak. “Without measuring brain activity, your betting average for sales, marketing and advertising is 20 to 30 per cent. With immersion, you get 80 to 90 per cent hits. People have tension in their brains – when they take action, they release that tension.”
He recommended creating a sales experience where the call to action occurs at the peak immersion moment with the highest tension. Data is shown second-by-second in real time, making it possible to communicate in the most effective way with customers.
“The platform gives Travelport the most effective way to share with the industry in physical, digital and omnichannel settings. Key lessons will be reported back to the industry, so it’s able to measure, integrate and improve,” Zak concluded.
On the supplier side, American Airlines (AA) believes in self-service and wants to make it intuitive and relevant for customers – on apps and at the airport – “things that help people have a touchless journey” said Alison Taylor, chief customer officer.
She explained: “This will free up team members to look after the customer. People now have a lot of questions about testing, information on getting into a country or even another state…and we want to be more personalised.”
This is where distribution and retail strategy come to the fore. AA offers corporate customers “bundles” so they get what is approved in their corporate programme and it is served up easily.
Taylor said travel agents should seriously consider New Distribution Capability (NDC). “It’s a cost-efficient way to buy inventory. Everyone expects to self-service while on the road. NDC and other retail solutions enable them to do that,” she said.
Amazon Web Services shared how it collaborates with Travelport by combining its expertise in cloud and travel technology to facilitate upgraded processing, better storage and security, more machine learning and advanced analytics, and improved personalisation.
Dana Dunne, CEO of eDreams ODIGEO, gave the travel agent perspective. He summed up four important points for the future of travel retail: the subscription programme, product diversification – to be a “one-stop shop for customers”, increased customer service automation and connectivity in the content and process.
Indonesia bans unvaccinated foreigners as Delta-variant surges
Foreign visitors who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 will be barred from entering Indonesia from Tuesday (July 6), as authorities battle to contain an outbreak of the highly-infectious Delta variant.
In an announcement on Sunday, the government said that foreign nationals entering Indonesia will need to show a vaccination certificate and a negative PCR test result.
A vaccination certificate is also required for air travel within the country, both for international and domestic travellers.
The quarantine period for foreigners will also be increased from five to eight days, with a PCR test taken on Day 1 and another on Day 7, coordinating minister of maritime and investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, who spearheads the Emergency Public Activity Restrictions, said in a statement.
Unvaccinated Indonesian passport holders may enter the country by presenting a negative PCR test, and they will be vaccinated upon arrival.
Sandiaga Uno, minister of tourism and creative economy, expressed his support for the tightened border measures during a press conference on Monday.
“We are also calling (on industry stakeholders) to close all destinations and postpone all tourism and creative economic activities across the country,” he said, adding that activities such as the Work from Bali programme and vaccine tours have been put on hold for now.
“We understand that this is bitter for the industry, but Covid-19 data points to an emergency situation and we cannot take any more risks and must put the public’s health first,” Sandiaga said.
However, he added, preparations for the reopening of borders will go on. “The plan to reopen Bali, for example, must meet three pre-conditions: Around 70-80 per cent of the local population must be vaccinated, the end-to-end implementation of (cleanliness, health, safety and environment) CHSE protocols must be finalised, and the infection rate must be below 100. We have to keep our spirit and work hard to achieve those preconditions,” Sandiaga said.
He added that the government would speed up the rollout of the recently-announced 60 billion rupiah (US$4.2 million) incentive package to the tourism industry.
Franck Rodriguez takes reins at Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne
Centara Hotels & Resorts has appointed Franck Rodriguez as general manager of Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne, set to open in 3Q2021.
A French national with more than 20 years of industry experience, Rodriguez has worked reputed hospitality brands including Leading Hotels of the World, InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood Hotels & Resorts (now part of Marriott International). He is also no stranger to the Centara brand, having spent a formative part of his career as the F&B manager at Centara Villas Samui.
More recently, Rodriguez was group director of operations with The Unique Collection of Hotels & Resorts for almost five years, overseeing a portfolio of 27 upscale properties, before joining IHG, where he was responsible for the opening of several key hotels, including the Asia Pacific region’s first-ever voco hotel in Danang.
The Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne is the second Centara Mirage resort worldwide, and is Centara Hotels & Resorts’ first property in Vietnam.
The family leisure destination is centred around an “Explorer’s Playground” waterpark, complete with pools, slides, a sailing ship, lazy river, splash zone and cliff-jumping rock. The property will also have 984 rooms and villas, and boast amenities such as six restaurants, six bars, playgrounds, entertainment complex, spa, observatory tower, grand ballroom, and outdoor amphitheatre.
Korean Air-Asiana merger cleared for take-off
Korean Air has finalised its post-merger integration (PMI) plan with Asiana Airlines after receiving approval from the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB).
The PMI plan had been submitted to the KDB on March 17, five months after Korean Air signed a deal to acquire Asiana’s new shares and perpetual convertible bonds.
For three months, the KDB reviewed the PMI plan and made revisions in consultation with Korean Air, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and other relevant agencies.
The finalised PMI plan includes integration plans for the airlines’ full-service carriers (FSCs) and low-cost carriers (LCCs), measures to resolve restrictions of holding companies stipulated in the Fair Trade Act, employment retention and succession of collective agreements, and plans to effectively reorganise relevant subsidiaries.
Once the PMI plan has been finalised, Korean Air will proceed to integrate with Asiana after receiving business combination approvals from relevant authorities.
The newly integrated global airline will increase operational efficiency of overlapping passenger and cargo routes, while diversifying its schedules and expanding opportunities for new routes, which will increase customer benefits and create integrated synergy by reducing costs, Korean Air said in a statement.
It added that the integrated FSCs and LCCs are expected to improve efficiency by achieving economies of scale, and will act as an opportunity for the growth of relevant contractors, partners and other companies in the aviation industry.
Two-time HSMA president Christine Ann Urbanozo-Ibarreta passes away after battle with Covid-19
Christine Ann Urbanozo-Ibarreta, who served as the president of Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) for two terms, passed away last Friday (July 2) after two months of battling Covid-19. She was 54.
Well-loved, bubbly and irrepressibly witty, Christine was “the agile leader when the pandemic struck and guided the hotels to pursue available businesses, while serving as the conduit between government agencies and industry committees,” shared former HSMA president Rose H Libongco.
“Christine braved calling on the market contacts of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Philippine Airlines and other airlines, and medical and business frontliners. That’s how she caught the virus,” Libongco shared.
To help hotels and resorts to stay afloat, Christine rallied all members during this pandemic to optimise alternative market segments such as the business process outsourcing, overseas Filipino workers, and returning overseas Filipinos, said HSMA chair Margie F. Munsayac.
“She continuously worked with government agencies so that guidelines and protocols are cascaded to all members to ensure that hotels and resorts can guarantee a safe stay for all guests,” Munsayac added.
Describing Christine as “truly a lifeline for hotels and travel”, Libongco said HSMA’s annual Virtus Award recognising industry exemplars was Christine’s idea. In addition to leading HSMA members in organising sales webinars, as well as marketing and promotions to keep hotels top-of-mind, Christine also started a Facebook marketplace during the pandemic for displaced industry employees to earn an income.
Christine also sat on the board of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines and had worked in various capacities in sales and marketing for many hotels, including Resorts World Manila, Sofitel Philippine Plaza, and most recently, as group director of sales and marketing at Golden Phoenix Hotel.
Bali’s major tourism stakeholders have joined forces to launch the Back to Bali campaign, in what has been dubbed the “biggest tourism campaign” in the history of the Indonesian island.
Launched on Monday (July 5), the Back to Bali campaign is led by popular beach club Finns Bali, in partnership with some of the island’s major industry stakeholders, including Bali Tourism, Wonderful Indonesia, Bali Hotels Association and Garuda Indonesia.
“Bali closed its doors to tourism almost 12 months ago, which has seen catastrophic results for the hospitality and tourism industry. It’s no secret that tourism is the heart and soul of the island, with many people facing employment uncertainty and poverty,” said Finns Bali COO, Beau Whittington.
“With the hope of travel on the horizon, we firmly believe that now is the right time to launch a Back to Bali campaign, and do everything we can to revive the tourism industry.”
The Back to Bali campaign offers tourists the chance to purchase a five million rupiah (US$350) package that has 15 million rupiah (US$1,000) worth of F&B, accommodation and Finns VIP membership credits. Credits are 100 per cent interchangeable.
Buyers can also secure the offer now for an initial down-payment of 990,000 rupiah (US$69), with a three-year validity to pay the remaining balance and redeem the credit.
The limited-time offer is now available for purchase on the Back to Bali portal, which allows guests to manage their payments, peruse experiences, and redeem and book accommodation.
Back to Bali gives access to over 100 participating resorts, 500 villas and an abundance of activities and excursions across the island. Participating partners include Five Elements, Six Senses, Abaca Villas, Massilia Villas and Rumah Ludwig, among others.
In line with the campaign is the launch of a captivating video produced by Bali Prod, showcasing the best Bali has to offer.