Air India and IHG Hotels & Resorts have entered a new partnership that enables Air India’s Maharaja Club members to earn reward points during stays at IHG Hotels & Resorts properties while giving IHG One Rewards members the flexibility to exchange their points for Maharaja Points.
The partnership brings together IHG’s global portfolio of more than 7,100 hotels in over 100 countries with Air India’s network across India and five continents to offer members greater value, choice and flexibility across their travel journey.
The partnership with Air India reflects IHG Hotels & Resorts’v continued commitment to India and its long-term growth strategy in the market
Maharaja Club members can earn two Maharaja Points for every US$1 spent at most IHG Hotels and Resorts, while stays at Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, IHG Residences and IHG Army Hotels will earn 1 Maharaja Point for every US$1 spent.
They also have the flexibility to convert their IHG One Rewards Points into Maharaja Points, with 1,000 IHG One Rewards Points exchangeable for 200 Maharaja Points. The minimum exchange threshold is 1,000 IHG One Rewards Points, giving members flexibility in how they use their loyalty rewards towards future travel.
To mark the launch of the partnership, Maharaja Club members will be eligible to earn triple Maharaja Points on qualifying stays between September 15 and December 31, 2026, with no blackout dates applicable during the period. Members are required to register for the promotion to benefit from the offer.
Four Seasons has named 20-year industry veteran Ivan Giles as general manager of both Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai and Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle.
Giles transfers from Four Seasons Resort Langkawi, where he led a major property repositioning, a multi-villa renovation, and earned two Michelin Keys. His career with Four Seasons spans over two decades, including leadership roles across Costa Rica, Hawaii, and the Maldives.
In this dual-property role, Giles will oversee strategic strategy, guest experience, and community engagement for both Northern Thailand retreats.
Dorsett Grand Subang has appointed Nigel Boey as its new general manager.
Boey brings over 16 years of hospitality experience to the role, having worked with major industry brands including Las Vegas Sands, Marriott International, Millennium & Copthorne International, and Pan Pacific Hotels Group.
He most recently served as assistant general manager at UOL Group Limited, following a two-year tenure as commercial director at ParkRoyal Collection Marina Bay Singapore.
In his new position, Boey will oversee day-to-day hotel operations, strategic development, commercial growth, and guest experience at the Subang Jaya property.
Design Hotels, a global collection of independent, design-driven hotels, has welcomed 15 new hotels in 12 destinations to its Asia-Pacific network this year, signalling continued growth in high-end hotel development across the region as well as a growing appetite for inspiring hotel stays among travellers.
Speaking to TTG Asia, Aik Wee Ong, senior director, APAC, Design Hotels, said the growth is in line with the company’s projections and reflects both the strength of the region’s hospitality pipeline and the increasing number of owners and developers who share Design Hotels’ approach to independent, design-led hospitality.
Ong: China remains a key part of our growth story
“There are many exciting and distinctive independent hotels emerging across Asia-Pacific and we believe we are only getting started,” he stated.
Ten of the new Asia-Pacific additions are located in China. Yangshou Sugar House in Guangxi, Jinmao Pureal Mountain Lijiang, and 6500, Changsha are among the new signings.
Ong expressed excitement in China’s design-led hotel boom.
“We’re seeing a strong appetite for what Design Hotels stands for from a very well-travelled and sophisticated Chinese audience and their appreciation for independent, design-led hotels has really grown. At the same time, there’s a new generation of incredibly talented Chinese architects and designers bringing fresh ideas and a distinctly local perspective to hospitality. It’s a very exciting time for design-led hospitality in China,” he said.
Despite the energetic expansion of Design Hotels’ Asia-Pacific portfolio, the company has only 59 member hotels compared to 100 in Americas and 210 in Europe.
Ong told TTG Asia that “there is significant potential for Design Hotels to grow across Asia-Pacific”.
He noted that the growth trajectory is fairly consistent across the different regions.
“Our European portfolio is naturally larger given our German heritage and the fact that we have been championing independent, design-led hotels there for more than 30 years. China will remain a key part of our growth story, while we are also keeping a close eye on markets such as India, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand,” he explained.
Ong believes that the strong appetite for design-led hotels will fuel Design Hotels’ expansion.
He said: “Travellers are moving beyond traditional definitions of luxury and increasingly looking for originality, authenticity and a strong sense of place.
“Design is no longer simply about aesthetics or beautiful interiors; it is increasingly a reflection of culture, creativity and the destination itself. This creates a compelling opportunity for Design Hotels, whose portfolio is built around independent hotels with a distinctive identity and a genuine connection to their surroundings.
“As the hospitality landscape becomes more competitive and increasingly homogenous, individuality will be an important differentiator.”
Cassandra Lin, general manager of The Warehouse Hotel in Singapore, a member of Design Hotels, told TTG Asia that there is indeed a growing appetite for non-normative lodging experiences, especially among early-career travellers.
“At the same time, a lot of affluent travellers prefer to stay in a hotel that is of a smaller scale, where they will get exclusive attention and are addressed by name,” Lin observed, adding that hotels must also offer unique experiences to truly capture customers’ attention and repeat business.
As one of the earliest unique, design-led hotel in Singapore, and one occupying a heritage architecture, Lin said The Warehouse Hotel has to keep engagements fresh and attractive to encourage repeat visits from both diners and travellers.
The hotel is rebranding its bar and revitalising the menu at its popular restaurant, Po. A series of art and music programming is also being unveiled.
“The common thread in all our activations is the opportunity to connect our guests with the local community and our heritage surroundings,” said Lin.
Park Hyatt Sydney has appointed Bastian Germer as general manager, marking a new chapter for the flagship harborfront luxury property.
Germer brings over three decades of international luxury hospitality experience to the position. His career spans senior leadership roles at high-profile global properties, including Four Seasons Resort Maldives, Raffles Hotel Singapore, The Ritz-Carlton Osaka, The Ritz-Carlton Toronto, The New York EDITION, and most recently, The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad.
In his new role, Germer will oversee all operations at the hotel, focusing on elevating guest experiences through intuitive service, fostering a supportive workplace culture, and driving colleague empowerment.
Hong Kong Airlines
Hong Kong Airlines launched its first direct service between Hong Kong and Urumqi on August 29. Operated by an Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft, the twice-weekly service will further strengthen connectivity between Hong Kong and Northwest China. Hong Kong Airlines flies from Hong Kong to Urumqi every Tuesday and Saturday; the return flights are every Wednesday and Sunday.
Malaysia Airlines flies to Fukuoka five times a week
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines has resumed its Kuala Lumpur-Fukuoka services on September 2. The service is operated on a Boeing 737- 8 and offered five times a week. With this, Malaysia Airlines now flies 26 flights weekly to three gateways in Japan, with the others being Tokyo (via Narita) and Osaka.
Strong demand turns Etihad Airways’ service to Gothenburg into a year-round arrangement
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways will turn its new Abu Dhabi–Gothenburg service into a year-round operation in response to strong market demand. Originally introduced three weeks ago as a winter-only service, the new Abu Dhabi–Gothenburg flights witnessed intense demand from both ends of the route. The Abu Dhabi–Gothenburg operations will begin on December 17, 2026 with four flights a week, operated by on the Airbus A321LR with two First Suites, 14 Business seats, and 144 in Economy.
Visitors can now combine a three-course lunch aboard the Royal Albatross with a speedboat journey through Singapore’s Southern Islands, as Tall Ship Adventures launches a new dine-and-sail experience.
The new Albatross Island Restaurant (AIR) sees the Royal Albatross operate as a daytime restaurant while continuing its evening sunset dinner cruises. Guests can travel by Albatross Speedboats from Marina South Pier, Singapore Oceanarium at Resorts World Sentosa or Siloso Beach before boarding the ship, which is anchored off Lazarus Island.
MasterChef Singapore winner Inderpal Singh curates the menu at the new Albatross Island Restaurant
Following lunch, guests may continue exploring Singapore’s Southern Islands using the same speedboat network, to neighbouring islands such as St John’s Island, Kusu Island and Sisters’ Islands.
Tall Ship Adventures aims to create an integrated marine lifestyle destination around the Royal Albatross, combining dining, marine transport and island exploration.
At the helm of the new restaurant is MasterChef Singapore winner Inderpal Singh, who has developed a lunch menu inspired by the region’s spice routes and regional flavours, and with families and leisure travellers in mind. A vegetarian set menu is also available.
Albatross Speedboat Adventures (ASA) has begun daily scheduled hop-on, hop-off services connecting Marina South Pier, Resorts World Sentosa and Siloso Beach with the Southern Islands.
AIR is Singapore’s first tourism product to integrate scheduled marine transportation with destination dining aboard a permanently anchored hospitality venue.
The ship is also available for themed themed events, brand activations, corporate functions, celebrations and community experiences.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts has added four hotels in Bali to its global portfolio, bringing its total number of member properties in Indonesia to five.
The additions – Ametis Villa Bali in Canggu, Nuju Uluwatu in Uluwatu, Samsara Ubud in Ubud, and The Meru Sanur in Sanur – take the group’s South-east Asian portfolio to 25 properties across seven countries.
Ametis Villa Bali in Canggu is among the latest additions to Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio
“We are pleased to strengthen our presence in Indonesia with the addition of four distinctive independent hotels in Bali,” said Christine Tan, area managing director, Southeast Asia, Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
“As demand for authentic, experience-driven luxury travel continues to grow in the region, these new member properties enhance the diversity and competitiveness of our regional portfolio while providing travellers and our industry partners with greater choice in one of Asia-Pacific’s most sought-after destinations. Their addition reflects our long-term commitment to expanding our footprint across key growth markets in South-east Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.”
The four properties span different segments of Bali’s hospitality market, from private villas and boutique retreats to beachfront resorts.
They participate in the group’s I Prefer Hotel Rewards programme.
Series presents real action taken by tourism organisations to support long-term social, cultural, environmental and economic outcomes
Responsible tourism has evolved towards creating a net-positive impact on the environment, communities and culture
Successful social media use in tourism should be defined by positive tourist behavioural change, conservation contributions, ecological impact, and other non-traditional KPIs
Films examine approaches to destination stewardship, climate action, community participation, responsible innovation, workforce development and regional cooperation
PATA has partnered with Content With Purpose to create a new digital series that looks beyond tourism recovery and visitor numbers alone, to explore what meaningful, long-term tourism growth across Asia-Pacific needs to look like.
Named Pacific Asia: Tourism with Purpose, the content initiative coincides with PATA’s 75th anniversary.
The films examine approaches to destination stewardship, climate action, community participation, responsible innovation, workforce development and regional cooperation.
Content partners include Hainan University-Arizona State University International Tourism College, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, Hong Kong Metropolitan University Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration, Marianas Visitor Authority, Song Saa, The Luxury Signature, and Travelife.
The series also brings together perspectives from tourism leaders, policymakers, academics, entrepreneurs and practitioners, including PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid; Korea Tourism Organization’s executive director for the Americas Insook Lee; TTG Asia Media’s group editor Karen Yue; PATA Nepal Chapter’s advisor Deepak Joshi; PATA ambassador for Greater China Soon-Hwa Wong; and Booking.com’s head of public affairs, Asia Pacific Yang Li.
The series reflects PATA’s commitment to advancing a meaningful Pacific Asia tourism economy – one in which tourism supports long-term social, cultural, environmental and economic outcomes.
PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid said: “As PATA celebrates its 75th anniversary, Pacific Asia: Tourism with Purpose reflects our ongoing commitment to sharing knowledge and showcasing practical solutions that support the future of tourism across the region. Through inspiring stories from destinations, businesses and communities, this series highlights how collaboration, innovation and responsible leadership can create lasting benefits for both people and places. We are proud to partner with Content With Purpose on this initiative and hope it inspires others to help shape a stronger, more resilient visitor economy.”
Additional films and supporting content will continue to be released following the main launch on September 8, allowing the series to build over the coming months.
Laos Buffalo Dairy improves the life of the local farming community and provides Khiri Travel’s guests with an opportunity to enjoy fresh dairy produce
Principles in practice: beneficial tourism With Khiri Travel, the series presented an example of how tourism can create local economic opportunity while supporting conservation, culture and community. The episode traces Khiri Travel’s partnership with Laos Buffalo Dairy in Luang Prabang, which rents some 200 female buffalo from local farmers. The farm feeds, vaccinates, and looks after both the buffalo and their calves as the buffalo are milked daily for about six months. Fresh dairy products from the farm draws Khiri Travel’s guests who come for fun and interactive tours as well as to enjoy an all-natural menu. The collaboration allows tourism to contribute to the farm’s efforts in raising healthier herds, establishing rental income for families, and providing practical experience for teachers and students from the Northern Agricultural College in Luang Prabang.
Reflecting on Khiri Travel’s long-term contribution to responsible tourism development, Willem Niemeijer, founder of Khiri Travel and CEO of Yaana Ventures, which incubates, grows, and operates brands in sustainable tourism, impact hospitality, and travel technology, told TTG Asia: “From the beginning, we wanted to make our workforce and supply chain as local as possible. Tourism is all about people: it is people who make both the destination and the experience.”
Niemeijer shared that his team recognised the “importance of sidestepping the trajectory of extractive tourism” right from the early days of tourism in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Thus, Khiri Travel focused on developing experiences that celebrate cultural traditions, contribute to the conservation of the natural environment, and improve local livelihoods.
“We have always operated with the optimistic belief that tourism, when practised properly, can be a force for good,” he said.
“Over the years, responsible tourism has not only become more mainstream; the ambition has evolved towards creating a net-positive impact on the environment, communities and culture. It is not a simple journey, but it is an inspiring one. Along the way, we have also built a fabulous, aligned and loyal global client base, proving that doing things the right way makes solid business sense,” he added.
Bricker: destinations need to stop judging social media success primarily by impressions, followers, or arrival numbers
Principles in practice: purposeful social media content With Hainan University-Arizona State University International College, the series explores the impact social media has on visitor growth and how destinations can keep local culture and communities at the centre of tourism development.
Kelly Bricker, associate dean of Hainan University-Arizona State University International College, challenged the assumption that the purpose of social media is simply to generate more visitors.
Bricker said: “Good destination marketing should generate the right visitation, in the right places, at the right times, and with the right behaviours. Social media is extraordinarily powerful at creating demand, but we have seen how quickly a beautiful trail, beach, village, or cultural site can become overwhelmed once it goes viral. So, destination marketers need to think of social media as a visitor-management tool as much as a promotional tool.”
She urged marketers to use social media for dispersing visitors geographically and seasonally, by introducing lesser-known places with the capacity and community desire to receive visitors, promote shoulder seasons and different times of day, and connect social content with reservation systems, transportation information, capacity limits, and real-time visitor information.
“Ultimately, I would like destinations to stop judging social media success primarily by impressions, followers, or arrival numbers. I would much rather see KPIs around visitor dispersal, length of stay, local expenditure, resident sentiment, conservation contributions, behavioral change, and ecological impact,” she added.
When asked for best examples of destination marketing that was built around local culture and communities, Bricker pointed to the initiatives of Indigenous Tourism British Columbia and Palau.
Indigenous Tourism British Columbia positions indigenous people as storytellers. Content explicitly emphasises experiences through indigenous stories, indigenous-owned businesses, living cultures, and relationships with the land.
“That distinction is tremendously important. Authenticity isn’t something a marketing agency manufactures. Authenticity comes from giving communities agency over how their cultures, traditions, landscapes, and stories are represented,” stated Bricker.
Meanwhile, Palau’s Palau Pledge campaign is tied to environmental and cultural behaviour, and is integrated into the visitor experience rather than existing simply as an advertising slogan.
“What makes that campaign so powerful is that the destination story comes from Palau’s own values and particularly from its children and future generations. Visitors are essentially told they are welcome here, but visiting this place takes responsibility,” she stated.
The common thread linking these two powerful examples is that “the destination is not the hero of the story, the people and the place are”, Bricker told TTG Asia.
The way forward Both Bricker and Niemeijer have practical advice for Asia-Pacific’s travel and tourism industry to truly uphold responsible tourism development.
Niemeijer warned that short-term thinking, the concentration of development around established hubs, fragmented standards, and the perception that sustainability is an additional cost rather than an essential part of building a resilient business are the biggest hurdles to responsible tourism develop in the region.
He said: “Travellers generally support responsible tourism in principle, but their willingness to pay significantly more for it remains limited. This is where organisations such as The Long Run can be tremendously helpful. Its members share valuable knowledge and experience, with the understanding that a rising tide lifts all boats. No business becomes perfectly sustainable overnight; what matters is making measurable progress, being transparent about shortcomings, and continuously improving.
He believes that enforcement and encouragement are distinct and relevant concepts in responsible tourism development.
He explained: “Governments must enforce clear, consistent minimum standards in areas such as environmental protection, waste management, labour practices and land use. Visitor dispersion is also critical to sustainable tourism growth. Governments and the industry should actively encourage international, as well as domestic, travellers to venture beyond the established tourism hubs.
“But regulation alone will not create genuinely responsible tourism. Industry associations, the wider supply chain and travellers must also reward businesses that go beyond the minimum. Credible, proportionate certification can help, particularly when it is accessible to smaller businesses and does not become an expensive box-ticking exercise available only to the larger players.”
Both Niemeijer and Bricker believe that the time has come for responsible tourism to be normalised as a concrete part of business.
Bricker said: “I would like to see recognised sustainability requirements increasingly incorporated into planning approvals, tourism concessions, government procurement, destination investment, financing, licensing, and public-private partnerships. We already have international frameworks such as the GSTC Criteria that establish baseline expectations for sustainable tourism. The next stage is moving much more consistently from commitment to measurement, verification, reporting, and accountability.”
She also urged the adoption of a nature-positive tourism model, with a focus on ensuring that tourism contributes to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, cultural preservation, and improved community livelihoods. In addition, the definition of tourism performance needs to move away from arrival numbers to considerations such as tourism’s positive impact on host community’s quality of life, conservation of values, assets and sense of place, and the ability tourism has to lift the natural environment.
What gap in the market was Far East Hospitality (FEH) originally seeking to fill with Oasia, and how has the brand’s ethos evolved since then?
When we opened Oasia Hotel Novena in 2011 as the first Oasia property, the opportunity was to create a restorative respite within an urban environment, making Oasia a destination of choice for wellness-conscious travellers. Over the years, our core purpose remains: Empowering our guests to maintain a sense of balance while travelling. What has evolved is how these pillars are expressed across the Oasia properties, responding to each property’s setting and the needs of our guests.
In what way is the well-being experience different across the different Oasia hotels?
We don’t believe this should be delivered through a standardised set of programmes. Each development responds to its own context, locale and guest profile, while maintaining
Oasia’s focus on helping guests “Refresh, Refuel and Recharge”, with well-being integrated into the overall stay.
At Oasia Hotel Downtown, the building’s award winning biophilic design with its vertical greening and open-air spaces creates a sense of respite within the business district. Even passers-by stop to admire its “green skin”, which I personally find therapeutic. Oasia Hotel Novena takes a quieter urban approach through natural materials, calming interiors and wellness-focused touches.
Oasia Resort Sentosa, by contrast, offers a more immersive, leisure-led stay, with the resort setting giving guests greater physical and mental separation from the city and a menu of activities they can choose from. This is also where we launched Oasia Spa, our first hotel spa brand, as we felt a dedicated spa was integral to the resort experience. We made a deliberate decision to manage it internally, to have greater control over quality and facilities.
How does Oasia Resort Sentosa make wellness available without prescribing a fixed programme?
This is shifting from an optional activity within a trip to becoming part of the decision about where to stay. This is changing how value is defined. Beyond room size, location or price, travellers are also considering whether a stay will help them rest well, enhance their overall travel experience, or return home simply feeling better.
The opportunity is therefore to build a proposition that remains relevant across different guest profiles, trip purposes and lengths of stay, rather than designing around a narrowly defined “wellness traveller”.
Sentosa guests stay an average of two to three nights, so flexibility matters. At check-in, we explain what is available, then let them decide: bath bomb-making, self-guided meditation, in-room yoga, fitness activities, Wellness Lounge workshops or Oasia Spa. For parents, well-being may be the sense of quiet after their children are asleep, so we offer discounted spa treatments during off-peak hours.
Can you share how Oasia Resort Sentosa incorporates wellness into the stay in an intuitive way beyond spa treatments and fitness classes?
For me, holistic wellness means making well-being a part of the stay itself, rather than just being something guests have to book as an activity. It should be felt in the spaces we create, how we help guests rest and recharge, the choices we offer and the way we look after them.
The resort’s neutral hues, natural wood finishes and integrated greenery create a calmer setting, while the minibar includes options such as coconut water and home-made dehydrated fruit to support a healthier stay.
Rest and recovery are also increasingly important across the portfolio. For example, Oasia has a collaboration with Woosa Sleep where selected suites are fitted with Woosa’s sleep innovations, including mattresses with premium memory foam and adjustable bed bases, designed to address common sleep disruptors in hotels and support deep rest.
How do you see wellness hospitality in Asia-Pacific evolving?
Personalisation will become more important because guests are increasingly more specific about what they want. It may be about sleep and recovery, movement, quiet moments or even having fewer demands on their time. The implication for hotels is that programmes will need to become more flexible and responsive, rather than built around a fixed regimen.
At the same time, I expect mental restoration and self-care to become a bigger part of the conversation. Physical wellness can be implemented through gyms, spas and fitness activities. Supporting mental well-being is more complex because it depends on the overall environment, how a space feels, how much friction there is in the guest journey, and whether the experience genuinely gives people room to slow down and reset.
For FEH, this means continuing to evolve as expectations become more nuanced. The priority is to distinguish lasting shifts in guest behaviour from short-term trends and translate those with enduring relevance into meaningful experiences across our spaces, partnerships and service.
This includes continued investment in sleep quality through pillow menus and our Woosa partnership. We are also open to collaborations such as a recent partnership with Glow Festival by Prudential in Sentosa to broaden what is available to guests.
Giles transfers from Four Seasons Resort Langkawi, where he led a major property repositioning, a multi-villa renovation, and earned two Michelin Keys. His career with Four Seasons spans over two decades, including leadership roles across Costa Rica, Hawaii, and the Maldives.
What gap in the market was Far East Hospitality (FEH) originally seeking to fill with Oasia, and how has the brand’s ethos evolved since then?
