Tour buses wait for passengers at National Mosque. Over 25 million people visited Malaysia in 2013.
Tourism Productivity Nexus (TPN) has proposed to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) to relook existing regulations for tourism businesses to tide them through these challenging times of Covid-19.
TPN chairman, Uzaidi Udanis, said in a meeting on Tuesday chaired by the tourism, arts and culture minister, Nancy Shukri, that he had proposed for the MOTAC to temporarily abolish the requirement that tour operators and travel agents need to maintain a physical office to renew their licenses.
Malaysian tourism players are proposing for the licensing of recreational vehicles and caravans to operators; tour buses outside National Mosque of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur pictured
He added: “Many operators and travel agents are currently working from home due to the ongoing pandemic. Yet, they have to maintain an office and pay rental. We proposed that the ministry consider a two-year exemption as it will take about that period for the industry to recover.”
TPN had also proposed for a wider choice of licensed vehicles for the purpose of transporting high-end domestic tourists who are willing to pay more for a comfortable journey.
Uzaidi said: “We proposed the licensing of recreational vehicles and caravans to operators. Under the current regulations, bus operators can convert their tour buses to recreational vehicles, but it has to be licensed under a personal name. Thus, it cannot be used for commercial purposes.”
Also brought up during the meeting was the need to upskill and retrain tourist guides to deepen their knowledge on local destinations so as to cater for the medium to high-end domestic market, shared Uzaidi.
He explained: “It is crucial for tourist guides to provide in-depth story-telling at the destination as this is what local tourists want. They are familiar with the country they live in, so when on a domestic holiday, they seek in-depth explanations of the places they visit.
“We proposed for the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to look at providing affordable courses on upskilling and retraining such as offering these courses at public universities with a nominal fee. This will encourage tourist guides to take such courses.”
He also put forth the suggestion for the MOTAC to register adventure operators in order to safeguard the safety of tourists. Currently, there is no special category for adventure operators to register with the ministry.
Asian female tourist in protective mask using smartphone to search information while walking to look Buddhist art statues around Wat Bang Chak temple area
As Thailand cautiously starts to reopen its borders to select foreign tourists, the majority of Thais are confident that the country is ready and prepared to restart its tourism engine.
These are the findings from a recent global study which found that four out of five (82 per cent) Thais are confident that Thailand is well-prepared to reopen its tourism and leisure activities – the highest globally.
Tourists from Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and India are all targeting Thailand as their first destination when international travel restrictions lift; a tourist wearing face mask walking around Wat Bang Chak temple in Bangkok, Thailand pictured
The study also found that tourists from Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and India are all targeting Thailand as their first destination when international tourism resumes.
Jointly conducted by social research agency Blackbox Research, data provider Dynata, and language partner Language Connect, Unravel Travel: Fear & Possibilities in a Post Coronavirus (Covid-19) World examines the sentiments, preferences, and expectations of more than 10,000 people across 17 countries regarding travel in a post-Covid-19 world.
Thailand’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, with foreign tourist dollars contributing around 11 per cent to the national economy. The vast majority (93 per cent) of Thais recognise the importance of the tourism sector to the local economy. In fact, 22 per cent of Thais agree that there is an urgent need for tourism boards, including their own, to promote tourism for economic reasons – the highest globally.
Saurabh Sardana, COO of Blackbox Research, said that both regional interest and citizen sentiment towards restarting local tourism have been encouraging, especially given the country’s phased approach in reopening to business and medical tourists. Sardana noted that establishing traveller’s trust in health and safety protocols is key, and that Thailand needs to capitalise on its success in containing the Covid-19 outbreak.
He elaborated: “It is evident from our findings the immense value tourism contributes to Thailand’s economy. As Thailand progressively opens its borders to international visitors, its immediate priority will be to regain traveller confidence, through reinforcing how Thailand has in place strict health and safety measures, keeping everyone safe.
“In turn, businesses and the Tourism Authority of Thailand need to work collaboratively and ensure full compliance with these measures, and effectively communicate their efforts through the right channels. Only through stringent health protocols and regular public communication can the tourism industry successfully revitalise itself.
“With Thailand’s currently low rate of coronavirus infections, and its strong public health system which played a key role in its tackling of the pandemic, the country is well-placed to be recognised on the regional and global stage as a trusted destination.”
Among South-east Asian countries, Thailand has the strongest domestic appeal. Some 91 per cent of Thais are keen to support local travel attractions in the next 12 months – a positive sign given Thailand’s recent investment of 22.4 billion baht (US$720 million) to stimulate its domestic tourism, of which partial financial aid will be provided to local tourists for selected hotels and restaurants throughout the country.
Sardana noted that while the financial aid will definitely play a part in encouraging locals to travel domestically, the government needs to also take into consideration how travel priorities have shifted in response to the pandemic.
He elaborated: “Our study has found that price is not necessarily the highest priority for their next trip – this applies to all the key areas such as transport (18 per cent), accommodation (15 per cent), and attraction (10 per cent). Instead, visitor safety measures overwhelmingly ranked top of the list for most Thai travellers (transport – 43 per cent; accommodation – 46 per cent; attraction – 53 per cent).
“To complement these stimulus measures, both the government and tourism operators need to work together to ensure safety and cleanliness protocols are met at all times, giving travellers a sense of security as domestic tourism demand begins to kick in. Establishing confidence amongst locals will also help tell the story of trust to a wider international audience.
“What the study has shown us is that the pandemic has unequivocally shifted how we see travel. In order for travel industry players to stay relevant, they need to change the way they approach every aspect and touchpoint in the traveller experience, emphasising safety and rebuilding trust.”
Royal Caribbean Group has named former Pennsylvania secretary of health, Calvin Johnson, as global head of public health and chief medical officer.
In this newly-created role, Johnson will lead the group’s global health and wellness policy, manage its public health and clinical practice, and determine the strategic plans and operations of its global healthcare organisation.
He will also collaborate with the Healthy Sail Panel – a joint safety task force formed by Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line – to ensure the company establishes and implements its protocols and recommendations.
Johnson, most recently principal at Altre Strategic Solutions Group, is the former chief medical officer for Corizon Health, then the largest provider of correctional health care in the US, and for Temple University Health System.
He served as secretary of health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2003-2008 and was medical director for the New York City Department of Health from 1998-1999.
The Bohol provincial government is preparing to open up select destinations in the province to domestic and international tourists, starting with Panglao, under the Philippines’ travel bubble initiative.
As the province’s best-known destination, Panglao is home to the new Bohol International Airport and a number of hotels.
Bohol eyes reopening certain destinations, starting with Panglao Island; aerial view of a resort and bungalows in Panglao Island, Bohol, the Philippines pictured
Bohol will partner directly with neighbouring market sources that are also successful in mitigating Covid-19 cases, with tourists travelling directly to Panglao, Bohol governor Arthur Yap said in an online presentation at the 4th general membership meeting of the Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa) on Tuesday.
Itineraries within other parts of Bohol can be developed later for point-to-point travel, he said.
Yap has no exact date for reopening Panglao, but hopes that delegates to the Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex), the country’s biggest government-organised international travel trade event, to be hosted by Panglao in September, can review and critically evaluate the programme.
Calling the programme a “travel bubble within a bubble”, Yap said Bohol will only embark on an aggressive marketing blitz when the scheme is ready for launch, with a concrete tourism plan in place.
Apart from mapping out the tourism plan, there will also be an ordinance detailing firm guidelines for safe travels, with the other critical aspects of sustainability, carrying capacity and environmental laws compliance built into the guidelines.
There will also be the Ultimate Bohol Experience (UBE) seal of excellence for safe and seamless travel for tourism players who are ready to accept tourists.
Another of Yap’s innovation is integrating everything online for a centralised supply chain, from reservations to payment.
Scanning of QR codes using smartphones will be used for contactless contact tracing efforts, while an app will be developed to note the details of tourists and locals without smartphones.
JW Marriott Nara, Japan
The hotel offers 158 guestrooms including 16 suites, alongside amenities such as an Executive Lounge, a 24-hour fitness centre, spa, indoor swimming pool, as well as three F&B options – the all-day dining venue Silk Road Dining, Japanese speciality restaurant Azekura, and Flying Stag lobby lounge and bar. There is also a JW Garden, a plant-filled space where guests can harvest fresh herbs and greens to be incorporated into their menu choices and cocktails at the bar. For meetings and events, a ballroom and four customisable meeting rooms lead off from the main lobby via a Grand Staircase, and collectively offer 640m2 of event space.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown, New Zealand
The Holiday Inn Express brand has made its debut in New Zealand with the launch of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown. The new-build offers 227 guestrooms and suites, some of which provide views of Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range. Guests will also have access to a fitness room, sauna, two flexible meeting rooms, self-serve laundry, dry room, onsite parking and a free business centre.
Fraser Suites Akasaka, Japan
The 224-key serviced residence in Tokyo’s CBD offers a range of rooms, from the 32m2 deluxe room to the 60m2 one-bedroom apartments. Outfitted with kitchenettes, rain showers and bathtubs, and state-of-the-art home entertainment systems, the apartments also boast large bay windows that let in natural light and offer unobstructed views of Tokyo’s city skyline, the Tokyo Skytree and Mount Fuji. Facilities include a Japanese-Italian restaurant, 24/7 gym, golf simulator and The Retreat, a conducive space for work and relaxation that comes with massage chairs.
Hotel Elcient Osaka, Japan
The second Hotel Elcient has opened in Sonezaki, Osaka, a 12-minute walk from JR Osaka Station. It offers 253 keys in total, of which 112 are double rooms, with the remaining 141 twin rooms. Facilities include a guest lounge, public bath, and gym.
Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office will conduct its first Virtual Destination Mekong Summit in the afternoon of August 25, a free-to-attend series of talks on how destinations will survive these challenging times and prepare for an accelerated recovery.
While focused on the travel and tourism industry in the Mekong Region and South-east Asia, the content remains relevant to stakeholders around the world.
Speakers lined up for the Summit include former tourism ministers of tourism, Weerasak Kowsurat and Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul; Cambodian tourism minister Thong Khon; WTTC’s Gloria Guevara; PATA’s Mario Hardy; former UNWTO director for Asia-Pacific, Xu Jing; and Mekong Tourism’s Jens Thraenhart.
The Summit will run from 13.30 to 18.00 (Bangkok/Hanoi/Jakarta times).
More information and Free Registration is available on the website.
Asia-Pacific’s domestic travel market is having its moment, as evidenced by domestic travel searches in the region eclipsing that of international searches, according to a ForwardKeys report.
In the period between July to September, travel that is taking place in the Asia-Pacific region is predominately domestic travel, with searches strongly reflecting this trend. In fact, domestic travel searches in Asia-Pacific are currently more dominant than international searches.
Holiday travel in Asia-Pacific has been led by domestic activity, with Vietnam emerging the region’s top performer with a 8.9 per cent growth this summer; cherry apricot trees lining dirt road in Da Lat Plateau, Vietnam pictured
The numbers are double, and even triple, in some cases such as in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Thailand, and South Korea when compared to 2019.
These findings were presented during a hotel revenue management webinar co-hosted by ForwardKeys and IDeAS Revenue Solutions in Singapore to help hospitality players bounce back from Covid-19.
Focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, the latest ForwardKeys travel data highlighted the might and possibilities of further growing the domestic travel market during this “survival of the fittest” period.
The star of the region now is Vietnam. Domestic flight searches are converting to future bookings, with the South-east Asian nation showing a growth of 8.9 per cent this summer, according to tickets issued as of July 15, while others in the region still lag behind.
Closer inspection of the flight search data showed a growing demand among domestic tourists for smaller destinations in Vietnam, like Qui Nhon, Dalat, Phu Quoc, and Nha Trang.
With new cases of Covid-19 rearing its ugly head in parts of Asia again, travel trends have been thrown out of whack. Gone are the days of planning trip months in advance, with ForwardKeys data revealing that booking lead time has been dramatically cut shorter. In China, Vietnam, and South Korea, it’s now down to zero to four days prior to flying.
No longer are last-minute bookers a small percentage of industry stakeholders’ marketing efforts – but in some cases, it’s their only chance to capture new customers. And with foreign and longhaul source markets showing real interest only from 1Q2021, businesses need to make the most of its local markets.
For those planning afar, it appears that despite all the drama and debacle in the UK regarding flight restrictions, quarantine, and the rise in new Covid-19 cases, the English are still dreaming of a slice of Asia-Pacific paradise in Australia and Thailand.
Thailand is high on the bucket list for holidaymakers in France, Germany, and the UK. Jameson Wong, Asia-Pacific business development director of ForwardKeys, said: “People are expecting that Covid-19 will be controlled in major Asia-Pacific destinations by (1Q2021) so they can finally travel to longhaul destinations from Europe.”
Luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) Myanmar has launched a series of multi-day private tour experiences for domestic travellers.
Dubbed Discover Your Asia, the tour series includes Escape to Ngapali, a three-night getaway at a high-end retreat within the township; and Visions of Kalaw and Inke Lake, a four-night experience featuring private guided trekking and overnight stay at a monastery.
Abercrombie & Kent Myanmar unveils a series of private, tailor-made journeys to tourist attractions like the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, also known as Golden Rock (above)
Other offerings are the Golden Rock and Hpa An tour, a four-night journey with private transport and guide including sunset at Golden Rock, light trekking in Hpa An and cave discoveries along the way; as well as Bagan Bold, a three-night escapade in Bagan with a private guide, visiting guest-selected pagodas and an excursion to Mount Popa.
Myanmar residents are also offered the chance to cruise the Ayeyarwady River on the all-suite ship Sanctuary Ananda at a special rate. They have the option of three- or four- night journeys, with the former cruising from Bagan to Mandalay, and the latter departing from Mandalay for Bagan.
Each tour will come complete with private guides, accommodation and vehicle arrangements, and personalised service.
Severine Fallet, A&K Myanmar country manager said: “These journeys are perfect for residents who want to see and experience Myanmar in a new way. Our private guides provide in-depth insights which give travellers a new appreciation of the people and places that they visit, even if they have been to those places before.”
The company said that it has plans to offer regional tours to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos at special Myanmar residents-only rates once travel to these countries resumes.
Ctrip and more than 120 Chinese travel agencies have inked an agreement to promote cross-provincial tour safety, marking a sector-wide effort to regain travellers’ confidence and rejuvenate the country’s tour market.
The agreement laid out 16 health, safety, service and emergency response standards for the travel agency sector, according to a press release.
Chinese travel agencies sign agreement committing to health and safety protocols; tourists exploring an ecological park in Huai’an City, Jiangsu Province, China pictured
Besides reducing the size of tours, the agreement proposed that travel agencies conduct daily temperature checks while on tour, track the tour’s location in real-time, and ensure that staff complete health QR code verification before the tour.
In line with the agreement, more than 4,000 travel agencies in the country released over 100,000 new products on Ctrip.
For instance, in response to the call for smaller tour groups, China Suzhou Cultural International Travel Service pushed out themed offerings such as RV, photography and self-drive travel products, shared its chairman Qu Xiongwei in the same press release.
Ctrip said that it will distinguish products in line with the agreement’s standards on its online travel platform and at its offline retail stores.
MGM Resorts International has cast doubt on its commitment to build the integrated resort in Yumeshima, Osaka, as the industry emerges from the Covid-19 crisis.
MGM’s president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle indicated in a conference call held last month that there were numerous factors to be worked out, and were currently not moving forward with its multibillion-dollar investment, reported Asia Gaming Brief.
MGM’s president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle adopts a circumspect stance towards the company’s commitment to the Osaka IR project as the industry rises from the ashes of Covid; Shinsekai and Tsutenkaku tower in Osaka pictured
This time last year, the American hospitality and entertainment company said that it was still pursuing the integrated resort in Osaka. It is currently the only operator making a bid, after Galaxy Entertainment and Genting Singapore pulled out of the Osaka race.
Hornbuckle was quoted by the report as saying that MGM will only move forward with the project if it is deemed to be profitable and able to meet the company’s expectations. Should the deal proceed, MGM will hold a 40-45 per cent stake in the operation.
Hornbuckle expects the Osaka RFP process to move ahead in early 2021, but hinted that he expects the Japanese government to reconsider its regulatory framework for IR development.
Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office will conduct its first Virtual Destination Mekong Summit in the afternoon of August 25, a free-to-attend series of talks on how destinations will survive these challenging times and prepare for an accelerated recovery.
While focused on the travel and tourism industry in the Mekong Region and South-east Asia, the content remains relevant to stakeholders around the world.
Speakers lined up for the Summit include former tourism ministers of tourism, Weerasak Kowsurat and Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul; Cambodian tourism minister Thong Khon; WTTC’s Gloria Guevara; PATA’s Mario Hardy; former UNWTO director for Asia-Pacific, Xu Jing; and Mekong Tourism’s Jens Thraenhart.
The Summit will run from 13.30 to 18.00 (Bangkok/Hanoi/Jakarta times).
More information and Free Registration is available on the website.