SINGAPORE, 8 June 2022: As countries worldwide reopen their borders and ease restrictions on international travel, demand is soaring beyond expectations.
In response, the global digital travel platform Agoda partners with several tourism authorities in the Asia Pacific region to boost confidence and help their respective countries safely welcome back travellers.
Following its initial success in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, Agoda expanded its partnerships to the Philippines, Korea and Taiwan to feature Clean Certified Accommodations by each government to support countries’ safe reopening and revitalization of their tourism industries.
With the adoption of clean certifications, Agoda supports ongoing government initiatives to promote properties with high hygiene standards, enabling travellers greater access to safe and well-managed accommodations on their travels – in accordance with hospitality industry standards.
Properties that have fulfilled hygiene criteria in line with the local market and regional standards will receive a Clean Certified Accommodation badge on their property page on Agoda. Certifications including CHSE (InDOnesia CARE) of Indonesia, Clean & Safe Malaysia, Korea Quality, OK Travel in New Taipei City of Taiwan, Safety Seal of the Philippines, SHA+ of Thailand, and SG Clean of Singapore are now displayed on Agoda’s platforms.
“We are proud to partner with government authorities across the Asia Pacific and beyond to promote hygiene standards for all travellers,” said Agoda COO Omri Morgenshtern. “Agoda’s top priority has always been to help make travel easier, and travellers will be able to easily identify which properties meet the government cleanliness and hygiene standards in each market. Our objective for the Certified Clean Accommodation program is to help promote hygiene protocols among our accommodation partners and offer a layer of confidence for travellers looking to get back out there. We want to continue doing everything we can to help rejuvenate the tourism economy in the best way we can.”
Korea
“With the removal of the week-long quarantine-on-arrival measures in South Korea, we look forward to the inbound travel market coming alive,” said Kim Yong Jae, Director of the Tourism Certification Center of the Korea Tourism Organization. “In particular, since the Covid-19 outbreak, travellers’ standards for hygiene and safety have become stricter, and demand for clean and safe accommodation has increased. The Clean Badge partnership with Agoda provides international travellers with the ability to be able to explore every corner of South Korea safely and comfortably.”
New Taipei City
“New Taipei City Government considers epidemic prevention as the primary concern for tourism promotion. We are pleased to partner with Agoda in promoting ‘OK Travel’ among hundred accommodation partners providing accommodation references for travellers. We are excited that this collaboration will be an extra step towards helping us welcome more accommodations to participate and build New Taipei City a safer tourist destination ahead of tourism recovery to welcome domestic and international visitors in the future”, said Tsung-Ming Yang, Commissioner at Tourism and Travel Department of New Taipei City.
In line with travel trends noted in Agoda’s Travel Trend Survey, travellers are seeking reassurance that hygiene measures at their destination are rigorous and follow global best practices. Survey respondents were most interested in “daily room disinfection” followed by “daily disinfection (of general areas),” “providing hygiene standard listings,” and “hygiene certification from the government.”
