HONG KONG, 24 April 2023: Cathay Pacific’s passenger load factor surpassed 90% in March, reflecting the ongoing strong demand for travel, according to the airline’s March traffic figures released last week.
Cathay Pacific and HK Express reached 50% of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity levels, covering more than 70 destinations as of the end of March.
The airline carried 1,322,180 passengers in March, an increase of 4,217% compared with March 2022. The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 4,828% year-on-year. Passenger load factor increased by 44.8 percentage points to 90.4%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 2,384% year-on-year. In the first three months of 2023, the number of passengers carried increased by 3,907% against a 2,174% increase in capacity and a 4,432% increase in RPKs, as compared with the same period for 2022.
Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau commented: “The first quarter of 2023 has been one of continued improvement for our travel business as we focus on reconnecting Hong Kong with the world. Cathay Pacific’s passenger numbers continued to increase month on month in March, growing 19% to more than 1.3 million compared with February.
“We resumed services to three more destinations – Shanghai Hongqiao airport, Haikou and Nagoya in March. Hongqiao in particular, saw huge demand for both business and leisure travel. Our Japan and South Korea flights benefited from good passenger traffic for the cherry blossom season and demand ahead of the Easter holiday. Demand between Hong Kong and Taiwan was similarly strong, including transit traffic from Taiwan to Europe and Indonesia via the Hong Kong hub.
“We were also delighted to bring back more customer experience highlights, with First class returning on select flights on our Beijing and Los Angeles routes, and our airport lounges in Bangkok, Beijing and Manila also reopening, all of which were very welcomed by our customers who missed those special Cathay touches over the past three years.”
Outlook
Lau presented a positive outlook for April, noting the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens returned in full force earlier this month.
“Cathay has always supported mega events that help build Hong Kong’s international status. As the first mask-free Sevens after the Hong Kong border reopened, it was great to see visitors from around the world again coming to Hong Kong to experience this incredible sporting weekend filled with fun and laughter.
“Regarding our travel business, we continued to see strong demand into the Easter holidays, reflecting positive and robust sentiment for travel. On 9 April, we broke the 50,000 mark for the first time since the pandemic, carrying 53,233 passengers. We are actively working on adding more flights to our schedule to satisfy customer demand, in particular between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. Between now and the end of October, roundtrip flights will progressively increase to 160 per week, covering 16 airports in 15 cities. This includes four return flights per day to Beijing, six return flights per day to Shanghai Pudong airport and nine return flights per week to Shanghai Hongqiao airport.”
SINGAPORE, 24 April 2023: Four of the world’s regions showed a year-over-year decline in hotel construction activity, with the Asia Pacific region coming closest to its 2022 comparable, according to March 2023 pipeline data from STR.
March 2023 (% changes in comparison with March 2022)
Europe
In Construction: 184,851 rooms (-18.2%)
Final Planning: 133,580 rooms (-15.9%)
Planning: 156,095 rooms (-5.4%)
Total Under Contract: 474,526 (-13.7%)
Germany (34,030) and the UK (29,160) lead Europe in total rooms in construction.
Asia Pacific
In Construction: 476,993 rooms (-0.8%)
Final Planning: 105,435 rooms (-29.6%)
Planning: 322,507 (+1.9%)
Total Under Contract: 904,935 rooms (-4.4%)
Among countries in the region, China has the most rooms in construction (299,458), followed by Vietnam (36,358).
Middle East & Africa
In Construction: 119,505 rooms (-5.8%)
Final Planning: 45,529 rooms (+20.4%)
Planning: 84,116 rooms (+21.2%)
Total Under Contract: 249,150 (+6.4%)
Most of the region’s pipeline activity is focused on the Middle East. Saudi Arabia (42,033) and the United Arab Emirates (22,324) lead in construction activity.
Americas
In Construction: 197,844 rooms (-4.5%)
Final Planning: 278,383 rooms (-19.6%)
Planning: 277,598 rooms (+32.2%)
Total Under Contract: 753,825 (-1.2%)
The US holds the majority of rooms in construction in the region. The US, Mexico (10,803), Canada (5,899) and Brazil (5,549) show the highest number of rooms in construction.
MANILA, 24 April 2023: Cebu Pacific reinstated its Clark hub on Saturday by relaunching flights and increasing frequencies from Clark International Airport to strengthen connectivity for passengers from north and central Luzon.
CEB resumed flights from Clark to Bacolod, Boracay, Davao, and Bangkok, confirming announced made earlier that it would operate flights to 15 destinations from the Clark hub.
From L-R: CEB Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Candice Iyog, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and Chief Executive Officer Aileen Zosa, BCDA Chairman Delfin Lorenzana, CEB President and Chief Executive Officer Xander Lao, DOT USec. Cocoy Jumapao, and LIPAD President and CEO Noel Manankil lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Clark inaugural flights.
CEB will increase frequencies on four Clark routes
The relaunch of its Clark hub allows Cebu Pacific to provide an additional 10,000 seats per month for both domestic and international flights. Still, it remains 30% below the pre-pandemic average seat capacity out of the hub.
To support the expansion, CEB is set to take delivery of three additional aircraft, which will be based in Clark. These are in addition to 10 new Airbus NEO aircraft that will be delivered in 2023 to expand the airline’s fleet.
“The launch of our Clark flights will give the travelling public more opportunities to explore the Philippines and the rest of the world,” said Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Xander Lao.
The Department of Tourism lauded CEB’s efforts to help spur travel to Clark and the rest of the Philippines.
The airline flies to 35 domestic and 25 international destinations across Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
PHNOM PENH, 24 April 2023: Destination Mekong could be facing its first serious wobble as it attempts to achieve the lofty membership goals set shortly after registration as a non-government organisation last October.
Established to recruit the support of private-sector travel and hospitality companies in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Destination Mekong seeks to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors. Its core objective is to generate funds for promotions and marketing activities underwritten by sponsors or grants while achieving an ambitious target of 1,000 paid-up members within three years. But how many members have signed up so far? We asked Destination Mekong’s chiefs, and they are not prepared to hazard even a guess.
Photo credit: Destination Mekong. Gerrit Kruger.
Responding to questions from TTRW Destination Mekong chief marketing, Gerrit Kruger comments: “Membership numbers are increasing slowly. This, in our opinion, is mainly due to us not focusing on membership drives enough. We plan to do a member survey to determine what our members need, especially in capacity building.”
Declining to say just how many members the organisation has signed up since it was registered in Singapore and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, he talks about focusing on generating more benefits for members. That includes free event participation, connections to fam trips, and representation at international events.”
Destination Mekong is not alone in facing the challenge of creating value for membership dollars spent. It discovered that, like many fee-based organisations, membership pick-up was slower than anticipated when it progressed from a marketing support role under the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office umbrella to an independent NGO. It is now a standalone, legally registered organisation with a 16-person executive board and full-time staff working out of an operational office in Phnom Penh.
But it still leaves the organisation suffering a wobble recruiting 1,000 members even with the added golden incentive of a bargain discount on the annual membership fee reduced from USD180 to USD60 for the first three years starting in 2023.
CEO Catherine Germier-Hamel tasked with drumming up 1,000 members fast.
On that score, Kruger says: “The fees are very low at USD60 per year, but of course, budgets are tight right now, and we want to be in a position that the benefits are clearly worth the fees before launching a membership drive.”
In the meantime, he points to the launch of its latest marketing programme Mekong Stories, introduced at the end of 2022 and still very successful. But what about the slew of programmes Destination Mekong launched before it stepped out and registered as an NGO? Until the Covid-19 pandemic, it benefited from close links to the MTCO, allowing it to roll out a cluster of Mekong-themed projects – Mekong Moments, Experience Mekong Collection, Experience Mekong Showcase, Mekong Mini Movies, MIST and Mekong Heroes. They are all flagged on Destination Mekong’s website, but visits to the Facebook pages and other social media links suggest the projects could be in sleep mode, waiting for sponsors to pick up the tab.
Kruger hints at the funding issue: “Our challenge regarding the programmes is to raise funds to finance them. We are in the progress of finding a person to help us, and an announcement will be out soon.”
Until that happens, the organisation will focus on organising events to increase value and underpin the membership drive.
“We work closely with the MTCO and support their events with content. The parallel structure of our engagement with the private sector, especially small sustainable businesses, is good. The challenge we face is that we have to establish ourselves stronger separately and provide tangible benefits to the private sector,” Kruger explained.
In her latest newsletter to members and partners Destination Mekong CEO, Catherine Germier-Hamel, focused on just that, reaming off event successes such as the hosting of the Destination Mekong Summit 2022 in mid-December and three digital marketing training sessions in Vietnam in partnership with the Swiss Sustainable Tourism Programme (SSTP).
Last month, DM participated in the Tourism Innovation Summit 2023 and co-hosted the first Destination Siem Reap Networking Day together with the Siem Reap Tourism Club.
It has launched workshops for members, with the first event, “Benchmarking and Goal Setting Through Social Media”, by Clemy Balasoto from Phoenix Lab Asia. The next workshop, “Branding Your Tourism Business For Success in 2023” by Danny Cohanpour from Trove Tourism Development Advisors, is scheduled for 3 May.
Destination Mekong’s CEO will join a panel on Women’s Empowerment – the Center Stage of Tourism Recovery during the Mekong Mekong Tourism Forum in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, scheduled for 25 to 27 April.
Kruger, who is also managing director of Chameleon Strategies and a member of the DM executive board, represented Destination Mekong at FITUR in Madrid last January and ITB in Berlin in March.
But despite the busy calendar and events, it still leaves Destination Mekong with a membership wobble. Until Kruger says differently, the official declaration on the membership drive was delivered last October when the NGO declared it was about to embark on fundraising. At the time, DM founder Dr Jens Thraenhart noted that the immediate task of the newly appointed chief executive officer was to recruit 1,000 members within the first three years.
Thraenhart is now in Barbados, having taken over the role of the CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. However, he remains on the board of Destination Mekong in an honourary capacity as its founder for at least the first two years.
Last October, he identified the financial priority to secure Destination Mekong’s future, approved by the executive board that meets twice annually and serves for two years. That priority identifies a target of 1,000 new members by the end of 2025. Members pledge to pay USD60 annually for the first three years, discounted from the standard USD180 fee that kicks in after three years.
Based on Thraenhart’s original forecast, 1,000 early-bird members could raise USD60,000 a year, enough to cover Destination Mekong’s basic expenses during the initial three-year period before the full fee scale kicks in.
The realities of a post-Covid-19 pandemic which faces all tourism organisations that rely on membership dues and sponsorships, are now causing a wobble that seriously threatens financial targets. Can Kruger and Germier-Hamel, who headlined her recent newsletter “Mekong in Motion, Mekong Emotions”, replace the membership wobble with a bounce that accelerates recruitment? That would be a success story worth talking about.
Last-minute clarification from DM’s CMO
“Normally, we don’t want to provide membership numbers because regardless of paying members, we represent the entire private sector in the Mekong Region. Everyone is welcome to participate in our activities. Members receive additional benefits to non-members, such as free/discounted participation at events and workshops. They have a say in which activities we run and have a vote in the executive board elections. We are still working on increasing the tangible benefits members receive. As you know, micro-, small-, and medium-sized businesses will only join organizations that provide a clear ROI, monetary and non-monetary.”
SINGAPORE, 21 April 2023: As Earth Day approaches this weekend, Hotelbeds reports a surge in travellers booking eco-friendly hotels.
Its latest data shows that 30% more people have actively chosen to book properties that are part of the TravelTech company’s Green Hotels programme over the past 12 months compared to the previous year. As certified by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, criteria for Green Hotels properties include sustainable management and cultural impacts.
“Travellers are much more conscious of their carbon footprint and environmental impact than ever before,” said Hotelbeds CEO. Nicolas Huss.
“We started the Green Hotels programme in 2000 with 15,000 properties, and it’s since grown to more than 37,000 hotels, representing over 20% of our business as more people actively seek to protect the planet while also exploring it.”
Hotelbeds is also growing its plastic-free hotel portfolio, and this has seen a huge 84% increase over the past year versus the prior 12 months. Customers seeking a green and plastic-free hotel have grown 30% this past year.
The new data comes as Hotelbeds released its annual Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) report. The 2022 edition reports several achievements to lower the company’s environmental impact, including reduced energy by 48%, waste by 76%, water by 57% and paper by 54% in 2022 versus 2019. It is also making great strides in the Hotelbeds Forest, an initiative to plant 10,000 trees this year to assist its fight against climate change and offset some of its carbon emissions.
Hotelbeds is committed to making travel a force for good. In addition to its hotel programmes, the company has been certified as a Carbon Neutral Organisation (scope 1 & 2) by Carbon Footprint Ltd since 2018. It was also one of the first travel companies to join The Climate Pledge Commitment, co-founded by Amazon, to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
SINGAPORE, 21 April 2023: Capella Hotels and Resorts will open its third property in China – Capella Nanjing – in 2025.
Designed by world-renowned British architect David Chipperfield, the 190-room Capella Nanjing will stand adjacent to Changjiang Road – the centre of the city’s historic and cultural district.
“The opening of Capella Nanjing marks a major milestone for us following the opening of Capella Shanghai and Capella Tufu Bay, Hainan… (it’s a) great opportunity to expand our presence in China,” said Capella Hotel Group president Cristiano Rinaldi.
KOTA KINABALU, 21 April 2023: Intrepid Travel has teamed up with a British travel YouTuber to bring his audience to Sabah for wildlife and nature exploration.
Initially planned for 2020, content creator Karl Watson and his 15 followers finally embarked on an 11-day tour to the Land Below The Wind earlier this month with the help of Intrepid Travel. They were mainly from the US, UK, Germany, Czech Republic, Australia and Malta.
Watson began working with Intrepid Travel in 2019 to organise comprehensive bespoke group excursions worldwide. Intrepid Travel is a global adventure travel company that has been operating for over 30 years.
The company’s initiatives are centred around sustainable and responsible tourism, community engagement, and reducing their environmental impact.
He said the partnership initiative with Intrepid Travel allows him to pick his favourite destination, customise the itinerary to be more sustainable, and sell it on his website and YouTube.
“We organised the first customised group tour to Morocco since it is closer to Europe, less expensive, and exotic. When it came time to choose a second destination for a bespoke group tour, I wanted someplace very different from Morocco’s cities, marketplaces, and culture.
“I’ve been considering a trip to Borneo because I like nature. So, I looked at Intrepid’s Borneo itinerary, researched, and said to myself, ‘Yes, let’s go on a full nature wildlife adventure,” he explained.
He added that Sabah was supposed to be their second bespoke group tour destination but ended up being the seventh after the trip was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Karl, who has been creating travel documentaries for 10 years with over 227,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, said Sabah’s beauty entranced him and that wildlife watching was one of his favourite moments of the trip.
While praising Sabah for its unique wildlife and natural beauty, Karl also remarked on its rich cultural heritage and welcoming multiethnic population.
“I came for the wildlife but was won over by the people. This trip is a perfect introduction to Borneo, and I would like to come back to explore Sabah deeper, especially the national parks and off-the-beaten paths,” he said.
From 3 to 14 April, the group scaled Mount Kinabalu, went on a river cruise down the Kinabatangan River, and explored Sandakan to learn about conservation efforts at the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and Selingan Turtle Island.
SAMUI ISLAND, 21 April 2023: A new world-class magic show has been unveiled on the holiday island of Samui.
The Illusions Theatre magic show is scheduled for six nights weekly in a purpose-built 71-seat air-conditioned show theatre within the newly opened Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort on Lamai Beach.
Two shows are scheduled nightly from Monday to Saturday: 1900 for families and 2100 for adults. Each show lasts an hour with a 15-minute interval.
Resident magician of Illusions Theatre, Ed Clarke, says the 1900 family experience combines a perfect balance of visual magic, mind reading and illusions that the entire family will enjoy.
Clarke says the 2100 show, for ages 15+, will feature amazing illusions and captivating feats of mind reading. “It’s guaranteed to spark your imagination and leave you in awe,” says Clarke.
“We strive to make sure all attendees have a great time, which is why we choose not to make anyone feel foolish or embarrassed,” he adds.
In a first for Samui, close-up magic is performed live on stage inches in front of spectators. The theatre has two 75-inch (190-cm) high-definition screens so the audience can enjoy the same experience as spectators invited to participate in the magic on stage.
“Illusions is an unforgettable and one-of-a-kind experience, unlike anything seen before here in Koh Samui,” says Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort GM Leah Matters.
“There are many different types of entertainment in the world, but one that cuts through any language barrier and is suitable for all age groups is truly magic. We are delighted that the new Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort is the host venue for this experience,” she added.
Ms Matters says magic show guests can enjoy pre-theatre dining and drinks at Outrigger’s Edgewater Beach Club restaurant and bar, a beautiful beachside setting under the coconut palms. Pre-dinner and interval drinks are available at the Illusions Theatre venue.
Tickets retail to the public at THB1,200 (US$35/€32/£28) per person – the same price for all ages. Tickets can be booked on IllusionsKohSamui.com.
Adding a permanent magic show at the resort reflects Outrigger’s commitment to providing live music and entertainment at all of its resorts.
For the latest and best room rate offers at Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort, visit the property on Outrigger.com
ABOUT OUTRIGGER KOH SAMUI BEACH RESORT
Tucked away on the tranquil shores of Lamai Beach, the Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort is an elegant, colonial-style resort featuring 146 spacious rooms and suites, all with a private balcony or garden terrace. More information is found here.
JAKARTA, 21 April 2023: Qantas launches another international route out of Melbourne, offering direct flights to Jakarta, Indonesia.
The year-round flights will operate three days per week with an Airbus A330 aircraft and add to Qantas’ existing flights to Jakarta from Sydney. The flights offer customers almost 300,000 seats between Australia and Jakarta annually and the choice of ten flights per week, more than any other airline.
The new service is the fourth international route to be added to the Qantas map out of Melbourne since borders reopened and follow the launch of flights to Delhi and Dallas Fort Worth. Qantas also resumed flights from Melbourne to Tokyo last month, operating for the first time to Haneda Airport, saving passengers nearly two hours of travel to and from downtown Tokyo compared with Narita Airport, which the flight operated to before the pandemic.
The route is also expected to be popular with travellers connecting to and from other major Indonesian cities such as Surabaya and Medan.
Qantas Domestic and International CEO Andrew David said the new route would support growing business and government links between Australia and Indonesia.
“We continue to see strong demand for travel to and from Melbourne, so we’re pleased to be expanding our international network with another new route out of Victoria,” said David.
“Jakarta is becoming an increasingly important destination for our corporate travellers. These direct flights offer more choices and make it even easier for them to do business with one of Australia’s closest neighbours.
“The route is also a great opportunity for more Indonesians to explore the best of Victoria or visit family and friends, with the flights launching in time for the Lebaran holiday period.
The Qantas Group operates up to 106 return flights per week from Australia to Indonesia, including Qantas and Jetstar flights from Melbourne to Bali.
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 April 2023: AirAsia SuperApp, one of the portfolio companies of Capital, says its status as an IATA-accredited travel agency allows it to sell fares of all IATA airlines, including Malaysia Airways.
Reports surfaced last week that suggested the AirAsia booking app was not approved to sell Malaysia Airlines tickets.
In a statement released earlier this week, Airasia SuperApp said was created in October 2020 as an online travel agency to drive tourism in Malaysia and promote new travel options for millions of people in Asia.
“It has developed many product lines, including its OTA platform offering flights from other airlines, hotel & accommodation, ride-hailing, digital travel retail & duty-free, community engagement.”
AirAsia SuperApp acting CEO Mohamad Hafidz Mohd Fadzil said: “We have world-renowned airline brands such as Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air New Zealand, Citilink, KLM, Air France, Bangkok Airways and many others as our direct airline partners offering their flights on the AirAsia SuperApp OTA platform. Our database of over 72 million, one of the largest of any platform, allows our airline partners to reach a wider audience.
“The AirAsia Super App’s OTA platform holds a Travel Agent License and is also an IATA-accredited agent authorised to sell flights from any airline on its app and website. As an accredited OTA, AirAsia SuperApp’s flight inventories come from established partner aggregators and direct airline partners, a common OTA industry practice.
“Other airlines’ flights contribute a small percentage of our platform’s revenue, and to date, we have sold 1.72 million seats from more than 700 airlines that are available on our channel. As an accredited OTA in the market, we will continue to sell flights from any airline, including those we do not have direct relationships with, through our established partner aggregators and consolidators.
“We would like to clarify that the legal action Malaysia Airlines has taken against us is premised on allegations of potential trademark infringement and passing off and unrelated to the supply of inventory. We continue to call on MAS and other airlines to partner directly with the AirAsia SuperApp to achieve better efficiency and performance, and we will be happy to move our conversation forward on working together to offer Malaysians the best value when it comes to travel and win together.”
