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Tawau is more than a pass-by place

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TTR WEEKLY
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TAWAU Sabah, 27 February 2023: A well-thought-out strategy is required to promote Tawau as a must-see destination on the east coast of Sabah, said state Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment Datuk Joniston Bangkuai.

Joniston emphasised Tawau has a significant amount of untapped tourism potential, and it should not merely serve as a passing point for tourists who typically fly to Tawau to visit Semporna.

“I must say that whenever we attend (tourism) roadshow, there always seems to be a great deal of interest in Semporna, while Tawau is overlooked.

“Hence, Tawau needs to expand its attractions, and we need to design a strategic plan to encourage tourists to stay and discover all that Tawau has to offer,” he said.

Joniston, who is also chairman of the Sabah Tourism Board (STB), said this after visiting the Batu Bersusun attraction and Tagal Kampung Balung Cocos here on Friday.

He was accompanied by Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary Mary Malangking; STB deputy chief executive officer Julinus Jimit; and Federation of Rural Tourism Association Sabah (FeRTAS) president Walter Kandayon, who is also a board member of STB.

Joniston was on an official work visit for a tourism products update and to inspect facilities improvement funded by the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry (KePKAS) under its Rural Tourism Development Programme.

In addition, he was also briefed on Tawau’s potential to develop its community-based tourism (CoBT) based on a study conducted by Tawau Polytechnic.

The Tawau Polytechnic director Dr Hajah Nor Haniza B Mohamad briefed that they identified Kampung Tinagat, Kampung Batu Payung, and Kampung Membalua as potential villages for CoBT.

She stated that the villagers in these places have indicated that they are ready to promote their particular village as a tourism attraction, adding that the residents strongly agreed that tourism would boost their source of income.

“We are ready to support (KePKAS and STB), especially on training and to develop CoBT in Tawau,” she said.

On this note, Joniston encouraged Tawau Polytechnic and relevant quarters to engage with FeRTAS and to learn from the success stories of established CoBT.

Also present were Tawau Municipal Council engineer Mohd Ikhsan Wahap; Tawau Tourism Association chairperson Hazlina Ismail; Tagal Kampung Balung Cocos chairman Rasid Medical; and Kampung Balung Cocos chief Takun Austin, among others.

https://www.sabahtourism.com/

Qatar Airways soups up motorsport sponsorships

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 27 February 2023: Qatar Airways is now the global partner and official airline of Formula 1 through to the 2027 season and title sponsor for both Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix and Qatar MotoGP.

As part of the global partnership, Qatar Airways will be the Title Sponsor of three Grands Prix™ this year: The Qatar Airways Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (19-21 May), the Qatar Airways Hungarian Grand Prix (21-23 July), and the Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix (6-8 October).

This season, Formula 1 boasts its most global racing calendar to date with 23 races across 21 countries and five continents, mirroring the motorsport’s rapidly growing footprint worldwide and the extensive global connectivity offered by the Qatar Airways oneworld Alliance, which serves over 150 countries.

In addition to the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2023, the Lusail International Circuit will host the Qatar Moto GP on 17-19 November. Other motorsport events in Qatar include the Geneva International Motor Show Qatar in October 2023 and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) World Endurance Championship in 2024.

To celebrate the extended partnership, Discover Qatar, the airline’s destination management company, is offering tickets to the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2023.

Discover Qatar has launched a range of hotel and ticket-inclusive packages to global retail partners, which include Grandstand and prestigious Paddock Club tickets. All packages include a free entry pass to the Geneva International Motor Show Qatar in Doha from 5 to 14 October, courtesy of Qatar Tourism.

Qatar Airways Holidays’ all-inclusive travel packages allow global fans worldwide to attend the event and partake in exclusive experiences such as pit lane walks, guided track tours and access to special events with appearances by top F1 drivers. The Ultimate F1 Experience packages include return flights with Qatar Airways, premium hotel options, race tickets and other exciting experiences and benefits. 

Jetstar tests flights Changi T4

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 27 February 2023: Ahead of Jetstar Asia’s relocation to Terminal 4 on 22 March 2023, the airline operated two orientation flights from T4 last week.

The orientation flights saw 300 passengers experience the end-to-end operations process, including check-in, baggage drop and immigration clearance.

Customers were notified by email and SMS that they were among the first Jetstar passengers to fly in and out of Changi Airport’s T4 before the official move.

Jetstar Asia Head of Flight Operations, Geof Lui commented: “These operational trials are critical for Jetstar Asia, Changi Airport Group and our partners to ensure the kiosks, baggage- and cargo-handling systems are ready for use.

“In the coming weeks, a second orientation flight will be conducted to ensure our crew and teams are trained to manage the terminal move from day one.”

Jetstar Asia will initially operate more than 200 weekly services in and out of T4, to and from key destinations in Southeast Asia, including Bali (Denpasar), Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Phnom Penh.

It will also operate from T4 and continue to fly between Singapore and Melbourne up to six times a week, with the popular route being operated by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying more than 200,000 passengers each year between the two cities.

The airline operates services to 11 destinations in Southeast Asia and Australia.

Direct flight to Danang coming soon

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TTR WEEKLY
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VIENTIANE, 27 February 2023: Lao Airlines’ Facebook page teases us with an invitation to fly the Vientiane -Danang route but fails to even hint at the launch dates on its Facebook page.

Laotian Times narrowed down the options saying the airline will “resume direct flights from Vientiane to the coastal city of Danang, Vietnam, in March this year.”

Photo Credit Lao Airlines Facebook page

But the best Lao Airlines could conjure up was a “coming soon” post reminiscent of the blockbuster movie tagline “to a cinema near you”.

The closest we can come to identifying a possible launch date for what Laotian Times says will be a twice-weekly service on Thursday and Sunday is a Travel Agents Facebook group Facebook post plugging a 30 March startup date. Travellers wait with bated breath for the airline to post a follow-up to the Facebook teaser that generated hundreds of responses on the airline’s Facebook page. Not one asked when the flight would start.

The Laotian Times’ report confirms the flight will depart Vientiane at 1100 for Danang and arrive at 1215. The return flight from Danang departs at 1300 and arrives in Vientiane at 1415. The estimated fare is USD260 for the one-hour and 15-minute flight. The airline will use a 70-seat ATR72-600 aircraft on the direct route.

Just two days before March arrives, a check of the Lao Airlines website fails to deliver a booking option for the Vientiane -Danang route. You can enter the cities in the blank spaces from drop-down menus without success. Not even a hint of a fare option or dates that might fire up a slew of advance bookings. Online travel agencies and booking sites such as Skyscanner are not loading any direct flight options between Vientiane and Danang, whatever the airline. The service may be coming soon, but Lao Airlines is in no hurry to activate the advance booking switch or tell OTAs they can sell now a direct from Vientiane to Danang.

MATTA: Thanks but hope for more

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 27 February 2023: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) thanks the government for what it sees as a progressive budget and for the MYR250 million allocations, but the association had hoped for more.

The powerful national travel agency association continues calling for a “more tourism-friendly budget” with better incentives and funding specifically designed to help industry stakeholders face global uncertainty and lower global economic growth and inflationary pressures.

MATTA also expressed concern that the funding of MYR250 million for Visit Malaysia Year 2025 (VMY2025) was inadequate considering the government’s target of achieving 23.5 million tourist arrivals and tourism receipts of MYR76.8 billion.

“Funding for VMY2014 was MYR358 million back when the USD exchange rate was 3.3 to the Malaysian Ringgit compared to the current 4.43. This simply means that costs have increased significantly, and a bigger budget is needed,” said MATTA President Tan Kok Liang.

During VMY 2014, Malaysia recorded 27.44 million tourist arrivals.

“It is also crucial to cushion the gap between now and 2025. To sustain tourism operations, we hope that further stimuli will be introduced along the way so that industry stakeholders can effectively do their part to meet our national tourism targets.”

The budget proposals made by MATTA included the following:

  • Double deductions for corporate companies to hold incentive trips and business events in Malaysia and attractive tax relief for individuals to encourage them to travel domestically for holidays.
  • Excise duty exemption of locally produced vehicles to help stakeholders replenish and upgrade tourism vehicle fleets to cater to the expected increase in inbound traffic.
  • A special Tourism Recovery & Growth Fund to help industry stakeholders rebuild and upgrade their service infrastructure to meet an expected rise in traffic from high-yield market segments.

“The budget may need improvements with special emphasis and incentives on tourism products and infrastructure to ensure that the Malaysian tourism industry retains its cutting edge in the long term,” he added.

“We look forward to engaging with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture on the mechanisms of the matching grant, which is much needed to help tourism operators with overseas promotions. The distribution of the grants needs to be done quickly, efficiently and effectively so that we do not miss any windows of opportunity,” concluded Tan.

PATA farewells first female CEO

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 27 February 2023: The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) announces the resignation of Liz Ortiguera as its chief executive officer with immediate effect.

PATA releases the news just days before its chairman and leading board members travel to ITB Berlin to reinstate the association’s presence at the annual trade show after more than a two-year pause.

Speculation surfaced in January regarding the business relationship between PATA and its first female CEO, suggesting a parting of ways was being discussed. Both parties declined to comment, saying an announcement would be made shortly.

She has worked for the association for one year and 10 months of a three-year contract signed with the US-registered non-profit organisation in May 2021.

Regarding the resignation notification, PATA vice chair Benjamin Liao said: “Liz served PATA with distinction as the first Asian female CEO* in the organisation’s 72-year history. On behalf of PATA, I would like to thank her for her leadership of the association during a difficult period for the industry.

“We recognise her many accomplishments as PATA CEO, including new agreements with the Singapore Tourism Board, the Saudi Tourism Authority and Trip.com, and the expanded partnerships with Visa, MasterCard, and Airbnb.

“New projects included PATA’s first Annual Summit in the Middle East, the PATA-Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) APAC Travel Summit, PATA-World Bank Government Recovery Insights Forum Series, the Tourism Destination Resilience Program launch and the ongoing Weekly Asia-Pacific Destination Recovery Dashboard.”

Commenting on her tenure at PATA, Ortiguera said: “It was a true honour to have served as PATA’s CEO. I am confident that PATA, with its diverse member base of industry leaders, can continue to support and lead our industry’s recovery and growth. PATA is even more critical as a business community today to support new partnerships, innovation, and adopting sustainable business practices.

“I am handing back the reins with thanks to PATA Members for the opportunity to lead at this critical time of global industry recovery. I had the opportunity to work with some deeply committed, hard-working and talented individuals within the PATA team and our valued members and partners. They embody the heart and the spirit of what PATA could be in everything they do,” Ortiguera added.

In response to Ortiguera’s departure, PATA chair Peter Semone stated:  “the Executive Board has established five Expert Task Forces or ETFs to review critical elements of PATA’s development strategy, including Brand and Voice, Events, Membership Engagement, Organisational Design and Digital Readiness. The recommendations of these ETFs will help define PATA’s new direction strategically and operationally.”

He didn’t elaborate on the timetable set for recruiting a new CEO. Based on past procedures, the association is expected to make public its recruitment requirements and identify a committee assigned to shortlist candidates for the association’s executive board.

However, he did say the top priority was to conduct a “thorough internal evaluation of our direction and leadership needs,” which could delay the CEO recruitment timeframe. “I suspect the second half of 2023,” the chairman concluded.

Fact check

*Liz Ortiguera was the first female CEO at PATA. However, there have been at least two Asian females appointed as vice presidents in the organisation. Ortiguera is a US national with a Philippines heritage.

Emirates recycles plastic by the ton

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TTR WEEKLY
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DUBAI UAE, 24 February 2023: Emirates has recycled more than 500,000 kg of plastic and glass throughout 2022 by collecting discarded bottles onboard for repurposing.

500,000 kg, or more than 550 tons, is almost the same weight as a fully loaded Emirates flagship A380 aircraft.

The cabin crew onboard every flight arriving in Dubai quickly separate glass and plastic bottles for recycling at a plant in Dubai.

The glass is separated by colour and crushed. This ‘cullet’ or recycled glass ready to be re-melted is then sent to glass manufacturers in the UAE to include in their batch mix for new bottles. The plastic bottles are cleaned, chopped into flakes, melted into pellets, and sent to manufacturers to make other plastic products. As a result, Emirates and Emirates Flight Catering divert thousands of kilograms of glass and plastic away from landfill each year.

The glass and plastic recycling initiative onboard was suggested by the environmentally conscious Emirates cabin crew in 2019 as part of regular webinars and events where they are given a platform to share feedback and encouraged to share innovative ideas with key departments. The proposal was well-received and implemented within weeks.

Emirates has several other initiatives which focus on repurposing plastic or using sustainable materials where possible;

Emirates blankets made from recycled plastic

Emirates has offered cosy sustainable blankets made from recycled plastic bottles to Economy passengers on long-haul flights for the last six years. The soft and warm blankets are made from 28 recycled plastic bottles. The bottles are shredded into plastic chips before turning into a yarn, creating a fleece material. The fine thread is then woven into soft blankets. Over the 6 years since the initiative was introduced, Emirates blankets have prevented more than 95 million plastic bottles from going to landfill. As the largest sustainable blanket programme on board in the airline industry, the manufacturing process of using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) also reduces energy emissions by around 70%.

Prioritising responsible sourcing

Emirates has embedded an environmental requirement in the supplier code of conduct and considers the entire lifecycle of products from the design stage. For example, wooden tea and coffee stirrers, paper straws and inflight retail bags are made using wood and paper from responsibly managed forests.

Emirates reusable onboard amenity kits

Emirates’ Premium Economy and Economy Class range of amenity kits are complimentary for customers on long-haul flights and feature designs that represent the four essential elements of nature – fire, water, earth, and air. The pouches are reusable and made from washable kraft paper with bespoke art printed in non-toxic soy-based ink. The contents include a selection of durable travel essentials made from environmentally friendly materials. The toothbrush is made from a combination of wheat straw and plastic, and the socks and eyeshades are made from recycled plastic, in this case, rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate). The packaging used for the dental kit, socks and eyeshades is made from 90 per cent rice paper.

For more information visit:
https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/about-us/our-planet/

For flights or bookings, visit www.emirates.com

(Your Stories: Emirates)

Leisure industry faces gender imbalance

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 24 February 2023: New research on publicly listed companies revealed that the leisure industry faces a major diversity disparity, with only 7% of the top spots held by women, a stark contrast to the 50-50 gender balance of the overall workforce.

The first report of the series, “The numbers behind women in leadership: Leisure”, which was carried out by private advisory firm Aptamind Partners and is supported by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), drew on publicly available data from the world’s largest hotel groups, casinos and entertainment companies, shows that the gender gap widens the higher up the career ladder you climb.

From a 50% overall balance across the leisure industry’s workforce, the percentage of women drops to 42% in mid-level management and 33% in senior management.

The casino and entertainment industry outshines hotels with three female CEOs and four female chairs.

A marginal improvement in the percentage of female executives in the hotel sector has failed to translate into more women in leadership and senior roles. Alison Brittain, the sole female representative in the CEO group at the time of this report, left her position in January 2023, leaving major PLC hotel chains with zero women holding the top CEO and chair spots.

However, the report shows that change is possible and can be clearly seen in the percentage of women on the boards of leisure companies, which has grown from 17% in 2007 to 28% in 2022.

More recently, the number of female chairs of the boards of casino and entertainment companies has grown from 6% to 12% between 2019 and 2021 ‒ and the number of female CEOs in that group increased from 3% to 9% over the same period.

Aptamind Partners CEO  and author of the report, Aradhana Khowala says: “While some progress has been made in the last two years, there is still a vast amount of work to be done. We need a wholesale shift in how we think about gender and leadership. And we need to go beyond well-meaning initiatives and box-ticking exercises and start taking concrete steps to redress the current imbalance.

“One of the major barriers to improving gender diversity is the lack of insightful and robust data in the public domain. We cannot wait any longer for the arc of history to bend the right way on its own. We need to benchmark where we are to push forward together with concerted, collective action.”

WTTC president & CEO Julia Simpson added: “This issue goes beyond equity and fairness. Companies need to hold themselves accountable to guarantee progress is made over time. Putting women on the centre stage of Travel & Tourism will ensure a better future for the sector.”

The report offers six steps the leisure industry can take to get more women into leadership positions, including better disclosure and regular reporting, independent regulation and verification, and incentivising and holding leadership accountable for progress on gender diversity.

The report is the first of a series of four publications which analyse the female presence at high-level roles within different Travel & Tourism industries, such as leisure, aviation, cruise and OTAs, and food and beverage.

To access the report, please click here

Dusit sets out two brands in Kyoto

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TTR WEEKLY
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TOKY0, 24 February 2023: Dusit International officially marked the debut of Dusit Hotels and Resorts in Japan with a preview of its two upcoming properties.

ASAI Kyoto Shijo will open in June, followed by Dusit Thani Kyoto in September 2023.

Operating under Dusit’s flagship Dusit Thani brand, the 150-room Dusit Thani Kyoto is located in the city’s Hanganji Monzen-machi district, only 850 metres from Kyoto Station and close to Nishi Honganji Temple (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

Operating under Dusit’s lifestyle brand, ASAI Hotels, the new 114-key ASAI Kyoto Shijo is located in Shijo-Karasuma, near the famous Nishiki Market in the city’s downtown district.

“Our journey in the hotel segment begins in June with the opening of the lifestyle-oriented ASAI Kyoto Shijo, followed by the grand opening of the luxurious Dusit Thani Kyoto in September, and we eagerly await this exciting new chapter for our hotel business,” said Dusit International Group CEO Suphajee Suthumpun.

Dusit International spans 16 countries and comprises 48 hotels operating under Dusit Hotels and Resorts (six brands) and more than 300 villas under Elite Havens. More than 60 Dusit Hotels and Resorts are in the pipeline worldwide.

Travel retail to bounce back in 2023

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 24 February 2023: ForwardKeys’ latest air ticketing data reflects a better year for travel retailers and airports as post-covid consumer preferences shift up a gear to the luxury sector.

Despite the economic slowdown, business travel continues. As airlines and airports scramble to rebuild air connectivity with Asia, some Eastern European airports have positioned themselves as credible gateways to Europe and North America.

Business travel shows resilience in 2023

Despite the economic slowdown, business travel is on an upward trend. This is great news for travel retailers, duty-free operators, and brands. Business travellers are a crucial audience for airport luxury goods.

Intraregional Europe business travel came back in 2022, and now it is time for APAC business travel to recover fully.

Business travel from Japan is stronger than its leisure equivalent. Europe is attracting the business crowd from Japan through Frankfurt, Paris, London and Istanbul. Istanbul Airport is in a strong position in this market, up 13% in Q1 of 2023. More than 90% of those tickets booked are for transfers to Italy, Germany, France, and Spain.

“What is aiding this hot trend are two things. Seat Capacity is above 74% of the 2019 levels and the lower fares cost when compared to flights from Japan to Germany or France,” says ForwardKeys VP Insights Olivier Ponti.

With travel restrictions now eased in China and Southeast Asia, new opportunities have opened. According to bookings for travel in Q1, the share of single Chinese travellers travelling abroad has increased from 25% in 2019 to 40%, and the share of passengers flying in premium class has increased from 10% to 17%.

Changing airport gateways per source market

Returning to pre-pandemic levels, or even growing, does not mean getting back to the situation as it was in 2019. Traveller behaviours have changed, and global air connectivity is very different, as can be seen with the examples of travel from the US to Europe and outbound travel from India.

In Q1, US travellers are flying and increasing the number of travellers to Lisbon (+106% vs 2019), Copenhagen (+68%) and Istanbul (+62%). Moreover, they are staying longer and increasingly taking multi-destination holidays. The top destination pairs from the US remain the UK & France, and France & Italy, but new pairs are emerging, like Denmark & Sweden (+127%), Portugal & Spain (+116%) and Turkey & Greece, +32%.

As India’s long-haul travel resumes, residents dare to test new itineraries. For example, the new air connectivity between India and Warsaw Airport means that Warsaw Airport has witnessed an unprecedented triple-digit growth versus the pre-pandemic period from Indian travellers heading towards the US or key destinations in Europe.

More good news for duty-free and travel retailers

A simple reason why 2023 has the potential to be a decisive profit-making year for airport retailers and brands is that people spend more time at the airports when they transfer. The share of short transfers (meaning less than two hours) has decreased from 44% in 2019 to 37% in 2023. This means travellers have more time to shop now that airport operations are running more smoothly. Besides, many also tend to plan more time at the airport before departure to avoid bad surprises.

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