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STB supports rural tourism growth

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TTR WEEKLY
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KOTA KINABALU, 7 December 2022: Sabah Tourism Board is committed to working closely with University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and other higher learning institutions to support the continued growth of the state’s rural tourism industry.

Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said STB and tourism players could benefit significantly from the university’s studies of rural tourism. He also said STB could assist academicians in their studies to grasp the topic at hand better and identify collaborative solutions to the industry’s problems.

Joniston, who is also chairman of STB, was speaking at the Community Based Tourism Symposium (CBTS) 2022, themed ‘Rural Tourism Prosperity: Transforming the Well-Being of Local Communities’ at the Azman Hashim UMS Gallery here, last Friday.

This symposium was co-organised by the varsity’s Borneo Tourism Research Centre (BTRC); Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy; and Sabah Tourism Board. It was supported by the Federation of Rural Tourism Association Sabah and the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS Asia).

Joniston shared details about STB’s pioneering efforts in community-based tourism through its project division and the subsequent success of this initiative since its inception in 2014.

He also called on stakeholders to continue playing their role in helping position Sabah as the top sustainable and innovative rural tourism destination.

“Tourists today are more environmentally conscious and are looking for sustainable travel options. They would like to be part of the sustainability of the tourist sites.

“A vibrant public and private ecosystem that facilitates partnerships with stakeholders to grow their capabilities should be implemented.

“We want Sabah to be the best place to test bed for sustainable solutions, new tourism products and experiences, enabling businesses in rural tourism to gain from first-mover competitive advantage,” he said.

Meanwhile, UMS Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Md. Mansor was pleased with the UMS-STB partnership to organise the CBTS event while describing it as a good example of University-Industry partnerships that would be developed further.

The CBTS 2022 drew 288 participants and was conducted via a hybrid mode with both on-site and online participants. On-site attendees comprised tourism sector representatives, government agencies, students, and staff, whilst international delegates registered from Indonesia, China, Ireland, Portugal, Singapore, the Philippines, and Spain.

For more information on Sabah visit: www.sabahtourism.com.

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)

Discount deals on Vietnam stays

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TTR WEEKLY
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Photo taken in Thai Mueang, Thailand

HO CHI MINH CITY, 7 December 2022: Radisson Hotel Group in Vietnam introduces ‘Dream Deals’ valid for stays first quarter of 2023 for bookings made by mid-December.

Guests who book directly with www.RadissonHotels.com until 15 December 2022 for stays from 16 December 2022 to 15 March 2023 gain a 10% discount at their chosen resort, while members of Radisson Rewards will earn an additional 15% discount and 1,000 bonus points per night.

Photo taken in Thai Mueang, Thailand

The promotion covers the group’s properties on Vietnam’s east coast and Phu Quoc Island.

Danang central Vietnam

Opened in April 2022, the 182-room Radisson Hotel Danang overlook the gateway city, sea and Son Tra Peninsula. 

Nha Trang south central coast

The 292-room Radisson Blu Resort Cam Ranh features seven restaurants and bars, three outdoor swimming pools and a wellness centre.

Phan Thiet Southeast Vietnam

Phan Thiet is a popular destination on the southeast coast, 212 km from Ho Chi Minh City. The favourite way to get there is by train, which takes around four hours for a fare of around USD8. 

The 76-room Radisson Resort Phan Thiet opened its doors in April 2022 and is located just south of the town or a 194 km car drive from HCMC.

Phu Quoc Island, far south

The 504-room Radisson Blu Resort Phu Quoc is located on the island’s northwest coast in an integrated resort complex and close to top attractions like the safari and amusement park.

Destination Mekong revives annual summit

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TTR WEEKLY
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PHNOM PENH, 7 December 2022: The commercial arm of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, Destination Mekong, will hold its 2022 Destination Mekong Summit from 14 to 15 December in Phnom Penh.

Destination Mekong, the private regional tourism board registered in Singapore, has its operational office in Cambodia. It’s the first Destination Mekong Summit since the group was formed legally earlier this year and subsequently hired its first CEO, Catherine Germier-Hamel.

The two-day event will take place at Trellion and Aquation Parks on Koh Pich in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with a live and virtual audience discussing the theme ‘Together – Smarter – Stronger’.

Destination Mekong has recruited  40 speakers packing them into business session panels over two days. They include tourism and hospitality executives in the Mekong region, mainly owners of tourism SMEs, social entrepreneurs, educators, and a smattering of public officials representing the six Mekong Region countries – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Of note will be the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) session on ‘Championing the GMS as a sustainable tourism destination and the Child Protection in Travel and Tourism led by (ECPAT) International.

On the morning of the second day, 15 December, the Destination Mekong Summit will offer its participants the opportunity to attend the following training sessions and workshops:

The latest line-up of speakers and programmes can be found here

Registration fee: USD30 for the full in-person event but free for Destination Mekong members, partners, speakers and online participants. There is a USD15 charge for non-DM members to attend the opening cocktail party and awards presentations.

For more information and registration details visit https://www.destinationmekong.com/dms22/

Vistara starts Pune to Singapore service

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TTR WEEKLY
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DELHI, 7 December 2022: Vistara, a joint venture of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, has launched nonstop flights between Pune and Singapore.

The inaugural flight departed from Pune at 0210 (IST) and arrived in Singapore at 1030 (GMT) on 2 December. It was flagged off by Honourable Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, in Delhi.

The airline will operate four weekly flights on the route using its A321neo aircraft.

An inaugural event was organised at the Pune airport, attended by Gavin Roch, Vice Consul, Consul General of Singapore; Prashant Girbane, Director General, Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture and Deepak Karandikar, President, MCCIA.

The event was virtually attended by Honourable Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia; Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara; Chandrakant Patil, Cabinet Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra & Guardian Minister of Pune;  Sudhir Mehta, CMD and Pinnacle Industries Pvt Ltd.

Commenting on the start of the new international route, Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer of Vistara, said: “We are excited to be able to connect Pune and Singapore – two cities that were not directly connected thus far. There is a growing demand for air travel between the two cities, especially from corporate travellers. We are confident that customers will appreciate having the option of flying India’s best airline in this sector.”

Schedule of flights between Singapore and Pune, effective 2 December 2022:

Sector

Flight No.

Days of Operation

Departure

Arrival

Pune – Singapore

UK 111

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

0210 hrs

1030 hrs

Singapore – Pune

UK 112

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

1150 hrs

1515 hrs

* All timings shown are in local time zones

** Subject to regulatory approvals

Malaysia: Next step a tourism nation?

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TTR WEEKLY
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PETALING JAYA, 7 December 2022: The Tourism Productivity Nexus (TPN), under the purview of Malaysia Productivity Malaysia (MPM), sets out its goal to build Malaysia as a tourism nation through its “Sayangi Malaysia” campaign at the recent World Tourism Conference.

According to TPN, Malaysia is a “Tourism Nation” which is an inclusive group of people made up of both locals and tourists who actively participate in and contribute to Malaysia’s tourism value chain, democratising sustainable income, opportunities, and activities by promoting Malaysian values, attractions, arts, cultures, tradition, and heritage.

TPN Chairman Rohizam Md Yusoff stated at the 6th World Tourism Conference (WTC) 2022 in Kota Kinabalu: “The tourism industry, at its social, cultural, environmental, and economic foundations, involves everyone, locals and visitors, individuals and societies, groups of people made up of both locals and tourists, who actively participate in and contribute to Malaysia’s tourism value chain, democratising sustainable income, opportunities, and activities by promoting Malaysian values, attractions, arts, cultures, tradition, and heritage.”

“Everyone participates in the tourism industry from a Makcik food stall by the roadside to the airline industry, from a backpacker to a yacht owner.” This is an industry that leaves no one behind. Everyone has a fair share of opportunities in the huge tourism pie, making building Malaysia as a tourism nation an apt movement.

“TPN’s Sayangi Malaysia campaign aims towards this long-term goal, which necessitates everyone to understand and move towards this goal of elevating Malaysia as the global destination of choice,” he added.

About Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC)

Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) is a statutory body under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). MPC promotes productivity, quality and competitiveness in the industries and organisations in Malaysia. MPC’s vision is to be the leading organisation in productivity enhancement for global competitiveness and innovation.

About Tourism Productivity Nexus (TPN)

Tourism Productivity Nexus (TPN) is a one-stop centre that caters to enterprises to boost productivity while increasing innovation and capturing growth opportunities. The Nexus’ initiatives emphasise the development of a holistic ecosystem to increase technology adoption and further strengthen key industry enablers.

(Source: Bernama)

Trip.com hosts partners’ summit

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE 7 December 2022: Trip.com Group presented its Outstanding Partner of the Year awards to the Singapore Tourism Board and Resorts World Sentosa during its Global Partner Summit held in Macau on Monday.

Tourism boards, international airlines, hotel groups and industry representatives from the travel industry joined the attendance.

Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, delivers her keynote presentation to partners at the Global Partner Summit.

Celebrating this year’s theme, ‘Journey into the Future Together,’ Trip.com Group and partners provided insights on the industry’s growth and opportunities, with leadership and experts sharing sector-specific knowledge via breakout sub-forums.

James Liang, Chairman and Co-founder of Trip.com Group, made no secret of his expectations for the future of tourism.

He believes: “Travel has great significance on innovation and heritage. At Trip.com Group, we play an important role in bringing people together worldwide. It’s our mission to help build communication and innovation, using our travel platform to create new value for the industry.”

Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, highlighted some of the Group’s financial results, emphasising triple-digit growth in hotel bookings across key APAC markets compared to the same period in 2019, with its global air ticket bookings increasing by 100% year-over-year.

Rising international air ticket and hotel bookings have empowered partners with a source of business and revenue. Trip.com Group’s hotel travel specials (PKG programme) delivered recommendations to over 30 million cross-users and brought over RMB10 billion GMV to hotel partners.

During her keynote presentation to partners at the Global Partner Summit, Sun noted: “The early recovery of global markets has given us confidence. We will continue looking for more possibilities to better serve our partners and users by building an improved travel ecosystem to meet users’ needs”.

Outrigger in festive mode

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TTR WEEKLY
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PHUKET, 6 December 2022: Newly opened Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort, and Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort have announced family-friendly Christmas and New Year festive programmes.

Both resorts will have special entertainment, food and drinks on Christmas Eve, 24 December, Christmas Day, 25 December and New Year’s Eve, 31 December.

Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort

The recently fully renovated and newly opened Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort, nestled in an enclave of coconut trees on Lamai beach, has many family-friendly Christmas and New Year happenings.

On Saturday, 24 December, the resort will go festive with an evening of entertainment in its Mala Kitchen restaurant with games in the Coral Kids Club, lucky draw prizes and festivities. There will be traditional dishes and sparkling wine and Christmas carols. (THB1900/USD53.08/EUR51.08/UKP44.08 ++ per adult. Or THB3700/USD103.37/EUR99.49/UKP85.86 ++ inclusive of wine cocktails and local beers. Children ages 4 to 11 THB800/USD22.35/EUR21.51/UKP18.56 ++.)

On Christmas Day at Outrigger Koh Samui, Santa Claus will exchange his reindeer and sleigh to arrive by longtail boat at Edgewater Beach Club, where he will join festive celebrations from 1230 to 1630. There will be family-sharing plates, a Christmas main course buffet and classic homemade desserts, all in the fantastic beachside setting with plunge pools, water slides, kids’ games and more. (THB1500/USD41.90/EUR40.33/£34.80 ++ per adult. Or THB3200/US$89.39/EUR86.04/UKP74.25 ++ including wine, cocktails and local beers. Children 4-11 THB500/USD13.97/EUR13.44/UKP11.60 ++.)

Outrigger Koh Samui guests are invited to ring in the New Year under the stars with a glorious seafood feast and tender cuts from various carving stations. There will also be an assortment of live entertainment, such as Thai dancing, Muay Thai boxing, and the famous Samui fire juggling show. While this is happening, children can enjoy numerous organised activities at the resort’s Coral Kids Club, giving mum and dad a chance to enjoy time around the table.

The New Year extravaganza at Outrigger Koh Samui is THB3400/USD94.7/EUR90.9/UKP78.3 ++ per person with an option of THB5100/USD142.1/EUR136.4/UKP117.4 ++ inclusive of wines, cocktails and local beers. Children are THB1000/USD27.9/EUR26.7/UKP23 ++.

Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort

The newly opened Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort on the Andaman Sea side of the southern Thai peninsula will also help families step into Christmas and the New Year in style, surrounded by nature.

At Outrigger Khao Lak, guests can enjoy a Christmas Eve 24 December sunset welcome reception followed by yuletide carols sung by a local choir. An extravaganza of roast duck, charcoal grilled seafood, ribeye beef and delicious options from a selection of live cooking stations follow. There will be Christmas desserts, live entertainment and a visit by Santa Claus. (THB2200 (USD61.3/EUR58.8/UKP50.6) ++ for adults and THB500 (USD13.9/EURP13.4/UKP11.5) ++ for kids aged 4 to 11.)

On Christmas Day, Santa will arrive at Outrigger Khao Lak’s beach to regale children with gifts between 1400 and 1500. The event is free for Outrigger guests.

Also, at Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort, guests are invited to bring in the new year with sunset cocktails and canapes followed by a beachside barbecue, fireworks, prime cuts, succulent seafood options and ice creams for the little ones. As we say farewell to 2022 and hello 2023, there will be southern Thai dance performances, a live band, a fire show and lucky draws. The fun starts at 1900 and will continue to 0100.

The Outrigger Khao Lak, a new year event, is THB3999/USD111.4/EUR107/UKP92 ++. And for kids: THB900/USD25.1/EUR24/UKP20.7 ++.

There is a 10% discount on the above prices at Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort for guests who book before 15 December. Guests from outside are welcome to join.

To join Santa Claus when he comes to town or ring in the new year under the stars at Outrigger Koh Samui, call +66 77 458 560 or email [email protected]. The resort’s festive brochure is here.

To party with Santa or celebrate the new year in style at Outrigger Khao Lak, call +66 76 427 100 or email [email protected]. The resort’s festive brochure is here.

(Your Stories: Outrigger)

Club Med names GM Singapore and Malaysia

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 6 December 2022: Club Med has named Olivier Monceau as the new general manager of Singapore and Malaysia to guide the team through the next phase of brand growth.

“I am delighted to have him on the team as he leads the execution of our aggressive plans to grow the Club Med brand within the region,” says Rachael Harding, Chief Executive Officer of East, South Asia and Pacific. He produced exceptional results in his previous appointment within Club Med, and I am confident he will accelerate the strategic growth in Singapore and Malaysia markets. His appointment is also perfectly timed to succeed our new capacity in Kiroro, Hokkaido, in 2023 and Borneo, Kota Kinabalu, in 2024.”

He will be based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Travel recovery speeds up in Africa

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 6 December 2022: After a bumpy road in travel recovery during the post-pandemic phase, Africa is now performing above the global average when looking at international arrivals for 2022, according to ForwardKeys’ latest air ticketing data.

Long-haul travel to West and Central Africa recovers faster

International travel is currently 30% behind pre-covid levels, yet Africa in Q4 of 2022 is just -19% under 2019 levels. At the same time, the 2023 outlook is even more promising, at -11% of international arrivals.

Closer inspection of the top performing regions and destinations, travel recovery shows growth is led by West and Central Africa, at -6% and +10% for Q4 travel compared to 2019 levels. At a country level, the best performer in Q4 of 2022 is Cape Verde, +10%, followed by Ivory Coast, -3% and Ghana, -9%.

“West and Central Africa benefit from VFR travel from Europe and North America. Our data shows growing interest from Portugal and Spain for Cape Verde, while the improved seat capacity from the US to Ghana is attracting a more premium travel crowd,” says Gordon Clark, VP of Business Development at ForwardKeys.

“Southern Africa has been recovering slower due to the impact of Omicron early in the year,” he adds.

The 2023 outlook for Africa looks rosy

Looking ahead at Q1 2023, Central and West Africa will continue to drive the recovery. East Africa will come close to 2019 levels due to strong demand from leisure travellers from Western Europe. Recovery is slowly spreading across the regions of Africa, and flight connectivity plays a pivotal role.

“Seamless connectivity is vital for encouraging travellers to visit Africa,” says Clark.

The top airport hubs for connecting passengers onwards to West Africa are Paris Charles de Gaul and Amsterdam Schiphol; however, the dark horse to keep an eye on is Istanbul International Airport which has grown four percentage points in Q4 versus pre-pandemic times. This is due to Turkish Airlines ramping up capacity to West Africa.

(Source: ForwardKeys)

Visit: www.forwardkeys.com

AirAsia X returns to the Gold Coast

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TTR WEEKLY
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SEPANG, 6 December 2022: AirAsia X announces it will resume flights to the Gold Coast, Australia, commencing 15 February 2023.

The route will be the airline’s fourth destination in Australia. Following the recent return to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, between April to November this year, AAX has carried over 30,000 passengers between Malaysia and Australia.

AirAsia X Group Head of Commercial, Pam Thienthong (Seventh from left); Destination Gold Coast Chair, Adrienne Readings; Queensland Airports Limited CEO, Amelia Evans; Deputy Mayor, Donna Gates; and Queensland Airports Limited CCO Adam Rowe.

Passenger traffic is set to grow substantially with today’s announcement and additional frequencies to Sydney and Melbourne starting this month.

To mark the return to its first-ever route, AAX is offering discounted fares (at 1000 Gold Coast time/0800 Malaysia time on 6 December) between Kuala Lumpur and the Gold Coast from MYR799 (under AUD299)  all-in-one way for economy and MYR3,999 (under AUD1,999) one way for Premium Flatbed.

AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said: “We are thrilled to be returning to the stunning Gold Coast as the first and only low-cost carrier flying direct! As our first-ever route, which launched in November 2007, this is an incredibly special announcement for AAX.

“Through Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia X will connect visitors to more than 130 destinations across Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, India, South Korea and many more.”

Alongside AAX’s return to Australia, sister medium-haul airline Thai AirAsia X also launched its first-ever direct services between Bangkok to Sydney and Melbourne, delivering six mid-range routes to Australia, providing more value and choice for consumers than ever before. Indonesia AirAsia recently increased services between Perth and Bali to fly twice daily to meet overwhelming demand.

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