The resort has teamed up with PJ Tennis, founded by Thai tennis superstar and former world number 9 Paradorn Srichaphan and former Australian national number 1 junior Jed Gould, for the camp from 14 to 19 August 2022.
Guests who join the camp can take advantage of a five-night-package at the resort, with luxurious accommodation, delicious dining options and a week of activities and experiences for the whole family.
The package includes five nights of accommodation in a deluxe room, with daily breakfast for two adults and one child, a BBQ seafood buffet, a one-time exclusive Spa Cenvaree treatment for two adults, and the tennis camp each day from 1530 to 1730 for THB28,900 net. Guests can also upgrade to a family room for THB1,000 net per room per night.
For reservations, contact +66 (0) 081 763 5599 or email [email protected]
SINGAPORE, 21 July 2022: WorldHotels Rewards is extending its ‘Double Rewards Points on Every Stay’ promotion for WHR members to continue earning double points at any participating WorldHotels location until 30 August 30, 2022.
“Travel continues to surge, and our guests are excited to once again explore the world and visit with family and friends,” said WorldHotels president Ron Pohl. “We’re very thankful that our loyal guests have returned to our collection of the finest independent hotels and resorts. Extending this rich promotion allows us to recognise and thank them for their loyalty.”
WorldHotels, a collection of independent hotels in over 200 destinations worldwide,
MANILA, 21 July 2022: Onyx CenterSource, a leading global provider of B2B payments and business intelligence to the hospitality industry, launched its latest payment platform integration for Booking.com’s affiliate travel agencies this week.
The integration is customised for Sabre-connected travel agencies, enabling them to directly connect to Booking.com and streamline revenue share payment processing for completed bookings sent through the platform.
In addition to easing the payment process, the integration provides additional benefits for affiliate agencies of Booking.com. Sabre-connected travel agencies now can receive payments in their local currencies and dive into robust payment and partner performance metrics. They also have access to a dedicated client support team to resolve inquiries.
“The world of payments is always evolving, so giving our affiliates the tools and data they need to be strategic is key,” said Booking.com director of global distribution partnerships Jeremy Cornuau. “Our partnership with Onyx capitalises on both of our strengths, which ultimately is a win for our agency partners.”
Onyx CenterSource is a leading global provider of B2B payments and business intelligence solutions to the hospitality industry. With a legacy dating to 1992, the company facilitates over USD2.1 billion in payments annually, partnering with more than 150,000 hotel properties and 200,000 travel booking providers in 160 countries. In addition to its headquarters in Dallas, Onyx CenterSource has regional hubs in Seville, Spain; Tønsberg, Norway; and Manila, Philippines.
BANGKOK, 21 July 2022: Red Elephant Reps, a leading hotel and travel representation company, is strengthening its European sales team with the appointment of Alice Ciotti as its sales representative for Portugal.
Ciotti will be responsible for executing sales and marketing strategies across Portugal to drive growth and provide brand awareness for their clients.
Red Elephant Reps chief executive officer Ian Paul Woods commented on the new appointment: “Alice’s broad industry experience combined with her vast networks will be crucial to helping us grow within Europe while also ensuring the most powerful outcomes for our clients”.
She brings many years of experience in the travel industry to the table, having represented properties in the Caribbean for the Italian market before moving onto the European markets. Over the years, she has built extensive contacts with hotels, airlines and travel partners; and has become adept in many aspects of travel and tourism.
SINGAPORE, 21 July 2022: Consumer confidence in air travel has continued to plummet since last May, according to the latest ForwardKeys analysis that shows last-minute bookings in the week running up to 10 July dropped by 44%, compared with 2019 levels.
Bookings from Amsterdam were down by 59% and from London by 41%. Much of the blame for the dramatic dive focuses on flight cancellations as airports, suffering from staff shortages, struggle to cope with surging demand.
The ForwardKeys research took a closer look at air traffic disruption by analysing recent trends in intra-European flight bookings for travel in July and August and changes in seat capacity.
The recent disruption to travellers’ schedules is well illustrated by a jump in the ratio of partial cancellations and modifications to total bookings. From 30 May to 10 July, it has almost tripled from 13% before the pandemic (in 2019) to 36% this summer.
The collapse in last-minute bookings and the increase in cancellations and modifications significantly dent the travel industry’s outlook for the summer. As of 30 May, total intra-European flight bookings for July and August were 17% behind 2019. However, seven weeks later, on 11 July, they were 22% behind, a slowdown of five percentage points.
The relative slowdown has been far worse for Amsterdam and London. At the end of May, July-August bookings from Amsterdam were 9% behind 2019 levels and from London were 9% ahead. They have since fallen behind to 22% and 2%, respectively, which equates to a 13 percentage-point slowdown in bookings from Amsterdam and an 11 percentage-point slowdown from London.
The destination suffering the greatest relative setback in its summer outlook as a result of the slowdown in last-minute bookings from Amsterdam is London; where bookings have slowed from 3% ahead of 2019 levels in the fourth week of May to 18% behind on 11 July, which represents a drop of 21 percentage points. On the same metric (percentage point drop), it is followed by Lisbon, 18%; Barcelona, 15%; Madrid, 14%; and Rome, 9%. Taking the same approach with London, the most affected destinations are Istanbul, where bookings have fallen by 32%; Palma Mallorca and Nice, 12%; and Lisbon and Athens, 7%.
The five percentage-point declines in intra-European bookings from the last week of May to 11 July is mirrored by a similar reduction in airline seat capacity over the same period. ForwardKeys reveals that scheduled intra-European seat capacity has reduced by 5% across the continent, with Amsterdam and London experiencing the largest reductions, at 11% and 8%, respectively.
ForwardKeys VP InsightsOlivier Ponti said: “ On the upside, it is encouraging to see a strong resurgence in demand following the pandemic, with summer bookings in May surging ahead of 2019 levels. That was excellent news for the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries, which badly need the business. However, things have come back so fast that airports and airlines have struggled to cope, which is causing chaos for the travellers whose flights are affected.
“While we can be confident that airports will eventually successfully recruit the staff they need, there are a few remaining trends that cause concern. Firstly the increase in oil prices, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, will increase the cost of flying. Secondly, inflation (also a consequence of the war) will likely leave most travellers less able to afford the fare. Lastly, the increased disruption is substantially dampening demand, as we are seeing a dramatic slowdown in last-minute flight bookings, plus an increase in cancellations. At the end of May, it seemed we were heading for an exceptional summer for travel within Europe, but now it is more likely to be just a good one.”
SINGAPORE, 21 July 2022: Travel advisories continue to warn travellers not to travel to Myanmar due to the escalation in civil unrest and armed conflict.
A UK travel advisory issued earlier this week warns its citizens to reconsider travel to Burma due to Covid-19-related restrictions and exercise increased caution in Myanmar due to the risk of wrongful detentions.
Various travel advisors caution travellers that protests and demonstrations against military rule continue. In addition to nationwide protests and demonstrations, the following areas of Myanmar are subject to heightened civil unrest or armed conflict.
Matupi township in Chin State Bhamo and Mogaung townships in Kachin State Hopang, Hseni, Hsipaw, Mongkaung, Namhsan, Namtu, and Nanhkan townships in Shan State Shadaw township in Kayah State Paletwa township in Chin State Hpakan, Mansi, Momauk, Sumprabum, Tanai, and Waingmaw townships in Kachin State Hpapun township in Kayin State Konkyan, Kutkai, Kyaukme, Laukkaing, Matman, Mongmao, Muse, Namphan, Pangsang, and Pangwaun townships in Shan State
The following areas of Myanmar are especially subject to civil unrest and armed violence due to fighting between the military and various ethnic armed groups and militia forces.
Northern Shan State Parts of Kachin, Rakhine, and Chin States
The Naga Self-Administered Zone in the northern Sagaing Region Conflict-affected areas, particularly Northern Shan State and parts of Kachin, Rakhine, and Chin States are subject to land mines and unexploded ordinances. Land mines and unexploded ordnance have injured foreign tourists in conflict-affected areas, and their locations are often not marked or otherwise identifiable.
BANGKOK, 20 July 2022: Digital travel platform Agoda reveals the top trending holiday destinations now that international travel is slowly becoming the norm again.
According to its latest booking data assessment, travellers are dusting off their suitcases and ready to embrace the holiday season somewhere different than the past two years.
Bangkok takes the number one spot in 2022, as the Thai capital relaxes most travel rules, including mask wearing outdoors. Other Asian gems in the top five spots are Jeju Island, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul.
As for outbound travel from Thailand, Agoda’s booking data collated from May to August 2022 suggests South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, France and the UK are the top five destinations.
Top global destinations in 2022
Bangkok
Jeju Island
Kuala Lumpur
Tokyo
Seoul
Singapore
Bali
Pattaya
Manila
Penang
Hong Kong
Busan
Osaka
Johor Bahru
Taichung
“Worldwide, we are seeing international travel coming back this year as travel restrictions have eased, proving people have been looking forward to travelling internationally again for the past two years. Travellers are making the most of the holidays and are keen to visit domestic and international destinations in Asia, said Agoda CEO Omri Morgenshtern.
“Reliving memories and going back to places they once enjoyed ” is the summer theme. At Agoda, we strive to enable even more people to travel by providing best-in-class travel options on the website and app, with great deals on accommodation and flights and great things to do as travel continues to return to normal.”
Summer travel facts
Bangkok is the top Asia Pacific destination for US and UK travellers and ranks in the top three spots globally for all regions.
Indian travellers are excited to re-visit Thailand, followed by Indonesia, Singapore, France and Switzerland this summer holiday season.
Singaporeans visit neighbour Malaysia the most, followed by Thailand and Indonesia.
Australians are the biggest international travellers to Bali, followed by Singaporeans, Koreans, and Indian travellers.
American travellers’ top three Asia Pacific destinations are Bangkok, Manila and Tokyo.
Top destinations by region for summer travel in 2022
Asia Pacific
North America
Europe
1.
Bangkok, Thailand
Los Angeles, USA
London, UK
2.
Jeju Island, South Korea
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand
3.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Las Vegas, USA
Paris, France
4.
Tokyo, Japan
New York, USA
Barcelona, Spain
5.
Seoul, South Korea
Manila, Philippines
Istanbul, Turkey
6.
Singapore, Singapore
Orlando, USA
Rome, Italy
7.
Bali, Indonesia
Paris, France
Berlin, Germany
8.
Pattaya, Thailand
Tokyo, Japan
Bali, Indonesia
9.
Penang, Malaysia
London, UK
Pattaya, Thailand
10.
Hong Kong SAR, China
Seoul, South Korea
Prague, Czech Republic
Top five most popular countries by market for summer travel in 2022
NEW DELHI, 20 July 2022: Indian tourists are once more eligible for an electronic visa to visit Russia since 15 July, when Russia officially lifted the moratorium on issuing unified electronic visas.
The revival of the electronic visa followed a resolution of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers published on 15 July on the state portal pravo.gov.ru and tourdom.ru.
The ban on issuing entry documents was introduced at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Travellers no longer need to provide additional grounds for visiting the Russian Federation, such as study, work or medical treatment. The eVisa facility is open to citizens of 52 countries, including India. The consular fees for Indian tourists start at USD40.
Eligible foreign citizens can stay in Russia for up to 16 days within two months and travel to all regions of Russia. To apply for an electronic visa, a tourist must complete an online application, which the Foreign Ministry will review within four days.
The Russian Information Centre in India spokesperson Paresh Navani commented: “This will enable Indian tourists to book their tours to Russia just five days before the intended date of departure, making the process simple and quick; normally, the longer duration tours are between 10-14 days, and this new system issues 16-day visas. This will be useful in cases where the guest cannot return as per schedule due to illness or other reasons. Overall the digitisation of the visa process plus the duration of 16 days, access to all regions in Russia and the sharp reduction in processing time is a boon for the travel trade and guests wanting to visit Russia.”
MANILA, 20 July 2022: The concept of Sustainable Development has been around since its introduction in the 1987 Brundtland Commission Report by the United Nations and its eventual adaptation to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.
The grand design of Sustainable Development is to allow economies to grow without compromising the robustness of the environment. Consequently, this expanded the ambit of this generation’s “Woke Era” from promoting social and political justice to championing the “Green Movement” to combat the furtherance of irreversible damage to ecological resources due to its misuse and abuse.
The menu for curating the right sustainable approach in the tourism industry is extensive and widely practised, from energy and waste management and water conservation to heritage and culture preservation.
Sustainable efforts in tourism inadvertently became the buy-in for travellers over time, choosing destinations that campaign for the “Greener Good” through their operations, products, and services.
During the 21st World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit in Manila, the WTTC launched the Hotel Sustainability Basics (HSB) to help jumpstart the global hotel industry’s sustainability journey in an aligned and strategic manner. The HSB criteria, which are open-source and accessible to the hotel industry members, consist of 12 indicators divided into three major categories: Efficiency, Planet, and People.
Hotel and property owners and operators are encouraged to adapt the HSB criteria and benchmark with each other through Greenview’s Green Lodging Trends Report. They will have their hotels and properties validated and certified through the verification process to be launched by WTTC during the fourth quarter of 2022.
The Department of Tourism’s landmark projects like the ANAHAW Certification for Sustainable Tourism (in collaboration with GRaT Center for Appropriate Technology through the Zero Carbon Resorts) developed foolproof measures that ensure hotels and resorts comply with the highest sustainability standards in their day-to-day operations. Likewise, DOT’s “Keep the Fun Going” campaign allows tourists to participate in the department’s advocacy by raising awareness about responsible travel and reinforcing sustainable practices through gamified challenges.
The holistic approach to promoting sustainable tourism is front and centre not only for DOT but for its attached agencies as well. For example, the Tourism Promotions Board (DOT’s marketing and promotional arm) supporting local community-based tourism sites and attractions has been a priority since 2018 through the sustainable community-based tourism (SCBT) project. The SCBT project includes the identification, assessment, and inclusion of a local community-based tourism site or attraction in the tourism circuits promoted by the agency to domestic and international markets.
One of the emerging sustainable tourism sites in the country is the internationally recognised and multi-awarded Masungi Georeserve in Baras, Rizal, a geotourism site built on the principle of environmental and social conservation of the area.
Masungi Georeserve Foundation managing trustee Ann Adeline Dumaliang shared what sustainable tourism means to her as an advocate.
“Sustainable tourism, for me, is about understanding and taking transformative action in our roles as stewards in the destinations and communities where we belong. It’s about positively contributing to an area’s sense of pride of place and helping it become a better place for the planet and people. Regenerative tourism and geotourism are what, more clearly, encapsulate our brand of sustainable tourism.”
Further, when asked if the Masungi Georeserve is poised to be a sustainable tourist destination, Dumaliang explained that “Masungi Georeserve is transformative and regenerative in its approach. Our experiences are about the importance of the karst landscape we are moving in with a focus on quality instead of quantity as a success metric.
“We have an environmental carrying capacity which we respect, and we have decisively opted for low-impact engineering approaches instead of traditional development and take our role seriously as stewards of the area for the long haul. Most importantly, we have already restored the area we have been moving in for two decades now and further use our returns to lead the restoration and protection of some 2000 more hectares of land, some of which constitute the Upper Marikina Watershed – an area critical to the safety of 20 million Filipinos all the way downstream in Metro Manila, and one that has suffered a continuous decline in its forest cover (from 19% in 2011 to 11% in 2018) despite being declared a protected area. Our voice, visitors, and allies have become instrumental in overcoming anomalies and tactics in organised crime, speaking truth to power, and overcoming inertia for watershed rehabilitation.”
With the efforts of WTTC in its HSB initiative, DOT’s ANAHAW Certification for Sustainable Tourism, and TPB’s SCBT, Dumaliang shared her hope for sustainable tourism in the country.
“I hope for sustainable tourism to be mainstreamed and elevated in the Philippines in the coming years – the norm instead of the exemption, building on what has been started in this administration. This is only sensible being a country that relies on its natural heritage for tourism, and tourism is an industry that contributes significantly to our GDP and is threatened by the climate crisis. By taking deliberate action in this direction, we can make an even stronger mark in the global tourism space and increase its contributions to the country. If we can power sustainable tourism businesses that serve as destination stewards, we can care better for more areas of the country. Let’s suppose we can adopt the standards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). In that case, we will be able to nurture a quality community of changemakers in the tourism space that can power each other forward.
“The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, through its Sustainable Development of Tourism Destinations study in 2013, clarified that sustainable tourism is not a type of tourism but rather a condition; a condition that the DOT and TPB vow to uphold to remind us that we can continue to harness the significant economic contribution of the tourism industry if we foster sustainable practices, inevitably introducing a new mindset among Filipino people that: “The greener pasture isn’t on the other side, but it is under our feet if we choose to nurture it.”
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, through its Sustainable Development of Tourism Destinations study in 2013, clarified that sustainable tourism is not a type of tourism but rather a condition; a condition that the DOT and TPB vow to uphold to remind us that we can continue to harness the significant economic contribution of the tourism industry if we foster sustainable practices, inevitably introducing a new mindset among Filipino people that, “The greener pasture isn’t on the other side, but it is under our feet if we choose to nurture it.”
SINGAPORE, 20 July 2022: Sean Dee, Outrigger Hospitality Group’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, has been named Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Marketing Professional of the Year for 2022.
The award honours the best of marketing in the hospitality industry during HSMAI’s Marketing Strategy Conference in Florida this summer – where senior leaders in hotel marketing connect to discuss the most important strategic issues facing the industry.
John Washko, HSMAI chair; Sean Dee, Outrigger Hospitality Group EVP and chief commercial officer; and John Jimenez, HSMAI Marketing Advisory Board.
The recognition is indicative of Dee’s efforts to further position Outrigger Hospitality Group as the premier beach resort company in the world.
Dee is responsible for developing and deploying the marketing, brand, revenue management and sales strategies for Outrigger’s global portfolio of 33 premier resorts and accommodation choices in Thailand, Mauritius, the Maldives, Fiji and Hawaii.
He currently serves as board chair for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and board vice president for the Henry Kapono Foundation.
ABOUT OUTRIGGER HOSPITALITY GROUP
For nearly 75 years, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts has charted a journey of discovery – expanding from Hawaii to premier resort destinations including Fiji, Mauritius, Thailand and the Maldives. The privately held hospitality company invites guests to ‘Escape Ordinary’ with authentic Signature Experiences and the Outrigger DISCOVERY loyalty program. Outrigger’s multi-branded portfolio includes Outrigger® Resorts, OHANA Hotels by Outrigger®, Hawaii Vacation Condos by Outrigger®, Kapalua Villas Maui and Honua Kai Resort & Spa Maui while also managing select properties from top international hotel brands including Embassy Suites by Hilton®, Best Western® and Hilton Grand Vacations®. Find out more at Outrigger.com or visit @OutriggerResorts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
