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Celebrity godparents bless Discovery Princess

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TTR WEEKLY
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SANTA CLARITA, USA, 29 April 2022: Television stars and show hosts will unite as godparents to officially name the newest Princess Cruises ship – Discovery Princess.

Fashion designer Randy Fenoli, chef Alex Guarnaschelli, special effects designer and fabricator Adam Savage, and real estate broker and flipper extraordinaire Page Turner will come together for the maritime naming ceremony tradition at the Port of Los Angeles today, 29 April.

 Television Stars Randy Fenoli, Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, Adam Savage, and Page Turner to Officially Name the Cruise Line’s Newest Ship.

For the past seven years, Princess has offered the cruise line’s exclusive Discovery at SEA™ program – bringing the spirit of curiosity and exploration to every cruise through branded experiences like Shark Week at Sea, exclusive shore excursions and onboard activities such as the Camp Discovery youth centres and Stargazing at SEA.

“Bringing together these four experts and personalities to name Discovery Princess for the launch of our newest ship is an exciting moment for Princess,” said Princess Cruises president John Padgett. “Our impressive godparents, who represent the best in food, style, wonder and exploration, bring their imaginative and inspirational talents together to celebrate this momentous occasion. We look forward to exploring what we all can do together in the future.”

About Discovery Princess

Discovery Princess expands the cruise line’s fleet of MedallionClass ships to 15, offering elegantly appointed accommodations, world-class entertainment, gourmet dining and cocktails, extensive alfresco dining areas and expansive views from the cruise line’s largest balconies at sea in the Sky Suites.

The 3,660-guest Discovery Princess was built at the Fincantieri Shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, and is the sixth and final Royal-Class newbuild sharing all of the spectacular style and luxury of her sister ships – Enchanted Princess® Sky Princess®, Majestic Princess®, Regal Princess® and Royal Princess®.

As part of the leading cruise line on the west coast, Discovery Princess debuted in Los Angeles on 27 March, sailing a series of Mexican Riviera and California Coast voyages from 27 March to 24 April. After the naming ceremony in Los Angeles on 29 April, the ship will head up the Pacific coast to begin a season of seven-day Alaska cruises from Seattle, making her the newest ship sailing in the Alaska region.

With an array of innovative new experiences, guests will enjoy 270-degree sweeping views from the Princess’ largest balconies at sea in the Sky Suites, unwind in ultimate comfort at The Sanctuary and indulge the senses with world-class dining options. Plus, Princess live entertainment presents mesmerizing Broadway-style production shows that can only be seen in the state-of-the-art Princess Theater, including the newest show, Spotlight Bar.

In addition, Discovery Princess delivers Princess MedallionClass Vacations which begin with the Medallion™ wearable, a quarter-sized device that enables everything from expedited contactless boarding to locating loved ones anywhere on the ship, as well as enhanced service like having whatever guests need delivered directly to them, wherever they are on the ship. In addition, guests can share their favourite cruise moments using MedallionNet, the best Wi-Fi at sea, and stay connected with friends and family back home, work remotely anywhere on the ship, quickly post content and stream favourite movies and shows.

Discovery Princess also offers signature Princess venues and amenities, including the Piazza, Lotus Spa, The Sanctuary, Movies Under the Stars, Gigi’s Pizzeria, Good Spirits at Sea Bar, Vegas-Style Casino, The Shops of Princess, Camp Discovery Youth & Teen Center and Discovery at SEA™ programmes.

Additional information about Princess Cruises is available through a professional travel advisor, by calling 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237), or by visiting the company’s website at http://www.princess.com/.

About Princess Cruises    

One of the best-known names in cruising, Princess Cruises is the world’s leading international premium cruise line and tour company operating a fleet of 15 modern cruise ships, carrying millions of guests each year to 330 destinations around the globe, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand, the South Pacific, Hawaii, Asia, Canada/New England, Antarctica, and World Cruises.

Norwegian Bliss launches Alaska cruise season

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 28 April 2022: Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the innovator in global cruise travel, kicked off the 2022 Alaskan cruise season with Norwegian Bliss from the Port of Seattle.

The ship is the first of any cruise ship to visit Alaska this season and the first of five Norwegian Cruise Line vessels to cruise The Last Frontier through October 2022.

Guests on Norwegian Bliss’ 23 April 2022 sailing are the first of the season to discover the epic sites of the destination. The vessel will provide travellers with immersive experiences through Southeast Alaska, visiting natural wonders, including the passage through the 25-million-acre World Heritage Site, Glacier Bay National Park. NCL was granted access to this natural wonder due to the Company’s environmental commitments focused on air emissions, waste and wildlife protection. Other once-in-a-lifetime sites guests may visit include the majestic Mendenhall Glacier, which lies nearly 12 miles outside Juneau, Alaska and the Misty Fiords National Monument near Ketchikan, Alaska a glacier-carved wilderness featuring snowcapped mountains and waterfalls.

Norwegian Cruise Line has a long history of cruising from Seattle to Alaska, having pioneered the route in 2001. The Company is deeply committed to the region, working with destination partners in Seattle and Alaska to drive immersive and responsible tourism. In conjunction with Port of Seattle, Norwegian Cruise Line Holding (NCLH), NCL’s parent company, invested US$30 million to upgrade Pier 66, the renowned site where Norwegian Bliss was christened in 2018. The dual investment expanded the check-in area by 300% to more than 150,000 square feet. It also expanded two new passenger boarding bridges to provide a more comfortable and efficient embarkation process.

Driving economic support in Alaska, the Company partnered with and invested in Ward Cove Dock Group, LLC, transforming land, formerly designated as a superfund cleanup, or contaminated land, by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), into a sustainable, environmentally friendly and entertaining site for the community and cruise visitors.

Through a partnership with the Alaska Native-owned Huna Totem Corporation, The Company was able to complete a second cruise pier at Icy Strait Point and expand the destination’s Wilderness Landing. Enhancements featured upgraded retail and restaurants, as well as shore excursion offerings, including the world’s largest ZipRider zip line and experiences highlighting the culture of the native Huna Tlingit people.

In 2021, as part of NCL’s Great Cruise Comeback to celebrate the restart of its operations, The Brand restarted its U.S. voyages from Seattle to Alaska, making its first call to Icy Strait Point and also officially welcoming the opening of the new Wilderness Landing pier and the first of two gondola systems to be completed as part of the joint investment between NCLH and Huna Totem.

“We have nearly three decades of history cruising Alaska, pioneering voyages to The Last Frontier from Seattle more than 22 years ago and christened the largest cruise ship in Seattle in 2018 with the debut of Norwegian Bliss,” said Norwegian Cruise Line President and Chief Executive Officer, Harry Sommer. “We could not be any prouder to return to our ‘second home’ and jumpstart the 2022 Alaska season with one of our most innovative ships and provide unforgettable guest experiences with some of the world’s most bucket-list destinations.”

Throughout the 2022 cruise season, NCL will have the youngest fleet sailing Alaska and offer the largest capacity ever with the most sailings offered by the Brand in Alaska, including a variety of cruises for guests to choose from with five, seven, nine, and 10-day itineraries on Norwegian Bliss, Encore, Sun, Spirit, and Jewel.

“The Port of Seattle is excited to welcome cruise back to our region for the first full season since 2019,” said Steve Metruck, Port of Seattle Executive Director. “As we provide vital support for Seattle’s maritime, tourism, small business, and supplier sectors, we also are leading the industry in environmental excellence.”

Cruise in Seattle provides nearly US$900 million in economic benefits supporting 5,500 jobs, and is an important component of the Port of Seattle’s strategy to expand economic opportunity.

Rounding out this momentous industry and Brand kickoff and as part of NCL’s Great Cruise Comeback for Alaskan cruises, Norwegian Sun will also return to sail on 5 May 2022, marking the 16th of our 17 ship fleet to return to operation as she sets sail from Seattle and makes her way through Alaska and British Columbia. She will offer five, seven, nine and ten-day itineraries this year before setting sail from Hong Kong.

For more information about the Company’s award-winning 17-ship fleet and worldwide itineraries, or to book a cruise, contact a travel professional, call NCL Hong Kong at +852 800 901 951 or visit www.ncl.com.

(Your Stories: NCL)

HKIA zaps Covid in spray channel

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TTR WEEKLY
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HONG KONG, 28 April 2020: Airport Authority of Hong Kong is applying the latest disinfection technologies, including disinfection channels, antimicrobial coating and autonomous cleaning robots, at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to protect passengers from Covid-19 infection.

HKIA is the world’s first airport where “CLeanTech”, a full-body disinfection channel facility, is trialled in live operation. Persons using the facility will have a temperature check before entering an enclosed channel for the 40-second disinfection and sanitizing procedures. The interior surface of the channel is equipped with an antimicrobial coating which can remotely kill viruses and bacteria on human bodies and clothing by using the technologies of photocatalyst and “nanoneedles”. Sanitizing spray is also applied for instant disinfection. The channel is kept under negative pressure to prevent cross-contamination between the outside and inside environment. Currently, the facility is designated for use by staff who take part in public health and quarantine duties at the airport in relation to arriving passengers.

Meanwhile, the AA is conducting a pilot test of applying antimicrobial coating at all passenger facilities. An invisible coating to destroy germs, bacteria and viruses are applied to high-touch surfaces in the terminal, including handles and seats of Automated People Movers and passenger buses, smart check-in kiosks and check-in counters, toilets, seating area in the terminal, baggage trolleys, elevator buttons, and more. After completion of the trial in May, the AA will consider implementing it as a long term disinfection measure.

Autonomous cleaning robots are also deployed to ensure thorough disinfection of public areas and passenger facilities in HKIA. Intelligent Sterilization Robot, equipped with ultraviolet light sterilizer and air sterilizer, is deployed round-the-clock in public toilets and key operating areas in the terminal building. The robot can move around autonomously and sterilize up to 99.99% of bacteria in its vicinity, including both the air and object surfaces, in just 10 minutes.

Hong Kong introduces easier entry rules

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TTR WEEKLY
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HONG KONG, 28 April 2022: Travellers who are non-residents of Hong Kong will be able to visit Hong Kong when the government eases entry rules starting 1 May.

The move also includes relaxing route-specific flight suspension rules to allow airlines to resume services after a two-year pause with some of the region’s strictest limitations on travel to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong said it was relaxing rules in response to the latest development indicating Covid-19 is approaching an epidemic. It also considered the recent volume of inbound passenger flow, the number of imported cases, the city’s capacity to tackle the local epidemic, and overall socio-economic needs.

The government’s Inter-departmental Steering Committee & Command Centre pointed out that there has been an increase in the daily number of inbound travellers since the lifting of the place-specific flight suspension for nine overseas destinations on 1 April.

The daily average number of arrivals rose from fewer than 300 between January and March to about 1,200 since April. At the same time, the proportion of imported cases dropped from 3% in the January-March period to about 1% since April.

From 1 May, non-Hong Kong residents who have stayed in overseas places in the past 14 days will be allowed to enter Hong Kong and be subject to the same boarding, quarantine and testing arrangements as Hong Kong residents.

They must comply with all stringent inbound testing and quarantine requirements, including being fully vaccinated, undergoing a pre-departure nucleic acid test with a negative result and the booking designated quarantine hotels (DQHs).

Upon arrival, they will be subject to the test-and-hold arrangement at the airport and then transferred to DQHs by designated transport to undergo compulsory quarantine and multiple testings.

Meanwhile, the triggering thresholds for the route-specific flight suspension mechanism will also be adjusted with effect from May. If there are five or more passengers, or 5% or more of the passengers onboard, test positive for Covid-19 upon arrival (whichever is higher), the airline’s flights on that specific route are banned for five days.

The five-day landing ban will also apply to a passenger flight that has three or more passengers on board who test positive for the virus upon arrival and at least one who fails to comply with the requirements specified under the Prevention & Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances & Travellers) Regulation.

A bigger and brighter ATM returns to Dubai

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TTR WEEKLY
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DUBAI, 28 April 2022: Arabian Travel Market 2022 convenes from 9 to 12 May, with organisers estimating the show will attract more than 1,500 exhibitors, representatives from 112 global destinations, and an anticipated 20,000 attendees.

Taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) in collaboration with Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the 29th edition of ATM will form an essential part of the UAE’s annual Arabian Travel Week. The live show will prelude ATM Virtual, running from 17 to 18 May.

In keeping with this year’s theme, ‘The future of international travel and tourism’, ATM 2022 will roll out sessions that enable industry professionals from around the world to discuss current trends and explore long-term opportunities within the fields of travel, transportation, tourism, hospitality, events and attractions.

Kerry Prince, Chief Growth Officer, RX said: “Business travel expenditure in the Middle East is forecast to rise by 32% this year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), and these figures underscore the positive sentiment that we’ve experienced throughout the region.

“This naturally bodes well for yet another successful edition of ATM, providing a catalyst to put our industry firmly on the path to a robust and sustainable recovery, alongside our partners the DET and of course, the DWTC.”

The show floor at this year’s edition will be over 85% larger than at ATM 2022 thanks to the expansion of several sectors- and region-specific zones, including Travel Tech (380%); hotels (71%); the Middle East (57%); Africa (56%); Asia (50%); and Europe (49%).

Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) Chief Executive Officer Issam Kazim commented: “Since reopening to the global market in July 2020, Dubai has never looked back. We have been able to build on this momentum year on year, leading to a hugely successful Expo 2020 Dubai. And ATM comes at a time when the rest of the world wants to be a part of this remarkable journey with Dubai.”

One of many show highlights, the revamped and rebranded ATM Travel Tech event, previously called Travel Forward, has undergone a year-on-year expansion of almost 400%. In addition to the latest travel technology products and services, the ATM Travel Tech Stage will host a series of seminars, debates and presentations focused on the long-term trajectory of tourism in the Middle East.

Arabian Travel Market exhibition director ME Danielle Curtis added: “As a globally recognised tech hub, Dubai offers an unparalleled environment for entrepreneurs and start-ups working to drive advancements within travel, tourism and hospitality”. “Indeed, the effective development and implementation of technology are essential to our industry’s day-to-day operations as well as its long-term sustainability and success.”

The inaugural ATM Draper-Aladdin Start-up Competition has generated significant buzz since its launch earlier this year. Held in conjunction with AladdinB2B and Draper Associates, the initiative will see 15 travel, tourism and hospitality start-ups pitch for USD500,000 of funding.

Building on the success of ATM’s hybrid approach during the global pandemic, this year’s in-person event will be followed by the third instalment of ATM Virtual, which will take place from Tuesday, 17 to Wednesday, 18 May 2022. This component will offer industry professionals the opportunity to showcase their destinations to a global audience of travel buyers and provide a platform for travel professionals to continue their all-important one-to-one meetings and view on-demand sessions conducted during the in-person show from the comfort of their homes and offices.

Emirates lines up extra holiday flights

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TTR WEEKLY
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DUBAI, UAE 28 April 2022: With Eid Al Fitr approaching and more travellers planning to take to the skies, Emirates is responding by offering more flights across seven cities in the GCC and the Middle East.

The airline is stepping up its schedule by adding 23 flights and layering additional seats with the deployment of both A380s and Boeing 777s between 28 April and 8 May to the four cities it serves in Saudi Arabia, as well as to Kuwait, Beirut, and Amman.

In Saudi Arabia, Emirates will be layering on two additional flights on 2 and 8  May to serve demand in and out of Riyadh. In Jeddah, the airline will add five flights served by its Boeing 777 and will be upgrading one of its existing flights to an A380 to become an all A380 operation. Medina will also be served with four additional flights during this time, and travellers from Dammam will also have the option of one extra flight on 28 April as they start their holidays. This year, Emirates customers in Saudi Arabia will be venturing to Dubai for their Eid Al Fitr celebrations and the Maldives, Paris, Bangkok, Mauritius, Manila, and Los Angeles in the US.

This year’s popular destinations for Kuwaiti travellers include Dubai, the Maldives, Manila, Bangkok, London, Mauritius and Paris, and Emirates will be operating eight additional flights served by its Boeing 777 during Eid.

Emirates will be layering on three flights served by its Boeing 777s to the airline’s existing Beirut schedule to accommodate more travellers as they head home to visit friends and relatives. Amman flights served by the Boeing 777 will also be upgraded with higher seat capacities.

Travellers can also book special Emirates Holidays packages, with curated experiences, hotel stays and more to suit every preference and taste.

Keeping with Eid traditions and providing a touch of Middle Eastern hospitality, the airline will be serving a specially crafted Eid menu for customers between 2 to 5 May for all GCC, the Middle East and North Africa flights departing from and arriving in Dubai.

Customers across all classes can expect to tuck into succulent Chicken Gabuli or Prawn Biryani to start their celebrations. Emirates will also be serving decadent desserts like saffron and pistachio cakes for First and Business Class customers. Economy class customers can also enjoy the chicken and prawn options and indulge their sweet tooth with soft and crumbly pistachio namoura or saffron cake to round off their meal. Customers travelling on the A380 in First and Business Class will also enjoy a curated selection of Emirati Eid pastries and chocolates in the Onboard Lounge.

Emirates First and Business Class Dubai lounges will be offering customers Arabic Coffee, dates, traditional Eid sweets and two new flavours of ice cream, cinnamon baklava and Arabic coffee with dates. Customers at Emirates’ dedicated Cairo and Singapore lounges will also be offered special sweets and savoury dishes.

Customers can sit back and relax with up to 5,000 channels of carefully curated entertainment featuring over 100 Arabic movies, including new releases Al Kameen, Al Shanta, and Khan Tiuola; over 45 popular Arabic TV series; 400 channels of Arabic music, including Pop, Classics, Khaleeji, Maghrebi and Arabic Fusion; 13 channels of Arabic podcasts and audiobooks; The Holy Qu’ran and more with ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system.

For more information, visit emirates.com. Tickets can be purchased on emirates.com, Emirates Sales Offices, via travel agents or online travel agents.

(Your Stories: Emirates)

Cathay adds more London flights

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TTR WEEKLY
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HONG KONG, 28 April 2022: Cathay Pacific Airways is gradually increasing flights on its Hong Kong – London route during May as Hong Kong eases entry rules to allow non-residents to visit the territory.

In addition to a weekly flight every Monday and Friday during May, the airline offers date-specific flights on Tuesday 10 and 24 May, Wednesday 4 and 18 May, Thursday 12 and 26 May, Saturday 7,14 and 21 May, and Sunday 1, 15 22 29 May.

That will see the airline increase from a low of just two flights a month to London during Hong Kong’s extended Covid-19 lockdown to 21 flights during May.

Cathay is also resuming flights from Hong Kong to Manchester during May with date-specific flights on Monday 23 May, Tuesday 17 May, Saturday 7 and 28 May and Sunday 1 May.

From 5 to 30 June, the airline schedules daily flights to London. In addition, it will schedule two flights daily on 5, 15, 16, 25 and 26 June.

It could take up to a year for the airline to return to the five daily London flights that Cathay Pacific had on its books in 2019 before Covid-19 caused two years of restrictions and lockdowns.

Singapore removes most travel restrictions

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 28 April 2022: Singapore’s Ministry of Health eased Covid-19 rules earlier this week, ending the restriction on group sizes and social distancing, a change welcomed by the events business.

Easer rules came into effect on 26 April as the country lowered its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorscon) level from orange to yellow.

For Singapore’s business events sector, removing the group-size limit is the welcome news as it will ring in the return of exhibitions and events catering to more than 1,000 participants.

But individual travellers, who are fully vaccinated, will benefit from not having to show a pre-departure Covid-19 negative test result.

However, all non-fully vaccinated travellers age 13 and above must continue to show a negative pre-departure test taken within two days before departure for Singapore. They must also undergo a seven-day stay-home notice period and take an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 at the end of their stay-home notice period.

TraceTogether and SafeEntry vaccination-differentiated safe management measures and workforce vaccination measures end.

Other changes.

Household visits
• No limit on the number of visitors per household.
• Unvaccinated should exercise caution, reduce movement, and stay at home as much as possible. Up to 10 household visitors at any one time.

Mask wearing
• Only required for indoor settings, optional for outdoor settings but encouraged.

Safe distancing
• Not required between individuals or between groups.

Workplace
• All employees may return to the workplace.
• Unmasking is allowed at the workplace if not interacting physically with others and when not in customer-facing areas.

Shopping centre
• Vaccination-differentiated SMMs will be removed from all settings, except for events with 500 participants at any one time, nightlife establishments where dancing among patrons is one of the intended activities, F&B establishments, bars and karaoke establishments.

TripAdvisor: Be kind write a review

By
Don Ross
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SINGAPORE, 26 April 2022: TripAdvisor launches Write a Review Day on 3 May to help kick start summer travel and revive the reviewing habit dramatically impacted by two years of restricted travel or lockdowns across Asia.

Its launch media release distributed Tuesday asks us if we have visited a hotel or restaurant or booked a tour or experience in the last year that we haven’t yet reviewed? If so, Tripadvisor is looking to get its community of hundreds of millions of travellers reinspired to write reviews once more.

The inaugural Write a Review Day on 3 May will launch a month-long campaign in May to get travellers back in the habit of writing reviews.

Inspiration and creativity to pen reviews went missing over the last two years due to lockdowns, uncertainty, and conflicting opinions on Covid-19.

Tripadvisor hopes it can now revive our enthusiasm to write a review for a hotel stay or a restaurant experience we enjoyed over the past year. It suggests reviews can vary between good and not so good written with the “intention of giving the still recovering tourism and hospitality industry helpful and constructive feedback”.

Even during the lockdown, there were a couple of examples in Thailand of hotel managers threatening to take reviewers to civil court or have them detained by police to face criminal charges. The thin-skinned hoteliers took umbrage at reviews they claimed were commercially damaging. However, in Thailand, it did put a damper on writing honest reviews of hotels and restaurants for fear of falling foul of draconian laws covering defamation and libel.

Perhaps that prompted TripAdvisor to attach to its Write a Review launch publicity a few tips on what makes a “great and helpful review”, emphasising the importance of being helpful and charitable.

The premise suggests the inspiration to write reviews comes from our desire to be helpful and support the commercial interests of hotels and restaurants. That’s a big ask.

TripAdvisor, in its short tutorial, suggests we have all seen the not-so-helpful reviews – “This place was great!” But why was it great? – “I didn’t like the food?” What did this person order? What didn’t they like about the food?”

Tripadvisor claims that not all reviews are created equal, backed up by findings released in the Power of Reviews study. It indicated Tripadvisor reviews were three times longer than the reviews found on leading online travel agent websites and search engines. That level of detail helps travellers to make informed decisions.

Here are Tripadvisor’s top tips for writing a great review 

Give Context: Be clear and specific in describing your memory. Stick to facts and include as many details as possible allows other travellers like you to get an accurate picture of the business.

Create helpful change: Whether positive or negative, make sure your review is helpful and constructive. Recognise and value what you like and offer options and solutions for this business to improve: this is an opportunity for them to learn.

Be thankful and empathetic: Keep a courteous and friendly tone in mind and use appropriate language. It’s worth considering that there are people who put commitment and passion into what they do behind every business activity.

As part of the Write a Review Day campaign, Tripadvisor will partner with the tourism and hospitality industry associations to launch ‘The Better Review Initiative’. More than 20 associations worldwide, including the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the World Travel Organization (UNWTO), and HotellerieSuisse, have endorsed the initiative to improve travel and hospitality review content online.

Paddle event raises funds for turtles

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TTR WEEKLY
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KOTA KINABALU, 27 April 2022: What began as a challenge resulted in five friends embarking on stand-up paddling for two days to promote water sports activities and marine wildlife conservation.

In the Paddle For Turtle event, the group paddleboarded from the Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort to the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort, covering 35 km of coastline waters.

One of the paddlers, Mitch Cini, said that they started the awareness campaign to get people interested in sustainable water sports and to raise funds for the Marine Research Foundation’s turtle conservation project.

“The water sports activity in Sabah is transitioning at the moment. The state has its traditional water sports activities that include popular scuba diving and eye-catching parasailing and jet skiing.

“Now we are moving towards a more sustainable activity that does not significantly impact the environment,” said the founder of Waterfly Borneo.

Such sustainable activities are paddle boarding and e-foiling to replace jet skiing, kitesurfing, and windsurfing.

Mitch, an Australian residing in Sabah, stated that these activities had seen a surge in popularity in the last three years, not only for tourism purposes but also for recreational purposes, with people doing it for fitness.

In their latest project, the group left Shangri-La Rasa Ria on Saturday. They made their way to Pulau Sepanggar and Pulau Gaya, where they spent time teaching the islanders how to paddleboard and raising marine protection awareness. They arrived at Shangri-La Tanjung Aru at 1300 on Sunday. The Sabah Tourism Board is one of participating partners in the event.

Meanwhile, Sabah Tourism chief executive officer Noredah Othman said the state is strong in marine protection efforts, which benefits tourism by allowing tourists to participate in conservation programmes.

“It is essential for us to promote products or activities that enhance the experience of tourists visiting Sabah,” she explained. “Sabah has the most beautiful ocean, beaches, and islands. Our goal is to promote the state water sports activities to visitors while encouraging them to conserve the marine environment”.

For more details on Sabah’s tourist attractions visit: https://www.sabahtourism.com/?locale=en

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)

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