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AirAsia X completes restructuring

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TTR WEEKLY
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SEPANG, Malaysia, 18 March 2022: AirAsia X (AAX) lodged the Sanction Order on Wednesday for its debt restructuring with the Registrar of Companies have completed the formalities of restructuring.

The debt restructuring proposal was approved by its creditors on 12 November 2021 and by the High Court of Malaya on 16 December 2021.

The lodgement of the Sanction Order means that the financial effects can be recognised in the financial statements of the company and, as a result, AAX will be able to reverse MYR33 billion of liabilities and provisions for liabilities that have been waived under the scheme. The full effects on the income statement and balance sheet of the company will be reflected in the next quarterly Bursa announcement.

The lodgement of the Sanction Order will now pave the way for the completion of the proposed fundraising.

AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail noted: ”This is another significant step in rebuilding AAX, post-pandemic. We are returning to the skies in a robust position where we can once again offer the best value fares and customer service excellence that our customers deserve.

“Cargo has been a strong lifeline for AAX, and our recovery is already underway as a combination carrier with equal emphasis on cargo and passenger revenues.

“We look forward to offering more value for money services across our core network in tandem with cargo and consumer demand. In the next two months, we will recommence passenger services to several more international destinations in line with borders reopening with exciting offerings for guests and particularly to customers who have travel credits with us.”

Vietnam brings back visa-exempt travel

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TTR WEEKLY
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HANOI, 18 March 2022: Vietnam has resumed its visa exemption policy for citizens from 13 countries, the Vietnam Government Portal confirmed earlier this week.

Resuming visa exemptions for citizens of 13 countries comes after more than a two-year break when borders shut down to all but essential travel due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Visa exemption list 

Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belarus.

Under the policy, citizens of the 13countries do not need to apply for visa if the duration of their stay does not exceed 15 days from the date of arrival.

Visa exemption started 15 March and concludes 14 March 2025  when an extension will be considered.

Vietnam closed its borders to foreign tourists in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The VGP announcement said the latest move was possible due to a successful implementation of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign launched on 8 March 2021. Vietnam switched from a zero-tolerance Covid policy to learning to live with the virus to aid economic recovery. Inbound tourism slowly resumed last November but with strict rules such as booking through registered tour operators. That rule no longer applies.

(Source: VGP)

Catch Sarawak’s best travel deals

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUCHING, 18 March 2022: Sia Sitok Sarawak Travel Fair 2022, in conjunction with its Sia Sitok Sarawak 3.0 campaign, opens today, 18 March, packed with travel deals and prizes.

Organised by the Sarawak Tourism Board, the consumer travel show is open 1000 to 2100 18 to 20 March concurrently in Kuching and Miri.

With 30 new tourism products added to the latest campaign, visitors can now choose from over 88 attractive tour packages offered by participating travel agents and travel operators at discounted prices up to 50%. The event is happening concurrently at Boulevard Shopping Mall in Kuching and Bintang Megamall Miri.

Sarawakians and non-Sarawakians residing in Sarawak with work permits can enjoy Kuching Sunset Night Cycling rides which cover 85% of Kuching’s “sights” as listed by the Lonely Planet, explore  Bung Jagoi Heritage, an old Bidayuh village established 175 years ago, or be awed by Borneo’s only red haematic paintings at the Painted Caves at the Niah National Park, believed to be at least a thousand years old.

If you are looking to experience Sarawak’s beautiful countryside at Central Sarawak, you can have a getaway at Central Coastal’s Villages Exploration in Bruit, Daro and Matu, 3D/2N Bakun getaway, or visit Sibu and Mukah via The Melanau Heritage Trail (4D3N) package.

For the Northern Sarawak region, new attractions include a 2D1N freshwater prawns fishing at Kampung Sepupok Niah in Miri, while golfers can tee off at Miri’s Eastwood Valley Golf & Country Club for its exciting packages. Alternatively, hikers can challenge themselves by climbing Mount Murud in Limbang or experiencing Lun Bawang Heritage in Lawas.

STB CEO Sharzede Datu Hj Salleh Askor said the Sarawak Travel Fair 2022 continues the promotion of Sarawak’s tourism products to local Sarawakians and permanent residents.

“In 2022, domestic tourism continues to be one of our focus markets. It is timely since Maswings has increased their flights to cities and towns such as Bintulu, Miri, Limbang, Lawas, Mukah and Sibu”, she said.

“Ultimately, this is a golden opportunity for Sarawakians and permanent residents to uncover and re-discover the vast travel gems in their own backyards,” she added.

Visitors to the travel fair can take part in games such as Wheel of Fortune and Rubic Word Puzzle and pose for photos at the Sarawak-inspired photobooths. Those who would like to know more about the packages offered are welcomed to engage with participating tour operators through designated talk sessions at the booths at Boulevard Shopping Mall on Saturday 19 March 2022 at 1200, 1600 and 1800, respectively.

They can also engage with participating tour operators through designated talk sessions that will take place at the booths at both venues also at the same times throughout the travel fair days,

The Sia Sitok Sarawak (SSS) 3.0 campaign offers packages for tours and activities throughout Sarawak, which includes day trips and multi-day trips. 

Meanwhile, the SSSA 2.0 campaign will offer attractive staycation packages at local hotels and resorts.

The booking period for both deals continues until 30 April 2022, while the travelling period runs until 31 May 2022.

For more information on Sia Sitok Sarawak and Sia Sitok Sarawak Accommodation visit: https://siasitok.sarawaktourism.com/ (Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)

(Your Stories: STB)

Coral Princess returns to Australia

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE 18 March  2022: Princess Cruises is planning a return to service in Australia with Coral Princess starting in June 2022 following indications authorities are becoming more comfortable with a return to service in the region.

Princess Cruises also announced new deployment plans for the United States with a return to homeport cruising in Galveston, Texas, starting in December 2022 and San Diego starting in September 2022.

A Return to Cruising in Australia Planned – Coral Princess

In anticipation that Australian Federal and State Governments will soon welcome the return of cruising, we are announcing plans for Coral Princess’s return to service in June 2022, with roundtrip Brisbane itineraries ranging from three- to 12-days in length and calling to destinations in Queensland and New South Wales. In August, Coral Princess will position to Sydney and depart on a new 12-day voyage calling to Queensland and the Conflict Islands in Papua New Guinea before resuming the previously announced Australia & New Zealand program for the 2022/2023 season. Additionally, Majestic Princess will sail roundtrip from Sydney on a new Queensland voyage in February 2023 at the end of her already published season. The Australia cruises will go on sale on 23 March  2022.

Cruises from San Diego – Diamond Princess

From September 2022 through February 2023, cruising in California expands with a return to San Diego. Diamond Princess will be joining the fleet of west coast-based ships with a series of brand-new cruise itineraries ranging from five to 16 days and calling at ports along the Mexican Riviera, California Coast, and the Hawaiian Islands. In addition, the ship will sail a unique 20-day cruise to Central America, roundtrip from San Diego, in November 2022. The on-sale date for these cruises is 24 March  2022.

New San Francisco Hometown Ship – Royal Princess

Royal Princess moves to San Francisco for the West Coast 2022/2023 season, with roundtrip cruises to Hawaii, Mexico, and the California Coast. Arriving in September 2022, after completing the Alaska season, Royal Princess will initially sail from San Francisco along with Ruby Princess. In December 2022, Ruby Princess relocates to Galveston and Royal Princess becomes the official hometown ship of San Francisco for the remainder of the 2022/2023 season. These cruises go on sale on 7 April 2022.

Princess Returns to Galveston – Ruby Princess

After six years, Princess returns to homeport cruising from Texas. Ruby Princess will sail from December 2022 to April 2023 on a series of cruises from Galveston ranging from five to 11 days, calling mainly to destinations in the Western Caribbean. The ship will also sail through the Panama Canal on two 16-day ocean-to-ocean transits between Galveston and San Francisco. Cruises will be on sale on 7 April 2022.

As a result of these changes, previously published itineraries through April 2023 on Diamond Princess and Royal Princess to Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific, as well as two Ruby Princess Panama Canal sailings in February 2023 and select voyages on Majestic Princess in Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific from February 2023 to May 2023 will be cancelled. Guests affected by these cancellations will be notified.

Princess Cruises delivers the ultimate in effortless, personalized cruising featuring the world-class dining and entertainment the cruise line is renowned for, all elevated with the Princess MedallionClass Experience. On all ships in the Princess fleet, it begins with the Medallion®, a quarter-sized, wearable 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 WiFi at sea, as well as stay connected with friends and family back home, work remotely anywhere on the ship, quickly post content and stream favourite movies and shows.

Visit: www.princess.com

(Your Stories: Princess Cruises)

OTM Mumbai closes on a high note

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TTR WEEKLY
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MUMBAI, 18 March 2022: OTM Mumbai India’s first major international travel trade show to promote tourism post-Covid pandemic concluded 16 March, having attracted over 600 travel exhibitors from 20 countries.

The three-day event hosted at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai showcased both domestic and outbound travel content at a time when the country is reopening for international flights and easing Covid-19 health rules.

Photo credit: OTM Facebook. Opening ceremony at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, 14 March.

Claiming India is emerging from the shadow of the Covid pandemic, show organisers emphasised India would soon be back on track to deliver 29 million outbound trips by 2025.

“The beginning of the end of the pandemic seems to be already visible, and international travel is likely to rebound in the latter part of 2022, if not before,” the organisers claimed on the closing day of the show.

On the sidelines of the exhibition hall, networking and sales pitches tourism leaders, including India’s tourism minister, addressed conference sessions 14 and 15 March under the theme, ‘Reconnect, Revive and Rejuvenate the Global Travel & Tourism Economy’.

OTM convenes biannually. The next edition is scheduled for 14 to 16 September at JIO World Convention Centre, Mumbai.

Thai Vietjet inaugurates Phnom Penh flight

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 18 March  2022: Thai VietJet, a low-cost airline based at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, successfully commenced a new international service between Bangkok and Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

Flight VZ720 from Bangkok was warmly welcomed by HE Gen Mao Havanall, Minister in Charge of State Secretariat of Civil Aviation; HE Panyarak Poolthup, Thailand’s Ambassador to Cambodia; Alain Brun, Chief Executive Officer of Cambodia Airports and Sao Wathana, Director of Phnom Penh International Airport.

Thai VietJet chief executive officer Woranate Laprabang said: “After a long market’s service disruption, Thai VietJet is delighted to spread our wings with the international flight network expansion once more. By connecting the two Southeast Asian economic, cultural hubs, the successful launch of Thai VietJet’s new Phnom Penh – Bangkok service is yet another milestone in the airline’s regional connectivity efforts.”

The airline will operate three flights weekly every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with a flight time of one hour and 10 minutes. Services will increase subject to market demand.

Flight Number Origin Destination Departure Arrival
VZ720 Bangkok Phnom Penh 08:30 09:40
VZ721 Phnom Penh Bangkok 10:30 11:45

In addition, Thai Vietjet has resumed scheduled service between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), offering up to five flights weekly. There are plans to expand the international flight network to more destinations in the Asia-pacific region, such as Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan.

Russians fly around sanctions

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 18 May 2022: As the traditional routes and hubs for air travel from Russia close due to sanctions, alternatives are emerging, according to the latest data from ForwardKeys.

Responding to enquiries about the changing profile of travel from Russia in the light of sanctions, ForwardKeys VP insights Olivier Ponti commented: “With many routes to and from Russia effectively closed, owing to the imposition of sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, we are seeing air travel via Serbia, Turkey and the UAE surge by over 200% on pre-pandemic levels.

“Looking at tickets issued between 28 February (when sanctions were put in place) and 8 March (the latest available data), the top hubs for people travelling from Russia to Europe were via Turkey, Serbia and UAE.”

Transit hubs for Russian travellers

Via Turkey: The final destination countries in Europe were Germany, Italy, the UK, Spain and Greece.

Via Serbia: The final destinations were Montenegro, Cyprus, France, Switzerland and Italy

Via UAE: Final destinations were Cyprus, Germany, the UK, Italy and France.

Turkey and the UAE also served as hubs to connect Russia with the USA and some Asian destinations.

Ponti noted: “Looking at scheduled flight capacity before the imposition of sanctions (during the week 21 February) compared to the latest available data (during the week 7 March), there has been a 50% increase from Russia to Serbia a 12% increase to Turkey and a 5% increase to the UAE.”

(Source: ForwardKeys)

UNWTO’s Middle East office sets its goals

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TTR WEEKLY
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MADRID, 17 March 2022: UNWTO and Saudi Arabia have agreed on steps they will jointly take to turn tourism into a driver of growth, opportunity and development across the Middle East.

Less than a year after the official opening of the UNWTO regional office for the Middle East based in Riyadh, key projects have been identified, signalling closer cooperation between UNWTO and Saudi Arabia.

Meeting in Madrid earlier this week, UNWTO secretary-general Pololikashvili and Saudi Minister for Tourism Ahmed Aqeel AlKhateeb agreed to further advance their shared vision and committed to working closely together to fulfil the sector’s potential across the region.

The regional office will introduce UNWTO Global Tourism and Rural Development Programme’s Best Tourism Villages initiative, now in its second year.

In addition, the office will focus on knowledge creation for policy and business practices, training and skills development and technical assistance on the ground, with plans also in place to establish a first Tourism and Rural Development Observatory in Riyadh.

UNWTO will support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to embrace digitalisation with partnerships with the largest technology companies such as Amadeus, Mastercard, Cisco, Telefónica, amongst others already established. The UNWTO Digital Futures Programme aims to provide training on connectivity, e-commerce, big data and analytics, and online payments and security to as many as 20,000 SMEs in 22 countries, including 5,000 in the first year.

Education

A new UNWTO Knowledge Lab will be launched from Riyadh, while the first Observatory on Quality of Tourism Education and Jobs will also be established. Ten new online courses will be made available in Arabic through the UNWTO Tourism Online Academy, and UNWTO will also work with higher education providers from the region through the new Tourism Faculty Development Programme.

Green investments for green transitions

There are plans in place to make the regional office for the Middle East a hub for promoting green investments in the tourism sector, including through projects developed in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and other partners such as the Saudi Tourism Development Fund (TDF) – responding to the UNWTO climate action framework, outlined in the Glasgow Declaration, launched at COP26.

Malaysian states cross-promote tourism

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TTR WEEKLY
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KOTA KINABALU, 17 March 2022: Sabah and Kedah plan to co-develop new potential products to help both states’ tourism industries to grow.

Tourism, Culture, and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said such engagement is necessary to understand the travel motivations and behaviour of tourists to both states.

“We want to attract as many domestic visitors as possible to Sabah; hence we need to know what Kedah people like so we can tailor a package to their needs, and vice versa.

“Sabah and Kedah are popular among international tourists. So, it makes sense to collaborate with the Kedah Tourism and other relevant parties to find ways of attracting more foreign tourists, especially from Langkawi, to Sabah,” he said.

Joniston, who chairs the Sabah Tourism Board (STB), stated that the board is also collaborating with other states to promote each other’s destinations, adding they are open to sharing expertise and ideas to reinvigorate the industry.

Last Friday, STB represented by chief marketing officer Tay Shu Lan hosted a dinner for a delegation from the Kedah State Economic Planning Division and Kedah Tourism.

The delegation of 15 officers met with the STB team led by chief financial officer Julinus Jeffery Jimit earlier for a discussion and idea exchange.

Kedah State Economic Planning Division deputy director (sectoral) Faisal Rizal Mohammad said the objective of their visit was to gain an in-depth understanding of STB strategic management.

“In the discussion, we talked about doing engagement with Sabah Tourism to develop new products for both states and doing crossover product promotion.

“For instance, Kedah is well-known for its rice cultivation, while Sabah is famous for its beautiful seas. This type of product interchange is essential for attracting each other’s visitors.

“In addition, we are developing community-based tourism (CoBT) on the Kedah islands of Sonsong, Telur, and Bidan. These three islands feature beautiful corals.

“It is the goal of the Kedah government to assist the community in managing the islands so they can generate sustainable income through the CoBT concept,” he said.

Faisal added they sought to gain knowledge from STB’s achievement in building CoBT and boosting tourism on protected islands.

Visit: www.sabahtourism.com

(Your Stories: STB)

Bali leads the recovery phase

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TTR WEEKLY
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JAKARTA, 17 March 2022: Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said on Tuesday he intends to bolster tourism recovery in Bali by promoting “a new economic approach post-pandemic.”

Quoted by Antara news service, the minister said a “new economic approach would involve the advancement of digital technology and focus on preventive health as well as cleanliness and sustainability aspects.”

Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy. Photo: Instagram/@sandiuno

He made the comments during a webinar hosted by the Indonesia Marketing Association (IMA) in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Since 7 March, the government has been conducting a zero-quarantine trial for foreign tourists arriving in Bali Island, and the minister claimed the province had seen no Covid-19 upsurge since the trial started.

Based on the Bali experience, he confidently talked of implementing the same policy nationwide.

As part of the Bali experiment aimed at kick-starting tourism recovery, the island’s authorities reinstated the visa-on-arrival scheme available for foreign tourists from 23 countries.

The minister confirmed that the scheme would be extended to tourists from more countries, such as China and India, although the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in China will keep the outbound travel gateway shut for some time to come. Travel from India is more likely since the country is opening for international flights and easing Covid-19 rules.

“To date, tourists have been waiting for the visa-on-arrival scheme reinstatement that will ease their immigration process while arriving in Bali. This is one issue that we need to promptly address,” Uno noted.

Antara reported that ministry data indicated around 5,0000  overseas travellers arriving in Bali from 3 February to 12 March 12 of which 76% were foreigners.

(Source: Antara)

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