JacTravel CEO calls it a day

LONDON, 9 August 2017: JacTravel’s CEO, Terry Williamson, has announced that he will be leaving JacTravel following the completion of the sale of the company to Webjet.

The sale is scheduled to be completed officially at the end of this month.

Webjet Limited announce, 2 August, that it had entered into an agreement to acquire JacTravel. Read more

TUI sells Hapag Lloyd

FRANKFURT, 17 July 2017: German tourism giant TUI said last week it has sold its remaining stake in the shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd, the final stage of a restructuring towards mass-market tourism.

The Hanover-based tour operator raised around 250 million euros (USD284.6 million) after selling 8.5 million shares. It followed TUI’s sale of around six million shares since last March.

The sale means “we have successfully completed selling off all the companies and holdings unrelated to the core activity of the group,” TUI finance director Horst Baier said in a statement. Read more

Ctrip wins investor honours

SHANGHAI, 17 July 2017: Ctrip.com International has been recognised as a “Most Honoured Company” in the Technology, Media, & Telecommunications: internet category by Institutional Investor in its 2017 All-Asia Executive Team Rankings.

The tour operators, chief executive officer, Jane Jie Sun, was named one of the “Best CEOs”; chief financial officer, Cindy Wang, was named one of the “Best CFOs”; and Ctrip Investor Relations was named one of the “Best Investor Relations Programmes”.

Institutional Investor is a leading international business-to-business publisher, focused primarily on international finance. Read more

Yap honoured by French tourism agency

SINGAPORE, 12 July 2017: The Travel Corporation’s Asia president, Robin Yap, received the prestigious Gold Medal for Tourism (“Médaille d’or du Tourisme”) from Atout France, the France tourism development agency, last week.

His Excellency Marc ABENSOUR, Ambassador of France to Singapore presented the award at his residence.

Operating in 60 countries, Travel Corporation (TTC) has 25 brands, including Insight Vacations, Trafalgar Tours, Contiki Holidays, Uniworld Cruises, Thompson Gateway Africa, Red Carnation Hotels. Read more

Adventure on the River Kwai

BANGKOK, 27 June 2017: Khiri Travel Thailand has launched a new two-day/one-night Sai Yok National Park Adventure Package.

The national park is a three-hour drive west of Bangkok.

Starting in Kachanaburi town, the new trip combines hiking, kayaking, forest ecology insights and an overnight in a comfortable floating raft house on the River Kwai. Read more

Student’s death stalls tours

BEIJING, 21 June 2017: The death of US student, Otto Warmbier, following his incarceration in North Korea has shaken tour operators catering to thrill seekers, with several reconsidering whether to take Americans to the reclusive state.

Warmbier, 22, died Monday after being medically evacuated to the United States, last week, suffering from severe brain damage, with US President Donald Trump blaming Pyongyang’s “brutal regime” for his plight.

Young Pioneer Tours, the China-based travel agency that took Warmbier to North Korea, said in a Facebook post that it would no longer allow US citizens on its trips. Read more

ASIA DMC bags six awards

SHANGHAI, 8 June 2017: ASIA DMC has been named winner at the World Travel Awards in an impressive six categories.

The company was awarded Asia’s Leading Destination Management Company 2017 and also received accolades for the leading DMC in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

ASIA DMC founder Tran Thanh Nam attended the gala ceremony held at Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai on the 4 June to collect the awards, accompanied by group managing director Linh Le and Indochina Managing Director Nguyen Thi Tuyet. Read more

Awards for being sustainable

SINGAPORE, 8 June 2017: Tourism operators in Southeast Asia who claim they are sustainable can prove it by entering the new ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Awards (ASTA), launched under the ASEAN’s Tourism Strategic Plan 2016 to 2025.

Twenty sustainable tourism winners – two from each ASEAN member state – will receive a package of benefits that will raise their business profile.

Winners will be highlighted on their national tourist office website and stand to gain exposure through NTO press conferences at trade shows such as ATF, TRAVEX, ITB and WTM. Read more

Kuoni offloads travel to JTB

BANGKOK, 1 June 2017: Once a mega tour operator, what remains of Kuoni Global Travel Services’ tour operations will be bought out JTB Corporation, just weeks after Thomas Cook India acquired the Swiss group’s network of destination management companies.

In its media release, Wednesday, Kuoni Global Travel Services confirmed it had been acquired by Japan’s JTB Corporation.

“The partnership formed between Kuoni Global Travel Services and JTB Corporation will open prospects to become a global No 1 Destination Management Company,” the statement read. Read more

ASIA DMC targets Pacific markets

HANOI, 24 May 2017: ASIA DMC has identified Pacific Rim countries Australia and New Zealand as markets ripe for development by hiring  travel industry specialists Lindy Andrews to head its new office in Sydney and Mark Snoxell to head New Zealand sales.

Andrews is charged with positioning ASIA DMC in Australia as a supplier of high-end leisure, tailor-made journeys and corporate travel experiences into Southeast Asia.

Snoxell in the position of director of sales and marketing New Zealand will focus on key travel touch points related to nature, sustainability and discovery of pristine destinations. New direct Air New Zealand flights from Auckland to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are providing the driver to push the market forward faster still. Read more

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