SINGAPORE, 22 December 2023: Trip.com, a leading online travel agency, presented its Outstanding Hotel Chain Partner” award to ONYX Hospitality Group, a regional hotel management company headquartered in Thailand.
The award recognises leading partners, both regionally and globally, that demonstrate outstanding results in terms of business growth, commercial activities, connectivity, and the successful execution of quality projects alongside Trip.com. This year, Trip.com conferred the award on seven hotel chains worldwide.
BANGKOK, 22 December 2023: As the year draws to a close, digital travel platform Agoda uses AI technology to surprise us with the ultimate top 10 list of global destinations for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration.
We would all guess the iconic fireworks over Sydney Harbour, the legendary Times Square ball drop, revelling the night away in Rio de Janeiro, and the traditions of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay would make the AI headlines. But there is still a surprise — where is Thailand on the list?
This is an AI-generated image created on Midjourney AI.
Agoda associate vice president Enric Casals is an AI believer: “Exploring the boundaries of innovation and the latest technology is the heart of what we do at Agoda, so why not have a little fun with this end-of-year story?
“As recommended by some of the leading AI software of the moment, this list attempts to ignite a sense of wonder amongst aspiring travellers and perhaps even inspire the more spontaneous to book a last-minute getaway on Agoda. Whether it’s a short getaway within Asia or a longer trip to the other side of the world, Agoda provides the best deals.”
Ten Great New Year’s Eve Destinations
Singapore: Marvel at the dazzling fireworks display in Marina Bay and join the vibrant street parties and carnivals.
Bali, Indonesia: Celebrate on the beach with festive fireworks and traditional Balinese performances.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Revel in the festive atmosphere with fireworks over the Saigon River and vibrant nightlife in District 1.
Tokyo, Japan: Embrace the Japanese tradition of watching the year’s first sunrise with cultural celebrations and modern countdown parties.
Sydney, Australia: Experience the world-renowned fireworks display over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House with family-friendly events and parties.
New York City, USA: Join the masses in Times Square for the iconic ball drop, or choose from countless parties and concerts across the city.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of Copacabana Beach with samba rhythms and a spectacular fireworks show.
London, England: Watch the night sky light up with fireworks along the River Thames, with various boat parties and events to choose from.
Edinburgh, Scotland: Take part in the historic Hogmanay celebrations, complete with processions, concerts, and the unique Loony Dook tradition (a fancy dress New Year’s Day swim in the chilly Firth of Forth).
Reykjavik, Iceland: Join the locals for community bonfires and a fireworks display set against a snowy landscape, with the chance to see the Northern Lights. Don’t worry. AI missed the volcanic eruptions that are making the headlines this week.
Thailand’s famous New Year destinations missed the AI selection, and we thought Agoda was the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s strategic partner.
Fancy Singapore, Bali, Indonesia, Ho Chi Minh City, and Vietnam pipping Thailand’s destinations to a place on Agoda New Year’s Eve top 10 list.
SINGAPORE, 22 December 2023: Emirates invites customers to experience a touch of Christmas for the whole month of December, with traditional treats and festive fare available across international lounges and a host of delights served inflight, ensuring the 1 million Emirates customers travelling this December fly better throughout the festive season.
Festive feasts across Emirates Lounges
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Emirates Lounges in Dubai, where passengers jetting off to greet family and friends for the holiday season can pause to indulge in some festive fare before boarding. First and Business Class lounges will be serving roasted turkey breast doused in jus and cranberry sauce with glazed chestnuts, brussel sprouts and delicious new potatoes. First Class lounges will have an array of winter desserts – traditional stollen, scrumptious mince pies dashed with vanilla sauce, red currant cheesecake, and melt-in-the-mouth cinnamon profiteroles. In Business Class lounges, Christmas dinner will also be served, alongside tempting desserts of sour cherry confit, Christmas fruit cake, ginger-spiced pear and chocolate praline cake, spiced citrus mandarin confit cake, and a tart and refreshing cranberry sorbet. Visitors to the lounges can warm up with some apple pie and gingerbread ice cream or get cosy with gingerbread lattes or a toffee nut mocha. Customers can also relax with Dilmah’s Christmas iced tea, cocktails and mocktails, or Emirates own mixology with Holly Jolly Christmas, Red Nosed Rudolph and Jack Frost, alongside festive flavoured waters from Evian and Perrier.
Tis the season to be jolly onboard Emirates
Emirates will serve festive meals and snacks in all cabins on select routes for the entire month of December. First, Business and Premium Economy Class customers can indulge in classic Christmas dishes, from lemon and herb marinated king prawns in marie rose sauce, to cured salmon gravadlax with ginger, candied orange and Sevruga caviar. A full festive main course with all the trimmings will be available in all four classes– roasted turkey with classic jus, glazed chestnuts, braised red cabbage, roasted pumpkin, steamed brussel sprouts and creamy potato gratin. Desserts include a variety of delectable dishes – Christmas pudding with a generous dollop of crème anglaise, white chocolate cake with raspberry curd, or a spiced cranberry cake in the shape of Santa’s belt. Economy Class passengers will also have a moreish Christmas meal featuring roasted turkey or chicken roulade with chestnut stuffing, roasted potatoes with parsley, a medley of seasonal vegetables, followed by a sumptuous fruit cake and orange sauce.
For December, customers in First and Business Class will be offered the Emirates spiced strawberry welcome drink, and First Class customers will also get a miniature Santa Claus creatively crafted from strawberries and white chocolate cream. From 17-26 December, customers in all classes will be offered a festive hot chocolate heaped with melting marshmallows and First Class customers can opt for aromatic mulled wine. From 24-26 December, Emirates will be offering mini gifts of pistachio and raspberry profiteroles, dark chocolate truffles and gingerbread cookies across the various cabin classes.
In the A380 onboard lounge, customers departing Dubai can relax with some fragrantly spiced mulled wine or hot chocolate and munch on some mince pies, stollen, panettone, Christmas pastries, as well as traditional mandarins and chestnuts, biscotti and candy canes. This year, customers visiting the onboard lounge can also grab a Christmas sandwich stuffed with turkey, roast beef, cheddar cheese, cranberry sauce and chilli tomato relish.
Happy Orthodox Christmas from Emirates
From 20 December to 8 January, Emirates will also celebrate Orthodox Christmas on flights from Russia, Egypt and Ethiopia to Dubai and back. Customers in First Class will be treated to salmon gravadlax with ginger and candied orange or King prawn cocktail, followed by roasted duck with orange thyme jus, fondant potatoes and steamed broccolini, and a dessert of classic Christmas pudding with crème anglaise or traditional bread and butter pudding. Business Class customers will also enjoy a roasted duck main course, with starters of Olivier salad, and desserts of white chocolate and cranberry cake or spiced cranberry cheesecake. Economy Class customers will enjoy starters of Russian potato salad followed by a turkey roulade or beef stroganoff, finished with a dessert of moist fruit cake soaked in zesty orange sauce. On 1 January, customers will also be offered creamy hot chocolate or mulled wine, along with some Emirates festive treats.
The Season of Giving
Grab some last-minute gifts as EmiratesRED launches a 4-day sale from 15-18 December, offering customers 15% off when they spend a minimum of USD 150. New luxury products launched on EmiratesRED include Creed Carmina, Loewe Esencia, the Seiko Sport Automatic Watch and the Luminox Leatherback Watch, iconic La Mer The Moisturizing Cream and Dr Levy – Contour Pro Sculpting Set, or the new Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 Earbuds. The EmiratesRED pre-order service is available on most flights. It allows customers to shop from 21 days up to 40 hours before their flight, provide flight details during checkout, and then receive the order delivered by cabin crew directly to their seat while in the air.
A range of Christmas keepsakes are for sale at the Emirates Official Store, where the 2023 Christmas collection features Emirates branded bags, mugs, Camel Milk soaps with a mulberry red fruit scent, Emirates Christmas jumpers and matching family pyjamas, Christmas décor and greeting cards. Passengers can also use Skywards Miles to make purchases at the online store.
Customers can also celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and give back with Emirates Airline Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged children. Emirates customers can donate in any currency on any flight by using the envelope in the seat pocket or via credit card, cheque, or bank transfer, inflight or from home. The foundation also accepts Skywards Miles, with 95% of donations directly assisting children in need.
HONG KONG, 22 December 2023: Cathay Pacific released its traffic figures for November 2023 earlier this week, confirming the airline carried 1,633,145 passengers in November 2023, an increase of 210% compared with November 2022.
The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 148.2% year-on-year. Passenger load factor increased by 2.1 percentage points to 80.5%, while available seat kilometres (ASKs) increased by 141.9% year-on-year. In the first 11 months of 2023, the number of passengers carried increased by 709.2% against a 393.2% increase in ASKs and a 499.7% increase in RPKs, compared to the same period for 2022
Travel
Cathay Pacific’s chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said: “November is typically a slower month for our travel business. Our routes to and from the US saw reduced demand before Thanksgiving week, with less business and leisure travel around the holiday period. There were no public holidays in November, so leisure travel from Hong Kong across the network was also generally softer.
“Nevertheless, there were some bright spots within the network, including our India routes, which saw strong Diwali traffic. Our Japan routes also saw good leisure demand for the autumn leaves.”
Outlook
“We are very excited to have welcomed several recent developments that further enhance the intermodal travel experience from the Greater Bay Area. The first was opening our first-ever Cathay Pacific ferry lounge at the Shekou Cruise Home Port in Shenzhen in November, enabling customers travelling via ferry codeshare to enjoy a premium lounge experience before their journey. The second was the launch of the ‘Fly-Via-Zhuhai-HK’ passenger service by the Airport Authority Hong Kong in December, which enables seamless connection via Hong Kong International Airport using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge without the need for border control clearance in Hong Kong.
“Meanwhile, this December will mark the first Christmas holiday period since Hong Kong’s borders fully reopened, and we are very pleased to see that travel demand remains strong.
“Our seasonal Christchurch service returned this month – it was our first seasonal restart since the pandemic, and the response from our customers has been encouraging. We are also delighted to return our first-class service on our popular New York (JFK) flights CX830/CX831 starting from 31 March 2024.”
ABU DHABI, UAE, 22 December 2023: Experience Abu Dhabi, the destination brand of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, has unveiled Find Your Pace, a brand new global campaign.
In a press statement released Wednesday, the department said:
“Find Your Pace, Experience Abu Dhabi ignites curiosity and encourages visitors to create their own unique journey, from the known to the unknown, through ancient heritage sites and iconic modern treasures.”
Photo credit: Experience Abu Dhabi.
Find Your Pace follows four characters as they explore Abu Dhabi for the first time, taking journeys that inspire, excite, and restore. Destination highlights include the tranquil Al Ain Oasis, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, inspiring Qasr Al Watan, and renowned Louvre Abu Dhabi, as well as the vast Green Mubazzarah and the Al Wathba Fossil Dunes, estimated to be over four million years old.
SINGAPORE, 22 December 2023: Jetstar Asia reveals a list of notable statistics and achievements that have shaped the airline’s year as low-fares air travel continues to drive demand across the region.
2023 sees travellers returning to the skies as travel demand surges and Jetstar Asia continues to ramp up its operations, increasing its fleet, welcoming new team members on board, and expanding its network to meet the evolving demands of its customers.
Leisure travel was a key driver in demand as travellers prioritise experiences. Jetstar Asia responded by adding more holiday destinations. Strong demand saw the return of popular destinations in Japan and China and prompted an increase in weekly flights to popular hubs like Bangkok, Bali, and Phuket.
With the introduction of Okinawa and Wuxi, Jetstar Asia became the only airline to operate these direct routes while also relaunching services to Haikou and Osaka via Manila.
This year’s most popular routes were from Singapore to key metropolitan cities Manila and Bangkok, as business travel ramped up and family and friends took the opportunity to reconnect.
With Jetstar Asia’s website attracting over 6.7 million visits during the year, a frequency of one visit every 2.65 seconds, the airline expresses confidence that travel is back.
SINGAPORE, 22 December 2023: Accor has signed a landmark deal with Singapore-based Worldwide Hotels Group to bring the world’s largest Mercure hotel – with 989 keys – to Singapore.
Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre will open in Q1 2024.
Photo credit: Accor. Mercure Icon Hotel.
The latest deal strengthens the partnership between Accor and Worldwide Hotels Group, having recently signed an agreement for Novotel Singapore on Kitchener.
Located on 8 Club Street, Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre is positioned between the historic Chinatown and the central business district, close to restaurants and hawker centres and directly connected to two stations, Chinatown and Telok Ayer, on two main transit lines.
BANGKOK, 22 December 2023: The upcoming Thailand Tourism Forum 2024 will be hosted in Bangkok at the InterContinental Bangkok, 1500 on Monday, 15 January 2024.
Adopting the overall theme ‘Time for Growth’, the packed speakers’ lineup begins with Aditip Panupong from Google, presenting insights on how AI is changing the country’s tourism sector.
Bill Barnett, founder of Thailand Tourism Forum
Leading stakeholders and speakers from across the industry, including Patrick Both, area general manager, Luxury & Lifestyle Thailand, IHG Hotels & Resorts, the event will be
Speaking about TTF 2024, C9 Hotelworks Managing Director Bill Barnett said: “TTF has a bold format that speaks to Thailand’s hotel owners, operators, tourism players and across the industry. It’s a vital resource to create an impactful dialogue for the industry and should be of interest to a broad spectrum of attendees. Tourism remains the face of brand Thailand, but things are changing, and this event will put these into greater focus for understanding and hopefully creating change.”
TTF 2024’s two-hour programme features 11 segments, which include how Thailand has become Asia’s leader in lifestyle hotels and how hotel owners can evaluate the potential to reposition and brand properties in the post-pandemic tourism marketplace.
Other key segments include why hotel operators need to reinvent their organisations, data and metrics-led insights into Thailand’s hotel performance and transaction market, emerging glamping and outdoor accommodation, and a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities of the China, Russian and Indian inbound markets.
Now in its 13th year, this annual event organised by hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks has continued to grow with fast-paced candid talks, a focus on industry data and a dynamic evolving format covering the latest trends.
MANILA, 22 December 2023: The Philippines targets 7.7 million foreign visitors next year after exceeding its 2023 arrivals goal, the Department of Tourism (DOT) confirmed last week.
Philippines News Agency quoted the tourism chief Christina Frasco saying: “I understand that this is not yet our pre-pandemic numbers of 2019 at over 8.2 million international arrivals, but what I can assure you is that we will push as hard as we can and fully activate government agencies to reach this target.” Tourism chief Christina Frasco said during a reception in Makati City.
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco.
During the Makati reception, Frasco noted the country has welcomed 5,069,752 international visitors since January 2023.
“Philippine tourism showed a “remarkable resilience” this year despite being one of the last in Southeast Asia to open up to tourism after the pandemic.”
A car transfer from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok to the hotel will take just two hours.
Upon completion, the hotel will feature 200 rooms with panoramic sea views of the Gulf of Thailand and its offshore islands.
Once open, guests will have convenient access to shopping malls, water parks, the entertainment district in Pattaya and 18-hole golf courses. There are flights from U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport, about 40 km south of Jomtien Bay, to connect with flights to other resort destinations in Thailand.
Best Western Jomtien Beach Pattaya joins BWH’s expanding portfolio of properties in Thailand, comprising 20 operating hotels and resorts. It will also complement the group’s two existing properties in the Pattaya area: Best Western Plus Nexen, Pattaya, and Sanctuary Resort Pattaya, BW Signature Collection.
BWH is a leading global hospitality network comprising WorldHotels, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, and SureStay Hotels.
