SINGAPORE, 28 August 2023: A Reuters report on Saturday confirmed Bhutan will slash its daily USD200 sustainable development fee in half to USD100 starting 1 September.
The government announced the change in response to requests from hotels and travel companies that said hiking the fee from USD65 to USD200 a year ago had almost crippled business.
Photo credit: Department of Tourism Bhutan
Under the new rule, children 5 to 11 years old will be charged USD50 daily.
Bhutan’s “Sustainable Development Fee” was supposed to offset the carbon generated by visitors, but it also helped cap visitor arrivals. However, travel industry sources raising the fee last September to USD200 was a step too far for a fragile travel industry fight to recover from the three-year Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Reuters, the USD100 per night comes into effect in September and should remain in place for four years, according to a government statement last Friday.
Bhutan opened to tourists in 1974 when it received 300 visitors. The number soared to 315,600 in 2019, up 15.1% from a year earlier, official data showed.
Bhutan’s director general of the Department of Tourism, Dorji Dhradhul told Reuters that halving the fee would boost arrivals in the September-December peak tourist period.
Dhradhul noted: “More than 56,000 tourists have visited Bhutan since January, but about 42,000 were Indian nationals, who only have to pay a fee of 1,200 Indian rupees (YSD14.5) daily.”
BANGKOK, 28 August 2023: Airports in the Asia Pacific are grappling with a surge in passengers in the post-Covid era while striving to enhance operational efficiency and passenger processing technology to meet the demand for a seamless travel experience in the next decade.
SITA president Asia Pacific Sumesh Patel highlighted the challenges during an interview with TTRW last week, noting the aviation industry’s recovery was outpacing earlier predictions that claimed full pre-pandemic levels would not return until 2024 or 2025. As of last month, global passenger numbers have already reached an impressive 92% of pre-Covid levels, thanks to the rapid resurgence of air travel.
Passenger traffic rebounds
“Asia Pacific, particularly in China and India, the rebound has been most striking, with domestic passenger numbers surpassing those of 2019. Although the recovery has been slower compared to Europe and the Americas because the governments were not fully open, he believes that Asia Pacific is going to lead the way forward for years ahead, not only in terms of passenger growth but also in terms of the number of aircraft and the number of new airports being built,” said Sumesh.
According to the SITA survey, on average, passengers expect to take 4.7 flights this year compared to 4.2 flights in 2019, while those planning more than 10 flights in 2023 have increased from 6% of passengers in 2019 to 10% this year.
Airports harness the latest technology
With rising air travel in Asia Pacific, Sumesh sees the business performance at major hubs remaining robust. Although smaller hubs may emerge, the gateway hubs will continue to be vital in delivering connectivity and services. Meanwhile, with current major hubs facing challenges from capacity constraints, there is a growing effort to harness technology to enhance passenger processing and operational efficiency. Technologies that enhance the passenger experience include biometrics and automation, self-service, and digital travel enhancements. This encompasses cloud computing, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, and data analytics for operations.
“We observed that 96% of the airlines and 93% of airports expect their IT spending to stay the same or increase in 2023 compared to the previous year.
“Globally, we see the same trend; investments are rising. However, the challenge in the Asia Pacific will be much larger as it will involve substantial expansion. Asia is set to lead global growth in passenger numbers, aircraft acquisitions, and new airport builds.
“Looking ahead, we anticipate that Asia will be more open and eager to embrace new technology. This is because they face a positive challenge: rapid growth. The growth is expected to be so fast that they will have no choice but to deploy more technology to manage it effectively.”
Over the next decade, Sumesh highlighted critical trends poised to reshape the travel industry, compelling airports and airlines to adapt to evolving demands.
Digital travel experience
“Looking ahead, there’s a notable shift, especially among Gen Z and millennial travellers. They prefer a highly digital travel experience, doing tasks like biometric registration before arriving at the airport, skipping documents, and giving them more control.
“In contrast, senior travellers now travel 10% more than before Covid and have different needs. With their growing numbers and increased spending, we need solutions tailored for them, including better wheelchair services, improved airport signage, and easier access to amenities like restaurants and shops.”
Urban Air Mobility
Sumesh also sees the need for seamless multimodal travel, where unified processing and verification points create a fluid end-to-end journey across land, sea, and air. The challenge is to offer comprehensive intermodal door-to-door services, making connected travel a reality by combining air and rail, air and cruise or even air and hotels. He also anticipates Urban Air Mobility (UAM) becoming more widely available, with major airports easing road transport congestion to and from the airport and enabling a faster alternative for passengers.
In the long term, achieving a net zero target is another area where technology will play a role. SITA is focusing on working with airlines and airports to meet their goal by 2025. Technologies like AI can empower them with the details and data needed to make more sustainable choices and reduce their carbon footprint.
SITA recently held the Asia Pacific Air Transport IT Summit on 22-23 August in Bangkok, joined by 160 senior leaders within the aviation industry.
“We have a longstanding 75-year partnership with airlines and airports. This event isn’t just about showcasing SITA’s technology and community collaboration. We focus on learning from each other, understanding future challenges, and sharing our technology investments and plans with our stakeholders,” Sumesh concluded.
DUBAI, UAE, 28 August 2023: Emirates is launching a special collection of 100 films to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studios, marking a history signposted by some of the world’s most beloved films. The capsule collection of classic films and documentaries will be available on the award-winning inflight entertainment system – ice, on Emirates flights from 1 September 2023.
Emirates is the first airline to bring Warner Bros centennial celebration to the skies with this unique collection of entertainment on ice. Alongside 6,500 channels of on-demand entertainment, 45 Academy Award® winning films, over 2,000 movies, 650 TV shows, and 4,000 hours of music, podcasts, and audiobooks across 40 languages, the newly launched Warner Bros. 100 films collection will feature milestone movies from the earliest classics like Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz, right through to recent blockbusters such as Dune and Elvis.
The collection will also include four Max Original documentary specials chronicling the history of the movie studio. Exploring the impact of Warner Bros. on art, commerce and culture, 100 YEARS OF WARNER BROS tells the unprecedented story of the fabled entertainment studio on its 100th anniversary. Featuring insights and first-person stories from directors, actors, executives, journalists and historians, the four specials trace Warner Bros.’ underdog origins – from its founding in the early 1920s by four brothers from an immigrant family through decades of creative risks and impactful storytelling, to the historic mergers of the 2000s that transformed the company into a global entertainment powerhouse. With narration by Morgan Freeman and clips from iconic films and hit TV series, 100 YEARS OF WARNER BROS. offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look into the indelible stories that have spoken to audiences around the world for generations. The documentaries feature interviews with over 60 legendary filmmakers, actors and executives, including Martin Scorsese, Oprah Winfrey, Clint Eastwood, Tim Burton, George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres, Daniel Radcliffe, Keanu Reeves, Oliver Stone and Robert De Niro.
Warner Bros 100 Year Collection onboard Emirates – full list
Earliest endeavours: In the 1930’s, some of the earliest classics have been remastered and are available to enjoy – 42nd Street (1933), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939).
Forties and Fifties Favourites: The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), National Velvet (1944), Gaslight (1944), Key Largo (1948), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Strangers on a Train (1951), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Giant (1956), The Searchers (1956), A Face in the Crowd (1957), Ben-Hur (1959), Rio Bravo (1959).
Sixties and Seventies Smash Hits: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Cool Hand Luke (1967), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Bullitt (1968), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Mean Streets (1973), Blazing Saddles (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), All the President’s Men (1976), Superman (1978), Being There (1979).
Eighties and Nineties Nostalgia: Gremlins (1984), The Color Purple (1985), The Goonies (1986), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Empire of the Sun (1987), Lethal Weapon (1987), Beetlejuice (1988), Bird (1988), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Batman (1989), Goodfellas (1990), The Bodyguard (1992), Unforgiven (1992), Free Willy (1993), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Mask (1994), Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), Dumb and Dumber (1994), Space Jam (1996), The Green Mile (1999), The Iron Giant (1999), The Matrix (1999).
Noughties Movie Magic: Best in Show (2000), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003), The Matrix Resurrections (2021), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003), Mystic River (2003), The Notebook (2004), Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Hairspray (2007), Invictus (2009), Inception (2010), Gravity (2013), The Conjuring (2013), Man of Steel (2013), The Lego Movie (2014), Interstellar (2014), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), It (2017), It Chapter Two (2019), Dunkirk (2017), Wonder Woman (2017), Justice League (2017), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), A Star Is Born (2018), They Shall Not Grow Old (2018), Aquaman (2018), Shazam! (2019), Joker (2019), Dune (2021), Judas and the Black Messiah (2022), The Batman (2022), Elvis (2022), The Flash (2023). For flight information and to book a fare, visit www.emirates.com
BANGKOK, 28 August 2023: The new Staybridge Suites properties in Bangkok’s Thonglor and Sukhumvit 24 areas have launched ‘book early and save’ campaigns for stays up to 31 October 2023
Staybridge Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit released an ‘Early Bird Escape’ offer starting at THB2,912++ per night. The rate includes breakfast for two, free drinks and snacks at The Social Hour, access to sauna, fitness centre, pool and Japanese onsen. There is a free shuttle to and from the BTS Phrom Phong Skytrain station. Bookings earn IHG One Rewards nights and points. The Early Bird Escape is bookable until 23 October for travel until 31 October 2023. Booking and information.
Located in Sukhumvit 24, the property is ideally located for quick access to Phrom Phong BTS Station, the Emquartier and Emporium malls, Samitivej Hospital and many overseas embassies, plus varied dining and nightlife options.
Staybridge Suites Bangkok Thonglor also introduced the ‘Book Early, Save More’ promotion. At only THB2,645++ per night, the rate includes breakfast for two, complimentary drinks and snacks at The Social Hour, free access to Japanese onsen, sauna, fitness centre and pool, shuttle service to the BTS Thonglor Skytrain station and eligibility for IHG One Rewards nights and points. The promotion can be booked until 23 October for travel until 31 October 2023. Booking and information.
SINGAPORE, 28 August 2023: Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo will resume daily flights on the Delhi – Hong Kong route starting 5 October, offering a daily service using an A321 neo aircraft.
The daily flight 6E1707 will depart Delhi at 0520 and arrive in Hong Kong at 1300 The return flight 6E1708 will depart Hong Kong at 1555 and arrive in Delhi at 1950.
Photo credit: Indigo
Indigo Airlines head of global sales Vinay Malhotra announced the new Hong Kong service at the same time as confirming daily direct flights between Varanasi – Khajuraho in addition to introducing one-stop connectivity between Delhi-Khajuraho via Varanasi.
Commencing operations from 10 October 2023, the routes will significantly bolster connectivity and accessibility and further strengthen IndiGo’s vision of connecting people with places by providing them with seamless travel experiences, he explained.
BANGKOK, 28 August 2023: Sky Angkor Airlines, Cambodia‘s low-cost airline, resumed twice-daily flights from Phnom Penh to Bangkok DMK on 25 August after a four-month pause.
Flying an A320, the airline is serving the Phnom Penh to Bangkok Don Mueang route with twice daily flights in addition to its three daily services from the Cambodian capital to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK).
The early morning flight ZA670 departs Phnom Penh at 0705 and arrives in Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport at 0820. The other daily flight departs Phnom Penh in the evening at 1845 and arrives in DMK at 2000.
Sky Angkor Airlines hired Thai Airports Ground Services Ltd for ground handling services at Don Mueang International Airport.
KUALA LUMPUR, 28 August 2023: Tourism Malaysia completed its second roadshow to India on 26 August, a two-week-long mission that kicked off Amritsar followed by sales and networking sessions in Lucknow, Nagpur, Pune, Goa, and Coachin.
Headed by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, YB Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, the roadshow consisted of 45 local organisations comprising hotels and resorts, travel agents, tourism product owners, visa consultants, Malaysia-based airlines, and representatives from state tourism boards.
It Followed its first successful roadshow to five major cities in India that took place from 30 January to 7 February 2023, as well as its participation in the recent South Asia Travel & Tourism Exchange (SATTE) 2023 and Travel Wedding Show in Udaipur, Tourism Malaysia aims.
The two-week-long roadshow featured networking programmes, including business-to-business (B2B) sessions and seminars focused on niche segments such as weddings, golf, filming, and shopping. In addition, the roadshow presented the Visit Malaysia Year, scheduled to take place in 2026.
This year, Malaysia targets 16.1 million international tourist arrivals with MYR49.3 billion in tourism receipts. India remains among the top countries contributing tourist arrivals to Malaysia. In 2022, Malaysia welcomed 324,548 Indian tourists, while in the first quarter of 2023, Malaysia received as many as 164,566 Indian tourists compared to 13,370 in the same period last year.
Currently, there are 158 flights with 30,032 seats offered weekly between India and Malaysia through Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air, AirAsia and IndiGo. Indian tourists can now apply for Malaysia’s eVISA Multiple Entry Visa (MEV) via https://malaysiavisa.imi.gov.my/evisa/evisa.jsp.
BANGKOK, 28 August 2023: Air Japan, the low-cost airline subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA), announced last week that it has chosen Bangkok as its first international destination from its home base in Narita, Tokyo.
The airline hosted the Thai media at a launch event to confirm the new service starting on 9 February 2024 with six flights weekly every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Photo credit: Air Japan: Air Japan meets Thai media.
Flight schedule
Narita Tokyo to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi NQ1 will depart Narita at 1755 and arrive in Bangkok at 2315.
Bangkok to Narita Tokyo NQ2 will depart at 0015 and arrive in Narita, Tokyo at 0810.
The flights will use a Boeing Dreamliner 787-900 with a one-way fare starting at JPY15,500.
Earlier this year, ANA announced that Air Japan will operate as a low-cost medium-haul carrier servicing flights to and from Southeast Asia starting in February 2024. Bangkok will be the launch destination.
SINGAPORE, 25 August 2023: Finnair is revamping its Finnair Plus loyalty programme in early 2024, switching to Avios loyalty currency based on spend rather than flights flown and distance covered.
Once Finnair adopts Avios in 2024 as its new loyalty currency, members can collect and use loyalty currency across partner airlines. This includes when they shop online with thousands of leading brands via shopping.ba.com and with IAG Loyalty’s growing list of partners around the world that range from BP, Nectar, and Uber in the UK, Areas airport retail, and Cabify in Spain and Bilt in the US.
Avios is the loyalty currency used by Finnair’s oneworld partners’ loyalty programmes – British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, and Iberia Plus.
Starting this autumn, airlines that adopted Avios loyalty currency are tying customers’ mileage earnings to how much money they spend instead of how far they fly. The changes kick in from mid-October. Finnair follows at a yet-to-be-announced date in early 2024,
Award points will be converted to Avios with a 3:2 ratio, and the purchasing power of the current points remains unchanged – Avios prices are also updated with the same 3:2 ratio.
Members can move from one tier to another based on the money spent on Finnair’s flights and travel extras. Tier limits will be revised to reflect the switch to Avios and the new spend-based earn of tier points.
Collecting tier points and loyalty currency on partner flights will continue to be based on the travel class, booking class, and distance flown. However, they will collect based on miles, not kilometres flown.
Finnair’s Chief Commercial Officer Ole Orvér said: “2024 marks the start of a new era with our loyalty programme, with new benefits and improved options for our members to use their earned Avios – both within Finnair and IAG Loyalty’s partner network.“
“The move to a spend-based programme rewards customers directly for their spending, just like many retail loyalty programmes do. These moves allow us to leverage the full potential of our loyalty programme and make it attractive to a wider audience.”
The programme will feature new benefits to enable members to receive extra rewards, such as additional upgrade benefits, when reaching certain point limits within their existing tier.
As part of the changes, Finnair will also increase the number of award seats – the most popular award among members – and guarantee at least four award seats on Finnair flights within Europe and eight on Finnair long-haul flights.
Finnair is investing in new lounge premises on the Schengen side of Helsinki Airport, Finnair’s home hub, featuring a dedicated area for top-tier members.
The Finnair Plus loyalty programme has over 4 million members worldwide and was first launched in 1992.
About Avios
Avios is the global loyalty currency of the British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub and Vueling Club. More than 35 million members are worldwide, collecting more than 3000 Avios every second.
SINGAPORE, 25 August 2023: Pandaw, a river cruise specialist in Asia, is offering guests an opportunity to view the Irrawaddy Dolphins in Cambodia’s Kratie province as part of a post-tour tagged on to the Classic Mekong seven-day cruise from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap.
A two-night overland post-tour will be a firm favourite as reports confirm the dolphin population in Kampi district near Kratie has stabilised in recent years due to the efforts of the Cambodian government, environmental organisations and local communities.
In a preview of its upcoming winter sailings focusing on the Mekong River in southern Vietnam and Cambodia, Pandaw is promoting a trip to view the dolphins that can be tagged to the end of the seven-day Classic Mekong River Cruise. Depending on the water level in the Mekong River, the trip to Kratie is either by the Pandaw cruise boat (Sep to Oct) or tour bus during the remainder of the season.
Pandaw reports that introducing sustainable tourism increases awareness and support for conservation efforts to ensure the increase in the dolphin population grows and is sustainable once again.
Pandaw collaborates with local communities in Cambodia’s Kratie province to offer travellers a chance to witness the dolphins in their natural environment and contribute to their preservation.
“During the high-water months of September and October, our low-draft vessels will take advantage of the water levels and sail up to Kratie, the only overnight passenger vessel to do so, and bookings are still open for sailings during September and October 2023,” Pandaw said in an email statement.
For those looking to travel later in the season, Pandaw offers an overland option, including two nights’ accommodation and a full-day trip to the dolphin grounds that can be added pre or post-cruise.
