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Grand Mercure Hotel opens in Hanoi

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TTR WEEKLY
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HANOI, 29 March 2023: Accor marked the opening of Grand Mercure Hanoi on Wednesday, a new hotel in the heart of the city, close to the Temple of Literature and within walking distance of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum.

The property features 181 rooms and suites ranging from  27-square metre deluxe rooms to a 116-square metre Presidential Suite.

Grand Mercure Hanoi offers four restaurants and bars, including Cat Vi – a signature Asian brasserie on the 15th floor. Accor named Andre Erasmus as the general manager.

Accor has 40 hotels and a strong pipeline of 40 projects across the country, while the Grand Mercure Hanoi is the group’s eighth hotel in Vietnam’s capital city.

Saudia Airlines renews Travelport deal

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 30 March 2023: Travelport, a global technology company that powers travel bookings for travel suppliers worldwide, and Saudia Airlines have signed a new multi-year distribution agreement.

Saudia Airlines chief commercial officer Arved von zur Muehlen commented: “The company’s new Travelport+ retailing platform will be a valuable asset in helping us expand our reach among the travel agency community while Saudi Arabia continues to develop as a top destination for tourism.”

As part of the agreement, Travelport will continue to provide travel agencies worldwide with real-time access to Saudia Airlines’ selection of travel content, products and services. Travelport will also continue collaborating closely with Saudia Airlines to execute Travelport Rich Content and Branding initiatives, streamlining service procedures and delivering a world-class, modern travel retail experience.

Travelport head of commercial air partners EMEA David Gomes added: “With our Travelport+ platform, we are committed to working closely with partners like Saudia Airlines to deliver a modern travel retailing experience with a wider range of choices and richer content for our customers.”

PATA opens gold award nominations

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 30 March 2023: Organisations and individuals making outstanding contributions towards promoting travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region can enter nominations for the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s Gold Awards 2023.

The submission deadline is 31 May 31 2023, while the PATA Gold Awards presentation will take place during PATA Travel Mart 2023 hosted in New Delhi, India 4 to 6 October.

Now in its 39th year and sponsored by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) for 28 consecutive years, the PATA Gold Awards set industry standards for excellence and innovation.

MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said: “As Macau is stepping into a new chapter of diversified tourism, we are honoured to support the PATA Gold Awards and continue to help positively influence our region.”

Judged by an international panel of experts, the Gold Awards recognise exceptional achievement in two broad categories with 25 Gold Awards and two Grand Title Winners on offer:
Marketing – 14 Gold Awards and one Grand Title Winner;
Sustainability and Social Responsibility – 11 Gold Awards and one Grand Title Winner.

(Source: PATA)

AAPA monitors February traffic growth

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 30 March 2023: Preliminary February 2023 traffic figures released Wednesday by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) show international passenger markets continue to expand robustly, buoyed by the strong appetite for travel, in tandem with the Lunar New Year holiday season.

Overall, 16.9 million international passengers were carried by Asia Pacific airlines in February, representing a 645.3% jump from the 2.3 million that flew in the same month last year, when strict travel measures still suppressed the region’s international markets.

In revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, demand grew by 481.7% year-on-year, markedly outpacing the 205.5% expansion in available seat capacity. As a result, the average international passenger load factor rose by 38.6 percentage points to 81.3% for the month, achieving levels recorded in pre-pandemic 2019.

Concerns over the broader economic climate and weakness in consumer and business sentiment continued to affect air cargo markets in February. For the region’s carriers, international air cargo demand, as measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), fell by 9.8% for the month. Offered freight capacity edged 0.8% higher, leading to a 7.2 percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor to 61.7% for the month.

Commenting on the results, AAPA director general Subhas Menon said: “The first two months of the year saw a continued strong recovery in international travel markets, with the number of passengers carried by the region’s carriers increasing more than seven-fold to 34 million, bringing overall demand to 54.3% of the corresponding period in pre-pandemic 2019.”

“On the other hand, air cargo markets continued to weaken amid challenging circumstances. Inflationary pressures, and worsening economic conditions, weighed down on spending affecting demand for air shipments. The first two months of the year saw a 15.5% fall in air cargo demand for Asian carriers.”

Looking ahead, Menon commented: “The demand outlook for international travel is positive, but expected to moderate in the coming months compared with the larger traffic volumes in the later months of last year as more borders reopened throughout 2022. Nevertheless, strong travel demand will continue to underpin the recovery in passenger traffic, as pre-pandemic flight frequencies and city links are gradually restored in 2023.”

He concluded: “Asian airlines are proactively taking steps to reduce the strain on operations where possible. This includes intensifying staff recruitment, returning stored aircraft to service and continued investments in digitalising the travel process. The airlines are working closely with industry stakeholders to enhance the passenger experience while ensuring safe and secure travel during the recovery period.”

(Source: AAPA)

Salam Air plans more Thai flights

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 30 March 2023: Salam Air plans to increase flights to Thailand according to the general sales agency LTU Asia Aviation Services, which handles the airline’s sales in Thailand.

Salam Air, home-based in Oman, Muscat, plans to operate daily flights to Bangkok up from the current four weekly flights from Muscat. The airline is promoting a one-way Muscat – Bangkok fare starting at OMR84. Flight time on the A321 is six hours and 15 minutes, departing Muscat at 2225 and arriving in Bangkok at 0715. The airline also serves Phuket with four weekly flights from Muscat.

Last month, Salam Air introduced weekly flights from Muscat to Mashhad and Almaty to meet the growing medical, business, and leisure tourism demand.

Cambodia Airways flies to Beijing

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TTR WEEKLY
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PHNOM PENH, 30 March 2023: Cambodia Airways launched its first flight from Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh to Beijing on Monday, 27 March, the airline announced in a Facebook post.

Flight KR991 departed Phnom Penh at 0750 and landed at Beijing Daxing International Airport at 1330. The return flight KR992 departed from Beijing at 1430 and landed at Phnom Penh International Airport at 1815.

Photo credit: Cambodia Airways

Cambodia Airways distributed gifts to passengers to celebrate the inaugural flight, and Beijing Daxing International Airport welcomed the A320 aircraft with the traditional water salute.

According to the flight schedule, the airline flies to Beijing three times weekly; every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with a one-way starting fare of USD199 and a roundtrip fare of USD398.

According to a report in Xinhua, Cambodia Airways commercial director Simon Xu said: “The opening of this new route should strengthen trade, investment, culture and tourism between the two cities”.

(Source: Cambodia Airways)

Philippines tackles visa bottleneck

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TTR WEEKLY
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MANILA, 29 March 2023: The Philippines’ Department of Tourism works with other government agencies to ease tourist entry from priority source markets such as India and China.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco met with the heads of the Bureau of Immigration, Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Information and Communications Technology agencies to discuss “visa reform” to resolve the tourism bottleneck that slows inbound tourism flows.

Christina Garcia Frasco.

Two core markets for inbound tourists, China and India, were identified as having considerable potential. Based on DOT data, at least 58% of Indian visitors have visited the Philippines more than once.

“We are the only country in Asia that does not provide convenient electronic visas for Indian nationals. This is a huge market that the Philippines has yet to explore,” Frasco said during the meeting.

China delivered more than 1.7 million visitors to the Philippines before the pandemic. Citing airline reports, Frasco said Philippine consular posts in China have issued advisories “limiting the acceptance of visa applications per day from around 60 to 100.”

This is compared to the daily average of 508 visas and a peak of 2,704 visas issued daily to Chinese travellers before the pandemic.

“If we are to hit the most conservative target of 500,000 Chinese, we need to issue 1,704 visas daily, and for a medium scenario of 1 million Chinese, we would need to issue 3,409 visas daily,” Frasco said. “To target 2 million Chinese, we must issue 6,818 visas daily.”

Frasco said revenue losses could reach USD2.51 billion “if we fail to resolve difficulties obtaining visas.”

(Source: PNA)

Emirates flies A380 to NZ cities

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TTR WEEKLY
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DUBAI, UAE, 29 March 2023: An Emirates A380 made a landmark touchdown at Christchurch Airport on Monday, marking the resumption of its daily service from Dubai to Christchurch via Sydney after more than three years.

The iconic aircraft taxied through a ceremonial water cannon salute before parking in view of trade, media, and VIP guests at the international terminal at Christchurch Airport.

Outbound EK412 left Dubai at 1015 local time, stopping briefly in Sydney before arriving in Christchurch at 1355 the next day, New Zealand time.

Emirates divisional vice president Australasia Barry Brown said: “Seeing the water cannon salute after we touched down in the first Emirates A380 flight in more than three years is a reminder of how special the aircraft is to Christchurch since its first arrival in 2016. The occasion’s significance was also clear on the faces of the other passengers on board, who understood what this service means for Christchurch and connecting it to the world.”

The resumption of the Dubai to Christchurch route ramps up seating capacity across Emirates’ global network after boosting operations 31% (total ASKMs) since the beginning of its financial year. This operational boost included re-introducing Emirates’ nonstop A380 route from Auckland to Dubai in December last year.

Both North and South Island customers will now have direct access to daily Emirates A380 services ( Auckland and Christchurch), providing greater levels of flexibility and choice when making travel plans and providing seamless connectivity and reduced transit time when travelling to other destinations across the airline’s global network, including destinations in Europe and the Middle East. Travellers looking to venture beyond the airline’s gateways will also have more connection opportunities to 55 cities across Australia and New Zealand through Emirates’ long-standing partnership with Qantas.

Restart of Christchurch via Sydney

The A380 flight operates as EK 412 and EK 413. Emirates flight EK 412 departs Dubai at 1015, arriving in Sydney at 0700. The flight will then continue, taking off from Sydney at 0845 and arriving in Christchurch at 1355. EK 413 will depart Christchurch at 1820, arriving in Sydney at 1940. The final leg of EK 413 will depart for Dubai at 2145, arriving at 0515h local time.

Emirates has been flying to New Zealand for 20 years, a sign of its ongoing commitment to the market. Throughout the pandemic, Emirates continued to serve the country, connecting New Zealand and the world with daily flights, as well as its SkyCargo services bringing essential goods in and out of the nation.

Currently, Emirates’ A380 is deployed to almost 40 global destinations, with more routes to be announced in the near future.

Tickets can be booked on emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via both online and offline travel agents.

(Your Stories: Emirates)

Sarawak’s Santubong National Park reopens

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUCHING, 29 March 2023: Sarawak’s Santubong National Park (SNP) and Matang Wildlife Centre (MWC) will reopen on 1 April after being closed during the monsoon season, Sarawak Forestry Corporation announced earlier this week on its Facebook page.

SFC said it welcomed nature enthusiasts, wildlife lovers, and all those who appreciate the beauty of Sarawak’s natural habitats after a long closure due to heavy monsoon conditions.

Photo credit: SFC

However, it did warn that if weather conditions in the park deteriorated, making it unsafe for visitors, the authorities would close the park. But as April’s weather forecast looks good, forestry officials invited travellers to mark their calendars and plan a trip to explore the beauty of Santubong National Park and Matang Wildlife Centre starting 1 April.

Meanwhile, the SFC confirms it has streamlined the  Visitor Self-Registration Portal registration process for Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, Bako National Park, Fairy Cave Nature Reserve and Wind Cave Nature Reserve.

For more information, visit www.sarawakforestry.com.

(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)

MarketHub Europe welcomes tourism leaders

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 29 March 2023: Europe’s leading names in travel and tourism gather in Amsterdam this week for the MarketHub Europe.

Organised by Hotelbeds, the event combines a conference and trade show at the nhow Amsterdam RAI, making it the first time that Hotelbeds has brought its flagship event to The Netherlands.

More than 400 local and international executives join the event from 28 to 31 March to hear some of the biggest names in tourism and tech speak. These include NH Hotels (part of Minor), easyJet holidays, Google, Telefonica and The World Travel and Tourism Council.

“We’re thrilled that the MarketHub is back for the first time since 2019 and in this vibrant city of Amsterdam, where we have been so warmly welcomed,” said Hotelbeds chief commercial officer Carlos Muñoz Capllonch. “Our theme for this year is ‘Where Next?’ and I’m sure we’re going to have some insightful and lively discussion focused on the traveller of tomorrow and what they expect the industry to deliver.”

The conference programme will cover a diverse range of topics, including; how travel can become a force for good; the power of personalised service; how innovation and tech can shape travel; and the generation of disruption.

Additional speakers include Morgan Stanley, Experience Kissimmee, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Discover Puerto Rico, Rixos Hotels, the Clermont Hotel Group and Accor Hotels.

MarketHub Europe is an invitation-only event attended by the most important Hotelbeds partners from all the key source markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Hotelbeds hosts three annual MarketHub events in the Americas (9 to 12 May 2023), Europe and Asia. The dates and host country of the Asian event have not been announced for 2023. The Asian show was last held in 2019 in Bali, Indonesia.

For more information, visit http://www.themarkethub.com/europe/.

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