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Tourism Malaysia roadshow visits India

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TTR WEEKLY
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CHENNAI, India, 1 February 2023: Tourism Malaysia kicks off its first roadshow in India this year in collaboration with the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA).

The roadshow covers visits to five cities from 30 January to 7 February 2023, starting in  Chennai, followed by Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Tourism Malaysia senior deputy director of international promotion (Asia & Africa) Mohd Amirul Rizal Abdul Rahim leads the mission together with the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) supported by 30 organisations. They comprise a state tourism body, an airline, six hotel/resort operators, 20 travel agents and two product owners.

The Malaysian sellers and Indian buyers participate in business matching sessions and a networking dinner in each city. There are also seminars scheduled focusing on leisure and niche tourism markets, such as meeting and incentives groups (MICE), weddings, golfing, and family travel.

India is one of the top market sources for Malaysia and has contributed 735,309 (+22.5%) arrivals and MYR 3.6 billion (+33.4%) tourism expenditure in 2019. Apart from its objective to ensure Malaysia remains to stand out on top of the minds among Indians, the roadshow aims to provide a platform for the industry community to steer the tourism sector to greater heights.

“The pandemic has been tremendously challenging for us, but ever since the reopening of our international border in April 2022, I am glad to let you know that we have welcomed more than 7 million international tourist arrivals in 2022. Hence, we are optimistic about achieving higher numbers in 2023, where we target to welcome 15.6 million international tourist arrivals with MYR 47.6 billion in tourism receipts.”, said Tourism Malaysia director-general Dato’ Zainuddin Abdul Wahab. “Tourism Malaysia is ramping up its marketing efforts globally, including raising Malaysia’s profile in the Indian market. We do hope this market will continue to play an important role in getting this number”.

“MATTA has successfully organised sales missions to India since 2016 to collaborate with our counterparts and promote Malaysia following our recent tourist developments; we believed that this determination, accompanied by an effective promotional message, will improve the cross-promotional connection and create a stronger awareness of the India travel markets,” said MATTA President, Datuk Tan Kok Liang.

“MATTA embarks on this continuous effort as an ideal venue for showcasing and promoting Malaysia’s new destinations and our multi-racial cultures. This will boost tourist arrivals from India while creating more business opportunities for travel agent members.”

India remains an important market for Malaysia. Regarding connectivity, there are currently 169 flights per week from India to Malaysia via Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air (formerly known as Malindo Air), AirAsia, and IndiGo.

Malaysia has recently launched a new eVISA Multiple Entry Visa (MEV) for Indian visitors. It specifically targets Fly & Cruise, wedding, medical and business travel. The visa comes with a six-month validity, a 30-day length of stay, and costs just INR1,000.00.

The visa is available online at https://malaysiavisa.imi.gov.my/evisa/evisa.jsp.

AirAsia teams up with Archipelago International

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TTR WEEKLY
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JAKARTA, 1 February 2023: AirAsia Super App announced Tuesday a partnership with Archipelago International, one of Southeast Asia’s largest hotel management groups.

This partnership has expanded the AirAsia Super App hotel booking platform’s portfolio by more than 40,000 rooms and residences in over 200 locations across Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Oceania.

AirAsia Super App users can now access many leading properties under Archipelago International brands including  ASTON, The Alana, Kamuela, Harper, Quest, NEO, fave, and Powered by Archipelago.

The MOU signing was attended by the Head of Emerging Markets AirAsia Super App, Lim Ben-Jie, President & CEO of Archipelago International, John M Flood, and Vice President of Commercial Archipelago International, Chris Legaspi.

This partnership also stands as one of AirAsia Super App’s efforts as an OTA and hotel booking platform to support Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy’s target of 7.4 million foreign tourist visits to Indonesia in 2023, especially since the reopening of Indonesia’s borders for international tourists from China in post-pandemic.

Head of Emerging Markets AirAsia Super App, Lim Ben-Jie, commented, “We gladly welcome the collaboration between AirAsia Super App and Archipelago International. By uniting our strong brand presence and extensive network, we believe this partnership will be a symbiosis of mutualism that benefits all stakeholders, as well as our real contribution to supporting the growth of the Indonesian tourism industry.”

“As an OTA with over 700 carriers on our platform, complemented by the wide connectivity of AirAsia airline and the robust travel ecosystem that we have, this partnership reemphasises the strength of AirAsia Super App for hotel partners to optimise our database of up to 51 million users and the 1.25 million daily active users who are looking for travel deals. Our unique end-to-end travel booking experience for users allows the AirAsia Super App to present more cross-sell marketing opportunities and increase visibility for direct hotel partners in reaching the right target market,” he continued.

Currently, the AirAsia Super App has inventories of more than 700,000 hotels worldwide. As an integrated travel platform, the AirAsia Super App offers more value to users with ‘Best Price Guaranteed’ for AirAsia hotel reservations, the AirAsia points system that applies to transactions across products and services within the application and combines AirAsia flight tickets with the best hotel reservation prices in AirAsia SNAP package.

AAPA data maps recovery trend

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 1 February 2023: Preliminary traffic results for the entire calendar year 2022 released Tuesday by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed robust recovery in international passenger markets after more than two years of prolonged lockdowns and strict border control measures that severely crippled demand.

In 2022, Asia Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 105.4 million international passengers, compared to the 17.4 million passengers recorded in 2021. By December, international passengers climbed to 47.5% of pre-pandemic levels, a significant improvement from the 7.0% recorded in January.

Measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) terms, international passenger demand rose by 439.0% for the year. After accounting for a 144.0% expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor jumped 39.9 percentage points higher to an average of 72.8% in 2022.

In contrast to the recovery in passenger markets, international air cargo demand weakened in 2022 and faced multiple challenges. A steep increase in inflation, a strong US dollar and tightening monetary policy across economies led to a slowdown in global economic activity. Pandemic-related lockdowns in China and the Russia-Ukraine war also aggravated prevailing supply chain disruptions.

Against this background, international air cargo demand recorded an 8.2% decline in 2022, following a robust 20.3% annual increase in 2021. Offered freight capacity expanded by 2.2%, as robust recovery in commercial passenger operations led to a gradual increase in available belly-hold space. As a result, the international freight load factor declined by 7.5 percentage points to an average of 66.6% for the year.

AAPA director general Subhas Menon said: “2022 marked the start of a long-awaited recovery in international travel markets as governments across the region eased travel restrictions for the year to welcome back visitors. The release of pent-up travel demand drove a 507% annual increase in the number of passengers carried for the year. However, demand in 2022 averaged just 27% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, underscoring the significant progress still required towards full recovery.”

“Reflecting falling export orders alongside worsening business and consumer sentiment, international air cargo markets weakened after a relatively steady start to the year. Demand fell by a steep 20.7% year-on-year in December, bringing the decline for the full year 2022 to 8.2%.”

Looking ahead, Menon noted: “The outlook for 2023 is broadly positive, notably for passenger travel. The recovery of passenger demand is expected to progress further in the coming months, driven by a strong appetite for travel. In particular, China’s recent easing of travel restrictions will further fuel demand. However, some governments’ re-imposition of testing requirements for inbound travellers may somewhat slow down recovery in the shorter term. Asian airlines continue to work closely with regulators, airports and other stakeholders to serve the travelling public and deliver a seamless, safe and sustainable experience.”

(Source: AAPA)

Ageless Bicyclist pedals around Kuching

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUCHING, 31 January 2023: Singapore’s Ageless Bicyclist, a non-profit social enterprise that organises Sports For Good Cause Tours, recently pedalled Kuching’s streets, leading an inclusive cycling and art tour as part of its Sports for Good Causes initiative. 

Founder of Ageless Bicyclists, Malcolm Chen, now in his late 70s, organises specialised cycle tours across Malaysia from his home in Singapore, focusing on Johor Bahru, Langkawi and most recently, Sarawak.

Each tour generates financial contributions towards a charity organisation and enhances a healthy lifestyle for individuals with different abilities and challenges.

Chen’s latest venture involved an Eco Cycling Adventure with a team of 20 cycling enthusiasts who donated to the Kuching Autistic Association Resource and Education Centre (KAA). The cycling holiday experience supported KAA’s education and training programmes for children and young persons with autism through intervention programmes that support parents and caregivers of autistic individuals with coping and training skills. The Ageless Bicyclist recruited people from all walks of life, comprising four deaf cyclists, several parents of autistic children and enthusiastic cyclists all from Singapore, including an 85-year-old who pedalled through the four-day, three-night tour focusing on Kuching and its surrounding districts and riverside destinations as well as visits to Bau’s Wind Cave and Mount Singgai.

Photo credit: Borneo Talk.
Ageless Bicyclist founder Malcolm Chen (seated right of centre) presents a memento to STB Event Manager Anderson Harry (seated left).

Sarawak Tourism Board noted that Sports for Good Tours brings inclusive cycling to Sarawak for the first time.

 “Sports for Good Tours evolves from just cycling tours to integrating sports, tourism and charity,” said Chen, who resides in Singapore. What we are doing right now is packaging a programme that will support a charitable organisation. For Ageless Bicyclist, we put our priority first on supporting the Autism communities.”

Chen promises to create more programmes in Sarawak’s main gateways – Kuching, Sibu and Miri.

Sarawak Society for the Deaf general manager Ernest Ting told Borneo Talk that cycling was a “source of happiness”, especially when cycling in groups… “Cycling is an inclusive sport where being deaf does not matter.”

Ageless Bicyclists is a non-profit social enterprise established in 2015 and is a member of raiSE, ARAIBA (ASEAN Responsible and Inclusive Business Alliance), an associate member of Asean Autism Network and recognised as Honouree Brands For Good. It is Singapore’s first non-profit social enterprise with an experiential inclusive recreation cycling programme for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

For more information, visit https://agelessbicyclists.org/.

For more information on Sarawak, visit www.sarawaktourism.com.

Source: Additional reporting Borneo Talk.

(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board).

LADA reaches out to investors

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TTR WEEKLY
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LANGKAWI, 31 January 2023: Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) will host a Langkawi Invest Day to unlock investment opportunities for sustainable tourism projects in the archipelago.

LADA announced the project last week on its Facebook and Twitter accounts, inviting tourism investors to attend the half-day event from 0930 to 1300 on 12 February 2023 at the Grand Ballroom of Aloft Hotel Langkawi.

LADA is targeting potential investors, business associations, senior management from tourism enterprises and government officials linked to promoting Langkawi’s economic development

For programme details, refer to https://goevent.lada.gov.my/assets/lada/Tentative.pdf

(Your Stories: LADA)

 

Balcony reps Ambassador Cruise

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 31 January 2023: Balcony Media Group is repping Ambassador Cruise, which homeports in the UNESCO World Heritage  Halong Bay, and Viet Deli, a leading F&B group in Vietnam with restaurants in Hanoi, Hoi An and Nha Trang.

Since launching its first vessel in 2021, Ambassador Cruise has offered Halong Bay cruises visiting Sung Sot Cave, Titov Island and Luon Cave.

The multi-deck boat features cabins, sun decks, restaurants, bars, outdoor jacuzzis and entertainment areas. The 1200-ton steel craft measures 96 metres long, 13.9 metres wide, and 13 metres high, making it the largest overnight cruise vessel to ply Halong Bay’s waters. It has 46 cabins in five categories, including three suite options – standard, captain and presidential. Day cruises have a capacity of 500 guests.

A three-day/two-night cruise in a standard cabin has a starting price of USD 365 per person. A popular day trip (out at 0700 and back at 1600) has a price tag of USD 112. The Ambassador Cruise II celebrates its official grand opening on 10 February 2023.

A round-trip shuttle bus links Hanoi with Halong Bay via an expressway that opened in 2018, cutting the transfer time between the destinations in half to two hours.

Viet Deli’s famed restaurants offer traditional Vietnamese cuisine and fusion cuisine, including ‘Home Moc’ in Hanoi, ‘Home Hoi An’ in Hoi An, and ‘Ngon Gallery’ in Nha Trang.

Further East 2023 open for bookings

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 31 January 2023: Asia Pacific’s barefoot travel show, Further East, will return to Seminyak, Bali, from 6 to 9 November 2023 for its fourth edition.

Retaining the theme “New Horizons”, the four-day festival unites APAC- focused brands, global buyers and media to reimagine the future of luxury travel.

Organised by This is Beyond, curators of travel events such as PURE Life Experiences, LE Miami, and We Are Africa, the Further East 2023 event is now open for bookings.

For its reboot last year, Further East was staged successfully with 450 delegates comprising 150 brand representations, around 140 buyers and 20 media despite challenges in air connectivity and travel costs.

The geographic composition of buyers was 30% from APAC and 70% from North America (including Canada), Latin America and Europe, all of whom are specialists in designing Asian Pacific travel experiences.

“Our theme for Further East, New Horizons, signals our hope to create an inspired community of innovators with a conscience, who will bring a new dawn for the luxury travel industry,” said This is Beyond CEO and founder Serge Dive. “Bali remains our home for Further East because it is the perfect venue for barefoot business and pool-side networking.

After a year of tourism recovery and stabilised flights, the guest list for Further East 2023 has grown to 200 exhibitors.

For more details about Further East 2023, visit www.furthereast.com or email: [email protected]. 

SITA strengthens travel ID processes

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 31 January 2023: SITA is innovating with cutting-edge technology to strengthen its airline, airport, and border solutions in partnership with travel identity company Zamna Technologies.

Zamna’s solution uses a decentralised blockchain-based model to transform how passenger data, such as passport, visa, and health information, is verified and handled, bringing security, ease, and efficiency benefits for travellers, airlines, airports and governments.

Jeremy Springall, Senior VP at SITA Borders, Abdul Wahab Teffaha, Secretary General of AACO, Irra Ariella Khi, CEO, Zamna Technologies.

SITA and Zamna finalised the partnership deal during an Arab Airlines Carriers’ Organisation (ACCO) meeting in Jordan last week. The first deployment will be focused on AACO’s more than 30 airline members.

Instead of passengers presenting travel documents repeatedly to every touch point each time they fly, Zamna’s ability to verify and securely persist such data will provide SITA customers with ongoing automation enhancements. It supports SITA’s vision of a completely digital travel experience.

Airlines and airports will benefit from a tested and verified technology for reduced processing times and less infrastructure needed to process passengers.

 At the same time, border agencies will experience fewer exception cases and fewer passengers requiring on-site processing as the border checks are completed pre-departure. Across the journey, the passenger will enjoy peace of mind that the data is being handled even more securely and that they have satisfied all regulatory requirements to travel. The solution also enhances security for SITA’s clients, whose data is managed safely, privately, and in a decentralised manner.

This approach is a paradigm shift to fundamentally change data management within the aviation industry, elegantly ensuring that the individual traveller has minimal impact and that their documents are read and verified once and put to work many times. SITA’s scale and expert work with 1000+ airports and 70+ governments uniquely position the company to lead this industry-wide commitment to transformation.

SITA CEO David Lavorel said: “The partnership with Zamna Technologies powers the next step in the journey to SITA’s vision of enabling a truly connected and digital travel experience along with all the benefits. It will deliver efficiency, improved passenger experience, and increased security.”

AirAsia flies to Mae Sot border town

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 31 January 2023: AirAsia expands its domestic network this week to include a service from Don Mueang to Mae Sot on the western border of Thailand facing Myanmar.

The low-cost airline offers three weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Bookings opened on 28 January for travel from 1 March 2023.

The Don Mueang-Mae Sot one-way promotional fare starts at THB 1,900 for bookings up until 25 March 2023 for travel from 1 to 25 March 2023 via the AirAsia Super app.

AirAsia Thailand chief executive officer Santisuk Klongchaiya explained: “AirAsia is expanding its domestic network to benefit the economy, tourism and trade… studying new destinations to make travel more convenient and to create new opportunities for provinces and regions.”

Mae Sot in Tak province is an important, rapidly growing trade town where a road bridge spans the river between Thailand and Myanmar.

The one-hour flight from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport will be served by a 180-seat A320 Airbus aircraft.

Flight Schedule for Bangkok Don Mueang – Mae Sot (Tak) commencing 1 March 2023.

Batik Air adds Kuala Lumpur flight

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TTR WEEKLY
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YOGYAKARTA, 31 January 2023: Batik Air, a member of Lion Air Group, launches a new direct flight from Yogyakarta to Kuala Lumpur, starting 31 January 31, 2023.

Flight ID7187 departs Yogyakarta at 0700 and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 1020. The return flight ID7186 departs Kuala Lumpur at 1105 and arrives in Yogyakarta at 1220. Flights operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The one-way fare on the Yogyakarta – Kuala Lumpur route during February starts at IDR 1,725,000 in economy class and IDR 7,425,000 in business class.

Flight Schedule

RouteFlight NoSchedule Time DepartureSchedule Time ArrivalFrequency
Yogyakarta Kulonprogo (YIA) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL)ID-718707.0010.20Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Yogyakarta Kulonprogo (YIA)ID-718611.0512.20Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

Time difference:

• Yogyakarta: Western Indonesia Time (GMT+ 07)

• Kuala Lumpur: GMT+08

The Kuala Lumpur – Yogyakarta route will support the return of foreign tourists to Indonesia. Within days of the launch, the region’s top travel show, the ASEAN Tourism Forum, will be hosted in Yogyakarta from 2 to 5 February 2023. The official ceremony for the show will be hosted at the Prambanan Temple venue, introducing the theme “ASEAN: A Journey to Wonderful Destinations”.

Batik Air’s first direct international flight from YIA provides a new option for tourists from Malaysia in addition to the flights from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Batik Air deploy a Boeing 737-800NG aircraft (12 business class and 150 economy class seats) to the Yogyakarta – Kuala Lumpur route.

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