SINGAPORE, 20 October 2022: ITB Asia, now in its 15th year, opened Wednesday at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, reverting once more to its in-person format.
Co-located with MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia, the 3-in-1 show will run as an in-person event until Friday, 21 October.
Reflecting renewed confidence in MICE events, ITB Asia 2022 has attracted over 80 National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) and Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs). Under the anchor theme, “Go Big & Go Forward: Travel Industry on the Road to Recovery and Growth”, travel leaders at the top of their respective industries will share insights on key trends and how to stay competitive and quickly maximise growth potential.
Commenting on this year’s in-person event, Messe Berlin GmbH senior vice president Dr Martin Buck said: “With the industry in Asia optimistic again, we are delighted to bring international travel professionals back to Singapore for meaningful business, networking and learning through face-to-face interactions. It remains crucial for us to offer a balanced mix of geographic markets and sectors such as MICE, leisure, corporate travel and travel tech to ensure a high-quality buyer-seller experience, thus maintaining ITB Asia’s position as the leading business platform in the APAC region”.
Over the three days, ITB Asia 2022 will deliver more than 100 conference sessions on the sidelines of the trade fair led by over 180 leading industry speakers and innovators will have over 3950 minutes of high-powered content across three conference tracks: Knowledge Theatre, MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia.
SINGAPORE, 20 October 2022: Air Astana has reactivated its Stopover Holiday programme for transit passengers.
The programme was initially launched to boost tourism in Kazakhstan in 2013. It was suspended for two years during the global pandemic. More than 59,000 transit passengers enjoyed the programme between 2013 and 2019.
The Stopover Holiday programme continues to offer Air Astana passengers one night’s accommodation on a bed-and-breakfast basis and airport transfers for only USD19 when flying through Astana and Almaty. Passengers can also extend their stay at the hotel for an additional fee.
Air Astana passengers transiting through Nur-Sultan and Almaty with a minimum of 10 hours of connecting time between flights can book online by submitting their ticket reservation number, personal data and hotel selection. Upon completion of the booking process, a confirmation voucher will be sent to the passenger’s e-mail address.
Upon arrival in Astana or Almaty, passengers will be met by a driver and transferred to the selected hotel. Passengers can explore the city independently or pay separately for a guided city tour. On departure day, a hotel transfer to the airport is included in the programme.
Before Covid-19, the Stopover Holiday was popular with passengers travelling from Seoul to Dubai, Istanbul and Tbilisi, from Delhi to Tashkent, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Baku and Tbilisi, and from Istanbul to Thailand, Maldives, Seoul and Delhi.
About Air Astana Group
Air Astana commenced its operations in 2002 as a joint venture between Kazakhstan’s national wealth fund, Samruk Kazyna, and BAE Systems, with respective shares of 51% and 49%. The airline is a full-service international and domestic carrier, with its low-cost division, FlyArystan, rapidly growing in regional and domestic markets since its launch in 2019. The Air Astana Group operates a fleet of 40 aircraft, comprising 32 Airbus A320/A321 family aircraft, three Boeing 767 and five Embraer E2s. The average age of the fleet is 3.8 years.
SINGAPORE, 20 October 2022: Penang Global Tourism Rolled out its “Experience Penang” – The Diversity of Asia” campaign on Tuesday, aimed at Singapore travellers.
Singapore is identified as one of the state’s most important inbound travel markets, making it the obvious choice for the campaign launch.
Penang State EXCO for Tourism & Creative Economy, YB Yeoh Soon Hin and Chief Executive Officer of Penang Global Tourism, Ooi Chok Yan attended the launch in Singapore.
In a press statement, YB Yeoh Soon Hin noted: “Singapore was the first country to have a Vaccinated Travel lane (VTL) with Penang and remained our second international visitor-generating market. Singaporeans appreciate our rich heritage, art, architecture, and the kaleidoscope of gourmet offerings that best reflect our colourful ethnic mix of Malay, Indian, Chinese and Peranakan culture. After a two-year hiatus, we are ready to welcome our Singaporean neighbours and help them plan the most iconic and meaningful Penang getaway.”
New hotel projects
During the pandemic, efforts to boost Penang’s tourism infrastructure continued. New hotels include Amari Hotel, which will officially launch in November, The George Penang Hotel and a four-star waterfront hotel Crowne Plaza in Strait City.
UNESCO accreditation
The state is also celebrating a second UNESCO accreditation, Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve, which comprises 12,481 hectares of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The first Heritage Site, George Town, continues to draw visitors with its carefully preserved pre-war buildings, beautifully restored mansions, eclectic street art, vintage shops and modern cafes.
Rediscover Penang – Beauty Beyond George Town
Penang Global Tourism is also on a mission to expand the footprint of all international travellers beyond the popular sites. Two distinct campaigns, ‘The Opposite Side of the Island’ promoting Seberang Perai and ‘The Other Side of the Island’, showcasing Balik Pulau and Teluk Bahang’s natural beauty and unchartered holiday experiences for travellers.
BANGKOK, 20 October 2022: Thai Vietjet will increase flights on the Taipei – Bangkok route from three times weekly to daily starting from 2 November in response to the easing of quarantine in Taiwan and the resumption of visa-free stays for Thai travellers.
“After a long break from Covid-19, the gradual restoration of the international travel market is a significant sign… there has been great feedback from the market between Thailand and Taiwan since our flight service launch to Taipei last August. With further relaxation of travel restrictions in Taiwan, allowing Thai travellers to enter Taiwan without quarantine and visa-free, we are eager to add more flights during the upcoming peak travel season,” said Thai Vietjet director of commercial Pinyot Pibulsonggram.
Starting 2 November 2, the flights connecting Taipei and Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) will operate daily with an approximate flight time of three hours and 45 minutes.
The airline also offers connections at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport to Thai domestic destinations, including Phuket, Krabi, and Chiang Mai.
KUALA LUMPUR, 19 October 2022: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has expressed concern over the recent month-long service disruption of Malaysia’s eVISA portal, saying it has resulted in losses of MYR20 to 30 million.
“Apart from ASEAN, India is now the top contributor of foreign arrivals to Malaysia, with 71,481 Indian tourist arrivals between January to June 2022 alone, said MATTA president Datuk Tan Kok Liang in a statement to the media on Tuesday.
MATTA President Datuk KL Tan.
“We understand that, in September, approximately 23,000 Indian tourists opted to travel to Bali instead of Malaysia due to the difficulties in securing a visa to Malaysia,”
MATTA and Tourism Malaysia have organised a series of successful roadshows to India over the last few months. In addition, the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) convention was recently hosted in Kuching to promote Borneo to India’s outbound tourism markets.
Three visa centres were set up in Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai to alleviate the eVisa portal downtime impact.
“Given the vastness of the Indian subcontinent, opening only three visa centres is far from practical,” the MATTA president explained.
“If Malaysia is to remain competitive and attractive in such lucrative outbound markets, we must look at more practical long-term measures. As such, the government must consider the immediate benefits of implementing a direct visa-on-arrival facility for Indian tourists,” Tan added.
Thailand and Indonesia already provide visa-on-arrival facilities to Indian tourists at international airport gateways.
SINGAPORE, 19 October 2022: Travellers will have the opportunity to experience spectacular destinations with Princess Cruises’ 2023-24 Australia and New Zealand season featuring four ships, including two Royal-class ships – Majestic Princess and Royal Princess – as well as Coral Princess and Grand Princess offering 76 itineraries to 68 destinations in total.
The ships will sail from Australia and New Zealand’s homeports, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Auckland, giving guests varied options on where to embark for their sailing. Each port possesses its own unique culture, lifestyle, and charm. Guests can experience the iconic sights of Sydney, Brisbane’s coastal beauty, Melbourne’s rich culture, the famed wine country of Perth and Auckland, the land of the Māori, and more departures to and from Adelaide than ever before.
In 2023, the season starts from January to April, followed by October to December. In 2024, the season starts from January to April, followed by August to September. Departing on 30 April 2024, from Sydney and on 2 May 2024, from Brisbane, there is also a 110-night world cruise onboard Coral Princess.
“Australia and New Zealand are among the top destinations for our guests in Southeast Asia. We see increased interest for cruises Down Under and Across the Ditch since the border openings. We are blending immersive onboard experiences with epic landscapes, colourful cultures, and laid-back charm to provide memorable cruise vacations,” said Princess Cruises country director for Southeast Asia Farriek Tawfik.
Guests will also have the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular scenery of Fiordland National Park, immerse themselves in Māori culture, see glowworms twinkle in underground caves outside Auckland, and peek into movie-making magic with The Lord of the Rings tour in Wellington.
Some of the highlights include:
5-Day Southern Australia Seacation – 22 & 23 October January 2023
Roundtrip from Melbourne, Australia, on board Grand Princess
Melbourne, Australia | Kangaroo Island, Australia | Adelaide, Australia | Melbourne, Australia
7-Day Tasmania – 10 March 2024
Roundtrip from Melbourne, Australia, onboard Majestic Princess
Melbourne, Australia | Eden, Australia | Great Oyster Bay & Freycinet Peninsula (Scenic Cruising), AU | Port Arthur, Australia | Hobart, Australia | Hobart, Australia | Melbourne, Australia
7-Day Queensland – Nov 24 2023 & Feb 5 2024
Roundtrip from Brisbane, Australia, onboard Coral Princess
Brisbane, Australia | Airlie Beach, Australia | Cairns, Australia | Port Douglas, Australia | Willis Island, Australia | Brisbane, Australia
13-Day New Zealand – 3 January, 2 & 19 November, 2 & 28 December 2023; 5, 10 & 23 January, 5 February and 1 & 18 March 2024
Roundtrip from Sydney, Australia, onboard Majestic or Royal Princess
Sydney, Australia | Bay of Islands, New Zealand | Tauranga, New Zealand | Auckland, New Zealand | Picton, New Zealand | Christchurch (Lyttelton), New Zealand | Dunedin (Port Chalmers), New Zealand | Fiordland National Park (Scenic Cruising) | Sydney, Australia.
Princess Cruises also offers various award-winning excursions and tours that provide unique experiences. For example, bush-walking in the Blue Mountains or visiting the Australian Outback, during which guests can immerse themselves in Aboriginal culture and visit two UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Uluru National Park.
Lucky draw winner
Princess Cruises is also welcoming a special guest onboard – Madam Lee Lay Ngo from Singapore, who is the lucky winner of the online giveaway contest for the prize of an 8-night voyage onboard Majestic Princess. The cruise will depart on 12 November 2022, roundtrip from Sydney, visiting destinations in Tasmania such as Hobart, Great Oyster Bay & Freycinet Peninsula and Eden, as well as Melbourne.
“We were delighted with the response to our online contest, with thousands of entries from residents in Southeast Asia. While there can only be one winner, we hope participants will still book a cruise and join us on one of our incredible voyages,” added Tawfik.
Princess delivers the ultimate in effortless, personalised cruising featuring world-class dining and entertainment, all elevated by the Princess MedallionClass Experience. The Medallion enables everything from expedited, contactless boarding to locating loved ones anywhere on the ship, as well as enhanced service like having whatever guests need to be delivered directly to them, wherever they are on the ship. In addition, guests can share their favourite cruise moments using MedallionNet, the best WiFi at sea, as well as stay connected with friends and family back home, work remotely anywhere on the ship, quickly post content and stream favourite movies and shows. Princess has offered MedallionPay contactless payment for all onboard purchases on MedallionClass since the Princess MedallionClass Experience debuted in late 2017.
Additional information about Princess Cruises is available through a professional travel advisor by calling +65 6922 6788 or by visiting the company’s website at http://www.princess.com/.
Opening in July 2023, the 515-key Centara Grand Hotel Osaka will provide an excellent base for guests to explore the city’s spirited entertainment and shopping district. Ideal for business travellers, families, couples and solo explorers, Centara’s debut hotel in Japan offers something exceptional for everyone.
Shigeki has over 20 years of hospitality experience in a highly competitive local market. He started his career in 1999 as the Assistant Food & Beverage Manager at Hilton Osaka, where he built his foundation as a hotelier over 11 years by overseeing outlets, banquets and in-room dining operations. He joined The St. Regis Osaka as Director of Food & Beverage in 2010 before taking his first general manager assignment at Moxy Osaka, where he successfully opened the hotel in 2018. The following year, Shigeki advanced his career further as executive assistant manager at ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kobe, where he demonstrated strong leadership and practical management skills in all aspects of hotel operations – even during the challenging times of Covid in 2020 and 2021.
“We have closely witnessed Shigeki’s career growth. He is a very effective leader and manager. We are delighted to have him head up our first Centara hotel to open in Japan,” said Centara Hotels & Resorts chief executive officer Thirayuth Chirathivat.
“I am overjoyed to join such an esteemed international brand as Centara and am grateful for the opportunity to open its first hotel in Japan,” Shigeki Nakagawa commented. “I aim to bring my years of experience, expertise and industry knowledge into every detail of Centara Grand Hotel Osaka to provide the highest level of service to our guests and make this exquisite property a success.”
Centara Grand Hotel Osaka is a 33-storey visual masterpiece towering over the heart of Namba, Osaka’s foremost downtown area. Guests can discover an eclectic selection of world-class bars and restaurants ranging from casual vibrance to remarkably decadent, or enjoy an evening tipple as they watch the city come to life from the spectacular rooftop vista. With modern MICE facilities, grand ballrooms, co-working spaces, and our award-winning SPA Cenvaree, Centara Grand Osaka is the place to be for any occasion.
DELHI, India, 19 October 2022: Club Vistara, the loyalty programme of Vistara, a joint venture of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, launches a campaign for CV members that offers curated getaways.
In its first phase, the programme offers Club Vistara members an assortment of tailored itineraries, such as a nomadic getaway to Ladakh and a captivating view of the Everest Summit.
Members can participate via an Instagram contest or a raffle draw. The winners will become the faces of Club Vistara Escapades. They will be accompanied on their all-expenses paid trips by a professional production crew who will help them create exciting content for their and Club Vistara’s social media handles.
Commenting on the announcement, Vistara’s chief commercial officer Deepak Rajawat said: “Club Vistara has redefined the boundaries of a frequent flyer programme with a more meaningful lifestyle offering.
Club Vistara Escapades is our way of encouraging our loyal customers to do more of what they love. We are delighted to invite Club Vistara members to participate in this unique programme, specially designed to provide extraordinary experiences they will love sharing with the world and us.”
Members need to log into their Club Vistara account, select Escapades on the dashboard, and participate through the dedicated microsite by selecting the experience that resonates most with their individual lifestyle preferences.
Club Vistara is a holistic lifestyle programme spanning travel and lifestyle choice touchpoints, including but not limited to flights, hotels, credit cards and retail. There are four tiers of membership of Club Vistara – CV Base, CV Silver, CV Gold and the highest tier, CV Platinum. Members can redeem their points for Vistara Award Flights or Upgrades Awards. CV members can also enjoy accruals and redemption on Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, SilkAir, Japan Airlines and United Airlines.
About Vistara (TATA SIA Airlines Limited): TATA SIA Airlines Limited, known by the brand name Vistara, is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA).
SEPANG, Malaysia 19 October 2022: The AirAsia X Group announced Tuesday it is increasing its Malaysia AirAsia X (D7) flights to 44 weekly across 10 routes and is expanding its Thai AirAsia X (XJ) operations to fly 22 weekly services across five routes in the next two months.
Recently, AAX launched direct services from Kuala Lumpur to South Korea (Seoul-Incheon) and India (New Delhi) and announced the resumption of services to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth), New Zealand (Auckland), Japan (Tokyo-Haneda and Sapporo-Chitose), with latest confirmed new routes to Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) and Taipei starting November.
Thai AirAsia X has launched services from Bangkok to Japan (Osaka and Tokyo-Narita) and South Korea (Seoul-Incheon). It is preparing to launch new direct routes to Australia (Melbourne and Sydney) and Japan (Sapporo-Chitose) in early December.
As it returns to the skies, AAX remains committed to recalling all furlough pilots and cabin crew. AAX today confirmed that all furloughed pilots and retrenched cabin crew would have the opportunity to be back in the sky by December this year. Since the pandemic, AAX has already reactivated 175 pilots and 285 cabin crew, including rehiring 131 cabin crew who were retrenched during the pandemic.
Acting Group CEO of AAX Tony Fernandes said: “AAX is well and truly back with a focus on returning to our most popular and profitable medium-haul destinations first in the short term, which are historically proven.
“This strategy ensures that the AAX Group can operate at an optimal frequency on our core routes to keep our costs down and deliver the best fares in the market for consumers while, at the same time, maximising our revenues to ensure a successful and viable airline for the future.
“However, the most important thing for me is that we can confirm today that we are bringing back our staff whom we had to let go during Covid. I had committed, and it thrills me that we can honour that in two and a half years as we return to the skies stronger than ever.
“Many pilots and cabin crew are already back in service, but as we continue to grow in line with huge pent-up demand, all of our AAX pilots who are still on furlough will return to the flight deck, together with the retrenched cabin crew by December this year. We are retraining the third batch of rehired cabin crew ahead of strong forecast demand for medium-haul air travel.
“While medium-haul is our priority, we remain focused on launching certain longer-haul destinations like London, Dubai and Istanbul, which we will announce shortly.”
Malaysia AAX CEO Benyamin Ismail said: “Finally, the world borders are reopening, and we are ready to fly high again. Currently, we are operating with four widebody A330 aircraft. As we continue to grow, we expect to operate up to 13 aircraft by the first quarter of 2023 to meet the strong and growing demand for the best value, medium-haul flights.
“Commencing December, we will not only be adding more destinations but also increasing our flight frequencies on popular routes, such as moving to daily services between Kuala Lumpur and Seoul (Incheon) to fly 53 flights weekly. This signals that medium-haul air travel is fast recovering, and we intend to leverage this opportunity to drive sustainable growth for AAX, providing consumers with greater value and choice.
“We are already seeing strong forward bookings for the routes we have restarted post-pandemic, and we will be resuming more services in our core markets such as Auckland, Melbourne, Perth, Jeddah, Taipei, Tokyo (Haneda) and Sapporo in the next two months to cater for the growing travel demand. Our forward-booking trends remain very encouraging across all key metrics, with higher year-on-year load factors and average fares through the first quarter of 2023.
HANOI, 19 October 2022: Bamboo Airways gears up for global expansion by selecting Amadeus’ Altéa Passenger Service System and solutions for revenue management and digital marketing.
The carrier will join a community of over 200 airlines using Amadeus PSS technology worldwide, enabling Bamboo Airways to deliver efficient reservation services for front-line employees to aid customers in purchasing, changing, and using services from the airline.
Bamboo Airways will also implement Amadeus’ Network Revenue Management solution, powered with Artificial Intelligence capabilities. This technology will enable the carrier to boost revenues across its network as it builds routes through connecting hubs, codeshares, and partnerships.
It will ensure Bamboo Airways can forecast passenger demand and willingness to pay while helping to react quickly to changing market conditions.
Additionally, the carrier will implement a modern front-end solution, Amadeus Reference Experience, for booking, self-service check-in, and self-re-accommodation workflows. This technology will enable the airline to create a seamless customer experience on the Bamboo Airways website and other digital channels.
Bamboo Airways CEO Nguyen Manh Quan said:“Cooperating with a critical partner like Amadeus is the first step in the digital transformation of Bamboo Airways to improve the technology systems and leverage customer experiences. Our adoption of the Altéa PSS and other digital solutions marks a crucial breakthrough in our business strategy, thus creating a launch pad to thrive in international markets, join the world’s major airline alliance down the line, and affirm our global status.”
Bamboo Airways currently operates nearly 170 flights per day and has a growing fleet of 30 aircraft, including the ultra-modern Boeing 787 wide-body, the narrow-body Airbus A321, and the regional Embraer 190.
