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Kuching lays on festival transfers

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUCHING 16 June 2022: A shuttle service for this year’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) from Kuching to its venue at Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) is available at designated checkpoints during the 17 to 19 June festival.

The bus shuttle service from Kuching to Damai Central car park area near SCV will run between 0900 to 2000 from three pickup points at The Hills Shopping Mall, Riverside Majestic Hotel Astana Wing and Plaza Merdeka in downtown Kuching. For those returning to the city from SCV, the trip from Damai Central car park starts from 0930 until 0030 the following day.

Tickets for the shuttle bus service are priced at MYR40 for a return trip for adults and MYR20 for children aged between 7 to 12 years old. Visitors can purchase the shuttle bus tickets at the three pickup points.

For RWMF ticket holders, daily limited free return trips are up for grabs, and the offer is on a first-come-first-serve basis.

STB is also collaborating with Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd to ferry RWMF ticket holders from Riverside Majestic bus stop to SCV via their hydrogen-powered buses. You can check the latest information and timetable on the Sarawak Metro bus festival transfers at the RWMF’s official website www.rwmf.net  and STB’s social media platforms.

For festival-goers driving up to the festival, an on-loop van shuttle service to the RWMF 2022 from the Santubong Resort T-Junction checkpoint to SCV is also available, priced at MYR7 one-way for adults and RM4 one-way for children aged between seven to 12 years old.

The van trip from Santubong Resort to SCV is from 1000 to 2200, while the trip from SCV to Santubong Resort is between 1000 to 0030.

Festival-goers are encouraged to plan their journey, particularly during the peak hours between 1600 to1800, which will be before the night concerts.

Rainforest World Music Festival 2022

The Rainforest World Music Festival, themed “Legendary Rainforest Celebration,” will be held from 17th to 19th June 2022, taking on a hybrid format this year with the physical concert at Sarawak Cultural Village while viewers can also live stream it from their homes via an online viewing platform. Visit rwmf.net for more information and to purchase tickets. 

The festival is back with its familiar format of daytime workshops and evening concerts with various activities planned throughout the festival. Festival-goers can enjoy the arts and craft fair featuring the best of Borneo handicrafts, among others, or savour a diverse choice of traditional delicacies from the food bazaar.

The daytime musical workshops will bring together diverse musicians from many disciplines, drawing together these talents under unifying themes to showcase, jam and create unique music in the setting of the Sarawak Cultural Village.

Festival-goers can choose from the different ticket categories at pre-sale prices – Adult 1-Day Pass (MYR165), Adult 3-Day Pass (MYR405), Child 1-Day Pass (MYR85), Child 3-Day Pass (MYR195) and 1-Day Family Package Pass- 2 Adult and 2 Children (MYR440). The virtual tickets are priced at MYR25 per one-hour block.

Borneo Jazz 2022

Themed “Jazz in The Jungle”, the 17th edition of Borneo Jazz, will be held from 24 to 26 June 2022 in Coco Cabana, Miri in a hybrid format for the first time to reach out to the greater jazz-loving community worldwide.

For the general category, 1-Day Pass is priced at MYR128 per ticket, 2-Day Pass is MYR228 per ticket and 3-Day Pass is MYR338 per ticket. As for students and senior citizens, 1-Day Pass is priced at MYR88 per ticket, 2-Day Pass is MYR128 per ticket and 3-Day Pass is MYR188 per ticket. For virtual viewing, tickets are priced at MYR25 per one-hour block.

(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)

AirAsia resumes long-haul routes

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 16 June 2022: Marking a new era for low-cost air travel, AirAsia X (AAX) announced Wednesday plans to fly long-haul from Kuala Lumpur to London, Dubai and Istanbul this year.

At the same time, the airline confirms the launch of four new routes to Japan and Hawaii, with ticket sales open on Wednesday.

Photo Credit: AirAsia X. Ready to fly long-haul routes.

AAX is now offering flights across seven routes from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi, Sydney, Seoul (Incheon), Tokyo (Haneda), Sapporo (Chitose), and Osaka (Kansai), as well as a flight from Osaka (Kansai) to Honolulu.

Ticket sales on all the routes started Wednesday with low fares on offer until 26 June 2022 for travel from 1 July 2022 to 26 March 2023. Lead-in fares are MYR499 (all-in-fare* one way) for economy seats and from MYR1,499 for a Premium Flatbed.

Capital A, executive chairman and founder of AirAsia X, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said: “This is an incredibly exciting day as AAX returns to the skies refreshed and rejuvenated.

“The resumption of four popular medium-haul routes and announcement of three new long haul services today is a significant milestone following the most challenging time in aviation history.

“We are thrilled to return to London and to launch flights for the first time to Dubai and Istanbul.

“Istanbul is my favourite destination, and I can’t wait to share the many highlights with everyone. We are sure all of these destinations will prove popular and look forward to seeing everyone back on board AAX again soon.”

Capital A president (commercial) Colin Currie added: “Today’s announcement marks a new era for our long haul affiliate AirAsia X which is resuming operations after a two-year hiatus, with refreshed branding to signal a fresh new start.

“Capital A will support AAX moving forward… We will use our full resources, including the AirAsia Super App, our cargo business Teleport, fintech arm BigPay and all of the other airlines in the AirAsia Aviation Group to take AAX to new heights.”

(Source: Capital A)

Virgin connects Gold Coast and Bali

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 16 June 2022: Virgin Australia will become the first Australian airline to offer direct flights between the Gold Coast and Bali, connecting two of the world’s premier surfing destinations starting 29 March 2023.

The airline opened bookings for the new daily service on Tuesday, saying it will deliver more than 2,200 seats weekly between Australia’s Gold Coast and Bali, Indonesia.

Photo Credit: Virgin Australia.

Flights will depart from the Gold Coast Airport’s new international terminal, 90 km south of downtown Brisbane.

The latest announcement follows Virgin Australia’s confirmation it will resume flights to Bali from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane effective Friday, 17 June.

Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the addition of the new Bali service reflected the growth in demand for services in and out of the Gold Coast Airport as well as the airline’s expanding presence there, with the new route set to further enhance Virgin Australia’s network from the Gold Coast.

“We are currently seeing continued growth in travel demand for Gold Coast services and are operating up to 180 domestic flights outbound each week,” Ms Hrdlicka said.

“In May alone, our Gold Coast bookings were up 55% compared to 2019, with bookings on our existing Bali flights up 48% for the same period and growing every week.”

Return economy lite fares on sale until midnight 20 June 2022

Gold Coast – Bali from AUD399

Brisbane – Bali from AUD469

Melbourne – Bali from AUD479

Sydney – Bali from AUD489

(Source: Virgin Australia)

STB and CapitaLand activate joint promotions

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 16 June 2022: Singapore Tourism Board and CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) entered into a multi-faceted three-year partnership earlier this month.

It will deliver new retail concepts and drive global awareness of Singapore and CapitaLand malls as must-visit lifestyle destinations. STB and CLI will jointly curate some 20 events and experiences during the three years.

Partnership objectives

  • Profile home-grown brands locally and in China across selected CapitaLand malls in both countries[1], with a focus on Singapore malls in tourism precincts such as Orchard Road (Plaza Singapura, The Atrium@Orchard), Civic District (Funan, Raffles City Singapore), Bras Basah, Bugis (Bugis+, Bugis Junction and Bugis Street) and Clarke Quay.
  • Create unique retail entertainment and lifestyle offerings through innovative cross-industry partnerships in areas such as the arts, lifestyle and sports. These will add to Singapore’s exciting pipeline of signature leisure events and activities.
  • Collaborate with international brands to anchor new and first-in-Singapore concepts to raise the profile of Singapore’s retail scene.

STB deputy chief executive Yap Chin Siang said: “We are delighted to ink this timely partnership with CapitaLand Investment to enhance and showcase the vibrancy of Singapore’s retail scene to the world. Together, we hope to engage consumers more meaningfully, as we jointly curate inspiring first-to-market offerings and authentic experiences that will strengthen Singapore’s position as a lifestyle destination for locals and visitors.”

STB collaborated with CLI to support the inaugural Wellness Festival Singapore (WFS), which wrapped up on 12 June. It involved CLI extending its signature Live It Up wellness and community festival from its workspace properties to its malls for the first time to reach a wider audience. WFS is a key part of STB’s strategy to position the city as a leading Urban Wellness haven.

About CapitaLand Investment Limited

Headquartered and listed in Singapore, CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) is a global real estate investment manager with a strong Asia foothold. As of 31 March 2022, CLI had about SGD124 billion of real estate assets under management, and about SGD86 billion of real estate funds under management held via six listed real estate investment trusts and business trusts, and 29 private funds across Asia-Pacific, Europe and USA. Its diversified real estate asset classes cover integrated developments, retail, office, lodging, business parks, industrial, logistics and data centres.

 [1] CapitaLand malls in downtown Singapore include Bugis+, Bugis Junction, Bugis Street, Clarke Quay, Funan, Plaza Singapura, Raffles City Singapore and The Atrium@Orchard. In China, CLI operates 45 malls in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Agoda raises funds for WWF projects

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 16 June 2022: Global digital travel platform Agoda, launches its  Eco Deals programme and partners with WWF-Singapore (World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore) to provide funds for marine habitat restoration initiatives in Southeast Asia and Australia.

Through Agoda Eco Deals, travellers can make a more positive impact with their travel purchase decisions and will be able to choose a wide range of properties that enable them to give back to community initiatives in the destinations they visit.

Agoda’s Sustainable Travel Trends Survey published in 2021 found consumers want to travel more sustainably and that polluted beaches and waterways ranked as the top concern for Filipino tourists; second for Australians, Indonesian, and Malaysians; and third for Singaporeans.

Working in collaboration with WWF, Agoda launched its first Eco Deal campaign on 8 June 2022 with offers and a pledge valid through 8 December 2022. The offers focus on travellers to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Australia.

It allows travellers to select from various holiday accommodation deals that flag a 15% discount. In turn, Agoda donates USD1 for every booking to contribute to the local WWF conservation efforts in restoring marine habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves in Southeast Asia or protecting wildlife affected by floods in Australia.

“In a post-COVID world, people are more aware of their impact on the places and communities they visit when travelling and are actively looking for ways and means to make their ecological footprint smaller. Through Agoda’s Eco Deals initiative, we provide consumers opportunities to ‘give back’ as part of our partners’ and Agoda’s social responsibility commitment,” said Agoda regional vice president Southeast Asia and Oceania Enric Casals. “Many people travel to destinations across Southeast Asia and Australia for the pristine beaches, crystal clear seas and amazing opportunities to dive or snorkel in the coral reefs. But to ensure that these places flourish for future generations to explore, we need to travel more responsibly, starting now. This partnership with WWF will help travellers take steps towards more sustainable travel.”

WWF-Singapore’s CEO R Raghunathan noted: “The ocean is the largest ecosystem on the planet, covering more than 70% of the earth’s surface area. However, many marine ecosystems have been facing existential threats due to human activities, and we must take action now”.

Travellers looking to support this programme can visit https://www.agoda.com/c/EcoDeals to make their bookings or look out for the Eco Deals badge on the app highlighting participating properties.

(Source: Agoda)

Red Elephant appoints Italian sales

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 15 June 2022: Red Elephant Reps, a hotel and travel representation company, has strengthened its European sales team with the appointment of a director of sales for Italy.

Saskia Bigai will be responsible for executing sales and marketing strategies throughout Italy to drive growth and provide brand awareness for the company’s clients.

Commenting on the new appointment, Red Elephant Reps chief executive officer Ian Paul Woods said: “Saskia’s expertise in hotel sales and marketing combined with her strong connections in the travel and hospitality industry in Italy will be crucial in helping us to grow even further in the region.”

She has spent the last 23 years in sales and marketing for some of the world’s most distinguished hotel groups and several boutique hotels in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. Before this, she worked for tour operators and in the MICE industry. 

“I’m thrilled to be a part of the Red Elephant Reps team,” says Bigai, “I look forward to bringing more awareness to our collection of hotels and DMCs through sales and marketing initiatives throughout Italy”.

Hard Rock stands tall on MICE

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TTR WEEKLY
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BALI, 15 June 2022: Bali is one-of-a-kind location with stunning scenery, the island has unique cultural experiences, comfortable weather, and world-class facilities for MICE. While the beautiful island attracts visitors from all over the world, it also provides attendees a numerous opportunities to blend business and pleasure in a single trip.

While planning for conference in Bali, accommodation selection is important because you need to find a resort with a convenient location (close to local attractions, malls, and eateries), as well as can provide fun team-building activities, and has good meeting facilities. Hard Rock Hotel Bali – Asia’s first Hard Rock Hotel is a good pick for your next MICE event.

Location

Situated on the iconic Kuta Beach – the hub of Bali’s entertainment and shopping district – you will be spoilt for choices for dining and shopping. The resort is located approximately 15 minutes or two miles from Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Stay Like A Rock Star

Music brings everyone together. Hard Rock Hotel Bali is well-known for its unique and upbeat concept that combines the beauty of legendary music with contemporary hospitality services.

All 418 guestrooms are well-designed: modern, stylish, and with beautiful touches of Balinese details. The stunning mosaicked patterns of rock icons that adorn the walls of the rooms, make the perfect backdrop for an Instagram selfie. The rooms are equipped with espresso coffee machine and BOSE Bluetooth speakers that can connect to your mobile devices so you can enjoy your playlists.

Rooms featuring either one king or two queen beds, fitted with pillow-top mattresses and Sleep Like a Rock® bedding that is designed for guests to relax and recharge.

Of course, no Hard Rock experience is complete without music. For that, you can enjoy the hotel’s signature The Sound of Your Stay® programme, which consists of “TRACKS®”, “PICKS®”, and “WAX®”. “TRACKS®” lets you download songs from the iTunes store to create a personalised soundtrack for an unforgettable holiday. “PICKS®” helps you live out your rock star dreams by letting you check out a Fender guitar, amplifier and earphones to jam in the room. If you do not know how to play the guitar, you can even learn by watching TV programmes that are available on the hotel channel.

Splashing Good Time

Take a dip in the biggest free-form swimming pool in Bali! Not to miss the unique sand island – it is a sunbathing paradise that also function as the stage for outdoor performances and volleyball matches.

There is no shortage of pool activities, as the team of rock agent organise a variety of activities and games, from water volleyball to balloon races. This will keep your group entertained while building strong teamwork.

Memorabilia Tour

More than 500 pieces of memorabilia from both local and international artists adorn the hotel’s walls and spaces, showcasing incredible pieces of music history and setting the stage for an unforgettable experience. Don’t forget to join the complimentary tour during your stay!


Centerstage

The Centerstage is a multi-purpose lobby bar located in the heart of the hotel. With live band performing nightly on a raised stage above the bar, the energy here is tremendous and you will feel like you’re in a live concert.

Watch video https://www.instagram.com/p/CWftpp8AR_6/

Meet Like A Rock Star

The Hard Rock Hotel Bali’s expansive indoor/outdoor meeting and event space is infused with unique, contemporary, music-inspired design and cutting-edge technology.

The team at Hard Rock Hotel Bali gives an amplified service and amazing experiences for any occasion, from intimate private meetings to spectacular events!

Your group will be treated like rock stars! Imagine this – welcome live band performance upon arrival, rockin’ team activities, group photo at guitar monument, Hard Rock’s merchandise as a welcome amenity, Centerstage VIP access, poolside private lunch or dinner events on Sand Island! You will be spoilt for choices.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Team Building

There are numerous music-themed activities and interactive entertainment options at Hard Rock Hotel Bali that are suited for any conference, event, or group size. Your team will feel like rock stars while bonding over their favourite music. They can form a rock band, learn to play instruments, and then record their own music track in the Boom Box Recording Studio.


Balinese Cooking Class

Interested in knowing more about local cuisine? You can organize cooking classes for your group. In just a few hours, you will learn about Balinese spices and what goes into the heart and soul of Balinese cooking.

Indeed, Bali is an excellent location for your next meeting or business retreat! If you’re planning future corporate retreats, get in touch with Hard Rock Hotel Bal to find out more.

This article is brought to you by Hpaper Online – a travel publication by HPL Hotels & Resorts. For more travel guides, subscribe to Hpaper Online for more, and you will receive exclusive discounts just for email subscribers.

(Your Stories: Hard Rock Hotel Bali)

TourismPHL gives farm tourism a nudge

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TTR WEEKLY
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MANILA, 15 June 2022: Tourism Philippines presents a promotion for farm visits encouraging visitors and tour operators to experience a new take on sustainable farm tourism.

The Telegram promotion invites travellers to watch a video of a  farm destination in Panabo, Davao del Norte that offers both farming and entertainment.

Here, tourists get to have fun in their theme park and learn about aquaculture and other farming techniques through sustainable infrastructures.

Check out the first featured farm in Mindanao and discover ‘naturetainment’ in Agriya. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/CG4_KqzFlUA

#FutureFarms #ItsMoreFunWithYou #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines

CX reports May performance gains

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TTR WEEKLY
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HONG KONG, 15 June 2022: Cathay Pacific saw passenger gains in May 2022 when compared with the same month last year, lifting the airline’s load factor by 33.7 percentage points to 60.5%, according to the airline’s traffic figures released Tuesday.

In a media statement, the airline said the May 2022 traffic figures started to reflect the positive impact of government changes to travel restrictions and quarantine requirements.

Cathay Pacific carried 57,982 passengers during May 2022, an increase of 141.5% compared to May 2021 but a 98% decrease compared to the pre-pandemic level in May 2019. The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 164.4% year-on-year but were down 97.1% versus May 2019.

Passenger load factor increased by 33.7 percentage points to 60.5%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 16.8% year-on-year, but decreased by 96% compared with May 2019 levels. In the first five months of 2022, the number of passengers carried increased by 59.1% against a 48.5% decrease in capacity and a 49.3% increase in RPKs, as compared to the same period for 2021.

Travel

Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam commented: “The introduction of further adjustments to travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in Hong Kong from 1 May was a welcome development, although our business during the month remained constrained.

“We increased our passenger flight capacity by 78% compared with April, but we still only operated about 4% of our pre-pandemic levels. Traffic volume in RPK increased 94% month on month, which was driven primarily by long-haul flights. As a result, the overall load factor reached 60.5%.

“The additional passenger flight capacity we mounted in May provided better connectivity for our transit passengers, particularly those travelling from the Chinese Mainland to long-haul destinations such as the US, Europe and Australia. Demand for inbound flights to Hong Kong saw substantial growth, driven by pent-up demand from North America, the UK and Europe. We also resumed flights to India last month with services to Delhi and Mumbai. On the other hand, we continued to operate limited frequencies into the Chinese Mainland to comply with ongoing capacity restrictions.”

Outlook

“The first quarter of 2022 saw travel restrictions and quarantine requirements tightening as Hong Kong continued to fight against COVID-19. Such measures have restricted our ability to operate beyond only a fraction of our passenger services and have significantly reduced our cargo capacity.

“However, with the recent adjustments to travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, we have been able to resume more flight capacity in the second quarter. Given a strong underlying cargo performance coupled with our cost-management measures implemented over the past two years, our consolidated losses in the first half of 2022, while substantial, are expected to be lower than the consolidated losses reported in the first half of 2021.”

“Earlier this month, the Hong Kong SAR Government agreed to extend the drawdown period of the HKD7.8 billion loan facility for 12 months to 8 June 2023. The further extension of the drawdown period is greatly appreciated and will provide us with the flexibility to manage our liquidity position.

“Looking ahead to June and beyond, as travel demand continues to improve over the coming months, we will increase passenger flight capacity as much as is practicable under the confines of ongoing restrictions. Cathay Pacific started the year operating flights to 29 destinations, and we target to double that by the end of the year. As of June, we are already halfway towards reaching this target, with 45 destinations resumed.

“We will be keeping a close eye on the opening up of travel activities in nearby countries, such as Japan and South Korea, and will look to operate flights to capture potential demand wherever possible. We also expect transit traffic to improve and become more diversified, particularly between the UK, Australia and New Zealand, as well as North America and Southeast Asia.”

(Source: Cathay Pacific)

PATA positive on tourism outlook

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 15 June 2022: Based on regional recovery trends in the Asia Pacific, destinations will amass step-wise annual increases from 2022 to 2024, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s latest forecast.

PATA released its latest quarterly forecast on Tuesday based on international visitor arrivals data provided by 39 Asia-Pacific destinations up to 6 May 2022.

International visitor arrival recovery rates (above the 2019 baseline level) for visitors to and across the Asia Pacific should reach between 25 to 48% of the volume last received in 2019, with the numbers reflecting the range of potential outcomes from severe to mild scenarios.

The travel association argues that this is a solid improvement over the 16 to 18% range of 2021 – the trough year for most Asia Pacific destinations – and heralds the beginning of a continued growth trend to 2024.

Foreign arrivals to and across the Asia Pacific are still projected to reach parity with the 2019 position (medium scenario) or be well above it (mild scenario) by 2024. Even so, the severe scenario reminds us that a possibility still exists for conditions to deteriorate once again. PATA identifies multiple influencing factors, including the ongoing pandemic continually evolving, the Ukraine/Russia crisis, escalating jet fuel prices, limited air capacity and routes, and industry-wide staff shortages.

While predicting annual growth for each of the 39 destinations covered between 2022 and 2024, there will be some variations.

At the individual destination level, recovery rates will vary broadly in 2022 and should range from less than 15% to almost 99%. In 2024, they range from 86% to 120%. The latest projections indicate the Asia Pacific will reach an IVA count in 2024 of 510 to 832 million, depending on which scenario plays out.

Similar variations are apparent across the source market regions relevant to the Asia Pacific. In general, the trend is towards the same inbound structure of 2024, at least under the medium scenario.

As PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera observes: “While a positive turning point is predicted to occur in 2022 for all the 39 Asia Pacific destinations covered in these updated forecasts, many market variables are currently influencing travel, and significant challenges still lay ahead. She cited the threat of emerging strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to escalating jet fuel prices, the spectre of rising inflation to the current geopolitical conflicts. These variables remain concerns in the face of pent-up global demand to reconnect and travel.”

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