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AirAsia Philippines expands network

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TTR WEEKLY
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MANILA, 30 May 2022: AirAsia Philippines is confident of a strong rebound in the ASEAN region as it resumes flights to Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand commencing in June.

The airline is also set to resume services to the capital city of Sabah – Kota Kinabalu, on 28 May with twice-weekly flights. 

A growing resort destination, Kota Kinabalu is home to an array of tropical islands, lush rainforests and the famous Unesco site, Mount Kinabalu. It is also renowned as an eco, wellness, health and sports tourism destination. With 32 ethnic groups living harmoniously in Sabah, the city is also well known for promoting cultural tourism. 

Aside from tourism, Kota Kinabalu is also Sabah’s industrial and commercial centre, which opens strong opportunities for business and employment for everyone, including Filipinos.

AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla said: “Our resumption of flights to key ASEAN destinations starting with Kota Kinabalu signifies our recovery, especially in the international market. We hope to revive the tourism and economy of Sabah with the resumption of the Kota Kinabalu flights.”

A survey commissioned by AirAsia Philippines in December 2021 revealed that Filipinos were willing to travel in smaller groups this year with their families (69%), partners (40%) and close friends (24%) should international travel protocols relax. Top destinations picked by Filipino travellers include Singapore (73%) and Japan (71%). Ranking ninth in the list of top preferred international destinations of Filipinos is Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, with 47% of the participants including the destination in their top choice list.

Sabah Tourism Board Chairman Noredah Othman said, “We are pleased to welcome the return of the AirAsia Philippines flight to Kota Kinabalu. This is AirAsia’s second international flight to Kota Kinabalu after Singapore. We are excited that international flights are progressively resuming since we rely heavily on air connectivity for our tourism arrivals. STB will continue to promote Sabah as a holiday destination to the Philippines market, especially to those interested in climbing Mt Kinabalu and other niche tourism products.”

Aside from Kota Kinabalu, AirAsia Philippines will also start flights to Hong Kong (weekly) and Singapore (four times weekly) as well as Bangkok (twice weekly) and Bali (twice weekly) during June.

MH flies direct to Doha

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 30 May 2022: Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Binti Shukri welcomed passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines’ new direct flight from Doha Qatar, last Thursday. 

The new service will help drive Malaysia’s tourism recovery to boost traffic flow to Kuala Lumpur from the Doha gateway airport. 

The service will provide passengers seamless connectivity via Hamad International Airport, enabling optimal connections to the US, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, through the airline’s codeshare partnership with Qatar Airways.

The national airline is now operating nonstop daily flights between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Hamad International Airport, Doha. MH160 departs Kuala Lumpur for Doha at 2120, while the return flight MH161 departs Doha at 0130. The airline deploys an A330-300 aircraft on the route, configured with 290 seats, comprising 27 seats in business class, 16 premium economy with extra legroom and 247 seats in economy.

Malaysia has reopened its borders to international tourists starting 1 April 2022. Commenting on the reopening, Dato’ Sri Nancy said, “It is indeed a huge relief for the tourism industry as we welcome more international tourists, newcomers and regulars alike, to further boost our economy. Therefore, we hope for a strong rebound in our market as the border reopening will open doors for the tourism revival to bolster recovery. We are targeting to attract 2 million international tourist arrivals this year with more than MYR8.6 billion (AED7.5 billion) in tourism receipts.”

According to Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), international traffic at its local network of airports increased by 53% after the border reopening on 1 April 2022. Since then, MAHB has recorded an average of 23,000 international passenger movements daily, with numbers peaking above 30,000 during the recent long Hari Raya festive break.

Overall, the airports recorded 642,128 international passenger movements, out of which Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), Penang International Airport (PEN) and Langkawi International Airport (LGK) showed the most significant increase by more than 200%, respectively when compared to the preceding month.

Meanwhile, the group recorded 2.78 million passengers for Malaysia in April, with domestic passenger movements totalling 2.13 million or 77%.

(Source: Tourism Malaysia)

Changi increases Korea air links

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 30 May 2022: Come June 2022, weekly services from Changi Airport to and from South Korea will increase by more than 60% with new airlines commencing operations.

The first off the blocks, T’way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, started a twice-weekly service from Seoul to Singapore on 29 May.

Air Premia, which commenced “Passenger Aircraft Carrying Cargo” (PACC) operations in Changi late last year, will operate a thrice-weekly passenger service from 29 June on the same Seoul – Singapore route.

Jeju Air will become the sole operator on the Busan – Singapore route, flying twice weekly from 25 June. A new city link to Jeju will be operated by Scoot, commencing 15 June.

Apart from the new services, from June, there will be additional services from Seoul to Singapore by Asiana Airlines (from five to seven times weekly), Korean Air (from seven to 10 times weekly) and Singapore Airlines ( from seven to 11 times weekly).

With these additions, seven airlines (Air Premia, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Korean Air, Scoot, Singapore Airlines, T’way Air) will operate 42 weekly services from Busan, Jeju and Seoul to Singapore. Connectivity has been strengthened compared to pre-Covid-19 when five airlines operated to two cities in Korea in 2019.

Changi Airport group’s managing director of air hub development, Lim Ching Kiat said: “South Korea has always been among the top travel destinations for Singaporeans. With these new flight options, Singapore residents now have more choices to explore the different cities in Korea. At the same time, we can look forward to welcoming more South Korean tourists to Singapore. In terms of seat capacity[2], Changi Airport is the second most connected to South Korea among airports worldwide. We continue to work with our airline and travel partners to promote travel between the two countries.”

As of 1 May 2022, 83 airlines operate over 2,900 weekly scheduled flights at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to some 124 cities in 46 countries and territories worldwide.

Sarawak’s festivals on ticket sale trail

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 27 May 2022: Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) starts sales promotions today in the Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur and The Mall Mid Valley Southkey, Johor Bahru, for Sarawak’s top music festivals.

The ticket sales promotion continues at shopping malls until 29 May to boost attendance at the 25th anniversary of the highly anticipated world music festival, Rainforest World Music Festival, and the longest-running jazz festival in the region, the Borneo Jazz.

The sales tour got underway at the Imago KK Times Square, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on 21 to 22 May and moved to West Malaysia from 27 to 29 May. The tour will conclude at Gurney Plaza, Penang, from 3 to 5 June 2022.

Domestic travel agencies and tour operators from Sarawak will join the promotion of both festivals. There will be fun-filled quizzes and activities lined up as well as attractive merchandise to giveaway, including free tickets to RWMF and BJF. Additionally, visitors will be entertained with Sarawak’s traditional sape’ performances.

STB Deputy CEO for marketing communication, research and private corporate relations Suriya Charles Buas said: “Last year’s virtual experience gave us invaluable feedback on how we could work towards combining the best of both worlds – physical and the digital – to bring the best of the hybrid format. Thus, this year we strive to get the best out of both festivals.

“Through both international events, we are building the music tourism ecosystem in Sarawak to elevate the state as a cultural and music centre, in line with STB’s goals to promote sustainable and responsible tourism,” he added.

“Organising the festivals in Sarawak will also bring travellers from all over the world to the Land of the Hornbills, keeping Sarawak at the top of stakeholder’s minds while promoting the rich land of Sarawak against the fascinating backdrop of history and mystery, culture, adventure, nature, festivals and food. While re-building the tourism industry, it will also stimulate domestic and international travelling for a better tourism future.”

The Rainforest World Music Festival themed “Legendary Rainforest Celebration” will be held from 17 to 19 June 2022, adopting 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 www.rwmf.net  for more information and to purchase tickets. 

RWMF will feature a host of international performers from Canada, India, USA, Finland, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Madagascar, Ukraine, China, Bhutan and Seoul, among others, while showcasing a string of Malaysia’s own talents such as Alena Murang, At Adau from Sarawak, Bamboo Woods from Sabah and many more.

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.

Meanwhile, themed “Jazz in The Jungle”, the 17th edition of Borneo Jazz, will be held from 24 to 26 June 2022 in Coco Cabana, Miri is also adopting a hybrid format for the first time to reach out to the greater jazz-loving community worldwide. Performers from a host of countries, namely Singapore, Japan, France, Switzerland, USA, and Hungary, not to mention the best names in Malaysian jazz, will be showcasing their talent in Jazz music. For more information on the festival or to purchase the ticket, visit www.jazzborneo.com. 

For the public category, 1-Day Pass costs MYR128, 2-Day Pass MYR228 and 3-Day Pass MYR338. For students and senior citizens, the 1-Day Pass costs MYR88 per ticket, the 2-Day Pass MYR128 and the 3-Day Pass MYR188. For virtual viewing, tickets cost MYR25 per one-hour block.

Malaysia Airlines has been named the official airline partner, Shopee the official e-commerce partner and Karuna the official ticketing partner for both festivals.

(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)

Fill in the Thailand Pass blanks and go

By
TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 27 May 2022: Thailand introduces a simplified Thailand Pass registration and entry rules for international arrivals starting 1 June 2022.

The proposal gained approval from Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration and is now awaiting publication in the Royal Gazette, making the changes official and binding. 

Tourism Authority of Thailand posted details of the 1 June changes to the Thailand Pass.

Foreign nationals must apply for a Thailand Pass (via https://tp.consular.go.th/. However, they will only need to provide details of their passport, vaccination, and the US$10,000 health insurance policy. The system will automatically issue a Thailand Pass QR code for the applicants without any waiting period.

Thai citizens will no longer be required to apply for a Thailand Pass.

Upon arriving in Thailand, vaccinated travellers must undergo entry screening and are free to go anywhere in the kingdom.

Unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated travellers who can upload proof of a negative RT-PCR or professional ATK test within 72 hours of travel via the Thailand Pass system will also be allowed entry and free to go anywhere.

The CCSA also approved the easing of nationwide Covid-19 controls for provinces and destinations identified by different colours – Pilot Tourist Areas or blue zones, the Surveillance or Green Zone, and Areas under the Stringent Surveillance or yellow zone.

Night-time entertainment venues, such as pubs, bars and karaoke lounges in the green and blue zones, will be allowed to resume operations, including the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises from 1700 to 2400. However, restaurants and bars cannot serve alcoholic beverages between 1400 to 1700 daily under pre-Covid-19 rules introduced to limit alcohol sale hours.

TTR Weekly reports on Covid-19 rule changes that are first published on the TAT Newsroom website www.tatnews.org, rather than speculating or reporting proposals that may not be approved by public health authorities and the CCSA.

SpiceJet recovers from ransomware attack

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TTR WEEKLY
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DELHI, 27 May 2022: A ransomware attack on India’s SpiceJet continued to impact the airline’s operations on Wednesday, leading to more flight delays, the airline confirmed in a Twitter post

Its IT team claims it has now “to a large extent contained and rectified the situation that had a cascading effect on our flights leading to delays.”

BBC first reported the airline faced a ransomware attack on Tuesday evening, delaying flights and leaving many stranded at airports, but flights continued to be delayed throughout Wednesday, and many of the airline’s website pages failed to open.

The airline says the situation has now been rectified, but its media centre and corporate announcements, and other website features remained offline when searching its website. Online booking systems are working normally.

Commenting on the attack, Times Now said that many passengers took to social media to slam the airline after experiencing continued flight delays. Times Now suggested in its report that the incident exposed “cracks in our air safety and how vulnerable are flights to malware attacks.”

Vueling combines air and rail travel

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TTR WEEKLY
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LONDON, 27 May 2022: Vueling and Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s railway company, have agreed to offer air to rail connections for Vueling passengers.

Using Vueling Global, the virtual interline platform powered by Dohop (www.dohop.com), customers can now purchase tickets using one booking process, combining their flight with train connections to different destinations across Germany.

Connections between airline and train can be made at Berlin Brandenburg Airport to cities such as Dresden, Hannover, Leipzig, Rostock and Wolfsburg.

With the intermodal travel link, Vueling extends the catchment area of BER to the surrounding cities and seamlessly links it with destinations across Europe. 

The Dohop platform allows Vueling and Deutsche Bahn to provide passengers with a one-stop-shop for booking combined airline and train journeys.

Dohop is an Icelandic technology company with 17 years of experience in developing innovative solutions in aviation and travel. Its core technology focuses on connecting itineraries working with alliances and airports worldwide,  as well as airlines such as EasyJet, Transavia, Air France, Eurowings, Vueling, and Air Transat.

Myanmar’s e-visa makes a comeback

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TTR WEEKLY
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YANGON, 27 May 2022: Myanmar has reactivated its e-visa service after two years, but entry and health rules are stringent, while travellers remain hesitant as long as the country is under military junta rule.

However, commercial flights for business travellers resumed in April and airlines based in Southeast Asia serve Yangon mainly from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

https://www.gasperexplorer.com.

Myanmar still maintains stringent pandemic protocols that require visitors to show vaccination certification, PCR tests and local medical insurance cover purchased from an authorised insurance company.

Arrivals must be fully vaccinated and present proof of a second Covid dose at least 14 days before arrival. They must also provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 PCR test result not more than 72 hours before departure to Myanmar.

On arrival, all visitors must take a Covid Rapid Antigen Test costing around 15000 ks (USD8). If they return a negative result, they can continue their travel itinerary in Myanmar. If positive, they must be isolated in a designated government hospital or hotel, which is covered by the health insurance they purchased.

Visitors also need to show proof of a return ticket from Myanmar and a hotel booking making the online e-visa application.

Tourism industry leaders are hopeful that reopening the e-visa facility will help revive the tourism sector, but this year will be challenging. The main deterrent to recovery is the dominant traveller perception that visits will generate hard currency spending and that will help to prop up the military junta. Following a military coup on 1 February 2021, the military stands accused of killing thousands of innocent protesters and imprisoning people without fair trials.

Justice for Myanmar claims foreign exchange earnings and investment in tourism projects linked financially to the military junta leaders ultimately fund the purchase of military equipment and weapons used against protestors who are calling for the return of democracy and freedom of speech.

AirAsia flies from KUL to both Bangkok airports

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 27 May 2022: AirAsia Thailand will launch flights on 20 June from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport to Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Malaysia, making it the first low-cost airline to offer flights to Kuala Lumpur from Bangkok’s two international airports.

Travellers planning trips to Bangkok from Kuala Lumpur can now choose flights landing at Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) or Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK).

Flights on the Kuala Lumpur – Suvarnabhumi (BKK) route will operate twice daily. A promotional fare for AirAsia members sells for a minimum of MYR179 one way. Book promotional seats from now until 31 May for travel from 20 June to  29 October 2022 using the AirAsia Super App.

Commenting on the introduction of the new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Kuala Lumpur route,  AirAsia Thailand chief executive officer Santisuk Klongchaiya said: “At present, the carrier operates three domestic routes from Suvarnabhumi, flying to Chiang Mai, Phuket and Krabi, and from June onwards will be operating our first international route with Suvarnabhumi-Kuala Lumpur.”

Fully vaccinated travellers between Thailand and Malaysia are no longer required to present a Covid-19 test result or undergo quarantine on arrival. Thailand will abolish the Thailand Pass requirement for Thai Nationals to enter the country from 1 June 2022.

DidaTravel charts Southeast Asia’s top destinations

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TTR WEEKLY
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SHENZEN, China, 27 May 2022: Thailand’s destinations dominate DidaTravel’s bookings chart for the first four months of 2022 confirming the country leads recovery in booking volume in Southeast Asia channelled through the global hotel wholesaler.

At the country level, Thailand leads the Southeast Asia market growth, with bookings up 324% from 1 January to 30 April compared with the same four-month period in 2021. The total booking volume for Thailand from 1 January to 30 April 2022 was 1.7 times of Malaysia, 2.2 times of Indonesia, 3.3 times of Singapore, 3.4 times of the Philippines, and 11.4 times of Vietnam. The company said the exact booking order amounts were confidential.

DidaTravel said the vast lead in total booking volume for the four months confirmed Thailand as its top destination in the region for its B2B travel buying clients based worldwide.

In its booking performance chart identifying the top 20 destinations, Bangkok topped the list, but other destinations in Thailand returned positive booking trends too. Pattaya on Thailand’s eastern seaboard clocked fourth place, followed by sixth-placed Phuket, Krabi (11), Chiang Mai (12), Hua Hin (15), and Samui (18).

Overall, data from DidaTravel shows that Southeast Asia’s hotel bookings have increased by 460% YoY, even surpassing the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 by 15%.

At the same time, the top destinations (cities as opposed to countries) booked by DidaTravel’s B2B buyers, such as travel agents, tour operators, OTAs, TMCs and MICE, are as follows:

Top 20 Southeast Asian destinations for global travellers 2022 reserved via clients of DidaTravel

Rank

Destination

1

Bangkok, Thailand

2

Singapore

3

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

4

Pattaya, Thailand

5

Bali, Indonesia

6

Phuket, Thailand

7

Manila, Philippines

8

Jakarta, Indonesia

9

Boracay Island, Philippines

10

George Town, Malaysia

11

Krabi, Thailand

12

Chiang Mai, Thailand

13

Bandung, Indonesia

14

Ipoh, Malaysia

15

Hua Hin, Thailand

16

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

17

Johor Bahru, Malaysia

18

Koh Samui, Thailand

19

Kuantan, Malaysia

20

Malacca, Malaysia

As the demand for Southeast Asia hotel products rises, DidaTravel has added more rooms to its inventory. In the past three years, DidaTravel’s hotel numbers in Southeast Asia have maintained double-digit growth to reach 44% — taking the total number of hotels available in the region to 28,000, of which 3,712 hotels are directly contracted. 

In part, this growth has been driven by DidaTravel’s recently announced plan to increase the number of directly contracted hotels globally by the end of 2022 to reach 74,000.

DidaTravel Founder & CEO Rikin Wu said: “DidaTravel has had a rich local knowledge and strong contracting presence in Southeast Asia for a long time – so it is very exciting to see growth in Southeast Asia as demand rebounds. I am optimistic about the travel industry in 2022 because we see more and more countries are easing travel restrictions across the region to bring back the much needed long-haul travellers who stay longer and spend more.

“We’ve been working hand-in-hand with our Southeast Asian hotelier partners to attract and welcome domestic and international travellers to their hotels. I’m proud to confirm that we now have 28,000 hotels in the region, 3,712 directly contracted.” 1 All figures quoted refer to bookings made via DidaTravel from 1 January to 30 April 2019, 2021, and 2022.

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