Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Home Blog Page 536

Malaysia targets Middle East travellers

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

DUBAI, 13 May 2022: Tourism Malaysia returned to the Arabian Travel Market this week to restart promotions in the Middle East and network with tourism trade partners after a two-year pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The prestigious annual event was held at Dubai World Trade Centre from 9 to 12 May. This year, the Malaysian delegation was led by the Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri. The Malaysia Pavilion consisted of 64 delegates representing 32 organisations, mainly hotels, travel agencies and state tourism boards.

Malaysia reopened its borders to international tourists on 1 April 2022. Commenting on the decision, Dato’ Sri Nancy said: “It was indeed a significant milestone for our tourism industry as we welcome more international first time and returning visitors to boost our economy further. Now that our borders are fully open again, we are confident that we will witness a strong rebound in tourism numbers to bolster the recovery of our economy. This year, we estimate 2 million international tourist arrivals generating more than MYR8.6 billion in tourism receipts.”

Pre-pandemic, in 2019, Malaysia received 397,726 tourists from the MENA region. Saudi Arabia was Malaysia’s top market, accounting for 121,444 tourists, more than 30% of arrivals, from the West Asia and North African regions, an 8.2% increase over the previous year.

The minister scheduled meetings with senior executives from key Middle Eastern airlines to discuss future collaboration during the event. She also attended the signing of a Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC) between Tourism Malaysia and Emirates hosted at the airline’s pavilion.

“We will continue to place a strong emphasis and focus on attracting Middle Eastern tourists to Malaysia, so naturally, we will be stepping up our promotional efforts here,” said Dato’ Sri Nancy during the signing ceremony.

Travel firm’s pivot clinches new business

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

HANOI, Vietnam, 13 May 2022: After deciding to pivot from long-haul to Asian markets, Absolute Asia Travel, a Vietnamese and Mekong Region inbound tour operator, found cooperation in an unlikely place, handling the first Mongolian group of tourists to Vietnam since the pandemic.

Absolute Asia Travel was hit hard by the onset of Covid-19 and saw its traveller base, predominantly North Americans and Europeans, disappear overnight with the closing of borders.

The first Mongolian tour series arrives in Vietnam as Covid-19 restrictions ease.

The pivot in marketing began by hiring Pear Anderson in 2020 as its sales representative for Southeast Asia a shift in strategy that has started to pay off.

As Vietnam started to take steps to reopen earlier this year, Absolute Asia Travel found themselves with an unexpected lead – a Mongolian travel agency, Cruise Tour Mongolia. The tour operator handled the ground arrangements for the first group of Mongolian tourists to enter Vietnam just nine days after the country reopened.

According to Absolute Asia Travel’s director of sales and marketing, Dong Minh Tuan, 130 Mongolian passengers flew in on 24 March 2022. They travelled on an eight-day trip to Hanoi and Phu Quoc. Cruise Tour Mongolia are now planning 15 back-to-back direct flights to Hanoi – and Absolute Asia Travel is their partner for all the arrangements Vietnam-side.

“The Mongolian market is one that Absolute Asia Travel had never even considered before the pandemic. Our strategy of looking at new sources of inbound visitors is starting to pay off now that Vietnam is open. With Southeast and East Asia also reopening, we are keen to start working together with new Asian partners to showcase all Vietnam offers,” Dong Minh Tuan explained.

“We discovered Phu Quoc Island in January through internet research and wrote to many tour operators in Vietnam looking for a company to support us,” said Cruise Tour Mongolia international affairs manager Amar Munkhbat.

“Luckily, we came across Absolute Asia Travel, who were professional in their communications – and their quote was one of the most competitive. The tours have been selling very well and have seen a great deal of interest from Mongolian travellers. From 24 March until now, we have sold 780 seats.”

(Source: Pear Anderson)

Maldives and Qatar Airways sign MOU

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

DUBAI, 13 May 2022: Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (Visit Maldives) and Qatar Airways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase inbound air traffic to the Maldives.

The MOU was signed by MMPRC chief executive officer Thoyyib Mohamed, and Qatar Airways chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori  on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) earlier this week.

MMPRC chief executive officer Thoyyib Mohamed (right), and Qatar Airways chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori.

According to the agreement, the partners will launch joint promotional and marketing activities with the overarching objective of increasing inbound air traffic to the Maldives.

Activities will include a mix of B2B and B2C campaigns, organizing familiarization trips for travel partners and media influencers, and working on joint activities with trade partners.

Speaking at a panel discussion held during the 9th Arab Aviation Summit in Dubai earlier this year, Thoyyib noted that the tourism and the aviation industry should work closely together to overcome challenges. He had also referred to the important role the Middle East plays as a growing source market for the Maldives and acting as a hub where tourists could connect with flights to the Maldives.

Over 35 international airlines operate flights to the Maldives, including leading Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Fly Dubai, Etihad Airways, and Gulf Air.

On 4 March, Maldives phased out the need for vaccinated tourists to present a negative PCR test pre-flight or on arrival and lifted the national public health emergency on 13 March.

MMPRC is currently promoting the country at the 28th edition of the ATM 2022, a leading travel trade show for the inbound and outbound travel industry in the Middle East.

Inflight mask-wearing on the way out

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

GENEVA, 13 May 2022: Good news for travellers; the latest guidance recommends ditching masks when flying within Europe, a move that gained a welcome response from the International Air Transport Association.

However, phasing out mask-wearing inflight would still depend on whether it is mandatory for other forms of transport and the rules individual countries may impose. Mask wearing on flights in Asia remains compulsory and on public transport and indoor venues, including shopping malls. Singapore is easing the rule but not for public transport and airlines.

Japan on Wednesday said it was no longer necessary to wear masks outdoors to protect against Covid-19 providing social distancing was practised.

A recent report noted that 18 airlines in the US phased out mask-wearing on their domestic flights and international flights to destinations where mask-wearing was deemed optional. However, here in Asia, inflight mask-wearing remains mandatory in most contexts and is likely to stay that way until Covid-19 is declared an endemic across the region.

Newest EU guideline

IATA said on Thursday it welcomed new guidance from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), removing its recommendation that masks should be required in-flight.

EASA’s updated Aviation Health Safety Protocol, published on 11 May, calls for the mandatory mask rule to be relaxed where restrictions have been eased for other transport modes.

This important shift reflects the high levels of vaccination, natural immunity levels, and the removal of domestic restrictions in many European nations. The updated guidance also acknowledges the need to move from an emergency to a more sustainable mode of managing Covid-19.

“We welcome EASA’s recommendation to relax the mask mandate, which is another important step along the road back to normality for air passengers. Travellers can look forward to the freedom of choice on whether to wear a mask. And they can travel with confidence knowing that many features of the aircraft cabin, such as high-frequency air exchange and high-efficiency filters, make it one of the safest indoor environments,” said IATA’s director-general Willie Walsh.

However, several jurisdictions still maintain mask requirements. That is a challenge for airlines and passengers flying between destinations with different requirements.

“We believe that mask requirements on board aircraft should end when masks are no longer mandated in other parts of daily life, for example, theatres, offices or on public transport. Although the European protocol comes into effect next week, there is no globally consistent approach to mask-wearing on board aircraft. Airlines must comply with the regulations applicable to the routes they are operating. The aircraft crew will know what rules apply and it is critical that passengers follow their instructions. And we ask that all travellers be respectful of other people’s decision to voluntarily wear masks even if it is not a requirement,” said Walsh.

IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents 290 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic.

Expedia plots a positive path

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

SINGAPORE, 13 May 2022: New data shows rising travel intent, growing traveller confidence, longer search windows and improved lodging performance, according to Expedia Group Media Solutions’s Q1 2022 Travel Trend Report.   

The report includes global data and regional insights for the Asia Pacific, EMEA, North America and Latin America, spanning search trends, top booked destinations, and lodging insights.  

Key findings

Travel searches surge as restrictions eased.   During Q1, global search volume was up 25% quarter-over-quarter, led by double-digit growth in North America (NORAM) at 30% and in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at 25%.  A prior-year comparison further illustrates strong recovery, with global search volumes up 75% year-over-year compared to Q1 2021. All regions saw a year-over-year lift, with EMEA* search volume up 165%, NORAM* up 70%, Latin America (LATAM) up 50%, and Asia Pacific (APAC) up 30%. 

*NORAM: North American Region (Canada, United States, and Mexico)
*EMEA: Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Expedia’s report for Q1 2022 indicates growing traveller confidence, evident in longer search windows. For example global share of searches in the 180+ day, search window increased 190%, while the 0- to 21–day search window decreased 15% quarter-over-quarter. EMEA and NORAM travellers searched the furthest out; 91- to 180–day search window increased by 140% and 60%, respectively.  

Big cities & beaches maintain appeal    

Major cities such as Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, and London remained popular with travellers. They made the global top 10 list of booked destinations in Q1, along with beach destinations like Cancun, Punta Cana, Honolulu, and Miami.

Las Vegas topped the global list, surpassing New York, which held the No. 1 spot in Q3 and Q4 2021. However, New York appeared on the top 10 list of booked destinations across all regions for the third consecutive quarter.   

In APAC, destinations within Australia experienced quarter-over-quarter solid growth, including Sydney, Melbourne and Surfers Paradise.  

Lodging performance on the rise  

Global lodging bookings for hotels and vacation rentals combined were up 35% quarter-over-quarter, and all regions experienced at least double-digit growth in Q1. During Q1, 15 of the top 25 global destinations saw double-digit growth in hotel bookings quarter-over-quarter. International lodging length of stay held steady between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022, at two days for hotel stays and 5.5 days for vacation rental stays. 

Opportunities⁠ for sustainable tourism

50% of consumers would be willing to pay more for transportation, activities, and lodging if the option was more sustainable.

Consumers worldwide are already making more mindful decisions when travelling, such as opting for more eco-conscious and sustainable offerings and more want to do so in the future. However, many feel overwhelmed by starting the process of being a more sustainable traveller and are looking for sustainability information from trusted travel resources and providers.  

According to Expedia’s Sustainable Travel Study, two-thirds of consumers want to see more information on sustainability from lodging and transportation providers, and half want to see this information from destination organizations. Additionally, 50% of consumers would be willing to pay more for transportation, activities, and lodging if the option was more sustainable. 

 “As we look back on the first quarter of the year and forward to the months ahead, we’re optimistic about what 2022 has in store,” said Expedia Media Solutions global vice president Jennifer Andre. “Rising travel intent, lengthening search windows, a lift in international searches, and growing consumer interest in sustainable travel are just a few of the positive trends we saw in Q1 2022. This year is shaping up to be a year of sustained growth, and we look forward to collaborating with our partners and across the industry to continue rebuilding tourism for the future.” 

The  2022 Travel Trend Report quarterly combines Expedia Group’s first-party data and custom research with actionable insights and industry examples to help travel marketers on their continued journey toward rebuilding. 

See the full report:
https://info.advertising.expedia.com/travel-trend-report-download-2022-q1?utm_campaign=r-n-r_r-n-r_22q1-ttr_20220509&utm_medium=pr&utm_source=outreach&utm_content=im_research_text

Sabah restarts travel promotions at ATM

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

DUBAI, 12 May 2022: The Sabah Tourism Board, along with five local travel agents, are promoting Sabah as one of Malaysia’s hidden gems at the 2022 Arabian Travel Market in Dubai this week.

The Sabah tourism delegation met with tourism key players and potential buyers on the eve of the ATM for a business-to-business (B2B) session that focused on resuming Sabah’s tourism promotions in the Middle East market.

Organised by the Solidarity Association For Travel and Tours Agency Malaysia (SAFTTA), the engagement was launched by the Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

Sabah Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer Noredah Othman said the Middle East was an emerging market for Sabah… the B2B session was timely and necessary as travel activities returned to normal.

“Sabah can be an eye-opening destination for our Middle Eastern visitors, from its friendly people and rich culture to its breathtaking nature, wildlife, and cuisine. We have a wide variety of unique experiences for tourists to enjoy.

“We, at Sabah Tourism Board, have consistently maintained our commitment and aggressiveness in promoting tourism activities and products to the foreign market, especially during the pandemic.

“We anticipate an influx of Middle Eastern tourists to Malaysia and to the state. We hope that this will boost our tourism industry even more. All stakeholders must work together to achieve this,” she said.

The five local travel agents participating in the SAFTTA B2B session were Fun Holiday Tours and Travel, Borneo Wakid Adventures, i-world Travel and Tours, Exotic Asian Explorer (Borneo), and AiTrave.

According to Fun Holiday Tours and Travel managing director Connie Chong, Middle Eastern travellers visiting Malaysia are not necessarily looking to shop. She added that many of them are drawn by the country’s climate, culture, and food.

“The SAFTTA B2B aims to promote Malaysia tourism products and provide more destination information to all trade partners and tourism industry players. As agents, we need to be aggressive in promoting our state’s uniqueness to them, such as the Danum Valley, Kundasang highland, islands, the local cultures, and many more.

“Flight connectivity is not a major problem for Sabah. So, we will continue to play our role in promoting Sabah as a new travel destination,” said Chong, who helped organise the engagement session.

Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Brunei are currently the easiest gateways to reach Sabah from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The Kuala Lumpur – Kota Kinabalu and Singapore – Kota Kinabalu routes are well connected, with several airlines now operating between the cities.

Visit: www.sabahtourism.com

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)

Strong turnout for Centara World Masters

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

HUA HIN, Thailand, 12 May 2022: Golfers worldwide joined the seventh edition of the Centara World Masters Golf Championship this week, marking a welcome return for Asia’s biggest tournament for club golfers after a two-year hiatus.

Golfers teed off on Sunday 8 May, and the grand celebrations for the victors take place Saturday 14 May, when the winners pick up prizes totalling USD30,000.

Golfers back for the Centara World Masters.

The tournament has attracted golfers from over 20 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, India, Germany, the US, the UK, Vietnam, and Thailand.

The golf action is underway at the Banyan and Black Mountain courses, with participants aged 35 and over competing across a range of age and handicap divisions – a popular format that sees golfers pitted against peers of a similar age and standard.

The Centara World Masters is a collaboration between Australian-based Go Golfing, which has been hosting World Masters Golf events around the world for 27 years, and Thailand-based Golfasian, which looks after more golfers travelling to Asia than any other golf tour operator.

The official tournament hotel Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin hosted the opening night welcome dinner, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Chang and Coke, also partnering with Golfasian and Go Golfing to present the event.

Golfasian Managing Director and Tournament Co-Director Mark Siegel highlighted the significance of the event’s return in 2022, noting: “The event provides a substantial boost for Thailand tourism and comes amid the country’s broader reopening for international travellers”.

More  information can be found at the official event website: https://www.thailandworldmasters.com/

Andamanda readies for Phuket opening

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

PHUKET 12 May 2022: Phuket’s newest water theme park Andamanda Phuket, opens on 21 May at a site between the main tourism hubs of Phuket Town and Patong Beach

Owned by Proud Group, a real estate developer, the project represents an investment of THB4.5 billion (USD134 million), reflecting the developer’s long-term confidence in the island’s tourism industry.

Caption from left:  Pasu Liptapanlop, Director of Proud Real Estate Public Company Limited; Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, President of Phuket Tourism Association; Narong Woonciew, Governor of Phuket; Suwat Liptapanlop, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand; Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Deputy Governor for Tourism Products and Business, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT);  Proudputh Liptapanlop, Executive Director of Proud Group; and Brian Walker-Smith, Representative from Whitewater West at the opening press conference.

Covering 9.3 hectares, Andamanda is much more than a water park. It features a wide range of recreational components, including a Thai heritage-themed water park with five separate zones – Coral World, The Pearl Palace, Emerald Forest, Great Andaman Bay and Naga Jungle – plus entertainment spaces and retail outlets. A 300-room internationally-branded hotel is planned for phase two.

More than 12 water slides and 36 activities are the core attractions of the water park. The 550-metre-long lazy river will be the longest in Asia, and the vast 10,000 square-metre wave pool will generate waves up to three metres high – the highest of any pool in Southeast Asia. The rides have been designed by WhiteWater West, a leading water park equipment supplier. 

Andamanda claims it will adopt a circular approach to water management, with a continuous loop of water being reused and recycled. Single-use plastic will be banned, and more than 100,000 trees have been planted. Solar power will be employed to reduce the power bill. 

Thai Vietjet ramps up international flights

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

BANGKOK 12 May 2022: Following the phasing out of Thailand’s Test & Go’ scheme and other travel restrictions, Thai Vietjet has increased international flights from its Bangkok home base.

This week, the airline confirmed that it introduced daily flights between Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) and Phnom Penh. It follows the introduction of three weekly flights from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) to Singapore service in late April.

The Singapore flights will increase to five per week from 2 June 2022 and up to daily flights starting 16 June. In addition, the airline will launch three weekly flights on the Phuket-Singapore route in June.

 “Many countries have now lifted travel restrictions, reopening borders for international tourists again. Thai Vietjet, as the leader in a market recovery, has thoroughly prepared for the resumption of international air travel. In the first quarter of 2022, we have launched and re-launched a variety of international flight services and will continue to introduce our service to many more new destinations in the region,” said Thai Vietjet’s chief executive officer Woranate Laprabang.

In cooperation with its parent Vietjet Group, Thai Vietjet has established stable flight schedules between Thailand and Vietnam. Currently, the airline operates three daily flights on the Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City route. In addition, the airline resumed three weekly direct flights from Bangkok and Danang last March. The services operate Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

By July, the airline plans to operate direct flights from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) to Fukuoka (Japan), starting with three weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

Phnom Penh timetable

Flight No.

Origin

Destination

Departure

Arrival

Days of Operation

VZ720

Bangkok

Phnom Penh

08:30

09:40

Daily from May 2022

VZ721

Phnom Penh

Bangkok

10:40

11:55

VZ620

Bangkok

Singapore

09:45

13:10

Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun from 2 June, 2022 and Daily from 16 June, 2022

VZ621

Singapore

Bangkok

14:10

15:30

Biodigesters board Carnival fleets

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

Singapore 12 May 2022: Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company, has installed nearly 600 food waste biodigesters across its fleet in support of ongoing food waste management and reduction efforts as part of its overall commitment to environmental compliance.

The innovative technology has been added to ships from the company’s nine cruise line brands – Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.

The biodigester technology uses a natural aerobic digestion process inside each machine to efficiently break down food waste using a mix of beneficial microorganisms, enabling the systems to process anything that can be consumed by a human.

Able to perform automated digestion 24 hours per day, the biodigesters are strategically placed in key areas of the ship where food is processed, further improving onboard operations by making it easier and more efficient for crew members to manage and control food waste. Additionally, the machines capture non-food items or other materials accidentally mixed with food waste, providing an additional layer of protection for environmental compliance on each ship.

Since first piloting the technology in 2019, Carnival Corporation and its nine global cruise line brands have continued to expand the use of these systems across its fleets. Most recently, the company’s namesake brand, Carnival Cruise Line, announced it is the first major cruise line to employ biodigesters across its entire fleet as the brand returns its final of 23 total ships to guest operations this month.

As Carnival Corporation’s entire fleet returns to operations this year, its full lineup of brands will continue to see benefits from improved food waste management as additional biodigesters come online, further strengthening environmental performance across the company’s global operations.

The fleetwide biodigester installation supports Carnival Corporation’s aggressive food waste management objectives in its 2030 sustainability goals. These goals support the company’s circular economy focus area by including a commitment to achieve a 30% reduction in unit food waste by 2022 and a 50% reduction in unit food waste by 2030, as outlined in the company’s latest sustainability report. These new goals build on the company’s latest achievement of reducing food waste per person by over 20% at the end of 2021, which doubled its original goal of reaching a 10% reduction in food waste by the end of last year, relative to a 2019 baseline.

In addition to food waste management objectives, the circular economy focus area also includes an ongoing commitment to significantly reduce non-essential single-use plastic items, along with long-term 2030 sustainability goals and 2050 aspirations detailed in the latest sustainability report, including the following:

  • Increase fleetwide coverage of Advanced Waste Water Treatment Systems to over 75% by 2030
  • Send a larger percentage of waste to waste-to-energy facilities where practical by 2030 and aspire to send 100% by 2050
  • Partner with primary vendors to reduce upstream packaging volumes and aspire to partner with primary vendors to ensure near 100% reuse of packaging materials by 2050
  • Aspire to build ships without the need to discharge to the ocean or air (zero-emission ships) by 2050

As part of its longer-term sustainability plan and vision, Carnival Corporation has committed to significant investments to achieve its 2030 sustainability goals and 2050 aspirations, which incorporate six critical sustainability focus areas overall, including climate action; circular economy; sustainable tourism; good health and well-being; diversity, equity and inclusion; and biodiversity and conservation. Among these priorities, the company and its brands have committed to reducing carbon emission intensity by 40% by 2030 and have aspirations to achieve net carbon-neutral ship operations, supporting its efforts to establish a path to zero-emission cruising by 2050.

1...535536537...599Page 536 of 599

Stay ahead with the
latest travel news
on Southeast Asia.

Subscribe now


Contact Us
TTR Weekly (TTRW) is published in Bangkok, Thailand, registered since 1978.
/ month
placeholder text
/ month
placeholder text
Press releases, announcements, events for calendar should be sent to: [email protected]
/ month
placeholder text

Copyright © 2023 TTR Weekly, all rights reserved.