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Hong Kong airport traffic perks up

HONG KONG, 18 May 2022: Hong Kong’s passenger traffic climbs in April but remains far short of the pre-Covid era, according to Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) traffic figures for Hong Kong International Airport released on Tuesday.

During the month, HKIA handled 126,000 passengers, representing a year-on-year increase of 109.4%, although passenger volume remained significantly lower than the pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

HKIA won the Green Airports Recognition 2022 Platinum award.

Cargo throughput and flight movements recorded 375,000 tonnes and 10,320, respectively, representing decreases of 2.8% and 0.6% compared to the same month in 2021.

The HKSAR Government lifted restrictions on arrival flights from nine countries starting 1 April. A total of 1,185 flights carrying passengers operated at HKIA in April, while 1,050 flights were recorded in March. During the month, passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia experienced the most significant increases.

The decline in cargo throughput was mainly attributed to 6% year-on-year decreases in both imports and exports due to insufficient cargo capacity. The overall cargo to and from Europe experienced the most significant decreases during the month.

Over the first four months, passenger volume increased by 59.0% to 377,000. Cargo throughput and flight movements dropped by 7.6% and 0.9% to 1.4 million tonnes and 40,535, respectively.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger and cargo volume increased by 72.5% and 5.7% to 1.5 million and 4.9 million tonnes, respectively. Flight movements rose by 12.2% to 144,450.

Meanwhile, HKIA won the Green Airports Recognition 2022 Platinum award in the “over 50 million passengers per annum” category for its Weather Forecast for Air conditioning Control System (Weather FACTS).

Presented by Airports Council International Asia-Pacific, the awards recognise Asia-Pacific airports for outstanding achievements in carbon management and exceptional best practices in decarbonisation.

(Source: AAHK)

Sri Sutra Travel teams up with TA Network

SINGAPORE, 18 May 2022: Trip Affiliates Network has signed off on a partnership with Sri Sutra Travel (SST) to expand the Malaysian travel company’s market reach through TA Network’s cloud-based enterprise software SaaS solutions.

TA Network is a high-performance distribution and turnkey solutions provider that brings Asia Pacific’s leading travel wholesalers, operators and destination management companies into a single open travel ecosystem.

The TA Network platform is designed to leverage technology solutions adopted by hotels to facilitate their direct connectivity and automate their inventory management processes with their traditional offline contractors. In addition, TA Network’s digital payment solutions (BorderXP) empower businesses with virtual card or local fund transfer services to process payments dynamically with their business partners and minimise payment fees, particularly cross-border and foreign exchange fees.

SST managing director and founder Dato Syed added: “SST is a travel conglomerate under the Sutra Travel Management Group with a large corporate and non-corporate clientele and over 1 million travel-related products and services encompass all the travel components. The collaboration with TA Network will extend SST’s capabilities in providing more effective and optimised accommodation solutions via direct contracting.”

Overseeing the project and integrations, TA Network director of growth & partnerships Thomas Wong added: “TA Network will streamline operations and enhance connectivity to SST to increase review output and reduce manpower which will be a major productivity gain.”

About Sri Sutra Travel

Established in 1988, Sri Sutra Travel is one of the leading travel consultancies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has established an extensive market reach in the travel services sector, both locally and abroad. www.sutra.my

About Trip Affiliates Network

Headquartered in Singapore, with offices in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, Trip Affiliates Network provides FIT/group inbound and outbound turnkey solutions and add-on direct suppliers connectivity services for travel agents, wholesalers & hotels. www.tripaffiliates.com

Emirates reaffirms partnership with Mauritius

DUBAI, UAE, 18 May 2022: Emirates has reaffirmed its partnership with Mauritius by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA).

The current agreement builds on the existing partnership between the two entities to promote tourism to Mauritius from key markets across the Emirates network.

The MoU was signed at the 2022 Arabian Travel Market, the region’s largest travel trade event, by Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ SVP Commercial West Asia & Indian Ocean and Arvind Bundhun, Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA).

Emirates SVP Commercial West Asia & Indian Ocean Ahmed Khoory said: “We enjoy a long-standing partnership with Mauritius and have had a fruitful association in the past. The renewal of this partnership is a testament to our commitment to boost tourism to the island nation.”

“As international borders reopen and travel restrictions ease, we remain deeply committed to supporting initiatives that boost inbound tourism and increase leisure traffic to Mauritius. Emirates’ second daily flight will now start on 23 June to facilitate summer travel from the Americas, Europe and the Middle East to the island nation. The extension of our partnership reiterates our commitment to Mauritius and enables joint initiatives to undertake tourism recovery,” he added.

Under the MoU, Emirates will jointly undertake marketing activities with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Board.

Emirates started operations to Mauritius in September 2002 with three weekly flights and currently is in its 20th year of operations to the Indian Ocean destination.

Emirates operates nine weekly flights to Mauritius, and in line with rising demand, the airline will be scaling up operations to double daily flights from 23 June 2022. The second daily flight will be served using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 23 June-30June and, and from 1 July, the airline will deploy its flagship A380 aircraft.

Visit: www.emirates.com

(Your Stories: Emirates)

Why go home when you can stay longer in Bali?

KUTA, Bali, 18 May 2022: Hard Rock Hotel Bali says it’s making it more attractive to stay longer in Bali if you don’t want to go home so soon.

The invite is clearly for travel nomads who can work from anywhere. They can now stay longer and save with the resort’s latest Long Stay offer. The deal includes breakfast, spa treatment, lunch, dinner, return airport transfers, fruit basket, laundry and exclusive discounts.

A Long stay deal starts with a 10-day package at the music-inspired hotel’s rooms and suites overlooking Bali’s largest free-form pool adjacent to Kuta beach.

Located at the iconic beach, the hotel is home to quality entertainment both on the property and in the neighbourhood. Every day at Hard Rock is a show-worthy experience with nightly live bands, an on-site boombox recording studio, and in-room IPTV. Kids of all ages will find amenities designed to make them the main attraction of your family vacation.

Ngurah Rai International airport is a short 4 km drive from the resort and on your doorstep is the iconic Kuta Beach. The Art Market is 200 metres away, Beachwalk Shopping Mall 500 metres and Ground Zero 1km.

Long Stay package highlights

Daily Buffet breakfast for two adults and two children under 16 years old at Starz Diner or A la carte breakfast at Rock Royalty (for Deluxe Premium Pool Access and Suite level guests).
One time 30 minutes foot massage for two adults, valued at IDR 600,000 net.
One time Lunch at Starz Diner for two adults, valued at IDR550,000 net.
One time dinner at Starz Diner for two adults, valued at IDR550,000 net.
Two-way airport transfer, valued at IDR520,000 net.
One time family fruits and one time Laundry Bag Wash for 15 pcs of clothing, valued at IDR400,000 net.
Exclusive discount in the outlet: 20% off laundry, 10% off F&B, 10% off Jamie Oliver Kitchen, 20% off Rock shop and 30% off Rock Spa.
Late checkout until 3 pm based on availability.

For more details, pricing and bookings visit: https://www.hardrockhotels.com/bali/offers.aspx

(Your Stories: Hard Rock Hotel Bali)

Emirates lists its ATM successes

DUBAI, 17 May 2022: Emirates successfully concluded its participation in the 2022 edition of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), welcoming more than 15,000 visitors to its stand to experience the airline’s products and services.

The airline also wrapped up a packed schedule of nearly 200 meetings with industry and trade partners, networking, press briefings, and numerous new tie-ups with airlines, tourism boards, free zones and technology partners.

The centrepiece of this year’s product showcase was the full Emirates Premium Economy Class experience, which it will begin selling on 1 June 2022 for travel from 1 August to popular A380 routes London, Paris, Sydney and Christchurch from December.

Visitors were able to relax, recline and experience Emirates’ Premium Economy, and caught a glimpse of what to expect when travelling in this highly sought-after cabin class.

In addition, the Emirates stand showcased its Boeing 777-300ER game-changer First Class fully enclosed private suite exhibit, Boeing 777 Business Class seat, the newest generation A380 OnBoard lounge, and other iconic products such as the First Class Shower Spa and the latest version of the game-changer Economy Class seats.

As part of the airline’s efforts to deliver an enhanced customer experience, Emirates announced the launch of one of its biggest service and hospitality initiatives for its frontline teams, both onboard and on the ground. Created in partnership with the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), the programme aims to drive consistency across all touchpoints and provide a framework for teams to deliver memorable experiences for Emirates’ customers.

With a strong focus on helping the industry recover through close collaboration and meaningful partnerships, the airline also inked agreements with tourism boards and other partners:

Emirates and Royal Air Maroc launched their codeshare partnership at ATM, set to provide more travel options and value for customers of both airlines across 209 combined destinations.

Recognising the potential of growing inbound tourism and supporting the recovery of key destinations across its network, Emirates inked tourism memorandums with the Malaysian, South African, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. The airline will be capitalising on opportunities and collaborating on joint activities with all of the tourism boards to develop traffic and encourage visitors to experience these destinations from across its network of nearly 130 destinations.

Emirates also extended its partnership with Huawei, one of the world’s top tech brands, to provide further exposure and bolster the brand presence of each brand across multiple markets through joint activities and exciting future collaborations.

To attract more investments and business to Dubai, Emirates and Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore opportunities for several travel-related incentives for firms registered in Jafza.

During ATM, the airline was again crowned as ‘Best Airline Worldwide for the ninth consecutive time at the Business Traveller Middle East awards, in addition to picking up “Best Premium Economy Class”, “Best Economy Class” and “Best Frequent Flyer Programme”.

The Arabian Travel Market 2022 is the region’s largest travel and trade exhibition, welcoming more than 30,000 attendees from over 120 destinations.

For more information visit: www.emirates.com 

(Your Stories: Emirates)

Tim Russell joins Khiri Travel

BANGKOK, 17 May 2022: Khiri Travel, a leading destination management company headquartered in Bangkok, has hired Tim Russell as its group marketing manager.

Russell confirmed the appointment last week, saying in a social media post:  “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Group Marketing Manager at Khiri Travel.

Photo credit: Twitter

He leaves eRoam, where he worked as its commercial director (Southeast Asia) and global marketing during the Covid-19 crisis. eRoam is an Australia-based provider of travel technology solutions to tour operators, DMCs and travel agents.

He is best known for founding and developing TineriTineri, which allowed tour operators and travel agents to provide their clients with a user-friendly mobile itinerary app. He enthusiastically promoted the mobile app to inbound travel companies at international trade shows, including the annual ITB Asia up until the Covid-19 lockdown travel worldwide.

He officially joined Khiri Travel on 1 May. He is expected to take over the duties of Richard Brouwer, who held the chief commercial officer post from January 2016 to December 2019.

AirAsia Super App teams up with ANA

KUALA LUMPUR, 17 MAY 2022: All Nippon Airways has become the latest global airline to authorise the sale of their flights on the AirAsia Super App OTA platform, enabling all app users to explore the best of Japan and more.

As a Star Alliance member, ANA has partnerships with more than 35 airlines, flying to 50 destinations within Japan and 32 international destinations across Asia, Europe and America.

AirAsia Super App CEO Amanda Woo said: “We are thrilled to welcome another world-renowned airline, ANA, to our AirAsia Super App OTA platform… The addition of ANA into our list of notable airlines on the AirAsia Super App OTA platform is also very timely, in line with Japan’s recent announcement on its plan to reopen its borders to international tourists from June.”

“With this collaboration with AirAsia Super App, travellers can easily book their ANA experience to Japan or any other international destination effortlessly. ANA and AirAsia Super App will continue to work together as international travel resumes, improving customer experience and ensuring travel planning is as convenient as possible,” said ANA Kuala Lumpur branch office general manager Minoru Kusakabe

Aside from ANA, the AirAsia Super App OTA platform includes over 700 other airline partners with other notable names such as Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Air New Zealand and KLM.

Aside from other airlines’ flights, the AirAsia Super App OTA platform also includes more than 700,000 hotels worldwide through its partnership with notable names such as Trip.com, MG Group and WebBeds.

TAT jump-starts promotions

BANGKOK, 17 May 2022: The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai AirAsia are partnering in a new marketing campaign targeting millennials and young couples from Singapore.

The Amazing New Chapter: Rediscover Thailand was launched in Singapore last week by TAT deputy governor for international marketing – Asia and South Pacific, Tanes Petsuwan and Thai AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Santisuk Klongchaiya at an event presided over by Thailand’s ambassador to Singapore Chutintorn Gongsakdi.

Singapore is a key visitor source market for Thailand, and the “Amazing New Chapter: Rediscover Thailand” leverages various joint promotion marketing activities rolled out by the TAT Singapore Office.

The campaign should sell around 3,000 seats on Thai AirAsia’s flights from Singapore to Bangkok and Phuket to millennials and young couples up until the close of the deals at the end of July.

Thai AirAsia operates a daily flight on the Singapore-Don Mueang Bangkok route and two weekly flights on the Singapore-Phuket route (Tuesday and Saturday).

TAT estimates 2022 could close with 10 million foreign tourist arrivals, generating THB625.8 billion in tourism revenue. It claims arrivals from short-haul markets could reach 1.1 million arrivals from ASEAN markets, 200,000 arrivals from Australia and 450,000 arrivals from South Asia (India).

See TAT’s latest video on organic tourism in Thailand, starting with this episode on Bangkok: https://www.tatnews.org/2022/05/thailand-organic-tourism-ep-1-bangkok/

(Your Stories: TAT)

Exo Travel promotes managers

BANGKOK, 17 May 2022: EXO Travel promoted two of its key managers, recently naming them general managers for Thailand and Cambodia as travel restrictions are shelved in the two countries.

The regional inbound travel company named Marcel Van Der Zwaag as general manager of EXO Travel Cambodia. He was formerly the regional adventure manager for the group.

Photo Credit: Exo Travel. Marcel Van Der Zwaag

He initially joined EXO Travel in 2016 as manager for the adventure division supervised by EXO Travel’s Thailand office; a role subsequently expanded to cover adventure activities in Cambodia and Laos. Now he heads the operations in Cambodia.

Exo Travel has also promoted Kim Martin Rasmussen as the general manager of Thailand. In 2014 he joined EXO as product manager of EXO Thailand. In 2016, Kim also handled contracting in Thailand and then, in 2018, he became Thailand product manager and regional contracting manager.

Star Alliance celebrates 25 years

SINGAPORE 17 May 2022: Star Alliance and its 26-member carriers celebrated its 25th-anniversary last week, saying it will continue to deliver seamless connectivity with new digital and mobile innovations.

“We reflect on the successes of Star Alliance in uniting the leading global airlines, with an eye firmly focused on a future where the customer continues to be at the heart of our work and our global network,” said Star Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh,

In recognising the 1997 anniversary milestone, member carriers will release campaigns under the new brand tagline ‘Together. Better. Connected.’

Campaign touchpoints

The latest innovations will focus on a new partnership model that cements network leadership. One of them involves launching an industry-first co-branded credit card in a regional market that will offer loyal customers of member airlines the opportunity to earn miles and points on their spending.

The alliance members have also jointly adopted a sustainability statement to commit to the industry goal of net-zero carbon emissions and consequent joint efforts on decarbonisation.

Star Alliance Biometrics, launched in 2020, is now available across four major airports – Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna – with Hamburg added in April 2022.

Another development expands the alliance’s Digital Connection Service to augment the Star Alliance Connection Centres that assist in connecting passengers at major airports. This service is currently available at London Heathrow and will expand to a key European hub soon.

Award-winning Star Alliance lounge in Los Angeles and other premium lounges in Amsterdam, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Paris will rollout options for paid access.

The alliance plans to enhance the collection and online redemption of points and miles for award flights and upgrades across the 26 member carriers.