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Bali’s festivals are back

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TTR WEEKLY
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BALI, 14 June 2022: After a two-year pause, the Ubud Food Festival returns to two venues in the hillside village of Ubod from 24 to 26 June.

The 6th Ubud Food Festival will entertain locals and visitors over three days, with the organisers confident that this year will be the best year yet, according to their media releases to the local press.

The founder of Ubud Food Festival, Janet DeNeefe told Bali Sun: ‘We are very happy to be able to welcome more chefs and culinary figures to Ubud, including Nyesha Arrington, Diana Beltran, and Tamara Chevez along with Indonesian chefs and culinary figures Fernando Sindu, Pande Egi and Vivilya Millian. The festival lineup includes over 70 events from panel discussions on foodie tourism to practical workshops featuring tastings and cooking demonstrations.”

The Ubud Food Festival returning to Bali is one of many annual events relaunching in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last week the Bali Film Festival got underway, and the month-long Bali Arts Festival opened on 12 June, running until 10 July.

“These events demonstrate Bali’s tourism is back, and we are on the road to recovery an inbound tour operator commented on the sidelines of the food festival’s launch press briefing.

Bali’s airport statistics for May show slightly more than a million visitors travelled to the island, up 64% over the same month in 2021. The airport handled just over 7,000 flights during May.

In its latest weekly synopsis of trending events, Bali Update noted the island’s attractions are gearing up to welcome tourists. The Sukawati Traditional Art Market has officially opened north of Denpasar, destined to become a major shopping destination on the island.

Meanwhile, leading Indonesian online travel agent, Traveloka reports that Bali continues to trend as the top travel destination for both domestic and international travellers.

Bali Update said the return of events and attractions was illustrated by the month-long 44th Bali Arts Festival underway on 12 June, with a gala opening parade presided over by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo.

For more details about the Ubud Food Festival’s programme and to purchase tickets visit http://www.ubudfoodfestival.com/.

(Source: Bali Sun, Bali Update)

Philippines hosts travel expo

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TTR WEEKLY
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MANILA, 14 June 2022: The Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) will stage the 29th Travel Tour Expo from 24 to 26 June, claiming it will be the biggest travel expo in the country, packed with discounts on tour packages.

According to the PTTA’s media statement, the biggest discounts will be tagged on holidays to South Korea and Japan, two destinations that are hugely popular with Filipino travellers.

Both South Korea and Japan have recently opened their borders, with Japan linking entry to buying a tour package from a recognised travel firm.

At least 142 exhibitors will participate in the 29th Travel Tour Expo and the business-to-business travel trade mart 7th International Travel Trade Expo (iTTE), which will be held at the SMX Convention Centre, the Philippines News Agency reported.

“We’re offering or promoting all the destinations, locally and internationally, especially those that relaxed their protocols,” PTAA president Michelle Taylan told the press briefing last Thursday.

Cebu Pacific, one of the exhibitors, also promised flights to South Korea and Japan at markdown fares.

Cebu Pacific passenger sales & distribution director Arlene Tena confirmed Japan opened the country for tourists starting 10 June, but they must book their trips through Japan-accredited tour operators.

Korea is more relaxed, allowing travellers to visit the country without pre-purchasing an accredited tour package.

PTAA’s expo should attract 30,000 to 45,000 visitors over the three days of sales sessions.

(Source: Philippines News Agency)

Phuket’s annual marathon returns

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TTR WEEKLY
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PHUKET, 14 June 2022: The Supersports Laguna Phuket Marathon returned with a roar as more than 7,000 runners from 63 countries joined the popular event at the weekend.

It marked the return of international sporting events to Thailand’s shore after a two-year gap.

While the cool morning start on Sunday was appreciated by the longer-distance runners, the humidity added to the challenge and the top three finishers in the Men’s Marathon went to Thai runners. Apichai Phujit claimed the trophy in a time of 02:50:20, more than five minutes faster than the 2020 winner, while second place went to Teerayut Katrahong and Santi Fungfueang was in third. The Women’s race was similarly dominated by Thai runners, with Satowa Ota crossing first in a time of 03:23:47 with Nuntaporn TengAmnuay in second and just 30 seconds behind Sasiwimon Khongjit finished third.

In the Marathon Relay, it was Team Jetts that claimed the honours in an impressive time of 02:41:18, ahead of Team Surakul in second and Team Blue Tree Running Club 2 in third.

The dates have been set for next year: the 17th Supersports Laguna Phuket Marathon is scheduled for 10 to 11 June 2023.

Overall Results

Top three in each distance are below. For detailed results, visit www.sportstats.asia.

Marathon – Men

1) Apichai Phujit (THA), 02:50:20

2) Teerayut Katrahong (THA), 02:56:00

3) Santi Fungfueang (THA), 02:59:30

Marathon – Women

1) Satowa Ota (THA), 03:23:47    

2) Nuntaporn TengAmnuay (THA), 03:30:23    

3) Sasiwimon Khongjit (THA), 03:31:03  

Marathon Relay

1) Team Jetts (THA), 02:41:18

2) Team Surakul (THA), 03:18:47

3) Team Blue Tree Running Club 2 (THA), 04:18:25

Half Marathon – Men

1) Sergei Zyrianov (RUS), 01:13:21

2) Mohamed Rasheed (MDV), 01:19:01

3) Mood Chaison (THA), 01:21:24

Half Marathon – Women

1) Manussanun Kumpituk (THA), 01:34:22

2) Supisara Nunta (THA), 01:36:39

3) Nopchaya Handittagul (THA), 01:37:32

10.5KM – Men

1) Ronald Setiawan (IND), 36:58

2) Nattapong Buachay (THA), 37:14

3) Tanadol Witsarutsin (THA), 38:00

10.5KM – Women

1) Dimity-Lee Duke (AUS), 39:23

2) Voraphan Nuansri  (THA), 41:22

3) Suwaree Thanaaeknithiwat (THA), 44:32

5KM – Men

1) Sergei Zyrianov (RUS), 15:58

2) Mohamed Rasheed (MDV), 16:32

3) Kiyun Kaddoura (FRA), 18:11

5KM – Women

1) Siena Milgate (AUS), 19:57

2) Auksarapuk sangruksa (THA), 20:41

3) Chiara Jessica Egger (AUS), 21:27

2KM Kids Run – Boy

1) Kittikhun Lankhunthod (THA), 06:56

2) Korawin Chaichamroonphan (THA), 07:50

3) Nathee Gorton (THA), 08:07

2KM Kids Run – Girl

1) Kawinthip Wongthawat (THA), 08:36

2) Anastasiia Maiorova  (RUS), 10:14 3) Chloe Issara Weigl (THA), 10:18

Jetstar Asia goes daily to Bali and Bangkok

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 14 June 2022: Jetstar Asia has received approval to operate daily services from Singapore to Bangkok starting 1 July.

The airline will expand its current five weekly flights to daily, providing fully vaccinated travellers with more options to visit Bangkok, Thailand.

Starting Monday, Jetstar Asia increased services between Singapore and Denpasar from five to daily as more travellers are booking trips to Bali.

As travel restrictions ease across the region, Jetstar, in collaboration with third-party technology company Sherpa, has introduced an interactive global map on jetstar.com to help travellers access the most up-to-date information as they navigate Covid-19-related travel restrictions and requirements.

The colour-coded map shows which destinations are open to visitors and the latest information on entry requirements, including Covid-19 testing and quarantine measures.

Jetstar Asia CEO Bara Pasupathi said: “Overseas business trips, international holidays and visiting family and friends abroad are back on our customer’s agenda”. Jetstar’s Fly Flexible policy offers customers who book flights before 30 June 2022 a ‘fee free’ date change when travelling before 31 August 2023. Jetstar also extended credit vouchers for use until at least 31 December 2022 for flights up to the end of 2023.

Firefly is back flying to Seletar Airport

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 14 June 2022: Firefly reinstated its flights Monday to Seletar Airport in Singapore from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang, Malaysia.

A media statement from Changi Airport said it was “another significant milestone as part of post-pandemic recovery initiatives”.

FY3124 departed from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport to Seletar Airport with 59 passengers on board, including Firefly’s chief executive officer, Philip See. They were welcomed by Changi Airport Group executive vice president, Airport Management Tan Lye Teck.

Firefly started flights to Seletar in April 2019 and suspended them in March 2020 due to the pandemic.

With the resumption of scheduled flights, the airline will operate twice-daily Kuala Lumpur-Singapore services from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport to Seletar Airport.

“This recommencement has become one of the highlights for Firefly this year, especially after the last flight in March 2020. Singapore has become one of the important destinations for us, connecting leisure and business passengers. Hence, this recommencement will be able to connect passengers from both countries whilst enhancing the economy via the tourism industry”, said Firefly CEO Philip See.

To prepare for the resumption of scheduled flights, Changi Airport Group, which manages Seletar Airport, has conducted multiple operational trials and system tests with Seletar’s airport partners. Airport staff also participated in refresher training sessions and briefings on operational and safety requirements to prepare them to serve passengers. CAG has engaged taxi companies to raise awareness of Firefly’s resumption of flights. Taxi drivers that make the trip to Seletar Airport to pick up passengers will also enjoy complimentary coffee and tea in June.

All Firefly passengers travelling to and from Seletar gain a 20kg complimentary baggage allowance, fast check-in and boarding and complimentary in-flight refreshments onboard.

Passengers travelling must be fully vaccinated and comply with all standard operating procedures (SOP) set by both countries before booking. International flights are subject to local government and regulatory approval.

Since the reopening of Malaysia’s borders and relaxation of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP), Firefly has increased flights to several destinations in the country and will reinstate more international flights.

Princess resumes Australian sailings

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 13 June 2022: The return of cruising in Australia continued with the arrival of Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess into Brisbane, Queensland on 7 June to commence her inaugural season. 

The ship’s arrival marks the first-ever ship to be homeported at the new state-of-the-art Brisbane International Cruise Terminal and the first of Princess Cruises’ MedallionClass vessels to call Australia home.

Building on the momentum of sister line P&O Cruises Australia‘s Pacific Explorer’s first sailing from Sydney end of May, Coral Princess is set to depart on its first guest cruise on 16 June 2022.

Princess Cruises’ senior vice president Asia Pacific, UK and Europe, Stuart Allison said the ship’s homeport season in Brisbane was set to inject an estimated AUD60 million to the Queensland economy in crew and passenger spending, ship supplies and port charges.

“Queensland will feature front and centre in a new winter program of sailings from Australia, which demonstrates Princess Cruises’ commitment to cruising Down Under and to the local travel agent community. Our focus on Brisbane also reflects the demand for cruise holidays among Queenslanders and the growing interest in domestic cruising.”

The 2000-guest ship will offer 11 cruises departing Brisbane from 3 to 12 nights between June and August before returning for another 10 cruises this summer from November. The MedallionClass ship will make 48 calls to Queensland’s ports this year, including her first visits to Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, Cairns and Port Douglas.

Highlights of Coral Princess’ winter programme include:

  • Six short getaway cruises from Brisbane and Sydney – perfect ‘seacations’ for those with busy schedules needing a short break.
  • Five 7-day Queensland roundtrip cruises from Brisbane, sailing to Cairns, Port Douglas, and Airlie Beach (for the Whitsundays).
  • A new 7-day New South Wales Coast roundtrip from Brisbane, with a maiden call to Eden (Sapphire Coast), Sydney, and Newcastle.
  • A new 12-day Queensland and New South Wales voyage, sailing roundtrip from Brisbane.
  • A new 12-day Queensland and the Conflict Islands voyage (roundtrip from Sydney or Brisbane) crossing the Coral Sea to visit the stunning and remote Conflict Islands in Papua New Guinea.

Visit: www.princess.com.

(Your Stories: Princess Cruises)

Emirates wins APEX regional awards

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TTR WEEKLY
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DUBAI UAE, 13 June 2022: Travellers worldwide have recognised Emirates for Best Wi-Fi and Best Food & Beverage in the Middle East, with the airline bagging these awards at the prestigious 2022 APEX Regional Passenger Choice Awards ceremony held in Dublin, Ireland.

For the awards this year, verified passengers flying on over one million flights on nearly 600 airlines worldwide were asked to rate their airline experiences in five subcategories: seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment, and Wi-Fi.

The two awards crown Emirates’ continual efforts to deliver the best possible customer experiences on board and take the total count of APEX awards presented to Emirates, to 30, since the awards’ launch in 2010.

The Best Food & Beverage award recognises Emirates’ consistently high-quality, regionally inspired cuisine and extensive drinks menu. The airline’s attention to detail ensures a clockwork operation where over 110 meals from close to 4600 recipes that cater to every palate are loaded onto its flights yearly. Emirates also pays special attention to its beverage offering, ranging from fresh mocktails and vitality boost drinks to a wide selection of hand-picked teas and coffee, alongside the best champagnes and special vintages of wines and spirits that any sommelier would envy.

Staying connected is an everyday essential on the ground and also in the skies. Emirates was the first airline to equip its entire fleet with mobile phone connectivity in 2007, and now every aircraft is equipped with Wi-Fi services. Free connectivity options are available to all Business and First Class passengers and Skywards Platinum and above. Great value plans are available for full flight internet or chat. Last year, Emirates replaced MB limited plans with unlimited or timed plans – simplifying the options available as few users understood the MB consumption on a session.

In total, Emirates’ award-winning ice inflight entertainment system, with over 5,000 channels, including up to 150 channels dedicated to family and children, presents an unmatched breadth of content in 40 languages to cater to its global customer base. It also offers more than 4,000 hours of movies and TV, close to 3,500 hours of music and podcasts, and five live TV channels, including major sports events for sports lovers. New, exciting and exclusive content will be available onboard ice with something for everyone travelling this summer and beyond.

Committed to ensuring its customers always “Fly Better”, Emirates is heavily investing to further elevate its signature services and products for travellers in all cabin classes. Emirates will soon begin a massive cabin retrofit programme to fit out 120 aircraft with its latest Premium Economy cabin, as well as its latest interiors across other cabins.

The APEX Passenger Choice Awards recognise excellence in seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment and Wi-Fi. Partnering with TripIt from Concur, the world’s highest-rated travel-organising app, anonymous passenger feedback is gathered based on neutral, third-party feedback and insights.

For more information on inflight entertainment, visit Emirates/inflight-entertainment or visit: www.emirates.com.

(Your Stories: Emirates)

IATA reports a surge in air travel

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TTR WEEKLY
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GENEVA 13 June 2022: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that air travel resumed its strong recovery trend in April*, despite the war in Ukraine and travel restrictions in China.

This was driven primarily by international demand. 

Total demand for air travel in April 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) was up 78.7% compared to April 2021 and slightly ahead of March 2022’s 76.0% year-over-year increase.

April domestic air travel was down 1.0% compared to the year-ago period, a reversal from the 10.6% demand rise in March. This was driven entirely by continuing strict travel restrictions in China, where domestic traffic was down 80.8% year-to-year. Overall, April domestic traffic was down 25.8% versus April 2019.

International RPKs rose 331.9% versus April 2021, an acceleration over the 289.9% rise in March 2022 compared to a year ago. Several route areas are above pre-pandemic levels, including Europe – Central America, Middle East – North America and North America – Central America. April 2022, international RPKs were down 43.4% compared to the same month in 2019.

“With the lifting of many border restrictions, we are seeing the long-expected surge in bookings as people seek to make up for two years of lost travel opportunities. April data is cause for optimism in almost all markets, except China, which continues to restrict travel severely. The experience of the rest of the world demonstrates that increased travel is manageable with high levels of population immunity and the normal systems for disease surveillance. We hope China can recognise this success soon and take its own steps towards normality,” said IATA’s director-general Willie Walsh.

European carriers’ Aprilinternational traffic rose 480.0% versus April 2021, substantially up over the 434.3% increase in March 2022 versus the same month in 2021. Capacity rose 233.5%, and load factor climbed 33.7 percentage points to 79.4%.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw their April international traffic climb 290.8% compared to April 2021, significantly improved on the 197.2% gain registered in March 2022 versus March 2021. Capacity rose 88.6%, and the load factor was up 34.6 percentage points to 66.8%, still the lowest among regions.

Middle Eastern airlines had a 265.0% demand rise in April compared to April 2021, bettering the 252.7% increase in March 2022 versus the same month in 2021. April capacity rose 101.0% versus the year-ago period, and load factor climbed 32.2 percentage points to 71.7%.

North American carriers’ April traffic rose 230.2% versus the 2021 period, slightly above the 227.9% rise in March 2022 compared to March 2021. Capacity rose 98.5%, and load factor climbed 31.6 percentage points to 79.3%.

Latin American airlines experienced a 263.2% rise in April traffic compared to the same month in 2021, exceeding the 241.2% rise in March 2022 over March 2021. April capacity rose 189.1%, and load factor increased 16.8 percentage points to 82.3%, easily the highest load factor among the regions for the 19th consecutive month.

African airlines’ traffic rose 116.2% in April 2022 versus a year ago, accelerating over the 93.3% year-over-year increase recorded in March 2022. April 2022 capacity was up 65.7%, and load factor climbed 15.7 percentage points to 67.3%.

(Source IATA)

*Note: IATA  had returned to year-on-year traffic comparisons instead of comparisons with the 2019 period unless otherwise noted. Owing to the low traffic base in 2021, some markets will show very high year-on-year growth rates, even if the size of these markets is still significantly smaller than they were in 2019

THAI flies pilgrims to the Hajj

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 13 June 2022: Thai Airways International will fly around 2,500 Thai Muslim pilgrims to attend the Hajj Pilgrimage 2022 in Saudi Arabia.

Korakot Chatasingha as the chairman of THAI Hajj Special Affairs Committee and Department of the Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior deputy director-general Somsak Charoenpaitoon signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

It stipulates that the airline will transport 2,508 Thai Muslim pilgrims on charter flights that will cater Halal meals and beverages prepared strictly to Islamic dietary requirements by THAI’s Halal kitchen with HAL-Q certification.

This year, THAI will operate nine roundtrip charter flights departing from three destinations in Thailand: Narathiwat, Hat Yai and Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi). The flights will land in Medina and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The first departure flights were scheduled for 10 to 13 June 2022, followed by flights from 29 June to 3 July 2022.

• Narathiwat – Medina: two flights from 10 to 11 June 2022.

• Hat Yai – Medina: two flights from 12 to 13 June 2022.

• Hat Yai – Jeddah: three flights from 29 June to  1 July 2022.

• Bangkok – Jeddah: two flights from  2 to 3 July 2022.

Return flights will operate from 18 to 21 July 2022 and from 8 to 12 August 2022.

• Jeddah – Narathiwat: two flights from 18 to 19 July 2022.

• Jeddah – Hat Yai: two flights from 20 to 21 July 2022.

• Medina – Hat Yai: three flights from 8 to 10 August 2022.

• Medina – Bangkok: two flights from 11 to 12 August 2022.

THAI has organised the annual charter flights for the Hajj pilgrimage since 2005.

Batik Air expands Bali services

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TTR WEEKLY
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DENPASAR Bali, 13 June 2022: Batik Air Malaysia confirms it will resume flights on the Bali-Melbourne route starting on 17 June.

The flights originate in Kuala Lumpur and make a stop in Bali. As reported first by the Bali Sun, the decision to resume the flights was welcomed by local tour and hospitality providers on the famous holiday island.

Batik Air, a low-cost airline, will fly the Bali to Melbourne route four times weekly. Flights from Melbourne to Bali will depart at 0640 and land in Bali at 1105 every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The flight will take five hours and 30 minutes.

Flights from Bali to Melbourne will leave Denpasar at 2300 every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, landing at Melbourne 0540. 

The Batik Air media statement quoted the airline’s CEO  Mushafiz Bin Mustafa Bakri saying: “Our flights to Melbourne have received positive responses since Batik Air started launching ticket sales. Furthermore, Batik Air will continue to explore and strengthen connections to Australia”.

Effective 2 June, Batik Air reinstated direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bali. The airline already resumed its twice-daily services to Jakarta on 27 March 2022.

Flight OD306 departs Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 0910 and arrives at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar at 1215. The all-inclusive one-way economy class fare from Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar, Bali starts from MYR489.

Batik Air flies the route on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until 25 June 2022, when it will increase flights to twice daily.

Apart from Denpasar, Bali, and Jakarta, the airline will reinstate scheduled international services to Kathmandu, Dhaka, Lahore, Trichy, Bangkok, and Singapore.

Batik Air Malaysia was formerly known as Malindo Air and is described as a Malaysian hybrid-full service carrier and associate carrier of Indonesian Lion Air Group, with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

On 28 April 2022, Malindo Air was rebranded as Batik Air Malaysia in line with the Lion Group’s goal to establish a common identity for its full-service airline brand in Asia. It officially started flights using a Boeing 737 MAX on 2 June 2022, serving the Kuala Lumpur – Kota Kinabalu route. It has a fleet of A320s, Boeing 737 MAX and an A330-300.

(Source: Batik Air and Wikipedia)

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