BANGKOK, 16 January 2023: Travellers from Thailand can tap special New Year promotional fares to London, Paris, New York, Madrid and more when flying with Emirates.
For a limited time, passengers can book all-inclusive economy class fares from THB28,660, business class fares from THB114,710, and first class fares from THB192,705.
These fares are available for bookings until 22 January 2023 and for travel until 30 November 2023.
With borders reopened and live events back in full swing, holiday goers can look forward to exciting events this year, including the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool in May, the French Open in June, Wimbledon in July, and Germany’s Oktoberfest.
Featured destinations and starting fares include:
Destinations
Economy Class Fares From (THB)
Business Class Fares From (THB)
First Class Fares From (THB)
London
31,975
127,925
205,925
Paris
30,655
118,655
196,650
New York
42,185
161,400
272,820
Madrid
31,360
118,080
196,070
Zurich
28,660
120,170
206,190
Amsterdam
30,375
114,710
192,705
France
30,655
118,655
196,650
Munich
32,330
118,935
200,160
Explore Dubai with My Emirates Winter Pass
Until 31 March 2023, customers can enjoy exclusive offers at over 500 locations in the UAE with the My Emirates Winter Pass. Emirates customers flying to or through Dubai can unlock discounts to hundreds of retail, leisure, and dining outlets, as well as tourist attractions throughout Dubai and the UAE when they flash their boarding pass and a valid form of identification. To see all My Emirates Pass offers, please visit www.emirates.com/myemiratespass.
BANGKOK, 16 January 2023: Reuniting with friends and family continued to be the dominant reason for travel in 2023, according to Agoda’s latest Travel Trends survey.
The survey asked travellers to share their top travel goals for the new year, and reuniting with loved ones, wellness and food, arts & culture took the top three places, followed by adventure (4th) and celebrating a milestone (5th).
Boosting physical and mental health (wellness travel) was the top driver for Thai travellers, followed by reuniting with family and friends and, in third place, food, art and culture.
Taiwan (33%), Australia (31%) and the US (25%) are where travellers will most likely plan a holiday reunion with family or friends. Still, travellers from several other countries have different motivations for embarking on a trip.
In South Korea and Singapore, for example, it is recharging mentally and physically that tops the list, contributing to the number two spot for wellness in the ‘reasons to travel’ ranking of Agoda’s Travel Trend survey.
Among people from Japan (44%), Taiwan (24%) and Vietnam (23%), the biggest travel appetite is for re-discovering food, arts & culture. In the Philippines, only 11% are looking to travel for food, arts & culture, while 30% are searching for an adventure. Adventure travel also ranks highest among travellers from Indonesia (23%).
METHODOLOGY
Agoda survey was conducted in partnership with YouGov, polling over 10,000 travellers from across Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, USA. This survey was conducted from 8 to 16 July 2022. All respondents were aged 18 and above.
KUALA LUMPUR, 16 January 2023: Preliminary November 2022 traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) show robust growth in international passenger markets, buoyed by an ongoing revival in both leisure and business travel demand as travel restrictions end.
A combined total of 13.4 million international passengers were carried by the region’s airlines in November, 7.6 times more than the 1.8 million recorded in the same month last year.
In revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) terms, demand jumped 499.2% year-on-year, significantly outpacing the 187.1% expansion in available seat capacity. This led to a 40.3 percentage point jump in the average international passenger load factor to 77.4% for the month, close to levels achieved in pre-pandemic 2019.
By contrast, the air cargo business segment faced further weakness in demand conditions. Amid still elevated cost pressures, declining new export orders precipitated a steep 19.2% year-on-year decline in international air cargo demand, as measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) in November. Offered freight capacity fell by 7.6% year-on-year, leading to a 9.3 percentage point drop in the average international freight load factor to 63.9% for the month.
Commenting on the results, AAPA Director General Subhas Menon said: “Asian carriers continued to enjoy robust recovery in international travel markets approaching the end of 2022, in tandem with the progressive removal of pandemic-driven border control measures. Overall, the first eleven months of the year saw a nearly six-fold jump in the combined number of international passengers carried to an aggregate total of 87.5 million. Nevertheless, in November, demand averaged only 43% of 2019 levels, indicating significant progress is still required towards full recovery.”
“Meanwhile, international air cargo demand declined by 6.9% during the first eleven months of the year, affected by the continued downturn in the global manufacturing sector as a result of inflationary pressures and depressed business confidence levels.”
Looking ahead, Menon commented: “Despite a clouded macroeconomic outlook, the strong need for connectivity and desire to travel will drive further recovery in the region’s international travel markets over the year ahead. Notably, the recent reopening of China’s borders with quarantine-free travel after nearly three years of strict virus containment policies will markedly improve demand prospects, given China’s significant trade and tourism links with the region’s economies and beyond.”
He concluded that “the re-imposition of travel restrictions by some governments for inbound travellers from China may hamper the smooth resumption of air travel patterns and result in confusion for many travellers.”
HONG KONG, 16 January 2023: Resorts World Cruises restart cruises from Hong Kong with its latest ship Resorts World One, from 10 March 2023.
It is selling two and three-night high-seas cruises, departing every Friday, Sunday and Wednesday from Hong Kong.
Resorts World One was formerly the Explorer Dream, a 75,338 gross ton 13-deck high cruise ship that features 928 rooms which can accommodate over 1,856 guests.
Departing on 3 March, Resorts World One will offer a special five-night repositioning cruise from Singapore, calling at Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, before arriving in Hong Kong on 8 March, where it will homeport at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.
Resorts World Cruises is a brand extension of Resorts World, a global brand in the hospitality and entertainment industry, featuring 46 properties in eight countries spanning four continents – Asia, the US, Europe and Africa.
SINGAPORE, 16 January 2023: ForwardKeys’s latest forward booking data confirms international travel during the Chinese New Year holiday season will rebound for the first time in three years, but the full resurgence in Chinese outbound travel remains further down the track.
The Chinese New Year holiday week gets underway on 22 January.
ForwardKeys VP Insights Olivier Ponti commented: “We will need to wait longer before we see a resurgence in Chinese tourists exploring the globe. The reasons are: First, the current scheduled international flight capacity is only at 10% of 2019’s level. Due to approval requirements for traffic rights and airport slots, airlines will find it difficult to gear back up in less than a few months. Second, ticket prices remain high, with average airfares in December 160% higher than in 2019. That said, there has been a downward trend since June, when quarantine was reduced from three weeks to seven days, and then to five days in November.”
“Third, some destinations, including the US, the UK, India, Qatar, Canada, Australia and all 27 EU member countries now require a pre-flight Covid-19 test for Chinese visitors; and others, such as Japan, South Korea and Italy, will impose testing on arrival and quarantine for those who test positive.
“Finally, a bottleneck in processing passport renewals and visa applications is likely; and some countries, such as South Korea and Japan, are restricting short-term visas for Chinese travellers until the end of this month.
“Right now, we expect the Chinese outbound market will pick up strongly in Q2 2023 when airlines schedule capacity for the spring and summer, which include the May holiday, Dragon Boat festival in June and summer holidays.”
China’s decisions to cut back on travel restrictions and ditch its zero-Covid policy triggered a surge in flight bookings.
On 7 December, Chinese authorities announced that a negative PCR test would no longer be required for air travel between provinces. Domestic flight bookings immediately surged 56% on the previous week and increased 69% the following week.
On 26 December, China removed all Covid-related restrictions on domestic air travel; and bookings surged again, reaching 50% of 2019’s level in the final week of the year.
As of 3 January, domestic flight bookings during the upcoming Chinese New Year period, 7 January – 15 February, were 71% behind pre-pandemic (2019) levels and 8% behind last year, with the most popular destinations being Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, Sanya, Shenzhen, Haikou, Guangzhou and Chongqing. Before the announcement on 7 December, they were 91% behind 2019.
China’s aviation regulator set in motion plans to restore flight capacity to 70% of pre-pandemic levels by 6 January and to 88% by 31 January. However, a full recovery is not possible immediately, as the industry needs some time to re-hire staff and meet all flight safety and service requirements.
The cap on the number of international flights to China and quarantine measures were removed on 8 January. In addition, Chinese citizens can now renew expired passports and apply for new ones.
Outbound flight bookings between 26 December and 3 January jumped 192% compared to the same period last year, but they are still 85% behind pre-pandemic levels.
Currently, the most popular return trips are to Macau, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt. Notably, bookings to Abu Dhabi, traditionally a major gateway between China and the West, are 51% behind 2019. As for onward bookings from Abu Dhabi, 11% will go to Paris, 9% Barcelona, 5% London, 3% Munich and 3% Manchester.
67% of bookings made between 26 December and 3 January were for travel during the Chinese New Year period.
BANGKOK, 16 January 2023: The Tourism Authority of Thailand has set lofty targets for 2023, starting with a promise to generate 25 million international tourists with earnings estimated at THB1.5 trillion.
It made the claims at a press conference late last week focused on “Visit Thailand Year 2023” Towards Meaningful Travel Directions, a theme crammed with slogans and classroom alliteration focusing on five F words or “soft-power pillars — food, film, festival, fight (Muay Thai) and fashion.
TAT’s optimism perked up after China announced the end of travel restrictions opening the outbound travel floodgate to independent travellers on 8 January, just a few days before the Lunar New Year holiday kicks in on 22 January.
It is also shouting from the rooftop that the country welcomed “11.8 million international tourists” in 2022, a difficult claim to verify independently.
Counting on a tourism revival in 2023 that will cause tourism earnings to soar to THB2.38 trillion ( international and domestic), TAT could be guilty of glossing over threats that could slow or even stall tourism recovery worldwide.
Have TAT’s forecasts failed to consider airfares doubling worldwide when compared pre-Covid times, skyrocketing cost of living trends including surging fuel price hikes and a possible escalation of the Ukraine conflict that could threaten world peace?
TAT’s rosy picture for 2023 sees it claiming a return to 80% of the country’s pre-pandemic performance recorded in 2019. Thailand welcomed just short of 40 million international visitors in 2019
China’s outbound travel market, currently limited to individual travellers rather than package tour groups, ranks the highest prospect for growth in 2023, at a forecasted 3 to 5 million visits to Thailand. But other source markets in the TAT’s “seven digits” tally list (1 million and over), such as Malaysia, India and South Korea, are identified as potential giants contributing to Thailand’s 2023 visitor count.
Partnerships will drive TAT’s tourism revival campaign with airlines such as Qatar Airways, Etihad, Oman Air and Emirates. Other key airlines collaborating in joint promotions with the TAT include AirAsia, THAI, FlyDubai, Aeroflot Air Canada and Delta Airlines.
It’s all part of TAT’s “ABCD Fast Forward” campaign that sounds like a school chalkboard lesson for marketing students – A for Airline focus, B for Big cities and beyond, C for Collaboration with airlines and OTAs and D for Destinations with year-round appeal. Fast forward is the desired outcome, which brings us back to the Five F foundations – old faithful themes of food, festival, film, fight, and fashion, all favoured stalwarts of past Amazing Thailand campaigns.
KUCHING 13 January 2023: ‘Sarawak A Journey Awaits’ Business Networking Session (B2B) was the first B2B event of the new year organised by Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) with 18 agents from MATTA Perak Chapter and two representatives from Firefly together with Sarawak industry partners.
This year’s B2B first-ever session coincided with the MATTA Perak Chapter’s Familiarisation Trip to Kuching from 8 to 10 January 2023 that shone the spotlight on Sarawak’s unique products, including the biggest museum in Malaysia – the Borneo Cultures Museum, Sarawak River Cruise trip, Semadang Kayaking, trip to Bau for Paku Maze Garden and to the charming town of Siniawan.
STB Deputy CEO Suriya Charles Buas said: “The business networking session today represented an opportunity to come together and exchange ideas on how to promote Sarawak as a unique eco-tourism destination to neighbouring states in West Malaysia. With the tourism sector’s recovery underway, STB will focus on conversion and growth from the domestic market.”
Domestic visitor arrivals to Sarawak ranked first on the list, with more than 1 million arrivals recorded during 2022. This marked a significant 662.03% growth over 2021, launching promotions to reach the 2023 target of 3 million arrivals.
Sarawak offers a wide variety of attractions for West Malaysian visitors, even more so now with the surge of demand for eco-tourism products following the pandemic. Sarawak has significant potential to offer green travel content to the market focusing on priceless flora and fauna endemic to Borneo, majestic waterfalls, captivating caves and mouth-watering food.
The five pillars of Sarawak’s tourism – Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festivals (CANFF) continue to be the main draw for Sarawak. The diversity in ethnicities and culture in Sarawak resulted in a palate of local delicacies merged with international flavours, producing unique food that can only be found in Sarawak. Kuching was also the first city in Malaysia to be named the ‘Creative City of Gastronomy’ by UNESCO.
Collaborations between Kuching, Sarawak and Ipoh, Perak, should increase Sarawak’s visibility and product awareness for travel partners in Perak, helping them to stay connected with the latest content and offerings to “Come back Stronger” and move beyond the pandemic.
SINGAPORE, 13 January 2023: Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the innovator in global cruise travel with a 56-year history of breaking boundaries, today announced the appointment of Jason Krimmel as its vice president of international.
In his new role, Krimmel will oversee NCL’s sales, marketing and brand communication efforts outside the US and Canada – including the Asia Pacific region – to expand the brand’s international footprint. With a specific focus on optimising collaboration between regions and surfacing new sales opportunities, he will drive impactful through-the-line campaigns. In this Miami-based role, he will report to Todd Hamilton, NCL’s senior vice president of sales.
Jason Krimmel, Vice President of International, Norwegian Cruise Line.
“During his 19-year tenure at NCL, Jason has championed several roles and headed various departments across the organisation,” said Hamilton. “His vast experience, an international mindset and exceptional leadership make him the right person to strengthen NCL’s position with international trade and consumers while we’re preparing to welcome five additional ships of our ground-breaking Prima Class and extend our capacity by 40% by 2027.”
Since joining NCL in 2003 as business development manager for North Texas, Krimmel has held various positions, including director of field sales and business development, where he spearheaded all US-based business development managers, as well as vice president of trade marketing and engagement, a role targeted to strategically build trade awareness and convert travel agents to lifelong business partners.
In his most recent role as vice president of international marketing and global creative strategy, he and his team successfully launched Break Free, NCL’s most extensive international marketing campaign to date, with TV integrations globally.
“I’m excited to lead NCL’s international business and further grow our most-promising markets,” said Krimmel.
“The anticipated arrival of Norwegian Viva, the 19th ship in our award-winning fleet, and our return to destinations worldwide will allow us to fully capitalise on the unleashed pent-up demand for cruising worldwide and turn 2023 into NCL’s most successful year to date.”
Reporting to Krimmel, Ben Angell, vice president and managing director APAC, maintains his responsibilities for the NCL brand in the Asia Pacific at a pivotal time for the return of cruises to the region. Norwegian Spirit became the first NCL ship to sail Australian waters in almost three years in December 2022, while Norwegian Jewel returns to Asia in October 2023. Angell joined the company in 2015 and has over 25 years of experience spanning Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the UK, Europe and North America, including 10 years of experience specifically in the Asia market.
For more information about NCL’s award-winning 18-ship fleet and worldwide itineraries, or to book a cruise, please contact a travel professional, call Hong Kong on +852 800 901 951 and Southeast Asia on +65 3165 1680 or visit www.ncl.com.
SEPANG, 13 January 2023: AirlineRatings’ safety experts have named AirAsia Aviation Group one of the top 20 safest low-cost airlines in the world for 2023.
Achieving AirlineRatings’ top 7/7 stars status, AirAsia Malaysia (AK), AirAsia Thailand (FD) and AirAsia Philippines (Z2) as well as medium-haul affiliate airlines – AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) and Thai AirAsia X (XJ), gained recognition for robust overall safety procedures and comprehensive Covid-19 mitigation plans.
AirAsia Aviation Group, Bo Lingam said: “Safety is a key deciding factor for travellers and is also a key factor affecting any airline’s reputation. This is now more important than ever post-pandemic.
“During the downtime in flying over the past two years, we also introduced numerous innovations and contactless procedures to make flying more seamless and hygienic. Travel is now bouncing back, and all these measures help restore confidence in air travel and stimulate consumers to get back on board in the skies with us.”
Airlineratings.com editor-in-chief and founder Geoffrey Thomas commended AirAsia Group for continuing to put Safety and Covid mitigation measures at the forefront.
“The airlines we have acknowledged have also continued to pass the major International Air Transport Association (IATA) safety audit – IOSA, which covers more than 1,060 parameters and is the global benchmark for maintaining the highest safety standards.”
SINGAPORE, 13 January 2023: Time is running out for travel and hospitality firms keen to tap a discount to attend ITB India as the early bird 15% expires on 15 January.
ITB India 2023, a B2B show focusing on South Asia, will return to its in-person format from 26 to 28 April, at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, India. Messe Berlin Singapore organises the show. It also owns and operates ITB Asia Singapore, scheduled for 25 to 27 October 2023 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
ITB India is co-located with MICE Show India and Travel Tech India, adopting a three-in-one show format that covers the core verticals of leisure travel, business events and travel technology.
Over 500 buyers from MICE (25%), corporate (25%), and leisure (50%) sectors based in India and other South Asia countries will attend the show. Exhibitors can book booth space with prices starting at USD3.060 on the early bird ticket or pay USD3,443 until sales close in March.
