HANOI, 18 May 2022: Vietnam removes Covid-19 test requirements pre-flight and on arrival in the country for all travellers after infection rates and Covid-19 fatalities fall significantly.
Government channels announced the suspension of tests for
arriving visitors on 13 May, but the rule came into effect for travellers
entering the country at 0001 on 15 May.
Vietnam already suspended mandatory health declaration
regulations for foreign visitors on 27 April 2022. It dropped the Covid-19
vaccine certificates and quarantine requirements in mid-March, shortly after
reopening its borders to international visitors.
However, despite the decision to end all test requirements,
the Prime Minister ordered the Ministry of Health to closely monitor the
pandemic situation and issue appropriate prevention and control measures when
needed.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
