SINGAPORE, 20 January 2023: FTE APEX Asia Expo is back in the in-person event space, scheduling a return to Singapore from 8 to 9 November 2023 for a B2B event focusing on the region’s airlines and airports.
The event will be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore.
Photo credit: FTE APEX Asia Expo
The organisers confirmed the theme ‘Preparing for tomorrow’s world’ this week, estimating the two-day event will draw more than 2,000 delegates keen to check out the latest technology and innovations, redefining air transport.
The free-to-attend exhibition will feature interactive workshops, pitch sessions and awards, plus a return to face-to-face networking opportunities.
New features for 2023 include a New Technology Symposium, a Sustainability Forum and the Airline & Airport Innovation Summit.
The exhibition is free to attend for everyone, while airline and airport employees qualify for a free Premium Pass. Vendors can also take advantage of early bird Premium Pass rates.
SINGAPORE, 20 January 2023: Tripadvisor announced earlier this week its Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Destination Awards for 2023.
Based on reviews from the global travel community, the awards highlight the top-rated spots across six categories: Popular, Trending, Food, Nature, Culture and Ski.
“We saw a resurgence of travel demand in 2022, and the outlook for this year is bright,” said Tripadvisor head of editorial Sarah Firshein. “Long-haul trips have made a comeback, and we’re seeing a lot of travellers excited to plan trips to Asia and the Pacific region for the first time in several years. Cities like Paris and London, which may have taken a backseat to less populous destinations throughout the pandemic, are back on travellers’ minds, while far-reaching parts of the United States like Alaska and previously restricted countries like Cuba are also piquing a lot of interest.”
Dubai has held the top spot in Tripadvisors’ flagship category, Popular Destinations, to be crowned the most popular destination in the world for a second year running, with Bali climbing back up to the second place for 2023. The popular island destination was also named the most popular destination in Asia this year. India dominates the popular destinations category in a category, taking three of the top 10 spots for the region.
Looking at up-and-coming travel hot spots for 2023, Cuba is the top Trending destination in the world, with the greatest year-over-year growth in interest on Tripadvisor, followed by Hoi An, Vietnam in second place and Mauritius in the third slot. Asia is the top region in this category, taking half the top 10 spots, with Siem Reap, Chiang Mai, Baku and Kathmandu making it into the top 10 trending destinations worldwide.
This year’s winners
While big cities continue to dominate the most popular destinations lists, a new category for 2023 celebrates travellers’ appetite for adventure and the great outdoors.
The best Nature Destinationsprovide inspiration to budding explorers planning bucket list trips, with Mauritius scooping the inaugural top spot for this category and Kathmandu, Nepal, taking second place.
Another new category this year is the Best Places for Culture, looking specifically at reviews highlighting art, history and culture. Fes, Morocco, is No. 1 in the world for culture for 2023. Jaipur, India and Colombo, Sri Lanka, also made it into the top 10 in fifth place and tenth, respectively.
Food is a top priority for travellers, with 58% most excited about what restaurants to visit when it comes to planning a trip, according to Tripadvisor’s latest Travel Index.
The best Food Destinations highlight locales known for their cuisine and burgeoning dining scenes. Rome reigns supreme for foodies taking the top spot in both the world and Europe lists. Hanoi, Vietnam, came in third place as the only Asian destination to make this top 10 world list for 2023.
As the ski season kicks off for 2023, Tripadvisor has unveiled the Best Places to Ski, according to those who hit the slopes last year. With its stunning landscape and down-to-earth mountain culture, Whistler, Canada is the top Ski Destination in the world this year.
PATTAYA, Thailand, 19 January 2023: Royal Cliff Hotels Group Pattaya promotes its Chinese New Year buffet dinner for families celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit.
The buffet dinner spread includes all the favourite Chinese dishes associated with the Lunar New Year celebrations, such as roasted duck, red bbq pork, crackling pork belly, dim sum, and steamed fish, along with desserts and homemade ice cream.
SINGAPORE, 19 January 2023: Emirates will scale up its A380 operations with the iconic double-decker returning to Glasgow (26 March 2023), Nice (1 June 2023) and Birmingham (1 July 2023).
The airline has also announced it will resume its second daily service to Stansted starting from 1 May 2023, using its wide-body Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fitted with its renowned ‘Game Changer’ First Class product. With the return of the second daily flight to Stansted, Emirates will ramp up its operations to London with 11 daily flights, including six times daily to London Heathrow and three times daily to Gatwick. The airline continues to expand its global network and increase capacity in line with growing travel demand.
Emirates currently deploys its flagship A380 to 40 destinations worldwide. By the end of this summer, the popular aircraft will be serving almost 50 destinations, restoring close to 90% of the airline’s pre-pandemic A380 network.
Emirates is the largest operator of Airbus A380, with more than 80 aircraft currently in active service. The airline launched A380 flights to Birmingham in 2016, followed by Nice in 2017 and Glasgow in 2019.
For more information on flight schedules, visitemirates.com.
The first Emirates A380 to be completely refurbished under the airline’s US$ 2 billion retrofit program was deployed earlier this month on the Dubai-London Heathrow service featuring the Premium Economy cabin and Emirates’ latest cabin interiors, including lighter colour palettes in First and Business Class. The airline also plans to ramp up its four-class A380 operations featuring Premium Economy cabins to more than 35 destinations across 20 countries by March 2024.
Customers love the Emirates A380 for its spacious and comfortable cabins, quietness, and unique onboard features such as the Onboard Lounge and First Class Shower Spa. Customers can also enjoy award-winning inflight entertainment on ice with over 5,000 channels of on-demand entertainment via the industry’s largest screens across all cabins.
Tickets can be booked onemirates.com, Emirates Sales Office or via travel agents.
SINGAPORE, 19 January 2023: 140 years after launching its first luxury trains, the Orient Express continues with the unveiling of the world’s largest sailing ship, Orient Express Silenseas, due to set sail in 2026.
The ambitious undertaking has been made possible through a French partnership between hospitality giant Accor and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, a shipbuilding company.
The 220-metre-long ocean sailing yacht, Orient Express Silenseas, will feature 54 Suites measuring on average 70-square-metres, including a 1,415-square-metre Presidential Suite, two swimming pools, two restaurants and a bar.
A tribute to artists and culture, Orient Express Silenseas will invite guests to experience incredible shows in its Amphitheatre-Cabaret, and a private recording studio will give a voice to the most beautiful melodies. This unique travel experience, guided by the winds, will feature spa treatments, meditation sessions and stopover explorations to discover cultural treasures that allow guests to unplug from reality and stop time completely.
Orient Express Silenseas will sail with a revolutionary technological design known as ‘SolidSail’: three rigid sails with a surface area of 1,500 meters each will be hoisted on a ‘balestron rig’, with three tilting masts reaching more than 100 metres high, able to ensure up to 100% of the propulsion in suitable weather conditions. This hybrid propulsion formula will combine wind power with a state-of-the-art engine running on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and plans to use green hydrogen once the technology is approved for ocean passenger ships, launching a new, more environmentally friendly vision of sea travel.
The entire project will be financed up to 70 to 80% by commercial banks, with the remainder provided by Accor and a majority equity partner.
BANGKOK, 19 January 2023: Thai Vietjet has confirmed that it will commence direct flights between Chiang Mai and Osaka on 16 February 2023, with promotional fares starting from THB3,799.
The airline will deploy an A321 for the new direct service between Chiang Mai and Kansai International Airport, Osaka. Flight time is approximately 5 hours.
According to the airline’s schedule, services will operate three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Thai Vietjet chief executive officer Woranate Laprabang said: “The launch of a direct service between Chiang Mai and Osaka marks another significant milestone for Thai Vietjet. Chiang Mai and Bangkok, and Phuket have long been regarded as one of Thailand’s top tourist destinations.
“We believe our new service will offer opportunities for Thai passengers resident in North Thailand to visit Osaka as well as passengers from Japan, particularly from Osaka, to travel to the beautiful city of Chiang Mai.”
Osaka is the second largest city after Tokyo, located in the Kansai region of Honshu, Japan. The city is well known for its traditional food, shopping areas, districts with neon lights, a famous amusement park, and many more.
Chiang Mai draws visitors from all over the world with its breathtaking mountain scenery and traditional Lanna culture. Tourists can enjoy exquisite Thai Northern cuisine, experience beautiful Lanna traditional culture, and participate in activities ranging from trekking in the jungle to bathing elephants in their camps or the panoramic views captured from mountain peaks.
Thai Vietjet offers promotional fares starting at THB 3,799 (including taxes and fees). Sales are open on the promotional fares until 28 January 2023, with the travel period from 16 February to 31 October 2023 (unavailable on public holidays).
Apart from the Chiang Mai – Osaka service, Thai Vietjet operates daily direct flights from Bangkok to Fukuoka.
DUBAI, UAE, 19 January 2023: Emirates will ramp up frequencies to Hong Kong with a daily nonstop service from its Dubai hub, starting from 29 March 2023, adding to its existing daily flight from Dubai to Hong Kong via Bangkok and increasing the airline’s operations in the market up to 14 weekly flights.
Operated by an Airbus A380 aircraft, Emirates’ flight EK380 will depart Dubai at 1045 and arrive in Hong Kong at 2200. The return flight EK381 will depart from Hong Kong at 0035 and arrive in Dubai at 0500. All times are local.
By bringing back its Dubai-Hong Kong flight EK380/EK381, Emirates is responding to the growing demand on the route and offering travellers the choice to fly nonstop or break their journeys in Bangkok.
Tickets can be booked on emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via travel agents. Travellers should check the latest entry requirements.
As one of Emirates’ key Asian destinations, the airline reaffirms its commitment to supporting Hong Kong’s post-pandemic recovery, increasing capacity to serve travellers originating from Dubai or connecting in Dubai from other cities in its global network. Throughout the pandemic, Emirates has supported the market’s local community by maintaining the trade links between Hong Kong and other strategic markets within its network, successfully transporting imports and exports through its airfreight division, Emirates SkyCargo.
Emirates also provides increased connectivity for travellers to additional destinations beyond Hong Kong through its interline agreements with various airlines, including Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines.
Emirates currently deploys its flagship A380 to 40 destinations worldwide, including London Heathrow, Sydney and Houston. The airline’s iconic double-decker will be serving nearly 50 destinations by the end of this summer. Visit this page to learn more about the Emirates A380.
HANOI, 19 January 2023: Vietnam has declared Binh Thuan province host of the National Tourism Year 2023 initiative to spur tourism development in the south-central region.
Last year the honour fell to Quang Nam province in central Vietnam.
Vietnam News Agency said: “By hosting the National Tourism Year 2023, Binh Thuan province’s tourism industry is expected to create breakthroughs, contributing to further promoting tourism development in the south-central region.”
Binh Thuan still has a long way to go to gain the attention of foreign tourists, although it is already a popular destination for Ho Chi Minh City residents, accessible by car, train and bus. The train journey takes just over three hours and costs USD11 one-way. The nearest airport is in Da Lat, a hill country resort town served by flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Phan Thiet is the main coastal tourist destination in Binh Thuan, 10 km from the provincial capital. However, other smaller beach resorts are located along the province’s 192 km coast.
Its designation as the National Tourism Year 2023 host shines the spotlight on the province’s tourism potential highlighting factors that will encourage the development of new travel experiences and boost investment in resorts.
According to the VNA report, Binh Thuan is home to nearly 900 hotels and guest houses, 13 travel agencies, and 25,000 tourism workers. Last year, it welcomed 5.6 million tourists, earning an estimated revenue of VND12.8 trillion (546 million USD).
Attractions
Phan Thiet is a harbour town for a fishing fleet with beaches such as Hon Rom and Bai Rang, both popular with visitors from Ho Chi Minh City (213 km transfer by car. Other attractions include Vạn Thuy Tu Temple, which houses dozens of whale skeletons. To the east, the medieval Po Sah Inu tower ruins are relics of the region’s Champa kingdom. Farther east, the resort town of Mui Ne is worth a visit to experience its colourful morning market.
Transport
Bình Thuan is located along Vietnam’s main north-south transport corridors. National Route 1 runs through the province, connecting six out of the province’s 10 districts to the rest of the country. Bình Thuan town is located on the north-south Railway line.
The province is connected to the Central Highlands by two national roads: 28 from Phan Thiet to Di Linh and Dak Nông province and 55 from Vung Tau to La Gi and Bao Loc. (Wikipedia).
Photo credit: Google Maps
Road travelling time HMC to Binh Thuan 4 hr 26 min (213.1 km) via QL1A and ĐCT Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh – Long Thành – Dầu Giây (12go.Asia/en)
BANGKOK, 19 January 2023: Diethelm Travel Group, a leading inbound tour operator in Asia, has confirmed a new executive lineup at its head office here in Bangkok.
Nickky Ong joins Diethelm Travel as chief innovation officer focusing on digital innovations and expansion, along with Meggie Valdes, who joins as the new director of marketing for DTG.
Malaysian native, Ong, boasts 15 years of experience in travel technology in Asia. His mission is to promote high-level digital innovations as the core component driving Diethelm Travel’s business expansion.
Valdes started her career as an account manager for Grey Marketing in the Philippines before joining the Tourism Promotion Board as its chief marketing executive. Her team launched the award-winning “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign.
In 2016, she became the youngest tourism director of the Philippines Tourism Office based in Frankfurt. She joins Diethelm Travel Group this month.
DUBAI, UAE, 18 January 2022: Emirates will offer passengers an opportunity to ‘fly better’ with new high-speed, inflight broadband powered by Inmarsat’s GX Aviation, onboard 50 new Airbus A350 aircraft – scheduled to enter service in 2024.
The new agreement will significantly improve the passenger experience with enhanced connectivity and greater global coverage, even on flights over the Arctic.
The Airbus A350s will be the first Emirates aircraft to take advantage of Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, which powers the world’s first and only globally available broadband network, ensuring passengers can enjoy uninterrupted global connectivity, no matter their destination, including the North Pole. The advanced high-speed capabilities of the broadband will enable Emirates passengers to stay connected with family and friends, browse the internet, and enjoy social media, all from the comfort of their seats.
Currently, the GX network that will power the Emirates inflight broadband consists of five Ka-band satellites and will be further enhanced by adding seven more satellite payloads as part of Inmarsat’s fully funded technology roadmap. This includes two Inmarsat-6s, the most sophisticated commercial communications satellites ever built, both of which are scheduled to enter service in 2023. These will be followed by three additional satellites in geostationary orbit, adding speed, capacity, and resilience. Two will be positioned in a highly elliptical orbit to enable the world’s only commercial mobile broadband service for aircraft flying in higher elevations and across the Arctic, such as routes between the Middle East and North America.
Emirates’ chief operating officer Adel al Redha said: “Delivering a world-class onboard experience has always been paramount to Emirates, and we understand the importance of being connected during flights. Over the years, we have worked closely with Inmarsat and our supplier partners to ensure all our aircraft offer Wi-Fi connectivity. We look forward to finding ways and options to improve the connectivity onboard our aircraft by utilising GX Aviation for our Airbus A350 fleet. The advanced capabilities introduced by the forthcoming satellites are particularly important, as this will boost capacity across our global network, including aircraft flying over the Arctic for routes between the Middle East and America.”
Emirates has also introduced connectivity enhancements for Skywards members – including complimentary internet access throughout the flight for all Skywards Gold or Silver members travelling in Business Class, in addition to First Class and Platinum members travelling in any cabin class.
The plan for high-speed inflight broadband onboard A350s is the latest addition to Emirates’ multi-billion-dollar investment into its onboard product and passenger experience, which also includes the largest known fleet retrofit project of 120 aircraft, extensive investment into menu development and food and beverage experiences, the planned introduction of next-generation inflight entertainment systems on incoming aircraft, and a hospitality training programme designed by the world’s most renowned hotel school – Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne.
