Singapore hopes artificial intelligence will help boost its tourism industry
Singapore is gradually reopening its borders again after months of coronavirus travel restrictions.
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Rediscover The Heritage Of Raffles Hotel Singapore In ‘A Life Intertwined’ By Resident Historian, Leslie Danker
Raffles Hotel Singapore today released a new book, 'A Life Intertwined', by Resident Historian, Leslie Danker, marking the hotel's 133rd birthday. Produced with the support of the National Heritage Board (NHB), the aptly-named memoir recounts the rich history and heritage of the iconic property through Danker's collection of mementos and trivia, as well as interesting anecdotes from his 48-year career at the hotel.
Virtual Destination Mekong Summit provides actionable insights for travel and tourism industry during COVID-19
The 1st Destination Mekong Summit was organized virtually by UNWTO Affiliate Member Strategies as a lead partner of Destination Mekong in partnership with the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office on 25 August 2020. Nearly 1,500 registered attendees from over 100 countries joined the virtual conference on Zoom with an additional 500 following the live stream on YouTube and the event website. "With the topic "Balanced Tourism Recovery for a Better Future", the Summit had the objective to answer burning questions, offer actionable suggestions on how to survive these challenging times, and best prepare for an accelerated recovery.", explained Mr. Jens Thraenhart, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, and chair of the summit
Meeting Expectations: 5 Things Australian Planners Should Consider As Meetings & Events Resume
Between the devastating bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic, it has been a difficult year for meetings and events in Australia so far. Companies have had to adapt by moving some meetings online - but virtual interactions aren't a perfect substitute for face-to-face meetings. It's harder to sustain people's attention and form meaningful connections in a virtual setting or make employees feel valued and motivated in a way that can be achieved through an incentive trip.
China’s post-COVID-19 travel industry sees green shoots with tourists embracing short trips, luxury stays
In China's post-Covid-19 tourism market, short-distance travelling and luxury holidays are leading the rebound, while tour groups and business trips are declining, according to industry players.
ITB India goes hybrid for inaugural 2021 Live and Virtual Event
ITB India organiser has announced the adoption of a hybrid model for ITB India 2021. The coming tradeshow will be a combination of a live event (physical exhibition) held on 7- 9 April 2021, in Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India; and a virtual event happening five days later, on 15 - 16 April 2021. Coming April 2021, ITB India 2021 will offer a hybrid exhibition experience to the travel industry. The event will be amongst the first exhibitions in India to adopt a hybrid model. The live event will welcome over 8,000 attendees, more than 400 exhibitors, over 500 buyers, and an array of over 150 top speakers. The virtual event is set to complement the live event by reuniting a much wider audience accompanied with digital innovations to improve audience engagement and connectivity. "We see how trade fairs are changing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Personal contact remains the heart of a trade fair. At the same time, however, the trade fairs of the future will be hybrid events. Classic meetings of exhibitors and visitors will be accompanied by digital events," said Sonia Prashar, Deputy Director General of Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, the organiser of ITB India. ITB India 2021 virtual event will be hosted on ITB Community in Asia (ITB Community). ITB Community is a one of a kind, unrivaled 24/7 experience for trade professionals to forge connections, strike conversations with industry peers and do business all-year-round. Attendees of ITB India 2021 can expect the following key privileges:
Working with the Government of Japan to Support Tourism Recovery
Airbnb has announced it is participating in Japan's 'Go To Travel' campaign to help boost domestic tourism and support economic recovery in the country.
Last-Minute Domestic Travellers Play Vital Role In Support Of Thai Tourism Industry
New data from SiteMinder, the global hotel industry's leading guest acquisition platform, reveals a fast-growing shift toward last-minute travel among local holidaymakers in light of the uncertainty created by COVID-19.
Trip.com Group Sees Strong Demand For Singapore Products Among Both Local And Overseas Travellers
Singapore hotels and attractions have been well received in various global markets, with particularly strong demand from outbound Chinese travellers, despite the ongoing pandemic. Trip.com Group recently recorded sales of over 12,000 room nights amounting to a Gross Merchandise Value of over S$3.75 million over two recently concluded livestreams in Singapore and China.
Year of Living Dangerously Technology key to post-COVID recovery for Indian hotels
Technology will play a key role in the long road to recovery from the COVID crisis for India's hospitality industry, according to a comprehensive new report, Indian Hospitality at Tech Tipping Point, produced by RMS Cloud.The report reveals hotels using cloud-based property and revenue management technology have been out-performing the market for many years - a trend RMS founder Peter Buttigieg believes will accelerate post-COVID."There is no question technology will be key to the rebound, enabling hotels who use it properly to better manage demand generation in an online world and reconnect with their customers," says Mr Buttigieg."It's clear that hotels which have embraced technology are doing much better than those that haven't and we believe this trend will be amplified over time."Key report findings:
SiteMinder: ‘Domestic Travel Requires New Strategies From Thailand’s Hoteliers’
A new report by SiteMinder, the global hotel industry's leading guest acquisition platform, has signalled the importance for Thailand's hoteliers to employ new marketing, distribution and operational strategies to cater for the looming rise in domestic travel.
HK Disneyland to close one month after reopening
Hong Kong Disneyland is closing its gates again less than one month after it reopened, following a new coronavirus outbreak in the city.
Messe Berlin (Singapore) takes ITB Asia 2020 virtual
Messe Berlin (Singapore) announced today that ITB Asia, MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia will go virtual from 21 - 23 October 2020. Originally scheduled on the same dates, the annual travel trade show will instead be held on a virtual platform, due to the uncertainty over continued global travel restrictions and safe distancing measures.
Bali tourism virtual travel event taps on specific hotel reopening issues including travel bubbles, the Chinese market and wait for Indonesia’s government’s go-ahead
Waiting on the government's go-ahead, travel bubbles and a lack of domestic tourists are the overriding concerns for a Bali travel industry trying to battle through the COVID pandemic according to key leading speakers at the recent 'Bali Tourism - The Way Back' virtual event organized by Delivering Asia Communications and C9 Hotelworks together with the Bali Hotels Association and Horwath HTL.
Thailand’s Tourism Recovery Hinged On Tapping Into 227 Million Strong Domestic Marketplace
Thailand's domestic-led tourism recovery was at the forefront of a virtual online event "TTF2020 - Special Bangkok Edition" today that tapped more than a 1,000 leading domestic and international travel and hotel industry participants. Research from hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications focused on domestic inter-Thailand visitor market whose size at more than 227 million in 2019 stole the limelight versus 39.8 million international visitors.
Cash-stressed Maldives hotel sector set to evaluate over reliance on wholesalers
Hotel owners and operators in the Maldives are learning the hard way how quickly disruption can turn cash flow negative. One key trend in global leisure destinations is a severe liquidity crunch of wholesalers and travel intermediaries, which in turn has created a domino impact on hotels. This has created difficulties for the tourism dependent Indian Ocean island nation. Cash strapped hotels, who are owed significant funds for guests who have already stayed are being forced to negotiate payment terms or event contemplate write offs, are crying foul. Further stress from contracted allocations that cannot be fulfilled has become commonplace as advance deposits are being held by external suppliers. The situation is expected to become worse should wholesalers become insolvent. In Thailand, hoteliers have sought government action with the TUI Group, as despite a 1.8 billion Euro loan being approved by the German central government, they have yet to clear past payments overseas with are due. As hotels look to the reopening journey ahead, a new survey of 1,100 qualified Chinese travelers in first tier cities by hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications focusing on travel sentiment to the Maldives has pinpointed some key changes forecasted in visitor behavior.
IHG announces partnership with Trip.com Group’s Ctrip
IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world's leading hotel companies, today officially launched its first flagship store on Chinese leading OTA (Online Travel Agent) platform, as part of the partnership with Ctrip, part of Trip.com Group. Both companies will also cooperate in their membership systems, enriching the experiences and benefits for loyalty members from both sides.
Alibaba-invested repricing startup Hotelmize eyes expansion in China and Asia
It's always exciting reading about emerging startups winning funding and recognition from big-name investors, and more so during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many travel startups are either collapsing or shrinking. Such a win will surely draw more attention and further assert a company's value proposition, regardless of the actual amount raised.
Teleport Yourself To Santiburi Koh Samui
Experience-driven and carbon-neutral retreat Santiburi Koh Samui has unveiled a series of new experiences for people to enjoy from their homes that complement the resort's Lèn programme, a creative concept that allows everyone to discover individual happiness. Via a new virtual reality innovation, Santiburi Koh Samui travellers can teleport themselves to the resort while staying at home. To do so, they just need a VR headset from any brand and watch the VR video, available on Santiburi's YouTube Channel. For those who do not have goggles, they can still experience the property in 360 degrees via a smartphone and the same video.
What hotel GMs can do now to prepare for the return of Chinese travelers post COVID-19
In the webinar I was a guest presenter last week, I have shared a few post COVID-19 trends and shared my ideas on what hotels GMs can do now to get ahead of the game to welcome Chinese travelers post COVID-19. Happy to receive positive feedback that my suggestions are useful. I decide to elaborate on my ideas and write this article.
By Anita Chan, CEO Compass Edge, Co-founder LN Hotel Alliance, Compass Edge