Satisfied top-quality buyers and visitors - 15,000 attendees in total - well-attended ITB China Conference with 4,000 attendees - Timekettle and TravelFlan won 2018 ITB China Start-Up Award - many pre-registrations for next year's show: 15 to 17 May 2019.
ITB Asia, 'Asia's Leading Travel Trade Show' is already exceeding expectations on exhibitor numbers, recording a 20.8% increase in new exhibitors signing up for the show, versus the same period last year. This comes after the enormous success of last year's 10thanniversary show which saw record-breaking numbers with 113 countries exhibiting at the event.
Initiated and hosted by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the first ever World Summit for Deans of Independent Schools of Hospitality and Tourism was held at Hotel ICON on 27-29 May 2018. The Summit provided a unique platform for deans of 40 institutions from more than 20 countries and regions to discuss and define the future course of strategies for hospitality and tourism schools, and to share solutions to common issues in an effort to promote further growth of hospitality and tourism studies within comprehensive universities.
The online flagship store allows over 300 million Ctrip members to access Hyatt hotels in the Greater China region and will extend to Hyatt hotels globally in the near future.
One Belt, One Road, One Tourism International Conference Announcement and Call for Papers:
During the exclusive 'owners-only' meet at the recently concluded HICSA in Mumbai, there was an interesting discussion on the type of branded hotels entering the market today across positioning. Everyone agreed that too much of the same thing is being churned out and except for the logo and the hotel name, there is really very little of the ambience and décor that sets one mainstream brand's property apart from the other - which begs the question, does standardization need to be so obvious? While I am not here to promote any brand, most owners in the room agreed that what the Andaz has done both in Delhi and Singapore with their public spaces, stands out from the pack - they are seamless, simplistic and have a distinct local influence; there is a story being told and the guest literally lives it during his/her stay. Am sure these two hotels have followed brand standards as well, but the adaptation has been subtle. The focus is clearly on creating a lasting impression on the customer, making him/her want to return to that experience. Brands like the Andaz understand that travelers today think and consume differently. They seek more choice, personalization, flexibility and above all a relaxing experience.
The 7th edition of Secutech India closed following a successful three days of trading, networking and sourcing between key players in India's security and fire & safety sectors. The event was held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from 5 - 7 April 2018, and was jointly organised by Asian Business Exhibition and Conferences Ltd (ABEC) and Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt. Ltd.
When Formula One auto racing's season-opener in Australia gets under-way this weekend the eyes of the world will be on it. One sponsor has less reason to be worried about the outcome than the others.
Thai tourism authorities announced that more than 530,000 foreign tourists are expected in Thailand to enjoy the festivities of Songkran, the Thai New Year, generating an income of 9 billion baht (about $290 million).
World-first dynamic variable pricing technology, developed by an Australian company, is set to revolutionise profits for business and the way consumers pay for travel, transport and online shopping.
Dynamic pricing technology - developed from Australian innovation - is leading the world in maximising turnover, and boosting the bottom line for travel companies.
Well-designed hotel loyalty programmes can increase members' satisfaction and improve the quality of their relationships with the associated brands, according to Dr Ada Lo of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and her co-authors. In a recently published article the researchers highlight the loyalty programme features that are most effective for building brand relationship quality (BRQ), and how BRQ contributes to outcomes such as members' word of mouth recommendations and purchase intention.
One of the strongest drivers of global economic growth isn't factories or financial services or internet startups, it's what we do when we're not working. We are becoming a planet of tourists.
The Winter Olympics and the Olympic Games are two of the world's biggest sporting events and consequently attract large spectator and huge audience numbers from all over the globe. Airlines and hotels benefit from increased tourist flows – both international and domestic – to the city where the Games are held, and so the city of PyeongChang can expect more demand and hence higher prices.
Dusit International, one of Thailand's foremost hotel and property development companies, has rolled out Alipay at its hotels and resorts in Thailand to cater to Chinese travellers who prefer to make quick and secure payments via mobile.
Top Speakers from major travel companies, such as Ctrip, one of the biggest online travel agencies in China, as well as Google, Expedia Affiliate Network, VisitFinland, Wyndham Hotels, Tencent, Meituan, China Tourism Academy will provide exciting insights into their expanding markets in the conference of the second edition of ITB China (16 – 18 May 2018 in Shanghai). This think tank of Chinese travel, co-hosted by TravelDaily will provide up-to-date key insights of these seven areas: 'Destination', 'Travel Tech', 'Corporate Travel & MICE', 'Online Travel', and – for the first time – 'Unique Travel', 'Business Travel' and 'Education & Job'.
In a bid to meet the growing demand for self-contained, serviced accommodation from international markets, leading accommodation provider Oaks Hotels & Resorts has launched a brand new, dedicated Chinese website in time for the Chinese New Year.In 2017, visitors from China overtook those from New Zealand as Australia's biggest tourism market, with figures more than tripling over the past seven years*.Further to this, 6.16 million Chinese visitors travelled overseas during Chinese New Year 'Golden Week' in 2017, a seven per cent increase from the previous year, and is poised to break travel records again in 2018, reinforcing the need for hoteliers to offer dedicated Chinese services to cater to this burgeoning source market.To this end, Oaks Hotels & Resorts has gone live with its new Chinese website, providing Chinese travellers with an easy-to-use booking engine, exclusive promotions and source of travel inspiration to assist with holiday and business travel planning.To celebrate, the online platform will offer Chinese visitors a 20% discount on bookings made on Oaks Hotels & Resorts' Chinese website between 1st January and 1st February 2018, with no deposit required, a flexible 72 hour cancellation policy, and pay on arrival facilities, plus access to a range of thoughtful services and amenities as part of the hotelier's Chinese 'guì bīn' – or VIP – program.Launched earlier this year, Oaks Hotels & Resorts' 'guì bīn' program has proved successful since being introduced at select CBD and leisure properties across its network, enabling the hotelier to attract a new level of Chinese visitors who appreciate customary conveniences when travelling.The initiative has seen the implementation of UnionPay facilities at select hotels, the addition of traditional Asian meals at participating properties' in-house restaurants, access to 24 hour Wi-Fi, Chinese speaking staff, and the inclusion of dental kits and slippers in hotel rooms and apartments, all of which are motivating factors that can influence accommodation decisions.Terms and conditions apply, subject to availability; available at select properties in Australia and New Zealand only. Must book between 1st January and 1st February 2018.For more information and to book, visit http://www.minorhotels.com/en/oaks/*ABC News (online), Chinese poised to overtake Kiwis as Australia's biggest tourism market, 27 October 2017.
With a projected compound annual growth rate in outbound journeys of 8% to 2020 and an even faster growing domestic market, Expedia needs to get a slice of the Chinese market but since its sale of eLong, the competition has only got stronger and it may be too late to make inroads according to EyeforTravel's new report into the company.
Leading Japanese hotelier Fujita Kanko Inc. is implementing a multilingual chatbot that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to handle guest inquiries on the websites for some of its Japan-based properties that are attracting a growing number of international guests. Website visitors can use the chatbot in Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, or Korean to receive 24/7 assistance. If the chatbot fails to answer any questions, human operators are available to provide assistance between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Japan time.
Hotels should make greater use of social media to evaluate their performance from the customer's perspective, according to Dr Bona Kim (Ph.D. graduate) and Dr Sam Kim of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-researcher in a recently published study. Having analysed hundreds of online hotel reviews, the researchers identified the hotel features that customers find most satisfying and dissatisfying. Their results provide helpful suggestions for how hotel managers can make effective use of social media to monitor and respond to customers' positive and negative experiences.