Organised by the SHTM and its Hospitality and Tourism Research Centre together with STR and run by a group of talented SHTM undergraduate students from the Special Events Class, the IMPACT2021 Conference took place on 16 December at Hotel ICON in both online and offline forums.
Surviving hotel quarantine, whether for a mandated seven, 14, or 21 days, is no easy feat. But amid challenging times for the hospitality industry, government-enforced hotel quarantine schemes all over the world – perhaps most notably in Hong Kong – have offered opportunities for hotel companies to demonstrate what “hospitality” truly means for their brand.
Accor, the largest hotel operator in the Pacific, has won the naming rights for Stadium Australia, with the iconic venue in Sydney Olympic Park to begin the transition to Accor Stadium from today.
A rare Australian unicorn has just graduated to the ASX, with Siteminder Limited (ASX: SDR) shares commencing trading on Monday.
The Indian aviation sector is finally flying high following a burst of encouraging news in recent weeks. Air passenger traffic is rising steadily, especially with the onset of the festive season and resumption of corporate travel, prompting the government to allow airlines to operate at full capacity. Air traffic is expected to recover further after the country reopens its borders to international tourists in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, with Jet Airways resuming operations and a new ultra-low-cost airline, Akasa Air, launching flights next year, as well as the privatization of the national carrier, Air India, through a sale to Tata Sons, competition in the aviation market is set to heat up.
India’s vast coastline is peppered with some of the world’s most stunning, untouched, and unexplored islands. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as Lakshadweep, are home to the majority of these. Both islands have become popular tourist destinations in recent years because of their beautiful landscape, rich biodiversity, and unique experiences ranging from historical landmarks to water sports and adventure activities. Pre-COVID in 2019, Lakshadweep hosted over 7,000 tourists, whereas the Andaman & Nicobar Islands welcomed over 500,000 tourists. While the foreign tourist arrivals in Andaman & Nicobar have stayed relatively stable, domestic tourist arrivals doubled during 2012-2019. Despite these outstanding growth figures, tourism on these islands remains mostly undeveloped and undiscovered.
Latest Airbnb data shows over 68% of all new Filipino Hosts in H1 2021 are Gen Zs and millennials aged 18-40
Radisson Hotel Group is reviving the joy of travel in Shanghai with a new campaign that invites Chinese travelers to create memorable, meaningful moments in the “Paris of the East”. As China’s domestic tourism recovery gains momentum, guests are encouraged to return to this amazing metropolis and rediscover its iconic attractions.
Wharf Hotels today announced the opening of a Regional Sales Office in Guangzhou, China. Headed by Regional Sales Director, Kenny Lai – a 14-year veteran of the hospitality industry, he will actively manage business developments in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and the rest of Guangdong Province, as well as cover strategic sales activities in the municipality of Chongqing and the provinces of Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan.
If ‘virtual’ was the key trend in the meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) industry in 2020, ‘hybrid’ has been the buzzword in 2021, as in-person attendance made a comeback at large-scale events in various countries. All popular international MICE locations are taking measures to resurrect the segment, with Singapore and the UAE leading the way, having hosted multiple hybrid events successfully in the past year, with even international delegates in attendance.
Traveler confidence is improving post the second wave, renewing hopes of a recovery for the travel and hospitality sectors. Domestic aviation traffic has been steadily increasing month after month, growing by 47% in June 2021 (compared to May 2021) and 61% in July 2021. The surge in demand has even prompted the ministry of civil aviation to increase domestic airline seat capacity to 72.5% of pre-COVID levels from 65% earlier.
Travel demand – both leisure and business – is gradually improving in the country, bringing in a newfound enthusiasm and euphoria in the Indian travel & hospitality sectors. The declining cases, easing of restrictions across states, and increasing momentum of the vaccination drive, coupled with people’s inherent need to travel, are key factors driving this revival. A uniform national travel guideline is also expected to be implemented soon, which will further ease travel within the country.
As Bangkok grapples with rising numbers of Covid infections, leading tourism voice KP Ho, Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Group, has told European envoys, airlines, senior officials and business leaders, that for Phuket Sandbox to succeed it is imperative for Phuket to be given “green” destination status.
Bhopal, also known as the ‘city of lakes', is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in central India. Bhopal is developed along the banks of beautiful natural and artificial lakes and is a perfect fusion of scenic landscape, historical architecture, and modern urban planning. The old part of the city houses several mosques, palaces, meandering alleys, bustling marketplaces, and scrumptious eating spots, while the new Bhopal is well-planned with wide roads, exquisite gardens, commercial complexes, restaurants, and hotels – the two contrasting halves providing a multi-faceted profile to the city.
Cendyn, the leading innovator in CRM, sales, and revenue strategy for the hospitality industry, is excited to announce Coco Collection has selected Cendyn to power their CRM and loyalty program across the Collection’s portfolio of boutique luxury resorts in the Maldives.
Whether it be the blinding lights of Tokyo that draws your attention or the healing powers of ancient rituals or the ever-popular cuisines – this destination has been on bucket lists even before Japan took center stage to host the Olympics.
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has become a mainstay of the economic development in the country in the past decade, contributing over 10% to the country’s GDP and 11% of the total employment in 2019 as per WTTC. Having realized the potential of the tourism sector as a chief economic propellant, the Sri Lankan government, over the past several years, has focused on facilitating its growth through effective policy measures and massive infrastructure development. For instance, upgrading the Colombo airport is a major step to improving infrastructure that has helped increase the number of flights into the country. Hotel development in the country has also seen significant growth from 113 classified hotels with 9,377 rooms in 2010 to 156 classified hotels with 14,232 rooms in 2020, as per the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
As the world gradually reopens for travel, there is a massive race between countries to attract international tourists to their shores. Several countries have already opened their borders to fully vaccinated international tourists, while others are gradually resuming inbound tourism in a phased manner.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts becomes the Official Partner Hotel of ITB China 2021, which is set to take place as a physical event in Shanghai from 24 – 26 Nov 2021, with a virtual extension from 8 Nov to 31 Dec 2021.
Elite Havens, the leading provider of high-end vacation rentals in Asia and a subsidiary of Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has seen the quality of its offerings celebrated in a new Netflix reality series, The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.