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.
I am quite surprised we're still discussing this topic in "Them Vs. Us" terms. I've been in the travel industry since the late '90s, and I think, except for the early '00s (for obvious reasons), I've never seen a single property NOT listed on -at least one- OTA.
OTAs should educate hoteliers on the long-term benefits of improving their guest stay experiences vs burning time, capital and energy on trying to out-perform OTAs in online bookings. To put it simply, OTAs are perfect for a first-time visitor to your hotel destination.
Not working with OTAs is foolish. Their costs are within the average for distribution costs of other industries (auto industry is 30%, DTC e-commerce is 40-50%, Amazon sellers are around 45%). The problem with OTAs is, like many online distribution platforms, they are really bad at caring for their supply-partners.
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.
Asset World Corp Public Company Limited (AWC), Thailand's leading integrated lifestyle real estate group and Nobu Hospitality, the global lifestyle brand founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, are delighted to announce a new partnership established to meet the needs of existing and future travellers by creating new unique experiences.
Asia’s Largest Travel Trade Show, ITB Asia 2021, will be an all-virtual event with the physical show postponed to 2022. Messe Berlin (Singapore) announces the complete digitalisation of ITB Asia, set to go virtual from 25 – 29 October 2021. After close observations of international developments of the COVID-19 pandemic and extensive conversations with local authorities and partners, the show organisers made the difficult decision to move the show completely virtual. The decision is made as Singapore moves to Phase 3 (heightened alert)[1] where the current limit for MICE events is set at 250 attendees.
Tourism eyes around the world are focused on a resort island in Thailand next week for the reopening of international, vaccinated travel to the Phuket Sandbox. A key emerging storyline from the island’s frenzied runaway to 1st July has been the remarkable cross sector partnerships that has become a true catalyst of change.
Strongly supported by Tourism Australia’s domestic campaign, leading data and analytics company GlobalData forecasts a record number of domestic trips in the country by 2025: double that seen in 2020 and representing a 14% growth on pre-pandemic levels. Broadcasting the phrase ‘holiday here, this year’ over social media channels, radio and outdoor advertising has paid off, and, although the country will not see pre-pandemic levels for inbound trips until 2024, the increase in domestic tourism will cover some of the shortfalls and save thousands of jobs.
Generating ancillary revenues requires a) the implementation of merchandizing strategy and culture at the property/hotel company, b) incentivizing and training your staff, and c) adopting technology solutions to automate as many of the internal processes as possible.
One of the key opportunities overlooked by many hotels is upselling/cross selling in their pre-arrival email. Firstly, a startling number of properties don't even take this opportunity to reach out to the guest a few days before check-in.
Launched in 2021, WaiThai Hospitality’s mission is to assist and support hotel and restaurant owners, directors and managers during the current time, plan the upcoming re-opening phase, and carry this partnership forward into the future.