Despite cash incentives to stay home, extensive testing requirements and the launch of digital parades, many Chinese tourists are still likely to travel for the Chinese New Year - the largest and most widely celebrated event across the country, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
The member governments of the Greater Mekong Subregion agreed at the recent 46th GMS Tourism Working Group Meeting on December 3rd, 2020 to postpone the Mekong Tourism Forum in Bagan, Myanmar. The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) has been working closely with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism of Myanmar to plan the annual flagship tourism conference in the Greater Mekong subregion. The forum has been postponed three times so far, originally planned to be hosted on April 28-29, 2020, then August 25-26, 2020, and then February 25-26, 2021.
2020 has been one of change, which has altered the tourism and hospitality landscape forever. Health, hygiene and social distancing have been shaping travel, with reports indicating that over 90 percent people view health and safety as a key consideration; with over 80 percent travelers gravitating towards reputed brands for their travel plans. With around 90 percent people keen to resume travel, more and more travellers have been exploring the myriad beauty of India, leading to a rise in domestic travel. Here are some of the key trends that have carved the path of travel this 2020.
Delivering unique and memorable guest experiences and offers is helping put hotels in Australia's gateway cities on travellers radars as international border closures force them to adjust their plans, but state travel restrictions lift.
The gradual revival of demand in the past few weeks is ushering in a new era of price war tactics in the Indian hotels sector. Hotels are resorting to drastic rate cuts in their quest to attract guests and stay afloat during these trying times. Price wars are not a new phenomenon in the sector and our experience says that this is not the best strategy as it often results in more pain than gain.
Welcome to 2020. Airbnb is part of the hospitality industry already. Get over it. I hope IPO cash might help them ease Expedia and Booking's oligopolistic power. I hope IPO cash might have them boost a faster global return to travel.
A successful IPO will place Airbnb in a much stronger financial position so they can remove the high cost (at 11% interest) of their recent funding and prepare to operate profitably again. The threat of Airbnb will be felt by hotels that are perceived to be "risky" in terms of Covid-19 transmission prevention, eg.
Tourism is a core, but highly volatile, component of China's grand national strategy for modernisation, according to Dr Eric Chan of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-author in a recently published research paper. The researchers find that less developed areas in particular desperately need to retain people and resources to strengthen their tourism offering. Drawing on a rich dataset of personal narratives, the study sheds light on the emerging phenomenon of urban-rural migration and offers guidance for rural destinations on strategically planning tourism employment and entrepreneurship. The findings may empower individuals to realise the Chinese dream of personal achievement and help less developed areas attract and retain capital for sustainable tourism development.
Due to the ongoing travel restrictions and the circumstances around the current pandemic situation, ITB India organiser has decided to hold the inaugural ITB India 2021 as an entirely virtual event, set to take place from 7 - 9 April 2021. The new event format provides exhibitors and attendees with both maximum safety and planning certainty. The virtual show welcomes over 400 Indian and Southeast Asian buyers from MICE, Corporate and Leisure sectors. ITB India 2021 Virtual will be hosted on ITB Community in Asia (ITB Community), which 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.
he Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Trip.com Group today signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to jointly market Singapore as the destination of choice for travellers, and to enhance visitors' experience in Singapore. In addition, Trip.com Group announced that it has set up its International Headquarters (IHQ) in Singapore.
TravelRevive, powered by ITB Asia and Singapore Tourism Board (STB), will be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore, from 25-26 November 2020.
Adrian Zecha, Founder of Aman, alongside Japanese hospitality group Naru Developments, announce the launch of their new brand Azumi. The brand will offer a fresh take on the Japanese ryokan by combining the wholehearted, personal hospitality that characterizes a traditional stay with the best elements of the global hotel experience. The first Azumi property is scheduled to open in the Setouchi Region of Japan in Spring 2021.
Amazon has tried unsuccessfully to tackle the online travel space twice in the past. Back in 2013-2015, Amazon attempted to do this “organically” with its ill-conceived Amazon Local and Amazon Destinations. In 2019 Amazon launched a flight search and booking service in India, powered by online travel agency Cleartrip, buried deep into its Amazon Pay section.
Amazon has to massively increase its top-line revenue if it is going to continue is share price growth. It gets more difficult to do that as it grows. What industries can it get into that can help deliver that? Travel will not be Amazon's number one choice but they will not ignore it either.
As our industry starts to welcome early signs of recovery, at least domestically while bubble plans accelerate across the Tasman, now is a critical time for us to analyse the long-term impact on traveller booking behaviours in the wake of the pandemic.
TravelRevive - which will take place live from 25-26 November, 2020, at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, will bring together the travel industry to exchange ideas, bridge knowledge gaps, and reimagine how the future of travel will look like. TravelRevive will be the first pilot tradeshow to trial the newly developed prototype for safe business events, safe itineraries and digital enablers in Singapore.
MUMBAI: On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), South Asia's largest hospitality company, has launched #TravelForIndia - a campaign to inspire safe travel and help rebuild the tourism and hospitality industry that touches millions of lives. In line with the Government's 'Vocal for Local' vision, #TravelForIndia aims at driving awareness about the importance of domestic tourism and its impact on livelihoods. With a number of initiatives supporting indigenous tourism in the pipeline, #TravelForIndia was kick-started with a special video today, celebrating the incredible diversity of India whilst spreading a message of optimism, hope and unity in solidarity of its vast ecosystem.
Venerable brands always have the potential for a renaissance. Of course, success hinges on forgiveness (forgetfulness?) of all those stranded travelers. And the continued focus on "fun in the sun" vacations is a smart way to maintain that differentiation and historical brand promise.
I am highly skeptical of Thomas Cook's resurrection as a B2C online travel player i.e. an OTA specializing in selling beach vacations and city breaks, and here is why: a) The traveling public does not know Thomas Cook as an OTA or B2C online vacation packager, hence the need for massive advertising spend to build relevant brand recognition.
I don't think there is a new TC. I think that this was the plan all along. I remember sitting in the UK in 2011/12 reading an article: Britain's Least Admired Companies of 2011 where TC was mentioned. It also let me to look at their share price and saw it tumbled to somewhat below 20c (which for me was surprising)...but then I saw they didn't have a CEO and no-one wanted to take the job since a few month....sinking ship comes to mind.
Singapore is gradually reopening its borders again after months of coronavirus travel restrictions.
There are several major developments working against the bed banks sector: 1) Shrinkage of the brick-and-mortar distribution marketplace due to consumers shifting to online travel planning and booking. There are less than 7,500 travel agencies in the U.S.
In the non-US marketplace, bed banks continue to play an essential role, providing both offline and online intermediaries with a long tail of hotel inventory that would be impossible to source otherwise. Assuming historical bad behaviour regarding abuse of net rates can be controlled, newly consolidated and professionalised bed bank companies can have a long and happy future.
Bedbanks business may contract over time, however, they will remain a significant player in the online travel marketplace due to the large number of consumers who prefer to have their local travel agent make their travel arrangements.
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.
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