Thai Airways International Public Company (THAI) has launched the new uniform for female cabin crew during its From Purple To Purpose press conference yesterday.
The Thai Ruean Ton, Thai national dress globally recognised for its grace for over six decades as worn by THAI flight attendants, is now woven with synthetic thread made of recycled materials and Thai silk.
Female THAI flight attendants in the new Thai Ruean Ton uniform
The new look presents a combination of the national identity and sustainable development, offering both aesthetic and utility purposes – it is easier to look after and has also passed the safety standards.
The new Thai Ruean Ton uniform will be worn by female flight attendants from January 1, 2024.
Regent Hong Kong, China
Regent Hong Kong has undergone a transformation and will welcome guests in November.
It features 497 guestrooms, which include 129 suites, as well as the new Presidential Suite, which offers a private terrace and infinity swimming pool.
Onsite are restaurants, lobby lounge, bar, outdoor pool, infinity pool, fitness centre, and event venues.
Amora Beach Resort Phuket
Amora Beach Resort Phuket, Thailand
The 264-room Amora Beach Resort Phuket reopens this December after an extensive refurbishment, and will feature newly-built facilities.
Situated on a private 80m stretch on Bang Tao Beach, each renovated room and suite will have a private balcony or terrace boasting either garden or sea views.
The beachfront resort will introduce facilities such as a new beach club, wellness centre, new all-day dining restaurant, kid’s club, two pools, a ballroom and four meeting rooms.
The George Penang by the Crest Collection
The George Penang by the Crest Collection, Malaysia
George Penang by The Crest Collection is nestled in the heart of George Town, Penang. Featuring 92 rooms and suites, the hotel draws inspiration from Penang’s rich cultural heritage, seamlessly blending old-world charm with contemporary elegance.
There is a restaurant which serves an array of multi-cultural cuisines, and a bar for afternoon refreshments or an evening cocktail.
Its prime location offers easy access to George Town’s historical sites, street markets, and cultural attractions.
Club Med Urban Oasis Xianlin Nanjing Resort
Club Med Urban Oasis Xianlin Nanjing Resort, China
Club Med Urban Oasis Xianlin Nanjing Resort, has opened in China. It is located among Nanjing’s four major scenic areas – Purple Mountain, Qixia Mountain, Tangshan Mountain, and Yanziji.
The resort features a 1,200m² indoor-heated water park, an outdoor water screen light show, an outdoor explore park, sports activities, and a bar.
Just 30 minutes from downtown Nanjing and Nanjing South Railway Station, it is also just 500m from the Huitong Road Station of Nanjing Metro Line 4.
Over the last few years and through the pandemic, Taiwan has kept busy constructing and upgrading event venues across destination to host events both large and small.
In Kaohsiung, new event spaces, accommodation options and supporting infrastructure have risen in Asia New Bay Area. One new space is the Kaohsiung Music Center, which opened in 2021 in Love River Bay, the junction between Love River and Kaohsiung Port.
Glory Pier and Pier 2 Art Center in the port of Kaohsiung
Su Wei-Hsiang, project manager with Kaohsiung Meeting & Event Promotion Office, said: “The Kaohsiung Music Center has an auditorium (Hi-Ing Hall) in the Wave Tower, which can take up to 6,000 people. In addition, the outdoor square (Hi-Breeze Square) can accommodate about 10,000, and is perfectly suited for group activities.”
In the meantime, The Coral Zone, an independent two-storey building within the same compound, provides a multifunctional space for experiential activities, exhibitions, and businesses.
This facility joins existing venues such as the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (KEC) which has a capacity of 1,424 standard booths and 4,000 people; the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts which has a total capacity of 5,861 seats; Kaohsiung Arena with the capacity of up to 15,000 people; and the 880-seat Dadong Arena.
Elsewhere in the port city, Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal recently opened in March 2023. Shaped like a whale, it can berth two large cruise ships of 225,000 at one time. Its 24-hour boardwalk – which offers shopping and dining – links to the new Pop Music Center, and the arts and shopping district within a green necklace along the waterfront.
Kaohsiung does not just have the hardware, it also has beefed up its software.
Su revealed that the Asia New Bay Area is the most comprehensive 5G AIoT (Artificial intelligence of things) implementation site in Taiwan.
The KEC, for example, participated in the 5G AIoT Taiwan Industry Innovation Platform Subsidy Project, and launched its own 5G private network in the venue.
Renee Chu, project director of KEC, said: “I’m proud to say that we are the first exhibition centre and only one so far to provide a private 5G environment.”
Amber Shih, deputy marketing manager of KEC, elaborated: “The 5G private network allows users to receive the signals in their mobile devices at the location, with the benefits being high bandwidth, and low latency. These 5G applications help to enhance attendees’ on-site experience.”
There are ways KEC has made use of the 5G improvements, such as a 3D 4K beam display, used to project speakers who may not be physically present at the venue, but yet are able to interact directly with the audience in real time.
TaiNEX 2 opened in 2019
There is also an app that functions as an indoor navigation tool that leads exhibition buyers to the booths they are looking for, as well as a two-way translation display using AI, where users can speak in their mother tongue and the app will show the translated speech.
“(With 5G AIoT, event planners) can deploy subtitles for an online conference, reducing the need for interpreters. Attendees just need to use their own mobile phones with the app installed,” Shih said.
KEC also provides a 5G Reality Studio. Providing an example, Chu said: “We cooperated with one exhibitor at the Fastener Show and brought the entire 5G production team to their factory to film a panorama video, before ‘bringing’ the factory to our exhibition hall.”
During the show, exhibitors took buyers on a virtual tour, which helped them learn about the entire manufacturing process while physically standing in KEC, but was immersive enough to feel as if they were touring the factory.
“By doing this, we cut down on travel time and transportation costs, as well as reduce carbon emissions from having to travel from KEC to the factory,” noted Chu.
Over in the capital, Grace Chen, deputy executive director of Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 2 (TaiNEX 2), said: “TaiNEX 2’s state-of-the-art facilities are a testament to Taiwan’s commitment to advancing the MICE industry and (creating a) convenient business environment. We are also the first exhibition hall to be awarded Green Building Label – Golden Level in Taiwan.”
Owned by the government and operated by Taiwan External Trade Development Council, TaiNEX 2 has 34,480m2 of space, comprising two exhibition floors and a conference floor. Located on the 7th floor of the building, the Skylight Convention Centre offers 14 convertible meeting rooms with a maximum capacity of 3,600.
Combined with the TaiNEX 1, this convention and exhibition centre becomes the biggest in Tawian, providing nearly 80,000m2 of event space.
New venues have also risen in other cities. For example, the Taoyuan Convention and Exhibition Center is set to be fully operational by end-2023, where the main hall has a capacity of up to 6,000 people.
Further south, the Tainan Convention and Exhibition Center opened last April. The venue comprises four levels above ground and one level underground, and offers 10 flexible meeting spaces that can accommodate from 20 to 1,000 people.
Tourism that invests more in the education of stakeholders, frontline staff and consumers can help deliver a better model post-lockdown, according to an analysis at World Tourism Day (WTD) 2023.
Speakers opined that if people had a greater understanding of conscious travel, which contributes to the betterment of society and the environment, the tourism industry could grow sustainably and responsibly.
Pololikashvili: a job in tourism is the first step towards economic empowerment (Photo: Kathryn Wortley)
WTTC CEO Julia Simpson pointed out the importance of tourism to the global economy – of 10 jobs on the planet, one comes from travel and tourism; global tourism will be worth US$9.5 trillion by the end of 2023; and tourism lifts people out of poverty and contributes to less of the world’s carbon emissions than people expect, at only eight per cent.
Now, as global travel recovers, there is an urgency to invest in the industry’s sustainable future, said Anita Mendiratta, special advisor to the UNWTO, adding that tourism has the power to connect people and help them learn about themselves and others.
“We need to respond with the same energy on climate change as we did on Covid,” she said.
Saudi Arabia’s vice-minister of tourism Haifa Al Saud said attendees had “a collective responsibility” to commit to tourism that supports “planet, peace and prosperity”.
Speakers hailed education as a way to inform the public and private sectors on how to deliver sustainable development, to equip staff in travel and hospitality with key skills, and to persuade consumers to travel more responsibly.
The UNWTO used WTD as a platform to launch Tourism Opens Minds, a global initiative designed to promote travel to new destinations following recent research revealing that only a minority of tourists intend to visit new or different destinations when they start travelling again. Under the scheme, people will be encouraged to diversify their travel habits in a bid to combat over-tourism and level-up tourism development.
“We want to teach the world that every country is the best destination. Authenticity is what attracts people to a place,” said Saudi Arabia’s minister of investment Khalid Al-Falih.
The concept is being adopted by nations. In South Africa, where most inbound tourism is focused on the western cape, including Cape Town, efforts are underway to diversify offerings while educating travellers on “the hidden gems all over the country”, shared South Africa’s minister of tourism Patricia de Lille.
The power of educating consumers is evidenced by eco-conscious travellers who are already driving change in global tourism.
“More tourists are making decisions based on how sustainable a destination might be,” opined Gregory Djerejian, head of investments and legal at developer Red Sea Global. The company is driving the Red Sea Project, a tourism destination along Saudi Arabia’s west coast that Djerejian said would not simply preserve the community and environment, but also improve it.
Eduardo Carmona, CEO of Chile-based private capital fund Sudamerik, agreed that developers “need to be less invasive in nature” as consumers want green options that are also less crowded.
Today’s travellers also want to see where their money is going, and that their money is reaching local communities, added UNWTO’s Mendiratta.
UNWTO secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili described education in tourism as “the number one priority for UNWTO”, noting that in many countries, a job in tourism is “the first step towards economic empowerment”.
Still, more needs to be done to ensure education equips talent with right skills, explained Leo Wang, CEO of private educator Swiss Education Group: “Where are green (sustainability) skills? The future will be in green skills and we want a green skills standard in education.”
Sports tourism is enjoying a strong revival in Bintan, Indonesia, with the return of Bintan Ladies Golf Retreat in July and Bintan Triathlon by TriFactor 2023 on October 21 and 22.
Abdul Wahab, chief operating officer of Bintan Resorts Cakrawala, the organisation that manages tourism development and promotion for the destination, said sports tourism has been an important segment for Bintan to boost arrivals and contribute to the local economy.
This year saw the return of Bintan Triathlon by TriFactor to the Indonesian island
In 2019, sports tourism contributed 20 per cent of Bintan Resorts Cakrawala’s 500 billion rupiah (US$32,000) tourism tax payable to the Bintan Regency. The amount was nearly half of the regency’s direct revenue of 1.2 trillion rupiah, according to Wahab.
The sports events are organised with the aim of boosting arrivals to Bintan, so they welcome mass participation instead of specifically professional athletes.
However, these events could eventually be elevated to professional championships, said Wahab.
Bintan Resorts Cakrawala has been developing sports tourism since 2004, as the organisation saw the value these events could bring to the destination, such as visitor numbers and global media exposure.
“Events like Bintan Triathlon, for example, attract some 1,500 participants from 50 countries and they come with their family. The marathon attracts up to 6,000 participants. Along with spouses and children, that number easily triples, said Wahab.
In terms of infrastructure, Wahab said Bintan Resorts is a gated zone that makes events logistics easy to manage.
“We can organise a marathon without having to block streets, unlike in other cities,” he added.
According to Wahab, Bintan Resorts is still in “honeymoon mode” in terms of tourism recovery. He expects to achieve between 500,000 and 600,000 visitors this year.
Looking ahead, he has set a goal of one million visitors for 2024, and will achieve that through two new events – Moon Run night marathon, which is set for 2Q2024 with a target of 400 to 500 runners, and Bintan Regatta Triangle (Singapore-Bintan-Johor Bahru) at the end of the year.
He is confident that sports tourism potential for Bintan Resorts will continue to strengthen on the back of the new Bintan International Airport, which is now under construction, as well as the addition of three new hotels with 1,000 to 3,000 keys by 2025.
“In anticipation of growth, we are also training more staff and improving their capability to ensure the delivery of professional events services,” he said.
Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) is on track for a record year with 2023 room revenues, room nights and total domestic and international stays year-to-date (YTD) all consistently higher than 2019.
Contributing to GHA’s 2023 gains are the 3Q2023 hotel revenues, which are 41 per cent higher than in 3Q2022, and room nights up 31 per cent year-on-year for the same period. The total revenue 2023 YTD has hit US$1.7 billion, 101 per cent higher than in 2022 YTD.
Hartley: this unbridled appetite for travel has made our loyalty programme even more compelling
With new GHA Discovery enrolments surging 46 per cent in 3Q2023 versus 3Q2022, the programme reached a major milestone with total membership topping the 25 million mark during the period.
GHA CEO Chris Hartley commented: “This unbridled appetite for travel, combined with more than 21 new properties across 14 brands joining GHA since the start of the year, has made our loyalty programme even more compelling, spurring huge growth in GHA Discovery membership to reach more than 25 million.”
The top three countries driving 2023 room revenue gains YTD are Spain, Thailand and Italy, with Singapore and the UAE coming in a close fourth and fifth.
Hotels generating the highest revenue from stays made by loyalty programme members in 3Q2023 showed Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort in St Lucia topping the list, followed by Parkroyal Collection Pickering and Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, both in Singapore. Both Singapore properties also ranked in the top three for total room night stays made by members during this quarter, with the Marina Bay property ranking first and Pickering hotel taking the third slot. In addition, The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences in India was the second most popular property with GHA Discovery members in terms of total room nights.
3Q2023 highlights also included a significant 90 per cent increase in D$ rewards currency redemptions compared to 3Q2022, where total cross-brand revenue reached US$79 million, up 55 per cent from 3Q2022.
This builds on the US$135 million total cross-brand revenue generated in 1H2023, with GHA forecasting to hit US$280 million by year end.
Hartley anticipates further spikes in redemptions by end-2023 as “travel-hungry members use their D$ against winter vacations, topping them up with incremental spend to give 4Q2023 a boost”.
Rowena Relucio had been promoted to general manager of Twin Lakes Hotel, the upmarket property of Megaworld Hotels and Resorts in Batangas near Tagaytay.
She previously held the role of director of sales and marketing at the hotel.
Relucio has almost three decades of experience in the hospitality industry, including stints as assistant director of events and management in Edsa Shangri-La, sales and marketing positions at Manila Mandarin Hotel, Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Robinsons Hotels and Resorts, and B Hotel in Quezon City.
Fusion Hotel Group welcomes three new general managers to its hotels in Vietnam.
Marcus Wirsching takes the helm as general manager of Maia Resort Quy Nhon. He has over 30 years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry, with experiences in destinations throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
From left:Marcus Wirsching, Eugene Hendricks, and Ronald Espiridion
As general manager of Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion, Eugene Hendricks is a seasoned professional with several years’ experience at leading hotels in Vietnam, as well as in the Maldives, Australia, Thailand, and his home base of Malaysia.
Ronald Espiridion returns to Fusion as general manager at Fusion Suites Sai Gon. Originally from the Philippines, his experience in hospitality stretches as far as Cairo and Qatar to Brunei, Zanzibar, and the Turks & Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.
La Vie Hotels & Resorts has appointed Lachlan Harris to the role of group director of commercial.
Boasting three decades of hospitality experience across all sectors of the industry, Harris will be based at La Vie’s Sydney head office and will be responsible for delivering top line revenue for all of La Vie’s properties, including managing everything from revenue and distribution to client and customer engagement, multi-segment contracting and negotiation, product analysis, partnerships and marketing.
His previous roles have included local and international brands such as Naumi Hotels and Resorts, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, The Langham Sydney and Shangri-La Sydney.
He succeeds Akbar Al Baker, who has stepped down from the position after 27 years of service.
Relucio has almost three decades of experience in the hospitality industry, including stints as assistant director of events and management in Edsa Shangri-La, sales and marketing positions at Manila Mandarin Hotel, Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Robinsons Hotels and Resorts, and B Hotel in Quezon City.
His previous roles have included local and international brands such as Naumi Hotels and Resorts, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, The Langham Sydney and Shangri-La Sydney.
