Andrew J Leith has joined Selong Selo Resort & Residences in Lombok, Indonesia as general manager.
Leith brings more than two decades of international hospitality experience with him. His hospitality background includes private resorts in the Caribbean, branded luxury resorts in the Maldives, luxury villa retreats in Bali and Heron Island Resort in Australia. He has also held senior management positions at Angsana Ihuru in the Maldives, and Point Grace on Turks and Caicos.
A New Zealand native, Leith has been living and working in numerous leadership roles in Bali for the past 10 years.
Prior to this appointment, he was general manager at The Layar Designer Villas and Spa, and a partner with S.E.I.N.A. Management, a hospitality management and consultancy company on the island that supports villas, hotels and restaurants.
Surprising the marketplace with an opening five days ahead of schedule, Hilton Singapore Orchard marked a strong entry with its accommodation of all players and entourage attending the high profile HSBC Women’s World Championship LPGA Tour.
Speaking to TTG Asia, general manager Cedric Nubul said the hotel has opened on a “very optimistic” footing.
Nubul: the new Hilton Singapore Orchard will a brand-defining property
“We are opening at a time when Singapore is expanding her Vaccinated Travel Lane agreement with more countries, when more countries are reopening, and with the March school holidays just round the corner,” said Nubul.
“Opening a hotel with 1,080 rooms now sends a very strong message about the confidence we have in Singapore’s tourism,” he added.
While Nubul has refrained from quantifying occupancy rates and forward bookings, he said the team has been “pleasantly surprised by how well the hotel has been received by different traveller segments”.
Domestic bookings are leading the way, he shared, especially during the March school holidays that run from March 14 to 18, but there are also overseas bookings streaming in, mostly from countries that have Vaccinated Travel Lanes with Singapore.
The team is fielding enquiries for social events, with the hotel set to host weddings “almost every weekend” for the next few weeks.
“Domestic demand, local meetings, weddings and other social events are and will continue to be a key focus for us. A positive output from international source markets will emerge in the months to come,” Nubul said, adding that the hotel’s sheer size and mix of leisure and meeting facilities will set it up as a magnet for international travellers.
“We are working very closely with the Singapore Tourism Board, all local industry associations as well as inbound agents to rebuild inbound travel to Singapore. Hilton’s global reputation in service and hospitality excellence as well as this amazing product that we have here, come together to create a significant demand generator for Singapore,” he stated.
Hilton Singapore Orchard, which occupies what was once Mandarin Orchard Singapore, has undergone a S$150 million (US$110.2 million) comprehensive renovation to give the property a new look and hardware. The hotel’s interior design pays homage to Singapore’s rich colonial history and the area’s agricultural heritage.
The hotel features five culinary concepts, two oversized gyms that are fitted with market-leading equipment, extensive meeting spaces, as well as energy-efficient technology such as in-room motion detectors and light sensors in every room and suite.
Comparing Hilton Singapore Orchard with the former Hilton Singapore, located in another part of the Orchard shopping district, Nubul said the new hotel was “bigger, better and stronger”.
“We are focusing heavily on culinary – seen through the five dining concepts. We want to be a dining destination for both locals and international guests. Our meeting spaces are very diverse and functional, and the design aspect has been pushed to the top-most quality. We want to be a brand-defining Hilton property. We are already known for service excellence, but my team here will push the boundaries of what people come to expect from a Hilton hotel,” he stated.
Hilton Singapore Orchard is the brand’s largest property in Asia-Pacific.
When asked if there were new experiences being trialled at Hilton Singapore Orchard, Nubul pointed to the unique concept offered at Estate, the 360-pax all-day dining restaurant that invokes a grand colonial era and where beautifully-furnished seating sections stretch across a large part of the lobby. Instead of a single kitchen providing food to multiple buffet stations, Estate utilises several open kitchens where guests can watch the culinary teams in action.
Days after the Indian government said it would continue to suspend scheduled international flights to and from India until further notice, an about-turn decision has been made to reinstate international air access from March 27.
The decision is welcomed by India’s tourism stakeholders who have been pleading with the government to resume scheduled international flight operations in the country.
Resumption of scheduled international flights to and from India sparks hopes of a summer business revival
Sanjay Razdan, joint secretary, Indian Association of Tour Operators as well as director, Razdan Holidays, said the move “sends a positive message in the international markets that India is ready for international tourism”.
Gaurav Bhatia, executive director, Bird Group, said: “The announcement to resume scheduled international passenger services comes at the right time. The pandemic situation has improved in India as well as globally.”
He expects the resumption of international flights to positively impact India’s aviation companies as well as hotels. Passengers planning their international travel ahead of the summer peak season can expect to see high airfares cooling off, now that seat supply will improve.
The removal of the scheduled international flight ban comes just before the summer holidays in India, between April to June.
However, Ajay Prakash, president, Travel Agents Federation of India, warned that the Indian rupee’s significant depreciation would make overseas travel more expensive and shape outbound demand.
“Hopefully, the air capacity increase can bring down international airfares to more realistic levels to even things out,” he said, adding that there is “tremendous pent-up demand” for travel among Indian residents.
Emirates has signed an MoU with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau that reaffirms the airline’s commitment to reviving tourism business for the destination.
Both entities will conduct joint activities such as tradeshows, trade fam trips, exhibitions, and workshops.
(From left) Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s Kimarli Fernando and Emirates’ Ahmed Khoory
Ahmed Khoory, senior vice president, commercial West Asia & Indian Ocean at Emirates, said: “Sri Lanka remains a very key market in Emirates’ global network and the agreement signed today underscores our unwavering commitment to the country. We launched operations to Colombo more than 35 years ago, and our partnership continues to grow from strength to strength. We look forward to exploring mutually beneficial initiatives that will help revive the nation’s trade and tourism sectors, and provide Emirates with an opportunity to serve market demand.”
Kimarli Fernando, chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, said the partnership was “crucial for us to explore and capitalise opportunities that emerge and to open up many beautiful avenues to establish brand awareness and perceived quality in the global tourism market”.
Since reopening borders to international tourists in February 2021, Sri Lanka has welcomed more than 80,000 passengers to Colombo onboard Emirates flights. The top inbound markets include the UAE, Italy, the UK and Germany.
The airline currently operates 28 weekly flights to Colombo and is the only international carrier to serve the country with First Class services.
James Thurlby, digital marketing manager of Move Ahead Media, has been elected president of Skål International Bangkok following the Annual General Meeting on March 8.
Skål International Bangkok, one of 300 Skål clubs worldwide, has a membership of 62 tourism industry leaders.
Thurlby has set a goal to grow Skål International Bangkok into one of the top five largest in the world during his two-year term.
Other committee members elected on March 8 include Marvin Bemand as vice president, Arrissra Limpisthien as vice president for women in leadership, Michael Bamberg as secretary, John Neutze as treasurer, Scott Smith as Young Skål director, Kanokros Wongvekin as PR director, Pichai Visutriratana as events director, and Tim Waterhouse as auditor.
Marriott International’s Women’s Leadership Development Initiative goes back 20 years, earning it bragging rights as the first hospitality company to have such a programme in place to help women ascend to senior leadership roles in the company.
Regan Taikitsadaporn, chief human resources officer of APAC with Marriott International, said: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion have always been a cornerstone of our culture, and our continued success is the direct result of our efforts to cultivate an inclusive workforce.”
Taikitsadaporn: success in gender parity in leadership is never final
The company has since accelerated its goal to achieve gender representation parity for the entire global leadership team by 2023, two years earlier than originally planned. According to Taikitsadaporn, women now occupy 44 per cent of Marriott’s global executive positions.
“While we are on track to reaching our goal, success is never final. We are unwavering in our commitment to advance women in leadership, and will continue to find ways to develop the next generation of women leaders at Marriott,” he told TTG Asia.
As the Women’s Leadership Development Initiative is global, Asia-Pacific talents are beneficiaries too. Today, around 40 per cent of management positions in the region are represented by women, and there are nearly 100 female general managers here, with many more top talents in the pipeline.
Gender parity efforts in the region are supported by the Women Ambassador Network (WAN), a community of Marriott leaders in Asia-Pacific who are passionate about raising awareness and taking actions to promote, advance and inspire women in leadership.
After putting WAN on pause in 2020 due to the pandemic, Taikitsadaporn said Marriott employees were excited to revive the programme last year.
“We were thrilled by our associates’ enthusiasm to get involved. There are currently more than 70 women and men in the programme, representing various roles and seniorities, from hotel general managers to property-level associates in sales, marketing, operations, finance and HR. Each WAN member is an ambassador for their respective markets, and is responsible for coming up with a customised activation plan as each market’s progress and needs can be different,” elaborated Taikitsadaporn.
“As one of the senior sponsors of the programme, my role is to inspire and help our ambassadors shape their vision and objectives, making sure they have access to the right tools and resources to promote women in leadership locally.
“One of our most recent initiatives was training our WAN ambassadors to set up mentorship programmes for women associates in their markets. Our markets have already started recruiting mentees and mentors, and we are very excited by the potential of building a strong pipeline of future Marriott woman leaders, and promoting a culture of women lifting each other up for growth and success,” he shared.
Aloft Perth hosted an International Women’s Day event, featuring director of sales of marketing Danielle Garrigan as speaker, who shared her career experience with fellow associates and how Marriott International empowers women at the workplace
Taikitsadaporn believes that a diverse leadership team brings enriched experiences, which ultimately leads to the best possible business outcomes. Furthermore, empowering female leadership “nourishes a culture that inspires and promotes career opportunities for all”.
He detailed: “When there are more women leaders in an organisation, it empowers young women to realise that they too have the full potential to be the leaders of tomorrow. It also sends a message to other employees that the contributions and perspectives of everyone are valued and supported.
“Embracing differences and diversity is critical to the success of any good organisation. A company that advocates for diversity and inclusion will be better at decision-making and retention of top talent.”
When asked if the pandemic and evolved work and personal pressures have altered the future of female leadership opportunities, Taikitsadaporn referenced a McKinsey survey that found that mothers in heterosexual dual-career couples with children have reported larger increases in their time spent on household responsibilities since the pandemic began.
To ease the pandemic’s disruption to work/life balance for working mothers, Marriott International activated its TakeCare programmes regionally and locally. Team leaders offer flexible work arrangements, while confidential helpline and counselling services via the Employee Assistance Program are available in some markets.
“Taking care of our associates’ well-being is at the core of our values and culture. We will continue to explore more opportunities to ensure our support to working mothers stays relevant during this challenging time,” he concluded.
Originally scheduled for this month, PATA Annual Summit 2022 will now be held from October 25 to 27 in Ras Al Khaimah, the UAE.
The event led by PATA and hosted by Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority will be attended by international thought leaders, industry shapers and senior decision-makers who are invested in driving tourism to, from and within Asia-Pacific.
PATA Annual Summit 2022 will be hosted in hybrid format, with the in-person event taking place in Ras al Khaimah; Marjan Island, Ras al Khaimah pictured
PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera said: “We are delighted that we will still be organising the PATA Annual Summit in Ras Al Khaimah this year and bring together our industry network to discuss opportunities and best practices to enable recovery and sustainable growth.
“The team is working hard to put together an event programme, under the theme ‘Reconnecting the World’, that will take on a format that is more experiential and will maximise in-person connections and engage an appreciation for this beautiful destination.”
ILTM Asia Pacific has postponed its event in Singapore to September 5-8, 2022, from its initial dates in June.
The in-person tradeshow will be held at Marina Bay Sands, offering pre-scheduled meetings, educational sessions, networking, parties, and brand exposure.
The Indian government’s recent decision to suspend scheduled international flights to and from India until further notice has not gone down well with Indian outbound tour operators.
The announcement has come at a time when stakeholders were expecting travel demand to rebound for overseas summer holidays this April to June, especially as more destinations begin to reopen their borders for tourism.
Rastogi: India’s return to scheduled flight operations is mission critical towards the recovery of the overall sector
Indiver Rastogi, president and group head, global business travel, Thomas Cook (India) & SOTC, told TTG Asia: “The announcement deferring the restart of India’s commercial aviation is a strong concern and a clear dampener of travel sentiment. India’s bubble agreements worked as an interim stop-gap solution, but are not conducive to bridging the demand-supply gap and inflationary airfares.
“This is the critical booking season for India’s travel peak (summer vacations) and the return to scheduled flight operations is mission critical towards the recovery of the overall sector.”
Flights placed under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s air bubble agreement will not be affected by the government’s suspension. As of March 2022, there are special passenger flights connecting India with some 37 countries under the air bubble agreement.
Rohit Kohli, joint managing director, Creative Travel, said the government decision goes “against all rational thinking”.
He said: “The Indian government has once again moved the goal post for international flights. Not only does this not make any sense, it’s also highly detrimental for the tourism industry, both inbound and outbound.
“The biggest outcome of the lack of scheduled flights is that Indians have to pay a much higher premium on airfares because airlines are taking advantage of the lack of supply (when there is) pre-Covid level of demand.”
Veena Robinson, vice president – India sales with Discover Destinations, expects the flight suspension to weaken summer holidays business and outbound travel growth potential.
However, Nishant Kashikar, country manager, India & Gulf with Tourism Australia, shared that some airline partners have suggested the Indian government may allow scheduled international flights to operate by the end of March.
Should that fail to happen, however, Tourism Australia would postpone its planned promotional activities in India.
“There is no point in creating demand when there is no (flight) supply,” he remarked.
With the Indian school holidays coming round between April and June, Tourism Australia has rolled out initiatives to rebuild Indian arrivals lost over the last two years of travel freeze.
Tourism Australia will soon launch joint promotions with its eight key distribution partners – MakeMyTrip, Pick Your Trail, Thomas Cook, SOTC, Kesari Tours, Kulin Kumar Holidays, Travel Tours and Veena World – alongside Asian flag carriers to encourage an Australian summer holiday among Indians.
Adelaide is one of seven host cities in Australia for the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup later this year; Adelaide Oval pictured
“One of our strategic priorities now is to facilitate the recovery of the entire distribution ecosystem because (without that) we won’t be able to drive the same amount of volume which we enjoyed pre-Covid,” said Nishant Kashikar, country manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia in an interview with TTG India.
The tourism board is planning to host some 20 travel agents from India at the upcoming Tourism Australian Exchange 2022 from May 14 to 18 at the International Convention Centre in Sydney.
“This will allow Indian travel agents to interact with their Australian counterparts besides witnessing the readiness of the destination to welcome tourists,” said Kashikar, adding that pre/post-show fam trips will be arranged for the attendees.
Australia is also looking to revive the Indian business events market, and will do so through the Business Event Australia (BEA) Showcase in Mumbai on March 10 and 11. The tourism board has invited 15 top event agents from across India to interact with Australian stakeholders.
The ICC T20 Cricket World Cup from October 22 – November 13, 2022 is expected to build up hype around Australia among Indian travellers, who are known to adore the sport.
“We want to promote travel for the games and beyond the games. We would be able to bring back demand and increase the attractiveness of the destination through the sporting event,” remarked Kashikar, adding that the cricket games would attract much corporate interest too, as companies could host their dealers and employees at the event.
Kashikar said Tourism Australia is eyeing high-value travellers from India, as they are more “immersive” and have “an affinity towards some of Australia’s key strengths, like food and wine, nature and wildlife, coastal experiences, and sustainable tourism”.
India was Australia’s fastest-growing tourism source market for three years before the pandemic. In 2019, Australia welcomed almost 400,000 visitors from India, and it was the sixth most valuable market for tourism spend, contributing over A$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion).
The in-person tradeshow will be held at Marina Bay Sands, offering pre-scheduled meetings, educational sessions, networking, parties, and brand exposure.
James Thurlby, digital marketing manager of Move Ahead Media, has been elected president of Skål International Bangkok following the Annual General Meeting on March 8.
Skål International Bangkok, one of 300 Skål clubs worldwide, has a membership of 62 tourism industry leaders.
Other committee members elected on March 8 include Marvin Bemand as vice president, Arrissra Limpisthien as vice president for women in leadership, Michael Bamberg as secretary, John Neutze as treasurer, Scott Smith as Young Skål director, Kanokros Wongvekin as PR director, Pichai Visutriratana as events director, and Tim Waterhouse as auditor.