Pierre Lang, an industry veteran with over three decades of experience, has joined Kamalaya Koh Samui in Thailand as general manager.
The German has previously worked for international hotel brands including Alila Hotels & Resorts, Armani Hotels & Resorts, Park Hyatt, and Grand Hyatt, in countries such as Germany, Dubai, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Maldives.
Rezio, an online booking system in Asia for attractions, tours and activities, has rolled out its new brand tagline Empower Your Travel Business.
The new tagline reinforces the company’s positioning and purpose to empower tour and activity companies to digitalise their businesses, and be able to sell products through B2C, B2B, and OTAs.
Tour and activity company owners will be able to launch their own digital shopfront, enabling consumers to book their activities directly on their e-commerce platform. Business owners are also able to use the system to manage and control their inventory in real-time, scaling up their business with minimal manpower, which enables them to resell to the agents, corporates and other businesses without concerns about overbooking.
“We are now giving the empowerment back to the merchants, hence our new tagline refers to us giving the authority back to the merchants to make key decisions in their sales and distribution to aid them in their business recovery,” said Jasmine Lin, CEO of Rezio.
Currently, the company supports more than 1,200 merchants globally with more than 15,000 experiences in their portfolio. The travel SaaS company is expected to double that number in 2022 to aid more companies in digitalising their business in line with the travel recovery.
* Rouble devaluation, disrupted payments are hurting Russian travel appetite
* SE-Asia unlikely to restrict Russian arrivals to protest Ukraine invasion
* Large swaths of closed airspace may impact European longhaul to Asia
Russia’s shocking invasion of Ukraine puts to test the resilience of its outbound travellers who are prized for their long average length of stay and determination to travel come what may.
That resoluteness may end. Even before the crisis, the devaluation of the Russian rouble has crimped the spending power of Russian travellers. Now, following severe sanctions on Russia by the US and Western allies, the rouble has plunged by 30 per cent against the dollar.
Sanctions imposed to-date, particularly the removal of Russia’s central bank and some Russian banks from the SWIFT global payments system, are meant to disrupt payments for Russia’s energy and other exports, and cripple the economy. According to a BBC report, Russians are already waiting in long lines, worried their bank cards may stop working or that limits will be placed on the amount of cash they can withdraw.
Travel may be the last thing on their minds.
In 2019, Russians made 20 million trips abroad and continued globetrotting even during the height of the pandemic, as shown In 2020 when 12 million Russians travelled abroad, according to Sri Lanka Tourism. The country lifted international travel restrictions last October and saw Russia rise to become its top market.
But Sri Lanka and other popular Russian haunts in Asia, such as Thailand, are already seeing cancellations or a softening of the market.
Michal Zitek, area general manager of Angsana Laguna Phuket, said: “Our hotels in Laguna Phuket, Maldives and Corfu (an island in Greece) have not reported significant cancellations, however the pick-up pace may dwindle slightly.”
The market had seemed more “reserved” due to the currency devaluation, said Zitek.
Softer blow on Asia
Asia is expected to be less impacted than Europe, if only because its share of the Russian market is smaller. Data from Mabrian Technologies, a Barcelona-based tourism intelligence platform, shows that the countries with the most number of scheduled flights and seats from Russia in the next six months are Turkey, the UAE, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Cyprus and Italy, among others.
These countries would see their tourism sector affected if the crisis lengthens, said Mabrian.
“A new instability puts Europe’s tourism recovery at risk when it seemed that we had overcome the crisis caused by Covid-19,” said Carlos Cendra, Mabrian’s director of sales and marketing.
It’s difficult to estimate how far-reaching the impact will be at this stage.
“We don’t know all the sanctions, the reaction from Russian travellers in terms of appetite to travel as a result of this situation, how long this war might go on, if Russia itself might react by restricting outbound tourism, and so on,” said Cendra.
Kenneth Atkinson, founder and senior board adviser of Grant Thornton Vietnam, believes restrictions on Russian travellers by Western countries are likely. “As well, the banking and currency restrictions will make foreign travel difficult. In addition, I would think people will not want to leave Russia because of the fear of not being able to return,” he said.
Asia, with the exception of countries such as Japan and Singapore, is not expected to impose sanctions against Russia. “I don’t see any wholesale moves by South-east Asia to restrict movements because of the sensitivities with China, and because Russia is an important air corridor,” opined Atkinson.
Disrupted flights
Geography is set to play a huge role in reshaping air routes. This may unwittingly impact the European travel market to Asia, which is starting to perk up following reopening announcements by one Asian country after another.
Because of its vastness, Russia’s airspace is the popular overflight for EU flights en route to Asia. However, most of Europe have shut their airspace to Russian airlines and Russia has reciprocated with its own bans, causing airlines to fly circuitous intercontinental routes, Bloomberg reported on February 27.
The latest moves “wall off Russian carriers such as Aeroflot from the shortest routes west, forcing them to head south as far as Turkey to go around. European carriers going in the other direction face delays and higher fuel expense as well, after Russia, a key pathway to Asia, began blocking access in response”, said the report.
Finnair, which has staked its strategy on short routes to Asia, said such a move would likely halt those flights.
Thus, Asian destinations that hope Russia could help fill the gap left by Chinese travellers, face uncertainty not just over the Russian market, but the European market, which may prefer to stay closer to home than fly longer and pay higher fares due to rising fuel costs. Oil prices have surged above US$100 a barrel for the first time in seven years.
Vietnam, which is fully reopening on March 15, is one such. In 2019, Vietnam received 650,000 Russian travellers. Thailand, which now enables Russians to arrive under its Test & Go plan, unlike when the scheme was first launched, is another. In 2019, 1.5 million Russians visited the Kingdom.
Possible silver lining
However, some industry members believe Russian outbound will remain promising.
Victor Mogilev, group director of sales at Diethelm Travel, said: “Russian travellers, be they mass or luxury travellers, are known to be resilient. If there is a chance to travel, they will. Russian demand is always number one when destinations reopen — look at Maldives, Thailand and many others.
“I’d say continue to focus on the market, don’t mix politics with business, try to understand what the market needs/desires in the current situation, and find ways to offer solutions. This could be additional added value for families that might want to go out for few weeks longer, or tactical campaigns for people open to work remotely over the next few months.”
Angsana Laguna Phuket’s Zitek believes the crisis might even result in more extended stays, long stays or even “repatriation stays” depending on guest origin.
“Our market segments are diversified. Not all of our guests are from the Russian Federation itself. We also welcome many guests from Ukraine and the CIS, so the impact may be far-reaching, or it may be limited – too early to say,” said Zitek.
The Ukraine market travel cannot be compared with Russia in size but it is “usually quality tourists”, noted Diethelm’s Mogilev.
The biggest concern of Asian industry members is humanitarian in nature.
“My hope is the situation defaults to talking, not fighting and the consequence loss of life,” said Grant Thornton’s Atkinson.
Said Zitek: “The tourism industry will always recover. But not the loss of lives.”
EHL Hospitality Business School Campus (Singapore) has been working to improve gender parity in the workplace within the hospitality industry, through its Women in Leadership (WIL) initiative since 2018.
WIL promotes social changes at the group level as well as in the broader hospitality sector by addressing topics such as leadership, inclusion and belonging, entrepreneurship for women, networking and mentoring opportunities as well as family and work management.
In 2019, WIL launched the Sexual Harassment Prevention Initiative to educate and empower women on this sensitive topic.
Managing director Jenny Ang told TTG Asia: “This programme has educated more than 2,000 first-year students to date on preventing sexual harassment, one of the most damaging barriers to the career success and satisfaction for women.”
On campus, Ang attends WIL programmes to meet with students to discuss candidly about the importance of women in leadership and gender diversity. These events are often joined by industry experts and members from EHL’s alumni network.
She said: “While the glass ceiling is cracked, it has not been broken and more can be done to improve gender parity in the workplace.”
She believes it is important for organisations to have women leaders as it helps influence and create more empathetic workplaces in ways that homogeneous environments seldom do.
“It ensures more transparency and openness, allowing companies to build an inclusive foundation that is able to hire and retain the most qualified and skilled people. It also encourages people to share their thoughts and ideas, fuelling change and innovation that improves organisational performance,” she elaborated.
Almost 50 per cent of management positions at EHL are women, and EHL is set on increasing the percentage of women in positions and responsibilities.
“Gender parity is a huge issue. The work we started four years ago has barely skimmed the surface. While we are proud of what we have achieved so far, there is always more that needs to be done and so we look forward to continuing our WIL programme and expanding the initiative,” she concluded.
New Zealand will lift all self-isolation requirements for fully vaccinated citizens and eligible visa holders entering the country from Australia starting from 23.59 on March 2.
This will be extended to vaccinated New Zealanders and eligible travellers from anywhere else in the world from 23.59 on March 4. Entry settings for all other travellers will be reviewed in the coming months.
Travellers will still be required to produce a negative pre-departure test, and undertake two rapid antigen tests on arrival and on day 5/6. Travellers who return a positive result will be required to report it and isolate for the same period as a community case.
Managed isolation will remain for unvaccinated New Zealanders and some community cases.
Breaking the news on February 28, prime minister Jacinda Ardern recognised that the move was “a huge milestone for our tourism sector and regional economies”.
Indonesia will allow inbound travellers to enter Bali without quarantine under a trial programme that will start on March 14 or earlier.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, said at a virtual press conference on February 27 that an earlier start date would be considered if Covid infections in Bali dipped even lower “within the next week”.
The programme is eligible for travellers who are fully vaccinated and have received their boosters. Travellers will have to take a PCR test on arrival and wait for the result at their hotel. With a negative result, travellers can carry on with their activities on the island.
Other entry requirements include proof of stay through a pre-booked accommodation of at least four days, or proof of residency for returning Indonesians.
Travellers will also have to take another PCR test in their hotel on the third day of stay “for reassurance of safety”, said Luhut.
Should Bali see success in the trial programme, Luhut said the revised entry requirement would then be implemented across Indonesia on April 1.
As Russia’s military attack on neighbour Ukraine unfolds over the weekend, tourism players around the world are reworking their operations to avoid Russia, either as a show of rejection of Russia’s aggression or to ensure safety of their staff and customers.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has cancelled port calls in St. Petersburg for its cruise lines, Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Oceania Cruises. The move will impact about 50 sailings that are scheduled to anchor in the Russian port city this summer, and alternatives are now being worked out.
American tour operator, Rick Steves’ Europe (RSE), also announced cancellation of all tours that include a stop in Russia this year. Explaining his decision in a blog post on the corporate site, founder Steves wrote: “Russia’s aggressive action is heartbreaking for the death, suffering, and economic turmoil it will cause in Ukraine and, indirectly at least, beyond.
“Our mission at RSE is to help Americans better know and understand our neighbours through travel. But when we bring travellers to another country, we also bring their dollars — dollars that would support Putin’s aggression. Therefore, as of today, we have canceled all 2022 tours that include a stop in Russia.”
In response to TTG Asia‘s query, The Travel Corporation’s Asia CEO Nicholas Lim said 2022 tours to Russia would be rescheduled or alternative travel destinations would be offered to affected customers.
“We are closely monitoring the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As always, the welfare and well-being of our guests and team members are our top priority,” said Lim, adding that none of the company’s many travel brands have ongoing tours in the affected areas or in close proximity.
Some tourism players are also extending humanitarian support to colleagues caught in the conflict.
Since February 26, Royal Caribbean International has reached out to an estimated 500 Ukrainian crew members on its fleet with assistance. President and CEO Michael Bayley detailed on his personal Facebook page that the cruise company is helping staff to return home or get close to home should they wish to leave their contracts early, as well as providing counselling. The same help is extended to “over 200 Russian crew who also are concerned and anxious over these events”.
Meanwhile, Fab Capodicasa, founder and CEO of Sydney-based Hoosh, a marketing and event technology specialist, has initiated a movement within the business events community to come together to raise awareness and funds for Ukraine. The effort is being made through the I stand with Ukraine virtual/hybrid event.
Beyond the travel and tourism sphere, business leaders have stepped up to support Ukraine’s defence. Japanese billionaire and Rakuten founder Hiroshi Mikitani will donate one billion yen (US$8.7 million) to the government of Ukraine for humanitarian activities. As well, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has activated Starlink satellites to ensure Ukraine retains internet infrastructure amid Russia’s invasion and cyberattacks.
Fully vaccinated travellers arriving in Sri Lanka from March 1, 2022 will no longer need to take an on-arrival PCR test.
The move aims to improve tourist arrivals to the country.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka said in a statement on February 27 that “Covid-19 cases are on a downward trend and communities around the world (are learning) to live with the coronavirus”.
Partially-vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers are still required to submit a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours of their travel date to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has seen an uptick in arrivals, with 82,327 tourists in January 2022 compared with 1,682 in the same month last year.
Lavorel replaces former CEO Barbara Dalibard who has left SITA after five years at the helm.
Lavorel has been with SITA for more than 20 years, during which he served in a range of senior roles, most recently as CEO of SITA At Airports and Borders.
Omar Jefri, SITA Board chair, said: “The air transport industry has been through an incredibly turbulent period. As we look to recovery, digitalisation of the industry is a key focus. David’s experience and knowledge of both the industry and SITA will be instrumental in cementing SITA’s position as a trusted partner, working with our shareholders to shape the future direction of the organisation.”
Adib Charif, SITA Council president, said: “David brings a deep conviction and commitment to delivering SITA’s vision as a vital industry partner. The SITA Council looks forward to working closely with him.”
Salg joined Marco Polo Hotels in 2013 as general manager, Marco Polo Shenzhen, and was promoted to area general manager of Marco Polo Hotels Hong Kong. He was made vice president operations in 2017.
He replaces president Jennifer Cronin who announced her resignation on March 1, 2022, and will leave her position on April 30.