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Swiss-Belhotel brings special offers to Arabian Travel Market

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Swiss-Belhotel International has created exciting packages for wholesalers and tour operators that will be launched at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) taking place in Dubai from April 28 to May 1, 2019. Targeted at Middle East travelers, the group has put together a fabulous range of offers that will be available across its spectacular properties in New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Laurent A. Voivenel, Senior Vice President, Operations and Development for the Middle East, Africa and India, Swiss-Belhotel International, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of these exclusive packages that have been designed to provide unique experiences along with greater benefits and value to our Middle East partners as well as customers. We have superb properties located in some of the most sought-after destinations that attract large number of travelers from our region. With the summer holiday season around the corner, ATM presents us the ideal opportunity to launch these. Moreover, this year we are very excited about the ATM Holiday Shopper that we believe is a great addition to the show.”

The Special Packages offer a diverse choice of experiences at unbeatable rates: These include the following:

  • Special Golf Packages in Indonesia at various destinations – Jakarta, Batam, Bandung, Bali, Tarakan, Belitung, Surabaya, Jayapura, and in Vietnam in Da Lat.
  • Discounted wholesale rates for hotels in New Zealand and for hotels in Australia.
  • Early Bird discounts in the busiest destination in Australia, the hotel in Sydney offers 15% discounts for booking within April with stays valid till August and 10% for bookings until August with stays valid all throughout the year.
  • In Philippines, book at Makati and get a free room upgrade; and when you book at Manila get to enjoy the amazing introductory offer including breakfast for two.

Visitors to ATM can find Swiss-Belhotel International on stand HC0825 located in Sheikh Saeed Arena in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

eTN is a media partner for ATM.

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Marriott has a 2020 vision when it comes to expansion in Asia

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From the 15th Hotel Investment Conference – South Asia, Marriott International  today announced its continued expansion plans in Asia-Pacific with its 2020 vision — an aggressive target to have 1000 hotels open by the end of 2020. This vision also could create up to 50,000 more job opportunities for the region. In 2019 alone, the company expects to add close to 100 new hotels or close to 20,000 rooms in the region, with several brand debuts in Australia, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Nepal and India. Marriott International’s portfolio in Asia Pacific currently encompasses over 710 properties in 23 countries and territories, operating under 23 of the company’s 30 global brands.

“The breadth and depth of Marriott International’s footprint means that we are able to offer travelers opportunities to experience more destinations, brands and experiences, especially through Marriott BonvoyTM, our industry-leading travel program,” said Craig S. Smith, President and Managing Director, Marriott International Asia Pacific.

“As important as our size is our commitment to deliver seamless and quality experiences for our guests at on-brand properties. Today’s traveler demands authentic, personalized and transformative experiences, whether for work or for pleasure, as a way of broadening their individual horizons and achieving a deeper understanding of the world. As the world’s leading hospitality company, it is in our DNA to strive to be part of our guests’ favorite moments and memories. We are dedicated to Marriott International remaining Asia Pacific’s favorite travel company.”

China, India and Southeast Asia as Marriott International’s Growth Drivers in the Region

Marriott International is well positioned to capitalize on global travel trends in China, India, and Indonesia, three of the world’s four most populated nations.

China continues to be the strongest growth driver for Marriott International in Asia Pacific, with more than 300 hotels in the pipeline. This accounts for more than 50 percent of the company’s pipeline in Asia Pacific. This year alone, Marriott International targets to open more than 30 hotels in China, including the first JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in China, the 515-room JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Shanghai Pudong featuring 6 food and beverage outlets; and the first Renaissance Hotel in the Fujian province with the planned opening of Renaissance Xiamen Resort & Spa in the fourth quarter of 2019. Outside of mainland China, the St. Regis brand is set to debut with the opening of St. Regis Hong Kong located in the historic Wanchai district.

With its recent 100th Marriott International hotel milestone celebrated in 2018, India continues to be the company’s second fastest growth engine in Asia Pacific with more than 50 properties in the pipeline. Marriott expects to reach more than 30,000 rooms open in India by end 2023. Given India’s robust economy and rising middle class, the country continues to present exciting growth opportunities, leveraging strong demand for Marriott’s select-service brands and growing demand for its upper upscale and luxury portfolios. The company expects to debut the Tribute Portfolio brand in India, with the opening of Port Muziris, Kochi, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel slated for the second quarter of 2019.

At the recent ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Tourism Forum, the ASEAN National Tourism Organizations revealed their collective efforts to marketing initiatives to inspire travel to Southeast Asia. Marriot International is poised to welcome these travelers, with over 140 signed hotels in its Southeast Asia pipeline, with Indonesia leading growth, meeting the growing demands of travel and tourism. In the Philippines, the company expects to more than triple its hotel portfolio by 2023. Sheraton, Marriott International’s most global brand, recently debuted in the country with the opening of Sheraton Manila Hotel. 

Marriott International continues its growth momentum in the Pacific region, with 50 hotels anticipated to be open by 2020. Australia should see several brand debuts in coming years, including The Luxury Collection and The Ritz-Carlton. The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel, expects to open in Hobart in late 2019, and the 205-room The Ritz-Carlton Perth is slated to open in June 2019.  Element Hotels, Marriott International’s eco-conscious brand, is expected to debut in Australia with the opening of Element Melbourne Richmond in Q3 this year.

Marriott International Eyes New Destinations in Asia Pacific with Marriott BonvoyTM

Earlier this year, Marriott introduced Marriott BonvoyTM  — Marriott International’s travel program replacing Marriott Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®(SPG).  With Marriott BonvoyTM, travelers can experience the company’s newly introduced Asia Pacific website featuring rich experiential and user-generated content and offering inspiration for the next adventure in Asia Pacific. The company continues to focus on bringing new hotels to unchartered destinations sought out by our guests, with Marriott International’s first foray into Myanmar planned for 2020 with the opening of Sheraton Yangon Hotel.

As the Company Expands, Culture Remains a Bedrock For Success

Marriott International’s Asia Pacific vision could create up to approximately 50,000 new job opportunities in Asia Pacificby the end of 2020. Travel and tourism provide opportunities for experienced people or those new to the hospitality industry.  Research by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) highlighted that 1 in 5 new jobs created globally are attributable to travel and tourism.

As the company continues to grow, this also means that there is an increased opportunity for our associates to develop their careers and thereby improve their livelihoods. This is another way that Marriott International takes care of its associates. With a culture that empowers associates to live their best lives — putting people first has been the company’s core value since Marriott was founded more than 90 years ago. Marriott has built its business on taking care of its associates, who in turn take care of our guests. The company believes that creating a diverse and inclusive environment strengthens culture and community and drives competitiveness. Marriott International has won Aon Hewitt’s best employer for five consecutive years in Asia Pacific.

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Korean Air: No more peanuts

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Korean Air has made the decision to remove peanuts from its food offerings after the recent incident involving 2 teenagers who were taken off their flight from flight KE621 to Manila from Incheon Airport because of a peanut allergy.

Korean Air has taken this action to ensure the health and safety of passengers who are allergic to peanuts. As a first step, the airline has replaced its honey-roasted peanut products with other snacks, such as crackers.

In addition, within the next few weeks, Korean Air will remove food containing peanut ingredients from in-flight meals.

The airline is determined to provide a safe environment for all passengers and prevent any similar cases in the future.

“The decision to stop peanut products and peanut ingredients is the minimum safety measure for peanut-allergy passengers,” a Korean Air spokesperson said.

Peanut allergies are emerging as a critical issue in the aviation industry, and a number of major global carriers have stopped offering in-flight peanut products.

More information and travel tips are available on Korean Air’s homepage for passengers with a peanut allergy.

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Thailand hospitality company ready to open 2 hotels in the Philippines

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Dusit International of Thailand is set to expand its presence in the Philippines this month with two hotels opening over two days in Mactan and Davao.

On March 29, 2019, Dusit will open the 5-star Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu on the Punta Engaño peninsula of Mactan island, approximately 10 kilometers from Cebu City in the Central Visayas region. Then, on March 30, 2019, dusitD2 Davao will open in Davao city, emerging business district of Lanang, close to the city’s shopping malls, business district, and IT Park.

With two properties currently in operation (namely Dusit Thani Manila and The Beach Club at Lubi Plantation Island, Managed by Dusit), 12 signed and another seven in the pipeline, the Philippines promises to become Dusit’s largest cluster country by 2021. This also puts Dusit on course to become one of the largest international hotel operators in the Philippines.

Besides Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu and dusitD2 Davao, other Dusit-branded hotels set to open this year include Dusit Thani Residence Davao hotel (Q2), which will open adjacent to dusitD2 Davao; and dusitD2 The Fort Manila, which will open as part of the Dusit Hospitality Management College in August.

For more information, please visit dusit.com.

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Korean Air abandons teens in South Korea

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Two unaccompanied teenage minors, ages 15 and 16, were left stranded in South Korea after being booted from their flight from Seoul to the Philippines before takeoff.

The sons of Rakesh and Prajakta Patel had gone to visit their grandfather in a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and were on the return journey to Manila, where their father is working a temporary job. They were making the transatlantic trip on their own.

The return trip began with a 14-hour Delta flight from Georgia to Seoul, South Korea. This first leg of the journey went fine, but their travel plans took a turn for the worse when the boys attempted to board a second flight from Seoul to Manila with Delta partner Korean Air as a result of one of the boys having a deadly peanut allergy.

Prajakta Patel, the mother of the teens, had informed Delta of her older son’s severe peanut allergy ahead of their big trip, so the brothers were shocked when a gate agent told them that peanuts would be served in the high skies. The boy’s allergy is so severe that even airborne particulates from peanuts could be extremely dangerous.

 

After explaining the situation, the teens were allegedly told that they could either take the flight or exit the aircraft and miss the trip. Though the Patel’s sons chose to board the plane, they were soon booted off.

“The gate agent came on the plane and told my sons to get off,” Mrs. Patel said. “One of my kids was shaking — they’re alone in a different country. Where were they supposed to go?” Mrs. Prajakta claimed that the gate agent even pulled on her son’s shirt “to encourage him to move” off of the aircraft.

Confused, the teens found themselves back in the gate area and told flight officials that they were willing to sit in the back of the plane with the brother with nut allergies wearing a mask. Despite their offer to compromise, a gate staffer reportedly told the boys that were not allowed to get back on the plane that was now “closed.”

Shaken, the boys called their parents, who tried to help them get to Manila without success. The mother spoke with a Delta representative who told her the boys could fly on a different carrier, however, not knowing other airlines’ nut policies, it was decided to fly the boys back to Atlanta, Georgia, on Delta.

Mrs. Patel is pushing for more than just an apology with the hopes that airlines will improve their employee education policies on nut allergies. She has filed a complaint with Delta and Korean Airlines and is reportedly seeking a refund.

Delta and Korean Air issued the following statements regarding the matter: “We’re sorry for this family’s ordeal, particularly during what is already a difficult time for them. Delta and our partner Korean Air are communicating with the family and examining the processes surrounding this incident; we will use our findings in our work to create a consistent experience for customers flying Delta and our partner airlines.”

A spokesperson for Korean Air, too, offered similar sentiments: “Korean Air is aware that peanut and food allergies are an industry issue and no airline can guarantee a food allergy-free environment. But we are reviewing ways to deal with this issue in a safe and feasible way. We totally understand the risks faced by passengers with nut and food allergies and will certainly try to accommodate them better in the future.”

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Cebu Pacific airline to fly Shanghai – Cebu 

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The Philippines air carrier, Cebu Pacific, will begin regular flights between Shanghai and Cebu starting April 15, 2019 as it boosts its route network from key tourism markets in North Asia to prime leisure destinations in the Philippines.

The new Shanghai route is also in line with the carrier’s plans to ramp-up capacity in its Cebu hub by as much as 20% in 2019. Flights between Shanghai and Cebu will run 6 times weekly (Monday to Saturday).

China is the fastest-growing tourism market of the Philippines, with destinations such as Cebu and other neighboring islands among the most popular. In 2018, Central Visayas—which includes prime tourist destinations such as Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete and Siquijor – welcomed over 8 million tourists, of which 17% were Chinese.

Cebu offers direct connections to Siargao, Camiguin, Puerto Princesa and 19 other domestic destinations. Aside from Shanghai, Cebu Pacific flies direct between Cebu, Hong Kong and Macau in China, as well as Narita, Japan; Incheon, Korea; and Singapore.

Cebu Pacific operates flights out of 7 other strategically-placed hubs in the Philippines: Manila, Clark, Kalibo, Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan) and Davao. In 2018, CEB flew 20.3 million passengers on over 2,130 weekly flights across 37 domestic and 26 international destinations.

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Gambling is big business in tourism

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The gambling industry, which happens to be a really big one worldwide, is one of the most popular in terms of tourism. That’s why casino tourism is such a big thing these days.

Many countries have been developing big casinos in various regions within their bounds in order to get more tourists to come in. Obviously, a more robust tourism environment is good for the economy as it brings in not only more money but also more recognition and possible investors.

Here is a look at the impact casinos have on tourism and how they help with the overall economy of a country.

Evidence of a Correlation Between Casino and Tourism

Just by taking a look at the biggest casinos around the world, we can actually observe how tourism is boosted by casinos in some countries. These countries include the USA, Macau, and Australia. Just to give you an idea, Las Vegas, Nevada alone was able to bring in over 40 million tourists in 2016. And that’s not very surprising simply because Las Vegas is THE place to go if you want to make a lot of casino money and have fun. Sure, the tourist attractions and the beautiful nightlights also attract the tourists. However, it’s the overall gambling experience and ambiance that really bring them in.

A strong competitor of Las Vegas is none other than Macau, which is a region in China’s territory that was made into one of the world’s biggest gambling hubs. Macau became such a giant in the gambling industry that they were even able to overtake Las Vegas in gambling receipts back in 2010. Just like in Vegas, Macau also focused their efforts on providing the high spending clients with VIP services. This included golden member privileges, private gambling rooms, amazing amenities, and more. This allowed them to bring in so many rich tourists in 2013. The high rollers eventually made up 66% of the overall casino profit that year. Of course, this sudden increase was stopped short in 2014 by the anti-corruption crackdown from Xi Jinping’s government. Eventually, Macau was able to stabilize because the casinos also targeted the mass market instead of just high rollers.

Even though the Macau casinos were able to hold their ground, a number of Chinese gamblers were not satisfied. This is why they went over to Australia instead. Because of Australia’s huge casino developments, around 1 million of these Chinese gamblers switched out to Australia. In fact, casinos became one of Australia’s biggest attractions rivaling even Vegas and Macau alike with 10 million visitors in recent years.

And it’s not only these big countries who have seen surges in their tourism sectors because of casinos. Other smaller countries such as Singapore, Philippines, Monaco, and Cambodia all have boasted of strong revenues from tourists who visit those countries to play in casinos. The growth of the gambling industry in these countries already can give us an idea of how much of an impact casinos have on a country’s tourism.

How Casino Tourism Impacts Other Industries

The great thing about casino tourism is that it can bring in a large number of people from various countries and concentrate them in one location. Since there are a lot of people around casinos, other industries can also benefit from that. The hospitality industry is one such that really benefits from casino tourism. Where there is a casino, there would usually be hotels, resorts, and restaurants. That is why partnerships between hotels, casinos, and restaurants are very common.

Not only hotels and restaurants would flourish, but even other tourist attractions around the area as well. Local restaurants would receive a flock of foreign visitors who came from the casinos. These foreigners would then get a chance to try the local cuisines. This further contributes to the country’s tourism.

In a sense, casino tourism also encourages diversity. This is exactly what happened after Macau’s corruption crackdown. The Chinese government decided to diversify Macau to make it more than just another big time gambling hub like the big Venice canal lookalike.

We can also see such an example in Singapore– one of their biggest casinos, Resortsworld, is located in Sentosa near other tourist attractions by the Sentosa bay. Due to that, a lot of gamblers have also been visiting the tourist spots in the area. Finally, Manila has also been enjoying strong tourism due to the presence of their casinos concentrated in one area.

With that, we can see that location is key if a country would want to make their casino tourism venture successful. By strategic location and immense marketing, casinos can directly impact tourism and also impact other industries and the economy at large.

The Presence of Overseas Workers

The presence of a more diverse crowd also comes the presence of more overseas workers. Let’s take the Australian casinos for example. Because of the influx of Chinese high rollers flocking into their casinos, the demand for Mandarin speaking dealers also increased. What some casinos do is that they employ staff who either speak Mandarin or staff that come from Mandarin speaking countries like Taiwan. This allows the Chinese high rollers to feel more at home in the casino, thus encouraging them to bring in more Chinese gamblers to play.

Impact on Across Border Markets

We all know that there are some countries that make gambling illegal. Of course, this doesn’t deter the citizens of the country who want to gamble. What they would do is that they would either travel to the country nearest to them that legalizes gambling or search for a list of PayPal online casinos wherein they can internationally transact and gamble. By giving something the locals of a country want that their own home country cannot provide, you will be opening up new markets for opportunity by making that “want” accessible.

In Conclusion

All of these points will show that there is definitely a relationship between casinos and overall tourism. Through this discussion, we can definitely say that the casino industry can have a big positive impact on the overall tourism situation of an economy. Of course, there is the problem of an economy relying too much on the gambling industry for attracting tourists.

That is why many countries are also diversifying their tourist attractions and putting various tourist spots near casinos. This will give the foreign gamblers a reason to explore a bit and see the sights. This will encourage them to want to go back to the country even more if they already get sick of the casino. This was actually a problem with Macau since Macau didn’t really have much to brag about except their casino. That is why a lot of the former customers fled to Australia after the crackdown. However, the Chinese government decided that they wanted to diversify in order to attract other markets aside from the high rollers. That is one of the ways that lead to Macau’s stabilization.

While casinos can surely boost tourism, it shouldn’t be the sole reason for a country’s tourism growth. It should be one of the reasons supplemented by other attractions that can make tourists want to keep on coming back.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Puerto Princesa City in Philippines worried about Chinese Tourists and illegal gambling

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Puerto Princesa is a popular tourist city with many beach resorts and seafood restaurants. It has been acclaimed several times as the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines.  The city is located in the western province of Palawan, and westernmost city in the Philippines and has about a quarter of a million people living there.

Many in this town feel the town is overrun by Chinese nationals, mostly tourists. There are many newly organized establishments catering to tourism forms the backdrop of this seeming trend which has prompted City Hall officials to call for an investigation.

In Manila and other major cities, the reported involvement of Chinese nationals in online casino gambling has come to a head and has enforcement agencies having their hands full trying to curtail cybercrime activities.

The recent growth of tourism in Puerto Princesa City has been fueled by unprecedented waves of arrivals of Asian visitors, mainly from Korea and China. What has been otherwise a slumping sector has recently become a vibrant business to local establishments catering to tourists.

It is not certain what has triggered such sudden boost, particularly in Chinese arrivals, but it is well worth noting that all these have happened within the backdrop of the present administration’s diplomatic pivot towards Beijing.

There are certain red flags that needed to be raised concerning this trend, particularly because of the unique situation of Palawan being the territorial doorstep to the disputed West Philippine Sea. With Beijing aggressively maintaining its physical dominance over the region, and with Manila displaying a laissez-faire foreign policy stance, Palawan needs to take care of its own backyard.

As City Hall is set to conduct a probe on illegal Chinese gambling activities, in the wake of recent arrests of certain Chinese nationals, these broad questions of national security also need to be raised.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Strong interest in Guam grows at travel fair in Malaysia

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GVB

Guam continues to generate strong interest in Malaysia and was one of the newer and popular destinations featured at the country’s top consumer travel fair.

The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair is a bi-annual travel fair that ran from March 15-17, 2019 in Kuala Lumpur. Over 1,300 booths took up about 95,000 feet of exhibition space in seven halls at the Putra World Trade Centre. Guam was among the 272 organizations that were present to include travel and tour agencies, national tourism organizations, hotels, resorts, theme parks, cruises and other businesses. Organizers estimated this year’s fair to exceed over 110,000 visitors and sales of over $51 million. This is Guam’s second time having a presence at the event.

Mayor Robert Hofmann, committee chairman of the Guam Visitors Bureau’s North America and Pacific Market, noted that as an emerging market for Guam, Malaysian visitors are intrigued they can travel to the island visa-free.

“I think there’s huge interest in Guam from not only the Malaysia population, but also people that travel to Malaysia from countries like Singapore, the Middle East, and India,” said Hofmann. “It’s great to see they’re excited about Guam. It’s exotic to them and it’s a new destination they’re looking forward to seeing. They don’t know much about our history, but they are a culture similar to ours. We should start to learn more about their culture because we have so many commonalities and could retrace some of our steps to Southeast Asia where the CHamoru people came from.”
GVB
North America and Pacific Marketing Manager Mark Manglona conducts a Guam product presentation to Philippine Airlines and travel agents in Malaysia.
GVB
Team Guam takes a group photo at the Guam booth in the 2019 MATTA Fair.
GVB
A look at some of the 1,300 booths that were at the 2019 MATTA Fair in Kuala Lumpur.


A culture at the forefront

Fairgoers witnessed multiple performances from Guma Taotao Tano at the three-day event as they shared Guam’s unique CHamoru culture through song and dance.

“Malaysia is a very rich cultural place,” said Guma Taotao Tano musician Vince San Nicolas. “I believe that our 4,000-year-old history is vital to share with them in person. Bringing out the re-identification and resurgence of the CHamoru culture is very important to share with the rest of the world so that we’re known as the CHamorus from Guam and the Marianas.”

Airline and travel agents create Guam packages

While in Kuala Lumpur, GVB met with Philippine Airlines and other travel agents for a Guam product presentation to further develop the Malaysia market.

Philippine Air offered special fares from Malaysia to Guam via Manila during the MATTA Fair.  Travel agents, such as Apple Vacations and Golden Tourworld Travel,  have also been promoting six-day packages to Guam.  The agents have already confirmed Guam is scheduled to welcome group travelers from Malaysia in the coming months.

“We’ve been making great leads and strides in promoting Guam in the region,” said GVB North America and Pacific Marketing Manager Mark Manglona. “We’ve developed key partnerships with travel agents who have put up all-inclusive travel packages and we also have a very good relationship with Philippine Airlines. They’ve been very supportive and connected us with travel agents.  There is a tremendous opportunity to promote Guam in Malaysia and we look forward to growing and developing this new market.”

The next MATTA Fair will be in September 2019.

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