Category: Latest Travel News

Bangkok (Thailand) – November 2, 2017 (travelindex) – The World Week of Italian Cuisine reaches its second edition with the aim of promoting Italian culinary traditions and food & wine connoisseurship as a distinctive trait of Italian identity and culture.

The second edition of the Week will take place from 20 to 26 November 2017 under the official slogan “The Extraordinary Italian Taste” with more than 1000 activities scheduled worldwide such as workshops and conferences, meetings with the chefs, food-and-wine tasting and dinners, commercial promotion programmes, cooking classes, cultural events, screening of food related films and much more.

Last year the Embassy of Italy in Bangkok didn’t take part to the initiative due to the National mourning for the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol, but this year we are delighted to take part and to present the 2nd Italian Cuisine Week in Thailand to the Thai and international audience through a series of events aimed at celebrating the Italian Taste.

On 25 October TOPs will start a promotional campaign called “The Taste of Italy”, where Italian products will be displayed in 101 Supermarkets and Food Halls. Furthermore, TOPs will advertise the event through their brochures and on the press.

The Thai grocery chain will also organize a Mediterranean tasting event with top Italian wines section on 7 November. Finally, TOP will present a show-cooking with the press, H.E. the Ambassador of Italy, Mr. Francesco Saverio Nisio, and celebrity TV Chef Fabrizio Nonis on 21 November at 12.30 pm.

The 2nd Italian Cuisine Week will be officially launched on 15 November at 6pm with “The Taste of Music”, an opening charity gala dinner and a concert at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. This event will conduct the guests through a music and culinary journey.

From 20 until 26 November, 28 top Italian Restaurants which hold the “Golden Q” label for “Ospitalità Italiana” will present a special menu (with & without Italian wine pairing) using original and high quality Italian products. These Restaurants are Beccofino, Biscotti, Enoteca, Favola, Galleria Milano, Gianni Ristorante, Il Bolognese, Il Fumo, La Bottega, La Scala, Lenzi Tuscan Kitchen, L’Opera, Medici Kitchen & Bar, Opus, Prosecco, Rossini’s, Rosso di Sera, Sensi, Sole Mio and Zanotti in Bangkok; Acqua, La Carbonara, Leo & Mas and Plum Prime Steakhouse in Phuket; La Grappa and Mamma Mia! in Hua Hin; Fabio’s in Koh Phangan; Gian’s in Pattaya.

There will be two tasting events in occasion of Giuseppe Albanese’s concert to be held on 19 November and Fabio Arfinengo’s concert to be held on 26 November in the framework of the Italian Festival in Thailand at Sala Sudasiri Sobha.

Starting from 20 November, the Dusit Thani College will hold an intensive Young Master Chef Italian Cuisine Course with a final gala dinner on 25 November (by invitation only).

On 23 November at 9 pm a workshop open to the public (“Lo straordinario gusto Italiano”) will take place at Chulalongkorn University about the correct use of Italian language in menus and about do’s and don’ts to observe during an Italian dinner.

The event “Italian Cuisine & Design” will take place at Eurocreations showroom through a series of Italian dinners with special guests (by invitation only). The first dinner will be held on 23 November with H.E. the Ambassador of Italy, Mr. Francesco Saverio Nisio, and celebrity TV Chef Fabrizio Nonis.

On 24 November River City Bangkok will organize a “Piazza Italiana” where typical Italian products and drinks will be displayed before the screening of the movie “Ricette d’Amore” presented by Dante Alighieri Society. On the same occasion, at River City Bangkok Auctions, Mr. Daniele Ferri, Head Coach of Thailand Women Water Polo Team, will hold a conference about sport nutrition and Italian food impact on performance.

About River City Bangkok – The Anchor of Arts and Antiques
Sitting elegantly on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, River City Bangkok is Asia’s premier arts and antiques hub. For more than three decades, River City Bangkok has continuously offered magnificent products and services under the concept of “THE ANCHOR OF ARTS AND ANTIQUES”. Here, you will be mesmerized by collections of rare masterpieces in many categories imaginable. The furniture, art, and decorative items on display span many eras and locations. What’s more, the shopping center not only features a diverse selection of galleries, but also organizes arts events, workshops and seminars to provide knowledge to collectors, visitors and art lovers.

For further information, please visit or contact us:
River City Bangkok
23 Charoen Krung 24, Talard Noi
Sampantawong, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 10.00 am – 10.00 pm
T (+66) 2 237 0077-8
F (+66) 237 7600
E marketing@rivercity.co.th
W www.rivercitybangkok.com

Antananarivo (Madagascar) – November 2, 2017 (travelindex.com) – The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai has visited Madagascar to express the Organization’s full support to the tourism sector. Madagascar’s tourism is facing a challenging situation following a plague outbreak which has prompted some countries to implement travel restrictions with Madagascar. Mr Rifai recalled the World Health Organization (WHO) advises no restriction on travel or trade on Madagascar.

“UNWTO is echoing the advice by WHO to governments not to rush to issue inaccurate travel advisories. The WHO Key Messages updates dated 26 October recalls that the risk of international spread appears unlikely. WHO advises no restriction on travel or trade on Madagascar based on the current available information” said Mr. Rifai.

“We can not penalise a country twice – once by the country being hit and having to confront and pay the direct heavy price of a devastating crisis and second by us, human community, falling into misguided perceptions and, as a result , shunning and isolating the victim country and adding to the problem rather than to the solution” he added.

WHO recalls that it is important to strike a balance between encouraging countries in the region to be ready to act in case of an outbreak, while avoiding panic that could result in unnecessary or counterproductive measures such as trade restrictions or travel bans on affected countries.

“We are facing a perception crisis. Clear and factual communication on the real situation in Madagascar is crucial to prevent damaging advisories from adding gravity to the crisis” said Rifai.

Meeting with the Minister of Tourism, members of government, the President of the National Assembly, representatives from the United Nations in Madagascar, including the WHO Resident Coordinator, the World Bank, local private sector and media, Mr Rifai recalled that “positive news are coming out of the sector such as the new strategic partnership between Air Madagascar and Air Austral. We need to communicate the good news; build our capacity and restore confidence”.

The Minister of Tourism Roland Ratsiraka recalled “Being an island with 80% endemic biodiversity, Madagascar has a natural calling for sustainable tourism” said the Minister of Tourism. “Mr. Secretary General, your visit is rich in meaning, gives hope to a whole people and those who still doubt the economic benefits of the tourism industry” he added.

“Collaboration among all countries in crisis situations is critical and we call upon all countries in the region to cooperate in a way that reinforces prevention without creating unnecessary travel bans” said the Najib Balala, Chair of the UNWTO Commission for Africa and Minister of Tourism of Kenya.

UNWTO Secretary-General and the Minister of Tourism of Madagascar will be meeting the press next week at the World Travel Market in London to brief on the current situation in the country.

Contacts:
UNWTO Media Officer
Rut Gomez Sobrino
rgomez@unwto.org
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme
comm@UNWTO.org
Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100
Fax: +34 91 567 8218

Noida, Uttar Pradesh (India) – October 31, 2017 (travelindex) – Hoteliers have been putting a lot of thought into how to create that perfect ‘enchanting’ guest experience. If you are looking for guest touch-points to target as points of guest-experience optimisation, the first key guest touch-points to set your sights on are most likely to be reservations, check-in and check-out.

Let’s look at the check-in experience. The usual time that it takes for a guest to check-in is around 10-15 minutes in any standard hotel. As a hotelier, If you want to improve a guest’s experience upon check-in, that check-in window time is a great place to start.

The challenge is, how do you create a guest check-in experience that is easier and more effective, which means that it consumes less time, but also lets the guest feel like they are receiving an increased level of personalised service? Some automated rapid check-in systems may be fast, but you lose the human touch, turning it into a cold experience.

Property Management Systems are usually created to support the hotel’s overall workflow and are generally operated operated by hotel staff at hardwired terminals usually at a reception desk in the hotel. What if there was a system that could interface directly with the guest wherever they were, that made things even more efficient and added positively to the overall personal experience of the guest?

One idea that has been providing great results when it comes to an improved guest check-in experience is the ‘Cozy Lobby’. A ‘Cozy Lobby’ is where there is a personal check-in for every guest – not just club lounge guests.

We have taken Hotelogix for a test run and we have been blown away. The Hotelogix Mobile Hotel System does everything that your traditional PMS systems can do, but now puts it into the hands of any of your staff at any place in your property due to the fact that all interactions are done via the mobile app interface that’s installed on their phones.

With the Hotelogix, each staff member can have the mobile app installed on their own device. Doing it this way allows the PMS to be taken to the guest and reduces the number of hard-wired terminals needed in a property. The staff are then free to attend to guests waiting in the lobby or F&B outlets and perform the check-in right there wherever the guest is. There is no need for scanners or photocopy machines – the phone’s camera can be used to scan all the required documents straight into the system, with OCR technology enabling the system to enter most of the required guest data fields in the system straight from the scanned ID documents. With the Hotelogix app, it takes only around 3-5 minutes per check-in!

The dashboard gives all of your team members an instant glimpse of what’s going on in the property, giving them the information that they need to be able to respond thoughtfully and creatively to any of your guests special needs, and payments can be processed on the go. If guests need to change their room preference, date, or payment, it can also be done via the app.

The system improves communication between what’s going on in front office and housekeeping, with all housekeeping data being updated in real time, reducing guest waiting time even further.

The app also has real time inventory available to all of your sales team along with the room rates, which means that they can confirm corporate booking requests there and then while they’re sitting with them on a sales call rather than having to check back with the office.

The Hotelogix Mobile Hotel app enables a much faster and the personalised experience, and creates a great first-impression with guests. It also opens up new possibilities for hoteliers to utilise different spaces around the properties in ways that hadn’t originally been planned for, as well as provides flexible options for special events where check-ins need to be performed in different parts of the hotel to ensure optimum flow within the property.

Vientiane (Lao PDR) October 28, 2017 (travelindex.com) – Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith launches the “Visit Lao Year 2018” at the opening of the annual That Luang Festival in Vientiane. Lao PDR officially launched the “Visit Lao Year 2018” on Saturday, October 28, 2017 aiming to promote tourism and preserve the unique and fine traditional culture of Laos.

Laos launched its “Visit Laos Year 2018” to promote the tourism industry and revive interest in the country at a time when visits are declining. According to the Director General of the Tourism Marketing Department, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Sounh Manivong, the Visit Laos Year 2018 campaign will be hosting a number of high ranking officials and journalists from other countries.

Colorful festivals and events depicting Laos’ diverse cultural, traditional and natural charms are set to be highlighted through Visit Laos Year 2018.

In his speech H.E. Professor Dr Bosengkham Vongdara, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vice President of National Committee for Visit Laos Year 2018 said: “…The festival does not only reflect the fine traditional culture of Laos but also commemorates the success of the fourth restoration project of That Luang Stupa and That Luang Stupa consecration ceremony.

Tourism is an economic sector which has expanded rapidly in several countries around the world. At present, many nations in the world attach special attention to develop and promote their tourism as well as consider tourism a priority economic sector for the socio-economic development of their nations. Over the past years, the government of Lao PDR likewise come to regard tourism as a priority sector for driving the socio-economic development of the country.

Tourism brings spending on goods and services that can boost currency reserves and circulation of money in the country and create more job opportunities for people in service and production sectors, particularly agriculture and handicraft production.

Tourism is a form of export and generates income to local and rural communities in remote regions.

Additionally, tourism pushes for direct and indirect investments and businesses including tour business, hotels, restaurants, transport, souvenirs and so on.
Tourism also pushes investments in infrastructure development such as roads, airports, ports, telecommunication systems, electricity, water supply and so on.

Moreover, the government considers tourism development and promotion as a means for expanding and enhancing cooperation between Laos and foreign countries.
The government has determined the directive for developing and growing natural tourism, historical and cultural tourism based on the Slogan of ‘Visit Laos Year 2018’: “Visit Laos, Experience the Diversity of Nature and History.

The Minister further added: “…The content of the ‘Visit Laos Year 2018’ is designed to:
1 – Push for the implementation of Party’s policies, laws, regulations for managing, developing and promoting natural tourism, cultural and historical tourism;
2 – Concentrate on tourism development in our country to be able to accommodate the number of visitors today and in the future;
3 – Raise awareness and upgrade knowledge of society and people regarding the role and importance of tourism sector in contributing to socio-economic development of the nation and localities;
4 – Tap tourism opportunities and trends of the world, regions and sub-regions into
strongly developing and promoting Lao tourism; regards tourism promotion as a means to enhance under standing and friendships between nations; promote cultural exchange and tourism connectivity between Laos and nations in sub-regions and the world;
5 – Promote the development of small and medium enterprises.

The Visit Laos Year 2018 will comprise activities to be organised in Laos and overseas. These will include festivals in various provinces across the country. Additionally, the Visit Laos Year activities will include festivals which are organised annually by provinces. Exceptional historical, natural and cultural tourism sites in each province are opened for tourists throughout the year.”

Vientiane (Lao PDR) – October 30, 2017 (travelindex.com) – Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith invited people from around the world to visit the nation in remarks he delivered to officially launch “Visit Laos Year 2018” in front of the capital”s revered That Luang Stupa on Saturday.

A ceremonial gong was struck nine times by the prime minister to mark the official opening of “Visit Laos Year 2018”.

“On this occasion, I”d like to invite all tourists from Laos and overseas to visit Laos, with joy and happiness throughout the year and forever,” Mr Thongloun said.

The launch of “Visit Laos Year 2018” coincided with the start of the annual That Luang festival which features a trade fair, a display of traditional houses, cultural performances and activities relating to traditional worship rituals at That Luang Stupa as well as cultural, religious and spiritual events. The launch highlights included performances of songs and dances.

Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Professor Dr Bosengkham Vongdara also delivered a speech at the event, which was attended by hundreds of people including government leaders, foreign media and invited guests from Laos and abroad. The minister underscored the importance of the tourism industry which has expanded rapidly in countries around the world.

“In recent years, the government of the Lao PDR has likewise come to regard tourism as a priority sector for driving socio-economic development,” he said.

“Tourism brings spending on goods and services that can boost currency reserves and money flow and create more job opportunities for people in the service and production sectors, particularly agriculture and handicraft production.”

Professor Dr Bosengkham said tourism is a form of export and generates income to local and rural communities in remote regions.

But critics raised questions about how the government can best promote Laos to the rest of the world when the amount of information available is limited. Editor-in-Chi ef of e-Global Travel Media, Mr. Stephen Morton, said Laos has great potential to offer experiences to international visitors, but needs to improve accessibility (visa facilitation) and ensure more information is available. For instance, the event calendar related to festivals and activities must be readily available so that more tourists can plan on attending those events.

Improvement of infrastructure and services including road access to tourist attractions and internet speed is also critical. The government has organised Visit Laos Year on two previous occasions, once in 1999-2000 and again in 2011-12 to encourage more tourists at home and abroad to visit sites within the country.

In 2000, tourist arrivals amounted to 737,208 people and generated income of US$113,898,285

By 2015 the figure had risen to 4,684,429 people, generating some US$725,365,681 in revenue. It is projected that tourist arrivals will reach about 6,206,423 people by 2020 and generate revenue amounting to US$993,427,000.

During ‘Visit Laos Year 2018’, the nation will seek to attract at least 5 million arrivals generating revenue of about US$900 million.

To better promote the ‘Visit Laos Year 2018’ campaign, the government approved six slogans: ‘Warmly Welcome to Visit Laos Year 2018″; “Laos Jewel of the Mekong”; “Laos Simply Beautiful”; “Be the Good Host for Visit Laos Year 2018″; ”Visit, Enjoy, Safety, Environmentally Friendly”; ”Visit Laos, Experience the Diversity of Nature, Culture and History”.

The trade fair features more than 1,000 booths at two venues: Lao ITECC (460 booths) and That Luang Esplanade (640 booths).

By Somsack Pongkhao
First published: Vientiane Times, Monday, October 30, 2017 Issue 253
Online: www.vientianetimes.org.la

Singapore (Singapore) – October 27, 2017 (travelindex.com) – Asia’s leading travel trade show, ITB Asia 2017 has completed its milestone anniversary event with record-breaking numbers. The tenth edition of ITB Asia came to a close today at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Over three days, the event hosted about 940 exhibitors from 113 countries, an 11% increase over the previous year. ITB Asia 2017 also welcomed its strongest ever buyer participation across the Corporate, MICE and Leisure sectors. Since 2014, ITB Asia has experienced a 1:1 ratio for exhibitors and buyers. This year, there were over 22,000 business appointments recorded during the show.

Unveiling its largest exhibitors showcase yet, ITB Asia 2017 reported a spectacular 77% growth from its inaugural edition, featuring new exhibitors such as the Rwanda Development Board, Tourism Tunisia, Promote Iceland, Tourism & Foreign Affairs Department of Almaty City, Republic of Kazakhstan, Jeju Convention and Vistor Bureau, amongst others. Exhibitors also invested more in the quality of their booths, with Greece, Japan, Russia and Korea putting up impressive and engaging experiences.

This year’s conference programme looked at the role of technology, setting the tone for the changes that the industry is likely to see in the next ten years. Speakers from big names IBM Asia Pacific and Google delivered insights on the potential of Artificial Intelligence, Ctrip presented its global strategy, while fast-growing start-ups Hiverlab, Zebra Design and Savioke shared on the exciting realities and opportunities for augmented reality and virtual reality in hospitality and tourism.

“In view of ten years of ITB Asia, we’ve taken every effort to celebrate the past as well as to provide attendees with a useful view to the future. While we are very pleased with our achievements in terms of the quality and numbers, what brings us most satisfaction is bringing together all the different stakeholders across the industry to network and inspire each other. The relationships built and strengthened will continue to boost our efforts in making ITB Asia the region’s go-to event and a hub for unforgettable content and enriching experiences for many years to come”, said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia.

ITB Asia will continue to be held in Singapore, following the past ten years of consistent support from the Singapore Tourism Board and the Singapore Exhibition Convention Bureau. Following this year’s successful show, ITB Asia has received the highest exhibitor rebookings for ITB Asia 2018. As early as now, the surge in interest for next year’s show has been seen from destinations such as Greece, Middle East, Africa, Spain and the Scandinavian region as well as continued strong support from Asian markets such as Thailand and the Philippines. Melia Hotels International and Global DMC Network by the JTB Group have also confirmed their stand bookings for the 2018 show.

ITB Asia 2018 will be held from 17-19 October 2018 at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands. Interested exhibitors may email exhibitor@itb-asia.com.

 

About ITB Asia
ITB Asia is organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) Pte Ltd and supported by the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau. The event will feature hundreds of exhibiting companies from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, covering not only the leisure market, but also corporate and MICE travel. Exhibitors from every sector of the industry, including destinations, airlines and airports, hotels and resorts, theme parks and attractions, inbound tour operators, inbound DMCs, cruise lines, spas, venues, other meeting facilities and travel technology companies are all expected to attend.

Contact information:
ITB Berlin
PR Manager
Julia Wegener
(+49) 30 3038-2269
j.wegener@messeberlin.de
www.messe-berlin.com

Berlin (Germany) – October 27, 2017 (travelindex.com) – Luxury travel is booming: high-price trips grew nearly twice as much as global travel did in general over the past years – most luxury travelers come from the USA and China – Germany and France are the most popular luxury travel destinations in Europe – ITB Berlin and IPK International analyze global luxury travel.

More and more holidaymakers are spending heavily on the best weeks of the year. With an increase of around 18 per cent since 2014, luxury travel has grown nearly twice as much as international travel in general, which grew by about 9 per cent since 2014. This is the result of a special evaluation of the World Travel Monitor®, conducted by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin. For this analysis, international luxury trips were defined as all outbound short trips of up to three nights with a spending of more than 750 euros per night as well as all outbound long trips of four nights and more and a spending of more than 500 euros per night. In 2016, the world population undertook about 54 million international luxury trips. The market share of these trips rose to around 7 per cent in 2016.

Germany most popular luxury travel destination in Europe:
The largest source markets for luxury travel are the USA, with 13.7 million foreign luxury trips, and China, with 10 million. Other major source markets are Japan, Great Britain and Taiwan. In Europe, most luxury trips are undertaken by the British with 3.6 million trips, ahead of the French and the Germans. On the other hand, the most popular luxury travel destination by far was the USA, with 8.1 million trips, ahead of Canada and Germany. In Europe, Germany received nearly 4 million luxury travel visitors in 2016 and hence replaced Italy as the number one luxury travel destination in Europe compared to 2014, followed by France, Italy and Great Britain.

City trips are the most important luxury holiday type:
Holidays abroad together with trips to visit friends and family and other leisure trips represent the dominant share of all luxury trips with nearly 75 per cent, while business trips account for every fourth trip. The most popular types of luxury holidays are city trips with a share of 29 per cent, followed by touring holidays as well as Sun&Beach holidays.

Higher importance of travel agencies among luxury travelers:
For luxury travel planning the Internet is used by around 83 per cent, which is very similar to all international travelers. On the other hand, 51 per cent of international luxury travelers use travel agencies as an information source, while the worldwide average is much lower with 33 per cent. The same occurs when it comes to travel agencies as a booking site. While on average 27 per cent of all international outbound trips are booked through a travel agency, 40 per cent of all international luxury trips are booked via a travel agency.

More detailed information on destinations and source markets as well as the characteristics of the outbound travel behavior of Luxury Travelers can be found in the “World/European Luxury Travel Report”, which can be ordered from IPK International.

The World Travel Monitor® Forum is an exclusive industry gathering which discusses the latest travel trends and forecasts of tourism development, taking place on the 9th and 10th of November 2017 in Pisa, Italy. A summary of the Forum’s main findings will be published in the ITB World Travel Trends Report (for last year’s edition click here: www.bit.ly/2tvgbN2).

About ITB Berlin and the ITB Berlin Convention
ITB Berlin 2018 will be taking place from Wednesday, 7 to Sunday, 11 March, and from Wednesday to Friday will be open to trade visitors only. ITB Berlin is the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show. In 2017 a total of 10,000 companies and organizations from 184 countries exhibited their products and services to around 169,000 visitors, who included 109,000 trade visitors. Parallel with the show the ITB Berlin Convention, the largest event of its kind, will be held from Wednesday, 7 to Saturday, 10 March. Admission to the ITB Berlin Convention is free for trade visitors and exhibitors. For more information please visit www.itb-berlin.com

 

Singapore (Singapore) – October 25, 2017 (travelindex) – The annual Hotel Management Singapore Summit (HMS), presented by Hotel Management and Questex Hospitality Group, welcomed 31 international speakers and over 150 delegates at the newly built luxurious Sofitel Singapore City Centre on 12 Oct 2017.

HMS received rave reviews as it drew a record-breaking number of audiences and fully-packed the ballroom under the theme,”͞Inspire Viable Strategies to Boost Revenue and Profit for Vibrant Hoteliers.͟”

Inside this closed-door forum, delegates and speakers discussed all operational and management challenges that Singapore hoteliers have experienced throughout the year from multiple new hotel openings that have put pressure on financial performance to implementing hotel technology from changing food and beverage business models to shrinking hotel room sizes.

Acacia Leroy, Asia Pacific Trend Strategist, TrendWatching, kicked off the Summit with a presentation entitled ͞Consumer Trends Shaping the Future of Travel,͟ in which she highlighted four essential trends for hoteliers.

Moreover, the agenda included controversial and intriguing topics that unveiled an exciting day that included seven interactive panel discussions from Envisioning the future of guest experiences; Leveraging future-looking demand intelligence to drive better revenue and stronger competitive position; Navigating the blurred line of B2B and B2C; Driving direct bookings to enhance yields and loyalty; Adopting latest technologies to boost productivity and efficiency; Boosting profitability through technology while maintaining quality and consistency; and, reviewing space allocation for higher profitability.

“͞Excellent topic and it is very on the trend now. Keep up with what in the trend would definitely more interesting”,͟ said Sandra Widjaja, VP – Finance, YTL Hotels

“͞Good platform for networking and set to know the technology that other hotels have adopted,͟” said Sylvia Chua, Procurement Director, Resorts World Sentosa. ͞

“The pre-registration was well handled with very personalized follow-up. The event overall was carried out in well-organized manner,͟” said Nick Ng, General Manager, Ambassador Row Hotel Suites by Lanson Place.

HMS Summit 2017 is part of the Hotel Management Asia summit Series, Asia’s only truly regional hotel management conference series. The series will rotate through Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia this year by leveraging regional experiences, insights, and innovations to address market-specific challenges.

About Questex Hospitality + Travel
The Questex Hospitality + Travel Group of Questex LLC serves the worldwide hospitality, travel and related industries that together contribute over $6 trillion to the global gross domestic product. Through an innovative platform of targeted solutions, the group serves the sector’s entire ecosystem, from tourism and hotel development and investment to hotel design, purchasing, management and operations.

The Questex Hospitality + Travel Group supports every B2B segment of the industry, from investment and development to management operations, sales and marketing of hospitality and travel products to destination development and marketing, via proven demand generation, learning, loyalty and rewards solutions as well as a network of live events.

This division of Questex is aligned around three broad market segments – hospitality, travel, and meetings – and supported by its digital media staff.

About Hotel Management Singapore Summit (HMS Summit)
The leading conference in Singapore that directly addresses all operational/management challenges, the Hotel Management Singapore Summit provides a platform for hotel executives from both corporate level and property level to discuss key operational, branding and financial issues directly impacting corporate and property P&L.

CEO, COO, CFO, VPs, GMs, Financial Controllers, and executive committee members will gather to strategize and debate on essential topics including brand equity, cash-flow management, cost control, innovation and staff retention and development. Industry leaders will share their best practices and recommendations with their peers.

For further information, please contact:
Jefferson Mendoza
Marketing Executive
Questex Hospitality + Travel
Tel: +852 2589 1331
E-mail: jmendoza@questexasia.com
Website: www.questexevents.net/hmssummit

Bangkok (Thailand) – October 24, 2017 (travelindex.com) – The first Mekong Trends Aviation Seminar, organised by Destination Mekong in partnership with Amadeus and the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), shows regional aviation growth continues at an impressive pace to meet demand.

The event took place on 10 October at the Amadeus Executive Briefing Centre in Bangkok and was attended by leading travel and tourism professionals as well as members of the media and academics.

The dynamics of the aviation sector in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) as well as highlights in the first Mekong Trends Snapshot on Air Transport in the GMS were underlined by experts in the aviation and tourism sectors, including Bangkok Airways’ Peter Wiesner; Oman Air’s Joseph Cusmano; Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s (VNAT) Le Tuan Anh; Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, MTCO’s Jens Thraenhart and Amadeus’ Marco Weigang.

Industry experts agreed that one the most dramatic regional trend was Vietnam’s accenting into a new aviation powerhouse.

“Although Bangkok remains the leading hub in the region, it has lost opportunities to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which have evolved into gateways for the Mekong region”, said Peter Wiesner, special advisor to Bangkok Airways CEO.

Le Tuan Anh, VNAT’s Deputy Director General in the International Cooperation Department & Marketing Manager, added that: “We are pleased to see Vietnam aviation is now being considered as a major player in the region. For Vietnam tourism authorities, the most tremendous change is opening secondary destinations to international airlines with Danang but also Cam Ranh/Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and now Haiphong being linked to regional capitals.”

According to the Mekong Trends Snapshot on Air Transport in the GMS, the region aviation sector has grown rapidly over the last two decades. In 2015, GMS airports received more than 250 million passengers. Across the region, there are a dozen airports with an annual carrying capacity of more than 10 million passengers. In addition, there are about 30 smaller airports with annual capacity of one million passengers.

The GMS is also home to some 20 airlines, including legacy carriers such as Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines and low-cost-carriers including Thai AirAsia, Vietjet, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air.

The Mekong Trends Snatpshot on Air Transport in the GMS study was authored by Luc Citrinot, Editor-in-chief of ASEAN Travel. He also moderated the seminar and reported that new air routes have opened annually with a trend for new flight serves between secondary destinations and major aviation hubs both internationally and regionally.

According to Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, TAT Deputy Governor for Policy and Planning, the major shift in trends has been the emergence of low cost airlines.

“We recognise the importance role the low-cost carriers play in linking secondary destinations that we also want to promote to spearhead tourism income. So we launched strategic campaigns with these airlines to highlight our new marketing promotion such as paining a Thai AirAsia aircraft with ‘Amazing Thailand’ destinations.

“Although ground transportation is improving, the fastest and easiest way to travel point-to-point is to fly. When we conduct surveys, most travellers mentioned that flying remains their first travel option”, Mr Chattan, added.

Airlines in turn want active common promotion from travel and tourism leaders to capture increased demand. Despite challenges, the panel agreed that GMS aviation will continue to grow and will still witness tremendous changes over the coming years.

The report was presented during the Mekong Tourism Forum in Luang Prabang for the first time and can be downloaded for free at www.mekongtrends.com. Mekong Trends is an insight platform to highlight key issues and trends in the GMS under the Destination Mekong public-private partnership framework.

Bangkok (Thailand) – October 24, 2017 (travelindex.com) – The Ministry of Energy of Thailand has the honor to be the host of the 7th ASIAN Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER7), which will take place in Bangkok, Thailand on 1-3 November 2017. This prestigious biennial event will be a platform for 36 Energy Ministers from energy producing and consuming countries in Asia and 20 Heads of leading International Organizations to meet and discuss the energy security implications of potential energy market transition pathways through comprehensive policy dialogue. AMER7 shall ultimately underpin the development of the increasingly complex and dynamic relationships between energy producers and consumers in Asia and beyond. Varieties of visions and implications of energy markets, natural gas, renewable energy transition with advanced technology options are subject to be expressed in hoping these could advance the Asian future energy landscapes.

H.E. Gen. Anantaporn Kanjanarat, Minister of Energy of Thailand revealed that “the 7th ASIAN Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER7) hosted by the Ministry of Energy of Thailand will take place in Bangkok, at Shangri-la hotel, from 1 – 3 November 2017. In this milestone meeting, Honorable Energy Ministers throughout Asia will meet to discuss the energy security implications of potential energy transition pathways focusing on global energy markets in transition: from vision to action. The AMER will serve as one of the biggest international platform for energy producers and energy consumers to share views and highlight the focus and interest in three main aspects: oil markets, gas markets, and disruptive technologies”.

This gathering will discuss the issues with update on current energy situation in Asia especially oil market and its impacts. How global issues and challenges influence oil markets in ASIA. For example, extensive agglomeration and closer cooperation among OPEC member countries and the recent unrest in many parts of the world that may effecting oil price.

As for gas market, the session will discuss current LNG development. Nowadays, LNG markets is being developed in a broader of market segment. Moreover, the development of LNG pricing index will make LNG markets getting more closer to oil market. Hence AMER7 will provide a floor of policy dialogue between exporting economies such as Western Asian Countries and energy importing economies such as China, Japan, Korea and ASEAN member countries to discuss and explore the way forward towards more secure, stable and sustainable future for both oil and gas market.

Last but not least, the AMER7 will look into the importance of the spread of disruptive energy technologies inevitably from fossils to cleaner and renewable energy. Certainly, the current trend is moving towards green energy while technology in the energy sector nowadays is evolving as its consequence. Highlights are the rise of Solar Rooftop, Electric Vehicle uses and Energy Storage System development. Today’s critical challenge is to ensure the momentum of such innovative energy technology and its transformation and to speed its progress.Participating countries will benefit from this session, For example Thai government continuously plays a role in ensuring predictable, long-term support in all stages of innovation to cope with future disruptive technology. Thailand is one of a few countries in Asia that has an explicit development of such a disruptive technology policy.

“Once again, the Government of Thailand is pleased to host this prestigious biennial event, which is a key feature of the global energy dialogue promoted under the neutral banner of the International Energy Forum (IEF). It is not only a forum for cooperating and sharing either vision or trends on energy situation across Asia but also for strengthening image of Thailand Integrated Energy Blue Print (TIEB). Currently, Thailand has been recognized to be the Leader of ASEAN in Renewables Energy and Energy Efficiency. Thailand has an effective and predictable energy strategies and policies with clear goals and targets under Thailand‘s Energy 4.0 policy and Thailand Integrated Energy Blueprint (TIEB). Therefore, this is a great honor for all Thais as a host to welcome all Asian Ministers, Delegates, participants and guests to Thailand to attend the AMER7”, as stated by H.E. Minister of Energy of Thailand.

Background of AMER:
The purpose of the ASIAN Ministerial Energy Roundtable or AMER is to discuss on energy Future between the energy producing countries and the energy consuming countries in Asia. The key discussions are the current energy situation, the future of energy supply and demand, the challenges of energy security emphasizing on oil and natural gas, and the implications for energy efficiency and sustainability. The 3rd AMER took place in Tokyo, Japan from 25-27 April 2009, Minister of Energy of Thailand accepted the invitation of the meeting to be the co-host with the government of Qatar for the 6th AMER, and to be the host of the 7th AMER which is co-hosted by United Arab Emirates.

In the 6th AMER in Doha, Qatar from 7-10 November 2015, Minister of Energy of Thailand H.E.Gen Anantaporn Kanjanarat was the head of delegation of Thailand as invited by Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Salen Al-Sada, The upcoming of the 7th AMER hosted by Thailand in Bangkok will be held in Bangkok from 1-3 November 2017.