The Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology industries, and to keep track of developments in these sectors as the green shoots of recovery slowly take root.
Dream Cruises restarts operations in July, beginning with sailings in Taiwan
The cruise industry is seeing early signs of recovery with the recent announcement by Genting Cruise Lines that one of its (cruise) brand, Dream Cruises, will resume operations in Taiwan.
“Dream Cruises will be the first cruise line in the world to begin sailing after the global cruise industry was shut down due to the pandemic,” said Tan Sri KT Lim, chairman and CEO of Genting Hong Kong.
Dream Cruises’ Explorer Dream will operate two- and three-night ‘Taiwan Island-Hopping’ itineraries from 26 July that will depart from Keelung with stops at Penghu, Matzu and Kinmen islands.
The company said Taiwan was “the ideal destination” to restart sailings due to the country’s low numbers of coronavirus cases, as well as its 25 years of history of operating in the island and the country’s popularity among travellers.
The local Taiwanese authorities’ “proactive step to reinvigorate their economy and open up tourism” is another factor for Genting Cruise Lines’ choice of the island to restart operations.
“This is truly a remarkable achievement, which was made possible by the Taiwan authorities’ swift and effective handling of the Covid-19 crisis and their foresight in resuming the tourism industry to benefit all the ports, the economy and the lifestyle of the people of Taiwan,” said Kent Zhu, president of Genting Cruise Line.
The cruise company said in the past few months it has re-examined and improved its health, hygiene and operating protocols including social distancing in dining, entertainment and public areas, as well as 100% fresh air ventilation in cabins and throughout the ship.
In accordance with Taiwan’s regulations, prior to resuming sailing Explorer Dream has undergone a thorough deep cleaning and observation of strict quarantine procedures for her crew. Most of the crew will be from other Genting Cruise Lines ships who have been quarantined for the last three months. All will undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine on land after the ship arrives in Keelung on 30 June.
Genting Cruise Lines added that stringent health screening processes and guidelines prior to embarkation, disembarkation and social distancing measures on board are in place for both guests and crew. Guest cabins, crew member quarters, public areas and recreational facilities are also sanitised and disinfected, along with safe food and beverage handling procedures.
Two of Genting Cruise Lines’ ships – SuperStar Aquarius and SuperStar Gemini – are in Singapore being used as temporary accommodations for foreign workers who have recovered from Covid-19 after successfully completing careful assessment checks.
The company said that through this successful initiative in collaboration with the Singapore authorities, it “has been able to further refine its standard operating procedures within a real-world context to ensure that all its Genting Cruise Lines’ ships, including Explorer Dream, will be the safest cruise ships for guests in the post-Covid era.”
Tencent Cloud powers up Singapore Tourism Board’s China-Ready webinar
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) used Tencent Cloud’s video conference service, Tencent VooV Meeting (TVM) for its China-Ready webinar, citing “secure registration and high-quality online conferencing experience” for the choice.
TVM website states the service supports up to 300 participants, has user-friendly conference tools and enables users to schedule and join meetings anytime and from anywhere. Apart from hosting the webinar on its platform, Tencent also share insights on Chinese consumers during the session.
The China-Ready webinar is part of STB’s ongoing efforts to upskill the tourism industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, so that they can be ready for recovery when the time comes.
With the aim to intensify Singapore’s efforts to enhance the experience of its Chinese visitors, the webinar addressed topics such as how to further strengthen the city-state positioning for the Chinese market, and meeting the evolving needs and expectations of Chinese travellers in the current landscape.
“In order to reach, engage and convert the increasingly discerning Chinese travellers, the Singapore Tourism Board has emphasised the need for our Singapore stakeholders to deepen their understanding of how the Chinese use different digital platforms,” said Juliana Kua, STB’s executive director, Greater China.
AirAsia sees rebound in air travel demand with record-breaking sales
AirAsia is confident of a “a strong rebound in demand for air travel” based on the low cost carrier registering its highest post-hibernation sale day on 24 June, with a record-breaking 41,000 seats sold in a single day across the AirAsia Group.
In March, the budget carrier temporarily hibernated most of its fleet across the network due to border restrictions imposed by various countries then to stem the virus spread. However, it reinstated flights to most local destinations with the resumption of domestic tourism in Malaysia from 10 June.
According to the airline, its website experienced traffic growth of 170% on the sale day. Some of the most popular routes booked include Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to Kuala Lumpur for Malaysia, Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Hat Yai for Thailand, Manila to Puerto Princesa and Davao for the Philippines, Delhi to Srinagar and Bengaluru to Hyderabad for India and Jakarta to Denpasar and Medan for Indonesia.
“We are encouraged by this positive trend and we foresee this will continue in the coming weeks,” AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes stated.
He disclosed that the AirAsia Unlimited Pass launched early last month to help accelerate domestic tourism recovery sold out quickly. A similar pass would be out in other markets soon.
“We are aiming to increase our flight frequencies to around 50% of our pre-Covid operations and we look forward to resuming all domestic routes in the coming weeks and months to cater to the increasing demand.”
Fernandes said the carrier is currently operating 152 daily flights across the region. “We look forward to the reopening of international borders in recognition of the fact that air transport provides the connectivity that is essential for the resumption of economic activities and the global recovery efforts.”
New online bot answers coronavirus-related travel questions
Travel-19 is the new online bot from Amadeus that can address the most frequent Covid-19 related questions from travellers.
The bot, which is now live, helps travellers find “credible information easily in one place, and to provide timely updates from countries and their governments, so that travellers can safely plan future trips as flying resumes,” said the technology company.
Travel-19 provides a repository of information from various official sources, as well as aggregates relevant links into one easy-to-use interface to help travellers plan and manage upcoming trips amid the ongoing crisis.
Additionally, the bot answers questions about trip cancellations, impacts on flights and the latest travel restrictions and government advisories relating to more than 350 airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Thailand Airways, as well 60+ countries including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and China.
As such, it can help reduce the burden on travel providers and travel sellers who are still managing countless inquiries from consumers.
“Although travel restrictions are starting to ease we are seeing big differences in rules and restrictions around the world, and the situation is changing all the time,” said Nicolas Martiquet, Amadeus’ head of traveller & customer discovery, research, innovation & ecosystems, strategic growth businesses. “We wanted to provide travellers with the most accurate information so that they can make informed decisions and make bookings with confidence as the aviation sector opens up again,”
• Featured image credit (Explorer Dream to set sail in Taiwan): Genting Cruise Line
