THE Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology sector – new partnerships, product launches, aviation industry updates, innovative solutions, and more …
Tourism Malaysia, Visa team up to drive inbound travel
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri is hopeful the number of travellers to Malaysia could surpass the targeted two million mark for this year. (Image credit: Tourism Malaysia)
Malaysia, which opened its borders to international travellers on 1 April and set a target of two million arrivals for the rest of the year, is going all out to achieve this figure.
Collaboration is one way the country’s marketing arm Tourism Malaysia is looking to boost arrivals and tourism expenditure. It has entered into a long-term partnership with Visa to promote the country, both domestically and in international markets.
Under the partnership Visa introduces the Visa Preferred Merchant Programme (VPM), which gives Visa cardholders access to exclusive offers for accommodation, air tickets, dining, shopping and medical wellness.
The VPM programme will be available for both domestic and international travellers during identified tourist travel seasons through malaysia.travel and visa.com.my websites.
Visa will offer Tourism Malaysia access to its data analytics and insights to better understand travellers’ preferences when they enter Malaysia. According to the latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study, consumers are anticipating the rebound of travel as Malaysia begins to transition into an endemic stage. Findings show that almost six in 10 Malaysians believe they are likely to travel domestically.
The collaboration will also see Tourism Malaysia and Visa roll out a collaborative domestic travel campaign – Home Away from Home – to promote domestic tourism, aligned under Tourism Malaysia’s Strategic Plan 2022-2026.
The strategic plan, launched on March 30 to time with Malaysia’s reopening on 1 April, is described as a “new organisational strategy” for the next five years to boost the tourism industry. It focuses on domestic tourism promotion as well as international tourism recovery, with greater emphasis on digital adoption, innovation, health and safety.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri is hopeful the targeted number of international travellers could even surpass the two million mark, and could contribute up to RM8.6 billion (US$ 2.04 billion) by year end to the country’s economy.
“Our collaboration with Visa, leveraging its global network and reach, is the perfect opportunity to provide consumers and merchants with the best offers available to truly experience Malaysia while adhering to SOPs and public health and safety,” she said.
In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Malaysia welcomed 26.1 million tourist arrivals with total expenditure of RM86.1 billion (US$20.41 billion). The top three expenditures were shopping, accommodation and food and beverages – making up RM61 billion in tourist receipts. In 2020, when Malaysia closed its borders, international tourist arrivals plunged 83.4% to just four million.
Accor chooses D-EDGE to provide CRS to group’s hotels worldwide
D-EDGE will be the Central Reservation System for Accor’s 5,300 hotels worldwide. (Image credit: Accor)
French hospitality group Accor has picked hospitality technology provider D-EDGE Hospitality Solutions to be the Central Reservation System (CRS) for the group’s 5,300 hotels worldwide.
Accor will be providing their hotels with an enriched platform – the D- EDGE next-generation CRS – that can address new challenges in hospitality.
The CRS “enables quick adoption with fast learning curves, while being open to the entire hotel tech ecosystem – PMS, RMS, Distributors and any future new players – and is cloud-based to ensure maximum agility”, said Accor in a statement.
D-EDGE’s open API and connectivity expertise will allow Accor to leverage all distribution capabilities and to offer its hotels the solutions and distributors best suited to the region, brand or category of service, added the statement.
“Accor is one of the most disruptive large hotel chains, and the first to have decided to adopt a multi-PMS strategy. As the ecosystem and distribution channels evolve, we want to provide our hotels with a future-proof, agile and user-friendly platform,” said Floor Bleeker, Accor’s group chief technology officer.
Added Patrick Mendes, group chief commercial officer Accor: “The objective is that, in the near future, Accor hotels will progressively and seamlessly switch from the TARS to the D-EDGE CRS. The unique connectivity provided by D-EDGE compared to any other system, will power all Accor hotels to maximise their distribution,” .
He listed another benefit as the ease of use of the platform and that it is user centric. “This is especially important as our industry is currently facing a significant staffing shortage making easy and quick product adoption critical to business efficiency”
D-EDGE, a 100% subsidiary of Accor, is now operating the TARS platform and will progressively deploy its new Generation CRS to all Accor hotels worldwide ensuring an optimised distribution to the Accor hoteliers.
Commented Pierre-Charles Grob, CEO of D-EDGE, on the collaboration: “Since the transfer of the TARS platform by D-EDGE our teams have worked on the functional upgrading of our platform in order to quickly deliver our next-gen CRS. This is also good news for all our existing customer base as, to serve Accor, we are enriching our platform with many features that will serve all our customers. It will give a speed boost to our roadmap for the benefit of the whole hospitality community.”
The agreement with Accor extends D-EDGE’s client base from 12,000+ to 17,000+ hotels worldwide, as well as strengthens its growth within the global hospitality industry and its capacity to serve bigger chains.
Pandora – the world of Avatar – coming to Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay
Avatar: The Experience will land in Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay later this year.
Remember Avatar, the 2009 James Cameron’s blockbuster science fiction film set in the mid-22nd century when humans are colonising Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system, to mine the mineral unobatanium?
Well, you will be able to “explore Pandora” at Singapore’s Garden by the Bay when “Avatar: The Experience” debuts at the Garden’s Cloud Forest later this year.
Described as an “immersive walk”-through the Cloud Forest’s horticultural attractions, the new attraction is a collaboration between Cityneon Holdings, Disney Location-Based Experiences, and James Cameron and Jon Landau’s Lightstorm Entertainment.
The Cloud Forest is deemed the “perfect scenic location” with its giant waterfalls, spiralling walkways and a unique architectural glass greenhouse. All these, plus the immersive setting, gives the illusion of the alien world of Pandora with its bioluminescent environments, mystical creatures, flora and the captivating culture of its indigenous people, the Na’vi.
Felix Loh, chief executive officer of Gardens by the Bay, described the collaborative opportunity as a “one-of-a-kind event” that adds to the significance of the attraction’s 10th anniversary celebrations.”
Ashlynn Loo, deputy director of tour & industry development at Singapore Tourism Board, added: “As we prepare to welcome more visitors, such innovative and immersive experiences are a timely addition to our calendar of vibrant leisure events and reinforce our destination attractiveness.
“The experience also demonstrates the industry’s confidence in Singapore’s strong fundamentals as a leisure destination and is testament to our exemplary track record in delivering high-quality experiences.”
• Featured image credit (Malacca river with heritage houses along its banks): asnidamarwani/Getty Images
