Restaurants tap into new booking source
Trip.com Group has been busy of late, joining forces with and dining platform Chope to offer a new dining experience for travellers visiting South-east Asia.
Trip.com Group’s gourmet arm, Trip.com Gourmet will collaborate with Chope to allow users exclusive access to Chope’s 3,000-plus network of restaurant partners across Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket, Jakarta, and Bali.
Travellers can find, reserve, and experience dining options via the Trip.com and Ctrip app.
The partners say the arrangement goes beyond convenience and accessibility, “shining a spotlight on the rich tapestry of local neighbourhoods and hidden gems that make each destination truly exceptional”.
Vincent He, general manager of Chope Shanghai said, “The potential for international exposure for restaurants has reached greater heights with a simple tap on the app, opening themselves to a vast network of global tourists.”
Any Wear, Anywhere, Anytime you’re in Japan
Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation have come up with a new twist on responsible travel. The pair is trialling the “Any Wear, Anywhere” clothing-sharing service, aimed at foreign tourists and business travellers flying with JAL to Japan.
The service provides clothing rentals at the destination, reducing the need for excessive luggage.
Business travellers can skip the extra shirts or skirts and hope they can find the right size and style when they reach Tokyo.
Sumitomo will handle the reservation system, clothing procurement, laundering, and delivery, while JAL will monitor the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions resulting from reduced airplane weight.
Leveraging Asia connections in Sydney
A company located in Sydney’s Chinatown, Haymarket HQ, is offering start-ups the mentoring and advice they need to expand into Asia.
Property developer Brad Chan said he founded Haymarket HQ because he believed there needed to be a dedicated space aimed at taking advantage of Australia’s economic ties to Asia.
“One of the strengths that we’ve got in Australia, and particularly in Sydney, is a lot of good networks, a lot of good connections and a lot of good capabilities into Asia which weren’t being utilised,” Chan said.
Haymarket HQ started as a coworking space but has since evolved into an organisation that has supported 800+ companies to raise over $100 million in capital and expand into 40-plus new markets.
Chan says he thinks start-ups are sometimes too focused on moving to Silicon Valley in the United States and may be overlooking opportunities closer to home.
“We have a very strong Asian population, not only visitors and not only students, but people of first, second, third generation of Asian descent, who live here and who still have a lot of strong connections into Asia.
“One of the things I see is we are not using our Asia capabilities as well as we could,” he added.
Source: SBS
Tips to help travellers with cyber security
Travel agents play a vital role in ensuring clients have a safe and enjoyable trip. In today’s digital age, it’s essential to educate travellers about the potential risks of cyber threats while abroad, help them understand the potential risks and empower them to take proactive measures to safeguard their data and identity while exploring the world.
Five safety tips from Keeper Security can help safeguard travellers from getting their sensitive data stolen:
Limit social media posts
Advise travellers to exercise caution when sharing their location on social media platforms. Disclosing real-time whereabouts can make them an easy target for cybercriminals. Encourage them to wait until they’ve moved to a new destination or suggest saving their travel posts for when they return home.
Avoid public Wi-Fi
Inform travellers about the risks associated with connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, such as those found in airports or hotels. Attackers can exploit these networks to gain access to personal data. Encourage them to use secure cellular data plans or invest in a trusted Virtual Private Network (VPN) service for secure internet access.
Use a VPN
Emphasise the importance of using a VPN while travelling. Highlight the benefits, such as protecting online identities, securing connections, and avoiding bandwidth throttling. Recommend reliable VPN services that offer encryption and ensure their browsing sessions remain private, regardless of their location.
Upload important documents
Remind travellers to make digital copies of essential documents like passports, visas, and medical records. Explain the importance of uploading these copies to a secure password manager or cloud storage service. This ensures they have easy access to their documents in case of loss or theft.
Securely share emergency info
Educate travellers about the importance of securely sharing emergency information with trusted sources. Recommend encrypted services like One Time Share, which allow them to send time-limited access to critical details like insurance information or passport copies. This way, their loved ones can assist in case of an emergency without compromising sensitive data.
Source: Travel Weekly Asia
Unlocking sustainability data: BeCause they can
Sustainability technology company BeCause has linked up with Booking.com to help the online travel platform manage its sustainability data across all its accommodation partners.
BeCause says the partnership will present the most current sustainability data available to help travellers “make more informed decisions” and guide the 57% of global travellers “who would feel better about staying in a particular accommodation if they knew it had a sustainable certification”.
BeCause says it developed a solution specifically for Booking.com to enable the travel platform to streamline how it receives and uses sustainability information from partners and overcome the challenges and manual processes associated with managing data from tens of thousands of properties as well as stakeholders and certifiers.
