THE Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology industries, and an update on how businesses in these sectors are adapting and resetting as they prepare for travel recovery.
Opening of Australia-New Zealand travel bubble sparks spike in holiday bookings
On April 19, travel between New Zealand and Australia became a reality for the first time since March 2020 with the opening of the much-anticipated trans-Tasman travel bubble, leading to a rush in travel bookings between the two countries
Pent-up demand for travel saw a 850% increase in searches by Australians looking for accommodation in New Zealand, and 470% increase for New Zealanders searching for trips to Australia, according to Agoda’s search data.
Following the announcement of the trans-Tasman route opening, New Zealand’s Queenstown shot to the top spot for searches on Agoda platform among Australian origin traveller, knocking Bali into third spot, behind Thailand’s Pattaya. Auckland comes in seventh place, with neither New Zealand destinations having featured in the top 10 international searches the week prior to the announcement on April 6.
Meanwhile, New Zealand origin international search data shows a massive swing towards Australia travel searches, taking five of the top 10 international searches post the announcement, up from only two the week preceding.
While both markets experienced a boost for tourism in more off-the-beaten track destinations by domestic travellers during the Covid period, big ticket tourist spots of the Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne plus Auckland, Queenstown and Christchurch are very much back in vogue for the trans-Tasman travellers, respectively.
“This surge in searches and bookings following the Australia and New Zealand governments’ announcement of the trans-Tasman agreement is reflective of a trend we have witnessed in both Australia as domestic borders re-opened, and across Asia Pacific as more markets discuss opening travel corridors,” said Zsuzsanna Janos, director Oceania at Agoda.
“The desire for immediate travel to international spots clearly highlights people’s pent-up desire and passion to travel again, as soon as there is a safe option to do so. But what’s also interesting is the return of longer term travel planning, as per pre-Covid-19 times, which reflects a resurgence in travellers’ confidence.”
Malaysia Airlines unveils MHflypass to spur domestic travel
Malaysia Airlines has launched MHflypass to help kickstart domestic travel, which is still in doldrums due to the ongoing movement control order in Malaysia that restricts inter-state travel.
The carrier describes the pass as a product that offers great “value-for-flights” as travellers can purchase flight coupons at a fixed price, and have the option to secure their travels for the year while “anxiously waiting for revenge travel to resume their holiday sprints”.
The MHflypass comes with six flight coupons, which can be redeemed up to 12 months after the initial purchase date, allowing passengers to take a total of three return flights or six one-way flights. Price starts from RM699 (US$170)
The pass is subdivided into three options for passengers based on their destination origin, allowing them to choose the zone that matches their travel needs best.
• Zone 1: Passengers can fly from destinations in Peninsular Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur and vice versa, as well as fly between destinations within Sabah and Sarawak.
• Zone 2: Passengers can fly to Kuala Lumpur from destinations in Sabah and Sarawak, alongside flights between destinations within Peninsular Malaysia, with a connection through Kuala Lumpur.
• Zone 3: Passengers can fly from Sabah and Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia destinations, with a connection in Kuala Lumpur.
(Details of the options here)
Additional benefits include a free-of-charge unlimited flight change; flights can be redeemed throughout the year subject to availability with no blackout periods during peak periods or high seasons; Enrich members receive 50% bonus Points upon purchase; MH Economy Flex tier benefits including 7kg cabin baggage, 35kg of check-in baggage, priority boarding, baggage and check-in.
There is also a 50% discount for the Neighbour Free Seat (NFS), which allows passengers requiring more space to purchase their neighbouring seats or entire row that stays passenger-free.
Describing the MHflypass as a “truly an exciting and bold new introduction for the airline” Lau Yin May, Malaysia Airlines’ group chief marketing and customer experience officer, said it offers flexibility, convenience and freedom for customers to choose the flights that suit them best and meet their individual needs.
“We have created this new product to spur domestic travel and to make it more attractive for our passengers to catch up on all the travelling they have missed, and at the same time, assuring them the peace of mind to fly with us with our #FlyConfidently measures put in place.”
Trip.com partners with Amadeus to power recovery and expansion
China-based online travel services provider Trip.com has teamed up with Amadeus to accelerate its flight search to aid in recovery and expedite expansion.
Trip.com is adopting the Amadeus Custom Search Solution, powered by Amadeus cloud technology, to manage increasing online activity as travel recovers.
The solution will give Trip.com greater flexibility to control dynamic content distribution through high-quality flight content, faster response times and precise accuracy. These will enable the online travel agencies to , to improve loyalty among its customers while scaling to meet shopping demand.
“As we continue our global expansion Amadeus’ cloud-based search technology will help us to meet the ever- increasing demands of our customers,” commented Yudong Tan, CEO of Trip.com’s Fight Business Unit. of Trip.com.
“We are optimistic about the recovery of travel and this cutting-edge cloud technology will play an important part in accelerating our long-term growth.”
Added Brian Chien, Amadeus head of online travel agencies, Greater China and managing director, China: “Our development teams have worked hand in hand with theirs (Trip.com) to build a future-proof, cloud-based flight search solution that will make the customer experience across all channels exceptional.
“I have also witnessed the amazing success of Trip.com, having grown from a Chinese OTA to a global powerhouse. At the same time, our collaborative partnership with Trip.com continues to grow and we look forward to a bright future of cutting-edge innovation and customer centricity as travel makes its comeback. We will collaborate with Trip.com to ensure the success of this game-changing cloud technology.”
Incheon inks deal with Tencent Cloud to tap the Chinese market
Incheon Tourism Organisation (ITO) in South Korea has teamed up with Tencent Cloud to build a smart tourism solution to prepare for post-pandemic recovery.
The collaboration is a joint effort to help South Korea’s businesses and tourism reach travellers from China, which is the second largest source market with more than six million inbound visitors in 2019, accounting for about 35% of the country’s total arrivals.
Through Tencent Cloud’s technologies ITO will be able to better connect with Chinese inbound travellers and speed up the recovery of South Korea’s tourism industry.
Tencent’s social solution, which includes travel and culture content recommendations, Weixin advertisements and Weixin Mini Programs will help the regional tourism board reach its target audience while deepening its understanding of Chinese tourists.
Tencent Cloud will also provide ITO a one-stop smart tourism solution for travellers, leveraging the user base of 1.2 billion monthly active users of Weixin and WeChat, Tencent’s robust technology platform and digital marketing service capabilities.
The smart solution allows visitors to bookmark hotels, check local weather forecast, discover shopping and tour guides, explore local restaurants, scenic attractions, download coupons, get directions and routes to landmark spots, as well as tax refunds via a Weixin mini-program before and after traveling.
“This collaboration aims to boost South Korea’s inbound tourism, which was affected by the global pandemic, with a focus on catering to the evolving needs of Chinese travellers,” commented Poshu Yeung, senior vice president of Tencent Cloud International, on the partnership
Lee Gun Woo, vice president of ITO, said: “The growing number of Chinese tourists exploring South Korea, as seen in pre-pandemic statistics, demonstrates a need for the South Korean tourism industry to reach out to and further understand Chinese travellers’ preferences and habits.
“Looking ahead to the world’s recovery from the impact of Covid-19, we are now provided with the technology to better address and cater to the needs and requirements of visitors from China through our collaboration with Tencent Cloud.”
• Featured image credit (Sydney Harbour): wallix/Getty Images
