THE Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology industries, and to keep track of developments in these sectors as businesses adapt and reset to meet challenges in the era of coronavirus
Thailand enlists Agoda to expediate booking of hotel quarantine packages online
Thailand has automated the process of booking Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) packages for returning Thais and inbound travellers by partnering with online booking platform Agoda.
The tie-up with Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and Department of Health Service Support (HSS) “makes Thailand one of the first countries in the world to digitalise the booking process” and speed up the procedure, said Agoda in a statement.
ASQ is a period of mandatory quarantine residence for arriving international visitors at government accredited hotels.
Under this government-corporate initiative, arriving Thais and international visitors to Thailand can now search for and book MOPH-approved ASQ properties via a dedicated booking platform, which allows the traveller to search availability, room type, and pricing in real time. The packages include accommodation for 15 nights, three meals per day, two Covid tests, airport transfers and more.
The listed ASQ properties on the Agoda platform are currently in Bangkok, Chonburi and Phuket. More partners are expected to join the programme in the coming months.
Tares Krassanairawiwong, HSS director general, said ASQ is an important mechanism that aims to benefit Thailand in two ways. First, in controlling the spread of Covid, and second as a stimulus to help drive the economy by generating income for entrepreneurs.
“ASQ helps to promote the country’s economy with the 113 hotels participating as ASQ properties generating 1.2 billion baht revenue for Thailand to date. ASQ facilities, which allow flexibility to choose where to stay for quarantine, can be one way to attract foreign tourists again from all over the world and generate income for the country.”
John Brown, chief executive officer of Agoda, added this type of government-corporate collaboration allows for quick and cost-effective delivery of products that is critical during the current crisis.
“We strive to innovate and improve the travel experience every day, and technology is at the heart of everything we do, so we are thrilled to be part of this ground-breaking project here in Thailand.”
For hotels to be part of the ASQ programme they must pass strict standard checks in six categories from the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Defence. These include safety protocols that ensures on-site personnel fully equipped with medical supplies and training, processes that minimise disruption to the wider community, and have an environmental management system to protect and control guests.
Asian NTOs lead in providing online travel resources for Muslim travellers
National tourism organisations (NTOs) in Asia are most proactive in tapping the growing Muslim travel market by making resources available online to meet its specific needs, according to a recent study.
How Online Ready are NTOs for Muslim Travellers in 2020?, the report by tourism industry consultancy Pear Anderson, focuses on the online resources that NTOs from the top 50 most visited non-Muslim countries worldwide have created to support Muslim friendly travel. It also includes information on Muslim -friendly food, prayer spaces and hotels.
Findings from the study, an update on 2019’s, showed that 60% of the top 10 ranked NTOs are from the Asian region, with Hong Kong and Taiwan taking joint first place, booting out Japan that had the top score last year.
Of the top 50, 46% have some form of online resource available for Muslim travellers, an increase of 21.7% year-on-year.
Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and Slovenia saw significant increases to their scores in 2020 as they create new content, improve their SEO, make Muslim friendly information more accessible and segment Muslim travellers by interest.
Six countries scored points for the first time and entered the ranking in the 2020 edition of the report: Germany, Greece, India, Macao, South Africa and the UK.
Hannah Pearson, director of Pear Anderson, said that while regional NTOs are putting more focus on Muslim-friendly travel, their European counterparts still have a long way to catch up with them.
“The Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Taiwan Tourism Bureau have put serious emphasis on developing Muslim-friendly online resources, and their efforts have paid off by scooping the top spot. Their jump in rankings shows that it’s not enough for an NTO to create Muslim-friendly online resources as a one-off project – there needs to be continuous innovation to keep the messaging fresh,” she added.
The report also features cases studies from the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Tourism Australia, as well as industry best practices for online Muslim friendly tourism resources.
Muslim travel spend is a significant and fast-growing sector, increasing to US$194 billion in 2019, according to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2020/ 2021.
• Download the 31-page report here.
Fly Gangwon selects Sabre as GDS partner to expand its geographic footprint
With domestic and regional travel sectors slowly recovering airlines are stepping up on their marketing to meet pent-up demand when borders are fully opened to international visitors.
One airline doing this is new South Korean low cost carrier Fly Gangwon, which has chosen Sabre as its first global GDS partner. The agreement makes the airline’s content available to travel agents worldwide for the first time, as well as target a broader geographic market and reach new customer segments
Launched in 2016 with the slogan is “Fly To Your Dream”, Fly Gangwon made its maiden flight in November 2019 from its base in Yangyang to Jeju. It flies domestically and regionally to the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam. Currently operateing with three Boeing 737-800, its expansion plans include scaling its scale operations to Vietnam and China.
“While we flew our very first flight just months before the impact of Covid-19 was felt globally we remain resolutely focused on our goals of resuming existing routes and launching new routes to China amid increasing momentum for inbound attraction into South Korea,” said the airline’s executive vice president SeongGil Choe
He added that as part of the Sabre GDS the carrier would be able to grow its business as it would have “access to hundreds of thousands of agents across the globe and the ability to effectively sell our products and services, including ancillaries.”
Rakesh Narayanan, Sabre vice president, regional general manager, Asia Pacific, travel solutions airline sales, said low cost carriers like Fly Gangwon would play a key role in travel recovery as domestic and regional markets continue to recover first and fastest.
“LCCs will be vital to aid the recovery of the hospitality industry, as well as instil confidence in flying again so travellers feel comfortable to travel further afield once more international routes re-open.”
• Featured image credit: doomu/Getty Images
