In the news: An e-book on Asean top tourist attractions, Kaligo’s iPhone app, Expedia Singapore’s new loyalty programme, enhanced services on Scoot’s Dreamliner fleet
The best of ASEAN in an e-book
Sunset at U Bein Bridge, in Mandalay, Myanmar. (Image credit: Sagadogo/iStock)
Following closely on the heels of the formation of the ASEAN Community the region’s national tourism organisations (NTOs) collaborated to launch an e-book named ASEAN Tourism Packages.
Spearheaded by Malaysia’s ministry of tourism and culture the e-book, launched in Kuala Lumpur on November 23, is in keeping with the ASEAN spirit of tourism cooperation and National Blue Ocean Strategy.
ASEAN Tourism Packages contains attractive tours that promote multiple destinations in a single package. Tourists have a choice to visit the UNESCO World Heritage sites, enjoy the hospitality of homestay programme, or take a leisure cruise.
Besides promoting ASEAN as a single tourism destination, the e-book also aims to promote a sense of culture among regional and international tourists.
The packages also complement GOASEAN, the 24-hour TV channel that is broadcasted on Malaysia’s satellite network, Astro. The channel features the top tourist attractions of each member countries and highlights shopping, food, local sports, and festivals.
“This is indeed an excellent guide for tourists from ASEAN countries, and it will promote the region as a brand in the international market,” said Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Malaysia minister of tourism & culture.
“I believe ASEAN Tourism Packages will benefit the economies of ASEAN and the local communities.”
The e-book is available on the ASEAN website, as well as for download here.
An iPhone app for Kaligo
Booking on the go with Kaligo’s new app.
Hotel booking site Kaligo.com, which rewards frequent travellers with miles or points for every booking, has launched an app for the iPhone.
The new Kaligo app makes the platform’s 365,000 hotels and over 30 loyalty programmes accessible for travellers on the go. The frequent flyer programmes include American Airlines AAdvantage, British Airways Executive Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and China Eastern’s Eastern Miles.
The company said that to help travellers choose the right hotel for every stay, the app ranks hotels according to reward value alongside quality scores from millions of verified customer reviews.
“We’ve combined choice, easy-of-use and rich rewards, all on a mobile screen,” said Kyle Armstrong, co-founder of Kaligo.com.
“This is an app that every frequent traveller should have on their iOS device,” he added.
According to Kaligo the app’s launch is timely as mobile travel bookings are increasing. Ctrip has over 70% of hotel stays booked on mobile devices, while the global average is 50+%.
Kaligo’s app is free for download from the Apple App Store worldwide.
Expedia Singapore rewards customers with new loyalty programme
Expedia+ – new loyalty programme from Expedia Singapore.
Expedia Singapore has launched its new loyalty programme, Expedia+, “to recognise and reward regular customers and also provide new-to-Expedia users with a significant value-add”.
The company said members of Expedia+ can join the programme for free and earn points on their hotel, flight, package or activities bookings. They can redeem their points whenever they want, with no blackout dates for high season holidays and space capacity.
They can also use the points to make bookings for themselves, as well as for fellow travellers. Additional benefits include exclusive member-only deals and bonus offers.
The programme has has three tiers – +blue, +silver and +gold. The +gold and +silver members have more benefits such as extra bonus points on every booking and free amenities.
Jonty Neal, CEO of AirAsia Expedia, said, “We are raising the customer experience bar by creating value based programmes that offer great rewards and exclusive benefits. The Expedia+ program will have exclusive deals for its consumers not only in Singapore, but across the globe.”
Click here to see Expedia+ benefits
Scootin’ it up on the Dreamliner
Extra perks for ScootBiz guests.
Singapore based low cost carrier, Scoot, is treating its guests on its new 787 Dreamliner fleet with enhanced services/amenities to elevate their flying experience.
The airline said it was “raising the game” with an enhanced ScootBiz, inflight WiFi, revamped ScooTV, web check-in, Scoot-to-Gate, airport transfer bookings, and PlusPerks.
ScootBiz guests enjoy perks that include 30kg of check-in baggage, two pieces pieces of cabin baggage up to 15kg, meal with drink, and priority check-in and boarding
Scoot’s inflight connectivity are available in three timed sessions – one hour (US$11.95), three hours (US$16.95) or 24 hours (US$21.95), purchased before and on-board the flight with no data usage limit within each session.
ScooTV delivers Hollywood and Asian movies and popular TV series onto guests’ personal devices including mobile phones – complimentary for ScootBiz guests and US$11 for other passengers.
Guests departing from Singapore can do web check-in, and those with no check-in baggage or document check requirements can use Scoot-to-Gate to go straight to departure immigration and the boarding gate.
The newly introduced PlusPerk bundle enables guests to earn KrisFlyer miles on eligible fares, enjoy preferred seat selection, access priority check-in/boarding privileges, and make one flight or name change – all for SG$39 (short haul) and SG$59 (long haul) per guest/flight.
“Our latest initiatives transform the low-cost travel experience for guests, enabling them to enjoy a wider range of customisation options as they continue to benefit from great value airfares,” said Steven Greenway, Scoot head of commercial.
