Posts By :

wttc2

St. Regis Hotels and Resorts Makes Glamorous Debut in China’s Coastal City of Qingdao

 840 472 wttc2
By:
The St. Regis Qingdao_Exterior_Day.jpg
Qingdao, China
Christopher Cypert

St. Regis Hotels and Resorts, part of Marriott International’s portfolio of 30 extraordinary brands, today announced the debut of The St. Regis Qingdao. The highly anticipated opening marks the first Marriott International luxury brand hotel in the northeastern Shandong region. Strategically located in the landmark Haitian Center in the heart of historic Qingdao, the hotel is set to delight the city’s luminaries and tastemakers with its elegant design, refined craftsmanship and time-honored signature rituals.

“We are very excited to expand our luxury footprint to one of the most beautiful coastal cities in the region with the debut of the iconic St. Regis brand, bringing bespoke experiences curated for the most discerning travelers,” said Henry Lee, President, Greater China, Marriott International. “The opening of The St. Regis Qingdao ushers in a new benchmark of luxury hospitality in this dynamic city and underscores our commitment to continuously grow in Eastern China.”

Occupying the 58th to 78th floors of the 369-meter-tall Haitian Center, The St. Regis Qingdao is the tallest hotel in the region, enthralling guests with panoramic vistas of the Yellow Sea and picturesque coastal scenes. Within an hour’s drive from Qingdao Liuting International Airport, the hotel is adjacent to scenic Fushan Bay, the venue for the sailing competitions during the Beijing Olympics, and with views of iconic local landmarks such as Badaguan Cultural Architecture Centre and Qingdao International Sailing Centre.

Drawing inspiration from the brand’s rich heritage, the renowned Singapore based interior design firm, LTW Designworks, subtly infused local Qingdao influences with St. Regis’ avant-garde aesthetic. This includes a crystal chandelier inspired by a legendary dress of golden thorns that Caroline Astor, mother of St. Regis founder John Jacob Astor IV and doyenne of New York high society in the Gilded Age, wore to one of her famed Midnight Suppers. A brilliantly-lit grand staircase offers the perfect venue for the celebrated St. Regis tradition of sabering a bottle of champagne to mark the transition from day to night. The backdrop of the grand staircase is a 74-meter-high atrium art wall that reflects the delicate traces left on the beach by the ebb and flow of the Yellow Sea.

The St. Regis Qingdao_Skyline Ocean View_King.jpg
St Regis Qingdao Ocean View King Suite
Christopher Cypert

The hotel features 233 guest rooms, including 30 luxury suites with spectacular ocean views. In each guest room, the bedside backplate features camellia motifs as an homage to the official flower of Qingdao, representing inspiration, integrity and romance. The bespoke amenities, design narratives and spectacular views combine to transport guests into a world of exquisite luxury and service. Guests will also enjoy the brand’s signature Butler Service, offering around-the-clock anticipatory service and ensuring that each guest’s stay is customized according to their tastes and preferences.

The St. Regis Qingdao also invites guests to embark on multi-sensory culinary journeys with exceptional presentations, memorable flavors and spectacular views at its five distinctive dining outlets. The Drawing Room, located on 59th floor, offers an indulgent Afternoon Tea along with panoramic seascapes. In spaces that combine contemporary chic with traditional charm, YAN TING serves authentic Cantonese cuisine featuring the freshest locally-sourced seafood. Social is an exciting all-day dining experience, featuring international delights at breakfast, along with fresh local seafood and western grill items on the lunch and dinner menus. The Carvery celebrates convivial dining in a classic New York steakhouse setting. In the evenings, guests are invited to The St. Regis Bar overlooking Qingdao city and its charming nightscapes to enjoy handcrafted cocktails. The signature St. Regis cocktail, the Bloody Mary, is given an intriguing new twist using essences of sparkling Qingdao beer, fresh local clams and fine sea-salt and aptly reintroduced as the “GáLa Mary”.

With a total of more than 2,000 square meters of dedicated event space, the hotel offers venues and facilities for iconic gatherings and meetings. The Astor Ballroom, covering an area of more than 900 square meters, is the perfect setting for celebrations, events, galas and talk-of-the-town wedding banquets. The St. Regis Qingdao also offers a bespoke wedding planner service to assist couples in planning their once-in-a-lifetime dream wedding.

The exclusive St. Regis Spa elevates the traditional spa visit into an enjoyable social occasion featuring five treatment rooms including the St. Regis Spa Suite, a private space for couples, families or small groups of friends to relax and enjoy bespoke treatment time together. The Celebration Bar is a joyous space of refined elegance serving the finest Champagne and effervescent cocktails. Fitness enthusiasts will enjoy the hotel’s well-equipped fitness center and indoor infinity swimming pool offering stunning views of the surrounding sea and sky.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the debut of The St. Regis Qingdao. As one of the most important destinations for business and leisure travelers in China, Qingdao now has a most iconic luxury landmark,” said Jennie Toh, Vice President, Brand Marketing and Management, Asia Pacific, Marriott International. “We look forward to sharing Qingdao with guests through the lens of St. Regis’ signature glamorous spirit, sophistication and impeccable service when they visit the destination.”

For more information about The St. Regis Qingdao, please visit stregis.com/Qingdao.

About St. Regis Hotels & Resorts
Combining classic sophistication with a modern sensibility, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, part of Marriott International, Inc., is committed to delivering exceptional experiences at more than 45 luxury hotels and resorts in the best addresses around the world. Since the opening of the first St. Regis hotel in New York City over a century ago by John Jacob Astor IV, the brand has remained committed to an uncompromising level of bespoke and anticipatory service for all of its guests, delivered flawlessly by signature St. Regis Butler Service. For more information and new openings, visit stregis.com or follow Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. St. Regis is proud to participate in Marriott Bonvoy, the global travel program from Marriott International. The program offers members an extraordinary portfolio of global brands, exclusive experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments and unparalleled benefits including free nights and Elite status recognition. To enroll for free or for more information about the program, visit MarriottBonvoy.marriott.com.

About Marriott International, Inc
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,600 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 133 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy™, its highly-awarded travel program. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

Read original article at Marriott Hotels

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

MSC Cruises to Expand Saudi Arabia Programme

 500 314 wttc2
By:
MSC Cruises to Expand Saudi Arabia Programme

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, August 2, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / MSC Cruises, the contemporary brand of the Cruise Division of MSC Group, today announced that MSC Bellissima, one of the line’s most modern ships, will sail 21 Red Sea voyages from Jeddah, the commercial hub of Saudi Arabia, between the end of July and late October.

  • MSC Bellissima to homeport in Jeddah with 3- and 4-night cruises to Egypt and Jordan
  • Summer season to complement winter 2021/22 Red Sea itineraries
  • Eighth MSC Cruises ship to resume operations with passengers on board

MSC Bellissima is the largest cruise ship ever to sail the waters of the Red Sea and the vessel arrived at the weekend in Jeddah to prepare for her maiden season.

The ship, which first came into services in 2019, will offer 3- and 4-night cruises to Safaga for Luxor, Egypt or Aqaba for Petra, Jordan before returning to her Saudi homeport.

The summer sailings will add to MSC Cruises’ previously announced winter 2021/22 Red Sea voyages from Jeddah starting in November.

Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises said: “As the tourism industry of Saudi Arabia grows progressively for its own residents and international visitors, we at MSC Cruises are looking forward to make a positive and lasting contribution as more people explore and discover the rich heritage and incredible cultural attractions it has to offer.

“With our cruises this summer from Jeddah of MSC Bellissima and a ship dedicated for the winter season in the Red Sea we are committed to serve holidaymakers with the very best cruise experiences. This, we believe, will accelerate the attractiveness of holidays at sea in the region and significantly help in the growth of tourism.”

MSC Bellissima will be the eighth MSC Cruises’ ship to resume sailings with passengers on board with a further three vessels preparing to start future voyages, which will see half of the Company’s fleet back at sea by the end of summer.

Five MSC Cruises’ ships are currently sailing in the Mediterranean – MSC Grandiosa MSC Seaside, MSC Orchestra, MSC Splendida and MSC Magnifica, MSC Virtuosa is operating around the UK and MSC Seaview is cruising in the Baltic Sea.

MSC Meraviglia from 2 August will resume Caribbean cruises from Miami and will be joined in the region from 18 September when MSC Divina restarts sailing from Port Canaveral near Orlando in Florida.

MSC Seashore will come into service in August with voyages in the West Mediterranean before the Company’s newest flagship transfers in November to Miami for a season in the Caribbean.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Air France Prepares for Arrival of New Airbus A220

 500 321 wttc2
By:
Air France Prepares for Arrival of New Airbus A220

Paris, France, August 2, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Air France is continuing to renew its fleet. At the end of September, the airline will take delivery of the first of the 60 Airbus A220-300s it has ordered to replace its Airbus A318s and A319s on the short and medium-haul network.

  • The company’s first Airbus A220 has left the paint shop sporting the Air France livery,
  • This aircraft embodies the airline’s sustainability commitments with 20% less fuel used compared with the aircraft it is replacing and a 34% reduced noise footprint,
  • All the Air France crews are preparing to welcome this aircraft in September at Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

The first Airbus A220 designed for Air France recently left the Airbus paint shop in Mirabel, near Montreal. It sports the new Air France colours and notably features the winged seahorse, the airline’s historical symbol embodying its rich history, at the front of the fuselage.

As it is made with lighter composite materials, the Airbus A220 uses 20% less fuel than previous generation aircraft, and has a 34% reduced noise footprint. It will play a decisive role in achieving Air France’s sustainable development objectives, including a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions in absolute terms on the domestic network from Paris-Orly and on inter-regional routes by 2024 (1), and a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger/km by 2030(2).

Tests and crew training – flight safety of key importance in the preparation for the A220’s arrival

Before joining Paris to carry Air France customers, the aircraft will undergo a series of ground and in-flight tests. On its arrival, it will be used for more than a month to train the airline’s flight crews, some of whom began the so-called “type rating” process last summer.

As with every new type of aircraft entering the fleet, the company has set up two core groups, one made up of pilots and the other of flight attendants. These already qualified crew members will then be responsible for training their colleagues within the framework of in-house programmes validated by the authorities.

Last September, eight instructor pilots attended an 8-week theoretical and practical training course at the Airbus training centre in Montreal. They are currently training their colleagues – including another 28 instructors who complete the pilot launch team – notably using a Full Flight Simulator (FFS) mounted on jacks, and assembled at Air France’s flight simulation centre at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Once Air France takes delivery of the first aircraft, this simulator training will be supplemented by approximately 20 flights in real conditions, with a view to obtaining the A220-300 type rating. Close to 700 Air France pilots will eventually be qualified on this aircraft.

The same core group system is being used for cabin crews, with 14 flight attendants trained in Zurich between September and December 2020. They are currently finalizing the training manuals and content that they themselves will be responsible for providing as from September 2021. The core group has selected and trained a group of 37 flight attendants to complete the practical flight training of cabin crews as soon as the A220 enters service. Two A220 door models have been installed at the Air France Crew Academy at Paray Vieille-Poste, near Paris-Orly, to train some 2,500 flight attendants.

In addition to the pilots and flight attendants, the entire company is preparing to welcome the Airbus A220. From maintenance to station staff, all operational sectors are getting ready for the arrival of this latest-generation aircraft.

The Air France Airbus A220 will be able to welcome 148 passengers in a 3-2 cabin configuration. Each seat will be equipped with type A and type C USB ports and all passengers will enjoy Wi-Fi access from their personal devices.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Welcomes Minister of Tourism and Sports

 500 320 wttc2
By:
Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Welcomes Minister of Tourism and Sports

Cape Panwa Hotel, Phuket, Thailand, August 1, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Andres Rubio, General Manager of Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket, recently welcomed Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the Minister of Tourism and Sports and Dr.Kongsak Yodmanee the Governor of Sport Authority of Thailand, on the occasion of returning from participating in the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo, Japan to arrive in Thailand under the Phuket Sandbox campaign and staying at the hotel.

Cape Panwa Hotel is one of the luxury hotels in Phuket that passed the Safe Travel Standard (SHA Plus+) under the supervision of the TAT and have been certified as safe travel by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Seen in the photo from left:
Mr.Rubio; Mr.Ratchakitprakarn; Mr.Yodmanee and Boonsong Suratod, Front Office Manager of the hotel.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Thailand Trusted SHA Certified On Par with WTTC Safe Travel Stamp

 500 317 wttc2
By:
Thailand Trusted SHA Certified On Par with WTTC Safe Travels Stamp

Phuket, Thailand, August 1, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA) certification has been certified by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) as being on par with the WTTC SafeTravels global health and hygiene standardised protocols.

The Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA) certification has been certified by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) as being on par with the WTTC SafeTravels global health and hygiene standardised protocols.

All 10 types of businesses with the SHA certificate will be permitted to display both logos.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

IATA Warns Governments on High Cost of Testing

 500 315 wttc2
By:
IATA Warns Governments on High Cost of Testing

Geneva, Switzerland, July 31, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments to take action to address the high cost of COVID-19 tests in many jurisdictions and urged flexibility in permitting the use of cost-effective antigen tests as an alternative to more expensive PCR tests. IATA also recommended governments adopt recent World Health Organization (WHO) guidance to consider exempting vaccinated travelers from testing requirements.

According to IATA’s most recent traveler survey, 86% of respondents are willing to get tested. But 70% also believe that the cost of testing is a significant barrier to travel, while 78% believe governments should bear the cost of mandatory testing.

“IATA supports COVID-19 testing as a pathway to reopen borders to international travel. But our support is not unconditional. In addition to being reliable, testing needs to be easily accessible, affordable, and appropriate to the risk level. Too many governments, however, are falling short on some or all of these. The cost of testing varies widely between jurisdictions, with little relation to the actual cost of conducting the test. The UK is the poster child for governments failing to adequately manage testing. At best it is expensive, at worst extortionate. And in either case, it is a scandal that the government is charging VAT,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

The new generation of rapid tests cost less than $10 per test. Provided a confirmatory rRT-PCR test is administered for positive test results, WHO guidance sees Ag-RDT antigen testing as an acceptable alternative to PCR. And, where testing is a mandatory requirement, the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHRs) state that neither passengers nor carriers should bear the cost of testing.

Testing also needs to be appropriate to the threat level. For example, in the UK, the latest National Health Service data on testing arriving travelers show that more than 1.37 million tests were conducted on arrivals from so-called Amber countries. Just 1% tested positive over four months. Meanwhile, nearly three times that number of positive cases are being detected in the general population daily.

“Data from the UK government confirms that international travelers pose little to no risk of importing COVID-19 compared to existing levels of infection in the country. At the very least therefore, the UK government should follow WHO guidance and accept antigen tests which are fast, affordable and effective, with a confirmatory PCR test for those who test positive. This could be a pathway for enabling even unvaccinated people access to travel,” Walsh said.

Restarting international travel is vital to supporting the 46 million travel and tourism jobs around the world that rely on aviation. “Our latest survey confirms that the high cost of testing will bear heavily on the shape of the travel recovery. It makes little sense for governments to take steps to reopen borders, if those steps make the cost of travel prohibitive to most people. We need a restart that is affordable for all,” said Walsh.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

BATTERED IN BATH

 1080 494 wttc2
By:

The impatience to travel again has inspired destinations and their marketing groups to ramp up their social media postings. There are daily images of places and activities I love and can’t visit. It’s almost cruel.

Like a post by Canada’s VisitBritain rep, Cathy Stapells. Cathy is not just a Facebook friend, we’re real-world friends having cruised with Holland America from Boston to Montreal, participated in a golf-spa-and-whisky tour of Scotland, as well as a Daphne Du Maurier themed trip to Cornwall. So when Cathy posted images of Bath on her Facebook page, many of our friends and colleagues wrote dreamy remembrances of Jane Austen and hot actors who played Mr. Darcy

While many basked in the glorious, sunny olde England of romance fiction, afternoon tea, boating, virile young aristocrats and gauzy dresses for young women I thought of hospitals and health care.

My first trip to Bath was in the back of an ambulance. I spent a sunny June afternoon in the ER, with doctors on each side of me in a Humpty Dumpty-type debate about whether to stitch or glue me together again.

Medical professionals can be unsettlingly graphic. I raised my hand and asked if I could be wheeled out of the room because their conversation was making me ill.

I was there because of a cycling accident. The day began in an idyllic manner, with me cycling along the lilac-scented Kennet and Avon Canal, where the only sound was the splashing of ducks and swans. I had lunch at the canal-side Somerset Arms where an older gentleman on a motorized scooter asked if I would bring him a pint of Badger’s Gold. I approached the woman behind the bar and said, “A gentleman with a white dog …” when she cut me off. “Ah, right, it’s that time. He’ll be wanting a Gold.”

Back outside a couple had stopped at the old gentleman’s table. They had their dog, he had his. They were pushing a red cart I thought contained ice cream. In fact, they were The Royal Mail. I delivered his pint, they delivered his mail. He smiled at us all.

I was doing a brilliant three-day serviced cycle trip in Wiltshire offered by a company called History on Your Handlebars. It was operated by a retired stockbroker, who I believe has taken his second retirement. But when it operated he met you at the Chippenham train station, where he traded maps and bike for my luggage. Each day I would leave my assigned B&B along a route developed to match my interests and he would pick up my bags and drive them to the next stop about 30 miles away. I cycled through a quiet, bucolic countryside familiar to novelists and Merchant-Ivory films.

It was Friday afternoon, I was returning to a B&B in Bradford-on-Avon, and to get out of growing bank-holiday traffic, I decided to ride on the open sidewalk. Alas, it’s an old story of the wheel and curb not being in harmony. The bike went one way, while I did an OMG-slow-motion head-first dive to the pavement. I’m still uncertain if I hit a telephone pole or not. I knew I wasn’t about to die because my life didn’t flash before me, instead every curse word in every language I ever heard did.

After the initial impact I remember attempting to get off the ground before anyone saw my stupidity.

On the upside, two off-duty nurses witnessed the whole thing. Before I could move someone was wrapping me in a blanket and holding an umbrella to keep the mid-day sun off me, while another voice called for an ambulance.

Since this was my first ride in an ambulance I was annoyed that the paramedics wouldn’t put on the siren.

After a few hours in the ER, where I had tetanus shots and eight stitches, I had a £50 cab ride back to the B&B. At breakfast the next morning two men asked what happened. I filled them in on the few details I could remember. They generously went out to search ditches for my bike, which they found and returned to the B&B. This was supremely kind of them since one of this tuxedoed pair was getting married in two hours!

I dragged my battered self to the station to get a train to Bath. At the hotel I was greeted by an overly cheerful clerk, who through her smile asked if I had had a mishap? I felt like saying, “No, I usually look like hell.” I had eight stitches in my forehead, the white of my eyes were red, which stood out against the two black eyes and scraped cheeks. I could see only because of a separate pair of prescription sunglasses and to not offend people with my wounds wore a golf cap gently pulled down almost to my nose.

That afternoon I had to have my dressings checked at a local clinic. The clinic clerk was scandalized by a £25 ($43.45) charge for the visit because Canada didn’t have a reciprocal health agreement with the UK (always sell travel insurance!). To rectify this she decided I looked Australian and put that down on my appointment card, sparing me the charge.

Saving £25 improved my mood and I signed on for the Bizarre Bath Walk. Their advertising and guide explicitly explain the walk “has nothing to do with Bath. We don’t bore you with history or facts or any of that rubbish.”

Bike Walk, blindfolded guide

Instead our Austen-free experience was more like a type of walking vaudeville show, which was so (in)famous locals interacted with it. Mostly they tried to trip up the guide. For example, for the first part of the tour the guide is blindfolded. Just as he undid his blindfold a teenaged cyclist rode through our group with his arms outstretched and face covered by his t-shirt. Our guide was speechless.

From Bath I returned to London where VisitBritain had provided accommodations in a Red Carnation property, The Montague on the Gardens. The Montague is like a country house in the city. My stay coincided with Ascot race week. All the Montague’s other guests had passes to the Royal Enclosure.

On Ladies Day, when the world’s most fantastical hats are on display, female guests rode the elevator one at a time. There was no room for others. Doors were held for them as they deftly slid into the cavernous backseats of the chauffeured Rolls Royces and Bentleys which lined the street.

Meanwhile I still looked like the victim of a serious mugging.

First published at Travel Industry Today

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

FULL SILVER MOON: A Silversea Sister with Her Own Personality

 1080 531 wttc2
By:

Silver Moon has been officially christened as the ninth vessel in the ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises fleet and is sailing in the Greek Isles this summer. In a ceremony in Athens, godmother Gaia Gaja made the long-awaited naming of the ship that was due to begin service in 2020, but was delayed by the cruise industry shutdown.

Silver Moon’s christening in Greece represents “‘not only the birth of a new vessel but the rebirth of cruising,” said Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain. The ship is sailing inaugural Greek Isles cruises from Piraeus, the port for Athens.

Read it all in The Cruisington Times.

SALT Bar on The Silver Moon

First published at Travel Industry Today

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Meliá Hotels in Koh Samui and Chiang Mai Welcome Senior Recruits

 697 446 wttc2
By:

Meliá Hotels in Koh Samui and Chiang Mai Welcome Senior Recruits - TRAVELINDEXKoh Samui, Thailand, July 30, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Thailand’s first two Meliá Hotels International properties have appointed two directors who bring more than five decades of hospitality experience to the table.

Thai nationals Wuttipong Tanteraponchai and Vipasiri Napawongdee have been named cluster director of sales and marketing and cluster director of marketing communications respectively for both Meliá Koh Samui and Meliá Chiang Mai.

Meliá Koh Samui, which opened in January 2020 on the shore of Koh Samui’s Choeng Mon Beach, and Meliá Chiang Mai, slated to debut in the fourth quarter of 2021 in the Kingdom’s mountainous north, are part of a nationwide roll-out of properties by the prominent Spanish hotel group in partnership with Thailand’s leading integrated lifestyle real estate group Asset World Corporation.

Wuttipong most recently worked as director of sales and marketing at The Sukhothai Bangkok, leading a team of sales and marketing communication professionals to help successfully manage the hotel’s transition to a hybrid Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) hotel in the wake of COVID-19. Beforehand, he worked at The Okura Prestige Bangkok for more than seven years, firstly in the role of director of sales for two years before being promoted to director of sales and marketing. He has also been cluster director of sales at Pan Pacific Hotels Group Singapore, director of sales (corporate & MICE) at The Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa, director of sales The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel, Bangkok.

Vipasiri’s appointment follows an eight-year stint as director of marketing communications at The Okura Prestige Bangkok, where she implemented impressive communications efforts and organised an array of charitable initiatives. Previously, she was director of marketing communications at Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort & Spa and InterContinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam Resort and director of PR and marketing communications at InVision Hospitality.

Wuttipong embarked on his hospitality career early 1991 as a tour coordinator at The Royal Cliff Beach Resort, steadily rising up the ranks as a guest service agent at The Mansion Kempinski Bangkok and The Royal Orchid Sheraton & Towers before becoming the assistant manager in the front office at The Embassy Suite Windsor Palace’s front office. He then progressed to senior sales management positions with The Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square, The Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa and The Oriental Bangkok.

Vipasiri started her career in hospitality communications as a PR coordinator for the Royal Garden Resorts Group in Thailand before becoming a PR executive at Chiva-Som International Health Resort and the PR manager at JW Marriott Bangkok.

Meliá Koh Samui’s host of facilities include 159 rooms, 41 suites including “boat suites” made from refurbished merchant vessels, two restaurants, a swim-up bar, a lagoon pool, a two-level infinity pool, an executive lounge, spa, fitness centre, ballroom and conference facilities and, for families, a kid’s club, outdoor playground and mini water park.

With 260 rooms, Meliá Chiang Mai will soon cut the ribbon on a host of amenities including a 360-degree rooftop bar – the highest in the city – featuring two bars connected by a glass bridge, as well as an executive lounge, two restaurants, a pool bar and lobby bar, spa, gymnasium, ballroom and other function venues, kid’s club and more.

About Meliá Hotels & Resorts
Meliá Hotels & Resorts is the best-known international brand in the portfolio of the Meliá Hotels International company; it has more than 100 city and resort hotels in the main leisure and business destinations of Europe, Asia, Africa and America. The brand offers exemplary meetings and events facilities in all important business cities as well as in exotic locations, catering to the ever-expanding conference and incentive travel market. As part of its innovation philosophy and new positioning, Meliá Hotels & Resorts has reinvented itself to cater to every aspect of the guests’ wellbeing. Unique experiences are created for guests and are defined by relaxation, quality time and personalised services. For a balanced lifestyle, Meliá Hotels & Resorts instinctively understands the guests’ needs and lifestyle expectations, which is an integral part of its redefined identity.

About Meliá Hotels International
Founded in 1956 in Mallorca (Spain), Meliá Hotels International operates more than 390 hotels (portfolio and pipeline) throughout more than 40 countries, under the brands Gran Meliá Hotels & Resorts, Paradisus by Meliá, ME by Meliá, Meliá Hotels & Resorts, INNSiDE by Meliá, Sol by Meliá and TRYP by Wyndham. The Company is the global leader in resort hotels, while also leveraging its experience to consolidate the growing segment of the leisure-inspired urban market. Its commitment to responsible tourism has led the Group to become the most sustainable hotel company in the world in 2019, according to SAM, the sustainable investment company. Meliá Hotels International is also included in the IBEX 35 Spanish stock market index and it is the Spanish hotel leader in Corporate Reputation (Merco Ranking).

About Asset World Corporation
Asset World Corporation (AWC) is Thailand’s leading integrated lifestyle real estate group, a member of TCC Group, one of Thailand’s most prominent conglomerates. AWC’s core focus of real estate development and management projects encompass two business groups: Hospitality helping Thailand become the top destination for sustainable tourism with hotels in key locations in Bangkok and popular destinations throughout Thailand serviced by management teams from internationally acclaimed hotel groups such as Marriott, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Okura, Banyan Tree, Hilton, and Sheraton; Retail and Commercial Buildings (covering retail, and wholesale facilities with mixed-use properties and office buildings) providing well-balanced and unique offerings a best-in-class customer experience that meet business and modern lifestyles with high-quality and innovative real estate development projects overseen by a qualified and experienced management team to build long-term value for stakeholders. AWC succeeded in listing the company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in the real estate and construction industry under the property development category on October 10, 2019. AWC’s market capitalization was the highest in the history of the SET (According to Bloomberg Database). AWC recognizes the importance of operating with a focus on sustainability – incorporating the needs of stakeholders, the environment, society, and contributing to ongoing improvements in Thailand’s economy with a purpose of building a better future.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Green Hotel Investments to Restart Tourism

 500 272 wttc2
By:
Green Hotel Investments to Restart Tourism

Madrid, Spain, July 30, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Destination Capital (DC) has signed a collaborative arrangement with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) of the United Nations to support the rejuvenation of the hotel industry. The arrangement supports the relationship DC has with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to promote investment in green and sustainable tourism accommodation and to stimulate re-employment, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

The collaboration between UNWTO and Destination Capital is based on DC’s adoption of best practices aimed at reducing carbon emissions and operating hotels in a manner consistent with IFC’s environmental and social criteria. Against this backdrop, DC acquires and repositions freehold hotels of 150-250 rooms in Thailand and across South-East Asia with the aim of implementing sustainable water and energy systems. It also works to promote gender equality at every level of the hospitality sector, another of UNWTO’s core priorities and in line with Sustainable Development Goal number 5.

While governments and destinations around the world are working on vaccination programs to accelerate the restart of the tourism, UNWTO is working with the private sector to encourage employers to play their part in the recovery of local communities through job creation and training programs. UNWTO data shows that international tourism arrivals fell by 1 billion in 2020, with the crisis carrying over into 2021. Worldwide, this has placed as many as 120 million tourism jobs directly at risk. Moreover, Asia and the Pacific has been the worst-affected of all global regions, and young workers and women are among the hardest hit by the downturn in tourism employment.

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

In line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, DC recognizes the hotel industry not only has a responsibility to re-hire and re-train hotel staff. It is also increasingly under pressure to reduce its carbon footprint and mitigate the impact of energy and water consumption as well as food waste and environmental degradation. DC is committed to retrofitting its hotels to be compliant as ‘green hotel’s as per the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) standards established by IFC.

About Destination Capital
Destination Capital is a private equity real estate investment company based in Bangkok Thailand which focuses on acquiring, renovating and repositioning hotel assets such that they are EDGE compliant and follow a rigorous sustainability protocol in order to unlock value for our capital partners. Rigorous asset manage programs are in place to yield higher values upon exit while pursuing a “Triple Bottom Line” strategy: Planet, People, Profit.

First published at TravelCommunication.net – Global Travel News

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News