Tag: Local tourism

Bali, Indonesia – As the Indonesian province of Bali gears up for reopening to tourists this year, Marriott International’s loyalty program Marriott Bonvoy and tourism gateway Bali.com have teamed up for a one-stop platform where travellers can book a travel arrangement to Bali under one platform.

Through the partnership, selected Marriott Bonvoy resorts in Bali and Bali.com will be offering a one-stop booking journey that includes a vacation accommodation and express travel visa on Marriott.com, or the destination platform. The express travel visa application process will be facilitated by Bali.com.

In addition, Marriott Bonvoy Members will enjoy 10% off the express travel visa application fee should they wish to make their own visa arrangements with Bali.com.

Ramesh Jackson, area vice president for Indonesia at Marriott International, said that they have always been a firm believer in the advancement of travel recovery, and with the re-opening of Bali to international guests, they are excited to work with Bali.com.

“We can identify that travel in this day and age is no longer what it used to be. With so many options on information channels and sources, it can be confusing and time consuming for travellers to navigate through reliable information. That is why we felt it was important to provide guests with a one click travel solution. This alliance is designed to provide guests with a worry-free seamless booking journey for their mandated quarantine stay with the option of a travel visa packaged together under Marriott’s integrated platform,” Jackson said.

Meanwhile, Michael Strobel, founder at Bali.com, commented that travellers are craving well-researched and reliable information and travel partners, hence they are extremely happy to be part of this campaign and to cooperate with Marriott Bonvoy resorts in Indonesia, in providing travellers with a transparent quarantine package and a booking experience that includes the e-visa.

“Bali.com is determined to play a supporting role in facilitating the return of tourists to Bali and Indonesia overall. We had a few million visitors on Bali.com during the pandemic who were looking for information about travel and visa regulations since Indonesia closed its borders in March 2020,” Strobel said.

He added, “The interest in Bali is still strong and people want to come back. We understand the importance during these uncertain times, to provide absolutely reliable information and guide and assist our visitors to take informed choices so they can enjoy a great holiday the moment the opportunity arises to visit Bali again.”

Singapore – As if the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) hasn’t made clear its strong intention to revive tourism, here comes a new initiative which seeks to provide a space for catalytic dialogue on tourism, not just to bring back to shape the country’s but the world’s as well.

Called SingapoReimagine, the platform aims to spark conversations, stories, and ideas to collectively shape the future of the country’s sector. The initiative will be kicked off by “Reimagine Travel – Global Conversations,” a series of forums on reactivating global travel. 

For a start, STB will be sharing its learnings on how the public and private sectors have come together to create new possibilities for the country’s visitors. As part of the forums, global partners will be invited to share knowledge and exchange ideas, with the first one in Singapore next year, before being hosted in other parts of the world.

Closer to home, STB will also roll out “Reimagine Travel in Singapore,” a series of engagements with passionate members of the local community and tourism partners to co-create ideas and spur the renewal of Singapore tourism. This complements the SingapoRediscovers domestic campaign, which encourages locals to rediscover and reconnect with Singapore’s hidden gems and experiences. Both of the forums will be launched in 2021. 

COVID-19 is the biggest crisis we have ever faced in travel and tourism. But it also offers us an opportunity to reset and revive our industries in ways that we never imagined were possible a year ago. The journey to reimagine travel has already started in Singapore, and we want to continue this journey with those whose voices matter – our community in Singapore, and our partners here and around the world. We look forward to co-creating ideas and strategies with all of them, to make travel better.

Keith Tan, chief executive at STB

STB said SingapoReimagine will also about creating a new standard for travel. The initiative will be rolling out the following sub-initiatives:

Reimagine Safety – STB has been working closely with industry partners to elevate health and safety measures based on new national standards so that future visitors can enjoy the city’s refreshed experiences with added peace of mind. Such initiatives include the SG Clean Quality mark, which requires tourism establishments to adhere to stringent levels of hygiene and sanitization as well as Safe Management Measures (SMMs).

Reimagine Technology – Technology will be the heart of these efforts. From the use of contactless technology and cleaning robots, to the contact tracing app TraceTogether and token, the world’s first national digital contact tracing tool, Singapore aims to make travel safer, yet seamless and efficient. Virtual experiences, hybrid meeting venues and events, and even robot baristas are now offered, enabling new ways to delight visitors without compromising on safety.

Reimagine City & Nature – Looking further ahead, Singapore aims to be the world’s most sustainable urban destination. That is why the country is investing in new products and pilots that take into account the needs of the community and the environment, such as the ambition to transform Singapore into a “City In Nature” over the next decade, developing the Jurong Lake District Tourism Development to be a world-class lifestyle destination, and reimagining the Mandai Precinct as a world-class eco-themed nature cluster, with the introduction of new wildlife attractions as well as eco-friendly accommodation offerings 

The SingapoReimagine initiative will also be used as a platform for stories. As travel gradually resumes, the story of these new experiences – for both leisure and MICE – will be told through SingapoReimagine. STB will be working with international and in-market media key influencers as well as content and trade partners to engage audiences in key markets to drive the anticipation for travel in Singapore.

The move is with the aim of further marketing Singapore as a safe MICE destination, in order to rebuild short to mid-term consideration of Singapore among MICE event planners.

Singapore – As part of the board’s ongoing SingapoRediscovers tourism campaign, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is partnering with American augmented reality (AR) technology company Niantic to promote and support local businesses through the game Pokémon Go.

Pokémon Go, which is known as an AR-based game, will allow players through this strategic partnership to discover tourism establishments and lifestyle offerings. Throughout the game, players can capture Pokémons and visit newly-placed virtual PokéStops and Gyms, amounting to 300 of them, across tourist spots in the nation.

Once players visit these PokéStops and Gyms on Pokémon Go, in-app STB ad campaigns will appear and take users to a microsite, describing all offerings and promotions of STB through various partner tourism establishments. Furthermore, the game encourages walking around and discovering other local business establishments and nearby precincts. 

“We are excited by this collaboration with Niantic, which allows us to connect with the passionate community of Pokémon GO players in a fun and innovative way. As they pursue their favorite Pokémon across Singapore, we hope players will explore our precincts, discover hidden gems, and support local business – while staying safe and observing the necessary precautions,” Lim Shoo Ling, STB’s brand director stated.

Gary Chang, APAC business development lead at Niantic commented that “Our strength is to influence people to walk physically from location to location, and we are hoping to utilize this to encourage people to explore different parts of Singapore in-depth and boost domestic travel needs.”

There are future plans in this partnership to host Pokémon GO special Raid Battles in some partner areas to further boost local business tourism in the country.