Tag: Tourism

Singapore – As travel restrictions come to an end, Singapore-based creative design agency Sniper Digital was recently engaged by a Macau destination company to craft a campaign that would help bring back the excitement of Hong Kong residents to visit Macau again and experience its iconic landmarks and rich culture.

The campaign titled ‘Ola Hong Kong, Macau Awaits You’ showcases the unique cultural offerings and attractions in Macau whilst emphasizing its close relationship and shared history with Hong Kong.

Moreover, the campaign materials, associated with eye-catching vibrant colours, bold typography, and illustrations, featured Macau’s iconic landmarks such as Our Lady of Carmel Church and Taipa Village’s traditional shophouses, as well as the gastronomy, art, culture and lifestyle experiences. 

https://youtu.be/hVINRDzWwCg

To further entice the tourist, this campaign comes with promos including incentives and rewards, such as instant dining, shopping and lifestyle privileges and chances to enter a lucky draw to win a free night of luxury accommodation for their next visit. 

According to the agency, the campaign was embraced by both Hong Kong residents and wider travel industry. Majority of audiences shared their enthusiastic responses, with most commenting on the campaign’s effective and modern approach that helped to differentiate Macau from other nearby travel destinations. 

Sniper Digital is a newly opened creative design agency in Singapore that specialises in branding, graphic design, print media and digital marketing.

Sydney, Australia – In addition to its existing remit in Australia, digital marketing agency Tug agency has expanded its partnership with entertainment company and tourist attraction operator Merlin Entertainment to increase the share of voice and audience traffic for all Merlin Entertainments attractions in Australia and New Zealand through free, organic, editorial and natural search results. 

Merlin Entertainments, which is a home for tourist attractions, appointed the agency in July last year to manage the search engine optimisation for SEA LIFE Sydney. In the expanded role, the agency will now work on all four SEA LIFE locations in Australia and New Zealand and other attractions including WILDLIFE Sydney Zoo, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Melbourne, Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventure and Otway Fly Treetop Adventure, Madame Tussauds and Sydney Tower Eye.

Matt Newman, head of e-commerce at Merlin Entertainments for APAC said that Tug agency has been consistently delivering strong performance so they are delighted to expand the agency’s remit for their operations in Australia and New Zealand.

“Merlin Entertainments offers something for everyone and we look forward to engaging more visitors at our attractions and creating more magical experiences for our guests with the help of Tug’s digital marketing expertise,” Newman added.

Charlie Bacon, managing director at Tug Sydney, commented, “Following a successful trial, we welcome the opportunity to extend our specialist search capabilities for all of Merlin Entertainments venues. They operate some of the most unique and memorable visitor attractions and the team is ready to ensure that the business continues to enjoy customer growth.”

Tug agency specialises in performance media, using data, media, content and technology with offices in Sydney, Singapore, London, Toronto and Berlin.

Melbourne, Australia – Creative agency Town Square crafts a new brand platform and integrated campaign for one of Australia’s leading travel and experience companies Journey Beyond to bring awareness about iconic rail journeys in Australia whilst inspiring tourists to visit the country.

Titled ‘Australia by Train’, this brand platform features iconic onboarding experiences of travellers who are riding the trains of The Ghan, Indian Pacific and Great Southern – which are included in the company’s portfolio of tour, cruise and destination brands – whilst showcasing tourist spots and activities that can be experienced in Australia.

The brand platform also encourages travellers to book reservations for the three train services to experience the memorable train journeys.

Brendan Day, creative director at Town Square, said that the brand platform shows a relevant and distinctive narrative that makes it different from other tourism products.

“This was about capturing the romance of a bygone era and the nostalgia that comes from it, but like the trains, always pushing forward in a progressive, considered and stylised way,” Day added.

Meanwhile, Justine Lally, general manager of marketing at Journey Beyond, said that she’s proud of the launching of Australia by Train integrated campaign.

“The trains are Australian icons and being able to evolve the brand to engage even more Australians and overseas visitors is incredibly exciting. I can’t wait to share more of what these trains have in store,” she added.

Other works from the brand platform will run nationally across television, print, OOH, online and social.

Australia – Australia’s capital tourism board VisitCanberra has launched a domestic tourism campaign, together with Wunderman Thompson, to prove that Canberra is more than what people perceive it to be, giving a spotlight to many lesser-known and unique spots in the capital city whilst showcasing the charm and warmth of its people.

The campaign titled ‘There’s more than they’re telling us’, is fronted by three thirty-second clips featuring a truffle farmer and her dog walking at piallago truffle farms, a child who plays at the pod-shaped playground, and the gallery of small things featuring its owner named Anne. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg3bTXcrTtQ

Steve Hey, creative director at Wunderman Thompson, said that there’s nowhere quite like Canberra, so they needed the campaign to illustrate and showcase the unique experiences in the place.

Meanwhile, Isaac Mizrachi, senior director of marketing at VisitCanberra, said that VisitCanberra is part of an incredibly successful yet competitive domestic tourism landscape where bigger is often seen as better.

“We want to create a personality for the city by focusing on the warmth, humour and quirkiness of real-life Canberrans through whom we tell the story of the destination,” he added.

The said campaign is also an evolution of the existing ‘more than’ campaign platform to develop a unique and refreshing persona for the brand that challenges perceptions of Australia’s capital.

Other works from the campaign will be seen across OOH, digital, social, radio and TV in New South Wales, Victoria and Greater Brisbane and will be expanded internationally later this year. 

Last month, Wunderman Thompson also crafted a brand platform for food brand Birds Eye to showcase their commitment to sustainability.

Singapore – Travel service provider Trip.com has launched a new interactive social campaign called ‘Just Like That’, which leverages the latest traveller preferences and insights to make it easier than ever for consumers to meet loved ones abroad and explore the world again as borders reopen and restrictions ease.

With many COVID-related travel constraints removed, Trip.com continues its journey to make reconnection and rediscovery a snap – especially with many avid travellers already setting out for their next adventure and exploring global destinations ‘Just Like That’.

As part of Trip.com’s first social campaign in Southeast Asia post-pandemic, the innovative travel service provider is collaborating with over 100 KOLs in markets across Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia to storytell the emotional aspects of travel, such as reconnecting with loved ones as well as showcasing the ease of using Trip.com for travel bookings. 

The KOLs include @adirasalahudi, @syarif.ig, @widsawaphatiew. The campaign will demonstrate how simple it is to book a fulfilling travel experience that fits each consumer’s needs, be it planning a romantic honeymoon in the Maldives, having an inspiring off-site meeting in Bali, or a culinary trip in Tokyo.

In addition, Trip.com will be running a #MyTripJustLikeThat giveaway on social media from now to 20 November 2022. Trip.com users from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand stand to win prizes worth up to S$1,200, MYR 4,200 and THB 35,000 respectively, including Trip coins, hotel vouchers, tickets and more.

Singapore – Online travel agency and reservations company Booking.com has launched the second edition of its ‘Booking Explorers’ campaign, where it features more inspiring travel stories from leading personalities across Asia-Pacific.

This year’s campaign features five new personalities from Australia, India, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan. They include Former MasterChef Australia grand finalist Simon Toohey, upcoming Bollywood actor and Mumbai native Shanaya Kapoor, multidisciplinary artist MY Q, nature-loving lifestyle personality Tran Quang Dai, and Japanese supermodel Ai Tominaga.

Through this year’s Explorers, Booking.com aims to continue to celebrate the relentless spirit of travel, and their desire to keep experiencing and exploring all things new and familiar, whether it’s in their own backyards or around their home countries. 

“However, as much of the world seeks to travel again, we also recognise the need for sustainability: from avoiding single-use plastic and making smart, responsible choices when choosing stays, to transforming how and where we travel to so that we minimise our impact on the destinations we visit; and hopefully leave our destinations better than when we first arrived,” the company said.

Laura Houldsworth, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Booking.com, said, “As the world returns to travel with great enthusiasm, we want to inspire travellers in Asia Pacific through the rich stories of our explorers. They are truly inspirational with their desire to keep exploring despite the challenges faced — and now they invite us to dig deeper into the sights and cultures of the countries they call home and the destinations we likely have yet to discover. I hope these stories stir travellers everywhere to open their hearts and minds to new experiences and put sustainability at the forefront of all they do.”

The first ‘Booking Explorers’ campaign was first launched in August 2021.

Bangkok, Thailand – With the tourism industry in Thailand reopening recently, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched a new campaign via BBDO Bangkok which depicts a trilogy of cinematic trailers, from adventure, to romance to an action-packed sci-fiction, where the viewer follows the different characters on their unique, but thrilling journeys through Thailand.

Knowing that tourists love to share their travel experiences on social media, BBDO Bangkok wanted to build on this and simply invite people to come to Thailand and “Write Their New Chapter” in cinematic style, as Thailand writes theirs.

This campaign is just the beginning of Tourism Authority of Thailand’s marketing push. Furthering the promotion of this new campaign, BBDO Bangkok is releasing thematic key visuals, Instagram filters in the style of movie release posters, and tour packages to encourage tourists to come to Thailand to create and share their new chapters using hashtags like #AmazingNewChapters and #AmazingThailand.

Speaking about the ad concept, Thasorn Boonyanate, chief creative officer at BBDO Bangkok told TAT that they are not coming here to pitch against other agencies, but rather to pitch against other countries. For him, travellers need to revisit Thailand to see that nature, hotels, and restaurants have revived.

“People love to record special moments on their phones, whether it’s a story on Instagram or a video on Facebook. Just like movie genres, what they capture can be adventure, romance, or pure comedy. Drawing inspiration from our campaign, and using tools like our new filters, we want them to take on the role of film producers, create and tell their stories, and share this chapter of their lives with the world,” Boonyanate said.

Meanwhile, Yuthasak Supasorn, governor at TAT, commented, Representing film, this latest TVC is a new approach we are taking to communicate the ‘Amazing New Chapters’ message and to engage tourists around the world through a cinematic perspective to show them Thailand has a multitude of holiday possibilities in which there is something for all.” 

He added, “We want to inspire tourists to explore our wonderful country and to create their own amazing chapters during their stay and premier these films with not just friends and family, but the rest of the world.”

Singapore –  Building on their marketing collaboration agreement last 2020, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and travel booking platform Klook have partnered anew to drive travel recovery and promote Singapore as a destination, targeting travellers from key SEA markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, as well as Thailand, and Vietnam 

The partnership was launched in June 2022, and since then, Klook has been partnering with over 20 in-market Influencers/KOLs and content partners to create engaging and immersive content that will be customised to each market. To complement this and further drive travel recovery from these markets, Klook will also be giving away more than $60,000 worth of deals, promotions and giveaways for visitors to Singapore till the end of December this year. 

For additional information on in-market campaigns, five unique landing pages on Klook have been created to enable visitors to discover and book their trips seamlessly. These pages will act as a central repository for travel-related information, content, precinct itineraries, experiences, events, accommodation, and promotions – enabling visitors to travel with ease by having all the information they need at the tips of their fingers.

Moreover, visitors will be able to select from more than five Klook-exclusive Multi-Passes that centre around the themes of attractions, wildlife, playgrounds, adventure, and wellness. The campaign will also showcase the lesser-known and unexpected sides of Singapore with specially curated experiences centred around Singapore’s cultural precincts, like Chinatown, Joo Chiat/Katong, and Kampong Gelam, as well as Little India.

Marcus Yong, Klook’s vice president of marketing for APAC, commented they are excited to partner with STB to drive travel interest and invite visitors to experience Singapore’s reimagined offerings. 

“As travel roars back, we want to continue to enable travellers in Southeast Asia to experience a sense of joy and wanderlust when they visit Singapore. As Asia-Pacific’s leading travel and leisure e-commerce platform, we are uniquely placed to help drive demand back to Singapore and lead travel recovery,” said Yong.

Meanwhile, John Gregory Conceicao, STB’s executive director for SEA, shared they have seen strong demand for travel to Singapore from SEA since they opened their borders to fully-vaccinated travellers without testing or quarantine. 

“Visitors from Southeast Asia accounted for nearly half of all international visitor arrivals in Singapore for the first six months of 2022 and continue to drive Singapore’s tourism recovery efforts. STB will continue to work with leading platforms like Klook to tap on new trends as we invite travellers to reimagine what Singapore has to offer,” said Conceicao.

Bangkok, Thailand – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced a collaboration with the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) to launch a tourism initiative to promote dark sky tourism and raise awareness on light pollution and the preservation of quiet and dark skies.

The project, named ‘Amazing Dark Sky in Thailand’, will provide support on creating memorable astronomy travel experiences through stargazing tours based on user-friendly knowledge.

In addition, ‘The Amazing Dark Sky’ in Thailand project has thus far listed 12 locations up and down the country that pass the criteria to achieve a dark sky conservation area status. TAT has also launched a travel guide with recommended stargazing travel routes and all need-to-know astronomical knowledge in an easy-to-understand format.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor at TAT, said, “We are promoting astronomy tourism or dark sky tourism as another new tourist experience, that is in line with the ‘Visit Thailand Year 2022-2023: Amazing New Chapters’ campaign. Tourists who are fond of watching the stars, and astronomical phenomena like meteor showers and eclipses when they occur, can do so and combine this with other tourism attractions and activities at different locations around Thailand.”

Meanwhile, Saran Poshyachinda, executive director at NARIT, commented, “A dark sky conservation area needed to be an open space where the surrounding sky could be observed freely enough from light pollution, and where prominent celestial objects were visible to the naked eye. There must be personnel in the area able to provide tourists with basic astronomical knowledge, as well as facilities like restrooms, restaurants, and accommodation.”

Singapore – Extending their three-year MOU signed in late 2020, Trip.com Group and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will deepen their collaboration across key markets including Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong, while expanding their partnership to include new markets Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

With pent-up demand being one of the main drivers of the travel recovery, Trip.com Group will accelerate its collaboration with STB to promote Singapore to travellers from key markets through a series of initiatives, including marketing campaigns, public relations activities, KOLs’ reviews, and promotions through Trip.com Group’s brands including Trip.com and Ctrip.

Amongst various initiatives, Trip.com Group and STB will also curate and deliver engaging content via Trip.com’s app and website to showcase the Singapore destination story and position the city-state as a safe and compelling destination of choice for travellers.

Going forward, Trip.com Group and STB will also continue to identify and launch targeted programmes to promote and position Singapore as an ideal destination for various activities, including as a sanctuary for sustainability, a haven for urban wellness, a paradise of evolving flavours and a world of possibilities for travellers to experience Singapore in new and unexpected ways.

Sun Bo, Trip.com’s group CMO, shared that the past two years have been challenging for the tourism industry across Asia, but they are deeply encouraged and appreciative of Singapore’s support for local tourism businesses, which includes the launch of the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers campaign which Trip.com was part of, as well as the timely announcements relating to the reopening of borders such as the previous Vaccinated Travel Lane scheme and the current Vaccinated Travel Framework.

“Trip.com Group is excited to deepen our strong relationship and collaboration with STB to further facilitate and promote travel to Singapore. This is a beautiful country which offers different unique experiences for various groups of tourists, and Trip.com Group will launch specific campaigns and initiatives in the coming months across the key markets where there exists a strong demand for travel,” said Bo.

Meanwhile, Juliana Kua, STB’s assistant chief executive of the international group, noted that they have worked closely with Trip.com Group especially over the last two years during the pandemic to maintain Singapore’s mindshare amongst regional travellers. 

“With the resumption of travel, we are delighted to deepen our partnership with Trip.com Group, which has a growing network of services, users and data. We will tap on these to showcase Singapore’s refreshed destination offerings, and encourage travellers to reimagine travel to Singapore as part of our SingapoReimagine global marketing campaign,” said Kua.

In addition, consumers in various markets can also look forward to attractive travel promotions. These will be rolled out in phases after taking into consideration the respective market’s readiness to travel and prevailing travel policies. For a start, joint campaigns to promote Singapore as an attractive travel destination will be launched in South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines over the next week, including attractive deals and collaborations with travel KOLs such as travel_bellauri and im0gil from South Korea and CHAILAIBACKPACKER from Thailand who will share their insights and recommendations on exciting and unexpected itineraries that visitors can experience in Singapore.

Bo said, “Trip.com Group looks forward to working closely with STB and our local partners to present the beauty of Singapore and its uniquely local experiences to the global community in the coming months.”