Tag: Tourism

New Zealand – As New Zealand relaxes border restrictions to welcome tourists, Air New Zealand has launched a new safety video that features its ‘Tiaki Promise’, which encourages both New Zealanders and international visitors to care for the place, culture, and people.

Titled ‘Tiaki and The Guardians’, the story follows Tiaki, a young man who boards a flying canoe and sets off on an adventure across Aotearoa. With the help of Air New Zealand and Julie, who is a character that embodies the rest of New Zealand, Tiaki visits four Māori guardians including Papatūānuku (the land), Tangaroa (sea), Tāne Mahuta (forest), and Ranginui (sky). Along the way, he seeks advice from these guardians on how better to look after them.

Jeremy O’Brien, Air New Zealand’s general manager of brand and marketing, stated that they want tourism to build back better than it was before and part of that is to share with the visitors a sense of kaitiaki – to encourage them to act as guardians of the country. 

He further shared that their safety videos are world-renowned and through them, they have an opportunity to educate and inspire on the importance of Tiaki and everything it stands for, which is about being good hosts and good visitors.

The airline worked closely with the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute to design the waka and its carvings. From there it was taken to the various filming locations and flown on wires to create realistic shadows and textures for post-production. Moreover, the cutting-edge LED stage screens, used in The Mandalorian TV series, helped to bring the legends of Māori culture to life.

O’Brien said, “I’d like to thank Pou Tikanga and storyteller, Joe Harawira, New Zealand Māori Tourism and the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute for guiding us, right from concept to the building of the waka, and the cultural formalities we followed throughout. The collaborative effort has helped us share this story and the principles of Tiaki authentically.”

The film has been already rolled out across Air New Zealand’s international and domestic fleet and is available to view online.

Bangkok, Thailand – ​The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), together with the provinces of Chanthaburi, Rayong, and Si Sa Ket, has launched the ‘Amazing Thailand Metaverse: Amazing Durian’ project, a new virtual travel experience specially created to attract a new sector of tourists especially durian lovers, cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and high-disposable income tourists to the country.

The ‘Amazing Thailand Metaverse: Amazing Durian’ uses Web 3.0 technology and the application of digital assets to promote tourism to connect the virtual world and the real world together. It aims to help business operators such as Thailand reopen, and to upgrade technical capabilities in the tourism industry.

TAT said that durian was chosen as the pilot focus for the project due to the fruit’s international fame, and the fact that it is currently durian season in Thailand with Chanthaburi, Rayong, and Si Sa Ket is widely known for their production of the fruit. 

Participating orchards in the project include Suan Arun Burapha and KP Garden in Chanthaburi, Lamai Garden and Suphattra Land Park in Rayong, and Ing Than Park in Si Sa Ket, with more orchards expected to join. These orchards are well-known for producing many different Thai durian varieties, including the popular ones – Monthong and Chanee – and the local ones – volcanic and long lap lae, as well as the durian glycemic index (GI), which will all be available for tourists to explore in the virtual garden.

Moreover, TAT, in cooperation with the participating durian orchards and selected NFT creators, has created the NFT Collection Amazing Durian in Metaverse, for which tourists can purchase and collect within this durian season in Thailand until 31 August 2022. Aside from this special collection, tourists can also enjoy gamification whereby they can use tokens or items to upgrade their avatar’s abilities, and redeem e-vouchers for accommodation, tourism products, and services in the real world.

Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT’s governor, believes that the metaverse is a new era of the digital world, and TAT has identified world trends and consumer behaviour in line with this as an opportunity to increase the competitiveness of the Thai tourism industry. 

“It is an exciting way to resume business as Thailand reopens to foreign tourism in a sustainable manner, which is a key objective of the ‘Visit Thailand Year 2022: Amazing New Chapters’ campaign. Tourists will be encouraged to visit Thailand after enjoying their virtual experience,” said Supasorn.

The new project can be experienced by visiting www.amazingthailandmetaverse.com, where tourists can create their own avatar to explore a virtual durian garden that is designed based on an actual durian orchard without the need for any VR headsets.

Palau – The island nation of Palau has launched a new tourism campaign that rewards those who practice responsible travel in their country, aiming to change the way people interact with the country’s pristine environment and local culture. 

Conceptualised alongside creative agency Host/Havas, the ‘Ol’au Palau’ campaign allows visitors to Palau to be able to accumulate points in the Ol’au Palau app by doing things such as offsetting their carbon footprint using Palau’s world-first personal carbon calculator; using reef-safe sunscreen; frequenting businesses that are reducing their impact on the environment and culture; visiting certain culturally significant tourism sites; eating sustainably-sourced local food; participating in community regenerative tourism projects; and avoiding single-use plastics.

The campaign, rooted from the word ‘ol’au’ or meaning a way of calling out to a friend to invite them into your space, creates a different type of tourism value exchange: one where visitors can accumulate points for demonstrating responsible and regenerative behaviour during their stay. In return, visitors can use these points to unlock some of the best and most unique experiences Palau has to offer, which have previously only been accessible to Palauans and close friends.

Alan T. Marbou, board member of the Palau Visitors Authority and former Speaker of the Koror State Government, said, “Palau’s tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic with no visitors entering Palau for almost two years. Despite the economic impact, Palau’s tourism sector is determined to stick to its high-value ecotourism strategy and find a way to bounce back sustainably from the pandemic.”

He added, “By launching Ol’au Palau we get to reward our most conscientious guests and protect our most highly-prized tourism asset: our pristine environment and unique culture. The pandemic has provided our planet with a much-needed wakeup call and an opportunity to see what’s possible when nature has a chance to rebalance itself. We hope that Ol’au Palau will make more destinations think about the true cost of tourism and rethink who they reward with their best experiences.”

‘Ol’au Palau’ was launched in Palau to coincide with the global ‘Our Oceans Conference’, and has already garnered worldwide media interest. Palau had previously worked with Host/Havas with the launch of the Palau Pledge in 2017. The pledge is a first immigration law that requires all visitors to sign a mandatory environmental pledge to Palau’s children that’s stamped into a visitor’s passport on arrival which became the most awarded campaign in the world in 2018.

Jon Austin, executive creative director at Host/Havas, commented, “The ‘Pledge’ did an incredible job of setting the right intent amongst visitors arriving in Palau. Now, Ol’au Palau takes an important step forward in turning that intent into tangible, positive action. The notion of applying gamification principles to ecotourism has been incredibly exciting, and it’s been a privilege to work not just with the amazing Palau Legacy Project team, but also with the private sector and Palauan elders to bring this important initiative to life.”

Thailand – Airline companies Thai Airways and Thai Smile, as well as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), an organization of Thailand under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to promote Thai tourism in the Indian market at Thai Airways’ head office.

This collaboration aims to boost the recovery of Thai tourism businesses and the Thai economy after the pandemic. In addition to the collaboration in the Indian market, Thai Airways operates flights on over 34 continental and intercontinental routes in its summer 2022 schedule. Passengers may travel further with Thai Smile and Star Alliance member airlines.

Suvadhana Sibunruang, Thai Airways’ acting CEO, shared, “Thai Airways, Thai Smile, and TAT signed the LOI to enhance the travel experience and develop marketing activities for the Indian market, to offer passengers privileges and joint promotions especially for leisure, golfer, visiting friends and relatives, and wedding travellers, and to exchange the information in the tourism industry for sustainable development in the industry.”

Meanwhile, Napintorn Srisunpang, the vice minister of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, said that the Indian market is a significant market in Southern Asia both in market size and tourist purchasing power, and this market is necessary for every country driven by a tourism economy.

“This collaboration is the opportunity to boost the recovery of the Indian market following the Air Travel Bubble agreement between Thailand and India. According to the Economics Tourism and Sports Division, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, in 2019, Thailand welcomed 1,995,516 inbound tourists from India, 24.85% higher, and earned THB86,372.01m, an increase of 27.45%. This reflects the potential of the Indian market,” said Srisunpang.

Tanes Petsuwan, TAT’s deputy governor for international marketing in Asia and South Pacific, said that as part of the ‘Visit Thailand Year 2022’ campaign, TAT will focus on quality inbound tourists from this particular market through celebrities and influencers marketing to the millennial target audience. 

“TAT Delhi and Mumbai offices will also notify local tour agents about Thailand’s immigration measures and new travel products and services to plan the joint promotion activities for luxurious tourists. In addition, Amazing Thailand Wedding EXPO 2022 will be held this month to boost wedding travellers later this year. Meanwhile, TAT is joining the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) 2022 in Delhi from 18 to 20 May 2022 to promote Thailand on its readiness for tourism aspect,” added Petsuwan.

Bangkok, Thailand – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Thai AirAsia have announced their readiness to jointly promote travel to Thailand in key ASEAN and South Asian markets by utilising the airline’s increasing regional flight network.

TAT and Thai AirAsia have recently conducted a joint news conference at the TAT Head Office in Bangkok to discuss their plans to work together to increase tourism numbers in Thailand.

According to TAT’s action plan for ASEAN, South Asia, and the South Pacific for the area, Thai AirAsia has established separate marketing tactics for each market, based on its potential.

The ‘Rediscover Thailand’ campaign in Singapore will promote Thai AirAsia’s Singapore-Don Mueang and Singapore-Phuket flights, which will begin 11-24 April 2022 and target Millennials and young couples for travel in May and July. The campaign is projected to result in 3,000 seat sales to Thailand.

In Malaysia, the emphasis will be on leisure group travel, with a ‘Health & Wellness in Amazing Thailand’ promotion offering special prices. Thai AirAsia’s flights to Thailand from Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor Bahru will be marketed. The campaign intends to sell 1,500 seats to Thailand.

For Indonesia, TAT is currently waiting for confirmation of Thai AirAsia’s Jakarta-Don Mueang and Bali-Don Mueang flight schedules.

For Cambodia, Thai AirAsia will open routes from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to Thailand for a three-month period of May-July 2022, and 1,000 seats are expected to be sold. The focus will be on the FIT group and Millennial family markets, who are mainly interested in health and wellness and medical tourism.

Thai AirAsia’s routes to Thailand from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang will be promoted to generate tourist traffic from Vietnam. In India, travel to Thailand will be promoted through various media channels and a joint TAT-Thai AirAsia blogger/influencer fam trip is planned, while the airline aims to introduce flights from Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, and Jaipur to increase market opportunities to Thailand from secondary urban areas in that country.

Tanes Petsuwan, deputy governor of  international marketing for Asia and South Pacific at TAT shared, “Tourism from foreign markets to Thailand in 2022 is ready to improve thanks to, among other things, the easing of entry requirements into the kingdom and the easing of travel restrictions in source markets.”

Petsuwan emphasised, “Another important factor is the flight and seat capacity, and with Thai AirAsia’s plans to rebuild easy and adequate flight accessibility to Thailand, this is a good opportunity to stimulate interest among foreign travellers.”

Santisuk Klongchaiya, chief executive officer at Thai AirAsia, commented, “Thai AirAsia is delighted to provide continued support in the return of foreign tourism to Thailand. 

“Beginning in April 2022, we are gradually opening international routes linking the kingdom with key ASEAN and South Asian markets; namely, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Maldives, and India, totalling 18 routes,” Klongchaiya adds.

TAT expects that the third quarter will be a good period for market-driven activities, which will benefit the Thai tourist industry in the second half of this year. According to TAT, in the best-case scenario, 10 million foreign tourists will visit Thailand in 2022, producing 625.8 billion Baht in tourism revenue. ASEAN area source markets are slated to begin traveling in April 2022.

Bangkok, Thailand – As more international borders are starting up to open up again to boost tourism, many foreigners are now searching for their next travel destination. And for this year, the Asian country of Thailand emerged as the most-searched global destination foreigners want to travel to, according to the latest data from digital travel platform Agoda.

According to the data, Japan, the United States and Singapore are the markets most keen to head back to Thailand following the local government’s efforts to revitalise international tourism with initiatives such as Thailand Pass and the Sandbox programme.

Other markets interested in visiting Thailand include the United Kingdom, France, and Switzerland, as well as South Korea, Maldives, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Damien Pfirsch, chief commercial officer at Agoda, said, “While the government has made great efforts to help streamline the booking experience for travellers gearing to get back out there, with Test & Go, Sandbox and Thailand Pass, it can be daunting and time consuming for international travellers to keep track of these requirements, and the processes needed.” 

Pfrisch added that they have worked on integrating its booking data seamlessly to the Thailand Pass platform in order to help travellers upload booking details automatically, reducing the room for human error.

To aid with this anticipated influx of travellers, Agoda has collaborated with Finema, the technology company responsible for the development of Thailand Pass on behalf of the Department of Consular Affairs, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“At Agoda, we want to make the customer travel experience as hassle-free as possible. We understand that the new world of travel is going to come with its fair share of challenges and want to help make it easier with our tech expertise. With this partnership, and many others we are working on in the region, we hope to help our customers through their pre-departure journeys,” Pfrisch concluded.

Manila, Philippines – The Department of Tourism (DOT) in the Philippines has announced its digital magazine ‘7641’, in a bid to further promote the various destinations in the country and fast track tourism recovery, as well as provide readers travel inspiration and information about the tourist spots in the Philippines.

The digital magazine’s microsite’s name was inspired by the verified number of islands in the Philippines, which through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), had been verified through an ongoing islands inventory.

The ‘7641’ magazine supplies travel information through feature articles that provide detailed itineraries, suggested activities with accompanying reminders for a safe adventure, and interesting stories for each place.

As part of the magazine launch, the DOT invited feature and non-fiction writers, some of whom travelled to the destinations themselves, for more immersive writing. The DOT also collaborated with regional creatives, including SinoPinas and Playground Films of Zamboanga City, to document the sites and motivate people to travel through images and videos.

Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat, said, “In 7641, we went in-depth into the stories of a destination, a cultural tradition, a dish, a personal affiliation to a place, while also providing the basic information you need as a traveller.”

She added, “We want to promote all tourist destinations in the archipelago that have already reopened to visitors. Each month, we will highlight different places so that the public can discover the marvellous sites that our 7,641 islands can offer.”

Australia – Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales, NSW Government, has launched a new tourism campaign, Feel New, which is a series of emotionally charged films aimed at exploring individual feelings experienced by travellers to New South Wales.

The series of films, which was developed by tourism and major events agency Destination NSW with creative agency Leo Burnett, spotlights on seven feelings most sought after by consumers – ‘joy’, ‘connection’, ‘freedom’, ‘awe’, ‘rejuvenation’, ‘belonging’, and ‘adventure’ – reaffirming NSW’s position as the feel-good state. It also aligns with the overarching ‘Feel New’ brand. 

Moreover, extensions of scenes from the Feel New TV spot have been reimagined in the seven Feeling Films, with each aligning to a single hero feeling. NSW landscapes and cultural encounters feature in the campaign extension, with each film featuring a bespoke remix of the official Feel New soundtrack, ‘Feeling Good’, which was re-imagined by Azure Ryder to make the audience feel the emotional experience that the film represents.

Stuart Ayres, the minister for enterprise, investment and trade, minister for tourism and sport, and minister for Western Sydney, believes that the time was right to take a more emotive-led approach to market the NSW visitor economy.

“The Feel New film series captures all the things I love about our State. It invites everyone to get out and appreciate the beauty and wonder of NSW and promises a return to the excitement and adventure that we all need to feel again,” said Ayres.

Meanwhile, James Walker-Smith, Leo Burnett’s general manager, noted that the Feel New strategy sets NSW apart from other competitor states and gives NSW a distinct advantage when targeting travel intenders.

“Destination NSW has really shifted its approach when it comes to how they promote the state, moving from being a destination brand, which is where many travel brands continue to operate, into the culture brand space. By creating a brand which is feelings-led, they’ve created a brand for the future that at the same time, is the ultimate antidote for the world right now,” said Walker-Smith.

Steve Cox, Destination NSW’s CEO, shared that the Feel New film series continued the fresh new approach to the tourism and major event agency’s strategy for promoting NSW.

“The strategic thinking behind Feel New was to tap into this consumer desire to feel; to build an enduring creative platform to market and promote NSW through its many and varied cultural and natural experiences, which are powerfully captured in these films,” said Cox.

New Zealand — Tourism New Zealand launched a new campaign to ensure Australians keep New Zealand on top of their travel list and to motivate them to make “their dreams a reality” and book a trip to New Zealand. Entitled ‘Within Your Wildest Dreams’, the campaign elaborates the dream adventure of travelling to neighbouring country New Zealand for the average Aussie.

The quirky short film starts with an Aussie being awoken from his sleep by a New Zealand native, granted a magical dream beard, the two are transported magically to New Zealand where they have a picturesque dream breakfast juxtaposed by peculiar fantasy scenarios. The film ends with the two travelling to all the scenic locations of New Zealand, prompting the protagonist to make his dream travels to New Zealand come true once he wakes up.

René de Monchy, chief executive for Tourism New Zealand, commented, “With Australian visitors returning to New Zealand soon, ‘Within Your Wildest Dreams’ showcases what New Zealand has on offer and encourages our friends across the ditch to start planning their trip in a lighthearted way that we know resonates with our Australian audience.”

Before COVID-19, Australia was New Zealand’s largest visitor market, and Tourism New Zealand’s research shows that 58 per cent of Australians who want to visit New Zealand will look to do so within six months of travel the border opening.

According to Tourism New Zealand, their research also showed that the proportion of travellers who use a travel agent to book their trip to New Zealand is increasing. In accordance with this and to support their trade partners in Australia, TNZ has produced a toolkit so they’re well-equipped to sell destination New Zealand to their clients.

The campaign is a reiteration of Tourism New Zealand’s ‘Stop Dreaming about New Zealand and Go’ campaign which  was launched in May 2021 to reinvigorate Australians’ wanderlust for its neighbouring Kiwi counterpart.

Bangkok, Thailand – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has outlined its new marketing strategy in line with its ‘air travel bubble’ agreement with India, a major step forward in the planned recovery of what is one of Thailand’s important visitor source markets.

TAT is focusing on further building the Indian market with a particular emphasis on special interest groups with high spending; such as, weddings and honeymoons, golf, millennials, and digital nomads. Among the activities include familiarisation trips and business events.

To kickstart the marketing strategy, a fam trip for Indian travel agents and media is in Thailand from 15-22 February, 2022, to gain first-hand experience on tourism products and services on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai and Bangkok-Ko Samui travel routes, as well as discuss business with local suppliers in a trade meet event.

Tanes Petsuwan, deputy governor for international marketing for Asia and the South Pacific at TAT, said, “Thailand was a very popular destination for Indian travellers before the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is every indication this appeal will continue. Significantly, the proposed Thai-Indian Air Travel Bubble arrangement will help enhance the image of Thailand as the preferred destination for Indians wanting to travel abroad.”

TAT will also head up the Thailand presence at India’s largest tourism promotion event – South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) 2022 – scheduled for 18-20 May, in New Delhi. It will also arrange a product presentation event to provide travel agents from key cities in the South and West of India.

Following the materialisation of the ‘Thai-Indian Air Travel Bubble’ arrangement and the reopening of commercial flights between the two countries, TAT will join hands with airlines to co-organise networking sessions in key cities in the North of India, including New Delhi and Kolkata to further promote Thailand’s latest tourism products and services.

Petsuwan added, “With the TEST and GO entry scheme having been resumed from 1 February, 2022, under which fully vaccinated travellers from any country can apply for a Thailand Pass, while the COVID-19 situation in India is vastly improving resulting in relaxed restrictions for international arrivals including returning Indians, TAT will actively target high quality Indian tourists to return to Thailand.”