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Category: General

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest General Retail news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Government mulls 250 kph transnational railway

    Government mulls 250 kph transnational railway

    The Ministries of Planning and Investment and Transport will study the possibility of building high-speed rail across Vietnam to transport both passengers and cargo.

    The dual-gauge railway, with design speeds of 250 kilometers per hour and operational speeds of 180-225 kph, is required as rail only carries 6% of passengers and 1.4% of cargo on the north-south route, the planning ministry said.

    When completed it would be a key means of transport capable of carrying large volumes of cargo, connect major economic centers and boost growth, it said.

    It suggested that the railroad be built under a public-private partnership and funded partly by auctioning lands near the 50 stations along the route.

    The 250-kph option has been suggested by a consultancy consortium over a 350-kph option which can only transport passengers.

    Though costing more to build, it would have a higher chance of recouping the investment thanks to cargo transport, the consortium comprising the University of Transport and Communications Consultancy and Construction, Germany’s Evo mc, Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong, and Hung Phu Trading and Construction Consultant said.

    They will respectively cost US$62.7-64.8 billion and $58.7 billion.

    Since 2019 officials have been considering the transnational rail since roads and airports are becoming increasingly overloaded.

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  • $1-bln Lego plant construction starts in Vietnam

    $1-bln Lego plant construction starts in Vietnam

    Construction of a $1-billion Lego plant began Thursday in the southern province of Binh Duong.

    Covering 44 hectares in Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park 3, the plant is scheduled to create some 4,000 jobs and launch its first products in 2024.

    This is the sixth plant of the Danish toy company worldwide, and its second in Asia. It is Lego’s first carbon-neutral plant in the world, using electricity from rooftop solar cell panels and a nearby solar farm.

    Lego CEO Niels Christiansen said the toy maker chose Vietnam for its big pool of skilled staff, commitment to carbon-neutrality by 2050, and location as gateway to the Asia-Pacific region, which boasts a growing market of young consumers.

    The Lego plant in Binh Duong is the biggest foreign-invested project in the province since the Covid outb Lego collector recreates Vietnam street scenes in miniature reak.

    Lego opened its first Asian plant in China during 2016. The Danish firm’s products are sold in over 130 markets.

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  • 8 Useful Tips for Improving the Learning Process in Healthcare

    8 Useful Tips for Improving the Learning Process in Healthcare

    Healthcare is an ever-growing industry, and the need for skilled professionals continues to grow. With the advent of new technologies and changes within the healthcare system, organizations must invest in developing their employees.

    This article provides ten valuable tips for developing the skills your healthcare organization needs. These tips will help you equip your team with the skills they need to meet future challenges.

    1. Understand the skills your healthcare organization needs

    The first step in developing your healthcare organization’s skills is to define those needs. Consider your organization’s challenges and the skills required to meet those challenges.  

    Consider consulting with experts or conducting research to identify the skills your organization will need in the future.

    2. Evaluate the skills of your current employees

    Once you have identified the skills your healthcare organization will need, you should assess the skills of your current employees. This will help you understand the gaps in your workforce and your employees’ training and development needs.

    For example, if your organization is implementing a new electronic health record system, you will need employees with the skills to use the system. You will also need employees who can train others to use the system.

    3. Develop a plan to address skills gaps

    After you have identified the skills your healthcare organization needs and assessed the skills of your current employees, you should develop a plan to address any skills gaps.

    There are a variety of ways to address skills gaps, such as:

    – Training and development programs

    – Job shadowing and mentorship programs

    – Cross-training employees

    4. Implement a training and development program

    One of the most effective ways to address skills gaps is by implementing a training and development program. Training and development programs can help employees learn and improve their existing skills.

    When developing a training and development program, you should consider the needs of your employees and the resources available to you. For example, you may want to consider online training programs or classroom-based training programs.

    5. Create a mentorship program

    Mentorship programs can be an effective way to develop the skills of your healthcare organization. In a mentorship program, employees are paired with more experienced employees. The mentee shadows their mentor and learns from their experience.

    Suppose you want to mentor a group of employees on how to use the electronic health record system. You can pair each employee with a more experienced employee who can show them how to use the system.

    6. Use LMS to improve employee development

    Many healthcare organizations use LMS to track employee development and manage training programs. You can easily create a training program and manage the training process using an LMS like Cornerstone LMS.

    You can identify gaps in their knowledge by tracking employees’ skills and progress. You can provide additional training or mentorship to help them address these gaps. Also, by using an LMS to manage employee development, you can improve the overall efficiency of your training program.

    7. Foster a learning environment

    To develop the skills of your healthcare organization, you must create a learning environment. In a learning environment, employees feel comfortable asking questions and seeking help.

    There are a variety of ways to foster a learning environment, such as:

    – Encouraging employees to ask questions

    – Providing opportunities for employees to share their knowledge

    – Encouraging employees to learn from their mistakes

    8. Evaluate your progress

    As you implement your plan to develop the skills of your healthcare organization, you should periodically evaluate your progress. This will help you identify any problems with your plan and make necessary adjustments.

    It would help if you considered conducting surveys or focus groups with employees to gather feedback on your training and development programs. You can also review data on employee development, such as the number of employees who have completed training programs.

    Conclusion

    Employees need to be able to develop their skills to keep up with the changing demands of the healthcare industry. 

    You can help employees stay on top of their game by using resources such as training and mentorship programs. 

    Also, the above tips may help you find new ways to improve your organization’s overall employee development process.

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  • Bangkok’s Amarin Plaza to be rejuvenated as Gaysorn Amarin

    Bangkok’s Amarin Plaza to be rejuvenated as Gaysorn Amarin

    Gaysorn Property is revamping the Amarin Plaza shopping centre in the heart of Bangkok with the property due to reopen in the fourth quarter of next year as Gaysorn Amarin.

    The complex will be reopened under the concept “Old-New Spirit” – featuring a blend of modern design and Roman post-modern architecture. The design is in partnership between Gaysorn Village and Hong Kong-based design studio CL3.

    There will be four components in the shopping mall: fashion style, food style, life & wellness style and work style.

    “The redevelopment will enable Gaysorn Village to become more than a leading lifestyle destination in the heart of Bangkok,” said Charn Srivikorn, chairman of Gaysorn Property.

    “We are seeking to bring the best of placemaking to transform our three buildings, which are Gaysorn Tower, Gaysorn Center and Gaysorn Amarin, into a venue that provides everyone with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a truly inspirational creative environment with unique designs and services.”

    The facade will be created with an architectural concept dubbed “Gaysorn Cocoon,” as well as green spaces and the Hanging Garden, which will function as a meeting and socialising space. There will also be a multifunctional area called The Piazza and an event venue The Forum.

    Gaysorn Property says the relaunch of Gaysorn Amarin late next year will bring tourism and economic vibrancy to the Ratchaprasong district, transforming it into Bangkok’s “Capital of Lifestyle District” with necessary and diverse facilities. One of the city’s largest malls, CentralWorld, is located diagonally opposite the new development.

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  • It’s now easier to update your apps in the Google Play Store

    It’s now easier to update your apps in the Google Play Store

    The guys over at Mountain View are tinkerers by nature. How else can you explain why there are so many small changes made to the Android UI or the UI on Android apps? These changes are usually made to improve the user experience. And Google has done it again, this time making a small but subtle change to the Google Play Store via a server-side update.
    Such updates are done without the user being involved and typically, a user might spot something different and say to himsel,f “this button didn’t look like this the other day, did it? Or am I seeing things?” The latest such change took place, as we said, in the Google Play Store where the “Update” and the “Update all” buttons have been made larger. The pill-shaped buttons are “plumper” which makes it easier to press when there is a long list of apps to update and there is one specific one you want to have updated first.
    The bigger “Update” and “Update all” buttons can be found on this writer’s Pixel 6 Pro running Android 13 QPR1 Beta 3. If you are still dealing with the “skinnier” buttons, there isn’t much you can do except wait for Google to tap the button that sets off the server-side update for your Android phone.
    To update the apps on your Android phone open the Google Play Store. Tap the round button with your initials or photo on the right side of the search field at the top of the screen. Press on Manage apps & device and you’ll be taken to a page that shows the number of app updates you have ready. Tap on details and you’ll see all of the updates that are ready in a queue. You can tap on each app’s individual (and hopefully plumper) “Update” button or press on the “Update all” button to take care of business with a single press.
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  • Uber starts to annoy some users by sending them ads as push notifications

    Uber starts to annoy some users by sending them ads as push notifications

    Everyone hates ads, but they are the price we pay for all the free apps out there. However, it’s one thing to watch them when you are using a free app, and it’s a whole other story to be bombarded with ads through push notifications even when you are not actually using your phone.

    Recently, Uber launched a new advertising division and is now displaying banners in its app. However, it appears that the company is also currently testing a way to advertise various things through push notifications, which is something it didn’t even mention when it announced its decision to put ads in its app.

    In recent days, many users shared on Twitter that the Uber app has started sending them push notifications for ads of other companies. This would be somewhat ok if users were using the app at this time; however, it appears that Uber was sending them these notifications when they weren’t.

    Thankfully, Uber said that these push notifications were part of a limited test, and users can always set their notification preferences in the app’s settings. However, the company needs to specify how many people have been included in the test, how long it will last, and whether it would decide to make push notification ads a permanent experience.

    At the moment, Uber is using the so-called “journey ads,” which advertise one single brand throughout a user’s travel. Usually, users see an ad while waiting for their ordered car to arrive, while traveling, and when they reach the designated destination. Advertisers personalize ads to users based on their travel history. Currently, there is no information on whether Uber used the same data to choose what ads to display as push notifications.

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  • Steelmakers report biggest-ever losses

    Steelmakers report biggest-ever losses

    Leading steelmakers in the country have reported the biggest-ever Q3 losses in amidst low sales, rapidly falling prices, and high inventories.

    The nation’s biggest steelmaker, Hoa Phat, incurred a negative after-tax return of VND1.79 trillion ($72 million), the first loss it has reported in 13 years. This is also the third consecutive quarter that its revenues have dropped, down 12% over the same period last year and down nearly 8% against the previous quarter.

    Nam Kim reported Q3 losses of over VND400 billion, a record high, with revenues down nearly 1.7 times over the same period last year.

    Steelmaker Hoa Sen racked up losses of VND887 billion in the last quarter of the 2021-2022 fiscal year, compared with a profit of more than VND940 billion in the same period last fiscal year. It reported a loss for the first time since the fourth quarter of the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

    Companies under the Vietnam Steel Corporation (VnSteel) also posted record losses or minuscule profits in the third quarter.

    Thu Duc Steel saw its biggest-ever Q3 loss of VND22 billion, nearly 37% higher than the same period last year; and Vicasa Steel reported its biggest loss since the third quarter of 2020.

    Thai Nguyen Steel and Ho Chi Minh City Metal incurred losses of VND25 billion and VND12 billion. Meanwhile, two other VnSteel affiliates, Melin Steel and Cao Bang Steel, gained very small profits, down 95% and 99%, respectively, against the third quarter of last year.

    Like steelmakers, many steel distributors and traders also suffered losses, with the SMC Trading Investment Joint Stock Company reporting its biggest-ever quarterly loss of nearly VND220 billion, compared with a profit of nearly VND130 billion in the same period last year.

    Steel companies said they faced low domestic sales and export turnovers, a rapid decline in product prices, and high inventories in the third quarter. According to Vicasa Steel, the Vietnamese steel industry was affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China’s “zero Covid” policy, and global inflation.

    Higher input costs, credit tightening, high lending interest rates, and fluctuating exchange rates were other contributing factors. Hoa Phat said coal prices had trebled.

    From mid-May to late August, steel prices declined 15 consecutive times from around VND19 million per ton to VND14.5-15 million. After a slight increase at the beginning of September, the prices fell twice to some VND14 million per ton, equivalent to the levels in late 2020.

    According to the Vietnam Steel Association, the country’s finished steel output was 2.4 million tons in September, but sales were only 1.99 million tons. In the first nine months, it had steel inventories of some 1.6 million tons.

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  • Bamboo Airways’ 9-month loss exceeds last year’s total

    Bamboo Airways’ 9-month loss exceeds last year’s total

    Bamboo Airways posted a loss of VND3.54 trillion ($142.38 million) in the first nine months, exceeding the total loss it recorded last year by 54%.

    Its loss has been increasing this year, from VND691 billion in the first quarter to VND1.39 trillion in the second and almost VND1.45 trillion in the third, according to calculations from a financial report of FLC, which owns a 21.7% stake in the airline.

    Bamboo Airways went through major restructuring in the second and third quarter after its chairman was arrested in March for alleged stock manipulation.

    Nguyen Ngoc Trong, who has been with the airline since its establishment in 2018, became its chairman in August, while Nguyen Manh Quan, who joined the airline in 2020, took over the CEO chair from Dang Tat Thang.

    The airline in October moved its Ho Chi Minh City office from FLC’s building in District 3 to a Novaland building in District 1 after the property developer signed a strategic partnership with the airline.

    Bamboo Airways said in July that it planned to triple its fleet size to 100 by 2028. The airline at the time operated 29 jets, comprising 21 narrowbody aircraft, three Boeing B787s and five Embraer 190 regional aircraft, according to aviation data website Planespotters.

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  • The Evolution of Online Casinos

    The Evolution of Online Casinos

    Change is inevitable in the dynamic industry of online gambling. Because of the ever-increasing number of competitors and the innovative new approaches taken by upstarts, the gaming industry is in a perpetual state of evolution. We will examine the development of internet casinos in this article.

    How Online Gambling Came to Be

    It was in the late 90s that many major corporations flooded the market, sparking the industry’s explosive growth. These businesses pioneered the internet gambling market thanks to their extensive background in the land-based gambling sector. They added new features, including reward programs and bonuses, encouraging people to try out online casinos.

    The start of the 2000s was a game changer for the evolution of online gambling establishments. When live dealer games got introduced, gamers could communicate with other gamers in live time. This added a new level of realism and excitement to gambling online.

    The internet gambling market is booming right now. Today, it is effortless for a potential bettor to locate the best online casinos—casinos that offer a wide variety of entertaining options, secure environment to wager in, generous incentives, prompt payouts, overall excellent service, and a commitment to keeping their word. They provide several gaming options, bonus deals, and special offers to retain customers. 

    Developments In the World of Online Gambling

    Live Dealer Games

    This game allows players to engage with a live dealer, creating a more personal and authentic experience. Live dealer games are top-rated among big spenders because their limits are typically higher than other standard casino games.

    Mobile Wagering 

    Gamer’s access to and use of casino games is one area that has undergone a radical transformation. A small handful of games were available to gamers during the period and were all available solely on computers. Most individuals still used dial-up connections when online casinos became available.

    Gamers are increasingly turning to mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, to place bets on various games. Because of this, several casinos now provide mobile-optimized variants of their apps and web pages.

    Gaming in HTML 5

    The transition from Flash to HTML5 gambling was the subsequent significant development for online casinos. This resulted in quicker response times, improved visuals, and more consistent platform gameplay.

    Deposit Bonus

    Online casinos have realized the merit of distributing incentives to new signups. It had a profound impact on the vast majority of internet users. This is especially true for deposit bonuses, which have spread throughout numerous virtual casinos. This is an excellent option for those looking to increase their playing funds.

    What’s Next for Online Casinos?

    Virtual casinos will likely do well in the years ahead. Their popularity will rise as modern tech and innovation are used in casinos. Brand-new features and games are regularly being added to the best online casinos. This is an excellent time for one to start wagering in online casinos.

    Final Thoughts

    When mobile casinos first appeared online, they were only available on a handful of handsets; today, however, many provide games tailored for mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.  

    Technologies like cloud technology hold great promise for the game industry’s future. Poker and blackjack are just a couple examples of the many casino games that anyone can play on any gadget at the time of their liking.

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  • E-Commerce Trends to Watch in 2022

    E-Commerce Trends to Watch in 2022

    Not only does e-commerce represent the largest single commercial retail sector, but also one of the fastest evolving. With new technologies, modalities and platforms emerging constantly, it can be challenging to stay ahead of the curve.

    If you’re a business looking to keep up with the latest movements in e-commerce in 2022 and beyond, take a look at these prevailing trends below and explore ways of integrating them into your operations.

    Let Customers Have Their Say

    The standards for accountability and customer feedback have developed significantly over the past decade. Now, more than ever, consumers are turning to third party review platforms to assess the quality of service and support provided by your organization.

    In line with the maxim that “if you can’t beat them, join them”, a beneficial strategy is to assist your customers in leaving reviews on these platforms. Not only does this cast your store in a beneficial light by demonstrating that you’re open to criticism and accountability, but it enables users to more quickly vet your brand for customer satisfaction.

    While some many argue this can be a double-edged sword, particularly if your business has struggled with achieving satisfactory ratings in the past, the reality is that the likes of Trustpilot and Yelp are now part of the ecosystem of modern e-commerce and any steps you can make to facilitate that process are going to beneficial to your brand identity and impact in the long run.

    Online Comparison Platforms (OCPs)

    OCPs have been among the fastest growing e-commerce sectors in the 21st century, and for good reason. With so much choice now available to consumers, an entire industry has grown up around pairing down the options and providing targeted recommendations for customers accosted with information overload.

    Online comparison platforms are mostly closely associated in people’s minds with securities and investments, and it’s true that, to date, the largest and most recognisable platforms belonging to this sector have been focused on connecting people with good rates on financing.

    Yet if one looks further afield, it becomes easy to see that online comparison platforms exist, and are operating, within diverse market sectors around the world. One of the most popular applications for these platforms is in retail, with companies like Amazon Marketplace and Pricerunner vying to connect online shoppers with the best deals and offers on thousands of products, from consumer electronics to apparel.

    Elsewhere, online comparison platforms have emerged as a leading means by which iGaming aficionados select providers to patronize. For example, Emiratis looking for recommendations on the best online casinos in the UAE have come to rely on ArabianBetting as a leading resource of this information.

    This is because this platform not only collates the best casinos available in their market, but, like other comparison platforms, aims to connect them with the most competitive deal – in this respect in the form of special promotions and sign-up bonuses.

    Give Patrons Payment Options

    The emergence of e-wallets, Fintech banks, and cryptocurrencies have all contributed to impacting people’s spending habits online. While, in the past, it was reasonable to simply provide a secure card payment processor for your customers to use when paying at check-out, increasingly nowadays people have to expect a wider array of options.

    While we wouldn’t recommend a brand offer payments in crypto unless it makes up a key part of their marketing strategy, offering alternative payment providers like PayPal, Venmo and CashApp can go a long way in decreasing friction for customers shopping from their smartphones.

    Additionally, the rise of Buy Now, Pay Later platforms like Klarna mean that such financing options have come to be expected as the norm in certain sectors such as apparel.

    Failing to match features like these if they’re offered by your rivals is a sure-fire way to drive business away from your brand.

    Sustainable Focus

    Any e-commerce brand worth their salt in 2022 must be doing more than paying lip service to sustainability and green values.

    There are many ways that brands can decrease their carbon footprint and environmental impact, from substituting wasteful packaging for recycled cardboard, to offering bundled deliveries or store pick-ups to decrease emissions.

    Consumers are coming to expect these measures, and signaling your commitment to improving sustainability can be a determining factor in attracting new customers to your platform.

     

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  • Yeah1 profits double in Q3

    Yeah1 profits double in Q3

    Online entertainment company Yeah1 said profits for the third quarter nearly doubled from the previous one to VND14.8 billion (US$597,000).

    The profits for the first nine months topped VND22 billion, as against losses of over VND253 billion a year earlier, on revenues of VND207 billion, a year-on-year decline of 76%.

    More than half the revenues came from media and advertising consultancy and event organization.

    The company, whose equity stands at over VND900 billion, plans to increase it this year by issuing 78.6 million new shares to invest in digital media, tech media and fintech.

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  • Meta is working on Instagram Malfunction

    Meta is working on Instagram Malfunction

    Instagram seems to be down for a lot of people around the globe at the time of this writing, according to users flocking to Twitter to make their plight known to the entire world (oh, the irony) and the always reliable Downdetector platform.

    The situation is already so widespread that the social network’s PR team has also taken to Twitter to apologize to everyone for the “inconvenience” of not being able to access your Instagram accounts for the last few hours (at the time of this writing).
    What Instagram parent company Meta is not ready to confirm just yet is the nature of this “inconvenience”, which appears to include random account suspensions for a worrying number of users.
    Many people claim they are not aware of having violated any rules so egregiously that a 30-day ban would be warranted, and because the Instagram app and website themselves refuse to work for a lot of these users, appealing the decision is currently impossible.

    Account confirmation is also being required of some users, which is either not possible at the moment as well or completely broken.

    In short, Meta has a PR disaster in the making, and although the company is undoubtedly “looking into” the outage and its causes, the masses are demanding (and arguably deserving) more detailed and satisfying explanations, not to mention a swift resolution. We’ll keep you posted if we find out more or if the glitches are indeed resolved soon.
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  • Unilever downbeat on Europe, China consumer sentiment

    Unilever downbeat on Europe, China consumer sentiment

    Unilever on Thursday gave a dire assessment of consumer sentiment in Europe and China, two of its key markets, but raised its full year sales forecast as it lifted prices to counter soaring costs.

    Like the rest of the consumer goods industry, Unilever’s margins have been squeezed since the start of the war in Ukraine that has pushed up costs of energy and key ingredients. As a result, the company has raised prices sharply.

    “Consumer sentiment in Europe is at an all time low,” Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly told reporters, warning of fears of a “confluence of events” in Europe with energy prices and inflation rising and consumers’ savings waning.

    Shoppers around the world paid 12.5 per cent more for Unilever products in the quarter, with sales volumes declining 1.6 per cent. The company reported a better-than-expected increase in third-quarter sales.

    “Both the premium segments of the market and the value segments of the market are actually growing quite quickly, at an equivalent rate,” Pitkethly told journalists.

    But inflation and the promise of austerity in some countries has prompted a cost-of-living crisis that is pushing some people towards cheaper alternative products, such as private label goods made by retailers.

    “The basic needs of our European consumers are occupying a higher share of wallets – things like utilities, transportation and food – and there tends to be cut back on discretionary non-food items.”

    Unilever makes more than 400 brands ranging from Persil detergent to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

    In China, Unilever’s third biggest market, sales grew by 1 per cent.

    “The China number, 1 per cent, was in fact a competitive performance in a Chinese market that is still quite subdued by continued lockdowns in China,” Pitkethly said, adding that confidence in China is lower relative to historical norms and that Unilever was not as able to increase prices in the country.

    The maker of Knorr stock cubes reported underlying sales growth of 10.6 per cent. Analysts had expected growth of 8%, a company-provided consensus showed.

    Unilever said it now expects underlying sales growth for the full year 2022 to be above 8%. In July, the company said it had expected to beat its previous forecast for full-year underlying sales growth of 4.5% to 6.5 per cent.

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  • AirAsia India announces 21 weekly direct flights connecting new routes

    AirAsia India announces 21 weekly direct flights connecting new routes

    Air Asia India announced that it would commence 21 weekly direct flights connecting Delhi to Bhubaneswar, and Bengaluru to Jaipur, from October 30, as part of its winter schedule.

    The new routes are now open for bookings on the airline’s website, mobile app, and other major booking channels.

    The launch of these routes is in line with AirAsia India’s aim to bolster connectivity and consistently provide secure and streamlined operations for guests, the airline said in a statement.

    The airline recently expanded its presence to Lucknow and operates 112 weekly direct flights connecting Bengaluru, Goa, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

    AirAsia India connects its hub Bengaluru with direct flights to Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi, Goa, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Ranchi, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Jaipur.

    There are direct flights connecting its other hub Delhi with Lucknow, Srinagar, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi, Goa, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Jaipur, Ranchi, Visakhapatnam, and Bhubaneswar.

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  • Airfares double as Tet holiday approaches

    Airfares double as Tet holiday approaches

    Air ticket prices for Vietnam’s upcoming biggest holiday Tet has doubled year-on-year as tourism demand resumed after a Covid-19 induced hiatus.

    A return trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi from Jan. 19 to 26, when most people return to their hometown to celebrate Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, which costs at least VND5.5 million ($222.51), double that of last year and the same as 2019.

    Vietravel Airlines charges VND6.2 million on the route during the same period. Bamboo Airways charges VND6.9 million and Pacific Airlines, VND7.1 million.

    Earlier this year, before Tet, passengers could get the same tickets for half the price at VND2.5-4 million

    Air tickets from HCMC to central and northern provinces are also at a high level.

    From HCMC to Thanh Hoa Province, return tickets are priced from VND7 million at Vietjet and VND7.1 million at Vietnam Airlines.

    From HCMC to Da Nang prices start from VND4.6 million and to Vinh, from VND7 million.-

    Some passengers are considering changing their travel plans to either later or before the high demand Tet holiday.

    Minh Trang, a communications employee in HCMC, will return to Vinh four days after Lunar New Year’s Eve, as ticket prices for her family will be 50% cheaper at VND8 million.

    Quang Anh, who works for a foreign company in HCMC, will request an early holiday break to travel to Bangkok and then to Hanoi, as ticket prices for both trips are lower than flying directly from HCMC to Hanoi.

    The Hanoi–HCMC route is among the world’s five busiest domestic air routes.

    “I will get more days off in Thailand and won’t have to queue for hours at Tan Son Nhat International Airport,” Anh said.

    Even with the surging prices, airlines are expecting an increase in travel demand.

    Vietnam Airlines has seen bookings for the upcoming Tet, which runs from Jan. 20-26, 2023, rising 23% from Tet 2020 when Covid-19 had yet to have a major impact on Vietnam tourism.

    The airline said that major bookings are on the Hanoi–HCMC route, and from HCMC to Da Nang and Hai Phong.

    Bamboo Airways plans to increase its capacity by 15-20% for the upcoming holiday and could offer up to one million seats.

    Vietravel Airlines said that its flights from Jan. 7 to Feb. 2 next year are 60% booked. It is working with authorities to increase the number of flights.

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