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Tag: travel

  • Indonesia Wants More Tourists from Malaysia, Singapore

    Indonesia Wants More Tourists from Malaysia, Singapore

    For 2019, Indonesia wants to have 3.7 million Singaporeans to visit. From Malaysia, the government is targeting to 3.2 million travelers.

    Wonderful Indonesia on Thursday, October 29, quoted Tourism Ministry’s deputy of International tourism marketing that the ministry will hold a number of promotional campaigns in Singapore and Malaysia in November 2015.

    The events include the ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ campaign at the Singapore West Gate Shopping Mall from November 1-8, the Sales Mission MICE (November 18), the Halal Fair International 2015 (December 3-6), The Special Destination Sales Mission in Malaysia (November 24), Consumer Selling campaign in Melaka (November 27-29 November), and many more.

    Right now, Indonesia is on promoting its tourism in Singapore through the Indonesia Food Festival 2015 held from October 20 to November 14 November. At least 30 Indonesian dishes are being promoted to the international community, particularly to Singaporeans.

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  • Airlines welcome visa free facility, offering discount

    Airlines welcome visa free facility, offering discount

    Airlines began to race offering discount in welcoming the government policy which offers visa free facility for short term visitors to Indonesia from 75 countries.

    The facility is expected to draw more visitors to the country amid the global economic malaise.

    Indonesian airlines saw the policy as benefiting air transport business that they are ready to offer significant discount for ticket price.

    Commercial Director of AirAsia Indonesia Andy Ardian Febryanto said the budget airline offered a 30 percent discount for international flights.

    Discounts are given for direct flights such as from Surabaya- Kuala Lumpur, Surabaya-Johor Bahru, Surabaya-Penang and Surabaya-Bangkok, or “Fly-Thru” flights or with transit in Kuala Lumpur or Bali, such as Surabaya-Taipei, Surabaya-Beijing, Surabaya-Seoul, Surabaya-Tokyo and Surabaya-Sydney, Andy said here on Thursday.

    “Surabaya always has a special position as the main destination and market. Although we are aware amid the worrying condition of the economy interest in traveling has dropped sharply by 70 percent , but we are optimistic that the visa free policy would recover the interest in traveling abroad,” he said.

    He said there are 22 travel agents offering discount for international flights effective as from November 1 until April 2016.

    Therefore, foreign travelers including tourists , business visitors and others could take advantage of the visa free travel to Indonesia, he added.

    Currently the airline could only offer discount for international routes as there is regulation restricting freedom to offer discount for domestic flights, he said.

    Under the new policy, visa free facility is offered for short term visitors to Indonesia from South Africa, Algeria, the United States, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, the Netherlands, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, India, Britain, Ireland, Island, Italy, Japan, Germany , Canada, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Croatia, South Korea, Kuwait,Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Egypt, Monaco, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, France, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, China, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Seychelles, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain , Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vatican, Venezuela, Jordan, and Greece.

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  • Garuda Indonesia to Launch Promotion on Friday

    Garuda Indonesia to Launch Promotion on Friday

    Garuda Indonesia will launch a three-day online sale on Friday.

    Between 9 and 11 October 2015, discounted airfares to 37 Indonesian destination will be available for travel between 13 October 2015 and 31 May 2016.

    The 7-month validity period offers the perfect opportunity to book and save on fares for short getaways to popular Indonesian hotspots such as Bali. Flights to the scenic island will be on sale from Sin$130 for a one-way flight and Sin$230 for a return, while seats to Surabaya will be available from Sin$110 for a single ticket and Sin$210 for a return.

    Travellers will be able to fly to Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta one-way from Sin$110, with return flights priced at Sin$185.

    Travellers can also take advantage of the online seat sale to discover other interesting Indonesian destinations such as Lombok, Jogjakarta, Makassar and beyond from Sin$180 one-way onwards via Jakarta or Bali.

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  • Garuda tickets available at Indomaret

    Garuda tickets available at Indomaret

    National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is teaming up with minimarket chain Indomaret to allow air passengers to buy tickets from the chain’s outlets across the country in a bid to boost the airline’s sales.

    For payments, Garuda works with electronic payment provider Finnet, a subsidiary of state telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom).

    Garuda Indonesia commercial director Handayani said the company expected passengers would buy tickets from at least 20 percent of Indomaret’s 11,400 outlets.

    In ticket sales, the company expects the partnership to account for 830,000 transactions a year, or around 1.6 million tickets assuming that each buyer buys two tickets.

    “With their strategic sites, Indomaret outlets will open up consumer access to our services, including in places with little access to the Internet and ATMs,” Handayani said in a statement on Wednesday.

    She added that Indomaret ticketing services would be focused on domestic flights for individual customers.

    “People who go to Indomaret will tend to buy small numbers of tickets for domestic flights. The average ticket price will be between Rp 400,000 and Rp 500,000,” she said.

    Garuda’s low-cost subsidiary carrier Citilink has cooperated with Indomaret since January 2014.

    Indomaret records around 150 million transactions with 37.5 million customers monthly, according to Wiwiek Yusuf, the marketing director of PT Indomarco Prismatama, which runs the chain.

    “Of that figure, 15 million transactions, or 10 percent, are virtual,” he said, adding that Garuda would add to the list of the chain’s virtual payments, which currently includes electricity bills, phone credit and concert tickets.

    Online ticket purchasing makes up 28 percent of Garuda’s total transactions, with the remainder carried out through traditional channels such as travel agents.

    The airline’s partnership with Indomaret adds to its current relationship with Telkom, which runs Garuda’s call center. However, Garuda customers who book tickets through the call center can only pay with credit cards or through the ATMs of 18 banks.

    Telkom enterprise and business service director Muhammad Awa-luddin said the cooperation would mark the first non-bank channel for Garuda.

    “Finnet has hundreds of dealers and is connected to 77 banks, so we envision no problems,” he said.

    The cooperation is part of Garuda’s efforts to meet a target of carrying 25 million passengers this year.

    The airline carried 11.55 million passengers in the first half of the year, up 15.3 percent from last year, of which 9.4 million were domestic passengers.

    “With this cooperation, we should reach more than 20 million,” Handayani said.

    She added that she would rely on the growth of Indomaret outlets for expanding consumer access, with the firm looking to reach 12,000 outlets this year.

    Other than the domestic market, Garuda is also eyeing increased inbound flights after Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli announced on Tuesday the waiving of visas for citizens of 47 more countries, adding to 30 countries granted visa exemptions in June.

    “We will engage with foreign tourist boards and travel agents. We have to be aggressive in introducing Indonesia to those countries, beyond Bali and Jakarta,” Handayani said.

    The company booked US$27.7 million in net income in the January-June period, a sharp increase from its net loss of $203 million in the same period last year, on the back of lower operating expenses and strong passenger growth.

  • AirAsia launches 8th route to India

    AirAsia launches 8th route to India

    AirAsia has expanded its route network from its main base at Kuala Lumpur (KUL) with the addition of a new service to Goa (GOI) in India. The thrice-weekly service (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) on the 3,360-kilometre route launched on 27 August and will be flown by the carrier’s A320s. The route is not served by any other carrier.

    Goa becomes AirAsia’s eighth route to India as it already serves Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Tiruchirappalli and Visakhapatnam. In total AirAsia now serves 68 destinations non-stop from the Malaysian capital.

    For Goa Airport this is the sixth international destination served after Doha (with Qatar Airways), Dubai (Air India), Kuwait City (Air India), Muscat (Oman Air) and Sharjah (Air Arabia).

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  • Air India to start evening Surat-Delhi flight from Oct 1

    Air India to start evening Surat-Delhi flight from Oct 1

    This year’s Diwali is set to usher in loads of surprises for the high-flying Surtis.

    Air India is preparing to introduce daily evening flight between Delhi and Surat by deploying the 168-seater Airbus-320 from October 1.

    This will be over and above the existing morning flight to Delhi. Hence, the Diamond City will have two daily flights to the national capital and same day return option will be available to business flyers at both ends. International connections to the USA, Europe and South East Asia will also be offered.

    By the end of October, Air India plans morning flight between Mumbai and Surat in its ATR aircraft.

    Thanks to the efforts of Surat and Navsari MPs — Darshana Jardosh and CR Paatil — frequent fliers from the Diamond City will get an opportunity to fly to Mumbai and Delhi after a break of more than 11 months.

    He added, “We also met Air Asia CEO Mittu Chandaliya who has agreed to introduce daily flights between Bangalore, Jaipur, Delhi and Surat this winter session.”

    Despite being the second largest city in the state, ninth in India and fourth fastest growing city in the world, Surat is very unfortunate in getting domestic as well as international air connectivity.

    Jardosh said, “We have been successful in convincing Air India authorities on introducing evening Delhi flight from Surat. We also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August and he instructed Air India CMD to take positive action. We are grateful to AirAsia CEO Chandaliya who is keen on starting flight operations from Surat.”

    Airport director Pramod Thakre said, “The DGCA will be sending the slot schedule of Air India’s evening flight to and fro from Delhi. The evening slot is open for smooth operation at the airport.”

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  • London retailers revel in Chinese influx

    London retailers revel in Chinese influx

    Hong Kong retailers wondering where those cashed up, big spending Mainland Chinese tourists have been unzipping their wallets… here is your answer: London.

    According to the Retail Gazette, spending by Chinese Visa card holders rose 44.5 per cent in the UK in July – outstripping spending by tourists from France and Australia.

    Inbound tourists from China now account for more spending than those from any country except the US which retains top spot.

    Retail Gazette reports the growth in Chinese spending was strongest in supermarkets (up 79 per cent) and in high street stores (up 40 per cent).

    Shopping accounted for 40 per cent of Chinese tourists’ spending in the UK

    “China is one of the fastest growing sources of tourism income for the UK and it looks set to become an important driver of growth for the sector,” said Kevin Jenkins, UK & Ireland MD with Visa Europe.

    “Spending on cards has seen a significant boost as Chinese tourists travel to the UK, confident in the use of plastic overseas.

    “With shopping a top attraction for Chinese travellers, UK retailers are likely to consider additional ways to appeal specifically to this audience,” Jenkins said.

    “Pre-travel marketing, multilingual staff and new product lines in store may be three things we see more of.”

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  • Indonesia orders new Bali airport closure due to volcano

    Indonesia orders new Bali airport closure due to volcano

    Indonesian authorities ordered a fresh shutdown of the airport on the resort island of Bali today, sparking flight cancellations and travel misery for tourists during peak holiday season.

    Transport ministry spokesman J A Barata said Ngurah Rai airport would be closed for several hours from midday (0930 IST) due to ash drifting from Mount Raung, on Indonesia’s main Java island.

    Australian carriers Jetstar and Virgin Australia announced they were canceling flights in and out of Bali today, a popular holiday destination that attracts millions of tourists from around the world every year.

    The closure was the fourth shutdown of Bali airport in recent weeks due to the volcano, which has been spewing ash and lava high into the air since late June.

    The disruption has come during peak holiday season, leaving thousands of tourists stranded.

    The most serious period was between July 9 and 12, when two closures forced almost 900 flights to be canceled or delayed and created a backlog that took days to clear.

    Indonesian government vulcanologist Gede Suantika told AFP that the volcano was today shooting out ash clouds that were larger than those it had recently been emitting.

    “The volcano normally shoots out ash 700 to 800 metres but it’s around 1,000 metres today,” he said.

    Air traffic is regularly disrupted by volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, which sits on a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean and is home to the highest number of active volcanoes in the world, around 130.

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  • Garuda Indonesia partners with China’s CFM International over the airline’s 737 MAX Fleet

    Garuda Indonesia partners with China’s CFM International over the airline’s 737 MAX Fleet

    State-run flag-carrier PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk (GIAA) and China’s CFM International have announced the expansion of their long-term partnership, under which, CFM will provide support for the airline’s future fleet revitalization program.

    Under the arrangement, Garuda is committed to purchase 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which will be powered by CFM LEAP-1B engines.

    “The Next-Generation 737 with CFM56-7B engines is the backbone of our current fleet and this order for the 737 MAX shows our continued commitment to providing our passengers with the most modern, fuel efficient aircraft/engine combination available today,” said Arif Wibowo, President Director and Chief Executive Officer of Garuda Indonesia.

    Garuda Indonesia is a long-time CFM customer and began operating the CFM56-3-powered Boeing 737-300 in the late 1990s. Today, the airline’s fleet includes approximately 80 CFM-powered 737 aircraft in service or on order.

    “We are pleased that Garuda Indonesia has continued to place its trust in CFM,” said Max York, Regional General Manager of Sales for CFM International.

    The LEAP engine is to be the most advanced, reliable, fuel-efficient powerplant for the new generation of single-aisle aircraft.

    Garuda said the lower weight and higher durability these components provide will result in a 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency, with an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions; a 50 per cent margin to new emissions regulations; a dramatically lower noise signature; CFM’s industry-leading reliability and low overall operating costs.

    Garuda announced in October 2014 the airline’s intent to purchase 50 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The agreement is part of the airliner’s revitalization program in order to provide its passengers with the best possible experience with the youngest fleet in the sky and to support the airline’s future plan to further expand its network globally.

    The airliner currently operates more than 90 Boeing airplanes, including Next-Generation versions of the 737, 777-300ERs and 747-400s.

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  • Lotte opens Jeju obligation free retailer

    Lotte opens Jeju obligation free retailer

    Lotte has opened a 6612 sqm Jeju obligation free retailer.

    The brand new retailer, constructed at a price of US$72 million, spans three flooring of the Lotte Metropolis Lodge in Jeju metropolis’s Doryeong-ro district, within the island’s CBD.

    Lotte Obligation Free says it’s almost 3 times the dimensions of the older retailer it replaces.

    Lee Hong Kyun, Lotte Obligation Free’s president, says the corporate plans to develop different leisure and cultural points of interest close by to attract much more vacationer clients to the location “Lotte Obligation Free Jeju retailer, standing on the bottom of its native company, Lotte Obligation Free Jeju Co Ltd, will make a purchasing cluster in Jeju and appeal to overseas vacationers in accordance with the tourism improvement coverage of Jeju,” he stated on the retailer’s opening ceremony.

    The brand new retailer is predominantly concentrating on Mainland Chinese language vacationers and features a cosmetics zone boasting 70 worldwide fragrance and cosmetics manufacturers.

    “Lotte Obligation Free has analysed the preferences of Chinese language vacationers and launched 270 manufacturers, together with international luxurious manufacturers, jewelry, equipment, cosmetics, watches, liquor and tobacco.” the corporate stated in a press assertion.

    “The worldwide luxurious jewelry manufacturers Bvlgari and Tiffany & Co are solely situated in Lotte Obligation Free Jeju retailer.”

  • Garuda Indonesia trims London flights, boosts Amsterdam

    Garuda Indonesia trims London flights, boosts Amsterdam

    SkyTeam alliance member Garuda Indonesia will reduce its flights between Jakarta and London Gatwick in favour of additional flights to Amsterdam.

    From July 22, Garuda’s London services drop from five-times-weekly via Amsterdam to three-times-weekly, and retain the Dutch detour in each direction.

    That’s also when the airline launches its newest route, Jakarta-Singapore-Amsterdam.

    Running three days per week, this offers travellers a total of six weekly Amsterdam-bound flights – up from five at present – with the return leg from the Netherlands skipping the Singapore stopover to fly non-stop to Jakarta.

    Flight schedule: Jakarta to London, Amsterdam

    On Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, Garuda’s Jakarta-Amsterdam-London flights (GA88) depart the Indonesian capital at 11:10pm to reach Amsterdam at 8:30am the following morning. After a two-hour transit, the onward flight pushes back at 10:30am and touches down in London at 10:35am local time.

    Returning via Amsterdam on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, GA89 is wheels-up from London at 12:25pm – arriving in Amsterdam at 2:45pm, continuing the journey at 4:45pm before landing in Jakarta at 11:50am the next morning.

    Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays see the Jakarta-Singapore-Amsterdam services also flying the GA88 banner, leaving Jakarta at 8:50pm, reaching Singapore at 11:50pm, continuing the journey at 1:30am and then touching down in Amsterdam at 8:30am local time one day after initially departing.

    In reverse, the non-stop Amsterdam-Jakarta services take flight at 4:45pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays as GA89, with passengers disembarking at 11:50am the following calendar day.

    What it means for Aussie transit passengers

    Garuda flies non-stop from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to Jakarta, with passengers able to fly onwards from there to Amsterdam and London.

    Here’s what the new flight routings and timings mean for Aussie travellers taking the Kangaroo Route or zipping to Amsterdam for business or pleasure.

    Sydney, GA713/712: Flights to Jakarta on Wednesdays come with a five hour transit time, Friday flights offer transits of just 1hr 55m, Saturdays have a 7hr 20m transit while Sunday flights don’t provide same-day connections.

    Returning home, travellers will spend 11hr 50m on the ground at Jakarta’s Soekarno–Hatta International Airport on all days that the airline flies onwards to Sydney.

    Melbourne, GA717/716: Saturday flights provide an ideal connection with a gap of just 2hr 15m between flights, while on Tuesdays and Sundays that stretches to seven hours and on Thursdays you’ll arrive five minutes after the Europe-bound flight has already departed.

    After making the long journey from London or Amsterdam back to Jakarta, you’ll spend 10hr 40m in waiting before flying home to Melbourne on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays – there’s no connection to Melbourne’s overnight flights on Wednesday evenings.

    Perth, GA725/724: Fly to Jakarta on Tuesdays and Sundays and you’ll have a brisk transit time of only 1hr 55m, although Thursdays and Saturday services don’t pair with an onward journey.

    It’s also bad news on the return with a staggering 22hr 15m wait in Jakarta when the airline has a Jakarta-Perth flight on the following day, so consider a short domestic hop across to Denpasar (Bali) and then journey home from there with Garuda that same afternoon.

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  • Social media inspires T Galleria campaign

    Social media inspires T Galleria campaign

    The luxury travel retailer’s campaign follows the adventures and journeys of three international travellers and social media influencers — French music producer Caroline de Maigret, rising Taiwanese actor Godfrey Gao and Chinese artist Zhou Yi. In a first for an international luxury brand, the campaign integrates their personal travel photographs into advertising and visual merchandising in-store.

    Launched on March 2, the three-part video campaign explores the travels and tales of each influencer.

    John Gerhardt, senior VP, creative and branding direction, DFS Group, said both travel and luxury are very personal.

    “Our three travellers generously contributed to the campaign with their own vacation photographs. In turn, the campaign has a sense of authenticity and personalisation.”

    Customers are invited to explore the campaign in-store through a dynamic experience featuring social-inspired displays, lenticular surfaces, video projections, multimedia walls, pop-up photo booths and aerial installations  — all designed by the retailer’s award-winning visual merchandising team.

    Visitors to TGalleria.com can click into an immersive digital experience featuring with audio clips from each influencer, video content, and travel guides.  Customers and followers can share travel photos using #MyTJourney on Facebook, Instagram, Weibo and WeChat.

    Godfrey Gao is widely hailed as the world’s first Asian male supermodel, and is also an internationally acclaimed actor, starring in Hollywood films and Chinese television shows. Born in Taipei to a Taiwanese father and Malaysian mother, he grew up in Canada, and now travels frequently around Asia from his home in Taipei.

    Zhou Yi is a Chinese artist and fashion muse who has lived in Rome, Paris, London and Shanghai. Her multimedia surrealist work has been shown at the Shanghai Biennale, Venice Biennale, Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival. Since 2010, she was appointed the art director of Tudou.com and currently serves as an art and fashion advisory member at Sina Weibo.

    Caroline de Maigret is a fashion muse, model, music producer, best-selling author and mother.

    The first episode, debuting on March 2, follows music producer and fashion muse Caroline in Chopard, who opens her travel journal sharing personal images from the deep blue waters of Spain’s Cadaqués to her recent trip across Asia, as well as how each journey collectively has inspired her work.

    The second episode launches on April 1 and features screen star and model Godfrey wearing Emporio Armani who shares how travel feeds his appetite to experience the world. Basking in the tropical sun, his photos are an invitation for a dip into the coral reefs of Bora Bora and a ride on the canals of Venice, Italy.

    The final episode launches on May 1 starring celebrated Chinese artist Zhou Yi in Giorgio Armani Beauty. From showing her latest works in Hong Kong to being inspired by Singapore’s bright city lights, the artist shares how each journey transports her into a world of wonder where inspiration can be found at every turn.

    To complement the campaign, T Galleria by DFS commissioned celebrated French fashion illustrator Cassandre Montoriol. Since partnering with the retailer in 2014, Montoriol has added to the season through her whimsical illustrations which have reached 12 million travelers on social media across Asia.

    T Galleria by DFS, formerly known as DFS Galleria, is the evolution of the original travel retail concept pioneered by DFS Group, whose first downtown store opened in 1968 in Hong Kong, followed shortly thereafter by Honolulu and eventually expanding to 14 locations worldwide.

    Today, T Galleria by DFS has a presence in the US Asia, Australasia and the South Pacific.

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