Corporate Travel Analysis Reports For Asia

Marriott International has confirmed the brand entry of Aloft Hotels into Singapore with the opening of Aloft Singapore Novena, the largest Aloft hotel in the world.

The remodelled hotel brings the brand's vibrant and flexible spaces to the Balestier neighbourhood, one of Singapore's most energetic districts, that offers an eclectic mix of local cuisines, culture, and entertainment.

Marriott International has signed a Hotel Management Agreement with Indonesian real estate developer, PT. Pakuwon Jati Tbk. to open three properties in Indonesia's new capital city, Ibu Kota Negara Nusantara.

Marriott has also celebrated the milestone opening of its 50th property in Thailand, a portfolio that comprises a mix of hotels and resorts across 15 distinct brands across major destinations in the Kingdom including Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, and debuted its iconic W Hotels brand in Macau.

Asia-Pacific airlines have been accelerating their capacity recovery on international routes in recent months - although they still have some way to go to catch up with airlines in other global regions.

International demand has undoubtedly roared back - as evidenced by the elevated average fares and profits of some airlines. Airlines have tried to keep pace by returning more parked aircraft to service and purchasing or leasing additional lift, but supply is still constrained.

This means international capacity is being determined more by aircraft availability than by demand levels in many cases.

There is still a lot of variance between sub-regions in the broader Asia-Pacific region. The Northeast Asia sub-region still lags other parts, such as Southeast Asia and Australasia.

However, even in Northeast Asia the improvement has been dramatic since the first quarter of 2023.

Just as no two neighbourhoods are alike, IHG Hotels & Resorts is quick to highlight that no two Hotel Indigo properties are alike. That is clearly evident in the recent growth of the luxury and lifestyle collection brand and the new openings in Tokyo, Melbourne and Guadalajara where each property offers a very different experience for guests.

Hotel Indigo now has approaching 150 hotels open globally, with another 125+ in the pipeline. Other recent and upcoming openings include Hotel Indigo Galapagos, Hotel Indigo Panama City Marina, Hotel Indigo Bordeaux Center Chartrons and Hotel Indigo La Paz.

The new World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2023 Global Trends Report reveals an encouraging resurgence in Travel & Tourism investment, overcoming pandemic setbacks and signalling a strong return to growth.

From 2010 to 2019, investment grew steadily at 4.3% CAGR, growing from USD754.6billion in 2010 to USD1.1 trillion in 2019, or 4.5% of all economy-wide investment. COVID-19 hit hard, leading to a 24% decline in 2020 and a further 8% in 2021. However, 2022 marked a turning point.

Ying'nFlo, the new fun and no-frills brand from Langham Hospitality Group will open its' second Hong Kong address on 01-Sep-2023, in Admiralty, Hong Kong, and has opened reservations for the new property.

The 251-room Ying'nFlo, Wesley Admiralty, Hong Kong, which towers over the city's famous trams and cityscape, marks a gateway for the young at heart to explore Hong Kong.

Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific says its Business Plus corporate travel programme has got "miles" more rewarding following a revamp of its corporate loyalty programme and travel management platform.

Aimed at SMEs and growing businesses, Business Plus allows SMEs to manage their business travel in a self-service travel platform.

Travellers who take ten or more trips per year value experiences over financial rewards; are members of twice as many customer engagement and loyalty programmes versus less frequent travellers; and are three times more likely to engage with digital and ESG-linked rewards and benefits.

These were some of the key observations among Asia Pacific travellers from 'The New Rules of Engagement: Customer Expectations Revealed', an Asia Pacific customer engagement and loyalty research report from Collinson, a global provider of airport experiences, loyalty and customer engagement solutions.

As it celebrates the one-year anniversary of the debut of its Premium Economy cabin aboard some of its Airbus A380 fleet, Emirates Airline has confirmed it will also debut the cabin on two routes to India later this year and continues to study further markets for the product as more retrofitted aircraft with refreshed cabins roll into scheduled service.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) carrier says over 160,000 customers have "traded up" to fly in its Premium Economy since it was introduced in Aug-2022, with "strong demand" momentum forecasted in the coming months.

British Airways CEO Sean Doyle has recently reiterated his airline's commitment to first class. He told The Telegraph last month that the UK airline would be "one of the few carriers to retain first [class] on the scale that we do".

New analysis from CAPA - Centre for Aviation of its Fleet Database reveals that British Airways ranks second globally by the number of first class seats installed on its fleet.

Far ahead is Emirates Airline - partly a reflection of its larger size overall. Emirates is also the biggest operator of widebodies, where premium cabins are typically more important.

Emirates has the highest number of First class seats, but Singapore Airlines has a higher proportion of its seats in premium cabins, and SWISS has a higher proportion of widebody seats in first class.