China Eastern Airlines schedules two C919 jets between Shanghai and Chengdu
As the second C919 large passenger plane joined China Eastern Airlines for service, the operator now flies two of these China-made jets between Shanghai and Chengdu starting Friday. Four flights are scheduled every other day between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, with two daily flights the rest of the week.
Klook rolls out new travel insurance product
Klook has teamed up with Singapore’s Zurich Insurance Company to introduce TravelJoy, a revamped travel insurance offering that includes all-encompassing coverage for Klook customers. Designed to go beyond conventional travel insurance boundaries to ensure peace of mind for customers, TravelJoy covers trip cancellations, medical emergencies, lost or stolen luggage, and even telehealth services.
Ant Group partners with DFS for luxury travel retail
Alipay operator Ant Group and DFS Group, a Hong-Kong based travel retailer of luxury goods, have partnered for payments and marketing digitalization across the latter’s network of 36 stores in 15 markets and 12 online stores in four markets. Alipay+ will also be integrated as a payment option for better foreign exchange rates and cross-border payment acceptance from mobile wallets.
MGM China’s net revenue grows over 230% year-on-year to HKD10.6 bln in H1
MGM China Holdings has reported HKD5.8 billion in revenue for the second quarter of 2023, about 105% of the 2019 level, with its adjusted EBITDA of HKD1.75 billion at 120% of its pre-Covid level. The company’s net revenue grew 231.2% to HKD10.6 billion in the first half of the year compared to a year earlier.
Marriott RevPAR more than doubles in Greater China in Q2
Marriott International released its second-quarter financial report, reporting a Q2 revenue of USD 6.08 billion, up by 14% year-on-year, surpassing analyst expectations. Greater China, considered Marriott's second-largest market, posted a nearly USD 85 RevPAR in the second quarter of this year, more than doubling the growth compared to the same period last year.
Hilton has announced a number of new signings in China in the first half of this year, including Conrad Qingcheng Mountain, Hilton Shanghai City Centre, Hilton Shanghai Jing’an, Curio Collection by Hilton hotels in Yantai and Anji, Hilton Garden Inn Hangzhou Grand Canal and Hilton Garden Inn Chengdu Chenghua.
Marking continued growth across multiple brand categories, Hilton says these properties are strategically located in ancient capitals, cultural hotspots, vacation resorts and wellness retreats.
Wyndham Reports Strong H1 2023 RevPAR Growth in Asia Pacific
Wyndham has reported strong growth momentum in the Asia Pacific region for the half year ended 30 June 2023 (H1 2023). The company tapped in to the continual recovery of bleisure travel across the Asia Pacific region and successfully opened and signed hotels. The new openings led to an overall 6% increase in Wyndham’s room size across the region. In Greater China, the company continued to venture into new deals and openings including the opening of Wyndham Shanghai Nanxiang in April, the third Wyndham and 32nd property in the city of Shanghai.
Amadeus forms strategic partnership with Chinese e-commerce platform Meituan
Meituan, a major online retail platform in China, has partnered with Amadeus, a global travel technology company. This partnership will allow hoteliers to use Amadeus' iHotelier® Channel Management™ to connect directly to Meituan and share their availability, rates, and inventory. This will open up hotels to new Chinese travelers who are using Meituan to book their travel.
AirAsia ramps up flights to China amid surge in travel demand
Based on the strong current and forecast demand, AirAsia Malaysia (AK) will resume another route from Kota Kinabalu to Hangzhou starting with three flights weekly beginning 2 September 2023. Meanwhile, AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) will be increasing services from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing (Daxing) from four to five flights weekly beginning 1 September, from Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai from four to seven flights weekly commencing 15 September, and from Kuala Lumpur to Hangzhou from three to four flights weekly starting 30 September this year.
