Articles

Luxury travellers have always enjoyed a degree of novelty, personalisation and bespoke services during their travels, but the level of tailored planning, personalised services and one-of-a-kind outings in Asia is rising.

It has become much easier to leave China: Visa regulations are simplified or even totally abolished, many 2nd and 3rd tier airports in China offer international flights, the amount of information about different destinations is growing, and electronic gadgets are helping to overcome language barriers. 

New report cautions short to medium-term stress on supply demand fundamentals.

Looking into the numbers this year, total hotel supply in the market is 48,000 keys which is creating a powerful necessity for Chiang Mai to step outside its boutique image and find ways to fill rooms with more mainstream offerings.

The Asia-Pacific region has now become a global economic powerhouse and many analysts predict that this sense of momentum is only expected to increase in the coming years.

A personal perspective by Andrew J Wood President SKÅL International Bangkok

Branding is everything in China. The same mug, the same coffee can have a 10x price difference in China branded vs no-brand.

Thailand is also a leading wellness tourism destination. The country is ranked 14th in the world, earning $12 billion per year from wellness.

The wellness tourism market was valued by the Global Wellness Institute as worth $639 billion in 2017. From 2015-2017, it grew 6.5%. That’s twice as fast as the general travel industry.

The air here is crisp and clean and once you leave the crowded city centre, remote and agricultural. You are quite simply surrounded by evergreen nature...and it’s wonderful.