Innholdsfortegnelse for September - October 2023 i Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM The sand is warm and soft between my toes, a balmy breeze ruffles the leaves in the palm trees, my stomach is full after an exquisite dinner, and the sky is putting on a colour-saturated show as the sun sinks below the horizon. It's easy to see why the Maldives is considered by so many to be the island holiday of a lifetime, a tropical paradise par excellence. I cannot argue convincingly against that opinion – since its tourism industry began in 1972, the Maldives has become possibly the most glamorous and globally famous destination for affluent holidaymakers looking for an exotic tropical experience in luxurious accommodation. But the growing awareness and acceptance (in the main) of serious climate change has brought into sharper focus both how we…

H and baggage has always gone hand in hand with short business trips, saving you time at the airport and protecting you from the risk of lost luggage. It's no longer as efficient and cheap as it once was, however. Low-cost carriers have long restricted hand baggage allowances to just one bag that fits under the seat, with some full-service carriers starting to adopt the practice, citing time-saving improvements and limited overhead locker space as the reasons for the change in policy. In these cases, passengers have to purchase more expensive fares, dramatically downsize their packing, or check in their luggage. Other airlines give passengers the freedom to bring a case and a ‘personal item’ that is small enough to fit under the seat in front – backpacks, briefcases, handbags…

Pullman hotel and conference centre opens in Sydney's Penrith suburb ACCOR HAS OPENED the latest property under its Pullman Hotels and Resorts brand, as part of a new development in Sydney's western suburb of Penrith. The building – which also houses the new Western Sydney Conference Centre – features a ribbon-like shape inspired by the nearby Nepean River, and is set among landscaping with more than 75 trees and 8,000 plants. Facilities of the 153-room Pullman Sydney Penrith include a fitness and wellness centre developed with the High-Performance team from the Australian professional rugby league football club Penrith Panthers, featuring Watt bikes, Woodway treadmills, Assault bikes, SkiErgs, an Olympic lifting platform, resistance machines and weights up to 30kg, as well as a ten-person sauna. The attached Western Sydney Conference Centre…

The Pearl River Delta in southern China's Guangdong province has long been a hugely productive place. Naturally fertile, it attracted early settlement and agriculture, then became a regional and international manufacturing and trade hub that has powered the development of some of the world's most dynamic cities. Today the metropolises of Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Macau (also spelt Macao) are testament to that history, while around and between them new urban centres, just a few short decades ago mere villages, have risen at incredible speed. (These are Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.) Together they form an almost unbroken megalopolis, one of the most densely populated and urbanised environments on the planet. In 2015, the World Bank Group said the Pearl River Delta had surpassed Tokyo to…

Earlier this year I attended the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, a three-day event for industry speakers in the hospitality world. There was a noticeable buzz around the extended-stay segment, from serviced apartments to aparthotels and co-living properties. This segment has grown in recent years, with a rise in demand prompted by hybrid and remote work lifestyles. Since the pandemic, specifically, there's a growing number of employees no longer tied to a fixed location who have joined the hunt for accommodation that suits long stays. Hotel groups are understandably keen to get in on the action, launching their own extended-stay brands, while long-standing operators are expanding their footprint. There are also plenty of new entrants keen to push the boundaries of what an extended stay should encompass. Here…

BACKGROUND Kazakh flag carrier Air Astana launched its first service between Almaty and Astana in 2002. Today, the Air Astana Group, which includes low-cost carrier FlyArystan, serves more than 90 destinations across Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The group has 45 aircraft, and its expansion continues, both in terms of fleet size and network. Air Astana is currently renewing its entire fleet with long-range Airbus A321 neo aircraft, and will add its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft in 2025. Air Astana's A321 neo LR aircraft were the first in the industry to feature ‘throne seats’ – single seats in a 1-1 configuration, as opposed to the standard 2-2 configuration. Other airlines, including Aer Lingus on its A321 LRs and Singapore Airlines on its Boeing 737 MAXs,…

Stars save the lakes THE UK LAKE DISTRICT'S TOP CHEFS are joining forces this month to host a week-long culinary event to raise funds for the Save Windermere campaign, which seeks to end sewage pollution into Lake Windermere and its surrounding rivers. Chefs 4 Save Windermere is spearheaded by Barney Cunliffe, managing director of Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, a Relais & Chateaux hotel, and will see chefs from Michelin-starred and critically acclaimed restaurants cook up a feast in a tented setting overlooking Lake Windermere. The programme will showcase a different chef each evening, kicking off on September 11 with Simon Rogan, with menus featuring local and sustainable ingredients. The money raised will be used to support the campaign's new data collection initiatives, parliamentary lobbying and the development of innovative…

The Atacama Desert in Chile is generally considered to be the driest place on Earth. The South American plateau receives little precipitation (about 15mm annually) and is virtually devoid of vegetation or animal life as a result, with humidity reaching just 10 per cent. In a business class cabin, the average humidity is 7 per cent. In other words, it's drier than the driest place on Earth. The arid conditions arise because the outside air that's drawn into the cabin is very cold – around -15˚C – so it can't hold any moisture. As cabin air is also frequently refreshed (roughly every two minutes) the small amount of moisture that's generated is also filtered out very quickly. Most humidity in the cabin actually comes from passengers via exhalation. The most…

Under sunny skies and towering palm trees, sunglass-bespectacled screenwriters circle studio sidewalks, carrying “Writer's Strike!” signs scribbled with quips: “I told ChatGPT to write a picket sign and it sucked.” “Spoiler alert: you need writers.” Here in Los Angeles, this ongoing strike has parts of the entertainment business and the Californian city stuck in slow gear. In May, the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) authorised a strike after failing to come to a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the organising coalition of Hollywood's studios and streaming services – Universal, Walt Disney Pictures, Amazon Studios and Netflix, among others. At the time of writing, SAG-AFTRA, the corresponding actors’ union, is expected to take similar action if a deal can't be worked out around similar concerns…

BACKGROUND MGallery is Accor's boutique hotel brand, with more than 100 properties globally. Opened last July, this is the second of the brand's design-conscious hotels in Hong Kong following the opening of the Silveri in Tung Chung in June 2022. WHERE IS IT? Located away from the main Wan Chai bustle on a quiet corner of Jaffe Road, the hotel is a ten-minute walk from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), five minutes from Wan Chai MTR station and a three-minute stroll from the new Exhibition Centre MTR station. It's well placed to explore the many bars and restaurants along Lockhart Road and the sleek malls of Causeway Bay. WHAT'S IT LIKE? Housed in an impressive glass structure, AKI Hong Kong channels a Japanese minimalist aesthetic with light…