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The post New LGBTQ+ hotel certification program launches appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily.

International travel and hospitality provider Sonders & Beach has partnered with RINA to officially launch the world’s first LGBTQ+ certification program to identify and certify hotels, destinations and travel service providers that guarantee a safe and inclusive environment to all members of the LGBTQ+ community. The historic QueerVadis Certification Program will award accreditations to entities that meet rigorous regulatory standards and protocols to ensure LGBTQ+ clients experience a respectful and fully welcoming environment. The traveller will be guaranteed the freedom to be themselves without fear of harassment or judgement.

A Rigorous Review Process

The QueerVadis Certification Program is conducted in collaboration with the Italian LGBTQ+ Tourism Organization (AITGL). RINA’s acclaimed third-party certification process will provide independent guarantee of compliance, supporting QueerVadis’ policies across all aspects of projects, operations, logistics, and legislation. To earn the certification, applicants must pass a rigorous 60-point review process that includes the proper training of staff and management, adherence to a Code of Ethics, and a commitment to guaranteeing the highest level of safety, protection and service to the LGBTQ+ community.

RINA will perform the initial certification audits and provide ongoing review, thereafter, aimed at maintaining the status of an “LGBTQ + Welcoming” company.

“LGBTQ+ travel is a powerful and influential part of the global tourism industry, representing more than $200 billion worldwide. It is also one of the fastest-growing segments, comprising more than 10 per cent of all travellers,” said Alessio Virgili, Co-Founder and CEO of Sonders & Beach. “The QueerVadis Certification Program will guarantee LGBTQ+ travellers a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment.”

“We are proud to partner with Sonders & Beach to help create a world where LGBTQ+ travelers can feel respected and valued in their own identity, regardless of where they travel,” said Nicola Battuello, Executive Vice President – RINA. “The QueerVadis Certification Program is in line with the PNRR values for the promotion of inclusive and sustainable tourism. The growing recognition of its importance in the industry is a clear example of how, by joining forces, two companies can contribute to a society that is increasingly attentive to the well-being of all.”

Growing Membership

Sonders & Beach’s partnership with RINA was introduced during the recent European States General of LGBTQ+ Tourism held in Milan and organized by AITGL, the Italian body of LGBTQ+ Tourism. Participating organizations included UNWTO, ETOA, IGLTA, ENIT, Confindustria Federturismo, Fiavet, the Mayor of Milan, and the tourism bodies of eight European countries.

Current QueerVadis-certified members include the UNA Hotels Group, Leonardo Hotels, Italian Tourism Agency (ENIT), Best Western, the Municipality of Milan, and the Municipality of Crema, among others. Leonardo Hotels Central Europe, headquartered in Berlin, is responsible for a hotel portfolio in countries that include Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain and Italy. The portfolio encompasses 84 hotels in 37 regions with more than 14,500 rooms.

Leonardo Hotel’s Fattal Hotel Group, based in Italy, was among the first to complete the certification. It was eager to become “QueerVadis Approved” with the approach of the 38th Annual IGLTA World Convention, the premier convergence point for LGBTQ+ tourism professionals, in October 2022. With the convention being held in Milan, one of Italy’s fastest-growing destinations for LGBTQ+ travel, the hotel group recognized the importance of ensuring visitors of its inclusive policies.

“We want every guest to know that, at our properties, they can feel completely free to be themselves,” said Rafi Carmon, Country General Manager, Italy. “The QueerVadis Certification is proof of our commitment to providing an inclusive environment of safety, support and superior service to the LGBTQ+ traveler.”

The post New LGBTQ+ hotel certification program launches appeared first on Travel Daily.

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The post Singapore Tourism Board partners Traveloka and Trans Digital Media to welcome Indonesian travellers appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily.

Singapore is gearing up to welcome visitors from Indonesia with its SingapoReimagine recovery campaign to get visitors to reignite their passion for travel through fresh and innovative experiences in Singapore. To drive visitation, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) partners, through two Memoranda of Cooperation (MoC), with lifestyle super app Traveloka and Trans Digital Media to signal the start of the year-long rollout of joint tactical campaigns.

The MoCs are STB’s first key lifestyle and travel partnerships inked in Indonesia since the pandemic, to position Singapore as the holiday destination of choice with great offers following the city’s reopening to fully-vaccinated visitors with no quarantine and testing requirements under the Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF).

Singapore saw a 252% increase in international visitor arrivals (IVA) year-on-year in Q1 2022. This is on the back on international arrivals climbing month-on-month for the third straight month in April 2022. Some 294,300 visitors hit the island’s shores in April, up from 121,200 in March, although volumes were still far lower than the 1.6 million recorded in Apr 2019, before the pandemic. Indonesia overtook India as the biggest source of arrivals, with 58,270 travellers in April, up from 13,620 in March. Singapore expects to welcome even more visitors from May as the result of the transition to the VTF from 1 April 2022.

Mr John Conceicao, Executive Director Southeast Asia, of the Singapore Tourism Board said: “With the strong rebound in the Indonesia market in recent months as a result of quarantine-free and test-free travel for the fully vaccinated, we are doubling down on our SingapoReimagine recovery campaign to maintain top-of-mind awareness and recapture mindshare amongst our target audiences. Through our partnerships with Traveloka and Trans Digital Media we hope to entice Indonesian travellers with a wide range of curated tactical offers such as flight and hotel packages and other lifestyle offerings to drive and sustain visitorship through to next year.”

STB partnered 3 Indonesian celebrities; Sarah Sechan, Marissa Nasution dan Denada Tambunan to showcase a different side of what the city has to offer, from exciting new attractions and novel dining concepts to wellness retreats and sustainable experiences for its 3-part SingapoReimagine video series.

The partnership with Traveloka, Southeast Asia’s lifestyle super-app, will drive interest to a wider target audience and provide an easier booking experience for Singapore offerings across five markets in the Southeast Asia region, namely Indonesia, Malaysia Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam. STB Indonesia had previously partnered with Traveloka in 2019 before the pandemic, and with the improving travel situation regionally, this partnership is timely to reignite the pent-up travel demand and sustain the recovery momentum.

Ms Shirley Lesmana, chief marketing officer, Traveloka said “we are very excited to partner up with STB to offer many of Singapore’s reimagined experiences through our all-encompassing superapp. Before the pandemic, Singapore was consistently amongst the top 3 tourist destinations for Indonesians, and we are hoping that this partnership will continue the momentum, revitalizing the wanderlust in Indonesians to travel to Singapore.”

Harnessing the strong consumer touchpoints within the Trans Digital Media’s ecosystem, STB hopes its first of its kind partnership with the group will help to drive demand and actual bookings for leisure travel to Singapore. The partnership with Trans Digital Media will see AntaVaya – one of Indonesia’s largest travel agencies, creating new Singapore products supported by exclusive Bank Mega deals and promoted throughout their media and retail outlets nationally.

Mr Abdul Aziz, President Director, Trans Digital Media said “we believe that people are eager to start travelling again as the global situation continues to improve and allows for safer travel. We are truly excited about the collaboration with STB to strengthen the appeal of its tourism offerings to the Indonesian market. With this partnership, we hope to be able to support Singapore’s tourism recovery to emerge even stronger than before.”

Fresh and innovative experiences in Singapore

Thrill seekers can look forward to brand-new attractions such as SkyHelix Sentosa, Singapore’s highest open-air panoramic ride and the first carbon-neutral attraction on Sentosa Island. as well as the Museum of Ice Cream. Meanwhile, other destinations have been enhanced to keep visitors excited, including the Marvel Universe area at Madame Tussauds Singapore, the Tropical Montane Orchidetum at National Orchid Garden, and the Ice Hotel Gallery at Snow City, which is Singapore’s first ice hotel experience. The events calendar in Singapore looks set to entice visitors with the first-ever Wellness Festival Singapore in June, the perennial favourite Singapore Food Festival in Q3 2022, and the highly anticipated F1 Singapore Grand Prix 2022 at the end of September. Travellers can also look forward to new attractions that will be opening soon like the Slingshot; Asia’s tallest extreme swing ride and an integrated facility where visitors can skate, surf, ski and snowboard in Trifecta in 2023.

Singapore has put in place robust measures to safeguard the health and safety of travellers and the local community. As of 24 May 2022, 93% of Singapore’s total population has completed their full vaccination regimen.

Travellers can look out for the ‘SG Clean’ quality mark which denotes a high level of cleanliness among local businesses and premises. More information on Singapore’s enhanced measures can be found on Visit Singapore website.

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The post Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor reopens to the world appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily.

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, one of the most iconic heritage properties in Southeast Asia, reopens its doors to guests on 1st June 2022 for the first time in almost three years.

First opened in 1932 and widely celebrated as La Grande Dame de Angkor, the hotel has been welcoming discerning travellers and famous faces – from Charlie Chaplin to Jackie Kennedy and Michelle Obama – to the historic heart of Cambodia for almost ninety years.

The hotel underwent a delicate transformation in 2019 with rooms and suites receiving a meticulous facelift before the global pause in travel. The guestrooms feature lighter and brighter interiors as well as the addition of Segafredo coffee machines, USB charging stations and Simmons pillow-top mattresses. The French windows, which swing open to views of street scenes or the plantation-style grounds of the hotel, have been upgraded, and each room now has a writing desk and vintage rotary telephone, thanks in part to the added floor space created by removing cabinets and replacing them with built-in wardrobes. All bathrooms have also been upgraded with new Italian tiling and rain showers. The traditional ceiling fans remain, as well as the beautiful views of the Royal Gardens or the resort’s iconic swimming pool.

It is a magnificent feeling to bring this enchanting hotel back to life,” said acting general manager Dennis de Groot. “The Grand Hotel is a national treasure, and its storied history is a testament to Cambodia’s colourful past. It was originally built as a rest stop for archaeologists and adventurers seeking to explore the ancient kingdom of Angkor Wat. As we prepare to celebrate the hotel’s 90th anniversary this year, we are delighted that this hotel can continue to set the standard for luxury hospitality, where travellers arrive as guests, leave as friends and return as family.”

Returning guests will notice that the famous façade and entire exterior of the hotel now shine white, rather than its former cream-beige hue which was the colour of French colonial architecture across Indochina.

Named after the year that Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor first opened, 1932 is the hotel’s latest signature restaurant, proudly inheriting the honour to serve traditional Royal Khmer cuisine for a unique dining experience.

Another fresh addition to the hotel is the Raffles Marquee, an elegant events centre situated within 15-acres of lush French gardens that plays host to everything from Khmer performances and fashion shows to wedding receptions and business conferences. This fully air-conditioned marquee offers a truly unique setting for sophisticated events in the enchanting town of Siem Reap.

Traditionalists can rest assured that the hotel’s original teak and wrought iron cage elevator remains, as does the vintage ambience of the Elephant Bar and the checker-tiled lobby, which over the decades has witnessed a guest list of royalty, film stars, writers and artists.

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor is situated a mere 20-minute drive to the doorway of the UNESCO Heritage temples of Angkor. To allow guests to explore more of the fascinating destination, the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor offers an enticing series of Raffles Curated Journeys and Resort Programs designed to infuse local experiences with worldly elegance. Guests can explore the ancient Angkor Archaeological Park on an iconic Vespa, before being one of the first travellers of the day to enter the temple. Embark on a local tuk-tuk tour for a journey through the Silk Road of Angkor, visiting the beautiful Banteay Srei Temple and Golden Silk Farm. Food aficionados can taste Siem Reap on an exclusive Culinary Hidden Gems, while shopaholics saunter Siem Reap’s Kandal Village neighbourhood with the assistance of a Raffles Butler, and culture lovers can enjoy a majestic performance of Cambodian dances in the Apsara Terrace.

Within the resort grounds, guests can take part in on-site activities including monk blessings, Angkor Sling masterclasses, botanical and culinary garden tours, and a tour with the hotel’s resident historian.

Designed by French architect Ernest Hébrard in a style that combines Khmer art and furnishings with Art Deco influences, the Grand Hotel first opened in 1932 with just 63 rooms, all with private bathrooms – a revelation in its day. The property, along with its sister heritage hotel, Le Royal, in Phnom Penh, was taken over by Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in 1997 at the invitation of Cambodia’s King Sihanouk.

The move to reopen on 1st June comes at a time when Cambodia has removed all major travel restrictions. The country was widely praised for its handling of the pandemic and its effective vaccine program. Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor was recognized this year by US magazine Travel + Leisure as among the top 500 hotels in the world.

The post Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor reopens to the world appeared first on Travel Daily.

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