Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com 18 OC TOBER 2018 TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA I T B A S I A S H O W D A I L I E S 19 Right on the heels of opening its Singapore office in early September, dcs plus, a global travel technology company, recently announced a partnership with Radius Travel, a global travel management company, to provide travel solutions to the network's members. As part of the Radius Travel Global Technology Program, members of the By WILL CHIN dcs plus partners up with Radius Travel to provide travel solutions Radius Travel network will have access to dcs plus' complete travel technology stack, which includes enterprise-grade solutions that address the needs of travel management companies. These include: • TINA: for mid-back office management • IRIX: for travel content aggregation and distribution BY WILL CHIN TO BUILD A DIFFERENT SABAH Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also one of Sabah's most popular tourist attractions. dcs plus Singapore office. MILLENNIUM GETS SERIOUS ABOUT FOOTBALL BY WILL CHIN • CSBT: a corporate self- booking tool • TRIP: an online B2C system • TravList: an itinerary mangement mobile app "The Global Technology Program provides dcs plus, Radius Travel and its partner agencies with the ability to grow via economics of scale," commented Nicole Wilcock, director, global implementation, client technology & product at Radius Travel. "By leveraging dcs plus' unique platform, partner agencies can standardise their processes, reduce implementation time and increase efficiencies when supporting our multi- national clients." Cristian Dinca, CEO and founder of dcs plus, added: "We are delighted to be part of this great programme and feel very honoured to have the chance to bring value to Radius members through solutions that will drive superior performance." Millennium Hotels and Resorts has a lot to be excited about these days. First, there's the three-year partnership with Chelsea Football Club, which allows its guests to access a selection of football-focussed room packages, book a range PHOT0 CREDIT: PAULWONGKWAN/GETTYIMAGES T ourism arrival to Sabah has experienced a slow yet steady growth over the years. From 3.4 million arrivals in 2013, Sabah saw 3.7 million in 2017, with an increase in revenue contribution from RM6.35 billion (US$1.53 billion) to RM7.8 billion in the same period. According to Christina Liew, the Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, international arrivals made up 16.57% of the increase, with China being the biggest inbound market. However, the authorities have more lofty goals in mind. For example, Institute for Development Studios (IDS) Sabah recently worked together with the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) to organise the Seminar on Development of Sustainable Tourism in the Rural Areas of Sabah. Further conversations were also had on developing and promoting other tourist destinations, especially in the east coast of Sabah, including Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Sandakan. And Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal agrees. Speaking at a recent Gaya Street Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival in Kota Kinabalu, Shafie expressed his wish to increase the number of tourism products — particularly in Ranau and cultural-based tourism. "As Chief Minister, [let me assure you] that this is one of the events we are going to enhance to ensure that not only tourists from China are coming here but also from other places." Shafie added that one area to look at is to organise wedding packages for couples to be married in Sabah. He also suggested weekly food fairs at Kota Kinabalu's Gaya Street, as well as cultural festivals in Tawau and Sandakan. Then there was the elephant in the room: security. Security in Sabah has been a needling issue in recent years. As a result, discussions with the federal government are being had to ensure the safety of not just locals in Sabah, but foreign tourists as well. Shafie, who is also chairman of the Sabah Security Committee, has vowed to take firm action against kidnap-for-ransom groups menacing the region. of guest experiences and enter competitions to win prizes on the new Millennium Chelsea FC website. Arguably the most exciting, however, is AUSCA, or the front-of-house Automated Service Chef Associate, which the hotel deployed at M Social Singapore in late 2017 to serve perfectly done eggs for guests at its award-winning restaurant, Beast and Butterflies. Following that, the group will be rolling AUSCA out to other Singapore properties, namely Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, M Hotel Singapore, Orchard Hotel Singapore, Copthorne Kings Singapore and Studio M Singapore by the end of November 2018. And the chief-in-training will be programmed to serve up even more dishes. "International arrivals made up 16.57% of the increase, with China being the biggest inbound market." VISIT BOOTH: C09 VISIT BOOTH: F05 VISIT BOOTH: C38 Millennium partners Chelsea Football Club.

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