Asia monthly tips

AirAsia on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mohamad Hafidz, who is currently the chief fintech officer, as the acting CEO of AirAsia superapp from April 1 onwards. 

Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet said it has restructured its outstanding lease rental worth over $100 million to aircraft leasing firm Carlyle Aviation Partners into equity shares and convertible debentures.

Having battled political instability and economic crisis, a resilient tourism industry in Sri Lanka now waits for the government to do its bit to communicate to the world that the country is open to tourists.

Having missed its deadline of launching an Indian initial public offering (IPO) by this month, India-based online travel company Yatra.com has now said that it is “hopeful and confident of getting the IPO done in the near term.”

Marking the debut of Hilton’s luxury brand Waldorf Astoria in India, Chris Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton, announced on Wednesday that Jaipur would be the first destination for the brand.

Radisson Hotel Group announced on Wednesday that it would be debuting its luxury lifestyle brand, Radisson Collection in India with the signing of the first hotel in Hyderabad.

Red Sea Global, a company fully owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is exploring the possibility of a public market offering, with plans to launch as early as 2026.

Capital A’s long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X reported its return to black with a net profit of $71 million and a revenue of $119 million in the first quarter of 2023.  

Online travel company Trip.com Group has joined hands with flag carrier Cambodia Angkor Air to position the new Angkor International Airport as a smart airport in the region.

Trip.com Group, the largest online travel company in the world, looks to address China’s population decline and aging demographic by offering cash incentives to employees to have kids.

The Philippines on Tuesday unveiled its new tourism campaign, “Love the Philippines,” marking a departure from its decade-long slogan, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”

In the past five months in India, there have been four announcements from the government regarding taxes for international tour packages — each completely different, none clearly stated.

India-headquartered travel tech firm RateGain has set its sights on expanding in the Americas, and to spearhead this effort, it has appointed Peter Strebel as President for the Americas region, Skift has confirmed.

India’s tourism industry has been posting strong growth in recent years, positioning itself as a significant player in outbound travel and a competitor to China.