In the news: AirAsia X’s aircraft design contest, Yatra and Travelguru partner with eRevMax, Scoot teams up with Agoda.com, first interactive wax museum in Malaysia
Design AirAsia X’s livery and win a trip of a lifetime
AirAsia X, the long haul, low fare affiliate of the AirAsia group, is inviting you to design the livery for of one of its Airbus A330s aircraft and win “a trip of a lifetime”, as the airline puts it, to the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France.
The invite is issued through its “AirAsia X Paint the Plane Design Contest”, which is on from now until September 12, with the winners to be announced on September 20.
The grand prize winner, who comes up with the best aircraft design, will win a round trip from Kuala Lumpur to the Airbus factory in Toulouse. The runner-up will receive one round trip ticket for two from Kuala Lumpur to any AirAsia X destinations.
Participants, who must be at least 18 years of age, can download the seven templates at AirAsia blog, which also provides details of the contest. They can choose one of the seven livery names – Xklusive, Xiao Long Bao, Xeoul Mate, Xiao Lin Spirit, Xcintillating PhoeniX, Harmoniuos DiverXity and Xakura Blossom. The designs, digital or hand-drawn, have be on all five parts of the aircraft – front, top, bottom, left and right view.
Eligible participants also have to be a fan of AirAsia Facebook and follow the airline on Twitter.
Yatra, Travelguru partner with eRevMax for upgraded connectivity
Leading Indian online travel agencies, Yatra and Travelguru, have integrated with eRevMax to offer XML connectivity to its growing base of hotel customers.
Accommodation providers will now be able to make real-time ARI (Available Rate & Inventory) updates, and receive bookings generated on these channels through eRevMax solutions directly into their property management system.
Following a two-way XML interface certification with eRevMax to leverage its RateTiger and Connect enterprise distribution services, both companies will be able to gain access to broader products and more inventories, improve booking conversion and increase revenues as part of its growth plans across the Asia Pacific region.
“Our integration with eRevMax will help our hotel partners to update rates and inventories in our sales channels in real-time, enabling us to bring the best offers to our customers. This integration will also connect us to eRevMax’s Hotel Ecosystem for improving our global inventory supply,” said Arun P Ajayan, Travelguru.com’s key account manager.
Greg Berman, eRevMax International’s chief operation officer, said online travel is growing at 30.2% in India, the fastest in the world. “Our integration with Yatra and Travelguru will improve our portfolio by offering a diverse range of distributors through the eRevMax Channel Ecosystem.”
The new functionality is available now to all existing eRevMax hotel customers looking to leverage distribution through Travelguru and Yatra.
Scoot partners Agoda.com to offer easy hotel booking
Scoot, the low cost arm of Singapore Airlines, and hotel booking website, Agoda.com, have teamed up to enable customers to book hotels at their destination without leaving the airline’s website.
Customers who visit www.flyscoot.com/hotels can browse thousands of hotels from Agoda.com’s inventory and book rooms worldwide, taking advantage of the booking site’s lowest price guarantee.
Ernst Hemmer, Agoda.com’s director commercial said, "“The partnership between Agoda.com and Scoot makes sense on many levels. Both companies put great value on providing a seamless and stress-free customer experience, and both strive to be easily reachable and connected, making travel affordable and accessible to travelers looking for great deals.”
Campbell Wilson, Scoot’s CEO said ScootStays, which offers affordable accommodation worldwide, adds to the airline’s one-stop service to book air tickets, as well as add-ons such as baggage allowance, seat assignment, meals and ScooTV inflight entertainment.
Malaysia’s own interactive wax museum
Red Carpet@i-City in Shah Alam, Selangor, is Malaysia's first all-star interactive wax museum and the first of its kind in the region as the exhibits possess both voice and motion capabilities.
i-Bhd director, Monica Ong, said that the museum was different from the conventional wax museums as it was interactive.
For example the waxed version of Korean pop star, Psy, can dance.
Visitors are also allowed to touch the exhibits, with props provided for them to pose with the figurines.
Built at a cost of RM25 million (US$7.6 millon), it features 100 wax figures of famous people from history and contemporary personalities in a 25-acre Oscar-like awards setting in six themes – World Icons, Celebrities, Sport Stars, World Book of Records, All Stars Café and Interactive.
The Malaysian wax exhibits include the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and actress Michelle Yeoh, standing alongside world leaders like Queen Elizabeth II and US President Barrack Obama. There are also movie stars and singers such as Jackie Chan, Brad Pitt, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.
Soft launched on August 8, and officially opened by Malaysia's Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz on August 15, the museum aims to attract 30,000 visitors a month.
Ong, said the company would be able to meet the target as i-City currently attracted 90,000 visitors weekly.
"The unveiling of Red Carpet is timely in that Visit Malaysia 2014 is around the corner," she added.
• i-City is a fully integrated intelligent city in Shah Alam, Selangor, comprising a shopping mall, corporate office towers, Cybercentre office suites, hotels, apartments, and data and innovation centres. It is the first Cybercentre in Selangor and declared as an international park by the Selangor state government where entertainment and other cosmopolitan lifestyle outlets are permitted to operate on a 24 X 7 basis. Its tourist attractions include City of Digital Lights, SnoWalk@i-City, Red Carpet and various theme park rides.