As many countries around the world are set to reopen their borders and ease restrictions on international travel this year, travel demand is expected to soar. Aligned with this expectation, global digital travel platform Agoda partnered with several tourism authorities in the Asia Pacific region to boost confidence and help their respective countries safely welcome back travelers.
Following its initial success in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, Agoda expanded its partnerships to the Philippines, Korea and Taiwan to feature Clean Certified Accommodations by each government to support countries’ safe reopening and revitalization of their tourism industries. With the adoption of clean certifications, Agoda supports ongoing government initiatives to promote properties with high hygiene standards, enabling traveler greater access to safe and well-managed accommodations on their travels – in accordance with hospitality industry standards.
Properties who have fulfilled hygiene criteria in line with the local market and regional standards, will receive a Clean Certified Accommodation badge on their property page on Agoda. Certifications including CHSE (InDOnesia CARE) of Indonesia, Clean & Safe Malaysia, Korea Quality, OK Travel in New Taipei City of Taiwan, Safety Seal of the Philippines, SHA+ of Thailand, and SG Clean of Singapore are now displaying on Agoda’s platforms.
“We are proud to partner with government authorities across Asia Pacific and beyond, to promote hygiene standards for all travelers,” said Omri Morgenshtern, Chief Operating Officer at Agoda. “Agoda’s top priority has always been to help make travel easier, and travelers will be able to easily identify which properties meet the government cleanliness and hygiene standards in each market. Our objective for the Certified Clean Accommodation program is to help promote hygiene protocols among our accommodation partners and offer a layer of confidence for travelers looking to get back out there. We want to continue doing everything we can to help rejuvenate the tourism economy in the best way we can.”
KOREA:
“With the removal of the week-long quarantine-on-arrival measures in South Korea, we look forward to the inbound travel market coming alive,” said Kim Yong Jae, Director of the Tourism Certification Center of the Korea Tourism Organization. “In particular, since the COVID-19 outbreak, travelers’ standards for hygiene and safety have become stricter and demand for clean and safe accommodation has increased. The Clean Badge partnership with Agoda provides international travelers with the ability to be able to explore every corner of South Korea in a safe and comfortable fashion.”
NEW TAIPEI CITY:
“New Taipei City Government considers epidemic prevention as the primary concern for tourism promotion. We are pleased to partner Agoda in promoting ‘OK Travel’ among hundred accommodation partners providing accommodation reference for travelers. We are excited that this collaboration will be an extra step towards helping us welcome more accommodations to participate, and build New Taipei City a safer tourist destination ahead of tourism recovery to welcome domestic and international visitors in the future“, said Tsung-Ming Yang, Commissioner at Tourism and Travel Department of New Taipei City.
In line with travel trends noted in Agoda’s Travel Trend Survey travelers are seeking reassurance that hygiene measures at their destination are rigorous and follow global best practices. Survey respondents were most interested in “daily room disinfection” followed by “daily disinfection (of general areas),” “providing hygiene standard listings,” and “hygiene certification from the government.”
On Agoda’s website and app, travelers can easily search and identify a wide range of accommodations including hotels and Agoda Homes that are certified by each governments’ hygiene protocols.