Our Director
Arjen de Haan | Arjen
Managing Director
Arjen has been involved in the tourism industry most of his professional life, a career spanning over 30 years. A Dutch national, Arjen grew up in Holland and spent some years at the Hogere Hotel School in The Hague. After a short stint in the wine business (still an important hobby today) he started as a tour leader to South East Asia and Indonesia in particular. The mystique and people of Java and Bali immediately impressed him and made him eager to learn more.
After extensive experience in the tourism industry in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka, Thailand and the USSR, Arjen settled in Bali in 1993. First in marketing and later in executive positions at large destination management companies, Arjen learned the profession from scratch. After understanding the potential of Bali as a destination and developing an innovative way to deliver Balinese tours, Arjen opened his own company, Asialink Holidays, in Bali in 1996. This approach proved to be very successful and resulted in the opening of offices in several other South East Asian countries in subsequent years.
Arjen has always had a passion for both managing and developing people and innovating products. Every two months you will find Arjen on the road somewhere in the existing Asialink destinations to look for new connection opportunities, or exploring new destinations to share with potential visitors.
Our Management
Nguyen Thuong Giang | Giang
General Manager Indochina
As a little girl Giang used to queue for hours with neighborhood kids in front of Hanoi’s Metropole Hotel; the only place in town where fresh milk could be had. It is widely thought that this laid the foundation for Giang’s interest in the leisure industry.
At the time that Giang studied, as per Vietnamese culture, she followed her parent’s advice into Accounting but soon found out her passion for numbers was more towards ‘numbers of people.’ So, in love with traveling and cultural exchange, and proud of Vietnamese history, after graduating, she joined one of the largest state owned companies that were at that time shaping the country’s tourism future. She became a tourist guide, sharing her love for the rich cultural heritage of Vietnam with overseas guests, while at the same time learning from them how the world turned across the regional borders.
Giang was on the team of the Indochina office in Hanoi from the first hour, originally in the Reservations and Operation department. She feels that the big difference in style of Asialink Holidays with our colleagues in the industry opened the door for her steady development towards heading the office as she does today.
Giang, a food-lover, will taste anything she can get her hands on, and is our leading expert in creating menus that reflect the region’s cuisine while at the same time being not to daunting for your clients. In tourism, getting the balance right for your guests is key to success; Giang and her team are there to make sure it is done.
Napaporn Saravana | Apple
General Manager Thailand
First job in tourism business for Apple came by coincidence after graduation from University. She joined a small family business for outbound tourism in Thailand; a good chance to learn multi-tasking and the involved several responsibilities at the same time.
The next job at a reputed International Destination Management Company grew into inbound Manager to Indochina Region and Myanmar during a period of nearly 15 years.
During this period she learned by doing, trial a lot of right and wrong experiences including a short-term valuable experience as Thai expatriate in Vientiane, Laos. Apple met the “turning point of her life” again with the Asialink Team in Bangkok.
It’s not the company’s reputation which attracts her but she can touch the soul who is GENUINE explorer-lover. Her journey starts again here and inspires to go through for pioneering the old place in different aspect.
With working experience in a multi-cultural team among colleagues as well as clients, Apple understands well how to adapt herself continuously in a new environment. Her professional mission, she daily shares with her team is to be found in creativity, innovation and prompt replies.
Let’s come closer and focus on us how we bring you to touch authentic Thailand destination. Let’s celebrate our new era together.
Eka Ita Sihriwayati | Eca
General Manager Indonesia
When Eca was in college, she worked as a freelancer in a Tourism Information Center in Malang city, East Java, Indonesia.
Having a hobby of traveling and was dreaming to work in the tourism sector did not immediately make her got a permanent job in the travel industry after graduated from college.
Eca started her job as a Human Resources staff in the property business under the management of a Singapore company. In the same Human Resources field, she continued her career in the hospitality industry. She had to be connected to all divisions head in the company and learn a lot about all of the divisions continuously.
Had a passion for taking new challenges made her accepted an offer from a multinational retail company in the same field, Human Resources. Besides the human capital division, the position required her to be proactive and more involved in the operational generally, especially in increasing customer satisfaction.
Finally, joining Asialink Holidays in 2017 made her dream to work in the travel industry came true. With more than 10 years of experience in the field of Human Resources and management systems make her consistent to contribute more by focusing on developing resources, improving services, and client satisfaction.
Of course, by paying attention to customer satisfaction, Eca and the team will continue to improve services so that you truly “connect with Asia”.
