Centara Hotels & Resorts has appointed hospitality veteran Andrew Langston as senior vice president, business development, to help execute its five-year expansion plan.
The British national, who has over 34 years’ experience in hospitality management and development, will report to deputy CEO Markland Blaiklock.
Langston was most recently executive vice president, strategic advisory & asset management, at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels & Hospitality Group, working throughout Asia from the company’s Thailand base.
He has also held senior management positions with major hotel groups such as Banyan Tree and Intercontinental Hotels group.
Earlier in his career, he served the British royal family as a footman at Buckingham Palace, a role which included looking after the Queen of England, Diana the Princess of Wales and Prince William, among others.
Last Sunday, passengers onboard Garuda Indonesia’s flight GA421 between Denpasar and Jakarta were surprised to find airline’s president and CEO Ari Ashkara among the cabin crew.
Ari welcomed passengers at the flight door and served them food and drink, while Garuda’s executive vice president of operations, captain Bambang Adisurya Angkasa was the flight’s chief pilot.
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Ari and his management team were “on duty” as part of the CEO on Board programme to gain insight into what passengers want from the flight experience as a way of further refining customer service. This would also go towards demonstrating the importance of passenger feedback.
On the occasion, Ari talked to the passengers and listened to their input on services and expectations from the managements going forward.
Ari said: “Customers’ characteristics are getting more varied, and the standard of service satisfaction is also increasing. Therefore, we expect that a more direct approach to customer service can support our ongoing efforts to improve loyalty (to Garuda).”
In the airline’s first time running the CEO on Board programme, the Sunday evening Denpasar service was chosen as it was the busiest domestic route with more than 300 passengers.
Langkawi has launched its fourth geopark trail, BioGeoTrail Kubang Badak, taking visitors on a gentle three-hour tour of the Malaysian island’s biodiversity.
Langkawi Development Authority and Langkawi Research Center spent more than a year developing the bio-geo trail in the north of the island, which includes geographical, biological and cultural elements.
A boat ride is part of the BioGeoTrail Kubang Badak
The trail incorporates 13 spots of interest, varying from taking a boat through pristine mangroves, exploring an ancient cave that is home to the largest number of bats on the island, hiking through dense forest to discover the diversity of wildlife and standing on the summit where the first Thai communities settled after migrating to Langkawi about 200 years ago.
Ibrahim Komoo, managing director of GeoSight, which helped lay the trail, said the aim is to showcase more of Langkawi’s natural beauty while alleviating the increasing burden of tourists from the existing three trails.
The trail starts at Jeti Kubang Badak, with an information booklet provided for visitors to navigate themselves.
Officials say the majority of hotels were not damaged in the earthquakes
Hit by two devastating earthquakes in July and August this year, Indonesia’s Lombok is determined to rebuild traveller and trade buyer interest, including a strong representation at ITB Asia 2018 last week to achieve this goal.
More than 10 destination stakeholders attended the show to put forth a united front in convincing trade buyers that most parts of Lombok are unaffected and safe for travel.
Most hotels are operating as usual after the earthquakes
Lalu Abdul Hadi Faisal, deputy chairperson of West Nusa Tenggara Tourism Promotion Board and chairman of Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association West Nusa Tenggara Chapter, said most hotels in Lombok are operating as usual, with only some closed for renovations.
Lalu added that 80 per cent of hotels and homestays in the popular Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno areas are gradually recovering, while the rest are unaffected by the disaster.
He detailed a two-pronged recovery plan: phase one, running from September to December, focuses on rebuilding market confidence in Lombok; phase two, from January to December 2019, emphasises on selling activities.
He said: “In September we invited travel agents from (Indonesia) for fam trips, and this month we will have agents from South-east Asia, Australia and the Middle East to come and see for themselves the conditions in Lombok.”
Masruroh Arifin Nurdin, director for marketing development-Singapore, Thailand and Indochina with the Indonesia Ministry of Tourism, said Lombok’s presence at ITB Asia 2018 was part of a larger destination recovery effort.
The national government is committed to bringing Lombok back on its feet, with support programmes and a recovery budget valued at Rp20 billion (US$1.3 million).
Indonesia’s minister of tourism, Arief Yahya, who formed a post-quake working team, said the authorities have a strategy to promote the unaffected parts of Lombok and to aid recovery in affected areas.
In addition to a presence at ITB Asia 2018, the tourism ministry is taking a sales mission to Singapore on October 26, and to Thailand on November 4.
While serious recovery efforts are in place, Masruroh is quick to point out that they were not due to dented tourist arrival numbers. She explained that the government regards Mandalika resort area in Lombok as a priority destination, and is determined to build the collective region of Lombok up as one of the leading tourist lures of Indonesia.
Indeed, ITB Asia buyers told TTG Asia that they are still eager to sell Lombok.
Although SH Oei, director of Asfalea, the Netherlands, is “skipping Lombok for now and recommending clients to visit Bali or Flores and Komodo instead”, he hopes to visit the destination by early 2019 to assess the ground situation.
Shwee Zin Htet, business development associate of Spreetrip in Singapore, said: “We have been sending travellers to Bali and are looking for a new destination. We are interested in Lombok as the next destination to offer.”
Shwee is looking forward to seeing more attractive packages in the marketplace as Lombok’s promotion resumes, as she feels Bali is becoming more expensive.
– Additional reporting by Mimi Hudoyo and Xinyi Liang-Pholsena
BeMyGuest has launched Xplore, a booking system and channel manager software, specifically tailored to the needs of Asian attractions, tours and activity operators.
Xplore is available in multiple Asian languages that enables operators to capture online transactions, collect payments in multiple Asian currencies and run promotional campaigns. It also has a module that lets suppliers deliver electronic tickets to B2B customers, in bulk to traditional travel agents, and via a booking and content API to the operator’s OTA partners.
BeMyGuest launches Xplore for Asia’s travel suppliers
Despite the “massive shift” seen in the attractions, tours and activities space, the Asia market remains “fragmented” and “largely offline”, said Clement Wong, CEO and founder of BeMyGuest, who saw it “as a matter of urgency” to bridge the technology gap for experiences suppliers.
“With flights, hotels and car hire being sold on an instant confirmation basis for years, today’s online travel shoppers expect travel experiences to be sold similarly. Attractions, tours and activity products that are not readily available for booking in real-time and on a same-day basis are missing out on the fastest growing customer audience. This is especially so in Asia where mobile booking and payment behaviour prevails,” said Blanca Menchaca, COO and co-founder of BeMyGuest.
She added: “Our objective has been to help suppliers – who have neglected technological solutions for a very long time – sell products and grow their business online.”
Xplore, for example, would now enable a hot air balloon operator in Myanmar to collect vital information such as weight during the booking, instead of collecting the customers to collect this information, Menchaca explained.
“The system digitises such complex check-out options as well as capacity and time-slots, immediately transforming products previously unavailable to be instantly booked,” she commented.
Xplore also connects with BeMyGuest’s distribution network which currently consists of over 50 API connections with travel sites in Asia such as Traveloka in Indonesia, Ctrip in China, Naver in Korea, in addition to 500 traditional travel agencies accessing BeMyGuest Agents Marketplace.
Steven Hsu, Legal Counsel
Steven Pan, Executive Chairman, Farmosa International Hotels Corporation
Tan Sri Dato’ Koo Yuen Kim, Director of Multibay Development Sdn. Bhd
Kenneth Macpherson, CEO, IHG - Europe Middle East Asia & Africa (EMEAA)
Keith Barr, CEO, IHG
Justin Channe, Managing Director, Regent Hotels & Resorts
Following the acquisition of a majority stake in Regent Hotels & Resorts in March and appointment of Justin Channe as managing director in May, the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has relaunched the iconic luxury brand alongside the signing of Regent Kuala Lumpur.
Speaking at HICAP in Hong Kong last week, Channe said: “Our current growth is predominantly observed in Asia but there is interest from Europe. My priority is to bring the existing Regent portfolio and all our embedded hallmarks, service behaviour and brand promise into these hotels. Then, we’ll look how to work with owners on bringing these hotels up to the design standard of Regent, while at the same time prepare to close the Hong Kong property for full renovation and reopen it as a flagship hotel in 2021.”
From left: Legal counsel Steven Hsu; Farmosa International Hotels’ Steven Pan; Multibay Development’s Koo Yuen Kim; IHG’s Kenneth Macpherson and Keith Barr; and Regent Hotels & Resorts’ Justin Channe
The company last week announced its signing with Multibay Development to build a Regent hotel in Malaysia. Slated to open in 2022, the 250-key Regent Kuala Lumpur will be located next to Tun Razak Exchange, a 28ha mixed-use development.
“In addition to Kuala Lumpur, you will see Regent in Phu Quoc and Jakarta to be rolled out 1Q2020. Both properties are new buildings,” Channe revealed.
Positioned in the top end of IHG’s brand portfolio, alongside Kimpton, Regent is expected to grow from the existing six properties to 40 in gateway cities with strong luxury demand, he added.
“As a heritage brand, it’d be branded out in a management contract model so our partners need to understand luxury. It’s vital for us to capitalise on the brand by bringing in new design and a bit of innovation. We work closely with owners so they are aligned with our concepts when bringing the brand alive.”
Tom Rowntree, IHG’s vice president global luxury brands, pointed out three key factors driving the segment’s growth. He said: “Firstly, it is the continuous growth in traditional luxury markets like Europe and North America where we see consistent drivers of luxury travel such as the multi-generation family. Then, it is the incredible growth of Chinese travellers both domestically, intra-regionally and internationally. Thirdly, the rise in millennial customers today accounts for just over 45 per cent of all luxury consumption.
“Over the last few months since the deal closed, we did a lot of consumer research throughout the world as well as specific key markets working with taste makers and looking for interesting insights. For example, we spoke with design directors to see how technology come together. We dug deeply into the heritage and history of the Regent brand which was founded in 1971. At that time it created a new style of luxury and focused on very best Asian service and hospitality together with western design and innovation,” Rowntree shared.
IHG’s CEO for Greater China, Jolyon Bulley expects Regent’s strong heritage to attract interest from partners with an Asian base.
“Certainly there is interest from South-east Asia, Chinese owners as well as a lot of outbound capital flow to Europe and the US. We even have interest coming from the Middle East where Regent doesn’t have a history,” he commented.
“We are being very selective on how we grow, in micro-locations or key gateways. We also have interest from InterContinental hotel owners who would like to go for Regent but that would involve selective conversations in respect to micro-location and capacity of the hotel to manage it. There would be a selected few, probably in the range of three to four, but no plan at this time for further conversions.”
The Grand Opening Gala Dinner at this year's Cambodia Travel Mart
Tourism industry leaders have sights on securing growth from their non-traditional target markets as this year’s Cambodia Travel Mart (CTM) attracts buyers from a range of countries.
The second CTM took place from October 11-13, attracting more than 300 buyers, sellers and media from 80 countries. More than 2,000 visitors attended the three-day event held at Diamond Island Exhibition and Convention Centre in Phnom Penh.
The Grand Opening Gala Dinner at this year’s Cambodia Travel Mart
Kevin Rangsey, managing director of Slickbooth, which co-organised CTM alongside the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism and TTG Events, said Cambodia’s growing tourism industry prompted a need for the mart to provide a platform for the kingdom’s burgeoning attractions to showcase their products to an international audience.
He said: “Cambodia is very new, and the industry has little exposure to travel tradeshows. In the past, when they wanted to attend, they had to join neighbouring countries with the Ministry of Tourism booth. Now, they have the chance to promote their products and services in their own country. This (CTM) spreads all the positivity of Cambodia and contributes to promoting Cambodia and the region.”
Benoit Jancloes, general manager of Sokha Phnom Penh, said there was strong representation from ASEAN countries as well as a good number of South Korean buyers. He said: “South Korea is a rapidly growing market for Cambodia and one we should target more, so (the rising interest from this market) was good to see.”
Jancloes added India is another emerging source market that Cambodia is actively targeting, with a healthy delegation from the country attending the mart.
Harry Grieg, Sofitel area marketing manager, also believes the mart will further fuel tourism growth, especially in emerging source markets. However, he suggested there should be more focus on the MICE market when the event is held in the capital and leisure when in Siem Reap, the setting of last year’s inaugural event.
He said: “The kingdom is becoming much more accessible to visitors, so we believe there are some great opportunities to develop the MICE market in particular.”
If you didn’t manage to get hold of a copy of our TTG show dailies at ITB Asia 2018, here’s a look back at the stories that had people talking at the show.
As the number of international passengers carried by Asia-Pacific airlines continue to grow – by a healthy eight per cent from January to August this year – significant increases in fuel prices are eroding margins and profitability.
“It’s been very difficult to pass on the fuel cost impact,” said Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), at the 62nd Assembly of Presidents in Jeju last week. And the fuel cost that can be passed on to airfares also varies dramatically by markets, he pointed out.
Air fares are not keeping pace with fuel prices in APAC region
Overall, carriers in the Asia-Pacific region have seen margins decrease and profits weaken, despite the robust passenger traffic numbers amid rising fuel prices.
IATA’s jet fuel monitor showed that jet fuel prices in Asia and Oceania as of October 12 was almost four per cent higher versus a month ago, and about 41 per cent higher from a year ago.
While India may be the fastest-growing market with a double-digit growth in travel demand, Herdman said that “Indian carriers are not profiting right now”.
Philippine Airlines, also feeling the same pressures from higher fuel costs, has recently added fuel surcharges to airfares, admitted its president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista.
Meanwhile, some markets are seeing cracks in general consumer confidence, brought about by currency weakness, politics and macroeconomic policy.
Nevertheless, Herdman projects clear growth prospects for Asia-Pacific airlines next year, as the global economy is set to grow by 3.7 per cent, demand for business and leisure travel likely to be sustained, and Asia-Pacific airlines continue their investment in next-generation aircraft, latest technology and other customer service initiatives.
The tourist promotion board wants to spread the word the country is a year-round destination; Saimaa Lake in Finland pictured
In a bid to get more South-east Asians to consider Finland as a year-round destination, as opposed to it solely being a winter wonderland, the Visit Finland delegation at this year’s ITB Asia was the largest to date – comprising 80 delegates across 53 companies – since it first exhibited at the show six years ago.
Heli Mende, director, head of Global Sales Promotion Visit Finland, shared: “The general misconception among Asians is that Finland is only good to visit during winter. Another misconception we wish to dispel is that the Northern Lights is diminishing or that it can only be seen when it snows. The aurora borealis is a natural phenomenon, and is not only seen during the winter season. This year, it could be seen from early September.”
The tourist promotion board wants to spread the word the country is a year-round destination; Saimaa Lake in Finland pictured
That is why Mende reiterated that the delegation was at ITB Asia last week to “promote Finland as a year-round destination”, as all its four seasons are unique, and offer many activities that can be conducted throughout the year, such as river rafting, sailing or midnight sun golfing.
Aside from year-round travel, Visit Finland is also keen to promote adventure travel during the four seasons to agents, especially those that cater to the growing FIT segment, experiential travel, as well as incentive groups.
Adventure activities Mende listed include snowmobile safaris, husky safaris and spending an overnight in a snow castle.
Finland is also a business events destination, Mende stated. She said: “We have excellent infrastructure, experienced DMCs, and we are a peaceful nation. We also have conference venues that are of international standard. Earlier in July, Helsinki hosted the Trump-Putin meeting with a lead time of just two weeks.”
