Three new hotels to rise in Sentosa

October 27, 2017

sentosa-palawan-beach — The hotels will be located in the Palawan area

Recognising the lack of mid-tier hotels in Singapore’s Sentosa, Far East Hospitality will add to the island attraction three new hotels, targeted to open mid-2019.

“With these three new properties, we hope to fill the gap of the mid-tier segment, while catering to the growing category of discerning travellers and Singapore’s robust staycation market,” said Arthur Kiong, CEO, Far East Hospitality.

The hotels will be located in the Palawan area

The company has signed a term sheet with Fontaine Investment to operate Village Hotel Sentosa, The Outpost Sentosa and a yet-unnamed third hotel, all located at Artillery Avenue in the Palawan area.

Village Hotel Sentosa, with 606 keys, targets the mid-tier market, including travellers from regional and international markets and Singaporeans looking for a family weekend getaway. Far East stated the hotel is also well suited for business meetings, networking events, as well as company retreats, with team-bonding activities such as cooking and fitness classes available.

The 193-key Outpost Sentosa, the debut Outpost property, will cater to young couples, while the third hotel will feature 40 keys and geared towards the upscale market. The properties are expected to offer activities such as aqua-based fitness classes, outdoor movie screenings, kids carnival and pool games.

How Chinese luxury travellers rate travel agents services

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2017

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Customised travel services are experiencing a surge in popularity, forcing China’s travel agencies to place a strong emphasis on the quality of travel itineraries to retain customers, according to the latest Hurun Report.

More than half of luxury travellers (58 per cent) surveyed have experienced customised travel services. Fifty-five per cent of travellers report that the provision of such services is why they chose one agency over another.

Luxury travellers are partial to travel agencies that provide well-designed itineraries, personalised services, and are actively problem-solving, placing 59 per cent, 55 per cent and 49 per cent of the emphasis on each aspect respectively. The emphasis placed on the problem-solving ability of travel agencies has experienced an 11 per cent increase in two years.

Aspects that respondents felt least satisfied with include poorly-organised itineraries (29 per cent), bad food (24 per cent) and tour guides not meeting expectations (21 per cent).

Best China/Hong Kong/Taiwan outbound luxury travel agencies 2017
Agencies in the Hurun Mainland China Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 12 ranking include 8 Continents, Diadema, D-Lux*, CITS Amex, HHtravel, My Tour, Magic Travel, Ctrip, Zanadu, CITS, CTS and CYTS.

Agencies in the Hurun Hong Kong Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 6 include Wincastle Travel, Cathay Pacific Holidays, Charlotte Travel*, American Express, Swire Travel, and Westminster.

Agencies in the Hurun Taiwan Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 6 include One Style Tour*, Seascape Escape, Let’s Travel*, American Express, International Travel Information Services and Lion Travel.

Agency names are listed alphabetically; * denotes newcomers

Strongest waves of interest for Thai beaches

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2017

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Beaches and islands prove to be Thailand’s most powerful attractions for international travellers, with Krabi entering TripAdvisor’s top five Thai destinations in terms of search traffic growth for the first time this year, after registering the highest increase at 41%.

Krabi is followed by Kathu and Nai Yang in Phuket, at 37% and 31% respectively. Tied in fourth place with a 10% increase in searches is Chiang Mai in the north and border city Hat Yai in the south.

As for visitor origin markets, China continues to contribute the highest percentage increase in search traffic on TripAdvisor, with a year-on-year increase of 30%, outpacing the overall international average of 4%. India and Indonesia followed in second and third place, with year-on-year search increases of 16% and 12% respectively.

Top five Thai destinations with the biggest increase in international traveller interest:

Note: Exact percentages rounded to zero decimal points; year-on-year growth comparing July 2016 – June 2017 versus July 2015 – June 2016

The largest sources of search traffic for Thailand are China, the US, the UK, Australia and Russia. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), China and Russia were also two of the largest contributors to Thailand’s inbound tourism and inbound expenditure in 1H2017.

Top five inbound countries by overall search traffic:

Note: based on total number of searches (unique sessions) for Thailand on TripAdvisor (excluding Thailand), July 2016 – June 2017

Out of the top five inbound markets, Chinese travellers have the shortest planning lead time of approximately 51 days and stay for nearly four nights. Russian travellers take around 60 days to plan a trip but stay the longest with approximately 11 nights per stay.

Travellers from the US, the UK and Australia stay for an average of six nights and take the longest to plan, with lead times of 108, 102 and 82 days respectively.

On average, international travellers visiting Thailand start planning their trip 65 days in advance, and stay for almost five nights.

Among Chinese travellers searching Thailand, there was continued interest from second-tier cities of Hangzhou, Dalian and Qingdao. The surge in interest comes amid increasing disposable income in these cities and improved flight connectivity to South-east Asia.

Top five Chinese cities with biggest increase in traveller interest to Thailand:

Note: exact percentages rounded to zero decimal points; year-on-year growth comparing July 2016 – June 2017 versus July 2015 – June 2016 with a minimum session of 50,000

Tourism tax troubles surface in Malaysia

By S Puvaneswary

October 27, 2017

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While Malaysia’s new tourism tax may be the answer to the tourism ministry’s reduced  promotional budget and the need for infastructural development funds, it has burdened agents with teething costs and compromised the competitiveness of the budget travel segment.

Under the tax, which kicked in on September 1, foreign tourists are charged a flat rate of RM10 (US$2.40) per room per night for all accommodation types, except premises with less than five rooms.

Diethelm Travel Malaysia’s managing director, Manfred Kurz, said his company had clients from Europe and the US complain when asked to pay the tax at hotel, which they thought was already included in the package price.

Diethelm’s overseas agency partners had attempted to pay the tax on behalf of clients, but hotels insisted the tax be paid by guests at check-out, according to Kurz.

“Now clients pay the hotels then get reimbursed by their travel agents back home, but this is a hassle. Our fear is that our tour operator partners will be reluctant to promote Malaysia in future if the (inconvenience persists).”

Raaj Navaratnaa, general manager at the Johor-based New Asia Holidays Tours & Travel, added that the company had to shoulder the tax after a group of 30 youth from Singapore refused to pay.

And although those affected may apply for an exemption with the government (with approval on case-by-case basis), the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents remains concerned about members who are burdened with large sums while awaiting exemption or refunds.

Beyond the teething stages, longer term impacts are expected in the budget segment. PK Leong, president, Malaysia Budget Hotel Association, said for budget hotels that charge RM50 per room night, the RM10 tourism tax is a significant 20 per cent extra.

“We had members saying that guests walked out when they (found out) about the tax. Where do you think they will go? Airbnb operators will benefit because they are unregulated and unregistered and (hence) do not have to collect the tax.”

“By implementing this tax in a hurry, and without registering all accommodation providers, the government has created a lopsided and unfair market. Us small business operators who abide by the law and register with the government are being punished,” he lamented.

Raaj also foresees longhaul backpackers would shorten their stay in Malaysia in the long run, benefiting neighbouring countries, like Indonesia and Thailand.

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s overseas promotional budget was this year slashed from RM200 million to RM110 million. Tourism and culture minister, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, estimated the new tax would bring a return of over RM210 million a year based on an average occupancy of 60 per cent of the 237,391 rooms registered with the government.

[Sponsored Post] JW Marriott Hotel Macau

By TTGmice

October 26, 2017

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