The advent of guesthouses raises fair play concerns among mid-sized resorts while DMCs fear a dilution of the Maldives brand with budget beds.

With the government welcoming small businesses, guesthouses are proliferating across the Maldives, leaving big resorts concerned that these small accommodation units do not have to go through the same rigmarole of approvals that they are subject to.

Motels, guesthouses and mid-sized resorts are offered within the same general price range, but mid-size resorts are bound by more regulations and rules. Resorts charge US$150 compared to motels/guesthouses which are offered at US$120-135.

“We don’t have a problem with competition. But this is unfair particularly because maintenance costs are high to keep products and in particular water bungalows in top shape all the time,” said a local hotelier, who declined to be named.

Shafraz Fazley, managing director of Viluxur Holidays, said guesthouses need to be controlled and categorised properly by the government.

“They should only be able to market or advertise their properties accordingly. There is a need to educate the consumers on the difference between a guesthouse and an actual resort so it does not spoil the unique image of the Maldives’ one-island, one-resort concept.”

Fazley said the surge in the number of beds in the Maldives is not in line with tourism growth. “This dilutes the business among resorts especially on high-end properties when one or two properties dreadfully (slashes) their rates to (compete with guesthouses),” he explained.

Hussain Sunny Umar, COO at Maldives Getaways, is more welcoming of diversity in accommodation types. “Guesthouses add an additional segment and complements the one-resort, one-island concept that the Maldives is well-known for,” he said.

With the rise of budget airlines and millennial travellers, Airbnb and Zen will eventually be stronger transformative forces in the industry, he added.

Hussain also disagrees that guesthouses are given preferential treatment, as any island intending to operate guesthouses must comply with regulations like having police stations, fire, health and other basic facilities.

According to official data, 120,000 tourists visited guesthouses in 2015, with the number targeted to grow to 500,000 by 2020. The number of guesthouse beds is expected to swell to 10,000 by 2020.

This article was first published in TTG Asia March 2017 issue. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Lofty arrival targets have been set, but the country’s aviation infrastructure is sorely lagging behind.

The Indonesian government has set a high target of 20 million arrivals by 2019, but the trade feels that the airport infrastructure and seat capacity are not yet on par to meet the country’s tourism ambitions.

Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport, despite its terminal expansion, is still not big enough to support the arrival influx. In Yogyakarta, a new airport is needed as the existing Adisucipto International Airport has way exceeded capacity. Even Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport, considered the gateway to eastern Indonesia, needs to be expanded to accommodate arrival growths.

Gufron, director of Alpha Hotel Management and general manager of Suarti Boutique Village Ubud, said: “The Ngurah Rai airport needs an additional runway to enable more flights to come in.”

He added: “The plan to develop a new airport in north Bali needs to materialise soon. This will add to movement capacity and trigger the development of tourist infrastructure in the area. (That way), tourists will spread out more around the island.”

Besides airport infrastructure, what’s needed is also more direct connectivity from longhaul markets. Bagus Sudibya, managing director of Nusa Dua Tours and Travel in Bali, commented: “The government has spent a lot of money on the branding and promotion (of Indonesia). What they need to do next is boost direct flights into the country.

“For example, we need more direct services from Europe to grow European arrivals into the country. (It is not possible) with the current limited seat capacity,” he stated, as Garuda Indonesia flies to only Amsterdam and London in Europe.

Bagus also underscored the importance of network development in Indonesia, which will enhance travel within the archipelagic country.

Airport developments have been a top priority under the Joko Widodo administration, said Indonesia minister of tourism Arief Yahya, who cited examples such as the expansion of both airports in Labuan Bajo (the gateway to Komodo) and Bandung, the Husein Sastranegara International Airport.

“Air connectivity is another priority for us this year, as 75 per cent of international arrivals to the country is by air,” Arief remarked.

There are currently 19.5 million seats, offered by both Indonesian and international airlines, available each year. This was sufficient to fulfil the target of 12 million arrivals in 2016.

“To meet the 2019 target of 20 million arrivals, Indonesia needs to have some 30 million seats a year, or 10.5 million additional seats in the next three years,” Arief said, acknowledging that an increase in seat capacity is crucial to the development.

This year, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism is targeting an additional four million seats. They have kicked that off with an MoU with the airport authorities – Angkasa Pura I, Angkasa Pura II and AirNav Indonesia – to open more routes, increase frequencies and launch new services from new markets.

Other ongoing efforts include giving incentives on airport charges, and the application for priority slots in a number of international gateways in Indonesia.

This article was first published in TTG Asia March 2017 issue. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

The hospitality sector both locally and abroad has an insatiable hunger for skilled staff, and employers in the Philippines are grappling with the worsening manpower shortage.

Lured with better prospects, Filipinos who are qualified in the hospitality segment are increasingly heading abroad – and industry stakeholders are feeling the pinch especially as more hotels launch in the Philippines.

“It’s pointless to fight the free market. If there’s a job waiting for these people elsewhere, they will go,” lamented Manny Gonzalez, resident shareholder of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Mactan, Cebu.

Plantation Bay Resort and Spa prides itself on having a good training and staff retention programme, which includes handsome bonuses during the twice-yearly performance review, as well as trainings abroad at Cornell University. But while these programmes have led to a high retention rate and staff appreciation, it has also resulted in Plantation Bay staff getting poached by cruise ships and hotels abroad.

Jerome de la Fuente, general manager of Limketkai Luxe Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City, has the same experience. He pointed out that his well-trained staff keeps getting poached abroad, although the staff shortage was felt more acutely in areas outside major tourist destinations where there’s not enough training or a pool of qualified staff.

The lack of qualified staff is a perennial concern for Eugene Tamesis, director of sales and marketing at Raffles and Fairmont Makati.

“Shortage means that there is demand, (though it may) not necessarily be abroad. There has been a hotel boom in the country since 2012, when integrated resorts were being built. (For example), Okada Manila alone needed 6,000 employees,” Tamesis pointed out.

He believes that it’s increasingly more difficult to get qualified staff, but their exposure abroad will make them better in what they do – if they return.

Aileen Clemente, vice president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP), sees merit in overseas stints for Filipino workers. “They can get experiences abroad and bring these best practices back,” she said.

But one reason why hospitality workers continue to head abroad is due to “a lack of awareness of the job opportunities available in the country”, she remarked.

As such, TCP will hold job fairs around the country to build up a database of prospective employees to match with employers.

Similarly, the Tourism Industry Board Foundation will look at partnering educational institutions to find a balance in education, training, policies and regulations as one of the major first initiatives to address the dearth of qualified hospitality staff in the country.

Clemente concluded: “The Philippines is well known as a labour supply country. But this doesn’t prevent us from also getting labour elsewhere as tourism continues to flourish in the country.”

This article was first published in TTG Asia March 2017 issue. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.