Singapore has retained its top spot as the South-east Asia country with the highest visa-free access, revealed the 2017 Visa Restrictions Index, an annual travel freedom ranking published by the global residence and citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners in partnership with IATA.

Climbing one spot from last year, Singapore ranks fourth globally – its highest ranking on the index in 10 years – with visa-free access to 173 countries. The Lion City is followed by Malaysia (13^th globally) and Brunei (23^rd globally) in South-east Asia with visa-free accesss to 164 and 151 countries respectively.

The biggest climbers in the region were Laos (eighth regionally, 88th globally) and Myanmar (ninth regionally, 93^rd globally) rising two spots each from last year. Laos added one country to take its visa-free access total to 48 while Myanmar brought down its total to 42, one less than last year.

In top places for North Asia are Japan (fifth worldwide/172 countries) and South Korea (seven worldwide/170 countries). Hong Kong, ranked third in North Asia, fell two spots to 22^nd globally in the 2017 index, with visa-free access to 152 countries.

China comes in sixth in North Asia, but ranks 85^th globally, with visa-free access to 51 countries, representing a rise of two places. Macau was the biggest climber in North Asia, adding four countries to take its visa-free access total to 127, putting it in fifth place in North Asia.

Overall, Germany maintains its top spot on the index for the fourth consecutive year, with access to 176 countries in total. Sweden remains in second place with 175 countries, and Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain and the US jointly rank third, with their nationals enjoying access to 174 countries without a visa.

The UK, however, slipped down yet another position this year to fourth, having shared first place with Germany for three consecutive years from 2013-2015.

According to Dominic Volek, managing partner of Henley & Partners Singapore and head South-east Asia, the changing geopolitical climate – such as Brexit and US president Donald Trump’s travel ban – could affect global mobility and change the rankings over the next 12 months.

Contrary to the belief that OTAs have now dominated hotel bookings, European wholesale/travel agency distribution still is the largest share of business for hotels in Thailand.

About 80 per cent of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts Phuket’s German bookings comes through the wholesalers, area director of sales & marketing Ludovic Gallerne told TTG Asia.

Likewise, at The Rembrandt Hotel Bangkok, which boasts a strong North European market, the UK, Swiss, German and Danish wholesale markets have been traditionally strong and are still growing, said general manager Eric Hallin.

The UK and German-speaking markets also make up the strongest business from Europe for the Sala Hospitality Group, particularly for its Phuket and Samui properties.

Said group director of business development, Nicolas Reschke: “From the first year of opening we started great relationships with the major players who have supported us for 13 years since.”

The strong agent culture in Germany and Switzerland clearly has a role to play in driving contract bookings to Thailand hotels, said Klaus Sennik, general manager of Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside.

“It is also important to recognise that Germany and Switzerland are home to some of the world’s most successful and influential tour operators such as TUI and Kuoni.”

The overall tendency for the European feeder markets to book further in advance through tour operators has helped Manathai Hotels and Resorts to be less reliant on last-minute OTA deals to fill rooms, according to group director of sales & marketing, Matt Fynch.

However, hoteliers in Thailand are not discounting the rising influence of OTAs, as outside of the German-speaking markets the travel agent holds less sway.

Banyan Tree’s Gallerne commented: “Trends are not similar in France with high online numbers and the rise of flash sales operators.

“The UK is a good mix but increasingly heading towards more online while Scandinavian operators remain strong in destinations with charter flights and not for luxury brands like Banyan Tree.”

Views also differ as to how the hotel-wholesaler relationship will pan out, with Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort’s director of sales and marketing Pond Leartsinpakdee believing that key OTAs will “continue to gain market share from the traditional wholesalers in Europe and across the world” while the hotel grows its direct-to-website business.

Weighing in on the discussion, Ramada’s Sennik’s sentiments are more mixed. “There’s no doubt that more and more European travellers are using the digital space to book their holidays in Thailand,” he said.

“But the sheer strength, experience and determination of the agency wholesale market in Europe means that we expect to enjoy significant business from this traditional source for many years to come.”

Said Fynch: “I believe the agent/wholesale business will not go away soon or even shrink. The personal touch is still very much alive and well in European longhaul travel decisions to Thailand.”

Can there ever be too much tourism for a destination?
We asked this of UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai and he said: “Growth is never the enemy. It’s about how we manage growth in a responsible and sustainable manner.” Something to think about this year, which is International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

Who’s the next biggest disrupter for hotels after Airbnb?
We asked this of Peter Henley, president and CEO, Onyx Hospitality Group and he said: “Cruises may be the next big thing that hotels have to watch out for as competitors in Asia.” Not too off the mark, with cruise lines seeing the region as ports of gold.

Where are Britons going?
We asked this of Kritaka Kakkar, Mercury Travel UK and she said: “Outside Europe, with visa-free travel in EU perhaps no longer possible (for Britons) following Brexit.”

IATA has urged Japan to revamp its airport infrastructure for the 2020 Olympics and future tourism growth through collaborative thinking and extensive consultation with the industry.

Japan has set aggressive targets for attracting international tourist arrivals. Having welcomed around 24 million international tourists in 2016, the country now hopes to reach 40 million visitors in the 2020 Olympics year and 60 million visitors in 2030.

“The Olympics are an important milestone and an impetus to get things done. But it must be part of a long-term joined-up planning process focused on the big prize of welcoming 60 million visitors to Japan annually – and keeping Japanese businesses and people efficiently linked to the world,” shared Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.

IATA stressed that infrastructure planning is key for the continued growth of tourism and welcomed the development of Tokyo-Haneda’s international network, the privatisation of Sendai and Osaka’s Kansai and Itami Airports, and continuous efforts to improve competitiveness by reducing costs and optimising infrastructure.

“Not that long ago Japanese airports were the most expensive in the world. They are not cheap today, but Kansai and Narita have dropped from among the 10 most expensive to 13th, and 23rd, respectively,” said de Juniac. “We are moving in the right direction and there is still more to be done – particularly at Haneda which is bucking the positive trend by raising charges.”

IATA also called for airports to be efficient and provide sufficient capacity to meet market demands. In preparation for this growth, IATA urged a comprehensive plan for the development of a more competitive Japanese air transport infrastructure in the areas of smart security, terminal efficiency, airspace efficiency, low cost terminals and coordination.

Cathay Pacific will step up the frequency of its services in Europe, North America and Australia to meet growing consumer demand, it said in a press release.

The carrier will add four weekly flights between Hong Kong and San Francisco on the new Airbus A350-900, while flights to Los Angeles will be reduced from 28 to 21 per week. As well, the airline had earlier announced additional services to Vancouver and Boston from late March.

San Francisco will mark Cathay Pacific’s first US and second North America destination to see the deployment of the A350. The new aircraft will feature a refreshed business class cabin as well as new premium economy and economy class seats.

During the Southern Hemisphere’s peak summer period from late October to March, the airline will replace its current four-times-weekly service to Brisbane via Cairns with direct flights to both cities. The switch means that Queensland’s capital will receive 11 non-stop flights from Hong Kong each week, while Cairns will be served non-stop thrice weekly.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific’s existing daily flight to Brisbane will be served by the A350 from March 26 while capacity on its four-times-daily Sydney route will be increased from late October by operating a third flight with the Boeing 777-300ER.

In Europe, Madrid will see an increase from four to five flights per week from late October, while a sixth weekly flight will operate to Manchester from early December. At the same time, Paris will see the resumption of an 11^th weekly service.

After Malaysia lost some key European connections last year when national carrier Malaysia Airlines cut these routes, agents in the country are finding a silver lining in niche products and secondary source markets from Europe.

“The market has been turned upside down – our main problem is losing connectivity from Frankfurt – and we can’t depend on old methods anymore,” said Uzaidi Udanis, president of Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (MITA).

To convince Europeans to choose Malaysia despite the hassle of connecting flights, Uzaidi said offerings must be “niche” and go beyond “general sightseeing”. Examples, he said, are islands and beaches, the Ironman marathon (Malaysia and Japan are the only Asian countries to offer this), and for more mature markets, rainforest treks.

Ahmad Fathil Abd Ghani, manager (event and promotion), Tourism Terengganu, added: “Local content is more important to Europeans than to, say, mainland Chinese. For instance, Italians don’t like cold, hard, business-like hotels in Redang. They prefer Perhentian, where more hotels are homegrown and where they can mix with the local people.”

Fathil said there are also opportunities in markets like Hungary and Czech Republic, which enjoy connections to Kuala Lumpur operated by Turkish Airlines.

Admitting that awareness of Malaysia is lacking in these countries, he said they nonetheless warrant a serious look as some traditional markets are showing signs of plateauing. There has not been a big increase in German arrivals into Malaysia, which is now around 130,000 visitors, he said.

Uzaidi also saw “strong interest” at ITB Berlin and has secured a few groups for MITA members from Eastern Europe.

Esmadee Endut, managing director of Hedaco Travel & Tours, said: “I’m not worried about Malaysian Airlines cutting off (European) routes. People don’t mind making a transit, flying on Etihad, Qatar, Emirates, etc. A lot of my clients from France have told me they prefer and love these routes.”

InterContinental Hotels Group has appointed Rajit Sukumaran as chief development officer in the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region.

Sukumaran brings with him over 12 years of experience as senior vice president, acquisitions and development for Asia-Pacific at Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Prior to joining Starwood, Sukumaran worked in the corporate finance division of PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore, dealing with several cross-border corporate transactions including mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings.