Hong Kong International Airport

HONG Kong International Airport will implement the controversial airport construction fee from August 1 despite earlier objection from the trade.

Airlines will tax departing passengers, including origin-destination and transit passengers, when air tickets are issued. The fee is being collected to fund the expansion of the airport, which includes a third runway.

Agents interviewed do not welcome the decision, although they predict the fee is unlikely to deter travel to and from Hong Kong.

Eastrip Travel general manager Jacky Chan said: “It’s not a good move but I think Hongkongers will get used to it eventually. We have no say anyway as it’s government policy. I also have reservations on whether we really need a third runway.”

Wing Wong, managing director of W Travel thinks it’s unfair for departing passengers to be taxed. “I think our government should bear part of the construction cost. It’s not fair for end-users to foot the bill,” he said.

Paul Leung, managing director of Holiday World Tours, is worried the fee will dent the city’s reputation as a destination.

He said: “The airport is perceived as an infrastructure funded and built by the government. Visitors may psychologically not feel good for paying for airport upgrades they can’t use now.

“Still, I personally support the idea of a third runway because of passenger saturation. Planes also have to queue longer before taking off and we need the infrastructure to fuel future growth.”

Tourists continue visiting Koh Tao 

GOVERNMENT promises to help restore Koh Tao’s image as a safe destination have amounted to little following the high-profile backpacker murders in 2014, although tour operators on the Thai island say business is booming regardless.

Thai tourism minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul had announced plans to hold events to assure visitors the island was safe, but Ocean Sound Dive and Yoga’s owner Will North said “there’s been no publicity about what they are doing”.

“Koh Tao is quite a busy place and most businesses, if they know what they are doing, do it very well. We haven’t had a slow period in a long time,” North commented.

He added: “Companies that rely on booking agents may have a different opinion, but if you are doing well on TripAdvisor nothing else matters. I guess it depends on the business.”

While Tours Koh Samui manager Ron Yaary thinks there is not much to show for the promised safety push, he is pleased that the government is focusing on environmental policies.

Currently, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is promoting the Koh Tao Festival 2016, which will be conducted by the Save Koh Tao community group on June 18 and 19. There will also be activities to encourage conservation, and an attempt to make a world-record human chain with 3,000 people clasping wrists.

“When you have a festival like that, it emphasises to the operators that we need to care about the environment,” Yaary said.

CHINESE travellers have shown a 130 per cent increase in interest in Japan, far outpacing the the average year-on-year growth in global traveller interest to the country, which stands at 15 per cent, according to the latest TripAdvisor Inbound Study for Japan.

The next biggest source markets are Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan, with interest growing by 37 per cent, 30 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

The study also highlighted the top-searched Japanese cities with the highest average international traveller review ratings.

Kanazawa saw the biggest increase in travel interest from international travellers at 65 per cent, followed by Ishigaki at 52 per cent and Takayama at 44 per cent.

Cherry blossom street near Kenrokuen garden in Kanazawa, Japan

Takayama also received the highest praise from international visitors across TripAdvisor’s business categories, including eatery (4.32 out of 5); accommodation (4.18 out of 5); and attraction (4.23 out of 5).

“The study not only reaffirms China’s significance as a major source of inbound tourism for Japan, but also suggests that inbound travel is being driven by the country’s diverse tourism offerings across different regions,” said Aaron Hung, director of partnerships, APAC, TripAdvisor.

“The surging interest in Kanazawa and Ishigaki is evidence that international travellers are keen to discover more of Japan.”

In 2015, 19.73 million people visited Japan, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization, marking a 47 per cent increase from 2014. Chinese travellers accounted for one-fourth of total arrivals to the country.

Popovich: NDC is now mainstream

IATA has launched the New Distribution Capability (NDC) Certification Registry, which lists companies that have implemented NDC standards, allowing them to be identified by other businesses.

Any airline that deploys an NDC application programming interface (API) to make its content available, or any agent or aggregator that uses these APIs to get that content, may apply for NDC certification. Vendors offering NDC products and services for airlines and travel agents can also apply to be NDC-capable.

IATA has introduced three levels of attainment to differentiate the level of NDC implementation.

Level 1 covers implementation using past and current NDC schemas with a limited scope, such as sales of ancillaries post-booking, for instance. Level 2 requires more extensive use of the shopping and offer management API, while Level 3 targets NDC end-to-end deployments, covering both offer and order management and where the airline takes full control of shopping as well as booking, payment and ticketing.

Amadeus has received Level 3 NDC certification as an IT provider from IATA for implementing the Altéa NDC solution developed earlier this year. With the certification, Amadeus now has the option to distribute their prices and fares, including ancillary and fare family content, using NDC Offers & Orders.

“Since the IATA membership approved the first NDC standard in September 2015, we have seen a huge upsurge in interest and activity among airlines, GDSs and IT providers,” said Aleks Popovich, IATA senior vice president, financial and distribution services.

“NDC certification confirms the scope and level of an entity’s ability to receive and send NDC messages. Making that information available on a public registry provides transparency and visibility on existing deployments as well as identifying those who have demonstrated a level of readiness to support NDC messages.”

As of June 1, 20 airlines and 17 technology companies have achieved NDC certification or NDC-capable status, while six applications are in progress. Half of all IATA member airlines are expected to be NDC-certified or capable within the next four years.

THE Star Alliance is investing into an airline IT hub for baggage technology, set to be operational by end-2016.

CEOs of the Alliance’s member airlines gave the go-ahead for the project as part of new multi-million investments to improve overall operational processes.

According to a statement by the Star Alliance, current baggage processes are overly complex due to the use of many different systems by all parties involved. With each airline and airport running its own baggage solution, it is difficult to retrieve the status of bags and to take remedial action if they are mishandled.

Said Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab: “We believe modern technology can be of tremendous assistance in significantly reducing the number of baggage issues and providing faster and more accurate information for our customer service agents.”

In conjunction, the Alliance heads have also endorsed the development of standardised processes for self-service check-in, fast bag drop technology at airports, baggage self-tagging and automated travel document validation.

These standards are expected to provide greater conveniences for Star Alliance customers as well as reduce infrastructure requirements and handling costs.

“This initiative represents another industry first and is created in full support of the IATA Fast Travel mandate,” added Schwab, who will be stepping down as CEO of the Alliance at the end of the year.

“As we represent around one quarter of the world’s scheduled airline services, we believe we can contribute to the reduction of operating complexities. Our member airlines have benefited significantly from standardisation in other areas and are determined to drive this process forward now, together with airports and system providers.”

Schwab will be succeeded by Jeffrey Goh, current COO and general counsel of Star Alliance, on January 1, 2017.

An overhead crane which fell at a Shinkansen maintenance plant in Kumamoto Prefecture. Photo credit: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

THE Japanese government has unveiled measures to help tourism players in earthquake-hit Kyushu get back on its feet.

Large parts of central Kyushu, which was hit by two powerful earthquakes in mid-April, suffered extensive damage to property and infrastructure, causing tour operators to cancel hundreds of scheduled visits due to fears over aftershocks.

Authorities are now offering tourists discounts of up to 70 per cent for hotel stays and packaged tours in the region as part of the aid programme.

With 18 billion yen (US$165.2 million) earmarked, the government hopes to galvanize demand and increase arrivals of at least one night in the region by 1.5 million by end-2016.

“Here at JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization), we are also trying to consolidate our special promotional efforts, with a particular emphasis on visitors from South Korea due to its proximity to Kyushu,” said Mamoru Kobori, senior executive director of JNTO.

He added: “We are seeing rapid improvements in recovery, but there is still some way to go and we are trying to get our message across within the industry by inviting tourism officials and journalists to the region to see it for themselves. We really want to show people that it is safe to travel in Kyushu.”

A number of other travel companies are taking also taking their own measures, such as Kyushu Railway Co. introducing a special one-day discount pass that can be used between June 4 and July 18 on the company’s local and bullet train lines.

Berrivin: Demand for affordable hotels with international
standards has been growing due to shift in travellers’ mindsets

ESTABLISHED hotel groups are rolling out new hospitality brands that come with fewer trimmings and lower prices, a paradigm shift that Asian hoteliers attributes to growing demand for affordable quality accommodation options with the inexorable rise of the millennials.

Olivier Berrivin, Best Western’s managing director, international operations Asia, said: “The demand for affordable hotels delivering international standards has been growing steadily over the years. Modern travellers’ lifestyle and behavior drive this demand, as they look for a hassle-free place to stay with a clear focus on value for money.”

The emergence of “urban boutique” and “cost conscious” hotel concepts are a clear reflection of gaps in the midscale market, which “until recently was filled with generic products with no clear identity or spirit and sometimes inconsistently executed”, he opined.

Best Western has recently introduced two new boutique midscale brands, Vib and GLo, with four Vib properties currently under construction in Asia. According to Berrivin, such limited-service concepts appeal to owners for their cost-effective construction and operation business models.

Likewise, Onyx Hospitality Group’s president & CEO Peter Henley also sees strong interest for select-service hotels among investors and travellers in key leisure and business destinations in Asia.

The group entered into the select-service hotel segment in 2013 with the launch of Ozo brand, which is currently available in Hong Kong, Koh Samui, Colombo and Kandy, with Hoi An, Penang, Johor Bahru and Xiamen in the development pipeline.

Said Henley: “We are seeing strong interest among leisure and business travellers, as well as from group business. Demand for a select-service hotel offering like Ozo will be strong in fast-growing second-tier destinations like Hoi An and Johor Bahru, key gateway cities in the Middle East, as well as in the Maldives.”

Also making inroads into South-east Asia’s affordable hospitality landscape is Vanguard Hotels, which has announced the development of its MetroBlue and Vivid brands in the Philippines and Malaysia.

Earlier this year, Hilton Worldwide unveiled Tru by Hilton as a new mid-priced hotel brand with rates in the US$90-US$100 price range to target travellers with a “millennial mindset”.