IN light of a 2.5 per cent drop in arrivals last year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) will be stepping up collaborative efforts with the travel trade to target shorthaul travellers and families in 2016.

HKTB executive director Anthony Lau said: “This requires stakeholders like agents, attractions and hotels to roll out special packages, such as those with waiver of entry fees and free accommodation for accompanying children at hotels.

“The packages will be launched during local school holidays in countries like China, Taiwan, South Korea and India, as well as in the South-east Asian region.”

With global economic uncertainties looming, Lau projected a modest 1.8 per cent decrease in arrivals in 2016, but agents are not so sanguine, and are deeply concerned about the continuous decline in mainland Chinese footfall.

Mainland arrivals plunged 70 per cent year-on-year during the Chinese New Year holiday season and just last month, the Travel Industry Council recorded only 3,729 incoming tours compared to 11,575 in January 2015.

Charles Ng, managing director, Sincere Travel, said: “The number fell drastically because the Travel Industry Council tried to wipe out low cost tours over the last few years and I reckon the downward trend may prevail given more limits set by the council in order to protect the interests of inbound group visitors.”

Meanwhile, Wing Wong, W Travel’s managing director welcomed HKTB’s move saying: “It’s better than doing nothing. Instead of focusing on expensive TV promotions, the board should jointly advertise more with leading agency partners in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.”

HKTB this year will take part in 46 travel trade events in Hong Kong and 13 others held in various source markets. As well, they will be organising 44 familiarisation tours for overseas industry partners.

RETURNING IT&CM China 2016 exhibitor, Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau (FCVB), is hosting the show’s first-ever post-show tours to Japan to promote Kyushu as Your Meeting Place.

Aimed at attending buyers with interest in holding an upcoming event in Japan, the Five Day Four Night tour will cover Kyushu destinations including Beppu, Fukuoka, Kurume, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Oita, and Sasebo, across two concurrent itineraries.

With Fukuoka being a new MICE city and tourist destination positioned as an alternative to Tokyo and Kyoto, FCVB is spotlighting the destination – one of Japan’s largest cities with a 1.5 million population and excellent infrastructure – as the hub for MICE activities in the Kyushu region, with access to neighboring attractions and sites across Kyushu that can offer variety to an experiential MICE programme.

Izumi Shimada, director of marketing, sales & business development of FCVB shared, “Fukuoka has flourished as a gateway for cultural and economic exchange, and is easily accessible from other Asian countries, like Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and China. Fukuoka has the best access from the airport to the city center. In addition, the seaport, train terminals, convention facilities, hotels and shopping districts are all located within a 2.5km radius of the city center.”

She continued, “The ease of access is what makes Fukuoka unique from the other Japanese destinations. It also helps in reducing the stress on MICE participants in terms of transit and wait times so they can efficiently spend their time on business negotiations, and or sightseeing. There are many tourist spots for MICE participants to visit, including temples, shrines, hot springs, advanced technology plants and seasonal fruit picking.”

Packed with visits, inspections, sightseeing and hosted meals, the tours offer buyers the options of seeing one of more attractions like Unitamago Aquarium in Oita, Aoshima island in Miyazaki, Hashima UNESCO World Heritage site, Nagasaki Brick Hall, and Peace Park, Glover Garden in Nagasaki and Dazaifu in Fukuoka.

“We are looking forward to demonstrate Japanese hospitality to this select group of IT&CM China buyers and they will be able to understand why Fukuoka and Kyushu as a region in particular are popular destinations for international conferences. We are excited to introduce Kyushu, the home of World Heritage sites, where a variety of sightseeing spots are accessible within a day due to our well-maintained transportation network. Fukuoka and Kyushu, with their rich nature, history and culture, will bring a different experience beyond their expectations,” Shimada continued.

During the tour, buyers will be able to meet with ten CVBs and suppliers from the Kyushu region at a scheduled business session on April 12, 2016. This gives the opportunity for buyers to learn more about the Kyushu destinations they have visited as well as others not featured in the tour.

This 2016 post-show tour event by FCVB is co-hosted by Nagasaki International Tourism and Convention Association, Sasebo Convention & Visitors Association, Miyazaki Convention & Visitors Bureau, Tourism Oita, and Kurume Bureau of Tourism and International Exchange.

For more information on IT&CM China, visit www.itcmchina.com

Jean Gabriel Pérès, President & CEO, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts

SWITZERLAND-BASED Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has initiated a search for a new CEO as current CEO Jean-Gabriel Pérès has informed the board he wishes to step down.

Pérès, who is synonymous with Mövenpick after 17 years with the company, told TTG Asia e-Daily he was not retiring. “Too young to quit,” he said jokingly. Joining another company? “I am just taking a step back after 17 wonderful years of growing the company, and remain a board member, nothing more,” he said.

The chain has hired Egon Zehnder Executive Search to seek a replacement for Pérès, who will remain CEO until his successor assumes leadership. A decision is expected to be reached later this year, said a Mövenpick statement.

The incoming CEO is expected to drive value accretive initiatives including the development of commercial activities and the delivery of further system integration, enhanced distribution and active yield management, added the statement.

Pérès is credited for transforming Mövenpick from a mainly European-based hotel company with a leased hotel portfolio, to a modern asset-light management company with major presence in Europe and the Middle East and a strong entry into Africa and Asia.

He changed Mövenpick’s positioning from a motley bunch of mid-market, four star and some five star hotels to an upscale and upper upscale portfolio.

The company described last year as one of its most successful years to-date with 12 new management contracts, expanding its operating portfolio by 15 per cent. Another 20 properties under negotiation, establishing itself as a key player in the upscale hotel segment worldwide.

Read our earlier interview with Jean-Gabriel Pérès here.

CHAN Brothers Travels will be unveiling a lineup of trendy tour packages at Travel Revolution 2016, taking place from February 26 to 28 at Marina Bay Sands B2 Expo Halls D to F.

Based on travel activity in 4Q2015, the travel company noted that trending destinations include China, Europe, Japan and Korea. Regional cruise itineraries are also faring well among Singaporean holiday-makers, with fly-cruises over a week long registering a 30 per cent growth in 2015 over 2014.

Catering to these preferences, Chan Brothers is offering holiday packages, including an eight-day package to Udo Island, situated off the eastern coast of Jeju Island, and a 12-day cruise tour in the Svalbard archipelago, about 1,000km south of the North Pole.

And with demand for travel to South Africa set to make a comeback after the World Health Organisation declared the end of the most recent Ebola outbreak in Liberia, Chan Brothers will also unveil its seven-day Africa programmes.

Chan Brothers Free & Easy+, a bucket list of diverse holidays that can be arranged at a single stop, will also be featured in the lineup, catering to the growing demand for more independent travel.

On the Free & Easy+ list are destinations like Fiji, which is emerging as a strong contender to Maldives as the next premium island getaway, as well as Iceland.

BRITISH adventure tour operator Moonstone Expeditions has unveiled a new range of trekking and cycling tours in Kerala, Rajasthan and Darjeeling, India.

“Our new trips really show India at its best. You can see wild elephants in Kerala, cycle past historic palaces in Rajasthan or see Mount Everest from our Darjeeling trek,” said Kate Hathway, operations manager, Moonstone Expeditions.

Specialising in trekking and cycling itineraries, Moonstone Expeditions organises expeditions led by locals who will help visitors know more about their destination.

Fully guided itineraries of between five and nine days start from 425 pounds (US$606), excluding flights.

Guangji Bridge, China

AIRASIA will commence a new four-weekly flight between Kuala Lumpur and Shantou, China, starting from March 25.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, flights will depart Kuala Lumpur at 10.50 and arrive in Shantou at 15.10 while return flights will leave Shantou at 15.55 and land in Kuala Lumpur at 20.35. Flights will be operated on an Airbus A320.

Promotional one-way fares are available for booking from now until February 22, 2016 with rates starting from RM88 (US$21), for travel between March 25, 2016 and February 5, 2017.

Mr. Cheng Xinhua (left), founder, president and CEO of Eastern Crown Hotels Group and Paul Foskey, executive vice president, hotel development, Marriott International Asia-Pacific (right)

MARRIOTT International and Eastern Crown Hotels group have agreed to bring Marriott’s Fairfield brand to mainland China, marking Marriott’s expansion into the midscale hotel segment in China.

“China is the fastest growing market in Asia for us. The rising disposable incomes of the middle class and development of the consumption-led economy is driving an increased demand for higher quality mid-range accommodation,” said Craig S. Smith, president and managing director of Marriott International Asia-Pacific.

With this, Fairfield joins nine other Marriott brands in mainland China. The new Fairfield additions will have 100 to 150 rooms and feature a warm, earthy aesthetic and a contemporary western style.

The Marriott–Eastern Crown partnership targets 140 Fairfield hotels signed in mainland China in the next five years, of which 100 are expected to be opened by 2021.

With more than 750 hotels worldwide, Fairfield is Marriott’s second largest distributed brand and also the fastest growing.

Shruti Buckley, Fairfield by Marriott vice president and global brand manager, said: “Due to the fast growing global demand for quality mid-tier hotels, Fairfield currently has the largest development pipeline within Marriott International, positioning the brand as the fastest growing in the portfolio.”

BEST Western Hotels & Resorts hosted an anniversary party in celebration of its 15th year in Asia at The Mercury Ville in Bangkok.

Best Western established its first office in Asia in 2001 at All Seasons Place in Bangkok, supporting an initial portfolio of six Asian hotels and laying the foundations for the company’s subsequent growth.

Following rapid expansion in Asia, Best Western moved into a larger office in 2007 at Gaysorn Place in Bangkok and launched two new hotel brands, namely the midscale Best Western Plus and upscale Best Western Premier.

Currently, the company’s regional portfolio stands at 60 hotels in more than 40 city and resort destinations across 13 countries with 40 more in the pipeline slated to open across the region, including the new Vib, GLō, BW Premier Collection and Executive Residency brands.

Credit: Stephanie Toh on Facebook

CLIENTS of Thomas Cook India heading overseas can now choose from Airbnb’s stock of apartments, rooms, castles, boats, manors, tree houses and private island accommodations.

According to a statement by Thomas Cook India, the pilot project hopes to target both leisure and business travellers, giving them the option to stay in unique forms of lodging that “goes beyond merely hotel categories or room types”.

It added that over 25 per cent of the agency’s individual traveller segment has stated their growing preference to explore authentic local stays and a desire for deeper engagement and an immersion into the destination, its culture and its people.

Madhavan Menon, chairman and managing director, Thomas Cook India, said: “The Indian traveller is evolving rapidly and for many, standard stays no longer find favour. Our partnership with Airbnb for outbound Indian travellers aims to address this viable and yet untapped market need.”