THE brand is more known for its cafes, but that is set to change as Hard Rock goes on a roll to have 100 hotels, opened or signed, globally by 2020.

To-date, Hard Rock has 22 hotels in operation globally, including its casinos in the US, and 18 hotels in the pipeline. In contrast, there are some 160 cafes worldwide.

Marco Roca, executive vice president and chief development officer, Hard Rock

Hard Rock’s executive vice president and chief development officer, Marco Roca, said of the 60 hotels left to be signed, roughly 50 per cent would be in the US and 25 per cent in Asia and 25 per cent in the Middle East and Europe. The chain recently hired a senior vice president hotel development (Asia and India), Leong Wy Joon, to look at expansion in key resorts and key global cities in the region such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai.

There are just five Hard Rock hotels in Asia now, but already, the chain has debuted in India with the newly-opened Hard Rock in Goa and will soon debut in China with a property in Shenzhen, to be followed by another in Haikou.

Most of its 22 hotels in operation today are franchised, although it manages all of its casino hotels in the US. “Of the 18 signed agreements, 12 are managed, six franchised, so as we grow there is a preference to manage,” Roca said.

Asked why Hard Rock is still a relevant brand today, Roca said: “Music will always be relevant. We consider ourselves a lifestyle hotel, but we didn’t go out to create a brand to fit a ‘lifestyle’ niche. We are all about the music, and we create our hotels around music. We are the largest curator of musical memorabilia, with 80,000 original pieces in our collection, and they cut across generations, genres and cultures of music. We don’t only have Beatles guitars or Michael Jackson’s jacket, but an entire collection, from Shakira to Asian artistes now. We’re a music museum with rooms and we appeal to people from eight years old to 80. Who does not love music; it is the international language of love.”

– Read the View from the Top with Marco Roca, TTG Asia, March 4 issue

THE US Department of State has issued a travel alert for all its citizens to the risks of travelling to the Xaisomboun Province of Laos due to recent shooting attacks and detonations of improvised explosive devices.

The US Embassy in Vientiane first issued the alert on its Facebook page, stating: “The Embassy has prohibited its personnel from traveling to Xaisomboun Province, and encourages US citizens to adopt similar security measures.”

According to an official statement from the US Department of State, three people had been killed and one injured during two roadside attacks that took place in Laos in late January. A series of shootings also occurred in November and December 2015.

Further warnings of unexploded ordnance to be found throughout Laos was issued in the statement as well. “While this may not pose a threat in common tourist destinations, including Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and the Plain of Jars, we strongly discourage travelling off well-used roads, tracks, and paths,” it stated.

“US citizens travelling to or residing in Laos should take precautions, remain vigilant about their personal security, and be alert to local security developments.”

The travel alert expires on April 30, 2016.

TOKYO Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea have both increased their ticket prices with effect from April 1. The theme parks last revised ticket prices in April last year.

Prices for all ticket types will increase except for the Starlight Passport and After Six Passport categories which will retain its current pricing.

The One-day Passport for both parks will cost 7,400 yen (US$65.59), 6,400 yen and 4,800 yen for an adult aged 18 and above, a junior aged between 12 and 17, and a child aged between four and 11 respectively, up from 6,900 yen, 6,000 yen and 4,500 yen.

Both parks have added new attractions since April 2015, including Stitch Encounter, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue – Special Version, Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights, as well as King Triton’s Concert.

Additionally, Tokyo DisneySea will reopen its live performance show called Big Band Beat come April 15 and launch a new musical titled Out of Shadowland on July 9. Tokyo Disneyland will also be opening a new facility and a new restaurant later this year.

THE Philippines Department of Tourism – Davao Regional Office last week launched three tourism initiatives for 2016, namely the Visit Davao Fun Sale 2016, Let’s Meet in Davao: MICE Davao Program, and the 9th Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge.

Making the announcement during the 23rd Travel and Tour Expo 2016 held in SMX Convention Center, Pasay City, DoT Region XI director Roberto Alabado, III, said: “These three institutional tourism programmes will help position Davao as the ‘islands to highlands’ destination for adventure, beach holiday, food and culture, shopping and as a premier MICE destination.”

The Visit Davao Fun Sale will take place from March 25 to May 31, featuring a city-wide sale and events programme with discounts and promotions for tours, accommodation, shopping, dining, relaxation and adventure activities. Some event highlights include theDurianMan Triathlon, the Davao Grand Indie Film Festival and a pub crawl.

Davao tourism authorities are also conducting roadshows and closing deals with MICE planners and service providers, including airlines, to offer greater support for conference and event organisers.

Currently, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines have agreed to co-brand with the Let’s Meet in Davao: MICE Davao Program by promoting on their own websites special airfare rates for MICE participants. The two carriers will also participate in roadshows alongside Davao’s MICE executive committee.

For adventure travellers, the Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge, where participants race to the peak of the country’s highest mountain and back down within 24 hours, will be held this year from 23 to 24 April.

Davao welcomed nearly 2 million visitors in 2015, 1.8 million of which were domestic travellers, 121,604 were foreign visitors, and 4,870 were overseas Filipinos. An estimated 26.7 billion pesos (US$561 million) in tourist receipts were generated from those arrivals, a 10.2 per cent increase from 2014.

SOUTH KOREA is wooing tourists from Indonesia by streamlining the visa application process and offering promotional support to travel agencies.

The South Korean Embassy in Indonesia started issuing five-year multiple entry visas last June and in October, the visa processing time was shortened to 24 hours.

Park Sang Hun, visa consular of the South Korean Embassy in Jakarta, said: “The response was positive. We have seen two and a half times the number of applicants every month following the introduction of this service.”

Park told travel company representatives in Jakarta: “We will step up our promotions by (proactively) informing eligible applicants who apply for single entry visas that they can apply for multiple entry ones.”

He also informed representatives that group visa applications will be made easier for travel bookings made through the embassy’s 15 authorised travel agents. Application fees will also be waived and visas can be processed within a day.

Meanwhile, the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) office in Jakarta will be providing advertising support to travel agent partners that come up with interesting packages that fit into certain categories, namely Muslim Korea; 8D6N programmes; a third destination other than Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon and Jeju; Premium Korea; and Jeju programmes spanning at least three nights.

As well, KTO will be giving free CGV Blitz movie vouchers for travellers who purchase one of those products.

MYANMAR attracted a record 4.2 million visitors in 2015, with at least 800,000 entering the country by air and ship, and over 2.2 million through border checkpoints, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

In Yangon alone, over 1 million arrivals were recorded, a 13.1 per cent increase from 2014. About 815,949 of the total were from Asian countries and 171,544 from Europe.
 Thailand, as usual, led the way with 160,852 visitors, followed by China (99,821), Japan (86,491) and South Korea (62,306).

Visitor arrivals also hiked in other destinations such as Mandalay, Bagan, and Inle Lake. Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, received 306,432 visitors in 2015, up 26 per cent from 2014.

Aung Myat Kyaw, vice chairman of Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF), opined that the recent political landscape has encouraged more tourists to visit Myanmar. “The overall growth is about 20 per cent year-on-year. I’m sure we will see more arrivals in 2016 and 2017,” he said.

New hotels are also sprouting up across the country to accommodate the increasing number of tourists, stated U Tin Win, chairman of Myanmar Hotelier Association. He said a total of 340 hotels opened in 2015, while 290 opened in 2014.

Tourist arrivals are projected to hit 7.49 million in 2020.

MALAYSIA will no longer have direct air connectivity with Germany from March 1 when Lufthansa suspends its Frankfurt-Kuala Lumpur service which it had been operating since 2004.

While a decline in tourism volume is to be expected from the lack of direct flights, industry experts contacted believe the impact will not be major.

Manfred Kurz, managing director, Diethelm Malaysia, said: “We did a check and found that only 18 per cent of our guests travelled on Lufthansa. The other 82 per cent came through a Middle Eastern airline. Thus, we don’t expect this news to have a big impact (on business). Our partners have indicated that they will continue to sell Malaysia.”

Alex Lee, CEO of Ping Anchorage Travel & Tours, foresees a slight drop in the high-end segment from Germany, but expects volume to be maintained among middle class travellers and backpackers who are likely to fly with a Middle Eastern airline to get to Malaysia.

With no direct flights, Tourism Malaysia will also have to leverage on the connectivity provided by other airlines instead, but is sanguine Malaysia’s natural offerings will still entice European tourists.

Azizan Noordin, deputy director-general, international promotion, Tourism Malaysia, said: “Malaysia is considered a value-for-money destination for German tourists. There are many ecotourism products in Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo such as Royal Belum Rainforest, Danum Valley and Taman Negara National Park.

“Malaysia is also blessed with unique wildlife such as the orang utan and proboscis monkeys. These can be packaged together to offer unique ecotourism experiences that have high appeal for European travellers.”

IN anticipation of ASEAN’s 50^th anniversary in 2017, the ten ASEAN NTOs have jointly developed a tourism campaign, Visit ASEAN@50: Golden Celebration, to be officially launched at ITB Berlin on March 10, 2016, from 10.30 to 11.30 at the Malaysia pavilion, number 121, hall 26A.

The campaign features South-east Asia’s 50 best festivals and 50 most unforgettable travel experiences, with the aim of promoting the region as a single, united tourism destination. Special offers and travel promotions with affiliated partners will also be rolled out for travellers.

By end 2017, the campaign hopes to attract 121 million international arrivals to the region, boost tourism receipts to US$83 billion, extend average length of stay to six or seven days, and to increase travel to more than two ASEAN countries per visitor trip.

Following the launch at ITB Berlin, two days of cultural performances on March 12 and 13 will be held at the Thailand pavilion, number 221, hall 26B.