CONSTANCE Hotels and Resorts in 1H2015 has recorded double-digit growth from the Chinese outbound market to its properties in Mauritius and the Seychelles, driven by good air accessibility and visa-free access for Chinese travellers.

The business forecast for its two properties in Mauritius and the Seychelles remains rosy for 2016, said Tsang, especially as Britain’s Prince William and Princess Catherine had spent their honeymoon in the Seychelles in 2011, raking up great interest from the Chinese market to visit the destination.

On the other hand, its two properties in the Maldives, Constance Halaveli and Constance Moofushi, saw a single-digit drop in Chinese guests in 1H2015.

Carol Tsang, regional marketing director for Constance Hotels and Resorts Hong Kong Office, explained: “The ‘heat’ to visit the Maldives had cooled since mid-2015 and with the current political instability, I foresee a slowdown of Chinese traffic to the Maldives in 2016.”

As suspended chartered flights from China may not resume once stability returns to the Maldives, Tsang expects the numbers of Chinese guests to drop on a bigger scale compared with the past three years. Marketing focus will hence be placed on attracting repeat travellers and families from China instead of first-timers and honeymooners, she added.

In spring 2015, Constance Hotels and Resorts had established an office in Beijing to market its overseas properties in China, in addition to hosting fam trips for the trade and media as well as active participation in roadshows organised by Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority and Seychelles Tourism Board across different Chinese cities.

EASTERN European countries courting the Chinese market are keen to develop more niche tourism products next year to attract wine and gastronomy aficionados, golfers and wellness travellers from China.

“Educating the travel trade in Eastern Europe on the interest and travel needs of the Chinese traveller will be an ongoing process,” said Zsuzsa Vincze, a representative of the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Economic and Trade Cooperation Network formed last year.

She added: “China is an emerging market for Eastern Europe, and the growth is mainly driven by direct flights from Beijing to Prague, Budapest and Warsaw.

“We would like to encourage more direct flights from Shanghai and Xi’an to fly to Eastern Europe, as that will encourage more arrivals from China,” she said.

Since the launch of Air China Beijing-Budapest services via Minsk on May 1, Vincze told TTG Asia e-Daily that Hungary has enjoyed a 44 per cent year-on-year growth in tourist arrivals from China. There were approximately half million Chinese visitors to Eastern Europe in 2014.

Vincze said the network is educating East European hotels and restaurants to become more Chinese-friendly by rolling out facilities like hot water, free Wi-Fi and Chinese menus.

The network also works closely with China National Tourism Administration to promote tourism between China and Central and Eastern Europe.

According to Vincze, the Chinese counterparts will provide product presentations in Eastern Europe next year to promote different regions in China including Kunming and its surroundings.

Additional reporting by S Puvaneswary

TO BETTER connect with the growing wave of mobile-savvy FITs emerging from China, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has partnered four major Chinese digital players to attract these visitors to the Lion City.

This marks STB’s most comprehensive initiative yet, comprising four first-time partnerships and two new product launches with current partners. First-time partners are Chinese OTAs Alitrip and Tuniu, and social review sites Dianping and Mafengwo.

All of them signed a MoU with STB earlier last month, agreeing to curate and distribute content on Singapore over a period of two to three years to their users.

Meanwhile, existing partners WeChat and Baidu have both rolled out new products. The digital partnerships will feature attractions such as the River Safari and Gardens by the Bay in a new YourSingapore WeChat account, while offerings at the Sentosa HarbourFront precinct will be detailed in a new Baidu Connect service.

Edward Chew, STB’s regional director (Greater China), said: “We are seeing more Chinese FIT visitors in recent years. Besides the need for comprehensive information for trip planning, they also desire real-time useful tips, navigation, payment and translation tools to explore a destination independently.”

Applauding these new partnerships, Joseph Sze, director of China from Siam Express, said: “This (initiave) gives Singapore the first-mover advantage in this aspect because (STB) is the first NTO that has done something so major.

“Chinese travellers are very dependent on their mobile devices and they will (appreciate) the convenience of the real-time information of the travel destinations provided by these digital services,” he said.

Sharing similar sentiments, Michael Chong, manager of global business at Star Holiday Mart, said: “It is good to use different platforms to attract the Chinese so that they will be engaged (with Singapore).”

Nevertheless, the traditional media remains an important outreach channel for industry players. Khoo Shao Tze, chairman of Sentosa Harbourfront Business Association, said: “We still utilise publicity tools through traditional media to access the Chinese market, but if Chinese tourists want to go deeper (into Sentosa as a destination), Baidu Connect will allow that depth.”

Of the 1.7 million Chinese visitors to Singapore in 2014, 80 per cent were either FITs or free-and-easy travellers. China is currently the second largest source market for the South-east Asia country.