CENTARA Hotels & Resorts recently launched new sales offices in Vietnam and Indonesia to tap its increasing customer base and the growing outbound opportunities in South-east Asia.
The new offices will act as support for Centara’s resorts in the respective countries while helping to raise the profile of its 58 properties across Asia. The expansion is also part of the group’s strategy to set up offices throughout the region prior to the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts, said: “Our strategy is to increase the number of our own sales offices throughout the Asia and Indian Ocean regions and in other key markets.
“Our Vietnam office will handle both sales and promotional activities, and also support our recently launched loyalty card, Centara – The 1 Card. Our new Jakarta office will allow us to become closer to the Indonesian travel industry and consumers. This is important for our growth plans, as we expand our number of properties and destinations that are of interest to Indonesian travellers.”
The Vietnam office in Ho Chi Minh City will be led by Nguyen Thuy Y Nhu (Jenny), a Vietnamese national with nine years’ experience in international sales, marketing and public relations.
Maria Lastfi Erma, who boasts over 13 years of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry, will head the Jakarta office as director of sales for Indonesia.
Plans to open a sales office in the US are also in the pipeline, according to a Centara spokeperson, adding to the group’s existing offices in the UK, Germany, France, Russia, the UAE, South Africa, India, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.
