Amadeus has rolled out Destination Insight, the latest product suite from its Travel Intelligence division, to equip DMOs with timely insights into the competition and traveller intentions in order to roll out more effective campaigns.
By analysing billions of up-to-date global air travel transactions in near real time, the suite can remove some of the guesswork often involved in making key marketing decisions and reveal hidden opportunities for DMOs to boost their destinations’ growth, said Amadeus in a statement.
With its two modules – Top View and Navigator – Destination Insight’s flexibility and scalability allows it to be used by DMOs to monitor travel at city, country or region levels.
Top View grants DMOs a comprehensive picture of their performance with the ability to benchmark versus other destinations and quickly develop strategies in response to market developments. For example, they can gain insights into searches and bookings, when travellers are going there, how long they’re staying for and pinpoint origin markets in need of attention to grow visitors.
Navigator provides travel agency booking data that can improve DMOs’ response to external factors such as currency fluctuations or weather, e.g. an unusually warm period contributing to an unexpected spike in bookings.
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AirAsia and the Terengganu state government have signed an Memorandum of Agreement to jointly promote tourism in Terengganu.
“With this collaboration, we will drive our marketing efforts to promote Terengganu as a must-visit destination in Malaysia. We are confident this will contribute significantly in achieving the state government’s target of 5.5 million tourist arrivals in Terengganu for this year,” said Aziz Bakar, who sits on AirAsia’s board of directors.
Beach in Terengganu
Ahmad Razif bin Abd Rahman, chief minister Terengganu, said: “Terengganu is ready to be known as a tourism state with efficient land and air accessibility, good services, modern infrastructures and treasures of nature, culture and heritage.
“The additional Johor Bahru to Kuala Terengganu direct flights will definitely boost the arrival of tourists into Terengganu.”
AirAsia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu with 28 times weekly flights and will soon connect Kuala Terengganu to Johor Bahru with thrice-weekly flights.
In 2016 alone, AirAsia flew more than 420,000 passengers to Terengganu, with the top three feeder markets being Malaysia, China and Indonesia.
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has recruited a team of Generation Y employees and entrepreneurs to closely collaborate with the hospitality firm’s executive team, mirroring AccorHotels’ creation last year of a “shadow executive committee” made up of young talents.
Looking to glean ideas on attracting millennial guests and talents, Mövenpick handpicked an ExCom–Y Committee comprising 10 millennials, six of whom hail from its hotels in Dubai, Pattaya, Karachi and Switzerland to represent areas including front office, digital content and strategy, sales, marketing, F&B, and brand and quality assurance.
The remaining four are young business leaders brought in from various locations across the globe. They include Jessica Houlgrave, who spent six years working for leading global financial institutions and is now researching the impact of technology on the art ecosystem as part of an Art Business Master’s degree at Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
Houlgrave is joined by entrepreneurs and business executives from countries including Germany, France and the US, proficient in disciplines such as technology, hospitality and pharmaceuticals.
“As we embark on an unprecedented growth phase, expanding our portfolio at a rapid rate, it’s paramount we seek input and insights from our colleagues, particularly our young talent, who possess an intimate understanding of Generation Y trends,” said Craig Cochrane, the company’s senior vice president human resources.
“As millennials become a more influential demographic and contribute significantly to our overall guest profile, it is imperative we incorporate their needs and wishes into our hospitality offering.”
Millennials represent around one-third of the global population and account for more than 30 per cent of Mövenpick’s total guests.
The ExCom–Y Committee will be called on around five times a year to attend and contribute to executive meetings in various geographical locations.
The Indonesian trade is up in arms over the lack of information surrounding the management’s decision to raise the entry fees at a trio of temples in Central Java.
The US$5 fee hike, a decision made by Borobudur Park Corporate for maintenance and upgrading of facilities at Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko temples, raised entry prices to US$25, US$23 and US$18 respectively as of May 1.
Borobudur temple, Yogyakarta
In response to the temple admission fee hike, the Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) said the news should have been communicated to them earlier, even though the temples’ management is allowing them until year-end to enjoy the old prices for packages.
Ketut Ardhana, ASITA Bali’s chairman said it’s regrettable that neither he nor his members were informed on the price increase. “I think this is something that should be discussed with the trade (beforehand).”
While Emilia Utari, head of marketing of the temples’ management, said agents should not be affected as they are under contract for the pre-increase price until year-end, agents who have issued programmes for the following year disagree.
“We have no problem with the increment but the (announcement) should be made by November of last year (as) we set our programmes a year ahead,” said Udhi Sudhianto, ASITA Jogjakarta chairman, who was notified through the grapevine days before the price increase.
On the other hand, Ricky Setiawanto of Panorama Destination said the company was informed on the increase at the beginning of this year via an official letter from Borobudur temple’s management.
With an eye on growing Singapore into a bigger visitor source market by attracting the niche as well as repeat segments, the Philippines’ Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) conducted a sales mission in the city earlier this week to introduce fresh destinations to outbound agents.
In 2016 Singaporeans made up just 2.9 per cent of arrivals to the Philippines, a dismal number for the TPB, which has set up its 2017 aim to grow the figure to 3.1 per cent, an increment of 7,000 arrivals. This, according to TPB’s deputy COO, marketing and promotions Maricon Ebron, was “easily achievable, particularly if we get the meetings market”.
She elaborated: “We’re trying to position the Philippines to appeal to the Singapore MICE market. Singapore is so near us, we can probably lure some of the MNCs to come to the Philippines to hold their board meetings. But this is just one of the few segments we are targeting.”
The TPB is promoting new destinations like Legazpi; Cagsawa church ruins with Mount Mayon volcano in the background
Other niche segments the TPB hopes to lure include golfing, diving, adventure sports like mountain climbing, and marine-based activities such as game-fishing and surfing.
When asked how those segments can be translated into visitor numbers, Ebron shared: “We have to keep on advertising online and offline, and getting the right people – like the golf and dive segments – to notice. We’re also introducing new activities such as surfing; I’m sure there’s a market in Singapore for that as people diversify their interests.
Conducting regular sales missions, attending tradeshows as well as organising fam trips for both agents and bloggers are ways the TPB has identified to raise awareness of the Philippines, she added.
As well, she notes that repeat visitors from Singapore is another segment the TPB wants to tap, especially as the country is seen as a prime market source within South-east Asia, thanks to its stronger currency and relatively advanced economy.
Select Travel Services’ director, John Emsermann, agreed: “The Philippines is very affordable for Singaporeans, and is a place where five-star hotel rates begin at US$90… A lot of Singaporeans have not been to the Philippines, and the market is huge.”
Emsermann hence wants to “use a variety of entertainment, from shopping to soft adventure, and the proximity of the country to lure Singaporeans”, who are usually FITs who are sophisticated and educated.
The TPB is also promoting new destinations such as Palawan’s Puerto Princessa, and Legazpi in the Bicol region. Both destinations recently had their main airports upgraded and expanded, and can now accommodate direct flights.
National carrier Philippine Airlines also plans to support the TPB’s aim to grow arrivals from Singapore.
Marie Jemma Saranillo, country manager Singapore/Indonesia/Malaysia, Philippine Airlines, shared: “We will come up with competitive fares as Singapore is a price-driven market. We will also promote the Philippines through promotional tie-ups with the private sector such as hotels and travel agents, as well as create in-house packages.”
Inbound agents from the UAE observe a growing trend for the emirates in becoming a mono-destination, rather than a transit hub for South-east Asian visitors on their way to Europe or elsewhere in the Middle East.
Dubai-based Cozmo Travel’s sales manager – holidays, Arnold D’Souza, estimates a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in mono-destination holidays from Malaysia and 10 per cent from Singapore.
Camel on Dubai beach and skyscrappers in the background
“We have seen a growing trend (from Malaysia) over the last two and a half years. In the past, Dubai was a transit stop (one- to two-night stay) for Malaysian Muslims going for Hajj or on their way to Europe. Now their stays have lengthened to four nights or more.”
The trend became apparent in the Singapore market more recently last year. “We see interest from the (Singapore) FIT family segments who are willing to spend five to six nights in Dubai alone,” continued D’Souza.
While the increase in Singapore was spurred by new theme parks and iconic attractions such as Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall, D’Souza notices that Malaysians and Singaporeans are now developing a taste for experiential tours with culture and history components.
Hana El Khanagry, managing director of MyWay Tourism in Dubai, notices mono-destination travel catching on among leisure and incentive groups.
“They travel beyond Dubai and Abu Dhabi to visit other parts of the emirates such as Sharjah and Fujairah. The attractions for Sharjah lie in the culture, food and architecture, while in Fujairah it is the beaches and culture.”
Meanwhile, also boding well for the destination are direct flights from Brunei by Royal Brunei Airlines and free visa-on-arrival since September 2016 for the Chinese.
China Comfort Travel Group Qingdao’s overseas development manager, Zhang Xuehao, expects the latter – who typically stay for five to six days – to boost leisure bookings to the emirates by at least 50 per cent this year.
UK-based JacTravel’s wholesale accommodation website for agents, www.totalstay.com, is broadening its focus across Asian markets, having ventured into the region last year.
Ben Wood, regional head of sales – Asia-Pacific, JacTravel, said: “We see Asia as a big market of growth, which is why this region is a key focus for JacTravel. We are growing the brand across Asia-Pacific and continue to recruit staff and build our regional sales, contracting and operation teams in Asia Pacific.
Ben Wood
“It helps that through word-of-mouth marketing – a powerful tool in this region – we also have agents now in Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore using our hotel booking platform,” he added, acknowledging the “extremely competitive market space with an ever-increasing number of suppliers” in the travel distribution landscape.
Paul Hastings-Gayle, sales director, JacTravel, added: “We found that our growth and success has been achieved by localising our offerings, both in terms of hotel product and regional personnel. We have been able to grow sales by offering competitive prices and strong availability in key regional destinations, such as Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand.”
While a relatively new entrant to the Asian market, Totalstay has been established in Europe since 2003 and now has an inventory of over 165,000 hotels across 10,000 destinations worldwide.
In Asia, the service and support centre, alongside the sales, accounts development and contracting teams, are based in Hong Kong. There are also sales teams on the ground in Thailand and Malaysia.
Dusit International will introduce the Dusit brand to Nepal with a mountaintop resort near Dhulikhel, slated to open in 2020.
Dusit Thani Himalayan Resort & Spa will comprise 44 guestrooms and 20 villas, each providing views of the Himalayan range. It will feature a wellness spa concept created by Dusit’s signature Devarana Spa, an all-day-dining restaurant, a bar and lobby lounge, meeting facilities and a swimming pool.
The resort is located over an hour’s drive from Kathmandu and Tribhuvan International Airport, although the highway extension – scheduled for completion in 2020 – is expected to reduce travel time between the capital and the resort to under 45 minutes.
Namo Buddha, a small village which houses the ancient Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery, one of the country’s main pilgrimage sites, is less than 10 minutes away by car. Dhulikhel, the administrative centre of Kavrepalanchok District, whose old town is home to many Hindu shrines and Buddhist stupa, is also nearby.
The latest hotel openings and announcements made this week
Park Hyatt Bangkok
The first Park Hyatt hotel in Thailand has opened in the capital, offering 222 guestrooms (including 32 suites). Amenities on-site comprise four F&B options, a 40m-long infinity saltwater pool, 24-hour fitness centre, spa with eight treatment rooms, and 12 event spaces which include a pillarless ballroom. The property is also directly connected to the Central Embassy shopping mall and the Phloen Chit BTS skytrain station.
Amari Johor Bahru
The 242-room Amari Johor Bahru, Onyx Hospitality Group’s first property in Malaysia, has opened. The lobby is located on the sixth floor, and facilities on-site include an executive lounge, a library, spa, fitness centre and swimming pool. Food options include the market-style, all-day restaurant Amaya Food Gallery, Amaya Café and the poolside Dip Bar. Events can be held on the property’s pre-function foyer, outdoor terrace or ballroom.
DoubleTree by Hilton Xiamen-Haicang
DoubleTree by Hilton’s second Xiamen hotel is located in the Haicang district and offers 301 rooms. Each room is furnished with a custom-designed mattress and 43-inch LED flatscreen TV, plus Crabtree & Evelyn products as part of its amenities. Recreational facilities include a heated pool, 24-hour fitness centre and four F&B options. For events and meetings, there’s a 1,000m² pillarless ballroom for 950 people, and six meeting rooms.
Toyoko Inn Cebu
Tokyo-headquartered Toyoko Inn has opened its first Philippines outpost on Cebu Island. The 582-room hotel is located on the sixth to 18th floors of Mandaue City’s J Centre Mall. Facilities include complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, a bar, conference room and coin-operated washing machines. A complimentary pick-up bus service plies between the hotel and Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
Howard Johnson Jeju Seogwipo Harbor
Standing along Jeju Island’s shoreline in the Taepyeong-ro district is the Howard Johnson Jeju Seogwipo Harbor, the brand’s debut in South Korea. All its 241 guestrooms feature a balcony with either ocean or mountain views, as well as bedding topped with DuPont cotton duvets. Facilities include a fitness centre, rooftop terrace with Jacuzzi hot tubs overlooking the ocean, free Wi-Fi and a complimentary breakfast at the all-day dining restaurant.
