Following JTB Corp’s acquisition of a 40 per cent stake in Panorama Tours Indonesia in February, both partners have just unveiled their new identity, Panorama JTB Tours Indonesia, at The World of Holidays travel fair in Jakarta last week.

Commenting on the partnership, Royanto Handaya, CEO of Panorama JTB Travel Indonesia, said: “The business environment has changed dramatically with the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) formation. Secondly, the AEC is developing cooperation with China, South Korea and Japan, and thirdly, the biggest economic growth is in Asia-Pacific. Therefore, our choice was to expand our business in this area.”

JTB makes the ideal partner because of its global reach as well as the fast-growing Indonesia outbound business to Japan in recent years, added Royanto.

“For us, partnering JTB means we are not only a Japan specialist but also an international player. While we are a major company in Indonesia, it would not be easy to expand outside the country on our own. People do not know us,” he said.

Apart from the outbound business, Royanto also aims to cater to the Japan corporate travel segment in Indonesia, a market that growing in tandem with more Japanese investment in the country.

Furthermore, Indonesia is an important source market for Panorama JTB Tours Indonesia to achieve its goal of becoming the top travel company in Asia by 2020, said senior director (corporate strategy) Hiroaki Izumi.

“JTB has been in Indonesia for many years, but our business was targeted at the inbound market into the country. JTB is well-known in Bali but perhaps not so in Jakarta (the major source of outbound market).

“For us to penetrate the market and expand (so fast) to achieve the 2020 target will not be easy. Therefore, we are happy to partner Panorama Tours,” he said.

AirAsia is on its way to starting a Vietnamese carrier in a joint venture with local partners by early 2018 as income and passenger traffic from the country surge.

The venture will need investments of one trillion Vietnamese dong (US$44 million), and will see Gumin Company, Hai Au Aviation and businessman Tran Trong Kien owning a 70 per cent stake and AirAsia the remaining 30 per cent.

The Malaysia-based LCC already has affiliates in Indonesia, Thailand, India and Japan, as well as the AirAsia X unit which targets longer-haul travel.

Tour operators welcome the Japanese government’s relaxation of laws on home-sharing accommodation – known as “minpaku” – for rentals not exceeding 180 days a year although such lodgings have not gained widespread usage among the agent community.

Mohammed Naji Matar, founder of Osaka-based Miyako International Tourist, said the new rules on homestay-style accommodation are a positive development in expanding visitor experiences in Japan.

Kiso valley, Gifu Prefecture

“We use minpaku properties when people are travelling on a budget, but some clients also specifically ask for the opportunity to stay in a Japanese home so they can get a more authentic expereince of local life,” said Matar, who focuses on inbound Muslim tourists from South-east Asia and the Middle East.

For Robert Day, president of Australia-based Robert Day Travel, however, the biggest issue of minpaku lodgings are their small size and suburban locations.

“Such properties in Japan are ideal for couples or maybe families, but they don’t work for groups,” he said. “My clients want to be able to step out into the middle of a place like Ginza, Shibuya or Shinjuku, with the neon lights, restaurants and shops.

“The only benefit of the changes in the law on minpaku properties is that it may have eased some of the pressure on the hotels, meaning that there may be slightly more rooms available when we try to make a booking for a group,” Day commented.

Seeing a bright future in sharing economy accommodation, Tatsu Shiraishi is stepping down from his position as manager of The Satoyama Experience travel firm in Gifu Prefecture to set up company specialising in minpaku-style properties.

“I believe the way people use hotels is changing, especially in rural areas like Gifu,” he told TTG Asia. “There are not many hotels outside the big cities or regional towns, but these are the places where more foreign visitors want to visit to have a unique experience.

“We want to work with smaller groups, and I believe this sort of sharing-economy business is the future for rural Japan,” he added.

Thailand’s Laem Chabang is becoming a hotter port of call, with Star Cruises last week announcing the new homeport deployment of SuperStar Gemini to Laem Chabang while Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) Ovation of the Seas made her maiden call at Laem Chabang.

(From left) Star Cruises’ Ang Moo Lim presenting the SuperStar Gemini crystal ship model to Thai Travel Agents Association’s Suparerk Soorangura
SuperStar Gemini will be based in Laem Chabang International Terminal from December 17, 2017 through April 27, 2018. During her deployment, SuperStar Gemini will embark on three-night cruises to Sihanoukville and Koh Samui, departing every Sunday; two-night cruises to Sihanoukville, departing every Wednesday; and two-night cruises to Koh Kong Island, departing every Friday.

“Thailand has the largest number of tourists of all ASEAN countries and the two airports of Bangkok serve more than 85 million passengers every year,” said Ang Moo Lim, president, Star Cruises. “This is a perfect location for fly-cruise passengers and we will work closely with inbound agents to package cruises with land vacations – providing tourists yet another reason to visit Thailand.”

Ovation of the Seas

Meanwhile, RCI’s 168,6660-tonne, 2,090-stateroom Ovation of the Seas on March 31 arrived in Laem Chabang on a five-night cruise from Singapore with over 4,000 guests. The overnight stay in Laem Chabang allowed its guests to go ashore to Bangkok.

Ovation of the Seas is currently offering 10 cruises from Singapore ranging from three to five nights to Penang, Phuket, Bangkok (Laem Chabang), and a one-way 12-night cruise to Tianjin with calls at Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) for an overnight, Hue/Danang (Chan May), Hong Kong and Seoul (Incheon). She will be back in the region for two sailings in April 2018.

South Korean holidaymakers are turning their backs on China this year as the political row between Beijing and Seoul shows no signs of easing.

China banned domestic travel agencies from selling package tours to South Korea in early March in retaliation to the latter’s decision to deploy the THAAD anti-missile system to counter threats from North Korea.

South Koreans are choosing countries like Thailand over China; Wat Arun in Bangkok pictured

Chinese arrivals into South Korea have since contracted more than 44 per cent, while South Korean agents say customers have expressed concern over their safety in China and are enquiring about alternative destinations.

Said Min Woo, a spokesperson for Hana Tour: “The feeling is that China is acting unreasonably, so people (do not) want to go there. Instead, they are choosing Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Japan.”

Min Woo said bookings for China are “down 20 per cent already (in March, but we expect to see steeper declines (up to 40 per cent) in the months ahead”.

Jenny Yun, sales manager of Seoul-based Kangsan Tours, observed: “Last year, people told us they wanted to visit Beijing, but they (are now choosing) Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia or Japan,” she said.

“Others are choosing to stay closer to home this year and are booking trips to Jeju Island or Busan.”

Min Woo said it would be difficult to estimate how long the bilateral dispute will last, although he suggested that a change of government in the national elections scheduled for May in South Korea may help ease the situation.

Deutsche Hospitality will plant its first hotel in South-east Asia when the Steigenberger Hotel Riverside opens in Bangkok in 2019.

“The hotel is our gateway to the market in Thailand and allows us to establish a brand presence in a city of superlatives,” explained CEO Puneet Chhatwal. “This also strengthens the presence of Deutsche Hospitality in our target growth market of Asia.”

Located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, the hotel will offer 259 rooms, including deluxe rooms, suites, superior suites, honeymoon suites and a presidential suite. Its conference and banqueting facilities will extend over an area of 900m².

Its F&B concept will boast features such as a pool restaurant, a roof terrace bar and restaurant and a VIP lounge. A 1,200m² spa and gym area will contain both an indoor and an outdoor pool. There will also be shuttle boat tours.

The hotel will be operated via a management agreement, under which Thai company River Garden will be property owner and contractual partner.

Deutsche Hospitality encompasses more than 125 hotels across three separate hotel brands – Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts, Jaz in the City and IntercityHotel – of which over 25 are at the development stage.