Diethelm Travel Group has appointed Oscar Lopera as group product and contracting director.
Lopera will be based at the Diethelm Travel’s headquarters in Bangkok and be responsible for managing the company’s product development and contracting strategy, working closely with its 12 regional product managers and directors.
Oscar Lopera
He was most recently senior purchasing manager for Dnata Travel, overseeing a team procuring Asia-Pacific product remit on behalf of the Dnata Travel portfolio, which included brands such as Emirates Holidays as well as the former Gold Medal Group and Stella Travel Services portfolio of brands.
The UK native has over 15 years of industry experience, including mainstream and luxury sectors with operators such as Western & Oriental and Aspire Holidays.
Ariva Hospitality executive chairman Cameron Ong announced in a press statement that Ariva is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rowsley Hospitality Holdings.
Together with Ariva’s co-founder and executive director Jean-Claude Erne, Ong will work with the Rowsley group to grow its hospitality business from the 6,500 room keys currently under its management and in the pipeline.
Photo: Rowsley Hospitality Holdings
Remaining as the executive chairman and executive director respectively, Ong and Erne will focus on bringing expertise and market access to drive growth in the Rowsley Hospitality business as well.
Both Ong and Erne had held senior management positions in international hospitality companies including Ascott Group, Shangri-La Group and IHG group prior to setting up Ariva Hospitality in 2009 with the main brands Ariva Hotels, Ariva Serviced Residences and by Ariva across Asia.
Tour, activity and attraction booking platform Klook has raised US$30 million in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital China, which will enable the Hong Kong-based company to expand its in-destination services and step up its global expansion efforts.
Existing investors including Matrix Partners and ex-Tencent executive-backed Welight Capital also participated in the follow-on investments.
“After seeing great results in our newly launched local transfer & wifi vertical, we are enthusiastically diving deeper into the in-destination ecosystem to offer a wider array of services,” said Eric Gnock Fah, COO & co-founder of Klook.
Besides building a bigger portfolio of experiences and services, Klook will broaden its scope of operations beyond Asia to growing demand of Asian travellers for mid and longhaul travel, the company said in a statement.
It will also develop a collection of travel videos, from original content to exploring new formats like 360 or VR videos.
Since its establishment in 2014, Klook has developed into a team of over 200 staffers based in eight offices across Asia. It covers over 80 popular destinations in Asia and beyond, providing more than 10,000 attractions, tours, and activities.
Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) has bolstered capacity on its Singapore-Zurich services as it deploys the Boeing 777-300ER on a daily basis between the two cities.
Capacity on the service was already increased last September, when SWISS deployed Boeing 777-300ER in place of Airbus 340-300 aircraft thrice-weekly, a move that has been “very well-received by customers”, according to Heiko Brix, regional director for Lufthansa Group Airlines.
The new Boeing aircraft offers 340 seats – eight in first class, 62 in business class and 270 in economy class.
Travel agents in Sri Lanka have raised strong objections over SriLankan Airlines’ proposal to drop ticket commission, a move which the trade says could potentially throw many agencies out of business.
In a circular issued to outbound travel agents, SriLankan Airlines has announced that the zero commission policy will take effect from April 1. Agents currently get five per cent commission from the national carrier for each ticket sold.
Two travel agent associations representing in Sri Lanka have called for an emergency meeting on March 17 to discuss a decision. Both associations have also sought a meeting with SriLankan Airlines.
“We are faced with a serious dilemma, not knowing what to do,” said Wilhelm Brown, president of the Travel Agents’ Association of Sri Lanka (TAASL). “This could cripple the industry.”
Tilak Wickramasinghe, president of the IATA Agents’ Association of Sri Lanka (IATA-AASL), raised similar concerns: “SriLankan Airlines could have reduced the commission rather than scrapping it altogether. We have huge costs to pay like the IATA licensing fee, costly bank guarantee charges and also licencing fees to the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.”
“This would force many agents to close down,” Wickramasinghe added, pointing out that less than 15 per cent of IATA-AASL members belong to large conglomerates who would be able to cushion the blow.
Another veteran industry member commented: “We have been promoting the national carrier through our own communication platforms and hence the airline should be there to protect us, not wipe us out.”
Defending the move, a SriLankan Airlines official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the industry had been informed of this plan two years ago. “We are following a global practice,” said the official.
However, industry leaders argue that Sri Lanka is not yet a mature market to enforce zero commissions. “When the national carrier imposes this, other airlines will follow suit,” said Wickramasinghe.
SriLankan is not the first airline to introduce changes to its commission policy. Emirates last month reduced its commission from seven per cent to three per cent, while Qatar, Etihad Airways and Thai Airways have scrapped commissions three years ago.
Royal Caribbean International has inked its second multimillion dollar partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) to boost fly-cruise tourism in Singapore onboard Ovation of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas.
The collaboration is expected to bring in over S$26 million (US$18.4 million) in tourism dollars and about 45,000 fly-cruise guests to Singapore on the two ships from March to June 2017, said STB. This is on top of 65,000 overseas guests projected to sail on Mariner of the Seas from October 2016 to March 2017.
Voyager of the Seas
Royal Caribbean’s first collaboration with STB and CAG has been in place with Mariner of the Seassince August 2015, and is projected to bring in over 170,000 overseas fly-cruise visitors to Singapore over three years. The first year’s numbers surpassed the annual visitor target by over 40 per cent.
Annie Chang, STB’s director of cruise shared that while the domestic market needs to be “augmented”, she is optimistic about the fly-cruise sector in Singapore and the region as well as its potential to attract overall visitorship.
“What is good for Singapore when it comes to cruise tourism is the fact that when passengers come to Singapore, they do not only come for the cruise, they do pre- and post-cruise stays. So it is a good orientation for them on Singapore as a destination and then subsequently to encourage repeat visitorship,” said Chang.
Singapore recorded a vibrant cruise scene in 2016, with cruise passenger throughput growing 16 per cent to about 1.2 million and ship calls increasing by seven per cent, according to figures by STB.
In addition, Peh Ke-Wei, Changi Airport Group’s vice president of passenger development, commented that with Terminal Four’s opening in 2H2017, the fly-cruise passenger segment would boost incremental traffic and further opportunities for the airport to develop other travel options and segments.
Sean Treacy, managing director, Asia-Pacific, Royal Caribbean Cruises commented that the current partnership, which comes on the back of the cruise line’s longest-ever deployment of ships in Singapore from 2017 to 2019, is key in educating the market about the cruise experience and highlighting the potential of fly-cruises departing from Singapore.
Ovation of the Seas arrived for her inaugural season in Singapore yesterday, with 10 sailings to take place during this season and according to Royal Caribbean, over half of the ship’s bookings have come from overseas.
JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok has appointed Nicolas Auger as its new director of sales and marketing.
Auger joins the Bangkok hotel from Washington DC where he was previously based, supporting 14 Marriott hotels in Paris as multi-properties director of sales.
Prior to that, he served five years as the market director of sales and two years as dual property director of sales and marketing for two Courtyard hotels in Paris.
With over 22 years of hospitality experience, Auger has also worked with Starwood Hotels and Hilton Hotels in Paris, Preferred Hotel Group in Milan and The Waldorf Towers in New York City.
With the rise of LCCs and millennial preferences, passenger volume into Chiang Mai grew 13 per cent to hit 4.6 million arrivals in 2016, trailing only Phuket among Thailand’s provincial airports last year, according to C9 Hotelworks’ Chiang Mai Hotel Market 2017 report.
Commented Bill Barnett, managing director of C9: “Thailand’s legacy Chiang Mai tourism market has undergone a millennial transformation that is now tapping into a new base of travellers seeking authentic Thai experiences.”
Srisuphan temple market
Of total arrivals, 77 per cent entered the destination on domestic routes and 79 per cent were from Chiang Mai’s top five overseas source markets – China, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong and the US.
Between Greater China and Chiang Mai, 5,346 direct flights were routed. Top feeder cities from the region include Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu.
The report further revealed that in the past 10 years, 62 per cent of passenger arrivals were on LCCs.
In that period, total arrivals shot up threefold with 2013 being the turning point, fuelled by the success of the Chinese film Lost in Thailand. In that year, Greater China posted a dramatic growth of 235 per cent.
Noting the “explosive impact of cinematic wanderlust on tourism”, Barnett said: “Be it Eat Pray Love or Notting Hill, the impact on film in destination marketing is remarkable. While Thailand’s travel market outside of Bangkok had shifted to the beach in the early millennium, a rising tide of Asian travellers and westerners who increasingly want to get into the culture club instead of the surf and turf are changing the markets.”
Meanwhile in the hotel sector, C9 reported a downscaling of room inventory per hotel, reflecting a trend towards boutique hotels and hostels.
Currently, Chiang Mai has a total of 33,593 keys in 831 registered and unregistered tourist accommodation establishments. An additional 524 keys are expected to come on stream by 2019, with the majority of pipeline properties concentrated in the Old City catchment area.
“As Thailand’s government has pivoted its tourism ambition from quantity to quality, Chiang Mai has fitted nicely into the equation with a range of impressive new boutique hotels, a rampant art scene and budding culinary offerings. The shift is resonating with Thai and foreign travellers alike,” said Barnett.
The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas in Nusa Dua, Bali is keen to build up the reputation of its complex and Bali as a desirable destination for honeymoons and wedding with a recent dedicated weddings convention.
Marry at the Mulia, a four-day event held last August, was attended by more than 50 wedding and special event planners from across the globe, director of communications Adhiyanto Wongso told TTG Asia during a media update in Singapore last week.
Apart from highlighting the hotel’s many indoor and outdoor venues, restaurants and recreational facilities, the convention also brought attendees to Ubud for an introduction to Bali’s rich culture and connected them with various suppliers needed for a celebratory event.
“Ideally the destination wedding showcase would be led by the local tourism board, but we found the process for approvals, planning and execution too tedious,” said Adhiyanto, revealing that the event was largely funded by The Mulia itself. “Running it ourselves allow us more flexibility,” he added.
“Most Asians know about Bali but it is relatively unknown in the US or Europe; some only heard of Bali for the first time through us. Most of the planners from these longhaul markets are not sure how a wedding could be conducted there. We hope to change that through Marry at the Mulia,” he said.
When asked if the event had generated strong business leads, Adhiyanto said it was still “too soon to tell” as couples needed months to consider wedding plans and logistics attached to a destination wedding held overseas.
“This is a long-term investment for us. Although there are no bookings yet, the number of enquiries have gone up,” he continued.
Adhiyanto added that the high-profile wedding of Taiwanese singer/actor Ken Chu and Chinese actress Han Wenwen last September had significantly raised the popularity of The Mulia complex in the regional market and led to to enquiries from many Asian couples.
The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas is made up of the ultra high-end 111-key all-suite The Mulia, the 526-key Mulia Resort and 108-unit Mulia Villas.
Amadeus will begin to act as a sales agent for rail operators in a new merchant model, which it says will enable railways to expand their global reach and simplify commercial links to travel agencies.
With the model, Amadeus is hoping to provide travel agencies globally with one link to sell multiple railways, bypassing the need for one-to-one commercial relationships between both parties.
Meanwhile, foreign travellers can more conveniently book rail travel through their travel agency before flying and have their entire trip – including air, hotel and rail – on the same itinerary.
Rail companies could also save costs as Amadeus takes care of all setup, billing and settlement activities, and assumes financial and legal risks of selling via travel agencies. With Amadeus as a sales agent, the model will enable railways to reach new travellers in new markets.
Currently the model houses full offers of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn (DB), Spain’s RENFE, France’s SNCF (French, available in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe only), Italy’s Trenitalia and select eastern European rail operators, with more expected to join soon.
“Rail travel today is still largely domestic but this will soon change – our merchant model marks the beginning of a new era, giving the industry what it needs to take a global leap, and unlock growth,” said Antoine de Kerviler, global head of rail and ground travel at Amadeus.
This new agreement will enable Deutsche Bahn to “vastly extends its global network.” and the rail operator will “improve the availability of (its) tickets to all travel agencies, particularly those with a wide travel offer,” said Ronn Kostecki, project manager at DB.
Alessandra Bucci, commercial director of long haul passenger division at Trenitalia, added that the Amadeus partnership marks a further step in the company’s “ambitious project of offering (its) customers an integrated travel solution, covering their trip door-to-door in Italy”.
