Young, ambitious and ready to rev up their business to greater heights, here are some of Asia’s next-gen CEOs. Read also The next-gen travel leaders – Part One to meet other young CEOs leading Asia into the future
Singapore | Clifford Neo, 38, managing director, Dynasty Travel
With technology making huge strides and revolutionising the travel space, many critics have viewed traditional travel agencies as a ‘sunset’ industry. But Clifford Neo, managing director of Dynasty Travel, begs to differ, and is using innovative technology to drive the growth of his agency.
He said: “Technology is the rage today, and I have spearheaded many new initiatives and scored an industry breakthrough with our own iPhone travel app, iDynasty, in 2012.”
With this app, customers are able to browse travel package details and even redeem their after-travel rewards points for shopping/food/travel vouchers and cinema tickets – on the go.
Keeping in mind customers’ evolving travel needs, he added: “We want to slowly steer our sales consultants away from the traditional paper-and-pen tour agency norm.”
This year Neo launched an iPad mini booking system, which enables all frontline staff to conduct their sales pitch anytime, anywhere.
In pursuit of brand excellence and customer satisfaction, Neo said the company is always looking to improve and differentiate itself from the rest of the industry by creating unique travel experiences.
Looking forward to the future, he said: “We are intending to capitalise on the surging tourist traffic from wealthy (markets) with special luxury travel package offerings.
“We are also looking to expand the business regionally via B2B collaborations with key partners in the region in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia in the next two to three years to grow the business even further,” he added.
By Paige Lee Pei Qi
Sri Lanka | Chaminda Dias, 38, managing director, Luxe Asia
For a 38-year-old, Chaminda Dias seems to already boast close to half a lifetime of experience in the travel and hospitality sector.
Dias started his career as a management trainee at the Hilton Colombo, then moved to United Holidays to handle destination marketing before founding Luxe Asia five years ago with financial backing from Expolanka Holdings, a diversified conglomerate in Sri Lanka.
Operating in Sri Lanka with a presence in the Maldives, the Colombo-based DMC’s core business is predominantly B2B but it has ventured into B2C initiatives in certain mature markets such as the UK, according to Dias.
Dias, who continues to head Luxe Asia as managing director when the company came under the ownership of Galle Face Hotel Group in January, believes that the new owner’s inventory of 800 rooms across Sri Lanka will give the DMC further flexibility and edge in the market.
With his sights set for Luxe Asia to be “among the best travel groups” in Asia, Dias sees Luxe Asia as a well-established brand in five years’ time, and one which leverages technology as a potent weapon to stay ahead.
“With the right technology platforms we can be anywhere we want; we can bring travellers from anywhere to anywhere (they want),” he said. “Innovation is changing the travel industry. Clients have access to products and are constantly searching for new packages, new ideas. That’s where we want to pitch in and provide niches.
“For example Luxe Africa could be a possibility – anything is possible once we get our technological platforms. Africa is kind of a virgin territory and I would like to exploit that market,” he added.
Mauritius, the Seychelles and Bali are also on Luxe Asia’s radar within the next three years. Said Dias: “If they (travellers) trust you in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, they will trust you to get the product right in other places as well.”
By Feizal Samath
Maldives | Shafraz Fazley, 34, managing director, Viluxur Holidays
Shafraz Fazley, managing director of Viluxur Holidays, has set a five-year timeline to achieve his goal of turning the DMC into Asia’s leading luxury travel consultancy.
Within three short years since its inception in 2010, Viluxur Holidays now boasts a US$40 million annual turnover in the Maldives, with more than 100 staff across its four offices in Sri Lanka, Maldives, China and Singapore. The company recently moved its headquarters to Singapore and started B2C operations last year.
A GSA for many resorts in the Maldives and Sri Lanka alike, Fazley aims to launch one new inbound destination per year for Viluxur Holidays, with Mauritius, Seychelles and Bali being next on the radar.
“The key to entrepreneurial success is innovation, the confidence to take risks, healthy competition and the love to overcome obstacles,” said Fazley.
“I also relish the opportunity for constant growth.”
Viluxur Holidays’ current strengths lie in China and other emerging markets in niche luxury segments such as wellness and photography travel, carefully identified by Fazley after a thorough analysis.
The ambitious entrepreneur wants to focus on creating theme-based experiences for discerning clients seeking meaningful travel.
“During our routine brainstorming sessions, great suggestions include tweaking responsible tourism experiences to enhance the satisfaction of the traveller,” he said.
Activities like coral adoption, whale shark and manta ray protection, and local charitable missions will be implemented as innovative segments for Viluxur’s destinations.
Recognising travellers’ increasing willingness to pay a premium for specially designed trips, Fazley elaborated: “We can tap a few associations with certain interest and invite their members on a special tour. The idea is to incorporate their hobbies into their holidays.”
By Feizal Samath
Macau | Lawrence Cheng, 34, manager-MICE & inbound, Meg-Star International Tours
When he first enrolled in Macau’s Institute for Tourism Studies, Lawrence Cheng was not certain if he would pursue a career in the tourism industry.
However, a stint as a tour leader after graduation convinced him that interacting with travellers and being able to meet their needs would give him immense job satisfaction.
Cheng then spent a year in ground operations at the Macau International Airport and three years in sales at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, further beefing up
his portfolio by handling MICE and inbound operations at EGL Tours and business development at the Westin Resort Macau before joining the seven-year-old Meg-Star International Tours earlier this year.
“Meg-Star used to focus on selling hotels and air tickets, but saw the opportunity to establish a MICE & inbound department (in 2014),” Cheng said, adding that there are only about 10 DMCs in Macau.
Having cut his teeth organising Junior Chamber International Macao events, Wong jumped at the chance to join Meg-Star’s newly launched department and incorporate new ideas into teambuilding activities.
“For example, we have added the element of a food treasure hunt in a Portuguese cooking class. The teams are given the recipe and have to go around Macau to find the ingredients; in the process learn more about the places they visit,” he said.
“Each programme is tailormade,” Cheng continued. “The sales conference for a telecommunications company of 250 international attendees was based on the Amazing Race (reality show). But it included the challenge of finding a piece of puzzle at the various checkpoints (in order) to create the company’s logo at the finish line.”
By Caroline Boey
China | Yates Fei, 34, general manager, HRG China
Yates Fei first joined HRG in 2005, assuming his present role as general manager in October 2013 responsible for developing and executing HRG’s overall business strategy in China.
Apart from playing a key role in winning a number of lucrative accounts for HRG, Fei successfully migrated more than 60 per cent of HRG China’s clients onto a card platform as well as implemented the company’s online strategy for a number of large multinational accounts.
“When HRG first entered the China market a decade ago, the concept of a TMC managing the travel needs of organisations based here was a fairly new concept,” said Fei.
“HRG had to work hard to change mindsets, deliver tangible results and win new business by educating new clients on the concept of travel management via programmes that projected clear dollar values.”
HRG was the first foreign-owned travel company to establish the corporate travel market in China through a majority share joint venture with Jin Jiang International in 2004.
The company has also grown from just 20 employees to over 280 based in the key locations of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, according to Fei.
He added: “During the last 10 years we have seen significant changes within the corporate travel industry including the introduction of dynamic online booking tools and the widespread use of mobile apps; payment methods moving from invoice to credit card platform; and a shift of focus from air spend management to wider consolidation and process engineering.
“China is set to become the largest corporate travel market in the world, and the average Chinese business traveller has embraced technology and the use of online booking tools or travel apps.”
On what motivates him in his job, the avid traveller replied: “My main objective is to deliver proven value to our clients. Once we deliver the savings, turn around perceptions and help the clients to achieve better compliance, I feel very rewarded.”
By Caroline Boey
Laos | Markus Neur, 36, owner, Tiger Trail
Born in Germany, 36-year-old Markus Neur found his calling on the other side of the world in Laos.
Neur joined Tiger Trail in 2005, taking over the Luang Prabang-based tour operator in 2008 as owner. The company now employs 56 full-time staff members in Luang Prabang and six staff in a franchise office in Thailand’s Chiang Mai.
Since its beginnings in 2000, the company has always offered socially responsible and adventurous travel, developing its own Fair Trek brand to support local tourism initiatives.
Neur saw great potential in the adventure travel sector, implementing a ‘We are Laos’ ethos to hire predominantly Laotians and a small number of expats who know the destination. He is still excited today by the prospects of discovering remote landscapes in Laos and witnessing ongoing development in its towns.
From an agency offering short adventure tours and multi-day excursions, Tiger Trail now primarily operates as a DMC handling full country services for tour operators worldwide. While still assisting walk-in backpackers looking for a homestay, the majority of clients are expats living in Indochina, and markets from the Americas and Australia.
“Present marketing activities are heavily aimed at social media, including what is perhaps the largest picture database of Laos on Flickr,” Neur commented. “Great focus is also placed on regular engagement through Facebook, our habitual blogs, newsletters and after-sales customer care to (travel consultants) and individuals.”
Brand awareness among hotels, suppliers and visitors in the local region is being strengthened through a free Luang Prabang mini-guide, with the first edition published last year and the second due in October. Suppliers can also advertise their products by adding their branding to Tiger Trail’s online video projects.
By David Andrews
Cambodia | Nick Reth, 26, operations director and owner, Apsara Tours
For 26-year-old Nick Reth, the travel industry is all he has ever known. Born and raised in Cambodia, his growing up years also paralleled the development of tourism in the country. Reth is now the operations director and owner of Apsara Tours, which was established by his parents in 1991.
Apsara Tours was the first inbound operator to launch in Cambodia after the country opened its doors to foreign tourists following the dissolution of the Khmer Rouge party. The elder Reths saw great potential as few travellers at that time knew what Cambodia could offer and even fewer knew about the business of travel.
Now a full-fledged travel company with 50 full-time staff, Apsara Tours remains committed to a ‘can do’ attitude that has defined the company since day one.
A new website due for launch in mid-2014 will feature an integrated booking engine and enhanced user experience with the ability for clients to rate products, write testimonials and share videos and photos. Social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are used to promote new products and steer traffic to the company website.
This year, Apsara Travel is developing more products and appointing more sales representatives in Europe, North America, India and China, the latter of which is a new market it is aiming to grow.
By David Andrews
This article was first published in TTG Asia, August 8, 2014 issue, on page 5. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
