FATA is an established association in ASEAN, but there is always room for improvement. In what ways should FATA improve?
FATA has been established for decades, but I still hear people ask “what is FATA?” and “do you mean PATA?”. The branding of our organisation needs to be revitalised. We need to inform the world who we are and what we do. When looking for travel agencies in (South-east Asia), people should immediately think of FATA.
What are you going to do about that?
We need to start from within the organisation. Presently, FATA members are represented by the president of the national associations of ASEAN countries or their official representatives. The FATA presidency period and the chairmanship period of their associations at home are different – this is the problem. We often see changes of representatives at the FATA Board when a national association election takes place and a new president is elected, making it difficult to form a solid team to create workable programmes. With the pandemic, meetings and discussions could only be done online, making it more challenging for board members to bond. For the board to work effectively, such chemistry is important.
Secondly, we need ASEAN members to understand the benefits of becoming members, otherwise this organisation will not be able to grow. Currently, not all 10 member countries have joined FATA. Also, some countries have more than one travel agency-related association that we hope to attract. For example, in Indonesia, there are ASTINDO, ASITA and IINTOA, which is an inbound specialist association.
Those seem to be fundamental issues in an organisation. How can this change?
National association members should appoint a representative to sit at FATA, who can dedicate their time and thoughts in the organisation. The representatives do not have to be the associations’ presidents themselves, as they may be too busy managing their own associations.
FATA also needs to have an executive director, who will run the programmes set by the board. The executive director will also be the one to consistently attend the meetings.
Does FATA have the budget to finance it?
While the spirit of togetherness is high in ASEAN, budget is always an issue. We need to create programmes and activities that both benefit members and bring in income. We also need to develop partnerships with NTOs and other organisations.
Before the pandemic, FATA had successfully organised FATA Convention twice. We had an NTO sponsor who hosted the events in Malaysia and Thailand, and participants who paid registration fees. The event discussed trends and issues faced by the travel industry and provided a means for participants to network with others.
During the pandemic, ASTINDO held an online travel mart inviting buyers from FATA to attend as buyers – something that other FATA members could do in their markets, so that there will be more intra-ASEAN B2B events than the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum.
At ASTINDO, we also started off from nothing to creating programmes with regional and international NTOs to promote destinations. The Indonesian government noticed our active role at ASEAN forums, and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy appointed us to handle a fam trip a couple of years ago. We contacted our counterparts at FATA to select and invite their members who had Indonesia in their market mix to join. Such activities help our national association members to scale up their businesses. Without our executive director’s support, the ASTINDO board would otherwise not be able to work effectively.
So, FATA needs an executive director. Previously, Hamzah Rahmat had volunteered as executive CEO of FATA and was behind the success of FATA Conventions. However, we cannot expect volunteers (all the time) and will need to work on the budget for one.
Do you think such events are key to attracting more membership?
It will be useful (to) create more awareness but that is not all FATA can and should do.
An association provides a platform for members to share best practices for the counterparts to learn, and takes on the role of a firefighter. It solves common problems faced by its members, such as insurance or bank guarantee issues with airlines.
FATA will bring up these issues to the international level by talking to IATA on behalf of associations in ASEAN member countries.
For example, during the pandemic, IATA issued a no-refund policy for unused issued tickets because the airlines were also running out of funds. Instead, they issued vouchers for later use. FATA, through dialogues with the regional IATA in Singapore, managed to get IATA approval for cash refund. However, only those who took the effort to collect data from their national associations’ members and submitted data got their money back.
That is just one example of how FATA is beneficial for its members. However, members will need to actively do their part so that their national association members can enjoy the benefits, such as actively participating at FATA meetings and informing their associations at home of our plans and discussions.
Looking at the internal issues still pertaining, how long will it take for the FATA brand to be established?
It is a big job and will take time, but we need to start somewhere. I would like the FATA board to meet more often – currently, the meetings take place four times a year. The interval is too long to plan for a programme. We could add more online meetings, which we have become so used to during the pandemic.
In terms of programme implementations, it won’t be easy to equate visions of all member countries so we will start with pilot projects. On the NTO level, the ASEAN spirit of togetherness is ultimate. A programme can be implemented only when all members have ratified it, but we do not want that with our programmes. Those with similar vision can start first. When it works, the rest will hopefully join in.
We will be reactivating our FATA website and improving our social media presence.
We would also like to restart the FATA Convention. Manado, North Sulawesi has indicated its interest to host and I will be following up on it.
The Singapore government has earmarked close to half a billion dollars to support the tourism sector’s trek to recovery over the coming years, alongside new and enhanced programmes, revealed minister of state for trade and industry, Alvin Tan at this morning’s Tourism Industry Conference.
In his address at Suntec Convention Centre, Tan said the funds would be used to support and sustain strategic manpower capabilities in the sector, offset business costs, as well as amplify Singapore’s international recovery plans.
He called on industry stakeholders to utilise the financial support for business transformation and development of new experiences.
“Test-bed new and innovative concepts and solutions, especially in wellness and sustainability. Continue to develop your talent, to ensure that the tourism workforce is equipped with the skills needed to support your business transformation plans,” Tan urged.
As tourism returns against a backdrop of inflation, Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) chief executive Keith Tan said the fresh funds would also come in handy to help tourism players deal with rising costs of operations.
However, he emphasised that “business cost is a reality” and that “all businesses in Singapore must internalise that, and not expect the STB or the government to shield them from rising business costs”.
As the cost of travel rises, it is even more important that tourism players develop experiences, attractions and events that travellers find are worth every dollar.
Adding on to the minister’s suggested priorities for the usage of the fresh funds, STB’s Tan encouraged industry players to look at developing great experiences for visitors or to attract new offerings that have yet to wash up on Singapore’s shores.
“For example, we don’t want the same old Christmas light-up on Orchard Road. How can we multiply the wow factor of that annual event?” he explained, adding that the new experiences should serve to differentiate Singapore from other destinations.
Sustainability focus
With sustainability recognised as an engine of growth for the tourism industry, Singapore will build on its existing Singapore Green Plan 2030, introduced in 2021, to launch the Tourism Sustainability Programme (TSP), which provides tourism businesses with resources to identify strategic areas for sustainability efforts.
In line with Singapore’s ambition to become one of the world’s most sustainable urban destinations, the TSP will focus on three main areas: capability and growth; innovation; and education and awareness.
Capability building and training will be supported through Training Industry Professionals in Tourism (TIP-iT). TSP will also offer grants such as Business Improvement Fund (BIF) to improve companies’ resource efficiency and competitiveness.
To foster innovation, TSP will support the development and test-bedding of innovative sustainable solutions through the Singapore Tourism Accelerator. Innovative technology providers and tourism businesses will work together to develop solutions in areas such as waste, water, energy and carbon emissions management that can be scaled up across the industry.
To continuously educate and provide information on best practices and focus areas to inspire industry players to consider new opportunities, the Hotel Sustainability Roadmap jointly launched by STB and Singapore Hotel Association in March, sets out sustainability targets for the hotel industries and strategies to help them achieve these goals.
Singapore’s sustainability focus will include collaboration with other tourism segments to set “ambitious” targets and strategies, noted STB’s Tan. Initiatives include the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers’ move to align its MICE Sustainability Certification with internationally-recognised standards; participation in the Global Destination Sustainabilty Index to benchmark performance against other business events destinations; and certification of Singapore as a sustainable destination under the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Destination Criteria.
Workforce focus
As Singapore strengthens her destination appeal, STB is working to ease manpower pressures on industry stakeholders.
Tan noted that the tourism industry lost a third of its workforce over the past two years.
While the reopening of land borders with Malaysia will alleviate some staffing bottlenecks, it is imperative that Singapore continues to build up her future-ready workforce capabilities, he opined.
To this end, STB worked with the National Trades Union Congress and Workforce Singapore to set up the Tourism Careers Hub (TCH) late last year.
Tan encouraged industry players to reach out to TCH to help find workers with the right skills or to upskill their staff to meet their needs.
Through the TCH, STB works with the tripartite partners to extend end-to-end job facilitation, training and support for the sector’s workforce.
Digital transformation focus
Firms keen on digital transformation have benefited from STB’s Tourism Technology Transformation Cube (Tcube), which was launched last year. This digital transformation support has been further enhanced with a programme that supplements tourism businesses’ Augmented Reality (AR) capabilities.
STB has developed 100 3D models of points of interests, and these are available via the Tourism Information and Services hub for industry players to utilise for free. The concept has been expanded into Extended Reality (XR), which encompasses Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality.
To create engaging interactive content, STB is also keen to pilot proof-of-concepts with the sector. It has worked with S.E.A. Aquarium on an AR app for visitors to interact with marine animals digitally, and learn more about marine life.
To expand these efforts, STB launched a grant call, The Next Experience, in February with the purpose of creating XR-enabled experiences that motivate people to visit multiple points of interest. STB has received healthy interest ahead of the proposal deadline on April 23. – Additional reporting by Karen Yue