China-based OTA giant Trip.com has announced an industry-wide initiative that will support the drive for new safety and hygiene standards for aviation, hospitality, tourism and retail companies.
The Travel On Initiative, launched yesterday evening (June 22) at a ‘live’ virtual event, sees Trip.com collaborating with its many partners in the travel trade to implement new procedures, including the Safe Travels protocols developed with WTTC.
Okinawa Tourism Board, one of the destinations to have come onboard Trip.com’s Travel On Initiative
New industry standards to be set include pre-arrival risk assessment and boosted biometric checks for airports and airlines, a possible redesign of immigration procedures in consultation with governments and airports, optimisation of boarding and limiting cabin movement on planes, pre-allocated transport seating and partnerships with verified restaurants and venues on tours, as well as providing complimentary Wi-Fi to encourage retail outlets to adopt contactless and paperless payment solutions.
Accompanying this, the group also launched a series of enhancements to its services under its new International Travellers’ Guide, which provides users with features such as travel advisories and help, cancellation guarantees and a Green Map.
The Green Map is a ‘live’ model of countries, their border restrictions and their quarantine policies. For instance, “green” areas signal countries where users can travel freely without being quarantined, while “yellow” destinations would require traveller information that will be specified on the page.
Travellers can also subscribe to an alert service for up-to-date information or advisory changes during their journey.
Under its new product roll-out, Trip.com will also launch campaigns with airlines to provide discounts, flexible bookings, and safety information “on a granular level”, described Trip.com Group COO Schubert Lou; touchless booking features and marketing support provided to tour and attraction partners; as well as live broadcasts offering pre-sales, discounts and free cancellations.
Ten live-streams have been planned starting today.
An endless honeymoon is not as wonderful as it seems, discovered a South African couple recently in the Maldives. The duo went viral after a New York Times report revealed that they were stranded at a luxury resort due to border closures.
Widespread travel restrictions have led several industry players across popular wedding and honeymoon destinations in Asia, including Japan and Bali, to report a sharp decline in business.
A wedding at Capella Singapore
Capella Singapore, known for its upscale weddings, saw nuptial bookings dwindle to zero over the last two months as the local government introduced a “circuit breaker”, which prohibited people from gathering with those outside of their immediate household.
“We (used to have) an average of two to three weddings every weekend, and (even) more during peak months,” said Dora Wong, the hotel’s creative style director.
Over in Japan, Tomoko Yagi, general manager, Aman Tokyo and regional director, Aman Japan, shared with TTG Asia that the hotel “used to welcome at least four to five couples a week on honeymoon”. Those numbers have since dropped off.
A property in Bali – a favourite destination among couples – has also been affected. Hemal Jain, general manager, Alila Villas Uluwatu, said that the resort hosted up to 250 weddings a year prior to the pandemic. Now, a small number of weddings have been cancelled, though many have been postponed to next year.
Moving the date forward appears to be the way to go for several clients of bespoke travel agency Lightfoot Travel. Co-founder and director Lucy Jackson shared that “a couple of honeymoon bookings for this summer” had been moved to summer 2021.
A couple at one of Alila Villas Uluwatu’s three-bedroom cliffside villa
Flexibility in demand
Wong recalled how two weddings at Capella Singapore across the weekend of March 28 and 29 were impacted, when a series of new social distancing measures kicked in on March 26. Wedding planners and hosts were advised to keep total participants and attendees to ten persons and under, and ensure minimal social interaction.
“We had to entirely reconfigure our ballroom setup and seating plans to ensure we were complying with the new measures,” Wong recalled.
As decor and florals had to be reconsidered, her team worked “round the clock to ensure the wedding day was “(one) to remember” even amid the restrictions, she added.
Due to the new restrictions, guests were offered the flexibility to postpone or cancel the celebrations, she shared.
Challenges and outlook
Having been monitoring the progression of the pandemic, many players seemed hopeful that couples would begin making reservations again in 4Q2020.
Of course, travel restrictions continue to present a challenge to businesses. Recovery at the Fivelements Bali, for instance, could be partly contingent upon European guests being allowed back into the province, noted John Nielsen, general manager.
Other industry players gave their predictions on when numbers would start to rebound. Nielsen believes it will gradually occur in or around October and November, and initially involve Indonesian couples hosting small, intimate celebrations; Yagi, more optimistic, reckoned it may happen by September.
Despite the uncertainty, Wong shared that her team has been receiving new enquiries for celebrations to be held next year and beyond.
Goh Wan Qi, wedding planner, Beautiful Gatherings, remains positive. While she acknowledged that couples are less likely to spend on travel or wedding planning services in the current downturn, she reckoned there might be a boom in both industries once the pandemic is over.
Think local and regional
Wong predicted an increase in staycation honeymoons after the pandemic, sharing that couples who want to “spend some time away together” but are not yet comfortable to travel overseas are likely to choose the option. Jackson agreed that couples would probably consider travel within their country or to nearby nations.
Jain added that couples could come out of the pandemic with a greater appreciation of their country’s “charm”, which could contribute towards making domestic travel a more compelling option.
Eco-conscious retreat Fivelements Bali
Think intimacy and personalisation
When asked about business outlook post-Covid-19, several industry players reckoned there would be a greater demand for private and intimate settings, including more unconventional options such as villas and a chef’s table celebration.
Meanwhile, mega weddings – traditionally popular in Asian countries – could fall out of favour, shared Nielsen.
For Jain, this is an opportunity for destinations and resorts in Asia to improve on their offerings and services. They would likely need to deliver personalised and authentic wedding experiences of a variety of sizes, he said.
He predicted that unique regional traditions, such as Fivelements Bali’s healing Agni Hotra fire ceremony, could prove prove increasingly sought-after for small celebrations.
Think health and sustainability
Besides a new focus on the local and the intimate, industry players expect the pandemic to bring home concerns over health and well-being.
According to Yagi, couples might opt for serene locations or look to places offering programmes with a focus on fitness and wellness.
Meanwhile, Jain predicted that the renewed focus on health would extend to concerns over the source of ingredients. He reckoned that sustainability-driven accommodation, such as Alila Villas Uluwatu, would have a competitive advantage, as such a business model would involve sourcing food responsibly.
Goh shared couples might also come out of the crisis with a greater appreciation of nature, borne out of the need to stay indoors. This could lead them to scout for nature-based travel options.
Slow travel could also be the new normal, posited Malik Fernando, owner, luxury Sri Lankan resort Resplendent Ceylon. Couples might choose to combine their wedding and honeymoon into one longer trip to more remote locations, Fernando added.
Amadeus has released an eBooks collection, designed to help hoteliers navigate the path to recovery post-pandemic.
The eBooks are created in partnership with a trio of global hospitality organisations, namely, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), the Institute of Hospitality, and the Hospitality Professionals Association.
Amadeus’ new eBooks will aid hoteliers to chart a course to recovery, including how operational departments can address new cleanliness protocols
Some 76 per cent of HSMAI members are starting to prospect new types of account business and traveller segments they previously did not focus on, according to their research.
Additionally, a new global customer segment of travellers is emerging – Generation Clean, a new cross-generational segment of traveller who will prioritise health and hygiene when hotel shopping in this new era.
The eBooks contain key findings from a research conducted among members of the various organisations, looking at the short- and long-term strategies hoteliers need to develop over the four phases of recovery, which span local, domestic, continental, and a global reopening.
With travel restrictions in place for the remainder of the year, hoteliers will need to strategically plan to re-segment their expected guests and cater their approaches accordingly.
HSMAI president & CEO Robert Gilbert said: “Together, we are identifying new ways to handle a new world of hospitality through knowledge sharing, better understanding traveller intentions, observing best practices in parts of the world that are beginning to emerge from the crisis, and implementing new policies and procedures.”
Below is a list of topics covered by the four eBooks:
Planning for Hospitality Recovery – Marketing
• Advice for hoteliers preparing a marketing plan, including relevant data and leading indicators to look out for
• Audience profiles and messaging to appeal to the changing trends and behaviours caused by Covid-19
• Channels and steps to consider in order to retain existing guests and attract demand throughout the different stages of recovery
Planning for Hospitality Recovery – Sales
• Action steps to maintain sales team motivation and continuity
• Tactical advice to reposition sales strategy and to prospect new group business
• Key skills needed to navigate a world of digital selling
Planning for Hospitality Recovery – Revenue Management
• Building new segmentation strategy according to recovery phases
• Create pricing strategy that is flexible, while guarding rates
• Create new competitive sets based on the changes happening
Planning for Hospitality Recovery – Operations
• Tactical action steps and best practices to implement from arrival to departure
• How operational departments can address physical distancing, sanitation and cleanliness procedures, and provisions of PPE
• How to enhance the guest experience and achieve trust, while implementing new standards
Tourists walking in Wat Arun, locally known as Wat Chaeng, is a landmark temple on the west (Thonburi) bank of the Chao Phraya river Bangkok, Thailand.
Thai hotel industry professionals are concerned that the government’s plan to shift its focus away from mass tourism and backpackers to high-spending travellers could mean that small businesses will be overlooked.
Officials last week announced a new luxury push to help make up for the current lack of inbound tourism, following media reports that Thailand’s travel bubbles proposal will not be ready for implementation by July and international flights may not resume before September.
Thailand plans to turn away from mass tourism and target high-spending travellers; tourists walking in Wat Arun temple in Bangkok, Thailand pictured
Anthony Lark, president, Phuket Hotels Association (PHA), stressed that small hotels have a key role to play in the country’s tourism recovery. He elaborated: “It’s great to drive business away from mass tourism in the long-term, yet higher rates should ideally be linked to all levels of the business, not just the luxury sector – the recovery has to also include hotels that are three- and four-star, not just five-star.”
Bill Barnett, founder, C9 Hotelworks, echoed similar thoughts, saying there are “too many three-star hotels in Thailand” for the luxury push to reap mass benefits for the hospitality industry.
Covid-19 offers opportunity for Thailand’s tourism sector to build a more resilient model: Barrett
Thailand should not forsake mass tourism for the luxury sect, according to David Barrett, marketing communications consultant at DBC Asia. While “tapping the luxury segment is nothing new for Thailand”, he said that “luxury” must be kept in perspective and high yield tourists should be targeted in tandem with wooing back mass tourism.
However, he warned that Thailand needs to refrain from chasing every tourism dollar. “Covid-19 presents Thailand with an opportunity to reset and build a better tourism model. However, we need to better manage the kingdom’s resources, protect the environment, and learn to say ‘no’ to new hotel developments in an oversaturated market and ‘no’ to tour operators who have disregard for the destination and environment,” Barrett said.
“Control has been woefully lacking in the past, causing the overtourism that Thailand was talking about pre-Covid-19 and environmental devastation from mass group tours.”
Last week, the Thai government approved a 22.4 billion baht (US$718 million) domestic tourism stimulus that promises to benefit hotels, F&B businesses, travel agencies and domestic airlines. Licensed hotels and accommodations are eligible to join the programme.
Phuket will be a prototype for using luxury island resorts to draw medical and business travellers – the first groups to be allowed into Thailand when the country reopens its borders to international arrivals.
To this end, Lark stated that PHA is working with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thai Hotel Association Southern Chapter “to drive a thoughtful campaign to highlight the unique experiences of Phuket, directed at families and FIT travellers worldwide, who spend more than the mass market (visitors)”.
Malaysia’s tourism authorities are banking on regional travel bubbles to kickstart tourism recovery post-Covid-19, as international travel from medium and longhaul markets will take a longer time to recover.
Speaking at an online forum hosted by the Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations (FATA) on the way forward for tourism in the region, Noor Zari Hamat, secretary general of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, shared that Malaysia has started bilateral talks with neighbouring countries to set up travel bubbles once their international borders reopen.
Malaysia eyes regional travel bubbles to bring back tourists; Christ Church Melaka in Malacca City, Malaysia pictured
Noor said: “If the concept is successful, it can be replicated with similar arrangements with all ASEAN member states and other countries that are free from Covid-19.”
Malaysia is dependent on intra-ASEAN travel which made up 69 per cent of foreign arrivals to Malaysia last year. Intra-ASEAN travel is also important to the survival and sustainability of the region’s tourism industry. South-east Asia’s population of 622 million contributed more than 40 per cent to the total international tourists arrivals in the region last year.
Noor called on South-east Asian NTOs to strengthen partnership with the private sectors to stimulate tourism demand via strategic marketing and promotional efforts on digital platforms, while the relevant bodies work on developing the safety and health protocols for the post-pandemic period.
Fellow speaker, Benito Bengzon Jr, undersecretary for tourism development, Philippines Department of Tourism, shared that the agency is supportive of a unified move for the region-wide resumption of flights.
He noted that while the timeline for each country’s reopening of commercial travel will differ, the Philippines is already prepping for the rebound. “New normal protocols for airports, airlines, road transport companies and other service providers are already in place,” he said.
He also pointed out that at a special meeting of ASEAN tourism ministers on April 29, there was agreement to work together to stimulate tourism and build a resilient, sustainable and inclusive tourism model in the region.
Both Wachira Wichaiwatana, vice president of Thailand Travel Agents Association, and Nunung Rusmiati, president of the Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA), shared the view that intra-ASEAN travel will recover before international travel from medium and longhaul destinations.
Nunung added that short-haul destinations, private tours and open-air activities away from crowds are preferred by Indonesian travellers, based on a survey ASITA had conducted.
Ritchie Tuano, secretary-general at FATA, shared that post-Covid-19 will see more FIT movements or small groups of friends and families travelling together, as opposed to a bus load of travellers.
But for now, domestic travel reigns supreme as borders remain closed in most South-east Asian countries. Thus, he urged industry players and NTOs to work together to rebuild travel confidence for people to travel domestically first, ahead of the reopening of the region’s borders.
FATA president, Tan Kok Liang, who is also president of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, said: “Strict physical distancing measures, temperature checks and disinfection and sanitation procedures are among the protocols that are obligatory and will rebuild travellers’ confidence. (Our members) are also limiting risks through the extensive use of QR codes and contactless travel approaches where possible.”
South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has launched the 2020 Open Tourism Project, involving the revamp of 23 tourist attractions across the country to help boost domestic tourism post-Covid.
The makeovers are intended to allow greater freedom of movement at these tourist sites, and primarily aims to benefit the disabled and elderly, as well as families with babies.
Several tourist spots across South Korea, including Jeju Island, is primedfor a facelift; Yakcheonsa Temple on Jeju Island, South Korea pictured
“We will increase the amount of support funds and focus on developing good tourism content,” culture minister Park Yang-woo said, adding that the tourism ministry is striving to not only enhance the physical environment, but also the overall management, of the sites.
A grant of US$206,000 – an increase from the initial US$130,000 – will support each site’s revamp, which includes the renovation of public toilet facilities.
South Korea’s tourism ministry to improve physical environment and management of tourist sites: Park
The domestic sites to be revamped includes those in Gyeonggido Province, Jeju Island, Gangwondo Province and Gyeongsangnam-do Province. In addition, tourism businesses in those regions will receive customised consulting sessions, training courses for workers, as well as assistance for online and offline marketing efforts.
For one, the Yeonmudae, Janganmun and Hwaseong Haenggung located in Suwon, Gyeonggido Province are included in the project. The city decided to invest more than US$1.5 million into revamping these sites after consulting the tourism ministry. The sum includes US$620,800 in state funds (US$206,000 per site) and US$931,000 in municipal funds.
The city said it will improve access to wheelchairs, secure barrier-free movements around the area, and install tourist information boards that respond to both touch and voice for the disabled. Access to restrooms, rest facilities, parking lots and lodging facilities will also be improved.
Queenslanders are being urged to holiday on the Gold Coast as the first burst of campaign activity launches to support struggling operators looking to capitalise on a tourism-led recovery.
Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said in a statement that the recently-launched Come Back and Play campaign is the first step in revitalising Gold Coast’s tourism sector, with the push set to be extended interstate once border restrictions are lifted.
Gold Coast rolls out campaign enticing Aussies to visit the city, as lockdown measures ease
“Now that intrastate travel restrictions have eased, we’ve wasted no time in rolling out our Come Back and Play campaign to tempt holidaymakers to explore their own backyard, as Aussies emerge from lockdown,” she said.
“Gold Coast operators are desperate to clawback the economic losses they sustained as a result of the Covid-crisis and we know pent-up demand for travel will continue to grow as social and travel restrictions are further relaxed.”
The A$1.5 million (US$1 million) campaign is part of a four-phased plan to trigger a tourism-led economic recovery by encouraging Aussies to holiday in Gold Coast, said Battista.
“We are focused on reanimating Gold Coast’s economy to support the one in seven Gold Coasters employed in the tourism sector, alongside our operators, who have felt the brunt of devastation over the past five months,” she added.
The 14-week campaign adapts core experiences and creative components from Destination Gold Coast’s previous domestic marketing campaigns. Compelling vision of the Gold Coast will play out across a number of media platforms to entice audiences to visit the city.
Battista said the campaign will leverage appetite for drive holidays and primarily target high-spending travellers from Brisbane and regional Queensland.
“Our chief priority is to jumpstart the domestic market by stimulating demand, visitation and expenditure for the city,” she said.
“In the immediate term, this will be to attract intrastate visitors eager to explore attractions and experiences and engage in activities they’ve missed out on, like dining in at a restaurant or café.”
Twelve experiences, events and products from across the Gold Coast that feature in the campaign include Rainbow Bay, Coolangatta; Sea World, Main Beach; Warner Bros. Movie World, Oxenford; Miami Marketta, Miami; SWELL Sculpture Festival, Currumbin; Jumpinpin, South Stradbroke Island; Curtis Falls, Tamborine Mountain; Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, Tallebudgera Valley; Gold Coast Broadwater; Dreamworld, Coomera; Tallebudgera Creek; and Sea World Cruises, Main Beach.
While Asia-Pacific racked up close to US$14 billion in hotel investments last year – representing a 60 per cent growth year-on-year – the region is now seeing a 60 per cent decline in hotel transaction volume in 2020 post-Covid, according to new research from JLL.
“Against the Covid backdrop, and against the year-to-date (through) May, we’ve seen volumes (of hotel deals in Asia-Pacific) fall by more than 60 per cent to US$1.8 billion, and based on the current pace, we expect 2020 to finish at around US$4 billion,” shared Nihat Ercan, managing director, head of investment sales Asia for JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group.
While 2019 was a banner year for Asia-Pacific’s hotel investment market, with Singapore and Tokyo emerging as top performing markets in the region, its progress has been set back by Covid-19
“This would represent a decline of 60 per cent against our original forecast, and a year-on-year decline of more than 70 per cent against the prior-year peak,” he stated.
Speaking at a special web event edition of Thailand Tourism Forum 2020 hosted at Rosewood Bangkok on June 17, he likened those figures to being “on par with 2008 and 2009”, when Asia-Pacific recorded US$3.6 to US$3.9 billion in hotel sales following the global financial crisis.
Ercan described some disconnect now with “owners holding out on values to the extent that they can, while buyers are on the lookout for deep correction”.
“The silver lining is that the supply pipeline will decline as some projects are put on hold and some are considered for alternative uses. I think this will give a much-needed breathing space to owners,” he stated.
Shrinking supply pipeline will give breathing space to owners: Ercan
JLL foresaw “domestic demand and drive-to destinations being the resurgence,” but described the overall recovery scenario as being a bit more prolonged than its original anticipation of a swift V-shaped recovery.
Recovery could hover anywhere between 12 to 36 months from when “green shoots of recovery take place,” which Ercan projected will happen towards the end of 2020, though that hinges “on each market’s characteristics”.
Hotels in Singapore are changing up their F&B operations to cater to the return of dine-in customers, as the country stepped into phase two of its reopening plans on June 19, which allows for groups of no more than five.
Digital menus are the top pick in creating a touchless and seamless experience, with players including Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa and Raffles Hotel Singapore (RHS) adopting contactless ordering systems and payment solutions across its F&B outlets.
Hotels in Singapore will use digital menus and conduct health checks as part of operating in the new normal; La Dame de Pic in Raffles Hotel Singapore pictured
“There is a strict adherence policy in place to HACCP principles for food preparation and hygiene. Guests can further ease any discomfort by requesting for disposable utensils or arrange for private dining within suites,” shared Christian Westbeld, general manager, RHS.
The luxury icon is leveraging this reopening to introduce new menus in two of its restaurants, namely, La Dame de Pic and Butcher’s Block.
Before entering Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa’s dining establishments – which includes offsite beach restaurant Trapizza – guests must undergo mandatory temperature checks and scanning of contact-tracing QR code, SafeEntry.
Staff and chefs will be required to wear three-ply masks and surgical masks, respectively, and tables and seats will be disinfected before every meal period and after each use.
For local hotel group Far East Hospitality, caution remains the way forward. Dining outlets in all hotels and serviced residences under the group will only offer orders for room service and takeaways. When hotel stays resume, the breakfast buffet feature will bow out to alternatives such as packed bento boxes and à la carte plated service.
Hotelbeds plans to expand its global hotel portfolio with the addition of 10,000 new properties by year-end, in response to the surge in demand for domestic hotels worldwide in the wake of Covid-19.
Harnessing big data analytical capabilities, Hotelbeds has been able to closely compare the main corridors, lead time, and length of stay for each source market to more accurately predict the characteristics of the surge in demand for domestic stays.
Hotelbeds responds to strong demand for domestic hotels in the world’s largest source markets
The initiative will be first rolled out in the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand, with more countries to be included in the near future.
This strategy has received the support of many of Hotelbeds’ 60,000 B2B travel buyers worldwide – including tour operators, airlines, points redemption schemes and retail travel agencies – who have also signalled the increase in demand for domestic properties following the pandemic.
In addition, Hotelbeds is expanding its hotel portfolio in secondary destinations, adding more property types like resorts and rural hotels, increasing the availability of refundable rates, as well as reducing releases and minimum stay requirements to capture last-minute booking demand.
As well, the bedbank will launch local marketing campaigns targeted at B2B travel buyers in the selected source markets to promote domestic products at great rates this summer season.
León Herce, global sales director at Hotelbeds, said: “Following client feedback, and thanks to our own data analytics capabilities, we have detected not only the overall surge in domestic demand, but the requirement for more products in secondary destinations, across all different property types.
“As you would expect, hoteliers in these destinations – many of them previously dependent on international markets that are unlikely to be travelling anytime soon – are very keen to capture the new domestic demand and we are working hard to sign them up fast.”
