Toronto-based small group tour operator G Adventures is strengthening its focus on the Asian market by expanding its regional sales team to cater to the growing number of Asian travellers.
Bryce Young, director of emerging markets for G Adventures, will now head up a team of six global purpose specialists (GPS) throughout Asia, having recently appointed a second GPS in China.
G Adventures expands Asia sales team (pictured above) to meet growing demand
Young said that the move comes as G Adventures seeks to invest in the significant potential of dynamic markets within Asia, which resonate with the tour operators’ style of small group adventure travel.
“We consider adventure travel to be less about ziplining and bungee jumping – although those are available on some of our itineraries – and more about cultural immersion that connects you with like-minded travellers,” he said.
“Our style of travel is culturally authentic, sustainable, and caters to travellers looking for experiences based on their interests, as opposed to just by destination. Increasingly, we are finding that these are traits Asian travellers are looking for when choosing a holiday provider.”
Within Asia, the company has identified the key emerging markets to be Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, India, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, with GPS serving each of these regions.
In time, the company said that it hopes to expand into other markets, such as the Philippines or Indonesia.
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok is marking the reopening of its River Wing, set to be unveiled on November 11, 2019, with a special “Be the First to Stay” accommodation package.
The package includes luxurious accommodation, personal butler service, daily buffet breakfast for two people at The Verandah, and daily hotel restaurant and spa credit of 2,000 baht (US$66) for guestrooms or 4,000 baht for suite reservations.
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok is marking the reopening of its River Wing with a special accommodation package
The package, which is priced from 25,350++ baht per night, is available for reservations between November 17, 2019 and March 31, 2020. Room rates are per room per night, based on double occupancy and subject to 10 per cent service charge and applicable tax.
The restored River Wing’s accommodation comprises an increased number of suites along with enlarged guestrooms. The property’s two swimming pools have also been re-landscaped to provide additional relaxation areas and cabanas.
Lord Jim’s, The Verandah and Riverside Terrace restaurants, alongside the hotel’s lobby, have been renewed, with many original features restored and re-instated. In addition, the hotel has a new Japanese Kaiseki-style restaurant, Kinu by Takagi, which is the first restaurant in Thailand by Michelin-celebrated chef Takagi Kazuo of Kyoto Cuisine Takagi in Japan.
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas has appointed two new general managers for its two properties in Vietnam.
Placed at the helm of Six Senses Ninh Van Bay is Andrew Whiffen, whose most recent roles were resort manager and general manager of Soneva Kiri Thailand and Soneva Jani Maldives respectively.
From left: Andrew Whiffen, Dominic Scoles
Whiffen brings with him over 30 years of hospitality experience having commenced his career in culinary arts, working his way up to the executive chef position, then later transitioning into hotel operations overseeing F&B operations.
He also cut his teeth at several hotels around the world including Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados, Marco Polo Niccolo in Chengdu, and Raffles Hotel in Dubai.
Meanwhile, Dominic Scoles has moved from the Maldives to join Six Senses Con Dao as general manager.
Scoles has more than a decade of experience working in the high-end hospitality sector. He opened his first hotel at 24 as director of nightlife for W Hotels, and has since been a part of five hotel openings.
In the role of director of F&B, he headed up luxury properties in the US, Mexico, Turks & Caicos and the Maldives, with several hotel brands such as Como, St Regis and W Hotels.
Often associated with upmarket stays, Singapore is poised to become a more accessible destination as an expanding crop of mid-tier hotels mushroom across the island to cater to a growing demographic of budget-conscious travellers.
Marcus Aw, managing director, Travelodge Hotels Asia, told TTG Asia: “The Singapore market is crowded with upscale and luxury international brands on one end, and local economy or budget options on the other. There is really only a handful of international, select service, midscale hotels in Singapore.”
Fragrance Hotel, Selegie
This lack of quality and affordable accommodation in Singapore – where the operation of home-sharing services like Airbnb is still under government review – has possibly alienated a segment of budget-conscious travellers.
Amit Saberwal, founder & CEO, RedDoorz, observed: “Singapore presents an obvious challenge to travellers from the rest of the region and even on an international scale. We’re talking about business travellers who need to traverse the region, people who prefer to travel in large groups and even young, tech-savvy folks who are eager to explore the region, yet are often weighed down by budget concerns.”
Seeking to plug this gap, a slew of hospitality players have swooped in on the midscale market this year. In August, Accor franchised 15 hotels operated by Global Premium Hotels (GPHL) – one of Singapore’s largest hotel chains – of which 13 were trading under the economy Fragrance Hotel brand and two under the four-star Parc Sovereign Hotel brand.
The 15 hotels will be rebranded to become one Mercure, one Ibis Styles and 13 Ibis Budget hotels, and will undergo asset enhancement initiatives to align with Accor global standards. With this deal, Accor has established a total of 1,840 midscale rooms and 2,428 economy rooms in Singapore.
GPHL owner James Koh expressed that the partnership with Accor is “indeed timely”, as it comes in the midst of the increasing popularity and strong growth of Singapore’s mid-tier hotel segment.
Across the shore from resort island Sentosa, Travelodge has taken over Bay Hotel Singapore and will transform the property into the midscale Travelodge Harbourfront Singapore after a S$15 million (US$10.8 million) refurbishment project.
And earlier this year, InterContinental Hotels Group opened its fourth Holiday Inn Express hotel in the country. The 119-room Holiday Inn Express Singapore Serangoon is located within walking distance of Little India heritage area, with a design that pays homage to Singapore’s past landmarks such as the New World Amusement Park.
For the period of January to July 2019, the mid-tier segment enjoyed an average occupancy rate of 88.5 per cent and a RevPAR of S$148.20, up by one per cent and 1.1 per cent YOY respectively. Meanwhile, the economy segment registered 81.9 per cent occupancy – down by 2.4 per cent – and S$89.10 RevPAR, up by 1.1 per cent.
The figures for both segments are expected to grow as Singapore welcomes this wave of new openings, with even more affordable options to come in the following months.
Saberwal revealed: “Singapore is very important for RedDoorz. We are taking a strategic approach to expanding our footprint across the region, including Singapore, and aim to have a combination of over 2,000 hotels and hostels by end 2019.”
Karen Merrick has been appointed as general manager of JA Manafaru Maldives to lead a team of 350 associates at the luxury island resort, making her the second female general manager in JA Resorts & Hotels’ portfolio of eight properties.
With a career spanning 30 years across a variety of boutique hotels in the Indian Ocean and Europe, Merrick spent the last three years running the Song Saa Private Island in Cambodia.
Her previous tenures include roles at The Taaras Resort & Spa in Malaysia, Kemang Icon by Alila in Indonesia, Ackergill Tower in Scotland; as well as Soneva Fushi Resort & Residences, Diva/White Sands Resort & Spa and The Rania Experience – all based in the Maldives.
Modern Muslim millennials are demanding more than just halal labelling at buffet tables and more Muslim women are travelling with their fellow female companions, a TBWA research has found.
The desk research surveyed 947 young Muslims in Indonesia, Malaysia and the UK, aged between 18 and 30 years, who travelled in the last 18 months or are planning to travel in the next 18 months.
Muslim millennial travellers are demanding more halal-friendly facilities beyond food, and all-female Muslim travel groups are on the rise: TBWA
Presenting the findings recently, Nazirah Ashari, strategy director of TBWA Kuala Lumpur, said: “Muslim travel is the fastest growth segment, but it remains relatively underserved. The industry does not understand the needs of the Muslim travellers. Three out of five respondents (of the TBWA survey) said that the term ‘halal travel’ is mostly used to refer to food.”
Nazirah said: “It is no longer enough for these travellers to just have their halal food at a corner of the buffet table. That’s not cool. It is like back in the 1980s when vegetarian food was still a new thing and when you went to a restaurant, there was only one or two food items on the menu for vegetarians or vegans. We (Muslims) don’t want only a few halal food choices; we want a full halal menu at restaurants.”
The burgeoning Muslim millennial travel market spells big bucks. More young Muslims are venturing abroad, with the average number of countries visited in the last 18 months totalling around four for Indonesians and Malaysians; and two for the UK travellers, according to the TBWA survey. The study also found that the Indonesians and Malaysians plan to visit an average of four countries, compared to three for the UK travellers.
“Are your businesses and services a part of that plan yet?” Nazirah challenged the audience, which comprised representatives from NTOs and DMCs.
Despite the different barriers to travel Muslim tourists face, such as Islamophobia, travel advisories and the stereotyping of travellers dressed in Islamic attire, young Muslim travellers still continue to take trips. The research showed that 34 per cent of respondents expressed fear of Islamophobia or unfriendly host countries when travelling.
Also on the rise are all-female Muslim travel groups, as women gain greater independence in making decisions to travel. The research found that 89 per cent of respondents would consider travelling in an all-girls group and one out of three have been on an all-girls trip. Only 29 per cent of respondents said that they were looking for travel partners or having to ask for permission to travel.
The findings also showed that Muslim travel is more than just pilgrimages and luxury is high on the agenda. Japan, South Korea and New Zealand are top destinations that can offer pop culture, rich history and stunning Instagram backdrops.
Nazirah said: “Japan is on the top of the list. In fact, if you’re in the tourism marketing business, be ‘more Japan’. The destination is Muslim-friendly. Muslim travellers in Japan can enjoy all the Japanese experiences while still meeting their Muslim obligations and needs.”
With the recent completion of integration of Tourico Holidays and GTA onto a single platform, Hotelbeds’ priority is now on growing its customer base of high-value clients for its bedbank business and ancillary products, renamed last year to Beyond the Bed. Previously, it was known as Transfers and Activities Bank.
Hotelbeds’ high-value clients include tour operators, retail travel agents, airline websites, and loyalty schemes in over 140 source markets worldwide. These channels provide hotel partners with returning guests that book further in advance, cancel less, spend more in-destination and stay longer.
Hotelbeds looks to grow its bedbank business and ancillary products, renamed last year to Beyond the Bed; Hotelbeds’ Chua Hui-Wan & Beyond the Bed’s Javier Cuevas Visconti pictured
Hotelbeds regional director, wholesale sales, Asia Pacific, Chua Hui-Wan, shared with TTG Asia on the sidelines of the Markethub Asia in Bali, that for the last 18 months, the focus had been on integration of the three companies.
She said: “To be very honest, that was a very intense and very complex work that we did in a record time of 18 months… Now that integration is over, we can focus on growing the business.”
Chua shared that the company’s focus for the Asia-Pacific region will be on growing its guarantee and deposits products by adding more hotels. She said: “We are undertaking a financial risk as it involves making prepayments to hotels for exclusive deals on rates and conditions. But we are able to do this because we have the cash flow that smaller bedbank players may not have.”
Already the world’s largest bedbank with more than 180,000 hotels and seven times larger than its closest competitor, WebBeds, Hotelbeds has intention to expand its portfolio by an additional 10,000 every year.
But Chua insisted that Hotelbeds’ size do not pose any disadvantage in terms of agility and adapting to market needs, as compared with smaller bed banks that focused on niche products. Its sheer size, she said, meant having the advantage of negotiating for the best rates with hotels, for the benefits of clients.
While the hotel side of business in the Asia Pacific region is growing at five per cent annually and is projected to continue at a similar growth rate into the near future, Hotelbeds is also see growth prospects in its ancillaries units. Beyond the Bed product line, for instance, has seen a 15 per cent increase in global business year-on-year up to September 30, 2019 while business in the Asia Pacific region has grown by 45 per cent.
Double-digit growth numbers are expected to continue annually for both the global market and Asia-Pacific region, shared Javier Cuevas Visconti, global sales director, Beyond the Bed. The product line covers sourcing and distribution of transfers, activities, tickets, theme parks, car hire, travel insurance and specialist tours.
Sharing insights on travel behaviour, Javier quoted data from Skift Research that showed that 67 per cent of affluent travellers prioritise tours and activities over hotel room when it comes to spend, as compared with 59 per cent in 2017.
He said demand for in-destination activities is strong among millennials who are inspired by social media postings of friends and celebrities on holiday and they don’t want to miss out from enjoying similar experiences. The company was investing in eco-friendly activities and day coach tours to fill the gap in the market.
Javier shared that by 2021, Beyond the Bed hoped to double the size of its global business as well as business in the Asia Pacific region through strategic partnerships with its customer travel agents and tour operators.
Currently, the portfolio of Beyond The Bed comprises 18,000 activities worldwide, 24,000 transfer routes and over 500 car rental providers. In the Asia Pacific region, it comprises 4,000 activities and 6,000 transfer routes in 200 destinations.
Javier shared that Beyond the Bed was also training smaller suppliers to embrace technology so they could distribute their products to last-minute buyers online.
He said the biggest in-destination markets for activities in Asia were Thailand, Indonesia, China and Japan. The main source markets for the Asia Pacific region were Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
The Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) has signed retailing agreements with Sabre and Amadeus to expand their merchandising capabilities for airlines.
The partnership will enable both GDSs, two of the world’s largest travel technology companies, to become authorised distributors of ATPCO’s Routehappy Rich Content to travel agencies, OTAs, corporate travel buyers and airline IT customers.
ATPCO has inked retailing agreements with Sabre and Amadeus
In addition to API access, ATPCO will also provide flat file access to Routehappy Rich Content to Amadeus and Sabre for the first time. This accelerates the rate at which both companies can integrate the descriptive and visual content of Routehappy, which was acquired by ATPCO in 2018, across its applications and in airline direct channels to power richer flight shopping experiences for travel sellers and buyers.
“The tipping point for modernising flight shopping at scale is finally here,” stated Robert Albert, executive vice president, retailing at ATPCO, as the active participation of both Sabre and Amadeus demonstrates the momentum of industry-wide transformation in flight shopping.
Albert added: “Over the next five years, world-class airline retailing will become the norm, making flight selling much more valuable for the industry and providing consumers many more choices for a better shopping experience. The airline industry has just taken a giant leap forward.”
Wade Jones, president of Sabre Travel Network, said: “Our expanded agreement with ATPCO further demonstrates Sabre’s commitment to modernise the airline retailing experience for our customers through next generation retailing, distribution and fulfilment capabilities. This long-term agreement will allow us to enhance our leading air shopping solutions with ATPCO’s Routehappy Rich Content today and in the future as the airline industry continues to evolve.”
Additionally, Sabre will continue to support ATPCO’s Next Generation Storefront (NGS) standard, which helps sales channels modernise the shopping experience for consumers. Sabre has been a key partner with ATPCO and other industry players to help develop and test a new, innovative approach to shopping based on NGS standards.
As part of the retailing agreement, Amadeus will also support ATPCO’s NGS standard, which helps sales channels modernise the shopping experience for consumers. The partnership will exponentially scale the adoption of Routehappy Rich Content, putting in place an unrivalled new technology foundation for the next generation of flight shopping.
Decius Valmorbida, president travel channels at Amadeus, said: “This (agreement) is yet another step in Amadeus’ strategy to drive the digital transformation of the travel industry, and adds to initiatives such as the work we are doing with ATPCO on the NGS, and the progress we are making with new standards such as NDC and One Order. These are the stepping stones towards a true retailing environment in travel, that we are putting in place together with our customers and industry partners.”
TripAdvisor has launched a new direct booking feature within the existing TripAdvisor Sponsored Placements product, giving business owners premium exposure to more booking-ready travellers and helping them increase direct bookings for their properties.
This new direct booking tool allows travellers to click through to the hotels’ own booking page from a sponsored listing on the TripAdvisor platform so that they can book directly with the property. By doing so, the travel giant says it will help travel businesses to avoid costly commissions from OTAs, which can be up to 25 per cent of a booking.
TripAdvisor’s new direct booking tool aims to help business owners maximise revenue
“We hear frequently from hoteliers they need help solving their biggest booking challenges without breaking the bank. We have launched this new direct booking tool based on feedback from owners, and it’s one of a number of things over the next several months we plan to offer hoteliers to better meet their needs,” said Martin Verdon-Roe, vice president, B2B hotels for TripAdvisor.
Sponsored Placements, which first launched on TripAdvisor in 2017, appear on high-profile pages across TripAdvisor, including above search results and on nearby properties’ listings. These ads put a property in front of potential guests looking for places to stay when the property matches the guest’s search and has available rooms to book.
Accommodation owners who are interested in getting more direct bookings can find out more here.
Hong Kong’s travel industry has been offered a government-backed HKD$100 million (US$12 million) cash incentive to encourage agents to rake in more business, although a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report suggested that the subsidy might have limited benefits as tourists are deterred to visit the city amid ongoing street protests.
Edward Yau, secretary for commerce and economic development, revealed that travel agents will earn HKD$120 per inbound overnight tourist, and HKD$100 per outbound tourist, with a cap of 500 tourists per agent, said the report.
Hong Kong’s travel industry has been offered a government-backed HKD$100 million cash incentive to encourage agents to rake in more business; tourists on board Hong Kong’s open-top Big Bus Tour
Yau estimated that the government scheme, which will run from November to the end of March 2020, could result in up to 850,000 inbound tourists to Hong Kong, it added.
The report further quoted Yau as saying that the initiative aims to support the city’s travel agents and Hong Kong’s tourism industry, which has bore the brunt of prolonged pro-democracy protests and the US-China trade war. Yau also said that the incentive scheme was a vital stop-gap measure, while repairing the city’s reputation as a safe city was a longer-term goal.
The cash incentives will be funded directly by the government’s Tourism Board and the travel agent watchdog, Travel Industry Council.
