It was a tale of highly contrasting results when it came to hotel performance for Hong Kong and Singapore in July 2019, STR’s latest data showed.
In Hong Kong, occupancy decreased -4.1 per cent to 83.4 per cent, while average daily rate (ADR) fell -9.1% to HK$1,163.21 (US$148.29) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) plummeted -12.9% to HK$970.42.
STR’s latest data shows a dip in hotel occupancy in Hong Kong while Singapore’s hotels surpassed 90% occupancy for the first time in history
STR analysts note that ongoing protests in Hong Kong have affected performance levels in the market. Hotel demand for the month fell three per cent, and preliminary figures show a double-digit decline in visitor arrivals during the second-half of July, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. That steep drop follows a first half of the year that showed a 13.9 per cent increase in visitor arrivals.
In Singapore, one of Hong Kong’s fiercest rivals, hotel occupancy rose +1.9 per cent to 91.8 per cent while ADR was up +0.5 per cent to SG$268.79 (US$193.40) and RevPAR increased +2.4 per cent to SG$246.80.
The country eclipsed 90 per cent occupancy for the first time in history. STR analysts note that the transient segment (bookings of less than 10 rooms) produced strong demand growth (+7.1 per cent) during the month, while group (bookings of 10 or more rooms) demand fell 7.2 per cent. According to the Singapore Tourism Board, the country welcomed 9.3 million international visitors during the first six months of 2019.
Overall, hotels in the Asia-Pacific region reported mostly negative results across the three key performance metrics in July 2019. Region-wide occupancy increased +0.2 per cent to 73.2 per cent, while ADR dropped -1.5 per cent to US$95.48 and RevPAR fell -1.3 per cent to US$69.91 when compared to July 2018.
Insight Vacations & Luxury Gold, two brands under The Travel Corporation, have appointed Kuala Lumpur-based Mayflower Holidays as its GSA in Malaysia.
The partnership will commence from September 1, 2019, with Mayflower Holidays responsible for the sales and marketing as well as reservations and operations of both brands for both the B2B and B2C markets across Malaysia.
Insight Vacations & Luxury Gold have appointed Mayflower Holidays as its GSA in Malaysia
Anthony Lim, managing director for Insight Vacations & Luxury Gold, said that the company is excited “to leverage Mayflower Holiday’s extensive global tourist-industry network and their strong relationships with trade partners” to offer their range of premium and luxury holidays to travellers.
Mayflower Group’s CEO Chin Ten Hoy said: “We will promote the Insight Vacations & Luxury Gold products in all our distribution channels, be it B2C via online or B2B network. Currently, our wholesale departments are servicing more than 500 travel agents nationwide and we will capitalise our distribution network to ensure the Insight Vacations & Luxury Gold brands are top of mind for travellers when they think of going for holidays.”
Mayflower Holidays’ first public outing under this brand will be at the upcoming Matta Travel Fair at Putra World Trade Centre from September 6 to 8, followed by a series of B2B product launches and education roadshows in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Penang and Kota Kinabalu.
Dusit International has signed a long-term lease agreement with I Am Chinatown to develop and operate Asai Bangkok Chinatown in the heart of the city’s thriving Yaowarat district.
As the first hotel to debut under Asai Hotels, Dusit’s new lifestyle brand for millennial-minded travellers, Asai Bangkok Chinatown is slated to open early next year in a prime location adjacent to Yaowarat Road and 100m from the new Wat Mangkon station.
Dusit’s first Asai Hotel to debut in Bangkok’s Chinatown come 2020
Asai Bangkok Chinatown will feature 224 compact rooms measuring between 18-22m2, a large communal space with a workspace, plus other facilities like a fitness centre, a bar and a pop-up restaurant concept featuring a seasonal farm-driven menu curated in collaboration with Paolo Vitaletti and Jarrett Wrisley of Appia, Peppina and Soul Food Mahanakorn restaurants in Bangkok. The hotel’s chefs will seek to use fresh herbs and vegetables from an on-site organic garden.
To further promote sustainable agriculture, the hotel has partnered with Akha Ama, a socially empowered enterprise growing coffee in northern Thailand, to source 100 per cent Arabica beans from the project.
Besides Asai Bangkok Chinatown, five more properties are already confirmed in the pipeline, including three Asai Hotels in Cebu, one hotel in Yangon, and a second hotel in Bangkok. These properties are expected to open from mid-2020 onwards.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have suspended six travel agents from conducting travel agent activities with effect from August 26, 2019.
The six travel agents are Alert Co, Success Express, RJ Travels, Sai Universal Holidays, Szimsai Holidays Events and TIS365.
STB has suspended the license of six travel agencies for breaching regulations
During the period of suspension, the travel agents are required to fulfil any existing obligations to their customers, but will not be allowed to accept new travel bookings.
The suspension is the result of the companies’ failure to submit their audited statement of accounts within six months after the close of their financial year, said STB in a media advisory.
The suspension will remain effective until the travel agents submit their audited accounts, or for up to six months – after which, STB will decide on the next course of action, it added.
The STB said that the submission of audited accounts is a requirement under the Travel Agents Regulations.
“Failure to submit the audited accounts within the stipulated deadline raises concern over a company’s ability to meet the minimum financial requirements as mandated under the Travel Agents Regulations.”
STB stresses that it “takes a serious view against errant travel agents, and will not hesitate to take necessary actions to protect the reputation of Singapore’s travel industry”.
The DFS Group will be pulling out of Changi Airport’s liquor and tobacco business, after close to 40 years of operation, according to a report by The Straits Times.
Its duty-free stores will close in June 2020 to make way for a new tenant, said the report, as DFS did not bid in the new concession tender, which closed on Monday (August 26).
DFS to close Changi Airport liquor, tobacco stores
DFS, which is Changi’s biggest and oldest tenant, manages 18 liquor and tobacco stores at the airport, occupying more than 8,000m2 of retail space across the four terminals.
According to the report, three firms have submitted bids for the liquor and tobacco concession. They are The Shilla Duty Free of South Korea, which currently operates the perfume and cosmetics stores at Changi, another South Korean firm Lotte Duty Free and Gebr Heinemann of Germany.
The report also quoted DFS Group chairman and CEO Ed Brennan as saying in a statement: “Our decision not to bid was based on our unique understanding of the business environment as the current operator of this concession at Changi. Specifically, changing regulations concerning the sale of liquor and tobacco, against a global context of geopolitical uncertainty, meant that staying in Changi was not a financially viable option.”
A new tenant will be announced in November, said the report.
Six Senses Maxwell has unveiled five spa pods and two relaxation rooms, which will provide guests with a wellness sanctuary in the heart of Singapore’s city centre.
Located on the fourth floor of Six Senses Maxwell, the spa pods and relaxation rooms are decorated and furnished in line with the property’s signature 19th century aesthetics. Guests can look forward to both traditional and innovative wellness experiences from Six Senses Signature Massages to locally-inspired rituals, targeted therapies and functional fitness.
Six Senses Maxwell
1 of 3
Relaxation Room
Mani Pedi Room
Treatment Room
The boutique hotel is also debuting the Singapore-exclusive, locally-inspired wellness retreat experience featuring traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and massage techniques. This 135-minute-long experience, priced at US$220++, starts with a consultation with seasoned practitioners from a local full-service TCM clinic followed by a conversation and wellness recommendations.
Following the consultation, a relaxing ritual with warm amethyst crystals reduces daily stress and tension starting with a back, neck and shoulders massage. The package also features an orchid-scented Himalayan salt scrub, a rose body mask and a lifting facial massage and a wellness lunch at either Yellow Pot Chinese Restaurant or Cook & Tras Social Library.
The 150-minute-long Cleansing Retreat experience, priced at US$258++, incorporates body and facial treatments infused with vitamin C, jasmine, green coffee and chilli to spring clean the whole system. This retreat also includes a detoxifying drink, yoga and a wellness lunch at either Yellow Pot Chinese Restaurant or Cook & Tras Social Library.
The spa pods at Six Senses Maxwell are open from 11.00 to 20.00 daily.
Travel marketing science company Adphorus has appointed William Chan as sales director, Asia-Pacific. He will be based in the company’s Singapore office.
The announcement comes on the heels of recent expansion by its parent company, Sojern, following rapid growth in Asia-Pacific. Adphorus, a Facebook and Instagram Marketing Partner, provides the technology and know-how to scale revenues through a scientific approach to travel advertising.
Chan brings with him significant digital experience having led sales teams across Asia-Pacific for companies like ada and AdParlor. He possesses extensive knowledge of the Facebook Marketing Partners ecosystem, and has helped companies execute Facebook ad campaigns at scale, reaching new audiences and optimising their campaigns to drive performance. During his time at ada, Chan used their first party telco data to improve client campaign metrics by up to 20 per cent across the board.
He also previously managed media sales at Electronic Arts in EMEA.
Malaysia is embarking on a comprehensive digitalisation journey to employ initiatives that will help develop its tourism industry through education, as well as the creation of smart eco-management of destinations.
Malaysia’s prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, said in his keynote address at the World Tourism Conference in Kuala Lumpur on Monday that by “embracing” digitalisation, it will help the tourism industry to be “internationally-connected”, and provide data analytics of tourism futures while shortening the supply chain.
Malaysia is embracing digital technology to boost its tourism development
But for this to materialise, Mahathir pointed out that a new investment climate was necessary to cultivate an environment to enable the tourism industry to move forward.
“Investment in hard and soft infrastructure need to be balanced. National policies need to allow for investment incentives in more intangible products such as data acquisition, content creation and online platform presence,” he elaborated.
As part of the new National Tourism Policy (2021 to 2030), Malaysia will also be designating Special Tourism Investment Zones throughout the country, where incentives are being formulated to attract both hardware and technology-based investment in the tourism sector.
In addition, as part of the country’s National Ecotourism Plan 2016-2025, Malaysia is also developing cluster-based ecotourism destinations with special concession packages that inculcate the use of technology and smart eco-management of the destinations.
Mahathir added that the aim was for the country to become “The Capital of Smart Ecotourism Destination”, and reiterated that education of all stakeholders as well as travellers is needed to help develop a tourist sector that is “responsible, sustainable and inclusive”.
He said: “Industry stakeholders are now venturing more actively into the sharing economy, digital platforms, social media integration and big data analytics to customise tourism experience offerings to specific demographics across the globe.
“As tourists’ arrivals are forecasted to reach 1.8 billion people by 2030, we foresee a wider base of services being offered beyond the conventional tourism-focused activity, to include medical, filming, adventure sports, content development, religious activities, gaming and green technology.”
According to the World Economic Forum’s Digital Transformation initiatives, digitalisation in tourism is expected to contribute up to US$305 billion of value through increased profitability by 2025. It will also generate benefits valued at US$700 billion for businesses and wider society.
Often called the Hawaii of Japan, Okinawa is attracting a rising number of regional tourists, thanks to greater air connectivity driven by LCCs to the resort destination, according to a recent report by C9 Hotelworks.
Visitors to Okinawa hit a record 9.8 million last year, elevating the market to the likes of Asia’s twin icons of Bali and Phuket, the Okinawa Hotel Market Review revealed.
Okinawa is gaining popularity as a tourism destination among inbound travellers, with visitors to the island hitting a record 9.8 million last year
The demand was mainly driven by overseas source markets, which grew 14.2 per cent year-on-year compared to domestic arrivals of 1.2 per cent. This has pushed total market share of international travellers from 4.1 per cent in 2008 to 29.5 per cent in 2018, whereby the CAGR of total inbound visitors for the period averaged 6.4 per cent.
Nevertheless, those arriving from Japan still accounted for 76.8 per cent of guest nights in accommodation establishments on the island, as a majority of domestic travellers are Japanese from Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka and Nagoya.
The report also said that the key catalysts of change driving increased tourism to the island are rising airlift, visa exemptions for a number of Asian countries like Thailand and favourable currency exchange rates to the Japanese yen.
International airlift is delivering more and more overseas travellers – In 2018, domestic routes supplied 71 per cent of the visitors to the destination. Traction has remained strong this year as year-to-date arrivals through May registered 4.6 per cent growth. Key overseas markets are South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and the US.
Market-wide occupancy for hotels in the latest available data was 64 per cent with an average accommodation spend of around US$218 per person, per day. With over 36,000 hotels and ryokan keys, the current pipeline is showing 5,295 keys under development. Pipeline hotels are concentrated in outer islands (45 per cent), followed by south (26 per cent), central (16 per cent) and north (13 per cent) areas of the main island.
City hotels have the highest occupancy amongst all types of accommodation, with an average of 83 per cent last year. This is followed by business hotels with 77 per cent and resorts at 72 per cent.
The total average spend of visitors was 73,945 yen (US$702) per day, with international travellers having a higher spend at 100,265 yen over domestic tourists at 72,284 yen.
The average length of stay for visitors averaged 3.09 nights, with longer stays for international visitors at 3.42 nights and domestic at 2.95 nights.
“With demand on the rise, hotels are seeing improved performance in occupancy, while spending on accommodation has slightly declined as more non-traditional hotels are entering the market, such as condominium rentals and guesthouses,” said Bill Barnett, managing director, C9 Hotelworks.
He added: “Nevertheless, mainstream hotel operators remain positive on the prospect of performance going forward, despite stronger competition. Demand is expected to significantly increase with a second airport runway. However, the lack of labour in the industry is a major concern for existing and upcoming hotels.”
Key upcoming hotels, including Hilton and Four Seasons, reflect more global brands, said the report. The latter is being developed by Malaysia’s Berjaya Group, which is set to leverage the Four Seasons brand on a hotel residence component of the project.
Despite high development costs given pressure from the upcoming run-up to the 2020 Olympics, Okinawa’s resort trajectory remains strongly positive given that Naha Airport is expected to complete its second runway in 2020.
A cruise campaign has also stimulated growth of foreign tourist arrivals. Additional services will be launched at Motobu Port, Ishigaki Port and Hirara Port along with expansion plans.
With low interest rates in a stable marketplace, developers are increasingly looking to both Okinawa and the outer islands with rising interest, as the destination is poised to play on a broader global stage.
Chinese aviation data technology provider VariFlight is expanding its South-east Asia operations with the launch of a global brand dedicated to providing flight data and customised analytics to business partners.
Airsavvi, which fully inherits VariFlight’s aviation data intelligence on 1,279 airlines and 10,968 airports globally, aims to help travel businesses grow by building smarter data application capabilities. It also provides additional data on land-based transportation like high-speed railways and ride-hailing.
The launch of VariFlight’s new travel data intelligence arm Airsavvi also saw the signing of partnership between Airsavvi and its launch customer Indian OTA MakeMyTrip and its subsidiary Goibibo (From left: Airsavvi’s Jia Guo, MakeMyTrip’s Sharath)
Its railway coverage now spans China, Japan, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Italy, for which it provides data on schedule changes, connections and travelling distance.
This comprehensive coverage of different types of travel data, along with the brand’s prominent algorithms and computing power, will provide data-driven and more insightful support for travel and transportation companies worldwide.
Zheng Hongfeng, founder and CEO of VariFlight, said at the launch ceremony: “It is the market that calls for a service like Airsavvi. As a tech company that has gone through the era of web 1.0 and mobile Internet, and now the era of AI and IoT, we have spotted the transition of market demands from simply integrating data into existing business processes to building a more intelligent and flexible capability to adapt to new business scenarios with the help of data. Airsavvi is designed to help build that capability.”
VariFlight’s vice president Simon Li told TTG Asia that although Airsavvi is already working with Chinese OTA Ctrip and Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi, the new travel data intelligence company also aims to open dialogues with other ride-hailing companies in South-east Asia such as Grab.
“One of the challenges in the travel industry is that aviation is developing very quickly, but it is not the only sector doing so. It is becoming increasingly interconnected with the broader transport industry. We hope to increase our market share, and we are already seeing a lot of interest among our clients for this service,” he shared.
To complement its launch, Airsavvi signed a partnership with Indian OTA MakeMyTrip and its subsidiary Goibibo as their data provider.
Li explained: “Airsavvi will provide more personalised customer service to meet our business clients’ needs. A lot of data companies provide the standard products and solutions, but we want to be more individualised. We will have one dedicated solution manager for each business partner, providing 24/7 service to them.”
VariFlight will continue to operate its eponymous app that provides airline schedules, live flight statuses and real-time service data for airports and aircraft in China, covering over 94 per cent of global commercial flights.
