New Radisson hotel to open on Phuket’s Mai Khao

August 13, 2019

Radisson Hotel Group has announced the signing of a new Radisson property in Thailand, located on Phuket’s sunset coast, in partnership with Thai-Chinese Property Holdings.

Set to open in 1Q2023, Radisson Phuket Mai Khao Beach will feature 222 rooms and suites. A collection of ground floor rooms will offer direct access to the property’s outdoor pool, and more than 20 of the rooms and suites will feature private pools.

Radisson Hotel Group has signed a new agreement with Thai-Chinese Property Holdings for a new Radisson property on Phuket’s Mai Khao Beach

The hotel will also feature a large outdoor lagoon pool, a fitness centre, a kid’s club and dining options, including an all-day dining destination, a specialty restaurant and a lobby lounge. The property will also be able to host events, with two meeting rooms and a business centre.

Under a sale and leaseback arrangement, investors will be able to purchase units at Radisson Phuket Mai Khao Beach. The units will be put into a mandatory rental programme, while the operations of the property will be managed by Radisson Hotel Group.

Currently, the group operates four hotels in Bangkok: Radisson Blu Plaza Bangkok, Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit, Park Plaza Bangkok Soi 18 and Park Plaza Sukhumvit Hotel.

More NTOs up focus on Chinese luxury travel market at ILTM China

By TTG Asia

August 13, 2019

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With the Chinese outbound travel market continuing its upward growth trajectory, major tourism boards around the world will be targeting China’s high-end travel agents at ILTM China 2019, taking place in Shanghai from October 30 to November 1, 2019.

According to Agility Research, travel is the most popular item to spend money on among the affluent Chinese who are travelling more luxuriously, and further and further away from the mainland and Hong Kong. ILTM China 2019 will once again be the platform for their luxury travel agents to research these opportunities on behalf of their clients.

More NTOs will be targeting Chinese luxury travellers at ILTM China 2019

According to the UNWTO, Chinese tourists overseas spent $277.3 billion in 2018, up from $10 billion in 2000. Over the same period, US’s travellers parted with $144.2 billion.

The China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) predicts that the total number of Chinese outbound trips will reach more than 400 million by 2030, a significant increase from 149.7 million in 2018.

In a similar vein, the 149.7 million overseas trips made by Chinese residents in 2018 was a 1,326 per cent rise from 2001 when the figure was 10.5 million. By 2030, this figure is projected to reach 400 million – a surge of almost 4,000 per cent – and will account for a quarter of international tourism.

Andy Ventris, event manager, ILTM China, said: “The proven growth in Chinese outbound travel is there for all to see, but we also realise that just nine per cent of Chinese travellers (120 million people) own a passport compared to 40 per cent of Americans and 76 per cent of Britons. Clearly the potential for further growth – China’s population is 1.42 billion – is staggering and ILTM China has been created to support today’s Chinese luxury traveller by introducing their travel agents to a new world of international travel.”

ILTM China said its first edition in 2018 saw a demand from hosted Chinese luxury agents for Australasia, South-east Asia, Northern Europe and North America. Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Singapore are also among the top 10 destinations for Chinese tourists, with the US and Italy completing the list.

Since 2013, Sri Lanka has seen steady growth from the high-end Chinese market. John Amaratunaga, minister of tourism for Sri Lanka, who will be taking part in ILTM China again, said: “As a country, we have worked to add luxurious boutique properties with personalised DMC services, as well as bespoke shopping experiences, to specifically attract high-end tourists from China.”

Similarly, many other tourist boards are taking proactive measures in wooing China’s expanding army of high-end travellers. With this focus in mind, Berlin, Canada, Greece, Vienna, Berlin, Monaco, Dubai, Italy, New York and Spain have signed up to attend ILTM China.

Christina Freisleben of the Vienna Tourist Board, said: “At ILTM China, we know we will connect with travel designers and concierge services who design tailor-made itineraries rather than packages.”

Yannis Plexousakis, director of the Greek National Tourism Association in China, said: “Greece’s inbound tourist arrivals from China increased by 35 per cent in 2017 and 25 per cent in 2018 – in fact, almost 400 per cent in total since 2012. The Chinese luxury traveller is a key focus for us due to their high spending, their ability to travel all year round and the fact that they often combine tourism with other investments. ILTM China is therefore essential in our marketing strategy.”

Brisbane is on the map for companies looking to inspire their staff

By TTG

August 12, 2019

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Brought to you by Brisbane Marketing

Staff love them, companies that use them are increasingly nailing their sales and other business targets, and the relationships gained from them can fuel careers, productivity and company bottom lines.

But the market for incentive travel programs is only really just taking hold in certain parts of the world – albeit at a rapidly growing pace, especially throughout the Asia region.

In 2018, China was Australia’s largest inbound market for visitor arrivals and total expenditure. In that same period, Tourism Australia’s International Visitor Survey tracked expenditure of $700 million from 101,000 Chinese business events arrivals.

It’s estimated about a quarter of those arrivals were to Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland – and these numbers have been steadily increasing year after year.

A 2018 joint study conducted by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, the Incentive Research Foundation, and Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals shows the incentive market is growing.

The study showed more than half (54%) of buyers reported an increase in budgets year over year with the median per person spend stable at $US4000. About two-thirds of buyers surveyed for the report said they were increasing the number of incentive program qualifiers thanks to companies taking a positive view of the world economy.

And while sales and profits were the main reasons companies ran incentive programs, more focus was now on management and employees building their relationships, increasing productivity and keeping employees engaged.

Most importantly, 70% of buyers said their programs were effective at achieving business objectives.

What are companies looking for?

Destination appeal and value for money remain the top factors for buyers, but wellness – such as yoga and outdoor adventure activities – has rocketed up the list as one of the most desired features for companies wanting to reward and inspire their staff. And it’s something Brisbane has in spades, especially for our close neighbours looking for a dose of Australia’s great outdoors.

There has also been a marked increase in interest from Greater China MICE agents in Brisbane since the city hosted Dreamtime in 2017, Tourism Australia’s signature incentive showcase.

So with many eyes from the industry now focused on southeast Queensland, here’s just a taste of what Brisbane has to offer buyers in the incentive market.

Tangalooma Island Resort

Words by Vera Zhou, Director of Sales – Northeast Asia

At Tangalooma Island Resort we have many different activities and facilities catering to the ever-increasing incentive market.

Naturally, the location of the resort in itself is a big drawcard. Moreton Island is just 75 minutes from Brisbane, and our Brisbane wharf is 5 minutes away from the domestic and international airport terminals, making connections fast and straightforward.

When guests arrive, they’re greeted by a beautiful setting of white sandy beaches and blue waters that are safe for swimming. From this island base, guests and groups can enjoy over 70 different tours and activities, including 4WD, snorkelling, whale-watching, helicopter flights and private charter tours to see dugongs. But by far our most unique and popular activity is wild dolphin feeding – as much a hit for international guests as it is in the domestic market, being such a rare up-close encounter.

Team building is another activity we offer to large incentive groups – we work working closely with team building company Banana Life – and we can tailor the experience to be bi-lingual, thanks to a team of 16 staff who work as part of our dedicated Chinese guest services team. They’re always on hand to assist our Chinese guests and groups to ensure they’re enjoying their time at Tangalooma.

When it comes to dining, as well as typical Australian foods we showcase international flavours, including very authentic Chinese food – and incentive groups have provided great feedback on it. In terms of accommodations, we can cater for anywhere from 50 to 200 PAX at the resort with various options and seven different accommodation styles.

Riverlife

Words by John Sharpe, Owner & Founder

At Riverlife we offer a wide range of activities for groups big and small, including outdoor adventure-based pursuits such as kayaking, rock climbing, stand-up paddleboarding, segway tours, abseiling, laser tag and Urbie tours. We also offer Aboriginal cultural immersion walks down to the parkland, and can put on seafood barbecues by the river or a Devonshire tea – which we find is the perfect way to bring a group together before or after their adventure to connect and share their experience.

With big groups, we can also join forces with the Story Bridge Adventure Climb to expand the offering. That might involve an adventure climb up the bridge or abseiling down the bridge piers. They will be offering a lot more other adventure activities in the next year, so this is something that will only going to get bigger and better for us too.

What we’ve found over the past 10 years or so is that Chinese guests are getting a lot more adventurous. They’re starting to move into more mainstream adventure activities. For example, where once they would be happy just walking into the water and getting their feet wet for a photo, now they want to go snorkelling, even if their swimming skills aren’t that strong.

So for us it’s been really important to make sure that we have Chinese staff helping out so it makes them feel more comfortable doing something that’s a little bit out of their comfort zone. What we find is that Chinese guests are happy with the experience you give them because it’s all completely new to them. They appreciate the sense of adventure.

Sirromet Wines

Words by Michael Muza, Sales & Marketing Manager

One thing that makes Sirromet unique in our incentive offering is that we can tailor schedules and customise experiences to suit groups of all sizes needs and expectations. For example, we offer customised wine labels for company gifting, as well as onsite team building experiences like stomping the grapes or rolling the barrel.

Depending on the size of the groups we are able to split into multiple groups and offer a Behind the Scenes Tour & Tasting on a rotational format. We also have unique function rooms and award winning cuisine, a 4WD track and Supagolf. To cater to large incentive groups we have a great team of mandarin speaking staff on the ground who are able to assist every step of the way.

From a food service point of view we are also able to cater to groups in our existing facilities up to 300 guests, or we have the ability to scale up with a marquee style lunch capable of catering for a group of 700 to 1000 guests. Set among 226 hectares of natural bushland and vineyards with views out over Moreton Bay, our unique natural setting is a big drawcard. And it’s all just 30 minutes from Brisbane CBD.

For us, ensuring our Chinese guests have an authentic experience is key. They want to experience our authentic local lifestyle, nature, environment and culture. This sentiment is clear across the board and beyond incentive travel. That’s why more and more Chinese guests are now travelling independently rather than pre-packaged holidays.

At Sirromet Winery we also provide a home delivery service to guests from China so they can enjoy our products once they get home. Hosting Chinese incentive groups allows us to provide education about wine making, about the Granite Belt wine region, and the chance to try our wines and ultimately drive the home delivery business.

Visit choosebrisbane.com.au to learn more about choosing Brisbane as your next incentive destination, or contact Brisbane Marketing’s business events team on +61 (07) 3006 6200.

Soaring airfares, sinking demand

By Mimi Hudoyo

August 8, 2019

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Travellers are grappling with high airfares in Indonesia, as the duopolistic market structure of the country’s aviation sector – dominated by national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and budget airline Lion Air – appears to keep domestic air ticket prices punitively high.

The domestic travel sector has borne the brunt of higher ticket prices, with domestic air traffic plunging 21.3 per cent between January and May 2019 from the same period last year, Statistics Indonesia showed.

Local travel businesses in Indonesia are suffering from airfare hikes (pictured: Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali)

Businesses are hit hard as the sky-high domestic airfares cut across travel sectors, with hotels reporting a drop in occupancy, and the home souvenir industry seeing lower revenues as travellers limit their check-in baggage.

Indonesia Hotels & Restaurants Association has already registered a 20-40 per cent drop in hotel occupancy for 1Q2019, which translates into “a decline in rooms and F&B revenue”, chairman Haryadi Sukamdani said.

Indonesian sellers that TTG Asia spoke with at the recent Bali and Beyond Travel Fair in June also had similar grouses.

Martinus Wawanda, general manager of boutique dive resort Cocotinos Manado, said: “The airfare between Manado and Bali used to be around Rp1.6 million (US$114), including 20kg baggage. Today, it is Rp2.4 million, including 15kg baggage.

“With limited direct international flights to Manado, we rely on arrivals from other parts of Indonesia, such as Bali, Jakarta or Makassar. As such, we have lost around 40 per cent of business this year,” she lamented.

Surging domestic airfares have also affected some inbound operators offering Indonesia round-trips.

“Our European clients are adventurers who travel to remote places like Kalimantan and Sulawesi, so we use many domestic flights to get from one point to another,” said Nawasier Tralala, travel consultant at Classic Tours, which sells tour packages and air tickets separately.

“Out of 12 bookings we have received, eight have cancelled or postponed because they needed to pay extra cost for their domestic flights and baggage fee – many of the secondary and third cities in the country are served by the Lion Air Group,” he said.

While Aneka Kartika Tours & Travel Services Surabaya has yet to experience any cancellations, the company had to fork out the balance for airfares as air tickets are incorporated into its tour packages.

Illustrating the impact, Adjie Wahjono, operation manager, said: “We have a confirmed booking from a 10-member French group for a Java-Sulawesi-Bali trip. Last year, when we calculated the trip for Surabaya (East Java)-Makassar (South Sulawesi) by Citilink, it was around Rp700,000. Now it costs Rp1.2 million.

“Baggage is free on Citilink, but from Palopo (South Sulawesi) to Bali, they can only fly Wings Air (an LCC under Lion Air Group), which now charges a luggage fee of Rp20,000 per kg. Just for the baggage, we need to cover four million rupiah, on top of the balance of the ticket price – and that is only one sector,” he added.

Furthermore, with Garuda recently cutting flights in secondary cities like Maumere and Ende (East Nusa Tenggara) from Denpasar, Adjie said the travel company had no choice but to change the flights to Wings Air, incurring additional baggage fees – previously there was no baggage charge with the Garuda Group.

For Sedona Holidays Medan, whose clients mostly arrive in Medan on direct flights and travel within North Sumatra, managing director Willy Sihombing said that his inbound business into Indonesia was not as badly hit as the domestic sector.

“But for some clients who combine with other destinations in the country, they opt to back-track to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur with non-Indonesian carriers and then onwards to, say, Jakarta, Bali or Yogyakarta, rather than flying direct from Medan, because it is cheaper that way,” Willy said.

Hasiyanna Ashadi, chairman of ASITA (Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies) Jakarta Chapter, said: “All this (turmoil) would not have happened if Garuda had not followed the LCCs in dropping rates in the first place. I had warned Garuda’s management five years ago that as a premium carrier, the airline should maintain its premium pricing instead of joining the price wars among the LCCs.”

The Indonesian government has attempted to rein in high airfares through a number of measures, including a proposal to allow foreign airlines to operate domestic routes.

On its part, the Ministry of Transportation (MOT) has reduced the airfare ceiling by 11 to 15 per cent.

Meanwhile, airlines and authorities have since July 11 started introducing discounted fares of up to 50 per cent off the ceiling price for flights departing between 10.00 and 14.00 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The price excludes taxes and other service charges.

Susiwijono, secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, said the discounted fares were made viable with cost-sharing among the airlines, airport authorities and fuel suppliers.

However, the travel trade still deems those efforts insufficient and seeks a better pricing model.

Nunung Rusmiati, chairman, ASITA, said: “Airlines should reopen the subclasses. Even if they only have a limited-time promotion with few seats, it will help clients psychologically. But with a high, single Y class price now, travellers back off.”

It’s unlikely the price ceiling can be lowered further, said Gede Pasek Suardika, MOT’s expert staff on economic, territorial and partnership affairs. Speaking at the recent ASITA National Dialogue, he said: “Reducing the ceiling price by 11 to 15 per cent is the maximum. Otherwise, it will violate the minimum safety standard. Putting cheap prices over safety isn’t an option – the stakes are too high.”

He added that during the meetings to discuss airfares with stakeholders, some airlines revealed that they were facing due dates for leasing payments.

“We must also realise that the Indonesian airlines are performing ‘national duties’ to support remote places in the country. Some airlines have said they were ready to drop the price if they ground their propeller fleet (which means flying to remote areas will cease),” Gede said.

While cheap domestic airfares had previously attracted hordes of domestic travellers to favour air over land and sea travel, the airfare hike has conversely prompted many to reconsider traditional modes of transport again, especially as Java and Sumatra now boast improved road connections with new toll roads.

State-owned shipping company Pelni has been improving its intra-island passenger and cruise ships, while state railway company Kereta Api Indonesia has introduced luxury sleeper cars on its Java routes.

“Buses, ships and trains have reported increasing businesses since the airfare hikes,” said Gede.

It is, however, unlikely that the travelling public would see airfares return to the level they enjoyed earlier as higher air ticket prices seem to have become the new norm.

Unfortunately, this airfare surge also comes at a time when Indonesia’s fast-growing tourism industry is already facing various headwinds such as the recent string of natural disasters in 2017 and 2018.

The art of not planning: Is there a price to spontaneity in travel?

By Xinyi Liang-Pholsena

August 8, 2019

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Once upon a time, travelling involved planning, lots of it. From visiting your local travel agency to enquire about specific packages to checking the newsletters classifieds for promotions, travel was largely a premeditated experience.

But now, it appears, we are turning our back on premeditated travelling, as mobile technology makes it possible for travellers to book flights, rooms and trips at the last minute, as information – and increasingly bookings – are readily available on the go. More and more people fancy themselves as ‘spontaneous’ travellers.

Take our recent road trip as a family of four, for example. My husband and I did not do much planning for our 4D3N trip across the central Thai provinces of Suphanburi, Singburi and Angthong, besides booking the hotels on Agoda a week prior to our trip. We looked up a few points of interest and marked them as ‘want to go’ places on Google Maps, but beyond that we did not have a firm itinerary even as we rolled out of the driveway.

Having a mobile navigation app made it possible for us to improvise our trip on the go. For instance, we arrived at Talat Nam Saphan Khong in Suphanburi on a Friday, only to discover that the floating market – which currently attracts hordes of Thai tourists with its giant fish-cage landmark – was closed on a weekday. What did we do next? We simply looked up the ‘near me’ feature on Google Maps and found a rustic but cute cafe nearby.

This reliance on Google Maps on suggestions on where to go, what to do and where to eat was repeated many times over the subsequent days of my trip.

In the age of last-minute and increasingly in-destination mobile bookings, it is hence critical that destinations, attractions or any tourism-related businesses have a Google My Business listing, which will enable a business to appear when a user searches for related tours and activities in his/her area, together with information about a business’ location, hours of operation, popular times and photos, etc.

Why does this matter? Because Google has entered the hot emerging tours and activities space to enable operators to accept bookings and payments through Reserve with Google, and has recently announced a revamp of its Trips page. Eventually, Google Trips, Google Search and Google Maps are expected to function seamlessly together to simplify travel planning from start to finish.

In the on-demand world we live in today, the increased access to information – clearly accelerated by mobile – appears to encourage greater spontaneity in travel as planning and decisions can be made on the fly. Or does it?

If Google gets any more powerful than it is now (and signs are already pointing to that), the sheer amount of data the tech goliath has on users can easily influence the way travellers seek out information and plan their trips, as marketers look to influence travellers along their purchase journey. When that happens, do we discover places, or do places discover us?

A thriving & contested marketplace

By Xinyi Liang-Pholsena

August 8, 2019

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OrgUV_Trv-05-Concept-RAW — concept. Bright vibrant violet vector isolated illustration

It’s a booming time for the travel experiences market. Not only have the tours, activities and attractions sector attracted global leaders in online bookings like Expedia, Booking.com and TripAdvisor Experiences into the fray, recent entrants such as Klook, Traveloka and Airbnb Experiences are also bringing rapidly changing distribution dynamics to tour operators and suppliers in the region.

As the fourth largest tourism sector in the region after airlines, hotels and rail, gross bookings for tours and activities in Asia-Pacific is expected to reach US$45 billion in 2019.

In Asia-Pacific, the tours and activities sector has been “significantly growing faster” than other regions, and is expected to post an average of seven per cent in the 2017-2022 period, versus four per cent in the US and three per cent in Europe for the same five-year period, according to Douglas Quinby, co-founder and CEO of Arival at its inaugural Asia conference in Bangkok in June.

Even the very staging of the Arival conference in Bangkok was itself testimonial to the coming of age of the tours and activities sector, a common refrain expressed by trade players at the event.

Unlocking new opportunities, revenue stream
As the tours, activities and attractions sector heats up, OTAs are fast emerging as key sales channel for many tour operators, particularly in Asia where a vast majority of traditional sellers and resellers are just beginning to distribute online.

BeMyGuest’s co-founder and CEO Blanca Menchaca said: “We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to online distribution. In Asia, a majority of tour operators are just starting to sell online, so a lot of activities are not even online yet.”

This growing influence of OTAs is readily acknowledged by many tours, activity and attractions operators.

For Aquaria KLCC, executive director Daryl Foong sees a natural partnership for the oceanarium with OTAs, whose extensive marketing reach help to bring in bookings.

“We’re a walk-through experience, therefore we want an OTA. I give them margins and they do marketing for us… OTAs bring a wide range of consumers to my aquarium,” he said.

Meanwhile, a partnership with OTA often translates to better and effective outreach to targeted markets than an SEO campaign on Google, particularly for smaller tour outfits with limited funds for digital marketing investment.

Hidden Secret Tours’ owner and co-founder Fiona Sweetman sees value in OTAs as a marketing platform. While the Melbourne-based boutique tour operator still relies on traditional agents to market its tours through their brochures, she said it’s a “conscious decision” to pick TripAdvisor Experiences as an online distribution channel.

It’s a similar sentiment shared by CityWonders’ business development director Eduard Marti. He said: “With shorter booking window for activities and more travellers even booking in destination, it’s important to work with OTAs as they have the funds to be listed among the top few listings on Google.”

With last-minute bookings becoming popular, OTAs actually provide “a way to maximise group sizes” and help fill up last few seats of a tour, said Grasshopper Adventures, CEO Adam Platt-Hepworth.

DMCs, many of which are making a push to become tech driven, are starting to explore OTAs as a new distribution channel too.

Nicola Scaramuzzino, Thailand country manager for Panorama Destination, views activities OTAs as “an extra distribution platform” and “new potential area”, coming critical at a time when DMCs recognise the need to evolve with changing times and get a better handle on digital distribution.

Likewise, Go Vacation Thailand’s director of business development Tobias Fischer also expressed an interest in online activities marketplaces.

He said: “Online tours platforms are definitely an interesting channel we’re exploring. We see it as a B2B2C channel where we can control our selling rates, although hotels may not like it if we out contract rates online.”

With wider access comes hefty commissions
As much as OTAs are driving new opportunities in the in-destination industry, challenges and issues like rampant discounting and hefty commissions (typically 20 per cent or higher) are among key concerns voiced out by sectoral players.

At present, Wahyu Mandiri Tour Bali’s director of sales Romida Marbun views the typical 20-25 per cent commission rates charged by OTAs as a “fair” treatment, in return for the “good volume” of bookings received through such online marketplaces than through the DMC’s own website. “If you want the European market, you go to Expedia; for Asian markets you go to Klook, Kkday and Ctrip,” she added.

On the other hand, Stephane Planchais, CEO and founder of Original Food Tours, has set a maximum commission fee he’s willing to pay activities OTAs, and thinks the 30 per cent rate applied by some as “ridiculous”.

With commission rates unlikely to go south anytime soon, Planchais foresees activities OTAs likely to gain more clout and push for increased rates in return for higher placements for tour operators.

But as OTAs scale up and become more competitive marketplaces, a challenge then is also finding the right products to sell on such platforms, shared Asian Trails’ group director marketing and ecommerce Niels Steeman.

“A challenge lies in whether products and experiences are not already loaded and selling (on these sites). The products a DMC wants to sell are often already displayed on these OTA channels, sometimes in abundance,” he remarked.

“It goes back then to finding niche products and novelty items that are not featured on these OTAs. This too depends heavily on the targeted market, as some products may not (yet) trigger booking tendencies because of the unfamiliarity of these new products.”

CityWonder.com’s Marti thinks it’s possible that suppliers would soon have to work their listings just like on Google. “We used to be in the top few listings but that could change as more products and operators get listed, although for the moment I need OTAs and I’m happy with our partnership,” he expressed.

Striking the right balance
As Asia’s distribution landscape becomes more dynamic and complex, it’s inevitable that travel operators have to develop strategies to manage their partnerships with OTAs, whose market share is still small. But it’s changing fast as OTAs look to increase their share of the pie.

Ultimately, the relationship with OTAs is about “finding a balance”, said Grasshopper Adventures’ Platt-Hepworth, emphasising on the need for tour operators to ensure a healthy portion of direct bookings.

Backing this view is Original Food Tours’ Planchais, who stressed the need to diversify distribution channels, as well as geographic and demographic markets to safeguard his business.

In the longer run, however, Planchais does not see OTAs a viable platform to build up a brand presence. Some OTAs have approached him to white-label tours from his boutique outfit, but he has turned down such requests. “We don’t offer white-label as well, as customers have to sign liability. We’re here to build the brand,” he remarked.

Also, Planchais thinks it’s necessary and prudent for tour operators to develop their own reservations technology systems and APIs to drive direct bookings – “which still make the most money” – in order to own their own data than relying on business insights from OTAs or external channel management sites.

Perhaps tours, activities and attractions players don’t have to look too far on how to handle their relationships with OTAs. The symbiotic yet tenuous relationship that hotels have with OTAs are reminders of how in-destination players should approach and manage their relationship with OTAs.

Meanwhile, Steeman firmly believes that the DMC remains and can become a strong player in the OTA segment, simply because of its “vertical integration of services to run and operate tours and activities”.

He remarked: “We’re still tailoring most of our requests to the specific wishes of our customers. We haven’t seen any major disruptor yet that offers the dynamics online to do this in Asia. The B2B customer demands a partner that can handle multi-day itineraries, cross-country travel options, rate negotiations where needed and so forth,” he said.

Travel consumers are currently buying day trips or experiences lasting a few hours on OTAs. Bringing multi-day tours online could very well be the “next phrase but we’re still a few years out”, Menchaca remarked.

What is clear is that Asia’s tours and activities marketplace is now heating up, and disruption is not far off. Watch this space.

Accor’s Singapore portfolio doubles in size following Fragrance Hotel deal

By TTG Asia

August 8, 2019

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Accor has inked a deal with Global Premium Hotels (GPHL), one of Singapore’s largest hotel chains, to franchise the latter’s 15 hotels, 13 of which were trading under the existing Fragrance Hotel brand and two under Parc Sovereign Hotel brand.

GPHL owns and manages the Parc Sovereign Hotel Brand and Fragrance Hotel Brand.

Accor’s new deal with GPHL will add a further 15 hotels to its Singapore portfolio (pictured: Fragrance Selegie poolside)

This new deal will add a further 15 hotels to Accor’s Singapore portfolio, taking the French hospitality group’s inventory to 30 hotels and 7,625 rooms in the city-state.

The 15 hotels will undergo asset enhancement initiatives to be in line with Accor global standards and will be rebranded to become one Mercure, one Ibis Styles and 13 Ibis Budget hotels.

Michael Issenberg, chairman & CEO Accor Asia Pacific, said: “Accor’s strong presence in and understanding of the Singapore market will be complemented by these additional hotels and with our proven expertise in mid-tier and economy hotel operations, we hope to bring added value to the owners.

“This deal is a great moment for our group as we are able to increase our Singapore presence significantly overnight with the addition of these 15 hotels/1621 rooms,” he added.

GPHL owner, James Koh, stated that the partnership is “indeed timely”, coming on the back of Singapore’s “buzzing hotel scene in recent years” and a “mid-tier hotel segment (that is) enjoying increasing popularity and strong growth figures”.

With the finalised deal, Accor will have 3,357 rooms – 1,840 in midscale and 2,428 in economy – in the luxury and premium space in Singapore.

Vistara plugs Jet Airways gap with global route expansion

By Pamela Chow

August 8, 2019

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Indian full-service carrier Vistara is kicking its international expansion into high gear, following the collapse of rival Jet Airways which opened up opportunities in India’s aviation network.

The airline commenced its first international flight connecting Delhi and Singapore on August 6, and its Mumbai-Singapore route began yesterday. Coming up later this month are flights connecting India to Dubai and Bangkok.

Vistara’s Leslie Thng said that the airline will focus on regional expansion in 2019

These three new destinations are the first of many to come under Vistara’s expansion plans, shared Leslie Thng, Vistara’s CEO.

“Our focus for 2019 is mainly on the short-haul destinations in South-east Asia, the Middle East and South Asia. We plan to fly to Europe by 2020,” he said, adding that Vistara has “plans eventually to fly to Australia non-stop”.

Currently, the airline connects 27 destinations with a fleet of 23 Airbus A320s and seven Boeing 737-800NG aircrafts. By end-August, it will welcome another two 737 units, and between September to December, nine A320 units. January to March next year will also see the addition of more A321s as well as the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The current fleet is on lease until 2023. Vistara intends to own a fleet of aircraft – specifically the 787 Dreamliner and A320s – and the company is confident it is able to “cross 100 aircraft in a number of years”.

Vistara is leveraging the demise of Jet Airways to expand its international network

Codeshare partnerships are another strategy for the extension of its global network. On top of its existing agreements with Japan Airlines, British Airways and United Airlines, the Indian carrier has recently expanded its partnership with Singapore Airlines (SIA), and is in talks with other airlines.

Under the expanded arrangement with SIA, Vistara plans to place its flight codes on 44 destinations across the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

However, the airline has no plans to join any air alliances so as to maintain its flexibility in choosing partners. Thng also said that Vistara’s fare structure will be “reasonable and aligned with the customer” and that the airline will not be competing in the low-cost segment.

“After Jet Airways (suspended its operations), the proportion of full-service capacity in the domestic and international markets has shifted. At this moment in the domestic market, we have about five per cent of the market share. It is dominated by LCCs. But India is a market that is growing, and demand for premium products will continue to grow,” Thng said.

Following the demise of Jet Airways, Vistara took an estimated 600 former staff of the airline under its wing.

Correction: The story earlier incorrectly stated that Vistara currently operates a fleet of 30 Airbus A320s; it has been updated to reflect the correct figure of 23.

Marriott dives into all-inclusive resort business

By TTG Asia

August 8, 2019

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Marriott International will be launching an all-inclusive platform to cater to the growing consumer desire for premium, worry-free vacations.

The hospitality giant has signed management contracts with hotel developers to invest more than US$700 million across five all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean and Latin America, which are opening between 2022 and 2025 and offer more than 2,000 rooms combined.

A rendering of Nia, the planned all-inclusive destination with four Marriott International brands, including The Ritz-Carlton and Westin Hotels

Tony Capuano, Marriott’s executive vice president and global chief development officer, said: “Our new all-inclusive resort platform is a natural progression for Marriott International. It will provide the ownership community a game-changing value proposition for their premium resort projects around the world, while providing guests a new vacation option with brands they trust.”

Marriott International plans to further expand its all-inclusive portfolio in popular, leisure destinations worldwide with a mix of new-build properties and conversions of existing resorts, including properties currently in the Marriott International portfolio. The new platform will provide Marriott’s more than 130 million Marriott Bonvoy members the option to earn and redeem points at this convenient, pay-one-price concept.

The planned resorts include the 650-room Autograph Collection resort (2022 anticipated opening) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and the NIA in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico, which comprises the 240-room The Ritz-Carlton resort (2023 anticipated opening), 400-room Westin Hotels resort (2023 anticipated opening), 300-room Autograph Collection resort (2025 anticipated opening) and 500-room Marriott Hotels resort (2025 anticipated opening).

NIA is a flagship, all-inclusive destination to feature four of Marriott International’s premium and luxury brand experiences in Riviera Nayarit. The project is slated to rise on 89ha along the Pacific Coast.

Given growing demand for premium and luxury all-inclusive stays, Marriott International plans to build its platform by leveraging seven of its full-service and luxury brands: The Ritz-Carlton, Luxury Collection, Marriott Hotels, Westin Hotels, W Hotels, Autograph Collection and Delta by Marriott.

Guests will enjoy a distinctive all-inclusive vacation experience – along with the design aesthetic, culinary offerings and amenities – that are specific to each brand. All-inclusive resorts bearing the Marriott Hotels brand, for instance, would cater primarily to families, while resorts bearing the W brand would cater to adults.

Marriott International’s all-inclusive resorts will offer a variety of amenities, culinary options and experiences for all ages, and tailored for each brand. For adults, all-inclusive amenities may include fitness and spa facilities, reservation-free dining at gourmet restaurants, adult-only pools with swim-up bars, 24-hour room service, on-premises nightclubs and unlimited premium beverage programs. Family-oriented resorts may offer options such as water sports and other sport activities, innovative children’s and teen clubs, theatres, children’s spa options and multiple entertainment venues.

WebBeds and Sichuan enter MoU to boost China’s inbound tourism

By TTG Asia

August 8, 2019

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B2B accommodation provider WebBeds has sealed an MoU with Sichuan Tourism Investment JinJiang Hotel (STIJH) to promote the south-western Chinese province across its global network of B2B travel partners.

A state-owned enterprise, STIJH runs many of the province’s most popular hotels, including the flagship Sichuan JinJiang Hotel in downtown Chengdu that has hosted many Chinese leaders and celebrities over the years.

WedBeds’ Daryl Lee inks deal with Sichuan Tourism Investment Jinjiang Hotel’s Jin Li to boost number of tourists to China

Under the MoU, WebBeds will distribute STIJH’s entire collection of hotels to its B2B clients worldwide. This will put the hotel group in direct contact with many regional travel agencies, enhancing its ability to engage with international guests – a key strategic objective for both the company and Sichuan province.

“WebBeds currently sees a disparity between inbound and outbound tourist numbers in China, and Sichuan province is no exception. This important new partnership will not only provide our travel trade clients with an exceptional collection of hotels in Sichuan (but) will also help the region attract more guests from new, as-yet-untapped markets,” said Daryl Lee, CEO Asia-Paciic, WebBeds.

He added: “Looking forward, we want to invest in marketing China as an attractive destination to travellers around the world. We firmly believe that by raising awareness of the many leisure offerings Sichuan has to offer, we can help to address the inbound-outbound imbalance. WebBeds wants to work with our stakeholders across China to play a pivotal role in the growth of China’s inbound tourism sector, in Sichuan and beyond. We encourage hotels in China to join us on this exciting journey.”

“This MoU is a genuine win-win for all parties. At present, Sichuan mostly receives domestic and corporate travellers, so this agreement represents a step forward in our efforts to welcome more international leisure guests,” said Yan Xue Wei, chairman, STIJH.

Following this initial MoU with STIJH, WebBeds is now in discussions with Sichuan Tourism Board to promote the destination, initially to its B2B clients across Asia Pacific.

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