Asian Travels Network's Facebook page; one of its latest posts advertising online bookings through its Dhaka-based partner, whose website is still up
Singapore’s Asian Travels Network has been suspended from conducting travel agent activities from April 4, 2019 until further notice, in accordance with the Travel Agents Act (Chapter 334).
The suspension is a result of the company’s failure to submit its audited statement of accounts within six months after the close of its financial year, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a notice.
Asian Travels Network’s Facebook page; one of its latest posts advertises online bookings through its Dhaka-based partner, whose website is still up
The submission of audited accounts is a requirement under the Travel Agents Regulations. STB explained that failure to do so within the stipulated deadline raises concern over a company’s ability to meet the minimum financial requirements as mandated under the law.
During the period of suspension, Asian Travels Network is required to fulfil its existing obligations to its customers, but will not be allowed to accept new travel bookings.
A new initiative spearheaded by Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development (ATEED) is encouraging youths to consider a career in tourism to help address the growing skills shortages facing New Zealand’s largest export industry.
Go with Tourism aims to shift the perceptions many young people have about careers in tourism and provides a platform to connect talent with potential employers.
More youth need to join the tourism industry to plug the shortage
A soft launch of the platform began last month – including cinema advertising, and promotional material around the city in the form of bus backs and posters – has already generated significant activity, according to ATEED. More than 300 young people have already registered their interest, and more than 100 employers are set up to be matched with job-seekers.
Steve Armitage, ATEED general manager – destination, says getting more young people into tourism is one of the key strategic imperatives to emerge from the Destination AKL 2025 strategy and is critical to supporting the sustainable growth of Auckland’s and New Zealand’s visitor economy.
“The industry is facing growing skills shortages to support the record numbers of visitors coming here, yet there is a strong pool of young people across the country – one in every eight – who are not working or in study,” he says. “We need to better connect with this untapped talent so that we can get them into quality jobs and grow our region’s existing and emerging tourism businesses.
“Go with Tourism introduces a new platform to promote the stories of young people who are already making their way in the world and enables those who are still considering their career paths to explore the wide range of long-term employment opportunities within the tourism sector.”
Tourism is New Zealand’s largest export industry, and with international visitor numbers increasing every year, an estimated 36,000 additional tourism workers are needed throughout the country by 2025 to meet growing demand.
“We know that this initiative itself will not solve all of these challenges and further advocacy work is necessary if we are to successfully attract the talent the sector is crying out for. This will include further engagement with central government about how tourism can be better recognised in the school curriculum and reflected in policy development,” said Armitage.
A nationwide research project led by ATEED and Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) was commissioned last year to discover what New Zealanders, particularly young people, think about working in tourism. The resulting report, Tourism Youth Perceptions, found that there is stigma associated with the industry.
Tourism Youth Perceptions also found that parents, who have the biggest influence on their child’s career path, tend to have limited understanding of the breadth and depth of opportunities within the tourism sector.
As well as attracting young talent to the tourism industry, Go with Tourism will provide employers with insights and supporting resources to share best practice on attracting, recruiting and retaining youth.
Kimpton Da An, Taiwan
Kimpton Da An Hotel has opened in Taipei’s Da’an District, giving the brand its first operating property in Asia. The hotel features 129 rooms and the brand’s signature elements such as in-room yoga mats, a Morning Kick-Starter and the daily social hour for guests to mingle. Guests can also take part in wellness morning yoga on the rooftop, free fitness and wellness classes or explore the city with complimentary bicycles. For F&B, the hotel offers The Tavernist, which embraces Taiwan’s organic movement and works closely with local farmers and food producers.
Nam Nghi Phu Quoc, Vietnam
The Unbound Collection by Hyatt made its South-east Asia debut with Nam Nghi Phu Quoc. Nestled within an oasis surrounded by beaches, the resort offers 51 villas and 63 guestrooms. There are four F&B venues: all-day-dining restaurant Ocean Reflection, Tree House for contemporary Vietnamese and Thai dining under a banyan tree, and the Rock Island Club, located on its own island a short boat ride from the resort. Other facilities include a spa, outdoor pool, fitness centre and kids’ club, while activity options such as paddleboarding, kayaking, cycling and pontoon boat tours are also available.
Favehotel Sidoarjo – East Java, Indonesia
Favehotel Sidoarjo in East Java has joined Archipelago International’s portfolio of 51 favehotels. Located within the city’s CBD and 25 minutes from the Juanda International Airport, the hotel offers easy access to nearby Surabaya and aims to serve as a base for business travellers in the area. favehotel Sidoarjo offers 118 guestrooms, including 16 suites with city views, the Raflesia Ballroom for over 600 guests, four meeting rooms (166m2 or 118m2).
St Regis Hong Kong
St Regis Hong Kong is now welcoming guests, having just opened in the city’s Wan Chai district. It offers 112 rooms and 17 suites ranging from 50m2 to 240m2 in size. Dining concepts include two restaurants by Michelin-star chefs – L’Envol for French haute cuisine and Rùn, for Chinese fine-dining – an all-day dining restaurant and The St Regis Bar. For meetings and events, the hotel has 1,115m2 of across five venues, counting The Astor Ballroom, which spans 518m2 with a cathedral high ceiling design and enjoys direct lift access from the 72-bay private carpark, and the Rockefeller Room for corporate meetings or more intimate gatherings. Other facilities include an outdoor veranda, heated swimming pool and poolside bar, as well as a health club with a spa treatment room.
The Fantauzzo, Australia
The Fantauzzo, an Art Collection hotel inspired by Australian painter Vincent Fantauzzo, has opened within Brisbane’s new cultural hub, Howard Smith Wharves. Carved into the cliff under the iconic Story Bridge, The Fantauzzo is said to be a blend of architecture, nature and art. The six-storey hotel offers 66 suites, a relaxed Italian eatery Polpetta on the ground floor, a rooftop pool and bar, gym and function rooms. Seven original artworks and 500 giclée prints feature throughout the hotel, while guests can enjoy complimentary art tours, in-room art channels and libraries to get up close and personal with Fantauzzo’s work.
As the traditional New Year in several South-east Asia approaches, TTG Asia would like to wish our readers in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos a happy Songkran, Thingyan, Moha Sangkran Chhnam Thmey Khmer and Pi Mai Lao.
DMOs are also taking the opportunity to invite travellers to visit these countries to experience the traditional merit-making and modern-day revelry associated with the Water Festival.
Thingyan in Myanmar
During the Burmese New Year Water Festival (April 13-17), key tourist destinations will boast their own celebrations, including the inaugural floating Thingyan festival in the Inle Lake featuring thousands of boats and barges at Inle Cultural Heritage Trust Complex in Nyaung Shwe, and Yangon’s first-ever Inya Splash Walk, taking place on the Inya Road with celebrities, entertainment, food vendors and other activities, according to Myanmar Tourism Marketing.
Thailand, meanwhile, is using Songkran to promote tourism in such emerging destinations like Tak, Mukdahan and Ranong, as well as supporting activities in eight other provinces (Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Ayutthaya, Phuket and Songkhla) to showcase local traditions of the annual Thai water festival.
“Thailand’s emerging destinations and secondary cities have a unique charm that is often found in smaller towns around the world. Some traditions are maintained in these places that might have faded in larger more established destinations like Bangkok or Pattaya,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand.
FlowRider and Skydiving simulator on the Spectrum of the Seas, the first of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship
With cruise penetration in some fast-growing markets in South-east Asia as low as 0.02 per cent in recent times, education is an important next step for the region’s travel agents to expand their revenue horizons.
FlowRider and Skydiving simulator on the Spectrum of the Seas, the first of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship
Cruise passengers originating from Asia crossed the four million mark in 2017, up 20.6 per cent over 2016, and as of late last year was the world’s fourth largest cruising region, said Jiali Wong, regional manager, Asia, Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) during a travel agent seminar held by the association during ITB Asia.
While China is the region’s largest source market, Wong pointed out that “almost every market in Asia saw double-digit growth”.
The statistics reflect healthy consumer interest in a region where travellers are starting to “recognise cruise holidays as a relaxing and value-for-money option”. It also helps that cruise is “a natural fit” for families, a key travel segment in Asia, she pointed out.
Indeed, family travel presents a lucrative segment for cruises in Asia, according to Steve Odell, senior vice president and managing director Asia Pacific, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
“One of the most important trends that we (are seeing) in Asia is multi-generational travel. A lot of times in Asia it’s the grandparents hosting the family, and we have big extended family groups coming out from most markets, particularly Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand,” he commented.
Cruising a last bastion for agents
Said Wong: “Unlike a lot of travel segments, where consumers are starting to book direct, travel agents remain a key distribution channel for cruise lines.
Costa Venezia
“In fact, the majority of cruises have over 80 per cent of their products listed by travel agencies. This translates to potential for travel agents to tap into the cruising segment to increase sales,” she added.
Cruise lines are also stressing the key role that agents play in the distribution and booking of cruises.
“The airline and the hotel business have educated travellers to book online but agents still play a major role in our booking process because a cruise is a more invested experience (than a car ride or flight),” said Odell.
“Agents still have a fundamental role in the booking process because people have a lot of questions about cruises. We have online booking tools, and a growing number will book online, but these will be second- and third-time cruisers who are over the line of what they are buying,” he continued.
For Genting Cruise Lines, OTAs are responsible for just 17 per cent of bookings in China, but this is already a good deal ahead of any other country in the world in terms of online distribution, according to Siv Forlie, senior vice president – revenue management. “All in all, 75-85 per cent of business comes from agencies, online and offline,” she added.
Although Genting is “working very hard” to push online sales with e-commerce strategies and website revamps, she said the online format is often a “disaster for selling cruises” due to the amount of content that needs to be displayed for consumers to make a decision.
“When it comes to still being dependent on third parties, traditional partners are not moving as fast into the Internet age, although we tell them the Internet is here to stay.”
Plugging the knowledge gap
Amid the cruising boom in Asia, penetration rate in some fast-growing markets in South-east Asia remain as low as 0.02 per cent, underscoring the need for the region’s travel agents to enhance their product knowledge and marketing capabilities to tap the growth potentials.
Dining on board World Dream
CLIA’s Wong stressed that travel agents “need to be more cruise-educated by taking the next step to familiarise themselves with products”. CLIA is stepping up support for travel agents looking to sell cruises, through training and accreditation as well as sharing resources such as marketing toolkits.
Having joined forces with the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents in November 2018, CLIA Asia is stepping up its efforts to drive cruise education and awareness in Malaysia with its latest MoU signing with Malaysia Cruise Industry Association (MCIA).
“CLIA Asia’s mandate is to provide essential training, resources and support to travel agents in the region. Globally, we see that cruise markets with the highest market penetration have the most “cruise educated” travel agents,” Joel Katz, CLIA Australasia & Asia managing director said.
The partnership with MCIA with provide CLIA with the opportunity to better equip members with better skills to promote and sell cruise holidays, while MCIA will leverage CLIA’s expertise to educate their travel agent members and raise the profile of cruise tourism.
Cruise leaders can’t stress enough the value that this sector brings for specialist advisors.
Seeing “huge opportunity” for agents, Odell said: “Agents in the region haven’t been brave enough to say they are cruise specialists. Australia is quite a sophisticated cruise market with a lot of cruise specialists, and they are people who say they only sell cruises. But in Asia it’s still a big issue – and a big opportunity,” he remarked.
“Agents should also think what they can potentially earn from selling cruises. We are quite often an inclusive product where they are earning higher value commissions, (compared what they make from hotels and airfares). With cruising they are generally selling four to five days of travel – we pay very generous commissions.”
Odell hence urges travel agents to “find the right partner, utilise the resources that partner can give you and become a specialist”.
“It’s about partnerships – agents can’t do it on their own, and we can’t do it on our own. There’s a lot of money to be made (in cruising),” he stressed.
Indonesia: low penetration translates to growth opportunities
In Indonesia, the outbound cruise market was showing an alluring 40.2 per cent year-on-year growth, Wong shared last year. Yet, the most recently published figures from CLIA showed that one in 5,600 Indonesians were cruising, putting the penetration rate at only 0.017 per cent.
The knowledge gap and lack of cruises departing from the country’s key outbound travel cities are major obstacles, according to some travel agents polled.
Selayar Kepulauan Lestari – which has been offering yacht and cruise itineraries out of Bali, servicing mainly European travellers – is now pivoting into Indonesia’s outbound cruising market.
Company spokesperson Iwan Syahlani shared with TTG Asia plans to undergo the association’s accreditation programme to steer his company into the cruising market.
He said: “(As the numbers show), there is a large potential market of Indonesians wanting to enjoy cruising around the world.”
“Unlike in Singapore, there is (little) happening in Indonesia to educate travel agents and help them better understand cruise tourism,” Iwan said, adding that he would like to learn more about cruise products before rolling out marketing campaigns in “big city markets” like Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya.”
Apart from CLIA’s training and accreditation, Iwan was also pursuing learning opportunities with a Jakarta-based consultant in cruise line marketing.
Further highlighting the importance of education for travel agent is the proliferation of cruise products in the region, not only in terms of capacity but also the types of offerings available.
“Ships are moving more and more to the east. This year we’ll see almost 38 cruise lines represented in Asia with more than 78 ships. There is also more variation in the types of cruise products,” CLIA’s Wong pointed out. For example, in addition to large ships, small luxury cruising is also catching on in Asia.
But for Katarina Indrawati, EMFA Tours & Travel in Indonesia, product knowledge and marketing alone are insufficient to help sell cruises to Indonesians.
Cruise sales are just beginning to come in at the agency, which offers Royal Caribbean and Genting cruises. In 2017, she said customers were seeking information on the products. By late 2018, they began making bookings.
“It took a long time to provide the information and (convert into sales),” she said, explaining that the lack of cruise departures from Indonesia’s main outbound travel cities is a big obstacle, particularly as fly-cruise could still be relatively pricey for her clients at the moment.
“It’ll absolutely help if we have cruises departing from (primary outbound cities). I think there are little to none (other than from Bali) for now. Genting stops in Surabaya, but it is not the point of departure. Indonesian cruisegoers would have to buy tickets to Singapore and back, on top of the cruise product.”
“Air tickets can sometimes be priced quite high. Cruises set the schedule, so we have to buy the ticket accordingly and cannot rely on (seasonal) airfare discounts.” – Additional reporting from Xinyi Liang-Pholsena
Boracay has reclaimed its pristine allure six months after it reopened to tourists, its cesspool tag a thing of the past as tourists rave over the island’s clear waters and clean white beaches.
Even Simon Ang, managing director – operations of Celebrate TLC, who shunned Boracay for years as it became desecrated by mass tourism, began bringing in domestic tourists to the popular island.
Large improvements have been made to Boracay
“I will start sending my international clients once the rehabilitation is completed,” Ang shared.
Road and sewerage construction are expected to complete in December. The first phase of the rehabilitation, which forced Boracay’s half-year shutdown from April 26 to October 26 last year, focussed mainly on the clean-up of waters and beaches and enforcing strict compliance with the environmental and related regulations.
Now, six months since its reopening, Boracay boasts a cleaner beachfront and waters, while illegal establishments including West Cove Resort were demolished. Accommodations with 50 rooms or more are required to have their own sewerage treatment plants (STP), while those with 49 rooms and below can use a clustered STP or separate STP. Setback regulations call for the implementation of establishments’ 25m+5m easement from the shore and 6m easement from centre of the road.
On March 20, the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force reported that 326 hotels with combined 11,943 rooms have complied with rules and regulations, and are now able to accept bookings and reservations. They are part of the estimated 15,000 rooms in over 500 hotels and other accommodations.
With the carrying capacity for Boracay now set at 19,215 tourists at any time, it also brings to issue the implementation of the carrying capacity given the room oversupply on the island.
Was the rehabilitation a success?
Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) research fellow Mark Francis Quimba isn’t sure if Boracay’s closure is considered a success, as evaluation is difficult without a proper study or analysis launched.
In his presentation during Rajah Travel’s Travel Talk forum last month, he said: “If you look at just pictures and anecdotal evidence, perhaps there are big improvements in how the beach looks now but we have to look deeper in terms of income of those living in the area and the types of business (allowed)”.
The costs of the six-month closure were enormous and the chain reaction long. PIDS reported that in closing Boracay, the economy lost up to 83.2 billion pesos (roughly US$1.6 billion) in business revenue and 27.9 billion pesos ($530 million) in compensation to displaced workers.
Narzalina Lim, founder of tourism and hospitality consultants Asia Pacific Projects, noted the “enormous social cost” of the shutdown, including “the displacement of many people who lost their jobs and livelihood and whose families were dislocated (children had to leave school, etc)”.
Lim, the Philippines’ tourism undersecretary for planning, policy and development for six years before becoming the tourism secretary, said she would have handled Boracay’s rehabilitation differently.
“I would have held several town hall meetings to show the local government officials, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the private sector stakeholders what went wrong with the environment and presented a phased approach to rehabilitation,” said Lim.
“A consensus should have been reached amongst all stakeholders on how the rehabilitation was going to be done and time given for people to prepare alternatives if their establishments were going to be affected by the rehabilitation”, she pointed out.
And more could be done regarding waste disposal and street flooding, Lim maintained, as the open dumpsite up the hill on the island’s north is still operating and causes groundwater contamination when it rains, while garbage barged to the mainland sometimes falls into the sea.
“This is an unsustainable system,” she remarked. Most critically, the importance of educating the people was overlooked in the rehabilitation of Boracay, insisted Lim.
“You have to rehabilitate people’s values, attitudes and outlook too to make any physical rehabilitation sustainable. As long as people are just strong-armed into following orders without understanding and appreciating why things have to be done a certain way, they will go back to their old ways,” she remarked.
“An essential component to the rehabilitation should be an ongoing educational drive amongst school children, youth and adults on the importance of their natural resources and their role in preserving these resources,” she emphasised.
What lies ahead
Boracay faces several challenges in the short run and long term. It did not lack redevelopment plans including three master plans by the Department of Tourism, although rules and regulations were either not implemented or followed by establishments, said industry watchers.
Apart from difficulties with enforcement, allegations of corruption have also been left unaddressed, with Lim claiming misdoings involving government officials and profiteering developers and investors.
Lim did not mince words: “I am disappointed that no official from the DENR has been jailed so far. They issued environmental compliance certificates and permits to build on wetlands and forest land. Cases should have been filed against them. Instead, they were just transferred to other posts. This is a case of selective justice which does not make the political will of this administration credible.”
In spite of calls to limit the number of cruise ships that call on the island over concerns of low tourist expenditure and environmental impact, a 1,001-room mega hotel and construction of casinos were earlier approved for the island.
C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett noted: “It’s hypocrisy to say no to cruising and yes to large casino-led developments on the island which will impact environment.
“Boracay remains a mixed message as the government has said they want a sustainable approach, yet they have approved mega hotel projects. There is no yin and yang, but an absolute disconnect,” Barnett observed.
“As global population continues to grow, and now at seven billion, the reality is that Boracay like Bali, Phuket and other mainstream Asian resort destinations are feeling the impact of urbanisation and overtourism.”
Barnett said: “The Boracay of 2030 will be an urban resort and not an island getaway. How it plans for that future will be the basis of success.”
Operations have returned to normal for Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, following a fire that broke out in the adjoining CentralWorld shopping mall yesterday afternoon, said Centara Hotels & Resorts CEO Thirayuth Chirathivat in a statement.
In the statement, Thirayuth informed that Centara Grand hotel was not affected by the incident, and although no damage occurred to the property, all guests and employees were yesterday evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Centara Grand at CentralWorld
“The hotel remained vacated until the relevant authorities declared the complex fully safe and we are pleased to tell you that it is now once again business as usual at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld,” Thirayuth stated.
The hotel chief also expressed his sincerest condolences to the families who lost their lives and the 15 people injured by smoke inhalation.
The deadly blaze, which took place on the eighth floor of CentralWorld, killed two people and caused injuries to 20 others, mostly from smoke inhalation, according to local media reports.
CentralWorld has also issued a letter to inform that it would open today at 14.00.
Lam: while terminal upgrades are underway, there are plans for a SkyCity development that 'goes far beyond' the traditional concept of a shopping mall with options for retail, dining and entertainment as well as offices and hotels
As long-time regional rival Changi Airport gears up to open Jewel, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is set to undergo an expansion driven by a vision to transform the gateway into a destination in itself while coping with the anticipated increase in air traffic.
A central tenet of HKIA’s expansion plans is driven by passenger experience, including connecting to the 25ha Skycity mega integrated development – set to be completed in phases between 2023-2027 – as well as the acquisition of AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) last September, said Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), CEO, Fred Lam, speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ACI WAGA conference in Hong Kong last week.
Lam: while terminal upgrades are underway, there are also plans for SkyCity, which ‘goes far beyond’ the traditional concept of a shopping mall, with office and hotel spaces
Lam said: “The concept (of Skycity) goes far beyond the traditional notion of a shopping mall and will provides a full range of retail, dining and entertainment facilities plus offices and hotels. Right next to it is AWE which offers a wide range of facilities for conventions, exhibitions, entertainment and sporting events.”
“We took over the management (of AWE) recently and put together a plan to further expand the facility and space in order to capture growth and demand for entertainment and high-profile consumer events, making our airport a destination in itself,” he elaborated.
The airport chief is also hopeful of a wider market catchment in the Greater Bay Area that enhanced connectivity has brought.
With enhanced access to mainland China that the new infrastructure has brought, Lam is also hopeful of a wider Greater Bay Area market catchment.
He said: “We forecast air traffic demand will continue to grow in the coming years and to capitalise on that, we are expanding terminal capacity and services.”
In the immediate pipeline is the complete overhaul of Terminal 1 (T1), while in the longer term there plans to construct an additional runway, a new passenger concourse with 57 parking stands, and new automated people mover and baggage handling system.
“The construction works are on track for the new facilities to commence operation in 2024,” Lam shared.
AAHK also kick-started a slew of upgrades and rejuvenations of existing terminals. The new annex building scheduled to open in October 2019 next to T1 offers an additional check-in aisle with over 40 new counters and self-service bag drop; East Hall Food Court will have a new look and new outlets, a children’s playground and open air garden; as well as the Sky Bridge connecting T1 with the North Satellite Concourse.
From sea to air connection, the number of city check-in terminals within GBA will increase from 16 to 29 in future.
Trade players are eagerly anticipating the new opportunities that the long-awaited Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) will bring, when the 210,000m2 facility finally completes its first phase of development and starts operations at the end of April.
Devy Suradji, director of marketing and service of the state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I (AP I), explained in an official press statement: “Construction of YIA’s runway and terminal is almost complete, and we are targeting to operate six international flights, two return services from Singapore, and four flights to and from Kuala Lumpur.”
Kalibiru, Yogyakarta
Airlines from Qatar, Turkey, the UAE, Japan and Australia have also expressed interest in opening direct flights to the new airport.
YIA will have a 3,250m by 45m runway, which will be able to accommodate wide-body aircraft and 300 landing slots. The new airport has a capacity of 14 million passengers per year, nine times the capacity of existing Adisutjipto International Airport.
Development of the new gateway is expected to complete by the end of year, Devy added.
He said: “When the airport is fully operated, we will relocate 30 per cent of domestic flights and all international flights from Adisutjipto Airport. This is expected to reduce the burden on Adisutjipto Airport, which serves about 8.4 million passengers annually.”
Adisutjipto Airport is currently the backbone of Yogyakarta tourism, but its capacity has come under strain and delays frequent amid tourism’s rapid growth.
According to AP 1, the ideal capacity of Adisucipto Airport is 1.7 million passengers per year. However, the airport’s passenger flow has reached 8.4 million people in 2018 with 188 domestic flights and six international flights per day.
Denny Ristyanto, director of sales and marketing of Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel, believes the new airport would be a game changer for Yogyakarta.
He said: “YIA has undoubtedly become an important force in leading the development of Yogyakarta’s tourism sector and will definitely increase inbound travellers.”
Udhi Sudiyanto, owner of Antar Anda Tour and Travel, is optimistic that YIA will become tourism hub in Java Island, after Jakarta. “YIA may become a main (gateway) for Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang (Joglosemar),” he said.
But Widodo Nugroho, owner of Jogja Geowisata, has other concerns. “The distance from the Yogyakarta city centre to the new airport is about one to two hours by car (under the current road structure). In addition, the main road to the new airport is still narrow, there is only one lane for four-wheeled vehicles. If the government does not immediately expand the road and build a highway (the city has been planning), this will disrupt tourists’ comfort.”
Until the local government shows its commitment to improve road infrastructure and attract international airlines, Yogyakarta won’t be able to fully reap the benefits the new airport will bring, said Denny.
“It may take three or four year to see the impact, as tourism stakeholders still expect a number of improvements in infrastructure such as the construction of road access in Yogyakarta,” he remarked.
Viking's Torstein Hagen with China Merchants Group's Gangfeng Fu
Viking and China Merchants Shekou, a flagship subsidiary promoting cruise port development under the state-owned China Merchant Group, have signed an MoU to form a joint venture to build a cruise line for the Chinese market.
“This will be a full scale, multi-dimensional cooperation that covers all three main business sectors of China Merchants Group”, said Gangfeng Fu, president of the group.
Viking’s Torstein Hagen with China Merchants Group’s Gangfeng Fu
The partnership will range from product development to sales and marketing. As part of the agreement, China Merchants Group’s shipbuilding subsidiaries will design and build new ocean cruise ships.
Commented Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking: “China is a dynamic outbound tourism market… Our partnership with China Merchants Group will allow us to bring this Viking travel lifestyle to more Chinese travellers more quickly, satisfying the Chinese market’s unmet demand for a greater choice of sophisticated travel.”
Viking operates a current fleet of 78 vessels, offering cruising on rivers and oceans around the world. China has been a part of Viking’s destination portfolio since 2003. Since setting up local operations in China in 2016, the company has seen strong momentum in its European river cruise product tailored for Chinese-speaking guests.
