Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is scheduled to launch the Maldives’ first Radisson Blu resort in 1Q2019, after recently signing a management agreement with Singapore-incorporated developer Chang Hua Holdings.
Located on the southern part of Maldives’ Alifu Dhaalu Atoll, Radisson Blu Resort Maldives is situated 105km from Male International Airport, and is accessible by a 30-minute seaplane journey or by a domestic flight from the Maamigili Airport, followed by a 15-minute speedboat ride to the resort.
The resort scheduled for opening in 2019
The resort will feature 128 villas including family villas, and a premium overwater villa; a sea sports and dive centre; a yoga pavilion and spa.
Carlson Rezidor’s Asia-Pacific portfolio includes 117 hotels in operation, including 51 Radisson Blu hotels.
Inspiring product managers and tour operators with lesser travelled destinations
Khiri Travel has announced its Asia Creative Series – eight new travel routes in South-east Asia with an emphasis on people and locations that are largely untouched by tourism.
Willem Niemeijer, the founder of Khiri Travel, said the new Asia Creative Series varies from 10 to 21 days and immerses guests in travel experiences, often cross-border, in Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Laos and Cambodia.
Inspiring product managers and tour operators with lesser travelled destinations
For example, there is a 10-day trip through lesser-seen Sri Lanka, starting in Anamaduwa, ending in Kotugoda; or see the best of remote Indochina on a 16-day discovery trip from Luang Prabang to Hanoi.
The biggest trip is a 21-day odyssey around the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, starting in Bali and ending in Gili Meno.
The series also delivers in-depth experiences on circular trips starting and finishing in Bangkok and Yangon. Vietnam, Bali and Myanmar are fully represented too.
‘Overtourism’ is a vexing issue, said Niemeijer. “As tourism is booming in Asia, pressure is mounting on sustainability and capacity at certain places. Khiri wants to encourage visitor dispersal to where tourism visitation is limited.”
He added: “While these tours go very local, almost all overnights are possible in comfortable, or even luxury accommodations, making these tours accessible for a broad selection of travellers.”
Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel
Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel has opened its doors, giving the city its first Marriott branded hotel. With 347 guestrooms and suites, Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel features what’s said to be the largest club lounge in town; a spa; exercise room; outdoor swimming pool; all-day dining Yogyakarta Kitchen; the Taman Sari Bar & Grill specialty restaurant which looks out to the hotel pool; and a lobby lounge. Meetings and events facilities include a pillarless ballroom, which at 1,870m2 is the largest in Yogyakarta, a boardroom, seven meeting rooms and several pre-function areas. The hotel is located 20 minutes away from Adi Sutjipto International Airport and an hour from UNESCO World Heritage Site The Borobudur Temple.
Mövenpick Suriwongse Hotel Chiang Mai
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has launched the brand’s first property in Chiang Mai, located a 10-minute drive from Chiang Mai International Airport and 10km from Chiang Mai National Convention & Exhibition Centre. Mövenpick Suriwongse Hotel Chiang Mai offers 266 rooms across seven categories, namely Classic, Superior, Deluxe, Premier, Junior Suite, Suites, and Family Suites.
The hotel offers F&B options including at all-day dining venue Feung Fah Restaurant for Thai and international cuisines; Le Bistrot serving Italian-Thai fusion food and featuring a terrace looking out to the Night Bazaar; a lobby bar; a rooftop pool bar; and Sweet House for coffee and pastries. Two multifunctional venues are available on the property, including a ballroom for up to 400 pax.
Hilton Garden Inn Hangzhou Lu’niao
A Hilton Garden Inn property has opened its doors in Hangzhou’s Lu’niao Town, 45km from the city centre. Hilton Garden Inn Hangzhou Lu’niao features 230 rooms, including nine deluxe suites and eight family guest rooms with separate living rooms, a 24-hour gym, an outdoor pool and a self-service laundromat.
The hotel also houses 720m2 of multi-functional space, including five meeting rooms and a 365m2 banquet hall. F&B options include Garden Grille for Asian and international cuisines; The Noodle Bar; The Garden Lounge; and The Pavilion Pantry, which offers takeaway drinks, snacks and microwaveable meals around the clock.
Cordis, Auckland
The Langham, Auckland has been rebranded to Cordis, Auckland, currently in the midst of a complete renovation. Enhancements include the addition of a “Double-Double” category to the hotel’s Superior and Deluxe rooms, which allows guests to opt for two double beds. Suites with kitchenettes will also be introduced to cater to families, independent travellers and long-staying guests.
Also newly refurbished is the 75-seater Lobby Lounge, which now serves up the Cordis High Tea of sweets and pastries complemented with a tea sommelier service, as well as three special Cordis-curated craft beers. Other new features include Handy smart phones all guests; free-to-book eZee electric bikes; and a programme of activities for children under 12. All 411 guestrooms and suites and the lobby will be refurbished by February 2018.
Le Méridien Seoul
Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts has launched its first South Korean property, a 336-key hotel in Bongeunsa-ro, one of Gangnam’s major thoroughfares. Le Méridien Seoul’s room inventory includes 109 club rooms and 29 suites, and offers a range of facilities from spa and indoor golf range to three F&B options.
For events and meetings, the property offers 1,650m2 of space across four indoor venues. The Da Vinci Ballroom, housed in the lower levels of the atrium, has capacity for up to 500 guests. The outdoor 525m2 Maple Garden can accommodate private parties and product launches. Le Méridien Seoul is approximately 60 minutes by car from Incheon International Airport, and allows for easy access to the COEX Convention and Exhibition Center and the office district in Samsung-dong.
Airlines and hotels have gone direct to consumers with much success. Not cruise lines, especially in Asia, despite key players such as Star Cruises, Dream Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCC) having enabled customers to book directly through their websites all along. Princess Cruises was the latest, launching an online booking facility for South-east Asian customers in February, the first Princess office in Asia to do so.
According to Princess, various sources estimate online cruise bookings to be less than 10 per cent of the market globally, and the percentage is lower for longer sailings. Imagine how small it is then for Asia.
None of the players in Asia would say what their website versus agency booking market share is, although they alluded that the majority of bookings still are from travel agents and that the website is only helping to create a new market, particularly millennials, and does not replace traditional agencies.
All are afraid to offend agents.
Farriek Tawfik
Princess Cruises director South-east Asia, Farriek Tawfik, said: “I would like to reiterate that the launch of our online booking is not meant to take business away from agents but (is meant as) an additional option for guests seeking a simple, convenient and informative online experience.
“We want to offer our guests more booking options and provide them with more information. The site is like an educational tool helping guests, especially first-time cruisers, to familiarise themselves with our products. It’s also designed to engage Internet-savvy millennials, who are starting to choose cruises over other vacations and prefer to get their information online.
“We encourage guests who have complex itineraries, such as those requiring airline bookings, hotel accommodation and visa applications to go through travel agents. We also recommend first-time cruisers to go through agents so that they can have access to first-hand knowledge face-to-face or through the phone.”
Six months after it introduced the online booking facility, Princess said the response is in line with expectations. Repeat passengers and first-time cruisers who are Internet-savvy and English-fluent (the website is in English) are the most responsive, along with a “pleasant surprise” comprising veteran cruisers in their 70s, most likely because these passengers are well-versed with the cruise product. However, majority of traffic to the site use it more to find information such as location of cabins, facilities and activities, then follow-up with bookings either online or with travel agents.
“So, most of them use the site as a tool to get more information on the itineraries and pricing,” noted Farriek.
Unlike North America, the UK and Australia, where guests are used to booking cruises online, this is new to Asia, added Farriek. “We have found that Asian guests still prefer face to face or phone interaction with travel agents, especially as there is no surcharge for booking through agents,” he said.
Indeed, cruise is one of the last bastions of commission income for agents. Unlike an airline seat or a hotel room, cruise is more complicated, not to say confusing, to agents themselves, let alone consumers, who must trawl through various staterooms of an ocean liner, figure out what’s included/what’s not in the price, compare prices and facilities, check if visas are needed, and so on. It is, in one word, a value-added sell, where agents are still needed to remove the pain points for customers.
Sean Treacy
Said Sean Treacy, RCC managing director Asia-Pacific: “While we cannot reveal the percentage of direct vs agent bookings, what we can share is that the percentage of customers in South-east Asia booking through their local agents online is generally higher, due to the agents’ own market presence and the language factor, especially in the non-English speaking markets.”
Treacy believes there is room for both. As more customers, especially the millennials, prefer the online booking mode, and the market base and distribution network expand, both will grow in tandem.
“We are always reaching out to new customers through various marketing and social media campaigns. At the same time, in many of our advertisements in Singapore, for instance, we feature our top agents’ contacts, as part of our efforts to publicise our other distribution channels,” said Treacy.
Likewise, Princess aims to reach out to both consumers and agents. Said Farriek: “While many people are accustomed to relying on travel agents, we have seen a positive response and believe there is potential for growth as guests become confident about booking online through a simple and informative online experience.
“We are also increasing our collaboration with travel agents, especially in areas where they have a wide reach.”
The good news for travel agents is also the entry of cruise technology firms in Asia that promise to revolutionise the way they sell cruises, for example, giving them access to multiple global products on a single platform. One such company is UK-based Traveltek, which has opened a regional office in Hong Kong.
According to Simon Leung, business development manager North Asia, Traveltek, it’s the absence of such advanced specialist cruise technology that hampers the ability of the region’s travel agents to sell cruises effectively and efficiently (see box).
With better cruise technology, agents in Asia can ensure cruise commissions will remain a major revenue earner for a long time to come.
As it happens, our two reports this issue are Asian family travel and cruises. There is a stronger correlation between the two markets today. If anything, imagine parents with little children who no longer need to monitor the ‘Child Boredom Quotient’ as they do on planes. It’s a term created by Emirates, which teamed with psychologist and boredom specialist at the University of Central Lancashire, Sandi Mann, on a study that found young flyers would take just 49 minutes and 47 seconds to ask the dreaded ‘Are we nearly there yet?’
There are other more compelling reasons why cruises and Asian families can be a match made in heaven. The picture of an Asian family as being small – a couple with two or three kids in tow – is hardly it now; instead, it’s multi-generational, or it’s a couple with kids travelling with other couples with kids whom they consider family. So cruise lines have been busy creating more interconnecting rooms to cater to multi-generational and extended family travel in Asia. And as competition for this segment hots up, they are busier jam-packing activities so no one will be bored on board.
Dream Cruises’ new holiday programme for Genting Dream, which arrives at her new Singapore homeport this month, includes workshops where children can don their own mermaid tails and splashing skills. There’s also a junior talent show (imagine the delight of grandparents watching them perform on stage) and a Christmas market at sea. “Taking care of families and offering them fun inter-generational activities are very important to us,” said Thatcher Brown, president of Dream Cruises.
Cruise lines are also trying to reach Asian families in more heart-tugging ways. Royal Caribbean International has just launched an “experiential” video which follows Asher Lim, son of Alvin Lim, founder of Alvinology.com, as junior enjoys the myriad of activities offered on the ship that only “child cruisers know and love”.
So expect cruises to be a strong competitor for the Asian family travel market, which has grown tremendously and will continue to grow. Just one indicator: Family holiday bookings from Hong Kong rose 124 per cent in 2016 over 2015, said Skyscanner. There are lots of capacity, and lots of F&B aboard – we all know how much Asian families love to bond over food, and more food.
While cruise specialists may benefit, other agents seeking to make some money from Asian family travel appear in for a rough ride. From their comments (see pages 17-18), the market has become more online savvy and more independent. Families can book home sharing accommodation, villas and hotels directly. They can buy activities and attractions easily online before or even after arriving at a destination, through platforms such as Klook.
I don’t have a clever idea how agents may overcome this structural change, beyond the obvious that they need to understand the psychology of Asian family travellers and create the trigger points that will compel them to use their services.
After a 17-hour downpour that started on Saturday noon led to deadly floods in Penang and changes to tour programmes, tourism stakeholders are now looking forward to returning to business as usual.
Diethelm Travel Malaysia managing director, Manfred Kurz, said the company had cancelled tours to Kek Lok Si Temple and Penang Hill since Sunday, and offered alternative programmes in areas not affected such as Tropical Spice Gardens.
Flooding at George Town
“We restarted city tours to George Town on Tuesday as things are getting back to normal. We kept our agents overseas and clients already on roundtrips in Malaysia updated of the situation.”
At Luxury Tours Malaysia, clients who made bookings to Penang were given the option to change their booking to any other destination within Malaysia without cancellation charge, even if it is a last minute request, according to senior manager Arokia Das.
He added: “Penang Island is big enough for us to adjust the tours accordingly. However, most of the tours in the itinerary were not affected except for Little India and the surrounding area in George Town, which we have replaced with a trip to the Penang Snake Temple.”
A Aruldas, managing director of Tourland Travel, an inbound agency strong in the Indian market, said: “The floods are temporary and we continue to take forward bookings to Penang.”
The company however advises FIT travellers intending to visit Penang of the possibility that departing flights out of Penang might get delayed, in which case there is a possibility they might miss their connecting flight to India from Kuala Lumpur.
Albert Lafuente, director of sales & marketing at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa and Golden Sands Resort, said the floods have generally subsided and that the storm had not caused major disruptions in Penang’s tourist hotspots.
He said both properties were running with over 80 per cent occupancy over the next few days until the weekend.
Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) has partnered WeChat and ICBC (Macau) to accept WeChat Pay throughout its properties, although it is unclear if this includes its casinos.
In a statement, GEG said its three flagship properties – Galaxy Macau, Broadway Macau and StarWorld Hotel – will be first to launch the payment mode. The roll-out will eventually extend to 136 outlets across GEG’s portfolio of hotels (e.g. Ritz-Carlton, Macau, JW Marriott Hotel Macau, Banyan Tree Macau); dining outlets (e.g. Lai Heen, 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA, Man Ho Chinese Restaurant); “entertainment facilities” (e.g. China Rouge, Macallan Bar, The Broadway Theatre Box Office); spas and retailers.
WeChat Pay rolling out at Galaxy Macau
GEG stated that the move answers the needs of mainland Chinese visitors to Macau, who “overwhelmingly prefer to pay with e-wallets such as WeChat Pay”.
This comes barely a year after Beijing lowered the UnionPay overseas withdrawal limit for Chinese travellers, which was seen to potentially impact Chinese high-roller-reliant casinos in Macau.
Speaking on behalf of ICBC (Macau), Zheng Kai, deputy CEO of ICBC (Macau), said: “As the largest local registered bank in Macau, ICBC (Macau) has long been focused on the development of its finance technology. ICBC (Macau) was the first local WeChat Pay clearing organisation officially approved by regulatory authority of Macau, and the launch of WeChat Pay also meets the regulatory requirements of the country.
He expects the collaboration will bring “significant results and contribute to the economic development of Macau”.
Innzide Zhengzhou opened recently to mark the sub-brand's China debut
With 18 hotels already in operation and 27 projects in the pipeline, Meliá Hotels International is further expanding its footprint by taking more sub-brands like Innside and Sol to Indonesia, China, Malaysia and Thailand.
The first Innside by Meliá in China is a 335-room property that launched in Zhengzhou in August, 2017. This will be followed by Innside Halong (2019), Innside Iskandar Johor (2020) and the 176-room Innside Bangkok Sukhumvit (2021), set to be the brand’s first in Thailand.
Innzide Zhengzhou opened recently to mark the sub-brand’s China debut
On the potential in China, global development managing director Maria Zarraluqui said the four-star Innside brand caters to tech-savvy millennials who appreciate communal-style social spaces, a segment that has a place in a market as big as China.
She also suggested that the five-star, lifestyle ME by Meliá brand “also has potential to do very well in tier-one, -two and -three cities with strong lifestyle components”.
And while the all-inclusive Paradisus by Meliá concept is only in the Caribbean so far, Zarralugui said “we are convinced that it would work in this part of the world (Asia)”.
“We have been analysing opportunities in China, Indonesia and Thailand and really think there is a need for this brand as there is clientele but not really an offer in the market. You can see a little bit of Club Med but they are not offering that kind of luxury so we are working to bring it up,” she continued.
“In China, instead of having a beach as a main attraction, we can develop strong attractions like mountain and hotspring resorts with strong leisure components in areas such as Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.”
The group is also working to get into new markets like the Philippines, which it sees as still quite undeveloped, but with great potential to be up-and-coming given its leisure strengths.
Zarralugui added: “We are talking about an (entry-level) brand like the four to five-star Meliá but also analysing the opportunity for the mid-scale Sol brand, which is purely a leisure brand that (comprises) both Sol Beach and Sol Beach House concepts, catering for millennials plus families.”
At the moment, Meliá has three Sol properties in operation – Sol Beach House Phu Quoc (Vietnam), Sol House Bali Legian and Sol Beach House Benoa (Bali). Another Sol is undergoing rebrand in Koh Samui, while Sol House Jimbaran is slated to open in 2020.
Meanwhile, in terms of target sales markets, South Korea is on the wishlist and the company has been actively looking for representation there.
Asia-Pacific and Latin America registered higher growth in travel agency air bookings
Amadeus recorded €3.69 billion (US$4.27 billion) in revenue in the first three quarters of the year, up 8.9 per cent, with growth seen across its three business segments namely distribution, IT solutions and new businesses.
Overall, EBITDA grew 10.1 per cent to €1.47 billion, while adjusted profit was up 14.7 per cent to €846.7 million. Financial debt at end September was €1.69 billion, compared to €1.96 billion at end December 2016.
Asia-Pacific and Latin America registered higher growth in travel agency air bookings
Revenue from its distribution segment increased 7.3 per cent to €2.38 billion. Notably, travel agency air bookings grew six per cent to 434.4 million – outperforming GDS industry growth of 4.4 per cent.
Travel agency air bookings grew across all regions, with Asia-Pacific and Latin America registering higher growth levels at 11.6 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively. As a result, travel agency air competitive position increased by 0.6 percentage points, to 43.6 per cent.
Bookings originating from Asia-Pacific made up a 18 per cent share, the second largest after Western Europe (37.8 per cent).
According to Amadeus, the positive performance was supported by an increase in volumes and average unit revenue expansion. Non-booking revenue also increased thanks to the positive contribution from search solutions, tools for corporations, advertising solutions and our payment solutions for travel agencies.
During the third quarter of 2017, Amadeus signed eight new contracts or renewals of content agreements with airlines, bringing airline agreements to a total of 29 for the first nine months of the year.
Signs of enhanced distribution capabilities going forward from the reporting period include Amadeus’ achievement of IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) Level 1 certification in October. It expects to become Level 3 certified in 2018.
Turning to IT solutions, revenue grew 11.8 per cent to reach €1.30 billion. Amadeus passengers boarded totalled over 1.2 billion, representing an increase of 19.4 per cent.
Amadeus said revenue growth in this segment was driven by the positive performance of airline IT, supported by 19.4 per cent higher volumes, and the growing trend of our new businesses.
Even excluding the favourable impact of Navitaire New Skies passengers boarded, Amadeus said its airline IT business grew at a double-digit rate, fuelled by 7.8 per cent organic growth and new carrier implementations.
At the close of September, 136 airlines had signed up to Amadeus Airline Ancillary Services for the indirect channel, with 104 of them already implemented. Also, 62 airlines had contracted Amadeus Fare Families, which allows airlines to distribute branded fares, 48 of whom had implemented the solution. As of September 30, close to 70 per cent of the global air bookings processed through the Amadeus system were eligible to carry an attached ancillary service.
Meanwhile, achievements in Amadeus’ new business segment include take-up of its airport IT solutions. Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport signed up for Amadeus’ full suite of airport solutions, and both Calgary International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport contracted the Airport Operational Database and Resource Management System solutions. In September, Amadeus also announced a partnership with Off Airport Check-In Solutions to launch the world’s first ‘pop up’ check-in service.
In addition to those announced previously – including the Air Race 1 World Cup Thailand 2017 running later this month – events slated also include Wat Arun Ceremony/Wonderfruit Festival (Bangkok/Pattaya December, 2017); Thailand Tourism Festival (January, 2018); Thailand International Kite Festival/Thailand Marathon (Songkhla/Bangkok, February, 2018); International Balloon Festival (Korat, May 2018); Chiang Rai Flower Festival (July, 2018); Queen of Thai Silk Exhibition (SACICT, August 2018); Nationwide Vegetarian Festival (October, 2018) and Bangkok Art Biennale (November, 2018).
MICE, leisure events abound in 2018
There will also be night-time events and activities, such as the Ong Bak and the Siam Niramitr Muay Thai Live exhibition at Asiatique and Festival of Lights along the Chao Phraya River (Wat Arun).
Thailand’s MICE sector is also primed for a busy year, with the following events lined up: Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair (February, 2018); AsiaWarehousing Show (March, 2018); ProPak Asia 2018 (June, 2018); Medical Devices ASEAN (July, 2018); AGRITECHNICA ASIA (August, 2018) and Batik Design Week (Phuket, October 2018).
Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel
Hilton Garden Inn Hangzhou Lu’niao
Cordis, Auckland
