Tailor-made itineraries are rapidly gaining traction among China’s luxury travellers in recent years, with the demography becoming better travelled, more globally-oriented, more plugged-in to the gamut of products available and motivated by more complex needs, said buyers at the recent ILTM Asia.

According to Hurun’s The Chinese Luxury Traveller 2017 report, the proportion of wealthy Chinese choosing standard packages fell from 37 per cent in 2015 to 26 per cent last year, with over half showing preference for fine-tuned packages (27 per cent) or fully-customisable packages (23 per cent).

“A lot of companies previously were about groups and having charters and fixed departures, which (continues) to happen in the luxury segment. But now the ‘real high-end’ (segment) looks for tailor-made experiences, niche destinations and properties with few Chinese guests,” said Aymeric Naudin, assistant general manager at China’s Sparkle Tour.

Wealthy travellers now have desires more sophisticated than “spending money and being flashy”, he explained. They want to learn on their travels and live like a local, and are better able to realise these goals, being “less shy to interact with locals” and with “(lesser) language barriers”.

Even Ctrip, China’s largest OTA, now provides on-request itineraries to “high-end clients” via its luxury brand HHTravel. “Clients often turn to us with requests for something unique and we connect them to an ‘experience guide’ who will design an itinerary for them,” said Luigi Deng, market manager Italy, accommodation business, Ctrip.

Li Changsong, managing director at Deluxe MICE Tour & Luxury Travel, foresees the Chinese luxury market would ultimately turn into a tailor-made one. He said: “There is a great phenomenon happening – people are now more aware of new products and more (discerning) about quality.”

Despite being a proponent of the value of personalisation, Li admitted that packages continue to make up 30-40 per cent of his business. “It takes time for the market to mature,” he told TTG Asia.

Meanwhile, Kevin Wang, business development manager at Megastars, a B2B company selling packages, has seen sustained demand for the fixed format, while acknowledging the need to continually incorporate new products to stay relevant.

Vietnam’s extension of visa exemption for several European countries is a welcome move, but trade players interviewed said that conditions limiting single-entry stays to 15 days need to be revisited.

The Vietnamese authorities recently announced that they will extend the current visa waiver scheme for France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK for another year from June 30.

Tourists in national park in Quang Binh

The scheme has been in place since mid-2015 and resulted in double-digit growth in arrivals from Western European countries in the first four months of 2017.

Jose Gregorio Manzo, general manager of Asian Trails Vietnam, said his company has seen an increase of 30-40 per cent from these markets since the introduction. In 2017, he saw largest growth from Spain and the company is on track to surpass the 40 per cent increase seen in 2016.

However, he said the 15-day limit is insufficient as longhaul customers normally make enquiries about two- to three-week holidays in Vietnam.

Hoang Minh Ngoc, Saigon office manager at Indochina Charm Travel, agreed: “In my experience, Europeans prefer more time (in the destination) after having spent about 24 hours to get there.”

Pham Ha, founder and CEO at Luxury Travel Vietnam, added that the single-entry condition is proving a damper for the suggested three-week, multi-entry itineraries.

“European travellers usually holiday for two to three weeks in South-east Asia,” he said. “They combine Vietnam and countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar and often want to return to Vietnam. Therefore, they still have trouble getting visas while travelling.”

Florencia Allo Morena, general manager at Khiri Vietnam, said a duration of 15 days (17 including flights) is typically enough for clients. However, if this becomes an issue, a multi-country programme would be opted.

Silversea Cruises has partnered The Peninsula Hotels to enhance the programming for the Silver Muse’s 73-day Grand Asia-Pacific Voyage in 2019 and other Asia-focused itineraries.

As part of the deal, the Hong Kong-based Peninsula Hotels will provide guests with insider knowledge on destinations through an onboard team of local specialists and chefs. It will also work with Silversea on events in select Asian cities.

Silver Muse

In addition, the voyage will end with a three-night post-cruise stay at The Peninsula Tokyo, which will include a Japanese-themed dinner in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom.

The Silver Muse will set sail from Sydney to Tokyo, visiting 39 destinations in 12 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Departing on February 2, 2019, the cruise’s first quarter itinerary is now open for reservations.

The Travel Corporation has introduced the Insight Vacations Specialist certification onto its Agent Academy e-learning platform launched earlier this year.

Agents can access a suite of 20-minute online courses divided into modules that provide information on Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold products. Via Agent Academy, agents can explore Insight’s travel styles and how to present trip highlights to customers.

Upon the completion of each course, agents will receive their accreditation in the form of Insight Tour Specialist certificates.

A member of TTC’s family of brands, Insight Vacations provides escorted journeys to over 50 countries in Europe and North America including smaller-group touring styles with an average of 32 guests. Its Luxury Gold brand offers concierge services.

For more information, visit www.ttc.com/agentacademy.

Strong investor optimism underlined the recent Lombok Tourism Development Forum, fuelled by upscale resort demand outstripping supply in 2016 and a 61 per cent increase in international air arrivals to 30,000 in 1Q2017, following flat arrivals growth in 2015.

Just under 100,000 international arrivals were reported by the Statistics Indonesia Bureau at Lombok International Airport in 2016, up 29 per cent, but the upscale resort segment saw 10 per cent supply growth outpaced by an 18 per cent increase in demand. The increase in upscale demand (23 per cent) continued to exceed supply growth in 1Q2017.

Tanjung Ringgit in eastern Lombok

Current projections estimate competitive supply in Lombok would grow at double-digit rates over the next five years, largely spearheaded by the development in South Lombok and surrounding Gili Islands, in addition to the continued growth of North Lombok.

Ricky Baheramsjah, head of investment and marketing – Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation, said: “We are hoping to have over 1,500 room keys open and ready by 2020. We have so far secured or booked over 350ha of development projects for our partners which equates to over 60 per cent of our total inventory or buildable landbank available.”

Developments such as the Mandalika project in South Lombok are gaining traction, as Baheramsjah revealed that the Vinci Construction Grands Projects, in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank, has committed to bringing in a dual-branded hotel from the Middle East, Shaza and Mysk by Shaza.

Forum participants cite international airlift as the key laggard in bringing international arrivals to the island, but the overall sentiment was that increased air connectivity would follow imminent increases in rooms supply.

Soepit Bharata, head Lombok & Surabaya – Silkair, is optimistic, having seen interest from international carriers in launching direct routes to the island and an increase in load factor on direct flights from Singapore.

However, infrastructural issues at Lombok International Airport, in terms of its ability to handle wide-bodied aircraft, are still a constraint, he added.