Dusit International has invested US$1 million in exchange for a 9.3 per cent stake in Thai condo and villa rental platform, favstay.

Part of a US$2.9 million Series A investment round, Dusit’s investment will fund the startup’s aggressive expansion to increase listings sixfold and foray into Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Cambodia in 2017, as well as other Asian markets in subsequent years.

(From left) Favstay’s Natavudh Pungcharoenpong; Dusit International’s Suphajee Suthumpun; and FavStay’s Suchada Taechotirote

Established in 2015, favstay currently has over 11,000 properties in Thailand listed on its platform.

Favstay will continue providing a range of services such as property photo shoots, property management, housekeeping, and room maintenance for property owners; and for renters, a customer service platform with location-specific information and services like check-in and check-out.

Dusit’s investment is in line with its strategy to balance its portfolio of hotels such that half of its operations are outside of Thailand by 2022, and diversify its business lines so approximately 10 per cent of total revenue comes from new investments in hospitality-related industries.

The poor performing ringgit has proven to be a weak deterrent to longhaul travel plans among middle and upper middle class Malaysians, who have continued to book trips to Europe for the two-week school holidays starting later this month.

However, buying habits have changed, outbound agents told TTG Asia.

Paris

The ringgit, which has depreciated by some 8.1 per cent over the euro compared with 23 per cent over the US dollar from two years ago, has made Europe a favoured longhaul destination.

Kerry Tam, director, Parlo Tours Malaysia, said her company has developed more affordable packages to Central Europe, which are selling well for the May school holidays, in addition to exclusive group tour options.

She said both tours have received equal demand but the profile of customers are different. The more affordable tours attract those in their 30s and early-40s, as well as those from outside the cities. Exclusive tour packages attract city-dwellers and consumers in their late-40s and up.

Tam explained: “An example of an exclusive tour is a five-country combination covering France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland, costing around RM12,000 (US$2,756). Such tours attract (older travellers) with big disposable incomes. Those with smaller budgets tend to opt for a nine-day/six-night package covering the same countries but costing only RM6,500, inclusive of miscellaneous charges.”

The difference in pricing for tours covering the same destinations comes from the number of sightseeing tours featured, hotel locations and the number of meals.

Mita Lim, managing director of Ice Holidays, a B2B wholesaler in Malaysia, said he was targeting a 15 per cent growth in longhaul sales for this coming school holidays. He said: “Seven-day/four-night all-inclusive tours to Central Europe and nine-day/six-night tours to the Balkans are selling very well as savvy travellers know they can save more by joining a group tour rather than going FIT and paying separately for transport and hotels.”

Desmond Lee, group managing director of Apple Vacations & Conventions, said while demand for Europe this holiday season is projected to rise 15 per cent year on year, FIT travellers on a budget are increasingly taking mono-destination trips and forgoing multiple-destination ones. These travellers are also booking three- and 3.5-star properties, and going for promotional airfares.

Malaysian parents with children studying in Europe have also cut down on the number of times they visit, coinciding their trips with important occasions, said outbound agents.

Preliminary figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) revealed the region’s airlines made US$6.9 billion in aggregate net earnings, with passenger demand growing 6.4 per cent to alleviate yield pressures and a fall in jet fuel prices ameliorating operating costs.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw revenue dip 0.2 per cent to US$126.4 billion, as lower airfares saw a 5.5 per cent decline in average passenger yields to 7.9 US cents per RPK. Total operating revenue was down 0.3 per cent to US$165.3 billion in 2016.

Combined operating expenses totalled US$151.8 billion, unchanged from 2015. Reflecting the 17.7 per cent drop in global jet fuel prices to an average of US$52.6 per barrel, fuel expenditure fell by 16.8 per cent to US$33.7 billion and its share of total operating costs declined by 4.5 percentage points to 22.2 per cent. This was offset by non-fuel expenditure, which rose 6.1 per cent to US$118 billion.

Commenting on results, Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general, said: “Asia-Pacific carriers achieved another year of respectable earnings in 2016, with an average 8.2 per cent operating margin and net profits of around US$6 per passenger, reflecting the still very competitive market environment.

“(However), the strengthening of the US dollar against many Asian currencies affected revenue performance and increased the burden of dollar obligations for a number of carriers.”

Looking ahead, Herdman said the operating environment remains challenging, against a backdrop of stiff competition, higher oil prices and other cost pressures.

“Nevertheless, Asia-Pacific airlines are focused on enhancing business performance and investing effectively in new technologies and aircraft, with the aim of strengthening resilience and further improving long-term profitability,” he noted.

The Seychelles Tourism Board sees potential in South-east Asian markets based on interest received during the recent WTM Connect Asia in Penang.

The NTO is looking particularly at Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, having received “many enquiries and requests for contacts and packages” from these markets, according to its regional director Asia & Australasia, Jean-Luc Lai-Lam.

Jean-Luc Lai-Lam

Tourist arrivals to Seychelles totalled 106,623 last year, with arrivals from Asia (comprising the Middle East, India and the Far East) making up close to 25 per cent or 24,386 visitors.

Elaborating on plans to target South-east Asian markets, Lai-Lam said: “We have identified WTM Connect Asia and ITB Asia as the main trade fairs to attend in Asia. In 2H2017, we intend to do a B2B roadshow to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia together with our travel trade partners in the Seychelles, followed by sales calls to visit major outbound operators in these countries.”

Seychelles Tourism Board, the destination’s sole exhibitor at this year’s WTM Connect Asia, also plans to bring travel trade members to the show in future editions.

The tourism’s focus is on the travel trade for now, Lai-Lam explained. “We want to ensure our partners understand the needs of the market and are ready to cater to it before we embark on consumer programmes.”

Chris Bailey is back in tour operations as senior vice president of sales & marketing – longhaul of Tour East Holdings, effective June 1, filling the post left vacant by Judy Lum who joined Diethelm Travel Singapore in February as general manager.

The move comes as a surprise as Bailey had assumed the role of CEO of Royal Phuket Marina only in January, after more than 12 years with Centara Hotels & Resorts where he eventually rose to COO in August 2015.

Bailey, who became CEO of Royal Phuket Marina in January, joins Tour East Holdings

Contacted for comments, Bailey said he decided not to confirm the role in Phuket as there were significant delays in the project. The offer to join Tour East which he accepted came a few weeks later and “given it was Tour East that first brought me to Asia, it really feels like I am going home!”, he said.

In the earlier days of his career, Bailey was managing director of Tour East Hong Kong and Thailand. He also held senior management positions with UK longhaul specialist tour operators including Saga Holidays, Tradewinds and Colours of Asia.

After losing its long-time general manager Yvonne Wong, also to Diethelm Travel Singapore, Tour East Singapore is now being managed concurrently by Daniel Tam, general manager of Tour East Hong Kong.

One of Bailey’s challenges will be to rebuild the relationships Lum and Low had secured over the last 30 years for Tour East Singapore with international tour operators. Observers said while he is familiar with the business, much has changed – including the people behind the show – thanks to consolidation, disruption and other factors.

When asked about this, Bailey said: “Change in this sector of the industry is not unique to Tour East – indeed most of the major regional players have experienced, or are experiencing, acquisition, re-organisation and organisational management changes. There is nothing wrong with this – we see other sectors like airlines and hospitality doing it all the time.”

He added: “I decided to accept the opportunity for a number of reasons. Firstly, I have always believed Tour East, as a brand, is one of Asia’s most recognised and established DMCs. Its history, management past and present, market coverage and service levels are second to none.

“Its ownership status by JTB Group, and being apart of their Global DMC Network, uniquely positions the business for growth and expansion.

“This status gives all the benefits of strength and resource, which is critical in today’s business environment, yet does not come with the potential threats of other acquired and aligned companies from  the majority of their core source markets.

“I was particularly attracted by the enthusiasm and commitment of the current team as I spoke with management before accepting the role. There is a collective enthusiasm and drive to become Asia’s number one DMC and as you know I love a challenge and want to be a part of that journey.”

Tour East CEO & president Shigeyuki Suzuki said: “I’m very proud that Chris is joining us as SVP sales & marketing for longhaul market. He has extensive knowledge, expertise and business network in the industry which may support the expansion of Tour East business and overall inbound tourism to Asia-Pacific.

“I truly value his proactive, energetic and enthusiastic business mind and professionalism.”

UNWTO will launch the Measurement of Sustainable Tourism (MST) index as a holistic measure of tourism at its International Conference on Statistics in the Philippines next month, announced secretary general Taleb Rifai.

Speaking during the UNWTO/PATA Ministerial Debate at PATA Annual Summit at Negombo, Sri Lanka last weekend, Rifai said the MST will take a holistic look at tourism impacts and benefits to a country’s socio-economic wellbeing instead of relying on arrivals alone.

Rifai: move into green economy

“For years we have been relying on arrivals as (a measurement) but we need to examine the impacts in terms of the economy, jobs, society and communities,” he said.

“We need to move into a truly green economy. Growth and sustainability must go hand in hand,” he added. “We have to fight climate change; five per cent of carbon emissions comes from travel and of this two per cent is from transport.”

More destinations are now moving away from the ‘numbers game’ and instead are focusing on courting high-spending visitors who bring in more revenue and smaller carbon footprint, panellists at the session revealed.

Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board, said his country has restricted travel to certain sites due to over-visitation, while Mirza Mohamed Taiyab, director general of Tourism Malaysia, said the Malaysian government has identified ecotourism as a way to leverage the country’s rich natural assets and benefit local communities at the same time.

According to Hiran Cooray, chairman of Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka’s strict environmental protection laws has made it compulsory for every hotel to install a sewage treatment plant while renewable energy plants are encouraged.

Chartered flights to connect Guangxi province to Davao, Cebu and Clark are the latest in a series of new services mounted in support of the Philippines’ target for one million Chinese tourists this year, nearly 50 per cent higher than 675,000 in 2016.

The new charter flights, resulting from a deal between the Department of Tourism (DoT) and Guangxi Tourism Development Group, are expected to tap the city’s population of 55 million as well as “open up secondary gateways in the Philippines” to China, according to the Philippines’ tourism secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo.

Nanning city, Guangxi

Erwin Balane, routes development head at DoT, said “nearly all Chinese carriers (now) fly to and from the Philippines”, owing to improved political relations between Manila and Beijing since mid-2016.

As well, “more China-based airlines are launching commercial flights and more charter flights are being converted into (scheduled ones)”, he shared.

This month, Xiamen Airlines will add two new regular routes to Kalibo from Xiamen and Fuzhou, with other airlines expected to follow suit. Sichuan Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines are anticipated to soon fly to the destination while Juneyao Airlines has applied to fly to Cebu from Shanghai.

Balane said DoT will also be courting West Air in Chongqing, Chongqing Airlines, Kunming Airlines and Lucky Air.

New destinations will be opened, Balane added, including the expanded airport in Kalibo – the gateway to Boracay, a favourite haunt among the Chinese – which can now accommodate bigger aircraft like Airbus A320.

Meanwhile, tour operator Sun Fair International, which has offices in Xiamen and Hong Kong, has already committed additional 10,000 Chinese tourists coming from the cities of Shanghai, Xiamen, Chongqing, Chengdu, Hong Kong and Beijing, starting this month.

Ariva Hospitality’s acquisition by Singapore-listed real estate and investment company Rowsley in March has allowed both parties to expand their hotel business towards a target of 20,000 keys by 2020.

While Ariva Hospitality’s executive chairman Cameron Ong – an industry veteran who was last CEO and managing director of The Ascott Group – admits that the target is a “tall order”, it is also one that is achievable considering his company’s track record.

Ong: bringing Ariva deeper into South-east Asia

“Ariva was founded in 2008 but within these few years we’ve built a portfolio of more than 7,500 keys,” he remarked.

Ariva has been tasked with taking Rowsley’s Hotel Football brand – the first and only property sits across Old Trafford stadium and is developed in partnership with former Manchester United footballers – further in Asia and Europe, while being given the financial backing through equity funds to grow Ariva’s own brands.

Ong aims to bring Ariva “deeper into South-east Asia”. The company’s brands include Ariva Hotels, Ariva Serviced Residences, by Ariva, as well as two created through partnerships with real estate firms – Super City by Ariva in China and Louis Kienne Hotels & Services Residences in Indonesia.

According to Ong, Ariva Hotels, Ariva Serviced Residences and by Ariva will be the ones to be taken further into the region, particularly in secondary cities where tourism appeal has yet to be discovered and potential for growth is far stronger.

For Hotel Football, Ariva is considering possibilities of taking it to Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou in China. In the near future, Ariva is readying for a signing ceremony for two Hotel Football properties – one in Bangkok and another in Kuala Lumpur.