Longhaul travellers into Asia are showing growing demand for mono-destination and in-depth holidays, according to buyers TTG Asia spoke to at WTM Connect Asia in Penang last week.

Pawel Tysa, product manager of Krakow-based Prestige Tours & Incentive, said: “We have seen this trend over the last two or three years. There are still clients who want to visit five countries in South-east Asia during one trip, (as) it’s a long flight and they want to see more. But we try to convince them that such ‘fast-food tours’ are tiring and don’t make sense.

Tourists at Angkor Thom, Siem Reap

“We recommend two countries at most, and for our clients to focus on certain areas, like culture or local food for instance.”

He added that demand for such holidays in Poland also come with greater knowledge and awareness of destinations such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Another buyer, Andy Ling, president of CanadaOne Travel, based in Winnipeg, observed that millennials and the well-to-do clients “want to stay put in one place and really get to know the local culture of a destination”.

Travellers who already have some knowledge of a destination also show desire to get a more thorough experience of a destination, Ling pointed out, adding that China, Hong Kong, Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia are some choice destinations.

“We have clients who spend up to a month in Bali only, experiencing the local culture. During their stay, we organise for them to visit a local family to learn more about their lifestyle and living. They are also keen to learn about local cuisine and how local dishes are made.”

Elisa Picazo Moreno, Asian manager, product development at UK-based Brown + Hudson, whose FIT and high-end clients enjoy Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand for in-depth travel, said: “The motivation is to experience the local way of life and discover local communities.”

Interest in Myanmar as a mono destination has picked up since the country opened up, she added.

Following its foray into Vietnam last month, Malaysia is now the latest destination to be added to Rove’s adventure tour portfolio.

The Bangkok-based operator has launched a new 11-day through Malaysian Borneo, focusing on trekking through some of Borneo’s most remote wilderness, with some water-based activities added for variety to the itinerary.

Rove now boasts nine destinations altogether, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

Langham Hospitality Group has signed an agreement to manage Cordis, Hangzhou, which will become the brand’s first hotel in Hangzhou and the fourth in China after two in Shanghai and one in Ningbo.

Slated to open in 2019, Cordis, Hangzhou will feature 200 guestrooms and suites, plus over 1,500m² of dedicated event space including an 800m² Grand Ballroom, spa, fitness centre and indoor pool. Dining experiences will include a Chinese restaurant, all-day dining restaurant with buffet stations and lobby lounge.

Cordis, Hangzhou

The hotel will form part of a mixed-use development in the Future Technology City in Hangzhou, comprising offices, an integrated shopping complex and residences developed by Hangzhou Baoli Kanghua Real Estate Company.

Robert Warman, CEO of Langham Hospitality Group, said: “This project will play a key role in growing the Cordis brand in China. Hangzhou’s heightened popularity as an economic hub will stimulate demand for business travel in the long run. In addition, the Asian Games 2022 will be a catalyst in spurring Hangzhou’s city development and raising its city profile.”

Medical tourism is a budding segment for VisitBerlin, which this year started targeting the Chinese market, following similar initiatives to lure visitors from Russia & CIS countries, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE last year.

Last year, Berlin attracted some 21,000 medical patients from Russia & CIS countries, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. “This year, by entering the Chinese market, we expect a big growth,” said VisitBerlin’s director market management Asia, Australia and the Middle East, Ralf Ostendorf at WTM Connect Asia held in Penang last week.

Chinese tourists in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate

“These countries show a special interest in medical tourism and those seeking treatments for simple and complex procedures are willing to travel to seek treatment. The governments of some countries in the Middle East also provide support for their citizens to do so,” said Ostendorf.

A dedicated English language website, www.berlin-health-excellence.de, was launched in March 2017 to provide information on medical facilities in Berlin, and a Chinese version was rolled out this month. The site offers details on hospitals, doctors and their specialisations and maps that show the closest pharmacy and accommodation providers.

Similar websites were previously developed in Russian and Arabic languages.

VisitBerlin promotes medical tourism by organising roadshows and inviting foreign tour operators handling medical tourists to meet with hospital representatives. It also attends medical trade shows together with inbound tour operators in Berlin and medical departments in the countries targeted.

With its remarkable growth of 70 per cent in arrivals to France last year to become the largest visitor source from South-east Asia, it’s no wonder Indonesia is now a new focus market for the European nation.

In an interview with TTG Asia during a recent visit to Jakarta, Morad Tayebi, regional director ASEAN of Atout France, said: “Although the total number of arrivals to France dropped by some 1.5 million last year, we have seen tremendous growth from Indonesia, and a 15-20 per cent increase from the Philippines and 10 per cent from Vietnam (the latter two are new markets to France).”

Aval of Etretat, Normandy

Arrivals from Indonesia last year totalled 150,000 – with first-timers making up a majority – surpassing even France’s mature markets of Malaysia and Singapore.

Tayebi is optimistic that the number of arrivals from Indonesia will surge even higher in the coming years.

“We are expecting arrivals from Indonesia to exceed 200,000 this year,” he said. “We believe that within two years, Indonesia will take over South Korea and will become the third biggest market in Asia after China and Japan in five years.”

Part of the reasons fuelling the market’s rapid growth, according to Tayebi, could be attributed to Atout France’s appointment of an Indonesian representative to work with the travel trade in 2015, in addition to the implementation of the 48-hours’ Schengen Visa application process by the French embassy in Jakarta last year – by far the fastest visa service offered by any European mission in Indonesia.

Although Jakarta is the key target market for outbound travel, Atout France also sees growth potential in Indonesia’s secondary destinations, having organised a training seminar in Surabaya and Medan a few weeks ago plus a similar one planned for Jogjakarta later this year.

To encourage the Indonesian outbound trade to expand their products beyond Paris, Tayebi added that the seminars will highlight other French regions like Normandy, France Riviera, Burgundy, Bordeuax and Lourdes.

He elaborated: “I also want to push halal tourism because we want to show that France is a Muslim-friendly destination. We have the biggest Muslim community in Europe; we are used to hosting Muslim travellers.”

Apart from inviting travel companies to travel events in France this year, Atout France will also bring suppliers from French provincial regions for a sales mission in Jakarta in October and organise its biggest trade event in South-east Asia this year with a three-day workshop, incentive programme and gala dinner for some 100 delegates in November.

Amadeus has rolled out Destination Insight, the latest product suite from its Travel Intelligence division, to equip DMOs with timely insights into the competition and traveller intentions in order to roll out more effective campaigns.

By analysing billions of up-to-date global air travel transactions in near real time, the suite can remove some of the guesswork often involved in making key marketing decisions and reveal hidden opportunities for DMOs to boost their destinations’ growth, said Amadeus in a statement.

With its two modules – Top View and Navigator – Destination Insight’s flexibility and scalability allows it to be used by DMOs to monitor travel at city, country or region levels.

Top View grants DMOs a comprehensive picture of their performance with the ability to benchmark versus other destinations and quickly develop strategies in response to market developments. For example, they can gain insights into searches and bookings, when travellers are going there, how long they’re staying for and pinpoint origin markets in need of attention to grow visitors.

Navigator provides travel agency booking data that can improve DMOs’ response to external factors such as currency fluctuations or weather, e.g. an unusually warm period contributing to an unexpected spike in bookings.

AirAsia and the Terengganu state government have signed an Memorandum of Agreement to jointly promote tourism in Terengganu.

“With this collaboration, we will drive our marketing efforts to promote Terengganu as a must-visit destination in Malaysia. We are confident this will contribute significantly in achieving the state government’s target of 5.5 million tourist arrivals in Terengganu for this year,” said Aziz Bakar, who sits on AirAsia’s board of directors.

Beach in Terengganu

Ahmad Razif bin Abd Rahman, chief minister Terengganu, said: “Terengganu is ready to be known as a tourism state with efficient land and air accessibility, good services, modern infrastructures and treasures of nature, culture and heritage.

“The additional Johor Bahru to Kuala Terengganu direct flights will definitely boost the arrival of tourists into Terengganu.”

AirAsia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu with 28 times weekly flights and will soon connect Kuala Terengganu to Johor Bahru with thrice-weekly flights.

In 2016 alone, AirAsia flew more than 420,000 passengers to Terengganu, with the top three feeder markets being Malaysia, China and Indonesia.

The Indonesian trade is up in arms over the lack of information surrounding the management’s decision to raise the entry fees at a trio of temples in Central Java.

The US$5 fee hike, a decision made by Borobudur Park Corporate for maintenance and upgrading of facilities at Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko temples, raised entry prices to US$25, US$23 and US$18 respectively as of May 1.

Borobudur temple, Yogyakarta

In response to the temple admission fee hike, the Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) said the news should have been communicated to them earlier, even though the temples’ management is allowing them until year-end to enjoy the old prices for packages.

Ketut Ardhana, ASITA Bali’s chairman said it’s regrettable that neither he nor his members were informed on the price increase. “I think this is something that should be discussed with the trade (beforehand).”

While Emilia Utari, head of marketing of the temples’ management, said agents should not be affected as they are under contract for the pre-increase price until year-end, agents who have issued programmes for the following year disagree.

“We have no problem with the increment but the (announcement) should be made by November of last year (as) we set our programmes a year ahead,” said Udhi Sudhianto, ASITA Jogjakarta chairman, who was notified through the grapevine days before the price increase.

On the other hand, Ricky Setiawanto of Panorama Destination said the company was informed on the increase at the beginning of this year via an official letter from Borobudur temple’s management.