With the growing international connectivity into southern Thailand, European visitors are seeking out lesser-known beach destinations and booking later than ever before.

The last-minute booking trend among European tourists into Phuket is becoming more apparent than ever before, in part driven by international carriers’ aggressive expansion into southern Thailand in recent years which have led to competitive pricing and greater flexibility in holiday planning for longhaul travellers.

“Four to five years back, if you don’t have your Thailand winter holiday booked by October, you wouldn’t be able to get flights or hotels,” said Tobias Fischer, business development director at Go Vacation Thailand, observing shorter booking lead times among the European market. “That’s not the case anymore.”

It’s a situation that DMCs are becoming more accustomed to, and Destination Asia’s Thailand general manager, Philip Wigglesworth, said: “Inbound booking patterns from Northern Europe have changed somewhat over the years as travellers become more at ease with booking holidays with shorter lead, sometimes up to six weeks or less. They are familiar with the destination and younger FIT couples prefer flexibility and are not keen to lock themselves into long-lead bookings.”

Lisa Fitzell, group managing director, Diethelm Travel Group, further notes an increase in the “pure beach segment customer”, which she discerns is a different clientele from the traditional European customer who combines a Thai beach vacation with other destinations.

“The beach holiday client just wants good value, sun and sea, so (Thailand’s) competing with destinations such as Cuba or Mexico. Full-board options are on the rise from our European customers.

“The arrival of the direct flights into Krabi and Phuket mean we need to offer more competitive and meal-inclusive deals to compete within the worldwide beach segment,” added Fitzell.

With better direct connectivity into Phuket from longhaul markets, secondary beach destinations in southern Thailand are now picking up as favoured holiday spots for European visitors.

Destinations like Krabi, Trang, Koh Lanta and Khao Lak no longer have to “suffer in Phuket’s shadow”, Fischer remarked. “We’re seeing more roomnights booked by the German-speaking markets in Khao Lak than Phuket.”

He added: “More than 60 per cent of repeat travellers look to new destinations and it doesn’t help that the influx of charter markets flooding Phuket right now are pushing the Europeans out of the island.”

The direct connectivity is also driving the surge of “twin-centre breaks” in southern Thailand, where Phuket is paired with Koh Yao Noi, Krabi with Koh Lanta, and Khao Lak with Khao Sok, Wigglesworth told TTG Asia.

Bill Barnett, founder and managing director of C9 Hotelworks, isn’t surprised with the destination shifts among the European visitors. “The legacy European market is very much alive. These ‘snowbirds’ from Scandinavia, the UK, Germany, Austria, etc, are long-stayers so they have migrated to less expensive destinations like Khao Lak, Krabi and Koh Lanta.”

As well, issues such as a pricier Phuket, the island’s sun lounger ban imposed by the Thai government and Krabi’s easier access with growing charter airlift are some of the factors that have pushed Europeans to other southern Thai destinations, he observed.

But Barnett’s not quick to write off the legacy markets for Phuket yet. “The world changed after the global financial crisis and Asia markets have become more prolific as the ‘East is now new West’, so it’s not that drastic as Phuket’s European markets remain strong while other segments have outpaced them.”

Sharing similar sentiments, Anthony Lark, president, Phuket Hotels Association, commented: “Phuket is changing, as are the world travellers… Asia and Russia are becoming more prolific (source markets) than in the past, yet the legacy markets from Northern Europe and Scandinavia remain firmly intact as Phuket is an important destination for these markets.”

This article was first published in TTG Asia April 2017 issue. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

First it launched an Asia edition and now, a China edition of ITB. While Messe Berlin believes there is no confusion, the reality is tradeshow-fatigued exhibitors will have to think carefully where they should put their money.

With huge markets such as China, India and South-east Asia, the region is without doubt the current and future source, not just for Asia itself but the world. It’s the reason for Messe Berlin’s expansion into Asia, launching a new edition of ITB in China next month, eight years after inaugurating ITB Asia in Singapore.

So how does ITB China differ to the slew of tradeshows in China that includes China International Travel Mart (CITM) and Shanghai World Travel Fair (SWTF), and indeed, to its sister ITB Asia?

According to ITB China general manager David Axiotis, ITB Asia reaches out to all Asian source markets, including India, while ITB China has predominantly Chinese buyers. The first show will host 600 selected Chinese buyers from all over the country representing more than 180 Chinese companies including Ctrip, Tuniu, Caissa and Utour. Along with the 600 Chinese buyers, ITB China is also hosting 100 international buyers.

Nearly half of the buyers (49 per cent) are buying leisure, 24 per cent MICE, 21 per cent corporate and six per cent technology, he said. Forty-four per cent are final decision makers, while 29 per cent are involved in decision making and 27 per cent are in advisory capacity.

As to how ITB China differs from existing tradeshows in China, Axioms said ITB China is purely B2B whereas a show like SWTF is “rather a mix of B2B and B2C”.

He added: “ITB China will also have more focus on IT than the other shows, including various technology companies offering their products. Many shows have debuted in China in recent years and they all have their own character. CITM is a platform for image building, but I believe ITB China will showcase more information for overseas travel.”

Apart from “powerful” keynote sessions on Day 1 (May 10) which will include an interview with Ctrip’s CEO Jane Sun, there will be an Online Travel and Travel Technology Day on May 11 along with a newly-created eTravel World China, an exhibition area dedicated to online travel and travel technology solutions with exhibitors comprising the likes of Amadeus, Expedia and Booking.com.

Organisers of existing tradeshows in China did not respond at press time to TTG Asia’s queries regarding the new competition ITB China may pose to their events.

Tradeshow fatigue
An exhibitor, BCD Travel’s Greater China managing director Jonathan Kao, said “of course there will be tradeshow fatigue, given the many travel-related shows in China”.

He pointed out events already face some competition from social media channels. Citing WeChat as an example, Kao said its group chat function acts as a platform for information exchange and word-of-mouth referrals.

“Frankly, there are maximum 500 contacts within the group chat, while you may not be able to remember all your handshakes made at a tradeshow. Therefore, it’s vital for new shows to bring in new and different ideas in order to survive.”

Messe Berlin’s senior vice president travel and logistics, Dr Martin Buck, said: “We know that we are entering a very competitive marketplace with well-established tradeshows that have been around for a while. We are very conscious not only to offer a lot but also to deliver, if we want to be successful.”

With Chinese outbound hitting a mind-spinning 122 million travellers last year, exhibitors have made a beeline for the show, especially those from Europe which badly need Chinese tourism dollars for various reasons. France, for instance, has seen its China market share dwindling as a result of terror attacks. Switzerland has been wooing Chinese and Asian travellers as traditional markets stagnate or stay away due to the high Swiss franc and the top prices the destination charges because of quality and higher cost of living.

ITB China’s 12,000m2 show floor thus is sold out, with about 40 per cent of exhibitors making their way to Shanghai from Europe, 36 per cent from Asia (including Chinese sellers Tencent, Jin Jiang Hotel Group, CN Travel Group, etc), 14 per cent from the Middle East and 10 per cent from the Americas.

“The exhibition covers everything the industry has to offer – MICE, NTOs, business travel, tour operators, tourism associations and societies,” said Axiotis.

Buyers from OTAs like Ctrip and Tuniu said ITB China could help spur development and business. Ctrip aims to be a global OTA in future, while Tuniu wants to create “a big data platform” that can generate valuable intelligence for business.

Tuniu’s general manager of overseas sourcing centre, Frank Wu, said: “We now feature 1.5 million boutique itineraries that cover 150 countries and areas. In the long run, we hope to develop not just an online booking system but create a big data platform with clients’ preferences, travel patterns and habits collected. Ultimately, based on the data, we may generate valuable information for business.”

Whether or not ITB China will be the premier China and Asia tradeshow remains to be seen. For now, it’s show time for Messe Berlin as it lays out the red carpet to welcome buyers and sellers to its latest travel trade exhibition.

This article was first published in TTG Asia April 2017 issue. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.