Chasing a port of gold

March 3, 2017

Ten years ago, Adam Goldstein unlocked the Asian cruise market potential for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCC) and made Singapore the regional homeport for the line. Raini Hamdi catches up with the president and COO of RCC, recalls his views from the first interview over a decade ago and asks, what’s next?

Welcome back to Singapore, Adam.
It’s good to be back…I remember I was speaking at the first or second Seatrade (conference) in Singapore and the question was, ‘how many people will cruise in Asia in year 2000?’. Of course you’d want to say a big number as if you say a small number, you might not get invited to speak again. The market was then may be 200,000 passengers or not even for all of Asia and when we thought it would grow to a million, we assumed it must come mostly from Japan. That’s what I was thinking. Then I realised there was a map on the projection and I looked at it and noticed that China was not marked. Whoever made that map literally could not imagine that China would be a source market for cruises. And now it’s the fastest-growing market and spurring the growth in the region.

Looking back, what’s the one thing you wish the company had done?
Like anything that turns out to be a good thing, you wish you could have done it faster, that’s the nature of life (laughs).

If you ask what we were doing before 2007 when we declared Singapore as our regional headquarters in Asia, we were spending a tremendous amount of time building our presence in Europe, while continuing to build our presence in North America and the Caribbean. In the years prior, we were introducing all of the Voyager, Radiance, Celebrity and Millennium class cruise ships, so we were very busy. The last 10 years were really our time to focus on the opportunity here and also, to be fair, the rise of income level and outbound travel that have propelled this region to the forefront of travel & tourism has really occurred in the last 10-15 years. We’ve been a leader and beneficiary of that and we hope someday Asia will move down a path to be either the largest cruise region in the world or right up there.

Yet in the 10 years, Asia has grown to around 2.2 million cruise passengers, a fraction of the 24 million worldwide. Shouldn’t it be bigger, considering the masses that travel by air?
We always think it should have grown faster, we’re impatient. We know what a great vacation a cruise is and what wonderful value it is, and we always think people should catch onto it faster. But life isn’t that easy and we have a lot of work to do to build up an appropriate level of consumer awareness and knowledgeable and supportive distribution.

If you think abut it, there’s something like 1.2 billion international person trips and 24 million cruise passengers, so that’s a two per cent share of international travel. There are a lot of options based on land around the world and we respect the fact people choose those options all the time. But we want to make sure people understand what the cruise proposition means and that they will choose it often.

I guess even in North America you are still developing the new-to-cruise market.
Yes, right now, even in North America, where there are about 12 million cruise passengers a year. We know there are millions of people in North America who have the wherewithal to cruise, would love it if they did and who almost certainly now have friends and family members telling them what a great thing it is – and still they haven’t cruised!

So obviously in Asia we have a long way ahead of us, but the sheer numbers that reflect the opportunity in this part of the world are so immense that it is well worth our effort to pursue that.

Is it a question of patience, or the industry doing a poor job at selling cruises?
One element is patience. We can’t expect that Asia will be this year everything it can be. Most people still don’t know what a cruise is. Most travel agents still aren’t comfortable to distribute them, recommend them. We’ve made progress and I’m sure we will make a lot of progress in 2017 as a company.

Here in Singapore for example Royal Caribbean (International) has its most extensive programme of cruises in a year, including a brand new ship, Ovation of the Seas. There’s going to be more capacity in Asia, more itinerary varieties, different types of ships, newer ships than ever before, so it’s going to be a year of progress in the region.

Can Asia be the biggest cruise market?
I know it’s exciting to talk about whether Asia can be the largest region of cruising or whether China as a country can be the largest source market. Right now with the US providing 12 million cruise passengers a year, and the rest of the world providing another 12 million a year, it’s clearly going to take a long time before any market displaces the US as the no. 1 cruising market. We don’t really obsess about that. We just know that the opportunity to increase the Asia cruise market by one to five million customers per year is real. Like everywhere else in the world our Asian customers love their cruises. We just need to do a better job of attracting them, of marketing and selling, of working with travel agents, to compete with all the other choices that they have.

But much of Asia does not have the ports to support the big ships you have.
It is absolutely clear that the continued development of cruise infrastructure is one of the most signficant challenges we face as an industry.

And because our industry isn’t so well understood yet, we have to be proactive in our outreach to governments and investors, to say what we believe the opportunity is, why the infrastructure is needed both in the homeports and in the ports of call, to discuss solutions to overcome these challenges. Because unless we have places we can take the customers to, where the right ships are capable of docking or anchoring, and the right tour products and destination experiences, we are not going to grow how we wish to.

Do you invest in port infrastructure and are you planning to in Asia?
Yes, we either are the most active cruise company in cruise-related commercial development, or we’re certainly right up there and we are constantly in a dialogue with governments and investor groups about finding solutions to infrastructure challenges.

Yes we are planning to invest in the region in commercial development without question and when the time is right to announce it, we aren’t shy to do so.

What’s your take on ASEAN specifically?
Singapore as a hub of the ASEAN region has an instrumental role to play in the overall development of the Asia-Pacific cruise sector. With Sydney in the south, Singapore more or less in the centre and China homeports in the north, these are the crucial centres of cruise activities. There will be other homeports and cruises over the course of time but these are the ones propelling the cruise industry today.

Singapore, like Sydney, needs to provide warm weather cruise options that complement the China cruise market. ASEAN too in itself has over 600 million people in it and is a growing region economically.

10 Need to Know’s about Adam Goldstein

Who’s in your family? My wife Cheryl, my son David and my daughter Julie.

What do you do for fun? Competitive running, table tennis, rowing and travelling

Your ideal vacation? Anywhere in the world with our ‘vacation gang’ of my law school friends and our families

How do you book your own leisure trips? My wife is a wizard at travel bookings, having once run the air/sea department at Royal Caribbean

What are you reading right now? The Economist, as always

How do you stay healthy? Constant training with my running coach

Favourite food? Pad Thai

A bad habit you cannot kick? Chocolate croissants

Your pet peeve, something that never fails to annoy you? When a colleague has no point of view on a way forward

Most people don’t know that you…have season tickets to the Philadelphia Eagles (American) football games despite living 900 miles from the stadium

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

The reinvention of tours

By Raini Hamdi

March 3, 2017

With unicorn Airbnb and new players foraying into their turf, traditional players are redesigning tours and boosting their strengths, Raini Hamdi writes

One of the local experiences offered on Triip.me, a peer-to-peer online startup that has amassed over 6,000 local experts in 660 cities in 98 countries, beckons travellers to Taste the Weirdness of Hong Kong. In three hours, Hong Kong resident Bella will take them through such unique experiences as tasting turtle jelly and snake soup, and ‘petty person beating’ – a living culture in Hong Kong where, under a flyover called Ngo Keng Kiu, professional old ladies will ‘beat’ the ‘petty person’ (boss, jealous friend, for some maybe even Trump) out of their life with a shoe.

It’s hard to imagine how ‘experiences’, compared with mere tours, will not appeal to tourists who want to ‘live there’. With the launch of Airbnb Trips last mid-November, this sharing economy space is unlikely to go away. At launch, Airbnb had claimed 500 experiences in 12 cities worldwide, and tour operators recognise it’s just a matter of time before more Asian experiences will be offered and possibly too by unicorns such as Google.

“Looking at the roll-out plans of Airbnb Trips, the focus is more into Europe, the US and South America, but Asia will be on their radar,” said Niels Steeman, Asian Trails Group e-commerce and marketing manager, who expects “a rumble” in the tours industry, just as vacation rentals has disrupted the hotel sector.

New vs traditional
Asian tour operators are watching the development keenly but believe it will take a lot for the new players to disrupt their bread and butter.

Matt Mason, managing director of Buffalo Tours in Singapore, pointed out that the knowledge, experience and connections of a DMC are hard to beat.

“There’s a lot of attention in the tours and activities space. That’s the stronghold of tour operators and DMCs.

“But I think with Airbnb specifically, it’s a big challenge from just letting out a spare room to actually giving a half, full-day or even two- or three-day tours. A lot of training needs to go into that, to deliver the kind of experience DMCs deliver. I know the amount of effort we put in, from guide and driver training, to the audits that we do to make sure all our experiences are safe. There’s a lot of intelligence behind it and it will take time for other players to build that kind of knowledge,” said Masson.

Another strength of traditional players lies in a key word, assurance, particularly in current times when crises are common. A traveller is assured that in the case of an emergency, there is always the travel agent or the land operator to turn to which Airbnb Trips may not necessarily provide, said Dynasty Travel Singapore’s managing director Clifford Neo.

And just as in home sharing, there are issues of licensing and safety standards. Said Steeman: “What worries us is, as soon as they operate tours, hosts become tour operators. In many countries within the Asian Trails Group, you need an appropriate licence to be a guide or tour operator. Another big issue is the insurance coverage of the organisers, should anything happen. At Asian Trails, we offer immersive local trips that are off-the-beaten track, but with the security of operating fully-licensed and fully-insured operations.”

Boosting strengths
With the trips sharing economy being a potential disruptor, tour operators are boosting their strengths, rethinking strategies and remaking tours.

Just like in the peer-to-peer space, Buffalo Tours has reinvented the image of the tour guide as someone in a coach who dishes out historical facts to passive tourists, to “real life” people – a colourful restaurant owner, a passionate art curator, etc – who take insights-hungry clients into their lives.

As far back as in 2014, Buffalo Tours started adapting to new tourist desires by launching Local Life, featuring tours connecting clients with local communities. A lot of these tours are done on foot, bicycle or other forms of public transport. Local Life was followed by Essence in 2015, offering more private touring, and Masterclass last year, featuring even more unique experiences such as a date with the winner of MasterChef Indonesia.

Being on the ground, knowing the hidden places, having the local contacts – “that’s where DMCs can control the experience better than an OTA”, said Masson.

Asian Trails has also reinvented tours by developing the Explore Asia programmes which are designed to deliver out-of-the-ordinary tours for couples, families and those seeking new roads within existing destinations. “The market demand (not Airbnb) constantly pushes us to deliver something new,” Steeman said.

Branding
Others believe it is also time to up their game in branding and marketing, which players such as Airbnb does with wizardry. A retail agency, Urban Rhythms Tour Adventures & Travel, Malaysia, is investing heavily on drones and video publishing software to showcase its specialised inbound tours such as mountain climbing, extreme sports and diving.

Director Nigel Wong explained: “The segment of consumers who are attracted to (the new players) are technology-savvy, looking for a convenient way to plan their holiday without having to spend much. To compete with these disruptors and others who use Facebook and claim to be local experts selling tours, or even specialised activities such as birding and diving, we have taken steps to revamp the way we market and brand our products and services. We started our first shooting in early February to promote soft adventure in Sabah, which includes mountain climbing, ecolodge stays and wildlife spotting. These videos will be uploaded on our website and we hope it will entice potential clients that we offer top-notch service and competitive pricing.”

Agreeing, Agustinus Pake Seko, president director of Bayu Buana Travel, Indonesia, urged tour operators to focus on building “a solid brand”.

“At the end of the day I believe the customer values reliability over pricing.We also need to (evolve) our distribution channel. We cannot rely on the conventional method only. We need to develop an omni-channel strategy to make sure our products and services can be accessed conveniently,” he said.

Yet others believe they should focus on the higher-yield clientele, seeing that the trips sharing economy is more for low-budget, free-and-easy travellers who are willing to take risks and do not mind the hassle of making their own travel plans.

Said Jaclyn Yeoh, managing director of Siam Express in Singapore: “Travellers in this high-end spectrum still need the expertise of travel agents. What we can provide that Airbnb Trips cannot is our personal human touch and experience.”

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

Focus on technology, enhanced buyer-seller matching at ITB China

By Prudence Lui

March 3, 2017

With the proliferation of trade shows targeting China’s massive outbound travel market, ITB China knows it has to offer a more compelling value proposition that includes buyer participation from some of China’s biggest industry players as well as a strong seller and conference lineup for its debut in Shanghai.

Speaking at the ITB China preview event in Shanghai yesterday, Martin Buck, senior vice president of travel and logistics at organiser Messe Berlin, said: “We are entering a very competitive marketplace with well-established trade shows that have been around for a while. We are very conscious not only to offer a lot but also to deliver.”

(From left) TravelDaily China’s Charlie Li; Jin Jiang International Hotel Management’s John Li; Tuniu’s Frank Wu; Messe Berlin’s Martin Buck; ITB China’s David Axiotis; European Travel Commission’s Eduardo Santander; College of Europe’s Eric Philippart; and European Tour Operators Association’s Tom Jenkins

Apart from 100 international buyers, ITB China will draw 600 Chinese hosted buyers representing more than 180 Chinese companies from across the country, with confirmed buyers including Ctrip, Caissa, Utour and Tuniu.

Chinese OTA giant Tuniu will deploy 30 procurement team members to explore cruises, air tickets, hotels and tours, general manager of overseas sourcing centre, Frank Wu, said during the ITB China media conference.

However, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board’s director for Shanghai, James Zheng finds the 30-minute pre-scheduled B2B meeting too long. “More than 600 buyers will show up but we only have 21 appointments for three days. It’d be great to meet as many as possible,” said Zheng, who also hopes that the ITB China buyers’ list does not replicate ITB Asia’s.

ITB China, general manager, David Axiotis, explained: “The B2B meeting number is fewer than what we had in the sister show in Singapore. We did it on purpose and have left quite a few slots especially during lunch time and in the evening for other networking possibilities.”

According to Axiotis, hosted buyers comprise leisure (49 per cent), corporate (21 per cent), technology (six per cent) and MICE (24 per cent).

Europe, which is the official partner destination of ITB China this year, will make up the biggest exhibitor contingent at the 12,000m² show floor, followed by 36 per cent from Asia, 14 per cent from the Middle East and 10 per cent from the Americas, he added.

A series of keynote sessions by speakers including Friedrich Joussen, CEO of TUI Group, and Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip, will kick off the ITB China Conference on the first day of the show.

Meanwhile, a new exhibition area dedicated to online travel and travel technology solutions, eTravel World China, will run throughout the show to feature companies such as Amadeus, Expedia and Booking.com, in addition to the Online Travel and Travel Technology Day on May 11.

ITB China will take place from May 10 to 12 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center. TTG will be the official show daily during the three-day show.

Japan goes for the kill with ninja tourism

By Kathryn Wortley

March 3, 2017

Ninja experts, tourism business and travel agents in Japan have launched the government-backed Ninja Nippon Project to attract visitors to Japanese cities with ninja roots.

According to the project’s representatives, many places across Japan have a rich connection with ninjas, such as Iga in Mie Prefecture, dubbed the “Ninja City”.

Representatives of the Ninja Nippon Project and Ashura, a renowned ninja troupe from Iga, Mie Prefecture. Photo credit: Kathryn Wortley

Hiroshi Mizohata, chair of the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau and vice president of the Japan Ninja Council, will leverage the success of experimental tours launched last year to introduce a series of ninja-themed tours in five areas in May.

“Ninjas are very popular abroad so by making ninja-theme tours we hope to offer enjoyable trips for inbound visitors,” said Masakuni Mori of Tokyo-based Tobu Top Tours, which is working with the Japan Ninja Council to develop two tours. “The tours will offer sightseeing in towns related to ninja heritage, and allow visitors to (try out) ninja weapons such as throwing stars.”

The 2D/1N “circular tour” will showcase multiple regions and their differences related to ninja history and culture, while the “stay tour” will target visitors seeking a deeper knowledge of the ninja culture with stays in one ninja region for five to seven days.

Finnair pilots NDC tech with Skyscanner to boost online bookings

By TTG Asia

March 3, 2017

Finnair has joined forces with Amadeus and Skycanner to launch a new Application Programming Interface (API) based on IATA’s NDC (New Distribution Capability) XML messaging standard, allowing travellers to book its flights and ancillaries directly without leaving the Skyscanner platform.

Rogier van Enk, Finnair’s head of commercial strategy, distribution & data science said: “This new solution adds yet another option for our partners to sell the full range of Finnair offers with an assisted booking through our systems – especially startups – and at the same time, it can greatly enhance the customer experience.”’

Stuart Middleton, commercial director at Skyscanner, added that the direct booking platform integrating the Amadeus NDC API will “open up new and deeper partnership opportunities with airlines moving forward”.

Amadeus’ new NDC API offers an additional distribution option for travel retailers to integrate Finnair’s flights, seats and ancillaries, adding to the travel technology giant’s existing assisted booking portfolio aimed at boosting conversion for airlines in the meta channel, according to Manuel Midon, Amadeus’ managing director, airline business, Northern & Western Europe.

Malaysia scraps visa-free entry for North Koreans

By S Puvaneswary

March 3, 2017

North Koreas visiting Malaysia will no longer enjoy visa-free entry from March 6, as diplomatic relations between the two countries deteriorate following the assassination of Kim Jong-nam at klia2 last month.

The move is aimed at safeguarding national security, according to national news agency Bernama, citing Malaysian deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

This is a complete turnaround after a recent statement by Malaysia’s tourism and culture minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz that there was no need to revoke visa-free access for North Koreans due to the existing travel restrictions already imposed by Pyongyang on its own citizens.

On Malaysians being advised to stay away from North Korea for security reasons, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents’ president, Hamzah Rahmat, commented: “Such travel advisories would apply to any destination where security of our citizens cannot be assured, and it is the fiduciary duty of all travel agents to place the safety of travellers above all else.”

An Alila no more, Soori Bali goes independent

By TTG Asia

March 3, 2017

Renowned architect Soo K Chan of Singapore-based SCDA Architects has relaunched his beachfront resort, Soori Bali, under a new and independent lifestyle brand.

Previously an Alila property, the 48 villas and residences in Bali’s Tabanan Regency are currently undergoing refurbishment.

As well, Soori Bali will soon add a new Indonesian restaurant in a traditional Bali house amid rice fields; a cantilevered event space over the Indian Ocean; and expand the helipad lawn on the 10-bedroom Soori Estate by late 2017. This is in addition to current facilities such as an infinity pool, gym, library, spa and two restaurants.

The relaunch of Soori Bali, which has just joined Leading Hotels of the World, is the first in a series of major developments to be rolled out under the Soori brand.

The next two properties in the pipeline are the Soori High Line (opening early 2018) – a 31-unit boutique residence in New York City’s West Chelsea – and the Soori Niseko ski resort (currently under design) in Japan.

New hotel openings: February 27 – March 3, 2017

By TTG Asia

March 3, 2017

The latest hotel openings and announcements made this week

Parasol Blanc
Recently opened in the UNESCO-listed town of Luang Prabang in Laos is the 30-key Parasol Blanc. Decorated in a blend of traditional Laotian design and contemporary décor, rooms come with a mini-bar, personal safe, tea and coffee making facilities, alongside a private balcony or terrace. As well, the White Lotus Restaurant serves both traditional Laotian and international dishes.

Mövenpick Residences Ekkamai Bangkok
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has opened its first serviced apartment, Mövenpick Residences Ekkamai Bangkok, on March 1. The new property features 158 studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments that range in size from 32m² to 75m². All residences come with complimentary Wi-Fi, flatscreen TVs and kitchen equipment. Amenities on-site include a 25m-long outdoor saltwater swimming pool, a rooftop fitness centre, a restaurant and shuttle services to the nearest BTS station.

Four Seasons Hotel Tianjin
Located in Tianjin’s CBD is the Four Seasons Hotel Tianjin, offering 259 rooms including 44 suites. Amenities on the property include five F&B options with private dining rooms, a children’s playground, fitness centre, sauna and steam rooms, 25m-long indoor swimming pool, club lounge, business centre, as well as the soon-to-open L’Océan Spa. Event spaces includes two pillar-free ballrooms, eight function rooms and a VIP room, all of which amount to 2,943m².

Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo
The Ascott will launch the 130-apartment Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo in the Marunouchi-Otemachi area on March 30, 2017. Apartments range from studios to three-bedroom units, and guests can also choose the apartments that come with a Japanese tatami mattress for a local experience. Amenities include a swimming pool, rooftop terrace, gym, reading lounge, business centre and meeting rooms, and is also connected to the Otemachi Station.

Wyndham Surabaya
The Wyndham Hotel Group has opened the Wyndham Surabaya along the Jalan Basuki Rahmat Boulevard near Tunjungan Plaza. Aside from the 292 rooms, the hotel also offers two-bedroom apartments and 283m² presidential suites. Amenities include free Wi-Fi, an outdoor pool, a wellness centre with a sauna and hot tub, and a spa. Meeting facilities include nine venues that can accommodate up to 750 people.

A rewarding evening for agents at Legoland Malaysia

By TTG Asia

March 3, 2017

Legoland Malaysia Resort last month hosted its Fifth Anniversary Appreciation & Awards Night for agents, partners and media guests, which saw Singapore’s WTS Travel & Tours and Fil Air Travel & Tours; Malaysia’s AD Travel and HTC Travel Services, plus Ctrip International Travel receiving top agent awards from the resort.

Legoland also introduced its new general manager, Kurt Stocks, and unveiled its 2017/2018 plans during the event.

From left) Legoland Malaysia Resorts’ CS Lim and Thila Munusamy; WTS Travel & Tours’ Richard Lim; AD Travel’s Jason Tan; Fil Air Travel & Tours’ Danballard Tan; HTC Travel Services’ Ong Yee Meng; Ctrip International Travel (Hong Kong) Edison Lim; Legoland Malaysia Resorts’ Shen Ming and Kurt Stocks

[SPONSORED POST] Welcome to Lausanne and Montreux Riviera, Lake Geneva Region

By TTG Asia

March 3, 2017

There’s no end to the delights of the spectacular Swiss Riviera at Lake Geneva Region. This region stands for its picture-postcard vistas, flower-fringed promenades, rolling hills and romantic waterways. Its food and wine is also considered as among the best in the country. Iconics “must do” or “must-see” includes the UNESCO vineyard of Lavaux or the GoldenPass train ride to Gstaad (and Interlaken) or a relaxing excursion on one of the many paddle steamers cruising Lake Geneva.

The city of Lausanne attracts both business travellers and tourists alike and is well appreciated for its gourmet and trendy restaurants, boutique hotels and a vibrant nightlife. Additionally, Lausanne provides many opportunities for shopping in the old town and the new districts and hosts major international sporting events. The Olympic Museum provides a surface area of 3,000m2 devoted to exhibitions, 1,500 objects and 150 screens to relive great Olympic moments. One of the most recent hotel openings in Lausanne is the deluxe Hotel Royal Savoy with 196 rooms. It is divided between the original historic building and a new Garden Wing and provides a 1500 sqm Spa area as well as many banquet & conference facilities, accommodating up to 485 guests. AQUATIS, the largest European fresh water aquarium will open its doors this summer. Another future event will take place in 2020 when Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud will host the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020.

Montreux Riviera is especially famous for the many international festivals and events taking place. Whether it’s the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival in July or the Christmas Market in December, it is always worth a visit. A “must-see” is also the Chaplin’s World, a fascinating museum revealing the private life of the man and the artist Charlie Chaplin and a journey on top of Glacier 3000. But also Chillon Castle should not be missed as one of Europe’s most fascinating castles and most visited historical monument in Switzerland. The Clinique La Prairie in Clarens-Montreux has established over the years an international reputation as a world-renowned medical clinic and wellness destination. Equipped with the latest technology and 50 leading specialists, the clinic offers a holistic approach to healthcare and wellbeing in a tranquil and sophisticated environment. Also a place to visit is nest, a completely new discovery space where Nestlé provides an insight into the very foundations of the company at its birthplace in Vevey. Nest is much more than a museum, nest takes the visitor through the 150 years of history of a truly unique brand.

For more information on Lake Geneva Region, visit www.lake-geneva-region.ch. For more information about Switzerland, get inspired on www.mySwitzerland.com or facebook.com/MySwitzerland.