Gyeongbokgung Palace in spring

South Korea’s missile-shield spat with China is casting a pall over inbound tourism, causing a sharp plunge in Chinese group tour arrivals and prompting travel firms to seek out alternative inbound markets like South-east Asia.

South Korea welcomed 17.2 million foreign tourists in 2016, of which nearly 8.1 million were from China. According to a Korean Tourism Organization spokeperson, an increase in FIT and business travellers propped up Chinese arrivals to South Korea in 2H2016 but group and package tours had fallen through. Further statistics were not available at press time.

The Chinese government had refused to permit South Korean airlines to operate charter flights during the Lunar New Year, and the Chinese Embassy had also earlier notified South Korean travel agencies of new rules imposed on Chinese travellers to make the visa application process more laborious.

The Yonhap News agency quoted travel agencies as saying that Chinese visitors have also declined by as much as 50 per cent during the Lunar New Year (January 27 to February 2) period.

“The Chinese government is pushing their agents not to sell packages to (South) Korea, and many other travel companies have seen lots of groups cancelling trips,” said Daniel Kim of Seoul-based HaB Korea Tour.

“We have to develop new markets and find clients from other countries,” he lamented.

David Won, manager of One Day Korea Tourist and Travel, estimates that Chinese bookings are down as much as 30 per cent in recent months.

“We have to change our strategies and are increasingly looking at travellers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan for our tours,” he told TTG Asia.

To celebrate its 10^th anniversary, Royal Plaza on Scotts’ Carousel is hosting a Pay-As-You-Wish buffet lunch on on February 18 from 12.00 to 13.30.

Two hundred seats are available for the Pay-As-You-Wish buffet lunch, worth S$76 (US$54) per person. Reservations are not required and guests are invited to join in for lunch on a first-come, first-served basis. Table sharing will take place during the event as diners come together to celebrate the occasion.

Guests are encouraged to donate any amount they wish for their meal and all profits will go to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which supports more than 13,000 children and youths a year in providing them with monthly school pocket money.

This is the first time an international buffet restaurant in Singapore is giving guests the opportunity to pay any amount they deem fit for their meal, said the hotel in a press statement. The celebration will be topped off with a 10kg cake specially designed and crafted by the chefs of Carousel.

Chief experience officer and general manager of Royal Plaza on Scotts, Patrick Fiat, commented: “This is a significant achievement for Carousel as we enter our tenth year. We hope that our guests will come with an empty stomach and leave with a full heart by giving back to the less privileged in the community.”

In another strong annual showing, the world’s airlines saw demand in terms of revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) rise 6.3 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year – and ahead of the ten-year average of 5.5 per cent – while average load factor reached a record high of 80.5 per cent, according to IATA.

International passenger traffic rose 6.7 per cent in 2016 from 2015. Capacity rose 6.9 per cent and load factor fell 0.2 percentage points to 79.6 per cent. All regions recorded year-over-year increases in demand.

The Middle East tops again the regional list with an 11.6 percent increase in RPKs, while Asia-Pacific comes in second with a demand increase of 8.3 per cent, ahead of Europe in third place with 10.7 per cent increase.

Meanwhile, domestic air travel rose 5.7 per cent globally led by India and China among the major markets, which saw RPK expand 23.3 per cent and 11.7 per cent respectively.

According to an IATA statement, these markets have been underpinned by additional routes and increasing flight frequencies, with the latter looking set to continue in 2017.

“Air travel was a good news story in 2016. Connectivity increased with the establishment of more than 700 new routes. And a US$44 fall in average return fares helped to make air travel even more accessible. As a result, a record 3.7 billion passengers flew safely to their destination. Demand for air travel is still expanding,” commented Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.

Amid expanding air travel demand, the IATA chief also called on governments to “to meet that demand with infrastructure that can accommodate the growth, regulation that facilitates growth and taxes that don’t choke growth” for the aviation industry to create more jobs and prosperity.

At the same time, he also warns governments to balance freedom to travel and security. “Our freedom to connect through air travel drives prosperity and enriches societies… Aviation is the business of freedom. And we must defend its social and economic benefits from barriers to travel and protectionist agendas,” said de Juniac.

As part of a streamlining strategy, Hilton has rebranded its loyalty programme to introduce several industry-first benefits, alongside a refreshing of its corporate identity.

The loyalty programme’s name and logo have been updated from HHonors (with two H’s) to Honors while the company will now go by Hilton rather than Hilton Worldwide.

Starting this summer, Hilton Honors programme members will be able to use their points to purchase products on Amazon.com.

As well, they will have the option of combining points and money to redeem stays effective late February. This means members will be able to use Points faster, at any time and with no blackout dates.

Members will also be able to pool points with up to 10 friends or family members for free beginning in April.

And to take into account the various life events that may put travel plans on pause, Hilton is giving eligible Diamond members a one-time, one-year extension of their status for any reason.

AccorHotels has announced that it has begun exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of 100 per cent of Travel Keys, a leading player in the private vacation rental market. The transaction is expected to close in 2Q2017 after customary due diligence.

Founded in 1991, Atlanta-based Travel Keys is an elite travel broker representing a luxury collection of over 5,000 highly curated villas across more than 100 destinations across the Caribbean, Mexico, the US, Europe, Asia and Africa, offering professional vacation planning and 24/7 concierge services.

Along with AccorHotels’ earlier acquisition of onefinestay and Squarebreak, the latest Travel Keys deal will give the French hospitality group around 8,500 addresses across resorts and cities in the luxury private rental market.

Sebastien Bazin, chairman & CEO of AccorHotels, commented: “Travel Keys brings an impressive portfolio of premium properties to our existing activities. This acquisition further demonstrates our agility and dynamic approach to offer comprehensive services to our clients.”

Bobby Gibson, CEO of Travel Keys, stated: “We feel a strong link with the AccorHotels’ teams, and share in the vision of both Sebastien Bazin and the private rental leaders at AccorHotels about the future of our industry. We are very enthusiastic about this partnership, writing a new and exciting chapter of Travel Keys’ story.”