Tafook island in Myanmar’s south

As Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism gears up to launch a campaign to promote its southern “virgin” archipelago, union minister Ohn Maung said responsible and sustainable tourism practices are essential to preserve the country’s beauty and culture.

Hoping to learn from other ASEAN member countries, he will visit Thailand’s largest tourist island Phuket on January 22. He said: “I want to see how it has been infested by tourism because we don’t want to make the same mistakes.”

Plans include limiting development to about 80 of the 800 islands, which boast coral reefs, powder beaches and a marine national park, with others only accessible for day trips.

The minister will also travel to Switzerland to consult with experts to look at the possibility of creating South-east Asia’s only ski resort in Myanmar’s northern, year-round snow-capped mountains.

“The country has so much potential, but we have to get it right,” he added.

In a bid to ensure tourism – which Ohn Maung believes will become the country’s second strongest economic pillar – does not destroy local traditions, hotels and tourism-related activities in destinations away from popular Yangon, Mandalay, Inle and Bagan, must be built sensitively, respecting the local culture.

“I don’t want any of these big and shiny hotels,” he said. “Places such as Bagan and Mandalay are already spoilt but we can make sure that doesn’t happen in remote areas.”

For example, Chin State’s 11 hotels are built in traditional style, with a heavy focus on community-based tourism (CBT). The latest to open was a CBT village on January 2.

“This is the kind of concept we want to focus on in the future,” the minister emphasised.

Developing human resources is the first step, with foreign organisations helping to set up training schools across the country. Improving infrastructure will follow.

He acknowledged that “this will not take place overnight”.

“But if we are careful now, we can be successful well into the future,” he said.

Other efforts are being ploughed into promoting Myanmar as a year-round destination. Currently, the tourism season starts in October and runs until the end of March, with the rest of the year remaining quiet.

Ohn Maung urges operators to run green season promotions to attract visitors during the quiet months.

“We are calling this the green season as it is the time when Myanmar comes to life; the paddies are alive, the country is green,” he explained.

Law: Asia-Pacific remains the fastest growing market for international travel

Park Hotel Group has launched Destination, a select, midscale brand that provides quality and affordable accommodation in prime, central locations.

The group’s third brand will debut in 2Q2017 in Singapore with the 300-room Destination Singapore Beach Road. A management contract with FG Property No. 1 was recently signed.

“We definitely see an upward trend for select service in Singapore. Based on the current official data for mid-tier hotels, there is growth in overall occupancy levels over the last three years in this segment reflecting increased interest and preference,” said Allen Law, CEO of Park Hotel Group.

The trend, Law noticed, is mirrored globally with over 60 per cent of select service hotels being part of pipeline hotels in the US in 2016.

With travel continuing to evolve, Destination offers more options for the “pragmatic, independent and curious traveller looking for efficiency, reliability, connectivity and convenience in a hotel”, explained Law.

Park Hotel Group hopes to expand its latest brand in countries like Hong Kong, Japan and Australia where select service hotels would be well-positioned to tackle steep property, labour and construction costs with increased building efficiency and operational productivity.

“Regionally, Asia-Pacific remains the fastest growing market for international travel with close to 10 per cent growth up to 3Q2016,” said Law.

Destination Singapore Beach Road is Park Hotel Group’s sixth hotel in Singapore. It will take over the current Premier Inn Singapore located near Nicoll Highway MRT Station.

Vang Vieng

Cities beyond Vientiane will be in the spotlight when the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism of Laos kicks off its Visit Laos Year 2018 marketing blitz.

Sounh Manivong, director general with the ministry’s Tourism Marketing Department, told TTG Asia in an interview: “When people think about Laos, it’s mostly either Vientiane or Luang Prabang that comes to mind, but we actually have a lot more to offer beyond that.”

To correct that perception, the country’s latest marketing campaign to court international traffic will include an aggressive social media drive to highlight lesser-known destinations like Vang Vieng, four hours from the capital; Xiangkhouang province in the north-east; and Ban Khoun Kham village in Khammouane province, centre of Laos.

“Social media is one of the fastest and most effective ways to reach and engage the audience, especially the younger ones who are very tech-savvy,” he said.

The ministry intends to actively share photos and videos of these smaller destinations on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

According to Manivong, most tourists to Laos hail from neighbouring lands like Thailand and Vietnam, hence there is a “huge potential” to reach out to more international markets.

New destination brochures, as well as more intensive participation in international tradeshows like ITB Asia, ITB Berlin and WTM London are on the cards too, shared Manivong.

The ministry has also put up a proposal to ease procedures at immigration checkpoints and to grant visa exemption to more countries – all subject to government approval.

He said: “There are only a few countries that are exempted. If more countries could (enjoy this benefit), we would definitely expect tourism to perform even better.”

Manivong added that the visa exemption would make Laos a more attractive option as part of a multi-destination itinerary in South-east Asia.

Panorama Holidays has taken steps to grow its presence beyond its home base in Malaysia, with its first full-fledged overseas office launched in Manila earlier this month.

Similar to its Malaysian outpost, the new Panorama Holidays Philippines handles inbound and outbound tours and ticketing.

Richard Vuilleumier, group managing director of Panorama Holidays, told TTG Asia: “Having an office in the Philippines will help us promote intra-ASEAN travel and allow us to control the quality of tour products and services.”

While Vuilleumier is not yet ready to reveal plans on how he intends to package the Philippines in a multi-destination regional itinerary, he said Panorama Holidays Philippines will first invest in a homegrown B2B event. World International Travel Expo, which will be held from May 15 to 17 in Manila and Cebu, will showcase sellers such as airlines, cruise companies, online and traditional travel agencies, hotels and resorts, theme parks and NTOs from across the Philippines and beyond.

Vuilleumier expects the show to attract 100 international sellers and 400 buyers.

Vuilleumier said he is also looking at turning his sales offices in Vietnam, Dubai and India into similar full-fledged entities to handle inbound, outbound and ticketing, all within the next two years.

He said: “Based on our market intelligence, we know these markets have a huge pool of upper-middle class (travellers) as well as a strong inbound potential which we want to tap.”

To succeed in growing outbound numbers from Vietnam, Dubai and India, Vuilleumier believes that “the key is in developing creative packages that will create a buzz in the marketplace”.

Meanwhile, to grow Panorama Holidays’ longhaul markets, the company will promote and sell dual destination tours covering Malaysia and Singapore and emphasising on heritage, culture and ecotourism at ITB Berlin.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Longhaul buyers interviewed at the ATF TRAVEX are reporting growing demand for mono destinations in South-east Asia, which has long been perceived as a bloc. From wanting to visit numerous countries at one go, travellers are now focusing on one country for the entirety of their trip.

M Zaki, president of RZ Travels California, said: “I have noticed this trend growing over the last couple of months, propelled by the strengthening of the US dollar, which makes the region affordable.

“Also, hotels are giving incentives such as pay-three-stay-five-nights and more. Some hotels in Thailand are even offering free massages.”

Roy Davis, director of UK-based World Discovery, concurred: “The big change in the market is that there used to be multi-country tours, where people see the highlights and move on. Now they prefer to go to one country and see it in more depth.”

Davis added that such travellers prefer not to rush around, and instead choose to fully immerse themselves in the culture, food and sights of one destination. For him, Thailand and Cambodia are selling well as mono destinations for 2017.

However, Zaki pointed out that the demand for mono destinations usually stem from FIT travellers or repeat visitors.

Shirish N Trivedi, president of Travel Leaders in Baltimore, said travel shows on TV about South-east Asia in the US have drawn curiosity from travellers, especially those aged 20 to 50.

He elaborated: “In the past, the norm was to bundle two or three destinations for a 10- to 14-day holiday. Now, there is increased demand from FIT clients who want to spend 10 to 12 days in a single destination to learn more about the local culture and its people. This trend has emerged over the past 12 months.”

Shirish says Cambodia and Myanmar are hot as “little is known about these destinations”.

“If you’ve not been to Thailand before, for example, and you want to see the country entirely, you stay there and move within the country. For travellers who want to get involved and give something back, they will usually stay put in one country,” concluded Petra Schickling, managing director of Germany-based Herget Representation & Networking. – Additional report from Rachel AJ Lee

Masson: take a lot for new players to disrupt tour operations

Asian tour operators are reinventing tours and strengthening capabilities as bigger players like Airbnb foray into their territory.

Airbnb claimed 500 experiences in 12 cities worldwide at launch last mid-November and, although only Japan is among the dozen, tour operators recognise it’s just a matter of time before more Asian experiences will be offered and big players like Google enter the travel business.

Currently, the trip-sharing economy, which has birthed local players such as Vietnam’s Triip.me, Singapore’s KKday and Thailand’s Local Alike, has yet to disrupt tour operators’ business. But Niels Steeman, Asian Trails e-commerce and marketing manager, expects it to “create a rumble”, just as vacation rentals has disrupted the hotel sector.

“Looking at the roll-out plans of Airbnb Trips, the focus is more on Europe, the US and South America, but Asia will soon be on their radar,” he said.

And just as in home sharing, there will be such issues as licensing and safety standards. Added Steeman: “What worries us is, as soon as you operate tours, hosts become tour operators and in many countries (where Asian Trails Group operates), you need to have an appropriate licence to be a guide or a 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.”

Matt Masson, managing director of Buffalo Tours Singapore, believes it would take a lot for new players to disrupt tour operations. “There’s a lot of attention in the tours and activities space. That’s the strong ground of tour operators and DMCs.

“But I think, specifically with Airbnb, it’s a big challenge from letting out a spare room to actually committing to giving a half- or full-day, some even two or three days. 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 – guide training, driver training and audits to make sure all our experiences are safe. There’s a lot of intelligence behind and it will take other players time to build up that knowledge,” said Masson.

In the last three to four years, Buffalo Tours has reinvented the meaning of a tour guide – from just someone who stands on the bus and gives historical facts to “real-life” people, be it a restaurant owner or a curator of an art gallery who takes clients behind the scenes.

It launched the Local Life range of tours in 2014, featuring tours that connect clients with local communities and a low environmental footprint. A lot of these tours are done on foot, bicycle or other forms of public transport. It also launched the Essence range, which offers more private touring in 2015, and Masterclass last year, designed to give customers even more experiential moments.

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

Steeman foresees that in the near future, Airbnb too will recognise this, become more “lenient” and add DMCs to their platform.

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

As to why a customer would still want to book a tour through a retail agency who gets the tour from the tour operator, when he can now book direct on the trip-sharing economy, Steeman said: “The online B2C/C2C travel segment remains a very fragmented segment. Customers need to go to various sites to get a total package, spending a lot of time and effort searching for the right deal.”

Masson also pointed out other reasons: “Security is one. You are buying from a trusted party who has met local regulations. That sounds old-fashioned but there will be cases in the next few years of online companies delivering a sub-standard service and not meeting expectations. That security of going to a trusted player still remains regardless of the generation.

“And most tour operators will evolve. They have been in the business for years and kept up with the trends,” Masson concluded.

India’s surprise demonetisation of its Rs500 (US$7.35) and Rs1,000 bills in November 2016 has rattled the travel trade, as inbound and outbound travellers grapple with a cash crisis that sees no respite in sight.

The sudden move by the Indian government to crack down on corruption, counterfeit currency and black money has effectively made 85 per cent of India’s cash illegal tender overnight while the circulation of the new Rs500 rupee and Rs2,000 bank notes have lagged behind demand.

The liquidity crunch has badly hit Indian outbound sector. Hitank Shah, Gujarat’s chapter chairman of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), said: “Demonetisation has affected travel industry adversely with business down by 30 to 40 per cent.”

To address the issue, the Gujarat chapter has inked a MoU with a private bank to facilitate travel loans for customers of TAFI members. “We expect the move will help to boost business of our members who are fledgling post demonetisation,” added Shah.

Ashwani Sharma, CEO, Sheraton Travels, said: “In the mean time, outbound tourism is suffering from the demonetisation move. The leisure market especially has not taken the announcement positively.”

For the recent year-end travel season, Rakshit Desai, managing director at India’s FCM Travel Solutions, saw Indian travellers cancelling their longhaul plans to destinations such as the US and Europe in favour for countries nearer home.

The ripple effects of India’s demonetisation move are also felt in South-east Asia. Malaysian inbound agents have been caught in a bind over this, with Andy Yow, director of sales and marketing at Vivanta by Taj – Rebak Island Langkawi, seeing a 10 per cent year-on-year drop in bookings from India in November and December 2016.

Leisure tourists from India have also shortened their stay to two nights from three nights, added Yow, which he attributes to travellers exercising greater caution in spending amid the current cash crunch.

“Our business was badly hit during the Indian peak travel season in November and December 2016. We were down around 30 per cent year-on-year,” said Arokia Das, senior manager at Luxury Tours Malaysia, who still expects a 20 per cent year-on-year drop in 1Q2017 business.

He noted: “Three-star hotel packages are currently selling better than four- and five-star properties. Indian holidaymakers are being thrifty as they don’t know how long this issue will persist.

“We are trying to make up for the revenue shortfall by intensifying efforts to get more regional business. There is a host of air connectivity options from LCCs linking South-east Asia’s capital and secondary cities to Kuala Lumpur.

“However, yield is minimal compared with the Indian market who purchases fully loaded tour packages. South-east Asian travellers prefer to sightsee and move on their own, rather than rely on a travel agent.”

Another Malaysian inbound agent, Nanda Kumar, managing director at Hidden Asia Travel & Tours, said Indian FITs business was down 40 per cent during the peak travel season in December while five incentive travel groups from India had postponed their trips in December 2016 to 1Q2017 due to payment issues.

Kumar told TTG Asia that Hidden Asia has since extended credit terms for some Indian business partners from 30 days to 60 days, and he hopes the demonetisation storm will pass before the Indian peak summer travel season starts in April. – Additional report from Rohit Kaul