Shilin Night Market, Taiwan

In a bid by Taiwan to diversify its feeder markets, three Russian buyers were invited to the B2B segment of the Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF Taipei) 2016, held earlier this month, to better understand what the destination offers.

“Taiwan is a new destination for us. Many Russians have been to China but they do not really know Taiwan,” said Elen Zhuravskaia, director of OrientExpress, who is in Taiwan for the first time.

“Though we don’t have tours to Taiwan yet, we will start preparing a five-day itinerary after returning home. Frankly, it’s a bit far away and no direct flights are available yet. We may have to transit through China and airfare is pretty expensive, but Taiwanese food and hotels are not.”

Meanwhile, Khabarovsk-based Amur Voyage’s director Diakova Elena highlighted challenges with visa applications. Currently, only Taiwan’s representative office in Moscow handles visa applications within Russia.

“This means we have to send our passports there which is translated into a seven-hour flight and it would take 1-2 weeks to process the visa,” she said, adding, however, that she is still interested to offer Taiwan to her clients.

“Russians like to vacation for at least two weeks. They combine sightseeing and relaxation and we try to organise some cultural programmes followed by beaches. There is a possibility to package twin destinations but as interest for Taiwan is growing, we hope to offer in-depth mono-destination experiences.”

According to a spokesman at Taiwan Tourism Bureau’s international affairs division, efforts have increasingly been made to push into the Russian market, such as with annual participation in Russian travel fairs, frequent dialogue with agents to pack Taiwan into their products as well as to increase the number of Russian buyers to three at ITF Taipei 2016.

A total of 5,672 Russians visited Taiwan so far this year between the January-September period.

Tourists at Sensō-ji temple in Tokyo

The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan broke through the 20 million barrier before the end of October, a new record and up more than 24 per cent over the same period last year, according to the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA).

While the trade is celebrating well ahead of the target set for 2020, operators say results could have been better.

“We have seen the growth in the number of visitors from China has not been as strong as previously, for a number of reasons,” said Pankaj Pradhan, managing director of Tokyo-based Beauty of Japan.

“The yen has been stronger this year, the Chinese economy has been weaker and other countries are offering cheaper packages for travellers, including to destinations in Europe and North America, which has given Chinese travellers more choices,” he told TTG Asia.

Another factor that caused the growth to be halved from the 47 per cent increase logged in the whole of calendar 2015 included major earthquakes in central Kyushu in April, the JTA stated.

Hasmik Papazyan, of the Inbound Sales Department of Okinawa-based Jumbo Tours, said Chinese visitors “definitely” make up the majority of inbound visitors to the prefecture, but pointed to a shift in the market.

“The overall Chinese economy has been growing, so we are seeing an increase in number of wealthy tourists in comparison with previous years,” she said.

Despite the decline in the pace of growth in the first 10 months of 2016, travel agencies say the figure keeps them optimistic for the immediate future.

“Tokyo will host the Olympic Games in 2020 and I think that will have an impact on tourist numbers in the years leading up to that,” said Beauty of Japan’s Papazyan, adding that it could mean more Western tourists becoming more interested in Japan too.

Pradhan pointed out that easier visa requirements had made Japan more accessible as well, particularly for visitors from other parts of Asia.

Come January 11, 2017, Hong Kong Disneyland is leveraging superhero power with the launch of the long-awaited Iron Man Experience, the first Disney theme park to make use of the company’s Marvel licence since acquiring it in 2009.

The main attraction is a 4D ride featuring Tony Stark as Iron Man battling villains across Hong Kong’s streets and sights. Visitors can also look forward to Iron Man-themed retail shops, restaurants and an exhibition showcasing Iron Man suits.
According to Travis Zhu, associate business development manager at Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL), the travel trade has been kept in the loop regarding the opening of the new attraction zone. Industry feedback has been good too, he shared.

While the famed Disney princesses always held a natural allure for families and females, Zhu is confident that the superhero attraction zone can attract an untapped traveller segment – millennial males.

“We are also seeing about 90 per cent of our visitors being FIT travellers. Tour groups don’t favour theme parks as much,” he added.

A special preview of the ride is set to take place on December 23. Fam trips for the media and trade is likely to take place in January, revealed Zhu.

Adding to recent debuts such as Toy Story Land, Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point, the Iron Man Experience’s launch comes at an opportune time for HKDL and is expected to bring back some of the spotlight stolen by the new Shanghai Disneyland.

Campaign partners join hands for Visit ASEAN@50 2017 campaign press conference at CITM

As part of the Visit ASEAN@50 2017 campaign, 50 South-east Asia travel packages will be rolled out to highlight the region’s diversity and promote multi-destination travel targeting markets including China.

Wardi bin Haji Mohammad Ali, the campaign chairperson, said: “Together, all 10 ASEAN member states selected 50 cross-border experiences that are accessible to mainstream tourists, culturally respectful and represented core themes that the NTOs are pleased to be associated with.”

The campaign is geared towards such goals as boosting arrivals into South-east Asia from 109 million in 2015 to 121 million by 2017, raising tourism receipts to US$83 billion and increasing visitors’ average length of stay from six to seven days.

China is deemed an important market as ASEAN strives towards these objectives, with ASEAN China Centre’s (ACC) director Kong Roatlomang pointing out that Chinese arrivals into South-east Asia surged 50 per cent to 17 million in 2015.

Elaborating on ACC’s efforts in promoting the region to Chinese tourists, Roatlomang said: “We have produced tourism documentaries focusing on the natural beauty and culture of all South-east Asian countries, translated tourism materials into Chinese and worked with ASEAN member states to organise capacity building programmes on the Chinese outbound market.”

The Visit ASEAN@50 campaign will be officially launched at the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Singapore next January, with TTG as the media partner.

Tourists taking pictures from in Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

The surprise victory of US president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday had unexpectedly strengthened the US dollar against a basket of currencies, including sending the Chinese renminbi down to a six-year low against the greenback a day after election results were out.

Immediate reactions garnered from travel trade players at CITM 2016 indicate some concern, but other factors, including a standing 10-year visa facility and increasing sophistication of Chinese travellers will more than offset the negative effects of a less favourable exchange rate.

“There will be some effects more or less (arising from the Trump win), but I don’t expect it to put a damper on business for the foreseeable future,” said Derek Liu, general manager, Joy-America International Travel, which operates tours for Chinese groups to national parks in the US.

“We are seeing our arrivals grow roughly 100 per cent year-on-year the last few years, and we expect the same going into 2017,” said Liu.

He cites the implementation of the 10-year US visa for Chinese travellers, which came into effect in 2014, as a reason for the continued arrivals surge. For him, tour groups still form the bulk of his business as trips to attractions such as Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming does require a fair bit of logistics planning to get to.

At the same time, Liu is launching new tours in Alaska at CITM this year, which he believes will appeal to small groups and FIT travellers. Many of his customers are repeats, he pointed out, as most want to fully utilise the 10-year visa they applied for.

Anna Zhang, China region general manager of travel agency Gogogous, is unfazed too about the rising US dollar. Besides highlighting the well-received 10-year visa facility, she also points to the continued legacy of the US as an aspirational destination.

According to her, Trump taking the presidential office is not going to deter Chinese travellers from making plans there. “Those who have already decided to have a holiday in the US are not going to change their plans because of this,” she said.

Zhang is also pushing more FIT packages at this year’s CITM in an attempt to cater to the increasing demand of repeat Chinese travellers to the US. Many have gone to the US before and may now want to manage their own travel itineraries at their own pace, she explained.

LCC HK Express has launched a twice-weekly service from Hong Kong to Nha Trang, the first direct link between the two destinations.

Flights depart on Wednesdays and Sundays from Hong Kong at 14.50 and arrives in Nha Trang at 16.10. The return service will take off from Nha Trang at 17.50, touching down in Hong Kong at 21.10.

“We have been really impressed with the forward bookings to Nha Trang,” said Luke Lovegrove, commercial director of HK Express. The innaugural flight, which took place on November 9, was almost sold out.

“We are expecting the route to be just as popular as our service to Da Nang and anticipate carrying over 30,000 passengers in the first year,” added Lovegrove.

Nha Trang is the second destination HK Express flies to in Vietnam after its Da Nang connection.

Ashwin Gunasekeran

Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) will be organising its inaugural industry engagement conference session in December, a two-day event at The Wembley, Penang that will see a gathering of prominent figures in the local and international business events scene.

Business Events @ Penang is part of the bureau and industry’s collective effort in developing the Malaysian state into a matured business events destination.

PCEB’s CEO, Ashwin Gunasekeran, said: “The two-day programme that commences on December 6 is part of PCEB’s efforts to bring the industry together to realise common goals. We plan to make this an annual event that takes place every December. It will form part of a series of workshops and forums we will organise in the state for industry players.”

Headlining the conference is keynote speaker Noor Ahmad Hamid, regional director of ICCA Asia Pacific.

Other notable speakers and panelists include Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers’ Alun Jones; Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s Wong Wai Kin; Putrajaya International Convention Centre’s Oh Kin Tat; and S P Setia’s Koe Peng Kang, who will cover various topics such as Analysis of Business Events in Penang, Succeed at Bidding, and Associations, NGOs & Government Conferences.

TTG Asia Media’s group editor, Karen Yue, will be moderating three panel discussions – Branding a Business Events Destination, Getting My Venue Ready for Business Events, and Attracting Foreign Buyers.

This inaugural event is timely in the wake of some key developments in Penang which will further strengthen the state’s position as a business events destination, such as the scheduled opening of the Subterranean Penang International Convention & Exhibition Centre (SPICE), in March 2017. As the first purpose-built convention venue in Penang, SPICE will be able to serve large conventions of up to 8,000 people.

Malaysia Airlines will also be commencing new services between Penang and China’s Shenzhen and Shanghai in 2017, a development that bodes well for inbound MICE to Penang.

There are also a number of new and unique dining and incentive venues in Penang which opened this year such as The Top at Komtar, Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm and The Habitat Penang Hill.

Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu city, Kagawa Prefecture

Travel companies based in some of Japan’s more remote regions have welcomed news that the national government is to provide 9 billion yen (US$84.1 million) to promote off-the-beaten-path destinations in the country.

The funds are to be provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism over three years from 2017, with subsidies initially earmarked for between 10 and 20 model areas proposed by municipal governments.

The government wants the funds to be used to promote areas with features that are unique to Japan, such as castles or natural attractions, and ultimately turn them into globally recognised tourist attractions.

The funds will be used for creating more signs and maps in foreign languages, improving paved areas and pathways, installing old-fashioned lighting and removing unsightly modern advertising.

“Anything that makes it easier for foreign tourists to find out about us and then visit us is good news for our company,” said Tatsu Shiraishi, manager of the Chura-Boshi Co., which runs cultural cycling and walking tours in rural Gifu Prefecture.

“The government says it wants to get foreign visitors out of the big cities and into more rural parts of Japan and this is clearly part of that strategy, and we welcome anything that helps us do just that,” he adds.

Shiraishi said promoting the company’s services on the international stage is the single biggest challenge at present and suggested that some of the funds be channelled into raising the profile overseas of small operators with unique services and products.

“We could use some assistance on the marketing and promotion side of our operations,” agreed Sanjiv Raj Asanal, spokesperson for Anabuki Travel Inc. located in the city of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture.

“Also, there are not so many people in Shikoku who speak anything other than Japanese, so I believe it would be very useful if people working in the travel and tourism sector could get some assistance with learning other languages so they are able to interact more easily with foreign visitors,” he commented.

From left: Yunnan Provincial Tourism Development Committee’s Wen Shuqiong, China National Tourism Administration’s Zhang Lizhong and Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration’s Cheng Meihong

In its 18^th edition, CITM 2016 continues to be a platform to showcase China’s vast inbound and outbound tourism potential, boasting participation from some 2,593 exhibitors, of which 1,813 (70 per cent) are from China and 780 hail from overseas. Thailand is the official partner country of CITM this year.

The Shanghai Municipal Government will work with the China National Tourism Administration and Civil Aviation Administration of China to promote the city.

Shanghai is also touting the city’s highlights through the Our Shanghai music video filmed with VR and 4K technology, as well as other interactive and integrated promotional formats to bring more attention to its exhibits.

The Shanghai exhibit area spans 702m², featuring 31 booths and representation from destinations, agencies, attractions, hotels and other tourism businesses and organisations.

Meanwhile, partner host destination Yunnan will boast a record presence at this year’s show, with over 500 participants and 109 booths over a 722m² area.

Said Wen Shuqiong, deputy director of Yunnan Provincial Tourism Development Committee: “This is the first year the show is taking place under the NTO’s revised organising format, and as part of the Yunnan province’s enhanced promotional charge, marks a timely opportunity to accelerate the strengthening of tourism foundations.”

Fresh at this year’s show are an exclusive 1,200m² networking zone for international sellers and buyers, in addition to two additional zones dedicated separately to China’s unique tourism features and outdoor travel equipment.

The Philippine travel trade has objected to government plans to replace the It’s More Fun in the Philippines tourism campaign slogan.

Already, 90 individuals have signed a petition on change.org to retain the current slogan. “Change only applies if there is something wrong or if there is something not working well. (But) this campaign has a great recall over the years,” the petition stated.

One of the petition signatories, Angel Ramos Bognot, president and managing director of Afro Asian Travel, said It’s More Fun in the Philippines is “very effective and gives our company more business. It sounds very positive”.

Bognot echoed the consensus within the travel trade that the Department of Tourism made the decision to change the slogan “without consultation with the private sector” who also knows what’s good and right for their industry.

Meanwhile, Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) president Arthur Lopez, while he did not sign the online petition, does hope to retain the slogan. “Why change when it ain’t broken?” he told TTG Asia.

Those who want to change the slogan said it is because the campaign doesn’t accurately reflect the destination under present Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

One of them, Travel People operations manager Ramon Pamintuan, said “it’s no longer fun in the Philippines. The country’s international image has deteriorated because of (the spate) of extrajudicial killings”.

Duterte’s war against drug addiction and drug trafficking has claimed thousands of lives in the last five months, killed without due process of law.

As of press time, tourism secretary Wanda Teo had not commented on the issue. But in a press release issued on Tuesday, she said that the new tourism slogan will be launched during the Miss Universe pageant to be held in Manila in January.

Teo earlier said that changing the tourism slogan is “normal” for a new administration and that the new one will reflect the changes in the country under Duterte.