THE Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is stepping up efforts to tap the destination wedding market.

Last week, TAT and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports invited 80 local agents to a briefing on the opportunities in the wedding market.

The global weddings industry has an estimated value of around US$298 billion, of which foreign country weddings form about US$80 billion.

Thailand is a very popular wedding destination for couples from India and Hong Kong. More than 400 Indian weddings have taken place here with spending per event ranging from 5 million (US$143,597) to 20 million baht, according to Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT’s deputy governor for international marketing in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Americas.

As well, Thailand will be hosting the 4th Annual Destination Wedding Planners Congress 2017 after TAT’s won the bid from QNA International.

Meanwhile, the first Thai Indian Wedding Association (TIWA) was set up last year, further pointing to the growing importance of the market.

LCC Scoot’s inaugural Hokkaido service will begin this Saturday, October 1, with a thrice-weekly service that transits at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

This marks the first scheduled flight, operated using two-class Boeing 787 Dreamliners, to take place between Singapore and Sapporo.

Flights depart Singapore on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at various timings while returns flights depart on the same days but on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays on the Taipei-Singapore leg of the journey.

With this, the number flights from Singapore to Japan rises to 23 weekly for the budget carrier, including to other Japanese destinations such as Tokyo and Osaka.

Shinagawa Prince Hotel

OCCUPANCY rates for the majority of Tokyo’s top-ranked hotels fell for a sixth consecutive month in July as both domestic and foreign travellers in Japan show increased preference for mid-range accommodation.

Average occupancy fell 3 percentage points in July to 83.2 percent, according to research by The Nikkei. The figure remained above the all-important 80 per cent occupancy level but is expected to continue its fall.

Fifteen of the 18 key hotels in Tokyo experienced lower occupancy rates in July. The Shinagawa Prince Hotel, for example, saw its rate decline 1.7 percentage points, with the fall blamed on a 6 per cent increase in room rates.

More foreign visitors are becoming increasingly cautious about their spending since the yen remains relatively strong, which translates to more modest spending habits.

Meanwhile, Yoko Shukunobe, of the business performance management team at Mystays Hotel Management, which is not a luxury operator, is seeing good performance across the company’s more than 50 properties in Japan.

“Our occupancy rate has been around the 85 per cent level throughout the summer and we have been seeing more demand from overseas visitors,” she said.

“We have seen some of the big hotels increasing their charges and that has perhaps been effective while the yen was weaker and visitors were willing to spend more, but that has changed,” explained Shukunobe.

“For us, we believe it is better to have a higher occupancy than a bigger profit. We will not be raising our prices as we do not believe it is good for our customers.”

Signs are currently pointing to high-end properties reversing their price positions soon, with some hotels already reducing room rates in July in anticipation of increased competition.

JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Bao’an

MARRIOTT International completed its US$13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts last Friday, making it the largest hotel company in the world with 5,700 properties and 1.1 million rooms in more than 110 countries.

The new combined entity now have 30 brands under its umbrella, although only 20 of which currently have presence in Asia.

Regarding bringing the other brands to Asia, Marriott’s CFO for APAC, Ken Rehmann, toldTTG Asia e-Daily: “There are ten brands between the two companies that can be added in Asia and that’s a good opportunity for us. However, we have to look at whether they are appropriate. Even though it may be a good American brand in the US, it may not work well elsewhere. That’s why we don’t have every brand here today.

“Brands like Fairfield by Marriott in Australia are very new to the region and there are only a few properties in Asia. We just signed the deal with Eastern Crown in China so that is huge growth opportunity.”

Still, there are massive growth plans in the pipeline for the already enormous conglomerate, added Marriott’s APAC president and managing director Craig Smith. “We will be able to double the number in the next five years. Having this comprehensive footprint means having the right brand in the right place. It also represents synergies for better sale.”

Expounding on the expansion plans, Rehmann said: “What I have seen is that we can achieve a lot of growth in leisure destinations around Asia. What would be great about the merging of these two brands is being able to cover more destinations.

“We see the focus on leisure destinations. For instance, we have started projects in Vietnam, the Maldives and Philippines. However, the first step is to understand what we have in the pipeline.”

Asking how the consolidation impacts MICE and corporate bookings, Marriott’s chief sales and marketing officer for APAC, Peggy Fang Roe, said: “Everything will stay the same in terms of corporate booking and MICE planners. Over time obviously we will bring contracts and other aspects together, but for now, things will operate no differently. With the merger, we will certainly have more choice and opportunity for more places to stage meetings and events.”

The travel trade in Hong Kong welcomed the move. Westminster Travel CEO Larry Lo said: “The merger means more convenience for us as we now deal with only one company. With a greater volume of traffic, this enhances agents’ negotiation power with more choices. I hope they can refresh the marketing products for agents given this new portfolio.”

Jetour Holdings chairman Ronnie Ho said: “This becomes one big deluxe brand with stronger positioning. It really broadens our offering and image when selling to our clients. Location-wise, it’s better coverage as both Starwood and Marriott complement each other.

“My only concern is whether they will merge the team after consolidation. Then the group will have to brief the trade about the differences amongst those 30 brands.”

Meanwhile, China Travel Services International Science-Technology & Culture Exchange director Ng Hi-on noted that the two hotel groups have different clientele. “It’s not a big surprise to me and I don’t see that there will be any difference after the merger. My key concern is whether the sales teams will be combined or not.”

DUBAI-based business conglomerate Najibi Group and its new investment and development company in Australia, Sanad Capital, is embarking on its first project Down Under.

The Sunshine Coast Project, a A$400 million (US$306 million) lifestyle destination in Queensland, will comprise the world’s first Wave Reservoir waterpark, watersports facilities, a sports centre, a function centre, an events area, a hotel, and an array of restaurants and retail outlets.

“The development is set to become an unparalleled, unprecedented tourist hub. Influenced by major action sports projects, water parks and entertainment hubs across Asia, it will serve up a memorable, family-friendly experience to locals as well as tourists,” said Sanad Capital’s chief executive Bradley Sutherland.

The tourist attraction is expected to generate 2,000 jobs during its construction phase, and a further A$29 million annually in salaries and wages post completion, according to a an economic benefits and analysis report.

The same report, produced by Urban Economics, notes that the project will inject a total of A$260 million into the region during construction, and A$30 million per year thereafter. Construction is slated to begin in 2017.

MALDIVIAN authorities have slapped a tax on remittances by expatriates in an effort to garner extra revenue for the cash-strapped nation dependent on tourism revenue.

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) said the 3 per cent Remittance Tax to be charged from expatriates will be in effect starting October and be enforced on nearly 100,000 foreigners working mostly in resorts.

Another 50,000 to 75,000 undocumented, low-wage workers mostly from Bangladesh will be the most affected by the move.

“They get very little (around US$100 to US$200 a month) and deducting 3 per cent off this could be a bit harsh,” said a travel agent who declined to be named.

Of the estimated 367,000 total population in the Maldives, about 150,000 are foreign workers mostly attached to resorts.

According to new laws, salaries of all expatriate workers in the Maldives must be deposited in accounts of banks operated in the Maldives.

Political unrest, an economic slowdown and a drop in tourist arrivals, the country’s main source of income, has seen the country’s revenue decline.

JTB is teaming up with Japan Airlines and Kadokawa, one of the nation’s leading publishers, to tap into international interest in Japan’s famed anime and manga scene.

The three companies launched the Japan Anime Tourism Association last week, and the association’s very first initiative is the creation of 88 “animation spots” around the country where fans are able to explore the locations used in their favourite tales.

The destinations combined form a pilgrimage route for dedicated manga and anime fans, inspired by the famous 88-temple route walked by religious pilgrims on the island of Shikoku.

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, vice president of the new association and chairman of Kadokawa, said this is “what Japan needs to take advantage of to drive its economy”.

“It is impressive that the presence of Japan’s pop culture in the world has grown into something that can be on a par with Hollywood,” he added, pointing to the emergence of prime minister Shinzo Abe in a Super Mario costume at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“Manga and anime have made a lot of young people from around the world very interested in coming to Japan,” Motohisa Tachikawa, a spokesman for JTB, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“But we have also realised that plenty of middle-aged people are also coming here for similar reasons. There are locations associated with anime and manga stories from Hokkaido in the very north of Japan to Okinawa in the south and there is strong demand for those places to be made more accessible,” he added.

The association will initially focus its marketing efforts on other nations in Asia, where anime and manga already have a firm and widespread following, said Tachikawa.

JTB also intends to promote tours that feature pop culture sites, while the association will utilise social media to disseminate information on the project.