Tobias Ragge

CORPORATE travel solutions provider HRS has trained its sights on expanding further in Asia with the opening of an office in South Korea its current priority.

Local presence in Asia for the Cologne-headquartered company currently comprises Singapore, Japan, India, Hong Kong, China and most recently Australia.

HRS penetrated the Australian market a few months ago by purchasing equity in business travel specialist The Lido Group, while its opening of a local office in Mumbai was completed earlier this year as a means to better support its customers there.

“We need to be in forty plus markets in the next two years, so we can either do it organically in important markets ready for us to enter directly, or through partnerships in markets that are not so easy to enter direct,” Tobias Ragge, CEO of HRS told TTG Asia e-Daily during his recent visit to Singapore, the company’s regional homebase.

Partnerships aren’t confined to acquisitions alone, he said, pointing to the close ties it has with Chinese GDS TravelSky. “We’re thinking about how we can use the ecosystem to bring fast value to our customers and that’s what we’re going to continue doing, while at the same time look at M&A opportunities.”

Ragge added that HRS is currently in the midst of opening a local office in South Korea.

When asked where offices are opening next, he said: “We go with the flow of the markets, meaning we see which are the next biggest markets we need to cover for our corporate partners.

“Indonesia is definitely one of the markets we will look at but I cannot currently tell you when and how.”

The acceleration into Asia comes on the back of China overtaking the US in total business travel spend at the end of 2015.

According to research by GBTA, China recorded US$291.2 billion in corporate travel spending compared to US$290.2 billion recorded for the US in the same year.

“From a business travel perspective, China is already number one as the biggest corporate travel market, having overtaken US since last year. You have five out of the ten biggest business travel markets basically from Asia. Then you have growth markets like Indonesia which will be very big,” commented Ragge.

“We see the century of Asia is coming. Direct investment will increase in all the markets. If you want to be a global player but you are not part of the Asian markets, then you can never become a global player.”

AIRASIA has opened its first airport transit lounge with the debut of the AirAsia Premium Red Lounge last Friday at klia2.

The 24-hour lounge service is complimentary for the LCC’s Premium Flatbed and Premium Flex passengers departing from klia2, the carrier’s operating headquarters in Malaysia, while walk-in access is also available to anyone with a valid boarding pass for 79 ringgit (US$19.30).

Kamarudin Meranun, executive chairman of AirAsia Berhad and group CEO for AirAsia X, stated that the lounge offering helps differentiate AirAsia from other budget airlines and raises the bar for low-cost travel in general.

“We receive a significant number of at least 5,000 transit guests per day who would find services such as the AirAsia Premium Red Lounge an added convenience and a plus point to their travelling experience,” said Kamarudin, adding that the lounge can accommodate up to 110 guests at any one time.

The newly-opened lounge takes up a 302m² space located at the mezzanine level of the international departure area at klia2.

QATAR Airways and the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has signed a partnership agreement with visa processing services provider VFS Global to launch a new tourist visa application system.

The partnership enables QTA to better identify and implement visa solutions for its visitors, while capitalising on VFS Global’s expertise in developing multi-platform visa services, as well as Qatar Airways’ international footprint.

“Facilitating the visa application process is an important step in our drive to increase the number of visitor arrivals to Qatar, and in raising inbound tourism spending,” said Hassan Al Ibrahim, chief tourism development officer at QTA.

“This agreement is also testament to the public-private partnerships that are employed in the development of the sector, creating positive impacts across the tourism value chain and the broader economy.”

Zubin Karkaria, CEO of VFS Global said that new mobile and online channels for visa application will be added as part of the deal.

The parties will be collaborating over the next months to establish the new system proper before further details will be revealed. The steps taken are expected to increase Qatar’s openness ranking on the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.

Yuthasak Supasorn

DESPITE recent setbacks, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is confident that arrival targets set for this year will be surpassed.

Based on the momentum garnered in the first three quarters of this year, “Thailand will exceed this year’s targets for visitor numbers and looks set to generate over 2.58 trillion baht (US$73.7 billion) from the tourism sector, up 14 per cent over 2015”, stated TAT.

According to TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn, Thailand’s tourism industry is expected to generate a total of 1.88 trillion baht for the Thai economy in the first nine months of 2016, representing a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent.

Of the total, some 1.25 trillion baht (up 17 per cent) has been raised by over 24 million international arrivals (up 13 per cent) and another 629 billion baht (up 6 per cent) has come from domestic tourism with 111 million trips having been taken by locals (up 4 per cent).

The recent bombings that took place at various tourist spots throughout Thailand is unlikely to throw a wrench in the works as well, opined TAT as well as members of the trade, due to the resilience of the industry and the support garnered from leading tourism stakeholders.

“This positive outlook is based on the strong confidence that both tourists and the world’s most respected organisations; such as the UNWTO and WTTC, have in Thailand as a safe and enjoyable destination,” said Yuthasak.

“This faith in the country is a result of TAT’s tireless efforts in constantly communicating with visitors and industry players in times of calm and crisis and sending the message that tourist safety and security is always our priority.”

Moving towards the last quarter of 2016, TAT expects Thailand to generate 698 billion baht (up 16 per cent year-on-year), comprising 468 billion baht (up 19 per cent) from over 9 million foreign tourists (up 15 per cent) and 230 billion baht (up 9 per cent) from domestic tourism with 42 million trips expected to be taken by locals (up 7 per cent).

Contributing factors to the growth prospects for the October to December period include the fact that Thailand is entering the high season with forward bookings for air travels to Thailand already showing an 8 per cent increase.

There are also new air links that have been established, including those from Russia (Moscow, Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg), the Middle East (Tehran, Dubai and Doha), and Asia (Hong Kong, Mandalay, Luang Prabang and Vientiane).

In addition, from October 1-9, a total of 39 chartered flights with 7,594 seats have confirmed services to Bangkok and Phuket from nine cities in China.

“These figures show that recent events haven’t impacted the confidence people have in Thailand as a safe and welcoming place to visit. As always, the kingdom is seen as the ultimate exotic holiday destination and the travel hub of the region,” affirmed Yuthasak.

“This is why we’ve been chosen to host events such as the UNWTO World Tourism Day on September 27 and the WTTC Global Summit in April 2017. This is proof indeed that when it comes to travel and tourism, Thailand is as influential and as amazing as ever.”

THE success of a test charter flight which allowed pet dogs to travel with their owners in the cabin of an All Nippon Airways (ANA) aircraft has convinced the airline to consider introducing regular pet-friendly services.

ANA arranged the special charter flight from Tokyo’s Narita Airport to Kushiro, in Hokkaido, back in May, at the behest of customers.

The basic package for the flight and a two-night stay in Hokkaido costed Y220,000 (US$2,190) for two adults and a dog. ANA confirmed that tickets sold out in two days. In total, 87 passengers and 44 dogs went on the trip.

“It was very popular from the outset and all the feedback we have had from passengers was very positive,” Maho Ito, a spokeswoman for the airline, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“We decided to organise the trip because of the number of requests we have received for something like this.”

For the duration of the flight, the dogs were kept in cages that were fastened to window seats, while a vet was also on board.

ANA has not been able to confirm any other airline offering such a service.

“The department that organised the flight is considering trying something similar again, although we have no concrete plans to do so at the moment,” said Ito.

She added that international flights might also be under consideration.

Lombok

THE Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) and Association of the Indonesia Tours & Travel Agencies (ASITA) West Nusa Tenggara signed a MoU last week to promote tourism between the two countries.

Both associations are eyeing the lucrative Chinese outbound market and there are plans to develop destination packages for groups, combining Malaysia and Indonesia.

MITA president, Uzaidi Udanis, said: “We hope one day that these packages will be as popular as the three-country package combining Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.”

There are also plans to launch internship programmes for tourism students from both countries as well as an initiative to develop films showcasing tourism attractions in Malaysia and Indonesia targeted at overseas markets.

Awan Aswinabawa, chairman of A&T Holidays based in Lombok, said his company saw a 200 per cent increment from Malaysian corporates to Lombok in the first half of 2016 compared with the corresponding period in 2015.

This was largely due to improvements in air connectivity and promotions, he said. The destination was also popular with families looking for a beach holiday or for soft adventure.