Lim Rui Shan, executive director, Restaurant Association of Singapore

THE 23rd edition of the annual Singapore Food Festival (SFF), organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), kicked off last weekend with a record lineup of 18 events taking place around the city-state featuring local cuisine presented with a modern twist.

This year’s festivity takes place from July 15 to 31 and once again includes participants ranging from F&B chains to hawker centres and hotels. The festival also launched just as the Singapore Bib Gourmand list was announced on July 14. On July 21, the very first Michelin Guide Singapore will also be introduced.

During this three-week celebration of Singapore’s culinary scene, participating businesses do expect sales to pick up as tourists and locals alike partake in food-related activities such as the anchor STREAT Signature Event, Kueh Appreciation Day, ION Orchard Culinary Creations 2016: Picnic in Style, One Farrer’s Food Street and many more.

According to Lim Rui Shan, executive director of the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS), tourism dollars account for a significant portion of F&B business earnings. Depending on the location and the menu, “it could go as as high as 30 per cent in high tourist density areas such as Chinatown”, she said.

Taking part in this STB-led initiative also allows smaller F&B outfits a chance to let themselves better stand out in an otherwise crowded and saturated industry.

“Our partnership with STB for the upcoming Singapore Restaurant Month (happening during the Singapore Food Festival) serves as a way for F&B players to be part of a nationwide food celebration that they previously might not have been able to participate on their own,” commented Lim.

“It allows them to tap onto a wider platform to further drum up awareness about their restaurant offerings to both locals and tourists.”

RAS currently has a membership of more than 300 members comprising over 2,200 F&B outlets.

Other SFF participants such as Orchard Turn Developments, which manages the ION Orchard shopping mall, are also thinking of creative ways to lure more traffic to the building through its dining options during this period.

“We are the only official mall partner of the Singapore Food Festival and are excited to offer shoppers a unique experience with our first in-mall picnic garden in the heart of Orchard Road,” said Chris Chong, CEO of Orchard Turn Developments.

“Savouring good food is a favourite pastime of many in Singapore and a key highlight for overseas visitors.”

Commenting on the success of SFF over the years, Ranita Sundra, director of attractions, dining and retail, STB, said: “The Singapore Food Festival has been carrying the torch for Singapore’s vibrant food legacy since 1994. After 23 years, it is still the only food festival in Singapore to feature local flavours and showcase the inventive spirit of our ever-evolving food scene.”

Nigel Pilkington, president of Skal International

NIGEL Pilkington, president of Skal International, a professional association of tourism leaders worldwide, has urged his club leaders in Asia-Pacific to not only grow their membership but also reduce the average age of members.

Today, there are 37 membership clubs in Asia-Pacific, with members totalling more than 2,300.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of the 49th Skal Asia Congress in Singapore last week, Pilkington said: “Asia-Pacific membership is growing – we inaugurated the Krabi club recently (July 2015) – but not at its full potential, especially since the tourism business is booming in this region.

“Tourism growth in Asia-Pacific has surpassed that of other regions in the world, but Skal’s membership here makes up only 15 per cent of the total. I would like Asia-Pacific membership to make up 20 per cent in the next five years.”

He added: “Asia-Pacific’s growing importance in the world tourism market also makes it imperative that Skal gets a stronger Asia-Pacific voice on the board. Now it is just me, from New Zealand, and Jason (Samuel, director) from India. I need more members from this region to stand up for higher office.”

Meanwhile, Skal’s global membership numbers have been declining, as the speed of replacing retiring members with new blood has been slow.

A study on membership demographics is now underway, but Pilkington expects the largest population to fall within the 55- to 65-year-old age bracket.

Pilkington said the ageing membership problem is “common across associations of all industries”.

He explained: “Young people are time-poor and believe that they have many other more important things to do than to sit in an association. That’s very different from us (from the older generation) who see participation in our industry association as a way of giving back to a community that had supported our career.”

“Skal needs to demonstrate value to new tourism professionals, and some ways we could do that is to emphasise the powerful global business network we have and involve them in sustainability or social media projects which they have knowledge and interest in,” he said, adding that it is up to club members to “identify young professionals in their market who have leadership potential and engage them in Skal activities”.

Michael Issenberg, chairman and COO Accor Asia-Pacific

FOLLOWING the official acquisition of FRHI Hotels & Resorts made known last week, AccorHotels is now working on an integrated hotel loyalty programme.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily at a media luncheon hosted at the Raffles Hotel last Friday, Michael Issenberg, chairman and COO Accor Asia-Pacific, said: “We are working on the loyalty programmes now and we will ultimately have a combined programme.

“For instance, we know that the Fairmont loyalty program is more recognition based than point based. So that’s what we are studying now and we will (eventually) make sure our customers get what they need,” he elaborated.

While the acquisition now makes the upscale and mid-market operator now a key luxury hotel player, Issenberg emphasised that rebranding the hotels “is not part of the plan”.

He said: “On one hand it is important to have a common background for the brand but it is also very important for them to be distinct like we have the Fairmont and Raffles (names) which is all about the individual brand and we want to respect that.

“Perhaps we may do a bit of tweaking for one or two hotels but it is to ensure that they stay relevant and not about rebranding,” he added.

When asked about the potential job cuts with the generation of 65 million euros (US$72 million) in “revenue and cost synergies” with the integration, Issenberg said: “We announced this (figure) as part of the transaction and we are confident of achieving that, and synergies do mean job reductions.”

Issenberg said he was unable to comment further on the specifics of the downsizing due to its sensitive nature, but added that Accor will be finalising this over the next few months.

FOLLOWING the terror attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport last month, flight bookings to the Turkish city dropped dramatically to new lows, according to research by ForwardKeys.

Bookings fell by 69 per cent in the week after the bombing, from a base which was already down due to earlier terror attacks in January and March. Transfers through Istanbul, one of Europe’s busiest hubs, were also down 36 per cent.

Since January, Istanbul has suffered from three terror attacks and travel was down 29 per cent over the six-month period, compared with the previous year. Transit traffic through Istanbul was 9 per cent up before July.

“Before this latest incident, our analysis showed terrorism was having an impact on visitors to Istanbul, although transit numbers had continued to rise. But with this attack, transit numbers have also been affected,” said Olivier Jager, co-founder and CEO of ForwardKeys.

Meanwhile, forward bookings for international arrivals in Istanbul, as of July 2, are 36 per cent down compared to the same period in 2015.

As for transit traffic in the coming six months from Europe and Asia Pacific, numbers are also behind by 1 per cent and 6 per cent respectively from last year. However, transit traffic from the Americas and the Middle East are currently ahead by 13 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.

Jager concluded: “In my view, the airport minimised the commercial impact of the attack by reopening so promptly and is to be congratulated for such speedy action.”

Jayjumar Rawal

JAYKUMAR Rawal was sworn in earlier this month as tourism minister, government of Maharashtra.

On July 8, Rawal took oath as a cabinet minister and aside from heading the tourism front of the Indian state, his portfolio includes overseeing the Employment Guarantee Scheme in Maharashtra.

“Tourism is one of the key industries which contribute significantly to the economic growth of a nation. Therefore, my key focus would be to advance the current tourism scenario in Maharashtra through the implementation of new policies aimed towards tourism growth and skill development,” he said in a statement.

Upon taking office, Rawal immediately met with Madan Yerawar, the state tourism minister, and other higher officials and various department heads with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation.

During the meeting, he reviewed ongoing and future tourism projects like the Visit Maharashtra 2017 campaign and SAARC Summit in Aurangabad, and provided guidance and direction to the department.

(From left) Thomas Chong, managing director, Holiday Tours & Travel; and Robin Yap, president, Asia, TravCorp

THE Travel Corporation’s (TravCorp) Uniworld River Cruises has appointed Holiday Tours & Travel as its GSA in Malaysia since July 12.

“As the Malaysian GSA for Trafalgar and Contiki (also owned by TravCorp), we felt that Holiday Tours & Travel has done a remarkable job in expanding the market,” said Robin Yap, president, Asia, at TravCorp.

“For those who have been on regular coach tours and are ready for a different experience, luxury river cruising with Uniworld River Cruises is a natural extension.”

According to Yap, Uniworld’s eight- to 10-day river cruises in Central Europe are popular among Asians.

With Christmas and the Malaysian school holidays coming up, Thomas Chong, managing director of Holiday Tours & Travel, said that the agency will mainly be targeting families.

While Uniworld River Cruises is open to all retail agents in Malaysia, the company will be conducting training programmes with Holiday Tours & Travel for other agents in order to equip them with the appropriate knowledge and skills. Fam trips will also be organised.