LAST Friday’s bombing in Davao’s Roxas night market is an isolated case and the destination – which has carved a reputation as one of the country’s safest – will be resilient, according to the travel trade.

The bombing in Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown, which has claimed 14 lives and injured 68 others, has led to some MICE and hotel booking cancellations in Davao and other areas in Mindanao, as well as security tightening throughout the country.

Blue Horizons Travel and Tours general manager Gregor Zajc said last night he was expecting some cancellations but is hopeful that the blast will have no lingering impact on Davao’s tourism.

Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) president Michelle Victoria, who arrived from Batanes yesterday, said there’s now high security alert on arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and travellers have to arrive four hours in advance before the domestic flight.

“Hopefully the Davao blast is an isolated case,” said Victoria.

At least five countries have issued travel advisories following the Davao blast.

The general manager of an upmarket hotel in Mindanao said 50 room nights have been cancelled since Monday and a business delegation might reset its meeting. Even corporate travel is affected, he said.

The Davao Tourism Association (DATA) has also thrown its support behind Duterte’s administration. “(DATA) members stand together amid any challenge and remain optimistic that tourism in Davao and in the Philippines will continue to improve,” stated the association.

Meanwhile, tourism secretary Wanda Teo assured tourists that Davao remains a safe place for visitors and residents. “The quick and professional response and action of our police, armed forces and security group shows that Davao is well-prepared for contingencies, including isolated attacks like this bombing,” she said.

Teo is also confident that Duterte and the nation’s security forces are more than capable of bringing the perpetrators to justice, managing the aftermath and in preventing further attacks.

A WEBSITE dedicated to cruises on Vietnam’s Halong Bay has gone live.

Newly-launched Halong Hub allows users to book cruise tours aggregated from selected cruise companies that sail upon the popular UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“Working in the tourism industry in our country, we realised that there are many issues for travellers wishing to visit beautiful destinations like Halong Bay,” said DK Long, co-founder of Halong Hub.

“Dishonest agents and various local companies do not always offer the highest quality of service. Visitors are frustrated by bad tour agents, overcharging and inadequate quality of service.”

Long added: “By connecting all cruise companies through one single system and maintaining a close working relationship with all of them, we ensure that we are able to offer travellers the highest standards and a truly memorable experience, for the right reasons, and most importantly for the right price.”

Halong Hub’s website boasts features such as a live chat system, daily updated inventory and deals, secure payment options and searching for cruise itineraries by length, dates, price and number of stars.

The company currently has offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

A TOUR agency in Japan has teamed up with a university to come up with tours specifically to help senior travellers improve their wellbeing and even ward off dementia.

Tokyo-based Club Tourism International is working with Tohoku University’s Institute of Development, Ageing and Cancer on a three-year study that will monitor the impact of travel on people aged 60 or older. The study began in July with a group of Club Tourism customers.

“We built the hypothesis that a person who travels often has a higher subjective wellbeing and a higher ability to cope with stress and cognitive brain functions than a person who travels less often,” said Mitsuharu Nojima, general manager of the department at Club Tourism overseeing the project.

“If we are able to scientifically prove that travelling has a positive impact on the brain and cognitive functions, we will have demonstrated that travel is beneficial in preventing dementia and extending healthy life expectancy.”

A preliminary survey suggested that the more frequently an older person travelled, the more likely they were to have a positive outlook on their lives.

“In parallel with the research, we are planning to provide tours, courses and events designed to promote ‘travelling and brain health’ for our senior customers,” Nojima added.

Set up in 1980, Club Tourism provides group and cultural tours both within Japan and abroad, with the majority of its customers older travellers.

Four Points by Sheraton Jakarta, Thamrin

FOUR Points by Sheraton, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, is expanding rapidly in Indonesia.

In just over a year, the mid-scale brand has erected six properties in key destinations including Surabaya, Bandung, Makassar, Bali and most recently Jakarta with the opening of the 164-room Four Points by Sheraton Jakarta, Thamrin on August 15.

The next phase for the brand in Indonesia will include a property in Manado in 2017, and one in Bintan and another in Bali both in 2018.

Vincent Ong, senior director, brand management, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific said in a statement: “We are proud of the immense growth of the (brand) across Asia-Pacific and especially in Indonesia in recent times.

“Indonesia features our strongest footprint of the brand across South-east Asia and we are confident with its uncomplicated and honest brand positioning, the demand will continue to accelerate.”

Commenting on the speed at which properties are coming out of the pipeline, Hazel Ooi, manager, brand management, Asia Pacific at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, said: “The Indonesian government is looking into doubling the number of arrivals to the country by 2019 and they would need more hotels and we see the opportunity to enter the market.

“We also see there is a huge growth of the middle class and the Four Points by Sheraton brand fits into the middle class.”

Ooi was in Jakarta last Thursday together with the management teams of the six properties in Indonesia to introduce the lineup to local media for the first time.

Four Points by Sheraton now has 50 hotels operating in Asia-Pacific and is expanding its portfolio of rooms by 60 per cent in the next five years.

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.”