Shiploads of Chinese guests

May 31, 2016

Back when international cruise lines were only beginning to show some interest in homeporting a ship in Asia either for a few months or year-round cruising, I remember expressing an opinion in TTG Asia how shortsighted they were to be deploying their older ships. The Asian leisure outbound market was already going places, its travellers quickly grasping a quality product from a musty one. The cruise companies had thought their older ships sent to Asia, as they took delivery of new ones, were good enough for the region.

How quickly they learn. Today no fewer than nine new ships are being built for Asians, in particular mainland Chinese travellers. Godmothers of ships were Western superstars; Chinese actress Fan Bingbing has broken that roster as godmother of Royal Caribbean International’s Ovation of the Seas (discounting Michelle Kwan, godmother of Oasis of the Seas, who is Chinese-American).

You can imagine China-centric ships as having more family or interconnecting rooms as it is said that Chinese passengers are multigenerational. There will be Chinese and international entertainment, many more restaurants, KTV rooms, retail outlets, and so on.

Will I go onboard? No. One appealing aspect of cruising for me is to meet people of different nationalities; besides, with passengers being Mandarin-speaking, I will feel like fish out of water.

Hotels face the same issue today: Too much of any nationality is not good for business.

There will be Chinese travellers themselves who will not go onboard these tailored-for-Chinese ships for the same reason that they’d rather enjoy an international atmosphere. Fortunately for cruise companies, there are millions of Chinese passengers and it is unlikely their ships will go empty. They will be full, but given the enormous capacity that is heading to China, the question is – at what price?

Currently, with the exception of Genting Hong Kong’s Dream Cruises – Asia’s first luxury cruise line which will debut in November and based in Guangzhou – many of the new China-specific ships look like they are designed for the mass market. While their entry should be welcomed as new products means more marketing, international cruise lines must approach the market with the loftier goal of trying to expand it. After all, the concept of cruising as a wonderful alternative vacation to land holidays is still a nascent one in China.

It is sad if cruise companies just ‘pack them in’ and make hay while the sun shines. With shiploads of Chinese passengers, cruise lines have the rare opportunity to win over a captive audience to cruising with excellent value, quality offerings and service.

Otherwise the real price we will be paying is an unrealised potential of the Chinese cruise market.

And that’s as huge as these ships are.

Plataran Private Cruises, Indonesia

By Mimi Hudoyo

May 31, 2016

Phinisi-Felicia — Plataran Phinisi Felicia

After an extensive refurbishment, Plataran Private Cruises recently showcased their new boats at a boat show in Labuan Bajo. Mimi Hudoyo briefly sails into the sunset onboard the Plataran Phinisi Felica and tells us what travellers can expect

Why
Labuan Bajo is the gateway to Komodo National Park, which has been growing in popularity with travellers over the past few years. The Indonesian government has responded to this tourism boom with the construction of a new airport terminal.

The destination is also one of the 10 locations that the government is focusing on in terms of development and promotion this year.

Plataran Hotels & Resorts, a company that owns a hotel, club and restaurant in Labuan Bajo, offers private cruises out of its own private pier at Plataran Waecicu Beach. The company recently completed the refurbishment of four boats in its fleet, and I was invited onboard for a tour and sunset cruise.

What
A total of four boats underwent refurbishment. While Plataran Phinisi Felicia and Plataran Phinisi Ambasi underwent complete overhauls, the other two boats in the fleet, Plataran Phinisi Komodo and Plataran Phinisi Bali, only had minor modifications done.

The largest, Plataran Phinisi Felicia, features six cabins, while the smaller Plataran Phinisi Ambasi has four cabins. Both boats have had their cabins, livery and kitchen equipment upgraded. Moreover, new engines have been mounted, and these allow the ships to move at a speed of seven to eight knots, slightly faster than its previous five to six knots.

All cabins are located on the lower deck, and the main decks comprise a lounge, covered sun deck and dining area. Both ships also carry two life rafts each, life jackets and snorkelling gear.

Plataran Phinisi Felicia has extra amenities such as a bar, bridge and sun deck.

How
It was late in the afternoon when I hopped onboard the Plataran Phinisi Felicia for a one-hour sunset cruise that departed from the recently-built private pier. After a tour of the ship, I chose to lounge on the upper deck.

I liked this area the best. It was the highest part of the ship, and was breezy and provided uninterrupted views of the surroundings. I could see small islands popping up like jewels above the clear waters, and tiny fishermen in their boats heading towards shore after a long day’s work.

Settling comfortably into one of the beanbags, I was provided with a glass of wine and the occasional canapé. Both were the perfect accompaniments to watch the changing colours of the sky as the sun slowly set beyond the horizon.

Plataran Private Cruises offers sailing and liveaboard experiences to diving and snorkelling locations around Indonesia such as Komodo Island, Nusa Tenggara Timur and Menjangan Island. These cruises have tailor-made itineraries and can be hired on a charter basis, and travellers have the choice to stay overnight onboard the ship or on an island.

Verdict
The private cruise is a pleasant and intimate way to see the islands in Komodo National Park. It would be perfect for families or a group of friends with similar interests.

Name Plataran Private Cruises
Rates From US$2,900 per day/night, full board
Website www.plataran.com/private-cruises

New small airplane service takes off in Chiang Mai

By TTG Asia

May 31, 2016

SMALL airplane operator Budget Lines took off in Chiang Mai earlier this month, offering private air taxi and charter services for tourists and businesses in the region.

Flights last approximately 30 minutes and are primarily targeted at Chinese and domestic visitors.

“The twin-engine airplanes has eight passenger seats and two pilot seats. It will be used for four tours a day – two in the morning and two in the afternoon – and costs 8,800 baht (US$246) per person,” explained Noppadol Jornpak, executive director, Budget Lines.

“The plane can also be hired as charter flights, such as from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai for 45,000 baht one-way or 170,000 baht round-trip.”

Anchalee Vittayanuntapornkul, owner of CM Paradise Tour, thinks that the service will add more variety to the already popular city of Chiang Mai.

“Chinese tourists can afford the tour. They have money to spend here and the new service will add excitement to the town,” she said.

Director of sales and marketing at Standard Tour, Vorapong Muchaotai, who was on one of the flights, agreed that this service has a lot of potential as he is already seeing a lot of interest from China and Taiwan.

Still, Standard Tour has yet to include Budget Lines’ offerings into its packages.

“We are waiting for them to come up with our recommended route. They need to feature the city’s most iconic spots in order to draw more people to book,” said Vorapong.

By Nicholas Yong

Aviareps forms new GSA entity in Malaysia

By TTG Asia

May 31, 2016

(From left): Kevin Ong, general manager, Aviareps Malaysia; Wilson Tay, managing director, GATS; Michael Gaebler, chairman and CEO, Aviareps; and Lum Khee Fah, director, GATS

THE Malaysian arm of Aviareps and Global Alliance Travel Services (GATS) have signed a merger agreement to form Aviareps Global Alliance Travel, a Malaysia-based GSA operating its customer-facing functions under the Aviareps Malaysia brand.

The new entity is 60 per cent owned by Aviareps Malaysia while the rest of the equity belongs to shareholders of GATS.

Wilson Tay, managing director of GATS, will become executive director of the new company, while Kelvin Ong, general manager of Aviareps Malaysia carries on his role with the merged entity.

Said Michael Gaebler, chairman and CEO, Aviareps: “Our decision to invest in GATS and expand our presence and commitment to the Malaysian market was a natural one; made easy by the company’s solid reputation in the market.

“Through the creation of Aviareps Global Alliance Travel, our global network of clients will now have an expanded specialised aviation team on the ground, in Malaysia, to provide innovative sales and marketing solutions that are both locally effective and supported by international best practice.”

The company’s airline clients include Air Arabia, Air Astana, Austrian Airlines, Bangkok Airways and Ukraine International Airlines.

Besides airline GSA activities, Aviareps Malaysia also conducts marketing representation for destinations such as the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Convention as well as sales activities for hospitality and retail brands such as Centara Hotels and Resorts, Choice Hotels International and Deutsche Bahn.

HRS expands into Australia with Lido Group investment

By TTG Asia

May 31, 2016

(From left): Brian Bridgewood, founder of The Lido Group; Tobias Ragge, CEO of HRS; Steve Mackenzie, CEO of The Lido Group

CORPORATE hotel booking platform HRS has expanded its global portfolio by investing in The Lido Group, an Australian business travel specialist.

This marks the OTA’s first foray into the Australian market, the seventh largest corporate accommodations market in the world.

The Lido Group is a corporate and government accommodation aggregator and provider of integrated payment solutions. It has about 6,700 Australian hotels in its portfolio and its network includes both large cities and more remote locations.

Said Tobias Ragge, CEO of HRS: “Thanks to the investment in The Lido Group and the expansion of our portfolio into Australia, HRS is now well-positioned in all of the world’s top business travel markets.”

With this deal, hotel partners associated with HRS will also gain access to a new pool of potential business travellers from Australia.

China outbound show slowest growth since 1997

By TTG Asia

May 31, 2016

OUTBOUND traffic from China increased only 2.4 per cent in 1Q2016 (30.2 million) from the same period in 2015 (29.5 million), the lowest growth rate reported since the beginning of outbound tourism from China in 1997, and the first single-digit growth rate in the current decade.

According to the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, the growth rate is primarily dampened by the drastic 11 per cent decrease in Chinese visitation in China’s Special Administrative Regions (SARs).

Meanwhile, outbound travel into other parts of the world, especially into Europe and North America, grew by 22 per cent.

Hong Kong saw a 15 per cent fall in Chinese visitors from 12.3 million to 10.4 million and Chinese arrivals into Macau slipped by 2 per cent from 5.0 million to 4.9 million.

Roughly two-thirds of the missing arrivals into Hong Kong were not leisure visitors but day trippers, a likely result of the restrictions on “ant traders” who used to cross daily from Shenzhen into Hong Kong. Chinese nationals living in Shenzhen and working in Hong Kong also face the same restrictions.

The number of overnight Chinese visitors in Macau actually increased by about 100,000 in the first quarter of 2016, while day tripper arrivals fell by about 200,000.

The declines saw Hong Kong and Macau SARs’ share of overall departures fall from 59 per cent to 51 per cent.

With the negative trend for Hong Kong and Macau likely to continue, the second quarter of 2016 will most likely be the first time that the SARs are no longer responsible for more than half of all departures from Mainland China.

Likely boon coming for Japan’s home sharing sector

By Julian Ryall

May 31, 2016

THE Japanese government has proposed sweeping changes to laws governing tourist accommodations that has the home sharing sector particularly upbeat.

Deregulation of Japan’s hotel sector has been a priority for the government, largely due to the surging number of foreign visitors and the shortage of accommodations, particularly in popular urban destinations.

A panel on deregulation had earlier proposed allowing private citizens to take in fee-paying lodgers for up to 180 days a year without requiring a hotel operator licence.

Known as minpaku in Japanese, the practice is generally illegal in Japan, but the advent of businesses such as Airbnb are challenging such laws.

“We welcome that Japan has made great progress in policy discussion on home sharing,” a spokesman for Airbnb Japan told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“Since the details of such rules are still under discussion, I don’t want to speculate. But we look forward to working closely with the Japanese government so more local residents can welcome guests from around the world into their homes.”

Japan’s move is in part motivated by its desire to ensure it receives tax from property owners, while also hoping to ease room shortages in the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Rich Chinese millennials show spending firepower but Asia stands to lose

By Raini Hamdi

May 30, 2016

RICH Chinese millennials have an average household travel spend of 420,000 yuan (US$65,000) per year and are set to go on more trips in the next three years, but Asia as a destination overall stands to lose as their reasons for travel have changed.

Hurun’s report on The Chinese Luxury Traveler 2016, done in conjunction with Marriott International, surveyed 525 rich Gen Ys aged 18 to 36 years old with an average personal wealth of, get this – 38.8 million yuan – from sources including investment returns (42 per cent), personal salary (23 per cent) and inheritance (20 per cent). Over half (55 per cent) were male, 77 per cent married and, of that, 75 per cent with one child.

The just-released report shows leisure travel has dropped as the major motivator for travel, with 68 per cent citing this as the reason for travel in the next three years, compared with 82 per cent in 2015.

Exploring the world has jumped as reason for travel in the next three years (50 per cent, from 40 per cent in 2015), along with adventure travel (35 per cent from 23 per cent), cruises (28 per cent from 26 per cent), polar exploration (22 per cent from 16 per cent) and road trips (21 per cent from 12 per cent).

Travel for celebrations and events, study and golf has also dropped.

Because of the shifting trend, interest in neighbouring countries such as Japan (ranked the most memorable travel destination in 2015), South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan have dropped. Longer haul countries such as the US, the Pacific Islands & Oceania, Africa, the Middle East and the North & South Poles have seen more interest, increasing by 27 per cent, 49 per cent, 179 per cent, 129 per cent and 73 per cent respectively.

WeChat emerged as the primary source of travel information for these travellers, however, 73 per cent said they had tried personalised travel services offered by a travel agency. The three most important factors that influenced their choice of agent were personalised travel services (70 per cent), expertise (57 per cent) and itinerary planning (54 per cent). But what they found poor most about agencies were their ability to book flights (28 per cent), plan an itinerary (27 per cent) and make food arrangements (27 per cent).

The top 12 outbound luxury travel agencies in mainland China 2016 are My Tour, Ctrip, 8 Continents, HH Travel, Zanadu, Imperial Tours (first time in top 12), CITS, CITS Amex (first time in top 12), Diadema, CYTS, Wild China and CTS, while American Express is considered the best outbound agent in Macau and Taiwan. This was based on a survey with 56 respondents from senior hotel management during April-May 2016.

At a media conference, when asked what Asian destinations could do so as not to lose out to longer haul destinations, Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “In terms of frequency of travel, there is still going to be the trips to Japan, South Korea, South-east Asia, etc, because of the geographical advantage – four hours and you’re there.

“But in terms of aspirations, this generation wants to go farther. It strikes me how different they are; I have friends in the UK or Europe, we may go to Italy, Greece, maybe Thailand, but rarely do we see the younger people just travelling absolutely anywhere in the world, which is the case for China. And some of the remote or experiential places are pricey. They could well be US$20,000 per person.

“So I see they will travel two or three times within Asia and longhaul becomes the annual trip. It’s not really a threat to Asian destinations but a demonstration of young Chinese travellers wanting to go further afield.”

Peggy Fang Roe, chief sales & marketing officer Asia-Pacific of Marriott International, agreed there was no threat. “In Asia-Pacific, we operate in 12 countries. With China as the largest and fastest-growing source in every single market except India, everyone is just trying to figure out how we can look after demand than worry about demand being small.”

From the latest findings, Fang Roe said Marriott took away three lessons in particular that it would use: that these travellers want more personalised service, more digital interactions and more adventurous trips.

– More reports to follow

Singapore gets its first bungy tower

By TTG Asia

May 30, 2016

RENOWNED bungy operator AJ Hackett International has broken ground for the construction of a 50m-tall bungy tower on Sentosa Island, the first of its kind for Singapore.

The custom-built tower will feature several experiences such as Double Bungy, a 47m high jump deck; Duo Giant Swings, the world’s first double swings where two groups of participants race each other towards the ground; and a Vertical Skywalk where guests can walk 44m down the centre tower shaft.

There is also a 40m-long vertical Skybridge that will allow participants of all ages to walk along an open-air platform to take in the sights and watch jumpers take the leap.

“A lot of time and effort has been put into the design and flow of this site, and in working with all stakeholders, we’ve tried to create a destination where people of all ages and adventure levels can challenge themselves and be entertained,” said AJ Hackett, the company’s founder and CEO.

The tower is scheduled to be completed by end-2016, and a limited number of tickets will be put up for auction prior to the opening of the attraction.

Parkroyal Yangon to groom Myanmar’s hospitality staff

By Sid Dhartha

May 30, 2016

Jean-Marc Poli, general manager, Parkroyal Yangon

PARKROYAL Yangon and the Singapore-Myanmar Vocational Training Institute (SMVTI) have signed a MoU to support the training of Myanmar’s hospitality students after their graduation from the school.

The hotel will offer industrial attachments, opportunities for full-time and part-time employment, sponsorship of a housekeeping training programme, an immersion programme, the secondment of staff to SMVTI as trainers, as well as scholarships on a case-by-case basis.

Said Jean-Marc Poli, general manager of Parkroyal Yangon: “Human resource is the most important factor in Myanmar. Due to the scarcity of local talents, we have joined hands (with SMVTI) to nurture the passion and enthusiasm of young people who will one day be leaders in the hospitality industry.

“Our sister hotel, Pan Pacific Yangon, will be opening soon and there will be even more career opportunities coming soon in the near future.”

Added Chong Chon Hsien, principal of SMVTI: “We recognise a need for skilled workers in the booming service industry in Myanmar and are very happy to be working with Parkroyal Yangon in the area of hospitality and tourism.”

SMVTI currently has 160 students enrolled in its School of Hospitality and Tourism, which started its school term on September 28, 2015.