A NEW state agency, Maldives Integrated Tourism Development Corporation (MITDC), has been set up to help nurture small businesses and fast-track an ambitious guesthouse island to be filled with a projected 1,700 rooms.

Hussain Lirar, deputy minister of tourism, said that the guesthouse project was brought under the MITDC from its developer, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), since the latter was too busy with marketing and has led to delays in the development.

“The new agency was announced by president Abdulla Yameen this month since the government is keen to finish this project by 2018 when presidential elections are due,” Lirar toldTTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of a hospitality conference held in Colombo last week.

The guesthouse island project, aimed at creating more small and medium businesses, was launched in June 2014 and slated for completion by 2017 on the Laamu Atoll. The MMPRC moved the project to Baresdhoo in the same atoll last year.

The Maldives has been gripped with political uncertainty over the past several months but it has yet adversely affected tourism, the country’s main economic activity.

However, slower growth this year has been attributed to Brexit and the lacklustre Chinese economy, according to Lirar. Arrivals in 2016 are likely to miss the 1.5 million target.

Crowd at the inaugural Tern event

WITH the tourism industry becoming broader in scope, more employers are considering hires based on potential and attitude rather than years of experience within the industry.

“(When hiring), traditional businesses place more weight on years of experience in the same job type. Emerging businesses are more likely than traditional ones to hire based on what (candidates) can do rather than what they have done,” said Dave Chinwan, product manager APAC, accommodation & destinations at TUI Travel.

Mid-career job seekers are one group who are finding more opportunities to cross over into travel, with diverse skillsets and experience such as those in big data analytics becoming increasingly relevant, according to Soon-Hwa Wong, chairman of PATA Singapore Chapter.

Added Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder of Tern, a career event held and debuted on August 27 in Singapore that brought together travel industry veterans and budding entrants: “Technology does not replace people, in fact, it requires more people.”

This demand for travel-tech manpower has given rise to more personality types being valued within the industry. While acknowledging the importance of networking and related soft skills, Agoda’s vice president, marketing, Timothy Hughes, said at a Tern panel: “(Leaders) also have to learn how to deal with introverts. (Over the years), I have (managed) my extroversion so as not to pass over more introverted personalities.”

Still, for hospitality veteran Jessie Khoo-Gan, executive assistant manager, sales and marketing and rooms at One Farrer Hotel & Spa, “people-orientedness” continues to be one key trait she looks out for when hiring.

Sharing similar sentiments was Graeme Ham, vice president of talent & culture, AccorHotels, who said candidates who lack people skills are better off pursuing other pathways, such as those in engineering.

For hotels, this holds true now more than ever as they find themselves vying against OTAs for bookings, relying on personalised customer service to drive direct bookings from repeat customers.

Explained Chinwan: “Businesses that have been around for a long time focus more on customer service because they want to make their customers feel special and keep them coming back.”

AVIAREPS has been newly appointed by Azerbaijan Airlines as its representative in Malaysia.

The appointment was made as the national carrier seeks to firmly establish and strengthen its brand and sales outreach among Malaysian travellers and travel industry leaders.

As part of the deal, Aviareps Malaysia will undertake the role of general sales agent for Azerbaijan Airlines in the Malaysian market, responsible for all sales and marketing activities with a focus on regional travel.

“Our appointment of a sales and marketing representative in Malaysia is reflective of the growing importance and our commitment to this market,” said Nazim Samadov, marketing commercial and ground operation director at Azerbaijan Airlines.

Added Vinay Rajan, aviation director Asia Pacific at Aviareps: “The initial strategy is to create awareness about the airline and build up the market. With no direct flights to Malaysia, Azerbaijan Airlines provides connectivity via Dubai and Istanbul.”

According to Sabre’s market intelligence data, 350 Malaysians travelled to Azerbaijan last year.

ALOYSIUS Lee, director and group CEO of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) has notified the company on his intention to retire.

He has also requested that his retirement take effect on January 31, 2017, thereby allowing him to complete a full two-year tenure. He has decided to leave the company “to pursue philanthropic, mentoring and educational interests,” according to a press statement.

Lee, 68, joined M&C on February 1, 2015, initially as group CEO designate before attaining his current position.

The statement added that the board is now considering Lee’s request and will be meeting in September to discuss the matter.

SINGAPORE Airlines subsidiary SilkAir will be launching thrice-weekly flights from Singapore to Laos come October 31.

It will operate a circular route between Singapore, Vientiane and Luang Prabang on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays aboard an Airbus A320 configured with business and economy class cabins.

Flights depart Singapore at 14.20 and arrive in Vientiane at 16.15. It will then depart from Wattay International Airport at 17.05 for Luang Prabang, touching down at 18.00. The trip back to Singapore then departs from there at 18.50 to reach Changi International Airport at 23.05.

With the launch of this service, SilkAir and Singapore Airlines will together offer flights to all nations in the ASEAN bloc.

PLANS to offer three-year tourist visas for travellers to Cambodia could help spur return visits, industry players say.

From September 1, foreign visitors from certain countries will be able to apply for multi-entry business and tourist visas valid up to three years.

Details are yet announced but tourism minister Thong Khon said the measure would help “promote tourism growth”, with an aim to attract 7.5 million foreign visitors by 2020.

Kong Hen, manager at Mekong Travel Tours, expects this to appeal to the regional market as well as business travellers and backpackers.

He said: “It makes returning to Cambodia convenient. You don’t have the hassle of paperwork and paying fees. It is easy.”

Chhay Sivlin, vice chairwoman of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, added: “It is important for international tourists or businesspeople who are looking to come back again with their family or friends, or for meetings with business partners.”

It is also believed the introduction of the visa will help lure foreigners from Thailand, where efforts to tighten regulations on long-term stays recently tightened.

Currently, tourists can access for a month with visa-on-arrival, which can be extended to three months. A one-year business visa is also available.

Boracay

GROUP bookings from China are beginning to return to the Philippines after inbound operators and hotels – especially in Boracay, Cebu and Bohol – lost millions of pesos following a spate of chartered flight cancellations during the July-August peak season.

Chartered flights are considered the lifeline for many Philippine operators as it offers a direct connection to even remote parts of China.

Cancellations began July 12 after the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled in favour of the Philippines over China’s territorial claims to the Spratly Islands.

The general manager of a travel agency specialising in inbound travel from China, who spoke on account of anonymity, confirmed that while there is no travel ban from the Chinese government, there were many chartered flight cancellations.

The general manager of another travel agency said that out of 12 groups of 20 rooms each, only three groups materialised.

The sales director of a hotel with properties in Boracay and Bohol said they were affected by massive room cancellations in the hundreds.

Since there are no rules governing flight cancellations from China, it is up to the hotels to decide whether to refund the amount already advanced by tour operators, to forward the bookings, or forfeit them.

But the latter travel agency general manager interviewed said that they are now starting to get bookings again from China and numbers should normalise over the next few months.

The DOSM of a hotel in Boracay said she was not too worried because this is unlike a past incident when there was a blanket ban resulting in zero Chinese arrivals.

She is already seeing bookings from China for September, an indication that the market would normalise soon.

SRI Lanka’s national carrier is cancelling six flights and rescheduling ten others due to next year’s three-month partial closure of the country’s main international airport for urgent maintenance work on its aged runway.

Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is to be closed between 08.30 and 17.30 from January 6 to April 6, 2017.

SriLankan Airlines last week had a meeting with the slot committee, which decides on all flight schedules, and the carrier decided to cancel day flights to Singapore, Chennai, Trichy, Male, Cochin and Bangalore.

The flights that are being rescheduled involve services to Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Trivandrum, New Delhi, Karachi, London and Jeddah.

The trade has expressed concern over the closure but acknowledges that maintenance work is also essential for passenger safety.

GENERAL Hotel Management (GHM), in a joint venture partnership with van de Bunt Partners, has unveiled Tin Hotels, a new mid-tier lifestyle hotel brand.

GHM, traditionally a luxury operator, stated that the move into the mid-tier segment was done to better cater to the needs of target markets as well as to remain relevant in the current market situation.

The concept for Tin Hotels is aimed at the growing middle-class population and millennials.

“We want to challenge the status quo and bring the pursuit of excellence and style to the mid-market tier. We will create hotels that are not merely places to stay, but function as venues to connect: as social hubs, design spaces or simply, places to be seen at,” said Hans R. Jenni, co-founder and president of GHM.

The aim is to expand Tin Hotels swiftly, added GHM, starting with the launch of its first hotels in Dubai and Oman and over the course of the next few years, to grow within the Gulf region before reaching its target of 35 properties in 2022.

Properties currently under GHM management include The Nam Hai Hoi An, Vietnam, The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, The Chedi Muscat, Oman and The Chedi Andermatt, Switzerland.

SOUTH Korea’s flag carrier will introduce no-show fees for international passengers who fail to provide advance notice that they no longer require a flight booking.

Korean Air said in a statement that this is being introduced in a bid to minimise seat wastage.

For tickets purchased from October 1, passengers who either do not cancel their reservation prior to the scheduled time of departure or passengers who do not board their flight after check-in has been completed, will be charged.

Passengers who fail to turn up for flights to/from the Americas, Europe and Oceania on longhaul routes will be charged US$120. Those flying to/from South-east and South-west Asia on medium-haul routes will be charged US$70.

For flights between South Korea and Japan and China or between Japan and China on shorthaul routes will be charged US$50. No-shows on domestic flights in South Korea will be charged 8,000 won (US$7).

No-show passengers booked to travel on award tickets will have either 12,000 miles, 7,000 miles or 5,000 miles deducted from their accounts, depending on the length of the flight they did not turn up for. No-show passengers booked on award tickets for domestic flights will have 500 miles deducted.

The no-show fees will be waived for infants under 2 years of age not occupying a seat.

Korean Air has been charging no-show fees for domestic flights since October 2008 and has been able to offer the cancelled seats back to waiting customers.

Other airlines that charge no-show fees include Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Japan Airlines.