EVEN as the world endured heightened economic uncertainty and increased terrorism threats, business travel in the Asia-Pacific region proved the most resilient, having attained the biggest share of corporate travel spend ahead of North America and Western Europe.

According to the Hotel Price Radar Q2 2016 report released by end-to-end hotel solutions provider HRS, the cities of Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore still lead in terms of average room rates per night, standing at US$280, US$244 and US$254 respectively.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru saw the largest spike in room rates over the past year, with a rate development increase of 22.9 per cent.

The HRS research also points to positive movements in the MICE industry over the past quarter, with Kuala Lumpur exhibiting exceptionally strong interest in partnerships with both local and international players.

This is particularly evident with the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre strengthening its ties with the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO), Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau (KLTB), InvestKL and the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS).

Hotels and tour operators have also taken interest in packaging products and services complementary to MICE development efforts, according to HRS.

Jakarta too is experiencing a per-night room rate increase over Q1 numbers. Business travel to the city is likely to improve, predicts HRS, as the Indonesia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Inaceb) established in late March begins to strengthen Indonesia’s MICE facilities.

“The top business travel destinations in the region have remained broadly consistent for the past few quarters now,” said Kimi Jiang, vice president Asia-Pacific at HRS.

“An intensely competitive MICE climate will dictate further growth in the business travel sector, with countries like Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta developing aggressive strategies to grow their MICE industry.”

TRAVEL metasearch engine Skyscanner has revealed in a study the amount air travellers are willing to pay to save an hour of time on longhaul flights.

The study showed that the global average of US$8 is the amount that people around the world are willing to pay in order to shave off each hour of air travel.

Whether the route is more popular for business or leisure, and the presence of alternative flights appear to play a key role in how much value passengers are willing to pay, the study also found.

Skyscanner added that passengers were willing to pay more – US$1 to US$2 on average – on journeys which form part of shorter trips of less than seven days.

On the Bahrain to Kuala Lumpur route for example, which is popular but has no direct route, passengers pay on average US$26 per hour to shorten their journey.

Meanwhile, passengers flying between Los Angeles and Buenos Aires, where more choice from carriers exists, people pay on average of US$2 per hour saved, showing the value per route can vary significantly.

“In this day and age, time is an increasingly valuable commodity,” said Faical Allou, head of business development for Skyscanner analytics.

“Looking into the value of reducing journey time involved in taking a flight, particularly a long-distance one, reveals interesting insights and shows that there are several factors involved in how much value passengers attribute to reducing travel time, such as whether the trip is for business or leisure, the length of the trip and the choice of carriers and itineraries on offer.”

UK-BASED travel safety and risk management company beTravelwise has issued a Zika prevention advisory ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics which officially kicks off on August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the origin of the Zika virus outbreak.

“Slap on the mosquito repellent and practice safe sex or abstain completely if you want to stay safe this summer,” the company warned in a statement.

Said beTravelwise director Andy Prior: “Mosquito bite prevention and safe or no sex is the best defence against the Zika virus; that’s the advice we are giving to our clients who are travelling to the Olympic Games or other Zika-infected areas.”

The travel safety specialist has come up with six methods to prevent mosquito bites. This includes covering exposed skin with long sleeves, trousers and socks; using insect repellent formulas with at least 30 per cent DEET (diethyltoluamide); spraying the room with repellant before sleep; sleeping in a screened room; and using a mosquito net.

The Zika virus is known to cause microcephaly, a birth defect resulting in developmental problems in babies. It can also lead to the rare neurological disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome, according to the World Health Organisation. Pregnant women and those planning pregnancy are advised against all non-essential travel to Zika-infected areas.

Larry Lo, CEO, Asia at Westminster Travel

THE Society of IATA Passenger Agents (SIPA) in Hong Kong has made a leadership reshuffle as part of renewed efforts to take a stronger stand against “industry and commercial issues directly affecting the livelihood of its members”.

SIPA last week accepted the resignation of its chairman Gary Leung, from Poloair International (China), who stepped down in order to focus on his other business and trade commitments, according to a statement by the association. Larry Lo from Westminster Travel will succeed Leung.

Jason Shum from Nan Hwa Express Travel Service also resigned from SIPA’s executive committee in order to focus on his current term as the chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents.

Going forward, SIPA said its new executive committee, which sees former chairmen Francis Bagaman from American Lloyd Travel Service, Sunil Nanda from GC Nanda & Sons, and Martin Wong from Citizen Thunderbird coming back on board, has agreed on new priorities and that working groups have been established to map out an action plan for the next 60 days.

Issues that SIPA hope to address include “the impact of increased non-commissionable levies, a revised IATA’s New Gen ISS accreditation and settlement system, and new GDS charges and airline content fees, which are merely a veiled attempt for airlines to recover their distribution costs from their travel agency customers,” it stated.

SIPA was formed in 1978 to protect the specific interests of IATA appointed agents in Hong Kong.

Qantas Group’s CEO Alan Joyce and Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan

THE national carrier of Australia and the country’s top tourism body have put their differences aside in pursuit of greater international arrivals, sealing their renewed friendship with a new A$20 million (US$15.2 million) deal signed yesterday.

Qantas and Tourism Australia will embark on a three-year agreement to invest in joint campaigns involving public relations, social media and trade activities with a focus on Asia, Europe, the US and the UK.

It also includes an anonymised data sharing arrangement to better reach customers considering travelling to Australia.

The move comes four years after the two entities had a row over differences centered around Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and his former mentor Geoff Dixon, who was also chairman of Tourism Australia for a time.

“Both Qantas and Tourism Australia want the same thing – a strong tourism industry that makes Australia the first choice for people all over the world. With tourism both to-and-within Australia on the rise, it’s the ideal time for us to join forces once again,” said Joyce in a press statement.

“This new investment builds on the marketing we already do and our partnerships with state and territory governments to put Australia’s best foot forward. Qantas has always been the biggest private sector supporter of Australian tourism and we will continue to focus on growing visitor numbers.”

Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan also expressed his optimism for the partnership, which has been a long time coming.

“When you consider the nature of our respective businesses, this is a deal which just makes sense – for Tourism Australia, for Qantas and, most of all, for Australian inbound tourism,” he said.

“The shared resources this agreement brings together are considerable and we’re very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead to grow international inbound traffic and increase regional dispersal.”