AS we wrote in our Overheard column on Monday – Hilton Worldwide to launch 13th brand – the chain has now revealed its Tru colours with the announcement of a new midscale, lifestyle hotel brand.

The first Tru by Hilton property will open by end-2016 in the US with a total of 102 hotels already signed and an additional 30 hotels in various stages of approval in cities including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Denver, Portland and Nashville.

Features of the hotel concept include The Hive, a shared-space lobby that allow guests to lounge, work, eat and play. The front desk, termed the Command Center, will have a wall that displays real-time social media feeds, and offer snacks, refreshments, alcohol and other sundries for purchase.

A rendering of The Hive

Rooms are equipped with platform beds, 55-inch TVs, spacious bathrooms, plentiful power points and complimentary WiFi. Mobile check-in and digital keys are also available as an added convenience on the Hilton HHonors smartphone app.

Meanwhile, complimentary breakfast comes in the form of a toppings bar where 30 sweet and savoury items are at the guests’ disposal to create their own type of bagel, donut, yogurt or oatmeal.

“More than 40 per cent of all US hotel stays are within the midscale and economy sectors and Tru by Hilton addresses a gap in the marketplace by appealing to the youthful mindset demographic, pushing the industry to marry quality and value,” commented Jim Holthouser, executive vice president, global brands, Hilton Worldwide.

“We’re breaking through the clutter of undistinguished offerings to capture the hearts of today’s travellers and anticipating the needs of tomorrow’s guests, while delivering a hotel that’s a place travellers will want to go to rather than just through.”

THE Israel Ministry of Tourism has tripled its marketing budget for India to US$3 million this year on the back of record year-on-year arrival growths of 13 per cent last year.

“Israel has been gaining popularity in India after we hosted the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) convention at the beginning of last year. In order to build on this momentum, we have increased the marketing budget significantly. We expect to welcome at least 60,000 Indian tourists by the end of 2016,” said Amir Halevi, director general, Israel Ministry of Tourism.

“We will be investing a lot on digital marketing, PR and FAM trips for journalists and the travel trade. We also plan to engage Bollywood.”

Part of the budget will also be used to launch an advertising campaign across print and digital channels during India’s summer season. Both country’s tourism boards will also be rolling out joint promotions with Indian OTAs like Ezeego.com.

Hassan Madah, India director, Israel Ministry of Tourism, said: “At present, we are working on the creatives of the campaign, which will target major Indian cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

“Our focus last year was on B2B platforms as we wanted to educate the travel trade about our product offerings. However, we want to do more B2C activities in 2016.”

However, the trade feels that lack of direct connectivity remains an obstacle. “Israel needs to open up more direct flights from cities like New Delhi in order to maintain strong arrivals from India,” said Ashok Singhal, founder, Maestro Travels.

INBOUND agencies in Thailand are seeing no discernible impact on either arrival numbers or bookings following reports that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus was found on a 71-year-old Omani man who travelled to Bangkok.

“We have not received any inquiries so far or cancellations. We are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with the ministry of health as well as the ministry of tourism,” said Laurent Kuenzle, CEO, Asian Trails.

Concurring, Siprang Srinarintranon, spokesperson for Diethelm, said: “I don’t think it will have a negative impact. The government has already identified the persons who came in contact with that patient and they seem to have everything under control.”

The MERS virus was responsible for more than 30 deaths in South Korea last year and first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It is also a cousin of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which killed hundreds in Asia after it first broke out in 2003.

“The fact that many countries here were affected by SARS means that there is a higher level of awareness when considering the current risk of MERS,” said Jesper Palmqvist, area director Asia Pacific, STR Global.

As of press time, 32 individuals have been quarantined for observation and the Omani patient is reported to be in stable condition.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health is coordinating with 37 airlines to inform passengers arriving in Thailand from countries with reports of MERS to strictly abide by preventive measures.

(From left) Jesper Palmqvist, area director Asia-Pacific, STR Global; Clarence Tan, senior vice president Asia, Middle East and Africa, InterContinental Hotel Group; and Kenneth Gaw, president & managing principal, Gaw Capital Partners.

CONTRARY to popular belief, data presented at the Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) 2016 has shown that the occupancy rates of hotels in Thailand have set new records in 2015.

Jesper Palmqvist, Asia-Pacific area director, STR Global said that there has always been fluctuation in occupancy, especially during periods of crisis and political unrest. However, “the main strength of the Thai market is how fast it can recover,” he stated.

A panel discussion at TTF concurs, arguing that no matter how unstable Thai politics becomes, the economy had always survived the setback and rebounded.

Yet, there are concerns that the market is becoming stale. Tim Hansing, CEO of Red Planet Hotels, opined that the Thai market has already reached maturity and is becoming less attractive than other emerging markets in the region for hotels to invest in. “It is bland. There are more opportunities elsewhere,” he said.

Emerging beachfront destinations such as Samui, Hua Hin and Krabi remain the only bright spots for growth.

As well, Mike Batchelor, managing director of Investment Sales Asia, JLL, pointed out that there are still more unfulfilled demand in the midscale segment, even in Bangkok.

By Athip Jittarerk

CARLSON Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has made three key appointments to its executive team, effective from February 1, 2016.

CWT’s current president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Andrew Waller, has been appointed as executive vice president, global business transformation and will be based in Paris and London. In his new role, Waller will focus on driving efficiency and organisation effectiveness, reshaping CWT’s business model for the future.

Kelly Kuhn, president for Asia-Pacific, CWT

Meanwhile, Kelly Kuhn, CWT’s president for Asia-Pacific, becomes president for Europe, Middle East and Africa and global partners network, and will be based in London.

Kai Chan, president for Asia-Pacific, CWT

Kai Chan, CWT’s current general manager for South-east Asia, will take on the role of president for Asia-Pacific as well as be part of the global executive team. She will be based in Singapore.

ASEAN member countries are collaborating on a new brand – Cruise South-east Asia – aimed at promoting the region as one unified cruising destination.

The initiative was unveiled on the final day of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2016 last week, and will be further promoted to the global cruise industry in March at the Seatrade Cruise Global trade show in Miami, Florida.

The plan was proposed by Singapore who is also be the lead coordinator for cruise development in South-east Asia.

John Gregory Conceicao, executive director international group planning & Oceania at the Singapore Tourism Board said an ASEAN cruise map is also in the works, and will include information on port facilities and areas of interest for tourists for use by cruise lines and the travel trade.

ARRIVALS in Hong Kong dwindled last year, dropping 1.7 per cent for the January-November block compared to the same period in 2014.

The mainland Chinese market suffered the most with a 15.5 per cent decrease. The Travel Industry Council (TIC) observed that Chinese tour group registrations have plunged from 154,517 to 119,115, down 23 per cent.

Anthony Lau, executive director, Hong Kong Tourism Board, said: “2015 has been a challenging year for Hong Kong’s tourism industry. Various external factors have affected the number of visitors to Hong Kong, particularly those from mainland China.

“Other factors include the depreciation of currencies in nearby destinations, the global economic environment, the outbreak of MERS in South Korea, the quota limitation of Individual Visit Endorsements for permanent residents of Shenzhen, and the recent unfortunate incident that involved the death of a mainland visitor.”

Lau added: “Though the number of visitor arrivals has showed negative growth since March last year, the number started to pick up in the past few months with good growth coming from virtually all the shorthaul markets, north Americas as well as India.

“We expect there will be a slight decline of 1 to 2 per cent on visitor arrivals this year.”

Wing Wong, W Travel’s managing director, blamed exchange rates as well. “Apart from Indonesia and Malaysia, Japan’s yen also depreciated a lot and its relaxed visa requirements resulted in drawing a lot of Chinese traffic in that direction.

“Our strong peg with the US dollar indeed undermined travellers’ interests. However, our hotels have been realistic and readjusted their rates down proactively so hopefully, this move will attract visitors.”