SWITZERLAND has elicited mixed performances from its Asian source markets this year, despite its active promotions there following the slowdown in its traditional European markets.

Hong Kong and China are the fastest growing, India is revving up following a slow increase last year while South-east Asia’s emerging markets are rising from a low base.

Casey Liu, Switzerland Tourism’s chief representative in Hong Kong and China, said overnight stays from Hong Kong has increased by 12 per cent so far this year from 2014, posting a “remarkable growth for a mature market”.

China, meanwhile, has grown more than 20 per cent so far this year, topping France as Switzerland’s fifth biggest market.

India grew 26 per cent in overnight stays in 1Q2015 after logging marginal growth of two to five per cent in the past few years.

“This is a really big step,” said Claudio Zemp, Switzerland Tourism’s director of India, adding that a majority of Indian travellers to the country are FITs.

Ivan Breiter, director of South-east Asia at Switzerland Tourism, said Singapore and Malaysia are “a bit slow” but are expected to post a 15 per cent gain within two years.

This year, Breiter expects Indonesia to post a 43.2 per cent growth, Thailand 31.1 per cent and the Philippines 24.3 per cent for a total of over half a million room nights from the region.

THE Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF) last week opened its second overseas representative office in Tokyo, following the launch of the first one in the US earlier this year.

“MTF now has a mutual agreement with the Japanese Public Diplomacy Association (PDA) with an aim to encourage the growth of Japanese travellers to Myanmar,” said Sai Kyaw Ohn, deputy minister at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism Myanmar.

Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, joint secretary general at MTF and chairman of Myanmar Tourism Marketing, added: “By opening this office in Tokyo, we will promote destination Myanmar through PDA’s services.”

The move to attract more Japanese tourists to Myanmar is derived from MTF’s goal to support sustainable, long-term growth by attracting high-value, low-impact travellers.

“Japanese tourist arrivals are currently at 58,527 with a growth rate of 12 per cent so far this year. This means approximately US$1.8 billion of direct tourism income,” said Sai Kyaw Ohn.

According to MTF figures, international tourist arrivals from January to August this year reached nearly three million, a 50 per cent growth over the same period last year.

JAPAN is aiming to take advantage of its traditional strengths in technology, sciences and medicine to attract more MICE events and particularly hopes to win more business from Europe and North America.

“We have many Nobel Prize winners in these areas and we feel that the opportunity to meet and learn from them will attract participants from all over the world,” said Katsuaki Suzuki, executive director of the Japan Convention Bureau.

“We are (telling) potential delegates from abroad that they will be able to meet with Japanese scientists and researchers,” he added.

Leveraging the appeal of these experts, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has introduced the use of these experts as conference ambassadors to promote the country to foreign markets.

“At the moment, we have 21 university professors who serve as ambassadors and the scheme has had some success,” said Suzuki.

However, he admitted that some issues must be overcome before Japan’s MICE sector can fully take advantage of its unique position.

“Firstly, there is not enough support – financial and human resource – for organisers of conferences and events,” he said. “(The human resource limitation) is partly due to a lack of people with the necessary English language skills.”

Now that solutions are being devised to overcome these challenges, Suzuki believes the sector holds potential for Japanese companies.

“Incentive travel, particularly from markets in South-east Asia, has huge potential for us,” he said. “Those economies are developing rapidly and the JNTO is strengthening its marketing in those areas, such as through the opening of our Jakarta office last year.”

Ultimately, markets further afield are his prime targets. “We would like to attract more MICE business from Europe and North America as we have relatively little business from those areas and those events tend to be high-quality and, as a result, bring in a lot of money,” he added.

ANANTARA Hotels, Resorts & Spas is marking its 15th year in the business with a rebranding exercise, introducing a new brand philosophy, move towards greater digital and social strategies, and a redesigned logo.

Changes to the brand philosophy come on the back of shifting global growth strategies, resulting in a new Life is a journey slogan that is meant to reflect on the brand’s core value of natural luxury and guest-centric focus, it said in a statement.

The move towards greater use of social and digital platforms will involve the creation of a new website and blog, as well as a mobile strategy push to offer guests greater conveniences.

Anantara’s logo will also be redesigned, its iconic water jar and cushions remaining intact, while adding a new golden colour palette.

“Fifteen years later, the way in which people travel and experience the world has changed, and Anantara’s brand refresh has taken shape to meet the expectations, inspire the passions and delight the tastes of new explorers in city and resort destinations,” explained William E Heinecke, CEO and chairman of Minor International.

Minor Hotel Group, CEO, Dillip Rajakarier, added: “The development of the Anantara brand marks the start of the dynamic new journey, both in terms of strategic international footprint and enhancements to the guest experience.”

THE ongoing geopolitical tensions between Tokyo and two of its nearest neighbours have made selling China and South Korea “very difficult”, according to a spokesman for the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA).

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily at the JATA Tourism Expo Japan in Tokyo last week, Yuzo Murakami of the association’s World Campaign Promotions Office, said the situation has become so dire that many outbound companies have “basically given up on those markets”.

The association’s most recent figures reinforces the claim, with 2.7 million Japanese visiting China in 2014, an enormous slump from 2012’s 3.5 million high. A similar picture is painted for South Korea, which recorded 2.3 million Japanese visitors in 2014 versus 3.5 million in 2012.

“With China, it has mainly been a problem over political issues,” said Murakami, pointing to territorial disputes and differing interpretations of history between the two governments. “Also, big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have an image of being badly polluted,” he said.

South Korea also has political disagreements with Japan, but the bigger push factor for Japanese tourists was the end of the boom in K-pop imports, explained Murakami.

The losses experienced by China and South Korea, however, are other destinations’ gains.

“We are seeing strong interest in South-east Asia now, particularly to Taiwan, which is very cheap, close to Japan and where the people have an image of being kind,” Murakami said.

Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong are also increasing in popularity, he added.

“These destinations are popular with groups of women in their 20s to 40s, as well as older couples in their 60s, because they are friendly, easy to get to and cheap.”