KOREAN Air yesterday announced plans to double the frequency of its Seoul (Incheon)-Nha Trang service to four-times weekly from April 29.
This route – to be available on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday – will be operated on a 159-seat Boeing 737-900ER aircraft.
The flight will depart Incheon at 20.30 and arrive in Nha Trang, Cam Ranh Airport at 23.40 the same day, while the return flight will leave at 00.50 and arrive in Seoul at 07.55.
FOLLOWING last year’s launch of four Step Out, Experience Macau’s Communities walking tour routes, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) will roll out four more itineraries this year.
After gathering feedback from visitors and local residents, the original four routes have also been enhanced and renamed in Phase 2, announced Charles Leong from MGTO’s representative office in Singapore at a recent trade event.
The walking tours take visitors to various attractions in the Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane. The eight routes are Footsteps into the Historic Centre, An Experiment of Creativity, Crossroads of China and Portugal, A Legacy of Arts and Culture, Enchanting Stories of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, The Marriage of East and West in St Anthony’s Parish, Bygone Days of Taipa Village, and Nostalgia in Coloane.
In 2014, Singapore was among Macau’s top 10 source markets, growing 3.6 per cent and contributing 196,491 visitors.
Alan Ong, general manager (tour division) of New Shan Travel Service in Singapore, said: “Singaporeans generally go for free-and-easy programmes with just the basics including transfers and a hop-on, hop-off city tour.
“Nevertheless, it’s helpful to know about the walking tours, which we can recommend to our customers when they ask what else they can do apart from visiting the casinos.”
Leong said a Macau sales mission is being organised in April for the Macau and Singapore trade.
Macau also introduced the Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme last year, having qualified 86 catering businesses for the Star Merchant Award. More businesses are expected to join the list this year.
THE Maldives is investing US$4.5 million this year in promotions, including roadshows and participation at 19 overseas trade fairs.
The country is targetting 1.9 million visitors this year, up eight per cent from 2014. It is pinning hopes of greater numbers on 2016, which has been designated Visit Maldives Year, and will also see the country assume the role of partner host for ITB Berlin 2016.
The government expects to spend around 1.5 million euros (US$1.6 million) on ITB Berlin 2016 events.
Between January and August this year, roadshows have been scheduled in more than 10 countries and 24 cities, while a bigger programme connected to celebrating VMY 2016 will be released mid-2015, said Mohamed Adam, deputy managing director, Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation (MMPRC).
MMPRC will also lead industry delegations to trade fairs in Istanbul, Spain, Zürich, Berlin, Prague, Moscow, Azerbaijan, Japan, Dubai, Delhi, Florida, France, Rio de Janeiro, Italy, Singapore and London.
Abdulla Ghiyas, president of the Maldivian Association for Travel Agents and Tour Operators, is upbeat. “The government has said it will come up with a plan in June on the promotions leading up to ITB Berlin’s 2016 edition. I believe we can attract many more Germans,” he said.
Arrivals from Germany rose marginally 5.1 per cent to 98,338 last year.
Officials said attention is also being placed on boosting arrivals from Brazil, Russia, India and China.
OUTRIGGER Resorts is set to expand its global portfolio by focusing on ownership opportunities on beachfront locations.
Bitsy Kelley, vice president, corporate communications, Outrigger Enterprises Group, said: “Outrigger was born and raised on the beach in Hawaii. This is our (expertise). We are focusing the brand only on beachfront properties and using that as a strategic push in the Pacific, South-east Asia and Indian Ocean destinations.”
Kelley added each Outrigger property, through its architecture, programmes and services, is true to the local culture to provide guests an authentic experience of the destination.
To enable this, Outrigger Resorts not only manages but owns the properties. Instead of having standardised operating procedures across the board, each property develops on its own, involving local staff in the process to fit in with the destination’s culture and environment.
Kelley said: “We bought the properties in Mauritius, Maldives, Fiji and Thailand. Our goal is to own and manage all Outrigger-branded properties. Where country regulations forbid, we will find local partners.”
There are currently nine Outrigger properties, two each in Hawaii, Fiji, and Thailand, and one each in Guam, the Maldives and Mauritius. The company is also planning properties in Seychelles, Thailand, Indonesia, Micronesian, Palau, Okinawa, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
However, Kelley was unable to share the expected growth numbers and time frames, saying that they depend on market and political situations in the destinations.
To develop global brand awareness of Outrigger beyond its native Hawaii, the company has developed a key marketing team with agents in Australia, US, Canada and Japan as well as sales, marketing and PR personnel in France, the UK, Russia, Hong Kong and Thailand.
Get insights into how the Kelleys run the show in View From the Top, TTG Asia April 10, 2015
It’s business as usual with Kuoni even as the group is seeking buyers for its outbound units. Asian DMCs hope new opportunities will result from it, with many saying there still is future in traditional tour operating in EuropeContracting with Kuoni Switzerland, UK, Benelux and Scandinavia/Finland is continuing as per normal even as the Kuoni group is seeking to sell off these operations and its other traditional tour operating businesses in Hong Kong/China and India.
Kuoni’s contracts managers from these markets are attending all trade shows and locking horns with their suppliers over rates and allotments as usual. Sellers interviewed also said the announcement by the Kuoni group that it would exit the tour operating business would not impact contracting at all.
“One has to assume that it (Kuoni UK, Switzerland, etc) will be sold as a growing concern and that the new owners will have a passion and commitment to move the business even further forward than where it is today,” said Chris Bailey, senior vice president sales & marketing Centara Hotels & Resorts Thailand.
But Bailey did express reservations that the announcement might impact Kuoni staff however upbeat the message from the management might be, and that the competition would “cherry pick (Kuoni staff) and/or commercial arrangements in such times”.
Kuoni UK is at pains to soothe any jangled nerves, with managing director Derek Jones issuing a statement saying the UK leadership team remains in place “to oversee the process (of the sale) and continue the ambitious plans for growth in the UK market”. He went on to say Kuoni UK would be “working closely with our colleagues in Switzerland to make sure we find the right buyers”.
In the meantime, Jones said: “It’s very much business as usual right now for all our staff and customers. This is the busiest time for holiday bookings and right now our focus is on continuing to deliver brilliant holidays and service for all customers.”
Like Jones, hotels and DMCs interviewed hoped the new owners of these businesses would be able to take the business forward, saying by no means was Kuoni’s move a reflection that the future of tour operating in Europe was dim.
DMCs are in fact salivating at the prospects of new accounts these sell-offs may bring. For example, only Tour East Singapore now handles Kuoni as the account in the rest of the region has gone to Asian Trails since Asian Trails was bought by Kuoni Group a few years ago.
Said Judy Lum, group vice president sales & marketing, Tour East Singapore: “I see more opportunities than threats with a neutral ownership: the new owner will focus on tour operating, thus the potential of increasing the existing business to our Singapore office even if the DMC in the rest of Asia remains status quo. Or, the potential of a consolidation in ground handling where the rest of the Tour East offices will have a chance to pitch for the business on a more neutral standing.”
Sharing the same sentiments, Exo Travel’s group managing director Hamish Keith commented: “We see this as a logical continuation of Kuoni selling of its operations in France and Spain (in the past two to three years) and welcome their initiative. Any break-up of large travel groups creates an opportunity for independent DMCs to compete for new business, which is of course welcomed from our point of view.
“We also see this as a reaction to the wider trend, where the market has moved away from well-organised, fixed travel and tours, which Kuoni pioneered and become a leader in, and shifted towards more personalised travel provided by highly specialised tour operators.
“Hopefully these Kuoni divisions will not be bought by one of the big operators but will have the opportunity to relaunch themselves as small, more independent tour operators which are able to meet the demands of the changing marketplace.”
Legacy
New owners of Kuoni’s tour operating businesses can continue operating with the name, which carries a legacy of more than 100 years.
Kuoni Group’s spokesperson Peter Brun said: “The main brand ‘Kuoni’ remains with the mother company Kuoni Group as we continue to operate with that name, for example, Kuoni Destination Management and of course Kuoni Group (itself). But potential buyers of the tour operating businesses can licence the brand Kuoni from Kuoni Group and operate with that name.
“That’s why these businesses are so attractive because you can continue like before with your customers in your B2C interaction.”
Brun added: “We already have such agreements successfully in place when we sold Kuoni Austria years ago. Same with Kuoni France and Spain two years ago. If you go to Paris you will find beautiful Kuoni retail stores with the same logo as we have in the UK, Switzerland and in Asia. For the specialist brands like Voyage Jules Verne you mentioned, they normally go with the sale to new owners.”
Voyage Jules Verne is a brand under Kuoni UK, along with Carrier, Kirker, CV Villas and Journeys of Distinction. Aside from established brands, suitors are also buying its 50-year track record, a digital presence and 35 Kuoni-branded shops.
Asked who the potential buyers are at press time, Brun said: “We don’t speculate about any potential buyers. But we are convinced that our outbound tour operating unit with its valued brands can be further developed by new owners.”
To some, however, the announcement was a double-edged sword, as it was akin to Kuoni admitting prospects were better for B2B hotel and land wholesaling, destination management services and visa facilitation than tour operating.
A source said announcing a sale of a company without a buyer was demoralising for the staff, would discourage existing and new clients to book and devalue the company’s image/share value.
But Brun said: “We are a listed company and have to follow certain communication rules.
“If we had started secret negotiations with one or more potential buyers there would be many rumours in the markets. This would cause a lot of uncertainties, especially with employees. If we announce, like we did, everybody has the same communication starting point and we get different interested buyers. This can allow us to find best possible new owners for these businesses. This can give employees better assurance and perspectives for their development,” said Brun.
Currently, only the Hotelplan Group has confirmed it is looking into the possibility of buying Kuoni Switzerland while the industry speculates potential buyers were likely those from the Middle East and North and North-east Asia with deep pockets. Private non-travel related investors are also not ruled out.
Asian DMCs and hotels that contract Kuoni hope for a new owner that has a strategy to expand tour operating in the UK/Europe and bring that to the next level by leveraging technology.
“Anybody that would continue to enthusiastically drive the business, the brand and its management team forward deserves a shot in the arm!” said Centara’s Bailey.
Future
Kuoni’s decision to exit tour operating did not come as a surprise to most industry players interviewed, given the several restructures the group had been making over the years in a bid to survive a changing marketplace. But none said they believed the future of tour operating in Europe was dead – although the caveat was the business must evolve in order to handle the disruption caused by the Internet.
Said a UK operator on the condition of anonymity: “Most of the established conventional tour operators – particularly those that are trade-focused – have seen margins come under pressure primarily from OTAs, bed banks and, in many cases, hoteliers becoming more aggressive in trying to obtain direct sales.
“(However), there is still a place for specialist operators, maybe focusing on a few areas rather than trying to be worldwide.
“The challenge is ensuring those clients who have taken your time to obtain information actually book through you, rather than rushing to an OTA with the information so they can undercut.
“The OTAs here in the UK, and maybe elsewhere, are very tech-savvy and particularly good at selling distressed stock – attributes not usually associated with the more established operators.”
Asked about the future of the tour operating business, Hotelplan CEO Thomas Stirnimann said: “We can only say that it is working out well for us, but you needed to adapt a couple of years ago. Today there is no more B2B or B2C business but only business with which you serve all channels.”
Centara’s Bailey, a former tour operator, said there is “absolutely” a future for tour operating.
“The big trends are very much with the tour operators or, should I say, with travel companies of all kinds, as there is no doubt that people in Europe are travelling more and farther than ever, even if their economies are not doing well.
“Our experience working with tour operators shows us that those dynamic operators who are able to react to the changes and nuances of the more demanding and much better informed travellers are able to succeed and grow their business.”
Who are such players? According to Exo’s Keith, it’s the larger players who are refocusing the business to their core mass market customers and giving them a unique, differentiated product. “It’s about delivering quality, experience and product knowledge at a value for money (not cheap) pricing.
“If they cannot deliver the difference, then there is no place for them. Some will make it, others will not.”
Tour East’s Lum added: “Although technology has changed the dynamics of the travel industry, it does not serve everyone’s needs. Travel and holidays are a non-tangible product and are still very much in need of a personalised customer care element.
“A large part of the industry is still customised, specialised and differentiated. The day we allow artificial intelligence to plan our holiday and standardised it, our life is over.”
This article was first published in TTG Asia, March 13, 2015 issue, on page 4. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe
PROMOTING India is as much about clearing barriers as it is about inspiring people. So for India to maximise the benefits of tourism, it needs to deal with five elephants in the room:
Liberate the visa process
Although India is working hard on its visa issues with its visa on arrival programme, the system needs further improvement. One can only apply for such a visa within 30 days of travel. While this deals well with short notice travel, it doesn’t help drive conversion in longhaul markets where planning often takes six months out. Just because travellers have time to follow the standard procedure doesn’t mean they will wish to do so. Other destinations with easier visa arrangements maybe just a click away.
Boost safety for women
Women still plan the majority of travel – and India is poorly perceived on safety for women. The Indian government is working hard to deal with this issue (as prime minister Modi noted on Independence Day). This is a great opportunity for the tourism industry to create products that offer both immersion and safety. Ketaki’s Delhi in a Bag tours and the reviews show that she is spot on when it comes to offering a great experience and female safety. Women’s safety features prominently on her website site along side positive messages.
Be upfront about security
It isn’t just women travellers. After the hotel attacks in Mumbai in India in 2008, tourists are aware that India (like most places) is a terrorism target. My experience is that security is very high in India at many tourist spots. But that isn’t always obvious when tourists are considering India as a destination. The security message needs to reach people overseas before they reach for an alternative to India.
Make India possible for time-poor visitors
India is huge (Rajasthan alone is the size of France). There is so much to see. If you’re a retiree or on a gap year, this isn’t a problem. But there are many high-yield groups for whom size and time are a barrier. India needs to work on highlight tours that balance ‘India’ as an overarching destination and deliver experiences for the time poor. Themed itineraries are a great start point as is greater promotion of individual regions. The US and Australia do a good job of this.
Address hygiene factors
During Australia Business Week in India in January, one Australian museum director on our delegation admitted: “These days we think toilets before we think permanent exhibitions.” We applaud campaigns that are underway in India to promote this. Our experiences with India’s toilets were positive, the same with food hygiene. But perception is reality in marketing. So beyond expanding the number of tourism-friendly toilets, an easy win would be to promote the top toilets in India through maps, apps and reviews. I’ve long believed that every tourism awards scheme would have a Tourism Loo of the Year award. This should be true of India too.
By addressing these five elephants in the room, India can really unlock the potential of its inbound tourism.
For Asia to grab the opportunity to expand its share of the European market in 2016, real marketing dollars must be put back into the region.Have euro will travel, never mind if it’s a weaker euro. The Germans’ love for travel is unstoppable and figures from ForwardKeys show German departures to longhaul destinations climbed 4.2 per cent last year, compared with a non-existent (0.5 per cent) growth in 2013.
But it was more of a West Side Story last year, with German wholesalers telling me that places like Latin America, Mexico and Cuba were ‘in vogue’ as they had become more affordable, while the Far East was saddled by the Thai political issue, India’s bad image, Malaysia Airlines’ accidents and so forth.
But an Asia shift is on the cards with the euro devaluation (see page 6) and it’s just what Asia needs. If you’ve cut back on Europe marketing, it’s time to get back in – and fast. Should never have cut back on Europe in the first place. Look at the Maldives (see page 14): a slowdown in China and Russian arrivals sees Europe regaining its position as the Maldives’ number one market. Chinese travellers to the Maldives are neither repeaters nor long-stayers, while the British, Italians, Germans, etc, are, making Western Europe a richer market to have (and to hold).
Indonesia’s tourism minister Arief Yahya ‘got it’, assuring the trade at ITB he was not about to give Europe the short shrift in favour of volume-generating markets closer to home. This was an about-turn from January, when he told us the promotions budget would be allocated in proportion to markets the ministry believed would help it achieve a 20 million arrivals target by 2019. Going by this, 80 per cent of the budget would go to South-east Asia, other parts of Asia and Australia; Europe, the US and the Middle East would get 20 per cent.
But, having studied the data, he acknowledged the European traveller’s average spend was twice that of other tourists.
Thank goodness. For Asia to grab the opportunity to expand its share of the European market in 2016, real marketing dollars must be put back into the region. Look at Vietnam, whose marketing efforts in Germany brought an ROI of a 25 per cent increase in the market last year. The right pricing strategy that takes into account the euro’s devaluation, and the fact the market remains price-sensitive due to the continuing economic uncertainty in the eurozone, is also a must.
At this year’s ITB, the Far East halls 25/26 were far busier than in the last two years. Accor Asia-Pacific’s chief marketeer, Graham Wilson, too, was astounded by “the buoyancy of the German market, a big change from last year” and he expects a four to six per cent additional growth on top of what he had budgeted for.
Let’s play our cards right and, welcome back, Europe.
This article was first published in TTG Asia, March 13, 2015 issue, on page 2. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe
NEW World Hotels & Resorts has inked a management agreement with Thailand-based Grand Canal Land to manage New World Grand Rama 9, Bangkok Hotel, scheduled to open mid-2017.
The 285-room property is the latest addition to the brand’s existing portfolio of properties in China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Located at the Rama 9 Intersection off Ratchadapisek Road near Phra Ram 9 MRT station and the new Stock Exchange of Thailand, the hotel will be part of the Grand Rama 9 mixed-use development, which comprises eight residential towers, grade A office space, a 3,000m2 convention centre and The Shoppes Grand Rama 9 complex.
F&B choices will include a lobby lounge, café, specialty restaurant and rooftop pool bar, while event facilities totalling 1,300m2 will include a grand ballroom and four meeting rooms. For recreation, there will be a rooftop outdoor swimming pool and fitness centre.
“Bangkok represents an important strategic expansion for us in Asia and we are very pleased to partner with Grand Canal Land to showcase our ‘modern Oriental hospitality’ in such a significant development in the Thai capital,” says Sonia Cheng, CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group, New World Hotels & Resorts’ parent company.
HUMA Island Resort & Spa, which was hit by typhoon Yolanda in November 2013, expects to reopen all its facilities this May.
The 80 over-water villas resort off Busuanga Island in northern Palawan had been open a week before the disaster struck the area (Busuanga and Coron), wiping out the resort’s event pavilion and half its inventory.
Teody Espallardo, senior sales manager, said the resort had continued its operations while repairs were undertaken.
“We currently receive many FITs from the US and Europe as well as South Korean honeymooners,” Espallardo said.
The resort also attracts corporate groups and incentives. Function rooms can accommodate up to 70 pax and events are meanwhile held at the yoga pavilion.
The event pavilion will reopen in May, while seaplane transfer service – either from Manila straight to the resort, or from Busuanga airport, which is two hours’ drive away – will be available soon.
A reopening promotion, available till May 26, offers full-board two nights’ accommodation, spa massage and seaplane transfers.
Full-board accommodation will be priced at US$500-800 depending on the season, Espallardo said.
Huma Island, known for its glass-floor spa facilities, Italian and Lebanese F&B, capitalises on its proximity to northern Palawan’s famous Japanese warship wreck dives, and has 10 diving packages available.
A CONSORTIUM of five Malaysian tour operators specialising in golfing holidays, together with the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia and Accor Hotels, launched theWonderful Indonesia Le Club Accorhotels Golf Challenge in Malaysia today.
Nia Niscaya, director of international tourism promotion, Ministry of Tourism Indonesia, said: “This is the first time the government is collaborating with Accor and the consortium to promote golf packages in Indonesia. It helps create awareness of Indonesia as a golf destination and attracts more FIT golfers.”
Malaysia is the second market after Singapore to see the launch of the golf challenge, which will be rolled out in destinations where Garuda has direct flights, namely Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Melbourne, Sydney and Manila.
This series of Wonderful Indonesia tournaments are expected to attract some 60,000 international golfers.
Steven Leow, group CEO of Leisure Golf Services, which is part of the consortium, shared that a total of 22 tournaments will run in Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Batam, Semarang and Jogjakarta from February 2015 to January 2016. The 4D3N packages start from US$470.
According to Garuda Indonesia’s country manager for Malaysia, Dasep M Suanda, the airline will reinstate direct services from Jakarta to Manila from June.
