JAPAN is wooing Singaporean incentives and encouraging the trade to take their customers into lesser-known cities now that arrival figures have bounced back.

Susan Maria Ong, deputy director of Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Singapore office, said that Singapore outbound traffic to Japan saw a 30 per cent year-on-year rise in 2013, thus pointing to “full confidence restored” in Japan.

JNTO predicts arrivals growth will continue to climb. “Apart from the fact that it is cheaper to travel to Japan now with the depreciation of the yen, Singaporeans are also aware that it is a safe country and are willing to return,” she said.

Ong was speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily at the Japan Endless Discovery Incentive Seminar 2014, the first time the seminar has been held in Singapore since 2010.

This year’s seminar also features lesser-known destinations like Kitakyushu, Nanto, Tokushima Prefecture.

Tory Yamaishi, marketing manager from Matsumoto Tourism & Convention Association, said only about 700 Singaporeans visit this city in Nagano Prefecture every year and this number has been stagnant. He said: “We want to look at attracting repeat visitors especially because they will want to see something new in Japan.”

Hailing the Matsumotojo – one of Japan’s renowned historic castles – as a must-see attraction, Yamaishi said travellers will also be awed by the scenic mountainous view there.

Yoshitaka Nagatomo, senior deputy director of the Kumamoto tourism division, said: “It is not easy to fight with Japan’s big cities so we have to be even more impressive in our marketing.”

Hence, Nagatomo said Kumamoto would work closely with travel consultants by participating in more tradeshows this year.

Megatop Travel Consultants’ travel manager, Yvon Neo, said Hokkaido still ranks as top preferred choice for her travellers but agreed that fresher destinations increasingly held appeal for repeat travellers.

“For first-time visitors, of course they will go for the popular cities but for the seasoned travellers we can consider recommending less popular ones like Matsumoto,” she said.

According to Japan Travel Agency statistics, Japan has already surpassed the pre-earthquake high of 8.6 million arrivals for full-year 2010 with 8.7 million arrivals between January and October 2013 (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 28, 2013).

THAILAND-BASED Destination Asia yesterday launched Destination Asia Events, a new website created as a “one-stop resource tool” for events planners.

Available at www.destination-asia-events.com, the portal is meant to “solidify and expand Destination Asia’s presence as event organisers in Asia”, said James Reed, CEO of Destination Asia.

He explained: “We have organised thousands of events over the past 10 plus years (and so) we decided to create a platform for clients to access all the extensive creative work we have done so far.”

While declining to disclose the exact amount channelled into developing the new platform, Reed believes that the “considerable investment” spent will pay off in improving the client experience and streamlining work efficiency.

“The process of an incentive brief is highly detailed and time-consuming to put together. The content on our new events website basically condenses all of this and gives our clients immediate access to high visual graphics and information that they would otherwise have to question to us through multiple correspondence,” he added.

The Destination Asia Events website features 360-degree views of key venues, downloadable content, fact sheets, essential technical support information and high-resolution images for presentations. Clients are required to sign in with a password, and a qualifying process is required for new sign-ups.

Only content for China, Vietnam and Indonesia is currently available on the website, with Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong to come in the next three months, followed by the group’s remaining destinations within the year.

Destination Asia’s group business development director, Victoria Sertic, revealed further technological initiatives in the pipeline. She said: “We recognise that all segments of our business require technology, so the online booking engine eDA (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 1, 2013) is like a talking engine for leisure customers and the Destination Asia Events website is an electronics tool for MICE customers.

“We will launch a third platform, a Cruise Asia website, by the end of this month,” she disclosed.

MALAYSIAN hospitality group Residence Hotels & Resorts has rebranded itself as RHR Hospitality and introduced new signature hotel brands to its portfolio.

The three recently unveiled brands are: The Kahaani, The Qamar and RHR Hotel.

Bringing its existing properties in line with its new identity, RHR Hospitality has begun rebranding selected hotels.

Residence Resort Paka in Terengganu and Residence Desa Lagoon Resort in Port Dickson will carry The Qamar brand, while Residence Hotel At Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) will be renamed RHR Hotel @ UNITEN.

RHR Hospitality’s portfolio comprises 11 hotels including three in Indonesia.

THE political turmoil in Bangkok has sent room occupancies in the city on a nosedive, but some hospitality players have actually seen additional business.

Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales & marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts, has seen many MICE events postponed and leisure bookings cancelled but noted: “Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao actually sees much better figures (perhaps due to) its location slightly outside the city and also corporate clients whose business is as usual.”

Debrah Pascoe, Onyx Hospitality Group’s senior vice president sales and marketing, commented that while occupancy is lower than usual for this time of the year, the hotel is not lowering rates.

“Optimistically, our properties in resort locations are so far unaffected and a number of them are picking up last-minute bookings from guests diverting their travel from Bangkok, especially those within driving distance from the capital, namely Pattaya, Hua Hin and Koh Chang,” she added.

Same-day booking app HotelQuickly appears to be an unexpected winner amid the crisis, recording a surge in bookings for Bangkok properties.

Said COO Christian Mischler: “New member sign-ups in Thailand have more than tripled over the past few days…However, the longer the protests go, we expect to see a bigger increase of bookings, as many might treat themselves a nice shower and a comfortable bed as a change after having spent a number of nights in a tent or sleeping on the floor at a rally site.”

He noted that most of the new members speak Thai and are located in Bangkok when they register on the app.

Meanwhile, hotels located near the demonstration sites have rolled out discounts targeting local residents. Centara Hotels & Resorts has launched a Bangkok Shutdown package across its five Bangkok properties for this week, while Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21 has a Thai Resident Special.

“This (Bangkok Shutdown) promotion is not generating a huge volume increase, as most rally-goers still prefer to go home. However, we’re seeing more rally-goers coming for meals and spa treatments for breaks or relaxation, particularly at Centara Grand,” revealed Bailey.

Likewise, Dusit Thani Bangkok is receiving more lunch business from local offices, including “marginal business from rally-goers”, noted general manager, James Wilson, although month-to-date occupancy has dipped 40 per cent from last year.

“We do have one large international group in house at present and some small overseas groups arriving throughout the week, as well as FIT bookings. Our corporate accounts are still booking, although in reduced numbers,” he said.

BANYAN Tree Holdings, known for its luxury hotels around the region, is looking to branch out into the mid-scale segment in India.

Speaking at Hotel Investment Forum India, executive chairman Ho Kwon Ping said: “We are planning to foray into new segments beyond ultra-luxury because when we started in that segment, nobody was there. But now we are looking to operate other segments like four-star hotels and service apartments.”

While he declined to divulge further details, Ho told TTG Asia e-Daily that the first of such a property is expected to open in the second half of 2014.

He added that India holds great potential for the mid-market segment and the country would see such openings from Banyan Tree Holdings.

“We entered India as a high-end luxury resort company. But we feel that the demographic of India just doesn’t need luxury hotels,” he said.

The company’s first project in India, Banyan Tree Kerala (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 8, 2013),  has repeatedly delayed its opening due to environmental and licensing issues.

AIRASIA X will increase the number of flights between Kuala Lumpur and Seoul (Incheon) from seven weekly to double daily by the end of the year.

From July 2, flights on this route will be increased from seven to 11 times weekly, while double daily services will commence on December 2.

Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X, said: “Overall, the airline has carried over half a million passengers to and from its Korean routes since it began operations in South Korea in 2010. South Korea contributes over eight per cent of the airline’s total revenue, with an average of 83 per cent passenger load in 2013.”

He continued: “Our flights from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul have performed extremely well and the extra flight services will help meet increasing demand, provide guests with a greater choice of travel times and enable us to offer improved flight connections across our network and that of the AirAsia Group.”

Seats on the additional flights are already available for purchase and the airline is dangling special fares to mark the occasion.

One-way, all-in ticket prices start from RM269 (US$82) for economy class and RM699 for premium. The offer runs from January 20 to February 2 for travel between May 5 and September 30.

Besides Seoul, AirAsia X also flies to Busan four times a week out of Kuala Lumpur.