PATA has announced a new TV campaign entitled PATA Loves ASEAN which will be aired in June across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The US$300,000 advertising campaign on the Travel Channel will promote responsible tourism experiences under the following categories: nature tourism, culture and heritage tourism, community-based tourism, cruise and river tourism, and health and wellness tourism.

Some 210 60-second clips featuring all 10 ASEAN member states will be facilitated by PATA. PATA’s Love logo and ASEAN’s consumer tourism slogan Southeast Asia: Feel the Warmth will also be highlighted.

Owned by Scripps Networks Interactive, London-based Travel Channel is a leading international travel broadcaster, transmitting 24 hours a day in 21 languages to 130 countries.

PATA CEO, Martin Craigs, said: “ASEAN has emerged as a global leader of sophisticated niche tourism products that have a caring and community touch. The PATA Loves ASEAN campaign will promote those products, which are also part of ASEAN’s strategic tourism plan for 2012-2015.”

“The PATA Loves ASEAN campaign will illustrate the benefits to host and guest by embracing responsible tourism as part of South-east Asia’s connected visitor economy,” added Ivy Chee, regional director – East Asia, who initiated the campaign.

In the presentation sessions to ministers and NTOs at the ASEAN Tourism Forum, PATA also previewed its new five-year tourism arrivals forecasts. The predictions are based on an econometric model known as auto-regressive distributed lag and error correction model, said to be a new cutting-edge tool developed by PATA with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Hotel and Tourism Management.

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SPICEJET has announced the latest adjustments to its international flight routes and introduced a slew of passenger benefits in order to remain competitive.

According to the airline’s news release last week, SpiceJet is set to launch new routes out of Kolkata to Guangzhou and Hong Kong by end-February, while a new Dhaka service is expected to be introduced in the near future.

SpiceJet will also axe flights on a number of routes to optimise resource allocation: Pune-Bangkok, Varanasi-Sharjah and New Delhi-Guangzhou.

In January, the carrier rolled out SpiceMAX for passengers who purchase premium seats, giving them priority handling, check-in and 10kg extra in baggage allowance. A frequent flier programme was also launched at the same time, offering one free ticket for every six flights and two tickets for every 10 flights rather than mileage.

SpiceJet is further targeting business-class travellers by reconfiguring its Boeing 737 aircraft for more legroom and offering more value-added services. It will also consolidate and expand the existing alliance with Tigerair.

Rajendra Chruiwala, director-eastern region, IATA Agents Association of India, said high fuel costs and airport charges were forcing airlines to optimise aircraft deployment and route operations.

“(Indian carriers) have to strike a balance and constantly rejig their routes in a market that will see increased competition from AirAsia India and Tata-SIA Airlines in the near future,” he commented.

FAR East Hospitality (FEH) has relaunched the Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, removing the ‘Grand’ from its name pre-acquisition and injecting a new art-inspired concept to differentiate the brand from others in its portfolio.

FEH now counts nine brands following its joint venture with Australia’s Toga Group which operates Adina Apartment Hotels, Medina Service Apartments, Rendezvous Hotels, Vibe Hotels and Travelodge Hotels (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 3, 2013).

Far East Hospitality Management CEO, Arthur Kiong, interviewed by TTG Asia e-Daily on the sideline of the relaunch last Friday, described the repositioning as “an experiment” to see if the brand could appeal to the cultured cosmopolitan market.

Being art-inspired, the hotel will offer dedicated spaces to showcase local art, technology to facilitate art and design-related exhibitions and special entry rates to museums in its vicinity, among others.

“We bought a hotel with an existing product, so we needed to rationalise how it’s going to compete with other brands, but also how it would sit within our brand. This (relaunch) is an experiment; we spent a modest amount in renovating the lobby, function rooms, club and club lounge and (in the repositioning) to see if it could appeal to the cultured cosmopolitan market,” said Kiong.

He said FEH’s brands are all geared for mid/upscale market, however, as this market is huge, there has to be different products to suit its different psychographics, not demographics.

“Rendezvous is located in areas that have museums, art, where the local community could display its art and vibrancy, while Oasia is for the road warriors, who are here to work but want serenity and functionality at the same time. Quincy is for the jet-set crowd who wants glamour while Village is more in the bohemian, fringe neighbourhoods.

“You can’t divide people by their demographics – i.e., females or males, Malays or Indians, young or old – rather, by their psychographics.”

Kiong said with a string of brands, the group would look into expanding into gateway cities which are directly connected to Singapore. “Our strategy is to have many brands so when we go into these gateway cities, we could have a Quincy, a Rendezvous, an Oasia, etc, which does not compete with each other, unlike having six brand X hotels in one city.”

These gateway cities are also already a huge source market for FEH, for example Australia or Europe. “Australia contributes about nine per cent to our business. Europe is significant too. So I could see a Rendezvous in, say, Berlin, if there’s an opportunity, as we already have Adina there,” said Kiong.

INDONESIAN boutique hospitality firm Plataran Hotels & Resorts is expanding eastwards, having already secured a presence in Bali.

Established in 2008, the company had only recently forayed into hotel management in 2012 when it took over Plataran Canggu Bali, which it owned since 2010, according to Iwan Sitompul, corporate director of sales and marketing.

This property is currently undergoing refurbishment, which will be completed next month.

“Our development strategy is to open new properties in exotic destinations in Indonesia,” said Iwan. “We are not building city hotels, but focusing on developing low-rise, boutique properties in traditional Javanese houses.”

Following the recent openings of the nine-villa Plataran Komodo and the 51-room Plataran Ubud in December 2013, several new properties will be rolled out in the next two years, according to Iwan. The 30-room Plataran Bromo will launch in 3Q2015 while the 20-room Plataran Sumba will debut in 1Q2016.

In Borobudur, Plataran is building a 61-room hotel whose meeting and wedding facilities will augment its existing all-villa property nearby. This is slated for 1Q2016.

The company is also adding a six-pax yacht in February to its existing four phinisi boats to “offer an even more upmarket experience for guests”, Iwan shared. All five vessels will be based in Labuan Bajo, located in west Flores in Nusa Tenggara, an hour’s flight from Bali.

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THE ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC), in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, has set in motion an exchange programme to help Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos sharpen their cultural and heritage appeal in a bid to encourage greater Japanese traveller interest in these ASEAN destinations.

The programme is the first of many aimed at developing products these destinations are rich in, noted AJC’s director of Tourism & Exchange Division, Dananjaya Axioma.

“We have taken a group consisting of tourism academicians and heritage management (personnel) from the three countries on a fam trip to Japan in November last year,” Axioma said, adding that participants attended a workshop and training seminar in Tokyo and site inspections of cultural and heritage attractions in Nara.

The activities are also expected to guide Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos in managing attractions with cultural and historical value.

“Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are already major destinations for Japanese outbound to ASEAN (so) we have to work with stakeholders of these three countries to find ways to increase Japanese arrivals,” said Axioma.

Following these activities, participants are expected to develop and implement relevant programmes for selected cultural and heritage sites.

However, AJC has yet to meet with the working groups of Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos to obtain updates and discuss the next step forward.

Expressing support for the initiative, Union of Myanmar Travel Association chairman, Aung Myat Kyaw, told the TTG Asia e-Daily: “Japan is one of the main markets Myanmar is keen to develop.”

Although Japanese arrivals to Myanmar is still a minute figure, it grew 123 per cent between 2011 and 2012. Aung believes that product improvements will raise traveller interest.

In 2012, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar welcomed 179,000, 42,000 and 47,600 Japanese respectively.

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INDONESIA has proposed the creation of a MICE professional certification within the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on Tourism Professionals, according to the chair of the ASEAN Tourism Professional Monitoring Committee (ATPMC).

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily in an interview, Souhn Manivong, director general, tourism development department of Laos’ Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism – who represents Laos as ATPMC chair – said: “Indonesia is leading the development of this project (through a working group). Currently, it is preparing the competency units which will later be compiled with what other member countries have and be developed into a common ASEAN standard. (So far) we’ve learnt that Thailand has its own (MICE competency standards).”

Ani Insani, head of competency centre, resource development agency for tourism and creative economy, Indonesia Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, said: “(The ministry and the MICE industry in) Indonesia feel it is important to have such standards as the industry is growing in the region.”

Wisnu Budi Sulaeman, board member of Indonesia Congress and Convention Association, who leads the Indonesia contingent in the MICE competency working group, said: “On the conference side, Indonesia has established competency units for bidding, venue, registration and liaison specialists. On the exhibition side, we have existing standards for stand contractors and logistic specialists.”

Supervisory level standards are currently implemented across Indonesia, and managerial level standards are set to follow soon, according to Wisnu.

Meanwhile, preparation towards the full implementation of MRA by end-2015 is on track, said Manivong, who is also project director of the Greater Mekong Subregion Sustainable Tourism Development Project.

MRA’s successful implementation would facilitate mobility of tourism professionals within ASEAN, and he estimates that some 2,000 regional professionals will hold ASEAN-recognised certificates by then.

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THE Ascott has opened Citadines St Georges Terrace Perth after a five-month, multimillion dollar refurbishment and rebranding.

Formerly the Somerset St Georges Terrace Perth, the Citadines St Georges Terrace Perth has undergone a A$5.1 million (US$4.5 million) facelift. Its lobby now boasts of contemporary art pieces by local artists and a colour scheme of dark grey with pops of crimson or yellow.

The 85-unit property sits in the heart of Perth’s business district and is only a street away from the Esplanade overlooking the Swan River.

Citadines St Georges Terrace Perth offers studio and one-bedroom apartments complete with fully equipped kitchens or kitchenettes, free Wi-Fi and home entertainment systems.

The serviced residence is the second Citadines brand property and fifth Ascott residence in Australia.

Kenneth Rogers, regional general manager for Australia and Indonesia, The Ascott, said: “We have rebranded Somerset St Georges Terrace Perth to a Citadines to cater to the growing demand from savvy independent travellers in Australia who value the flexibility to choose the services they require to personalise their stay.

“Our Citadines on Bourke in Melbourne which is popular among these travellers has been performing well with occupancy of over 80 per cent. Bringing Citadines to Perth will enable us to strengthen our foothold in the city as demand for serviced residences remain strong from the resource and mining sectors.”

NEW standards for home-stays in South-east Asia will be adopted as part of moves to create a single, quality tourism destination and to assist local communities in earning a living from tourism.

Agreed on by ASEAN tourism ministers at this year’s meetings, the standards are based on input from their respective NTOs. They cover areas such as accommodation, cleanliness in food preparation, eco-friendliness and involvement of visitors in local activities.

In addition, prerequisites are that home-stay operators be free of criminal records and in good health, while home-stays must be in operation for at least two years at the time of application. There must also be at least five registered home-stays in a village.

Pilot testing for the standards will begin this year followed by full implementation from next year.

Mohd Daud Mohd Arif, director of Industry Development Division at the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, said the standards are valid for three years, after which it will be reassessed by ASEAN ministers and further enhanced if necessary. Malaysia is the lead coordinator for the home-stay standards.

“Successful home-stays will receive a certificate and a plaque issued by ASEAN, which they can use for branding and marketing purposes,” explained Ong Hong Peng, secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, who is chairing the ASEAN NTO meetings.

The certification is offered free of charge to all home-stay operators. Home-stays must score at least 75 per cent during the assessment process to qualify.

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