CHINA, a destination traditionally more popular with the silver-haired crowd, is striking gold with young Singapore travellers as growing LCC services into the country vamp up the appeal of secondary cities.

Eileen Oh, marketing and communications head at ASA holidays, said: “Five years ago, most of our travellers to China were aged 40 and above. But today, as more LCCs start to ply routes to and from China, we are seeing more customers below 35 years old travelling to China, be it by themselves or with their families.”

Chan Brothers Travel marketing and communications manager, Jane Chang, observed: “While travellers over the age of 55 constitute over 60 per cent of our bookings to China, market trends also hint at the growing appeal of China to younger independent travellers below 35.”

But demographics are not the only thing to have changed for Singapore’s outbound market to China, with more heading to previously less accessible destinations such as Nanjing, Qingdao, Shenyang and Tianjin with cheaper flights by budget carriers, Chang pointed out.

Singapore Airlines’ subsidiary, Scoot, debuted thrice-weekly direct flights to its fourth Chinese destination, Nanjing, in June. Scoot also flies to Tianjin, Qingdao and Shenyang.

Earlier this month, Singapore-based Jetstar Asia announced additional direct flights to Shantou and Hangzhou, raising frequencies of the services to four- and five-times-weekly respectively.

“LCCs help to introduce second- and third-tier cities that will appeal to youngsters who are more adventurous as they want to learn more about the food, culture and history in China,” said Alex Tan, head of sourcing (Asia), Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA).

“Also, with the high-speed rail system, it becomes much easier to connect to different cities that are less heard of.”

Chan Brothers’ Chang concurred, saying: “Younger independent travellers want to earn ‘street cred’ for uncovering the quaintest village off the beaten track, while others just want to soak up the one-of-a-kind experiences in exotic destinations.”

Alicia Seah, senior vice president of marketing and PR, CTC Travel, said LCCs have helped to push down ticket prices by full-fledged carriers.

“LCCs not only generate interest in new (destination) cities, they have also helped to drive competitive pricing among full-service airlines which do not want to lose out on this emerging market,” she explained.

– Read more in TTG Show Daily – PATA Travel Mart 2013

THE growing number of mid- to up-market overland tours in Indonesia are lighting up cities beyond Bali this year, assisted by growing tourism infrastructure in tertiary locales.

Umberto Cadamuro, COO of Pacto, said that while Thailand is posing strong competition in the volume-driven mass-market tier, Indonesia is coasting along in the overland and customised tours segment.

“European operators specialising in customised tours are doing very well, venturing off the beaten track, with Komodo taking the lion’s share (of visitors) together with a very much in-demand Kalimantan,” he shared.

Likewise, Destination Asia Indonesia’s managing director, Sediya Yasa, has also seen more travellers venture to Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and East and West Nusa Tenggara.

Demand for upmarket overland tours has been so strong that Santika Indonesia Hotels & Resorts’ general manager, corporate sales and marketing, Guido Adriano, stated: “We have seen our luxury collection’s performance in Bali growing better than the other brands in the group this year.”

More significantly, bookings are also picking up outside of Bali. “It is interesting to note that we have got business for our hotels in Tasikmalaya and Purwokerto (which is something new),” he commented.

Having witnessed a pickup in reservations from tour operators running overland tours, Guido said the company is optimistic that US and European demand for such programmes would continue strongly into 2014.

“We have signed a contract with (an overland operator) for stays in our hotels in Bandung, Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Malang and Bali. We have at the moment secured 10 groups for next year,” he revealed.

Ellies Halim, group director of sales and marketing for Jayakarta Hotels & Resorts, also said her hotel in Labuan Bajo has seen an increase in bookings, thanks to growing interest in Komodo. “Overland tour series feature our hotels in Bandung, Jakarta, Bali and Labuan Bajo, a destination which has been growing in popularity,” she said.

Although Java’s Tasikmalaya, Purwokerto and Malang are along the Java-Bali overland route, tour operators did not consider overnight stays at these destinations previously due to a lack of good accommodation options.

But with local hotel chains such as Santika, Harris Hotels and Archipelago International establishing properties in these destinations, not to mention Best Western’s recent entry into Malang and Accor’s Ibis impending Malang debut, the situation is changing.

– Read more in TTG Show Daily – PATA Travel Mart 2013

DMCs specialising in South-east Asia are testifying to a surge in longhaul business from South America this year, driven in part by the latter’s fast-developing economies and in part by growing connections to Asia via the Middle East.

“We have experienced average growth of 25-50 per cent in interest and actual business from South America over the last two years,” said Sabine Widmann, chief sales officer of ICS Travel Group, which has representatives in Mexico, Columbia, Brazil and Chile.

She attributed the significant spike to strong South American economies, which have spawned an increase in rich travellers seeking new destinations beyond the US and Caribbean.

Other Thailand-based DMCs are equally positive about the South American markets.

To tap this market, Exotissimo launched a sales office earlier this year in Rio de Janeiro to oversee Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Columbia.

Exotissimo COO, Hamish Keith, who expects growth from this region to reach 70-80 per cent this year, said: “South American travellers tend to be high-end travellers and will stay at top-end hotels. They fly into Thailand and typically do three destinations, sometimes even four or five.”

Despite being small in absolute numbers compared with traditional markets, Brazil is a steadily rising market for Khiri Travel Group, growing from one group in 2012 to five groups booked for next year, said general manager, Andre van der Marck.

He added: “They are (big) spenders…who will include all sightseeing and meals, engage Spanish-speaking tour leaders and go for special experiences such as photography. They are very much interested in culture, combining both Thailand with the Greater Mekong subregion countries.”

Claudio Kellenberger, deputy managing director of Asian Trails, said: “We don’t have any longhaul market with numbers lower than last year. South America is doing extremely well with 25 per cent higher (passenger volume).”

Furthermore, visitors from South America who swing into South-east Asia have a penchant for spending more and staying longer. To tap this market, Exotissimo launched a sales office earlier this year in Rio de Janeiro to oversee Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Columbia.

Exotissimo COO, Hamish Keith, who expects growth from this region to reach 70-80 per cent this year, also because of the small base, said: “South American travellers tend to be high-end travellers and will stay at top-end hotels. They fly into Thailand and typically do three destinations, sometimes even four or five.”

Van der Marck added: “They are (big) spenders…who will include all sightseeing and meals, engage Spanish-speaking tour leaders and go for special experiences such as photography. They are very much interested in culture, combining both Thailand with the Greater Mekong subregion countries.”

EXPANDING its presence in new countries and reviving inactive chapters will be the key focus for PATA in 2014.

During the PATA Chapter Colloquium held at Jinjiang Hotel in Chengdu on Saturday, PATA CEO, Martin Craigs, emphasised the importance of local chapter support for the Bangkok-based association.

PATA is “reconnecting with the European chapter”, with Daniela Wagner, co-founder of London-based eWaterways, appointed the coordinator of PATA Europe, while the South Korea and Japan chapters will be prioritised for revival next year, Craigs added.

Ivy Chee, the association’s regional director of East Asia, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Our focus last year was South-east Asia, so next year we will give more attention to North-east Asia.”

To strengthen PATA’s profile, roundtable discussions will be organised with local members, which will offer opportunities to engage with non-members and show support to NTOs in these destinations.

Shigeo Adachi, chairman of PATA Japan Chapter, hailed the interest boost from the headquarters as “a good opportunity” that would pave the way for the 40-member chapter to build up its membership again, which stood at 200 members strong in 2000.

Meanwhile, the PATA UAE Chapter is set to launch on September 25, while the PATA Laos chapter soft-launched earlier this year during the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Vientiane and is on its way to becoming a full-fledged chapter.

During the colloquium, PATA members present also urged the headquarters to share member kits and resources in order for local chapters to engage with their members more effectively.

In addition, Meanwhile, PATA will boost its support for its Myanmar chapter to assist the country along a sustainable path of development. Chee revealed: “We are working closely with the Asian Development Bank on the Myanmar tourism masterplan and are involved with Dusit International to establish a hospitality school in Myanmar, as well as planning more roundtable discussions in the country next year.”

In addition, PATA continues to spread its wings further to expand the association’s outreach. PATA UAE Chapter is set to launch on September 25, while PATA Laos chapter soft-launched earlier this year during the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Vientiane and is on its way to becoming a full-fledged chapter.

In recognition of Russia’s immense outbound potential and its importance as a visitor source market for many Asian countries, PATA has alsoready drawn up plans to visit and organise roundtable discussions in Russia from 1Q2014.

– Read more in TTG Show Daily – PATA Travel Mart 2013