Getting the trade up to speed on cruises

November 15, 2013

Cruise lines are rolling out training programmes to keep travel experts abreast of a fast-growing market

Royal Caribbean Cruises
Chin Ying Duan, spokesperson

What training programmes do you have for Asian travel consultants?
Royal Caribbean Cruises’ (RCC) Cruising for Excellence e-learning programme is for travel consultants worldwide, encompassing its three brands – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. Highlights include interactive, 3D environments that allow users to explore and learn the ships’ key selling points at their own convenience and pace.

Other training methods include in-house seminars for consultants, group product updates and seminars, seminars-at-sea for product exposure and incentives, and ship tours.

How do you tailor your programmes across different Asian markets? What challenges do you face?
Cruising for Excellence has rolled out the e-learning tool in 10 languages, including English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

Some local offices have also developed their own training systems, focusing on customised cruise products and additional curriculum such as sales, booking process, operations and market trends.

Wherever possible, RCC arranges for consultants to visit its ships. Otherwise, additional avenues for product familiarisation include seminars-at-sea, familiarisation cruises and Cruising for Excellence’s 3D virtual ship environment.

How do you decide who to train? How many travel consultants in Asia have been trained to date?
In Asia, RCC has trained over 3,000 travel consultants, focusing on those who show an interest in and the potential to sell cruises. Some markets tend to emphasise training for front-liners as they have the most direct contact with customers.

What incentives are there for travel consultants to get trained?
Cruising for Excellence displays a leaderboard of top scorers, thus driving a sense of competition between agencies. The Captain status will be awarded to those who complete modules for one brand and the Admiral status for those who finish all modules.

Trained consultants receive priority access to promotional offers and RCC’s online reservation tool, where they can view the complete inventory at the best available price, create guest bookings and view the support offered for collateral production and advertising.

In some markets, free familiarisation cruises are given to consultants with the top training scores.

How do you measure the effectiveness of training?
Each year, more and more travel consultants become aware of RCC’s brands, sell the brands and produce greater volume in bookings (which is an indication of effectiveness).

Cruising for Excellence also measures proficiency in individual staff at completion of training, judged by the total points earned from the online quiz and by the number of completed modules in each brand, culminating with the Brand Captain Certificate award. – Hannah Koh

Star Cruises
Michael Goh, senior vice president (sales)

What training programmes do you have for Asian travel consultants?
We organise periodic trainings every three to six months to share product updates, market trends and new cruise itineraries. We showcase Star Cruises’ ships in their respective homeports, cruise itineraries, exotic destinations sailed to, and facilities and services onboard, etc.

Apart from sharing in-depth product knowledge, we will impart know-how relating to the promotion of cruise packages, usage of booking reservation system, policies and procedures as well as cruise passage terms and conditions.

How do you tailor your programmes across different Asian markets? What challenges do you face?
During our trainings with respective Asian travel consultants, we reinforce the importance of addressing guests’ needs based on their travel preferences.

For example, we highlight halal F&B restaurants and prayer rooms for Muslim travellers, while for Indians, we share the available Indian vegetarian restaurants and F&B selections to address their special dietary requirements. Shopping and dining are a must for Chinese tourists, so we present the best culinary experiences and retail offerings to them.

How do you decide who to train? How many travel consultants in Asia have been trained to date?
We determine the training requirements based on evolving cruise depaoyment plans and turnover rate among Asian travel consultants. With training taking place every three to six months, each group size can range from 50 to 300 pax, depending on the country and training context.

How do you measure the effectiveness of training?
A good travel consultant should be able to showcase, present and articulate the essence of freestyle cruising as a rejuvenating holiday option to potential cruisers. He/she should be able to entice customers with his/her cruise experiences and convince them to make a booking. – Lee Pei Qi

Princess Cruises
Farriek Tawfik, director of South-east Asia

What training programmes do you have for Asian travel consultants?
Princess Academy was launched in Asia in April. Previously available in North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the on-demand, online training programme for travel consultants has been made available in South-east Asian markets such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

There are four levels of achievement – First Officer, Staff Captain, Captain and Commodore – with five courses for each level. There are a total of 20 courses and a final exam after going through all levels. Dashboards are also available for users to track their progress.

How do you tailor your programmes across different Asian markets? What challenges do you face?
Princess Academy has been rolled out across different South-east Asian markets and is open to all registered travel consultants.

One of the main challenges faced is the language barrier as not all the consultants in the region are proficient in English; we are currently working on this to ensure that the course will be available to more consultants.

We have already launched the Japanese version and are in the process of offering the course in Chinese. We are also exploring offering the course in Bahasa Indonesia and Korean.

How do you decide who to train? How many travel consultants in Asia have been trained to date?
Currently, we have a few hundred Asian travel consultants undergoing training, with 100 having passed the First Officer level. Globally, over 50,000 travel consultants are active participants in the Princess Academy and over one million have taken the course, making it one of the largest online travel universities in the world.

What incentives are there for travel consultants to get trained?
Rewards are offered to both the travel consultant and the agency for each level achieved, including a diploma and officer pin as well as special onboard benefits for the consultant and agency manager when they sail with Princess Cruises.

Travel consultants who reach the level of Commodore will be rewarded with a free Graduation Cruise Course onboard one of our ships for their graduation ceremony. The captain will personally award the pin to the consultants, who will be taken on a tour of the cruise ship, including areas that are not open to public.

How do you measure the effectiveness of training?
The number of consultants who successfully complete and graduate from the courses. These consultants are thoroughly equipped with the knowledge of how to sell Princess Cruises and gain greater confidence when selling Princess Cruises.

Attaining a Princess Academy qualification is also a form of accreditation, as clients who recognise the pin will feel more comfortable with consultants who have undergone training. This helps to improve the overall buying experience. – Xinyi Liang-Pholsena

Costa Cruises
Eunice Lee, marketing director, Pacific-Asia operations

What training programmes do you have for Asian travel consultants?
Costa Cruises arranges training programmes for our trade partners, equipping them with basic information such as Costa products, unique selling points, product positioning, itineraries, ports of call, booking system, general information on embarkation, onboard and disembarkation as well as cruise trends and institutional updates.

How do you tailor your programmes across different Asian markets? What challenges do you face?
Training programmes are tailor-made for travel consultants depending on their existing knowledge and experiences.

Interestingly, the challenge does not lie in the difference in nationalities, but rather the shared limitation of cruise knowledge and experience among travel consultants in Asia. Compared with European markets, most Asian consultants are not very familiar with products offered by international cruise lines, having acquired cruising knowledge from local cruise lines in the past. Some product features of Asian cruise lines are different from cruise holiday products that Costa Cruises provides.

How do you decide who to train? How many travel consultants in Asia have been trained to date?
Costa Cruises always coordinates with the travel agency’s management and decides who to be trained. Normally, training is provided to various departments within travel agencies, ranging from sales and marketing, operations and reservation to product planning and tour leaders.

Training is a continuous effort and we are not able to disclose the number of travel consultants trained to date.

What incentives are there for travel consultants to get trained?
We motivate travel consultants through an innovative and interactive training programme. At times, familiarisation trips are provided as an incentive and to familiarise consultants with our products. A Costa certificate is offered to all consultants who complete our training.

How do you measure the effectiveness of training?
Our training managers always seek feedback from travel consultants in order to continuously increase the effectiveness of training. – Prudence Lui

Crystal Cruises
Marnie Whipple, regional sales manager, Asia-Pacific

What training programmes do you have for Asian travel consultants?
Our local GSAs train travel consultants by visiting their offices and giving verbal product updates and PowerPoint presentations. Approximately once a year, the regional sales manager for Asia-Pacific also hosts a joint product update with the GSAs.

How do you tailor your programmes across different Asian markets? What challenges do you face?
We have an online training programme, Crystal Cruises Academy, available to all travel professionals worldwide, while local GSA offices customise training for their key agent partners. We cannot comment on the different challenges in each market as our GSAs handle the local training.

How do you decide who to train? How many travel consultants in Asia have been trained to date?
Our local GSA partners take into consideration a number of factors, such as identifying luxury sellers, looking into new opportunities and providing ongoing updates for travel partners already selling Crystal Cruises.

What incentives are there for travel consultants to get trained?
Once educated on the six-star luxury experience offered by Crystal Cruises, travel professionals receive encouraging commissions for their sales and, based on revenue, the opportunity to cruise complimentarily.

How do you measure the effectiveness of training?
The most effective way is reviewing sales growth. Based on this we are confident that the training programmes are working well.

At the end of every training programme, we also ask travel professionals in person and follow up via phone calls on what we did well and what we can do to improve. – Prudence Lui

Silversea Cruises
Melvyn Yap, regional director (Asia)

What training programmes do you have for Asian travel consultants?
We have two types of training programmes: a large one where we invite many travel consultants to a function room and in-house where we visit the travel consultant’s office.

For the large one held annually, we invite about 80 travel consultants and put together a half-day programme to give product updates.

As for the in-house programme, it is arranged on an ad-hoc basis for travel consultants who request for an update or refresher.

How do you tailor your programmes across different Asian markets? What challenges do you face?
We try not to change the core programme too much as the cruises and ship products are generally similar. But depending on the company, and it is not country-specific, we may tailor the programme.

For instance, for a company that sells expeditions, we will talk more about expedition cruises and land programmes. We tailor the programme according to the company profile.

How do you decide who to train? How many travel consultants in Asia have been trained to date?
We generally involve our key travel consultants for the annual programme and train about 1,000 pax every year.

What incentives are there for travel consultants to get trained?
They will be able to better promote the product to their clients. Product knowledge is very important to effectively sell a cruise holiday.

How do you measure the effectiveness of training?
When we receive more bookings, as it would reflect greater awareness and interest from the passengers. We do not perform tests to calculate the effectiveness because it is evident from the sales made. – Lee Pei Qi

How can cruise lines improve their training?

“Training must be reinforced periodically as changes in product offerings take place seasonally. Familiarisation trips for front-line staff are absolutely imperative in order to give them greater confidence to sell cruises. Currently, only five per cent of travel (consultants) in India sell cruises.

The market-specific needs of Indian cruise clients, such as their penchant for Indian food, Bollywood-type entertainment and casinos, are addressed by companies like Star Cruises in their training programmes. However, more attention should be paid to shore excursions. Cruise companies must also train (consultants) to address clients’ queries about onboard options that may vary according to age. DVDs with 360-degree views can be effective.”

Arvind Tandon Managing director, Faraway Places, Marketing India

“As cruise travel is still new to us, we hope to better equip our guides with more product knowledge. For instance, we hope cruise lines will share more information on their incentives and MICE offers instead of just focusing on FIT or small group traffic. As cruise ships have large capacity, there is a lot of in-depth information that they can share with us, such as the different types of pillows provided in rooms and characteristics of various fine-dining offerings onboard.”

Lanny Leung CEO, Wing On Travel Hong Kong

“The smaller and lesser-known travel agencies don’t really have big cruise lines proactively reaching out to us as they usually target the popular ones. But in fact, sometimes we can sell even more cruises than (the bigger companies). It will be helpful if the cruise lines reach out to all types of agencies, big and small.

I would really like cruise lines to include us in their on-site cruise ship tours as such visual introductions will be easier for us to sell and market (their products) to my customers.”

Irene Lim Sales representative, i’Smart Leisure Services Singapore

This article was first published in TTG Asia, November 15 – 28, 2013 issue, on page 12. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Additional reporting from Lee Pei Qi, Xinyi Liang-Pholsena, Prudence Lui

Infrastructure constraints could clip wings of Asian airline industry: AAPA

By Xinyi Liang-Pholsena

November 15, 2013

ASIA’S booming airline industry has led to high growth expectations among the region’s carriers but the failure of infrastructure development to keep pace could put a spanner in the works, cautions the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Speaking to journalists yesterday at the 57^th Assembly of Presidents pre-opening in Hong Kong, AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman, said passenger traffic rises steadily at five per cent per annum with Asia-Pacific, South America and the Middle East seeing the fastest growth.

Passenger growth is strongest in the regional shorthaul markets served by narrow-body aircraft for two- to three-hour flights, Herdman commented.

Furthermore, many Asian airlines have placed massive aircraft orders in anticipation of future growth and for enhancing fuel efficiency. “People used to talk about buying (aircraft) in the dozens, but now you talk about buying 50, 100 (aircraft) at a time. It’s a good time to be an aircraft salesman,” quipped Herdman.

However, infrastructure development – from air terminals to runways to airspace management – must keep up, an issue especially critical for double-digit growth markets such as China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

He said: “The danger with (insufficient) infrastructure is that it doesn’t just hold you back, it’s a brick wall. If you don’t have the infrastructure, no matter how many aircraft you buy there comes to a point where you’re up against the wall in terms of bottlenecks of busy airspace or airport capacity.”

Regulatory issues are another area that could “put a drag on the innovation and healthy development of the industry”.

Despite surging passenger demand, revenues remain an elusive area for Asian airlines, particularly in a climate of high fuel prices.

“Margins are being squeezed (over the last few years) although they are supposedly bottoming out this year. That’s true for European and US airlines but Asian carriers collectively are still finding it tough; the profitability is not picking up and the outlook next year is still rather cautious as far as Asian airlines are concerned,” shared Herdman.

Flight Centre’s flagship store in Singapore takes off

By Paige Lee Pei Qi

November 15, 2013

FLIGHT Centre opens its fourth outlet in Singapore today as the company strengthens its foothold in Asia (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 21, 2013).

Also Flight Centre’s flagship store in Singapore, the new outlet brandishes digital boards at the shopfront to flash latest airfares and destination videos.

Flight Centre managing director Singapore, Suyin Lee, said: “We want to be as engaging and interactive as possible to lure in customers and static posters are not going to work.”

According to Lee, the introduction of the Flight Centre brand to Singapore since over two years ago has been well received because it fills a “niche in the local market for specialist leisure travel services and products at globally competitive rates”.

She said: “We have very experienced and well-travelled consultants…they would have travelled to at least two continents before to ensure they can deliver specialist advice.

“We are also committed to introducing exclusive leisure products to Singapore, like our Red Label airfares and MyTime vacation packages,” she said.

These products promise “greater value” elements such as lowest fares, express check-in, late check-out and welcome cocktails. Lee said the bulk of Flight Centre’s customers are young professionals like singles, couples and young families who are “time-poor” and will hence see the value of Flight Centre’s exclusive products.

While Flight Centre is growing its footprint through Asia in countries such as China, Hong Kong and India, its key focus is now Singapore.

She said: “We have seen the greatest success here and we have a five-year plan which targets to have at least 15 outlets across Singapore by 2017.”

Best Western International touches down at Dhaka Airport

By TTG Asia

November 15, 2013

BEST Western International has inked an agreement with Maple Leaf Hotel & Resorts to manage a new Best Western Plus hotel beside the Dhaka airport when it opens in 2Q2014.

Located adjacent to Bangladesh’s main international gateway of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the 56-room property is Best Western’s second hotel in Dhaka after the 51-room Best Western La Vinci Hotel.

Currently under construction, the hotel will feature an all-day restaurant serving local and international dishes, a rooftop barbecue outlet, a bar, a fitness centre, a sauna, a steam room and spa.

Free Wi-Fi will also be available in guestrooms.

Glenn de Souza, vice president of international operations for Asia and the Middle East, said the new hotel is perfectly positioned to cater for Bangladesh’s rising number of inbound and outbound travellers.

“With a population of more than 160 million people – the eighth largest in the world – and a fast-growing manufacturing industry, Bangladesh is becoming an increasingly important regional and global player,” Mr. de Souza said.

Best Western expects to expand further across Bangladesh in future, with plans for at least three more hotels in the coastal destination of Cox’s Bazar.

Trafalgar appoints GSA for South Korea

By TTG Asia

November 15, 2013

TRAFALGAR has forayed into South Korea for the first time through the appointment of Holiday Tours Korea as its GSA partner in the country.

Nicholas Lim, president of Trafalgar (Asia), commented: “We have witnessed (South Koreans’) appetite for new travel experiences, and we feel this partnership with Holiday Tours Korea is a good match.”

The partnership marks Trafalgar’s first venture into the South Korean FIT outbound market.

Holiday Tours & Travel (Korea) was established in 2002 and is part of the Holiday Tours Group in Asia with its head office located in Singapore.

Langham Hospitality Group moves into Jakarta

By TTG Asia

November 15, 2013

LANGHAM Hospitality Group yesterday announced it will open its maiden hotel in Indonesia – the Langham, Jakarta – in 2017.

The hotel is owned by Agung Sedayu Group and sits in the District 8 complex in the Sudirman Central Business District.

Designed by the Singapore office of Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart, the Langham, Jakarta will feature 170 guestrooms and 30 suites starting from 42m², with elegant and contemporary interiors reflecting the brand’s heritage as one of Europe’s premier grand hotels.

F&B outlets at the property include Palm Court for signature afternoon tea modelled on The Langham, London’s offering; T’ang Court for Cantonese cuisine; a sake and sushi bar; a 120-seat, all-day dining restaurant serving international fare; the Sky Bar and Lounge; a poolside bar; and a Club Lounge.

Guests can also enjoy the Chuan Spa, use of a fitness centre and indoor swimming pool, and 2,100m² of flexible space for events and meetings, including a 900m² ballroom and 11 meeting rooms.

“The Indonesian capital has long been a key aspiration for Langham Hospitality Group and we have waited a long time to find the perfect opportunity to add to The Langham collection,” said Brett Butcher, CEO of Langham Hospitality Group.

Complementing the hotel will be The Langham Residences with 57 apartments set over 19 floors in the same tower.

Marco Polo treks through China with new sub-brand

By Prudence Lui

November 15, 2013

MARCO Polo Hotels (MPH) has announced it will roll out a new sub-brand to draw sophisticated young travellers and launch nine more hotels between 2014 and 2017, mostly in China.

MPH president, Eric Waldburger, shared: “We are creating a premium brand linked with the mothership, Wharf Holdings, which also owns stylish Lane Crawford. It will be attractive, upscale, classy and luxurious to draw those who have taste and money, and are hardworking and young at heart.”

“We recruited an outsider to handle this new sub-brand. MPH’s advantage is always in the scale of development with a maximum of 250 rooms per property and (placing the new hotel) in the mixed-use developments funded by Wharf, which can easily draw a volume of people from offices and retail,” he explained.

The first hotels to come under the new sub-brand will be located in Chinese cities including Chengdu (233 rooms, 2014), Wuxi (222 rooms, 2015), Chongqing (218 rooms, 2015), Suzhou (98 rooms, 2017) and Changhsha (242 rooms, 2017) .

The other four hotels will debut in destinations including Ortigas in Manila (2014), Guiyang (300 keys, 2015), Tianjin (335 rooms, 2015), and Changzhou (271 rooms, 2014).

MPH will launch a new website with a new booking system next year. Last week, Wharf Holdings subsidiary Harbour Centre development won a tender to convert former government office building, the Murray Building, into a hotel.

La Flora Resort Patong dangles 25% rate discount

By TTG Asia

November 14, 2013

LA FLORA Resort Patong has rolled out the Preferred Hotel Group’s Advance Purchase Package for bookings from December 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014.

Under the package, guests can enjoy 25 per cent off Best Available Rates on La Flora Resort Patong’s Deluxe Pool View Room, with a free upgrade to the next room category.

Stays of three nights or more will entitle guests to a dinner set menu for two adults at the resort.

Other benefits include daily breakfast for two, free minibar, daily international newspaper, free Wi-Fi connection and a daily turndown service.

Rooms and upgrades are subject to availability and blackout periods apply. Advance booking of at least 14 days is required.

La Flora Resort Patong in Phuket, Thailand is a member of Summit Hotels & Resorts, a brand of Preferred Hotel Group. Travel agencies can visit www.summithotels.com/laflorapatong to book or search for brand code XL in the GDS.

Pentahotels invites guests to take up Stay, Play + Holiday package

By TTG Asia

November 14, 2013

PENTAHOTELS has announced a special package deal for guests staying over the year-end period.

From December 14, 2013 to February 14, 2014, guests who check in at Pentahotels in Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong for two nights will receive 50 per cent off regular rates from the third night onwards.

Included in the package are daily breakfast and Wi-Fi.

The Stay, Play + Holiday package begins at 580 yuan (US$95) at Pentahotel Beijing, 550 yuan at Pentahotel Shanghai and HK$1,100 (US$142) at Pentahotel Hong Kong, Kowloon.

Globus’ popularity shoots up in Malaysia

By S Puvaneswary

November 14, 2013

THE Globus family of brands has seen a year-on-year increase of over 50 per cent in business from Malaysia, making the country its second largest market in Asia after the Philippines.

The brands are Globus, for first-class guided tours; Cosmos, for value guided tours; Monograms, for independent travellers; and Avalon Waterways, which sells river cruise vacations.

Raymond Smith, GSA business development manager for the Globus family of brands, said the profile of the brands had grown since Sedunia Travel Services took over as GSA for Malaysia in November 2012.

He noted: “Previous marketing efforts in Malaysia had not been as strong.”

Sedunia Travel Services’ executive director, Teoh Leng Lan, said the Globus family of brands appeals to the Malaysian FIT and family segment.

According to Teoh, next year’s marketing strategy would target consumers from big cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching through the company’s network of travel consultants and direct mailers.

Sedunia also plans to further tap the corporate segment, especially for incentives.

Avalon Waterways saw over 100 per cent year-on-year growth for the Malaysian market, albeit starting from a small base. Teoh said river cruising is still a new product among Malaysians and has strong potential for growth particularly among seniors, ocean cruise regulars and those wanting to experience cruising for the first time.

Sedunia will continue to push popular itineraries such as the 13-day The Blue Danube Discovery Cruise from Budapest to Prague, the eight-day Romantic Rhine cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, as well as new itineraries such as cruises down the Mississippi and Amazon rivers.

Well-received Cosmos tours include the 10-day European Jewels itinerary, covering Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France; as well as the eight-day Six Countries, Venice and Paris, featuring Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France. Globus’ eight-day European Highlights, touring France, Switzerland and Italy, is also popular among Malaysians.