DESIGN Hotels is offering a 15 per cent commission for travel consultants on best available rates when booking their properties.
Valid for stays between June 1 and August 31, the commission will be paid out for GDS bookings. Bookings can also be made through consortia rate codes.
Benefits for customers such as free breakfast and newspapers, bike hires and discounted spa treatments will also be bundled into the room rates, though offerings vary according to each hotel.
SUTRA Technology has rolled out its new online reservation system on the trade marketplace, which it says will “especially benefit small and medium-sized” travel agencies.
The new system costs more than RM1 million (US$331,290) to develop and will support the day-to-day operations of Sutra’s subsidiary, Sri Sutra Travel, a B2B and B2C travel service provider. Products sold in the system include air tickets, accommodation, tours and transfers worldwide.
Sutra’s group managing director, Sutra Utama, Syed Mohd Razif Al Yahya, said: “It was completed early this year and we are now marketing the online reservation system to the travel industry in Malaysia.
“For an annual subscription fee, travel agency owners will have access to more than 200,000 products in our travel solution system and they can take advantage of our dynamic, competitive rates and earn commissions on online B2B and B2C sales.
“Our system will especially benefit small and medium-sized agencies as they will be able to access the same competitive rates that Sri Sutra Travel enjoys,” he added. “By this year end, we hope to market the reservation system globally.”
The platform also allows multiple payment modes. Customers may also perform cancellations, amendments or send special requests to suppliers via the system.
THE absence of a structured policy to guide India’s aviation sector has kept investors at bay and hurt the country’s airports and airlines, said CAPA India.
In its scathing CAPA India Avition Outlook 2013/14 report, CAPA India stated that the lack of a transparent, Cabinet-approved national aviation policy has “prevented the corporatisation of the sector and has kept many serious investors away from the market”.
CAPA India thus called on the Indian government to introduce an aviation policy within the next six months. Furthermore, the report also urged the Indian government to develop a framework for the allocation of seats and to clarify criteria for the issuing of new airline licences.
Looking ahead, the CAPA India report predicted that the government’s move last year to allow foreign airlines to own up to 49 per cent of Indian carriers has opened the gate to even more foreign interest.
Etihad Airways is set to take a 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 4, 2012), while AirAsia will hold 49 per cent of AirAsia India (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 21, 2013). CAPA India expects more to follow and forecast that foreign airlines would invest in SpiceJet and GoAir within the next half a year.
However, it warned that India’s current aviation policy and regulatory framework might not be “sufficiently robust to absorb the potential impact of foreign airline transactions, alliances and codeshares”.
CAPA India also said that India needed to recognise that ancillaries were part of the airline business model and that airlines should be allowed to innovate and charge fees where appropriate.
The aviation body stated that India’s airlines could derive some US$500 million more a year simply through ancillary charges. CAPA India noted that there would be “sensitivities around unbundling (services)” but that airlines would have to communicate such changes clearly to passengers.
JETSTAR Asia is bumping up frequencies on its Singapore-Bangkok route with eight more weekly flights in response to strong demand from travellers on the sector.
“Last year alone we welcomed 30 per cent more people on this route than in 2011, with more than two million passengers,” said Barathan Pasupathi, CEO, Jetstar Asia.
Beginning July 8, Jetstar will fly up to five times daily to Bangkok, adding more than 2,800 seats weekly on the route.
From Singapore, Monday and Wednesday flights depart at 15.20 and land in Bangkok at 16.50. Return flights on the same days leave Bangkok at 17.30 and reach Singapore at 21.05.
Departing Singapore on Tuesdays and Thursdays, flights leave for Bangkok at 08.55 and touch down at 10.40. Singapore-bound flights on the same days take off at 11.40 and land in Singapore at 15.00.
HOTELS G will open six properties under its lifestyle brand Hotel G within the next three years, part of the Hong Kong-based hospitality management group’s expansion and development plans.
This year, the company will open Hotel G San Francisco in October and the high-end serviced apartment Residence G in Hong Kong, towards year-end.
Residence G Shenzhen and Hotel G Suzhou will debut in 2014, while Hotel G Guangzhou and Residence G Pattaya in Thailand will open in 2015. Hotels G has a further three more projects in the pipeline, located in Shanghai, Seoul and Taipei.
“We are targeting a gap in the market for young, savvy travellers and guests who are keen on design and looking for cutting-edge experiences…There are many standardised international hotel brands and local brands, but nothing like us in between,” Christophe Vielle, CEO, Hotels G, said.
“Our guests are mainly aged between 25 and 60, working in the media, design, architecture, fashion and entertainment industries, looking for different atmospheres, concepts, services and experiences that match their lifestyles,” he added.
According to Vielle, while Asia is a major point of interest, the group intends to grow the Hotel G brand internationally in destinations such as Europe and the US, which has seen demand for lifestyle properties continue to climb.
Centrally located and comfortable, this travel agency still has to work on its human touch
PRESENCE Located in the F Block, Connaught Place, the two-storey store located in the heart of New Delhi is spacious. One doesn’t find long queues at the store, perhaps because of the sufficient number of relationship managers.
There are comfortable and stylish chairs available for the walk-in clients and a comfortable couch available for waiting guests. One won’t find piles of leaflets at the store, but there office files piled at the workstations – which is a turn-off.
APPEARANCE The service staff at the store are young and energetic. Looking smart in their uniforms, they are friendly, helpful and can be seen assisting guests at the store.
However, they seem to be lacking in product knowledge. When I asked one relationship manager about a tour, she came back with a brochure and did not explain anything. Moreover, there were no name tags on the staff uniforms.
EASE The Kuoni-SOTC New Delhi store is well connected to Rajiv Chowk Metro Station and it took me 10 minutes to reach the shop from there.
When I entered, no one came up to me as I looked around the store. The lady at the reception didn’t even bother to greet me. Instead, the security personnel at the store enquired what I was looking for. What was also disappointing was that no one even bothered to offer me a glass of water, even though I was at the store for around 20 minutes.
SUGGESTIONS It would be better if the relationship managers could explain the tour and what one can expect from it before handing over a destination booklet. The receptionist should greet the customer with a smile.
The feel of the store could be enhanced by playing destination videos. Pleasant pictures of various tourist attractions could also be used to decorate the first floor of the store.
TRAVEL demand for China and South Korea, two traditionally popular destinations for the Malaysian school holiday period that begins today, has fared poorly this year, according to outbound tour operators.
Malaysian Harmony Tours & Travel CEO, Cooper Huang, has seen a 30 per cent year-on-year drop for China, with some clients who had booked packages before the H7N9 avian flu reports changing destinations. Bookings for South Korea were also down by 20 per cent due to tensions between North and South Korea.
On the other hand, tours to Europe grew 30 per cent as airlines dangled competitive fares.
Likewise, Abdul Rahman Mohamed, deputy general manager, channel management, Mayflower Acme Tours, said outbound travel to China and South Korea had fallen 20 per cent.
“We’ve had cancellations or deferments for China. With South Korea, I think the hype is over. Malaysians are no longer romanticising about South Korea. I think this is the main reason, rather than tensions between North and South Korea.”
Sedunia Travel Services’ business development manager, Gary Oh, also saw slow pick up for the two countries, but noted increased demand for neighbouring destinations such as Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.
However, Malacca-based Bel Travel & Tours managing director, Goh Hock Gin, said the H7N9 bird flu reports in the media had not affected demand and noted that growth in bookings for Greater China tour packages had climbed by 10 per cent year-on-year on promotional airfares. Bookings for customised tours, especially from repeat travellers, were also rising.
Furthermore, demand to South Korea increased “easily by 20 per cent”. Goh attributed strong sales of 4D/3N family packages to AirAsia X’s affordable airfares, saying North-South Korean tensions had not affected his sales.
THE Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is investing more to bait the “new white collar” travellers and families from the growing Indonesian outbound market.
HKTB executive director, Anthony Lau, said: “We have put resources (into) marketing Hong Kong in Indonesia. We have appointed a director of projects for Indonesia, an Indonesian representative and launched our Bahasa Indonesia website.”
Future plans include a programme on Jakarta radio beginning next week and a treasure hunt, where the winner will travel to Hong Kong to compete against others in the next round.
Speaking to Indonesian outbound travel consultants during the HKTB/Cathay Pacific Airways fam tour in Hong Kong recently, Lau said he wanted Hong Kong to be a top-of-mind destination for Indonesia’s young, who have the money to travel. He added that Hong Kong would continue to meet the needs of Muslim travellers with more halal-certified restaurants.
Indonesian arrivals to Hong Kong in 2012 numbered 500,000, and grew 16 per cent year-on-year between January and April 2013. In comparison, Hong Kong’s overall footfalls for the first four months of this year grew only two to three per cent.
He said the market was likely to grow further should airlines boost Hong Kong-Indonesia services, while the SAR would add between 10,000-12,000 rooms by next year, mostly in the three- and four-star categories.
THE one-day shut down by travel agencies across India early this month in protest against airlines’ zero commission policy is yielding small seeds of hope, with movements in the trade suggesting that both government and trade stakeholders are addressing the situation.
Two days after the nation-wide protest, (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 7, 2013) the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) met with Iqbal Mulla and Sunil Kumar, president and honorary secretary general respectively of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), the body behind the May 7 movement.
The DGCA promised to act as an intermediary and has since approached India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, while TAAI and the Travel Agents Federation of India are holding off appeals to the Supreme Court against the ruling that airlines were not to charge a transaction fee in any form.
TAAI and TAFI have also convened with Jet Airways’ chairman, Naresh Goyal, who has appointed two key senior officials to sort out the commission issue. Jay Bhatia, chairman – Western region, TAAI, said that Goyal “promised to work out a viable solution” to the situation.
Jet Airways has also assured consultants that web parity would be maintained so that online fares offered by the carrier would not undercut those sold by consultants.
Separately, SpiceJet has reinstated its one per cent annual productivity bonus for travel consultants, which was withdrawn on May 1.
However, the protest has not stopped Air India and Jet Airways from unbundling their services on May 13. Free baggage allowances were cut and excess baggage tariff was increased.
Some have also been unsympathetic to the cause. Mario M Hardy, vice president – Asia-Pacific, UBM Aviation, said: “In North America and Europe, practices of airlines paying commissions stopped a long time ago…The smart (agencies) will adapt, the ones that don’t will just disappear.”
The protest took place during the peak travel month for India and saw about 2,500 IATA and 10,000-12,000 non-IATA travel agencies keeping their shutters down to show support. Confirmed losses for IATA airlines in Mumbai alone stood at Rs2.25-2.45 million (US$40.5-44.1 million).
By Renuka Vijay Kumar
DESPITE visa challenges, a lack of French NTO presence and no direct flights, France’s charms have not worn off for Indonesia as travel consultants report growing demand for the European destination.
Elok Tour managing director, Pauline Suharno, said Paris was “still a favourite” destination for Indonesian travellers.
Genta Tours’ owner, Dharmawan Rahardja, pointed out: “Many travellers, who have visited Paris as part of a Europe tour, come back again, spending a few days just in France to see more of the country…The destination has also attracted incentives.”
Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) managing director, Paul Roll, called Indonesia a discrete market, as it had grown significantly despite obstacles. “Four years ago, we tried to bring a Parisian delegation to Indonesia but we failed (because there was not enough interest from the industry). This year, we came with Parisian companies led by large department stores (Printemps and Galeries Lafayette).”
“Indonesian tour operators and retailers have told us their market (to France) has been growing 20 per cent (in the last couple of years). Value added tax (receipts) has shown double-digit growth and the department stores list Indonesia (as a) top 10 (source market). All this shows that the Indonesian market is growing well,” he explained.
The CVB estimates Indonesians accounted for 65,000 arrivals last year, out of the total 29 million arrivals to Paris.
Asked if the CVB had a target for Indonesian arrivals, Roll said the bureau would focus on quality not quantity. “Paris is a small city and we want to keep the city lively, so we don’t want a city (full of) tourists and no locals. It is a challenge to develop business while at the same time preserving our personality…We want visitors that fit our culture, prices and what we have to offer.”
Meanwhile, Elok Tour’s Pauline said: “The one thing we would like from the French government is to facilitate travellers’ needs by easing the visa application process at the Jakarta embassy.”
