HOTELS today must go beyond providing high-speed Internet access in the guestrooms and simple websites to meet the needs of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) travellers, advised a speaker at Hospitality Investment World Indonesia.

Chris Gribble, vice president and general manager of Asia-Pacific and Middle East hospitality solutions, Infor Hospitality, said: “Research shows that travellers now bring at least three devices and they expect to be able to use them all in the hotel.”

He opined that hotels have to embrace BYOD trends by not only providing excellent Internet access, but also optimising their websites for viewing across all platforms.

“Get your website strategy right. You need to develop web pages that will run on each device very easily. Understand that when you create your website, you want to run it on smartphones as well because the use of the three devices will depend on when and where we want to use them,” said Gribble.

For instance, a mobile app could allow guests to book a meal or last-minute service en route the hotel. “It would be nice to be able to go into the hotel’s website and book a meal while on the way from the airport on a late flight, and have it delivered to the room as soon as I check in.”

Quality Internet access is increasingly crucial even for economy properties although it remains an expensive investment, remarked Archipelago International vice president sales and marketing, Norbert Vas.

“It is the (free and quality) Wi-Fi access that is drawing customers to come back again and again to budget brands such as our Favehotel,” he noted.

INDONESIA’S tourism authority is pointing hotel investors and operators beyond Bali, in tandem with the government’s drive to improve infrastructure and facilities in these destinations.

At his keynote address yesterday, vice minister for tourism and creative economy, Sapta Nirwandar, said: “We see a lot of investments in Bali, but there are good places to develop star-rated hotels in other parts of the country, on the main islands as well as the small ones.”

He highlighted that infrastructure in 16 destinations would be developed, which also have a need for accommodation. The Indonesian government has designated Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara as tourism gateways as part of a 2011-2025 master plan.

“The (2011 opening of) Lombok International Airport (in West Nusa Tenggara) shows the government’s attention on this part of the country, while there is a mega project taking place in Mandalika Tourism Resort.

“There are also growing tourist demands in Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and around the famous Senggigi areas (in Lombok),” he said.

In East Nusa Tenggara, Alor Island, Komodo and Flores are gaining popularity, while other areas in Indonesia to look at include Bangka, Belitung, Sabang and Medan-Toba.

As for air access, Garuda Indonesia will commence Jakarta-London services by year-end (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 5, 2013) and on track for launch this year is a new airport in Medan and Silangit, North Tapanuli. The latter is 30 minutes away from Lake Toba.

“This will mean better connectivity not only from overseas to Indonesia but also within the country,” said Sapta.

Citing figures from the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, Sapta said that total investment in tourism for 2012 was US$869.8 million, growing more than 200 per cent over 2011’s US$279.8 million.

SRI Lanka’s national airline has slashed Chennai-bound flights from 28 to 14 services a week following a spate of attacks on visiting Buddhist monks and pilgrims.

Last week, SriLankan Airlines reported a drop in traffic between the two cities due to the recent developments in Tamil Nadu.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of External Affairs last week urged nationals travelling to Tamil Nadu to be cautious after recent attacks by pro-Tamil extremist groups targeting Sri Lankans.

The violence was triggered by accusations that the Sri Lankan government has been lackadaisical towards the needs of local, minority Tamils who have had long-standing cultural and family links with Chennai.

Shiromal Cooray, managing director at Jetwing Travels, said her company had seen a fall in demand for travel to Chennai, which travellers must pass through to access religious sites like Bodh Gaya, where Budhha was said to have attained enlightenment, or Velankanni, home to a famous Catholic church.

Sasi Ganeshan, CEO, VMS Travels, added that 90 per cent of passengers on SriLankan flights to Chennai is pilgrim traffic and the “impact of fewer flights would be enormous”.

Jet Airways and SpiceJet also ply the route but at a much lower frequency. The carriers have not altered their schedules as yet.

SriLankan said it was “closely observing the situation and (would) take further action if necessary”.

THAILAND’S cabinet yesterday okayed the construction of a high-speed train network to connect the entire country, which will also see links to Malaysia and Laos.

The seven-year scheme will see the kingdom invest US$68 billion into developing the network, which will consist of four lines and 200 high-speed trains capable of running up to 250km/hour, reported AFP.

The lines will connect Bangkok to regions in the north, south and east, as well as reach the Malaysian and Lao borders when complete.

According to a cabinet document, the new trains will reduce the travel time from Bangkok to northern Thailand from 12 hours to four hours.

Thai transport minister, Chadchart Sittipunt, was quoted as saying: “The projects, which will focus on electric trains and dual tracks, will completely change Thailand, and they will start next year.”

Meanwhile, Thai authorities are also considering a metropolitan rail network for Bangkok.

PRICE is a major factor in travel decisions for Chinese travellers, according to a recent publication by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research, which also studied the Chinese tourist’s preferences in destinations, activities and accommodation.

Cornell’s Preferences and Attitudes of Chinese Outbound Travelers was based on interviews with 51 Chinese tour operators, who observed that Chinese leisure travellers prefer package travel because of the convenience and reasonable prices.

Package price thus emerged as the number one factor in making travel decisions, followed by red tape in obtaining a visa. For instance, South Korea remains a popular destination for the Chinese due to the visa waiver programme to Jeju Island and the availability of multiple-entry visas. The  cumbersome US visa application process, on the other hand, was cited as the biggest stumbling block in demand for the longhaul destination.

Meanwhile, Bali, South Korea, Hawaii and Japan were expected to hold the most appeal and growth prospects for the Chinese traveller over the next five years, from a choice of 10 Asia-Pacific destinations.

Internationally, almost 75 per cent of respondents said Europe would become increasingly popular with the Chinese, followed by North America, Australia and the Middle East.

The Internet was named the most influential channel when it came to picking a destination. The Cornell study quoted the TNS Digital Life report, which said Chinese residents trust information gleaned from social media three times more than recommendations from friends and family.

Respondents also expect that shopping would grow the most over time, due to a culture of gift-giving, followed by beach and cultural tourism.

For accommodation, the Chinese preferred full-service, urban hotels, said the report, explaining that it was “a matter of efficiency” that tour groups wanted hotels that served breakfast, while also detailing their preferred bathroom amenities (dual sinks, shower, separate makeup vanity to reduce waiting time for bathroom facilities) and in-room amenities (tea and coffee-making facilities, Wi-Fi and Internet availability). A swimming pool was the top resort amenity, followed by a business centre and spa facilities.