JW MARRIOTT Thailand is in search of new core leisure business outside of Europe for its two resorts and city hotel.

“In the last 18 years, there has been a glut of new rooms in Bangkok. I don’t even know how it is to operate in a sellers’ market anymore,” said Peter Caprez, general manager of JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok.

“New hotels will always attract leisure business because they are new and they have attractive prices. There is an initial attraction, especially for Asian markets, to new hotels, but when things settle down and those hotels have to ramp up their rates, the business goes back to established hotels (like ours),” he remarked.

“JW Marriott Bangkok has cultivated the Middle Eastern market for 10 years now at a time when people were still looking at established markets, particularly in Europe,” noted Caprez.

The hotel chain also sees market potential in China, where it has partnered with Ctrip, and also in Mumbai.

JW Marriott in Phuket is also looking for customers beyond its traditional sources of Germany, Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland and the UK, with its eye set on Russia, Eastern Europe, China and India, said general manager Tony Pedroni.

JW Marriott in Khao Lak, on the other hand, is targeting Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia to fill its low-season, short-stay market, said general manager Ty Collins.

ACCOR says that the revitalisation programme for its economy brand family has helped it meet the growing need of Indonesian guests, drawing from results published in its Asia Economy Hotels Research 2012, which was carried out to understand the differing attitudes of business and leisure travellers in Asia towards economy hotels.

The research found Indonesian travellers had a strong preference for international economy brands over local brands. Indonesians are also more likely to consider economy hotels for leisure (41 per cent) than for business (33 per cent).

Accor regional director of sales, marketing & distribution for Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, Adi Satria, said: “The research has been extremely helpful for us in our efforts to adapt the Ibis brand family for the Indonesia market.”

Accor now operates 19 Ibis family hotels in nine cities, segmented into Ibis, Ibis Styles and Ibis Budget. The group will open 28 more properties within three years, comprising of eight Ibis, nine Ibis Styles and 11 Ibis Budget throughout the country. Indonesian domestic travellers make up around 95 per cent of all customers to the group’s hotels in Indonesia.

Satria said: “The revitalisation of the Ibis family is very strategic for Accor, especially in Indonesia, where economy hotels represent the fastest-growing segment in the hospitality industry. As such, the economy segment forms a core part of our development plan in the country.”

The revitalisation programme for the economy brand family is ongoing, and all 19 properties will carry their new logos by the end of the year. Full implementation is expected to materialise by the end of 2013.

LUXURY hotel brand Jumeirah will make its foray into the Indian market in 2Q2017, having signed an agreement to manage a new hotel in Mumbai to be completed by then.

The 470-key hotel will offer luxury rooms, suites and apartments. Negotiations for similar tie-ups in other major Indian cities are underway.

Gerald Lawless, president and CEO, Jumeirah Group, said: “We are delighted to have initiated the first phase of our expansion into India with this landmark project, as the demand for five-star hotels in India is very strong.”

Inbound operators said Jumeirah’s entry into the market was a welcome one.

Rajendra Dhumma, director, Classis Travel and Tour, said: “Jumeirah’s presence in the Indian hospitality market will add a new dimension in luxury room offerings in India. The hotel’s central location in Lower Parel will most certainly be very popular with visitors to the city.”

“One can look forward to not only luxury rooms but also very high class F&B outlets in the property. Jumeirah is famous for its excellent culinary achievements, like at Burj Al Arab in Dubai,” said Sonal Swamy, director, Syrisa Travels.

A RISE in trips to and from Europe is expected in 2013, according to the findings of the latest ITB World Travel Trends Report.

The report discovered that Europeans increasingly favour faraway destinations: longhaul travel rose by around four per cent. The main beneficiaries of this trend were the Americas and Asia-Pacific, where inbound tourism rose by two per cent and eight per cent respectively.

However, economic uncertainty in a number of European countries is impacting travel patterns.

Italy reported a five per cent drop in outbound trips and Spain, a two per cent decline. By contrast, the figures for Switzerland and Norway were good. These countries benefited from high exchange rates and reported 10 and six per cent increases in outbound travel respectively. Conversely, despite a flourishing economy, Germany’s figures stagnated, while UK grew marginally.

Despite the economic tensions in Europe, forecasts for 2013 are cautiously optimistic. Overall, the report predicts a moderate increase in European outbound travel of around one to two per cent. Only one-third of Europeans said the recession would affect their travel plans in 2013.

Russian outbound tourism is expected to rise by nine per cent, and UK and German outbound numbers by five per cent and three per cent respectively. Some 28 per cent of Europeans said they wanted to travel more in 2013; 21 per cent said they would be travelling less.

Martin Buck, director of the Competence Center Travel & Logistics, Messe Berlin, said: “The report’s findings illustrate the wide-ranging impact of economic developments on European tourism forecasts. All the same, the outlook for next year is mostly positive.”

INSIGHT Vacations wants to grow its Asian market from 10 to 15 per cent by 2014. Currently, its top three sources in Asia are Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Its CEO/ president, John Boulding, sees the three markets maintaining their top three positions, with Indonesia showing a bigger growth percentage.

To grow the Asian market further, Boulding said: “We will build more products to suit Asian travellers. The seasonality has to be right, the duration has to be right and the destination has to be right.”

He said Asians tended to take shorter holidays of nine or 10 days on average compared to their US and European counterparts. He added that the popular destinations among Asian travellers were Italy, Poland, Spain and Portugal, Eastern Europe and Switzerland.

He described Asian travellers as “sophisticated” and looked for itineraries that were off the beaten track such as visiting Dracula’s Castle in Romania and the country road series in Scotland.

Thaddeus Foo, managing director of Corporate Information Travel, Insight Vacations’ recently appointed GSA for Malaysia (excluding Penang), noted that his company had received more than 40 bookings from individuals for travel to Europe and US for Winter 2012. He said: “This is a good time to travel as the euro and US dollar have depreciated.”

Boulding said average prices of Insight Vacations’ European programmes in 2013 were 10 to 15 per cent lower compared with 2012.

SEYCHELLES’ tourism players are stepping up efforts to court Chinese travellers, following the announcement earlier this month of a new Air Seychelles thrice-weekly connection between Seychelles and Hong Kong from February 2013.

Last week, Air Seychelles and Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) held the first jointly organised workshop in Hong Kong, bringing together nearly 80 local travel consultants and nine inbound operators from the Seychelles.

Tour operator Select-Seychelles is intending to open the market by introducing the first-ever B2B platform in January 2013, offering products from land arrangement to hotels. A B2C model is also being considered.

STB CEO, Elsia Grandcourt, said the country was eyeing Chinese high-end FITs and MICE, and is looking to establish its presence in Hong Kong. It has already said it will open another office in Shanghai, adding to its existing office in Beijing.

She said: “Unlike our core markets from Europe who enjoy beaches and sunshine, the Chinese tend to enjoy more activities. That’s why we are developing various choices (of activities), from diving, hiking, fishing and golf.”

Cramer Ball, CEO of Air Seychelles, said the new flight would enable passengers to continue their journey on the same airplane after a one-and-half-hour stop in Abu Dhabi to refuel. “Leaving Hong Kong at 18.00, (the flight) arrives in Seychelles at 07.00, while return flights depart at 15.30 and reach Hong Kong at 08.00. Such convenient timings facilitate easy transit traffic to China and other Asian destinations,” he said.

The Walshe Group has been appointed the airline’s GSA for Hong Kong and Macau, though it is still looking for a groundhandling agent. The company is also in talks with Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Airlines for connecting flights and discount packages.

Bookings, however, are not available at the moment though Air Seychelles has already received approval for the timeslots.

UK ECONOMY hotel brand Premier Inn is making its Indonesian debut with Premier Inn Bali Jimbaran, expected to open in the second half of 2013.

The company made the announcement in a statement yesterday, barely five months after setting up shop in Singapore as part of expansion plans in South-east Asia. Premier Inn Bali Jimbaran is the first of several developments Premier Inn is working on across the region.

Erik van Keulen, senior vice president for development, Asia-Pacific, said: “Premier Inn appeals to the fast-growing low-cost business and leisure travel market. We will continue to seek like-minded partners from the region who see this as a strong investment proposition.”

The hotel will be built in partnership with Alda Bali Indotel and feature a swimming pool, restaurant and bar.

BANYAN Tree Hotels and Resorts will launch Banyan Tree Kerala in the first quarter of 2013 instead of December, marking the group’s debut in India.

Located on the private island of Nediyathuruthu in the Alleppey district of Kerala, Banyan Tree Kerala is an hour south of Kochi International Airport and a 10-minute boat ride from the resort’s private jetty in nearby Vaduthala.

The 59-villa resort will also feature the group’s first dedicated Ayurvedic Centre,  which will offer personalised consultations by qualified Ayurvedic doctors who will recommend tailored treatments based on individual needs.

Additionally, the resort can hold small- to medium-size meetings and events. A boardroom and two meeting rooms are available, while its banquet hall can accommodate up to 150 guests.