PATA gets its act together

October 22, 2012

PATA aims to increase its membership to 1,000 corporations and NTOs by mid-2013, from 800 currently.

A new recruitment drive has been launched, putting active PATA players, including the PATA executive committee members, to work on recruiting new members or getting those that had left to rejoin.

“PATA has around 100 ‘activists’ – people who invest time attending meetings and recommending activities PATA should do – and we’re arming them with a proposition pack which is as neat and simple as an Apple iPhone package that explains the revitalised PATA proposition.

“All activists have to do is to recommend PATA and give the pack to three potential members. There is nothing more powerful than a personal recommendation,” said PATA CEO, Martin Craigs.

Asked how many new members PATA had attracted since he came on board a year ago, Craigs said around 100 had either joined or rejoined.

These include port and airport members such as Changi Airport Group Singapore and Chongqing Yangtze Gold Cruise; corporate members such as Chartis Asia Pacific and Pan Pacific Hotels Group; travel agency members such as Guillin Everyone International Travel and Xian Holiday International Travel Service, as well as consultancies and the academia.

“The target of 1,000 is not that aspirational.

“We want members to build their business off our platform, at the same time help us build up our offering and service. It’s the classic case of aligning mutual interests,” said Craigs.

He added it was also crucial that PATA continued to have a diverse membership, not just the big corporates but SMEs and even micro-enterprises, a sector that has shown vitality in the region, he said.

In the one year with PATA, Craigs restructured the PATA offering as ‘Next-Gen PATA’, with advocacy, innovative events, research and human capital development as core pillars.

He also started the PATA Hub City Forum as a means of getting PATA to go to the membership, instead of the traditional approach of members going to PATA through its key events such as the PATA Annual Conference.

Another way forward is a policy decision to ensure PATA has a higher percentage of people under 35 years old, and a minimum number of women, on its board, according to Craigs.

Craigs believes that PATA has preserved its sense of unity and continuity, and that following its 60th anniversary celebrations, is now moving forward.

“We have created the platform to move forward, but it’s up to the people, not us, to judge, and the way they can judge is by participating, by coming in or back to the family,” said Craigs.

M’sia implements new visa application process for visitors coming through S’pore

By Karen Yue

October 22, 2012

TRAVEL consultants in Singapore were caught unawares last Thursday when the High Commission of Malaysia issued a notice on the appointment of Third Link as its one-stop visa application vendor in the country, effective today.

The notice informed the travel agencies that the High Commission of Malaysia would no longer be accepting visa applications “directly from agents” from October 19. In a subsequent email, Third Link indicated that it would impose a S$20 (US$16) service fee per visa application.

Travel consultants whom TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to lamented the fact that neither Tourism Malaysia nor the High Commission of Malaysia had given adequate warning or explanation for the change in visa application standards.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a sales and marketing manager of a Singapore-based inbound operator that often handles trip extensions to Johor and other parts of Malaysia, said: “I wish the relevant authorities had given us a heads up before this happened, and at least tell us why this change is necessary and how it is supposed to benefit our customers, especially since they will have to pay two layers of service fees for visa application from now on.”

The manager added: “When the visa application was handled by us, we would charge the customer S$20 plus the visa fee levied by the High Commission of Malaysia. Now, to help the customer collect, prepare and deliver visa application documents to Third Link, a task that takes time and manpower on our part, we would still have to charge a service fee on top of the amount demanded by Third Link and the High Commission of Malaysia.

“We have yet to determine how much our service fee will be, but it could be the same amount we used to charge. That means the traveller will have to pay more just to go over the border to look-see, and I expect such demand to fall once the new visa application process is implemented.”

According to Lotus Ooi, general manager of Konsortium Express & Tours, demand for day tours to Malaysia might take more of a hit than overnight programmes, but travellers who “really want to see Malaysia will have no choice but to pay the higher cost of getting a visa”.

“More importantly, if the establishment of Third Link can ensure a quicker and smoother visa application process, customers will accept the higher fees. The processing time has been very vague. It can sometimes take more than a week, making it hard for travellers to book their tours for Malaysia,” she said.

When contacted, Ivan Hoong, a representative of Third Link, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the company would strive to reduce the current seven-day processing norm to three days.

Kingfisher loses licence to fly

By Shekhar Niyogi

October 22, 2012

INDIA’S Directorate General of Civil Aviation suspended Kingfisher Airlines’ air operator’s certificate on Saturday after the debt-laden carrier failed to meet the regulator’s concerns about its operations.

Kingfisher’s fleet has been grounded since October 1, due to an ongoing strike by its employees over unpaid wages.

Afflicted by debts estimated at US$2.49 billion by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, analysts are doubtful that a buyer will emerge to bail out Kingfisher – which has yet to make a profit since launching in 2004.

With Kingfisher’s absence from Indian skies, airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and Jet Airways have started operating additional sectors to make up for the sudden reduction in capacity.

Rajendra Churiwala, director – eastern region, IATA Agents Association of India said: “The other carriers have to fill up the seat capacity on routes in demand, without exploiting the customers with inordinately high fares during the upcoming festive and peak seasons.”

Garuda inks codeshare with Etihad

By Mimi Hudoyo

October 22, 2012

GARUDA Indonesia and Etihad Airways have entered into a codeshare deal that will see Etihad place its EY code on Garuda’s services from Jakarta to Denpasar (Bali) and Kuala Lumpur from October 28.

Subject to regulatory approval, Garuda will place its GA code on Etihad’s flights from Jakarta to three African, seven Middle Eastern, 13 European and three North American destinations, and will also switch its stopover on the Jakarta–Amsterdam route from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, effective December 2, 2012.

“The partnership with Garuda Indonesia will contribute to Etihad Airways’ efforts in expanding its network and its South-east Asian presence,” said James Hogan, president & CEO, Etihad Airways.

“Etihad would like to expand its cooperation with Garuda in adding new destinations, especially within Indonesia, and offer our consumers more variety and choice of travel.”

Emirsyah Satar, president & CEO, Garuda Indonesia, said: “The codeshare partnership will strengthen both airlines’ global networks and provide more benefits for our passengers.”

“This agreement will allow Garuda to expand its services to Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa, while Etihad Airways will (receive) a better connection for its passengers in Indonesia, Australia and Japan.”

Additional reporting by Sim Kok Chwee

Airline industry embraces new distribution standards

By TTG Asia

October 22, 2012

THE IATA Passenger Services Conference adopted a resolution on a foundation standard for a New Distribution Capability (NDC) during the World Passenger Symposium in Abu Dhabi last week.

With around 60 per cent of all air tickets by value currently sold indirectly through travel agencies utilising GDS technology, the NDC aims to create a set of open XML standards that will modernise airline retailing by enabling innovation in the way its products are distributed.

Once implemented, the NDC will allow airlines to offer personalised offerings to passengers, who will also have access to all airline products and services regardless of distribution channel. It will also facilitate new entrants into the distribution sector, resulting in increased competition.

“A foundation standard for the NDC is the first step to enabling the development of open XML standards that will be available for all interested providers to work on and develop their own offerings,” said Aleks Popovich, senior vice president, industry distribution and financial services, IATA.

Skyscanner expands Asia-Pacific operations

By TTG Asia

October 22, 2012

ONE year after unveiling its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 28, 2011), travel search site Skyscanner has moved to a larger premises to accommodate blistering annual growth of up to 400 per cent across the region.

Driven by use of the company’s suite of free mobile apps that have been downloaded over 11 million times across the globe, visits to the Skyscanner site via mobile devices contribute as much as 50 per cent of overall traffic in some Asia-Pacific markets. Traffic to Skyscanner in the region now makes up more than 15 per cent of the firm’s 30 million online hits per month.

Skyscanner currently employs 12 nationalities at its Singapore base covering all areas of Asia-Pacific. It also recently opened an office in Beijing, where it signed a deal with Chinese search engine Baidu to display Skyscanner results directly on the results page after a user searches for international flights.

Ewan Gray, Skyscanner’s director for Asia-Pacific, said: “The rate of growth in Asia-Pacific is now surpassing that of many European markets. We fully expect this trajectory to continue and plan to capitalise on this progress over the next few years by expanding further across the region.”

Skyscanner aims to expand its workforce in Singapore with further hires in marketing, technical and commercial, in addition to bolstering its team of specialist market development managers for Asia-Pacific.

Jetstar Japan ties up with Amadeus for bookings

By TTG Asia

October 22, 2012

AMADEUS and Jetstar Japan have entered into a global distribution agreement that allows travel agencies access to the new airline’s fares, domestic schedules and inventories through the Amadeus Selling Platform.

Amadeus is the first GDS to offer Jetstar Japan’s content to agencies worldwide since the low-cost carrier began domestic operations earlier this year.

Miyuki Suzuki, CEO, Jetstar Japan, said: “This agreement will make our fares easily accessible to travel (consultants) in Japan and will provide more choice for Japanese travellers.”

The addition of Jetstar Japan complements the 70 low-cost carriers already available in the Amadeus system, including airlines in the Jetstar Group such as Jetstar Australia and New Zealand, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific and Valuair.

David Koczkar, COO, Jetstar Group, said: “Now (travel consultants) across the world will have the ability to book itineraries seamlessly for customers by combining flights across the Jetstar network.”

Refurbished Suntec to host enlarged ITB Asia 2013

By TTG Asia

October 22, 2012

MESSE Berlin (Singapore), organiser of ITB Asia, has announced plans to expand the show in 2013.

The organiser is aiming to take up two floors of exhibition space (across levels six and four) when the event returns to the newly renovated Suntec Singapore Convention Centre (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 1, 2011) from October 23-25, 2013.

“Suntec has given us the flexibility to expand the second tradeshow floor next year depending on demand for space,” said Nino Gruettke, executive director, ITB Asia.

“Our aim is to grow ITB Asia year-on-year not just in terms of floor space, but also in delivering high quality, relevant content that will be beneficial to delegates.”

The fifth edition of ITB Asia took place at The Sands Expo & Convention Center, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, and recorded almost 8,500 attendees from 92 countries, a 12 per cent year-on-year increase.

Time wastage is top bugbear for business travellers: CWT

By TTG Asia

October 22, 2012

INCIDENTS which result in an unnecessary waste of time, such as losing one’s luggage or having to deal with an unstable Internet connection, have the greatest propensity for causing stress to business travellers, according to a recent study by Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT).

Part of a wider CWT initiative to shed light on the hidden costs of business travel caused by travel-related stress, the study surveyed 6,000 business travellers from nine global companies to understand the factors that trigger stress during a typical business trip.

Respondents were asked to score 33 stress factors that occur at different stages of a journey (from booking through to transportation, hotel stay and expense report) based on their perceived intensity.

Source: Carlson Wagonlit Travel

CWT discovered that there were three main categories of stress: lost time, surprises (an unforeseen event such as lost or delayed baggage) and routine breakers (inability to maintain daily habits).

Business travellers were most stressed by losing time during their journey, with the highest triggers of stress being lost or delayed luggage, poor Internet connectivity, flying economy on a longhaul flight and flight delays.

The study also highlighted how different segments of business travellers perceive travel stress. For example, travel stress increases with age and travel frequency, while women report higher stress levels than men.

When faced with an unknown language, business travellers from North America indicated greater stress levels than those from other regions. More senior executives also reported higher stress levels than other travellers within the same organisation.

Luring the bargain hunters

By Linda Haden

October 19, 2012

As Asians’ love for shopping keeps cash registers ringing at outlets worldwide, travel consultants are becoming more creative too.

Clockwise from left: Chic Outlet Shopping’s La Vallée Village outside Paris; McArthurGlen’s Noventa di Piave Designer Outlet near Venice; newly opened Johor Premium Outlets in Malaysia; Citygate Outlets in Hong Kong

In recent years, the global outlet shopping industry has turned its attention on Asian travellers, whose penchant for shopping while holidaying abroad has been a well-documented phenomenon.

Shopping has become a particularly important driving force of China’s burgeoning outbound tourism sector. In 2012, 78.4 million Chinese are expected to travel overseas, spurring outbound tourism consumption to a new high of US$80 billion, according to a research paper by China Tourism Academy.

Data from the World Luxury Association also showed that the luxury spending of Chinese consumers abroad during the seven-day National Day holiday in 2011 was equivalent to three months of what they spent locally.

In addition, outlet operators are increasingly keen to set up shop in Asia, with established chains having launched or in the midst of opening branches in the region (read more in the sidebar below).

Europe remains the nexus
According to The Economist’s Globe Shopper City Index in 2011, Europe is the world’s leading destination for luxury shopping, with 44 per cent of the global receipts from international tourism spent on the continent.

Furthermore, Asia’s rapidly rising disposable income levels, coupled with stronger Asian currencies relative to the euro and US dollar, have propelled both Western Europe and the US to become the top outlet shopping destinations, travel trade members pointed out, adding that Asians generally prefer to shop at branded enclaves such as Chic Outlet Shopping Villages and Premium Outlets.

Jane Chang, marketing and communications manager, Chan Brothers Singapore, said: “Besides favourable exchange rates, Singaporeans on holiday can collect refunds from value-added taxes, which amount to substantial savings. Moreover, Singaporeans want more bang for their buck, and factory outlets offer exactly this as items can be discounted by as much as 60 per cent.”

“The outlets in Europe are usually more popular with PMEBs, while the ones in the US tend to also appeal to families, as they feature a wider variety of brands, including children’s labels,” revealed Eileen Oh, head, marketing & communications, ASA Holidays Singapore.

Besides hefty discounts, outlet stores in Europe and the US also draw Chinese tourists for its superior product quality when compared to homegrown stores, noted Ding Jianmin, assistant general manager of China International Travel Service (CITS) Shanghai. As a result, the majority of Chinese group tours now supplement their sightseeing tours with outlet shopping, he added.

For Indians, Italy holds the greatest fascination for outlet shopping as it is commonly perceived as an alta moda (high fashion) destination with a wide variety of designer labels.

Said Alessandra Bolzagni, owner and president of Milan-based inbound operator, My Special Guest: “Popular among Indian tourists are Serravalle Designer Outlet, Prada’s Space Outlet in Montevarchi, Fidenza Village and FoxTown Factory Store. We try to bring (Indians) in during the sales period between July and October, when products come from previous years’ collections, samples or overproduction. The April-August period is when we get most Indian clients.”

Manoj Saraf, managing director, Gainwell Travel & Leisure India, said: “The discounts available at the shopping outlets are outstanding and entice the Indian tourist, as a 50 per cent discount on a genuine Prada dress or a Bottega Veneta bag is an unbelievable bargain for the knowledgeable Indian shopper.

“Italy is the most popular (destination) as shopping tours are easily combined with sightseeing and gastronomy in the Milan-Florence-Venice-Rome-Bologna region.”

Cashing in on demand
Asian outbound tour operators remain buoyed by their customers’ growing appetites for outlet shopping.

Said CITS Shanghai’s Ding: “Sometimes, there would be so many tourists in the stores that stocks would run out, so we choose to visit large-scale stores in big cities such as Bicester, suburban Paris, Milan, Rome, Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

“We usually include one or two outlet stores in each (itinerary). However, such stores are often located in remote areas – which takes almost one to two hours to reach – so the shopping time given to our customers will differ, ranging from three hours to a day,” said Ding.

Ankur Khanna, director, Tristar Travel Services India said: “We tie up with shopping outlets in the Milan, Bergamo, Florence and Bologna areas, and earn good commissions from them. This segment of the outbound market is growing by 25 per cent annually.”

Koushik Goswami, general manager-outbound, Travelcorp India, said: “We create new itineraries by combining shopping at outlets with gastronomy tours in the region like wine and balsamic vinegar tasting in Tuscany, and prosciutto and parmigiano reggiano cheese tasting in Emilia Romagna. These tours are becoming increasingly popular with upscale Indian travellers, and we have seen a 20 per cent growth in 2012.”

For others like Sunway Travel Malaysia, outlet stores are the clincher when choosing incentive destinations for some clients, according to the company’s operations manager, Agnes Loh.

She added: “Most popular destinations in Europe are Italy and France. If there happens to be a factory outlet at the destination visited, clients will suggest we include it in the itinerary.

“We will inform the outlets in advance to let them know that a group is coming over and suggest that they prepare a small welcome gift, such as a shopping voucher or a souvenir for participants.”

However, selling standalone shopping packages can be tough. “Some customers do not appreciate the effort travel firms invest to put these trips together and think that they can do it themselves. They overlook the fact that consultants are better connected, offer time-tested itineraries, economies of scale and take care of all (transport) logistics,” said Chan Brothers Singapore’s Chang.

Despite the challenges, booking volume for Chan Brothers’ 10-day Los Angeles and Las Vegas Shopping Spree and nine-day London and Paris Shopping Express have so far climbed by 20 per cent year-on-year.

High value for shoppers
Although highly popular among their clients, most travel consultants TTG Asia spoke to said they did not receive commissions or substantial profits from shopping tours.

Tie-ups with local operators to offer value-added services, such as reserved parking lots, extra discounts on shopping items and discount coupons at restaurants located within the shopping complexes are more commonplace.

“Although there isn’t any commission, the inclusion of shopping outlets is still important as it adds value and variety to our tour packages. For long coach journeys, it is a superb way to break the journey up as it provides time for what Singaporeans love to do – shopping,” said Alicia Seah, senior vice president, marketing & PR, CTC Travel Singapore.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Abdul Rahman Mohamed, deputy general manager channel management of Mayflower Acme Tours Malaysia, which includes a Chic Outlet Shopping Village as a half-day programme in some European itineraries.

He said: “We don’t earn commission from it, but the shopping element provides added value to the itinerary. It appeals to travellers who are not concerned about buying last season’s fashions, as discounts are up to 70 per cent. For FIT travellers, we include a Chic Outlet Shopping Village as an option.”

Tang Jiye, general manager, American region, Shanghai Spring International Travel Service, also pointed out that he was unable to obtain commission from outlet stores in the US, but said his company continued to include such stops in his itineraries due to the high demand among Chinese tourists who want to shop at such discounted rates.

Outlet stores around the world bag Asian shoppers

La Reggia Designer Outlet near Naples, a McArthurGlen outlet

Chic Outlet Shopping Villages
China is the top visiting nationality for its nine Villages in Europe, while South-east Asia is ranked the fourth largest market overall, with sales up by 41 per cent year-on-year compared to the second quarter of 2011. South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan also feature in the top 10. For the first two quarters of 2012, the top three Asian growth markets were Vietnam, China and Indonesia.

Chic Outlet Shopping works closely with the travel trade across China, Malaysia and Singapore through joint marketing initiatives such as the co-sponsorship of prizes and advertisements in brochures. Partner consultants are offered net rates for various products, including Shopping Experience packages and Chauffeur Drive services.

The first Chic Outlet Shopping Village in Asia is due to open in Suzhou, just outside Shanghai, in 2014.

McArthurGlen Designer Outlets
With nearly 900 brand partners across 21 outlets in eight European countries, McArthurGlen offers savings of 30-70 per cent, with further VAT refunds available at the discretion of individual stores. An additional 10 per cent savings is available for group tours, an incentive that has enticed hordes of Chinese who want to avoid China’s luxury sales tax.

Premium Outlets
Premium Outlets, which has a stronghold in the US, has ventured into South-east Asia with the debut of Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) in December 2011.

JPO boasts close working relations with Malaysian operators to include the outlet in their itineraries before these are promoted to overseas travel consultants.

JPO general manager, Jean Marie Pin Harry, said: “JPO also works closely with various local hotels in the state of Johor to offer Shop and Stay Packages, ensuring a complete visitor experience, including discounted room rates and access to additional savings at JPO.

“JPO is represented at overseas trade and travel shows by travel agencies and Tourism Malaysia. We target a wide range of shoppers, including residents from the area and international visitors from South-east Asia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India.”

Domestic visitors currently constitute JPO’s biggest growth market. On the international front, growth markets are South-east Asia, China and India.

Citygate Outlets
Featuring over 90 international brands, this Hong Kong-based outlet mall offers 30-70 per cent discounts year-round, with different promotion programmes available at different times of the year to attract both local and overseas shoppers. The addition of 10th Avenue with nine new stores in December 2011 has augmented the mall’s shopping experience.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, October 19, 2012 on page 12. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Additional reporting from Hong Xu, Shekhar Niyogi and S Puvaneswary