THE US outbound engine is revving up once again, after having suffered heavy blows in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, with several buyers at the PATA Travel Mart 2012 reporting a surge in bookings to Asia.

“Traffic from the US is bouncing back. Rosier economic prospects, coupled with mounting trade with Asia and air capacity increases of around 30 to 40 per cent between Asia and the US, have played pivotal roles in bolstering the US outbound sector in the last 12 months,” said M Zaki, travel consultant with RZ Travel US. The California-based firm recorded a 100 per cent rise in booking volume from the US to Asia so far this year, compared to 2011.

Russell Oquist, president, MG Tour Company US, said: “Generally, more Americans now have a bucket list of destinations. They’ve seen Europe and South America, so Asia is the next stop naturally.” The California-based company has seen bookings to Asia rise by 20 per cent since the start of the year, relative to 2011.

China and Indochina, particularly Myanmar and Cambodia, were experiencing the strongest uplifts, US buyers pinpointed.
Oquist said: “China has long been a must-see destination for US travellers, but Myanmar and Cambodia have just gotten on the to-do list, and consequently, there’s been a dramatic upswing in bookings there.”

Swe Swe Myint, managing director, Legendary Myanmar Travel and Art, observed: “As the US gradually lifts sanctions to Myanmar, US travellers have started to flow in. Some 70 per cent of our tour bookings are now made by US travellers, compared to 30 per cent last year.”

So far this year, double-digit growth from the US to Indochina has been recorded by Khiri Travel, said Cambodia general manager, Jack Bartholomew. “Cambodia now features in 80 per cent of our tours…We envision the upward trend to Cambodia will continue into 2013, as there’s so much pent-up demand.”

Statistics from the US Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, however, revealed that US traffic to Asia rose by only nine per cent between January and July.

Some observers suggested that this inconsistency could be attributed to the fact that the bulk of growth from the US to Asia derives from the upper-middle to luxury-end of the market, which comprises a small proportion of the US outbound market.

New York-based Wendy Clayton, vice president of sales of Remote Lands, which has seen a 300 per cent hike in bookings in the last two years, said: “The top-end never really took a hit in the 2008-09 crisis and business is now better than ever. In fact, we are now receiving 10 times more enquiries than we did last year and we’ve seen a rise in forward bookings.”

While generally optimistic about the future prospects of the US outbound market to Asia, some buyers had doubts about how long this recovery would last, particularly for the budget to middle-end of the market.

Said Oquist: “The US market is fragile. Most US travellers are timid, and any perceived threat to security, whether from a terrorist attack or a health scare, could deter them from travelling altogether.

“Nonetheless, travel consultants who deal with the higher-end of the market need not fret as much as US travellers in the luxury spectrum tend to be more experienced, and are less likely to cancel trips just because of an unconfirmed threat.”

INDONESIA has embarked on an ambitious initiative that will see the country concentrate on 16 core markets, 16 tourism destinations and products, and seven special interest segments from now till 2014.

Nia Niscaya, director of international tourism promotion, Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, said infrastructure and transportation networks would be enhanced across 16 areas designated as National Tourism Strategic Sites. Of these, five have been earmarked for priority development next year, namely Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, Komodo, Wakatobi, Toraja and Sanur.

Roads, seaports and airports will be spruced up or built, while tourism villages will be constructed in selected areas. Destination Management Organisations will also be appointed to coordinate improvement works, and to educate local communities on the benefits of tourism.

“While Indonesia is blessed to have Bali, we believe that Bali already has enough drawing power and doesn’t need additional promotions. We want to develop and promote other products and destinations in Indonesia beyond Bali,” said Niscaya.

“By making it more convenient for tourists to visit these areas, we hope to increase the variety of choices available and boost visitors’ experience in Indonesia. Hopefully, they will be encouraged to extend their stay beyond Bali, while tour operators will be keen to launch more packages combining multiple destinations within the country.”

Armed with a US$53.7 million marketing budget for 2012 – more than double of what was formerly allocated – the ministry will focus its overseas promotional efforts in the 16 key sources of Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, the Middle East, the US, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Russia.

The destinations under development will be highlighted at various travel tradeshows and sales missions, while fam trips for travel consultants and media will be organised. The ministry will also ramp up marketing efforts through traditional and social media channels.

Seven special interest segments have also been previously identified: culture and heritage; nature and ecotourism; recreational sports such as diving, surfing, sailing, trekking, hiking and golf; cruises; culinary and shopping; health and wellness; and MICE.

ASIAN destinations continue to command high interest among Philippine tourists, with Hong Kong and Singapore at the top of the list.

“The mainstream destinations are Hong Kong and Singapore, simply because of flight frequencies,” said Tim Tio, sales and outbound marketing manager, Travelite Travel & Tours Philippines.

Philippine arrivals to Hong Kong grew 15.6 per cent year-on-year from January to July 2012. Singapore welcomed 677,681 Philippine visitors in 2011 – slightly more than Hong Kong’s 659,829 – and has 154 flights from the Philippines compared to Hong Kong’s 148 as of last month.

According to Philippine travel consultants, Resorts World Sentosa and Universal Studios were Singapore’s main drawcards in 2011, while the new Legoland in Johor Bahru and the upcoming Hello Kitty attraction also provide selling points.

“I am already selling Legoland tours through my Singapore operator, and transfers can be done from any hotel in Singapore to Legoland and back,” said Alex Divinagracia, general manager at GlobalWings Travel & Tours, Philippines.

However, a 25.6 per cent drop in Philippine arrivals to Malaysia in 2011 – 362,101 – has prompted Tourism Malaysia (TM) to adopt a more aggressive stance this year by launching product seminars in Manila, Clark, Cebu and Davao, as well as tactical promotions for the F1 Malaysia Grand Prix and MICE groups. Numbers seem to be bouncing back: Philippine arrivals to Malaysia reached 43,423 in June 2012 versus 26,493 in June 2011.

New airlinks and higher frequencies have also helped, said TM marketing executive, Katrina Bianca Tamayo. Airphil Express, Zest Air and SEAir started flying to Malaysia this year, while Cebu Pacific Air is launching flights from Cebu to Kuala Lumpur in December.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is attracting ecotourists from the Philippines to areas like Krabi, Khao Lak, Koh Chang and Koh Kood.

According to Kanok Kittika Kritwutikon, TAT director for the Philippines and Singapore, a six-agency consortium was formed last year to sell Krabi, while this year’s strategy is to position Thailand as a gateway to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. TAT also works with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau to woo the golf segment.

Thailand’s arrivals from the Philippines grew 8.9 per cent from 2010 to reach 268,375 visitors last year.

TOURISM New Zealand and Christchurch International Airport have jointly launched a first-ever culinary tourism guidebook targeted at Muslim travellers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and India.

New Zealand – A Cultural Haven for Muslims provides a list of over 100 halal-classified F&B outlets – from those that are halal-certified to those that offer vegetarian dishes or vegan cuisine – and descriptions of the main regions throughout the North And South Islands.

Tony Everitt, general manager-Asian markets, Tourism New Zealand, said the new guidebook would enhance New Zealand’s position as a destination for emerging Muslim markets.

“The Muslim market presents an enormous opportunity for the New Zealand tourism industry,” he said. “Indonesia and Malaysia are two of our key growth markets and have been identified in the top 10 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries for Muslim outbound tourism expenditure. There are also identified Muslim tourism market opportunities for New Zealand in India and Singapore.”

Mischa Mannix-Opie, regional manager South & South-east Asia, Tourism New Zealand, said the ramped-up focus on Muslim travellers was in response to encouraging arrivals growth from Muslim markets, rather than to shore up inbound numbers from traditional markets hit by the global financial crisis.

For the year ending August, New Zealand received 29,712 visitors from India (+4 per cent year-on-year), 12,784 from Indonesia (+8.7 per cent), 34,480 from Malaysia (+15.8 per cent) and 38,416 from Singapore (+15.7 per cent).

The guide will be distributed globally to travel trade partners and their customers, New Zealand embassies, and to travel consultants at events attended by Tourism New Zealand. An online version will be also published on the NTO’s consumer and trade websites.

HIGH airfares, limited seat capacity on flights linking the major cities of New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to Kuala Lumpur during the peak summer season, and the dearth of new attractions in Malaysia has made the country less sellable to Indian travellers.

According to Kuala Lumpur-based Tina Travel managing director, Adam Kamal, Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) airfares on these routes cost some Rs10,000 (US$187) more than those to Bangkok and Singapore.

The higher airfares are also a result of the service tax imposed by the Indian government on every outbound traveller since July and the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the Malaysian ringgit by some 16 per cent since January.

MAS now has a monopoly on routes connecting Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai since AirAsia X and Jet Airways exited these destinations earlier this year.

Kamal said his incentive business had dipped by 20 per cent year-on-year from the three cities due to the reduction in air seats, and that the Indian market had fallen by 10 per cent overall.

A buyer from New Delhi, Guldeep Singh Sahni, managing director of Weldon Tours & Travels, also saw a 25 per cent and 30 per cent year-on-year drop in leisure travel and outbound MICE respectively.

He warned: “If airfares to Kuala Lumpur remain high and companies move their dealer incentive programmes to another destination, it will be difficult to get them back as many companies have a policy (of repeating) destinations.”

Sahni, who is also the president of the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India, added: “Tourism Malaysia seems to be working with a few top (consultants) in India instead of a lot of (consultants) like before. (It) should not forget the smaller (ones).”

“Tourism Malaysia and the airlines should also work together to promote new destinations apart from traditional destinations, such as Kuala Lumpur, Genting, Penang and Langkawi,” he suggested.

Another buyer, Rajat Sawhney, Rave Tours & Travels New Delhi’s managing director, said: “Our biggest problem selling Malaysia as a leisure destination to repeat visitors is the lack of new attractions. There is nothing new coming up in Kuala Lumpur, Genting, Penang and Langkawi.

“Sabah, Sarawak and Taman Negara are new destinations with a lot to offer to the Indian traveller and should be given a push in a bigger manner. Sabah and Sarawak will involve additional domestic airfares from Kuala Lumpur but Indians are willing to travel if the destination is nice.”

An outbound leisure and MICE travel expert from Mumbai, Classis Travel & Tour director, Rajendra Dhumma, agreed that new destinations in Malaysia have to be given more attention. He also called on the NTO to organise more fam trips beyond Kuala Lumpur and Genting.

“There are new attractions that are opening in Johor, such as Legoland Malaysia and some theme parks, but there are insufficient promotions to Indian agents. We see the sellers here at PATA Travel Mart, but they should also be promoting at Indian travel marts,” said Dhumma.

CHINA and Russia are emerging as source markets for Phuket, which has seen growth in the number of visitors from these countries.

Phuket is now the second-most popular destination for Russian tourists after Pattaya, according to Visanu Jaroensilp, director–the Americas marketing division of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), who was handling the Russian market until a month ago.

He said: “The Russian market has seen exponential growth since 2008 when TAT set up an office in Moscow. Russian outbound has climbed from 280,000 in 2008 to one million in 2011. Of these, about 20 per cent would visit Phuket.”

Testifying to the popularity of Phuket is Liudmila Baranskaya, general manager of Milor Tour Russia. The island has risen to be among “one of the main destinations in Thailand” her clients are interested in, owing to an increase in flights.

At the same time, Phuket is seeing stellar growth from another market – China. Asian Trails, strong in the Europe market, launched a Chinese department three months ago to capture the large chunk of upmarket FITs, said deputy managing director Claudio Kellenberger.

Centara Hotels & Resorts corporate director of sales, Krosakorn Rokrungroj, also observed that China has been making steady inroads into Phuket. For instance, since taking over the management of Centara Grand West Sands Resort and Villas in Phuket last year, the resort has recorded high interest among the Chinese, particularly families who are drawn to the water park.

Amnuay Thiamkeerakul, TAT’s director-East Asia marketing division, said Chinese arrivals had been increasing at an average of 50 per cent each year.

However, some tour operators expressed concerns that existing markets were being squeezed out.

Asian Trails’ Kellenberger remarked: “With more Russians, the Scandinavian market is now shifting to smaller destinations like Koh Lanta and Krabi.”

Go Thailand Tours managing director, Raimund Wellenhofer, added that some suppliers have also shown preference for the Russians, making it harder for him to secure rooms for his European clients during the high season.