MAS picks London for its first A380 flight

March 9, 2012

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) will debut its Airbus A380 on the Kuala Lumpur-London route on July 1, after the aircraft – the first of six – is delivered.

From thrice-weekly flights initially, MAS will increase the frequency to daily from August 25 upon receiving the second A380.

Sydney will be the second destination when the third aircraft is delivered in August. MAS will operate daily Kuala Lumpur-Sydney flights from September 1, increasing the frequency to daily when the fourth aircraft arrives in September.

MAS senior vice president of marketing and promotions, Al-Ishal Ishak, said: “A380 fares will be at a slight premium of about five to 10 per cent more than the B747 aircraft. They are still a far cry from our competitors though.”

MAS’ A380 will have capacity for 494 passengers in a three-class configuration, with eight first-class and 350 economy seats on the lower deck, and 66 busines-class and 70 economy-class seats on the upper deck.

MAS is the eighth carrier to receive the aircraft. Routes on which the remaining A380s – due in October this year and February 2013 – will be deployed have not been finalised.

Meanwhile, Korean Air has claimed its A380 will be ‘a game-changer’ when it begins daily Seoul-Frankfurt flights later this month with just 407 seats, the lowest configuration for any A380 operator so far.

Reporting by N. Nithiyananthan

A not-so-premier destination?

By Linda Haden

March 9, 2012

Cookie-cutter programmes need a rethink in order to cater to well-heeled clients

Singapore has carved a name for itself as a first-class destination featuring a bevy of high-end attractions, spanking new hotels and celebrity gourmet restaurants. But is it really?

Despite the constant chatter of wanting to draw high-net-worth visitors, international luxury buyers and members of the inbound trade have observed a gap in Singapore’s offerings: a lack of specialist players who can deliver on unique, high-end itineraries.

Paul Humphreys, chairman and CEO, dmAsia Hong Kong said he had trouble locating a suitable groundhandler to service luxury clients. “What existing players offer is great for the mass market, but the companies I’ve met so far have not been able to come up with creative ideas that translate into one-of-a-kind experiences. Moreover, the products offered are too similar.”

Little attention has been paid to developing products that convey Singapore’s USPs, noted local operators.

Luxury Tours & Travel Singapore director, Michael Lee, said: “Singapore is known for its iconic attractions and buildings, but little else. To most outsiders, we are just another shiny Asian city.”

Anthony Ang, director of sales, Destination Asia Singapore, argued that it was bad enough that the destination already had a handicap. He said: “Singapore is also surrounded by numerous destinations who can offer so much more, owing to their vast natural, historical and cultural resources.

“As such, it is very difficult for us to compete head on (with neighbouring destinations) as we do not have any distinctive experiences to offer.”

Resources required to create a dedicated luxury inbound travel firm already exist, but no one has taken the plunge, pointed out Ram Samtani, general manager of Ramesh Travel Service Singapore.

“What existing players offer is great for the mass market, but (I’ve not seen) creative ideas that translate into one-of-a-kind experiences”

 Paul Humphreys
Chairman and CEO
dmAsia Hong Kong

“In theory, it should be easy for anyone to become specialist travel providers to the luxury market, but I suppose one has to first have the creativity and means to put it all together and pull it off,” he said.

Siam Express Singapore managing director, Jacklyn Yeoh, said what was needed was for the trade to attract qualified workers with relevant skill sets.

“As a DMC, we have to contend with event planners and organisers as well, who are coming up with innovative product ideas and experiences,” she said.

It was important to hire passionate, talented individuals who could come up with fresh ideas, Yeoh added.

Ironically, it seems, Singapore has no shortage of brilliant minds, although not many end up joining the industry.

Said Luxury Tours & Travel’s Lee: “We’ve been quite impressed with the qualify of graduates we’ve seen. However, the schools and students prefer to engage hotels and not inbound professionals like us. In fact, they don’t often understand what a DMC is or what it does.”

Another labour challenge will come on July 1, when local companies within the service industry will only be allowed to have 45 per cent of their workforce comprising foreign employees, down from 50 per cent previously. Levies for foreign workers are also set to go up in July 2013.

Lee said he was already struggling with manpower issues and had to turn away a large MICE group this year. “The service sector should have been excluded, as we cannot use technology alone to resolve all our labour shortages. After all, the key differentiator for (the tourism) business is the human touch.”

Bestlink Travel Singapore managing director, Mike Eng, added: “Given that our main sources of business are China, Vietnam and Cambodia, we are highly dependent on foreign workers in our day-to-day operations. They communicate and coordinate with overseas agents, and are indispensable. The government’s move would unquestionably have a big impact on us and definitely curb our growth.”

This article was first published in TTG Asia, March 9 issue, on page 19. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

A-Zs of Successful Agencies – Accessibility

By TTG Asia

March 9, 2012

In this column debut, Adrian Caruso, dishes out advice to travel experts. A former travel agency and hotel owner/operator, he now coaches travel, tourism and hospitality businesses throughout the region

Adrian Caruso, founder and CEO of TA Fastrack Australia

I have a saying every travel consultant should repeat every day: “Your clients are somebody else’s prospects.” With others in the marketplace vying for the attention of your clients, it is important for you to consider exactly how accessible the public perceives your travel business to be.

Being accessible means that you are easy to remember and find, approachable, likable and trustworthy. The public’s perception of your accessibility is shaped by how often they see your brand and the brand image projected.

If elements of your branding indicate a luxury travel niche, some portion of the market will find you unapproachable. If you emphasise family travel in your branding, then you will very likely attract that demographic. There is nothing wrong with either approach, but it is vital that the brand you intend to project is indeed the brand that is reflected in your marketing efforts.

Key visual elements should also appear consistently in every marketing effort, for example, the company’s name, logo and contact details. This creates familiarity, and people will feel as though they already know who you are and what you do.

Likewise, the more “present” you are in your community, the more networking you undertake and the more events you sponsor or volunteer for, the better known your brand.

Engage your clients on an emotional level and remind them that you are there. How often do you reach out and touch each and every client in a personal way? How about a phone call, a handwritten letter or a lunch? Not to sell anything, but just to say “hello”. Want clients to think of you as accessible? Begin by first approaching them.

Your marketing should also be personality-driven. People do business with people. If your company has a flat, dull persona, clients are likely to see you as unapproachable.

All this means a personal investment in time and energy because as a travel consultant, you are your own brand.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, March 9 issue, on page 6. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Road less travelled

By Linda Haden

March 9, 2012

The adventure travel market is alive and kicking – and it’s growing faster than mass tourism worldwide

Sick of run-of-the-mill, same-old itineraries, experience-seeking Asian travellers are snapping up action-packed holidays that deliver on novelty and give them bragging rights.

At the recent PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2012 in Bhutan, the US-based Adventure Travel Trade Association reported that international adventure tourism was valued as a US$89 billion industry in 2010, growing at an estimated 17 per cent a year versus just four per cent for mainstream tourism.

Europe and the US still constitute the bulk of adventure travellers globally, but there are clear indications that a small but mushrooming number of seasoned Asian travellers now desire such trips.

“There is certainly huge potential in the Asian market as we’re currently seeing double-digit growth in the region,” said G Adventures Canada managing director Australia and New Zealand, Pete Rawley.

One reason is the rise of a media- and travel-savvy generation that needs to be kept excited, said Cathy Thang, managing director, Green Island Tours Singapore.

She explained: “Exposure to traditional media and other new media creates a multiplier effect, motivating experienced Asian travellers to look for new, exciting destinations to explore, particularly where they can recharge their batteries and reconnect with nature.”

While Asia still remains the most popular for such ventures, there is also demand for destinations farther afield.

According to Rawley, 40 per cent of the firm’s Asian clients travel within the region, with Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia being particularly popular; another 30 per cent head to Latin America; and the rest are spread equally across Europe, Africa and North America.

A spokesperson for Intrepid Travel Australia added that the top three choices for Asian adventure travellers were India, Nepal and Peru.

Sunil Sakya, chairman, KGH Group of Hotels, Resorts and Travels Nepal, told TTG Asia that Asians preferred “softer activities such as hiking, canoeing and visiting cultural or religious sites, although some might opt for short treks lasting one to two days and easy river rafting”. Stays tend to be in luxurious properties at one fixed location, with an average duration of seven days.

He added that business volume from Asia grew by 15-20 per cent in 2011 compared to just 10 per cent for both Europe and the US.

Willem Niemeijer, co-founder and CEO of Khiri Travel Group Thailand, underscored that in order to nurture a love for adventure holidays among Asians, educating customers about new destinations outside the main tourist trails was essential.

Operators should also develop itineraries that offer “a combination of sightseeing to religious and cultural sites and soft adventures like zip lines that give Asian customers the adrenaline rush, but without the worry (of safety hazards)”, he said.

Clients need to know that adventure travel is not just about extreme activities such as long treks and bungee jumping, added G Adventures’ Rawley.

Eco Adventures Worldwide Singapore managing director, Timothy Tan, noted that a big plus point about the market was its general immunity to economy fluctuations. Decisions are based on “the potential and ability of a destination to ignite positive, emotive connotations”, he explained.

Said Tan: “Adventure travellers are a psychographic group and thus cannot be defined by demographic parameters alone. (Travel providers should focus on) a brilliant portfolio of products that captures the romance of travel.”

Who’s up for an adventure?
Japan
Emerging as a key market for adventure travel in the 90s, Japan remains a major Asian source today.

Freme Travel Services Brunei’s manager-inbound & MICE division, Sugumaran Nair, said the company handled 3,000-4,000 Japanese visitors every year and this was expected to grow by 20 per cent this year, as there had been talk of new flights between the two countries.

“Soft ecotourism, encompassing trekking and rafting are high on the agenda for Japanese adventure travellers to Brunei, and most prefer mid- to high-end accommodation,” he explained, saying that they favoured customised itineraries.

Masaru Takayama, president, Spirit of Japan Travel said he sends out some 200 pax on such trips each year, with last year seeing a 25 per cent jump, driven partly by the appreciation of the yen.

He explained that because Japanese-speaking guides were necessary for such trips and not all destinations were able to provide this, itineraries were limited.

“By and large, the Japanese prefer Asian destinations including Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand, Borneo and Indonesia. Their stays last for about four to five days on average, and most prefer upmarket accommodation. Activities carried out (by the Japanese) are overwhelmingly soft, such as short treks and rafting.”

Singapore
A growing interest in authentic adventure holidays among Singaporeans has caught the attention of even mass-market outbound travel companies.

Opening its first self-owned franchise last year selling an array of adventure-oriented itineraries, Chan Brothers Travel has seen brisk business so far, said its director of business development, Mary Kheng. Sales are expected to rise by 50 per cent this year.

Chan’s World Holidays has introduced a 13-day Trans-Siberian Experience featuring three nights onboard the longest railway in the world; a 10-day Antarctica Adventure, which includes a cruise, and a range of cycling packages in Taiwan, Cambodia and China lasting from six to eight days.

Timothy Tan, managing director of Eco Adventures Worldwide Singapore, said cycling, diving and gentle rafting topped the wish list of travellers. Singaporeans, he said, were heading to the Himalayas, Indonesia and Christmas Island.

His company has gone from fewer than 50 bookings five years ago to around 300-400 bookings annually now.

“The majority of my clients are well-travelled. For them, going on (adventure) trips is not about cultivating status at all. Singaporeans who seek adventure simply want to immerse themselves in new experiences that they can take back with them,” said Tan.

China
Chinese travellers are increasingly opting for adventure packages, although the trend is still in its infancy.

Jens Thraenhart, president of digital marketing agency Dragon Trail China and PATA China Board chairman, observed: “Unlike Western adventure travellers that are motivated by the cultural and activity possibilities in a destination, Chinese adventure travellers are still overwhelmingly motivated by status. That is, travel that bestows bragging rights.”

However, he added that individuals from the top-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou were becoming “more aware of adventure and ecotourism”, making them potential sources of future adventure tourists.

In a report published by Xola Consulting in 2008, the firm suggested that travel consultants should consider developing itineraries incorporating food- and shopping-related activities, led by Chinese-speaking guides.

India
Despite its mammoth potential, India continues to lag behind more mature markets when it comes to taking adventurous journeys.

Willem Niemeijer, co-founder and CEO of Khiri Travel Group Thailand, said: “There is some demand from Indians, but this is growing at a slow pace. Overall, about 20-25 per cent of our Indian market goes for an adventure-type activity during their trip. However, this is often only for a day.”

Undiscovered places offer sense of adventure, novelty

Bhutan
The exclusive Kingdom of Bhutan is working towards transforming itself into a year-round destination, while encouraging tourists to venture beyond the well-worn trails surrounding Thimpu, Paro and Punakha, especially to rural areas in the south and east.

Star-rated hotels and more airports are being developed across the country, making the kingdom more accessible. Two domestic airports – Yonphula in Tashigang, east of Bhutan, and Bathpalathang in Bumthang, central Bhutan, have opened. They are served by national airline Druk Air and the country’s first private airline Tashi Air, both of which commenced operations to the airports last December. Tashigang is known for it traditional arts and crafts, while Bumthang Valley is the spiritual hub of the nation and is home to its oldest Buddhist temples and monuments.

International visitors currently arrive during a five-and-a-half-month period, with the US and European markets more interested in Bhutan’s treks and Asian ones attracted by its cultural offerings. Most tourists arrive in Paro, a small frontier town lying in Paro valley dotted by quaint villages. Paro is also the gateway to Bhutan’s most prominent structure, Taktsang Monastery (pictured), which is perched on the side of a cliff 900m above the valley floor.

The Trashi Chhoe Dzong (Fortress of the Glorious Religion) in enigmatic Thimpu, Bhutan’s capital, is another must-visit. This imposing building, decorated with elaborate carvings and Buddhist symbols, now houses the offices of the king. – Linda Haden

Palawan, Philippines
Once a backpackers’ retreat, infrastructure improvements and a recent award achievement have helped the province find its way into travel guidebooks.

Three areas are popular: Busuanga, known for its limestone formations and shipwreck diving; Taytay, with its beach resorts; and Puerto Princesa, home to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed underground river (pictured), which created a buzz when it was named one of the New7Wonders of Nature in January.

Palawan’s main airport in Puerto Princesa now has a dozen daily flights – up from one previously – while plans are in the pipeline to turn it into an international airport. The city also received its first four-star hotel last year, and more inventory will be added soon.

The area around the Puerto Princesa Underground River is a protected national forest park with a mountain-to-sea ecosystem of its own. Visitors will encounter a thick mangrove cover, karst limestone formations and emerald crystalline waters.

Up to two hours away is Sabang town, where the 8km-long river is located. The cave offers views of stalactites and stalagmites and a rich eco-habitat with unique living species. Trips to the underground river are increasingly in such high demand that advance bookings are required due to a newly-imposed cap of 1,000 visitors a day.

Puerto Princesa offers supporting attractions such as a crocodile farm, a butterfly garden and zip lines. Honda Bay, with its unspoilt white sand beaches, six islands and dolphin watching possibilities, also deserves a day tour. – Marianne Carandang

This article was first published in TTG Asia, March 9 issue, on page 10. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

View from the Top: Martin J Craigs

By Raini Hamdi

March 9, 2012

You can hear Craigs from a mile away. He’s big, he’s loud and he wants a new ‘Next Gen’ PATA to be heard. As someone who’s not afraid of conflicts – or the Internet – he might just get his way. Raini Hamdi chats with the new PATA CEO in Bangkok

Martin J Craigs, CEO, PATA

So why did you want the job as PATA CEO?
(Laughs) I was approached and advised on this job during the Paris Air Show in June last year. Like many people, I was invited to put my name in. Initially, I was not sure it was a job I was entirely equipped or suited to do because I’m not a tourism specialist. But I was assured that PATA’s main role going forward would be advocacy, would be creating new value for members, and would relate to how we deliver and communicate our services. And those, I’m interested in.

Now about four months into the job, it has become clear to me that I had accidentally been in training for the job in the last three years, through a taste of the travel business in civil aerospace (Craigs held senior positions at aviation firms such as BAE Systems and Saab-Scania). And, if nothing else, through being a high frequency traveller myself.

When did you first hear of PATA?
The first time must be around 1986, my first year in Hong Kong (where he was previously based for the past 25 years). I had the pleasure to meet the CEO of Cathay Pacific at the time, Peter Sutch, and in the course of conversation, he told me he was going to the PATA conference the following week – it was the best fun event of the year, he said. I had filed that away, thinking this PATA must be a good organisation.

After a long search, and even the debacle of a candidate getting cold feet, do you think your job is a hot seat?
PATA’s had its fair share of ups and downs in recent years. I just look at it as the inevitable result of change – any long-standing association has to change with time and technology.

In many ways, the Internet has somewhat been an enemy of PATA – and thousands others, as people have been disintermediated – but that does not mean there is no value in having an organisation that links people together face-to-face and online – it’s not as if you can only do one and not the other. No, no, the whole point about life generally is finding a balance. And it’s a non-stop process.

It is fair to say it is a hot seat, but in a good way. The PATA CEO is given great respect and hospitality whenever he goes to an event. It’s not me personally; it is the 60 years of work PATA has done to build a reputation for itself. It is a responsibility that has to be respected and built on.

You came in when the direction had been set by an interim CEO in the form of the PATA Future Strategic Focus. Would you have preferred that you got to set the direction yourself as the new CEO?
No. It’s logical – serendipity, in fact – that someone of Bill (Calderwood)’s experience and mindset did the interim CEO job thoroughly. He restructured internally, made the organisation leaner, streamlined a lot of the activities, but he consciously did not embark on a new voyage in terms of the messaging for the Next Gen. I didn’t regret that a lot of the organisation had been shaped by Bill. I felt, to use an analogy, that I had a fairly waterproof ship that had been repaired in the harbour and was now ready to go out on the open seas.

Now, I’m on it and of course we want to catch the wind at the back, getting the support of members, media, etc, by acting in smart and insightful ways. You’ve got to win hearts and minds to a new way of thinking; it’s not just about cold, hard spreadsheet numbers.

“I come from Northern Ireland and conflict resolution, as someone once said to me, must have been built into my DNA…”

How will you fatten PATA’s coffers again?
Innovation, by not depending solely on membership fees but finding new revenue streams and retaining members so you are doing less selling and more auto-renewals. Fundamentally, it is showing the PATA Next Gen activities and then money should flow in the right direction.

Tell me more about this new tagline which you’ve adopted.
It’s a mixture of enhancing our ability to deliver events, research and membership value by making the Internet an ally and, in concrete terms, delivering new-style events.

Examples: webinars on topical subjects, live-streaming highlights from our forums or even our AGMs. Or giving bites of information members might not have picked up through a monthly regional directors’ digest, potentially podcasting these as well. Or delivering meaningful insights from our vast amount of aggregated data through mobile platforms (from April 2).

Let’s talk more about creating new value for members. Have you figured out how?
I want to be truly marketing, not selling. I want to be shaping the product – the value proposition of PATA – according to what the majority want. That to me is real marketing and showing empathy.

What I try to do in the first few months is walk the talk. Do it. That’s why I started the PATA Hub City Forum very quickly (the first was in Bangkok on January 30 with the PATA Thailand Chapter) and people thought I was crazy to do it at a month’s notice and expect the head of Thai Airways International and Tourism Authority of Thailand to turn up, but they did, and so did a good number of people.

Basically, we have to engage people face-to-face and we can’t just depend on our two iconic big events (PATA conference and mart) and the adventure travel mart. We will continue to deliver those in a professional and vigorous way, but we also need to go out and reach the markets.

So instead of expecting everyone to come to us once or twice a year, we go to them and we will try to inject new perspectives on issues critical to those hubs. The next one we plan to do is the Singapore PATA Hub City Forum on May 22.

Another philosophy of mine is clustering. I hear from the senior people I meet that they get so many invitations and they want to make their trips as productive as possible. If they can get two or three events out of one trip, that’s more value for them.

So if we can overlap events, we will. For example, the Airports Council International (Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Singapore, May 22-25), which is immediately after our events. Now this body has (577 members operating 1,689 airports in 179 countries) and airports are part of the travel and tourism cycle. Yet, they are often seen as the weakest link in the chain because they don’t always offer the convenience and comfort.

It is also PATA’s job to point out where the weak links are – hopefully politely and subtly – because when an end-user rates his travel experience, it’s not just the hotel bed or the restaurant food, but a whole chain of events. If they are kept waiting 45 minutes to an hour at the airport, that’s not a good memory.

Is that an airports or an immigration issue?
Immigration, but the point is, customers think it is an airports issue. An example: Hong Kong generally does a good job of processing people. But in recent years, it has been noticed that there have been sporadic backlogs of people waiting well over an hour. I met the commissioner of tourism and he told me that 96 per cent of people were processed within 15 minutes. Sounds good. However, that’s still a couple of million people who were kept waiting – four per cent of 50 million.

I read a letter in a UK publication from a lady who was really mad she was kept waiting an hour-and-a-half to get into Hong Kong. She got madder when she read in the papers that Hong Kong needed to invest US$17 billion on a third runway and asked why it couldn’t invest US$17 in an extra hour of an officer’s time, which I thought was a reasonable observation. So my job is to politely raise that up to the system through the people I meet.

What inspired you in the last four months as PATA CEO?
Meeting the very experienced and the youngest members of the industry – Khun Kusa (Panyarachun, managing director, World Travel Service Thailand) who, at 93 years of age, spoke eloquently from the floor during our Bangkok PATA Hub City Forum. Then, I was asked to give a lecture at a university in Beijing. A 19-year-old was tasked to make a welcome speech and she spoke about the dream of travel so emotively, that you realise how travel and tourism touches people’s lives over and above the usual experience of business. And therefore, to be part of it is genuinely a privilege.

How do you unite PATA given the diversity – just look at that age gap, for instance.
Of course there will be problems within PATA; how could you not expect different opinions when you represent roughly 50 different countries and, on top of the national culture, is the functional culture – this person a GM, the other accountant, government minister, media member. So it is completely expected for there to be 101 different opinions on what PATA should prioritise or do. The pleasure is how to harmonise that to a reasonable consensus.

It is a pleasure?
I come from Northern Ireland and conflict resolution, as someone once said to me, must have been built into my DNA because I’m used to seeing conflict all around me in its most serious forms. And after 700 years we’ve solved that little problem in Northern Ireland. Terrorists are now ministers. So, after seeing that at close range, you can’t say that the kind of conflict that goes on inside of PATA is to be feared or to be avoided.

To do this job, you have to take the views, but someone has to decide to do something or or not to do something. In a multinational, multfunctional organisation, when someone decides to do something or not to do something, it will divide to a certain extent. But if you don’t decide at all – that’s the worst. Then you will drift.

My approach is to decide and take responsibility for that decision. It does not mean I won’t learn some lessons along the way. You’ve got to accept that this (PATA) is a learning organisation in a middle of an incredibly fast-moving industry, in the world’s greatest growth market. There couldn’t be a better time to start talking and delivering PATA Next Gen.

Who influenced you recently?
You can’t not pay attention to the Facebook phenomenon, an idea in one guy’s mind lying on his bed at Harvard and now a business whose market capitalisation is estimated to be worth more than Boeing.

One quote (Mark) Zuckerberg made in his IPO which I read two weeks ago was, ‘you need to move fast and break things’. Speed is the competitive weapon and you don’t need to worry along the way something will drop off the table. As I understand it, it’s the graffiti at Facebook that ‘done is better than perfect’.

Since coming onboard, I’ve had to move fast; hopefully I haven’t broken anything substantially.

I had the luxury of reading a bit more about PATA before assuming the role end-October, and I found that there had been an enormous amount of analysis, introspection almost, on PATA, a lot of it very worthy and eloquent thoughts, like Prof Chuck Gee’s comments in the PATA 50th book. They were mulling over challenges going forward 10-20-30 years ago and it has been an evolution challenge since the start of the Internet, since PATA and every other association became disintermediated.

To do this job, you do have to move fast, you will break things and you won’t please all of the people all of the time.

But ‘done is better than perfect’.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, March 9 issue, on page 8. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Suffering Maldives launches tacticals

By Mimi Hudoyo

March 9, 2012

THE POLITICAL shake-up in the Maldives has affected Chinese arrivals – now its biggest source – and triggered concerns in its traditional Europe and Japan markets, but rates appear to be holding.

Let’s Go Maldives managing director, Mohamed Riyaz, said his company had seen 12 per cent of its Chinese bookings wiped out. “The Maldives gets between three and five charter flights from China every day, so if we lose one or two flights that means we lose quite a large volume.”

Maldives Marketing & PR Corp deputy director, Ibrahim Asim, said the China market was “quite sensitive about political issues”. “Buyers (from other markets) at the show have also shown concern, but we have not seen a significant impact from the other markets so far,” he said. “Having said that, we are putting together plans to minimise the impact, and we expect to launch these by the end of this month.”

Asim added that the NTO had also started inviting tour operators and media, especially from China, for fam trips.

According to Riyaz, these seem to have worked, as charter flights from China were scheduled to return to normal by April.

He pointed out that while resorts in the Maldives were holding their rates, they had introduced tacticals such as stay-four, pay-three-night packages, although this was not unusual in the low season which runs from March to May.

Thulhagiri Island Resort & Spa sales and reservations manager, Ismail Areef, was confident that the European market would do well during the peak season, based on feedback gathered from buyers at ITB Berlin.

China is a new but very fast-growing market for the destination, totalling 198,655 arrivals last year. This represents 21.3 per cent of overall arrivals.

Read the full report in TTG Asia, March 9, 2012

Read the full report in ITB Berlin

UNWTO, WTTC on the case to ease visas

By Brian Higgs

March 9, 2012

THE UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) are joining hands to convince world leaders of the need to improve visa application and processing formalities.

The two global bodies have commissioned a study exploring potential economic models if visa policies in each of the G-20 group of major global economies were relaxed, either through making it easier to obtain visas, the use of e-visas, or even opening borders altogether.

“Complicated, lengthy and overpriced entry formalities are making it extremely difficult for tourists to travel, especially (those from) emerging economies which are leading growth in terms of outbound markets,” said Taleb Rifai, secretary-general, UNWTO.

“Travel facilitation is closely interlinked with tourism development and can be key in boosting demand,” said Rifai. “This area is of particular relevance in a moment in which governments are looking to stimulate economic growth but cannot make use of fiscal incentives or public investment.”

The results of the study are due to be presented to the G-20 heads of state at a meeting in Mexico on May 16. The G-20 counts the US, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, France, Germany, the UK and Australia among its members.

Read the full report in TTG Asia, March 9, 2012

Read the full report in ITB Berlin

Beleaguered Egypt rolls out brand campaign

By Brian Higgs

March 9, 2012

A NEW brand campaign, We’re Egypt, has been rolled out to portray the country as a safe and welcoming destination for international tourists, and to restore confidence in traditional source markets following the revolution in February last year.

The campaign depicts locals enjoying themselves in their own country, thereby sending a message to inspire travellers to spend their holidays in Egypt.

Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, Egyptian Minister of Tourism, said: “The main issue for Egyptian tourism today is the perception of security in the country.”

Participating at ITB Berlin in the capacity of official partner country, Egypt is aiming to double international arrivals to 30 million by 2017, compared to 14.8 million last year and 20 million in 2010, according to Abdel Nour.

He said: “Europe will continue to be our top source market, but growth will come from China, India and South Korea, among others. We will also diversify our products by promoting religious and cultural attractions and ecotourism.”

To meet arrival targets, the Egyptian Tourist Authority will intensify its partnerships with tour operators and airlines through organising fam trips, co-funded marketing activities and above-the-line advertising campaigns.

An online training course for travel consultants selling Egypt is being planned, as well as more activities through travel expert networks and associations.

EgyptAir is also attempting to restore direct air connections from Japan, China and India to Cairo.

Meanwhile, the tourism ministry is in talks with Messe Berlin to host a Middle East & Africa variant of the ITB travel trade fair in 2013/2014.

Read the full report in TTG Asia, March 9, 2012

Read the full report in ITB Berlin

Integrated resort to open in Lombok in 2015

By Mimi Hudoyo

March 9, 2012

THE TRANQUIL island of Lombok will see its southern area buzzing with a large integrated resort development as early as 2015.

The Mandalika Resorts Lombok, which will cover an area of 1,175 hectares, is part of a special economic territory programme established to develop West Nusa Tenggara as a tourism hotspot.

The site is geared to become an event-based destination and will be located 15 minutes away from Lombok’s new international airport.

Bali Tourism Development Corp (BTDC), the state-owned company that manages Bali Nusa Dua area, has been appointed developer and manager of the site.

BTDC director of development, Edwin Darmasetiawan, said: “We want the resort to complement Bali instead of competing with it. Therefore, the product will be very different from Nusa Dua in terms of its type of attractions.”

Facilities earmarked for the integrated resort include an F1 race track, an integrated theme park, an underwater marine museum, an eco park, meeting spaces and a concert hall. The developer also plans to invite Disney to “be a part of ” the theme park.

Seventeen major Indonesian companies including Lippo Group, MNC Group, Gobel International and Rajawali Group have signed MoUs with BTDC for various developments.

The BTDC is now finalising the environmental impact analysis, which is expected to be ready by June. The project’s first phase, including road construction, hotel developments and an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course, will be completed within three to five years. More hotels and attractions will follow in the second stage.

Panorama Destination managing director, Rocky Praputranto, said: “The development will change Lombok, which is known as a tranquil, laid-back island. Do the people in Lombok, who are more conservative (than the Balinese), want this? Are they ready for the change?

However, Bidy Tour Lombok managing director, Yandianto Hamidy, welcomes the change and believes the destination will draw a wider range of markets in the future.

Read the full report in TTG Asia, March 9, 2012

Read the full report in ITB Berlin

Imminent changes at MAS

By Sim Kok Chwee

March 8, 2012

BARELY 16 months after introducing its current branding, Malaysia Airlines will announce a new corporate structure in the third week of March 2012, which is also expected to bring clarity to the airline’s branding and that of its various subsidiaries.

The airline is planning a sub-branding of its premium regional services – a move that first began under the “Sapphire” project title and then tentatively re-named “MAS” (which means “gold” in Bahasa Malaysia).

To be unveiled in April, the premium carrier will operate exclusively with Boeing 737-800 aircraft and will be operational by June 2012. It is not clear if this is or will be part of the joint venture currently being discussed with Qantas Airways.

Changes to the logo are also in progress. Its current logo will be retained but rendered fully in blue while the logo of its premium yet-to-be-named carrier will be rendered in red.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines is considering selling off MASKargo and other subsidiaries including Firefly Airlines (based at Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur and Penang) and MASwings (based in East Malaysia) to reduce losses made over the last few quarters.