THE FORMER managing director of Worldwide Honey Tours, Susan Teng, is now heading the expansion of Viewers Choice Travel as general manager. Viewers Choice is planning to diversify from being a ticketing agent into MICE and corporate travel, special interest tours and wholesaling spa vacations.

Although new to the MICE industry, Viewers Choice Travel has already secured a number of small meetings for the rest of the year, said Teng.

“We recently took a meeting group of over 100 pax to Malacca, and have another coming up soon to Bangkok,” she said.

Viewers Choice Travel is part of a larger organisation called Viewers Choice, which according to the latter’s official website, conducts online product auctions, retails a range of insurance products and provides fuel charge cards to employees of the Temasek Group of companies.

Viewers Choice is owned by Asia Choice and SCS MNP, a subsidiary of communications group SingTel.

“Viewers Choice’s fuel charge card business serves over 20,000 employees of government-linked companies in Singapore, which is a great database to tap for Viewers Choice Travel’s services,” said Teng.

“I am also sourcing for an IT company to develop a website for Viewers Choice Travel,” she added.

TRANSASIA Airways is eyeing Bangkok and other Asian destinations after Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) relaxed its policy of limiting two domestic airlines to each city-pair.

“This change in policy began this year, and is in effect where the capacity is not restricted by bilateral agreements,” a source at CAA told TTG Asia e-Daily.

The first scheduled regional route to be served by three Taiwanese carriers is Taipei-Singapore. Long-established rivals on the route, China Airlines and Eva Air, made way for TransAsia on June 30 (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 5). Crowded on the route as well are Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways, and Jetstar Asia Airways.

William Hsu, executive assistant to the chairman, TransAsia Airways, said the Taoyuan-Singapore route would serve as a proving ground for the airlines’ regional aspirations.

Bangkok has been cited as TransAsia’s next move. Hsu said, however, that bilateral agreements had been cleared for other destinations as well.

“There is no reason that we need to choose Bangkok as our next scheduled destination. Instead we are working with a ‘hub and spoke’ concept,” he said.

“With Taiwan as our base, we can easily carry passengers north and south, from Japan and South Korea to China or Singapore and vice versa. Then, looking east to west, there are also Okinawa and Palau.”

Japan is another short-term possibility. Hsu expects the Taiwan-Japan bilateral flight agreement to be revised as early as November, making scheduled flights possible by the first quarter of next year.

By Glenn Smith

THE INDIAN Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is aiming to draw attention to the western Indian state of Gujarat through its annual convention, scheduled to take place this year at the Gandhi Mandir Convention Centre in Ahmedabad from September 22-25.

IATO president Vijay Thakur said: “Gujarat is among the most industrious and advanced states of India. It has now taken on tourism development with futuristic ideas that are being promptly implemented. It has good infrastructure with a new convention centre.”

Vipul Mittra, principal secretary, Tourism, Civil Aviation and Pilgrimage, government of Gujarat, added: “This is a good time for tour operators to explore Gujarat and promote the state among domestic and foreign tourists.”

According to Kamlesh Patel, chairman, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat, Gujarat is experiencing a 30-35 per cent increase in tourist arrivals each year.

The theme of this year’s IATO convention is Indian Tourism – Are we competitive to compete. The event plans to address how agents and inbound operators can grow their business into India.

Thakur said: “India is losing alot of inbound traffic to more competitive destinations like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Also, online companies are posing an ever-growing threat to travel agents’ business. Experts will discuss how to tackle these issues.”

IATO is targeting 1,500 delegates, including 50 from overseas.

By Anand & Madhura Katti

REGISTRATION opened this morning for the first TTG Travel Agent Conference at ITB Asia. As of 14.00 today, 175 agents from the region have registered.

To register for the free three-hour conference on October 21, go to www.ttgasia.com/tac. The event is open to all TTG Asia readers and ITB Asia delegates on a first-come-first-served basis, with priority given to travel agents and tour operators.

One of the many key How To topics is a session by Adrian Caruso, Australia’s top travel agency coach, on How to beat the Internet. Caruso will show agents why their customers are booking on the Internet instead of booking through them, how to reclaim their clients, and why CRM needs to be the “entire focus” of their business.

Said Caruso: “Agents are being beaten by the Internet because they act like the Internet. Agents who act like the Internet are those who provide lots of information, compete on price and are a booking system. They must change the way they think of themselves.”

In another highlight, one of the trade’s most illustrious CEOs, Hans Lerch, vice chairman and CEO of Hotelplan Holdings and board member of Abercrombie & Kent Group, will be put “on the firing line” following his keynote on travel agency survival.

Lerch will be interviewed by two individuals, one from the trade, who understands the workings of the business, and the other a seasoned trade journalist. The Q&A with Lerch will be conducted by Judy Lum, group vice president – sales & marketing, Tour East Group, and Raini Hamdi, group editor – Travel Group, TTG Asia Media.

There will also be several rapid fire sessions of around 20 minutes each, covering topics such as How to retail travel today, How to buy travel today, How to achieve customer service excellence, How to customise the travel experience (see the full programme when you register).

Travel agents will receive immediate confirmation upon registration. Non-travel agents are also welcome to register, but as priority is given to agents, their registration will be on a waitlist; they will be notified by October 11 about whether their places have been confirmed.

TTG Travel Agent Conference at ITB Asia will be held at Suntec Singapore, Ballroom 1, 9.00 to 12.00 on October 21.

THE TOURISM Council of Thailand (TCT) has urged the newly-formed government to adopt a pro-tourism policy to achieve its target of 30 million foreign visitors and two trillion baht (US$66.9 billion) in revenue by 2015 (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 5).

TCT president Piyaman Tejapaibul said it was important that the government put tourism as one of its priorities given that revenue from the travel industry contributes six per cent of the country’s GDP, equal to the combined income from rice and tapioca exports.

“A pro-tourism policy will help strengthen the country’s tourism competitiveness, and prepare the industry for the regional economic integration under the ASEAN Economic Community starting 2015,” he said.

TCT is planning to ask the Yingluck Shinawatra administration to adopt four tourism priorities: human resources development; rehabilitation of 138 attractions nationwide; infrastructure improvements surrounding and linking tourism sites; and the introduction of transparent tourism policies.

Piyaman predicted that Thailand would reach 18.8-19 million foreign visitors and 700 billion baht in tourism revenue this year, after recording a 24 per cent increase in arrivals in the first six months of 2011.

AFTER kicking off its recruitment drive last week, the newly-formed Vietnam MICE Club has so far attracted five members, and is hoping to grow the number to 10 by the end of this week, and 50 by year-end.

Vietnam MICE Club president, Gilbert Whelan, said: “Vietnam MICE Club is not after membership fees. We are providing a platform for our members to showcase their products, while promoting Vietnam as a (MICE) destination.”

The association’s basic fee for members with full rights, excluding 10 per cent value-added tax, is US$1 per room per month for accommodation, and US$7,000 per year for exhibition venues, shopping outlets, restaurants, travel companies, tour operators and DMCs.

Jointly launched in Ho Chi Mih City in June by VinaMedia, Vietnam Airlines and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the association is the result of a one-year conceptualization process.

“Vietnam’s potential in the (MICE) market is enormous, it simply needs to be more proactive and that is what Vietnam MICE Club intends to be,” said Whelan.

Whelan said the club would be promoting Vietnam and MICE club member organisations at major MICE-related trade shows around the world. It will also be producing digital and printed promotional materials.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has offered to provide cultural performances at all MICE Club-sponsored events.

In addition, Vietnam Airlines will offer air travel assistance in various forms to members attending local and international MICE Club-sponsored trade shows, with the first being IT&CMA in Bangkok in October.

By Sirima Eamtako

THE INDONESIAN government will continue promoting Komodo National Park through its Komodo the Real Wonder of the World campaign, after pulling its support for the attraction as a New Seven Wonders (N7W) of Nature competition finalist.

Indonesia minister of culture and tourism, Jero Wacik, said: “We will continue promoting the national park and develop it sustainably through our own campaign, using social media like Facebook and Twitter, and programmes such as concerts.”

The ministry last weekend withdrew Komodo National Park from the N7W of Nature contest, after competition organisers N7W Foundation sought to replace the ministry with Supporters of Winning Komodo (P2Komodo) as the lead agency representing the attraction.

The ministry and competition organisers have been a loggerheads over the past few months over the dropping of the national body as the attraction’s official supporting committee (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 10).

P2Komodo chairman, Emmy Hafild, said it was regretable that Komodo had been withdrawn from the competition.

She added that Komodo had stood a good chance of winning as P2Komodo was to be supported by three Indonesian cellular operators – Telkomsel, XL and Indosat.

STARTING September 15, Malaysia Airports Holdings will increase the international passenger service charge (PSC) to 65 ringgit (US$22), up from 51 ringgit previously.

The fee hike will apply at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport main terminal building, Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Langkawi International Airport, Penang International Airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 1 and Kuching International Airport.

The international PSC rates at the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Sepang and Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 2 will be raised to 32 ringgit, up from 25 ringgit previously.

According to a press statement from Malaysia Airports, this was the first change in the PSC since 2002.

Apple Vacations & Conventions managing director, Koh Yock Heng, said the PSC increase would not have much impact on the outbound leisure market.

“Customers are already used to paying miscellaneous taxes such as fuel tax. This is not going to make much of a difference,” he explained.

“The airport tax is already included as one of the elements in our tour packages,” he added.

Also due to be increased are aircraft landing and parking charges. The former will be increased in three stages by nine per cent yearly – in January this year, January 2012 and January 2013. The aircraft parking charge will also be increased in three stages, by 18 per cent yearly, over the same period.

THE MALAYSIAN Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) is planning to make travel insurance compulsory for all outbound travel and tour packages by year-end.

MATTA president, Mohd Khalid Harun, said: “It is to guarantee the deposit. The importance of travel insurance cannot be overemphasized in view of the (adverse) happenings around the world. It is better to be covered to avoid any regrets later.”

Khalid cited the Tourism Act 1992, which made travel insurance compulsory for those performing the Haj and Umrah, as a precedent for the initiative.

MATTA has already started discussions with more than 10 insurance companies to develop the plan. It will be undertaking a roadshow across the country to get members buy-in.

“The road show is to make our members’ understand and aware of our rationale for the insurance plan. They can then tell their customers,” Khalid said.

Already held in Kuala Lumpur, other areas targeted for the roadshow were Johor (in the south), Penang (in the north) and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak).

Sarawak-based Borneo Adventure managing director, Philip Yong, said: “Borneo Adventure introduced in 2000 compulsory insurance for all customers participating in its inbound tours. The company bears the cost of the insurance premium which includes provision for evacuation (from Sarawak).”

He added: “However, it is not clear how travel insurance can be forced upon the customer in the absence of legislation.”

Saying that he had not yet “received any information from MATTA on the matter”, Yong refrained from further comment.

By N. Nithiyananthan

CHINA’S Jin Jiang hotel chain, a force in the local market but not internationally, has hired former Banyan Tree Group senior vice president and managing director hotel operations, Bernold O. Schroeder, as CEO to spearhead the charge overseas.

TTG Asia e-Daily understands that Jin Jiang’s over 100 three- to five-star hotels were previously under an international vice president operations, but with its ambition to be “a truly international chain” within the next few years, Jin Jiang created the new CEO position, which has the full P&L responsibility, comprehensive brand strategy and international development for the star-rated hotels.

Its JinJiang Inns, of which there are 550 or so, are under a separate leadership team.

Contacted by TTG Asia e-Daily, Schroeder, who started on August 1 based in Shanghai, said his priority was “to strengthen first the operation (in China), create a strong brand position and superb sales and marketing platform. With this three platforms, we will have a good base to go international”.

Jin Jiang is also creating and establishing a ‘J’ brand, the first hotel of which is under construction in Pudong, and will be the world’s tallest when completed. The group also has a stake in luxury hotels such as the Fairmont Peace Hotel and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Shanghai, aside a 50 per cent ownership in the 240-property Interstate Hotels Group in the US.

Asked why he decided to join Jin Jiang, Schroeder said: “It will be an exciting journey and I see a lot of parallels with Banyan Tree, where I was for 14 years. I was for eight years their SVP/MD hotel operations, but also did development.

“Every country needs a ‘national’ hotel brand that internationally represents the country. Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Dubai, Japan etc all have this, but in China it is missing. Jin Jiang should occupy this space.”