BUSINESS travel spending and volume grew at healthy rates in the fourth quarter of 2010, with the GBTA Business Travel Index reaching its highest levels since the recession began in 2008, according to a statement released by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).

GBTA Foundation research also shows that increasing business travel spending is a leading indicator of future US job growth.

According to the release: “The fourth quarter of 2010 showed the strongest seasonally-adjusted quarter-over-quarter business travel growth since the recession began. For the year, total US spending on business travel grew by 3.2 per cent, up substantially from the 2.3 per cent for the year forecast previously. Business travel spending in 2011 is now expected to be even stronger than estimated last quarter, advancing by 6.9 per cent for the year, up from the five per cent growth forecast previously.”

“These are very heartening signs. Business travel spending is coming back at robust levels, indicating the shape of things to come, namely more travellers on the road, an improving economy, and a positive environment for continued job growth,” said Michael W McCormick, GBTA Executive Director and COO.

“Thanks to increasing corporate confidence, companies are investing more in business travel, which will further stimulate business activity and economic growth.”

The findings were released yesterday in the latest Business Travel Quarterly Outlook – United States from the Global Business Travel Association Foundation, GBTA’s education and research arm, sponsored by Visa.

SRI LANKA is aggressively trying to attract more travellers from China, the world’s largest outbound travel market, and plans to work with neighbouring Maldives to achieve this.

“We need to capitalise on the Chinese market, which we have not been doing enough in the past,” said Nalaka Godahewa, chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT).

Attracting Chinese travellers was part of the recent discussion between Sri Lanka’s Economic Development Minister, Basil Rajapaksa, who handles the country’s tourism portfolio, and Maldives Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Dr Mariyam Zulfa.

Zulfa was in Colombo on March 24 to 26 to attend a high-level meeting organized by the UN World Tourism Organization.

According to Godahewa, Maldives has succeeded in attracting Chinese tourists when there was a drop in European traffic.

In 2010, China topped tourist arrivals to the Maldives, the first time that any Asian country has done so. According to the latest figures released by Maldivian authorities, 104,148 Chinese visited the Maldives by the end of October 2010 versus 49,655 for the same period in 2009. Whole-year figures for 2010 were not immediately available.

Even with little promotion by Sri Lanka, the number of Chinese tourists has increased sharply. According to SLT, in the period January to March 2011, saw 4,709, compared to 2,510 in the same three-month period in 2010, an 87.6 per cent increase.

THE RECENT TIME magazine article, “Holiday in hell: Bali’s ongoing woes”, which criticised environment-related issues on the island, has struck a chord with the Bali Hotels Association (BHA).

In a statement released after the article’s publication, BHA chairman Jean-Charles Le Coz said: “As one of the world’s top vacation spots, the Indonesian government is forecasting 7.7 million visitors in 2011 in total, up from around seven million in 2010.

“This is great, but we have to be mindful of the impact these huge numbers can have on the environment. Bali has been proactively tackling issues of waste management, sustainability and community support.”

BHA has environment-related initiatives in place, like the Say No to Disposable Plastic campaign launched this year.

BHA director of environment Bipan Kapur said: “This initiative is supported by the 100 BHA member hotels; ‘Green champions’ from each hotel have been enrolled to drive this initiative in their respective resorts.”

More hotels have taken individual initiatives to invest in becoming green hotels, with international certification from global green groups.

THE MALAYSIAN government yesterday announced new incentives to entice its professional citizens working abroad to come home, with its Returning Experts Programme.

Among the perks are a flat income tax rate of 15 per cent for five years under the new transitional income tax incentive, and two tax-free, locally assembled cars.

Some members from the hospitality industry see this move as a good way of helping address the shortage of management-level staff.

However, Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) vice president Ivo R Nekvapil and MAH CEO, Reginald T Pereira, both said that the government should not also neglect local talent who have been serving the country faithfully.

“You have to give them something as well,” Nekvapil said.

Pereira added that ignoring local talent would be counterproductive, as it would create jealousy and friction. He said: “The government should also find out why talent is leaving for overseas, and then find ways of improving local conditions to make it more attractive to work locally.”

He estimated that there were 20,000 vacancies in the hospitality industry across the country, from rank-and-file to middle-management positions.

Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners executive director, Shaharuddin M Saaid, said that it was still premature to tell whether the new incentives would effectively serve its purpose. “In order to attract them back, the total remuneration has to be better than what they are getting abroad,” he said.

TWENTY-THREE participants comprised the first batch in China of the internationally recognised Corporate Travel Expert (CTE) certification course, organised by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and TTG Asia Media.

The starter programme on business travel management basics, from April 12 to 13 in Shanghai, is designed for professionals who hold decision-making roles in travel planning and purchasing.

Said CTE-certified facilitator Dean Fowles: “China’s growing travel demands has made the industry more savvy on the benefits of being smart about corporate travel spending. This makes the CTE programme extremely relevant today.”

The full-day learning session started yesterday, with the certification exam scheduled for today. Successful graduates will earn the CTE designation. Participants included members from McKinsey & Company, Accenture Beijing and Shanghai, Bosch (China) Investment, IKEA IMS Wholesale (Shanghai) and China International Travel Service Shenzhen.

CTE participant Shalom Paul, CEO of For a CURE Foundation, Australia added: “Through the CTE programme, I hope to be able to gain a comprehensive understanding of the key criteria needed to become proficient in managing corporate travel accounts. This will help enormously because it covers the critical steps in the decision making process.”

To date, more than 900 professionals worldwide have been certified through GBTA’s CTE programme. The first CTE event in China was organised with IT&CM China 2011, as well as a partner event of the inaugural Shanghai Business Events Week, launched by the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration.

KHUM PHAYA Resort and Spa owner, Watchara Tantranont, is developing a new convention and exhibition centre in Chiang Mai slated to open in December, a year ahead of the government-built MICE venue (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 11, 2011).

The privately-owned Khum Kham MICE centre will be in Chiang Mai town, on the same grounds as the 85-key Khum Phaya Resort and Spa and Khum Khantoke-Lanna dining and shows, which Tantranont also owns.

According to Olivier Petit, general manager of Khum Phaya Resort and Spa, the two-storey venue designed Lanna-style will be able to accommodate a 2,000-pax meeting, 1,500-pax banquet and 100-booth exhibition.

It will also be fitted with modern audiovisual systems and latest meeting and conference facilities. Petit said the venue would be managed by the resort, which was opened in June 2009 and which joined the Centara Boutique Collection in October last year.

“Marketing has started for (Khum Kham), which is expected to be featured in all MICE brochures by the opening date,” he said.

Khun Kham will be joining The Empress Convention Centre, as well as a host of existing MICE venues at Holiday Inn Chaingmai, The Imperial Mae Ping Hotel Chiang Mai, Le Meridien Chiang Mai, Shangri-La Hotel Chiang Mai and Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai.

By Sirima Eamtako