Young, hip and very clean
Contiki is positioned for a young travelling community but the brand is 60 years old this year. How does a grand old dame ensure she is always connected with the 18-35 year-olds?
Well, I’ve never heard of Contiki being called a grand old dame before (laughs). She is 60 years young. We have quite a young team and that connects us to what the 18-35 year-olds are doing, what holidays they are searching for, and how they are consuming media.
We also ask travellers themselves (via) surveys. We get excellent feedback from our travellers through our trip managers, and research from internal and external sources.
We created the Contiki Travel Lounge on Facebook during the pandemic. The idea is for it to be a departure lounge, where people would wait before they could fly and trade travel stories.
All these information help our teams to shape our new itineraries as well as our sustainability journey.
Can you walk me down memory lane and tell me how travel motivations of this age group have changed through the decades?
That’s going to be quite a walk! Back in 1962, our founder John Anderson took a group of 16 around in a minibus, and they camped every night on their long journey which was advertised on a poster in a university bar.
The motivations remain the same – travellers want an unforgettable journey, see many destinations, discover culture, and they want to do this with like-minded people and make some lifelong connections.
What has changed is the demographic – our customers today are more educated. Social media did not exist back in the 60s. Now, travellers can get a lot of information on the destination through social media, and that sets their expectations high.
In previous generations, travellers want to go to all the marquee destinations, go for a drink at night, and do it all again the next few days. Trips had more of a party atmosphere.
Today, it is less about the party and more about getting under the skin of the destination. A lot of our travellers now do not drink alcohol and have different dietary requirements. They also have a genuine interest to get beyond the stereotypical marquee destinations. That means a desire to meet local people and eat in local restaurants, rather than just being on the tourist trail. But, at the same time, they still enjoy having their photo taken in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Contiki has learnt to be really good at getting that mix right between the big tourist sights and off-the-beaten-track experiences.
Another demographic change is the global mix of travellers. Contiki’s clientele was initially predominantly Aussies and Kiwis. Now, we are far more likely to see North Americans, Asians, Europeans and Africans together in a group.
How have your programmes evolved then?
On all our trips of more than seven days, which is the majority, we will fit in one Make Travel Matter experience. That is developed by our Contiki Cares initiative, which is part of The TreadRight Foundation, a non-profit organisation established by our parent company, The Travel Corporation (TTC). These experiences get our groups to interact with people, planet and wildlife.
We run an included walking tour in Berlin that is led by a Syrian refugee, so our travellers get to see the city sights but also hear a different narrative from someone who has come to live in Germany.
Our product has moved away from camping as an accommodation style, and onwards to hostels and hotels. We still do glamping in some locations, though. We have added new destinations, like Africa. One of our goals is to take people to more of the off-the-beaten-track, developing areas. We have also retired destinations that are no longer safe to go. We have created shorter itineraries, even weekend trips, and introduced rail journeys.
I guess the biggest change for us is making 100 per cent of our trips carbon-neutral this year.
How do travellers in your target age bracket regard responsible tourism, and how do their environmental expectations impact their travel choices with Contiki?
Going carbon neutral is just the latest in our long journey to sustainability. There is a lot of data about the growing importance of sustainability. Most Gen Zs choose brands based on their sustainability credentials. Going carbon neutral is therefore good for the environment and for the business.
It has been an interesting experience for us in shaping our carbon neutral messaging. I thought that Contiki going 100 per cent carbon neutral is a great message, and we should talk about it loud and proud. But the engagement we got has been muted. So, my conclusion is that people expect it and don’t need you to be banging on drums to talk about it. To the 18, 19-year-olds today, it is great that you are responsible, but they want to get back to the fundamentals of the product.
What else is being done to ensure that every trip is hugely meaningful with the smallest environment impact?
We have food waste reduction programmes in the two hotels that Contiki owns, and expect the same of our hotel and restaurant partners; we use renewable and clean energy for our offices and coaches; we have eliminated single-use plastics, etc.
Our journey to carbon neutrality requires a lot of work. First, we have to measure. Then, there is a load of initiatives around reducing emissions. After that, we offset what we cannot reduce and invest in carbon capture initiatives.
The Chateau Big Weekender is Contiki’s big anniversary party – why is this special?
The Château by Contiki is very special to us. It is one of only two properties that are exclusive to Contiki. We had a big round of renovation just before Covid, but it remained empty for two years. It will be the first time we are getting people into it with the party.
We will have good food and wine, great DJs spinning, pool parties, painting classes, yoga sessions, wine tasting, and more. Activities will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, and food will be sourced locally within France.
Most of the people attending the party will be paying travellers – the lifeblood of Contiki.
What’s next after this milestone?
Celebrations are spread across a 12-month calendar, starting in April.
For the rest of the year, we will continue to focus on returning to normal operations; bringing on destinations that we wanted to launch before the pandemic; building the next stage towards net zero; finding new customers, especially from Asia; and re-engaging travel agents, as many have left the industry during the pandemic.
Travel is experiencing accessibility challenges. How do these obstacles impact Contiki’s ability to engage the young adults and get them to explore the world?
It is a challenging year. On one hand you have immense pent-up travel demand, and on the other hand great difficulties to travel – or so says the mainstream media.
I have been travelling the last couple of months. It isn’t as straightforward as it used to be but it is doable.
In terms of airlift, there are pricing and capacity issues but our customers will fly complex routes if the price is right. Flight limitations have not impacted us much.
In terms of political impact on travel, I see the volatile global environment deterring some customers in our target age group. This demographic is very aware of world events. For example, bookings from our European and Australian guests for the US have not been quite the same as the past. The situation in Ukraine has also led demand for Europe to shift slightly towards the Western region and away from the East.
Here’s one thing that is important – the younger end of our target market has been badly impacted by the pandemic. They are starting their career, and are most affected by redundancies and furloughs. They are most impacted by virtual living. They are therefore desperate to travel but lack the money to do so. They will have to delay their travels, or stay closer to home.
Despite these challenges, we are having a fairly good year.
Hiring challenges plague Japan’s tourism reopening
The mood among Japanese tourism operators is improving as Japan readies for further removal of travel restrictions, but many players are finding it challenging to ramp up operations to meet the boom in enquiries and the eventual return of business.
“We are extremely busy. We are getting a lot of enquiries and bookings,” said Naomi Mano, president and CEO of high-end inbound travel firm Luxurique.
“I’m interviewing and hiring new staff every day,” Mano added.
That surge in business is only expected to intensify, as the majority of bookings now are just from Asia. Mano expects people from North America and Europe to start making reservations after they have witnessed a few months of unrestricted travel.
Avi Lugasi, owner and managing director of Kyoto-based Windows to Japan tour company, said he has yet to restart advertising as there is “so much pent-up demand for Japan that we cannot keep up with the calls”.
He told TTG Asia: “We are seeing a lot of people from abroad making enquiries and reservations for the New Year period, and there is a lot of interest in skiing and winter sports.”
Lugasi is struggling to cope with only half the staff strength compared to what he had pre-pandemic. He is eager to hire, but acknowledged that the process will take time – new hires must be trained and allowed to “find their feet” in the company.
The hunger for additional staff is shared by many other companies in the travel sector, fuelling the fight for talents.
“I was speaking to an official of another travel company only a couple of days ago, and they are trying to hire 50 new people with immediate effect,” he said.
The pace of business is also picking up in the winter playground of Hokkaido’s Niseko, which has struggled in the last two years without the thousands of visitors who normally flock to its world-famous powder snow.
Ross Findlay, managing director of Niseko Adventure Centre, said the upcoming winter sports season is booming and it has been reported anecdotally that hotel rooms are running out.
However, there are hurdles to overcome. Staffing for hotels and other businesses in Hokkaido’s ski resorts is arguably the biggest challenge, with properties that have been operating with 20 staff suddenly needing to ramp that up by a factor of 10, he shared.
There is also a shortage of foreign ski instructors to meet the needs of the inbound market, which is complicated by the need to obtain work visas at short notice to permit their entry to Japan.
For now, the hectic pace is eluding Yuuki Bando, the owner of the Bang-Do travel guiding and translation business in Tokushima City on Shikoku Island. She said travel firms she works with are not yet reporting the surge in enquiries and interest, probably because the prefecture is relatively off the beaten path.
“The feeling is that it will take longer for the international tourists to come back to this part of Japan, but we also need to use this time to get staff back into travel companies, hotels and visitor attractions and to train them so they are ready,” she said.
New hotels: DoubleTree by Hilton Damai Laut Resort, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa and more
DoubleTree by Hilton Damai Laut Resort, Malaysia
DoubleTree by Hilton Damai Laut Resort is a 294-room beachfront resort overlooking the Straits of Malacca. It is about an hour and 45 minutes’ drive from Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, Ipoh.
Onsite facilities comprise an outdoor pool, spa, event spaces, kids’ club, and mini waterpark. The resort offers activities like snorkelling, diving, banana boating and fishing, and there is an 18-hole golf course just five minutes away.
Dining options include an all-day dining restaurant, steamboat restaurant, and lounge.
JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa, Thailand
JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa has added 127 additional keys to its property – from deluxe and family lagoon pool view or pool access rooms, to one- and two-bedroom villas – making a total of 420 rooms, suites and villas.
The resort boasts a 2.4km long lagoon pool waterway, along with an aquatic playground with an outdoor swimming pool. There is also a spa, fitness centre, racket and water sports, children’s club, and offshore excursions for snorkelling.
An hour’s drive north of Phuket International Airport, the resort features 11 dining and social venues, as well as a new ballroom that holds up to 800 guests – making it an ideal venue for both business and leisure events.
Avana Retreat, Vietnam
Just a 3.5-hour drive from Hanoi is the 36-villa property, Avana Retreat. Located in Mai Chau, the villas range from 98m² to 229m², some with private pools.
There is a private waterfall, which provides the backdrop for dinners and events, as well as an open-air yoga studio pavilion and a spa built along the stream.
Facilities include four heated infinity pools, pool bar and restaurant. The resort is a sustainable and plastic-free retreat, and produces purified drinking water from its own Avana bottle plant.
InterContinental Khao Yai Resort, Thailand
Guests will feel like they have travelled back in time at the 45-room InterContinental Khao Yai Resort, which spans 19 hectares and is adorned with railway memorabilia – from vintage trunks to old tickets.
Offering culinary F&B experiences, wellness classes and a fitness centre, the resort will add a French brasserie and speakeasy bar as well as a spa later this year. A range of 19 railcar suites and villas will also be unveiled.
Guests will also appreciate the sustainable initiatives by the resort, such as full-sized toiletries instead of miniatures, wooden key cards and biodegradable eco-friendly cleaning products used throughout the resort.
Taiwan to end quarantine in October
Taiwan aims to end its mandatory Covid-19 quarantine for arrivals from October 13 and raise the arrival cap to 150,000 a week.
Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng told reporters that from next Thursday, visa-free entry will resume for citizens of all countries that previously had that status. He added that the weekly arrival limits for international travellers will increase to 60,000 with no more PCR tests for arrivals.
Inbound travellers who test positive, however, still need to quarantine at home or in designated hotels.
TripLink, Mastercard to facilitate new cross-border payment pathways
Mastercard and TripLink have joined forces to introduce a seamless and reliable cross-border payment experience for businesses to enhance travel recovery, extending their partnership from Hong Kong to across the entire Asia-Pacific region.
By providing highly customised services that offer both portal and API integration options for a seamless card management experience, the TripLink Mastercard solution addresses challenges such as lengthy and slow processing as well as high administrative fees. With the payment option provided by TripLink, merchants and suppliers are assured of having a smooth and user-friendly process from registration to application.
Both companies prioritise data security and compliance, so merchants and suppliers can enjoy dependable and secure payments through Mastercard’s global payments network with its multi-layered security protection.
Wang Zhe, CEO, TripLink International, said: “With an increasing number of consumers shifting to digital-first lifestyle and payment means, it is crucial for our corporate customers to cater to these emerging trends, and to improve their cross-border payment capability.
“To catch up with the evolving needs for a more seamless and secure payment experience, we will speed up the relevant development and try to gain mutual growth with our customers.”
Dennis Chang, executive vice president and division president of Greater China, Mastercard, said: “Amid continued growth in the business-to-business payment market, Mastercard is collaborating with more enterprises to capture opportunities via its multi-rail strategy. This expanded partnership with TripLink reinforces this approach, and will further support the development of a more digital, sustainable and connected economy.”
TripLink’s virtual card has been used in more than 100 countries and regions around the world, and fully supports the overseas payment needs of its parent company – Trip.com Group’s partners, as well as China’s overseas suppliers.
Accor launches ALL Members’ Rate in the Pacific
Accor Live Limitless (ALL), the lifestyle loyalty programme for Accor, has launched a special Members’ Rate in the Pacific region.
Members of ALL will now enjoy a five per cent discount at more than 380 hotels, resorts and apartments participating in the ALL loyalty programme in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia throughout the year for up to two rooms per booking. They will earn Status points and Reward points on all eligible stays. Accor Plus members will receive an additional 10 per cent off.
Members can also access a Members’ Rate at 5,000 Accor hotels worldwide, and can use their points to purchase exclusive travel packages around the world with upgraded accommodation and inclusions like dinner, spa treatment and local experiences.
In addition, members will receive exclusive invitations to redeem points to experience the ALL hospitality suites at Accor Stadium and Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, as well as to sporting events including the State of Origin and NRL Grand Final.
Members of both Accor and Qantas will also be able to earn points when flying with Qantas or staying in one of Accor’s hotels, resorts and apartments across Asia-Pacific.
For more information, visit Accor Live Limitless.
British Airways to resume London-Tokyo services
British Airways’ first passenger flight from London to Tokyo since November 2021 will resume services on November 13, 2022. This follows the news of Japan further relaxing its travel restrictions.
The first flight back to Tokyo is scheduled to touch down in Tokyo Haneda Airport on November 14 at 07.35, and the Tokyo-London service will depart at 09.45 on the same day.
The route will operate daily on aircraft Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
Plans underway to promote Likupang as priority destination
Indonesia’s Likupang has seen a boom in visitorship following the acquisition of its status as one of Indonesia’s five Super Priority Destinations.
Located in the North Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi province, Likupang welcomed nearly 70 per cent of the arrivals to the larger regency. The regency recorded 20,317 arrivals in the first seven months of 2022, of which 2,815 were foreigners.
In 2021, total arrivals to the regency was 15,338, of which 1,443 were international travellers.
Speaking at a webinar promoting the destination to members of the Association of Travel Agents in Indonesia (ASTINDO), Henry Kaitjily, head of the North Sulawesi Tourism Office, said that Likupang was developed with the aim of attracting more domestic and international travellers to North Sulawesi.
He shared: “The development of Likupang is integrated with the neighbouring areas of North Minahasa city, Bitung, Manado, Tomohon and Tindano. We hope that this will give reason for travellers to stay on longer in North Sulawesi.”
Development plays up Likupang’s natural draws and maximises its marine potential as ‘blue gold’ and the mainland as ‘green gold’. Glamping sites, resorts and tourism villages are all in the plans, while eco-friendly transportation will be offered.
To support the development of tourism in Likupang, travel companies in North Sulawesi have started creating packages.
Kristian Repi, general manager of Manggis Travel Manado, shared that his company has been offering packages to Likupang since 2019. He noted that there has been growing interest in the destination, with a 30 per cent increase in bookings for 2020/2021; interest is up a further 70 per cent for 2021/2022.
While the domestic market currently dominates sales by 90 per cent, he has received more bookings for overnight package tours, proving that travellers have come from other parts of Sulawesi and beyond.
“Travellers from around the area such as from Manado (the provincial capital) usually take a day-trip,” he explained, adding that Likupang’s development concept would be suitable for special interest travellers “who are ready for island terrain, homestays, and adventurous destination”.
Pauline Suharno, president of ASTINDO, believes that more development is needed to attract both domestic and international travellers.
“The problem is that the majority of accommodation are homestays. Even though they were (newly) built by the Indonesia Ministry of Public Work and Public Housing with good facilities, not all markets (like) homestays,” she opined.
Despite having good facilities, existing hotels need to upgrade their service standards, she added.
Pauline also stated that more location-based promotions are needed to attract foreign tourists, and should emphasise accessibility, such as having direct access to Sam Ratulangi International Airport.
She also hopes for more F&B establishments that can accommodate large groups.
HIS to sell shares in Dutch-themed park
Japanese travel agency HIS Co. is to sell its entire stake in Huis Ten Bosch, one of the country’s largest theme parks, to a Hong Kong investment fund.
The Tokyo-based firm will transfer its 66.7 per cent stake in the theme park to Pacific Alliance Group for about 66.7 billion yen (US$482 million). The park’s five other stakeholders, including Kyushu Railway Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co., are also expected to sell their shares to the fund.
Located in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Huis Ten Bosch is named after the Netherlands’ royal palace in The Hague in recognition of the deep ties between Nagasaki and the European nation, which began in 1609. It recreates the landscape of a traditional Dutch town, with many Dutch-style historic buildings such as hotels, museums, theatres, shops and restaurants.
The theme park features iconic aspects of the Netherlands such as windmills, canals and a park featuring tulips and other seasonal flowers, all interspersed with amusements and attractions. It is also home to Henn na Hotel, which holds a Guinness World Record for being the world’s first hotel to be staffed by working robots.
The loss of inbound and domestic tourism revenue as a result of the pandemic is thought to have been a factor in HIS’s move to sell the park, which attracted 3.1 million visitors in the fiscal year ending September 2015.
The travel agency reported a record nett loss of 26.9 billion yen from November 2021 to April 2022, and announced it would reduce its capital from 24.8 billion yen to 100 million yen to improve its financial situation.
New owner Pacific Alliance Group is expected to continue operations of Huis Ten Bosch, which has “high growth potential”, according to a company representative.
The fund also has investments in the operator of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.
Japan will resume visa-free entry for individual travellers from October 11, announced prime minister Fumio Kishida yesterday in New York. This brings the country’s border rules close to pre-pandemic norms for the first time after nearly two and a half years of strict Covid-19 restrictions.
Kishida was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly when he made the long-awaited announcement.
In addition, Japan will remove the cap on the number of people entering the country, which is currently capped at 50,000.
The government also hopes to boost the economy through inbound tourism by launching a nationwide travel discount programme starting from October 11.
Kishida hopes that people will utilise the programme to “support the travel, entertainment and other industries that have been struggling during the coronavirus pandemic”.
To date, there are no updates made on vaccine or testing requirements.