TTG Asia will be taking a break from January 31 to February 2, for the Lunar New Year holidays. News will resume on Thursday, February 3, 2022.
From all of us at TTG Asia Media, we wish all of our readers a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year!
Accor promotes Sarah Derry to CEO Accor Pacific
Accor has promoted Sarah Derry to the role of CEO Accor Pacific, effective February 1, 2022, taking over from Simon McGrath.
As CEO Accor Pacific, Sarah will continue Accor’s growth trajectory in the Pacific, build Accor’s brands, its loyalty network and bring together talent in the region.
Derry is currently senior vice president talent and culture, and joined Accor in 2017 after having owned and operated her own business for over 10 years. She has close to 30 years of hospitality experience, working for international hotel companies in a number of areas such as operations, talent and culture, business, strategy, and development.
Thailand welcomes more hotels, reliance on domestic market remains key
Thai residents remain the foremost target for new hotels that have opened across Thailand although the Kingdom’s Sandbox and Test & Go schemes have facilitated international tourist arrivals.
Since opening in late-December, Kimpton Kitalay Samui has been well received by local residents, shared general manager Michael Janssen.
Melia Chiang Mai, slated for an April 2022 opening, will also depend on “keen interest from the local market” as it takes off. General manager Edward E Snoeks expects regional markets to return in the later months in 2022, while Chinese travellers are not expected until 4Q2022.
Minor Hotels, which has several new openings pegged for this year in Khao Lak and Koh Lanta, will focus on a “strong domestic plan” but Mark O’Sullivan, area general manager – Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Koh Pha Ngan, Koh Samui, told TTG Asia that overseas source markets such as the UK, Germany, Russia and the Middle East are also in the company’s line of sight.
Sharing the longhaul vision, Gilles Cretallaz, Accor’s senior vice president operations Upper South-east Asia, said these markets have shown “strong interest” and are “particularly enthusiastic about the reopening of Thailand”. While Australia, France and the US are important for Accor hotels across Thailand, Russian is particularly key for Phuket, he noted.
Accor recently opened Novotel Bangkok Future Park Rangsit, its latest Novotel flagship for South-east Asia. More signings will come, as the company pushes on with plans to expand its Thailand portfolio from 88 to 104 hotels within the next four years.
Thailand’s spate of new hotel openings in the last quarter of 2021 may not necessarily indicate a boom in the hotel landscape.
Bill Barnett, a founder of the Phuket Hotels Association and managing director of C9 Hotelworks, told TTG Asia that many of the new hotels were already in development, and noted that Thailand’s pipeline has slowed.
“There is pressure from financial institutions to open these businesses and most owners realise the best they can expect from present circumstance is not to break even, but to mitigate losses,” stated Barnett.
However, Barnett expressed “cautious optimism” in hotel industry performance going forward, stemming from Thailand’s Sandbox and Test & Go schemes which he said “have proven successful models for the most part for Thailand”.
“While the world struggles with Omicron, there is reason to believe by 2H2022 this too shall pass, and that Thailand is in pole position to move forward with its tested models,” he said.
Barnett projects faster recovery for resorts compared to hotels in urban destinations, as well as stronger return of bleisure trips and an increase in length of stays.
With travellers expected to spend a longer time in a particular destination, Cretallaz said demand for more affordable accommodation would spike. Supporting his projection, he shared that demand for economy and midscale hotels has bounced back very quickly.
Flight Centre Travel Group names first global sustainability officer
Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT), the parent company of FCM Travel has appointed Michelle Degenhardt as its global sustainability officer.
She is based in FLT’s global head office in Brisbane, Australia.
In the newly-created role, Degenhardt will work closely with teams from FLT and its corporate brands across all levels to help ensure the company’s business practices are economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.
Her job scope includes collaborating with FLT and its subsidiaries’ various stakeholders including senior leadership team, employees, leisure and corporate customers, suppliers and partners to further develop and oversee the execution of strategies to deliver on the organisation’s environmental, social and governance objectives.
Degenhardt has worked for FLT for 17 years and was formerly the company’s culture and employee engagement leader, a role that included oversight of the Flight Centre Foundation in Australia. During her career with FLT, she has been involved in a number of sustainability-related issues and areas, including the development of the company’s Responsible Travel charter and the creation of a head office recycling and waste reduction programme.
Via.com expands into Malaysia
India-based Ebixcash Travel Services’ online travel platform Via.com has expanded into Malaysia through the recent appointment of B2B wholesaler, Universal Holidays Travel and Tourism, as its general sales agent.
Universal will distribute airline inventory on the platform, making it easier for Malaysian travel agents to book directly from Via.com. Transactions will no longer have to go through agents in China and other parts of Asia.
Malaysia based agents can also pay in ringgit, allowing them to avoid international transaction charges.
Universal Holiday’s founder and CEO, Zahira Tahir, said her immediate plans were to create better awareness of Via.com’s B2B online travel booking platform solutions, which offer both low-cost carriers and full-fledged airline inventory, and are on a pay-per-transaction basis, even for non-IATA agents.
Roadshows and product presentations aimed at agents based in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching are scheduled to take place after the Chinese New Year season.
“I am also in the midst of hiring a dedicated sales team,” Zahira added.
Both Ebixcash Travel Services and Universal Holidays Travel and Tourism share a familiar business relationship, as the latter has been the former’s ground-handler for both leisure and business travel for many years, revealed Zahira.
Naveen Kundu, managing director, Ebixcash Travel Services, said: “We identified the potential Malaysia has to offer for online travel bookings and we believe the travel and tourism business is on the verge of coming back. The partnership will add to the organic growth of our travel business and further strengthen our business purpose which is empowering small- and medium-sized travel agents with technology and airline inventory.”
Accor to debut Fairmont brand in Vietnam
The Fairmont Hanoi will open in the Vietnamese capital come 2024, making it the first Fairmont brand in the country.
The 241-room luxury hotel will take design inspiration from the art of lacquer with the traditional colours of Vietnam, the Indochinese style from the French colonial period, and draws motifs from Vietnam’s dynasties.
Positioned as an urban resort, guests will be able to enjoy a wide range of offerings such as six dining and bar venues including a rooftop restaurant, as well as two indoor and outdoor swimming pools, an extensive gym, wellness spa and bathhouse. For corporate groups, the hotel will offer a 1,000m2 grand ballroom as well as nine meeting rooms, making it an outstanding destination for meetings, conferencing and events.
The hotel will sit close to governmental and business districts of the city.
Garth Simmons, CEO of Accor Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, said: “The signing of the first Fairmont city hotel in Vietnam is a significant step forward in Accor’s development within the country. Our ambition is to debut a greater collection of premium and luxury offerings to meet the rapidly growing demand for high-end hospitality in the market.”
NCL unveils exclusive trade portal in Asia
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has launched Norwegian Central Asia, a new portal to help travel partners in Asia learn about and market NCL holidays with ease.
Partners can access NCL’s travel agent training platform, NCL University (NCLU), on Norwegian Central Asia as well as unlock discounts of up to 30 per cent off their own NCL cruise as part of the reduced rate learning incentive programme, which awards the completion of different levels of NCLU course modules.
Also accessible via Norwegian Central Asia is NCL’s Marketing Headquarters, which allows agents to create their own NCL marketing materials from an extensive toolbox of flyers, banners, videos, pre-prepared social media posts and more.
In addition, the portal features up-to-the-minute NCL news via the Cruise Line’s new and exclusive Partners First Asia Facebook group as well as updates on upcoming webinars and events.
“This brand-new portal allows agents in Asia to capitalise on the upturn in international travel in 2022 with tools and resources developed specifically for them, all located conveniently in one place,” said Braydon Holland, NCL’s senior sales director, Asia.
Outrigger Surin Beach Resort offers longer-stay savings
The newly opened Outrigger Surin Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand is dangling a special accommodation offer, in support of the Phuket Sandbox initiative.
A super saver rate for a Surin Studio Room starts from 3,400 baht (US$103) per night, for stays of at least seven nights. The offer is valid from now until April 17, 2022.
The rate includes breakfast for two, return airport transfers, 1,500 baht in F&B credit per stay, 20 per cent off laundry, and flexible check-in/out.
To book the Outrigger Surin Beach Resort sandbox promotion, visit outrigger.com.
Supporting hands
Content push
Australia’s international borders have only just started to reopen in stages but its tourism body has been hard at work during the pandemic, with initiatives that inspire continued holiday dreams in the country.
Tourism Australia launched an immersive virtual travel activation called Live From Aus in May 2020, which saw some of Australia’s best tourism offerings streamed in real time to millions around the world, featuring Australian personalities, advocates and tourism operators.
The 48-hour event showcased something new every hour for an entire weekend while most of the world was locked down, far exceeding their initial exposure target across various channels to reach 34 million online views from 40 countries and multiplied tenfold the immediate number of searches for Australian holiday experiences on booking.com.
Tourism Australia next ran an Australia in 8D content initiative in October 2020 as an online series on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. The videos blended footage of Australian landscapes and moments using innovative 8D audio technology to create a 360-degree dreamlike soundscape of the country.
According to Tourism Australia, the campaign was watched by 74 millions viewers across Australia’s key markets including China, Singapore, Indonesia, the UK and the US.
In March 2021, Tourism Australia announced yet another content creation initiative, this time supporting tourism businesses directly through a programme to help them stand out more in online search results by assisting with improved market collateral for their attractions, including video.
More than 50 operators have been featured so far in the National Experience Content Initiative, a plan that aims to provide new visual assets for up to 1,800 tourism experiences from 57 regions. Each operator receives 40 still images, a 60-second edited video and 10 minutes of B-roll footage.
It is also expected that Tourism Australia will have a role in the National Indigenous Tourism Mentoring Program, which the government opened for tender in October 2021. It aims to provide one-on-one support to indigenous tourism business owners by building business skills and developing new products to attract visitors as the industry begins to recover. – Adelaine Ng
Be at home
Recognising the significance of domestic tourism in a post-pandemic travel era, India’s ministry of tourism and its field offices launched the Dekho Apna Desh campaign, which translates to “explore your country”. The initiative sees the ministry promoting domestic destinations and developing skills of local tourism and hospitality stakeholders.
An extension of this strategy, the tourism board introduced Incredible India Mega Homestay Development & Training Workshops to sharpen hospitality understanding among homestay owners across the country so as to ensure a better guest experience. Kochi and Darjeeling were among the destinations to benefit from these workshops. Organised with Eastern Himalayas Travel & Tour Operator Association as a resource partner, the three-day-long workshop in Darjeeling was attended by some 725 homestay owners from Darjeeling, Kalimpong and the foothills of Dooars.
The Incredible India Mega Homestay Development & Training Workshops also sought to raise awareness of lesser-known regions like Eastern Himalayas and Dooars among domestic and inbound tourists. Such efforts not only pave the way for future tourism development, they also contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of India’s ministry of tourism and the UNWTO.
The focus on homestays coincides with the ministry’s intention to promote astro tourism. Trained on basic astronomy and telescope operation, homestay owners – mostly women – conduct night-sky gazing sessions for guests. This creates a new revenue channel for the locals, encourages entrepreneurship, reduces migration of community youths, and preserves Himalayan heritage. – Rohit Kaul
Local support
With international borders snapped shut, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) shifted its gears to the domestic market and launched its first domestic tourism campaign, Holiday at Home, in 2020.
The campaign, which is on-going, calls on Hong Kong residents to play tourists and rediscover the tourism appeal of their home city. Through six themes – Scenic Harbour, Lively Culture, Wellness Retreat, Endless Entertainment, Gastro-fantasies and Shopping Fiesta – and itineraries covering 120 points of interests, the campaign also drives much-needed income to local merchants. The platform functions as a collective marketing channel for local businesses to promote their products and offers.
Holiday at Home offers invaluable support for merchants at a time when business is decimated and marketing budgets are no more.
In October 2020, HKTB boosted efforts with three rounds of spend-to-redeem programmes, which incentivised consumers to head out and spend with local merchants. Discounts on hotel staycations and free city tours were up for grabs with every HK$800 (US$102) in expenditure at participating physical retail or dining outlets.
The spend-to-redeem programmes were a big hit, with redemptions claimed very swiftly. HKTB likened the programmes to “a stone that kills many birds”, as they satiated residents’ desire for travel and hospitality experiences, drove patronage to retail and dining sectors, supported local tourism sectors, and uncovered new tourism assets for development.
Besides raking in HK$40 million in local tourism spend, the spend-to-redeem free tours created jobs for more than 45 travel agencies that have been strickened by a lack of business since the pandemic hit. The programme’s staycation redemptions also facilitated some 20,000 room occupancies and resulted in HK$25 million worth of sales for 140 participating hotels. – Prudence Lui
People power
Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has chosen to harness the power of travel and tourism professionals whose jobs have been affected by the global travel freeze, leveraging their hospitality expertise to create improved traveller experiences while providing relief to unemployment woes.
MGTO’s many Tourist Information counters established across the destination sought the employment of displaced tour guides.
Its new Incubation Plan for Macao’s KOL in Tourism, coordinated with the help of the Macau Live Streaming Association, also prioritised placements for tourism industry professionals, especially tour guides. The training programme encourages Macau residents to promote the destination through their social networks, and courses acquaint participants with content planning and creation, short video production, social media familiarity, and more.
The programme helped tourism industry professionals to combine their understanding of Macau’s best experiences with newfound creative production skills for the greater good of destination promotion.
Among the 35 trainees that completed the programme, 13 were tour guides. Four tour guides also stood out in their video entries and analysis of platform data, attaining honorary certificates for Outstanding Content Creators on Tourism. – Prudence Lui
Mind matters
Safeguarding mental health has become a priority for Philippine travel and tourism stakeholders who are more susceptible to depression, stress, and anxiety brought about by the consequences of the prolonged lockdown.
The extent of their suffering is gleaned from Nikkei Asia’s Covid-19 Recovery Index (as of September 30, 2021), which ranks the Philippines as the worst among 121 countries in responding to the pandemic. Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Resilience Ranking classifies the Philippines as the worst place to be among 53 countries in containing the pandemic.
Addressing mental health concerns, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) and stakeholders’ online meeting every Wednesday has evolved “into a period for retooling and relearning,” pep talks and motivational talks, said chief operating officer Anthonette Velasco-Allones.
The simple act of guesting clinical psychologist Joanna Herrera, who discussed mental health and mindfulness during one of the meetings, inspired and “(kept) hope alive in the hearts of our stakeholders, including tour operators and travel agents”.
In the predominantly Catholic country where people find solace in spirituality, TPB’s wellness and work-life integration programme for its staff has online fellowship “to keep the team connected” that includes a virtual holy Mass every first Friday of the month and bible studies, Velasco-Allones said.
A Think Talk initiative was also rolled out, offering refresher courses on writing, productivity, powerpoint presentation, Zoom set up, and work-from-home set up. A recent course featured a mindfulness session led by a yogi.
It is understood that the Department of Tourism (DoT) will be adopting most of the mental health safeguards being practised by TPB.
Besides the mental well-being focus, both the DoT and TPB have been using the past two years of travel downtime to improve the employability of the local travel and tourism community.
A five-year industry manpower development plan (2021-2025) was launched in June 2021 to retool, reskill and upskill the tourism workforce, which ensures a steady supply of trained manpower and addresses the challenges facing human capital development in the industry.
Various online and hybrid seminars have been held, including two editions of Tourism and Technology Forum in 2021, to empower, educate and improve the skills of Philippine tourism stakeholders.
Furthermore, several virtual job fairs were held in 2021 to help displaced tourism workers regain their livelihood and resume their career growth. – Rosa Ocampo
Business smarts
When it comes to supporting the local tourism sector through the pandemic, Singapore Tourism Board (STB)’s initiatives go far beyond financial support measures.
STB has worked with government agencies to roll out targeted initiatives to help tourism businesses tide through this challenging period.
With the aim of equipping tourism businesses and workers with new capabilities to prepare for the road ahead, and guide them in exploring various business models, STB has accelerated the pace of innovation and transformation, especially in manpower-dependent industries such as hospitality.
In partnership with the National Trades Union Congress and tourism associations, STB developed the Tourism Sector Capability Development Roadmap, which sets out longer-term plans to help local tourism businesses transform to meet the demands of post-Covid consumers.
Amid the pandemic, STB has also powered through with its Singapore Tourism Accelerator programme, which was launched in October 2019, and has since been extended until 2023.
The Accelerator acts as a platform for global tech companies to collaborate with tourism businesses in Singapore, driving innovation and future-proofing the tourism industry. Across its four cohorts, the programme has supported 34 tech companies to develop 45 industry solutions.
“In a Covid-resilient Singapore, our tourism businesses need technological innovations that reduce the friction of travelling to and around our city,” said Ong Huey Hong, executive director, industry technology transformation, STB.
Through the Accelerator programme, STB has supported various start-ups in the following areas: creating contactless transactions and experiences to boost consumer confidence, enhancing visitor experience with digital tools, real-time monitoring of tourism establishments to improve crowd management, and tapping technology to raise cleanliness and hygiene standards.
In addition, industry partners are also working with Accelerator start-ups to build their data management and analytics capabilities as well as technology capabilities to improve processes and reimagine product offerings to increase revenue opportunities.
To speed up the use of augmented reality experiences from pre- to post-trip, STB is developing a library of up to 1,000 3D assets over the next three to four years to supplement the current lack of such content in the market, and will make these assets available via the Tourism Information and Services Hub without additional charge, shared Ong.
As well, STB launched the Tour Experience Innovation Lab (TEIL) in March 2021 to encourage travel agents and tour operators to reimagine tour experiences in Singapore and provide more compelling and attractive offerings.
Under TEIL, STB works closely with travel agents and tour operators to provide mentorship and consultancy support, drive partnerships, support product development, and facilitate relevant regulatory approvals – to address gaps in Singapore’s tour landscape, while developing future-ready tours that can continue to draw both local and international visitors. – Cheryl Ong
Indonesia’s tourism ministry, government agencies and private sector players are working together to resolve a potential accommodation crunch during MotoGP Indonesia in Mandalika, Lombok from March 18 to 20.
The race is expected to attract some 100,000 domestic and international spectators, but Lombok has only 23,000 rooms as of December 2021.
Sandiaga Uno, minister of tourism and creative economy, said various types of accommodation will be prepared to overcome the shortage. Options include 300 units of homestays developed by the Ministry of Public Work and Housing, lodgings in tourism villages across the island, 100 camps prepared by Eiger and the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation, as well as 100 to 200 cabins offered by accommodation startup Bobobox for up to 400 guests.
Indonesia National Shipping as well as phinisi cruise operators will also step in with floating accommodation.
Sandiaga said Bali could help with Lombok’s excess accommodation needs, and work is underway to provide shuttle flights between Lombok and Bali. Tickets will be bundled with accommodation.
However, Ndang Mawardi, CEO of Inspiro Group, which promotes music, entertainment and sports events, told TTG Asia that sports spectators are typically not picky about accommodation.
He said: “Star-rated hotels are not a priority for sport tourists. They will feel comfortable staying in an RV (recreational vehicle) or on camping grounds as long as there are restaurants or a food court, a place where they can cook their own meals, as well as clean showers and toilets.”
He emphasised that convenient access to the race is more crucial, therefore the option of staying in Bali and commuting daily to Lombok is not ideal.
“Taking commercial flights back and forth for two days will be costly and tiring (for the sport tourists)”, said Ndang, adding that those who could afford helicopter commute would find it more convenient.
Ndang also urged the organising committee to ensure sufficient dining venues for sports tourists. Food trucks could be brought to Mandalika to supplement restaurants in the destination. Non-halal dining zones should also be set aside for travellers to enjoy alcoholic drinks, he suggested.
Finally, transportation services must be able to cater to sports tourists who will need to travel from venue to various entertainment locations after races. – Additional reporting by Tiara Maharani Kusuma