Vol XIII
Issue VIII
Pages 48
June 2016
Rs 60
CHENNAI BANGALORE
29,30, 31 JULY 2016 5, 6, 7 AUGUST 2016
MUMBAI GURGAON
23, 24, 25 SEPTEMBER 2016 30 SEP 1, 2 OCTOBER 2016
PUNE HYDERABAD
25, 26, 27 NOVEMBER 2016 2, 3, 4 DECEMBER 2016
KOCHI KOLKATA
12, 13, 14 JANUARY 2017 24, 25, 26 FEBRUARY 2017
Food & Beverage goes niche.. goes global! Enhancing guest loyalty and more... Also featuring...
Inventory trends in hospitality industry..aiming for a full house!
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he ICRA Limited recently shared its estimates on the growth of Average Room Rates (ARRs) to touch 2%-3% and of occupancies at 3% - 4% for the FY2017. When there is an oversupply of rooms, customers will be exposed to more choices of hotels to suit their budget; then the next logical question is about the pressure wielded on the ARRs which is expected to fall in order to sustain and boost guest traffic to the hotels. A number of distribution channels, OTAs and applications have now plugged in to the scene to help hotels sell empty rooms whilst aiming to capture market share. In this issue, we have interviewed hotel industry players including those engaging in inventory distribution as well as apps that specifically keep a tab on a guest’s check-in and check-out duration. We have also looked at the latest food and beverage trends in the hospitality industry and players in the OTA segment. Happy Reading... Warm Regards
PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in
Managing Editor
Associate Editor
Chief Designer
Web Developer
Advertising & Marketing
Operations Executive
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EDIT
ORIA
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Priyamvadha Balaram priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in
Shyam Vishnot shyam@voyagersworld.in
06 16
Industry Buzz
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Cover Story Latest F&B trends in the hotel industry
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India Outbound Interviews with tourism boards and trends
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Online Travel
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MICE Point New trends on the global MICE front
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Industry Buzz
6>> NYC & Company re-launches website
Indians set new visitor record in Britain for 2015
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YC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization, today announced the organization’s visual rebrand, including the launch of the newly rebuilt and reimagined NYCgo.com—the trusted, authentic and centralized five-borough tourism resource. New elements of NYC & Company’s brand overhaul include two custom typefaces, more than 250 custom icons and a custom color palette, all inspired by New York City’s vibrancy, energy, diversity and legacy. New capabilities and features include · Mobile-first and responsive design to optimize user experiences across devices · Increased video presence with more than 200 videos, high-impact visuals, real-time responsiveness to trending topics · Integrated and contextual mapping and a flexible platform to serve multiple audiences · The ability to surface member, partner and user-generated content
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ith an increase of 8% of Indian travellers to Britain, India set a new visitor record in 2015. As per the International Passenger Survey from the Office of National Statistics UK figures, the travellers increased from 3,90,000 to 4,22,000. With this, India retained its position as Britain’s No. 1 BRIC market, in terms of visitor volume and among the 20 top source markets for Britain globally. VisitBritain Director Asia Pacific, Mid East & Africa, Sumathi Ramanathan said, “India is the top BRIC market for Britain in terms of volume and the year-onyear robust visit figures ensure our way to achieve our 2020 target of 500,000 visits. Our focused strategy for the India market featuring the Bollywood Britain campaign, combined with our trade engagement, targeted consumer engagements and tactical offers with tourism partners will be crucial for us to deliver our tourism targets in 20162017.”
Lords Hotels & Resorts opens in Agra
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ords Hotels and Resorts launched its latest property in Agra – Hotel PL Palace, in the heart of the city. Located in close proximity to the Taj Mahal and segmented under its brand ‘Lords Inn’, the hotel has 56 rooms with all facilities, an in-house coffee shop, a specialty restaurant and bar, health and fitness club, spa and a roof-top pool.
IHG opens first Crowne Plaza hotel in Pune
I Oman eyes at becoming global MICE destination
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o develop Oman as a destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), Ministry of Tourism, Oman has planned to establish ‘Oman Convention Bureau’ with almost 1000 rooms and four hotels. The objective of the Bureau is to support the international and local organizations in hosting their events and cater to their requirements. The main aim is to promote Oman as an ideal destination for the MICE tourism sector.
nterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced the opening of the first Crowne Plaza in Pune - Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre. The 173-room hotel will operate under a management agreement with The Advantage Raheja Group and has been rebranded from an existing property. Designed to truly make business travel work, the hotel will undergo an extensive refurbishment to upgrade guest rooms, public areas, restaurants and meeting space. Commencing June 2016, the refurbishment is anticipated to be complete early 2017 and the hotel will remain fully operational during this time.
Geneva Tourism unveils 'Forever Young' to woo seniors
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eneva Tourism launches ‘Forever Young’, a campaign aimed at senior customers over 55 years of age. The offer could be availed through ‘Easy Pass’, costing 29 CHF with a validity of two days, which gives visitors convenient and flexible access to a range of activities on offer at the destination such as a guided tour by mini-train, entry to museums and a cruise, as well as a free walking tour of the Old Town led by a professional guide. “’Forever Young’ is an initiative that forms part of our strategy of boosting weekend leisure activity - a sector with high growth potential,” said Vincent Dubi, Marketing Director of Geneva Tourism. “Geneva offers a wide array of activities that cater to senior adults. Our aim is to promote the region and get the message out there.”
Scoot takes off to India
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coot launched its services from Singapore to Amritsar and Chennai from 24 May with its Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It took over the SingaporeChennai daily service from Tigerair and will start service to Amritsar thrice a week and increase the frequency with an extra Monday service from July, restarting Singapore-Amritsar route for the SIA Group. It will also start Singapore-Jaipur services four times weekly from October. As per the schedule, flight TZ 502 would depart at 2245 hrs and arrive in Chennai at 0010 hrs and would leave Chennai at 0120 hrs and arrive in Singapore at 0830 hrs. From Singapore, flight TZ 508 will depart at 1000 hrs and arrive in Amritsar at 1255 hrs and depart from Amristar at 1410 hrs and arrive in Singapore at 2215 hrs.
Voyager’s World > June 2016
Industry Buzz
8>> Treebo Hotels launches first-ever standalone tablet app for hotels
OM Tourism to represent PROMPERÚ' in India
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ROMPERÚ- Peru Export and Tourism Promotion Board appointed OM Tourism as their PR representative in India. Sanjay Sondhi, CEO, OM Tourism, said, “Peru is a land of fascinating contrasts of beautiful landscapes of desert dunes, snow capped mountains, wildlife, beaches offering thrilling outdoor adventure, Pre-Columbian heritage to vibrant traditional festivals. The discerning Indian travellers looking for luxury experience can also explore and indulge in its rich gastronomy, rejuvenating spas and river cruises. As a result of its rich history, Peru today is packed with archaeological remains and colonial architecture.
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reebo Group of Hotels launched a tablet-based property management system for their hotel partners. Called ‘Bumblebee’ the app will be used by property managers to manage all tasks related to hotel operations, including check-ins, check-outs, new reservations, room assignments, payments, fulfilling guest preferences, billing for F&B and laundry, among others. This app helps them crash their check-in times, for example, to less than 3 minutes, when in traditional set-ups it would take 15-20 minutes. Besides, it also helps keep the hotel data safer as the system can be accessed from hotel premises only.
TFS brings services to railways
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ravel Food Services (TFS) extended its expertise in the railway segment; it recently bought F&B in Vizag Railway station. A mix of global and national brands is coming together with local and proprietary brands to give options for all passengers. Brands include Dominos, MM Maroosh, Curry Kitchen and local food from North India. For the first time in India, a new menu with continental dishes like chicken sausages, Spanish omelette, date and walnut cake and Indian dishes like wheat upma, kanjeevaram idli, and fresh cut fruits are served.
Indian arrivals to Philippines up by 23.7%
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ith 22,121 Indians visiting the Philippines between January and March 2016, the country recorded an increase of 23.7% in Indian tourist arrivals. The Department of Tourism (DoT) Philippines informed that there were 6,943 visitor arrivals during March 2016, thereby increasing the growth rate to 8.23% over March 2015. 2016 is another banner year as the Department of Tourism just launched the Visit the Philippines Again (VPA) 2016 campaign.
Emirates to offer Iftar service for Ramadan
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mirates is offering Iftar service for passengers travelling during the month of Ramadan; effective 6 June 2016. The special boxes have been re-designed and will be available across all cabin classes on selected flights including those to and from the Gulf region as well as Umrah groups travelling to Jeddah and Medina. A snack box will be provided at boarding gates allowing customers to break their fast prior to boarding or while boarding. The snack boxes will feature pastries like cheese fatayer and Arabic sweets like baklava and will be served for flights departing close to Iftar at Emirates’ hub in Dubai International Airport Terminal 3. The menu has a Middle Eastern flavor and will be refreshed mid-Ramadan.
Voyager’s World > June 2016
Andhra Pradesh launches water sports in Vijayawada
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n line with the surge in tourist interest in water sport activities, the state has already introduced a plethora of such facilitates for example parasailing, jeep parasailing, para-motoring, water skiing, speed boat etc. in Bhavani Islands in Vijayawada. Work is also well underway to replicate the same across other key beaches such as Rishikonda, Bheemili, Mangamaripeta, Thotlakonda, among others.
Cruise Club represent Oceania, Regent Seven Cruises in India
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orwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) appointed Cruise Club (Cruiseclub Vacations Pvt Ltd) as preferred sales agent for Oceania and Regent Seven Seas Cruises in India. Steve Odell, Senior Vice President and MD Asia Pacific for NCLH said, “India is a significant growth market for the cruise industry and we are delighted to partner with an agent offering extensive insight into the local market.” Tarique Hussain, Co-founder, Cruise Club, added, “Oceania Cruises set the benchmark in upper-premium cruising, and is an excellent choice for those seeking an upscale cruising experience.”
In the popular tourist destination of Papikondalu in Rajahmundry, blessed with scenic splendor, two houseboats have been launched with one and three bedroom capacities respectively. These boats are fitted with best-in-class amenities to suit the tourists.
IATA reappoints Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal to Board of Governors
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et Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal was re-elected to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Board of Governors for a fifth successive tenure. The reappointment follows IATA’s 72nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dublin, Ireland. As a member of the Board of Governors, Mr. Goyal will participate in providing policy directives and guidance to IATA Industry Committees and to their subsidiary bodies. Mr. Goyal will serve a three-year term, lasting until the close of IATA’s 75th AGM in 2019.
Travel Technology
9>>
Defining the future of travel through intelligence VW BUREAU
T
echnology and big data are rapidly changing the travel experience. Travel is no longer about simply moving between locations or organising trips.
data into meaningful information to facilitate strategic, tactical and operational decisions. As the travel industry has grown and deals with more complex data, the challenge of making sense of data has grown
exponentially; new technologies and the abundance of digital data offer exciting opportunities for those who want to take either an incremental or radical approach to Travel Intelligence. Amadeus Travel
Intelligence helps our customers leverage advances in technology and analytics in order to transform the increasing amount of raw travel data into actionable insights and stand out from the competition.
Every step in a traveller’s journey – from searching for a timetable or checking in to a hotel – creates data. This data, if picked up from hundreds of points across the travel network, presents a valuable opportunity for travel companies to transform it into meaningful information to facilitate strategic, tactical and operational decisions, ultimately to the benefit of the traveller. Defining the future of travel through intelligence, a new discussion paper from Amadeus Travel Intelligence, outlines how data analytics can be used to develop innovative products, services, and processes that better meet the needs of their customers. It explains that travel companies must be open to experimentation, new ideas and new approaches.
Lazy travel agents are generous. They give away their customers to OTA.
The paper includes case studies of how Qantas and Avianca Brasil are using data analytics supported by Amadeus Travel Intelligence to optimise operations and become more customer-centric: Qantas reduced the number of flights that would have been reported as late by 60% using Amadeus Schedule Recovery, while Avianca Brasil has been able to centralise information and make better informed business decisions.
Travel Intelligence refers to nextgeneration business intelligence solutions and services, designed primarily for the travel industry. Such solutions transform raw travel
While the travel agent is doing the hard work, the OTAs are controlling the destiny. By working on fixed commissions, travel agents lose the ability to earn as per market dynamics. Worst, they expose their customers to OTAs. Moving forward, what would stop the big boys to gobble up the pie? Simply put, travel agents should use their expertise to build their own brand. Not somebody else’s. Reason why you should call roomsXML - the accommodation specialist exclusively for the travel trade, dedicated to help travel agents chart their own identity. And make them more profitable.
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Travel Trends
10>>
multi-generational travellers turn into trend setters Youngsters, LGBT, food lovers, bloggers and travel buffs alike are constantly looking for new ways to define their travel experiences. Here is a look at the latest trends in the hotel and travel industry. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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he hospitality industry is constantly on its toes to upgrade itself and its products and services to sustain itself amidst the evergrowing competition. Here is a look at the trends in the hospitality and travel industry. The USGBC released its LEED in Motion: Hospitality report, which showcases tremendous industry growth in green building and defines the scale-up opportunities for the hospitality sector. Nearly 134 million square feet of hotel space is currently LEED-certified, and the report highlights some of the most impressive LEED-certified hotels throughout the world.
“
Across industries we are seeing an increase in consumer demand toward sustainability practices, and no industry is better poised to meet these demands than hospitality. This growing sector is rapidly adopting green buildings because owners and developers want to enhance
their triple bottom line—people, planet and profit,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “LEED is a transformative tool that positively impacts the quality of our built space by creating a healthier, more sustainable environment that saves money and resources.” Hotels consume natural resources at an extraordinarily high rate, as they are occupied 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With more than five billion square feet of space in the United States alone, there is an enormous opportunity for the industry to transform the impact of the built environment. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the world’s most widely used green building rating program, has a growing presence in the hospitality industry—and the number of LEEDcertified buildings is expected to continue at a strong pace. Currently, there are more than 2,070 hotels participating in LEED, representing
1.1 billion square feet. Of that, there are nearly 400 LEED-certified hotels comprising nearly 134 million square feet of space. According to a recent study by McGraw Hill Construction, green construction in the hospitality sector has increased by 50 percent from 2011-2013 and now represents 25 percent of all new construction in the sector today. USGBC’s recent Green Building Economic Impact Study also found that across industries, green construction is outpacing that of traditional construction and is poised to create more than 3.3 million U.S. jobs and $190.3 billion in labor earnings by 2018. The LEED in Motion: Hospitality report highlights how LEED practices and strategies are flexible, easy to implement, generate impressive results and can be integrated into the hospitality industry throughout the building’s life cycle, leading to high-performance in human and
environmental health. Incorporating LEED includes sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Some other trends in the travel industry that one can look forward to are given below Millennials will become the core customer within the hospitality and travel industries over the next five to ten years. The majority of airlines, hotels and travel companies will benefit from this sector as they enter into their peak earning, spending and travel years. Within this group of GenY travelers, there are many different markets considering the fact that exploration, interaction and experience are the major focus of Millennials. Willing to pay more for a greater experience, “foodies” are a prevalent subset of this market; looking for an overall gourmet experience for a reasonable price will cause the industry to revamp their lobby bars, restaurants and
Travel Trends
food service. Internet bloggers, culture buffs, LGBT and Multigenerational travelers all looking for a unique, novel experience will command change within the market. Speed and precision will be a requirement when it comes to accommodating Millennials in upcoming years according to Hotels. com’s latest Hotel Price Index report. Fast booking, fast checkin, fast WiFi and fast responses to customer service needs will need to be implemented within hotels. Considering Millennials have no problems speaking up, if what they are seeking is not quick enough, they will turn to Twitter, Facebook, Yelp or TripAdvisor to voice their complaints. WOW customer service will become even more influential this year. Service today consists of four levels: basic, expected, desired and WOW. Basic service can be found at the post office whereas expected service can be found at most fast food restaurants and many businesses. Desired service is often found at good hotels and restaurants but WOW Service is the only way to ensure repeat business. By creating an impressive, unique guest experience that exceeds
Voyager’s World > June 2016
12>>
all expectations, you are able to capture the customer. Leadership is modeling the way and showing your management team how critical it is to “walk the talk.” Each and every employee, including myself, all have something we can work on. Forming a connection with guests can improve dramatically with genuine, individual interaction. It is my goal as a leader to instill the value of building relationships by sharing the knowledge I have and learning from them as well. For instance, I run with our guests staying at the Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites San Diego/ Del Mar and offer personal training sessions for others. Expectation of more international visitors. Average rates and occupancy levels in the U.S. are likely to increase over the next few years, influenced by a very new market. “Leisure demand from abroad, fueled in part by the new Discover America campaign, will stimulate a new demand” according to Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott Hotels & Resorts. China is preparing to send about 100 million leisure tourists into the international market every year. If the U.S. gets its typical share,
that will mean an additional 10 million visitors from China alone. Considering the average Chinese traveler spends a week in the U.S., demand is created for an additional 70 million room nights in a market where prices are steadily rising. The globalization of travel will prove to be a massive force. Social media and mobile will be inseparable. Social media and mobile already live in symbiosis and we will only continue to see them merge over the course of this year. Mobile activity has allowed social media to live in real time by allowing users to create updates, tag friends and check in on their mobile devices. Smartphones represent 50 percent of new mobile devices being purchased and the growth of connected devices will only continue to rise. Ericsson estimates that there will be over 50 billion connected devices in circulation by 2020, including laptops, tablets and smartphones. In North America, 2014 will mark the first year that online access is greater from mobile devices than a desktop or laptop. Keeping an eye out for authentic ways to make use of emerging social/mobile applications will be of great value to those in hotel marketing.
Content marketing will replace traditional advertising. Traditional advertising is rapidly losing value as hotel marketing professionals begin to take advantage of effective content marketing. Marketing’s new mantra, “Brands must now act as publishers,” has come about due to social media and its potential to engage in meaningful conversations with loyal fans and clients alike. You will be able to drastically reduce investments in traditional paid media by implementing media tools such as blogs, social media, newsletters, webinars, eBooks, photo or video sharing and shared media. If brands begin to “opt out” of being a producer, SEO efforts will be affected. Google is now weighing current content, social proof and author scores in their results ranking. Simply put, you need to create and share content while engaging people if you want to be recognized moving forward. Renewed focus on property websites. Finding ways of encouraging direct bookings will be one of the most important parts of a marketing director’s job in 2014. Considering travelers are increasingly taking their transactions online, the hotel’s own website needs to become the most important avenue for bookings
Travel Trends
13>> to gain the highest ROI. After American hotels spent an estimated $2.7 billion on OTA commissions, the rates rose and restrictions tightened. Hotels are looking at any and all ways to increase direct bookings in 2014. This means that hotel websites will need to create incentives through booking with them directly rather than via the OTAs. Fresh content, consistent updates of promotions and rich media will draw in the guests. Review site tactics. According to The Wall Street Journal, Yelp reports 50 million users across its web and mobile platforms. TripAdvisor has become the world’s most popular travel website with 34 million unique users each month. Google Places is the Yellow Pages of the digital age meaning that business listings also show up on iPhone searches as well as on Google Maps. In 2014 there is a need to: a. Monitor Yelp, TripAdvisor and Google Places reviews and alert management of any low reviews twice a week b. Comment on glowing reviews to thank them c. Comment on low reviews and
how the property intends to handle future situations d. Feature Yelp deals Reputation Management. There is much anticipation that reputation management will begin to dictate the hotel industry in upcoming years. Considering there are millions of reviews written each day across a plethora of different platforms, the world wide web has the power of influencing one’s decision making process; being able to manage your businesses reputation will determine success or failure. TrustYou had made it their mission to influence travel decisions in a positive way, developing a technology and software making it simple to monitor, manage and market a businesses reputation. Another company, Flip.to, has been making strides to tap into the market of potential travelers’ family and friends considering 70% of customers take recommendations from their family or friends when choosing a product, brand or business. BYOD is Becoming BYOC (Bring Your Own Content): 99% of guests travel with at least one device. Of
those, 45% travel with 2 devices and 40% travel with 3 or more. Guests carrying their own devices have implications for more than just bandwidth; guest devices are home to a lot of rich content, namely entertainment (movies, music, games, etc.). Syncing services like Shodogg and Roomlinx, which allow guests to attach their devices to the television, are expected to be successful services for 2014. Guests Prefer Automated Services: When offered, over 85% of guests use online service requests for room service to housekeeping. When polled, 91% of guests said they checked in or would check in using an automated kiosk. These services are no longer peripheral offerings, but expected services. These statistics indicate more universal adoption of automation across most guest services. The Lobby as the Social and Technology Epicenter: Communal tables, outlets, and charging stations are encouraging more than just transactional traffic in hotel lobby spaces. More and more guests are seeing lobbies as a way to get work done while enjoying the atmosphere
and networking opportunities. More Investment in Guests and “Free” Wi-Fi: 87% of guests polled think that Wi-Fi should be a free amenity. As posted in our previous article, this movement toward Wi-Fi as a commodity has moved highend hotels like Public Chicago and Viceroy New York to offer Internet access in exchange for email addresses. Most guests also agree that tiered bandwidth plans are more than fair. Remote Office and Meeting Spaces: As workplaces have transformed with technology, so have hotel meeting spaces. Programs like Workspace on Demand and Liquidspace, along with better meeting space design, have enabled more productive use of hotel meeting and convention spaces. With increasingly more available technology, expect this trend to continue with even more redesigns and technology at our fingertips. Service and Social Integration: Social technology continues to be woven into guest engagement and service.
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Hospitality
14>>
hotelquickly seeks to bring up occupancy, push revenue per room HotelQuickly App helps hotels fill rooms that are unsold in Asia-Pacific. Christian Mischler, Co-Founder, COO & CMO, HotelQuickly talks about how the app works. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
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he HotelQuickly App was launched in 2013 to meet the needs of travellers for making last minute bookings simple. The founders of the app, while travelling on business throughout Asia,
realized the need to come up with an app to make booking stressfree. “Our team of talent has come together from all over the world to change the way people travel and build the best spontaneous booking tool out there. We have offices around the region with headquarters in Hong Kong and Bangkok,” said Christian Mischler, Co-founder, COO & CMO of HotelQuickly.
Christian says that booking via HotelQuickly is very quick and easy. “It takes a mere 15-20 seconds to complete a booking and can be done up until 4am the next morning for the same night. We have designed the app from ground up with the mobile traveller in mind, adding features to the app that make the user experience superior to other booking platforms out there.”
The app offers better rates than any OTA as it is into last minute bookings only; the rates on HotelQuickly are on an average around 20% lower than what one would pay for the same room if one booked in advance.
HotelQuickly gets your offers in front of the people who want them most. It connects travelers with hotels in a win-win situation that benefits both. Hotels tap into a niche market of last-minute bookers. Hotels post deals with no rate parity to a closed user group and travellers enjoy discounted rates.
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Voyager’s World > June 2016
Category of hotels HotelQuickly tends to work mostly with 3-5 star hotels; however, it does make some exceptions in markets where there is big demand for hotels outside these categories, given the ratings and reviews are immaculate and the property meets its strict criteria in terms of quality of facilities, location, service and others. Growth “We are growing quickly on all fronts since our launch in 2013 in six countries. Now we are present in 16 countries. We have acquired Japanese ‘Tonight’ in February, which opened that new market to existing HotelQuickly users and allows users of ‘Tonight’ to enjoy the destinations available on HotelQuickly. We now work with over 15,000 hotels throughout AsiaPacific and we are getting more and more requests from hotels and chains to become part of our app to fill their empty rooms. It is great to see that we manage to help our partner hotels get a competitive edge and perform better.” The app has a referral program to help drive growth wherein members can enjoy deals and invite others to make use of the app as well. The referral program actually lets
members credits.
accumulate
unlimited
“Every day we have around a hundred people staying at hotels completely for free, as they have invited enough friends to use HotelQuickly as well. Some influential bloggers have acquired credits in the 10s of thousands of USD by actively sharing their invite codes and literally stay in the most lavish five star hotels every weekend for free. Apart from our referral program, we also closed many powerful partnerships with banks, airlines and other transportation companies as well as e-commerce companies throughout the region.” Customers using this service The app has a lot of young professionals, entrepreneurs, techsavvy people at how many hotels still try to make money from their Wi-Fi access instead of using it as a competitive advantage or minimal service quality by providing it for free. HotelQuickly is trying to sort this out on behalf of its 2.5 million members who expect better than the current industry average from its partner hotels. Expansion and future On a rapid expansion mode regionally, HotelQuickly has already got quite a number of Indian users who travel to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and hence, plans to facilitate bookings in the future. With millions of unoccupied rooms in Asia-Pacific alone on each night, HotelQuickly aims to help hotels fill rooms that would otherwise go unsold. “We get discounts from hotels to convince our users not to take that expensive taxi ride home, stay at a friend’s place, or fly out with the last flight in the evening, but rather take some proper rest and make a spontaneous booking with our app. We are not cannibalizing the traditional channels of our hotel partners, but add an extra distribution channel to bring up occupancy and increase the revenues per available room,” concluded Christian.
Hospitality
15>>
keep a ‘check’ on your hotel stay time with 6hourly.com Raman N S, Founder & CEO, 6hourly.com says, talks about the online booking platform that lets one monitor check-in and check-out time in hotels. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN tuned based on customer reviews. There are a number of guests looking for short stay offers and so, 6hourly.com targets same day return passengers, transit passengers, those travelling to attend concerts, trade fairs, sports events, etc.
6
houly.com lets one decide what time one checks in and out of a hotel and for how many hours with packs ranging from 6 to 24+ hours. “6hourly.com has been in its Beta version for about six months and will soon come out of the Beta version,” says Raman N S, its Founder & CEO. The platform’s entire booking experience is presently being fine
Estimating the number of passengers travelling daily by air in India at 250,000, 6hourly.com reckons that some 20,000+ passengers out of that return to their home town the same day. “They need a place to stay for a few hours in the places of their visit. Similarly about 14.5+ million passengers travel by train and other modes of transportation every day in India. Roughly 0.5% or about 70,000+ passengers are looking for a short stay. Most of our partner hotels offer up to 70% discounts
on their room rates.” The 6hourly. com concept is a great boon to the hoteliers who will be able to improve their Average Daily Rates (ADR) and RevPAR instantly. “Our users are happy to get the best hotels in their city at a substantially lower rate. The hoteliers are happy to increase room occupancy in multiple ways thereby increasing their ADR and RevPAR.” Locations and inventory 6hourly.com is present across 19 cities in India and is in the process of adding more very soon. It currently has over 4000 rooms inventory in its portal and expects to scale quickly as many hotels are evaluating the concept. Marketing plans 6hourly.com follows
new
age
marketing and promotional ideas to reach customers and it also intends to have campaigns and contests on social media soon so as to let its users try the concept personally. It also plans to put up offers on its website and mobile app. “Our initial response was slow as we were largely promoted via word-of-mouth, but now we are witnessing over 200% growth on a month-on-month basis and expect it to gain more traction as we expand our hotel base.” Going global As the concept of 6hourly.com is global, Raman reveals that plans are on for rolling out internationally. “We are boot-strapped now and are keen to associate with reputed venture capitalists to raise funds for our growth and expansion,” he signs off.
Average Room Rate traction returns in select cities: ICRA Average Room Rate traction returns in select cities; growth outlook for the Hotel Industry remains at 8-10% for FY2017: ICRA VW BUREAU
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CRA estimates growth in Average Room Rates (ARR) to be back at 2%-3% - this coupled with 3%-4% growth in occupancies will result in 6%-7% improvement in revenue per available room (RevPAR) during FY2017. ICRA maintains its growth outlook for the industry at 8-10% during FY2017, with domestic demand-led occupancy growth, and some increase in rates in key markets of Mumbai and Goa supporting revenues. ICRA also projected that the revenue growth would improve to 10-12 per cent, during 2018, aided by stronger domestic demand, pickup in foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) and the return of pricing power. Revenue growth is expected to improve in FY2018 to 10-12%, aided by stronger domestic
demand, pickup in foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) and the return of pricing power. It further anticipated that the rate increases in 2017 would be restricted to select few markets with high occupancies, while markets like Bangalore and Chennai would continue to struggle and the overall supply pipeline is expected to moderate across most cities, barring markets like Kolkata, Bengaluru and NCR, the estimates revealed. Markets like Bangalore (supply of rooms) and Chennai (existing over supply) would continue to struggle. The overall supply pipeline is expected to moderate across most cities, barring markets like Kolkata, Bengaluru and NCR. According to Subrata Ray, Sr.VP, Cohead corporate sector ratings, ICRA
Ltd, “Kolkata will witness the largest growth in supply over the next four years (FY2016-FY2020) at 86%. In absolute terms, the NCR will witness the highest room additions of 6,700 rooms during this period. However, delay in approvals, and project deferments may defer the supply to an extent”. FTA growth during the first three months (Jan-Mar) of this calendar year jumped to 10.0%, supported by initiatives by the Government, which has set up public relations agencies in key source markets like the United Kingdom and Japan and also re-launched ‘The Incredible India’ promotional campaign. Overall, ICRA believes foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) and spends still remain below potential.
Domestic travel, going by domestic Revenue Passenger Kilometre (RPKM) trends, which has grown by more than 20% during the first three months of the current calendar year, continued to remain healthy. Positive business sentiments and increase in discretionary spends seem to have boosted domestic travel. ICRA estimates pan India occupancies to have grown by 6%7%, while average room rates (ARRs) remained largely flat, both in-line with our earlier estimates. Revenues for the industry grew by 9-10% during Q4 FY2016. Operating margins were marginally higher than Q4FY2015 (18.8%) levels at 19.520% supported by higher revenues.
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food & beverage goes niche..goes global! enhances guest loyalty & more..... IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
The Food & Beverage (F&B) industry is focusing more on theme and concept based restaurants that
Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity - Food shot - Pluck
include the ambience, food, music and other offerings by the restaurants.
Saurabh Thakur, Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park
The F&B choices of the young Indians are swinging between organically healthy to experimenting with variety of International and regional cuisines. The idea is to provide the gen-next of the surrounding tech park with a vibrant social environment for a perfect mix and mingle scene.
Amit Kumar, General Manager, Hilton Chennai
The palate preferences are gradually inclining towards Asian cuisine with preferences like Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese foods. With growth in demand for organic, preservative-free, natural whole food options, Japanese food is progressively becoming a diner’s choice.
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he Food & Beverage trends in India are evolving dynamically with the acceptance of changing cuisine preferences and concept based restaurants.People are also now exposed to international cuisine where they are keen to try new cuisines and ready to experiment with food and drinks. So the trends in this industry are likely to change over the years with the preference of organic and healthy cuisines. Changing cuisine preferences Saurabh Thakur, F&B Manager, Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park states, “The F&B choices of the young Indians have been swinging between organically healthy to experimenting with variety of International and regional cuisines.
Voyager’s World > June 2016
The experimental regional cuisines with a dash of healthy/organic items also work well. “The organic or healthy have been slightly overused in gastronomy, trends like the Chef’s garden, where there is an in-house kitchen garden growing own herbs and vegetables, home-made pickles and preserves have taken importance for the everchanging palate of the epicurean. “He says. Amit Kumar, GeneralManager, Hilton Chennai says, “In the advent of evolving cuisine preferences in India, we have observed that the palate preferences are gradually inclining towards Asian cuisine. The preferences have veered towards
Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese cuisines. “Thai food has gained popularity on account of being strikingly similar to Indian food. Cooking styles of both use distinct spices and flavours rendered by both styles are tangy and peppery. On grounds of these resemblances, Thai cuisine has found its easy acceptance within India. Vietnamese food bears immense influence from Chinese cuisine, an already sought after cuisine in India, and has hence gained momentum in the country. Furthermore, with growth in demand of organic, preservative-free, natural whole food options, Japanese food is progressively becoming a diner’s choice,” he added.
Saurabh explains “Vegetarianism is fast becoming the choice of lifestyle as can be observed from the demand at Nook Restaurant where guests are seeking out more vegetarian dishes. The concept of Salad Jar where one can fill in their daily dose of nutrients and high fibre at one shot is growing as a concept. The high fibre and super foods like blueberry, avocados have been incorporated as integral part of the serving platter at the hotel.” Karanbir Gulati, Assistant Director of Food & Beverage, Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity observes, “Nowadays, with so many options to choose from and globalisation playing a huge role on the variety of food people are experiencing .We
Cover Story
Hotel Marine Plaza - The Rugged Mexican
Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park - Test tube shots
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Karanbir Gulati, Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity
Globalisation plays a huge role on the variety of food people are experiencing. There is a big trend towards quality food with emphasis on freshness, organic and locavore food. Modern Indian food will be the next big thing.
Parvez Sheikh, Hotel Marine Plaza
We see a change in trend of different restaurants which are standalone as well as hotels offering a specific concept cuisine in terms of the requirement of the locality, brand image and survival with something different due to stiff competition and change in demand. are witnessing a big trend towards quality food with emphasis on freshness, organic food. “With globalization the ultra-modern people are now so well versed with food around the world that they all want to have something modern so Modern Indian food will be the next big thing. There has been a huge transformation to cooking styles from “dum” preparations being now replaced with Sous-vide, even for Indian dishes. Combination of traditional styles of cooking like Kebas finished on Tawa/Tandoor/ Angeethi are now being incorporated through molecular Gastronomy,” he says. Karanbir explains, “Whilst cuisine
may be a preferred choice, but guest now have begun to favor fresh foods over fad diets, and tasting menus with grazing portions over large portions of food. Farm to table or zero kilometer food is the new in thing.Healthy eating with natural ingredients which are minimally processed will be big hits in the menus. Locally sourced meats, locally grown produce which also assist in environmental sustainability are going to be the way forward.” “At the WXYZ bar our mixologists have introduced infused vodka flavours that go well with cocktails and straight drinks. Currently there are 52 vodka flavours infused in-house, such as rosemary,
coffee, cinnamon, vanilla etc. Our mixologists are in the process of creating infused sugar syrups. With food and beverage platter offers sipping in style has new meaning at Aloft,” Saurabh added. Parvez Sheikh, F&B Manger, Hotel Marine Plaza says, “In F&B industry, the emphasis is more on organic and healthy food. The live counter in restaurants which acts like a show kitchens are some of the emerging trends with abuild-up of celebrity chef brand. Secondly the trend is also changing towards authentic simple and smooth palate to fulfil the requirement of today’s guest.” Unique culinary offerings In the opinion of Saurabh, “The
monthly food festivals are regional and international food fairssuch as Rajsthani, Sea-food and Mexican food festivals. In house mixologists created, vodka is flavoured and paired with different flavours to provide more variety for cocktails.” Amit states that dining options at Hilton Chennai include Vasco’s, the award-winning all-day restaurant that serves the best of world cuisine. Est, the casual contemporary café at the hotel’s lobby level offers a variety of snacks, light meals in addition to patisserie items, homemade chocolates and freshly brewed gourmet teas and coffee. Vintage Bank, the wine and cheese bar, presents a variety of fine cheeses from around the
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Cover Story
Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity - Food shot - Pluck
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world paired with a choice of wines. Ayna, the pan-Indian restaurant, serves handpicked dishes from across India. Q Bar, located on the rooftop, with sweeping views of the city, features a singular setting for delightful evenings with music played by the resident DJ and serves signature grills and barbeques. Karanbir said, “We have a plethora of unique culinary offerings Food Farm to table.Wine like everything else is subject to new worldwide trends and developments. As the focus is on the modern traveller, we have restaurants which have incorporated traditional flavours with modern cuisine styles - Pluck & Honk Serving Street Smart Food is the motto at Honk. While the food takes inspiration from the streetstyle cuisine popular in Asia, the presentation and décor is distinctly natural, invoking farm-style food of the region. The menu has been carefully curated to showcase culinary influences from the diverse regions of Asia, primarily Chinese and Japanese with a glimpse of Thai and Singaporean and a touch of Indonesian.” “Our unique culinary offering is Chinese food from two specific region Schezwan& Cantonese offering the authentic food which is prepared by our Chinese chef with lovely wines and beers. Cooking with specialized wok trend is also helping to get what we desire,” Parvez added. Concept based restaurants. Saurabh said, “Concept based restaurant outlets stem from the need to be different and offer variety to patrons. These can be designed keeping a particular cuisine in mind, lifestyle and a theme based on music or sports etc.” Amit states, ”The strong concepts ensure longevity, novelty and popularity, a restaurant is able to
Voyager’s World > June 2016
better define its audience and offer products that will suit preferences of its target group. The restaurant can create unique selling points which in turn, facilitate better market penetration.”
made from high quality ingredients. With so many hotels in the pipeline and the trends in F& changing, it is expected that there will be an exponential growth in concept restaurants soon.”
In the opinion of Karanbir, “The conceptualizing restaurants food is a universal language and having a restaurant which is unique with a different concept and with a character is always an added advantage, as its popularity will attract people from around the globe.”
Parvez explains “The growth has been tremendous. For restaurants, the growth patterns would be different for different cities, with metro cities achieving about 15-20% growth and smaller cites.” about 5%.”
Parvez said “We see a change in trend of different restaurants which are stand alone as well as hotels offering one specific concept cuisine in terms of the requirement of the locality, brand image and survival with something different due to the stiff competition and change in demand by food lovers or the service experience lovers. “ Growth in F&B Trends “With the launch of monthly food festivals and other seasonal initiatives such as smoothies of the month, there has been appreciation for the offerings as well as more footfalls at the restaurant. Approximately 15-18% growth in total covers has been observed at Nook.” Saurabh added. Karanbir explains, “We have seen many concept based restaurants opening up in the stand alone restaurant community. Hotels, on the other hand still remain pioneers in bringing in quality with a unique concept proposition. Restaurants in hotels have also focused on authentic cuisines and outlets focussing traditional regional food. Over the years, hotels having concept based restaurants have become increasingly popular with more restaurants opening up. Hotels focus on providing food which is
slate innovative events for guests to experience.” Amit added. In the opinion of Karanbir, “We are very active on Social Media with our own Facebook and Instagram Pages. Apart from this we feature in Zomato and Eazy Diner to keep a track of live feedback of our patrons. These pages help us promote our offerings and on-going promotions to our social media database.
Amit said “Majority of our resident guests are Asian, we host a significant number of them who are from USA, UK and Germany.”
“Social media, direct web marketing, tele calling, PR activities, mass mailing; collaterals like flyers, radio, hoarding, posters are the marketing tools to promote our events.”Parvez added.
“Our guests are 55% Indians, 27% American-Europeans, 15% Asian, 3% Middle Eastern,”Saurabh added. Karanbir says “Being an International chain of hotels, we have guests from around the world. With a shift in how the business cycle has developed in the east, we have started to witness increase in guests from Far East Asian countries. India is a popular destination for Europeans and Americans.”
Future plans Saurabh says, “We have a concept restaurant which is in pipeline that will be a barbeque-grill bar-in-acar themed in an open air space. At Nook, few more International cuisines are planned to be brought on the platter such as Israeli and Spanish cuisines. Keeping the growing popularity of sea food, our Chefs are curating special buffet menu for selected days of the week.”
Parvez says, “10% of Gulf, 20% European, 10% Chinese & 60% Indians flock to taste our unique food offering.”
“Innovation is the key to churn out original ideas for guests,” Amit added
Marketing activities Saurabh says, “Social media marketing and blogger invites for food tasting and reviews are actively conducted at the hotel. With our signature brand program Live@Aloft we offer live acoustic performances, we curate events around such F&B promotions to keep the buzz alive.” “Vasco’s caters to local and expatriate audiences will look to host global food festivals. Culinary experts at Ayna will offer guests a chance to explore unique aspects of Indian food. Q Bar, for 2016, will
Karanbir states “We can look to offer Quick Service Restaurant style of restaurants in the future. Having big corporate houses around the hotel in the near future, we see a demand in QSR segment.” Parvez concludes “Our plan is to create food that can be cooked in front of our guest and be presented in designer crockery. Secondly, organizing chef tables, bloggers, promoting mocktails and cocktails session, cookery class and similar activities will help us to be consistent in our revenue and giving something different as compared to others.”
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Travel Events
sphere travelmedia launches otr - middle east!
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he Outbound Travel Roadshow (OTR) organised its inaugural Middle East edition in Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar from 30 April - 3 May, 2016. The delegation of exhibitors were from across the globe including countries such as Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, UK and a few companies more (with global presence) all under one roof. OTR Dubai took place on 1 May, 2016 at the Conrad Dubai, while the Kuwait edition immediately followed on 2 May at the JW Marriott Kuwait City. The Qatar leg was held at the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha on 3 May. The event saw very good response from Middle East market.
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India Outbound
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tourism malaysia to capitalize on motorsports Motorsport tourism has an exponential future, hints Sepang International Circuit’s CCO Sharmila Nadarajah. BALAKRISHNA G
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Motorsport tourism is here to stay! The rising numbers every year, prove that this segment can only see growth,” said Sharmila Nadarajah, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Sepang International Circuit (SIC), on a recent visit to Bangalore as part of promotions for the upcoming F1 Grand Prix and MotoGP scheduled in October. “Motorsport is the second most followed sport after football. With 63 million viewers watching F1 during weekends in 60 different countries, this segment is something which will continue to grow,” she reiterated to the travel agents and media present there. Stating that while the numbers of Indian motorsport fans coming to witness the event doesn’t fluctuate, she noted that there has been a growth rate of 7% - 9% from India. “Going by the rising numbers from individual markets, one can say
that motorsport tourism is indeed an exponential market. It is also healthy; a good way of showcasing your brands,” she added. “I have been coming to India for the past eight years to promote motorsport events, which shows that we are very pleased with the turnout of Indian motorsport fans.” Followed by Australia, UK, Singapore and Indonesia, India stood fifth in the rankings of countries with 1,191 Indian spectators in 2015 motorsport events. SIC anticipates more numbers from India for this year’s F1 Grand Prix (30 September–2 October) and MotoGP (28-30 October), following the change of schedule which allows motorsport fans to enjoy it in October and celebrate Easter in March. Last year, 1,191 visitors from India attended the events; so, SIC
is optimistic about a growth of at least 10% in the numbers this time. “Altering the schedule from March to October was one of the major decisions taken by the officials of SIC during the renewal of F1 contract,” she said. This time, SIC has introduced many activities including drift racing, 4x4 off road trail, rally, go karting, paint ball game, etc. for free to attract the families and kids. These activities could be enjoyed by just purchasing
the event ticket. Besides hosting motorsport events, SIC also rents out the venue for concerts, corporate parties, marathons, wedding, cycling and other off sport events. “However, no Indian wedding has taken place so far. We are looking forward to that,” Sharmila said. Others present at the event were Sarala Vadivelu Pathar, Deputy Director, Tourism Malaysia and MC Kavitha, Marketing Manager, Tourism Malaysia.
cambodia airports, tourism ministry meet indian travel trade The event saw many tour operators and airlines including Singapore Airlines, Indigo among others, partake in the event and discuss on the possibilities of having a direct flight to Cambodia from India. TAMIL ILAKKIYA
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The iconic ‘Angkor Wat’ in Siem Reap draws tourist around the globe to the land of rich heritage, Cambodia,” highlighted Roatlomang Kong, Deputy Director General of Tourism of Cambodia during a recent roadshow organised by Cambodia Airports, in cooperation with Cambodia Ministry of Tourism, to promote Cambodia in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The delegates included Nathalie Cheron, Route Development Consultant of Cambodia Airports; Heeseong Lee – Sales & Marketing Manager of Sky Angkor Airlines; Sopontara Pichr (Route Development Manager) Cambodia Airports; Roat Lum Ang Kong, Deputy Director General of
Voyager’s World > June 2016
Tourism - Ministry of Tourism; H. E. Makara CHHUN, Deputy Secretary General of NCCA of the Ministry of Tourism; Sophary Hor, Chief Office of Marketing & Promotion of Ministry of Tourism and Shikhin Pawar, Assistant General Manager, Airlines Marketing of Bangalore Airport. “Tourism in Cambodia has grown rapidly in the last few years and India is one of the potential markets that the ministry of tourism is focusing on. In 2015 Cambodia received 37,000 Indian tourists which is a 28% increase when compared to 2014,” said Roat Lum Ang. Marketing strategy “The strategy is to compete and combine with the neighboring
countries. As an Asian tourism industry we try to promote and encourage the tourists to travel more than two countries. People have become smart and they want to maximize the travel. So we try to combine tour from Thailand to Cambodia and from Cambodia to Vietnam. But we promote our country at higher level,” said Roat.
Indian Food in Cambodia Cambodia does not own many Indian restaurants. There are a few vegetarian restaurants. This is because the Indian visitors are not yet blooming in Cambodia. If there is an increase in number of Indian tourists visiting Cambodia it will create an opportunity to open more Indian restaurants.
India Outbound
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netherlands targets high-end fits from india Carola van Rijn, Project Manager, Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions - Holland Marketing says that the increasing number of Indian arrivals makes us a potential market for the ‘Land of the Tulips’. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN year which would make a double digit percent growth from India to Holland. With that percentage, India will be the fastest growing inbound market to Holland. We are confident that the increased connectivity of Jet Airways and its partners will help us achieve that.
Indian market India has long been a very promising source market within the portfolio of international guests. For the past few years we have seen Indian guests already traveling to Netherlands without much motivation from any outside source. Expected growth for 2016 We have noticed 95,000 Indian guests already traveling to Netherlands and we are expecting an increase towards 125,000 this
Marketing plans For us creating awareness is important mainly in educating the travel trade. We also have familiarisation trips, trainings, workshops and co-op marketing initiatives are being undertaken to ensure that the travel partners in India understand the Netherlands better and promote it as a standalone destination. The Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC), in association with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Jet Airways, has branded 200 radio taxis in Delhi and Mumbai for driving demand within
India to travel to and experience Holland. The taxi branding campaign was launched by H.E. Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India; Jos Vranken, Managing Director, NBTC; Wilco Sweijen, Director Aviation Marketing, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol; and Gaurang Shetty, Wholetime Director, Jet Airways, at the Amabassador’s residence in New Delhi. Jet, Schiphol & NBTC have jointly invested in promoting Holland in 2016. We have organised educational workshops for agents in Delhi and Mumbai. In association with Embassy of the Netherlands, we have hosted an evening get-together for trade partners. We are hoping to launch a few consumer and trade campaigns in 2016. Segments Holland is a luxury, leisure and
honeymoon destination for Indians. We are going to tap the MICE travellers and trying to reach the consumers through the travel trade partners in India. Some of the prime attractions are Hague, Madurodam, Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans. Besides the regular ones, we are also promoting the unique attractions and experiences that Holland has to offer. Spring is the most popular period to visit Holland for Indians. Also relatively many Indian guests can be found in Holland during the summer. During their stay in Holland, almost six out of ten Indian citizens visit the main Dutch cities. Amsterdam is the most popular city, followed by The Hague and Rotterdam. Indian visitors stay in especially 4 star hotels. Indians spend above average; in 2015 the total amount was around 130 million Euro.
Contiki eyes young travellers Sam Morrah, Director of Sales & Marketing, Contiki Asia, foresees a significant rise in the number of young Indians travelling with them over the next five years. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN We have seen interest from 18-year olds, 35-year olds and everyone in between. There is a trip to suit absolutely everyone within this target demographic, whether you are looking to spend time with a group of like-aged, like-minded travellers who want to see all the big sights or a culture vulture who wants to focus on one region in particular or an adrenaline junkie who wants to live life to the max. Growth of youth travelling from India and overseas Contiki has been the world’s number one travel company for 18 to 35 years since it began in 1962 and it is great to see young Indians recognising this and choosing to travel with us. We have noticed a significant rise in enquiries from young Indian travellers this year.
More than half of our travellers actually choose to travel alone because Contiki connects them with other solo travellers from all over the world for them to share the experience with. But we also get a lot of interest from groups, couples and honeymooners. At Contiki, we are aware that no two travellers are
the same, which is why we cater to all segments of the 18 to 35 demographic. Contiki is already well-established throughout the world and has long been the preferred choice of travel for many young Indians; however, it seems lately there has been a renewed interest in travelling with like-aged, like-minded travellers. We will see a significant rise in the number of young Indians travelling with Contiki over the next five years. Marketing plans Our recent launch event was a big opportunity for us to cement ourselves as the preferred brand for 18 to 35 year old Indians. A big part of our business here is ensuring our trade partners are supported and
understand our product, so we can offer our clients the best service the travel industry has to offer and ensure they have a #NOREGRETS experience right from the initial booking experience through to the day the arrive home from their trip. “India is certainly one of the most upcoming markets. The sheer size of India alone and the hundreds of thousands of 18 to 35 year olds looking to travel in the near future presents a massive opportunity in itself. Contiki is globally the most recognised brand for this demographic. So with the renewed interest we have seen in India, our brand will spread across the country like wildfire and India could easily become our fastest growing marketing globally,” he concluded.
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Launch Pad
consolidate travel plan on single interface with routofy Routofy seeks to integrate one’s travel experience by combining buses, cabs, trains and flights and reduce travel planning time to reach a destination, says Ronak Gupta, Co-founder & CEO of the app. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
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he Routofy App provides its users a travel experience wherein with a single search one can get flight prices, train availability, bus schedules, cabs options and even their ready-to-book combos. “We offer seamless door-to-door bookings and facilities such as lastminute cab bookings, web checkin, trip reminders, delay alerts and
so on,” begins Ronak Gupta, CoFounder & CEO of Routofy, before explaining how a user can now book his entire trip from Cyber Hub in Gurgaon to Amul Dairy in Anand in one go. It also ensures that if your flight is running late, a subsequent cab booking is adjusted to meet you at the new arrival time. Every search on the platform analyses 250,000 results in a fraction of a second to present various direct and indirect ways of reaching the desired destination. One can compare different routes, duration and prices of these to choose the most convenient itinerary. Growth India is expected to serve 100 million online shoppers in 2016, as per the estimations of Forrester
Consulting and Google searches. This will cause the ecommerce market to undergo transactions close to $38 billion, ASSOCHAM reports. This market has more than a dozen sectors associated to travel, such as airlines, hospitality, travel agents, car rentals, etc., composing almost 70% of the total e-commerce industry. “The growth of our product has mainly been organic so far and our focus has been in creating a great product for travellers. In fact, we are working on integrating many few features in our app that will provide an altogether futuristic travel experience, viz. customized itineraries, personalized recommendations and services and much more,” Ronak says while elaborating on future plans. “We envision an intelligent travel
technology which provides complete travel assistance during the journey, where you get what you need right when you need it. Strategic partnerships, such as the one with Uber on Mother’s Day, have played a role in reaching out to newer audiences and these will continue to be an important direction for us.” Adding that digital media has helped increase Routofy’s visibility and awareness on its offerings, he says its referral scheme has worked out well, with its users spreading word about the app in their network. Aiming to reach 50,000 downloads by the end of the next quarter, Ronak signs off optimistically by giving a perspective of the reach the app offers - if the location is on Google Maps, Routofy can take you there.
an app to enhance your travel story... Abhinav Mittal, Founder, Travel Jar says Travel Jar offers you a movie of your journey automatically with through photographs and videos. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN all over globe. We will be making it available in more global languages from August and taking the traction very fast by various online as well as offline campaigns.
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ravel Jar was launched in March and since then 400 people have been using the app. We are allowing our initial users to use and give proper feedback on the features they liked/disliked or want to add in the next update on the app. We are getting our users through social media and word of Mouth. We are only available on Android and will be launching our iOS version by the end of July. We have received tremendous response on the idea of the app not only from India but from
Voyager’s World > June 2016
Travel Jar focuses on the whole story of your journey, we not only help the user to capture photos or videos, but the user can also do a checkin, and also save special moments like meeting a stranger on the trip, attending a local festival, enjoying the food and culture. The best thing about Travel Jar app is it gives you a movie of your journey automatically without the hassles of video editing. Travel Jar’s technology has a set of algorithms which gives you the whole story of your Journey which includes more than photos and videos only. This video is easily shareable on social media as well as messenger, WhatsApp etc. Travel Jar also gives you an advantage of a collaborative
tool for all the members of the group as the app will automatically sync media with everyone in the group, all you have to do is have the app in your phone and make a group, Start posting photos, videos, special moments, modes of transport used to travel. Once you end the Journey on the app, within minutes your movie will be on the app. The app is not only for avid travelers or travel bloggers but also for people who likes to save, share and relive their travel memories anytime of their life. App for tourism industry Holiday planners or organizers need lots of tourism content these days as content is the new king and will always be this travel movie can be showcased to the new customers to make a sale. The movie focuses on the whole story which includes
mode of transport, places to visit, food to eat and hotels to stay. Campaigns We are coming up with exciting campaigns like Incredible India, road trips, solo travel, group travel, adventure travel, culture travel and lot of them. We will be partnering with Holiday planners like MMT, Travel Triangle, Cleartrip. Other services Travel Jar can also be used as a Private social network like for certain users who does not want to share photos on Facebook or any other social media but want to share it with few family/friends they can make a group on the app and everybody in the group will get live updates. We will also soon start a community on the app once we have good number of users where there will be different broadcasting channels on the app itself.
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Incredible India
explore delhi the location based way through delhipedia! Arjun Pandey, Founder, Delhipedia, talks about the visual guide that allows people to explore the national capital including unexplored nooks and corners. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM and youngsters) to take virtual tours via short 3-5 minutes videos and share their experience through Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
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ocumented filmmaker Arjun Pandey conceptualised and published a one-of-its-kind diary on Delhi in November 2014 to provide a truly discerning location-based application that provides real time information on Delhi. Since its launch, Delhipedia has grown at a rapid pace with over 240,000 Facebook followers. Delhipedia allows viewers (travellers, explorers
“The entire process to complete Delhipedia took us eight to nine months,” says Arjun before adding that he had launched two editions; one for the Delhi government and the other for people. The government copy does not have the cover map and has a few features on the lines of a diary for the calendar year 2016. Reason behind Delhipedia “We create guides and coffee table books for a particular mandate. Anyone can be held in ransom by a client’s budget. However, this project had no mandate and no
restriction on the creative. So, we were able to achieve a lot in terms of the content. There are enough videos on YouTube featuring Delhi’s monuments but our book inspires the videos and gives a virtual experience and encourages people to have a real life experience.” Stating that the presentation format is the USP of the diary, Arjun informs that it contains information on things that have not been written about much, such as haunted monuments, midnight food joints for youngsters and areas for people who would like to cycle. “Delhipedia excites people to explore the city, both as a diary or as the online platform.” Challenges “We commissioned the artistes
ourselves as the self-funded mandate was created by us. Resource was a challenge and it took a bit longer to complete than we had expected it to.” The application covers all aspects of the city, starting from heritage monuments, happy bazaars, thriving cultural scene, to platefuls of delicious food that bring Delhiites together. Delhipedia’s YouTube channel and its Digital Magazine bring alive the true essence of Delhi and its magnificent culture. Delhipedia presently has a basic Android app which is location based. It is being promoted through media and book stores in Delhi. By the end of the year, Arjun hopes to launch the edition across India.
10.7% growth in FTA in april 2016 over april 2015 PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
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0.7% growth in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in April 2016 over the same period in 2015. Bangladesh accounts for highest share of tourist arrivals followed by USA and UK in April 2016. Rs. 11, 637 crores Foreign Exchange earned through tourism in April 2016. Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) on the basis of Nationality-wise, Port-wise data received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism on the basis of data available from Reserve Bank of India. The following are the important highlights regarding FTAs and FEEs from tourism during the month of April, 2016. FTAs during the Month of April, 2016 were 5.99 lakh as compared to FTAs of 5.42 lakh during the month of April, 2015 and 5.35 lakh in April,
2014. There has been a growth of 10.7% in April, 2016 over April, 2015. •FTAs during the period JanuaryApril, 2016 were 31.08 lakh with a growth of 10.1% as compared to the FTAs of 28.23 lakh with a growth of 3.0% in January- April, 2015 over January- April, 2014. •The Percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during April, 2016 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (18.09%) followed by USA (12.24%), UK (9.58%), Sri Lanka (3.71%), Malaysia (3.23%), China (3.14%), Australia (3.05%), Germany (3.02%), France (2.86%), Canada (2.83%), Russian Federation (2.81%), Japan (2.50%), Nepal (2.07%), Singapore (1.85%) and Thailand (1.61%). • The Percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during April 2016 among the top 15
ports was highest at Delhi Airport (29.12%) followed by Mumbai Airport (16.85%), Haridaspur Land check post (9.77%),Chennai Airport (7.82%), Bengaluru Airport (6.66%), Kolkata Airport (4.16%), Cochin Airport (3.51%), Hyderabad Airport (3.07%), Goa Airport (2.84%), Gede Rail (2.31%), Trivendrum Airport (1.54%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.44%), Tiruchirapalli Airport (1.31%) Attari-Wagah (1.13%), and Ghojadanga land check post (0.96%).
•FEEs from tourism in rupee terms during January- April, 2016 were Rs. 52,048 crore with a growth of 15.7% as compared to the FEE of Rs. 44,966 crore with a growth of 5.0% during January- April, 2015 over January- April, 2014. •FEEs in US$ terms during the month of April, 2016 were US$ 1.747 billion as compared to FEEs of US$ 1.609 billion during the month of April, 2015 and US$ 1.520 billion in April, 2014.
Forex Earnings (FEEs) from Tourism •FEEs during the month of April, 2016 were Rs. 11,637 crore as compared to Rs. 10,091 crore in April, 2015 and Rs. 9,179 crore in April, 2014. •The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms during April, 2016 over April, 2015 was 15.3% as compared to the growth of 9.9% in April, 2015 over April, 2014.
The growth rate in FEEs in US$ terms in April, 2016 over April, 2015 was 8.6% compared to the growth of 5.9% in April, 2015 over April, 2014. FEE from tourism in US$ terms during January- April, 2016 were US$ 7.733 billion with a growth of 7.2% as compared to the US$ 7.214 billion with a growth 3.6% during January- April, 2015 over JanuaryApril, 2014.
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Incredible India
WEST BENGAL: Reminiscing a cultural melange from the past West Bengal is the birthplace of many visionaries who have contributed immensely to the land’s rich culture. Here is a look at the cultural attractions of the state.
Shantiniketan Ashram
VW BUREAU
SHANTINIKETAN Shantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal and about 212 km north of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town – Visva-Bharati University. The place now attracts thousands of visitors each year. Shantiniketan was earlier called Bhubandanga (named after Bhuban Dakat, a local dacoit) and was owned by the Tagore family. In 1862, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, the poet’s father, while on a boat journey to Raipur, came across a landscape with red soil and lush green paddy fields. He decided to plant more saplings and built a small house. He called his home ‘Shantiniketan’, meaning ‘an abode of peace’. He founded an Ashram here in 1863 and became the initiator of the Brahmo Samaj. In 1901, Rabindranath started a school at Shantiniketan named Brahmachary Ashram that was modelled on the lines of the ancient Gurukul system. After he received the Nobel Prize, the school was expanded into a university. It was renamed Visva Bharati, which Tagore defined as ‘where the world makes a home in a nest’. The Shantiniketan campus is adorned by splendid sculptures, frescoes, murals, and paintings of Rabindranath, Nandalal Bose, Ramkinkar, Binodbehari Mukhopadhyay and others. The Uttarayana complex, where the poet lived, consists of several buildings such as Udayana, Konark, Shyamali, Punascha, and Udichi, which reflect
Voyager’s World > June 2016
the architectural genius of the poet’s illustrious son – the late Rathindranath Tagore. In addition, there are Kala Bhavan, Sangeet Bhavan, Patha Bhavan, Bichitra, Cheena Bhavan, and Hindi Bhavan. You can also see Chhatimtala and the Prayer Hall. Birbhum District, where the Shantiniketan is located, is also famous for its fairs and festivals like Poush Mela (December), Joydev Mela (January), Basanta Utsav (Holi) in March and the famous mystic Baul singers. SUTANUTI TRAILS Sutanuti was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India. The other two villages were Gobindapur and Kalikata. Job Charnock, an administrator with the British East India Company is traditionally credited with the honour of founding the city. He settled in the village of Sutanuti. Some of the attractions in Sutanuti Trails areJorasanko Rajbari The first of the prominent old Bengali residences as one moves northward along Rabindra Sadan (or Chitpur Road, the oldest road of Kolkata) is the Jorasanko Rajbari of the family of Rajendra Narayan Roy. It has a nice colonnaded front with verandas, terraces fitted with delicate cast iron grills. House of Gokul Mitra At the junction of Rabindra Sarani and Madan Mohan Tala Street, this house dates back to 1730s. The house belonged to Gokul Mitra who acquired the Chandni Chawk Bazar in a lottery in 1784. It has a
temple of Madan Mohan and a large ‘thakur-dalan’ with columns rising up to second storey. The story has it that the King of Bishnupur pawned the original idol of Madan Mohan to Gokul Mitra when he fell in hard times. Kumartuli Kumartuli is the neighbourhood of artisans specializing in making clay idols of gods and goddesses. In makeshift shafts idols in various stages of completion can be seenfrom bamboo straw structures to the finished idols.The area becomes a fascinating hive of activity especially before the Durga Puja. Watching the artisans engrossed in their intricate work itself has the ability to mesmerize any onlooker. Today, the idols made in Kumartuli adorn pandals across the world. The temple at Kumartuli is also the abode of the original idol of ’Devi Dhakeswari’ brought from Dhaka during the partition. Sovabazar Rajbari The present Sovabazar Rajbari, aGrade I heritage building built by Raja Naba Krishna Deb is situated at 33R/1A, Raja Naba Krishna Street. Its architecture represents an ensemble of Hindu, Moorish and colonial traditions. Raja Naba Krishna Deb was Lord Clive’s ‘Munshi’ or tutor in Bengali, Persian, as well as the close confidant. During his lifetime this Rajbari played important role in the cultural and social life of Bengal. He was one of the first residents of Kolkata to celebrate Durga Puja in 1757 on a grand scale after the British
defeated Siraj-ud-daulah at the battle of Plassey. Many renowned English men like Lord Clive and Warren Hastings were in the list of invitees during this festival, thus making it ‘sarbojonin’. It was here that the first civic reception of Swami Vivekananda after his return from Chicago Parliament of Religions was organized in 1897 by Raja Binoy Krishna Deb Bahadur. House of Chhatubabu-Latubabu At 67E, Beadon street, this was the ancestral house of Ramdulal De (Deb Sarkar), the pioneer in Indo-US trade and the first modern Bengali millionaire. He was held in such high esteem by his Ameriacn counter parts that they named one of their ships ‘Ramdulal De’ which made several voyages from Salem (a port near Boston) to Kolkata. A fine portrait of George Washington was also presented to him. Marble Palace Rajendra Nath Mullick’s Residence, turned into a museum situated on 46, Muktaram Babu Street. It is one of the most elegant palatial 19th century mansions in North Kolkata. Built by a French architect in 1835, the facade has an imposing portico with stucco work and six fluted Corinthian columns, topped by an elaborately ornamented triangular pediment. The garden is dotted with marble fountains, statues of gods and goddesses from Greek and Hindu pantheon, notable among which is a stunning statue of “Leda and Swan”.
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tourism ministry rolls out action plan for bed&breakfast scheme PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
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he Ministry of Tourism has formulated an Action Plan for “Incredible India Bed & Breakfast /Home Stay Scheme”. The salient features of the Action Plan are1. As Home Stay / Bed & Breakfast is the need of the hour, it was decided to revisit the scheme guidelines and update it based on present and future requirements. 2. To ensure expansion of Home Stay Scheme in State where it is already prevalent and introduction where it is not there. 3. Move towards ease of doing business through rationalization of taxes, simplification of procedures etc. 4. Launch an aggressive marketing strategy to enlist more B&B Establishments. 5. Involve online travel agents in promoting this scheme and bring it on the fasttrack. 6. Groups were constituted to study various aspects of this scheme and submit recommendations in a time bound manner. The Ministry of Tourism organised a
Workshop on Incredible India Bed & Breakfast /Home Stay Scheme here on 30th May 2016. It was chaired by Shri Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, M/o Tourism and attended by officials from various State Governments, representatives from Hospitality and Travel Trade Industry, CEOs of online travel agents and officials of the Ministry of Tourism. This workshop was conducted with the prime objective of meeting shortage of rooms in accommodation sector – specially the budget category. As construction of hotels has a long gestation period, it was felt that the desired additional hotel capacity can be supplemented substantially by giving impetus to the Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism as well as similar schemes run by the State Governments and Online Travel Agents. It follows the findings of a report by
the “Working Group on Tourism” for the 12th Five year Plan(2012-17) set up by the Planning Commission, for a projected annual growth of 12% in Foreign Tourist Arrivals, where the requirement of additional hotel rooms under classified category in 2016 over 2010 is estimated to be 1,90,108. Construction of hotel is primarily a private sector activity. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India only classifies operational hotels under its voluntary scheme of classification/approval of hotels. In order to give stimulus for construction of new hotels, the Government of India extends the following incentives to hotel industry: 1. Five Year Tax Holiday for 2, 3 and 4 Star category hotels located in all UNESCO declared World Heritage sites (Except Mumbai and Delhi) for hotels operating w.e.f. 01.04.2004 to 31.03.2013. 2. Extension of Investment Linked tax incentives under Section 35AD of
VADODARA NAGPUR VIZAG AMRITSAR COIMBATORE
Voyager’s World > June 2016
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the Income Tax Act to new hotels of 2-Star category and above anywhere in India, which will facilitate growth of accommodation in the country. 3. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has de-linked credit for hotel projects from Commercial Real Estate (CRE), thereby enabling hotel projects to avail credit at relaxed norms and reduced interest rates. 4. Hotel and Tourism related industry has been declared a high priority industry and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed upto 100% under the automatic route. The Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India has also included the following in the ‘Harmonized list of Infrastructure sub Sector’ to boost supply of hotel rooms in the country: 1. Three Star or higher category classified hotels located outside cities with population of more than 1 million. 2. Hotels with a project cost of more than Rs.200 crore each in any place in India and of any star rating.
19, 20, 21 August 2016 14, 15, 16 October 2016 4, 5, 6 November 2016 16, 17, 18 December 2016 20, 21, 22 January 2017
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OTAs: Good for business or bad businesses? Jean Francois Mourier, CEO of REVPAR GURU examines the ongoing debate among hoteliers as to whether OTAs are a good thing for our businesses or whether they are just taking advantage. VW BUREAUS selling his rooms, so he consistently lists his property with the top 5 to 6 OTAs. Unfortunately, the hotel has to pay a huge commission rate, losing him money on each booking. But on the upside, Hotel B’s occupancy is consistently high (close to 90%).
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lthough the hatred for the OTAs seems to have lessened slightly over the past few years, there are still many hoteliers who are adamantly against listing their rooms on OTAs. But no matter your opinion on the OTAs, they are here to stay because consumers love their convenience and savings. They are beneficial to hotels as well – even with the sky-high commission rates. While it is possible to operate a hotel without listing your property on any OTAs (after all, it is possible - though not optimal - to live without sunlight), it definitely would hurt the property’s bottom line. So my lesson today is simple… ALL hotels should be listing their rooms on the OTAs, no matter their opinion on the sites’ business practices or revenue model. To outline why it’s an operational imperative for hotels to list their rooms on the OTAs, let’s look at a comparison of two similar properties in Miami Beach, Florida. Both are three-star boutique properties (less than 50 rooms) close to the ocean with comparable rooms and amenities. The revenue manager at Hotel A hates the OTAs, so he refuses to list the hotel’s rooms online. Although his occupancy numbers are very low (typically between 55 to 65%), he is able to keep 100% of the revenues from every booking. Now, Hotel B… The revenue manager at Hotel B isn’t the biggest fan of the OTAs either, but he does recognize how important they are in marketing and
In your opinion, which revenue manager is using the correct strategy to increase the property’s revenues? If you answered Hotel B, then you can stop reading right now because you are already a revenue management star! If you answered Hotel A, then this next part is for you. Yes, commissions suck; losing 12 to 35% of every dollar is a (much) less than ideal situation. Yes, the OTAs were designed to profit from tough financial times in the hotel industry’s history. And yes, the industry is now stuck with the online channel and the OTAs, for better or for worse. But does that mean that you should stop earning money, just because of your principles? Lesson 1: 100% of zero is still zero. Think about it this way – would you rather earn 65 to 88% of the revenue from a booking or would you rather have the room sitting empty, earning nothing, because consumers weren’t able to find and book your room? That’s what I thought. Lesson 2: It costs money to make money. The OTAs are only making money when you’re making money, so by not using the OTAs to list and sell your rooms, you’re actually stopping yourself from making money. As a revenue manager (who’s job is to optimize pricing in order to maintain or increase revenues), that seems a little counterintuitive, no? Hopefully by now, I’ve got you convinced that the OTAs are a necessary evil and, as soon as you’re done reading this article,
you’ll list your rooms online and watch as bookings start coming in. (If you’re still not convinced, go back up to Lesson 1, read and repeat.) Yes, you’ll be paying up to 35% commission but just think… the other 65% is yours to keep. And being the helpful expert that I am, I have an idea on how you can spend the extra money you earn: revenue management software. Being a revenue manager is such a time-consuming but highly important job; between strategy meetings, data analysis, competitive analysis, manually updating prices across all OTAs, and all of the other day-to-day revenue management tasks, most revenue managers cannot effectively manage more than four to six channels manually. If they do take on more, things start to fall through the cracks – pricing is not updated on a regular basis and money is lost. And let’s not even mention the increased risk of human error when RMs are overworked. But here’s the Catch-22: if one OTA earns you additional revenue, then being listed on more than one OTA will earn you even MORE money. Even if guests don’t book through the OTA, the billboard effect alone make the OTAs valuable for a property; the billboard effect says that some consumers will initially find your hotel on an OTA site and then book directly through the hotel’s website. If that hotel didn’t have a presence on OTAs, the guest would never have found and booked with that property. While recent articles have called the billboard effect a myth propagated by the OTAs to justify their high costs, The Online Travel Shopper’s Journey study published by the AH&LA Consumer Innovation Forum still showed that there is “a slight likelihood (7 percent) that a consumer will visit an OTA and then return to brand.com to book”. In my opinion, even a 7 percent
boost is valuable, given that you don’t pay commissions to the OTAs unless bookings are made through the sites. But many hoteliers and revenue managers don’t think that way. They think about all of the work involved with the job - the time spent strategizing, collecting and analyzing data, and then manually updating the rates on all of the different websites - and most want to run away to a Caribbean island and drink pina colodas all day. But what if you could list your property with 10 or 20 or even 100 OTAs, without dropping the (pricing) ball? What if your property’s incomes could increase 10 or 20 or even 100 times, without you having to move into your office 24/7 to manually update the rates? That, my friend, is where technology comes in. Technology can manage your rates automatically, 24/7. Technology can increase your property’s ADR, your occupancy and your RevPAR drastically within days. In short, technology can make your hotel money… lots of money! But that doesn’t mean that revenue managers will be obsolete. Revenue management software is designed to assist revenue mangers, to make them more effective – not to replace them. It gives revenue managers the ability to focus their attention on what humans do best – strategizing, planning, overseeing staff, etc. – rather than mindless, never-ending analysis and updates (a task which technology can handle more quickly and with less margin for error than a human ever could!). So go crazy! List your property on 10 or 20 or 200 OTAs, as many as you can, and get on the technology bandwagon. Make your property earn more money… without driving your revenue manager over the deep end. It just makes good business sense (and cents)!
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Business Travel
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event organisers innovate in technology to enhance experience Convention bureaus and meeting planners are constantly innovating their offerings in terms of better technology to enhance the overall event experience.
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s AV Team in front of a new projector screen
PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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he Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) recently became the first facility in Malaysia to install the 6500 ANSI Lumens laser technology projector as part of her RM3.1 million investment to upgrade the audio-visual (AV) capabilities in the venue’s 21 meeting rooms. According to the Centre’s General Manager, Alan Pryor, the Centre is currently regarded as the most technologically-advanced facility in Malaysia, and the investment “reflects our commitment to continuously upgrade and improve the quality of service delivery for the Centre’s delegates and visitors. As technology becomes an even bigger component of any worldclass convention facility in today’s increasingly technology-driven world, the latest AV upgrades will enhance our clients’ overall meeting experience.” Today’s audiences will be engaged by event organizers with smartphones and other technology. Smartphones and smartphone technology are
Voyager’s World > June 2016
rapidly becoming the preferred way to stay in touch and conduct business. According to statistics by Conventions Industry Council, 2011 saw 205 million people attend 1.8 million events, the cost of the events totaling more than $263 billion in direct expenditure and this being in the US alone. Solution consolidation will result in greater efficiency for planners. In the past, companies would often rely on patchwork solutions for handling the individual components of their events. What this in turn meant was that the event planner would have to pull together information from different angles and non-integrated solutions in order to gain the bigger picture. In the coming years this will all change as event organizers will use consolidated solutions for a more streamlined workload, this in turn saving time as well as freeing up time to focus on planning an exceptional event. It was predicted by Gartner that in 2013 the Smartphone would
surpass the laptop or other PC as the method of choice for accessing the Internet. Event planners with forward planning will provide the attendees with apps that will be all in one solutions for tracking activities, connecting with contacts and sharing thoughts and experiences through social networks. These applications will also give organizers the power to engage with their user during as well as before and after the event. Technology will provide leverage for meeting planners to gather attendee information. A major part of being a successful events manager is knowing what makes the attendees tick and being able to compile and gather info in real-time. This enables them to alter and adjust their strategies to demonstrate ROI. A couple of years ago, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) had worked with Google to launch GeoVegas an innovative new travel tool that uses Google’s Business Interiors Technology. This travel tool allows potential visitors
to view 360-degree panoramic shots of hotels, restaurants and other popular places, both inside and out. Las Vegas has multiple dining, nightclubs, hotels, shows, pools / spas options and this travel tool makes it easier for visitors to make choices by providing a realistic view of all that the city has to offer. GeoVegas features 80 locations with an array of imagery, panoramas and videos. GeoVegas guides users through five ‘journeys’ showcasing sides of Las Vegas such as ‘First Timers’, ‘Foodie Fantasy’, ‘Only in Vegas’, ‘Vegas by Day’, ‘Vegas by Night’ as well as ‘Explore on your own’. Visitors can explore and choose the perfect places to eat, stay, relax and play, as well as share their favorites on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and GooglePlus etc. Tapping on hotspots brings up fun facts and suggestions. The site also provides a map with a robust search and filtering of all the locations while giving an overview of the city. Recently, in a bid to woo MICE
Business Travel
29>> (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, and Exhibitions) groups and promote tourism in South Korea, Korean Tourism Organization has opened K-Style hub (Korean Culinary Center) equipped with 3D, holography, and virtual reality in Seoul. The center, which is an initiative of the Korea Food Foundation, allows overseas visitors to learn and cook food. It can accommodate up to 40 participants at a time and offers a discount of 10 per cent to groups with more than 20 participants. Korean Tourism Organization revealed that one of the activities worth experiencing would be virtual reality goggles, offering an interactive experience of skijump, which is one of the efforts to promote the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 9-25 in the year 2018.
emirate through improving event planning and by developing industry best practice in line with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030, TCA Abu Dhabi said.
Abu Dhabi Aviation & Aerospace Week, a series of aviation themed industry and consumer events staged in April 2016.
The ELS will allow for a streamlined process of registration while outlining licensing requirements, connecting to ticketing and other electronic systems, and providing insight on industry-wide metrics. The centralized system will also assist host venues in identifying potential calendar conflicts and opportunities for TCA Abu Dhabi to identify clusters of sector specific event promotional opportunities, such as the recent
ELS will be applied in the fourth quarter of 2016. The service will be applied to entities that organize and manage events across Abu Dhabi which include those with dedicated spaces for hosting functions. Its scope also covers events held in tourism investment areas and free zones. ELS places an emphasis on processing event licenses and collecting key information from functions across the emirate,
The center showcases a variety of information centers and interactive exhibits on themes, including medical tourism, recommended travel destinations across the peninsula and hallyu - the ‘Korean Wave’, stated officials from Korean Tourism Organization.
The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) has announced the launch of a new online Events Licensing System (ELS) aimed at supporting Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector. The standardized and unified online platform will attempt to streamline the official registration of all events administered, organized and managed across Abu Dhabi. HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of TCA Abu Dhabi, will form a committee to oversee the implementation of strategies and policies surrounding the coordination of events in Abu Dhabi between the relevant authorities by providing support for necessary services and facilities, while enhancing the contribution of government, private sector, and relevant stakeholders when organizing events in the emirate. The introduction of the ELS will drive tourism industry growth within the
YOUR GATEWAY TO THE OUTBOUND TRAVEL MARKET
Byungsun Lee, Director Korea Tourism Organization said, “K-Style Hub is one of the unique offerings and continued effort of Korea Tourism Organization to entice the MICE travelers. With the ideal location, the facility is an appropriate place for small groups to enjoy the Korean food and cultural variety”.
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including agendas, participants, speakers, set-up dates and locations, among others. The new service will cover all entertainment, sports, art, culture, education, tourism, health, and any other events relating to these fields. The service requires event organizers to register all their events on the website, which includes all necessary information about requirements for obtaining licenses, in addition to the ticketing systems where tickets can be issued, distributed and marketed, as well as other electronic solutions.
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Dubai wins bid to host World Real Estate Congress in 2018 Dubai Business Events and Dubai Real Estate Institute partner to deliver successful bid for annual Congress that will bring world’s real estate industry leaders to Dubai IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
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ubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau and a division of Dubai Tourism, in partnership with the Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), the education arm of the Dubai Land Department (DLD), today announced that the Emirate will host the 69th World Real Estate Congress in 2018. The annual event organised by the International Real Estate Federation, FIABCI, will make its debut in the Middle East and is expected to attract more than 1,000 real estate professionals from over 60 nations to explore the ‘Future of Cities’. Jointly led by DBE and DREI, and supported by host venue Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, among other local
industry partners, the successful bid to host another influential world congress underpins Dubai’s strong international reputation as a vibrant and diverse destination for business events. The announcement also boosts the city’s growth as a leading global hub for investment, and contributes towards its maturing real estate market that strives on innovative developments and a healthy regulatory environment. The win marks another milestone for DBE in bidding for and bringing leading business events to the Emirate, acting as platforms for the exchange of ideas, information and expertise, which is helping transform the city into a global knowledge hub. Dubai offers a unique perspective on the ability to effectively drive
economic growth and embrace a higher quality of life through smart and efficient initiatives – a pressing need in today’s rapidly urbanising world. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “We are delighted to announce that Dubai has been chosen to host the prestigious World Real Estate Congress as the first city in the Middle East in to so. Our successful bid reflects the country’s acclaimed top ranking as a global investment haven and the emirate’s strengths in attracting and hosting international business events of the highest calibre. He continued: “We are particularly proud to have once again
demonstrated strong collaboration with our local partners – first and foremost the Dubai Real Estate Institute – who left no stone unturned to submit a competitive and attractive bid that showcased the holistic leisure and business offering in Dubai.” Director General of Dubai Land Department, HE Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, said: “Winning this acclaimed event is a testament to the significant strides taken by the Dubai real estate market in recent years, in addition to the continuous efforts made by the government to promote and build a strong commercial environment with the express intention of projecting a prosperous and welcoming image to visitors and investors from overseas.
ITB Asia partners CrescentRating for Halal In Travel – Asia Summit 2016 VW BUREAU
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TB Asia, “Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show”, has established a partnership with CrescentRating, the world’s leading authority on halal travel. As part of the trade show’s first foray into Muslim travel, CrescentRating will host the “Halal In Travel – Asia Summit 2016” conference and various workshops, sharing invaluable insights on how delegates can strengthen their position in a sector that is currently worth billions of dollars. Organised by Messe Berlin, the ninth edition of ITB Asia will take place from 19 – 21 October 2016 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands. According to findings from MasterCardCrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2016, the global Muslim travel market was worth USD150 billion in 2015 and is projected to grow to USD220 billion by 2020.
Voyager’s World > June 2016
As part of ITB Asia, this inaugural event held on 19 October 2016 will bring together experts from National Tourism Organisations (NTO), travel industry stakeholders and online travel industry players to share insights and ideas on how to leverage this growth market to attract more travellers. Panel discussions will focus on national strategies to develop Halal tourism, the readiness of travel services and discuss the use of technology to target Muslim consumers. The dedicated workshops will share first-hand experience on developing Muslim-friendly travel packages as well as Halal fine dining options at hotels and restaurants. The event will also see the release of an exclusive market intelligence report by MasterCard and CrescentRating.
“With the rapid growth of the Muslim travel sector, our partnership with CrescentRating is an integral addition to this year’s show. Delegates attending ITB Asia from all over the world can look forward to gaining deeper insights from the leading industry experts to help identify new business opportunities, helping to keep them at the forefront of key travel trends,” said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia. Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating and HalalTrip, said: “We are delighted to partner with ITB Asia to deliver this inaugural Halal in Travel event. With the indepth experience CrescentRating has gained over the last seven years, we look forward to delivering a best of class knowledge forum on Halal travel. It will be an ideal platform for exchanging experiences
between experts in the industry and destinations. We are confident that this will be a ground-breaking event which will shape the future of this sector.” Last year, ITB Asia attracted close to 760 exhibitors from 73 countries, as well as 880 buyers and more than 10,300 attendees over three days. ITB Asia has recently announced its first-ever MICE day, establishing partnerships with industry leaders including Society of Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) and Incentive Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP) on the second day of the show.
meeting planners pay more heed to responsible approaches The meetings industry is giving increasing importance and space in its budget and execution plan for adopting sustainable and responsible measures in organising events. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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s the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) industry is dynamically evolving as the next big thing in travel, the concept of a green or environment-friendly meeting arrangement is something to reckon with. A green meeting concept is one that, as the name, suggests, takes its environmental parameters quite seriously so as to ensure minimal adverse effects on the environment. At a press conference held in Bangalore in view of the forthcoming PATA Travel Mart 2015, R.V. Deshpande, Minister for Higher Education & Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka, mentioned that the department has been holding talks with corporate about adopting some tourist destinations in Karnataka as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Let us look at how corporate companies, governing bodies and associations are rising to the occasion to do their bit towards
tourism especially because the industry is quite a significant option for economic growth in many countries. Is tourism being developed sensibly and with sensitivity to the local communities and the immediate environment? While most industries have certain criteria, budgets and certification schemes year-on-year, CSR activities may differ as far as tourism is concerned as implementing a CSR activity in a region would require holistic development. They have to ensure that activities help improve the livelihood and well-being of the local population, preserve the environment and bring in economic benefit. A few months back, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) had published a research report that examines the link between peace and tourism. Through international visitor arrival (IVA) data and short historical
perspectives the study examines how peace, democracy and ending geopolitical and ethno-cultural conflicts between and within countries can facilitate phenomenal growth in travel and tourism. The report, titled ‘How Travel & Tourism Benefits From Peace – A Statistical Analysis of the Asian Experience’, cites the example of 12 countries in both South Asia and Southeast Asia that have emerged from decades of colonialism and conflict in the last few decades and have begun to convert battlefields into trading/tourism fields.
provides an opportunity for people to develop a better understanding of each other,” said PATA CEO Mario Hardy. “With this report we want to show in simple numbers the positive benefits that travel and tourism can bring to a destination. We want to give a sense of hope to those who are still affected by conflict and show them the path to a better future. We can learn from our past and improve our future and we hope that this report will help readers to better understand the benefits that tourism can bring to our world.”
The study shows clearly that travel and tourism is booming in those countries which are at peace but lagging in those still grappling with either internal or external conflicts.
Hardy voiced hope that the study will be used by leaders in both the public and the private sectors to make peace-building as much a part of the travel and tourism agenda as advancing its economic benefits and alleviating climate change.
“If peace prevails, tourism can flourish. Tourism helps economies to grow; it reduces the disparity between social classes; it alleviates poverty and, most importantly, it
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) undertook a ‘Wake the Lake’ campaign in Bangalore last year along with college students to clean up a lake
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and create awareness about best practices in the industry. Hilton Worldwide recently announced that it would reduce the environmental impact of meetings and events held at its properties in Asia Pacific through an expanded carbon emissions solution, the Clean Air Programme. Beginning from 1 May, the group encourages meeting planners and delegates to do their bit in reducing carbon emissions and delivering more sustainable experiences to their customers. The Clean Air Programme will provide a calculation of the carbon emissions of the event at no cost to the customer. Hilton will purchase the equivalent carbon credits to finance environmentally-friendly projects across Asia Pacific in partnership with carbon offset solutions provider Climate Friendly. By offsetting carbon emissions from meetings and events, they can provide essential financing to renewable energy, forest protection and restoration projects which is critical in mitigating climate change. As emphasized by Hilton’s CSR
Voyager’s World > June 2016
strategy, Travel with Purpose, the Clean Air Programme was designed as a valued opportunity for both Hilton and its customers to share a commitment to host more ecofriendly meetings. The Clean Air Programme is an evolution of the Carbon Offset Programme which was previously offered in more than 30 properties in Australasia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The group will use LightStay, its proprietary system developed to calculate and analyze environmental performance, to track and measure carbon emissions from every meeting and event, by considering the function room’s water and electricity usage and the food consumed at the event. It has, thus, identified nine projects across Asia Pacific to be funded under the Clean Air Programme. These projects prevent greenhouse gases by producing renewable energy or preserving forests. Some of them include the Tamil Nadu 45-Turbine Wind Project to generate clean electricity that is fed into the Southern Electricity Grid of India; Yuxian Baiyantuo Wind Project in
Beijing; Japanese Energy Efficiency Upgrade Project; Hyundai Steel Waste Energy Cogeneration Project in South Korea; Tasmanian Native Forest Protection Project in Australia; Siam Cement Biomass Project in Thailand, to name a few. The Serai Bandipur works closely with the tribals in that region and presents folk dances for the guests. So, it may be looked at as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative combined with tourism. CSR in developing tourism is about observing the needs of a destination area. In an interview with Mario Hardy, CEO of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), he mentioned to me saying that PATA is very much aware of the importance of giving back to the society. He mentioned of a resort-developer who insisted on building a resort in an area only if the company agreed to build a school for the children of the locals living there. The Banyan Tree Resorts has also been engaging a number of rural communities in Asia to make cushions and tapestries for the guestrooms of its properties. These
initiatives complement ongoing efforts by Banyan Tree Gallery to showcase cottage crafts and the work of indigenous artisans at its lifestyle galleries, as well as the Museum Shops, a collection of outlets in Singapore museums from which visitors can purchase a piece of ancient Asian art recreated as contemporary ornaments, accessories and stationery. This arrangement has the two-fold benefit of keeping traditional arts and crafts alive while providing Asian communities with a means of earning a living. Public Sector enterprises are required to have a CSR and Sustainability policy approved by their respective Boards of Directors. Likewise, the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) adopted CSR and Sustainable Development as a policy initiative with the objectives of conducting business in transparent and ethical manner, the philosophy and spirit of CSR and Sustainability be embedded in the core values of ITDC and to be concerned for social and environmental issues with respect to its business activities.
33>> The thrust of sustainability projects undertaken by ITDC were those that were inclusive of socio-economic growth, extended environment protection and promoted green and energy efficient technologies. It undertook a project of SITC of 5KLD Sewage Treatment Plant at Hotel Bharatpur Ashok throughwhich discharged waste water of the hotel shall be treated through STP Plant and shall be reutilized for the purpose of horticultures in the premises of hotel. The other one included SITC of 3000LPD Solar water Heating System at Hotel Jaipur Ashok wherein the hot water shall be produced through solar based heating system instead of operating the boilers/ electric Geysers. Therefore the electrical energy & fuel shall be saved along with the pollution free environment. The third project was SITC of 10KW Photovoltaic Power System at Hotel Ashok in which the solar-based electrical power shall be produced up to 10KW by use of photovoltaic power system and saved the electrical energy & cost. Tourism needs to take into account a holistic and comprehensive approach that balances tourism development with other activities yet tourism is made up of many sectors and is very fragmented, therefore effects and monitoring processes through one company or mechanism has been difficult. The supply chain of product to end user is not often controlled by solely one party or individual and different elements are often operated by multiple stakeholders. This therefore has led to difficulties in controlling elements of corporate social responsibility. within the tourism industry it is generally agreed that there are increasing overall societal and environmental concerns, and that this will increase the demand for more sustainable destinations and travel preferences. These will increase the pressure for destination management policies and tour operator responsibility. Developments of the 1960/70s, which were the result of overbuilding, are expected to face severe decline as consumers look for more attractive destinations that feature a clean environment and well preserved natural and cultural attractions. Another trend affecting sustainable tourism is health and wellness. Active or adventure holidays, wellness and spa products and
The market share of sustainable tourism is difficult to assess as many consumers do not just purchase one type of holiday. During the same year, they may choose a typical package sun and sand holiday as well as one that specifically caters to nature and adventure. Sustainable tourists are approximately 50% free and independent travelers (FIT) and 50% package tour travellers (those travelling with a tour operator). The majority of tourists seeking nature or adventure type holidays typically
sun destinations are likely to increase in popularity. Authenticity or ‘experiential tourism’ is another trend. Artificial type destinations (e.g., theme parks), which do not meet higher consumer quality standards, will decrease as the consumer searches for the greater authenticity. Furthermore, there has also been an increase in tourists seeking meaning from their vacation experiences with a resultant noticeable increase in the number of organisations that offer volunteer based travel or educational.
travel with niche or small scale operators as mass operators tend to accommodate sun, sea and sand packages. CSR in tourism has to consider a number of activities that assist in balancing the development of the destination, yet, it is important for the government and private sectors to emphatically integrate destination management policies in their company policies so as to enable places evolve as a tourist destination in the fullest sense.
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Flight Talk
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indian aviation space sees rising investment for development The Indian aviation sector is undergoing radical changes to reap and rake in more investments. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
I
ndia is the ninth largest civil aviation market and is predicted to become the third largest by the year 2020. This undoubtedly calls for considering investment projects and inviting foreign investors. As the present government is set to announce the new aviation policy shortly and take long overdue assessments and decisions, we can expect the future strategy to involve improved connectivity and more affordability in domestic air travel. Recently a strategic partnership was made between the Airport Authority of India (AAI), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and National Skill Development Fund (NSDF), for scaling up skill development initiatives in the aviation sector. AAI is the single organisation entrusted with the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure both on ground and air space in the country. The three organisations signed a Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) where AAI has committed to contribute an amount of 5.25 crore of its CSR funds to NSDF along with land and premises for setting up skill development centres in the country.
Voyager’s World > June 2016
This pact is the result of the joint efforts made between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The MoU signing ceremony took place in the gracious presence of Shri P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs. The MoU was signed by Mr. Rajesh Agarwal, CEO, NSDF, Mr. Rajiv Goel, Director India Aviation Academy, Airport Authority of India and Mr. Jayant Krishna, CEO, NSDC. Commenting on the strategic partnership, Shri P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said, “As we gear up for a new civil aviation policy, for new avenues that aviation will open up for economic growth of the country, for more new airports, and existing ones becoming active; there has to be a large part of our strategy towards sourcing skilled workforce to make all our plans successful. Our plans can be the most well thought out plans, but we need trained and certified people to execute those plans. Any
vibrant program needs a skilled workforce. Our partnership with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through this MoU signing between AAI, NSDC and NSDF will certainly help us ready that workforce from right now. In this way, we are investing back into our sector’s and the country’s brighter future.” Welcoming this contribution from the aviation sector, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said, “The Aviation Sector has seen some good traction in the skill ecosystem. It is estimated that by 2035, the Indian Civil Aviation sector would employ 8 to 10 lakh personnel directly and another 3 lakh indirectly. To cater to this requirement, we introduced a new Sector Skill Council exclusively for preparing a job ready workforce for the Aerospace & Aviation Sector, last year. We welcome the contribution being made by the Airport Authority of India through their CSR funds. We are certain that together we will be able to bring about a constructive change in the aviation sector in India. I thank Mr. Gajapathi Raju and the Civil Aviation Ministry for joining hands with us in this endeavour.” “We have skilled more than 1.04 crore youth last year in 2015-16 which is an incremental growth
by 36.8% from the previous year. With contributions like these we are certain that we will be able to bring speed and scale along with standards to skill initiatives in the nation,” he further added. Speaking on the occasion, Rohit Nandan, Secretary, MSDE said, “This is a welcoming move from the Civil Aviation Ministry and AAI; and we are a committed to this partnership with them. We hope that more Corporates and PSUs like them, come forward and invest in skills for a brighter future of the country. Skill India is the largest human resource exercises that has ever happened till now and it is imperative that we together develop a vision for convergence across all stakeholders in the country to achieve this goal of skilling 40.2 crore people in the country. Our partnership with Civil Aviation Ministry is certain to see great results.” Applauding the partnership, Mr. A K Dutta, Member (ANS), Airport Authority of India said, “Skill up-gradation has always been one of our key focus areas and this partnership with NSDC and NSDF, will help in bridging the employability gap and creating a specialized, skilled workforce in various segments, including
Flight Talk
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airport, airline, MRO, cargo and ground handling” Under the MoU, AAI also committed to undertake Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programs for their current employees, to train and certify in their existing skill sets, in association with the Aerospace & Aviation Sector Skill Council and any other council as may seem fit. This MoU, AAI will also align its ongoing skill development programs with the Skill India Mission so that all courses are aligned to one National Skill Qualification Framework which is recognised by the industry today. The program will be managed by NSDC and its training partners who have till now cumulatively skilled more than 80.33 lakh youth in the country. The fund contributed by AAI will also be utilised to support and sponsor candidates for skill development programs, including Substantially Affected Persons under AAI projects. “Partnership like these substantiate the success of PPP model and encourage us to bring more value to the ecosystem. This partnership with AAI will bring some great achievements and opportunities for youth in the aviation sector.” said
Shri Jayant Krishna, CEO, NSDC. The Modi Government’s Make In India national programme seeks to facilitate investments and innovations across various sectors including aviation. As far as aviation is concerned, it leverages on the facts like• Total passenger traffic stood at 163.06 Million during 2013. India is one of the least penetrated air markets in the world with 0.04 trips per capita per annum as compared to 0.3 in China and more than 2 in the USA. • Indian carriers plan to increase their fleet size to reach 800 aircrafts by 2020. • The Indian aviation sector is likely to see investments totalling USD 12.1 Billion during 2012-17; USD 9.3 Billion is expected to come from the private sector. As regards the investments, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permitted for Greenfield airport projects under the automatic route. The new airports are permitted under the Greenfield Airport Policy 2008. Investment in airports is encouraged under the Public Private Partnership Policy of the Government of India. Recently, Government of India (GoI) has granted ‘in-principle’
approval for setting up of 14 Greenfield airports namely, Mopa in Goa; Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra; Shimoga, Gulbarga,Hassan and Bijapur in Karnataka; Kannur in Kerala; Pakyong in Sikkim; Datia/Gwalior (Cargo) in Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh; Karaikal in Puducherry; and Dholera in Gujarat. Further, Government has laid down Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) of air transport services taking into account the need for air transport services of different regions of the country. However, it is up to the airlines to provide services to different regions depending on their commercial viability subject to compliance of RDG. Regional air connectivity policy offers attractive incentives in the form of exemption of landing, parking and navigation fees to airlines operating at designated airports in non-metro areas. Up to 74% FDI is permitted for existing airport projects under the automatic route, above 74% and up to 100% permitted under government approval route. Up to 49% FDI is permitted in domestic scheduled passenger airlines under the automatic route. 100% permitted for NRIs. Up to
49% FDI under the automatic route is permitted in Non-Scheduled Air Transport Service. FDI above 49% and up to 74% is permitted under Government approval route. 100% FDI permitted for NRIs. Up to 100% FDI is permitted in helicopter services and seaplanes under the automatic route. Up to 49% FDI is permitted in ground handling services under the automatic route. FDI above 49% and up to 74% is permitted under government approval route. Up to 100% FDI is permitted in maintenance and repair organizations; flying training institutes; and technical training institutes under the automatic route. It may be noted that the investments are subject to relevant regulations, approvals from DGCA and security and other conditions. Foreign airlines are also, henceforth, allowed to invest in the capital of Indian companies, operating scheduled and nonscheduled Air Transport Services, up to the limit of 49% of their paid-up capital. Investments will be subject to government route. The Airports Authority of India is responsible for developing, financing, operating all public sector airports.
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FESTIVALS OF 8 - 17 July, 2016
T
he Calgary Stampede is a 10-day event which happens from 8 17 July with an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival in Calgary, Canada. The show begins with a parade of marching bands, 150 floats and hundreds of horses. The rodeo athletes ride horses and bulls, roping cattle and participate in the chuck wagon races. The show features a staged spectacle with horses, singers, dancers and inspiring music. The visitors can also indulge in various delicacies like golden grasshopper pie pop, mac n’ cheese stuffed burgers, etc.
Calgary Stampede, Canada
31 July, 2016
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he 39th running of the San Francisco Marathon will take place on 31 July. This USA Track & Field-certified Boston Marathon and Olympic Team Trials qualifier race attracts top endurance athletes and a fantastic community of runners from around the country and the globe. One can enjoy Full Marathon, 1st Half Marathon, 2nd Half Marathon, 5K or Ultra-marathon distance and join 26,000 runners in this breathtaking and scenic race along the Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Crissy Field.
San Francisco Marathon, USA
6 - 15 July, 2016
15 May - 15 June, 2016
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he Sardine Run happens every year from mid-May to mid-June along the KwaZulu-Natal Coast where the sardines have arrived; they have swum for more than 30 days from their spawning ground in the Cape to reach South Africa’s east coast. The fishermen join the sharks, game fish, marine mammals and birds. This is a marine spectacle to observe the great sardine-run phenomenon, whether it be from the coast, from the deck of a boat, underwater or with a snorkel.
Sardine Run, KwaZulu-Natal Coast, South Africa Voyager’s World > June 2016
T
he San Fermin Fiestas takes place from 6 - 15 July in Pamplona. The running of the bulls is the main attraction in this festival with thousands of people coming every year to experience the risk and excitement of the popular running of the bulls. For nine days, the Pamplona residents and visitors are dressed typically in red and white and get carried away by the continuous festive spirit that invades the streets. The festive programme includes concerts, dance exhibitions and bullfights.
San Fermín Fiestas, Pamplona, Spain
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THE WORLD 23 July, 2016s
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he Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts will start on July 23 as a celebration of local, Arabic and international culture in Jerash bringing together local folklore dancers and troupes from all over the world. Several leading Jordanian and Arab artists will participate in the festival activities including celebrity singers like Jordan’s Omar Abdallat, Lebanese Rami Ayyash and Kuwaiti Abdullah Ruweishid. The festival will also include poetry sessions, where renowned Jordanian and Arab poets will recite some of their works.
Jerash Festival, Jordan
12 June, 2016 The Pride Day will start from 12 June, the largest celebration of LGBT pride in Gayborhood attracting over 25,000 people each year with a gay pride parade and festival in Philadelphia that proceeds through Center City and Philadelphia’s historic district. The parade terminates at the festival location at the Great Plaza of Penn’s Landing, the best pride festival location in the country. The parade crosses I-95 via Chestnut Street, via the Market Street and Walnut Street overpasses.
Pride Day, Philadelphia, USA
10-12 June, 2016 2 - 3 July, 2016
T
he Fillmore Jazz Festival takes place on 2nd and 3rd July in the West Coast, drawing over 100,000 visitors. The visitors can groove to the sounds of live music from multiple stages, browse the offerings of over 12 blocks of fine art and crafts and enjoy the gourmet food and beverages right from Asian to Cajun, paintings to pottery, old favourites and new directions. This year’s entertainment continues the tradition of showcasing outstanding artists from across the jazz spectrum.
T
he Chicago Blues Festival takes place from 10-12 June in Chicago. Some of the musicians who have played at the annual Chicago Blues Festival are Bo Diddley, Keith Richards and Buddy Guy. The Blues musicians sing about ‘Sweet Home Chicago’. Chicago has historically been a beacon to musicians looking for bigger crowds and more places to play. The annual Chicago Blues Festival is the city’s largest music festival. This year, the festival highlights include three stages with daytime concerts in downtown Grant Park.
Chicago Blues Festival, USA Fillmore Jazz Festival, San Francisco, USA www.voyagersworld.in
Editor’s Pick
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indians prove to be most loyal customers: collinson group As a result of generic loyalty programmes the affluent middle class is less likely to repeat purchase or recommend a brand to friends, says a survey by Collinson Group. VW BUREAU
W
hen it comes to planning breaks and holidays, the Indian traveller is spoilt for choice with countless holiday options at his disposal. Naturally, there is a pressure on the travel agents and tour operators to cope with the last minute rushes, new packages, late booking queries and yet try to offer something for every customer. In the past one year or so, the perception of a holiday has taken a new dimension. The first thing that a traveller would like to know about a destination is how the experience would be and for the need to be recognized, lauded, liked and commented upon on social media platforms. In view of increasing exposure to international destinations as well as new locations within India itself, niche segments like chartered services, cruises, adventure sports and home stays are some of the trends that are here to stay. According to new research launched by Collinson Group, Indians are the most demanding and loyal customers in the world. Social Service Institude in Singapore conducted the research on behalf of Collinson Group. 6,125 consumers within the top 10-15 percent of earners in Australia, Brazil,
Voyager’s World > June 2016
China, France, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates were polled online. High quality and consistent service is expected by 83 percent of the consumers and 81 percent of the consumers expect the brands to be easy to do business. This compares with the global average of 69 percent. 81 percent of the consumers agreed that programmes make them purchase more while 82 percent would recommend a brand that offers loyalty programmes. This is above the global average of 66 percent and 65 percent respectively. There has been a 24 percent drop in membership of loyalty programmes among the affluent middle class in India since 2014. Collision’s Group surveyed the programmes run by supermarket and grocery stores, airlines, credit card providers, retailers, hotels, telecom and media companies, coffee shops, and banking. The survey showed drop in the membership in all the areas. Telecoms and media providers were the only sector to have a two percent increase in membership. “This is a critical wake-up call
to brands using points-based programmes offering only generic rewards. Given the importance of affluent middle class consumers on the fortunes of companies, brands must lift their game and rethink how they recognise, engage and reward customers,” said Anurag Saxena, India country manager, ICLP, owned by Collinson Group. As a result of generic loyalty programmes the affluent middle class is less likely to repeat purchase or recommend a brand to friends. India, Brazil and China oppose this trend, suggesting these societies are yet to experience the frustration of uninspiring programmes seen in more mature Western markets. Loyalty programmes are requested by 42 percent of the people while flexibility to choose rewards and benefits are requested by 77 percent of the Indian consumers to spend more on the preferred brand. “There is a clear appetite for loyalty and consumer engagement initiatives, but consumers are turning their backs on programmes that no longer resonate with them. Brands should tap into what motivates their customers, instead
of reaching for only discounts or material goods as rewards,” added Anurag Saxena. Pilgrimage tours, girlfriend getaways, golf tours, reunions, senior citizen groups, etc. is another growing trend. There has also been a lot of focus given to lesser known destinations like Bhutan and Vietnam, so also the Fiji Islands, Maldives and on the other hand, already established popular destinations like Thailand and Sri Lanka are constantly revamping their brand images. For a temporary period, countries like Turkey and Spain witnessed a sudden flurry of tourist activities as a result of Bollywood influences. On the domestic front, there have also been rising preferences for rediscovering cultural tourism in the country. Places that used to be favoured by international tourists are now searched by Indians as well, particularly the urban ones. States like Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have been going all out to bring in tourists to their hitherto little known destinations. Madhya Pradesh Tourism recently launched its special chartered bus for tourists.
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The financial services opportunity Customer expectation is highest in financial services, with four out of five (79 percent) of affluent Indian middle class customers expecting their bank to reward them for their loyalty. Again, India is the most demanding country, 14 percent higher than the global average of 65 percent. Retail banks and credit card providers can meet this demand by developing innovative loyalty programmes that draw on the wealth of customer data held on record. Of all the industries surveyed, the financial services sector is best placed to succeed, as 77 percent of Indian respondents agree that their bank knows and understands their needs. This 12 percent increase since 2014 suggests the sector is learning the value of a relevant and personal customer experience. India also beats the global average of 49 percent suggesting a forward looking sector.
trust in financial services’ ability to manage personal data (+9 percent), and faith in institutions to act in their customers’ best interests (+9 percent).
Further, Indian banking loyalty programmes specifically were found to encourage 95 percent of members to spend more (82 percent globally), while credit card initiatives positively influenced 85 percent of respondents (79 percent globally). The research also uncovered increases in the levels of
• Address how loyalty programmes are funded – For financial services, the loss in interchange fees can be mitigated by increasing fees in other areas of the business, developing their own loyalty programmes, increasing collaboration with merchant funded programmes, and building bank-wide loyalty through
Voyager’s World > June 2016
The financial services sector must however be aware of challenges to their business in the form of new fintech start-ups offering services that impact revenues, as well as the reduction in interchange fees which have traditionally been used to fund loyalty programmes. To succeed, financial services and other industries must: • Recognise the value of relevance – The abundance of generic programmes has diluted the impact of loyalty programmes causing consumer fatigue. Brands need to balance programme objectives for motivating short-term behaviour and driving deeper engagement for long-term loyalty. Personalisation and breadth of rewards and benefits is key for brands to remain relevant.
account add-ons like insurance. • Embrace digital – The smartphone is becoming the consumer device of choice for many brand interactions. Indeed, 84 percent of Indian respondents make digital payments whenever possible, and 80 percent agree that online banking is incredibly important to them. Incorporating loyalty programmes and initiatives into payment card and mobile ecosystems will drive engagement and increase consumer brand affinity. •Move beyond transactional rewards – Although discounts and cashback provide instant gratification, they do little to drive long- term loyalty. Brands should instead get to the heart of what matters to their customers. For the affluent middle class, this is often their friends and families, so rewards should be more experiential, lifestyle and life-goal oriented. An ICICI Lombard Travel Trends survey focused on revealing the difference in behaviour among travellers when it comes to international versus domestic travel. The survey covered 1063 respondents across a mix of metros and smaller cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh who
have travelled to international as well as domestic locations. The survey showed that Indians are travelling more frequently for leisure across international and domestic circuits. While 25% respondents had increased the frequency of their foreign trips in the past three to five years, almost 30% have done so in case of domestic circuits. Indians still rely on travel agents for ticket purchase for their overseas (85%) and domestic (78%) leisure trips, while only 4% of international travellers booked their overseas travel through online travel portal, as much as 20% of domestic travellers used online travel portals for bookings. Indians clearly give more importance to travel insurance for international tours compared to domestic trips. The survey results show that while taking leisure trips, higher number of Indians purchased overseas travel insurance (38%) as compared to domestic travel insurance (4%). Among those who did not purchase an overseas travel insurance policy, an alarming 50% felt that purchasing the same is unnecessary if one already has some other insurance policy. For the un-insured domestic travellers, nearly 60% did not see the need to buy a policy given the short
Editor’s Pick
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flight distance to the destination. After the Internet and the influx of apps and online booking solutions and other web-related services have become a way of life in the country, our way of planning holidays has changed. We have come a long way from looking out for word-of-mouth information, recommendations from friends, books and newspapers. Today, we have come to heavily rely on Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and social media, not to forget the growing presence of mobile technology as a mode of access. Word-of-mouth still carries on its significance, just that the form and medium have changed; vacationers are looking out for word-of-mouth information through reviewing and blogging websites. Travel planning online usually means a lot of work searching the vastness of the internet. Online travel portals usually offer deals to fit in with holiday seasons. Search engines bring about several hundred travel sites instantly, encompassing myriad options of OTAs, accommodation facilities and sightseeing choices on one simple screen. Today, online travel bookings continue to increase thus proving that travellers feel secure and happy
about having found best value for their money using trusted sites. In the past few years, electronic media, movies and social media have contributed significantly towards impacting outbound travel from India, mainly in prodding people to try and opt for more exotic locations. At the same time, the conventional holiday planning services of travel agents are also flourishing with more customizations being offered and personalized services. OTAs are now exclusively aiming on customer choices and preferences for destinations, comfort and budget. Today nobody makes plans or travels without checks. Where to go, what to do, destinations, prices, restaurants anything and everything is tested online and through friends and reviews. Travel guides have also come into the scene to fill the gap with comprehensive details about places, activities, hotels. Lonely Planet India partnered with Skyscanner to launch ‘India Unexplored’, a digital consumer campaign to draw travel enthusiasts to share their discovery of lesser known destinations in the country. The campaign encouraged travellers to tell, share offbeat travel experiences and win prizes like sponsored holidays to offbeat destinations and interesting travel merchandise.
Key destinations likely to be visited by Indians this summer A trip to short haul destinations like Dubai, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Macau, Bali or Oman bears the advantage of just a few hours on flight, affordability and assorted sightseeing and entertainment activities be it amusement, shopping, heritage, food or adventure. Offbeat destinations like the Philippines, Taiwan, Langkawi in Malaysia and Seoul have also seen rising interest in the recent months. The Philippines has declared 2015 as the Visit Philippines year. Domestically Coorg, Puducherry, Munnar have been popular. Jammu and Kashmir has bounced back after its setback from the recent natural calamity and is promoting its winter attractions extensively. Hill stations like Naukuchiatal, Kulu and Manali remain ever popular but our neighbours like Kathmandu and Bhutan are also posing as strong contenders. On the international front, new players like Maldives, Korea, Portugal, Eastern Europe like Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic; international long haul cruises like Alaska cruises are highly
favoured and are closely followed by the Mediterranean and Northern Europe cruises. The popularity of a cruise holiday is increasing and every year we are seeing a growth of 60 – 80% in our cruise business. The Indian travel trade has definitely become more focused on selling and promoting Cruise holidays recognising the high yield nature of the segment. for example, Selling a 7-day Alaska cruise to a couple could generate a commission of Rs 8 – 10 k which is the equivalent of commission earned from selling 15 international air tickets. In India, a number of cruise marketing companies and representatives of cruise lines have been empowering their travel agents, from time to time, through product training workshops, working in partnership for joint marketing activities and providing them direct access to cruise reservation systems. They also team up with the agents and tour operators to design and send electronic mailers and brochures. But the interesting trend is that of a diverse product. As the Indian travellers grow older or are nearing retirement, they are experiencing a need for moderate leisure product and here is where cruise holidays come in handy.
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Happenings
Bollywood Parks Dubai to open in October
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ollywood Parks Dubai, a Bollywood -themed park, based on popular Hindi films, iconic characters and scenes would be open for visitors from October 2016. The park features restaurants, bands, 3D and 4D theatres among others, which are related to popular Bollywood films. It would also feature, ‘Mumbai Chowk’ zone offering recreation of the famous Victoria Station and Mumbai food joints. One of the exciting zones is the ‘Rustic Ravine zone’ that will be home to the Lagaan carnival with several rides catering to the young ones along with a motion simulator vehicle for older children and adults that would take them right into the heart of the film’s epic cricket match.
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Dubai Tourism, Airbnb sign MoU to strengthen short term rentals
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irbnb signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Tourism to diversify tourism in the emirate. The lodging company which has over 3,500 listings in Dubai, assured Dubai Tourism of transparency and of strengthening their regulations on short term rentals. It stated that it would adhere to the rules of Dubai Tourism and inform the same to the host members, through its website and constant reminders on emails to curb regulation breaches. Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism said, “We are pleased to partner with Airbnb, a pioneer in this space, to help promote diverse accommodation options to our visitors in a safe, secure and controlled manner.
Indian travel agents experience Canada!
Indian trade goes Irish at Meitheal 2016
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estination Canada organised a familiarisation (FAM) tour from May 8-15, 2016 for travel trade partners from across India to the province of Alberta. The trip gave the trade partners an opportunity to experience varied locales of Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Edmonton. The group visited the Columbia Icefield, Glacier Skywalk and Banff Gondola. The group enjoyed adventure and luxury activities like the Rockies Heli Tour, white water rafting on the Athabasca River, riding up the Jasper Tramway & Snowshoeing on Whistlers Mountain in Jasper. The group enjoyed the culinary delights, at both Canadian and Indian restaurants which hosted them to sumptuous meals suiting the Indian palate.
ourism Ireland recently hosted eight Indian travel agents to Ireland’s tourism trade fair, Meitheal 2016. In the fair, which saw over 310 overseas buyers, Indian travel agents experienced Dublin, Ireland’s Ancient East and the Wild Atlantic Way. Besides experiencing the enthralling Irish traditional music and dance, they partook in the ancient Celtic game of Hurling. Their itinerary also included Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Trinity College and the Waterford Crystal Centre. Huzan Fraser Motivala, India Representative, Tourism Ireland said, “India is an important market for Tourism Ireland. Over the last five years, we have seen a year-on-year increase of over 25 per cent of Indian visitors to Ireland”. The Irish Visa Applications so far, have seen a 43% increase compared to the same period last year. Factors in our favour include increased air access to Ireland, particularly by Etihad Airways and Emirates via the Middle East.
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Andrew Jones elected PATA's Chairman of Association's Executive Board
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he Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) elected Andrew Jones, Guardian - Sanctuary Resorts, Hong Kong SAR, as Chairman of the Association’s Executive Board, during the recently held PATA Annual Summit in Guam, USA. While Andrew was elected as the Chairman, Sarah Mathews was elected as the Vice Chairperson. Andrew replaces Kevin B Murphy, who will remain member of the Executive Board as Immediate Past Chairman. During the PATA Annual Summit 2016 in Guam, USA, PATA also elected a new Executive Board comprising Sarah Mathews, Head of Destination Marketing Asia Pacific – TripAdvisor based in Hong Kong SAR; Stephen Pearce, Vice President – Marketing at Tourism Vancouver; Hiran Cooray, Chairman - Jetwing Hotels Sri Lanka; Mark Clarkson, Director - Business Development Asia Pacific, OAG Singapore; Anthony Lau, Executive Director - Hong Kong Tourism Board; Vikram Madhok, Managing Director - Abercrombie & Kent India, Ltd.; Chris Bottrill, Dean at the Faculty of Global and Community Studies, School of Tourism Management - Capilano University Canada; Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director - Macao Government Tourism Office, Macao SAR; Pilar Laguaña, Chairperson, PATA Micronesia Chapter, Guam; and Ben Montgomery, Director of Business Relations Management, Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand. Sarah Mathews was elected as the new Vice Chairperson. Stephen Pearce was elected Secretary/Treasurer in place of Basant Mishra, Executive Chairman - Temple Tiger Group of Companies in Nepal who had held the position since April 2014.
Zambia conducts maiden road show in India
Goa Tourism to tie up with Croatia, Iceland, Israel
Seychelles Tourism meets travel trade in South India
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ambia Tourism Agency recently organized its maiden road show in Mumbai and Delhi to promote tourism in Zambia. Felix Chaila, CEO, Zambia Tourism Agency stated, “Zambia witnessed an increase of 30 per cent in Indian arrivals in 2015 over 2014. This increase has led us to believe in India, as an emerging source market with high potential. We had earlier participated in trade fairs in India. These road shows mark the beginning of our aggressive approach to increase tourist arrivals from India which is our fastest growing market in Asia.”
ndian Ambassadors to Croatia, Iceland and Israel extended an invitation to Goa to promote its tourism facets which will boost travel and trade ties between this state and theirs in the coming future. The Chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) Nilesh Cabral elaborated on new tourism activities and initiatives recently launched by Goa Tourism that would interest the three countries. The three Indian Ambassadors were also shown a brief documentary film on Goa Tourism giving insights on the State’s bountiful aspects. Representatives from the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) were also present for the interaction session.
he Seychelles Tourism Industry were in India last week on what they called a Tourism Promotional Roadshow that took them to Chennai and also to Bangalore. This Promotional Roadshow was a followup to similar events but a year ago in Delhi and Mumbai and the aim of this drive into India was for the tropical islands of the Seychelles to increase its visibility in order to remain relevant as a holiday option for the Indian holiday makers. Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board explained when she was addressing her event in Bangalore that she was set to continue to work with the travel trade of India in order for Seychelles to claim its fair share of their outbound tourism market.
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Luxury Outpost
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Luxury travel outpaces rest of travel industry: amadeus A new Amadeus report looks at luxury travel trends until 2025 to help the travel industry better target and service its fastest-growing segment. VW BUREAU
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uxury travel would outpace the rest of travel industry, suggests a report published by Amadeus, a global travel technology provider complied with data from Tourism Economics and expert interviews. The report, ‘Shaping the Future of Luxury Travel’, observed that global consumers are increasingly spending their disposable income on experiences rather than material goods. It stated that between 2011 and 2015, luxury travel, in terms of outbound flights on business witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of a 4.5 per cent, against 4.2 per cent for overall travel. It also estimated that the trend will continue to accelerate over the next ten years, with luxury travel trips projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2 per cent between 2015 and 2025, almost a third faster than overall travel at 4.8 per cent. The report in its findings said that North America and Western Europe account for 64 per cent of global outbound luxury trips, despite only making up 18 per cent of the world’s population.
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Further, it reported that from 20112025, Asia Pacific’s luxury travel market would see faster overall
growth compared to Europe’s. However, it would decelerate from then on, Amadeus reported. Rob Sinclair-Barnes, Strategic Marketing Director at Amadeus IT Group, said, “Luxury means different things to different people and this is especially true today. As emergent middle classes seek the material aspect of luxury travel, more mature markets are craving a new, evolved kind of luxury. This is why offering luxury customers a relevant personal and exclusive experience will become even more crucial than it is today – it will be a differentiating factor between old and new luxury”. Understanding your business’s role in delivering an end-to-end luxury experience for a traveler is key to improving collaboration, and reinforcing an industry-wide push for consistent luxury service. Exploring the latest technologies and innovations for making the industry work better as a whole is key to achieving a new level of luxury that has never existed before, SinclairBarnes said. Some key findings from the report include: • We have entered a new age of luxury travel, where luxury is curated, real-time and experience-led • North America and Western Europe account for 64% of global
outbound luxury trips, despite only making up 18% of the world’s population • From 2011-2025, Asia Pacific’s luxury travel market will see faster overall growth than Europe’s, but this growth will decelerate from 2015-2025 • India’s luxury market CAGR of 13% is higher than any of the other BRIC nations, and is the highest of the 25 countries explored in this report • A human desire for more rewarding experiences provides an essential catalyst to evolve and improve travel industry quality and service standards • A hierarchy of luxury travel needs is identified, ranging from 5 star quality and service standards to exclusive VIP privacy and security
to different people and this is especially true today. As emergent middle classes seek the material aspect of luxury travel, more mature markets are craving a new, evolved kind of luxury. This is why offering luxury customers a relevant personal and exclusive experience will become even more crucial than it is today – it will be a differentiating factor between old and new luxury,” says Rob Sinclair-Barnes, Strategic Marketing Director at Amadeus IT Group. Shaping the future of luxury travel in Asia Pacific Over the course of the next 10 years, outbound luxury trips will grow a third faster than overall travel.
LUXURY TRAVEL
China will continue to experience double-digit growth at 12.2% between 2011-2025
OVERALL TRAVEL
Between 2011 and 2025, Asia Pacific’s luxury travel market will see faster overall growth than Europe’s, but will decelerate from 2015 - 2025. Europe
3.6%
Asia Pacific
7.1%
6.7%
2011-2015
In 2015, Amadeus released a report called Future Traveller Tribes 2030, which identified six traveller tribes based on consumer behaviour, recognizing that purchasing patterns change depending on the circumstances of each trip.
4.8%
6.2%
5.9%
5.8%
2015-2025
6.3%
India with CAGR of 12.8%, has the highest of the 25 countries explored in the study
2011-2025
Tomorrow’s luxury travellers
Always Luxury
The new era of luxury travel requires understanding customers as individuals. These travellers are defined by their behaviours and intentions and also by their varying levels of affluence.
Luxury is part of my everyday. You won’t catch me flying anything but first-class or private jet
Special Occasion
Independent & Affluent
Everyone deserves a treat once in a while. Find me a ‘wow’ experience – I’ve earned it!
I like to go solo and I travel however I want. I’ll turn to luxury when I want to pamper myself or try something new
Tomorrow’s luxury travellers Strictly Opulent
Bluxury
The best and most glamorous travel experiences only, please! I’ve got my Instagram followers to impress
I travel a lot for work, so why not tag on some luxury leisure time too. A¡er all, I’m the boss!
Cash-rich, Time poor
Using similar methodology, Shaping the Future of Luxury Travel, identifies six luxury traveller tribes to help travel providers better target their luxury customer market: Always Luxury; Special Occasion; Bluxury; Cash-rich, time-poor; Strictly Opulent; and Independent Affluent. “Luxury means different things
Responsibilities mean my plans o¡en change at the very last minute. I take my private leisure time when I can, and I’m willing to pay for it
The hierarchy of luxury travel needs
How can the industry cater to these luxury travellers?
Luxury travel is subjective. It’s less about enrichment and more about self-actualisation. The more accustomed the traveller to luxury, the higher they need to travel up the pyramid of their expectations - and idea of luxury - to be fulfilled.
VIP PRIVACY & SECURITY
City Pin State Tel. Fax E mail
Voyager’s World > June 2016
Know what luxury means to the customer RIGHT NOW 2
INDULGENT EXPERIENCE (meets / exceeds)
Selfactualisation
Esteem
SERVICE LEVEL (door-to-door, on trip)
PRODUCT QUALITY STANDARDS (at every stage of the journey)
Level / Belonging
Safety
Offer something truly bespoke, relevant and niche
AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE (cultural, not mass travel)
TRUSTED TRAVEL GUARDIAN (advice, service, security of information, convenience, 24/7 support)
Physiological
To find out more, download a free copy of the “Shaping the Future of Luxury Travel” report at:
amadeus.com/luxurytravel
1 Year, 12 Issues Rs. 800 (Inclusive of Rs. 200 for postage) 2 Year, 24 Issues Rs. 1,600 (Inclusive of Rs. 400 for postage) 3 Year, 36 Issues Rs. 2,400 (Inclusive of Rs. 600 for postage) Name Designation Company Name Address
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EXCLUSIVE (unique or niche)
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Adapt the offering throughout the traveller journey
Top Appointments
45>> Sanjay Grover
Kamakhya Singh
General Manager, Hometel Chandigarh
Food & Beverage Director, JW Marriott Bengaluru
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anjay Grover has joined as the General Manager of Hometel Chandigarh-Sarovar Hotels & Resorts. He has an experience of over 26 years with various hotels across India, UAE and Oman like the Oberoi Grand Kolkata, the Oberoi Towers Mumbai, the Kwality Inn, Dubai and the Marina Beach in Azman.
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amakhya Singh joins JW Marriott Bengaluru as Food and Beverage Director. In his last assignment, he had worked with Westin Chennai Velachery as the Food and Beverage Director. He has an experience of 13 years and has worked at various locations such as Hong Kong, Azerbaijan, Pune and Mumbai.
Karanbir Gulati
Gagandeep Singh Hanjra
Assistant Director - F & B, Pullman Novotel New Delhi Aerocity
Director of Revenue Management, Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre & HICC
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aranbir Gulati is the new Assistant Director of F&B of Pullman Novotel New Delhi Aerocity. He has an experience of nine years in the hospitality industry. He has worked as the Assistant Food &Beverage Manager at ITC Maratha as Banquet Manager at ITC Welcom Hotel Dwarka and ITC Grand Central Mumbai.
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agandeep Singh Hanjra has joined Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and HICC as the Director of Revenue Management of AccorHotels Group. He brings with him an experience of over eight years in the hospitality sector with various brands like The Leela, Lalit, and The Taj Group.
Rahul Saxena
Andreas Streiber
General Manager, Seyfert Sarovar Portico, Dehradun
General Manager, Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru
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arovar Hotels & Resorts appoints Rahul Saxena as the General Manager of Seyfert Sarovar Portico, Dehradun. His previous assignments were at Country Inn & Suites by Carlson Ahmedabad and at Hotel Parkland New Delhi and Jaypee Group of Hotels.
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hangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru has appointed Andreas Streiber as the General Manager. He has an experience of over 32 years in the hotel industry. He had earlier worked as at Shangri-La Hotels in Qinhuangdao, Hangzhou and Changchun.
Dieter Vranckx
Peter Brun
Vice President for Asia Pacific, Lufthansa Group
Chief Communications Officer, VFS Global
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FS Global has appointed Peter Brun as the senior communications and media professional as the Chief Communications Officer effective 1 July 2016. He brings with him an experience of 28 years. He has worked with Kuoni Group. Prior to this, he had worked 17 years in the media industry as a journalist.
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ieter Vranckx is Lufthansa Group’s Vice President in Asia Pacific and will be based in Singapore. He is responsible for managing and directing sales in this region. Prior to this, Dieter was working in Passenger Sales and Cargo within Lufthansa Group and before that for Swiss International Air Lines in Zurich.
Shobhit Sawhney
Subrata Banerjee
General Manager, Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa
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hobhit Sawhney is the new General Manager at the Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa. With over 16 years across brands and countries, he was earlier handling the role of Hotel Manager at Grand Hyatt Mumbai. In his new role, he will take care of the overall running of the property.
General Manager, Marasa Sarovar Premier, Tirupati
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ubrata Banerjee has joined the Marasa Sarovar Premier as the new General Manager. Having over two decades of industry experience, he had earlier worked with brands such as the InterContinental Hotels (IHG), the Taj Group, Carlson Hotels and Jaypee Hotels.
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NETWORKING ISthe THE netWorking is ke KEY y June 2016
July 2016
June2016
August 2016
September 2016
3, 4, 5 Kilifair Moshi,Tanzania
15, 16, 17 ibtm america Nashville, USA
16, 17, 18, 19 ITE Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
9, 10, 11, 12 Korea World Travel Fair (KOTFA) COEX, Seoul, South Korea
July 2016
August 2016
16, 17, 18, 19, 20 GBTA Convention 2016 Denver, USA
5, 6, 7
21, 22
India International Travel Mart Bangalore
Global Panorama Showcase Kolkata
19, 20, 21
28, 29
Holiday Expo Vadodara
Global Panorama Showcase Chandigarh
29, 30, 31 India International Travel Mart Chennai
26, 27 India Association Congress New Delhi
September 2016
October 2016
8, 9, 10
13, 14, 15
ITE HCMC Hochiminh City, Vietnam
TTG Incontri Italy
21, 22
14, 15, 16
MICE Asia Pacific Exhibition Singapore
Holiday Expo Nagpur
23, 24, 25
19, 20, 21
India International Travel Mart Mumbai
ITB Asia Singapore
30 September, 1, 2 October
28, 29, 30, 31
India International Travel Mart Gurgaon
Reisen & Caravan Germany
October 2016