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Rich Japanese heading for Vietnam
Vietnamese tourism is gearing for the influx of rich Japanese retirees who
are making central Vietnam their new “shangri-la.”
According to latest news reports from Japan, Japanese investors, spearheaded
by its global trading houses Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Limtec and Mitsui, have
taken over as the new owners of the massive ‘dream resort city’ called
Danka-Suoi Vang project in Dong Province, after Singaporean investors
abandoned it.
With a total investment of US$1.2 billion, the project plans to offer rich
Japanese retirees a resort complex, villas, hospitals, golf courses and vast
rose gardens.
The dream city will also offer links to other tourist destinations in
Vietnam, including Da Lat City and Nha Trang Beach, as well as the hot
springs in Hoa Binh Mountain, in Ha Tay province.
Japanese retirees have also lived in the ancient town of Hoi An in the
central region for several hundred years.
“In Vietnam, the central region has the most beautiful beaches, and coupled
with its cultural heritage is the most ideal place for a holiday resort,”
said a spokesman for the investors.
According to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) rich Japanese in
their ’60s and ’70s, who have the highest level of average assets, now have
the time and money to spend on holidays abroad.
“Elderly people like to travel to places where they have never gone before,
like the Middle East, Africa and Latin America,” said a spokesman from the
Japan Travel Bureau, which specializes in organizing tours abroad.
According to Nomura Securities in a survey, seventy percent of Japanese over
60 want to travel domestically and abroad.
However, there are doubts the Vietnamese tourism industry is ready to cater
to the demands of the Japanese lifestyle. “Tourism products remain
undiversified,” said Pham Huu Minh, from the Vietnam National Administration
of Tourism (VNAT).
To-date, the ‘homestay’ tour of ethnic minority people in the north is the
only special tour available.
VNAT is also teaming up with its national carrier, Vietnam Airlines, to
offer package tours to Vietnam, added Pham. (eTN Asia)
All Seasons debuts in Pattaya
Accor has launched its versatile All Seasons brand in
Thailand with the rebranding of the former Pacific Prince Hotel as All Seasons
Pattaya in December.
The 260-room hotel, located on Second Road in central Pattaya, was re-branded
after a multimillion-dollar renovation that covered all guestrooms, public
areas, spa, the Season’s Restaurant and newly renovated swimming pool with
enlarged deck area.
According to Accor, the hotel will be positioned as a city hotel in a resort
destination. Its room rate starts from US$48 per night.
Accor Asia-Pacific managing director, Mr. Michael Issenberg, said the re-branded
All Seasons Pattaya was an excellent platform to introduce the brand in
Thailand.
He added All Seasons had a strong reputation as a popular, well-priced leisure
brand in Australia and New Zealand, and was very well received when Accor
launched it in Asia last year with the opening of All Seasons Legian in Bali.
“Accor believes the market conditions are right in Thailand as the demand for
mid-market accommodation is one of the fastest growing sectors. We believe
Pattaya is the right destination to launch the brand in Thailand, and in the
future we hope that All Seasons will expand to other leisure destinations around
the kingdom,” he said.
With the re-branding, Accor said it now offered the largest choice of locations
and hotel styles in the resort city of Pattaya, with three distinct brands in
Mercure Pattaya in the south, All Seasons Pattaya in central Pattaya and Garden
Cliff Resort & Spa in the north. (TTG)
THAI, Bangkok Airways
codeshare Samui services
THAI Airways International and Bangkok Airways’ burgeoning
relationship will be further cemented with the launch of the carriers’ codeshare
flights to Samui in March.
The national carrier is now hoping to tap Bangkok Airway’s southern China
destinations as well as introduce its only service to Koh Samui.
THAI executive vice-president commercial, Mr. Wallop Bhukkanasut, said:
“Everything is cleared for the Samui codeshare. We’re just finalising the
linkage between IT points - flight numbers and so forth.”
Mr. Wallop said he was hopeful the airlines could ink codeshare agreements for
China by the end of the year.
He said: “We’re also planning some routes in China, particularly southern China.
There are places they fly that we don’t. That’s being explored and hopefully
will happen this year. I have to be a little vague on that, because it depends
on how successful the IT connections are. That’s always a major problem, because
we all use different systems.”
Mr. Wallop added he was optimistic THAI would finally be given access to Samui
this summer, after revealing Bangkok Airways had told environmental authorities
it had no objections to the national carrier flying to the island.
He said: “I understand Bangkok Airways has already filed a petition with
environmental authorities stating it has no objections to THAI’s request to fly
to the island. The Samui flights will come later - sometime in the summer. We
have requested two flights a day - one in the morning and one in the evening.”
(TTG)
Stormbringer introduce direct Hua Hin service
Not too long ago, three friends were sitting in a bar in
Pattaya and talking of how to get to Hua Hin for a golfing trip when they
realized that there was no direct service between the two locations.
With this in mind they decided to form Stormbringer Charters, which is now
operating a direct minibus service and as of the 15th of February a direct air
service linking up with SGA’s Bangkok-Hua Hin scheduled flights.
Starting at the beginning of March they will also launch a high-speed ferry
service doing the crossing from Pattaya to Hua Hin in a blistering 2 hours. This
will present passengers with aircraft type seating for up to 25 people and a
hostess service offering drinks and snacks. The pick up point will be from Bali
Hai pier in Pattaya and a free shuttle bus will meet the boat at Pak Nam Pran
Marina to transfer passengers to Hua Hin. It is planned to offer two trips a day
from Pattaya, departing at 9am and 4pm respectively. The return journeys will be
at 6am and 1pm.
As mentioned, Stormbringer Charters are also currently running a minibus service
to Hua Hin which departs twice daily at 6am and 12 noon from Jomtien, Second Rd
and Dolphin Roundabout. The minibuses are new and can carry golf clubs and
luggage etc in the trailer. The fare one-way is 450 Baht and the trip takes 4hrs
with a 10min stop halfway.
The air service takes 30mins; they fly twice a day and prices and schedules are
available on request.
In all the services offered provide a safe and hassle free transfer between
these two major holiday destinations. For further details contact Stormbringer
Charters at 089 012 2302
Newcomer lebua to build tented villa in Chiang Rai
Newly established Thai hotel chain, lebua Hotels and Resorts,
will invest 800 million baht (US$22.40 million) to develop a tented villa resort
in the northern town of Chiang Rai.
Managing director, Mr. Deepak Ohri, told TTG Daily News: “This is a greenfiled
project where phase one will involve the development of 18 tented villas.”
According to Mr. Ohri, the company is in the process of purchasing a 128-hectare
plot of land in Chiang Rai. The first phase of development is expected to be
completed by 2008.
lebua is the second hotel chain to enter Chiang Rai with a tented property. The
first was Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts with the opening of 15-key Four
Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in February last year. (TTG)
British Airways cabin staff to strike next week
British Airways passengers face more disruption next week,
following the breakdown of talks between the airline and the labor union
representing cabin staff. The Transport and General Workers Union announced
Sunday that they will strike for 72 hours starting on Monday, January 29.
The dispute is over sick leave, pay and other staff management issues. The union
said BA had completely failed to work towards a compromise and appeared
unwilling to listen to loyal and hard-working staff. BA said it was disappointed
that the cabin crew union had walked away from negotiations.
The strike is a direct threat to the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of
travelers. “We recognize that this is a worrying time for our customers and we
will allow customers booked to fly with us between Monday, January 29 and
Friday, February 16 to change the date of their trip,” said a BA spokesman.
The airline said a strike at this time would cause needless damage to its
business, when it was facing intense competition. “We remain committed to the
search for a peaceful outcome to this dispute and we urge the union to withdraw
this totally unjustified strike threat to give negotiations the fullest chance
of success. We place immense value on the contribution of our cabin crew, which
is why we provide them with terms and conditions that are among the very best in
the industry.” (eTN)
Australian tourism waits for influx from LCC service
Tourism Western Australia plans to increase its promotion in
Singapore in the coming months to encourage tourists to visit Western Australia
following the introduction of the second Singapore-based Tiger Airways flights
into Australia via Perth.
Offering up to 70,000 seats a year for its low cost Singapore-Perth flights, the
Tiger Airways service starting in March will price its return tickets below
A$300, inclusive of taxes and charges.
Initially offering four flights a week, it will be increased to daily flights
permanently in November, in addition to special flights during peak holiday
periods.
“Seats are now on sale for bookings,” said Tiger Airways CEO Tony Davis at the
official announcement in Perth. “We are proud to be the only Asian low cost
carrier to link Perth with Southeast Asia presently.”
Western Australia is looking to boost its current total of about 57,000 annual
visitors from Singapore by attracting tourists who have not traveled much
before.
“Low-cost carriers have been successful in boosting tourism by offering
competitive fares,” said Western Australia Tourism Minister Sheila McHale. “The
introduction of Tiger Airways to Perth will boost tourism in WA significantly as
Singapore is our second biggest source of visitors.”
She added: “Low-cost carriers like Tiger Airways have changed the face of
holiday travel in Asia by making airline travel more affordable. The less
tourists spend on airline tickets, the more money they have to spend in WA.”
Western Australia will now face stiff competition in the tourism market from
other destinations that hope to attract potential tourists presently benefiting
from the low-cost carriers in the region, especially by AirAsia which has the
largest fleet and routes network.
“Attracting new airlines is part of the airport’s strategy to meet the strong
demand from people who want to travel through Perth,” said Perth Airport
executive chairman David Crawford. “International business and holidaymakers win
with the arrival of Tiger Airways in Perth, while WA tourism industry also
gains.”
Some travel industry analysts, however, have questioned Perth’s ability to
provide sufficient attraction to keep tourists from Singapore, long used to its
vibrant nightlife. “Perth will probably remain just a gateway to Melbourne and
Sydney since there is no shopping after five in the evening and on Sundays.”
Attracted by the flight tickets offered, an Australian tourist said, “It would
attract more Australians to spend A$1,000 for a short, fun-filled and
well-deserved break they would not normally be able to afford in Australia.”
(eTN Asia/Pacific)
Price competition still major concern for travel agents
According to an annual survey of travel agents survey conducted by Abacus
International, a large number of travel agencies in the region are
considering moving further into corporate travel to reduce the possibility
of price wars with other agencies and to increase revenue.
The survey was conducted via telephone calls to 1,533 travel agents in 12
markets between May and September 2006.
Abacus president and CEO Mr. Don Birch said: “Thirty-five per cent of all
the travel agents surveyed across all the markets identified the price war
among travel agencies as the most critical business issue. This concern was
more prevalent among travel agents in China, Indonesia, Philippines and
Taiwan compared to the rest of the markets.”
The second most critical business issue, nominated by 26 per cent of the
respondents, predominantly those from India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand,
was the emergence of budget carriers and airlines selling tickets directly
to the travelling public. Small travel agencies seem to be particularly
affected, as this threat was pinpointed more often compared to medium and
large-sized agents.
The need to increase revenue for the agency was the third most critical
issue, nominated by 24 per cent of the respondents especially in Hong Kong,
Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, while the need to
reduce operating costs was rated the most critical issue by just 12 per cent
of the respondents. Wholesalers were most focused on increasing their
revenue, leisure and corporate travel agents are more concerned about price
competition.
In an attempt to increase revenue, the majority of travel agents (29 per
cent), specifically those in Indonesia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Philippines and Sri Lanka, aim to move their main focus onto corporate
segments. In contrast, Vietnam and Korea aim to concentrate on leisure
segments.
Other revenue increasing approaches include maximising supplier override
incentives and selling more non-air content such as cars, cruises, rail and
travel insurance. (TTG)
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