Building an Inclusive World
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VIEW FROM THE TOPTOP Tran Trong Kien ditched the medical profession for travel & tourism and listens so well to its heartbeat PPS 619/02/2013(022926) that his Thien Minh Group, which owns Buffalo Tours and Victoria Hotels & Resorts, is going regional No. 1719/Febuary 13, 2015 BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE WORLD Greater attention to accessibility for senior and disabled travellers will enable Asia to tap a crucial niche tourism market, experts advocate RIDING THE ASEAN CRUISING PLAYGROUND FOR OILING THE WHEELS DIGITAL WAVE FINDS SEA LEGS RUSSIA’S RICH OF CONNECTIVITY How can travel players surf the sea of More cruise ships are calling at South- A troubled rouble aside, deep-pocketed Taipei is leveraging the BMW campaign technological changes and compete in east Asian ports but are the region’s Russian travellers have found a new to encourage foreign vistors to explore the new-generation marketplace? travellers reciprocating their affections? vacation destination in Singapore the city by public transport 13feb ttgAsia p01 cover-OLDSTYLExymy.indd 1 9/2/15 11:26 am 13.02.2015 TTG Asia 2 Contents & editorial Want to read us on the go? Analysis 06 Intelligence 08 Agency 09 Shop 10 View from the top 11 Connect 27 12 16 19 22 24 Report: Cruises Guide: Low-cost Destination: Destination: Destination: carriers Singapore Taiwan Brunei BE A POSITIVE AGENT OF CHANGE t is with anticipation that I read that the Asia- Somsak’s vision is laudable, and I sincerely hope that IPacific Network on Accessible Tourism is setting up this start-up will retain its sustainable principles and country chapters to champion barrier-free travel for peo- make good progress in the days ahead to inspire more ple with disabilities in the region (see page 7) – a move- like-minded Asians to come forth and set up meaningful ment that South-east Asia strongly needs. tourism entreprises too. Bangkok, where I now call home, may be a fascinat- I strongly believe that tourism need not be a detrimen- ing city that beckons repeat visitors year after year, but tal force, and everyone, whether a travel consumer or sell- its non-integrated public transport systems and cracked er, can play a part to make travel more inclusive and make pavements often leave me wondering how a family with the world into a better place, one trip at a time. For travel young children and strollers in tow or a physically chal- sellers, obtainable ways would be engaging the services of lenged traveller could properly navigate the capital. Such responsible ground operators, may it be recommending experiences are repeated across many Asian cities, un- restaurants that have implemented no shark’s fins policies fortunately, and if travellers leave with a bad taste in the or hotels that have pledged their stand as an ethical op- mouth, will they even want to visit the destination again? erator to oppose sexual exploitation of children in tour- But far from suffering from a broken tourism scene, ism. Lately, there has been a noticeable shift away from South-east Asia is also fast becoming a fertile ground elephant rides in the industry, with Bangkok-based Asian for novel and meaningful travel ideas. I can’t help but be Oasis being the latest tour operator to drop elephant rides inspired by a growing class of influencers and entrepre- from its tours to end animal cruelty in tourism. neurs shaping the region’s travel landscape. There is no lack of positive initiatives in this part of the There is no lack of positive initiatives in Driven by a desire for a world with equal socio-eco- world; what we need is the support of trade members to this part of the world; what we need is nomic opportunities, engineer turned social entrepre- share these meaningful tourism products with a greater the support of trade members to share neur Somsak Boonkam founded LocalAlike (see page 9) audience. to promote community-based tourism in Thailand. What these meaningful tourism products impressed me was Somak’s rural background, which was Xinyi Liang-Pholsena not a deterrent but an impetus for him to empathise with with a greater audience. Assistant editor, TTG Asia disadvantaged groups and set up a platform for commu- nity-based tour operators to connect with world travel- [email protected] lers and improve their livelihoods. twitter.com/xinyi_pholsena COMING UP WE’RE SORRY HONG KONG A fast-growing private dining scene is offering visitors a new way to experience the In last issue’s Shopaholics Wanted NEXT ISSUE: dynamic city destination report, we wrongly stated that Japan last July began waiving BEACH RESORTS Two luxury properties prove that the allure of the Maldives as a paradisiacal resort MARCH 13, visa requirements for Indonesians destination is here to stay 2015 for stays of up to 15 days. The visa BUSINESS TRAVEL The sharing economy is making its way into corporate travel market, but are waiver actually started in December travellers biting? 2014. 13feb ttgAsia p02 Contentxyred2revisedxyredFINAL.indd 2 10/2/15 2:24 pm 13.02.2014 TTG Asia 6 Technology has disrupted the global travel landscape like a tsunami Analysis force, but how can industry players retool their organisations to compete in the next-generation marketplace? By Hannah Koh RIDING THE WAVE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE ECHNOLOGY, once the exclu- change the company’s digital approach. sive domain of geeks and oc- “We have a website to show we are alive, cupying just a small section of but now we have to think about where we newspapers, is now so deeply have to go,” he said. “As a B2B company, embeddedT in the modern world that it has do we lose our partners by going B2C? Or left no industry untouched in its relentless how can we engage our existing partners?” march forward. Venkat Chandramoleshwar, head of Needless to say the travel sector has product marketing, APAC travel, Google, not been spared the all-pervasive influ- Singapore, a speaker at PATAcademy- ences – both beneficial and detrimental HCD, advised: “There’s a lot of cooler – of the technology cudgel. First came things that are happening, the cutting- OTAs, then metasearch, and now, the tide edge stuff. (But) it makes a lot of sense for of peer-to-peer consumption is drawing smaller businesses to get those that work the attention of a younger generation of for you, and for the rest you wait for the travellers that are seeing a lesser need for dust to settle, because you can’t invest in travel agencies. everything. But there are a lot of things on With the maturation of mobile, social Google, Facebook, TripAdvisor that you media, big data and cloud, it is also clear can do for digital relevance 101.” that technological changes will take place Words that now are almost prophetic faster and more profoundly than before. in light of news that Google has stopped For instance, Apple’s Bluetooth low- selling Google Glass in its current form, energy wireless technology iBeacon, which had, following its launch, excited which received an upgrade alongside the the travel industry with new possibili- release of the iPhone 6, paves the way for ties for customer service such that Virgin time-sensitive information prompts such Atlantic launched Google Glass trials at as flight status changes at airports or loca- London’s Heathrow airport. tion-based deals. Chandramoleshwar emphasised that Or the Internet of Things which can there were still immediate steps to be be more accurately described as Things taken: “Do you have your Google business Linked to the Internet, which left tech listing? Is your phone number there, is it pundits to predict that 2015 could be the updated? Do you have those basics taken year for it to take off. The ability to send care of? Many don’t, but the core thing to and receive data from everyday devices focus on are the basics. Respond to your and objects will have the most immediate reviews.” impact on hotels – think rooms you can Fellow speaker Bronwyn White, co- heat or cool before you return, baths you founder of MyTravelResearch.com, could fill, etc. stressed the nitty gritty: “You need to have In an email interview, Gerry Samuels, a clear brand position – it’s useless to be all CEO of MTT, which has worked with things to all people anymore, like market- Jetstar Asia and Abacus Singapore and is ing to honeymooners one day and fami- currently collaborating with Singapore lies the next. Airlines on smartphone apps, said travel “Do your research, get your marketing companies already know they need to in place and have a clear brand position. be on mobile and expects the roll-out of Link all your social media to one URL. more payment options such as Apple Pay You may have your Facebook account, to further mobile bookings growth in fu- Google Plus, Instagram, make sure it’s the ture. same URL across all of them. URL is go- “The industry will also see a rise in ‘data ing to be telling the search engine whether snacking’ as a key mobile trend whereby your social media is active. Make sure quick, actionable and personalised mobile your posts are geo-coded so people go- notifications are presented to travellers in ing around can see it. It’s important to get a timely and relevant manner.” your basics right.” “There is also a greater focus on intel- – in the digital environment. They need to bring to remain relevant today. In attendance at the seminar were a ligence, where mobile systems are aggre- grow and monetise their loyal user bases, This was the main theme at the 3rd PAT- pool of hotel, airline, NTO and travel gating data from a multitude of sources to finding innovative ways online to inform, Academy-HCD, held in Bangkok last De- agency professionals, largely from Asia, create true end-to-end smartphone apps serve, entertain, reward and retain cus- cember, where a lineup of speakers from united by their desire to know what they to cover the entire travel experience,” he tomers.” the travel and technology sectors spoke can do to ride the tech wave and emerge said.