Northstar

TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA O F F I C I A L D A I L I E S www.travelweekly-asia.com 20 27 October 2017 T he chief procurement officer and managing director of Jakarta-based bed bank MG Global – division within MG Bedbank, a brand under MG Group – believes that B2B players are catching up, even as more hotels go direct and OTAs grow rapidly. Hermann Wegmueller cited factors such as technology investments and greater direct connectivity with major hotel chains and individual hotels alike that will potentially drive the company's growth. Last November, the Indonesian MG Group received an equity boost (undisclosed amount) from Singapore headquartered private equity firm, Northstar Group*, strengthening its presence on the regional front. Said Wegmueller, "This involvement of Northstar is significant for MG. As such, we are expanding in Southeast Asia faster and focusing on building a world-class technology platform beyond anything currently available, no matter how much it costs. We are therefore expecting to capitalise on already substantial year-on-year growth of more than 50% in total, and much higher for international destinations." In terms of outbound, the most popular hotel groups being booked by Indonesians are Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, AccorHotels and Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, followed by Marriott Hotels and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, he shared. Wegmueller also expressed his confidence in the Indonesian market, noting the tripling of tourism promotion budgets, realisation of infrastructure projects and conversion of airports from domestic to international leading to better connectivity among remote islands. *Northstar Group is not related to Northstar Travel Group, headquartered in the US. Years ahead 'a sweet spot' for bed bank players, says MG Global managing director TRAVELLERS LOVE OUR BEACHES, SAYS PHILIPPINES' UNIORIENT Tourism growth in the Philippines will be borne by a social media- influenced generation of travellers that does a lot of research online to get the most out of valuable holiday time opting for the destination's tried-and-tested draws—beaches. For Uni-Orient Travel vice president for business and product development Wilson G. Techico, travellers nowadays are keen on active online searches, usually social media, on where to go and what to do. "Generally speaking, travellers are very much keen nowadays with what is being featured in blogs, vlogs, and seen on social media accounts. Travellers do their research on their destination to make sure they get the most out of their valuable holiday and money well spent," Techico says. He explains that each market set its own trend—a price-conscious Asian market, for instance, or more personal and rustic tours for Europeans. But Techico notes that beaches will still be the destination's biggest draw, something to cap any trip to the Philippines. "I feel that (what works for Philippine tourism now) will always be our beaches," Techico says. "From exploring heritage and cultural destinations, to business travel, travellers would always opt to end their trip at a beach destination." Vienna strengthens its appeal as a European art capital with the launch of a 2018 theme, Beauty and the Abyss, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of Viennese Modernism with 15 museum exhibitions and tours. Home to MuseumsQuartier, one of the world's largest culture complexes, Vienna's museums will be putting up exhibitions to offer visitors new perspectives on masterpieces from the Wiener Norbert Kettner, director of the Vienna Tourist Board VIENNA REVAMPS ITS ART APPEAL Moderne (Viennese Modern Age) and Art Nouveau periods. Artists featured are painters Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, the architect Otto Wagner and the universal artist Koloman Moser. This looks to add strength to the tourism boom in Vienna, which saw visitor bednights hitting a record of 6,924,000 in the first half of 2017, an increase of 4.2% compared to the same period last year according to Norbert Kettner, director of the Vienna Tourist Board. New museum re-openings this month will also strengthen Vienna's art appeal. Following lengthy renovations, the Dom Museum Wien will open its doors on October 7 after a complete architectural redesign while the Weltmuseum Wien (formerly the Museum of Ethnology) located in the Neue Burg wing of the Hofburg on Heldenplatz will re-open with its newly-organised permanent exhibits on show on October 25. Phuket tourism gets FIT FITs, digital connections and high-brand hotels will be pushing Phuket's mission towards becoming a Quality Leisure Destination according to president of Phuket Tourist Association Sathirapong Na Takuatoong. He shared that the island is targeting FIT visitors, in particular from China, Europe, the Middle East, ASEAN countries, India, Australia and New Zealand. Phuket's 2016 arrivals leapt 18% compared with 2015 to over 7.5 million visitors, breaking down into 46% domestic and 54% international (C9 Hotelworks). The strong ruble (alongside unrest in the Middle East) has helped restore numbers of Russian visitors, while mainland China has experienced only a minor dip due to the zero-baht tourism ban. Future hotel openings will bring 5,584 more keys to the existing 81,000 by 2020. Incoming are luxury brands such as InterContinental, Rosewood, JW Marriott, W, Hilton, Sheraton and Kempinski hotels, adds Takuatoong. To further increase the attraction of the island, Phuket has been chosen as a 'Smart City', a move that authorities hope will also attract start- ups and the tech savvy. In addition, he adds mega projects coming up include Central Festival expansion and the Blu Pearl Mall, as well as the future Light Rail, currently anticipating 24 stations. Jeju moves up UIA ranking Jeju continues to prove its appeal as a leading MICE destination with notable events held in the year at its main convention centre, the International Convention Centre (ICC) Jeju. Last year, the island improved its ranking from 19th to 17th place in the International Meetings Statistics Report released by the Union of International Associations (UIA). The resort-style hub, located in Seogwipo City's Jungmun Tourism Complex, played host to the 39th International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society in July as well as the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) 2nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in June, which saw 2,000 government officials, corporate executives and journalists gathered in over 10 seminars and discussion sessions. ICC Jeju offers a wide selection of facilities, spaces and event rooms including the 4,300-seater Tamna Hall and conference rooms that can take 100 to 750 attendees, a 2,503-sqm exhibition hall, outdoor event space Ieodo Plaza, and F&B facilities. Hermann Wegmueller, chief procurement officer/managing director, MG Global Wilson G. Techico, vice president for business and product development, Uni-Orient Travel NEWS BY BING J JALECO, LEE XIN HUI, NAOMI NEOH AND CATHARINE NICOL

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