Northstar

TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA O F F I C I A L D A I L I E S www.travelweekly-asia.com 25 27 October 2017 Y our trip could be cancelled if a destination risk alert comes up. Your flight could be delayed. And your delegates may have to put up with small vans that go on narrow bumpy roads. But it doesn't really matter; the experience does. "There is a real appetite for novel and exotic experiences in emerging destinations," says Jaime Roseburgh, market leader, Singapore, American Express (AMEX) Meetings & Events. Roseburgh shared that AMEX's corporate clients – spanning a range of industries, particularly technology – have not been deterred by the inconveniences of travelling to far-flung destinations. Held at ITB's MICE and Corporate Hub, AMEX's presentation on "Emerging Marketing and How They Are Impacting the Events Industry in Asia" revealed that Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Laos and Philippines are the new emerging destinations of the future. Cost-effectiveness and the novel factor outweigh the cons, but a comprehensive corporate travel management programme must be in place for emergencies and red alerts. Roseburgh addressed questions on the feasibility of these destinations when faced with corporate issues of compliance and risk management. "From a cost perspective, more corporates are open to travelling on low- cost carriers; it is not a big deterrent in booking long-haul flights to new emerging destinations," she said. Corporate groups are also staying for longer durations at these destinations, with event requirements that encompass the conference, incentive experiences and activities, and the gala dinner. "One huge draw for the corporates is the Corporate Social Responsibility element, which is still very popular, and these emerging destinations offer a variety of unique experiences," says Roseburgh. AMEX also recently published its 2018 Global Meetings and Events Forecast. Log on to www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/meetings-events-forecast/ for more information. South Africa is getting a big "kick" out of Asia. A strong value-for-money proposition for both inbound and outbound has agents wanting more of Asia. "The exchange rate makes South Africa a good destination for Asians. We're very cosmopolitan and we have everything to offer, from a bush-beach experience to mountains to diving, and we have luxury safari lodges. And everyone wants to see the 'Big 5,'" says Soné Kuhn, manager, Marketing and Travelife Sustainability, AAA Travel. Travellers' safety had been a concern. So, too, was the government's restrictions on visas. "The question (years ago) was, 'Was it safe to travel to South Africa?' Then we had some successful groups. Social media was also key. From then on, it was 'boom.' ASIA GIVES SOUTH AFRICA A WINDFALL Now, people are asking, 'What is there to do in South Africa?," Travis Grundling, account director- Johannesburg, The Westin Cape Town, explains. Other African destinations are reaping the benefits as well. "There's a lot of interest from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. They come to South Africa and visit other destinations as an extension," says Brain Maponde, manager, National Sales, Rainbow Tourism Group Ltd based in Harare, Zimbabwe. An estimated one million fans are expected to visit Moscow for the 2018 FIFA World Cup from next June to July. The Russian capital is now gearing up for the influx of visitors by adopting a 'safety first' approach with an initiative to tighten and integrate its security system. Project "safe city" will coordinate the monitoring of all events and give relevant information to all security services and agencies through a surveillance network of over 142,000 cameras. Tourist information centres and tourist police fluent in foreign languages will also be deployed during the tournament to support and direct visiting fans. While safety is a main concern, hotel room capacity is also being bolstered in the lead up to the event. The city currently has 23,000 rooms – mostly budget options – with a further 3,800 rooms slated to open before the end of the year. Twelve other Russian cities will host FIFA tournaments and significant matches, including the final, will take place at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Eastern Europe's largest stadium with a capacity of 81,000. Moscow prizes safety for FIFA '18 Delivery droids not limited to hipster hotels More 'serious-types' hotels are now adopting robots in their service. "Some will prefer to have the white- glove service, but we're seeing four- and five-star hotels who are interested to pursue this," says Matthew Festo, country manager, Savioke. Sporting a streamlined grey and silver appearance, Relay, the company's room-service bot, is designed to look sleek so it would not look out of place even in formal hotel settings. After a successful trial at M Social Singapore, which saw a one-point increase in its TripAdvisor ratings for reviews that mentioned "robot", Millennium Hotels and Resorts will roll out the front-service bot to the rest of its Singapore hotels by 2018. In the US, Relay is already being used in business hotels like Sheraton and Courtyard by Marriott. Operational efficiency is also a big draw, as each bot takes a mere five minutes to complete its job. But there is no danger of it replacing human workers, insists Festo, as he says the task in itself is non value-adding. Same-sex marriages boost LGBT travel The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) market is expanding faster than the general tourism market, and same-sex marriage is fuelling this trend. The legalisation of same-sex marriage has created new opportunities for travel, including destination weddings, honeymoons and rainbow family holidays, said Rika Jean-François, who is responsible for corporate social responsibility for ITB Berlin at a media briefing yesterday. LGBT groups don't always require different infrastructure, she explained, any more than other segments like adventure travel. But acceptance matters. Progressive attitudes result in a significant inflow of LGBT travellers, who also have higher disposable incomes and tend to be loyal customers. "The tourism industry has recognised the value of this once- marginalised segment as one of the most attractive and fastest growing niche markets in the world, resistant to economic turbulence," said Jean- François. The Anantara chain of hotels in Thailand is already capitalising on this growth by marketing gay wedding and honeymoon packages. Given the size of the pink dollar, it may not be too long before other businesses come out of the closet and follow suit. No risk, no gain for corporates

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