ITB Berlin, Germany
March 6, 2019
Clean breaks from
crowded beaches
Vietnam now rivals Thailand as a beach destination, as
interest grows for low-key spots like Quy Nhon, Con Dao
By Marissa Carruthers and
Xinyi Liang-Pholsena
As overtourism takes a toll on South-east
Asia’s popular beaches, travellers are in-
creasingly eschewing popular beach hot-
spots for less crowded ones, especially as
improving air access in the region is mak-
ing it easier to do so.
Vietnam, in particular, is shining as a
favoured destination among European
visitors for beach stays.
Pham Ha, CEO of Luxury Travel Vi-
etnam, said: “Originally, Vietnam estab-
lished itself as a cultural destination for
European travellers, but we are now seeing
a trend where people choose Vietnam as a
beach holiday or a combination of a week
of touring and a week on the beach before
flying home.”
He noted a rise in the last couple of
years in repeat bookings from Spain,
France, Germany and the UK.
David Kevan of UK-based Chic Loca-
tions, noted: “Vietnam is a hot destination
at the moment. To many it might be seen
as the new Thailand, and without a doubt
it ticks all the boxes on exotic culture, cui-
sine and excitement.
“But to think Vietnam’s beach resorts
are less developed than Thailand’s shows
an incredible lack of product knowledge.
Danang and Phu Quoc are just as busy
as Phuket and Samui, if not more so.
They might be new to UK travellers,
but the Russians and Chinese have
been there in huge numbers for sev-
eral years.”
As Danang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc
are no longer fledgling holiday spots, Linh
Le, managing director of Asia DMC, said
emerging beach destinations in the coun-
try appeal more to repeat longhaul visi-
tors who prefer to “see and experience the
untouched”.
He predicts Quy Nhon will be a popu-
lar spot with the European market, while
Con Dao has seen increased interest from
Europeans seeking nature-based tourism.
Laurent Lerognon, sales manager at
Diethelm Travel Vietnam, also flagged up
Quy Nhon and Con Dao as destinations
to watch with longhaul markets.
“Quy Nhon and Con Dao are classic
tropical beach destinations but pleasantly
unspoiled. (They) are certainly a long
way off the overdevelopment that has
Travel experts should now present
Vietnam as a (beach) holiday
destination than just a
cultural destination.
Pham Ha
CEO, Luxury Travel Vietnam
Pairing gems of Indian Ocean
By Feizal Samath
With Sri Lanka and the Maldives in close
proximity to each other, just 50 minutes
apart by flight time, tour operators are
now seeing greater potential and value
in promoting packages combining both
countries.
The two markets complement rather
than compete with each other, with the
Maldives’ strongest asset being its beach-
es affording privacy while Sri Lanka is
favoured as a destination for its diverse
cultural attractions and wildlife parks,
said Tracy Neureuther, director of Mosaic
Tourism Consulting.
Echoing similar observations of
Champika de Silva, cluster director of
sales at Anantara Resorts Sri Lanka, said:
“During my recent visit to Spain, almost
all the tour operators and travel agents I
completely ruined areas of other popular
holiday spots, meaning now is the time to
visit,” said Lerognon.
According to Ha, other emerging beach
destinations seeing an increase in interest
from longhaul markets include Van Don,
Cat Ba, Phu Yen, Lang Co in Hue and Ho
Tram in Vung Tau, where a swathe of new
properties is opening and access is easier,
thanks to new products, cruises, helicop-
ter transfers and regional flights.
Said Ha: “We are keen to see a new
wave of repeat holidaymakers to Vietnam,
especially now that visas are no longer re-
quired for many countries. Travel experts
should now position Vietnam as a (beach)
holiday destination rather than just a cul-
tural destination.”
The desire to seek out hidden beaches
among Europe’s experienced travellers is
also clearly played out in Thailand.
Observed Kevan: “Phuket and Samui
are perceived as overdeveloped and lack-
ing aspiration. Both are increasingly tran-
sit points for onward travel to Khao Lak
and Koh Yao Noi, and Koh Phangan and
Koh Tao (respectively), showing that cli-
ents are willing to travel a little more to
find something less commercialised.
“(Tour operators) can still benefit from
the improved infrastructure and increased
flights that mass tourism has (brought),
but use the gateways to move (clients)
to somewhere easily accessible but much
more exclusive 80 minutes’ drive away.”
met booked Sri Lanka using the Maldives
for the beach stay.”
However, de Silva has yet to see the
combo trend pick up for the German,
French and Benelux markets to Sri Lanka,
possibly “due to price” issues, although a
small number of high-end British visitors
are already booking Anantara’s Sri Lan-
ka resorts for beach stays at the end of a
round-trip destination with the Maldives.
Nevertheless, hoteliers like Sanath Uk-
watte, president of the Hotels Associa-
tion of Sri Lanka, whose Colombo-based
Mount Lavinia Hotels group owns a
75-villa resort in the Maldives, now sees
“huge potential in promoting joint pack-
ages” of both destinations.
While joint packages form just 10-15
per cent of its business, Maldives-based
Coco Collection Hotels & Resorts/Sun-
land Hotels’ chief commercial officer
Andrew Ashmore, likewise, sees a lot of
potential in pairing up both destinations.
“(Demand) has grown of late as Sri
Lanka is becoming a huge emerging (des-
tination) for Europe. We see interest from
mainly the UK and Germany. Generally
it’s six (nights) and four (nights), or five
and five, or seven and three,” he shared.
While pairing these two destinations
may be a new segment for some players,
Nalin Jayasundera, managing director of
Aitken Spence Travels which owns the
Adaaran chain of resorts in Sri Lanka and
the Maldives, has been promoting joint
tours for some time.
“At one time when there were no direct
flights the Maldives, the Chinese used to
visit Colombo en route to the Maldives
and do combined tours; now there are di-
rect flights to the Maldives,” he said, add-
ing that there is potential to drive joint
promotions for the European markets.
High hopes
for new
Turkish
connection
The Indonesian trade is looking forward
to the launch of Turkish Airlines’ thrice-
weekly Istanbul-Bali service in July 2019,
with expectations high that the new con-
nection will improve the country’s acces-
sibility from longhaul markets, particu-
larly secondary cities in Europe.
Umberto
Cada-
muro, COO inbound
of Pacto, said: “Given
its large number of
hubs in Europe, Turk-
ish Airlines’ service to
Bali will multiply op-
portunities (for the
Cadamuro: acces-
travel sector) as our
sibility a key link
business is all about
accessibility at the end of the day.”
While the new service opens up access
to Turkey and its travel market, Go Vaca-
tion Indonesia executive manager product
& contracting Marika Gloekler sees great-
er opportunity in the carrier’s extensive
network through Europe.
“Turkish Airlines is not only flying
from big cities, but also the secondary cit-
ies in Germany and other European coun-
tries, and with a short stop in Istanbul,
travellers can fly to Bali.”
She added: “Travellers previously
needed to travel by train to Frankfurt,
Berlin or Dusseldorf to catch their flights,
but now they can fly from the secondary
cities (where Turkish Airlines flights are
available), especially from rich cities such
as Stuttgart where Mercedes-Benz is.”
Tour operators also hope that the new
service will bring a breath of fresh air for
Indonesia, as the country has been work-
ing to woo the international market back
following the recent string of natural dis-
asters.
“When the volcano eruption in Bali
took place (in September 2017), the
bounce back of travellers was quite fast.
Recovery after the recent earthquakes and
tsunami were a little bit (tougher). (Euro-
pean bookings) in 1Q2019 have been very
slow but we see a big climb from April on-
wards. This means that travellers are not
cancelling but they are just postponing
their trips,” said Gloekler.
Trade members are also optimistic that
the new connection will also bring along
greater promotion and support from
Turkish Airlines for industry initiatives
like sales missions and fam trips.
HPL Hotels & Resorts, with the sup-
port of the Indonesia Ministry of Tourism
and Turkish Airlines, has teamed up with
17 hotels and travel agents in Bali to con-
duct a roadshow to Munich, Prague and
Budapest ahead of ITB Berlin this year. –
Mimi Hudoyo