ITB Berlin, Germany
March 8, 2019
Rediscovering Thailand’s mojo
Companies find Thailand a harder sell, as DIY travel gains favour among Europeans
By Xinyi Liang-Pholsena and Yixin Ng
Long a top Asian destination for Europe’s
travellers, Thailand today is not the easy
sell it once was for tour operators and
travel agents, who are finding that they
have to dig deep to have a shot at attract-
ing repeat clients of the “been there, done
that” mindset.
“The European numbers are stable
for Thailand, however there’s not much
growth opportunities from the region’s
market,” admitted Tobias Fischer, direc-
tor of business development, Go Vacation
Thailand.
It appears that the destination may have
lost its lustre after many years in the spot-
light, some buyers at ITB Berlin shared.
Tina Bach Thogersen, destination man-
ager, Denmark’s Viktors Farmor World-
wide Expeditions, said: “We sell (pretty
much) all of Indochina. We offer one itin-
erary for Thailand, but it doesn’t sell.
“Many Danes have been to Thailand.
Today, many of us do it individually be-
cause we want to visit the beaches and the
small islands. It’s hard to gather groups of
20 people wanting to do the same beach
holiday,” she explained.
Moreover, with Thailand being a ma-
ture destination, she said it is “very easy to
travel within Thailand on your own”.
In an attempt to keep things fresh for
repeaters while staying abreast to trends,
DMCs like Go Vacation has been adding
new components to itineraries, including
local experiences and lesser-known desti-
nations.
“As DMCs, we make money from
roundtrips. We still keep classic tours but
develop new tours such as klong (canal)
tours followed by lunch with a local fami-
ly. For seat-in-coach tours, we always have
to keep classic sites like Ayutthaya but try
to add diversity into them,” said Fischer.
Similarly, Laurent Kuenzle, CEO, Asian
Trails, remarked: “Experiences is the buz-
zword, customers want to see main sites
and new things.”
Foodie tours are a hit, he shared, adding
that it’s about marketing the right product
to the customer. “A dinner would be done
differently for a German and a Spanish
customer, for example.”
But similar attempts have come to
naught for Thogersen. “That is the kind of
itinerary we do. We do all we can to get
as close to the locals as possible. But still,
no – they choose Laos, Cambodia and Vi-
etnam instead.”
In her experience selling travel to
Danes, “the last time group tours to Thai-
land were selling was around a decade
ago”. A previous company she was with
stopped selling Thailand in 2010. Follow-
ing that, it was a cycle of reintroducing
Thailand before it would drop off again.
On the other hand, product man-
ager for South-east Asia at Swiss agency
Adgentes, Julien Rousseau, said Thailand
has not lost its mojo in Switzerland, and
continues to sell itself.
Thailand is a “big destination” at the
agency, making up around 20 per cent of
business. The country is followed in pop-
ularity by Vietnam and Indonesia.
“I was expecting many would book
Thailand online. But (perhaps) they en-
countered problems before, and returned
to agencies as they feel safer booking with
us,” he told the Daily.
He added: “For destinations like Cam-
bodia and Vietnam, our clients tend to
visit just once. But they choose Thailand
often for the beaches.”
Repeat travellers are choosing Thai-
land’s less touristy beaches like Koh Kood
and Koh Chang, according to Rousseau.
I was expecting many would book Thailand online.
But (perhaps) they encountered problems before, and
returned to agencies as they feel safer booking with us.
Julien Rousseau
Product manager, South-east Asia, Adgentes
Rising awareness of Japan sparks joy for Europeans
By Yixin Ng and Xinyi Liang-Pholsena
The perception of Japan as an insular na-
tion no longer holds true as the country
opens up to tourism in recent years. Fur-
thermore, the immense influence of Japa-
nese pop culture is turning out to its best
ambassador in promoting the country in
the European markets.
Japan is becoming “more accessible” for
UK travellers, a trend fanned by Japanese
pop culture figures such as Yayoi Kusama,
whose recent exhibition were sold out in
London, and Netflix sensation and tidying
expert Marie Kondo, observed Natasha
Rewrie, business development manager
EU at Buffalo Tours.
The growing influence and consump-
tion of Japanese pop culture is likely fuel-
ling awareness and sparking travel inter-
est to the Land of the Rising Sun, Rewrie
suggested.
Japan tourism has also benefited from
the greater media attention on the coun-
try as it gears up for major sporting events
like Rugby World Cup 2019, said Johann
Chabert, country manager, Buffalo Tours
Japan.
“Japan is overall a growth market be-
cause the country is opening up, and we’re past six months. “Japan is now a destina-
seeing around 10-15 per cent growth from tion they are offering, which we didn’t see
previously,” he added.
the Western markets to Japan,” he said.
For Western European travellers, Ja-
It’s a similar story for Terrie Lloyd, CEO
of JapanTravel.com who said his business pan’s biggest advantages as a destination
was up millions of dollars over the last is how unfamiliar and mystifying it is.
Added Holt: “Travellers arrive
year, driven solely by German
with little preconceived ideas and
tourists’ fast-growing demand
low expectations. But then end
for Japan.
up having a great time, and want
He commented: “Japan is
to tell everyone else about it.”
gaining popularity overall, and
This is a marked departure
next year is the Olympics (which
from in the past, when the des-
has spurred interest). Europe’s
usually the last place to hear Holt: interest in the tination welcomed mainly trav-
ellers with special interests in
about Asia, and up until very unfamiliar
Japan. “That was the case when
recently everyone here wanted
to go to Thailand. But recently, Japanese Japan was still below 20 million (arrivals).
food and culture are starting to get really The majority of vistors arriving had a pri-
well known. In the last two years, Japan or interest, and were channelling that into
a holiday. Now, Japan is coming to the top
suddenly took off.”
Among the European markets, Geraint of the list of avid travellers who have been
Holt, managing director of Japan special- to many countries, he observed.
While the country is clearly becoming a
ist DMC, The J Team, first saw strongest
underlying interest in Japan from France, “more mainstream” destination, Chabert
contends Japan is not yet fully ready for
then Germany, Spain and Italy.
The emergence of demand from Hol- Western tourists as English is rarely spo-
land and Belgium operators has been the ken beyond the key cities of Tokyo and
most notable change for the DMC in the Kyoto.
Singapore hotels
boast shiny appeal
A growing roster of luxury hotels in Sin-
gapore is drawing greater interest from
European buyers.
Hollywood movie Crazy Rich Asians
and the historic Trump-Kim summit in
June last year delivered a promotional
boost to Singapore, with icons like Marina
Bay Sands, Capella Singapore and Raffles
Singapore – due to relaunch in August this
year after an extensive
restoration – coming
under the spotlight as
some of the city’s lux-
ury offerings.
Rica Thies, team
assistant Asia, Art of
Travel Germany, said:
Thies: wow factor
“The luxury hotels in
in luxury hotels
Singapore are so im-
pressive that they are able to provide an
experience on their own already.”
Thies said her clients, who typically
stay between one to three nights in the
city, would often prefer city-based five-
star hotels with a view of the Singapore
River.
Anticipating the reopening of the icon-
ic Raffles Singapore, Thies said: “We have
many requests for this hotel already be-
cause it combines a lot of history, elegance
and luxury which we do not get in typical
hotels.”
Hasan Hakim, general manager, Be-
yond Oceans Travel Lebanon, agreed that
the ready availability of quality and luxury
hotels in Singapore is a winning factor.
“It makes the destination’s image feel se-
cure when you know of all the big hotel
names,” he said.
Hakim, who is exploring Singapore as
a new product, shared that he is looking
at packaging the city with surrounding
destinations like Indonesia and the Philip-
pines. “I am looking for new ideas that can
excite, and I think Singapore has many to
offer,” he said.
He added that Sentosa could be a po-
tential key product for his clients as its
resort island offering with luxury hotels
and attractions in one spot is a novel and
attractive one.
As for Karin Portzgen-Pruijssen, repre-
sentative of Reisteam in Netherlands, Sin-
gapore is an “all-in-one city that has eve-
rything travellers need”, with shopping as
one of the top favourite activities among
them.
Apart from luxury hotels, Singapore’s
reputation for quality hotels is a “very
strong” drawcard for Portzgen-Pruijssen.
Earlier last month, the Singapore Tour-
ism Board (STB) unveiled plans to woo
longhaul markets like the UK and Europe
with a roster of Bicentennial-themed pro-
grammes and tour products.
STB has also launched the next phase of
its Passion Made Possible global campaign
in 16 markets worldwide, including Ger-
many and the UK. – Paige Lee Pei Qi