THIS year, Singapore has played host to a travel trade festival consisting of eight events that has united the industry’s most influential leaders and professionals.
TravelRave is an annual week-long platform that includes the anchor event ITB Asia. Other events include the strategic high-level Asia Travel Leaders’ Summit (ATLS), the UIA Associations’ Round Table, Asia Pacific Tourism Destination Investment Conference (APTDIC), Hotel Technology Conference, Aviation Outlook Asia and Web in Travel Conference.
Lionel Yeo, chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, said: “As Asia Pacific continues to exceed growth expectations, it is increasingly important for travel and tourism professionals from this region to convene and discuss trends and developments, and explore new business opportunities.”
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the Asia Pacific region recorded a seven per cent increase in international arrivals in 2012, the fastest growth across all UNWTO regions.
The ATLS aims to stimulate dialogue among Asian travel and tourism leaders in a bid to focus on ways to harness the potential of Asian millennial travellers, touted to be the most educated and connected generation in modern history, as they hit their peak earning and spending capacity in the next five to ten years. Home grown hotel group Far East Hospitality is growing its portfolio at a rate of opening one hotel every month.
Focusing on the Asia Pacific market, it has added five new brands to its current four, giving it a footing in 24 cities, with 80 hotels and 13,000 rooms. This accelerated growth has been made possible due to a joint venture between Far East Orchard, a listed company under Far East Organisation, Singapore’s largest private property developer and parent company of Far East Hospitality, and Toga Hotels, one of Australia’s largest hospitality operators. Rendezvous Hotel Singapore was also acquired by the company in August 2013.
Chief executive officer Arthur Kiong said: “We are no longer a niche player in just Singapore. It has been quite a road and has not all been easy. It has been a mix of good fortune and hard work.”
Far East Hospitality adopts a psychographic approach to its business strategy. Whereas a traditional approach relies on level of service and price points, Far East Hospitality understands its customer profile, as a specialist in mid-tier hotels, and links these profiles to locations and districts.
Kiong added: “We do not follow the traditional star-rating system, and have moved towards segmenting our brands based on travellers’ profiles. It is a diverse market. We find customers are driven by types of location. They want comfort without excesses; something elegant and relevant.”
Benefitting from a wealth of expansion opportunities in South East Asia, where is takes advantage of a higher profit margin, coupled with the stability of Australia, Far East Hospitality has no plans to move into the Middle East market.
Far East Hospitality was established with the brands Quincy, Oasia, Village and Far East Collection hotels and residences. The joint venture draws in the brands of Medina, Adina, Vibe and Travelodge (Australia), and enables the company to expand into Australia and New Zealand.
By Helen McClure