In the news: Partnerships between travel companies to provide better travel rule the news front this week – Ctrip joining forces with the Hungarian Travel Agency, Fiji Air going mobile with Travelport’s assistance and Klook tying up with Korea’s LOTTE Duty Free Shop, and some fun from Air New Zealand with its quirky Xmas video.
DESTINATIONS: Hungary is the new destination hotspot for Chinese travellers
Budapest in Hungary, popular new destination for Chinese travellers (Image credit: artJazz/iStock-Getty Images)
China’s travel market is growing and Chinese travellers are on the lookout for new destinations, and they have discovered Hungary – their newest holiday playground.
According to China’s travel giant Ctrip, its November statistics showed Hungary enjoyed a 40% hike in growth year-on-year from visits made by Chinese tourists. They spent an average of more than RMB9,000 (US$1,360) per person in-country.
Ctrip’s 2017 October Golden Week Travel Report noted a 95% increase in visits to Hungary year-on-year. Moreover, searches on Ctrip for flights to Hungary rose by 70% during the past 11 months.
Late last month Ctrip and the Hungarian Tourism Agency signed a strategic cooperation agreement to promote tourism and trade between China and Hungary.
The signing of the agreement was also in conjunction with the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Hungary to attend the 6th China-CEEC (Central and Eastern Europe Countries) Summit and to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the 16+1 cooperation. Hungary was the first European country to sign a MOU relating to China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative.
Ctrip said interest in Hungary as a travel destination received a boost after the August airing of the Chinese TV series “Love Actually.” Jointly sponsored with the Hungarian Tourism Agency, the series was filmed on location in Budapest.
“Chinese travellers are increasingly discovering Hungary as a top-tier vacation destination. We look forward to working closely with the Hungarian Tourism Agency to continue to promote Hungary through Ctrip’s leading online travel platform,” said Victor Tseng, Ctrip’s corporate affairs vice president.
TECHNOLOGY: Fiji Airways turns to mobile for greater engagement with its guests
Travelport Fusion for Fiji Airways (image credit: Travelport)
Fiji Airways aims to provide its customers with a more personal experience via a new mobile app powered by Travelport Fusion through an agreement between the airline and the travel commerce platform.
Travelport Fusion, which Travelport launched in June this year, has features such as mobile search, booking, check-in, boarding, passport scanning, day-of-travel assistance, itinerary management and real-time flight alerts.
The Fiji Airways app, due to launch to the public in the second quarter of 2018, will also allow the airline to maintain its brand identity with consistent brand experience.
Travelport said Fiji Airways would also have access to digital analytics that includes booking trends and behaviours, allowing it to adapt its sales and marketing strategies more effectively. In addition, Travelport will provide support and advice on best practice for digital marketing of the app and any app store optimisation strategies.
“We recognise the importance of mobile engagement and being able to connect with our customers, bringing them highly relevant, personalised information and services they need at every step of their journey,” Marc Cavaliere, chief commercial officer of Fiji Airways explained why the airline is adopting a mobile strategy
A recent Travelport Global Digital Traveller Research report showed that 64% of travellers in Asia Pacific look for a good digital experience when choosing an airline to travel with. About 46% of them book their leisure trips on a smartphone and 73% believe that digital boarding passes make travelling much easier.
PARTNERSHIP: Klook teams up with LOTTE DFS to lure travellers to Korea with shopping incentives
Shop till you drop in South Korea (Image credit: Dylan Ellis/iStock-Getty Images)
Hong Kong-based travel activities booking platform Klook has formed a partnership with LOTTE Duty Free Shop, Korea’s top duty-free retailer, to attract more travellers to the country by offering shopping deals.
The deal sees LOTTE DFS offering shopping discounts for Klook users, which are available for use in all the duty free stores in Korea.
Additionally, LOTTE DFS customers can also enjoy up to 70% discount off retail price on Klook platforms for experiences in over 120 destinations globally.
“Shopping is one of Korea’s most popular experiences especially for visitors from other Asian countries,” said Kim Bo Joon, executive marketing director of LOTTE DFS, He hopes the partnership with Klook would “further our efforts in introducing Korea’s quality shopping experiences to travellers across Asia.”
According to Korea Tourism Organisation, shopping ranks as the No. 1 thing-to-do by 67.2% of tourists in Korea, followed by other popular activities such as local dining, cultural and historical tours, nature sightseeing, and others.
VIDEO: Santa’s lost in translation
Air New Zealand’s ‘A Very Merry Mistake’
Air New Zealand has made headlines with its creative inflight safety videos featuring the country’s famous destinations and A-list actors. The airline is getting into the act again – this time with a tongue-in-cheek video for the coming season of merry making.
The airline pokes fun at the Kiwi accent in the video, ‘A Very Merry Mistake’ (see below), which shows Santa taking calls from New Zealand kids keen to tell him what they want under the tree this Christmas.
He tries to decipher a number of unusual requests from these kids suchas biscuitballs (basketballs) and puggy banks (piggy banks) to bug screen TVs (big screen TVs) and a book of magic trucks (tricks), which are lost in translation.
Coming to the rescue with the correct translation are Santa’s helpers, Air New Zealand’s cabin crew.
Air New Zealand chief marketing and customer Officer Mike Tod said the airline wanted to celebrate the festive season in a humorous and uniquely New Zealand way.
“While it’s no secret the Kiwi accent has been misunderstood at times, it’s also a signature part of our service. In fact, for many Kiwis, being welcomed onboard an Air New Zealand flight by crew after being offshore for some time makes them feel instantly back at home.
According to Miriam Meyerhoff, professor of linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand English has had 150 years to go native. “In that time, the short vowels have wandered and that’s what makes it sound so distinctive – as the flight attendant in the video explains. It’s great to see Kiwis owning this distinctiveness and embracing it for comic effect.”
• Featured image credit (Budapest & River Danube): Alex Holland/iStock-Getty Images
