In the news: Travelport and ACTE mobile study, Wego and the Middle East, Singapore’s New Park Property sold
Visas top the list of information provided to business travellers
Travelport and ACTE (Association of Corporate Travel Executives) have released a global research paper on the impact of mobile in corporate travel programmes, which also reveals the information and added-extras companies give their corporate travellers.
The study – The real impact of mobile on the corporate travel programme (see slide presentation below) – emphasises the importance of mobile in the corporate world, as more than 50% of the population In most developed economies now has a smartphone. By 2014, there will be more smartphones in the world than people
“Mobile has never been more popular – and it’s not hard to see why. Through mobile devices, people can make the most of every moment, wherever they are located,” the report states.
On the type of information given to business travellers, visas are on the top of the list (59%), followed by immunisations (41%) and weather (40%). Other information provided includes city maps (37%), restaurants (25%) and entertainment (10%).
Extra baggage and hotel Wifi are the most commonly authorised ancillaries, at 57% each. Advance boarding (45%), hotel breakfast (45%) and flight upgrades (39%) are also popular options provided. Of those surveyed, 26% corporations allow no ancillaries to be booked for corporate travel trips.
“We are seeing the range of destination services and ancillary options grow increasingly more complex,” said Patrick Andres, Travelport’s vice president & regional managing director Asia-Pacific (pictured above left). “Within the ancillary mix, it becomes further segmented by organisations offering options such as upgrades and lounge access only to select groups of employees.
“Travellers’ needs are evolving. Generation Y and millennials expect customised content, intelligent itineraries and easily bookable ancillary content. Travelport’s differentiated product strategy, which includes its innovative merchandising platform, enables the distribution of new content such as lounge passes and baggage, in line with the needs of this new type of travel consumers.”
• The study, conducted by ACTE in June 2013, was aimed at travel buyers or managers with responsibility for a corporate travel management programme. Respondents work in organisations across all industries. The majority of those surveyed are from the US (42%), Canada (14%), Australia (9%), Germany (5%), UK (5%), India (4%) and China (4%).
Wego strengthens operations in Middle East to tap its huge tourism potential
Travel metasearch site, Wego, has opened a dedicated office – Wego UAE – and appointed a director in Dubai earlier this year to leverage on the rapidly growing tourism potential in the Middle East and in anticipation of the region’s robust growth.
Mohammed Ibrahim Masri (pictured left) is managing director of Wego, Middle East and North Africa, operating out of the Dubai office..The company is expanding air content in the region to meet the growth in demand, as search volumes on Wego UAE continue to exceed company expectations.
“We always knew that this region was going to advance quickly. However the speed in which airfare search volumes continue to develop on Wego, at much higher growth rates than expected, has surprised us,” said Dean Wicks, Wego’s chief flights officer.
In its latest report, UNWTO’s stated the pace of global tourism growth has exceeded their forecasts, with the Middle East and Asia (MENA) leading the way. Four MENA airlines ranked in the 2013 Skytrax World Top 10 Airlines, with Emirates in the top spot, followed by Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways seventh and Turkish Airlines ninth.
Mohammed said regions throughout MENA are dedicating considerable resources to advance the growth of the tourism industry.
“All travel operators are investing heavily to ensure the region is placed at the forefront of world tourism. Dubai is currently the second busiest international airport in the world, and figures released by Dubai Airport in August shows that international arrivals have increased by over 6% in July, and year to date traffic is up 15.3$,” he added.
Wicks said MENA has provided many firsts for Wego – its first flight and hotel travel metasearch site to appear in both Arabic and English, and partnership with key local travel sites.
Wego recently signed a full content agreement with Egypt Air, coinciding with the airline’s announcement of a four time weekly Cairo to Jakarta service via Kuala Lumpur.
“The region continues to grow for Wego with many major airline accounts currently under negotiation. Presently we’re in the process of integrating a number of major regional carriers that we are expecting to go live on site within the next couple of weeks,” said Wicks.
He believes the youthful nature of new tech savvy MENA airlines, such as Nas Air, Rak Airways and Qatar, with some of the youngest fleets and cutting edge aviation equipment in the world, is also contributing to the accelerated growth.
Mohamed revealed the UAE has just signed a deal to expand air services with Chin. Emirates and Qantas have also extended the network between Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
• There is a session on the Middle East, “Eye On Middle East and Central Asia”, at the WIT Conference next month.Park Hotel Group sells New Park Property
Park Hotel Group has inked a sale and purchase agreement with Glory Property Investment Singapore Pte Ltd to sell its wholly owned subsidiary, New Park Property Pte Ltd, which owns the hotel-cum-retail development – Grand Park Orchard (pictured left) and Knightsbridge.
The deal is scheduled to complete in October.
The 308-room Grand Park Orchard cum retail development, located in Orchard Road, was the first asset purchase in Singapore by Park Hotel Group in 2005. Then known as the Crown Prince hotel, the group purchased it for S$300 million and re-branded it as Park Hotel Orchard. In 2009, the hotel underwent a S$80 million makeover and rebranded as Grand Park Orchard, reopening in 2010.
Allen Law, CEO of Park Hotel Group, said, “There is a high scarcity value for such a prime freehold asset located along Orchard Road. The demand and appeal for quality assets with strong stabilised cash flow remains overwhelming.”
The sale was completed with the benefit of an initial 10-year hotel lease to Grand Park OR Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the group, with an option to extend for another five further years.
Park Hotel Management Pte Ltd has been appointed as retail manager of the retail podium. Both the hotel and retail podium will continue to be managed by Park Hotel Group as Grand Park Orchard and Knightsbridge respectively.
The group owns and operates six other Park-branded hotels in Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Japan, with 10 properties in its portfolio. Two other hotels are due to open in Singapore in 2015 – Park Hotel Alexandra and Park Hotel Farrer Park, which will be managed on behalf of third party owners.
