Recovery in full swing

In what has been an incredibly tough 12 months for Asian resorts, the feelgood story from this year's survey was the faith corporate buyers have shown in Phuket and Bali. Despite the tsunami in Phuket and bombings in Bali, they placed first and second respectively in the most popular resort destination category of the Annual Industry Survey, with Australia's Gold Coast following them in third place. Langkawai, Penang, Pattaya, Hainan, Koh Samui, Cebu and Jeju filled the rest of the list. Phuket's first place was a welcome announcement for the local incentive industry there. Beat Schwager, manager of Asian Trails'Phuket branch, says the destination has become quite resilient, having to cope with other issues before the tsunami tragedy at the end of 2004. He is optimistic about 2006. "As you can see we have coped well with the circumstances and are very much back on our feet again," Schwager says. "I believe our strength comes from the previous disasters which hit our island such as SARS, the Iraq war and bird flu. Even though the Asian market has not yet recovered completely, Phuket's survey result is very encouraging." Thailand strategy To back this industry optimism, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently announced its strategy to push Thailand as Asia's business tourism hub, injecting more than US$7.5 million to attract new business in a yet-to-be-revealed global marketing campaign. Thailand's deputy prime minister Suwat Liptapanlop says business tourism is vital to enable Thailand's economy to grow. He says TCEB's primary role is to attract events so the country's facilities are being utilised at full capacity. "Business tourism provides long-term benefits for the economy… especially investment business that creates a much higher revenue than direct business such as tourism. That's why it's a good idea to hold serious business functions in Thailand," he says. Bali recovery Bali is also pleased to have received recognition. However Bali Discovery Tours president director Jack Daniels says Bali probably could have done better if the 'response' to local issues had have been a little more forthcoming and better co-ordinated. "We get very little credit here in Bali from a sales, marketing and promotion standpoint," he says. "Given the lack of a well-orchestrated response to the various crises we have encountered, Bali's resilience must be attributed to the natural brand equity of being one of the most spiritual and culturally distinguished places on the globe." Daniels says the latest terrorist incident on the island spoilt what would have been a boom year for the local resort industry. "Bali was on track to set another record year in 2005 before the latest terrorist attack on October 1. We'll have to struggle back. "But I am encouraged that Bali was selected for the first MarediModa beachwear conference in March. We are hopeful that this will become a regular event on the international fairs and exhibition calendar. "The Bali Tourism Board has a new and dynamic chairman in the form of Bagus Sudibya. I recently attended an intense twoday weekend workshop with industry and, I must say, the spirit to form a viable team on behalf of Bali tourism was palpable." Asian Trails' Schwager also says the solidarity of Phuket's industry was key to the industry bouncing back. "The industry has banded together extremely well and we tried everything to convince people that Phuket is even more attractive than before," he says. "The beaches are nicer and cleaner. The tourist centres of Patong, Karon and Kata have been upgraded, and the Soi Bangla the entertainment centre has been established as a walking street which has become a hit among travellers." General manager of InterContinental Bali, Amadeo Zarzosa, was also upbeat about the island's prospects. "Despite the recent incident, there remains a deep sense of optimism," he says. "The spirit of Bali and its people is undoubtedly strong. InterContinental Resort Bali is staffed mainly by Balinese employees who deliver a special form of hospitality that we refer to as 'service from the heart'. "In December alone the resort had the privilege of hosting several high-profile conferences and these groups have obviously placed their faith in Bali as a quality business events destination." Chinese future While Phuket and Bali were regarded as having the best resort facilities, China was regarded as the country that could expect the most business in the coming three years from Australia, India and Hong Kong. Tourism Australia's regional manager of North Asia and business tourism Johnny Nee says he was not surprised China ranked so highly. However he says the countries differed widely in what they can offer the incentive industry — Australia is an established destination while China has the attraction of opening up to the world while providing unique experiences steeped in Chinese culture. "No doubt China is emerging as a strong regional competitor for this business, but I believe corporate decision-makers look at China and Australia as two very different destinations. We have to ensure our destination is marketed in a way that will cater to those needs," Nee says. "We still consider ourselves as a destination that rewards the corporate high-achievers and we will continue to do this through a new business tourism marketing campaign that will be released to the market in April. "We believe Australia is a very attractive destination in the region because of the size of the country and the diversification we have in the many different large and small cities in the country that can cater to so many different corporate needs. "The resources we have in Australia to cater to incentive and meeting groups are first class from the facilities to the staff and the software required. Providing this value to our clients from Asia is obviously very important to us." Australian perspective Nee also says that Australia competes with regional destinations on cost due to the ease of access of flying into the country and was pleased to announce that Tourism Australia research shows that companies, on the whole, do not regard flying to Australia "arduous" in terms of distance or flight times. "With many of the organisations we deal with around the region we have found Australia is considered a medium-haul destination, so we remain on the radar of a lot of companies because, after Australia, they really have to be looking long-haul to the US or Europe and then costs go up," Nee adds. Hong Kong was also pleased to be rated fourth in terms of growth potential and has obvious synergies in being geographically and culturally close to China. AHong Kong Tourism Board spokesman says Hong Kong's "modern" infrastructure was a perfect launch point into China, especially with air access from regional cities. "Hong Kong is widely recognised as an ideal destination for convention, exhibition, meeting and incentive groups," the spokesperson says. "Hong Kong's pre-eminent position as the hub of Asia and gateway to Mainland China make it a magnet for organisers." The HKTB has declared 2006 'Discover Hong Kong Year' due to the number of new options opening up for incentive planners. Business potential Southeast Asia also did well in terms of destinations that have the potential to receive incentive business from companies in the region. While China, Australia, India and Hong Kong headed the list, Malaysia (fifth position), Singapore (sixth) and Thailand (seventh) filled the next three slots. These three destinations lead the way also in Southeast Asia in terms of the investment their national tourism organisations pump into the international marketing of their incentive and business-event industries. But with other destinations ahead of them in terms of 'top of mind' recognition with destination deciders, maybe there could be an opportunity for these national tourism organisations to plot a more coordinated marketing approach, and the upcoming ASEAN Tourism Forum in the Philippines would be the ideal opportunity to start any action.