The Ritz-Carlton was the most popular hotel group in 2016, followed by the Banyan Tree, the Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Fairmont and the Peninsula.
The popularity of membership schemes are a good indicator of luxury travelers’ overall levels of satisfaction with luxury hotels. Compared with 2015, the Ritz-Carlton membership scheme's popularity rose by 19%, taking the crown from the Hilton as the scheme of choice. Marriott fell to sixth. Younger travelers' preferences remain largely unchanged.
The popularity of the Ritz-Carlton's membership scheme is no surprise given its outstanding reputation among luxury travelers for high-quality service and luxurious standards.
The data according to the results of the 2017 Chinese Luxury Traveller report, issued jointly by Hurun Report and ILTM, focusing on the behavior and demands of China's high-end tourists, to understand and interpret the direction in which the industry is heading.
Holiday hotels are by far the most popular kind of hotel among respondents, gaining 81% of the vote.
Business hotels (18%), B&Bs (9%) and apartments (6%) received significantly lower preference rates.
The relaxing atmosphere, luxurious decor and the variety of high-end services provided by holiday hotels all work in their favor among respondents.
Hotel Service Most Important Consideration, Followed by Room with A View
Along with their growing enthusiasm for personalized travel services, China's high-end tourists are also attaching increasing value to quality of travel services.
Provision of personalized service is the most important factor when choosing a hotel for 49%. The following factors all prioritize hotel facilities and location; good views (48%), room cleanliness (44%), comfortable bedding (34%), good location (44%) and hotel style (36%) all constitute significant deciding factors.
Recomendations from previous guests through word of mouth (17%), value for money (15%) and membership benefits (10%) are of secondary importance to most luxury travelers.
Luxury travelers favor hotels with good locations that can provide them with personalized services, in combination with high-quality, comfortable rooms with good views.
Respondents no longer swarm hotels with leading reputations or simply convinced by discounts, as their tastes become more discerning.
Good service and spectacular views trump reputation and interior design.
Luxury Travelers In terms of accommodation budgets, the average nightly spend is nearly 3,800 yuan, with 28% spending 3,001-5,000 yuan, followed by 1,001-2,000 yuan with 26%.
Hurun Report and International Luxury Travel Market Asia (ILTM Asia) released The Chinese Luxury Traveller 2017: 60% of outbound luxury travellers willing to spend more than 3,000 yuan for a room night and travel business class or first class, adventure travel is the theme of choice for the three years, beach holidays on the rise, becoming a travel theme last year and luxury travel agencies flourish.
Customized travel services have begun to spread, with more than half of high-end travellers said they have experienced it.
A. Travellers prefer adventure tourism, it will be the luxury travel trend in the next three years.
Around World Travel, polar exploration, and outdoor adventures are themes for the Chinese luxury traveller in the next three years. Compared to the dominance of travelling for leisure in the past few years, this year, there is a marked increase in the Chinese luxury travelling for adventure. It should be noted that the Post-80s generation has displayed an increased interest in Africa and the Polar Regions, with numbers rising from 23% and 17% last year to 36% and 32% respectively this year.
B. Seasons significantly influence traveller’s choice of destination.
The time of year has a large bearing on the choice of location. In summer and autumn, the Post-80s luxury travellers possess a marked preference for island-hopping, with Phuket (27%), Maldives (18%) and Fiji (16%) and China's Sanya (16%) are the most popular choices. In winter and spring, Australia (16%) and Phuket (18%) are popular among sun-worshippers, while ski enthusiasts flock to Japan (32%), Canada (8%) and Switzerland (7%) also are traveller’s most likely destination.
C. Island with a Beach
Although Leisure at 41% was still the most popular vacation theme, polar exploration and outdoor adventures have continued their momentum from the past two years and rank second (31%) and fourth (20%) respectively. As a new option in this year’s study, island holidays were the dark horse of vacation themes and surpass both cruises (13%) and self-drive holidays (14%) and other traditional modes of travel to rank third. Island holidays are especially popular among the Post-80s generation and rank first with almost fifty percent (46%).
D.Southeast Asia and Europe are the outbound destination
Last year, Europe and Southeast Asia have grown in popularity as a destination accounting for 45% and 44% of respondents respectively. In just two years, Southeast Asia has successfully surpassed the Americas become the Chinese luxury traveller’s new choice, displaying a shocking 34% increase in millennial favour and jumping from last year’s fourth place to take the crown this year. Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher said: “In the past years, Chinese luxury travellers have gone abroad an average of 3.3 times and stayed for an average of 27 days, with tourism increasing 5% to reach 69%”.
E. Hotels.
Luxury hotels are still the first choice for China's luxury travellers. The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons hotels are the most popular choices, ranking first and third. Boutique hotels are increasingly favoured, with Banyan Tree jumping from sixth place last year to fourth place this year, while Aman entered the top ten in seventh place.
Hilton is the “Most Popular Luxury Business Hotel” title, with Shangri-La, Sheraton, and top ten newcomer Marriott following closely after. The hotel of the most luxury traveller members is also The Ritz-Carlton, with the popularity of the brand experiencing a 19% increase over the last two years, taking the crown from Hilton.
In two years however, Marriott drop from second to sixth. Rupert Hoogewerf said, “Compared to airline memberships, hotel memberships do not hold as much value”.At 81%, resorts are overwhelmingly popular among luxury travellers and are their favourite type of luxury accommodation. Business hotels (18%), bed and breakfasts (9%), and apartment hotels (6%) are also preferred, but by a much smaller margin of travellers.
60% outbound luxury travellers spend more than 3,000 yuan per night. 32% of luxury travellers have accommodation budgets of over 5,000RMB per night. Humanized Service is the most important consideration, followed by a good view of the room.
At 56%, local cuisine is the most popular hotel restaurant cuisine option for Chinese luxury travellers. Japanese and Cantonese cuisine follow after by 32% and 31% respectively. French cuisine, Italian cuisine and Sichuan cuisine are all topped the list ten, while the Korean cuisine and hot pot did not in top ten.
Private dining room is receiving more attention as venues for private banquets and business dinners.
Accommodation sharing is still in its early stages in the luxury market. Private home-stay options like Airbnb are selected by only 25% of respondents, trailing behind the boutique hotel (48%) and the cruise (45%). 69% of respondents remain neutral or will not explore home-stay in the next three years.
F.China's luxury travellers love comfort when they travel.
61% of respondents, on their most memorable trips, travelled in business or first class. Air China has the most popular membership scheme among domestic airlines (54%), with China Southern Airlines (22.4%) and Cathay Pacific (21.9%) coming in after.
Among foreign airlines, Emirates and Singapore Airlines both run ahead of the pack at 23% and 22% respectively, benefiting from their reputations for offering both cost-effective and high level services. The fact that Singapore and Dubai airports are such important hubs for flight transfers also contribute to their popularity.
G.Quality Of Travel Itineraries
Customized travel services start to spread, with agencies placing a strong emphasis on the quality of travel itineraries to retain customers.More than half of luxury travellers (58%) said that they have experienced customized travel services. They are partial to travel agencies that provide well-designed itineraries, personalized services, and are actively problem-solving, placing 59%, 55%, and 49% of emphasis on each aspect respectively.
The emphasis placed on problem-solving ability of travel agencies has experienced an 11% increase in two years. Agencies in “Hurun Mainland China Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 12” ranking include 8 Continents, Diadema, D-Lux Travel*, CITS Amex, HHtravel, My Tour, Magic Travel, Ctrip, Zanadu, CITS, CTS, and CYTS.
Agencies in the “Hurun Hong Kong Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 6” include Wincastle Travel Limited, Cathay Pacific Holidays, Charlotte Travel*, American Express, Swire Travel, and Westminster. Agencies in the “Hurun Taiwan Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 6” include One Style Tour*, Seascape Escape, Let’s Travel*, American Express, International Travel Information Services, and Lion Travel. (In alphabetical order, *new to list).
H. Travel retail.
While on holiday, Chinese luxury travellers like to purchase cosmetics (45%), local produce (43%), bags and suitcases (39%), clothes and accessories (37%), and jewellery (34%). Other than local produce, the four other most popular purchase categories are all dominated by female consumers. Compared to numbers two years ago, there is a noticeable increase in the percentage of travellers who bought cosmetics. With regard to the purpose of the purchase, 76% of purchases are personal, while 47% of purchases are gifts, and 4% are purchased on the behalf of others.
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Showing posts with label Sheraton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sheraton. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 July 2017
Thursday, 27 April 2017
BAHRAIN: Increasing Hotel Capacity By 4,000 Rooms
Bahrain will receive 15 new hotels, valued at $10 billion, by 2020, according to a statement from the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) on Wednesday.
Brands like The One&Only, Fairmont, The Address, and Wyndham are set to mark their entry in to the Gulf country over the course of the next three years.
These hotels will add to Bahrain’s existing portfolio of over 190 hotels and resorts. This includes 18 five star hotels and 48 four star hotels. In total, the country’s hotels currently offer a capacity of 16,500 rooms.
In a separate statement, Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the EDB, said the new hotels were expected “to increase hotel capacity by around 4,000 rooms in the country by 2020 and fill gaps in the market.”
“These developments will both help to meet rising demand and attract new visitors to the kingdom. Bahrain showed strong growth in tourist numbers in 2016, witnessing a 6 per cent increase in the number of tourist arrivals,” he added.
Bahrain received 12.2 million people in 2016, and in 2015, the kingdom’s tourism sector accounted for 6 per cent of the total GDP, contributing revenues of $1.9 billion to its economy.
The country’s tourism market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8 per cent.
Following Marriott International’s announcement that they would be opening 15 new luxury properties across the region, the company’s president for the Middle East and Africa said on Wednesday that despite some oversupply concerns, he sees huge opportunity in the market.
“Whilst some of the Middle Eastern markets appear to be oversupplied, the fact of the matter is the ratio of branded rooms to population is exceptionally small,” Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director of Marriott International, Middle East & Africa, said.
Kyriakidis said that Marriott would add 60,000 rooms across the region between now and 2022.
The majority of these, he said, would be located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Regarding Saudi Arabia, Kyriakidis said “there is a pent-up demand for travel”, adding that “you have religious tourism, which has an exponential growth trajectory with the Muslim population growing around the world, in addition to domestic travel.”
“The kingdom is a huge focus for us, particularly the holy cities,” he said.
Marriott currently operates 11 hotels across the kingdom, which has a population of 31 million people, including two Ritz-Carlton properties.
In the UAE, Kyriakidis sees Marriott International diversifying its business away from the “upper upscale” brands such as Marriott, Le Meridien, Sheraton, and Westin.
“We see lots of opportunity in the select segment of the market, to compliment the upper upscale and luxury, and make Dubai more affordable, particularly for families to visit,” he said.
The select segment is a term Marriott International uses to describe its midscale offering, including brands such as Courtyard Hotels, Four Points, and Aloft Hotels.
Kyriakidis added that the intention was to “diversify our product within the UAE.”
For Egypt, the senior official noted that travel to the country had been “marred by safety and security concerns.”
Nevertheless, he said that the company is seeing “a significant uptake in travel to the country now by virtue of the fact that its currency is not dollar pegged.”
In November 2016, Egypt devalued its currency by 48 per cent in an attempt to end its economic crisis, which Kyriakidis said had “made their country considerably more affordable for tourism” and in turn stimulated “demand from around the Arab world.”
Turning his eye to the UAE’s capital, he conceded that “we’re in a tough time right now because of the oil price,” but said that Abu Dhabi is “beginning to rethink its strategy about how to generate economic activity, and clearly leisure and tourism is at the heart of that.”
“We are thinking strategically about the capital,” Kyriakidis added.
Even as the hotels market in the Middle East and globally is seeing a strong shift from luxury to mid-range, the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has not stopped expanding in the luxury segment of the market, although it is still strongly focused on the midscale side of the business.
The hotels group, largely known by its Holiday Inn, InterContinental and Crowne Plaza brands, is looking to bring its boutique lifestyle luxury brand, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, to the region.
This time it would be a unique offering in the luxury end of the market, says Pascal Gauvin, IHG’s Chief Operating Officer for India, Middle East and Africa.
“It’s an American brand. We are now starting to export it outside of America. We would love to start with Dubai in this region,” he told Gulf News in an interview.
IHG bought the brand in 2014, and started to take the Kimpton brand outside of the US only in January this year.
It has signed for a property each in Amsterdam, which is about to open sometime this year, and Paris, Gauvin said.
“We only want to do the big capitals for this band. And of course, for this region, we want to start with most probably Dubai and then take it to all the other big cities in the region.”
Asked if Dubai would see a signing for Kimpton sometime this year, Gauvin said: “I can’t tell you when we are going to sign one in Dubai. It depends on the investors’ appetite.”
He was quick to add that IHG has already in discussions with investors to bring the brand to this market.
“We are talking to some investors already. The ones that we have started seeing are really keen on exploring possibility with the brand. People who are interested are the ones who already know the brand from the US, and they are very glad that we have started exporting the brand,” Gauvin said.
Contrary to belief by some that the luxury end of the segment might be reaching a saturation point in a market such as Dubai and the overall region, Gauvin said he was optimistic about the growth in this segment.
“Luxury will always be luxury, because by DNA, this is where this region started and so we will remain quite strong in the luxury [segment] … but maybe a different luxury than what we see today. It’s more boutique lifestyle luxury more than the large brand luxury,” he said.
IHG has another lifestyle brand, Hotel Indigo, which caters to the upper scale of the market, and reflects the neighbourhood around, as Gauvin puts it.
“But Kimpton is the other way — it’s more inward thinking. So we want to cocoon them [the guests] inside the hotel. Restaurants here will play a very important part,” he said.
Hotel Indigo, meanwhile, is under construction in two markets in the region — in Dubai and Riyadh. “IHG is planning to bring new brands to this region,” Gauvin said.
IHG has 79 existing hotels in the Middle East with 26 in the pipeline. “In three to five years, they will all be open. And that’s 47 per cent growth,” Gauvin said.
“There is a diversification taking place in the market. And that’s why we are bringing in a lot of midscale brands such as the Holiday Inn, to Dubai in particular, but in the region in general,” Gauvin said. “We were an emerging market for many years, and it’s maturing [now], especially the UAE, specifically Dubai. So it’s really time to focus on our midscale brands.”
He added that IHG would continue to expand its InterContinental and Crowne Plaza brands.
A surge in Airbnb-driven short-term bookings eating into Dubai’s hotel industry margins? Not likely as there is enough space to accommodate all of the demand — and not necessarily competing — from the various guest categories, according to findings by the consultancy PwC.
“It’s the Generation Z that is so taken up with a “shared economy”,” said Martin Berlin, Middle East Partner and Global Deals Real Estate Leader at PwC. “This is the audience that will find a stay with an Airbnb app most appealing; but this is effectively creating a user base in cities where they didn’t exist before or wasn’t fully developed.”
PwC has issued its Megatrends report on the hospitality sector, where it defines the user groups the hospitality industry should be planning for — the “silver generation”, the millennials and Generation Z. And each group has their marked preferences on where they want to make a room booking and how they want to make it.
Until now, the millennials and the Genz Z born after 2000 were clubbed together under the impression that their tastes bore close resemblances and with little differentiation. But the PwC report prefers to see some subtle differences between them.
“Although there is limited knowledge about the travel preferences of the Gen Z tourist, it is predicted that due to higher access to information and higher education levels, this travel segment will bring forth a new age of innovation within the travel and tourism industry,” the report states. While Gen Z would prefer non-traditional hotel concepts such as Airbnb, the millennials — more so those further up on their career paths — are “partial to smaller boutique brands and shared economy structures such as Airbnb”.
But the region’s hotel industry will still have a fight when it comes to retaining their hold on the business traveller. There are options opening up via short to longer term staying options offered by non-hotels for a corporate guest.
The PwC report reckons as much. “The hotel industry’s prized possession — the business traveller — is soon to be targeted by Airbnb,” it states. “Hoteliers need to take strong proactive action to retain business travellers and attract customers across all ages and demographics.
“This would require adapting their services to become more consumer-centric in order to create unique guest experiences. Hoteliers also need to invest in creating strong identities for smaller lifestyle chains rather than larger cookie-cutter brands. It is important for the hotel industry to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to locking horns with this disrupter.”
Dubai’s developers are changing tack, with a horses-for-courses policy rather than keep committing to hotels either too heavy with luxury trappings or a bare-bones budget option. Damac has now introduced investment options on hotel apartments overlooking its Trump golf course, with prices starting from Dh395,000.
Meraas, the Dubai Government owned master-developer introduced four concepts in one go as part of its drive into developing a hospitality presence.
According to Berlin, “Dubai will still be a top attraction for the “silver” tourist, and with their preference for longer term stay options. The laws on short-stay homes have already been passed in Dubai and it’s just a matter of time before other Gulf cities come with their own versions to govern this category. It will only mean further growth opportunities.”
Even on how marketing campaigns should approach them, Gen Z are overtly dependent on connectivity while millennials want to know more — and are not immune to influence by — social media.
For Middle East hoteliers, there are lessons on marketing tactics they will need to imbibe. “The shift from the intermediaries to the influencers is one of the largest marketing shifts the travel and tourism industry has foreseen,” the report notes.
“The Gen Z and the millennial tourists are no longer swayed by travel brochures but are most likely to make decisions based on social media influence. Therefore, it is imperative for players in the travel and tourism industry to increase the importance of social media platforms in their marketing strategies.”
Brands like The One&Only, Fairmont, The Address, and Wyndham are set to mark their entry in to the Gulf country over the course of the next three years.
These hotels will add to Bahrain’s existing portfolio of over 190 hotels and resorts. This includes 18 five star hotels and 48 four star hotels. In total, the country’s hotels currently offer a capacity of 16,500 rooms.
In a separate statement, Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the EDB, said the new hotels were expected “to increase hotel capacity by around 4,000 rooms in the country by 2020 and fill gaps in the market.”
“These developments will both help to meet rising demand and attract new visitors to the kingdom. Bahrain showed strong growth in tourist numbers in 2016, witnessing a 6 per cent increase in the number of tourist arrivals,” he added.
Bahrain received 12.2 million people in 2016, and in 2015, the kingdom’s tourism sector accounted for 6 per cent of the total GDP, contributing revenues of $1.9 billion to its economy.
The country’s tourism market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8 per cent.
Following Marriott International’s announcement that they would be opening 15 new luxury properties across the region, the company’s president for the Middle East and Africa said on Wednesday that despite some oversupply concerns, he sees huge opportunity in the market.
“Whilst some of the Middle Eastern markets appear to be oversupplied, the fact of the matter is the ratio of branded rooms to population is exceptionally small,” Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director of Marriott International, Middle East & Africa, said.
Kyriakidis said that Marriott would add 60,000 rooms across the region between now and 2022.
The majority of these, he said, would be located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Regarding Saudi Arabia, Kyriakidis said “there is a pent-up demand for travel”, adding that “you have religious tourism, which has an exponential growth trajectory with the Muslim population growing around the world, in addition to domestic travel.”
“The kingdom is a huge focus for us, particularly the holy cities,” he said.
Marriott currently operates 11 hotels across the kingdom, which has a population of 31 million people, including two Ritz-Carlton properties.
In the UAE, Kyriakidis sees Marriott International diversifying its business away from the “upper upscale” brands such as Marriott, Le Meridien, Sheraton, and Westin.
“We see lots of opportunity in the select segment of the market, to compliment the upper upscale and luxury, and make Dubai more affordable, particularly for families to visit,” he said.
The select segment is a term Marriott International uses to describe its midscale offering, including brands such as Courtyard Hotels, Four Points, and Aloft Hotels.
Kyriakidis added that the intention was to “diversify our product within the UAE.”
For Egypt, the senior official noted that travel to the country had been “marred by safety and security concerns.”
Nevertheless, he said that the company is seeing “a significant uptake in travel to the country now by virtue of the fact that its currency is not dollar pegged.”
In November 2016, Egypt devalued its currency by 48 per cent in an attempt to end its economic crisis, which Kyriakidis said had “made their country considerably more affordable for tourism” and in turn stimulated “demand from around the Arab world.”
Turning his eye to the UAE’s capital, he conceded that “we’re in a tough time right now because of the oil price,” but said that Abu Dhabi is “beginning to rethink its strategy about how to generate economic activity, and clearly leisure and tourism is at the heart of that.”
“We are thinking strategically about the capital,” Kyriakidis added.
Even as the hotels market in the Middle East and globally is seeing a strong shift from luxury to mid-range, the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has not stopped expanding in the luxury segment of the market, although it is still strongly focused on the midscale side of the business.
The hotels group, largely known by its Holiday Inn, InterContinental and Crowne Plaza brands, is looking to bring its boutique lifestyle luxury brand, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, to the region.
This time it would be a unique offering in the luxury end of the market, says Pascal Gauvin, IHG’s Chief Operating Officer for India, Middle East and Africa.
“It’s an American brand. We are now starting to export it outside of America. We would love to start with Dubai in this region,” he told Gulf News in an interview.
IHG bought the brand in 2014, and started to take the Kimpton brand outside of the US only in January this year.
It has signed for a property each in Amsterdam, which is about to open sometime this year, and Paris, Gauvin said.
“We only want to do the big capitals for this band. And of course, for this region, we want to start with most probably Dubai and then take it to all the other big cities in the region.”
Asked if Dubai would see a signing for Kimpton sometime this year, Gauvin said: “I can’t tell you when we are going to sign one in Dubai. It depends on the investors’ appetite.”
He was quick to add that IHG has already in discussions with investors to bring the brand to this market.
“We are talking to some investors already. The ones that we have started seeing are really keen on exploring possibility with the brand. People who are interested are the ones who already know the brand from the US, and they are very glad that we have started exporting the brand,” Gauvin said.
Contrary to belief by some that the luxury end of the segment might be reaching a saturation point in a market such as Dubai and the overall region, Gauvin said he was optimistic about the growth in this segment.
“Luxury will always be luxury, because by DNA, this is where this region started and so we will remain quite strong in the luxury [segment] … but maybe a different luxury than what we see today. It’s more boutique lifestyle luxury more than the large brand luxury,” he said.
IHG has another lifestyle brand, Hotel Indigo, which caters to the upper scale of the market, and reflects the neighbourhood around, as Gauvin puts it.
“But Kimpton is the other way — it’s more inward thinking. So we want to cocoon them [the guests] inside the hotel. Restaurants here will play a very important part,” he said.
Hotel Indigo, meanwhile, is under construction in two markets in the region — in Dubai and Riyadh. “IHG is planning to bring new brands to this region,” Gauvin said.
IHG has 79 existing hotels in the Middle East with 26 in the pipeline. “In three to five years, they will all be open. And that’s 47 per cent growth,” Gauvin said.
“There is a diversification taking place in the market. And that’s why we are bringing in a lot of midscale brands such as the Holiday Inn, to Dubai in particular, but in the region in general,” Gauvin said. “We were an emerging market for many years, and it’s maturing [now], especially the UAE, specifically Dubai. So it’s really time to focus on our midscale brands.”
He added that IHG would continue to expand its InterContinental and Crowne Plaza brands.
A surge in Airbnb-driven short-term bookings eating into Dubai’s hotel industry margins? Not likely as there is enough space to accommodate all of the demand — and not necessarily competing — from the various guest categories, according to findings by the consultancy PwC.
“It’s the Generation Z that is so taken up with a “shared economy”,” said Martin Berlin, Middle East Partner and Global Deals Real Estate Leader at PwC. “This is the audience that will find a stay with an Airbnb app most appealing; but this is effectively creating a user base in cities where they didn’t exist before or wasn’t fully developed.”
PwC has issued its Megatrends report on the hospitality sector, where it defines the user groups the hospitality industry should be planning for — the “silver generation”, the millennials and Generation Z. And each group has their marked preferences on where they want to make a room booking and how they want to make it.
Until now, the millennials and the Genz Z born after 2000 were clubbed together under the impression that their tastes bore close resemblances and with little differentiation. But the PwC report prefers to see some subtle differences between them.
“Although there is limited knowledge about the travel preferences of the Gen Z tourist, it is predicted that due to higher access to information and higher education levels, this travel segment will bring forth a new age of innovation within the travel and tourism industry,” the report states. While Gen Z would prefer non-traditional hotel concepts such as Airbnb, the millennials — more so those further up on their career paths — are “partial to smaller boutique brands and shared economy structures such as Airbnb”.
But the region’s hotel industry will still have a fight when it comes to retaining their hold on the business traveller. There are options opening up via short to longer term staying options offered by non-hotels for a corporate guest.
The PwC report reckons as much. “The hotel industry’s prized possession — the business traveller — is soon to be targeted by Airbnb,” it states. “Hoteliers need to take strong proactive action to retain business travellers and attract customers across all ages and demographics.
“This would require adapting their services to become more consumer-centric in order to create unique guest experiences. Hoteliers also need to invest in creating strong identities for smaller lifestyle chains rather than larger cookie-cutter brands. It is important for the hotel industry to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to locking horns with this disrupter.”
Dubai’s developers are changing tack, with a horses-for-courses policy rather than keep committing to hotels either too heavy with luxury trappings or a bare-bones budget option. Damac has now introduced investment options on hotel apartments overlooking its Trump golf course, with prices starting from Dh395,000.
Meraas, the Dubai Government owned master-developer introduced four concepts in one go as part of its drive into developing a hospitality presence.
According to Berlin, “Dubai will still be a top attraction for the “silver” tourist, and with their preference for longer term stay options. The laws on short-stay homes have already been passed in Dubai and it’s just a matter of time before other Gulf cities come with their own versions to govern this category. It will only mean further growth opportunities.”
Even on how marketing campaigns should approach them, Gen Z are overtly dependent on connectivity while millennials want to know more — and are not immune to influence by — social media.
For Middle East hoteliers, there are lessons on marketing tactics they will need to imbibe. “The shift from the intermediaries to the influencers is one of the largest marketing shifts the travel and tourism industry has foreseen,” the report notes.
“The Gen Z and the millennial tourists are no longer swayed by travel brochures but are most likely to make decisions based on social media influence. Therefore, it is imperative for players in the travel and tourism industry to increase the importance of social media platforms in their marketing strategies.”
Friday, 27 January 2017
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia Tourism To Grow Threefold In Five Years
Ethiopia aims to triple its number of foreign visitors to more than 2.5 million by 2020, making tourism a pillar of one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
Buoyed by huge spending on infrastructure and an expansion of its services and agricultural sectors, Addis Ababa expects annual economic growth of around 11 percent for the next five years.
Though lacking the palm-fringed beaches and safari trails of neighboring Kenya and Tanzania, the Horn of Africa country boasts magnificent terrain and a fascinating imperial past.
Visitor numbers have risen at least 10 percent a year for the past decade. More than 750,000 tourists came during fiscal year 2014/2015, generating $2.9 billion for the economy, said Culture and Tourism Minister Amin Abdulkadir.
“There is a lot of demand in terms of bookings and investment plans. Our target is to receive more than 2.5 million in five years’ time,” he told Reuters in an interview.
“This sector will generate foreign direct investment and foreign currency and create job opportunities, as well as contribute to image-building.”
Hilton Worldwide Holdings signed a management deal on Wednesday to open its first hotel in Ethiopia in more than four decades, while sub-Saharan Africa’s first Marriott-branded serviced apartments have also been unveiled in the capital.
Sheraton, Radisson and Golden Tulip are among a handful of global groups already operating, and U.S. chain Best Western International Inc, France’s AccorHotels and Ramada say they are also working on new projects.
“We are a peaceful and stable country. Plus, we have the right policies and strategies,” said Amin. “It will not be long before we reach the levels of our neighbors.”
Buoyed by huge spending on infrastructure and an expansion of its services and agricultural sectors, Addis Ababa expects annual economic growth of around 11 percent for the next five years.
Though lacking the palm-fringed beaches and safari trails of neighboring Kenya and Tanzania, the Horn of Africa country boasts magnificent terrain and a fascinating imperial past.
Visitor numbers have risen at least 10 percent a year for the past decade. More than 750,000 tourists came during fiscal year 2014/2015, generating $2.9 billion for the economy, said Culture and Tourism Minister Amin Abdulkadir.
“There is a lot of demand in terms of bookings and investment plans. Our target is to receive more than 2.5 million in five years’ time,” he told Reuters in an interview.
“This sector will generate foreign direct investment and foreign currency and create job opportunities, as well as contribute to image-building.”
Hilton Worldwide Holdings signed a management deal on Wednesday to open its first hotel in Ethiopia in more than four decades, while sub-Saharan Africa’s first Marriott-branded serviced apartments have also been unveiled in the capital.
Sheraton, Radisson and Golden Tulip are among a handful of global groups already operating, and U.S. chain Best Western International Inc, France’s AccorHotels and Ramada say they are also working on new projects.
“We are a peaceful and stable country. Plus, we have the right policies and strategies,” said Amin. “It will not be long before we reach the levels of our neighbors.”
Monday, 16 November 2015
Marriott Buys Starwood Hotels For $12.2 billion
US-based Marriott International said that it has purchased Starwood for $12.2 billion, creating the world’s largest hotel chain bringing together such famous institutions as Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, W, Westin and Sheraton.
The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the merger, under which the companies will operate or franchise more than 5,500 hotels with 1.1 million rooms worldwide.
“This is an opportunity to create value by combining the distribution and strengths of Marriott and Starwood, enhancing our competitiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace,” said Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson.
Bruce Duncan, the Starwood Hotels & Resorts chairman of the board of directors, said that his board “concluded that a combination with Marriott provides the greatest long-term value for our shareholders and the strongest and most certain path forward for our company.”
Starwood shareholders will receive 0.92 shares of Marriott International, Class A common stock and $2.00 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock, a joint statement from the companies read.
The merger “has a current value of $72.08 per Starwood share, including the $2 cash per share consideration.”
Starwood shareholders will also receive about $7.80 per share from a transaction set to close prior to the Marriott-Starwood merger closing — the spin-off of the Starwood timeshare business and its merger with Interval Leisure Group, which has an estimated value of approximately $1.3 billion.
One-time transaction costs for the merger, to be incurred over the next two years, are expected to total between $100 and $150 million.
Once shareholders from both companies approve the transaction and other regulatory approvals are met, the merger is expected to be closed by mid-2016, the statement read.
The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the merger, under which the companies will operate or franchise more than 5,500 hotels with 1.1 million rooms worldwide.
“This is an opportunity to create value by combining the distribution and strengths of Marriott and Starwood, enhancing our competitiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace,” said Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson.
Bruce Duncan, the Starwood Hotels & Resorts chairman of the board of directors, said that his board “concluded that a combination with Marriott provides the greatest long-term value for our shareholders and the strongest and most certain path forward for our company.”
Starwood shareholders will receive 0.92 shares of Marriott International, Class A common stock and $2.00 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock, a joint statement from the companies read.
The merger “has a current value of $72.08 per Starwood share, including the $2 cash per share consideration.”
Starwood shareholders will also receive about $7.80 per share from a transaction set to close prior to the Marriott-Starwood merger closing — the spin-off of the Starwood timeshare business and its merger with Interval Leisure Group, which has an estimated value of approximately $1.3 billion.
One-time transaction costs for the merger, to be incurred over the next two years, are expected to total between $100 and $150 million.
Once shareholders from both companies approve the transaction and other regulatory approvals are met, the merger is expected to be closed by mid-2016, the statement read.
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia To Triple Tourist Numbers By 2020
Ethiopia aims to triple its number of foreign visitors to more than 2.5 million by 2020, making tourism a pillar of one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
Buoyed by huge spending on infrastructure and an expansion of its services and agricultural sectors, Addis Ababa expects annual economic growth of around 11 percent for the next five years.
Though lacking the palm-fringed beaches and safari trails of neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania, the Horn of Africa country boasts magnificent terrain and a fascinating imperial past.
Visitor numbers have risen at least 10 percent a year for the past decade, albeit from a very low base. More than 750,000 tourists came during fiscal year 2014/2015, generating $2.9 billion for the economy, said Culture and Tourism Minister Amin Abdulkadir.
“There is a lot of demand in terms of bookings and investment plans. Our target is to receive more than 2.5 million in five years time,” he told Reuters in an interview.
“This sector will generate foreign direct investment and foreign currency and create job opportunities, as well as contribute to image-building.”
Hilton Worldwide Holdings signed a management deal on Wednesday to open its first hotel in Ethiopia in more than four decades, while sub-Saharan Africa’s first Marriott-branded serviced apartments have also been unveiled in the capital.
Sheraton, Radisson and Golden Tulip are among a handful of global groups already operating, and U.S. chain Best Western International Inc, France’s AccorHotels and Ramada say they are also working on new projects.
Ethiopia’s target for 2020 looks modest, however, in comparison to that of Egypt, where 9.9 million tourists visited last year.
“We are a peaceful and stable country. Plus, we have the right policies and strategies,” said Amin. “It will not be long before we reach the levels of our neighbours.”
Buoyed by huge spending on infrastructure and an expansion of its services and agricultural sectors, Addis Ababa expects annual economic growth of around 11 percent for the next five years.
Though lacking the palm-fringed beaches and safari trails of neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania, the Horn of Africa country boasts magnificent terrain and a fascinating imperial past.
Visitor numbers have risen at least 10 percent a year for the past decade, albeit from a very low base. More than 750,000 tourists came during fiscal year 2014/2015, generating $2.9 billion for the economy, said Culture and Tourism Minister Amin Abdulkadir.
“There is a lot of demand in terms of bookings and investment plans. Our target is to receive more than 2.5 million in five years time,” he told Reuters in an interview.
“This sector will generate foreign direct investment and foreign currency and create job opportunities, as well as contribute to image-building.”
Hilton Worldwide Holdings signed a management deal on Wednesday to open its first hotel in Ethiopia in more than four decades, while sub-Saharan Africa’s first Marriott-branded serviced apartments have also been unveiled in the capital.
Sheraton, Radisson and Golden Tulip are among a handful of global groups already operating, and U.S. chain Best Western International Inc, France’s AccorHotels and Ramada say they are also working on new projects.
Ethiopia’s target for 2020 looks modest, however, in comparison to that of Egypt, where 9.9 million tourists visited last year.
“We are a peaceful and stable country. Plus, we have the right policies and strategies,” said Amin. “It will not be long before we reach the levels of our neighbours.”
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