In a recent chat with Travel Weekly Asia, Arthur Kiong, CEO of Far
East Hospitality, gives his take on the potential impact of outbound
travel from China on Singapore's tourism sector, as well as growth plans
for the company in the year ahead.
These are his replies below (which has been edited for brevity):
The 2023 view
Singapore hospitality sector in 2023 is directly linked to the
Chinese economy and the outbound travel volume and spending power. The
next few months will be a test to see if China can dramatically increase
air capacity. However, suffice to say, the sudden U-turn policy is a
wonky start.
Pre-pandemic,
between 155 to 160 million Chinese travelled outbound. Even if we
assume 2023 sees half of this number, it is still a staggering number of
outbound travellers with a pent-up demand to spend and restricted
destinations where they are welcomed with open arms.
As Singapore tourism comes of age, it’s time to carve out a hospitality
experience that is distinctively its own – Far East Hospitality CEO
Arthur Kiong shows the way
Singapore is in pole position to benefit. Singapore has
played our political and economic cards very well. Diplomatically well
placed, excellent tourism messaging well timed and we already have a
head start by pulling in the wealthy to invest in property and set up
their home offices here.
Our latest tourism attractions and our significant language advantage
put us way ahead of the competition. I am optimistic but am cautious
because it takes very little to upset the durian cart.
Business growth plans
People will be at the core of our initiatives. We need to retain our
best performers and attract fresh talent as we grow in Malaysia, Japan,
Vietnam, and hope to forge forward with a couple more JVs in new
geographies.
Another area we think is very exciting is to introduce a reward
programme that will be impactful and relevant to travellers despite the
fact we are not a global chain. Watch this space.
Top opportunities and concerns
The bifurcation of the world order. We are entering into a more
precarious multipolar world. This is concerning as it will involve some
decoupling and disruption in supply chains and technology.
However, it is also uniquely opportunistic for Singapore and ASEAN since we straddle across both China and the Western Alliance.
We may act as Ombudsman as well as be the solution to as the world's
next major factory employing cleaner technology, have ample natural
resources and over 630 million hardworking and young population.