Canberra hotels told to lift their game
Canberra Airport managing director Stephen Byron has told the ACT’s hotel and hospitality industry it has to start doing more to attract more flights from Singapore.
Mr Byron told the Canberra Business Council that hotel operators had to memorise flight times and get ready for an anticipated influx of Asian tourists.
And he warned them this particular market is selective and looks closely at what’s being offered.
"Every single customer in this day and age is a social marketer and they will be on [social media website] WeChat, don't you worry about that," Mr Byron said.
"If they have any troubles storing their luggage when they check out of their hotel, or if they don't have slippers in their five-star hotel which is what they expect, it will be on WeChat and everyone will know how this city operates."
He said Singapore Airlines had increased the number of flights to Canberra from three to four.
He hoped that over the next 12 months, this would increase to five flights with the prospect of further international connections.
"In Asia, people are interested in the capital of a country," he said. "It has respect; it has esteem, it has national treasures and indeed it has this peculiar thing called democracy."
"While we might be a little sceptical about the quality of the people the rest of Australia sends to us during the parliamentary weeks, we need to be positive and engage with the experience that our tourism customers are going to be interested in."
Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Robyn Hendry told the meeting that strategies needed to change to suit international guests, reminding people there that many arrived from Singapore late at night.
"We can't be passive and simply let international flights start without the Canberra region doing any preparatory work," Ms Hendry said.
"We need to make sure that from the first minute the first visitor steps off the first plane, they have such a good experience that they encourage their friends and family to travel to the ACT and they come to stay here again in the future."
by Leon Gettler, July 6th 2016
