Group tour wholesaler Miki Travel is expanding its footprint in Philippine outbound, which is showing strong growth potential with marked interest in long haul destinations, by broadening its product offerings and portfolio of services.
Apart from its core business of group travel to Europe, it opened new destinations including Morocco and Saudi Arabia, in response to the ever-changing travel industry landscape. “We have been appointed as key partners for the Saudi Tourism Authority and Morocco Tourism Board,” shared Miki Travel CEO Asia Division, Olivier Moeschler.
Owned by H.I.S. travel agency of Japan, the wholesaler recently brought French river cruise Croisi to Asia, including the Philippines. It is one of the biggest and oldest river cruise companies with routings not only in Europe, but also in Africa and the Mekong.
Its two online platforms, Miki Plus and 2can go, list ready-made products to help travel agents with their FIT requirements….making us a one-stop shop for agents needing both group and FIT solutions across multiple continents,” Moeschler enthused.
Using AI, Miki Plus has an array of personalized itineraries to suit travellers’ needs and preferences in an extensive collection of products ranging from accommodations to transport and activities. On the other hand, 2can go creates ready-to-book packages for smaller groups, with departures for as few as two persons, in partnership with small group tour and mini tour companies.
More tech-driven solutions are being planned to be rolled out this year including Miki Plus Marketplace, an advanced B2B marketplace to give sub-agents tools for quotation requests, pricing comparisons, and booking management, improving speed and accuracy.
Multi-Channel Customer Support via WhatsApp/WeChat/Line integrates instant messaging platforms to allow real-time customer support, enabling faster and more efficient communication for travel agents.
eSIM Technology offers hassle-free internet access for travelers, for seamless connectivity without the need for physical SIM cards.
Moeschler said that unlike many traditional wholesalers, Miki Travel is continuously evolving to support its travel agency partners not only through its global reach and tech-driven solutions but also by forging strong local partnerships.
In fact, during the pandemic, it made sure to continue engaging with travel agents, updating them on the situation from different destinations to help them when the market eventually rebounded.
It has resumed its Annual Appreciation Night this year. “After having stellar years the past two years in the Philippines, we deemed it best to give our agents this suitable recognition, for continuing to support and giving their business to us..
“While the market is really growing and now with numerous competitors in the field, we have had agents that remained loyal to us through these years. This is our way of recognizing them,” he explained.
Moeschler is responsible for Miki Travel’s 14 Asian offices, from China to India, except Japan which is managed by its parent company, H.I.S. His Philippine team include Hong Kong-based Philippine country manager Kathy Lupisan, Manila-based general manager Davidson Wong and MICE division manager Marites Pastorfide.
In Asia, the Philippines was probably the least affected by the pandemic as many airlines maintained good capacity in serving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). “Normal flights to the Philippines were quite high compared to other countries so that when the pandemic was over, quite a number of flights were available for people who used to travel, especially to Europe,” Moeschler explained.
A year after the pandemic, the Philippines was Miki Travel’s fastest growing market, a lot bigger than Singapore, the second biggest. But other Asian source markets have since caught up with more air capacity and more business visas available.
However, Moeschler said the Philippines is “still a very strong market for group travel,” with top preference for Western Europe and Rome. Other groups are still linked to religious pilgrimages and usual sightseeing but Scandinavia, Iceland and The Balkans are proving to be new popular destinations for Filipinos.
Family travel is a growing sector of Philippine outbound while MICE, although still nascent, has potential for growth.
Morocco is being affected by costly tour packages, caused by few and therefore expensive flights from Asia with stopover in Doha, Qatar. Morocco is doing better in China with more direct flights to the destination and with Air Morocco now flying direct from Beijing, Moeschler said.
