The Accor Asia Pacific hotel group has launched an employee programme in Australia that will focus on guests from the emerging inbound markets of India and China.
Japanese tourists to Australia represented the fifth-largest visitor number at 398,100 last year but both the number of arrivals, and the Japanese share of the overall Australian market has been dipping.
At the same time, arrivals from China and India have been strengthening. Chinese visitors to Australia accounted for 477,200 international tourists in the 12 months to January 2011 – up 36.7 percent on the previous year.
Most recently, China overtook the UK as Australia’s top inbound market by economic value – worth around $3.5 billion.
Last year 138,700 Indians touched down in Australia, an increase of 11 percent on the previous year.
Accor says it the first hotel group in Australia to implement a fully accredited “Optimum Service Standards†programme in hotels catering for the China and India inbound markets.
Accor hotels will provide a range of services specifically designed to cater for the needs of travellers from these two markets.
The services will include particular foods as part of the breakfast buffet and in mini bars, Chinese and Indian-speaking reception staff, Chinese/Indian TV channels and media, communications and concierge assistance.
Initially, 10–15 of Accor’s largest hotels will introduce the Optimum Service Standards.
These hotels will be able to cater for larger Chinese and Indian groups and are located in cities that traditionally attract large numbers of tourists.
Last year, Accor’s hotels recorded rises in excess of 30 percent in Chinese business and 23 percent in Indian business compared to 2009, coinciding with expansion of Accor’s hotel brands across both China and India.
