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Luzi Matzig in TravelAsia
Interview, TravelAsia, July 4, 1997
When he was four years old, Luzi Matzig got a glimpse of the Far
East when he bought Swiss chocolates which gave him pictures of
Angkor Wat to stick in a silver book. Little did he dream that
years later, he would become the pioneer into the Mekong region.
Raini Hamdi speaks to the group general manager of Diethelm Travel
Thailand.
Q:
A:
For instance, we have no interest to set up in Singapore or Hong
Kong, where it is getting more and more difficult to make money.
Malaysia has great potential still - it's a great country, there
are roundtrip possibilities, potential for tours and transfers.
Singapore - how much can you make from half-day city tours? Hong
Kong - what can you do?
China is another matter. We have signed up with Kunming CITS and
have just gained approval to set up an office in Yunnan, which
I believe is the gateway to southern China. Indonesia has tremendous
potential but we have no immediate plans to set up an operation
there.
I'd rather be a good operator to a certain area. If we do Cambodia
well, why don't we specialise in Cambodia? There is always a place
for such companies. The regional concept does not always mean
success.
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
You also have to decide carefully who you want to deal with. In
this competitive environment, agents have a lot to lose. Payments
have become a headache. Last year alone, we lost four major operators -
Hetzel, Leguan, Belmondo and the old Wettstein - each of them
went down the tubes with our money. Even if you are making money,
you have to make a lot more to make up for the ones who fail.
Agents are put in a difficult position. If you give credit, you
are at risk. If you don't give credit, the major operators don't
want to work with you. Another thing agents have to do to survive
is to think of unusual itineraries. Look at other possibilities
like self-drive.
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
There is so much potential in the region. Look at Myanmar or the
planned ski resorts in Lijiang. There is plenty you can do. I
do believe this is the future. While Thailand is the leader at
the moment, Myanmar will certainly be one of the leading forces
in the future.
Q:
A:
In fact, many borders have opened up and we are offering many
inter-regional itineraries. For example, Myanmar- Thailand-Laos
as a 15-day tour; Laos-Vietnam- Cambodia a very successful tour
combination of 16 days; or our new five-day Mekong Adventure,
combining Southern Yunnan with North Thailand and making use of
river transport from China via Laos and Myanmar to Thailand.
Our complete network of regional offices throughout the Mekong
countries will allow for many new multi-country tour itineraries,
which would not get sufficient marketing support if we were just
operating in one particular country.
Thailand is the natural gateway for such multi-country tours and
many clients choose to relax on Thailand's many beaches at the
end of their Mekong countries tour.
Q:
A:
Many European tourists were sold on the wrong tour and expect
European standards of transport or accommodation in places like
Vietnam or Laos, which is totally unrealistic.
In order to protect inbound tour operators in South-east Asia
from excessive claims for compensation, the best idea would be
for the EC countries to introduce a compulsory "compensation
claim insurance" which would handle such claims.
Everybody would win.
The client would get fair compensation, the European tour operator
could pass on the handling of the "complaint letters"
to the insurance company, and the inbound tour operator in the
destination would be freed from excessively high refunds - refunds
which are made to satisfy their large European principals who
often lack a sense of understanding of local customs and procedures,
and who simply want to satisfy their clients and avoid court cases
at all costs.
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