We have witnessed a lot of changes in the last 3 months when it comes to regulations regarding the destination wedding industry. With countries opening up, our hopes of continuing the celebration of love if heightened. In the spirit of continuing our DWP Bizz Edge Series, the 4th episode focuses on the changing patterns of the Asian destination wedding market.
South Asian destination weddings, one of today’s fastest-growing and most lucrative travel segments, are drawing increasing interest from resort hotels and travel advisors alike. But while the rewards are great, experts say the knowledge required is as complex as the intricacies of the weddings themselves, especially in the times of COVID.
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Changing Patterns Of The Asian Luxury Wedding Clients
Picture Courtesy: @theweddingatelier.co
Lelian Chew, Founder of The Wedding Atelier & The Floral Atelier from Hong Kong & Singapore shed some light on the spending ability and appetite of Asian clients. Based on recent inquiries she says that wealthy clients are still willing to pay. The demands for weddings are inelastic. They are still interested to make their dream wedding come true, but the way they are going to spend is different than before. Their needs and demands have changed.
What are clients expecting at their wedding after the pandemic?
Privacy- Previously, privacy was all about exclusivity. Moving forward, there’s a new meaning of privacy. Having privacy means their guests are kept safe. They don’t want to worry about safety after making a huge investment. Hotels should focus on buyout packages to ensure more safety and privacy.
Added Convenience – It’s not about how beautiful the wedding is, it’s about making it as hassle-free as possible. For luxury clients in Asia, it’s about the face. Now it’s difficult for clients to travel with all the travel restrictions, the planners need to make it easy for them. Can guests be provided early check-in, VIP escorts, planners collate documents ahead of time? If you can provide these types of added convenience, they will pay.
Value- Many people think wealthy people don’t care about money. That is not true. All the more in these times, they need to see the value for their money. Make sure as a planner, as a vendor, you can generate value. Don’t go into a price war. Focus on generating value.
Professionalism – How professional are the hygiene standards of the hotel? How professional are the florists? Can they provide an alternate solution in case the supply is canceled? How much they can go above and beyond to meet the client’s expectations? These things will matter more now.
Being Appropriate- Clients, planners, and suppliers need to ask themselves- is it right to spend now when the economy is going down? Is it appropriate to hold the wedding in a particular country? It’s not about spending, but spending appropriately.
Giving Back – Truly wealthy clients don’t exist individually, they exist through the community. When they plan a big function, giving back to the economy, to the society, matters to them. Hiring local artists is a great way to give back to society. Supporting the economy by caring about the locality is a great thing to tell them that their money is spent consciously and for the greater good.
Wedding Trends Post-COVID For Asian Weddings
Picture Courtesy: @lereve_weddings
Ariel Chen, CEO of Le Rêve International, China gave 5 points that are going to impact the Asian wedding trends post COVID-19.
Change of Destination– This year the trend would be to go local, till the end of the year. There are jaw-dropping outdoor locations in South-East Asia. Make them the priority as it will be easier to execute weddings locally rather than internationally. Check for a destination which not only has good connectivity but is safe to travel. Destinations like Dubai and Thailand are easy to travel.
Change of Scales- It is important to learn about new trends. Usually, Asian weddings have multiple wedding ceremonies lasting for a couple of days, now it will be just one. More intimate and more niche to family and friends.
Change of Services– As a wedding planner, we will be focusing more on providing safety protocols, emergencies, embassy and venue support, and travel insurance.
Revision of The Contract Clause– Insurance is more important now than before, discuss it with clients. Learn what is the clause for cancellation. This is a great opportunity to value your contact with vendors. How do we have a hotel’s support at the same time explain to clients about the current situation?
Affordable Luxury – Think about more affordable and local options. A destination wedding is still an option, but not necessarily luxury, Think intimate, cozier. Go natural, organic, and local.
Thailand Is The Most Popular Choice Among South-Asian Destinations
Picture Courtesy: @theweddingblissthailand
Nanya Tanthapaiboon, Founder of The Wedding Bliss Thailand emphasized why Thailand is becoming a popular wedding destination choice among couples after COVID-19.
Thailand is full of natural beauty. The beaches stunning of course, but you can also hold your wedding at a jungle lodge, a mountain retreat, in a botanical garden, or even at a private villa. The land of smiles is also popular as it’s a cost-effective choice.
Recently, Thailand was ranked second in the Global COVID-19 Recovery Index (GCI) after Australia, and first in Asia in the same index. Now the Thai government is preparing to welcome tourists. It has private beaches like Koh Samui, Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi that the couple can consider hosting weddings outdoor. Along with privacy, this country has been equipped with impeccable hygiene standards and the medical industry is also booming to cater to emergency needs. Thailand is also an excellent choice for eco-friendly weddings.
Are We Ready To Travel?
Picture Courtesy: @innazcommunique
Innayat Khubchandani, Director at Innaz Communique, Indonesia helped us to understand the sentiments of the Asian market, especially Indian weddings.
It’s not the same as before, there are new protocols. With Indian clients, it’s a bit complicated to do a destination wedding because there is a bigger size involved. An intimate Indian wedding is around 300 people. With travel restrictions, it’s a bit risky. All wedding planners should focus on the destination they are from. Some of the things you can do to make sure that the destination you are in is safe for your clients are:
* Work closely with the government officials on educating yourself with the safety procedures. When clients ask you about how easy or difficult it is to get a visa in your country, or what are the new laws regarding travel, you should know the answers. Work with them to plan how to go ahead with destination weddings, what are the measures government and wedding planners can do together to attract more couples.
* Hotels need to work hand in hand with event planners and vendors to make sure procedures are being followed and incorporated into their guidelines. Hotels need to talk to planners about how they can get support from them.
* Do not take in your hands to open up your destination. It’s a huge issue. Only take control of the situation where you can, do not try to implement new procedures as the situation is rapidly changing.
Future Of Asian Destination Wedding Industry
Picture Courtesy: @spectrumagency
Cyrielle Mohara, CEO of Spectrum Agency, China beautifully summed up by highlighting how the second half of 2020 is going to look like for Asian weddings.
“For this year, we are looking at destination weddings only in China. In terms of trends for overseas weddings, for the longer term, it will catch up again. This is time to think about how can we improve, as a planner we have to work together, reflect and make sure that once this pandemic is over, we will emerge better, prepared and stronger. Be positive but realistic, so focus on local destinations.”
Challenges are what make us better and stronger as a company, individual, industry, learn to accept challenges, adapt, and keep going. We will celebrate again.
Stay tuned for our next blog post on 5 tips to use digital media to your advantage during the times of COVID-19 by Michelle Yuan, CEO of Asia Wedding Network. Stay calm and take care. Love from Team DWP!
Feature Image Credit: @theweddingblissthailand
