An interview with co-founder of banyan tree holdings / 專訪張齊娥:從背包客到打造旅遊集團　　　　　　　　　　

In a bid to attract more tourists from the ASEAN region, the Executive Yuan is working on granting visa-free entry to tourists from Thailand and Brunei as well as other Southeast Asian countries. Just recently, Claire Chiang, co-founder of the Singapore based Bayan Tree Holdings, the largest leisure and hospitality group in South East Asia, was invited by the Commonwealth Economic Forum to Taiwan. In the interview, Chiang talks about how her background shapes her business today and gives some advice for Taiwan's tourism. ==JEFF CHANG, Good Morning Taiwan Host== When you were younger, you often traveled around the world with your husband. How does that influence your business today? ==CLAIRE CHIANG, Co-founder, Banyan Tree Holdings== We didn't have much money, so we often took the bus or the train. Once it took us 9 days and 11 transfers to get to Hawaii. We were wearing sandals and a backpack, and with a notebook and camera, we visited 20 hotels. We wanted to learn from both the strengths and weaknesses of those hotels. ==JEFF CHANG, Good Morning Taiwan Host== You studied sociology as a student. How does that influence your business today? ==CLAIRE CHIANG, Co-founder, Banyan Tree Holdings== The influence comes in two ways. My training in sociology made me distrustful of business, and back then I even pledged not to marry a businessman. But when I started to run my own business, I realized that profit-making and social equity don't have to be mutually exclusive. By combining them in a certain way, a win-win situation can be achieved. ==JEFF CHANG, Good Morning Taiwan Host== You've put a lot of effort into corporate social responsibility. Could you share with us a few examples? ==CLAIRE CHIANG, Co-founder, Banyan Tree Holdings== My personal favorite is a social enterprise we established in Vietnam. In a world heritage village called Hội An, we opened a cafe and recruited youths above 17 who were unemployed and not in school. Our chefs teach them to cook. Our managers teach them to run a business, and our accountants teach them to keep the books. We teach them different skill sets in a real-world setting while they earn wages for themselves. When they have enough experience, they can go out there and find a job. ==JEFF CHANG,Good Morning Taiwan Host== Could you talk about Asian consumption? What is it and what do Asian consumers want? ==CLAIRE CHIANG, Co-founder, Banyan Tree Holdings== Asian consumers have become a large and powerful clientele for our industry, but they're demanding something rather different from the traditional Western tourist. We're in a digital age, so they want everything to be fast, convenient, trendy and exciting. They want things to be fun, but affordable. ==JEFF CHANG, Good Morning Taiwan Host== What is your take on Taiwanese tourism? ==CLAIRE CHIANG, Co-founder, Banyan Tree Holdings== Taiwan is a beautiful place but its beauty is little known to the world. In terms of tourism, I think there hasn't been enough branding yet. Naturally the government's support is very important, and the success of a project takes more than a single hotel. Infrastructure and businesses within one or two hours' drive from the hotel are important as well. We need the government's firm support to really propel growth. REPORTER：JEFF CHANG 行政院宣布將從8月1號起，試辦泰國及汶萊旅客來台30天免簽，9月1號起，也將給予其他東協國家旅客"有條件免簽"。而東協最大的旅遊休閒集團-來自新加坡的悅榕集團共同創辦人張齊娥，最近受"天下經濟論壇"的邀請來台演講，並接受公視早安新聞的專訪。在訪問當中，張齊娥暢談年輕時候的旅行經驗和社會學訓練，是如何影響她後來轉行到旅遊業，同時讓她不忘記企業的社會責任。除此之外，她也對台灣政府拚觀光,提出客觀的建議！ ==主持人 張家福== 您在年輕的時候 常常和先生背著背包四處去玩 這樣子旅行的經驗 是不是對目前的經營 有什麼樣的影響 ==悅榕旅遊集團共同創辦人 張齊娥== 當時錢也不夠 所以常就是坐長途的大巴 或者火車 當初還坐了十一班航班 在九天內到了夏威夷 穿著脫鞋 背著袋袋 拿著筆記簿 一個相機 跑了二十個酒店去學習 人家做到的我們也要學 人家沒做到的我們更要做 ==主持人 張家福== 您以前是讀社會學的 在社會學方面的訓練 對您今日從事旅遊休閒業方面 又有什麼樣的影響呢 ==悅榕集團共同創辦人 張齊娥== 其實是兩個衝擊 因為讀了社會學 那麼就覺得說商人是不好的 而且我當時也說我不會嫁給商人 但是後來自己踏入了商界 才知道商業跟社會能夠掛勾起來 而且在一種思路的梳理呢 能夠結合得非常妥當 而且非常有雙贏的局面 ==主持人 張家福== 您在社會企業這方面的努力 可不可以和我們分享幾個 目前集團進行當中的案例 ==悅榕集團共同創辦人 張齊娥== 近年我覺得最喜歡的 就是一個社會企業 在越南 一個世界遺產的小村會安 在那裡我們就立了一個咖啡店 裡面的孩子都是十七歲以上 沒有上學 沒有就業機會 由我們酒店的廚師 教他們怎麼來烹飪 以我們的經理教他們怎麼去運作 我們的財務部教他們怎麼做算計 教他們各個門類的技能 他們就可以好像在生活大學上課 做事 拿工資 得到了一點歷練 他就可以到別的地方去工作 ==主持人 張家福== 可不可以和我們聊一下 亞洲消費大概是什麼樣子 然後亞洲消費者 他們要的是什麼 ==悅榕集團共同創辦人 張齊娥== 亞洲的消費者已經成為一個 非常中堅 有力 龐大的一個群 但是他們的需求跟以往西方人不同 因為是電子社會時代 所以他們什麼都要快速 快捷 時尚 好玩 要逗 但又不要花太多錢 ==主持人 張家福== 對台灣的(旅遊)市場 有什麼樣的看法 ==悅榕集團共同創辦人 張齊娥== 台灣的美 真是好像一個秀女沒出門 沒給世間人發現 而且很多地方 我覺得旅遊這方面 還沒有 完完全全很好地包裝起來 政府的支持力很重要 一個項目的成功不單靠品牌 集團進來了就能成功嗎 不一定 跟隨我們的 一定要在週邊半個小時 一個小時 兩個小時 整個大環境 需要政府的大力支持 才能夠真的把整個區振奮起來 記者 張家福、劉漢麟報導