Indian full-service carrier Vistara has announced the appointment of Leslie Thng as CEO of the airline from October 2017. He succeeds current CEO Phee Teik Yeoh, who will return to Singapore Airlines (SIA) to take up a senior appointment.
Thng started his career in SIA and has held many senior positions in the company. Prior to being the chief commercial officer for Budget Aviation Holdings (the holding company of budget carrier Scoot), he was chief executive of SilkAir.
Vistara, which began its first commercial flight in January 2015, is partly owned by SIA in a joint venture with Tata Sons.
Canada’s Ministry of Transport has announced that the country’s air transport agreement with Thailand will be modernised and expanded for the first time since 1989.
On top of removing the limit on the number of Canadian and Thai airlines serving any city in both countries, the refreshed agreement will also allow each country 21 flights per week to the other and afford fifth freedom rights on up to seven of the 21 flights.
The widened agreement also enhances existing codeshare rights and modernises aviation safety and security articles as well as business provisions.
“An expanded agreement with a growing international air transport market like Thailand not only benefits our air sector, but also Canadian businesses, shippers and travellers who will now have more options,” said minister of transport Marc Garneau.
Thailand was Canada’s 29th largest air travel market in 2016, and the 100th partner country that Canada has negotiated with under the Blue Sky Policy, which encourages long-term, sustainable competition and the development of international air services.
Pending the completion of formal ratification procedures, the agreement is being applied on an administrative basis to allow carriers to begin planning new air services immediately.
Royal Caribbean Cruises celebrated its 10th anniversary last Friday at Singapore’s Clifford Pier.
The celebration saw the participation from over 150 trade, media, corporate and government partners from the region, who were treated to multiple display visuals and videos featuring the company’s milestones.
In the last decade, the cruise line has expanded its regional footprint from just one office in Singapore to six across Asia-Pacific and from one to three ships for its fleet in Singapore today, said managing director for Asia-Pacific, Sean Treacy.
In the unveiling of the cruise company’s TVC ‘Where Everyone Gets What They Need’, guests also got a virtual experience of cruise features via the newly launched head-mounted display virtual reality headset – the Holideck.
Oliver Schnatz has been named the general manager of Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, the flagship property for Sofitel Luxury Hotels in South-east Asia.
He was most recently the hotel manager of Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, a post he held for almost three years.
Since his first posting in Thailand in 2001 at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, the 43-year-old has also served as general manager of Sri Panwa Resort in Phuket and executive assistant manager at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.
Other properties the German hospitality veteran has worked at include Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London, Mandarin Oriental Munich and the Peninsula Hong Kong.
Prince Hotels, a subsidiary of Japan’s Seibu Holdings, is acquiring Sydney-based StayWell Hospitality Group (SWHG) in a A$50 million (US$38.1 million) deal, gaining the latter’s 30 hotels (18 existing and 12 under development) in seven countries and 21 cities.
The agreement will see Prince Hotels establish StayWell Holdings to acquire all shares of SWHG’s 22 subsidiary companies, with operations expected to commence in October 2017.
Driving the purchase are plans to further the globalisation of Seibu Group’s hotel and leisure business, a key growth driver for the group. For now, 42 of the 49 hotels in Prince’s stable are in Japan.
Park Regis Singapore
SWHG, which operates the Park Regis and Leisure Inn brands, has a network comprising 11 hotels in Australia of which one is under development; 10 in India including six in the pipeline; one in Singapore; three in Indonesia including an upcoming one in Bali’s Seminyak; four in the UAE with three under development; one coming up in Saudi Arabia; and one in the UK’s Birmingham.
An acquisition notice issued by Prince Hotels stated that the properties will serve both as global development and operation platforms to expand the group’s profit earning opportunities and accelerate the development of hotels in South-east Asia, Asia and Oceania, the Middle East and Europe.
The company plans to deploy 100 hotels in 10 years.
“We are looking toward the year 2020 (when the) Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held, and beyond that, focusing on international expansion,” said Prince Hotels president and representative director, Shigeyoshi Akasaka.
Thailand is making strides in catering to Muslim visitors, speakers at a research seminar held recently at the PATA Engagement Hub said, with the country’s six-million-strong Muslim population and growing range of Muslim-friendly products and services playing important roles.
Speakers pointed out that Thailand – ranked just under Singapore among the non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation destinations most popular among Muslim travellers – has enormous potential to overtake its ASEAN neighbour if proper marketing strategies and training programmes are undertaken.
Train departing Kanchanaburi station
As of the April 2017 flight schedules, Thailand already has more than 730 weekly flights from cities in 17 Muslim-majority countries, more than any other country in Asia. It also gives visa-free and/or visa-on-arrival facilities to citizens of 12 Muslim-majority countries.
Moreover, Pakorn Piyakorn, director, Halal Standards Institute of Thailand, shared that work was underway in cooperation with the Halal Science Center at Chulalongkorn University to finalise a common certification system for Thailand’s growing number of hotels, restaurants and other products and services seeking to cater to the Muslim clientele.
Sanya Saengboon, general manager, Al Meroz Hotel and Adam Phadungsilp, resident Manager, Nouvo City Hotel, have both seen success from taking a Muslim-friendly positioning while their hotels’ alcohol-free status has also been welcomed by family travellers from all continents.
The seminar was opened by PATA CEO Mario Hardy, who noted the association’s growing involvement with the Islamic world, in the form of PATA events being held in Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Maldives, and rising membership from the Middle Eastern countries.
Tourists watching Kecak dance performance at Uluwatu Temple, Bali
French outbound demand for Indonesia surged 79 per cent for winter 2016/2017, edging the South-east Asian country into one of the top five destinations for French travellers, according to figures released by French tour operator association Le Syndicat des Entreprises du Tour Operating.
For the summer, bookings coming through French agents had also increased 38 per cent over the previous year, said I Gde Pitana, deputy minister for international tourism promotion development, at the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism.
Tourists watching Kecak dance performance at Uluwatu Temple, Bali
Indonesian inbound agents have witnessed similar growth trends. Said Umberto Cadamuro, COO inbound, Pacto: “It looks like this year France will take the lion’s share during the high season from June to October.” The Indonesian DMC foresees closing the year with about 9,000 passengers from France, up from the 7,000 materialised last year.
According to Cadamuro, the biggest driver of growth are Middle Eastern carriers like Qatar Airways and Emirates connecting multiple hubs in France during the high season to generate additional airlift for Indonesia.
For Panorama Destination, which recorded an increase of 34 per cent on their France inbound segment, CEO Renato Domini pointed to the continued promotion undertaken by Visit Indonesia Tourism Office as well as the sales efforts the company has undertaken in France as some of the key drivers of growth.
Golden Kris, likewise, observes a 20 per cent hike in French group series from last year, which product manager Nelsye Lumanaw attributes to the South-east Asian country’s abundance of nature as well as the authorities’ constant development of tourist sites.
Amadeus has launched Destination Content, a marketplace that allows travel agents in Asia-Pacific to book activities, tours and transportation in one location.
Through partnerships with City Discovery, TurboJET, World Airport Transfer, and Jayride, the marketplace offers over 9,000 tours and activities, airport transfers for more than 1,000 airports worldwide and ferry services in major Asia-Pacific destinations.
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Agents can better serve their customers by having access to all the content they need in one place, save money with prices that are up to 10 per cent lower than the retail price, plus 24/5 customer support by phone and email provided by City Discovery, according to Amadeus.
After it was first piloted in the Philippines, Amadeus Destination Content is now being rolled out in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
B2B travel distributor FIT Ruums has partnered Rail Europe to offer travel agents in Asia train tickets and rail passes from 35 rail networks across Europe.
The service is now available to FIT Ruums’ partners in South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan via rail@fitruums.com, and will expand to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, China and India at a later stage.
France’s SNCF pulling into Paris central station
Rail Europe works with Europe’s largest rail companies, including France’s SNCF, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Italy’s Trenitalia, the UK’s Virgin Trains, and the cross-channel Eurostar. It offers single and return journey tickets, plus national and regional rail passes on rail services ranging from sleeper trains to high-speed railways and scenic routes.
The move comes amid booming demand for European rail travel in Asia. The number of Asians travelling on European trains reached nearly 1.1 million in the first five months of 2017, 9.6 per cent more than same period last year.
The trend has prompted key players in both B2B and B2C travel distribution to take steps towards integrating rail content in recent months.
Avani Hotels & Resorts is expected to have its first hotel in Mauritius come 2021.
Avani Mauritius Bel-Ombre Resort & Spa will comprise 150 guest rooms, including 134 standard rooms and 16 suites, in addition to 12 residential four-bedroom pool villas.
Rendering of the new resort
The upscale resort will offer a specialty restaurant, an all-day dining restaurant, multi-functional meeting space catering for MICE and weddings, spa and gym, pantry, kids club, a beach activities centre and two swimming pools.
The property, developed by KPMM Mauritius, is located along the island’s southern coast, 30 minutes from the international airport.
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France’s SNCF pulling into Paris central station
