Hong Kong Airlines and Jet Airways have entered into a codeshare partnership aimed at enhancing connectivity between India and Asia-Pacific.

The agreement will allow Hong Kong Airlines to offer a daily service connecting Hong Kong, Mumbai and Delhi. It will also enhance connectivity for Jet Airways guests from Mumbai and Delhi via Hong Kong, to multiple destinations in the Asia-Pacific including first-time codeshare destinations Okinawa in Japan and Auckland in New Zealand.

Jet Airways’ Shanmugam (left) and Hong Kong Airlines’ Li

Jet Airways’ Jet Privilege members will also be able to earn frequent flyer miles when they travel on codeshare routes with Hong Kong Airlines.

Li Dianchun, chief commercial officer, Hong Kong Airlines, said: “From our observations, there has been great potential in the India market as increasing travellers from India tend to transit via Hong Kong to Japan, South-east Asia and Auckland. ”

Jayaraj Shanmugam, chief commercial officer, Jet Airways, said: “Both business and leisure travel between India and the destinations covered by this arrangement has been growing at a remarkable CAGR of 12 per cent over the last five years, on the back of sustained economic activity.”

SMX Convention Center Davao is expanding its facilities to cope with the growing number of bigger and international events keen on the Philippine venue.

A new building to be constructed sometime this year will connect with the existing SMX Davao, the largest privately-owned convention centre in southern Philippines.

Branch manager Daphne Jezelle Alojado told TTGmice e-Weekly that although the new building’s capacity is still under discussion, it would expand SMX Davao’s existing 7,835m² of space for up to 5,500 pax by another 2,000 pax.

SMX Davao has already been getting business events for 6,000 pax since last year, aside from a rising number of international events, Alojado revealed.

The new building is targeted for completion either in 4Q2018 or 1Q2019.

Vietjet yesterday became the first airline to be listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE), and will now join the ranks of VN 30, Vietnam’s biggest publicly-traded companies in terms of market capitalisation.

Vietjet has a chartered capital of three trillion dong (US$131.8 milion), or 90,000 dong per share. That would mean its capitalisation would stand at 27 trillion dong (equivalent to US$1.2 billion), accounting for 1.5 per cent of HOSE capitalisation as of February 15, 2017.

Vietjet’s Nguyen Thị Phương Thao (fifth from left) marking the airline’s listing, witnessed by State Securities Commission of Vietnam’s Vu Bang (second from right) and Vietjet’s Nguyen Thanh Ha (fourth from right)

As a result of being hosted on HOSE, Vietjet will contribute to raise market capitalisation, offering immediate opportunities for local and foreign investors.

Vietjet is the first Vietnamese company to have completed an IPO that meets international standards and practices (Reg S). BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan are the IPO’s foreign joint global consultants.

Twenty-four international investors are subscribed to Vietjet’s offering, including Singapore sovereign fund GIC, Wellington, Morgan Stanley, Dragon Capital and VinaCapital.

According to 2016 statistics, Vietnam’s aviation transportation market grew 29 per cent between 2012 and 2016, and the rate of customers using airplanes as their means of transportation increased from 0.5 per cent in 2012 to 0.8 per cent in 2016.

Vietjet, the first privately-owned commercial airline in Vietnam, had started to generate profits in its second year of operations. Its revenue in 2016 was 27.5 trillion dong with a net profit of 2.4 trillion dong, with an earnings per share of 8,762 dong.

Trafalgar has revealed that an unprecedented 100 per cent of its 2017 Europe, Britain and Asia departures are now definite, assuring agents that they can book the brand with confidence.

Commenting on the definite departures status, Nicholas Lim, president at Trafalgar, Asia, said: “We are thrilled to be able to guarantee agents that the chances of winning with Trafalgar are 100 per cent when it comes to selling our extensive portfolio of 109 guided holidays for summer in Europe and Britain and 17 different trips across Asia.”

To better equip agents, Trafalgar last month released a video showcasing how positioning the emotional ahead of the rational could impact bookings.

Other incentives include Trafalgar’s current Early Payment Discount of 7.5 per cent (valid until March 30, 2017), which is combinable with Trafalgar Frequent Traveller discounts, to enable another five per cent savings.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) yesterday signed an MoU on tourism cooperation to jointly promote travel to Thailand from priority markets, including Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Effective until March 31, 2019, the MoU between TAT and SIA will cover a series of joint activities including branded advertising and promotional campaigns, tactical and digital marketing, fam trips, joint roadshows and product development. The joint activities are expected to boost visitor numbers from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and Singapore to Thailand.

Bangkok, Thailand

Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor, said: “Australia and New Zealand markets has long been important source markets for Thailand while the South Africa market has been growing in recent years, so this strategic MoU will certainly help boost visitor numbers to Thailand.”

SIA and its subsidiary SilkAir currently operate 89 flights per week to Thailand. SIA operates 35 weekly flights to Bangkok, while SilkAir operates 35 weekly flights to Phuket, 14 weekly flights to Koh Samui and five weekly flights to Chiang Mai.

In 2017, TAT has set a target of 34.1 million international visitors, generating an estimated 1.8 trillion baht (US$50 billion) – a 10 per cent year-on-year increase – in international tourism receipts. Amongst these numbers, TAT projects an increase of 7.4 per cent and 9.7 per cent from the Oceania region and South Africa respectively.

Chinese luxury hotel company Wanda Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement with Turkish developer Mar Yapi to build Wanda Vista Istanbul, scheduled to open by end-2018.

The Philippe Starck-designed property will offer 150 guestrooms and suites, and will be located in a business district. The new hotel is also situated a five-minute drive from Ataturk International Airport and 25 minutes away from the city centre.

Wanda Vista Istanbul signing ceremony group photo

“Wanda Vista Istanbul is more than just the first Wanda hotel to be opened overseas; it is also the first brand we have marketed overseas. It marks another significant step toward our goal of becoming a respected international luxury hotel company from China,” said Qian Jin, president of Wanda Hotels & Resorts.

As of end 2016, Wanda Hotels & Resorts owns and operates 104 luxury hotels in China, with six international projects in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Chicago, Los Angeles and London under the Wanda Vista brand.