CARLSON Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has made three key appointments to its executive team, effective from February 1, 2016.

CWT’s current president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Andrew Waller, has been appointed as executive vice president, global business transformation and will be based in Paris and London. In his new role, Waller will focus on driving efficiency and organisation effectiveness, reshaping CWT’s business model for the future.

Kelly Kuhn, president for Asia-Pacific, CWT

Meanwhile, Kelly Kuhn, CWT’s president for Asia-Pacific, becomes president for Europe, Middle East and Africa and global partners network, and will be based in London.

Kai Chan, president for Asia-Pacific, CWT

Kai Chan, CWT’s current general manager for South-east Asia, will take on the role of president for Asia-Pacific as well as be part of the global executive team. She will be based in Singapore.

ASEAN member countries are collaborating on a new brand – Cruise South-east Asia – aimed at promoting the region as one unified cruising destination.

The initiative was unveiled on the final day of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2016 last week, and will be further promoted to the global cruise industry in March at the Seatrade Cruise Global trade show in Miami, Florida.

The plan was proposed by Singapore who is also be the lead coordinator for cruise development in South-east Asia.

John Gregory Conceicao, executive director international group planning & Oceania at the Singapore Tourism Board said an ASEAN cruise map is also in the works, and will include information on port facilities and areas of interest for tourists for use by cruise lines and the travel trade.

ARRIVALS in Hong Kong dwindled last year, dropping 1.7 per cent for the January-November block compared to the same period in 2014.

The mainland Chinese market suffered the most with a 15.5 per cent decrease. The Travel Industry Council (TIC) observed that Chinese tour group registrations have plunged from 154,517 to 119,115, down 23 per cent.

Anthony Lau, executive director, Hong Kong Tourism Board, said: “2015 has been a challenging year for Hong Kong’s tourism industry. Various external factors have affected the number of visitors to Hong Kong, particularly those from mainland China.

“Other factors include the depreciation of currencies in nearby destinations, the global economic environment, the outbreak of MERS in South Korea, the quota limitation of Individual Visit Endorsements for permanent residents of Shenzhen, and the recent unfortunate incident that involved the death of a mainland visitor.”

Lau added: “Though the number of visitor arrivals has showed negative growth since March last year, the number started to pick up in the past few months with good growth coming from virtually all the shorthaul markets, north Americas as well as India.

“We expect there will be a slight decline of 1 to 2 per cent on visitor arrivals this year.”

Wing Wong, W Travel’s managing director, blamed exchange rates as well. “Apart from Indonesia and Malaysia, Japan’s yen also depreciated a lot and its relaxed visa requirements resulted in drawing a lot of Chinese traffic in that direction.

“Our strong peg with the US dollar indeed undermined travellers’ interests. However, our hotels have been realistic and readjusted their rates down proactively so hopefully, this move will attract visitors.”

TWO of Japan’s major airlines will likely decide to abolish fuel surcharges in February on the back of plunging oil prices.

Both Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) currently levy a fuel surcharge of 7,000 yen (US$59) on flights out of Japan to longhaul destinations, but with oil trading at 12-year lows, the airlines are considering reducing the levy to zero.

“It is very possible that we will abolish the surcharge entirely,” said Maho Ito, spokeswoman for ANA, adding that fuel surcharges were also reduced to zero back in July 2009.

A decision will be made, probably in mid-February, on the levy applied to tickets in the April-June period, she said.

JAL will similarly make a decision on its fuel surcharges in mid-February, according to spokesman Jian Yang.

Both JAL and ANA eliminated surcharges on flights that originated overseas in December.

The airlines first introduced fuel surcharges in February 2005 as oil prices climbed and peaked in 2008.

THE Singapore Art Week may have ended yesterday but the art party continues with The Farrer Park Company launching this Wednesday a 240-page book detailing the process of building the massive art collection at the One Farrer complex.

There are more than 700 original artworks commissioned for specific spaces throughout the complex, which includes One Farrer Hotel & Spa, One Farrer Conference Centre, Farrer Park Hospital, Farrer Park Medical Centre and Owen Link, a retail and dining zone. The collection, which is not for sale, is permanent but is not only for the enjoyment of hotel guests. Free one-hour guided tours are given daily from 15.00 starting at the hotel lobby while private tours with a minimum of six persons may be arranged by appointment.

The voluminous coffee-table book takes readers from ‘Creating A Vision’ through the varied ‘galleries’, highlighting many of the art pieces done by over 60 well-known and emerging artists living and working throughout Greater Asia. It ends with ‘Building A Collection’ which describes the conceptualisation, creation, commissioning, selection and installation of the collection, which is already recognised as one of the most comprehensive in the region.

Art is increasingly a magnet to draw visitors to Singapore. The just-concluded Singapore Art Week, for example, has grown over four years and draws more international visitors. It comprises three art fairs. Of these, Art Stage, the anchor, alone saw 71 new galleries. Seventy-five per cent of its exhibitors were from Asia, reinforcing its identity as matchmaker for collectors, artists, curators and enthusiasts in the region.

The Singapore Art Week, organised annually around this time by the National Arts Council, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Economic Development Board, also boasts site-specific events, art walks and tours.

The launch of Farrer Park’s ‘Art.Lifestyle.Environment’ book coincidentally dovetails a week of art frenzy. Following a private launch on January 27, there will be an art exhibition and sale of art by artists represented at the complex in the grand ballroom of the hotel on January 29 (18.00 to 20.00) and January 30 (12.00 to 16.00). The exhibition is open to the general public at no charge.

“This is a book about the unique and intuitive process of creating an art collection. It chronicles a three-year journey from the genesis of a vision to the reality of conceptualising and commissioning a rich collection”, said Richard Helfer, chairman, One Farrer Hotel & Spa, who helmed the book project and is its editor.