EMIRATES will be introducing four additional flights per week to its daily Phuket-Dubai service starting December 1, 2015, raising capacity on this route by 57 per cent.

A Boeing 777-300ER, offering eight seats in First Class, 42 seats in Business Class and 310 seats in Economy Class will be operating the new flights.

Departure from Dubai will be at 22.55, arriving in Phuket International Airport at 08.00 the following day while the departure from Phuket will be at 09.30, landing in Dubai International Airport at 13.20 the same day.

Emirates has recently entered into a codeshare agreement with Bangkok Airways on 19 routes across South-east Asia, adding a total of 14 new destinations to its global network.

FOLLOWING the agreement between aviation authorities in Beijing and Tokyo in May to permit additional flights between the two countries, All Nippon Airways (ANA) is ramping up its services to China to tap the surge in demand among Chinese tourists wanting to visit Japan.

The airline will launch a new daily route from Tokyo-Haneda to Guangzhou on October 25, while at the same time double its existing daily flight from Haneda to both Beijing and Shanghai.

“We are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese tourists wanting to come to Japan and we expect that growth to continue,” Maho Ito, a spokeswoman for ANA, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

She also played down concerns that bilateral tensions between the two governments or the recent devaluation of the Chinese currency will have a major impact on Chinese arrivals.

ANA believes that the new services will prove popular because Haneda’s connections to other parts of Japan will enable new arrivals to continue to destinations as far-flung as Sapporo in the north and Okinawa in the south.

“We can expect to see more Chinese tourists coming to Japan, but I also believe that if prime minister Shinzo Abe goes to Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping, then we will begin to see an increase in Japanese people going to China again,” said Motohisa Tachikawa, a spokesman for JTB Corp.

CARLSON Rezidor Hotel Group is accelerating its expansion in India with three new properties in the country, adding to its current portfolio of 71 hotels in operation and 41 under development across 45 cities.

“We have a strong and active development pipeline, with many of these projects already under construction. Our strategy to concurrently strengthen our presence in state capitals, as well as emerging secondary and tertiary cities, is delivering the robust growth that we anticipated. We are confident of achieving our goal of increasing our India portfolio to more than 170 hotels within the next five years,” said Raj Rana, CEO, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

One of the new properties is the 150-key conversion, Radisson Blu Kochi Elamkulam, in Kochi city, which will mark Carlson Rezidor’s first hotel in the southern state of Kerala. Set to open in December 2015, the hotel will feature a total of 1,500m2 of meeting spaces.

In India’s western region, the 158-key Radisson Resort Mahabaleshwar will be built from scratch and slated for a 1Q2019 opening. Situated 1,438m above sea level in the Sahayadri ranges, the hotel offers views of the Koyna River and the valley. Facilities include 600m2 of meeting spaces, 1,100m2 of open lawns, a spa, swimming pool and a tennis court.

Adding to Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s portfolio of 22 operational hotels in Delhi NCR is the 119-key, new-build Radisson Gurgaon Sohna Road, which is expected to open in Gurgaon in 1Q2018. The new hotel seeks to cater to the MICE and wedding segments, featuring 1,444m2 of meeting spaces, with amenities including a spa and an outdoor pool.

Earlier this year, Carlson Rezidor has signed Radisson Hosur, Radisson Dehradun and Radisson Goa Candolim in India, and has opened Radisson Goa in Candolim.

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has announced that normalcy has returned to Bangkok in its latest industry update on August 24, 2015. This follows a Message of Confidence issued by the Royal Thai Government the day before stating that the situation in Bangkok is under complete control of security officials. Reassurances were also made in the message to all foreigners, conveying that the Government will do its utmost to provide a safe and secure environment to all travellers. As a precautionary measure, added security personnel have also been deployed across the city to ensure maximum security.

TCEB has also confirmed that a total of 72 MICE events with over 76,000 delegates will proceed as planned from August to October 2015. In addition to IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2015 that is scheduled to run from September 29 to October 1, other events including World Congress of Surgery (August 23 – 27) and Organo Gold Asia Convention (October 23 – 25) will see some 12,500 foreign delegates arrive in Bangkok in the upcoming weeks.

International stakeholders are advised that Thailand’s MICE industry continues to operate as normal, and all public and private sector stakeholders are working together to monitor the situation. All hotels, venues and attractions are open and ready to welcome travellers. Transportation links, major roads and airports continue to operate, including Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain and MRT services and both Don Muang and Suvannabhumi International Airports.

View full TCEB Update (August 24, 2015) here.

Should travellers require any further information, they may contact:
TCEB office: +66 (0) 2694 6000, TCEB call centre at 1105 (within Thailand only), visit www.tceb.or.th or contact info@tceb.or.th, or contact these relevant authorities: · Tourism Authority of Thailand Call Centre 1672
· Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hotline +66 (0) 2 644 7245 /+ 66 (0) 2 643 5522
· Tourist Police Hotline 1155
· Suwannabhumi International Airport +66 (0) 2132 4000
· Don Muang International Airport +66 (0) 2535 1616
· THAI Contact Center at Tel. 02-356-1111

HENGDA Hotels and Resorts’ last Friday officially launched Qidong Hengda Century Resort (Hengda Hotel) in Jiangsu Province’s Qidong City, with an eye to position the 581-key integrated resort (IR) as a premium leisure and incentive destination in the Yangtze Delta Region.

Gary Ge, president of Hengda Hotel commented that the IR marks the group’s inaugural venture into the Yangtze Delta Region, already a pre-eminent tourism destination in China. The group currently manages 12 hotels in China, with another 40 in the pipeline.

Amenities at the RMB1.3 billion (US$202.7 million) complex include an infinity pool, sports and children facilities, a 10,000m2 banquet hall, waterfront F&B options, a yacht harbour and a 3.5km-long beach.

Its international convention centre boasts 61 multi-functional meeting rooms and a 3,700m2 pillarless ballroom that can accommodate 3,000 convention participants or 1,500 diners.

The IR is located across the river from Shanghai, where the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Yangtze River converge. It is also in close proximity to the Yuantuojiao Scenic Resort, with the Shanghai city centre and Shanghai Pudong International Airport a 100-minute and 80-minute drive away respectively.

Translated from the original TTG China e-Daily, August 24, 2015 article by Ong Yanchun.

THE Timpohon Trail on Mount Kinabalu will be open to climbers from September 1 to November 30, following a nearly three-month closure when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the region on June 5, 2015.

However, only 100 climbing permits will be issued daily by Sabah Parks, compared with 193 previously, with climbers only allowed to ascend to Laban Rata. Those hoping to conquer the summit can do so from December 1 when the new Mount Kinabalu Summit Trail opens.

The Mesilau Trail will be closed indefinitely until further notice as the mountain paths remain inaccessible since the quake. As such, all climbs will be using the Timpohon Trail exclusively.

THAILAND is bracing itself for what it believes will be only a brief post-bomb turbulence on tourist arrivals, said the Ministry of Tourism and Sports during a press conference in Bangkok today.

The Thai government acknowledged a blip in arrivals after the bombing, but expect measures being put in place to bring forth a quick and strong recovery.

“The incident has had an impact, but it is limited, as hotel bookings and reservations are still good up till the end of the year,” said Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand’s minister of tourism and sports during today’s press conference.

Areepong Bhoocha-oom, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism told TTG Asia e-Daily that the daily arrivals at all the country’s international airports combined were at 85,000 till August 17, when a bomb blew up at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.

After the bombing, daily arrivals fell to 70,000, which was still 10 per cent higher than the same period last year, he added. Conference arrivals during the August 1-23 period, meanwhile, reached 2.1 million, up 31.7 per cent from the same period in 2014.

Officials are emphasising on the moves taken to stabilise the market, pointing to the estimated 4,000 more security officers being stationed across public places in Bangkok. They also point to the increased and improved use of technology such as CCTV as well as support given to the bomb victims.

Thailand is still on track to meet its arrival target this year, according to the minister. In addition, Thailand will be stepping up marketing efforts in key source markets such as China, added Kobkarn.

STARWOOD’S The Grand Mansion, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Nanjing, China has introduced a four new cultural programmes for its guests.

Two programmes to watch for are the Tracing the Ming Guo Architecture and the Experience of Oriental Metropolitan.

Guests will get to indulge in a Ming Guo style lunch for two along with transportation within Nanjing to up to four Ming Guo architectural sites with the first package. The latter package will invite guests to enjoy an Oriental Metropolitan cuisine for two with complimentary access to the museum.

Both packages include one-night accommodation, daily breakfast for two, complimentary Internet and Wi-Fi, and complimentary soft drinks from the mini bar. Following each stay, guests will also receive a copy of Under The Phoenix Tree, a book on Nanjing Republican-era architecture, or Nanjing – Live Misty in the Six Dynasties.

Alvaro Rautenberg, general manager of The Grand Mansion, which sits close to the historic Presidential Palace and the Oriental Metropolitan Museum, said: “The opening of The Grand Mansion has piqued the interests of discerning travelers who are looking for authentic excursions in China.”

Prices vary for each programme.

BOEING, in its recent India Current Market Outlook, has projected a worldwide demand for 38,050 new airplanes over the next 20 years, with India carriers needing more than 4.5 per cent of the total global demand.

India will need 1,740 new airplanes, valued at US$240 billion, which includes 20 regional jets, 1,460 single-aisle and 26 wide-body aircraft.

Dinesh Kaskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a press statement: “The Indian market is highly competitive and airlines are adapting with added capacity, moderate pricing discipline and new business models, such as…low-cost carriers.”

“India’s potential for air travel growth (both for leisure and business) continues to be strong and we remain confident in the Indian commercial aerospace market,” he added.

SpiceJet is among the many Indian airlines that is growing its fleet. It has placed a US$4.4 billion order with Boeing for 42 737 Max aircraft. For this fiscal year alone, it intends to increase its number of Boeing airplanes to 25 or 26 from the current 20.

Kiran Koteshwar, CFO of SpiceJet, said: “We are currently focused on single-aisle aircraft and Q400s fit into our regional strategy. As growth is expected from Tier Two and Tier Three cities, we are in discussion with aircraft manufacturers for a firm bulk order and expect to close the same by this fiscal (year).”

Boeing is not the only aircraft manufacturer to benefit from India’s growing air travel sector. Indian budget airline IndiGo confirmed orders for 250 A320neo aircraft last week, making it Airbus’ largest order of single-aisle aircraft.

As well, New Delhi-based airline Vistara is adding three new A320neo aircraft by this yearend and is expected to grow its fleet with another 11 by 2018.