SRI SUTRA Travel has launched a B2C online travel booking portal consisting of about 500,000 travel products, allowing consumers to book flights and accommodation, express buses, car rentals, airport transfers and tours.

Sutra.my also features a travel auction function where users can bid to purchase tours. Currently, there are two auctions running, one to Seoul and another to Bandung.

Syed Mohd Razif Syed Mohd Yasin, group managing director of Sri Sutra Travel, said it took the company three years and RM3 million (US$767,800) to develop this portal.

He said: “Sutra.my is a one-stop travel booking portal where you can book more than just flights and accommodation. It offers convenience to Malaysians who can also contact the company to make amendments to their bookings.

“Being locally owned and developed, Sutra.my will help channel funds from around the world through our local gateway. This way, money flows through Malaysian banks because the automated online booking enables funds to be streamlined towards and processed by Malaysian banks.”

In the coming months, Sutra.my will also offer tickets to shows in Malaysia and the UK.

NEW airline regulations have taken effect in Vietnam, requiring carriers to offer greater compensation than before to passengers on domestic flights that are significantly delayed.

Airlines must now pay travellers between 200,000 and 400,000 Vietnamese dong (US$9 to US$18) for in-country flights that take off four or more hours behind schedule. International penalties remain at their previous amounts of US$25 to US$150, depending on the flight distance.

Vietnamese carriers have been under scrutiny recently for frequent delays. According to a report released last week by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), more than 21 per cent of all departures in the country took off behind schedule in July, up nearly six per cent from June.

The report cited an inability to manage high-season passenger capacity. Most of the late departures were the result of a domino effect caused by late incoming aircraft, according to the CAAV.

Weather also contributed to the high number of delays, however. Heavy rains flooded parts of Vietnam last month. One of the two runways at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport was closed for repairs for four days after it was struck by lightning.

Inclement weather is one of several circumstances under which airlines are exempt from the new rule. Other exemptions include delays due to security concerns and passenger medical emergencies.

Reporting by Dave Fox

WHILE Thailand’s plan to roll out multiple-entry visas for all visitors has been lauded as a positive initiative to boost arrival figures, the trade is not expecting the new regulation to be a game-changing move for a country that already offers visa exemptions to citizens of some 40-plus nations.

The Thai government last week announced the introduction of multiple-entry visa valid over a six-month period. The new visa is expected to be effective within 60 days after receiving approval from the cabinet last Tuesday.

“This (initiative) would be better for countries without visa-free entry, like Sri Lanka and India, (which are) possibly target markets for this policy to begin with,” said Willem Niemeijer, founder and CEO of Khiri Group, whose clients mainly hail from countries that have visa-free entry to Thailand. “India, for example, would be a good market for regular short-stay visitors.”

Pornthip Hirunkate, managing director of Destination Asia Thailand, commented: “This measure will encourage regional tourists from neighboring countries such as China and India to come to Thailand more frequently within the six-month period.

“This multiple entry visa will be great for corporate travellers who also come in and out of Thailand on a frequent basis, enabling them to save time and effort (instead of) applying for a visa for every visit,” she added.

However, the multiple-entry visa fee veers on the “high” side – 5,000 baht (US$142) compared with 1,000 baht for a single-entry, 30-day visa – although industry players expect the convenience offered by the new initiative to outweigh the cost.

Furthermore, there are areas that Thailand could still improve its visa processes, observed the DMC chiefs.

Pornthip opined that extending the six-month validity to one year “would be more beneficial”.

Niemeijer, on the other hand, urges the Thai authorities to make a distinction between arrivals at land borders and airports for travellers with visa exemptions. He said: “Currently, land-border arrivals will get only 15 days, why not make that 30 days as well?”

RED Planet Hotels is planning to expand its portfolio in Jakarta, Bangkok and Tokyo after last month’s rebranding of its 24 properties from Tune Hotels into Red Planet hotels.

In Indonesia, Red Planet, which now has seven hotels across Pekanbaru, Palembang, Jakarta, Bekasi, Solo, Surabaya, and Makassar, is aiming to add another 20 properties in the capital city, with three expected to begin construction by end-2015.

Suwito Ng, president director of Red Planet Indonesia, said: “Based on our experience, Jakarta and its greater area (Bekasi included) are the top performers, followed by Palembang.

“It shows that economy hotels can grow and be more profitable in big cities, especially the capital city. With our head office located in Jakarta, it is more efficient to operate properties here, than say, having one hotel in Kalimantan.”

Each Red Planet hotel will have 100 to 150 rooms.

“So, 20 hotels will provide some 3,000 rooms and that is equivalent to two or three five-star properties,” Suwito said.

On the regional front, Mark Reinecke, director of Red Planet Indonesia, said Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan “will be our main focus, with Indonesia and the Philippines having the biggest number (of properties)”.

“Bangkok is a very competitive market so we will be very careful there. Japan is a great market but it takes a bit of time to find the right opportunity because the price of acquisition is much higher. In Japan we will be doing retrofits, we (will) find old hotels and renovate. That is the best model for Japan,” said Reinecke.

To penetrate new markets, Red Planet’s strategy is to pick a country where there are opportunities to open between six and 10 hotels. South Korea and Taiwan are on the company’s radar, with hotel developments aimed at capital cities.

INVESTIGATORS have confirmed that debris found on La Reunion Island belongs to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and that the flight, which mysteriously disappeared 17 months ago, had indeed crashed.

The confirmation comes jointly by the French authorities, Bureau d’ Enquetes et d‘ Analyses pour la Securites de I’AviationCivile (BEA), the Malaysian investigation team, technical representatives from China, and the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) in Toulouse, France.

“Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts has conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on La Reunion was from MH370,” said Malaysian prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, according to an AFP report.

“We now have physical evidence that, as I announced on March 24 last year, flight MH370 tragically ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”

He added that the Malaysian government will do everything within its means to find out what happened.

Malaysia Airlines said in a media statement: “This is indeed a major breakthrough for us in resolving the disappearance of MH370. We expect and hope that there would be more objects to be found which would be able to help resolve this mystery.

“Moving forward, Malaysia Airlines’ priority will continue to provide latest updates and information to the families and will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities on the investigation and recovery of this tragic accident.”