VIETNAM-BASED budget carrier Vietjet Air will launch flight services between Myanmar and Vietnam from October this year.

According to the airline, the Yangon-Ho Chi Minh City route will commence on October 2 with five return flights per week. The estimated flight time is around two hours and 15 minutes long.

Flights will depart from Ho Chi Minh City at 10.25 and arrive in Yangon at 12.10. The return flight takes off from Yangon at 13.00 and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 15.35.

Vietnam Airlines is currently the only airline operating return flights between Yangon and Ho Chi Minh City.

AIRPORT hospitality provider Plaza Premium Lounge Management has rebranded its name to Plaza Premium Group and rolled out two new brands, Aerotel and Allways, as the company marks its 17th year in the business.

“The new name marks a step towards reflecting the group’s increasingly diversified airport hospitality businesses. We believe airports are a destination in themselves and our services and facilities will give travellers more reasons to enjoy their travel experience”, remarked Song Hoi-see, founder and CEO of Plaza Premium Group.

An airport transit hotels line, the first Aerotel will debut in Singapore Changi Airport in September. A second hotel will open in Abu Dhabi International Airport by the end of this year and a third will open in London Heathrow Airport in 2016.

Allways will represent the group’s airport concierge and butler service, providing conveniences such as welcome gifts, pick-ups, baggage handling and itinerary recommendations to travellers.

Plaza Premium Group will launch Allways by phases in seven airports worldwide, first at Toronto Pearson International Airport and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, followed by airports in Singapore, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, Muscat and London.

The group has also announced its plans to expand to 200 locations by 2018, encompassing management and operation of independent and airline lounges, transit hotels, meet and greet service locations, and dining facilities.

CARNIVAL Corporation has announced it will add two ships to its China fleet in 2016, making it the first global cruise company with six total ships based in China and boosting its total capacity in the country by 58 percent.

Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises, subsidiary brands of Carnival Corporation, will each add a new ship to their China-based cruise fleet next year.

Together, the Costa and Princess brands will have three year-round ships and three seasonal ships in the market, potentially offering about four million passenger cruise days in 2016.

Joining Princess Cruises is the Golden Princess, sailing out of the city of Tianjin on a seasonal basis to several destinations in northern Asia. Together with sister ship Sapphire Princess, which has been homeported in Shanghai since 2014, both ships will serve China’s luxury cruise segment.

Costa Cruises will debut Costa Fortuna in April 2016 as its fourth ship in China, complementing three China-based sister ships Costa Serena, Costa Atlantica and Costa Victoria, and increasing the brand’s total available capacity in China by 43 per cent.

Another ship for Princess Cruises is currently under construction in China. It is slated to set sail in the summer of 2017 and will be based in Shanghai for year-round deployments.

THE Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is stepping up promotional efforts in the region to tackle falling tourist arrivals.

According to Macau’s Statistics and Census Service, the peninsula experienced a 3.4 per cent year-on-year drop in arrivals to 7.4 million in 1Q2015.

Visitors from its top two markets, China and Hong Kong, dipped 2.9 per cent and four per cent respectively, while those from Indonesia and Singapore plunged 27.8 per cent and 26.5 per cent respectively.

Head of marketing division of MGTO, Cora Vong, told TTG Asia e-Daily that MGTO is focusing much of its promotions in South-east Asian markets such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand as these markets yield “the fastest results in the shortest time”.

The gaming capital of Asia is also expanding its attractions to cater to a wider variety of visitors. This includes Broadway Macau, a hawker-style street market with live entertainment, and the Ponte 16 Macau 3D Museum, which features 3D exhibits that visitors can pose with.

New hotels such as The Ritz-Carlton, Macau and JW Marriott Hotel Macau have also been launched, spelling good news for tourists. Hoteliers, now facing new competition, are working with the government to offer more attractive rates and lure more travellers, said MGTO deputy director Cheng Wai Tong.

“We’ve just launched a campaign with a hotel group, offering attractive packages to tourists from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, starting from now to December.

“There are currently 30,000 rooms available for this campaign and we expect about 20,000 visitors to enjoy the offer,” said Vong.

Three hotels are currently participating in the campaign, although Vong was unable to name them at press time. More properties are expected to join if the campaign proves successful, she added.

By Jerlene Ng

AIRBNB is expanding its Business Travel programme globally, rolling out new tools to make Airbnb easier to use for companies, as part of its efforts to expand its popularity beyond the leisure travel market.

The new suite of tools allow visibility into employee travel itineraries booked through Airbnb, as well as providing financial reporting data and central billing systems.

Three components — the Activity, Reporting and Employees tabs — make up the new product suite.

On the Activity Tab, travel managers can catalogue current and upcoming employee trips. The Reporting Tab allows the collection and management of booking reports, while with the Employees Tab, administrators can manage approved and pending employees who have been permitted to book trips through Airbnb.

The global launch of the Business Travel programme comes on the heels of a 700 per cent year-on-year growth. Since it went live last July, more than 250 companies have joined up, including companies like Google and SoundCloud.

Companies that sign up for Airbnb’s Business Travel programme between now and September 1, 2015 will be eligible for a special promotion. Business travellers at enrolled companies will receive US$50 in Airbnb credit to use towards their first corporate travel booking.

More information is available on the programme website.