AIRASIA will begin thrice-weekly direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to the Maldives from October 22, becoming the only airline to operate this route.

Malaysia Airlines, which currently offers daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to the Maldives, will suspend the service from August 23.

Welcoming the new connection, Cooper Huang, CEO of Malaysian Harmony Tours & Travel, said: “The Maldives is a popular, year-round destination and is especially so for honeymooners. As most travellers will purchase air tickets from the AirAsia website, we will offer ground packages which can also be tailor-made.”

According to Spencer Lee, head of commercial at AirAsia, the flight schedule for the Kuala Lumpur-Maldives route allows travellers from other countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia to connect easily via the carrier’s Fly-Thru service.

Destinations which offers Fly-Thru connectivity to the Maldives include Incheon, Osaka, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Bangkok, Penang and Gold Coast, he added.

Online booking at airasia.com has begun with all-inclusive fares starting from RM169 (US$44.60) for travel periods from October 22, 2015 to August 31, 2016. This promotion ends on July 26.

NOK Air will begin four-times weekly flights to Ho Chi Minh City from Bangkok-Don Mueang from October 1 on Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Passengers can expect 30kg baggage allowance, snacks on board and free seat selection.

For trips from October 1 to 24, flights will depart Bangkok-Don Mueang on Thursdays and Fridays at 07.30, arriving in Ho Chi Minh City at 09.05. The return flight will leave Vietnam at 09.50 and touch down in Thailand at 11.25.

Flights leaving Bangkok on Mondays and Sundays will take off at 18.30 and land in Ho Chi Minh City at 20.00. Return flights will depart Vietnam at 20.45 and reach Thailand at 22.20.

Starting December 1, the Thai LCC will serve the route twice daily with flights departing Bangkok at 07.35 and 18.30, arriving in Ho Chi Minh City at 09.05 and 20.00 respectively.

Flights departing Ho Chi Minh City will take off at 09.50 and 20.45, landing in Bangkok at 11.20 and 22.15 respectively.

Nok Air is now offering promotional prices starting from 999 baht net (US$28.90) per person per flight on their website.

DUSIT Fudu Hotels and Resorts has inked a second management agreement with Panzhihua Pulongda Real Estate Development to manage Dusit Princess Resort Panzhihua in Sichuan province.

Scheduled to open in late 2016, the resort will be conveniently located opposite the high-speed train station, 10 minutes away from the CBD and Panzhihua Bao’anying Airport.

The 150-room midscale resort includes 112 rooms with outdoor gardens, an all-day dining restaurant, lobby lounge and three function rooms.

For recreation, guests can visit the gym, dance studio, kids’ club and activity room. An on-site medical centre offers traditional Chinese medicine services.

The property is located within a sprawling complex which comprises the Dusit Thani Panzhihua Resort, hot springs, sports venues, a golf course, luxury residential blocks and a theme park.

MELBOURNE Airport achieved an eight per cent international visitor growth, taking total passengers to more than 32 million for the 2014/2015 financial year compared to last year.

North Asia posted the strongest growth with Japan being the leading country, increasing traffic by nearly 45 per cent to account for more than 8.3 million international passengers, while travellers from China increased by 24 per cent.

Outside of North Asia, countries such as Vietnam, South Korea, India, and Sri Lanka contributed significantly, all growing by more than 10 per cent for the year.

Simon Gandy, acting CEO of Melbourne Airport, said: “It’s been an exciting year at Melbourne Airport and we’re looking forward to completing some significant projects in the coming months that will enhance the customer experience at Victoria’s aviation gateway as well as further support Victoria’s growth and appeal as an international destination.”

Approximately A$53 million (US$39 million) was reinvested in June 2015 to improve facilities at Melbourne Airport, including a new domestic terminal and transport hub which are on track for completion later this year.

Additionally, the new Airport Drive was opened during the month and now provides a second major entry, directly linking Melbourne Airport to the M80 Western Ring Road.

THE PHILIPPINE Department of Tourism (DoT) will be organising a multi-city roadshow for the trade in four cities in India, visiting Nagpur, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Delhi on July 30, August 3, 5, and 7, respectively.

The objective of the roadshow is to educate and update partners about the Philippines’ existing and new tourism product offerings to help them in planning itineraries and handling customer queries.

The DoT, along with a 15-member delegation, will interact with over 300 key travel and tour operators, as well as MICE and upmarket leisure operators during the tour.

The programme for the roadshow will include presentations by the DoT, DMCs and hotels from the Philippines, detailed networking sessions, followed by special lucky draws for participants.

“Tier Two cities are important markets for Philippines as they promise a growing trend of people with the inclination to explore new international holiday destinations,” said SanJeet, tourism attache, Philippines Tourism.

In addition, the Philippine DoT will also be participating at the International Convention of Wedding Fraternity on July 31 and August 1 in Manesar. It aims to network and highlight the Philippines as a premium wedding destination for high-end wedding planners.

RED Planet Hotels has renamed its 24 properties into Red Planet, a technologically centred hotel brand that targets the value-conscious traveller by providing a comfortable, tech-enabled stay at attractive prices.

“Almost all of our guests are between 20 to 30 years old, and this online generation is changing the dynamics of the hotel industry,” said Tim Hansing, CEO of Red Planet.

To embrace this shift, Red Planet has invested heavily in its IT platform and upgraded Wi-Fi speeds in all properties, as stable and fast Wi-Fi is crucial to its guests, he added.

A key component of the new Red Planet brand is a mobile app that functions as a booking portal and feeds information about relevant local events and points of interest directly to guests’ hand-held devices.

“We are always looking to add both value and relevance to a guest’s stay through our investment in technology at all times,” said Hansing.

The Red Planet concept has been launched across its portfolio of hotels in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. It will be opening the new brand’s flagship properties in Tokyo and Bangkok later this year.

LUXURY line Crystal Cruises has unveiled plans to roll out three new luxury cruise brands as well as its own Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Making the announcement together, Crystal’s president and chief executive, Edie Rodriguez and chairman Lim Kok Thay said the first of the new cruise classes would take shape with the delivery of Crystal Esprit in November this year.

The Crystal Esprit marks the debut of the new all-inclusive Crystal Yacht Cruises programme, which will sail regional itineraries of seven days. The 62-guest, 3,000-tonnage yacht’s maiden voyage will explore the Seychelles Islands when it sets sail on December 23, 2015, ending with an inclusive, post-cruise New Year’s Eve celebration at the Taj Dubai Hotel.

Come 2017, Crystal will enter into river cruising with the launch of Crystal River Cruises, bringing its all-inclusive service onto the waterways.

In the same year, Crystal Luxury Air will also mark the company’s foray into air travel on board a specially configured Dreamliner, which flies 60 guests in fully reclining business class seats to destinations to which major airlines do not offer nonstop service. The itineraries, which last around 28 days, will offer non-stop service with visits between 10 to 12 different destinations.

Crystal will also launch three new Crystal Exclusive Class cruise ships in late 2018. These all-suite, all-balcony vessels will accommodate 1,000 guests, similar to the capacity of the 922-guest Crystal Symphony and 1,070-guest Crystal Serenity.

“With an impressive 100 tons of space per guest, the average space ratio for luxury cruise ships being 60 tons per person, our new ships’ guest-to-space rations will be vast in comparison to past, current and under-construction luxury ships, reaching all corners of the world safely, smoothly and in the utmost style and comfort,” said Rodriguez.

Additionally, the 48 Crystal Residences, situated on the top deck of Crystal Cruises’ new ships, will boast a space starting from 56m2 and facilities such as a private restaurant and reception.

SINGAPORE-BASED online home-sharing platform PandaBed.com has launched PeerMatch to help Asian holidaymakers find reliable lodgings and like-minded homeowners.

The newly added PeerMatch technology uses an algorithm to do advanced profile matching between local hosts and guests, connecting Asian homeowners to travellers who share similar cultural and social interests.

Hosts and travellers fill in a one-minute questionnaire to indicate and weigh the preferences they look for in a host or guest, such as gender, age, interests, profession, language spoken or dietary requirements.

The PeerMatch algorithm then computes a matching score between the host and guest, with a higher score indicating a better match and a more pleasant experience for both.

By taking into consideration the other party’s interests and preferences, PeerMatch also helps both host and guest to get a better understanding of each other before they meet.

PandaBed.com currently has over 10,000 listed accommodations across Asia in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.