MANDARIN Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) has announced its second luxury property in Beijing will open in 2017, located in the Wangfujing district of the Chinese capital.

Occupying the top two floors of WF Central, Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, Beijing is owned by Wangfu Central Real Estate Development Company, Hongkong Land.

The hotel will feature garden terraces and 74 guestrooms with views of the Forbidden City, two restaurants, a bar, indoor swimming pool, fitness centre and spa.

“Beijing continues to develop in stature as one of the world’s leading destinations, and we are delighted at the opportunity of opening a second hotel in this important capital city,” said Edouard Ettedgui, group chief executive of MOHG.

The hotel company is also set to manage a luxury 241-room hotel as part of the CCTV project, scheduled to open in 2016.

TRAVEL consultants in the Philippines are up in arms against Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Lufthansa, saying the airlines are eroding their bottom lines through recent initiatives.

PAL slashed commissions for travel agencies from five per cent of every international ticket sold to 3.5 per cent in March, and then zero on June 1, while commissions on domestic ticket sales were also scrapped in May, earning the ire of travel agencies.

“We’re wholesalers. (Airlines) don’t protect us,” complained Julie Maballo, operations manager of New Era Travel & Tours who, like other wholesalers, is liaising with PAL to restore the commission.

Taher Ben Hamida, director of IATA-accredited Galactica Travels, accused PAL of “killing the travel industry”. He said: “I want to make a mark-up of my own. But with no commission, I cannot mark prices up.”

Ben Hamida added that since the Civil Aeronautics Board has a say in airline ticket pricing, the board should also be looking into the current matter.

Meanwhile, some travel agencies are refocusing on other aspects of business to survive. For instance Ramon Pamintuan, operations manager of Travel People, said his company is now paying more attention to ancillary services such as hotels, travel insurance, and visa processing.

TTG Asia e-Daily understands that PAL has claimed it cannot compete with the lower priced airfares online but is thinking of reinstating the commission or giving travel consultants special rates.

PAL is currently offering incentives in lieu of commission on low-traffic routes such as the Manila-London sector.

On the other hand, the Philippine Travel Agencies Association, Philippine IATA Travel Association and Philippine Marine Travel Agents Association are lobbying against Lufthansa Group’s Distribution Cost Charge.

The three organisations said they support booking via GDSs and pointed out in a press release: “The only reason provided under the announcement of Lufthansa is merely to provide the group’s profitability and refocusing revenue earnings from the sale on flight tickets and not necessarily on consumer experience enhancements.”

IN WHAT has been called the largest collaboration among the three to date, Changi Airport Group (CAG), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) are joining hands to take the Singapore brand to leisure and MICE travellers around the world.

According to a joint media release, the two-year tie-up will see each partner invest S$20 million (US$14.9 million) for promotions in 15 markets worldwide.

Funding will be used to enhance the visitor experience in Singapore and Singapore Changi Airport and step up marketing efforts to consumers directly and through more trade partnerships. Business travellers and the MICE segment are also targets in the new marketing effort.

A key highlight is the Singapore Stopover Premium package, an upgraded version of the Singapore Stopover Holiday, which includes accommodation at a five-star hotel with breakfast and Wi-Fi, priority hotel check-ins and private transfers, extra privileges such as spa discounts or shopping vouchers, and a host of leisure experiences across the island.

Another is the recently refreshed enhanced Free Singapore Tour, which takes transit passengers on a free guided tour of Singapore to give them a more in-depth experience of Singapore.

Lionel Yeo, chief executive of STB, said: “Our airline and airport are an integral part of the Singapore experience. The new product offerings demonstrate SIA, CAG, and STB’s commitment to provide today’s discerning travellers with a more seamless and in-depth experience. To constantly refresh and add value to the visitor experience, it is essential for the industry to rally together; STB looks forward to more partnerships with the industry.”

CAG and STB announced in April that they would embark on joint marketing campaigns globally and within mutually aligned key markets.

AUSTRALIA-BASED Nepal trekking specialist World Expeditions has rolled out six new Nepal programmes focused on rebuilding two schools that were severely affected by the April 25 earthquake in Kathmandu Valley.

The itineraries combine adventure travel to Annapurna, Everest Base Camp, lower Solu Khumbu, Pokhara and Kathmandu Valley with work on rebuilding the two schools – one located in Lura Village in Solu Khumbu and the other at Suspa Kshamawati Village in Dolahka district, north-eastern Nepal.

These trips not only help to ensure children in the village will be able to continue with their education, but also provide work for World Expeditions staff and local people.

Sue Badyari, CEO of World Expeditions, said in a press release that the company had received hundred of queries from people who wanted to come to Nepal’s aid.

“Many of our clients have a profound fondness for Nepal and its people after spending time there, and they are keen to show their support by being personally involved in the rebuild,” she said.

“No particular skills are required to participate in the Re-Build Nepal project – just a willingness to assist. Participants are asked to make a donation to the World Expeditions Foundation to assist with the building material costs and any shortfall will be funded by the World Foundation Nepal Earthquake Fund.”

World Expeditions’ non-profit division, Community Project Travel, will operate the six tours.

For more details, visit www.worldexpeditions.com.

Other international adventure and cultural tour operators have also pledged to stick by Nepal through its recovery.

LOCAL trade players are calling the EU’s decision last Friday allowing all Philippine carriers to fly European skies after a five-year ban a vote of confidence, and expect the move to encourage more connectivity between the two destinations.

The ban has long been a bugbear for travel consultants, whose European customers could not obtain insurance for travel on blacklisted carriers, and is also thought to have affected inbound tourism.

But with Philippines carriers cleared for travel, it shows that the country is “committed to improving the travel and tourism industry in the country by recognising the importance of safety to travellers”, said AA Yaptinchay, general manager, Kirschner Travel Manila.

“Travel agencies can now assure EU passengers of insurance coverage with this lifting of the ban. This means our European visitors will no longer have second thoughts of taking a Philippine carrier and (there will be) definitely less work for consultants in terms of added information and documents provided to clients,” Yaptinchay added.

Yet, it is up to the airlines to “make the most” out of the ban lift, he said.

While Philippine Airlines (PAL) was exempted from the EU ban since 2013 under a partial lift of the EU ban, and Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) since last year, the seven LCCs now allowed to fly to Europe are still incapable of doing so as they lack the aircraft for longhaul routes.

Even flag carrier PAL flies only to London and has deferred its expansion in Europe, while CEB still has no services to Europe as it focuses more on longhaul services to the US and Middle East.

Nevertheless, Michelle Victoria, president, Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), said the lifting of the ban will allow PTAA to showcase the Philippines as a worthy destination for leisure and business travellers.

“Airfares will be more competitive to the benefit of those travelling to Europe. Commerce will also benefit once Philippine carriers start flying to Europe as we will be able to transport Philippine-made goods and products directly to the European market,” she said.

AUSTRALIA’S aquatic and coastal assets will be the focus of Tourism Australia’s latest iteration of its There’s Nothing Like Australia campaign.

The subject for the yet-to-be-named campaign was the product of extensive research commissioned by the NTO and conducted by BDA Marketing Planning in 11 of Australia’s key inbound markets including China, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.

The research found that 46 per cent of the respondents said Australian beaches were the country’s most appealing attraction ahead of Australian wildlife and the Great Barrier Reef, while 47 per cent said the nation’s aquatic wildlife was the most appealing experience ahead of wildlife (non-aquatic) and beach, coastal and harbour experiences.

However, studies also showed that according to Google, online searches for Australian beaches and the Great Barrier Reef were down 10 per cent.

Speaking at a media conference during last week’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), Tourism Australia’s managing director John O’Sullivan said the campaign would play to the country’s natural strengths and competitive advantage.

“Behind the rational drivers of safety and security and value of money, and almost level with food and wine is natural beauty and attractiveness as a destination – our beaches, wildlife and the Great Barrier Reef.”

The campaign is expected to commence in early 2016 and will be launched with the airing of David Attenborough’s three-part documentary The Great Reef in 130 countries, which is said to take viewers on a journey through the past, present and future of the Great Barrier Reef.

The successful Restaurant Australia campaign will continue to run in conjunction with the aquatic and coastal push.

THE largest development in Lagoi Bay to-date broke ground on Bintan this weekend, with the construction of The Haven to begin before end-2015.

The 26ha site will be home to condotels, a beach resort and lakeside villas, to be built over five phases.

Planners have taken care to ensure that the project is eco-friendly and will preserve the mangrose forest and river it sits adjacent to.

The ground breaking comes days after the announcement of six new hotel brands to rise in Lagoi Bay – Prime Plaza, Ambhara Hotel, Dialoog Hotel, Novotel, ibis Styles and Four Points by Sheraton.

It also comes on the heels of Bintan Resorts’ official opening of Lagoi Bay and Plaza Lagoi on May 31.