PRINCESS Cruises is adding a host of new features to the 2,670-passenger Diamond Princess in a US$30 million refurbishment ahead of the cruise line’s second Japanese cruise season.

In order to ramp up the cruise ship’s appeal to Japanese passengers, the ship is building an 818m² Japanese bath with both indoor and outdoor bathing areas.

Farriek Tawfik, South-east Asia director, Princess Cruises, said: “Because bathing is an important part of Japanese culture, we want to offer passengers an authentic experience onboard, complete with unparalleled ocean views.

“This is just one of the several additions we’re making to the ship to give passengers an appealing Japanese experience.”

Other additions include a sushi restaurant, enhanced shopping areas, a revitalised Horizon Court, additional staterooms and new interior furnishings and finishes. This will be topped up by fresh hull paint and exterior refurbishment with both contemporary and Asian-style touches.

Once Diamond Princess completes its drydock in Singapore, it will sail to and homeport in Yokohama for a season of Japan-based cruises beginning April 17. Destinations visited in these sailings include Taiwan, South Korea, Hokkaido, Russia and 15 Japanese ports.

The ship will also sail on a special 10-day voyage during Japan’s popular Golden Week holidays and call on Nagasaki, home to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries where Diamond Princess was built, to mark the ship’s 10^th anniversary.

PARIS Convention & Visitors Bureau has stepped up its marketing efforts in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand in order to tap the potential of these  growing South-east Asian source markets.

Speaking at a sales mission to Kuala Lumpur yesterday, leisure marketing manager Patricia Barthelemy, described the three markets as ‘new’ for the French capital.

She said the purpose of the sales mission was “to learn the habits of people from these countries and what they sought when they visited Paris. This takes time. We want to adapt and respond to expectations (of visitors from these three markets).”

The bureau brought 13 exhibitors to Kuala Lumpur for a buyer-meet-seller workshop which was attended by 44 buyers from Malaysia, and will continue on to Jakarta and Bangkok this week for promotions.

This is the second consecutive year Paris Convention & Visitors Bureau is conducting sales missions to the three South-east Asian countries. On the other hand, Barthelemy noted that Singapore is a mature market that the bureau has been working on for 20 years.

Thierry Vannier, head of international sales promotion at Galeries Lafayette, Europe’s largest department store in the heart of Paris, also reiterated South-east Asia’s importance to Galeries Lafayette, saying visitor numbers from the three markets are growing.

He was participating in this sales mission as he wanted travel consultants to be aware of the department store’s offerings such as a dedicated counters for tax refund, and counters and staff specifically to welcome Malaysians, Indonesians and Thais.

Galeries Lafayette early this year introduced a new website in Thai and Malay and will roll out a mobile application in May to help visitors navigate the store, added Vannier.

KOREAN Air will increase its Seoul (Incheon)-New York flights from once to twice daily come May, padding up services that the airline says offer the quickest access between South-east Asia and the US.

The airline deploys an Airbus A380 on the routes to New York and Los Angeles.

John Jackson, vice president of sales & marketing for the Americas, Korean Air, said: “We have the easiest and fastest connections to South-east Asia through the world-renowned Incheon International Airport. Take for example, Houston, our newest market. Our flights to Singapore will be three hours shorter than our closest competitor. And our service to Vietnam will be anywhere from four to 15 hours quicker.”

Korean Air had earlier this year announced that a new four-times weekly Seoul (Incheon)-Houston service will commence in May (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 6, 2014), but has had to increase frequencies to daily following strong response.

MARRIOTT International has successfully introduced the Marriott brand in Osaka city with the launch of Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel in partnership with Miyako Hotels & Resorts.

Located in front of Osaka Abenobashi station, the hotel is 30 minutes from Kansai International Airport and offers easy access to cities such as Nagoya, Kobe and Kyoto.

Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel occupies the 38^th to 55^th floors of the new 300m Abeno Harukas building and features 360 rooms, including six suites and 33 premium rooms.

Hotel facilities include an executive lounge with light refreshments and snacks for executive floor guests, the Greatroom lobby, lobby lounge, bar, kitchen buffet restaurant Cooka for Japanese and international cuisines, and ZK restaurant on the 57^th floor serving Japanese and Western fare.

In terms of meeting facilities, the hotel is entirely Wi-Fi enabled and has one 230m² meeting room and six smaller ones at 32m² each.

Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel is the first Marriott brand hotel in Osaka and the fourth in Japan.

PHILIPPINES-BASED LCC AirAsia Zest will double the number of flights between Manila and Incheon in South Korea as passenger traffic on the route heats up, as well as launch a Kalibo-Taipei service next month.

Beginning May 1, AirAsia Zest will increase flights on said route from once to twice a day. The new frequency departs Manila at 14.55 and arrives in Incheon at 19.55 while Manila-bound services leave Incheon at 20.55 to touch down at 00.10 the next day.

Joy Caneba, executive vice president and COO of AirAsia Zest, said the services would “open up new affordable access between countries especially this summer when more and more Koreans are looking forward to bask in the Philippine sun” and Filipinos travel to South Korea.

To mark the occasion, the LCC is selling promotional seats with base fares starting at 599 pesos (US$13.40), available for booking online between March 19 and 30. Tickets are valid for travel from May 1 to June 30.

AirAsia Zest is also due to launch new daily direct flights linking Kalibo (Boracay) and Taipei from April 15. Promotional fares for this route are also available on the AirAsia website.

THE first Ferrari theme park in Europe will come up in 2016 as part of the existing Port Aventura complex near Spanish seaside resort Salou, some 100km south of Barcelona.

The 100 million euro (US$139 million) project will include a Ferrari Land theme park; the first and five-star Ferrari-themed hotel with 250 rooms; restaurants, shops and extensive simulator areas for race cars.

TTG Asia e-Daily understands that the theme park will be operated on a licence agreement and targeted at “catering for all ages” with rides including the “highest and fastest vertical accelerator in Europe”. Another attraction will be a roller coaster with cars that are modelled on the world famous marque.

Ferrari Land is expected to be an added draw for a complex that already receives around four million visitors a year, nearly half of them foreigners.

Andrea Perrone, administrator for Ferrari Brand, said that “after the success of Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi we have received many requests to build new leisure parks”.

Port Aventura had been selected because it provided an “opportunity to bring the success of Ferrari to Spain, where we have many fans”, she explained.

Sergio Feder, chief executive at Port Aventura, said it had been looking for “a long-term plan supported by a well-known international brand” to help boost annual visitor numbers to five million.

“Ferrari was an obvious choice, not only for the brand value it represents but also for its consolidated experience with the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi theme park,” he added.

THE Department of Tourism (DoT) has rolled out its maiden cruise manual Cruising Philippines, Asia’s Caribbean in a bid to increase the destination’s share of the growing market in Asia.

The 45-page manual outlines the country’s various ports, capacities and infrastructure, tourist attractions and shore excursions.

“We’re promoting the country to investors and encouraging cruise ships to include the Philippines in their itineraries and to make it their homeport,” said Warner Andrada, division chief for product development.

Wally Cervantes, vice president and general manager, Arpan Air, which represents several cruise lines in the Philippines, said the manual is a step in the right direction in promoting the Philippines as cruise destination. “Most cruise companies are looking at Asia and new ports that they can visit.”

Cervantes added: “But I hope they will not stop there. They should also look at how to improve our product offering in terms of improving the facilities at the ports and the activities available to cruise passengers.”

Marilyn Tunguia, inbound tour supervisor, Sharp Travel Service, ground handler of Hapag-Lloyd cruise ships, said the manual generated awareness about other Philippine destinations. “Boracay and Palawan are popular, but it’s good that other destinations like Hundred Islands in Pangasinan and Kalanggaman in Leyte are also being brought to the radar of cruise operators.”