THAILAND Travel Mart Plus (TTM+), which will take place from June 5 to 7 at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, will once again focus on the niche tourism markets of health and wellness, wedding and honeymoon, golf and eco-tourism.

Organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the mart will feature 39 niche tourism operators, according to TAT deputy director for international marketing, Juthaporn Rerngronasa.

TTM+ will expand from 380 sellers in 2012 to 395 in 2013, of which 86 are making their debut this year, up from 75 last year.

Meanwhile, a stronger Greater Mekong Subregion presence ­– from 12 sellers in 2012 to 20 in 2013 – indicates “good growth in demand for this region”, Juthaporn opined. One of the new exhibitors this year is Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration.

The mart will also see more buyers, with 303 participants from across 58 countries, including new source markets of Algeria, Belarus, Laos, Latvia and Slovenia. Similar to last year, the UK and India will have the largest representation, with 30 and 26 buyers respectively. There will also be nine buyers from Latin America and 23 from Central and East Europe.

TAT will introduce a new forum with two keynote sessions, as well as its biannual Friends of Thailand awards presentation ceremony, which recognises and rewards the efforts of tourism industry members in maintaining a positive image of Thailand and ensuring a steady flow of visitor arrivals. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on June 5 and will see awards go to 38 recipients from 24 countries.

In the meantime, the Thailand Tourism Festival (TTF) 2013 will take place between June 5 and 9 at the same venue. Showcasing the tourism potential of Thailand’s five regions, Thai cuisine as well as contemporary Thai and international art and culture, TTF is expected to welcome some 200,000 visitors this year to generate about 300 million baht (US$10 million).

SUTRA Technology has rolled out its new online reservation system on the trade marketplace, which it says will “especially benefit small and medium-sized” travel agencies.

The new system costs more than RM1 million (US$331,290) to develop and will support the day-to-day operations of Sutra’s subsidiary, Sri Sutra Travel, a B2B and B2C travel service provider. Products sold in the system include air tickets, accommodation, tours and transfers worldwide.

Sutra’s group managing director, Sutra Utama, Syed Mohd Razif Al Yahya, said: “It was completed early this year and we are now marketing the online reservation system to the travel industry in Malaysia.

“For an annual subscription fee, travel agency owners will have access to more than 200,000 products in our travel solution system and they can take advantage of our dynamic, competitive rates and earn commissions on online B2B and B2C sales.

“Our system will especially benefit small and medium-sized agencies as they will be able to access the same competitive rates that Sri Sutra Travel enjoys,” he added. “By this year end, we hope to market the reservation system globally.”

The platform also allows multiple payment modes. Customers may also perform cancellations, amendments or send special requests to suppliers via the system.

THE absence of a structured policy to guide India’s aviation sector has kept investors at bay and hurt the country’s airports and airlines, said CAPA India.

In its scathing CAPA India Avition Outlook 2013/14 report, CAPA India stated that the lack of a transparent, Cabinet-approved national aviation policy has “prevented the corporatisation of the sector and has kept many serious investors away from the market”.

CAPA India thus called on the Indian government to introduce an aviation policy within the next six months. Furthermore, the report also urged the Indian government to develop a framework for the allocation of seats and to clarify criteria for the issuing of new airline licences.

Looking ahead, the CAPA India report predicted that the government’s move last year to allow foreign airlines to own up to 49 per cent of Indian carriers has opened the gate to even more foreign interest.

Etihad Airways is set to take a 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 4, 2012), while AirAsia will hold 49 per cent of AirAsia India (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 21, 2013). CAPA India expects more to follow and forecast that foreign airlines would invest in SpiceJet and GoAir within the next half a year.

However, it warned that India’s current aviation policy and regulatory framework might not be “sufficiently robust to absorb the potential impact of foreign airline transactions, alliances and codeshares”.

CAPA India also said that India needed to recognise that ancillaries were part of the airline business model and that airlines should be allowed to innovate and charge fees where appropriate.

The aviation body stated that India’s airlines could derive some US$500 million more a year simply through ancillary charges. CAPA India noted that there would be “sensitivities around unbundling (services)” but that airlines would have to communicate such changes clearly to passengers.

JETSTAR Asia is bumping up frequencies on its Singapore-Bangkok route with eight more weekly flights in response to strong demand from travellers on the sector.

“Last year alone we welcomed 30 per cent more people on this route than in 2011, with more than two million passengers,” said Barathan Pasupathi, CEO, Jetstar Asia.

Beginning July 8, Jetstar will fly up to five times daily to Bangkok, adding more than 2,800 seats weekly on the route.

From Singapore, Monday and Wednesday flights depart at 15.20 and land in Bangkok at 16.50. Return flights on the same days leave Bangkok at 17.30 and reach Singapore at 21.05.

Departing Singapore on Tuesdays and Thursdays, flights leave for Bangkok at 08.55 and touch down at 10.40. Singapore-bound flights on the same days take off at 11.40 and land in Singapore at 15.00.