SAUDI ARABIA this year will begin allowing Muslim pilgrims to visit other Islamic and historical sites through its new ‘Umrah-Plus’ visa, in a bid to strengthen its tourism industry.

The new, month-long visa allows those on religious pilgrimages to participate in supervised tours of cultural sites besides Makkah and Medinah.

The Gulf state, which does not issue tourism visas, is also in the middle of restoring and building 30 museums and Islam-themed attractions in Makkah and Medinah, according to Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, chairman, Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.

Heritage hotels are also under construction. The state was pursuing growth in tourism in the hopes of making it a major pillar of the economy, and aspired to become a travel hub like Dubai, said Al Saud.

Tourism revenue for 2012 rose 10 per cent to 61.8 billion riyals (US$61.5 billion), though arrivals were largely comprised of religious pilgrims and visitors from Gulf Cooperation Council nations.

Feroz Sheikh, managing director, Alkhuddam Travels, said: “There is great interest worldwide in Islamic history and the opening up of visas to other countries will create large influx of tourists and scholars to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh and Jeddah could become hubs for transit between the East and West in the near future.”

LOCAL hospitality brand Big Hotel has made its debut with the opening of its first property on Middle Road, Singapore, targeting design-conscious travellers.

The 308-room property is situated at the junction of Middle Road and Bencoolen Street, close to shopping district Orchard Road and attractions such as the National Museum. Converted into a hotel from an office building, the hotel features Scandinavian-inspired interiors.

Big Hotel offers free Wi-Fi and an in-room tablet throughout all its guestrooms. The tablet is installed with a software application that enables guests to customise room temperature, TV and lighting.

Andy Ong, chairman of ERC Holdings, which owns the Big Hotel brand, said the brand would provide travellers “a hybrid of business, luxury and design-boutique type hotels” and that the company has plans to grow the brand regionally.

To mark the opening of the inaugural Big Hotel, the hotel is offering stays in a Superior room for S$128++ (US$102) per night, available for booking on its website. The promotion is running for a limited time and special rates include free Wi-Fi, an in-room tablet, free movies on demand and access to satellite radio and Internet-protocol television.

ASCOTT has bagged a management contract to operate its first serviced residence, Ascott Olaya Riyadh, which is set to debut in 2015.

Rafal Real Estate Development will develop the 230-unit property, located near the King Abdullah Financial District.

Chong Kee Hiong, CEO, Ascott, said: “Saudi Arabia offers strong opportunities for serviced residences. It is the biggest economy in the Middle East and its GDP is forecast to grow by about five per cent per annum over the next few years.

Sym Lee, Ascott’s head for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), commented: “There is a huge demand for quality accommodation in Riyadh but international-standard serviced residences is lacking.”

Ascott Olaya Riyadh offers a mix of apartments from studio to two-bedroom, each coming with a fully-equipped kitchen, separate work and sleeping areas, meeting rooms, a business centre and a health club comprising a gym, steam room and swimming pool.

The latest signing increases Ascott’s portfolio in the GCC to almost 1,300 serviced apartment units across seven properties located in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

SHUN TAK Holdings, a household name in Hong Kong and Macau, is planning to establish its own hotel brand and management.

It is understood the brand would appeal to outbound Chinese tourists worldwide.

When asked why Shun Tak was keen to run hotels, managing director Pansy Ho told TTG Asia e-Daily: “If we are going to continue to build and invest in Macau or outside – and we all hear how Asia-Pacific, especially China, is going to grow – eventually there will be a market for it.”

“We figure we probably will not be able to build as quickly as we can in providing the know-how in managing hotels through our accumulated experience of over 50 years in servicing huge numbers of Chinese customers. We have that database and understanding of Chinese customers, so it is probably a good time to start the service,” said Ho, in an interview on the sidelines of PATA Annual Summit in Bangkok last month.

Ho added: “We’re setting up (management services) now. We have not gone down to the last details; we are beginning to amass a professional team of people.

“We will make an announcement soon and maybe (management operations will be up and running) within a year.”

Shun Tak’s core businesses are transportation, property, hospitality and investments, with a strong presence in Macau where it owns or has stakes in, among others, TurboJet, Macau International Airport, Air Macau, Macau Tower and One Central Macau, a mixed-use development that includes the Mandarin Oriental, Macau.

The group also controls 100 per cent interest in the Cotai project and is the sole developer of the site. It is building a Jumeirah hotel there and is exploring “the possibility of building two or three hotels in that same complex,” said Ho.

The company has started to expand into China. Last month, it acquired a project in Beijing Dong Zhi Men district comprising office and hospitality components. It also has participation in Beijing’s Tongzhou Integrated Development Phase 2.

–      Read how Ho envisions Macau’s future, TTG Asia, March 31, 2013

THE UK has debuted same-day visa application services at its high commissions in India, with plans to make the facility available in a handful of other countries in the near future.

Now in operation at the UK embassies in New Delhi, Mumbai and soon, Chennai, the same-day visa costs 600 pounds (US$912) more than that of a regular visa.

Applicants who complete an online application by 09.30 and receive approval can collect their visas by 17.30 the same day in New Delhi and 18.30 in Mumbai.

The UK government revealed that the service would also be available to travellers applying for a six-month or two-year multiple-entry visitor visa (excluding student visas) and who have previously travelled to the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or a Schengen country within the last five years.

Employees of companies that are members of the Business Express Programme who are travelling for business, may also apply.

Said Mark Harper, the UK’s immigration minister: “Using the ‘super priority’ visa service does not imply or guarantee in any way that your visa application will be successful. All applicants must meet the requirements of UK immigration rules.”

The UK’s biggest visa operation is located in India, processing about 400,000 applications each year and issuing 70,000 business visas annually in the last five years.

However, Rakesh Lamba, managing director, Prakriti Holidays, said: “Most regular business visitors to the UK already hold a medium-term multiple-entry visa. What purpose will a same-day visa issuance at an enormous cost serve? This will have marginal impact, as only a few people (who need to travel urgently) will use it.”

The same-day visa service will soon be offered in China, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa.

JAPAN’S weakening currency may be the saviour of its once-faltering inbound tourism, as trade players at the inaugural Japan-ASEAN Travel Mart last week cited the yen as a major factor for the sector’s strong recovery.

Susan Ong, manager, Japan National Tourism Organization Singapore Office, which also oversees the NTO’s activities in Malaysia, Indonesia and India, shared: “According to agent feedback, two years on (after the March 11 Tohoku earthquake), there is a lot of pent up demand from people who have been planning to go to Japan, and who are now doing so due to the weakening yen.”

She also mentioned that a representative from a major travel agency in Singapore had reported a 40 per cent increase in travel demand for Japan thanks to the currency’s exchange rate.

Utumporn Suonchai, general manager of Bangkok-based Am Tourist Club, said: “There are a lot of Thai people visiting Japan now because of (the favourable exchange rate) and the number of (destination) promotions Japan has done. People are not afraid of radiation anymore. The increase has been about 100 per cent compared to (the same period in) 2012.”

She said it was hard to estimate how Thai outbound to Japan would fare in 2013, but hoped for a 30 per cent increase by the end of the year.

Japan’s inbound arrivals continue to display strong recovery, with total inbound arrivals spiking 34.6 per cent last year against 2011 to reach 8.4 million.

The country posted 2.3 million arrivals for the first quarter of 2013, or an 18 per cent increase over the same period in 2012.

GARUDA Indonesia began Bandung-Denpasar flights on May 18 in a bid to facilitate traffic between the two cities and connect Bandung with other Garuda destinations such as Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Garuda Indonesia’s vice president corporate communications, Pujobroto, said: “As Denpasar is one of Garuda’s hubs for flights to Australia, Japan and South Korea, travellers from Bandung can connect to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Tokyo and Osaka, or to Indonesian destinations like Lombok, Kupang, Makassar and Timika.”

The new route is operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 156 seats comprising 12 executive and 144 economy class seats.

The flight leaves Bandung at 12.25, arriving in Bali at 15.05, while the return flight departs Bali at 11.00 to land in Bandung at 11.40.

Meanwhile, Batik Air, the full-service airline of Lion Air Group that launched on May 3, has introduced twice-daily services between Jakarta-Bali on May 20. The service is the carrier’s sixth route from Jakarta after Manado, Balikpapan, Ambon, Pekanbaru and Jogjakarta.