UNIWORLD Boutique River Cruises’ new river cruise will take passengers on a 12-night sailing through India’s most popular destinations and its sacred river, the Ganges, beginning 2016.

Unveiled today, the India’s Golden Triangle & the Sacred Ganges tour begins in New Delhi and ends in Kolkata on the new all-suite Ganges Voyager II.

The all-suite ship has a maximum capacity of 56 guests, and features the Maharaja Suite, two Viceroy Suites, two Heritage Suites and 20 Standard Suites.

Guests can relax in public areas such as the Governor’s Lounge with onboard entertainment and cultural events, the observation deck with 360-degree views, a spa and fitness centre, and the East India Restaurant with menus featuring both Indian-inspired cuisine and Western fare.

“India is one of the world’s most complex, colourful, and exotic destinations,” said Guy Young, president of Uniworld. “This itinerary is ideal for travellers seeking exotic new horizons, something completely unlike anything else they’ve ever experienced.”

The itinerary covers Delhi, Jaipur, Mother Teresa’s tomb and former home in Kolkata, a Vedic temple in Mayapur, and fully hosted excursions to five UNESCO World Heritage sites including Delhi’s Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb, Agra’s Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, and Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar.

Guests will stay at Oberoi Hotels and Resorts Collection, including The Oberoi New Delhi, The Oberoi Amarvilas Agra and The Oberoi Rajvilas Jaipur, during the five-day land portion of the itinerary.

The river cruise on the Ganges will offer encounters with a variety of wildlife, including freshwater dolphins, parrots, etc.

Travellers can also opt for a two-night extension to the holy city of Varanasi, known in India as the holiest spot on its holiest river. The tour includes a city tour, a scenic boat ride to observe a Ganga Aarti fire ceremony at sunset and a private boat ride along the river at sunrise.

Uniworld’s new India programme will be available for reservations on October 15, 2014.

NORWEGIAN Cruise Line is diversifying its offerings and improving its economies of scale through the purchase of Prestige Cruises International.

Earlier this week Norwegian announced that it had entered a definitive agreement to buy Prestige, parent company of the upper-premium Oceania Cruises and luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises, for US$3.0 billion.

The transaction includes the acquisition of Prestige’s debt as well. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to be completed in 4Q2014.

Kevin Sheehan, CEO, Norwegian Cruise Line, said: “The acquisition of Prestige represents an extraordinary opportunity for Norwegian Cruise Line to expand our market presence by adding two established, award-winning brands in the upscale cruise segment with loyal followings.”

He highlighted that Norwegian would have a deeper bench of talent, possibilities for cross-selling, cross-branding, and cross-business support with the deal.

Prestige operates eight ships – five for Oceania, three for Regent – and 6,500 berths. Regent is also slated to take the delivery of an additional ship in summer 2016.

Sheehan added: “The combination of three different brands, each serving a different market segment, under one umbrella immediately creates an industry-leading cruise operator with an unmatched growth trajectory and a portfolio of products that allows us to appeal to guests at every stage of their life cycle.

“We are fully committed to retaining the brand propositions, guest experiences, and cultures of the Norwegian, Oceania and Regent brands that have allowed each to realise such success.”

THAILAND’S Bespoke Hospitality Management Asia (BHMAsia) and Paris-based Louvre Hotels Group have entered into an agreement that aims to strengthen the management and development potential of their brands in Thailand.

Hotel management, development and consulting group, BHMAsia, will represent and expand the Golden Tulip brand in the South-east Asian country.

On the tie-up with Louvre, Anthony McDonald, CEO of BHMAsia, McDonald said: “With this partnership, we are not only representing the Louvre Hotels Group’s European brands in Thailand but also expanding our X2 design hotel brand to Asia and Europe through Louvre Hotels Group’s global network. We are initially working with them to represent our X2 brand in Indonesia and as part of our strategy to have 30 X2 (CrossTo) properties in the region by 2019. ”

Said McDonald: “We see the potential growth for the hospitality business here in Thailand as the AEC will commence in 2015, driving demand for international standard hotels and global chains.”

Mark Van Ogtrop, managing director of Golden Tulip South-east Asia, commented: “It is important that we have a trusted and professional partner in Thailand that can establish strong brand recognition and expand our business in this country. At the moment, we have over 30 projects in Indonesia and I believe that working with BHMAsia will bring similar success to us for Thailand market.”

PHUKET will welcome its first Hyatt Place property in 2016, after Hyatt Hotels & Resorts signed an agreement yesterday with Boutique Group of Companies to develop the property.

The 161-room Hyatt Place Phuket will be situated on an elevated piece of land on Patong Beach, close to the Phuket seafront while also offering easy access to entertainment, markets, dining and shopping options.

“Thailand continues to be an important market for Hyatt, both from a leisure and business travel perspective. Phuket in particular is one of South-east Asia’s premier leisure destinations, and Hyatt’s expanding resort portfolio is key to creating preference among our guests,” said Ratnesh Verma, senior vice president, real estate and development, Asia-Pacific, Hyatt.

Guestrooms at Hyatt Place Phuket, Patong will all come with balconies.

Facilities within the resort include a swimming pool, fitness centre, restaurant and bar, business centre and more than 225m2 of flexible events space.

EUROPE cannot be treated as a homogenous market online, and the customisation of digital content is key to capturing greater share across the continent’s diverse markets.

Speaking at the Digital Innovation Asia E-Tourism Asia Boot Camp in Bangkok yesterday, Hraben Suknaic, managing partner of S.T.A.R. Digital, a Swiss-based agency specialising in marketing across digital channels, pointed out that Europe is a “complex patchwork of regions”, made up of 50 countries home to 740 million people, of which 65 per cent are online.

“For example, German and Dutch are process-driven people who like to plan, and this translates to their travel bookings (often made in advance), unlike Italians who tend to do things last minute,” said Suknaic.

An understanding of a market’s booking patterns will thus enable travel players to better evaluate and decide which part of the travel chain they should appear in to increase their relevance and likelihood of converting traveller interest to final bookings, he elaborated.

Furthermore, Internet penetration and technology savviness also vary, with Scandinavia coming up tops as the most developed market – some 90 per cent of the population is connected and a person on average makes one e-commerce transaction each month. This knowledge is especially important for a destination like Thailand, where Sweden is among its top five source markets.

Travel marketers should also pay attention to regional differences, especially within bigger countries in Europe. Citing Italy’s German-speaking South Tyrol as an example, where the local population uses Italian and German media and favour local portals like Stol.it, “it would be a mistake to target them as Italians,” Suknaic contended.

Russia, in particular, stands apart from the rest of the continent with “its own online ecosystem” such as Vkontakte (the Russian equivalent of Facebook) and Yandex (top search engine), and any content published in Latin-related languages would not be ranked highly in the country, pointed out Suknaic.

Against a backdrop in which peer-to-peer networks and social content are key drivers for FITs, Suknaic stressed: “Localise, localise, localise when it comes to online content in Europe. Especially for review sites, it will help to have the local language for non-English-speaking countries.”

VIETNAM is ramping up promotions in Indonesia to amplify the market’s spike in growth since 2012, when national carrier Vietnam Airlines introduced direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta.

Indonesian arrivals have been on the ascent since then, numbering 60,857 in 2012, 70,390 in 2013, and 48,207 between January and August this year.

“We are happy with the growth in arrivals but the number is still quite small compared to the potential (of this market),” said Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s (VNAT) travel industry management department director general, Nguyen Quy Phuong, who was addressing Indonesian outbound travel executives and the media during a forum on tourism cooperation in Jakarta this week.

The forum was the product of collaboration between Vietnam embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).

Vietnam’s tourism authorities will conduct more marketing and promotional activities in Indonesia, including fam trips for media and travel executives, as well as advertising campaigns. Jakarta’s high-end travellers are VNAT’s main target.

Damayanti Siahaan, secretary general of KADIN, said: “What is needed is more B2B activities such as this, both in Indonesia and in Vietnam.”

VNAT’s Nguyen added: “What is also important is to increase the seat capacity between the two countries, which is an issue. Vietnam Airlines’ flights are already full.”

Vietnam Airlines general manager Indonesia, Nghiem Van Khanh, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “We started flights to Jakarta four times a week in 2012 (after which flights became direct), increased this to five-times-weekly in April 2013, and daily in August that same year.

“We are studying the possibility of connecting Indonesia to Hanoi or Vietnam to Bali, but there is nothing to announce for now.”

Tedjo Iskandar, director of TTC Indonesia, remarked: “While Vietnam has the potential to attract Indonesia’s upmarket travellers, it can boost volume and get airlines’ attentions by offering five- to seven-day packages below US$1,000, which only Thailand does right now.”

*The article initially stated flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta still transit at Singapore, which is inaccurate. It has been amended.

HIGH-END lifestyle travel consultant John B Sutherland is giving the well-heeled a chance to dive in the watery depths of history with submarine visits to wartime sunken wrecks in the region.

For the next one year until October 2015, Sutherland is operating tours to battle sites of the traveller’s choice to view wrecks such as the warships HMS Repulse, HMS Prince of Wales, USS Saratoga and HMAS Perth. The closest sites are accessible from Western Australia and more applicable to the Asian market.

Described as “the kind of stuff you see on National Geographic“, the “very exclusive tours” offer opportunities to see first-hand a sea bed littered with aircraft, tanks, cars, personal items and ships. The tours will also attract nature lovers as it gives them a chance to observe the region’s marine life up close.

This high-end exclusive opportunity is also suitable as an incentive idea for between six and 12 people, or company directors.

Prices start at US$130,000 for three nights for up to six people, although this is also dependent on the dive location.

For more information on dates and dive locations, visit www.johnbsutherland.com

OPERATIONS have officially begun at the 329-key Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel located in the historic Wangfujing Street of China’s capital.

Managed by Marriott International but owned by China Jin Mao Group, the second Renaissance hotel in Beijing faces the Forbidden City on one side and Wangfujing Street on the other.

Each guestroom offers a range of amenities including flatscreen TVs and wireless high-speed Internet access.

Guess can choose from a range of F&B options including Hutong Place for private dining and entertainment, Qing Dynasty Palace serving imperial cuisine, Cantonese fare at Wanli restaurant, cocktails and live music at R Bar, and all-day dining Food Studio.

Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel will also offer its signature, 24-hour Navigator lifestyle hospitality concierge.

Meeting spaces at the hotel range from a 930m² ballroom to five meeting rooms. Other facilities within the hotel premises include an indoor swimming pool, a fitness centre and a spa.

To mark its opening, the hotel is promoting an introductory rate of RMB980++ (US$159) per night for deluxe accommodation. Buffet breakfasts can be added at just RMB1 for the first guest and half that price for the second guest. The deal is available until October 8.