QATAR’S Katara Hospitality has purchased five hotels in Europe that will continue to be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group.

The hotels are: InterContinental Carlton Cannes; InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam; InterContinental Madrid; InterContinental Frankfurt; and InterContinental De La Ville Rome.

This brings Katara’s global portfolio to 32, both operational and in development.

Katara also owns The Peninsula Paris, scheduled to open on August 1 after refurbishment, and Excelsior Hotel Gallia in Milan. The latter is part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Luxury Collection and will reopen in November.

THE One&Only collection of properties grew one stronger today with the opening of One&Only Hayman Island, a new ultra-luxury private island resort in Australia.

Located in the heart of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the property reopens after a multimillion-dollar facelift with One&Only Resorts assuming management of the former Hayman, Great Barrier Reef resort.

The resort’s Pool Wing has been redeveloped with new all-suite living spaces in one- or two-bedroom configurations. Further accommodation types now offered include: Hayman rooms and Hayman suites with ocean and lagoon views; Beach Villas with secluded second bedroom Retreat rooms; and one-, two- and three-bedroom Penthouses including the Owner’s Penthouse.

One&Only Hayman offers a range of dining options, a One&Only Health Spa, a new Beauty Salon located adjacent to the Spa, and a fitness centre with expert personal training provided.

Tailoring to the interests of different guests, the resort features a KidsOnly Club and Teens Club, as well as a separate family pool and children’s beach area, while a new adult-only pool and chill-out lounge are for travellers looking for more privacy and serenity.

Seng Huang Lee, executive chairman of Mulpha Australia, the owner of the resort, said: “A new era has begun at this iconic Australian resort as we introduce One&Only Hayman Island to the world.”

“The transformational refurbishment combined with One&Only’s innovation and commitment to delivering an extraordinary level of service will redefine luxury travel in Australia.”

CITIZENS of 40 countries will be able to apply online for visas to enter India beginning December.

As part of the initiative, a dedicated website is being designed. Applications for visas filed online will be responded to within five days and, if approved, valid for 30 days on a single entry from the date of arrival.

The list of 40 countries has not been finalised by the Ministry of Home Affairs as yet, but TTG Asia e-Daily understands phase two will extend the facility to 109 countries in total.

According to a press release from the prime minister’s office, the government has given the nod for phase one to be introduced. India earlier this year announced it will implement an online system for visa issuance in a major initiative to liberalise its visa regime (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 6, 2014).

Jyoti Kapur, director, New Delhi-based Vietrade Tours & Travels, said: “Ease of acquiring visas is a crucial factor in increasing inbound tourism. Electronic visas will ensure a 20 per cent jump in visitor numbers from 2015 onwards.

“More importantly, both FITs and MICE businesses will get a boost as visa approvals prior to departure will make it easier for tour operators and DMCs.”

Meanwhile, India is opening its doors to Afghan nationals and now allows them to stay for up to two years on humanitarian grounds. A Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson said: “A system of biometric enrolment and photography will be introduced to ensure that such facilities are not misused by unscrupulous elements.”

THE minister of hotels and tourism is calling on local tour operators, hoteliers and media to leverage Myanmar’s newly listed UNESCO World Heritage site, Pyu Ancient Cities, to attract more travellers into the country.

Speaking on June 30 at a Myanmar Tourism Federation meeting, minister Htay Aung said: “This is a good opportunity for us and we need to promote Pyu Ancient Cities (and this can be done) by putting it in your itineraries for the coming season. Also I would like to ask you all to spread the information by uploading this to your own websites to get more awareness internationally.”

Pyu Ancient Cities contains remnants of the Pyu Kingdoms that thrived for over 1,000 years between 200BC and 900 AD, specifically that of three cities – Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra.

The World Heritage Committee inscribed Pyu Ancient Cities into the World Heritage List on June 22.

Seven Star Tours’ managing partner, Phyu Phyu Mar, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “I have had tours including Sri Ksetra since a long time ago, but never to Halin and Beikthano. I don’t know what the road condition is like or how to link those with existing packages. I am collecting information now but am optimistic that Pyu Ancient Cities is another selling point for tour operators, and must be promoted internationally.”

HONG KONG-based Langham Hospitality Group will launch a China hotel brand and is repositioning its Eaton as a lifestyle brand catering to a new generation of travellers.

New CEO Robert Warman told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Part of my joining (Langham in March) is to grow and expand Langham as an international hotel company that has multi-brands and to be recognised as among the best in each of the segment we are in.”

Both the China brand and the new Eaton will open large possibilities for Langham, with Warman bent on taking the group from 22 hotels today to 100 hotels in five years and 500 in 10 years. Apart from the two brands, he will continue to seek expansion for the core luxury Langham brand as well as plug key cities such as Singapore where the group is not represented.

The China brand, to be launched in September, will be pitched at the five-star level but just below the Langham brand.

“We could become the reliable place for new Chinese travellers,” he said, adding that the brand will also be expanded to Asia and worldwide, although there are enough opportunities in China itself for Langham.

He said the Chinese traveller’s tastes and wants are not entirely different from international guests. However, what Langham’s China brand hopes is to provide well for Chinese guests in areas such as food, language, etc.

The redesigned Eaton meanwhile competes within one of the hottest segments in the hotel market today, the lifestyle arena catering to travelling Millennials.

While hotel companies such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts and InterContinental Hotels Group have been among the first in this segment with Aloft and Indigo respectively, the competition increases with new entries including Eaton and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s Radisson Red, the first few of which will open in the US (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 26, 2014).

Warman reveals all in View from the Top in TTG Asia, September 26 issue

THE world’s first international conference on Muslim tourism will be held this September in Spain, bringing together the global travel industry to share how it can cater to this fast-growing segment.

Hosted in Andalucia by CM Media in partnership with tour operator Andalucian Routes, the two-day Halal Tourism Conference 2014 will run from September 22 to 23 at the Granada Conference and Exhibition Centre.

It aims to equip delegates with market intelligence, industry forecasts and trends to understand how to sell to the Muslim market, which is worth US$140 billion in 2013 or 13 per cent of global travel expenditure. This figure is expected to reach US$192 billion by 2020.

Attendees can expect seminars by industry experts, workshops, networking sessions and an exhibition, which aims to attract tourism boards, tour agencies, tour operators, restaurants, media, hotels, airlines and travel sector suppliers.

Guest speakers at the event include tourism ministers, halal institutions, marketing experts and academics. Partners for the event include Andalucian Tourism Board, the Spanish Tourism Board, Turkish Airlines, Granada Tourism Board, El Legado Andalusi and the Halal Institute.

The conference concludes with a two-day tour around Andalucia for a live case study of a region that is striving to be more Muslim-friendly.

Tasneem Mahmood from CM Media, said the conference presented “a real opportunity” for Asian countries.

She said: “Our research has shown there are so many countries and travel operators who can benefit from halal tourism but are currently missing out. Within Europe alone, there are so many Muslim travellers for Asia to target. This conference will show the opportunities that are present and show you exactly how to grab them.

“It will be an excellent knowledge forum and an ideal platform for exchange of experience between experts in the industry and countries who are actively engaged in halal tourism. This conference will also be a great way to network with leisure and travel businesses from around the world to develop new partnerships.”

For more information visit the website www.htc2014.

MYANMAR and India are working together to promote tourism through a new charter service linking Mandalay and the north-east state of Manipur in India, the launch of which has been postponed.

Golden Myanmar Airlines’ commencement of a twice-weekly charter service on Airbus A320 and a 69-seater ATR 72-690 aircraft was slated for June 27 but is now to take off on July 3 while the airline finalises preparations with Indian authorities.

Aung Gyi, the carrier’s managing director, said: “We are postponing the launch until further notice from our partner in India. (When we get clearance) we will operate two charter flights a week, and passengers will get visa on arrival in Imphal.”

Manipur has also relaxed the Protected Area Permit system for Myanmar citizens and offers them a two-year visa on arrival, while the Airports Authority of India is planning to reduce the value-added tax on aviation turbine fuel for this new route.

Meanwhile, vast expanses of land around the Imphal International Airport are being acquired for runway expansion and additional airport facilities. Long-term plans are in place to expand the Imphal flight network to international destinations including neighbouring Myanmar as well as Thailand and Singapore.

AIRASIA is taking a second stab at the LCC market in Japan after its failed partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA) saw it bow out of the market (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 25, 2013). This time, Rakuten is coming on board as a minority shareholder in the carrier that is expected to be airborne by summer next year.

Rakuten will hold 18 per cent of shares, the third largest stake after AirAsia’s majority stake of 49 per cent, and Octave Japan, which was incorporated in Japan in May with a mission to acquire, own, manage, hold, sell and dispose of the shares of AirAsia Japan as well as make collections from the shares of AirAsia Japan.

Odagiri Yoshinori, CEO of AirAsia Japan, said: “We are ready to take on this challenge and with great teamwork, we hope to bring AirAsia’s successful low-cost business model once again to Japan. Our counterparts in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and India have seen great and encouraging responses in their markets, and we will work towards the same for Japan.”

AirAsia split ways with ANA over differences in management last year, leading to the creation of ANA-owned Vanilla Air (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 21, 2013).

Commented Tony Fernandes, group CEO of AirAsia: “The AirAsia Japan team is now working hard with the relevant authorities to obtain necessary operational approvals, and we hope that all will be in place to start both domestic and international flights by the summer of 2015.”

The remaining shares are held by Noevir Holdings (nine per cent), which has business interests in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and health food, apparel and aviation business; and Alpen (five per cent), which makes and sells sporting goods and manages ski resorts, golf courses and fitness clubs.

HILTON Worldwide today announced the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru, the second property for the brand in Malaysia.

DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru in the heart of the upcoming Iskandar Region, within the state’s central business district, is less than 5km from Johor-Singapore Immigration Checkpoint and near major shopping outlets, cultural and historical sites, Legoland theme park and other leisure facilities.

The property offers 335 guestrooms, including 52 suites, each equipped with Wi-Fi, the brand’s signature bedding, in-room workspace, 40-inch LCD TV and a walk-in rain shower.

Other facilities include a dedicated events and meetings floor spanning over 2,140m² and offering 10 versatile function rooms, four F&B outlets, an outdoor pool, a 24-hour fitness centre with steam rooms and Jacuzzis as well as multi-level parking.

As part of the opening promotion, Hilton HHonors loyalty members will be rewarded with an additional 1,000 bonus points per night, up to a maximum of 5,000 points per stay from today to December 31, 2014.