TAUZIA Hotel Management has expanded into the island of Sumatra with the opening of Pop! Hotel Tanjung Karang last week.

The 168-room hotel in the heart of Bandar Lampung, the provincial capital, is the group’s ninth property and the first chain budget property in Lampung. Rooms at the hotel come only in one category with an opening rate of Rp328,000 (US$29), and its two meeting spaces can be further split into two.

Pop! Hotels brand director, Irene Janti, is targeting an average occupancy of above 70 per cent for the property. “Lampung (province, in the southernmost part of Sumatra) is a transit point for land travellers from Java to destinations like Padang and Palembang.

“Lampung itself is rich in plantation crops and tourist attractions, so the destination offers multi-market segments to tap on for our hotel, be it business, meeting or leisure,” Janti said.

Asked why Tauzia had opted to start its Sumatra expansion with the Pop! brand, Tauzia Hotel Management’s president director, Marc Steinmeyer, said: “Our expansion strategy is to work with the right investors, before choosing location and brand.

“Here, the owner wanted to do a Pop! Hotel and there is a market potential, so we started with the budget brand.”

Steinmeyer added that Lampung has potential for a midscale Harris brand hotel as well.

THE Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is courting the Vietnamese market through collaborative promotions on package tours and airfares.

The TAT’s Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) office has reported an “increasing number of Vietnamese tourists heading to the kingdom” since the end of anti-government protests in Bangkok and the rescinding of the emergency decree on the capital (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 19, 2014).

To promote Thailand as a holiday destination to the Vietnamese, the NTO has participated in a variety of marketing activities in Vietnam such as the HCMC Tourist Festival and Vietnam International Travel Mart, organised the Amazing Thailand Road Show in Nha Trang, and promoted Songkran Splendours 2014 celebrations through online and offline channels.

TAT has also linked arms with Vietnamese tour operators including Vietravel, Saigontourist and Phu Bao Tours, each holding promotions for travellers going to Thailand.

For instance, Vietravel is dangling free SIM cards to the first 500 Vietnamese travellers booking Thai-bound tour packages and, in collaboration with Qatar Airways, a one-million dong (US$47) discount on five-day packages.

Besides tour package deals, TAT has facilitated cheaper airfares in partnership with budget carriers AirAsia and Vietjet Air with Vietnam-Bangkok fares starting from 190,000 dong and US$2 respectively.

Vietnamese media were also hosted on a fam trip to Bangkok, Pattaya and Ayutthaya in March.

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) flight MH192 bound for Bengaluru was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) early this morning.

According to an MAS press statement, this was due to a malfunctioning of the Boeing 737-800’s right-hand landing gear upon takeoff. The plane landed safely at 01.56 this morning.

MH192 had departed from KLIA at 22.09 last night and was scheduled to arrive in Bengaluru at 23.35 on April 20.

It carried 159 passengers and seven crew members on board, MAS revealed in a press statement.

The incident comes in the wake of MAS’ missing MH370 that has thrown up questions about airline tracking and safety (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 25, 2014).

TTG Asia e-Daily will be taking a break tomorrow, April 18.

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PEPPERS Retreats & Resorts has added Asia to its portfolio with the rebranding of the former Sentosa Seminyak all-villa luxury resort in Bali.

Peppers Sentosa Seminyak comprises 49 three-, four- and five-bedroom luxury villas (177 rooms in total) each with private swimming pools. A further eight one- and two-bedroom villas have been planned for launch in 2H2014.

Facilities include a signature restaurant, Salt Tapas & Bar and a spa, among others.

Bob East, CEO of Mantra Group, which manages the Peppers brand, said: “The emerging middle class in Indonesia is a growing market and we are confident the Peppers style and service will resonate with them.

“It is an exciting era for Peppers to launch the first hotel in Asia in its 30th year and we look forward to increasing our network in the region.”

The property is offering an opening special from US$699 per night in a three-bedroom Royal Pool Villa or from US$919 per night in a four-bedroom Presidential Pool Villa including a welcome drink, fruit basket, sumptuous daily breakfast and complimentary Wi-Fi.

The offer is valid for booking until June 30 and valid for travel until December 23.

SPAIN and Portugal will join hands for tourism promotions in the four key longhaul markets of China, South Korea, the US and Canada.

The signing of an accord in Lisbon follows several months of talks between the two neighbours, aimed at creating savings for each country, according to Spanish secretary of state for tourism, Isabel Borrego.

Fam trips designed for travel consultants and the press to visit the two countries on the same journey will be a major element in the campaign, due to start later this year.

“We are going to see how it works, as to whether to extend them or increase them in 2015,” said Borrego.

A joint team is currently working on the programme, so details of the number of activities and the budget are not available at press time.

The partnership will also include human resource training and the exchange of information, particularly where it involves investment in the tourism sector.

Borrego also met with representatives of several Spanish companies that have since set up hotels, tour operators and travel agency chains in Portugal.

“With recuperation (from the economic crisis) starting, it is important to interchange information, intensify activities and to know how to improve the (tourism) product,” she said.

A STRING of cities, among them Nanjing, Tianjin, Macau, Jeju, Melbourne and Dubai, have formed a beeline to bid for the world’s largest meeting of Chinese finance and insurance professionals in 2015.

The annual meeting, the International Dragon Award (IDA) Annual Conference, drew some 5,000 delegates when it was held in Kuala Lumpur last year.

Chairman Richard Wu declined to narrow down the contenders for the 2015 host country, saying a decision would be announced during this year’s annual conference in August in Xiamen.

But in an interview with the Daily, it appears that countries that could underscore the value of the insurance industry to the conference attendees would be on top of the pecking order.

In Kuala Lumpur last year, for instance, no less than the Malaysian Premier, Najib Razak, spoke at the event and gave ‘face’ to the profession.

“It is important that the attendees feel the host country has a certain regard for their profession and reaffirm the importance of the industry to them,” explained Wu.

As well, the ability to offer a unique insight would earn a score. When IDA was held in Singapore in 2008, the city included a visit to a desalination plant that was highly interesting and educational to attendees.

Apart from government and convention bureau support, the host country must also have a venue that could host 5,000 pax, including meeting rooms that could hold 1,000 pax, and hotels of different classes, said Wu.

The four-day conference, delivered in Mandarin, is attended by Chinese finance and insurance professionals from 200 insurance companies in 17 countries, including China, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Wu said Chinese meeting participants have not changed much over the last 10 years. “They want enrichment and to learn how to perform better in their workplace,” he said.

That said, in one aspect, there is a marked difference: In the 10 years, they have become “even more driven”, he said.

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