ETIHAD Airways will commence a daily service between Abu Dhabi and Phuket from October 26.

Flights depart Abu Dhabi at 08.45 to touch down in Phuket at 18.00, while flights on the return leg leave Phuket at 20.25 and reach Abu Dhabi at 00.25 the next day.

The Middle Eastern carrier will deploy a two-class Airbus A330-200 aircraft with 22 seats in business class and 240 in economy class on the service, which is its second in Thailand after Bangkok and seventh in South-east Asia.

Etihad currently also flies to Singapore, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta.

James Hogan, president and CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “We have a very successful track record in Thailand. The capital city, Bangkok, has ranked as our most popular route for the past four years, with 742,759 passengers flown in 2013 alone. Expanding our reach in the country with a daily service to Phuket is therefore natural progression.”

SUN Siyam Resorts last week opened its first and flagship brand property in Noonu Atoll, the Sun Siyam Iru Fushi.

The brainchild of Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, the local entrepreneur founded tour operator Sun Travels, and now also manages several properties in the Maldives such as Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort, Vilu Reef Beach & Spa and Beach House Iruveli.

Located 40 minutes away from Malé via seaplane, the resort offers 221 luxury ocean-front villas and 70 over-water bungalows. Villa guests can choose from a pillow and fragrance menu, while Retreat guests will be given a foot massage on arrival and assigned a personal butler available 24/7.

Eleven F&B choices give guests a range of cuisines to choose from for their meals. There is also a tropical spa, which comes with 20 treatment rooms each dedicated to a different wellness philosophy, and a range of leisure activities such as diving with a fully equipped PADI five-star dive facility, water sports centre, tennis and badminton courts, kids club and multiple swimming pools.

Sun Siyam gives back to the local community by donating a portion of net revenue to local preschools, and offers visitors the chance to explore the local community through visits to local fruit farm suppliers and more.

HOSHINO Resorts is planning to tap surging arrivals from Thailand and grow its customer base from the kingdom to 10 per cent within the next three years, said the hotelier’s director of global marketing.

Fumi Miyauchi said while Japan received some 453,000 Thai tourists in 2013, a record growth of 74 per cent from the year before, Thai visitors currently account for just one to two per cent of guests across the brand’s chain of 32 properties.

“We want to grow the Thai market to 10 per cent of guests within the next three years,” she said. “We currently don’t have many contracts with travel consultants in Thailand, but we have implemented plans since last year to change this. We are currently developing plans to run fam trips for travel consultants and media from Thailand to our properties.”

Senior sales and marketing executives are in Thailand for the second time since November to strengthen their relationships with local outbound operators and consultants. The brand will also visit its two other target markets, Singapore and Malaysia, next month, which currently account for five to six per cent and under one per cent of its guests respectively.

Hoshino will target young families from within the region, emphasising its ice park and snow palace products, in contrast to promoting snowboarding and skiing to more activity-focused tourists from Australia.

Japan exempted tourists from Thailand – its six largest source market – from visa requirements mid last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 14, 2013), which together with the devalued yen, catalysed record arrivals from the country.

Hoshino is opening two properties in Japan and its first overseas resort in Bali this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 13, 2013).

MILLENNIUM & Copthorne (M&C) Hotels today announced it will be purchasing its first hotel in Italy, hot on the heels of the acquisition of Novotel New York Times Square earlier this month (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 11, 2014).

A subsidiary of M&C entered a conditional purchase and sale agreement with Grand Hotel Palace for the five-star Boscolo Palace Roma in Rome, priced at 65.5 million euros (US$90 million).

The transaction is expected to be completed by 2Q2014.

Boscolo Palace Roma is situated on Via Veneto and offers 87 luxury guestrooms and suites. It underwent a full-scale renovation in 2010 that was overseen by renown architect and designer, Italo Rota.

Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of M&C, commented in a media release: “This acquisition adds an important new travel destination to M&C’s European portfolio. We have been seeking to establish a presence in Rome for many years, and this acquisition continues our strategy of selective growth through careful investment in key gateway cities…(The hotel’s) location together with the quality of the product and its high service levels will enhance the Millennium brand experience and reputation.”

Read TTG Asia’s View from the Top interview with M&C chairman, Kwek Leng Beng, in TTG Asia, February 21, 2014 issue or the full, online version here.

INDIA is on the way to confirming an expansion of bilateral seat capacity with Dubai for 20 per cent more seats as strong demand has gobbled up current allotments.

Emirates and FlyDubai have together exhausted the existing 54,200 weekly seats. Although Dubai had requested 20,000 additional seats, India will allow only 10,800 more pending the inter-ministerial group meeting in New Delhi this week.

Ajit Singh, minister of civil aviation, said: “Dubai has been asking for more bilaterals as the current entitlement on both sides has been fully used up.”

According to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Emirates carries the largest number of outbound passengers from India. The airline is also considering deploying the Airbus A380 on Indian routes, which had been disallowed by India until now.

Gulf-based carriers have been on the receiving end of India’s largesse, as seen in Etihad Airways’ allotted seat capacity between Abu Dhabi and India that rose from 13,000 per week in 2010 to 50,000 in 4Q2013.

However, India denied Qatar Airways’ application last year to nearly triple its seats from 25,800 to 72,600 weekly as India was using less than 25 per cent of entitlements to Qatar.

MARRIOTT International has launched Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview under a long-term management agreement with owners Shanghai Bao Hua Group for its 21^st property in the Chinese city.

Located next to Multimedia Valley in Zhabei District and adjacent to the largest green space in downtown Shanghai, Danin Lingshi Park, the hotel is 25 minutes away from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and 45 minutes to Shanghai Pudong Airport.

It offers 317 rooms and suites with views of Danin Lingshi Park, a 24-hour fitness centre, an indoor swimming pool, a golf practice green, a tennis court and the Executive Lounge on the 23^rd floor.

Guests can pick from four F&B options including the all-day dining Shanghai City Bistro; Man Ho Chinese Restaurant serving Cantonese and Shanghainese cuisine; Tatsumi for Japanese and Korean fare; and drinks and afternoon tea at the Lounge in the hotel lobby.

Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview also provides 2,800m² of meeting space located on a single floor and is the only hotel in Shanghai city centre with two pillarless ballrooms. The larger offers 1,400m² and two 65m² LED screens, while the smaller is 1,000m² in space with one LED screen.

Five flexible function rooms and a dedicated wedding planning service round up the hotel’s MICE offerings.

Ricky Lam, general manager of Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview, said: “Shanghai is one of the most important cities for meetings and events in the region, and the magnificent new Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview underlines Marriott’s commitment to lead the future of meetings in Asia.”

ORIENT-EXPRESS has launched the Belmond brand, a new name under which the luxury property owner and operator will market its collection of hotels and travel experiences.

The Belmond brand will come into effect from March 10 and encompass Orient-Express’ portfolio of hotels, trains, safaris and river cruises, with the name to be carried alongside each individual property brand.

A press release issued by the company said Orient-Express expects the new brand to “heighten awareness” about its offerings by making them “easier to recognise, navigate and explore”.

Ralph Aruzza, chief sales & marketing officer, said: “We will support the launch of Belmond with a sizeable investment of US$15 million in enhanced promotional and marketing initiatives. This will include new websites, social media and our first-ever, large-scale advertising campaign.”