HILTON Worldwide has signed an agreement with K Raheja Group’s Palm Grove Beach Hotels to manage India’s first Conrad hotel when it opens in Pune in 2015.

John TA Vanderslice, global head of luxury and lifestyle brands, Hilton Worldwide, said: “Pune is a key gateway destination and we are delighted to establish our brand’s presence in India, one of the key strategic growth markets for Hilton Worldwide, starting with this wonderful city.”

The art deco style luxury property is located in the central business district of Pune, and will offer 310 rooms, six exclusive F&B outlets, a spa, outdoor swimming pool, conferencing facilities and a 24-hour business centre.

Nilesh Bhansali, director of Devam Tours & Travels Pune, said: “Luxury brands like Conrad coming to Pune augurs well, as tourism is bound to increase with better quality hotel rooms.

“Pune’s industries are buzzing, MICE activity is on the rise and inbound footfalls are increasing. Moreover, we are connected by road, train and air to Mumbai, the nearest international gateway city.”

THAI Airways International (THAI) has announced flight frequencies for the upcoming summer season and said the adjustments are unrelated to the political situation in Bangkok.

All changes are effective for the summer season, from end-March to end-October.

This season the carrier will be increasing the following flights:
–       Bangkok-Madrid-Bangkok, from three to four flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Denpasar-Bangkok, from five to seven flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Chongqing-Bangkok, from three to four flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Colombo-Bangkok, from six to seven flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Hyderabad-Bangkok, from four to five flights weekly

Meanwhile, THAI will trim frequencies on these routes:
–       Bangkok-Frankfurt-Bangkok, from six to five flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Copenhagen-Bangkok, from seven to six flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Oslo-Bangkok, from seven to five flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Stockholm-Bangkok, from seven to six flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Zurich-Bangkok, from seven flights to six flights per week
–       Bangkok-Moscow-Bangkok, from six to four flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Brisbane-Bangkok, from seven to five flights weekly
–       Bangkok-Islamabad-Bangkok, from four to three flights weekly

THAI will be suspending these flights:
–       Bangkok-Sendai-Bangkok
–       Copenhagen-Phuket-Copenhagen
–       Stockholm-Phuket-Stockholm
–       Bangkok-Luang Prabang-Bangkok

THOMAS Cook India has acquired India’s Sterling Holiday Resorts in a US$140 million cash and share-swap deal expected to be concluded by 4Q2014.

The deal is subject to statutory approval, after which Sterling will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Thomas Cook.

Madhavan Menon, managing director of Thomas Cook India, commented: “This is a win-win deal for both of us. Thomas Cook will be able to sell Sterling resorts to its own customers.”

Use of the Sterling brand will be discontinued as well, added Menon.

Sterling Holiday’s managing director, Ramesh Ramanathan, said: “With the cash infusion, Sterling will be able to ramp up the number of resorts and renovate the existing ones.”

Business has been sluggish in the vacation ownership segment due to the depressed economic climate. Sterling, which has 19 full-service resorts in 16 destinations in the country and 1,477 apartments, has seen its occupancy levels rise from 16 per cent to 52 per cent in recent years. It has 70,409 members and gets half its business from non-members.

Manoj Bhadola, COO of Worldwide Tour Services New Delhi, said: “The marketing prowess of Thomas Cook will certainly fill up occupancy and help build the resorts according to customer needs and demand.”

TRAVELLERS have opted to stay put along Penang’s most popular beach despite news last week of contaminated headwater in Sungai Batu Ferringhi river.

According to a New Straits Times report today, the Department of Environment Malaysia confirmed yesterday that untreated human waste has been discharged into the waters of the Sungai Batu Ferringhi, resulting in an alarmingly high level of infection-causing e.coli bacteria and pollution of the beachfront.

A massive clean-up since Wednesday has seen numbers plunge, and natural resources and environment minister G Palanivel has not ruled out the role of nearby hotels, residents and eateries in the situation.

Yap Sook Ling, managing director at Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel said: “We have a number of European clients, mainly from the UK, staying in Batu Ferringhi. We have advised them not to go to the beach. We are prepared to relocate them to city hotels if that was what they wished for, but so far there is no such request.”

Diethelm Travel Malaysia has meanwhile sent out an advisory to its overseas partners several days ago to keep them informed of the situation in Batu Ferringhi, and there has not been any cancellations yet.

Said managing director Manfred Kurz: “We sell Penang as a cultural and historical destination and with an opportunity to stay in a beach resort. Swimming in the sea at Batu Ferringhi is not very common due to jellyfish. Guests prefer the hotel swimming pools.”

Ganneesh Ramaa, manager, Luxury Tours Malaysia said immediate action should be taken to clean up the contamination, otherwise tourism in Penang would suffer.

FOREIGN tourist arrivals to Laos in 2013 hit an all-time high of 3.8 million as the country enjoyed a boom in tourism.

According to the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, last year’s arrivals exceeded official targets of 3.4 million for 2013.

Visitors from ASEAN numbered over three million in 2013 or 340,000 more arrivals than in 2012. Figures from the ministry also show an increase of 28,000 arrivals from Europe and 10,000 arrivals each from the Americas and the Middle East.

Ed Pettitt, marketing manager of Buffalo Tours Vietnam, said: “The statistics from the ministry are very positive, and we have personally seen a jump in demand for soft adventure day tours outside of Luang Prabang – going against the trends of previous years. Thus we are developing some new products set to launch in 2014. Our community project, the Seuang River Experience, has proven very popular in 2013.”

Laurent Granier, general manager of Laos Mood Travel, commented: “At present our Western clients do not stay at the same properties as the influx of Korean visitors we are now experiencing, so there is little mix of travel cultures and hence no disruption with differing consumption and behavioral patterns. Though with the diversification of outbound markets, primarily Asian markets with Lao Airlines reaching China and Korea, it is an issue that may arise in the future.”

Laos saw 3.1 million arrivals in 2012, which was a 14 per cent increase over 2011 and the first time the country broke the three million mark.

China was Laos’ top source market in 2012 with 190,000 tourists, but Thailand stole the thunder in 2013 with 1.9 million visitors.

MAKEMYTRIP has parted with US$5 million to acquire and invest in online hotel reservations website EasyToBook.com (ETB), which it expects will enhance its portfolio of products in Europe.

Headquartered in Amsterdam with a technology development team in Herzliya, Israel, ETB offers online hotel reservations in Europe and North America, among other key destinations.

A statement from India’s MakeMyTrip said ETB has “unique front-end web design capabilities” and also “developed proprietary technologies for powering affiliate travel websites as well as dynamic shopping of various travel products”.

“The acquisition of ETB is expected to further strengthen the existing travel technology stack of MakeMyTrip.com and to enhance the international hotel room offerings for customers travelling overseas, particularly to Europe which is a key tourist destination for Indians, and vice versa,” it said.

MYANMAR’S Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) has invited a Singapore consortium back to the negotiating table for the construction and operation of Hanthawaddy airport.

The back-up consortium comprises Singapore-based Yongnam Holdings, Changi Airports International subsidiary Changi Airport Planners and Engineers (CAPE), and Japan’s JGC Corporation.

Win Swe Tun, deputy director general of DCA, said the proposal submitted by the first-choice Incheon Airport consortium had not met DCA requirements, which was when the department decided to ask the Singapore consortium to re-enter negotiations.

However, Win Swe Tun insisted that this would have no bearing on Incheon Airport consortium’s stand in the bidding.

“There is speculation…that the department cancelled Incheon Airport consortium’s (bid). It is totally wrong news. We invited our back-up consortium because the proposal of Incheon Airport consortium didn’t meet our requirements, this is the only reason. So both Incheon and Singaporean consortiums will be considered for the bid,” he said, adding that the process is still ongoing.

The Yongnam-CAPE-JGC consortium had last year submitted a proposal for Hanthawaddy and was subsequently named as back-up tender for the project (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 28, 2014).

Hanthawaddy International Airport, located 77km north of Yangon near Bago, was first mooted for development in the early 1990s but construction ceased in October 23. The facility will have an annual capacity of 10 million passengers when completed.

VIETNAM Airlines is ramping up Hanoi-Fukuoka flights from twice to four times daily, operated with an Airbus A321 aircraft.

The carrier will run the additional services between August 1 to September 29.

Jarrod Stenhouse, executive director of Destination Asia Japan, commented: “As the gateway to the island of Kyushu and the closest major city to mainland Asia, Fukuoka is fast becoming a hub for Asian tourism in Japan. The increase of flights into Fukuoka not only benefits the city but also other destinations on the island such as Nagasaki thanks to the developed rail network.”

On traffic out of Japan, managing director of Asia World Travel Bangkok, Stephen McEvoy, remarked: “The Japanese market is a huge outbound market, with Vietnam becoming ever more popular.

“As well as the proximity and range of attractions, the very conservative Japanese tourists are switching in greater numbers from Thailand to Vietnam due to the ongoing political protests in Bangkok. Hanoi with its cooler climate is seen as a good alternative to the busy (Ho Chi Minh City).”