JUST 18 months into operation, Jetstar Japan has served three million passengers, becoming Japan’s fastest-growing airline.

The airline’s milestone was achieved in a year that has seen Japan’s domestic passenger air traffic increase for the first time in six years.

Jetstar Japan CEO, Miyuki Suzuki, said the Japanese aviation market is going through a positive period of growth.

“It is exciting to see the transformational effect low-cost carriers are bringing to Japan. Not only is Jetstar Japan growing but we are helping to stimulate overall market growth with record passengers now through ports such as Tokyo (Narita) and Shin Chitose (New Chitose in Hokkaido).

Separately, Jetstar has also announced its commencement of direct services from Melbourne to Tokyo Narita from April 2014, subject to government approval.

Melbourne Airport CEO, Chris Woodruff, said the new service will provide an important link for Victoria’s business and export industries to one of Australia’s largest trading partners.

“Japan is also a significant market for Victoria’s education and tourism industries. As a growing holiday destination, it’s great news for those leisure passengers heading to the popular ski slopes as they will no longer be required to make an unnecessary stopover,” said Woodruff.

“Despite having to make a stopover, over the last 12 months the number of people travelling between Victoria and Japan has grown by 10 per cent to reach 150,000, making Melbourne the fastest growing Japanese market across eastern Australia.”

ACCOR will be opening 17 hotels across Indonesia, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Makassar, next year and at least 11 more in 2015.

With 73 hotels and 14,366 rooms expected to be operating in the country by year-end, the group is closer to achieving its target of running at least 100 hotels with 20,000 rooms by 2015.

With this expansion, Accor intends to strengthen its presence in the luxury and upscale hotel market in Indonesia.

In a press conference in Jakarta yesterday, Gerard Guillouet, senior vice president for Accor Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, said: “This year marks the entry of Accor’s luxury brand with Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua, which opened briefly to host the heads of states during the APEC Summit in October and will be fully opened this month.”

In the upscale segment, three Pullman properties will be under construction in the next three years, adding to the existing three in Jakarta and Bali.

Guillouet said: “This year marks a year full of record-breaking expansion for Indonesia. Accor has opened 18 new properties, from upscale to budget, bringing the hotel network to 73 properties in 24 cities by the end of the year.

“This is also a record-breaking year of contract signing. As at end-November, 71 new contracts have been signed to open (new properties) over the next three or four years.”

Accor also recorded five management takeovers this year, with The Royal Surakarta Heritage (Solo), MGallery Amarterra Villas Nusa Dua (Bali), Grand Angkasa Medan, Manado Tateli Beach Resort, and The Hills Bukittinggi now being managed by the group.

QATAR Airways will likely be able to increase soon its weekly capacity to India, where it is hoping to go up from 24,800 to 72,600 seats.

The airline has almost exhausted current capacity, while Indian carriers combined have only utilised 10,000 seats weekly.

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) announced in a statement: “Qatar would be the next country with whom we will revise the bilateral air service agreement; we are just negotiating the final number for the enhancement in weekly seats, which will be finalised soon.”

This will place Doha ahead of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in terms of capacity to India. Based on an earlier amendment in 2013 of bilateral traffic rights, Abu Dhabi’s weekly seat capacity is set to reach 50,000 by 2015. Currently, Dubai garners 54,000 seats weekly, making Emirates the second largest carrier of Indian travellers.

Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker told TTG Asia e-Daily: “India is an integral part of our expansion plans. We will take as many seats as we can – no limit. We have sufficient aircraft in our fleet and more in the pipeline.”

Sejoe Jose, managing director, Marvel Tours, said: “Qatar’s increase in capacity will allow greater connectivity not only to the MENA (Middle East/North Africa) region but also to destinations in Europe and North America.

“IATA’s 70th Annual General Meeting and World Transport Summit will be held in Doha from June 1-3, 2014, with 700 aviation attendees. It will transform Doha into a global aviation hub.” The new Hamad International Airport is also scheduled to open its passenger-handling facility in 1Q2014.

According to a MoCA official, China, Dubai and Bahrain have also sought greater seat entitlement. Decisions on those countries’ applications will be made after the agreement with Qatar is finalised.

THE East African Community comprising of Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi is finalising plans for a single-destination visa for tourists to the region, scheduled to be effective 4Q2014.

East Africa’s tourism industry has been struggling with an expensive image, where visa fees for a family of four can cost US$1,000 if visiting all five member countries.

Such added costs are seen as a hurdle to promoting cross-region safari packages, and while Kenya currently permits re-entry after obtaining an initial visa when visiting other countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi or Tanzania, none of the other countries are offering the same option.

Secretary general of the East African Community, Richard Sezibera, said: “This is one among a wide range of measures being undertaken jointly to attract visitors and investors to the region. We are fast-tracking the transposition of national laws that contradict the Common Market spirit.

“We are upgrading the current 8,100km railway network, in addition to extending it to other parts of East Africa. An additional 5,000km is expected in the near future.”

Uganda’s tourism minister, Maria Mutagamba, highlighted: “We need more airlines and airports. The majority of our visitors are ecotourists, yet it takes six hours to drive from Kampala to Bwindi or Kidepo (national park).”

Until now, a tourist would have to pay US$150-200 in visa fees. This will initially be cut to just one visa fee, valid for three countries, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda.

Trade sources estimate a common 90-day visa at U$100 for all three countries irrespective of number of entries and exits across the borders. Burundi and Tanzania are expected to join the alliance soon.

Rica Rwigamba, in-charge for tourism and conservation, Rwanda Development Board, said: “It is easier to market the block as a single destination. It means having features like the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, Maasai Mara in Kenya and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, among others, all on one menu.”

Phyillis Kandie, cabinet secretary, commerce and tourism, East African Affairs, Kenya, said: “Tourism contributes 12 per cent to the country’s GDP and nine per cent to total employment. We are resolved to enhance products and service delivery to ensure arrivals double by 2017.”

THAI Smile will launch a direct service between Bangkok and Luang Prabang in Laos on December 15.

THAI Smile will operate four roundtrip flights weekly from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport to Luang Prabang on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday via Airbus A320-200 aircraft.

TG 2576 will depart Bangkok at 09.25 to arrive in Luang Prabang at 11.00, while TG 2577 will depart Luang Prabang at 11.50 to land in Bangkok at 13.25.

THAI Smile is offering promotional tickets for roundtrip travel on the new route in Smile Class, with prices starting from 7,300 baht (US$227), including taxes and surcharges. Tickets are valid for 14 days and cannot be used for travel during December 27-31, 2013.

SINGAPOREAN and Malaysian travellers select their destinations based on local food experiences, according to travel site Wego’s recent snap poll.

For almost 60 per cent of 300 Singaporean and Malaysian travellers polled, food influences their decision on where to go.

Interestingly, all male respondents said they would select travel destinations based on culinary offerings, while 74 per cent of the women denied that food made a difference to their choices.

Wego’s market development manager for Singapore and Malaysia, David Lai, said: “Clearly, Singaporean and Malaysian men consider food a pivotal and significant part of the overall travel experience.

“In our region which is already so historically and culturally diverse, we appear to have an understanding of how food represents those cultures in its own unique way, and we as travellers tend to take that with us in our exploration of the world at large.”

Leading the top culinary destination choices are Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Europe.

Age is apparently also a factor when it comes to food tourism. Almost all of those over the age of 35, which made up 51 per cent of the respondents, said they would holiday based on food.

“Travellers under the age of 34 are not surprisingly driven by other factors to travel, although 15 per cent of those between 25 and 34 did say that food could be a factor in their choices,” said Lai.