VISTAJET Holding, a Zurich-based, non-scheduled business jet operator, is in talks with the Indian government to start domestic operations in the country.

VistaJet founder and chairman, Thomas Flohr, said in a statement: “VistaJet will continue to increase international flights to and from India, as there is strong demand for these services. Once the company gains critical mass, we will move forward, offering domestic flight services within India, as we did in Russia, Nigeria and China.”

VistaJet has been operating international flights to and from India for the last one year. In 2012, it operated 180 flights to and from the country.

Flohr added that VistaJet expects Indian clients worldwide to contribute to 10 per cent of the company’s revenue. In India, the company will start with three aircraft.

VistaJet CCO, Ian Moore, said: “No one else in the private business aviation sector is taking delivery of brand-new aircraft at the rate we are, nor is anyone more committed to maintaining the youngest fleet in the skies. VistaJet aircraft carried 21,000 passengers last year to 874 destinations.”

This initiative comes at a time when Indian business jet operators face scrutiny and possible penal action for non-compliance with safety practices. DGCA banned all non-scheduled international flights on August 21 as an outcome of an ongoing audit by International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), unless they adhered to a new certification manual that meets ICAO standards.

INDONESIA’S Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is encouraging the country’s regional destinations to develop new ideas and land excursions to attract more cruise calls.

Rizki Handayani, director of MICE and special interest marketing, said: “We are working with the regional tourism stakeholders to come up with new products and revitalise existing products to attract more cruise calls.”

As part of product development, Rizki said her office has been visiting destinations like Sabang, West Sumatra, Bali and Central Java to conduct some workshops.

“In Sabang, for example, the port is ready but not the excursions. The potential is there.”

She said the deployment of international cruise ships in line with the opening of Singapore’s new cruise terminal provided new opportunities to develop cruise tourism in Indonesia further.

Rizki said the cruise sector this year has experienced the highest growth so far, with over 40 per cent increase in the number of calls and passengers. The total number of calls this year is 309 calls, contributing 159,578 passengers.

“Promotion wise, we are participating in trade exhibitions such as Cruise Shipping Miami. We also have sales missions, fam trips and a website on cruises.

“Internally, we have been working together with related government agencies, and fostering the development and improvement of ports in Indonesia to gradually meet the requirement of international cruise lines,” she said.

The ministry is also member of Cruise Down Under Association, promoting Indonesia in Australia and New Zealand.

THE US is battling an ice storm which has hit much of the country since Saturday, resulting in flight cancellations, several deaths and power outages from Texas to Tennessee.

Just the Dallas-Fort worth area saw 3cm of sleet and freezing rain, which prompted the cancellation of the Dallas Marathon, among other events, yesterday.

Flight cancellations at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport forced thousands of travellers to sleep on cots overnight, reported The Straits Times.

Virginia is bracing for the storm, which is predicted to spread eastwards to the state and up to New England till today, according to the Singapore broadsheet.

Across the country, flight-tracking company FlightStats reported more than 1,700 flights have been cancelled and another 2,115 delayed.

HAVING reopened in 2011 after a major revamp, heritage hotel Royal Ambarrukmo Yogyakarta is now setting its sights farther, launching a Japanese language website, an Eat, Pray, Love in Jogjakarta promotional video and a new ballroom.

The hotel’s general manager, Sudarsana, said the launch of the Japanese version of www.royalambarrukmo.com is a means to reach out to the market, adding that efforts to generate business from overseas has materialised this year, with groups from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the US.

“For next year, we have bookings from at least 40 groups,” he revealed.

The promotional video highlights the hotel’s services based on Jogjakarta’s royal tradition, while the new Kasultanan Ballroom for up to 2,000 guests for a standing reception is the biggest hotel ballroom in the city.

The hotel’s director for sales and marketing, Bagus Dewa, said: “MICE is an important market for the hotel, contributing 30 per cent of the hotel’s business. The ballroom was built not only to meet the demand for this market, but also that of the city.

“There is actually a high demand for big meeting, convention and social function (venues) here in Jogjakarta. Since the new ballroom started operation in September, it has been utilised for around 20 days per month and we have four medical and pharmaceutical company conventions for next year in the book.”

On the leisure front, the hotel’s travel agency and FIT markets contribute to 18 and 20 per cent of the business respectively, while three per cent are inbound business.

The hotel’s other facilities include The Kraton Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 1,000 pax, and 17 meeting rooms for 30-150 pax in theatre style.

ASCOTT is scheduled to launch 57 properties in Asia, Europe and the Gulf region over the next few years, with an aim to reach 40,000 apartment units worldwide by 2015.

The company will open new properties in the key gateway cities of China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

This year, Ascott has added 22 properties with more than 3,700 apartment units to its portfolio, entering into cities such as Hefei, Nanjing and Wuxi in China, Gurgaon in India, Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and Sri Racha in Thailand.

Ascott has recently crossed the 10,000-apartment-unit milestone in China to become the country’s largest international serviced residence owner-operator with 56 properties across 20 cities. The company is targeting 12,000 apartment units in China by 2015.

Besides ongoing refurbishment for its properties in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Ascott has begun offering free Internet access this year. It has also introduced new web and mobile booking features to facilitate bookings for its properties, enabling customers to perform a multi-city, multi-property or multi-apartment booking within a single reservation process.

THE European Quartet – comprising Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia – has come together to promote the four countries as one tourist destination in India with a series of road shows conducted in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi earlier this month.

The “European Quartet – One Melody” joint marketing strategy stems from the cultural and historical similarities as well as the good road, rail and air connectivity between these four countries, revealed Emilia Kubik, project leader – department of marketing planning, Poland Tourism Organisation in a press statement.

“Czech Republic is very famous worldwide for its culinary offerings, especially for its beer. There has also been a significant rise in MICE tourism in Prague in the past few years,” said Klára Vysloužilová, marketing and communications manager for international markets, Czech Tourism Board. “Hence, our primary concentration will be on these segments.”

Hungary will promote its MICE, educational and leisure offerings through fam trips and study tours for the Indian travel trade, according to Krisztina Bacsa, international market development manager, Hungarian National Tourist Office. She added: “We will also open a consulate to facilitate visa issuance in Mumbai next year.”

Tatjana Radovic, congress manager, Ljubljana Convention Bureau, said: “India is a high potential country for outbound congresses. We can combine post tours to neighbouring countries including Croatia and Austria to make the destination offering more attractive.”

Welcoming the Europe Quartet’s interest to woo Indian travellers, Anil Guptaa, director of Mumbai-based Anjali Travel & Tours, said: “Eastern Europe has elicited good interest, especially to Prague and Budapest in the last two to three years. The leisure numbers have doubled each year and we expect exponential growth from 2014 onwards. The multi-country itineraries are proving attractive.”

FROM December 26, 2013, Tigerair will launch three flights every fortnight from Singapore to Ningbo in China’s Zhejiang province, the only airline to offer direct services between the two cities.

Ningbo will become the Singapore-based carrier’s eighth Greater China destination, in addition to Guangzhou, Haikou, Hong Kong, Lijiang, Macau, Shenzhen and Taipei.

According to the Tigerair press release, free bus shuttle services will be available from December 27, 2013 between Ningbo Lishe International Airport and the East Railway Station, connecting travellers to bullet train services to and from Beijing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wenzhou and Xiamen.

Tigerair chief commercial officer, Alexander Knigge, commented: “Ningbo’s reliable and affordable connectivity offered by rail or car to nearby cities opens up new possibilities for planning a clever holiday itinerary spanning a few key Chinese cities.”

Tigerair has rolled out a slew of new destinations in recent months. Besides starting services to Lijiang, Chiang Mai, Langkawi and Lombok in 4Q2013 (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 11, 2013), the LCC will commence four weekly flights from Singapore to Malé on January 24, 2014.