SOUTH Korean convention and exhibition centre, Coex, has started redeveloping its underground mall, which will offer state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly space, and has also started a dedicated international events and marketing team.

The new mall will feature indoor and outdoor space, domestic and global stores, cafes and eateries upon completion in December 2014. Refurbishment works will not affect event and convention facilities.

The largest in Asia, Coex Mall is part of Coex’s business and tourism infrastructure, including three on-site hotels, a city airport terminal, theatre, casino and duty-free shopping tower.

Coex has also rolled out the specialised Coex International Events and Marketing Unit, which will manage the convention centre’s international events, overseas marketing and promotional efforts and render service to PCOs, planners and associations from abroad bringing conventions in.

THE Subic Bay Area is the latest destination in the Philippines to get an integrated resort, which will be completed in four years and developed to the tune of 20 billion pesos (US$462.3 million).

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) signed an agreement with South Korea-owned Resom Resort Philippines for the development of the complex last week.

Under the agreement, the first phase of development will see the construction of a 300-room luxury hotel, convention facilities, a pool, spa, restaurants and other support facilities.

The plans are to complete the first phase in time for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in November 2015.

The second phase will include the construction of more hotels, condominiums, a theme park, luxury pool villas, a casino and gaming operations, a water park, spa, health and wellness centre, duty-free shopping facilities and a championship golf course.

SBMA chairman and administrator, Roberto V Garcia, said the new project would be a great tourist attraction that would draw millions more local and international visitors to the Subic Bay Freeport and establish it as one of the country’s major tourism destinations.

“This hopefully will contribute substantially to the country’s tourism campaign,” he added.

Resom owns and operates four world-class resorts in South Korea, namely Ocean Castle, Resom Waterpark and Spa, and the Forest Villa Resort, as well as a championship golf course and resort in Weihai, China.

AIRASIA will be beefing up its number of Indonesian services to eight with today’s announcement that the LCC would commence twice-weekly Singapore-Medan and daily Singapore-Surabaya flights on July 1.

This follows AirAsia’s declaration earlier this month that it would launch Singapore-Makassar services in July (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 4).

AirAsia joins other airlines in aggressive route expansion to Indonesia, including SIA (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 8, 2013), Tiger Airways (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 7, 2013) and SilkAir (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 3, 2013).

Logan Velaitham, CEO, AirAsia in Singapore, said: “We (have observed) very strong demand from both leisure and business travellers into these destinations and the opportunity to grow the Indonesian market is huge.”

On what set AirAsia apart from other airlines, Velaitham said that besides cost, the airline was looking into enhancing the customer’s travel experience.

“Besides air tickets, we want to offer unique products to them too. So, for instance, we are working with boutique hotels in Bali, which will give (customers) something different.”

Dharmadi, CEO, Indonesia AirAsia, also highlighted the Indonesian market’s strong demand for Singapore. “Many (Indonesians) fly to Singapore for business or weekend getaways with friends and family.”

Indonesia AirAsia currently contributes approximately 20 per cent of total Indonesia traffic to Singapore Changi Airport.

“We definitely see ourselves adding more routes and frequencies, and look forward to increasing our share in this market to play a significant role in strengthening the bilateral ties between Indonesia and Singapore,” said Dharmadi.

To mark the introduction of the new routes, AirAsia has rolled out promotional fares beginning at S$65 (US$52) for a one-way ticket to Surabaya and S$60 to Medan. Bookings must be made by June 23 for the travel period July 1 to September 30.

INSIGHT Vacations has witnessed strong growth in South-east Asian bookings for winter vacations over the last few years, and expects a 20 per cent year-on-year rise for 2013’s season.

Sheryl Lim, regional director, Asia, Insight Vacations, said the company had received bookings for almost 2,000 passengers from the region for winter programmes last year.

“Travellers from our top three markets – Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia – are looking for unique experiences. Our European winter itineraries for central Europe, which are from late November until the week before Christmas, gives travellers a chance to shop and purchase unique Christmas decorations, locally-made Christmas handicrafts and to try local food.”

Based on previous years, Lim anticipates top-selling winter itineraries for this year include Insight’s seven-day programme covering Prague, Vienna and Budapest.

Insight Vacations recently launched two new European itineraries and five India, Nepal and Bhutan itineraries for the coming winter season.

Travellers who make full payment for land tours before August 31 will enjoy early-bird savings of up to 7.5 per cent the total cost per person.

ACCOR has padded up its Indonesia portfolio with the opening of Amarterra Villas Bali Nusa Dua within the Bali Tourism Development Corporation complex in Nusa Dua.

The new-built, all-villa property is the third Indonesian and second Bali hotel to become a member of Accor’s MGallery Collection, where it is categorised under the Serenity theme. The two other themes are Signature and Heritage.

Pascal Bellon, general manager, Amarterra Villas Bali Nusa Dua, said: “The opening of these…villas in Bali offers upscale guests unprecedented levels of privacy, five-star hospitality and a sense of ‘serenity’. Combining contemporary comforts with respect to the environment, the resort is inspired by the daily life of a traditional Balinese village.”

Amarterra comes from the words ‘amarta’ for water and ‘terra’ meaning earth, reflecting how these two elements combine to allow guests to relax in Bali’s natural surroundings. The hotel’s architecture was influenced by 13^th century Majapahit Kingdom designs, when Javanese culture had a strong influence in Bali.

The resort has 39 villas, with one, two or three bedrooms.

Each villa is equipped with a state-of-the-art entertainment system, open lounges, a dining area, a private swimming pool and gazebo.

Resort-wide facilities include Terra Terrace restaurant and bar, the Amarterra Spa, an outdoor swimming pool, a beach club, a gym, boutique shop and gallery, and a meeting room.

The resort is offering opening packages until August 7, with rates starting from Rp3,024,000 (US$305) per villa per night including breakfast and free Wi-Fi access.

LANGHAM Hospitality Group is set to debut Langham Place, Haining next year.

The hotel, which will offer 266 guestrooms and suites upon opening, is located in the city centre of Haining within an integrated complex featuring a retail shopping centre, commercial offices and residential apartments.

Haining itself is located at the south of the Yangtze River delta, a 90-minute drive to Shanghai and an hour’s drive to Hangzhou.

Langham Place, Haining will come with an all-day dining restaurant, a lounge and bar, and a fine-dining restaurant inspired by the Michelin-starred Ming Court at Langham Place, Hong Kong.

Guests can also make use of the Chuan Spa, which includes six private treatment rooms, a Contemplation Lounge, an indoor swimming pool and a fitness centre.

For planners, Langham Place, Haining’s meeting and event facilities include a 900m², pillarless grand ballroom, 300m² junior ballroom, eight multi-function rooms of 45-100m², as well as a 3,000m² ceremonial hall in the landscaped Wedding Park along the river.

MALAYSIAN outbound group travel to Australia’s state of Victoria has given way to a larger FIT segment, creating a fertile market for the trade.

Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Marketing interim CEO, Julie Sampson, told TTG Asia e-Daily during the Melbourne Style on Show in Malaysia: “The FIT market from Malaysia started growing after AirAsia X launched flights between Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne in late 2008.

“It opened up a new wave of travel. They (travellers) don’t pre-book everything from their travel consultant anymore. FIT travellers tend to do their research from websites and book day tours when they arrive at the destination.”

Gray Line Australia’s sales and marketing manager, Glen Driver, said: “A large part of our FIT business today are Asians, with Malaysians being a big part of it, thanks to AirAsia X services from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne. Three to four years ago, our clients were mainly New Zealanders, Americans and Europeans.”

He noted that Asian FITs were inclined towards experiential activities such as helicopter rides, wine and gourmet tours, while also visiting tried-and-tested attractions.

On how her company targets this new segment, Sampson said they “educate the trade to keep their websites updated and to include day tour programmes on their websites”.

The Puffing Billy Railway marketing manager, Nadine Hutchins, said travellers would be able to experience driving a train after the relaunch of the refurbished Climax Locomotive this September. The company advertises its offerings in the Melbourne Official Visitor Guide, and works with inbound tour operators in Australia to get bookings.

Malaysia is Victoria’s fifth-largest tourism market and generated 94,000 visitors for the year ending March 2013, an eight per cent year-on-year rise. Growth is forecast at 4.7 per cent annually until 2022.

Melbourne Style on Show in Malaysia is a super trade mission to South-east Asia, uniting 445 delegates and 315 Victoria sellers over two days. Tourism Victoria is also due to take the event to Singapore and Indonesia.

SRI Lanka, hoping to double accommodation capacity on the island, is actively encouraging local families to open their homes to foreign visitors – and earn money in the process.

The government is dangling several incentives, including a grant of up to one million Sri Lankan rupees (US$7,800) to match any investment homestay operators make in upgrading their product.

Locals can also avail of free training and advice from accountants, architects, marketers on housekeeping, cooking and free publicity offered through the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority’s new programme launched last week.

Anura Lokuhetty, deputy chairman and CEO, Serene Pavilions boutique hotel, said homestays and community tourism were positive ways to bridge the demand-supply gap for accommodation and could add another 1,000 to 1,500 rooms to inventory.

The hospitality veteran also pointed out that the homestay concept provided visitors the opportunity to get a feel of the local culture and people, and live like a local.

Nilmin Nanayakkara, managing director, Nkar Tours & Travels, said community tourism helped the economic benefits of tourism trickle down to the villages. Homestays would be attractive to university students, backpackers and travellers seeking a different experience.

“We handle the Scandinavian inbound market where many clients are university students and they would love this cost-effective (option),” he commented. But he cautioned that Sri Lanka needed “good-quality homes”.

Homestay prices begin at US$20 per night inclusive of breakfast, compared to other forms of accommodation that charge upwards of US$40. About 160 homes with two to four rooms each are listed on the Sri Lanka Tourism website for homestays. The country aims to attract 2.5 million visitors by 2016, five times the 500,000 arrivals in 2009.