PLANS for Singapore’s very own motorsports hub ground to a halt yesterday, after the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) announced it would not be holding another round of tender for the 41-hectare site.

The national sports body recently concluded a Request for Information exercise for the motorsports hub project, which saw seven proposals being submitted by six consortia.

However, SSC CEO, Lim Teck Yin, said: “The SSC has decided not to proceed with the re-tender as potential investors had indicated significant combined conditions for the project to be commercially viable, which we cannot accede to.”

These “conditions” include flexibility of lease terms and land use, and tax subsidies or concessions from the government.

“After careful consideration and in consultation with other government agencies, we have decided not to proceed with the re-tender,” Lim said.

In 2010, Japanese-led consortium SG Changi won a S$36 million (US$28.6 milion) bid to construct the Changi Motorsports Hub but ran into financial difficulties and delays a year later, according to local broadsheet The Straits Times.

Consequently, SSC terminated its contract with the consortium in 2012.

Nevertheless, travellers with a passion for motorsports can still get their fix near home – a RM3.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) motorsports hub is scheduled to launch its first phase by 2016 in Johor’s Iskandar region (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 5, 2012).

HONG Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal welcomed its first cruise ship, Royal Caribbean International’s Mariner of the Seas, yesterday evening as the facility officially opened for the first time.

The terminal boasts two berths capable of accommodating cruise ships of up to 220,000 gross tonnes, with the first already completed and the second to be ready in 2014.

Converted from the former Kai Tak Airport, the new facility also consists of a terminal building for customs and immigration, flexible waiting halls that can be used for exhibitions and meetings, and commercial space, as well as a 23,000m² public roof garden to be named Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Park.

The terminal building and park will open to the public in 3Q2013.

According to Hong Kong Tourism Board estimates, the launch of the new terminal will bring about some HK$1.5 billion (US$193.2 million) to HK$2.6 billion yearly in economic benefits and generate between 5,300 to 8,900 jobs by 2023.

Speaking at a media site inspection last week, Hong Kong secretary for commerce and economic development, Gregory So, said that Kai Tak Cruise Terminal was key to developing Hong Kong as a regional cruise hub in Asia and strengthening the SAR’s position in tourism.

“The (cruise terminal) is an important tourism infrastructure project, and is the first completed project within the Kai Tak Development. Together with the two existing berths at Ocean Terminal, the completion of Kai Tak Cruise Terminal will greatly enhance the berthing capacity for cruise ships in Hong Kong, thereby enhancing our competitiveness and attractiveness,” he said.

MALDIVIAN tourism authorities are planning to increase the goods and services tax (GST) on tourism in the coming weeks, a development that would adversely impact hotels and tour operators, say industry insiders.

A bill was presented in the Maldives parliament last week proposing an increase in tourism GST from eight per cent currently to 15 per cent, effective immediately. The tax was first introduced in 2011 at 3.5 per cent when the government sought to raise funds for developmental projects. Taxes were raised to six per cent in 2012 and eight per cent earlier this year.

Adam Mohamed, CEO of the state-owned Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation, confirmed the discussions would continue. “I think the tax will be increased to about 12-13 per cent,” he predicted.

“If there is such a move, it would definitely affect hotels and pricing,” Badr-Eddine Rakmi, sales manager for four Angsana and Banyan Tree properties in the Maldives, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

Shafraz Fazley, managing director of Viluxur Holidays, handles a strong flow of inbound Chinese tourists and predicts that such a change would affect the market “fairly extensively”.

Price is now a crucial factor in the Maldives, with some hotels even offering a 50 per cent discount on rooms, he said.

“White sands, beach weddings and the unique beach island concept are now being offered by Seychelles, Bali and Mauritius at much cheaper rates. The Maldives is no longer the only girl on the beach,” he commented.

Tour operators said either they or hotels would have to absorb any tax increase as contracts have already been finalised for the coming winter season.

Mohamed Ali, general secretary of the Maldivian Association of Yacht Agents, said tax increments should be spaced out rather than introduced without warning and pointed out that the tax hike would likely hit price-sensitive markets like France and the UK.

INDIAN airlines have been given the green light to commence the first direct flights to Myanmar, effective immediately.

Following a series of bilateral talks at World Economic Forum on East Asia 2013 in Naypyidaw last week, Indian commerce and industry minister, Anand Sharma, said Myanmar had granted India’s airlines the right to run services between the two countries.

There are currently no direct flights between India and Myanmar.

So far, SpiceJet has applied for flying rights to connect New Delhi to Yangon, via Dhaka.

Khin Zaw Nichols, managing director, Yangon-based Tour Mandalay, said: “Myanmar is returning to a stable and prominent position vis-a-vis other South-east Asian countries. Opening up connectivity will not only add revenue from tourism and trade, but also open up mutual learning processes and cooperation.”

Seema Ahmed, general manager, Kolkata-based Gainwell Travel & Leisure, said: “Tourism will certainly increase manifold (with the commencement of flights). We expect flights from Kolkata to Yangon to start soon too, as there is trade between these two cities and Kolkata is the nearest gateway for Buddhist pilgrims visiting India.”

India is the 13^th largest source market for Myanmar, sending 16,868 arrivals in 2012, a 2.8 per cent year-on-year increase. Myanmar offers visas on arrival for Indian business travellers.

Meanwhile, progress on the 1,368km trilateral highway spanning Manipur, India to Mae Sot, Thailand through Myanmar, has reached the halfway mark. Construction began in 2010 and the highway is expected to be operational by 2016.

ANOTHER OTA has just burst onto the competitive online travel sector in South-east Asia, this time the Thailand-based HotelTrip.com.

The recently launched HotelTrip.com is focused on hotels and travellers within the South-east Asia region, offering an inventory of 35,000 hotels. Popular countries include the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The OTA offers 24-hour multilingual customer service assistance, a three-step check-out process, a loyalty rewards programme and a booking system that allows multiple room type selection within a single reservation.

“HotelTrip initially started off as an English-language website but due to the high demand and purchasing power of tourists in Asia, we are currently working on applying multilingual channels. Mandarin is our first and foremost priority followed by French, and Spanish,” revealed HotelTrip.com general manager, Bourdin Bruno.

“These languages will be up and running very soon. The feature will soon be functional.”

BEST Western International has opened its first hotel in Kuwait with the Best Western Mahboula, the ninth Best Western hotel in the Middle East.

Situated in the Mahboula area of Kuwait, the hotel features 96 guestrooms and suites.

Guests can make use of the hotel’s facilities such as free Internet access, a swimming pool, gym, Buffalo’s restaurant serving all-day international cuisine, and Quizzino’s snack bar, a lobby lounge and poolside café.

The hotel also comes with two floors of conference and banqueting space, including meeting rooms, ballrooms and a business centre.

Glenn de Souza, vice president of international operations – Asia and the Middle East, said the opening of Best Western Mahboula marked the latest stage in the company’s Middle Eastern expansion plan.

“Last year we debuted in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Oman, as well as returning to Bahrain. Our launch in Kuwait continues this impressive pattern of growth,” he added.