THE Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is gearing up to enrol more high net worth individuals into its membership privilege scheme, the Thailand Elite Card, in order to encourage repeat visits and grow visitor expenditure.

TAT representatives from Russia and Asia-Pacific convened last week for a briefing on the revised scheme, ahead of a global relaunch to take place this month.

The NTO expects 1,300 new members in the year following the relaunch and will target China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Russia, South-east Asia and Commonwealth countries in its latest offensive.

Briefings for TAT representatives in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the US will be conducted later in June.

Under the scheme, members are eligible for a five-year multiple-entry visa to Thailand and may stay for up to a year each time. Cardholders will also enjoy Thailand Elite Personal Assistance at Suvarnabhumi Airport and Phuket Airport, including a fast-track immigration channel, airport transfers on BMW Series 7 limousines and 24-hour call centre access for assistance.

Furthermore, they can enjoy the use of five-star golf and spa facilities up to 24 times a year.

New members are required to pay a down payment of two million baht (US$65,600) and an annual fee of 20,000 baht for a 20-year validity period.

Suraphon Svetasreni, governor, TAT, and chairman of the board, Thailand Privilege Card, said: “The Thailand Elite Card will go a long way towards helping TAT raise the level of visitor arrivals to new heights. It will certainly be good for our luxury hotels, boutique properties, shopping malls and the many niche-market products that we are now focusing on.”

CAPELLA Hotel Group will open the sustainability-focused Rimba Jimbaran Bali within Ayana Resort and Spa Bali in September this year.

The eight-hectare property will debut its 297 rooms on Ayana’s 77-hectare grounds, which overlooks Jimbaran Bay and is located 12km from Bali’s airport.

Rimba translates to “forest” in Bahasa Indonesia and reflects the hotel’s focus on sustainability, incorporated through elements such as: a rainwater harvesting and water recycling plant; lobby made of recycled wood from old fishing boats and driftwood; maximised usage of natural light within the hotel; handmade-brick walls; and furniture constructed from recycled materials, etc.

Guests can also avail of Rimba’s other facilities such as its main pool, children’s pool, Kids Club, cooking school, Thermes Marins Spa services at Rimba’s six rooftop treatment rooms, free Wi-Fi and shuttle bus services linking the Rimba lobby, Ayana lobby, spa, villa lobby and the private white sand Kubu Beach.

F&B options within the hotel include Chinese restaurant Ah-Yat Abalone, rooftop bar Unique, all-day cuisine and gourmet bakery at To’ge and pool bar.

To mark its upcoming opening, Rimba Jimbaran Bali is rolling out an introductory offer for all bookings received before December 22. Travellers who book direct will receive discounted rates on benefits such as daily buffet breakfast, Balinese massage for two and US$50 resort credit per room.

IATA member airlines have passed a resolution to deal with the aviation industry’s carbon emissions through the proposed establishment of a single market-based measure.

At its 69^th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Cape Town last Sunday, IATA voted for a resolution that outlines procedures for the creation of a market-based measure, for which a single, mandatory carbon offset scheme was thought to be the most direct and effective. It also stated that the measure would form part of a package to achieve the industry’s carbon-neutral growth.

The association also noted that the measure should be aimed at delivering “real emissions reductions, not revenue generation for governments”.

IATA director general and CEO, Tony Tyler, said: “For governments, finding agreement on market-based measures will not be easy. It was difficult enough for the airlines, given the potential financial implications. Bridging the very different circumstances of fast-growing airlines in emerging markets and those in more mature markets required a flexible approach and mutual understanding. But sustainability is aviation’s licence to grow.

“This industry agreement should help to relieve the political gridlock on this important issue and give governments momentum and a set of tools as they continue their difficult deliberations.”

Member airlines also showed support for IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) initiative and passenger rights resolution at the AGM.

In passing the resolution on the NDC, members agreed to support the development of an open, XML-based distribution standard for data exchange between airlines and travel consultants. It was also decided that industry players can choose whether or not to adopt NDC for their distribution needs and that IATA would continue to support the existing legacy standard while demand for it exists.

The association also endorsed a resolution containing core principles for governments to consider when adopting consumer protection regulation, including ensuring passengers have access to information concerning flights etc, and assistance for passengers with reduced mobility, among others.

THE first seaplane service in Kerala is off to a flying start, with four more seaplane operators expected to launch such services by 4Q2013, connecting state cities to its extensive network of backwaters.

Kerala tourism minister, A P Anilkumar, said: “Seaplane services will allow tourists to travel from Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Mangalore to several points in the backwaters like Alleppey, Kollam, Allapuzha, Kasargode and Ernakulam. Water dromes with floating jetties (for seaplane landings), have been built.”

Tourists can now travel between destinations and access the destinations and hotels located along Kerala’s backwaters without relying on the state’s roads, which are patchy in places.

Air Travel Enterprises chairman, EM Najeeb, said the new means of transport would “up the quotient for higher-end tourist inflow and allow quicker and more scenic transfers”, and enhance Kerala’s image as a “special place to visit”.

Kerala Seaplane Services is one of four seaplane operators slated to begin service later this year. It plans to commence business on August 1, after the monsoon season, and offers three 10-seater and one four-seater planes for transport and charter rentals.

It also intends to sell packages for transfers, including a City Joyride package traversing Kochi-Trivandrum-Calicut-Alleppey, a 20-minute ride at Rs3,000 (US$53) per pax.

PHUKET and its neighbouring islands will see a rush of increases in air capacity over the coming months as both LCCs and full-service airlines launch new flights and ramp up existing frequencies.

Shanghai-based LCC Spring Airlines will launch thrice-weekly flights from Shanghai Pudong International Airport using Airbus A320 aircraft on June 26. Phuket will be Spring Airlines’ second Thai destination after Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi.

Malaysia Airlines launched an additional daily service on the Kuala Lumpur-Phuket route on June 1. The route was hitherto served 19 times a week and is now run 26 times instead, injecting 1,162 seats per week in each direction.

More capacity injection can be expected when the winter schedule comes into effect in late October 2013. Aeroflot, which normally starts a thrice-weekly seasonal service linking Moscow-Sheremetyevo and Phuket from Christmas Day, will this year bring forward its commencement to October 27.

An Airbus 330-300 will be operated from October 27 to December 24, after which the larger Boeing 777-300ER will be deployed.

THAI Smile will also be adding services from Phuket in the winter 2013 season. The Phuket-Delhi route will be served four times weekly, up from the current twice-weekly operation.

Phuket-Kuala Lumpur services will be increased from the current four times weekly to daily, while Phuket-Mumbai will receive a three-times-weekly service – up from the current twice-weekly schedule.

DESPITE already having four properties in the pipeline, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and Philippine property giant SM Hotels & Conventions have begun charting further expansion plans, particularly for the mid-scale Park Inn by Radisson brand.

“Four is only the start and we are currently working with SM in identifying additional locations throughout the country (to develop new properties),” said Lyle Lewis, vice president-Philippines and Japan, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

The Park Inn by Radisson brand is targeted at MICE and domestic travellers, and four are currently in the works, one each in Clark (to open in 2014), Quezon City, Bacolod City and Iloilo.

Carlson Rezidor presently manages the five-star Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu and Park Inn by Radisson Davao. Besides the Park Inn by Radisson brand, the group is also eager to open a second Radisson Blu hotel in the country.

“A priority with Carlson Rezidor is to get the Radisson Blu brand into Manila as we see it as a natural extension to (Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu),” said Lewis, who is also the general manager of the latter.

He said that Carlson’s partnership with SM Hotels & Conventions “positions (Carlson Rezidor) well to meet the demands of the expanding market”.

“The local developer’s strategy is to build hotels near convention centres in areas where there are also SM department stores,” he added.

AIRASIA will launch four-times-weekly Singapore-Makassar flights on July 1 to meet market demand for the route, bringing AirAsia’s Indonesian destinations to six.

The service operates on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, leaving Singapore at 10.45 and reaching Makassar at 13.15. Flights out of Makassar to Singapore run on the same days, leaving Makassar at 07.40 and arriving in Singapore at 10.10.

“Our strong record in passenger (numbers) flown so far has proven that Indonesia is a strong market for us and we look forward to signing up more direct routes there to meet our customers’ demands,” said Logan Velaitham, CEO, AirAsia in Singapore.

To mark the introduction of the new route, AirAsia has rolled out promotional fares. One-way air tickets from Singapore to Makassar start from S$65 (US$52) for the travel period July 1 to August 15, and are available for booking now until June 16.

Early last month, SilkAir announced that it would commence thrice-weekly flights from Singapore to Semarang on July 29, and thrice-weekly Singapore-Makassar flights on August 1 (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 3, 2013).

ASCOTT will debut two new serviced residences in Jeddah early next year, having secured management contracts for Citadines Tahlia Jeddah and Citadines Al Salamah Jeddah.

The two contracts add 1,500 serviced apartment units to Ascott’s Gulf portfolio and are awarded by the Abdul Samad Al Qurashi Group, a Saudi Arabia-based conglomerate with operations in the region.

The 166-unit Citadines Tahlia Jeddah is located along Tahlia Street and close to many MNCs and Le Mall, a prominent shopping centre. It offers a range of studio to two-bedroom apartments.

The 136-unit Citadines Al Salamah Jeddah is situated north of Jeddah, 15 minutes away from the King Abdulaziz International Airport and close to Iceland Theme Park and Stationary Fantasies Water Park. Residents can choose from either a studio or one-bedroom apartment.

Apartment units at both serviced residences come with fully-furnished kitchens, living and dining areas and home entertainment systems. Other amenities include a residents’ lounge, café and gym.

Sym Lee, head for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Ascott, said Jeddah was “poised to be one of the region’s key cities for commerce”.

“Jeddah is also a popular destination for domestic and foreign leisure travellers. For the many Muslims pilgrims, Jeddah acts as the gateway city to the two holy cities, Mecca and Medina…We are confident that both Citadines Tahlia Jeddah and Citadines Al Salamah Jeddah will perform well in the market and they will pave the way for more Citadines serviced residences in the region.”

Ascott had last month unveiled the Ascott Olaya Riyadh, which is scheduled to open in 2015 (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 21, 2013).

SINGAPORE welcomed the largest ship to homeport in Asia over the weekend, when Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) Mariner of the Seas made its maiden call at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on Saturday.

This marked the start of the 3,807-pax Mariner of the Seas’ Asian season in Singapore with three cruises of three to 10 nights to Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Shanghai.

The ship also replaces the 2,076-pax Legend of the Seas, which completed her Asian deployment in April (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 14, 2012).

Jennifer Yap, managing director, RCI (Singapore), said: “There is tremendous potential in the Asia market because the penetration rate for Asia is the lowest compared to Europe and North America.”

“If you see the Asian market as a whole, it is still in its infancy because a large majority (of Asians) have yet to board a cruise ship before. So by establishing greater presence in Asia, we aim to attract all these passengers onboard.”

Asians comprise 10 per cent of the cruise line’s passengers, with about 200,000 customers a year, with China and Singapore being the strongest regional source markets.

Mariner of the Seas offers a variety of Asian cuisine and visual entertainment programmes like acrobatic performances.

Unique onboard amenities and programmes include the 900-seat ice-skating rink, a full-sized sports court, in-line skating track, rock-climbing wall, mini-golf course, three-tier theatre, themed bars and lounges as well as a mezzanine split level nightclub. The DreamWorks parade stars characters from popular cartoons Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, with whom cruisers can interact.

From November 2013 to March 2014, Mariner of the Seas will return again to Singapore to offer a series of South-east Asian cruises.