AIMING to lure one million South-east Asian visitors to its shores this year, Japan is stepping up efforts to grow regional arrivals with the launch of the first Japan-ASEAN Travel Mart 2013.

A collaboration between the Japan Tourism Agency and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the mart will gather over 100 buyers from South-east Asia and key tourism officials, hotels, tour operations and attraction facilitators from Japan.

As part of the event, buyers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam were invited to take part in fam trips to Japanese destinations such as Hokkaido, Chubu, Shikoku or Kyushu from May 11-16. A gala dinner will take place on May 16, followed by inbound business meeting sessions the next day.

A Muslim Tourism Seminar is also scheduled to take place on May 17, covering market trends on Muslim travellers from Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as topics such as halal food. Over 150 Japanese stakeholders are expected.

The country has been on a drive to promote itself to Muslim travellers. A delegation from Kansai visited the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents headquarters in February to promote travel to the region (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 20, 2013) , while JNTO released a guidebook for Muslim travellers in March (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 19, 2013).

As of March 31, Japan has seen 200,000 arrivals from South-east Asia, said JNTO.

ACCOR’S upmarket Pullman brand has made its debut in Phuket with the opening of Pullman Phuket Arcadia.

Situated on Naithon Beach, the 277-key resort is located less than 15 minutes from the airport.

The resort boasts a range of F&B options: Elements for all-day fusion dining; Vero for Italian cuisine; The Deli for pastries; lobby lounge C Bar; main pool bar Azur Bar; and the family-centric Float Bar. Other facilities include the Fit Lounge and a spa.

Meeting planners can make use of Pullman Phuket Arcadia’s 389m² Arcadia Ballroom in addition to the property’s five meeting rooms and six outdoor function spaces, capable of hosting groups anywhere from 10 to 600 in size. The resort also has a dedicated events manager and IT solutions manager for event support.

“The Pullman brand is at the core of Accor’s upscale expansion plans and we are very proud to finally introduce this brand to Phuket. Pullman has been very successful in Asia, especially in Thailand where this resort will be the fifth Pullman property in the country,” said Patrick Basset, senior vice president for Accor Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines.

Accor has four other Pullmans in Thailand, with over 40 Pullman hotels and resorts in the Asia-Pacific region.

ASCOTT has deepened its reach in China, having secured contracts to manage two serviced residences in Wuxi after bagging a Nanjing property just last month (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 9, 2013).

The 134-unit Ascott Central Wuxi and 169-unit Somerset Wuxi are scheduled to open in the second half of 2015.

Ascott Central Wuxi is located in the Chong An District and is part of the Yunfu Mansion mixed development comprising retail outlets, restaurants and offices.

Somerset Wuxi is situated in the Bin Hu District near the city centre, new Taihu CBD and Wuxi New District where many MNCs are based. The property will form part of Vanke’s The Canal mixed development.

Both properties offer a range of units from studio to three-bedroom apartments and come with fully-equipped kitchens and separate work and sleeping areas. Residents can avail of facilities and services such as a gym, business centre, meeting room, breakfast and residence lounges. Ascott Central Wuxi will feature a swimming pool while Somerset Wuxi will offer a children’s play area and spa.

Lee Chee Koon, deputy CEO and managing director for North Asia, said: “Revenue per available unit for our serviced residences in China increased by four per cent in 1Q2013 compared to the same period last year.

“Strategically located in the Yangtze River Delta region, Wuxi’s economy grew by an average of more than 17 per cent annually in the last 10 years. It has also attracted foreign direct investment of more than RMB20 billion (US$3.3 billion) each year from 2008 to 2012. As Wuxi continues to transform itself into a thriving regional hub with a growing number of MNCs, large local enterprises and trade exhibitions, we expect strong demand for our international-class serviced residences by expatriates and local business travellers.”

He added that Ascott would open 19 more serviced residences in China by 2017.

THE UK market to Sri Lanka has seen an 18 per cent year-on-year jump in the first quarter of this year, which is anticipated to grow further following the return of British Airways last month (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 14, 2012).

The UK had been the top source market for Sri Lanka before it was upstaged by India a few years ago.

According to statistics from Sri Lanka Tourism released in early May, total arrivals to Sri Lanka from January to March grew 10.9 per cent year-on-year to 288,798, with the main markets being India, the UK, Germany, France and the Maldives.

The overall European market is also showing signs of recovery, industry officials said.

“The UK market is doing well, but I didn’t realise the rate of increase (was so high), which is good. This could also be due to many expatriate Sri Lankan Tamils who carry British passports and travel here to see their relatives,” noted Hiran Cooray, chairman, Jetwing Hotels.

However, other sources noted that British travellers were choosing to stay in cheaper accommodation.

Indian arrivals, on the other hand, recorded negative four per cent growth in 1Q2013 due to attacks on Sri Lankan pilgrims in Tamil-dominated Southern India (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 20, 2013), in turn triggering fears of reciprocal attacks in Sri Lanka for Indian travellers, although fears have not materialised.

Ahintha Amerasinghe, managing director, Worldlink Travels, said there were general expectations that the situation would improve regarding Indian visitors. “This is a huge market for us and hopes of a revival are high,” he said. A sizable number of Indian visitors include traders from the south who stay for two to three nights for business.

A NEW partnership between Lenovo and 3^rd Planet will allow travel and tourism players to reach users of Lenovo PCs, smartphones and tablets globally through the Wonders of the World app.

Lenovo and 3^rd Planet have signed an MoU to explore how the tourism industry can brand themselves through the app, which Lenovo will make available on their latest range of devices beginning 1Q2014.

Through the Wonders of the World app, users can explore travel destinations in a realistic and interactive 3D environment on their electronic gadgets, as well as share the 3D scenes via social media.

Terence Mak, CEO, 3^rd Planet, said: “With this partnership, tourism organisations participating in the Wonders of the World project will now have additional branding opportunities.”

“We will work with Lenovo to provide customised apps on the various operating systems within Lenovo’s range of products for the particular tourism organisation, featuring its brand and slogan, and direct users to the exact interactive 3D scene page of the country of city,” he explained.

“Tourism oganisations can also choose the specific markets they want to reach out to,” Mak added.

3^rd Planet recently launched the Wonders of the World app for mobile devices, part of the Wonders of the World Project, a global event that will allow the international tourism industry to showcase the best of each country’s travel destinations to travellers around the world in an interactive 3D environment (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 9, 2013).

AIRLINES around the world have begun deploying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on their routes again, five months after an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Dreamliner made an emergency landing due to battery problems (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 17, 2013).

Ethiopian Airlines was the first carrier to reinstate Dreamliners on April 27, according to news agency AFP.

Since then, United Airlines has announced that it will recommence Dreamliner operations in May, while Japanese carriers ANA and Japan Airlines (JAL) will return the aircraft model to service in June.

A press release from United said Boeing had already converted two of the airline’s six Dreamliners to meet US Federation Aviation Administration standards, and work would soon begin on the remaining four.

United will relaunch the Dreamliner on routes from Houston to other domestic hubs on May 20, and deploy the aircraft on its Denver-Tokyo service on June 10.

From Japan, ANA will restart its five-weekly Narita-San Jose service on June 1 with the Dreamliner, having suspended the route on January 18. It will also introduce the aircraft on three routes for the first time: Haneda-Taipei (Songshan) and Narita-Beijing from June 1, and Narita-Shanghai (Pudong) from August 1. The airline is scheduled to restore the Dreamliner on flights from Haneda to Frankfurt and Beijing from June 1.

JAL is also slated to restart daily services from Narita to Boston and San Diego on June 1 with Dreamliners, and launch its planned daily non-stop Narita-Helsinki route on July 1 also with a Dreamliner, after the route’s commencement was postponed in February.

The Dreamliner will be deployed on the following JAL services: Haneda-Singapore, Narita-Singapore and Haneda-Beijing from June 1; Narita-Delhi from July 12; Narita-Moscow and Haneda-San Francisco from September 1; and Narita-Sydney and Narita-Bangkok from December 1 and 2 respectively.

THE first Ramada property in Singapore will throw open its doors in four days’ time, placing a selection of indoor and outdoor event venues in the heart of the Balestier heritage district.

The four-star Ramada Singapore at Zhongshan Park is said to be the first international hotel of that category in the Balestier and larger Novena area, where the central business district is mere minutes away by train.

The hotel is armed with 540m² of meeting and banquet space, which will be filled by local and regional corporate events, according to general manager Tony Cousens.

“We expect 80 per cent of our business to come from Asia-Pacific, so we are targeting the powerhouses of Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and Australia for our meetings segment,” said Cousens.

“There is a good catchment of companies (across Singapore) and we know that (corporate event planners) in the central business district want to come out here and not do their meetings in Orchard Road, where they will lose the attention of their audience. On top of that, more companies are seeking mid-market properties to conduct training events, and we have been getting a lot of interest from technology and banking firms,” he added.

The hotel’s meeting venues include the pillarless Balestier Ballroom for up to 300 guests in a theatre setting that can be divided into three smaller function rooms, and the Zhongshan meeting room that can seat 150 guests in a theatre setting and be converted into two separate rooms.

Besides indoor venues, event planners can also use Zhongshan Park, a tree-lined space next to the hotel that overlooks the iconic Sun Yat Sen Memorial Museum with capacity for 500-pax cocktail receptions, or the breezy terrace by the pool on the third storey, which can take 150 guests for standing events and no more than 100 for sit-down dinners.

SWISS CEO Harry Hohmeister expects the airline’s daily direct Singapore-Zurich service which took off yesterday (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 13, 2013) to break even in the first year and return a profit in the third year.

Hohmeister is so upbeat on the route’s prospects that, despite investing CHF300 million (US$315 million) to launch it, SWISS will continue its existing Singapore-Zurich codeshare with Singapore Airlines (SIA).

“We believe the market is big enough for two frequencies. The Airbus A340-300 does not offer too much capacity, just 219 seats. So what we are doing actually is developing the market with a new frequency and timing, which also increases the attractiveness of the schedule for both airlines. Therefore it makes sense to keep the codeshare. Customers will have a choice of using the best service he needs,” he explained.

So far, the service has been well accepted, with a “promising booking development” in both economy and business, Hohmeister said. “We are lucky our intercontinental services are well booked throughout the year with a load factor of around 90 per cent. In the beginning, I don’t expect this service will have a 90 per cent load factor; I expect in the 80s in the first 24 months, then 87-88 per cent in the long run,” he said.

SWISS did not intend to dump prices, rather take the position of a premium airline offering “a genuine Swiss product”, he said.

Asked what would make the flight viable today compared with the Singapore-Bangkok-Zurich service, which was discontinued four years ago, Hohmeister said: “We learnt one-stop is not attractive enough for business travellers, especially in a competitive environment to Asia. Secondly, we have renewed our premium product, with lie-flat beds and innovative concepts such as top cuisine. Thirdly, the Singapore market in the last four years has grown more than 40 per cent. And last but not least, the cargo business is sustainable.”

SWISS has ordered a fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs. “We expect the Singapore market to grow further. The city is dynamic and therefore the market to Switzerland will grow and, with that, the B777 could be the aircraft (in 2016 or 2017),” he said.

– Read the View from the Top in TTG Asia soon

STARWOOD Hotels and Resorts’ Le Méridien brand has returned to Bali with the opening of its latest resort in Jimbaran.

Le Méridien Bali Jimbaran features 118 rooms and suites, and is located on the south-west coast of Bali, just beside Jimbaran Bay and a short drive from Denpasar International Airport.

Guests can choose from four F&B options: fusion Pan-Asian cuisine at Bamboo Chic, handcrafted cocktails at Smoqee Lounge & Sky Bar, coffee by day and tapas by night at Latitude 8, and handmade gelato and coffee at Wala.

Other hotel amenities include a spa with six treatment rooms and a lounge, a fitness centre and health programmes, a kids’ club, a dedicated outdoor pool and Kendra Art Gallery’s exhibition space, which comes under Le Méridien’s Unlock Art programme.

For meetings and events, Le Méridien Bali Jimbaran features a glass-encased Celebration Pavilion and Bale Banjar Ballroom on the rooftop, offering panoramic views of Jimbaran Bay and the sunset. A conference centre offers 600m² of space, state-of-the-art audio-visual technology, a business centre and creative event staff.

Le Méridien had earlier announced expansion plans for the region, with plans to launch nine new hotels throughout Asia in the next 12 months (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 29, 2013). Two openings are planned for China, and one each for Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh.