RAFFLES Hotels & Resorts, which is celebrating its 125-year origins, will have a new president, four new properties opening soon and anniversary initiatives to encourage the travel trade to book.

Peter French, regional vice president – Europe, Middle East & Africa for Raffles Hotels & Resorts and general manager of Raffles Dubai, will succeed John Johnston from January 1 as president, based in Singapore.

Johnston, who has held this role since 2009 and who has been with parent company Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) since 1998, will be retiring at the end of the year.

The luxury chain is scheduled to open Raffles Makati next month, Raffles Hainan in 1Q2013, Raffles Istanbul in the third quarter and Raffles Jakarta in 2013. It currently has eight hotels in operation.

In conjunction with its 125th anniversary, it has a different promotion each month and special deals such as the ‘125 Hours’ series.

125 Hours in Paris with Raffles, for instance, packs in an extraordinary five-day adventure in and around Paris, based at Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris, featuring exclusives such as behind-the-scenes jewellery class at Van Cleef & Arpels, a six-hour tour of Parisian art with the hotel’s art concierge, helicopter trip to the Loire Valley with lunch, and cooking class with the hotel’s celebrated chef, among others.

Diana Banks, Raffles’ vice president sales & marketing, said: “Our focus is to get the travel community to understand how we have successfully transferred our service and expertise to locations from here (Singapore).

“We’ve grown, but the fundamentals of what makes Raffles great remains.”

COMPLEX itineraries and packaged tour choices are major reasons why over half of Australians will choose to book an overseas holiday with bricks-and-mortar travel experts, according to industry sources.

Based on an annual report by Roy Morgan Research, for the 12 months to June 2012, 51.6 per cent of Australians used a travel expert to book their last overseas holiday or leisure trip, compared to 32.1 per cent through airlines, 25.9 per cent through accommodation suppliers and 12.9 per cent through online-only travel booking websites.

According to Haydn Long, spokesperson for Flight Centre, most international travel in Australia is booked via travel experts. He said: “For some airline bookings, (travel consultant) sales will be as high as 80 or 90 per cent. A considerable amount of domestic travel is also booked through travel (experts).

“Finding the best airfare online is time-consuming and it’s generally no cheaper than buying from an (expert). (Experts) can talk customers through the complexities and outline alternatives that may not be easy to find on the web, potentially saving them time and money. Australians are adventurous travellers and have a fair degree of complexity in their arrangements. (Experts) can really add value to complex trips.”

Outgoing CEO of Wotif.com Rob Cooke also noted that customers tend to turn to travel consultants when travelling overseas, driven by the trend to purchase package holidays, while many travellers are still hesitant to book overseas holidays online.

AIR New Zealand has decided to terminate services between Hong Kong and London-Heathrow in March 2013.

The daily Auckland-Hong Kong-London service was launched in 2006 and the Auckland-Hong Kong daily service will continue to operate.

Air New Zealand has instead signed a strategic agreement with Cathay Pacific Airways that will see the latter’s flights on the Hong Kong-London sector bearing Air New Zealand’s codeshare flight numbers.

This marks yet another case of cross-alliance strategic partnership as Air New Zealand is a Star Alliance member while Cathay Pacific is a oneworld member.

MALAYSIA-based LCC Malindo Air has brought forward its commencement date to mid-March 2013, two months earlier than its original scheduled date in May 2013.

Said Malindo Air CEO, Chandran Ramamuthy: “The airline will operate out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as the LCC Terminal is too congested. (KLIA) is also the point where Lion Air flies to.”

He added that Malindo Air would later move its base to KLIA2, which is currently under construction and slated to open on May 1, 2013.

Initial flights will connect East and West Malaysia but Chandran declined to confirm whether the East Malaysian points would be Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. He also revealed that Malindo Air’s first international route will begin in either April or May to India, and is targeting a fleet of 12 B737-900ER by December 2013.

Malindo Air will commence operations with two B737-900ER aircraft in a two-class configuration (12 business seats and 168 economy seats), and will be equipped with Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment.

Malindo Air is operated by Malindo Airways, a joint venture between Indonesian’s Lion Group and Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defence Industries.

According to a report by The Star, Lion Group chief Rusdi Kirana said that the launch of its subsidiary, Batik Air, would be delayed from March 2013 to end-2013 so as to focus on building Malindo Air to become a regional player sooner.

ACCOR will beef up its South Asian portfolio by opening two Novotel properties in Bangladesh, marking its debut into its 17th market in Asia-Pacific with the addition of over 350 rooms in the country’s two largest cities.

“The two properties, which are new builds, will add much-needed hotel inventory to Bangladesh’s two largest cities including the capital – Dhaka – and Chittagong,” said Michael Issenberg, chairman and COO, Accor Asia-Pacific. “We see Bangladesh as a tremendous opportunity for expansion, given the country’s growing manufacturing presence in the region.”

He added: “We are well on track to achieving our target of operating 700 hotels across Asia-Pacific by 2015, which includes a targeted network size of around 90 hotels in South Asia.”

Accor Asia Pacific, vice president, communications, Evan Lewis, told media that Accor is also looking into opportunities in Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

The 185-room Novotel Dhaka Gulshan Avenue will be located in Dhaka’s diplomatic and business district of Gulshan, about 13km from the international airport. The hotel will feature state-of-the-art conference facilities, two restaurants, a bar, a swimming pool and a gym.

The 170-room Novotel Chittagong will be located in the main business district of Chittagong, approximately 30-35 minutes from the international airport and within easy reach of the main Export Processing Zones and the port. Part of a mixed-use complex, the property will offer three F&B outlets, a swimming pool, a fitness centre, a sauna and a spa.

Welcoming the launch of two international-standard hotels, Syed Ghulam Qadir, general manager, Galaxy Holidays Bangladesh, said: “We get a fair share of corporate and business travellers, so we also want (an increasing) higher-end room capacity to encourage leisure travellers to visit the two key cities in the country more frequently.”

INDONESIAN hotel management company Zuri Hospitality Management has opened the 138-room Zuri Express Lippo Cikarang in Cikarang, an industrial estate with limited accommodation facilities near Jakarta.

The new three-star hotel is the company’s second property in Cikarang after the launch of the four-star Grand Zuri Jababeka last year. The older 125-room property has over 80 per cent long-staying guests, mostly expatriates from the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea who work in the area.

Zuri Hospitality Management COO, Purwantono, said: “There are (different) requirements for different market segments. The Grand Zuri Jababeka caters to the management level, while the Zuri Express taps the middle management level.”

According to Purwantono, Zuri Express had involved potential guests since the development stage to identify their needs. “We invited our Japanese clients to give their inputs, and providing (different voltage) electric sockets in this hotel was one of their suggestions,” he said.

Designed as a ‘smart’ hotel, Zuri Express targets business travellers with facilities such as free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and safety deposit boxes as well as a restaurant, a drinks vending machine, a spa, a fitness centre and meeting rooms. The Lippo Cikarang Citywalk and a 24-hour fast-food joint are located just outside the hotel.

While the majority of guests are expected to be business travellers, the hotel is working together with the nearby Waterboom Cikarang theme park to create packages for families or corporate outings.

MINOR Hotel Group, in partnership with Serendib Leisure, has debuted Avani Kalutara Resort & Spa, the brand’s second property in Sri Lanka following the inaugural Avani Bentota Resort & Spa in November 2011.

Formerly Kani Lanka, Avani Kalutara has reopened following a US$5 million refurbishment. Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Avani Kalutara is built on the mouth of the River Kalu, facing the lagoon in one direction and the Indian Ocean on the other.

The 105-key beachfront resort features four room types – Standard, Superior Lagoon View, Superior Sea View and Suites – with facilities such as two restaurants, two bars, a gym, a tennis court, water sports, a spa and flexible meeting space that can accommodate up to 100 people.

Dillip Rajakarier, CEO, Minor Hotel Group, said: “We are excited to open our second Avani resort, and to once again be working with Serendib Leisure, our partners in Sri Lanka, to bring our newest brand to life.”

Abbas Esufally, chairman, Serendib Leisure Management, said: “This is a significant milestone in the company’s quest to dominate the hotel market on the island of Sri Lanka, providing superior hospitality options to the discerning traveller, working alongside the renowned expertise of Minor Hotel Group.”

PHOCUSWRIGHT has joined PATA as a Preferred Partner, a tie-up that will provide association members with the former’s research highlights. PATA will also provide an opportunity for PhoCusWright to continue to grow its brand throughout Asia-Pacific.

Martin Craigs, PATA CEO, said: “I’m delighted to welcome PhoCusWright to PATA Next Gen. As a leader in travel and tourism research, PhoCusWright joins our existing partners, including comScore, Dragon Trail, SinoTech Group and STR Global to offer a strong support network in travel research for PATAmPOWER.”

Bruce Rosard, PhoCusWright vice president of sales and marketing, said: “Our partnership with PATA has a number of moving parts, including the launch of an in-depth study on next-generation payment processing for travel. We look forward to building a strong partnership that furthers our efforts in the region.”

RICHARD Brouwer has risen to the top of Diethelm Travel Group as CEO, replacing John Watson, who says he wants “one more big challenge” before retiring.

The promotion is effective immediately. At the same time, Maarten Groeneveld has taken over Brouwer’s position as COO.

The news comes as a surprise, although Watson, when contacted, said it “has been in the making for a long while”.

“In January I turn 55 and it makes good strategic sense to pass the baton at Diethelm Travel as I would like one more big challenge before I retire. To this end, I have decided to stand down from Diethelm Travel in order to properly plan for the next phase of my life,” said Watson.

“I am flexible as to where I operate from and how I spend my time. Starting a new business, or transforming an existing one, would be of interest, utilising my strong travel/service background, worldwide operational experience and network,” added Watson when asked what his next move would be.

Brouwer, who has been with Diethelm Travel since 2000, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the trust I received from the board members of the Diethelm Travel Holding. With Maarten as the new COO and the entire expertise of all my colleagues in each and every position throughout the Diethelm Travel Group, we are well-placed to further develop and grow Diethelm Travel.”