DRAGONAIR will begin daily services from Hong Kong to Clark International Airport, effective May 29.

Using an Airbus 320 aircraft with no business-class seats, the flight will be in direct competition with Cebu Pacific, SEAir and AirPhil Express, which already serve the route with lost-cost fares.

“The service is into a destination outside of the traditional gateways Manila and Cebu. By featuring Clark, Dragonair is giving travellers one more destination to choose from,” said Philippine Department of Tourism assistant secretary, Benito Bengzon, Jr.

“Anytime there is a new service to the Philippines, it means more seats for travellers. It is a good development,” he added.

Clark is Dragonair’s second destination in the Philippines. The carrier already flies five times weekly to Manila.

AIR India is showing signs of recovery after the Indian government approved its financial restructuring plan and agreed to inject fresh funds into its operations.

The US$600 million equity infusion that will take place over the next eight years will help the cash-strapped national carrier recast its debt servicing over a longer stretch. The airline currently forks out US$48 million in annual interest to banks.

Air India recorded a 7.9 per cent increase in passenger numbers and 46 per cent revenue growth in March, compared to the same month last year. The carrier performed particularly well on international sectors, recording almost 33 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue, which was catalysed by an eight per cent hike in load factor and higher yield of 28 per cent.

In 1Q2012, the carrier’s yield on international routes increased by 18 per cent over the same period last year. Revenue from international operations for the quarter grew by US$9 million, while domestic business jumped by US$8 million.

Anil Punjabi, chairman-east, Travel Agents Federation of India, said: “It will be good for the trade if Air India revives and flies to many (new) sectors. This will also rationalise prices as demand is growing constantly.”

JAPAN plans to expand its tourism base and has its eyes peeled on the emerging Asian leisure and MICE markets.

Asia already dominates Japan’s top five inbound line-up – South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the US – but senior vice minister, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Ken Okuda, said the nation would be “expanding activities” to grow North-east Asia markets further and tap South-east Asian markets.

Okuda, speaking at the recent WTTC Global Summit in Tokyo, unveiled a target of 18 million international arrivals by 2016 – a figure below the record 18.6 million foreign arrivals achieved in 2010, and also lower than the target before the tsunami of 20 million by 2016, as shown in a 2010 Japan National Tourism Organization document.

But, more than an arrival numbers game, the tragedy appears a watershed in stirring Japan to go with new ways in rebuilding its tourism industry. Okuda said “creative innovation” was required.

“It is important we capture Asia sophisticatedly and by highlighting new assets that show Japan is unique and unforgettable,” said Okuda. He gave the examples that Japan cuisine was not just sushi and tempura; it had unique Chinese, French and Italian traits with Japanese refinement. It was not just a land of automobiles, but had whole districts devoted to pop culture and electronics, such as Akihabara.

Hiromi Tagawa, JTB Corp president and CEO, urged tour companies to become “real DMCs” and remodel their offerings.

Atsutoshi Nishida, chairman and CEO of Japan Travel and Tourism Association, said Japan was committed not only to recovery, but “to creating something even better than (before) March 11”.

– Read the full report in TTG Asia, May 4 issue, 2012

MARRIOTT International has signed a deal with Galaxy Entertainment Group to manage the first-ever all-suite Ritz-Carlton and the world’s largest JW Marriott hotel in Macau.

The Ritz-Carlton, Macau and JW Marriott Hotel Macau will anchor the second phase of the Galaxy Macau integrated resort, and are expected to be Marriott International’s first properties in Macau when they open in 2015.

“We are very excited to be launching our brands in Macau,” said Simon Cooper, president and managing director, Marriott International, Asia.

“China is our second largest market outside North America, and opening two of our premier brands on the same site in such a fast growing market is a major commitment.”

Located on the top floors of the Galaxy Macau, The Ritz-Carlton, Macau will offer 250 one- and two-bedroom suites. F&B options will include an all-private-dining Chinese restaurant, a lobby lounge and bar, a pool bar, and a Ritz Bar with views of the Cotai skyline.

The hotel will also feature an outdoor rooftop pool with a Jacuzzi and eight private cabanas, as well as a spa.

The JW Marriott Hotel Macau will offer nearly 1,100 rooms and suites. The hotel’s signature restaurant will be Chinese and feature a selection of private dining rooms. Facilities will include a swimming pool, a spa, a fitness centre, and a salon.

In addition, both hotels will offer space for meetings, events and banquets – including ballrooms on the ground floor of each hotel – that will have a combined capacity for approximately 2,000 guests.

ROYAL Caribbean International’s Legend of the Seas arrived yesterday in Aomori, Japan for the first time.

The 11-deck, 2,074-guest cruise ship is currently on an eight-night voyage from Shanghai to Tokyo, which includes calls at Jeju Island and Otaru.

Aomori, located on Mutsu Bay at the northern end of Honshu, has a rich history as a port town, but is developing as a modern destination with hotspots on its bay area including Hakkoda-maru, Japan’s first ferry museum, and the Aomori Bay Bridge that defines the city’s skyline.

A TOTAL of 37 cities from around the world including Los Angeles, Rome, Berlin, Beijing and Moscow have come together to form a new global tourism alliance.

Dubbed the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), the non-profit, non-governmental organisation is now the fourth largest tourism coalition globally after UNWTO, WTTC and PATA. Headquartered in Beijing, WTCF is also the first-ever global tourism body to be based in China.

WTCF’s main agenda is to facilitate cross-city dialogue and sharing of research, including statistics and the latest trends, to support strategic tourism development. Plans are also in the pipeline to stage exhibitions to showcase the landscape, culture and history of individual cities.

Funding for activities will derive from a combination of membership fees, public and corporate donations, as well as government subsidies.

According to Chinese news reports, WTCF is in negotiations with additional cities, including New York and Nairobi, to join the alliance. WTCF hopes to grow its membership to 100 cities within the next three years.

Martin Craigs, CEO of PATA, said: “As long as they (WCTF) recognise the need for aligned advocacy, then this should add value to the industry activism happening worldwide. For instance, the WTCF should help to lobby foreign governments to lower taxes or simplify visa processing.”

Craigs has been invited to speak at WTCF’s first symposium, which is scheduled to take place in Beijing on June 25.

A POWER outage at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport yesterday resulted in a total of 27 flight delays for flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

Power disruptions hit many areas in Central, South and West Jakarta from 13:15 pm yesterday and lasted for more than two hours, causing delays for fourteen Garuda flights, and trickling down to affect thirteen flights later on.

“(The outage) resulted in delays of between fifteen minutes and one hour,” said Garuda vice president corporate communications, Pujobroto.

Services that were disrupted included flights bound for Denpasar, Pekanbaru, Surakarta, Palembang, Semarang, Batam, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Hari Cahyono, corporate secretary of Angkasa Pura II Airport Authority, which manages Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, was quoted as saying that the facility was operating as per normal, with power supplied by eight backup generators.

According to Garuda’s Pujobroto, however, the boarding process at domestic terminal F, all work at the transfer desk, and the sorting of flight documents in the control room had to be conducted manually.

SILKAIR has started thrice-weekly flights to Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in China.

The service will depart Singapore on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and will be operated using Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft, both featuring business- and economy-class cabins.

Wuhan is SilkAir’s seventh destination in China after Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Shenzhen and Xiamen, and increases the number of destinations in the carrier’s network to 40.

SilkAir’s chief executive, Marvin Tan, said the new route would further strengthen its presence in China.

“We are delighted to add Wuhan to SilkAir’s expanding network. We expect this new destination to be popular for both business and leisure travel,” he said.

LOOKING to grow inbound traffic from India, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has thrown its support behind the promotion of certain cruise programmes originating from Singapore, such as Costa Victoria’s upcoming Singapore-Dubai sailing.

Trade reports from a range of Indian tour operators reveal that 24 per cent of Indians headed to Singapore also embark on cruises from the destination.

STB is keen to take advantage of this trend and market cruise options out of Singapore to Indian tourists. Although details of the promotional tie-up have yet to be revealed, G. B. Srithar, area director – South Asia Marketing (Mumbai) for STB, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the initiative would be linked to the NTO’s ‘Singapore – The holiday you take home with you’ campaign targeted at Indians.

“Singapore continues to evolve and one (upcoming) addition is the opening of its International Cruise Terminal in 2Q2012. The terminal will double Singapore’s berthing capacity and enable it to cater to some of the largest cruise ships in the world. The facility will turn Singapore into a major hub for cruises,” he added.

Veneeta Rawat, director, Amazing Vacations Mumbai said: “Promotional efforts by STB through campaigns with travel consultants will help cover a larger segment of the market. Since cruises are very popular with our clients, more options will elicit greater interest.”

The 1,928-pax Costa Victoria is scheduled to sail from Singapore to Dubai this November. Both cities are popular shopping havens for Indian leisure travellers.

Thomas Cook India and Mercury Travels Mumbai have been appointed to sell this cruise, while Lotus Destinations, Costa Cruises’ GSA in India, has been tasked with promotional duties.

FIREFLY has mounted twice-weekly charter services to Nanning in Southern China, operated using a Boeing 737-400 aircraft with 162 seats.

The services comprise of direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Nanning every Sunday, and flights from Kuala Lumpur to Nanning via Penang every Thursday.

Ignatius Ong, CEO, Firefly said: “Nanning is our first foray into China. We see demand for both leisure and business travel. We are also exploring the possibilities of flying to more cities in China using our B737 aircraft.”

This is the second time that Firefly and Guangxi China International Travel Service are operating scheduled charter services to Nanning. The first collaboration saw seven scheduled charter services between November 19 and December 31 last year.

With the new flights, Firefly becomes the only airline to operate direct services between Malaysia and Nanning. Without the direct connection, travellers have to fly six hours to get to Nanning via Guangzhou or Hong Kong.