HONG Kong-based travel management firm Westminster Travel will launch this month a new retail brand, S Travel, which will specialise in FIT packages.

According to Westminster Travel managing director Larry Lo, four retail outlets established under the Westminster brand focusing on FIT travel products will soon be rebranded under the S Travel banner.

“So far, there are only few players specialised in FIT. Travel Expert is the only leader. So this could be an opportunity for us given our reputation and resources,” he said.

“Apart from Central, Shatin, Tsuen Wan, Causeway Bay, we plan to expand ten more shops in prime areas in 2012-2013.”

The move will follow the company’s business diversification plan after the acquisition of Westminster from Sime Darby Hong Kong in late 2007, and will draw a line between its retail and wholesale/corporate businesses.

“Because Westminster does more corporate and wholesale, we realised this retail business upset the corporate travel business image,” Lo explained.

Westminster Travel has employed a marketing company to help build brand awareness for S Travel and a new website will also be launched soon.

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) has signed an agreement with Vietnamese conglomerate the BIM Group for two new-build Crowne Plaza properties in Vientiane and Phu Quoc, both scheduled to open in 2015.

As the first IHG-managed property in Laos, Crowne Plaza Vientiane will mark the hotel group’s strategic presence in all capital cities in Indochina – in addition to Hanoi, Vietnam and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The 200-room Crowne Plaza Vientiane will be positioned on a two-hectare prime area within the city centre.

Jan Smits, CEO, IHG Asia, Middle East and Africa, said: “The debut of the first Crowne Plaza hotel in Vientiane will further invigorate tourism in this part of the world.”

Meanwhile, Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc Resort will be the brand’s fourth property in Vietnam.

Located on the southwest coast of Phu Quoc Island, the property will be part of a 155-hectare integrated resort development in Duong Dong district along Long Beach. Housing 400 rooms, including 95 residences and five villas, the hotel will occupy 10 hectares on the site and will feature an exclusive beachfront.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is set to transform its non-stop Amsterdam-Manila services into a one-stop service via Taiwan or Hong Kong in April. The move would result in a reduction in the number of seats available from Europe and Amsterdam to Manila, since capacity will be shared by both stops.

Currently the only European carrier still operating direct flights to Manila, the restructure is part of KLM’s efforts to counter the impact of the Common Carrier Tax (three per cent) and Gross Philippine Billings tax (2.5 per cent) being levied by Philippine authorities.

Philippine-based airlines operating both domestic and international services are exempted from paying the taxes.

KLM’s general manager South China Sea, Cees Ursem, said: “These taxes are a heavy burden for all foreign carriers, but especially for European carriers. That’s why all the European carriers have left the Philippines in the last decade.”

“We still think that the Philippines is a market with a lot of potential, but it has its limitation when it is getting too expensive for foreign carriers,” he added.

European carriers that have exited the Philippines in recent years include Aeroflot, British Airways, Alitalia, Swissair, Air France and Lufthansa.

ANGSANA Hotels & Resorts has launched Angsana Balaclava in Mauritius.

The 52-key resort is located in Turtle Bay on the northwest of the island, a 15-min drive from the capital, Port Louis.

The property offers 18 garden suites (72m2), 21 spa suites (84m2) and 10 beachfront suites (125-180m2) with private plunge pools, and an imperial villa (770m2) with four bedrooms, three private pools and a personal butler.

Facilities include three overlapping swimming pools separated by waterfalls, a beauty salon, a fitness centre, a business centre, and an Angsana Spa.

The main restaurant, Oryza, offers both al fresco and indoor dining options and is surrounded by the pool, beach and Sylea bar. The Passion Grill, with its swim up bar, offers a poolside dining alternative. There are also in-villa or private dining options.

STAR Cruises has embarked on a US$25-million refurbishment of SuperStar Virgo.

The 1,870-pax Singapore-homeported cruise ship will receive a makeover of its hull design and cabins, as well as its F&B, entertainment, shopping, sports and recreation facilities.

The vessel will return to service on January 23, 2012, and is scheduled to ply the straits of Singapore and Malacca in various two-, three- and five-night itineraries calling at destinations such as Phuket, Langkawi, Port Klang, Malacca, Redang, and Penang; and one- and two-night high seas cruises.

“This US$25-million investment underpins Star Cruises’ continuous drive to grow Asia’s cruise industry,” said William Ng, CEO, Star Cruises.

“The Asia-Pacific cruise industry is expected to grow in leaps and bounds, and Star Cruises is well-positioned to take the lead in further developing and expanding the industry,” he added.

This rejuvenation programme follows the refurbishments of Star Pisces (homeport in Hong Kong) and SuperStar Aquarius (current season’s homeport in Sanya), in February and April last year respectively, at a combined cost of US$13.6 million.

TTG ASIA’s ongoing Facebook competition has found its lucky December winner in Karen Low, a travel consultant with Citystate Travel in Singapore.

Low won for herself a three-night stay in an executive suite at the Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre, including daily breakfast and executive lounge access, after ‘liking’ the TTG Asia Facebook page and subscribing to the travel trade magazine.

The prize up for grabs this month is a four-day three-night stay at The Royal Pacific Hotel & Towers in Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Members of the travel trade industry stand to win prizes every month by ‘liking’ the TTG Asia Facebook page, and increase their chances by subscribing to the magazine.

For more details, visit www.facebook.com/ttgasia

PHILIPPINE low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) will commence from March 23 onwards thrice-weekly Manila-Xiamen-Manila services, the carrier’s 18th international destination.

CEB will deploy an Airbus A319 aircraft on the route, offering 150 seats in an all-economy configuration.

The airline, which flies thrice-weekly to Beijing and Guangzhou, and daily to Shanghai, had earlier announced plans to boost its Manila-Beijing-Manila services to four-weekly starting January 7.

“CEB looks forward to expanding its network in China, especially with Xiamen and Fujian province being the well-known hometown of about 85 per cent of Filipino-Chinese in the Philippines,” said CEB vice president for marketing & distribution, Candice Iyog.

“We flew 30 per cent more passengers to mainland China in the third quarter of 2011, compared to the same period the year before. CEB will continue to grow its China market with its trademark low fares and destination offerings,” Iyog added.