IRELAND is offering visa-free entry for Indian nationals holding UK visas from now till October 31, 2012.

The visa-free facility, which allows visitors to stay for up to 90 days provided they have cleared immigration at a British port of entry, has also been offered to 13 other nations including China and Russia.

Vijay Dadhich, managing director of New Delhi-based Blue Moon Travels, said: “This will allow seamless travel to a really attractive country that is hitherto unexplored by most Indians. We can now package Ireland with England, Scotland and other popular British destinations for Indian travellers.”

Ireland is expecting a 20 per cent growth in Indian arrivals this year, up from last year’s 15,500 visitors.

BEST Western International has opened the Best Western Kuta Seaview in Kuta, Bali.

The new-built hotel, located 15 minutes from Ngurah Rai International Airport, offers 144 guestrooms in standard, superior, deluxe and junior suite categories.

Facilities include a swimming pool, Taste Restaurant serving Asian and Western cuisine, a 24-hour coffee shop, a rooftop lounge & bar, and two meeting rooms with capacity for 20-50 people.

Best Western has another property in the area – the 75-room Best Western Resort Kuta.

RESULTS of the Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey 2011 showed that the US, the UK and Japan were top travel destinations among 11,620 respondents from 23 countries.

Twenty percent, or one in five respondents, said they are likely to travel to the US for leisure in the next two years; 19 per cent the UK; 16 per cent Japan; and 15 per cent each for France and Italy.

According to Meranda Chan, country manager, Singapore and Brunei, Visa, the “great cultural diversity, amazing scenery and a shopping paradise for holidaymakers” are reasons why the US is a survey favourite.

As for the UK, Chan added: “The upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games could be a pull factor, and it is an indication that sport tourism is proving to be a growing attraction for today’s travellers.”

The survey also found that sentiment for Japan still ran strong, especially in the destination’s key markets in mainland China and South Korea.

“More than one in three (34 per cent) respondents from mainland China and one in four (24 per cent) respondents from South Korea said they are likely to travel to Japan in the next two years. This is in line with PATA Destination Trends that international arrivals to Japan have picked up slightly post-tsunami,” Chan added.

The survey also revealed that global average spend for the last trip taken by respondents in the past two years was S$1,912. Australian respondents were the highest spenders, with an average of S$4,693 (US$3,636) spent on their last trip, followed by Saudi Arabia with S$4,039.

The Visa Global Intentions Survey 2011 was an online and offline survey conducted by Nielsen in February and March.



TICKETING agents in Indonesia want the new management of Mandala Airlines to make a decision on their unclaimed deposits, the result of the airline stopping operations in January, as well as improve its payment system.

Indonesia Ticketing Agents Association (ASTINDO) head of ticketing division, Pauline Suharno, said: “We have sent a letter to Mandala requesting for a meeting to discuss the matter. We would like to hear what options they are giving us, but we would definitely not accept conversion of our deposit into shares (that was offered by the previous management), as it will be complicated. That would also mean that agents need to refund passengers’ unused tickets in cash.”

ASTINDO chairman Elly Hutabarat added: “One suggestion we are giving them is to liquidate the money and to credit that as our deposit again. For example, an agent who had 10 million rupiah (US$1,120) in deposit earlier will get that amount back as their deposit with the new management.”

Pauline also said members would also be negotiating for a better payment system to avoid a repeat of the situation.

Mandala Airlines finally signed a sales agreement with Saratoga Group and Tiger Airways over the weekend, and the airline is expecting to restart operations in three months, according to Saratoga Capital co-founder Sandiaga Uno, as quoted by local media.

Saratoga Group now holds 51 per cent of Mandala shares, Tiger Airways has 33 per cent, with the rest belonging to congruent debtors and old shareholders.

The airline will operate A320 aircraft and will operate as a low-cost carrier, with domestic and regional networks within a five-hour flight time distance. 


PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) president and COO, Jaime Bautista, said that PAL would implement spinoff plans for its non-core businesses in catering, telesales and groundhandling operations three days ahead of its October 1 deadline, in response to a surprise strike by PAL Employees Association (PALEA) that stalled operations yesterday.

The strike, which had an impact on ground operations and disrupted the flag carrier’s flights between 7.00 to 19.00, coincided with Typhoon Storm Nasat in the Philippines. As of 15.00 yesterday, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport estimated that as a combined result of the PALEA strike and typhoon, a total of 172 PAL flights and an estimated 14,000 passengers were affected.

On September 24, PAL announced contingency measures to ease transition from outsourcing. This included reducing domestic flights by 30 per cent on 14 routes and cutting international flights by 12 per cent on 11 routes.

Robert Lim Joseph, chairman of Tourism Educators and Movers TEAM Philippines and owner of the Travel Cooperative of the Philippines agency, said: “This should’ve been done earlier, more than a year ago. The outsourcing was inevitable – the market is strained, competition is strong, fuel prices account for 45-55 per cent of total cost. You cannot buy old planes or compromise on safety or security…you have to make PAL lean and mean.”

While Jeepney Tours managing director Clang Garcia expressed dismay at the plight of PAL workers, she said: “PAL secured a loan to take care of the employees’ (separation package). They’re bleeding. They’re being eaten by competition from local carriers.”

Both also expressed concern that the open skies policy was affecting PAL.

“Look at the US – they have collapsed airlines because of open skies. There should be a regulatory board that upholds safety and fair competition,” Joseph said.

Garcia also added: “Because of the open skies policy, the government should think about providing marketing funds to its flag carrier so it will be able to compete.”

IPOH-based Lost World Hotel, which opened in May with 96 rooms, will add a second block of 78 rooms including family suites, starting December 1 at an estimated RM30 million (US$10 million) cost.

The hotel is a core feature of the Lost World of Tambun theme park, which attracts 600,000 visitors a year.

Lost World of Tambun general manager, Calvin Ho, said: “The new block is to cater to families wanting a longer stay at the park. We expect an occupancy rate of 60 to 70 per cent once it opens.”

While consistently running at 100 per cent occupancy during weekends, the hotel currently averages 50 per cent occupancy.

“We expect our occupancy rate to rise with the increased inventory because we will be able to take on bigger groups, which we cannot do at present,” Ho said.

Additional features are a meeting room with a capacity of 200. But just like the existing block, there will be no F&B facility. “We realise that many visitors come to Ipoh to taste the local food. We encourage them to go out and do so,” Ho said.

Singapore-based Lokopoko Travel head, Iwan Yang, said of the development: “The Lost World of Tambun is something we can package for our market. It is hard to say what the response will be though.”

By N. Nithiyananthan

JETSTAR Asia reported capacity growth of 46 per cent during the 2011 financial year, as the low-cost carrier continued to grow its network from Singapore.

According to Jetstar Asia, more than 2.7 million people flew with the airline in the 12 months leading up till June 30, 2011, up from 2.2 million the year before.

With most of the new capacity growth coming online in the second half of the year, increased passenger numbers are expected to be fully realised in the next full financial year.

In addition, Jetstar Asia increased its Normalised Profit Before Tax to S$18 million (US$14 million). This contributed to a record result for the Jetstar Group overall, which posted a 29 per cent increase in earnings before interest and tax of A$169 million (US$168. 4 million), and total passenger growth of 14 per cent to 19 million passengers.

Jetstar Asia CEO, Chong Phit Lian, said: “We have achieved both growth and profit for a second year, as well as delivering on our Chinese growth plan and servicing Singapore with first-time access to value-based, longhaul flying.”

“This result provides us the momentum for further growth of the Singapore hub, including a continued focus on China with flights to Ningbo (already launched), and longhaul flights to Beijing starting in November,” she added.

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts will open The Naka Island, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket, in November this year.

The boutique resort is located on Naka Yai Island, 25 minutes from Phuket International Airport, including a five-minute ride by private speedboat.

The property features 67 450m2 villas with open-air bathrooms, private plunge pools, and sala pavilions.

Each guest on The Naka Island will be able to avail of the services of the Experience Guide – a personal butler, concierge and guest relations officer rolled into one.

Facilities include a spa, a 163m2 multi-function sala pavilion and multiple scenic outdoor locations, while F&B options include an all-day dining restaurant, an open beachside grill house, and a wine cellar and bar.

KOH SAMUI, which welcomed SilkAir’s inaugural service from Singapore today, looks set on receiving more regional flights.

SilkAir chief executive Marvin Tan said the airline is hoping to increase the frequency of its new direct Singapore-Samui service from three flights per week to five from year-end.

Tan said a healthy demand for the route would allow SilkAir to operate at a high load factor from the start, with passengers coming from all markets, both from its own and Singapore Airlines networks.

SilkAir uses an Airbus A319 aircraft on the route.

Bangkok Airways runs its once-daily Singapore-Samui service with the same type of aircraft at a 75 per cent load factor, but did not have enough planes to expand its frequency, said its president, Captain Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth.

However, the airline will be receiving two new A319 aircraft within the next five months, and it plans to use the expanded fleet to boost access to Koh Samui from other regional markets.

Captain Puttipong said from the next summer timetable, Bangkok Airways would be launching a new daily Samui-Kuala Lumpur service and would also be boosting the Samui-Hong Kong service from one to two flights daily.

Koh Samui is currently served by Bangkok Airways, with about 30 flights daily from domestic and regional destinations and Thai Airways International with two flights daily from Bangkok. From Kuala Lumpur, Firefly Airlines operates four flights per week and Berjaya Air two flights per week.

By Sirima Eamtako

JAPAN Airlines (JAL) and China Eastern Airlines have expanded their codeshare partnership to include all their Sino-Japan networks, with reservations and sales of the new flights beginning today.

From October 8, both JAL and China Eastern will use ‘JL’ and ‘MU’ for all flights between China and Japan for the two carriers.

As a result of the expanded agreement, JAL will add Yantai to its network of 15 cities in China, and China Eastern will add Shizuoka, Okayama and Nagasaki to its network of 12 cities in Japan. Both carriers will have a combined 386 weekly flights on 42 routes between the two countries.