HONG KONG-based Travel Expert will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange starting September 29.

A specialist in FIT packages, the travel agent’s IPO will release 100 million shares priced between HK$0.56 and HK$0.69 per share, which will earn the company HK$49.5 million (US$6.35 million) after deducting underwriting fees and other expenses.

Travel Expert chairman, Daniel Ko, said: “The proposed listing will not only provide abundant capital for accelerating our business development in Asia, especially in China, but will also reinforce the group’s leadership in the local FIT market segment, and further promote the continued growth of our business.”

Company founder Iras Ko said: “We aim at spending 40 per cent of the proceeds on developing our corporate travel and MICE business, and another 40 per cent to explore expansion opportunities in Asia, particularly China.”

“We have already applied to the Chinese government to set up a wholly owned enterprise in Shenzhen, and hopefully it’ll be approved soon,” he added.

Travel Expert has a 10 per cent market share of FIT product sales in Hong Kong, making it the biggest supplier there for this segment.

The company serviced approximately 320,000 customers in financial year 2011, up from 235,000 in 2009. Revenue has increased by 21.5 per cent, from HK$168.5 million in 2010 to HK$204.8 million in 2011.

A LARGE increase in passenger numbers at Yangon International Airport has prompted the government to consider reviving the mothballed Hantharwaddy airport project near Bago town, which has been on hold for many years.

In the first four months of the year, 500,000 international passengers arrived at Yangon airport, 21 per cent more than during the same period last year. Passenger numbers at the domestic terminal jumped 23 per cent year-on-year to about 360,000.

Yangon airport, which can handle 2.7 million passengers a year, is already being expanded to handle 3.7 million by end 2012 or early 2013 (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 19), and has limited space for further expansion.

Transport ministry Nyan Tun Aung said: “We expect about 30-35 per cent increase in the number of passengers passing through Yangon airport this year, and that the airport will reach its capacity within four years.”

Nyan said a new international airport capable of handling 3.5 million passengers was also under construction in Nay Pyi Taw, due for completion by end-2011. “But it is up to the airlines (to operate flights there)… we won’t force them to do so,” he said.

Myanmar’s other international airport is in Mandalay. It has a 14,000ft (4,267m) runway and can handle up to three million passengers a year, but at the moment only attracts regular flights from Kunming, China.

FOLLOWING its acquisition of Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) in May (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 6) and as the final component of a three-year investment and cost-reduction initiative, the Kuoni Group will have an updated corporate structure starting next month.

The revamp sees various business units grouped according to their business models, activities, geographical spread, growth prospects, customer portfolios and management requirements.

The three prime divisions in the structure will be Outbound Europe (European tour operations), Global Travel Services (B2B FIT & group travel as well as MICE), and Emerging Markets & Specialists (tour operations in emerging markets, specialist outbound and inbound operators worldwide, and VFS Global).

Led by Stefan Leser, Division Emerging Markets & Specialists will accommodate Kuoni’s tour operating activities in Asia (India, China and Hong Kong), Russia and the visa facilitation services of VFS Global, as well as its portfolio of autonomous specialist outbound travel brands and specialist inbound destination management service providers (Asian Trails, Desert Adventures Tourism, Private Safaris, AlliedTPro, Sita, Distant Frontiers and Australian Tours Management).

The integration of GTA into the existing activities of Kuoni Destination Management creates Division Global Travel Services, led by Rolf Schafroth. The new division consists of Kuoni’s core B2B business from online FITs, group leisure travel and MICE.

Division Outbound Europe, led by Leif Vase Larsen, will be home to all of Kuoni’s European tour operating activities in the premium travel and package tour segments, plus its Scandinavia-based airline Novair, and the Playitas sports and leisure resort on Fuerteventura. A new dedicated pan-European online business unit within the division will manage the group’s websites in direct B2C customer contact.

Moving ahead with the new structure, Kuoni will focus on expanding activities in Asia, the sustainable development of its European tour operations, the integration of GTA, and expanding existing and creating new growth areas.

THERE were 745,451 overseas arrivals to Indonesia in July, a 13.2 per cent increase over last July’s 658,476 visitors.

Indonesia Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, said: “This is the best July performance ever, and with performance in the second half of the year usually better than the first half, I’m optimistic that our target of 7.7 million arrivals is achievable.

For the period January-July 2011, Indonesia welcomed 4,343,083 overseas visitors, a 7.53 per cent increase over 2010’s 4,039,020 arrivals.

The Australia market led the way in terms of rate of growth, contributing 490,977 arrivals, up 24.9 per cent over the same period last year. However, the largest number of visitors (717,155) were from Singapore.

Speaking during the ministry’s marketing workshop in Jakarta yesterday, Wacik said: “Looking at the trend, we are optimistic that Singapore and Australia will continue to grow significantly.”

“China is also on the rise, while the Middle East is a bulky market to grab,” he added.

Sapta Nirwandar, director general of marketing Indonesia Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said: “We need all stakeholders to synergise and promote tourism in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Russia, as there is huge potential to tap from these market still.”

Nirwandar also expects more air capacity to be injected, in view of the scheduled opening of Lombok International Airport next month (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 13).

DIRECT flights between Taiwan and Hainan are set to increase four-fold this year, with China Airlines (CAL) launching earlier this month twice-weekly services between Taoyuan and Sanya.

CAL is also planning to start thrice-weekly flights to Haikou from October 30, while Taiwan’s EVA Air will start twice-weekly services to Haikou from October 31.

Previously, the only regular scheduled direct flights between Taiwan and Hainan were twice-weekly services operated by Hainan Airlines.

According to Jerry Lin, manager at the Taipei office of Lion Travel Service, the surge in the number of cross-straits connections stems from the signing of a treaty between Taiwan and China last June, which boosted the Taiwan-Hainan flight allocation from 370 to 558 flights per week.

The number of Taiwanese travelling to Hainan in the first half of 2011 has already exceeded the 70,000 visits tallied last year, according to Hainan government sources.

Lin, who manages Hainan packages at Lion Travel, said the demographic of Taiwanese travellers to Hainan was also changing.

“In the past, we handled group tours with travellers who were mostly in their sixties,” he said. “Now the average age is 32, and they are friends travelling together on tour packages.”

Lin said the presence of international hotel brands such as Hilton and Sheraton in Haikou and Sanya had made Hainan a more attractive destination for younger travellers.

Josephine Lee, assistant to the general manager, Richmond Tours, said interest in Hainan was piqued by Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s 2009 romantic comedy, If you are the one, which was filmed in Hainan.

“A lot of people saw the movie, then visited Hainan, and when they returned they told their friends,” she said. “Interest has spread by word of mouth.”

Lee added: “People here think of Hainan as like Hawaii. It’s far away, and it has nice weather, but the people speak Mandarin.”

By Glenn Smith

THE EARTHQUAKE which ripped through parts of Nepal, Bhutan, and the North-east Indian territories of Sikkim and north Bengal last Sunday has halted the flow of tourists that was expected to descend upon the Himalayan region during the Durga Puja and Deepawali festivals in September and October.

The transportation routes linking the low-lying areas to the hills were damaged during the earthquake, forcing access roads to two major tourist destinations in Sikkim – Lachung and Yumthang – to be closed.

K. Goswami, manager tours of Kolkata-based Travelcorp, said: “Many tourists are cancelling their holiday plans in expectation of an aftershock or recurrence of the quake.”

According to a spokesperson from Mayfair Hotels and Resorts, a 120-pax incentive group from Mumbai cancelled their proposed weeklong trip to Gangtok, the state capital of Sikkim.

Pintso Gyatso, managing director of Greenwheels, a tour operator in Gangtok, said: “Many areas have been badly affected. We will do everything we can to bring the tourists back soon to Sikkim.”

Meanwhile, tourism in neighbouring Bhutan seems to be operating normally. Chencho Dorji, executive marketing officer of Bhutan Zhabdu Tours and Travels, said: “Flights to Bhutan remain unaffected, and we are operating our buses and off-road 4WD vehicles as usual.”

The Durga Puja holidays begin next week. This is the peak travel period for thousands of holidaymakers from the region, as most schools and colleges are closed for at least three weeks, while offices are shut for five working days.

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) is going ahead with plans for a company spinoff effective October 1, which will affect 2,600 employees in its catering, airport services, and telesales operations divisions.

The job transfers to third-party companies will create savings of US$10-15 million annually, according to PAL COO Jaime Bautista, who said in media reports that it was “a painful but necessary decision to ensure PAL’s viability and long-term survival”.

The flag carrier was hit by union protests last Friday and Monday, staged by the Philippine Airlines Employee Association, who want lawmakers to review the legality of the subcontracting agreement.

PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna told TTG Asia e-Daily: “These measures are part of a cost-control strategy – in fact, a survival strategy – in response to fuel price increases, the global recession, and cut-downs in travel. We’re the only (airline) company in Asia that has not spun off its catering department.”

Bautista had reported to PAL stockholders back in 2009 that the flag carrier foresaw workforce cuts would be needed after the global economic slump caused major slowdowns in travel.

PAL posted staggering losses of US$301 million in 2008, after registering profits of US$30.6 million in 2007. Prior to this, PAL underwent nine years of restructuring following the 1997 financial crisis.

In August, the airline netted PHP3.09 billion (about US$72.5 million) for the fiscal year ended in March, but then posted a net loss of US$10.6 million in the subsequent quarter ended June 30.

PAL, which currently operates a fleet of 36 aircraft, has a confirmed order for four A320s and four B777-300ERs, due for delivery between 2012 and 2013, which should help address efficiency costs associated with volatile fuel prices.

RAIL Europe launched yesterday its new B2B online portal for South-east Asia, giving travel agents in the region access to the company’s range of European rail products.

Agents will be able to book rail passes offered by Eurail, BritRail, Swiss Passes and France Railpass among others, as well as domestic and international point-to-point tickets offered by Eurostar, TGV, Thalys, AVE, FrecciaRossa and other train operators.

“We are launching this new B2B portal with a South-east Asian focus to respond to the demand from our strong GSA network in the region, as well as the outstanding sales result achieved”, said Rail Europe CEO Pierre-Stéphane Austi.

Between January and July 2011, Rail Europe’s bookings from Asia increased by 60 per cent. In South-east Asia, its Vietnam business saw a 91 per cent jump, while there was also significant growth from the Philippines (71 per cent), Malaysia (59 per cent), Singapore (54 per cent), and Indonesia and Thailand (both 28 per cent).

Dynasty Travel, Rail Europe’s Singapore GSA and appointed handler for its B2B and B2C operations in Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, will provide support for agents using the new online B2B services.

Juliana Gan, general manager outbound travel with Dynasty Travel, said: “Other than leisure travellers, corporates will be an important clientele for this B2B platform.”

Gan said her corporate clients, which include the likes of Hogg Robinson Group and American Express, were more inclined to use rail instead of air connections in Europe. “High-speed rail travel in Europe is faster compared to travel by air, plus it is more comfortable and saves on check-in time,” she said.

“It is also more accessible, especially in Germany where the industrial areas have little plane access.”

Meanwhile, Rail Europe’s Asian flagship retail outlet opened in Hong Kong in May (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 16) has resulted in a 50 per cent increase in bookings from the Hong Kong market since the launch, according to Austi.

“The operation was an experiment and has been really successful. The 10 queue lines at the retail outlet are always occupied with consumers,” he said. “We plan to open another retail outlet in Hong Kong next year.”

THE GLOBAL aviation industry performed better than expected in the first half of 2011, despite turbulent and uncertain economic conditions in Europe and the US, escalating oil prices, and political turmoil in the Middle East.

IATA’s 2011 industry profit expectations were upgraded to US$6.9 billion from the US$4 billion projected in June, as passenger demand remained robust in the interim. Weak profit margins are predicted across all regions in 2011, with the exception of Africa, which is expected to just break even.

Speaking today at a press conference held at IATA’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, Tony Tyler, the association’s recently installed director general and CEO (TTG Asia Hot Moves, June 7), said: “Airlines are going to make a little more money in 2011 than we thought. Given the strong headwinds of high oil prices and economic uncertainty, remaining in the black is a great achievement.”

In fact, IATA data shows that passenger traffic grew by 6.4 per cent over the first seven months of the year. Latin America (9.7 per cent), followed by the Middle East (8.3 per cent) and Europe (7.2 per cent) are projected to see the biggest increases in passenger traffic in 2011.

This is expected to tail off by 2012, except in the case of Asia-Pacific and Africa, where higher than average capacity growth, alongside an extension of networks, are predicted to keep the airline markets in these regions humming along.

However, there are signs on the horizon that this may only be a fleeting respite, with cloudy skies expected in 2012.

IATA forewarned that operating conditions for the global airline industry were becoming increasingly sombre. Margins remain anaemic, reaching a paltry 1.2 per cent of turnover in the first half of the year. This figure is projected to decline to 0.8 per cent in 2012, with net profits expected to dip by nearly 30 per cent year-on-year to US$4.9 billion.

Europe is the main concern for IATA, due to the uncertainty caused by its unfolding debt crisis, and the ensuing global economic repercussions it poses. The region is forecast to see its profit shrink the fastest worldwide between 2011 and 2012 – from US$1.5 billion to just US$0.3 billion.

Brian Pearce, IATA’s chief economist said that even though airline markets were holding up at the moment, the path ahead was sure to be a turbulent one. “Essentially, the weakness we were predicting before (in the June forecast) has been shifted to 2012, because the main area of risk is still likely coming from the situation in Europe,” he said.

“Not many people know how it is going to play out. If a good resolution is reached, business and consumer confidence should come back.”

UKRAINIAN flag carrier AerosSvit Airlines will be launching thrice-weekly direct services between Kiev and Colombo from October 22, according to Johann Wijesinghe, director at Hayleys Leisure Holdings, the airline’s GSA in Sri Lanka.

Wijesinghe told TTG Asia e-Daily that AerosSvit would operate a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft on the route, configured with 24 business-class and 207 economy-class seats.

Ukraine’s other flag carrier, Ukraine International Airlines, started the first flights between Ukraine and Sri Lanka last December, offering twice-weekly services between Kiev and Colombo, via Abu Dhabi, using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Some 25,850 travellers from Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine, visited Sri Lanka in the first eight months of 2011, up 25 per cent over the same period last year.