LAO Airlines’ thrice-weekly Vientiane-Singapore flights from November 1 (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 25) have been rescheduled to November 24 due to a revision in the delivery schedule of two new Airbus A320s, one of which it plans to deploy on the route (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 29).

The airline and its GSA in Singapore, Maple Aviation, have been in contact with travel agents and travellers who booked seats on the cancelled flights to offer alternative travel arrangements.

Sitthideth Douangsiththy, Lao Airlines’ newly appointed general manager in Singapore, said: “The two A320s will arrive in Laos at the beginning of November.”

Douangsiththy confirmed that during the first six months of operation, return airfares to Vientiane and Luang Prabhang were being offered at S$395 (US$316) and S$495, respectively, including surcharges and taxes.

He added that Lao Airlines was planning to leverage on its Singapore operations to encourage connecting flights to and from Europe, Australia and many parts of Asia.

Besides longhaul visitors, Lao Airlines is targeting corporate travellers, FITs, and Singapore-based expatriates – including the sizeable French, Dutch, German, Scandinavian and Japanese communities.

Lao Airlines is also planning to cooperate with the Lao National Tourism Administration, Laotian travel agents, and hotels to participate in the upcoming ITB Asia.

“Under the bigger umbrella of a national pavilion, we will have a stronger presence to signal our commitment to tourism,” said Douangsiththy.

HONG Kong outbound travel agency Lotus Tours has been appointed the exclusive representative in the territory for Taiwan-based Mandarin Airlines’ branded holiday package tours.

This is the first time that the China Airlines subsidiary, which operates regular services between Hong Kong and Taichung and Kaohsiung, has partnered with a travel agent outside of Taiwan to offer branded package tours.

According to Lotus’ marketing representative, Frank Wong, Mandarin Airlines Holidays would also be available through Lotus’ many sub-agents.

“Mandarin Airlines Holidays, set up as its in-house product brand, aims to develop leisure packages by making use of the airlines’ network to Taiwan and beyond,” he explained.

Lotus started operating the tours last month, with three itineraries focused on Mandarin Airlines’ homeport in Taichung.

“Taichung is only an hour and a half away (from Hong Kong),” said Wong. “Taiwanese speak Chinese, so there is a sense of home. Unlike popular destinations such as Tokyo or Shanghai, Taichung allows Hong Kong travellers to escape their concrete jungle and experience the tranquility of nature.”

“Most importantly, a trip to Taichung is inexpensive. It costs 1/4 of a trip to Australia or 1/3 of one to Sapporo,” he added.

Headlining the packages is a three-day/two-night, four-for-the-price-of-two option priced at HK$1,590 (US$54) per pax, featuring bus tours from Taichung to Sun Moon Lake and other nearby destinations.

Two other three-day/two-night packages include either tours of Taichung’s hotspring spas, or the nearby Sun Moon Lake, costing HK$2,150 and HK$1,990 per pax, respectively.

By Glenn Smith

LAS VEGAS-based Wynn Resorts has signed a deal with the Macau government to build its second casino-resort in the SAR.

Wynn Resorts will fork out more than US$193 million for the 25-year lease of 51 acres (20.6 hectares) of reclaimed swampland in the Cotai strip, where an integrated resort will be constructed incorporating a hotel and casino, F&B outlets, as well as spa, shopping, entertainment and convention facilities.

Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn is hoping the property will be open by 2015, and will feature 1,500-1,600 hotel rooms, about 500 game tables, and 1,300 slot machines.

The resort will compete with rivals on the Cotai Strip, including the recently opened Galaxy Macau (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 16), and the Venetian Macau.

Macau raked in US$23.5 billion in gambling revenue last year, a 58 per cent year-on-year increase. The SAR’s gambling sector is showing no signs of slowing down despite growing global economic uncertainty, skyrocketing 57 per cent in August compared to the year before.

ROYAL Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas cruise liner will embark on its first Asia-Pacific voyage in May 2012, commencing the trip from Singapore’s new International Cruise Terminal.

With over 40 per cent more staterooms and five more categories than existing offerings in Asia, as well as onboard innovations such as an ice-skating rink, a full-sized sports court and a golf simulator, the 14-deck 3,840-guest ship will be the largest ever to be home docked in Singapore as well as Asia.

Michael Bayley, executive vice president, international of Royal Caribbean Cruises, said: “Singapore was picked as the Voyager’s home port as it is an iconic tourist destination. We have a good relationship with local authorities as well as its tourism board, which actively markets Singapore as a destination.”

Voyager of the Seas joins its sister ship, the 2,076-pax Legend of the Seas, in targeting Australian, Chinese, Indian and South-east Asian holidaymakers, and will call at similar ports with the exception of Nagasaki, Kobe and Tianjin.

From May to June, Voyager of the Seas will sail three- to five-night cruises to Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket, as well as an eight-night cruise to Shanghai that features Ho Chi Minh City, Xiamen and an overnight stay in Hong Kong.

The ship will then sail from Shanghai and Tianjin visiting a variety of Japanese and South Korean destinations including Kobe, Okinawa, Fukuoka and Jeju from June to October.

On top of scheduled sailings, Bayley explained that the charter segment was also drumming up a considerable amount of business, and demand was rising, particularly from China. According to Bayley, the Legend of the Seas was chartered out 11 times in 2010. “The (charter) business is incredibly vibrant and healthy,” he said.

Bayley revealed that Royal Caribbean intends to keep Voyager of the Seas in Asia, where it hopes to eventually double its guest count. “At the moment, we plan to build the brand, and I imagine that if Voyager proves to be a success, we will add more capacity to our Asia-Pacific fleet,” he said.

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) will be launching a new marketing campaign targeting couples planning to tie the knot overseas, as part of plans to entice the India outbound market.

TAT’s intentions were first announced at a media briefing at PATA Travel Mart 2011 in New Delhi.

A promotional wedding package, which is being offered jointly with Thai Airways, will run from October 1 to December 31. Couples who book economy air tickets directly with Thai Airways for themselves and their wedding party to Thailand will receive a free upgrade to business class. Elephants, drummers and dancers will welcome the couple and their guests upon initial arrival at the hotel. This offer is limited to the first 50 couples, on a first come, first served basis.

Sethaphan Buddhani, director based in TAT’s Mumbai office, said the Thai national tourism body had organised a series of fam trips for Indian wedding planners to Bangkok, Hua Hin, Phuket, Krabi and Chiangmai over the last two years.

The TAT is also in discussions with the Royal Thai Customs department to address the issue of import taxes levied on Indian couples bringing in their wedding jewellery. A solution is yet to be finalised, but the problem will be resolved sooner rather than later, said Buddhani, adding that this would persuade more Indian couples to hold their weddings in Thailand, which he believes costs “only a third of what is normally forked out in India”.

According to Buddhani, Indian weddings in Thailand last for a minimum of three days, and in some instances, up to 1,000 guests are invited.

He added that TAT Mumbai branch handled 11 weddings in 2010, but was unable to provide exact figures for the New Delhi office. Nonetheless, he suggested that New Delhi often handled significantly higher volumes than the Mumbai branch.

A press release published by TAT in June revealed that over 100 large-scale Indian weddings were organised in Thailand last year. “We hope to increase the number of Indian weddings by 15 per cent year-on-year by the end of 2011,” Buddhani said.

VISIT Berlin is strengthening its tourism marketing efforts in Asia through cooperation with the regional travel trade and airlines, and is positioning the German capital as the gateway to central Europe.

According to Visit Berlin sales director, Ralf Ostendorf, the destination marketing agency started promotions in India three years ago in a joint-effort with other German cities, and began this year its online strategy in China through the local travel trade.

“We now plan to attract more visitor numbers from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia,” he said, noting that arrival figures from these markets were small at present.

Although there is no specific marketing campaign, Visit Berlin’s strategy for its push in Asia includes the positioning of the German capital as the gateway to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria.

This position will be further strengthened when the new Capital Airport Berlin Brandenburg International, with a total annual capacity of 27 million passengers, opens in June next year.

Ostendorf added that Berlin was a destination for all seasons, with music and street festivals being held in the city throughout the year.

Last year, 88 airlines operated via Berlin to 171 destinations, including 127 European cities. The German capital is also connected to longhaul destinations such as New York, Bangkok, Phuket, Beijing, Doha, Dubai, Miami and Mombasa.

By Sirima Eamtako

THE INDONESIA government has gazetted a 1,200-hectare area in Mandalika, southern Lombok as National Tourism Special Economic Territory, as part of plans to develop tourism infrastructure in West Nusa Tenggara province.

The move precipitates the implementation of the Master Plan on Acceleration and Expansion of the Indonesian Economic Development 2011-2023, where Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara provinces have been grouped under the national tourism and food support corridor.

Meanwhile, the new Lombok International Airport (LIA), which is expected to start operations on October 1, will be the main catalyst for tourism and economic progress in West Nusa Tenggara, according to coordinating minister for the economy, Hatta Rajasa.

The minister, who visited the airport development project last weekend, was quoted by Antara News Agency as saying: “(The development of) Lombok International Airport will (foster) West Nusa Tenggara to become a new special economic growth area and an international tourist destination at the same time.”

Panorama Destination managing director, Rocky Praputranto, said: “The government should shout to the world about the new facilities, entice airlines to fly to Lombok, and optimise the investment made.”

TransNusa Airlines CEO, Juvenile Jodjana, said: “The opening of the airport will not only benefit Lombok but also East Nusa Tenggara, which (consists of many islands and) relies a lot on air transportation.

NEXT year’s PATA Travel Mart is scheduled to take place September 25-28 at the SMX Convention Center in Manila (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 23, 2011), where the very first edition of the event was held back in 1978.

The inaugural event saw just over 300 delegates in attendance, a far cry from the current 1,000 plus participants.

Daniel Corpuz, undersecretary for tourism promotions and planning of the Philippines’ Department of Tourism, said that PATA holding the mart in Manila was a “strong indication of the region’s business confidence in the Philippines”.

Corpuz added: “With the current growing private sector investment in tourism facilities development throughout the Philippines, there is no better time to see the new products, convention facilities and other tourism infrastructure in place since the last time we hosted a big PATA event there.”

LAMA Desert Tourism, one of the largest inbound operators in the UAE, launched on September 1 its Lama Connect global hotel reservation system.

This new online booking engine is connected directly to the back-end systems of individual hotels, enabling users to receive live availability.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily at PATA Travel Mart last week, R G Singh, the sales manager for North India at Lama, said response had “been good so far”, although he declined to give specific details.

Singh said that would be targeting the Indian, Chinese, Russian and Gulf travel trade through a series of roadshows, showcasing various properties in the UAE as well as London, over the next eight months.

MALAYSIA’S Amir-Husin Holidays, which has seen good interest in China as a hotspot for ski holidays, is now planning to market the destination to corporate incentive groups during China’s winter months.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily at PATA Travel Mart last week, the agency’s managing director, Amir Omar, said: “Few people know that there are good ski resorts in China. Beijing Nanshan Ski Village has been a popular option for my travellers, as it is the biggest ski resort in Beijing and located only an hour from Beijing city centre. The other option is the Beijing Rose Valley Ski Resort.”

Omar added: “Beijing offers travellers a cheaper alternative to ski resorts in farther winter destinations. A five-day ski holiday in Beijing costs only US$1,000, inclusive of accommodation, meals and flight. Plus, Beijing is not that far away, so travellers save on travelling time.”

Amir-Husin Holidays sent almost 400 leisure travellers to Beijing’s ski resorts last year, a number Amir is confident of growing through corporate incentive group bookings.

“The only downside is that these resorts do not have enough guestrooms for large groups. We have to house the group in hotels in Beijing and transfer them to the ski resorts,” he said.