CENTARA Hotels and Resorts is pressing ahead with plans to operate 85 hotels by 2015, and to launch a budget hotel brand by end-2011.

Group president and CEO, Gerd Steeb, said the number of managed and signed properties in Centara’s portfolio might double within the next five years.

The Thai-based hotel chain currently operates 32 properties – with a further 29 under construction – under six mid- to upscale brands in Thailand, the Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Also in the works are ongoing negotiations to manage a property in China within the year, as well as the debut of its budget brand concept and prototype – after a two-year delay – with the first property to be developed under a joint venture in Thailand.

Centara registered 2.56 billion baht (US$85.7 million) in revenue for the first half of 2011, a year-on-year increase of 21.3 per cent.

In Thailand alone, Centara recorded an average occupancy of 71 per cent in the first quarter and 58 per cent in the second quarter, higher than the country’s average of 65 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively.

Citing high occupancy in July and strong bookings for the rest of the year, Ronachit Mahatthanaphruet, senior vice president of finance and management for Central Plaza Hotel Public Company, the chain’s parent company, said Centara was expecting 80 to 90 per cent occupancy in its Thai properties for the second half of 2011, and 65 per cent average occupancy for the whole year.

By Sirima Eamtako

AIRASIA yesterday launched its new Philippines affiliate based at Clark International Airport, and took delivery of its first Airbus A320 aircraft.

According to AirAsia Philippines CEO Marianne Hontiveros, the airline is not expected to start commercial operations until October, when it will receive final regulatory approval from the government.

AirAsia Philippines will operate flights to Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Bangkok at the offset. Its fleet is expected to expand to four Airbus A320s by June next year.

AirAsia already operates daily services from Clark to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.

Meanwhile, Hontiveros said there were plans to turn Clark into a hub for AirAsia’s services to the United States.

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) posted positive first-half 2011 figures, with Asia-Pacific RevPAR up by seven per cent, including rate growth of 3.7 per cent.

Excluding Japan (32 properties) where the earthquake and resultant events negatively impacted growth, IHG’s RevPAR in the region grew 11.6 per cent. Greater China was IHG’s strongest-performing market, with RevPAR up 12.7 per cent, including rate growth of 7.1 per cent.

In the second quarter alone, Asia-Pacific RevPAR grew 4.4 per cent, with 2.7 per cent rate growth. Excluding Japan, second quarter RevPAR growth was 9.8 per cent.

The group’s Asia-Pacific revenue increased 14 per cent to US$156 million and operating profit increased 31 per cent to US$46 million. This was driven by strong RevPAR growth and a five per cent increase in year-on-year room count, led by Greater China, up 11 per cent.

Managed operating profit increased by US$9 million to US$39 million, despite the US$3 million impact from the natural disasters in Japan and New Zealand.

IHG signed 4,978 rooms (22 hotels) in Asia-Pacific during the half, comprising nine hotels in Greater China; four hotels in India as part of the deal with Duet Hotels India; six hotels in Indonesia and three hotels in Thailand.

4,538 rooms (15 hotels) were opened in Asia-Pacific, including three hotels in India and nine in Greater China, where IHG now has 154 hotels in operation and 142 in the pipeline.

A TOTAL of 53 buyers and 91 sellers from all over the Philippines attended the recently concluded PhilippineMICE Conference 2011. This year’s mix of buyers came from China, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Vietnam, some visiting the country for the first time.

P. Pavan Kumar, general manager for sales at Kuoni Travel Group India is interested in bringing groups of about 20 participants to Manila, with possible side trips to the lakeside city of Tagaytay, about 60 kilometers from the capital.

“Flights from India into the Philippines are a limitation, but we will look at Cebu more closely in the future,” he said.

He added: “We were hoping to meet more DMCs like us, who can take of business with one price and one package, with nothing more to worry about.”

Dada Estonactoc, director of sales and marketing at the as-yet-unopened Nandana Resort in Boracay, said she had been hoping to meet more foreign buyers at the conference.

“It is easy for us to make client calls to local prospects, whereas foreign buyers come here for the first time and don’t know us yet,” she explained.

The province of Davao in Southern Philippines has won the bid to host the next edition of the annual conference in 2013, skipping a year to facilitate the Philippines Tourism Promotions Board’s hosting of PATA Philippines in 2012.

THE RECENT spate of riots in the UK has seemingly had little impact on traffic to and from Indonesia.

Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) Jakarta chapter vice chairman, Rudiana, said: “The interest for UK continues to be big, even though the tours include London and Manchester (two of the locations where riots occurred).

“We have not heard of any cancellations in relation to the riots thus far.”

Rudiana, who is also director of sales and marketing of WITA Tours, added that his company had five groups due to depart for the UK during the upcoming Hari Raya peak holiday season.

Panorama Tours Indonesia managing director Leisure Travel Management, Meity Monica Lukito, said: “We have four groups, 30 pax each, taking mono Britain packages, and 20 groups of 25-35 people each touring Western Europe including London; all are on.”

Meanwhile, Pacific World Nusantara (PWN) Bali and Bali Tours & Travel reported business as usual for inbound traffic from the UK.

PWN regional country manager, Ida Bagus Lolec, said: “Booking patterns are normal and we haven’t noticed any unusual cancellations.”

GROUNDED domestic carrier Yangon Airways has applied for permission to resume flights, and is expecting to return to the skies ahead of the peak tourist season.

The airline’s spokesperson said that while the application for an Aircraft Operation Certificate (AOC) with the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) was ongoing, the airline was actively recruiting air crew.

“We hope to start in time for the coming peak season and will issue a public announcement when we receive our AOC,” the spokesperson said.

The airline was forced to stop operations from December last year after its AOC was suspended by the DCA. Although neither the airline nor DCA gave a reason for the suspension, it was thought to have been linked to a failed takeover by a rival carrier.

A Yangon-based ticketing agent said Yangon Airways was one of the more reliable domestic airlines in Myanmar, and that the airline seldom changed its flights schedule or cancelled flights.

“I have heard they are planning to relaunch from coming peak season, and this will give both customers and travel agents more options when purchasing tickets for domestic flights,” the ticketing agent said.

Prior to its grounding, Yangon Airways operated scheduled and charter services from Yangon to 13 domestic destinations.

THAI Airways International (THAI) last week placed an order to purchase four Airbus A350-900 and five A320 aircraft, to be delivered between 2014 and 2017, as part of plans to upgrade its aging fleet (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 15).

The Thai flag carrier will also lease an additional eight A350s, to be delivered between 2016 and 2017; and six A320s, to be delivered between 2012 and 2013.

THAI plans to use the A350s on longhaul services to Europe, and the A320s on domestic and regional routes.

THAI president Piyasavasti Amranand said the fleet upgrade would play a significant role in ensuring that the airline keeps abreast of regional competition.

In the second half of 2012, THAI will take delivery of the first of six A380s it has ordered.

The carrier will also decommission 50 aircraft between this year and 2017.

THAI operated at a cabin factor of 77.3 per cent last month, the highest level recorded in the month of July over the past four years. The airline recorded a load factor of 66.4 per cent in the second quarter, and 76.1 per cent in the first quarter.

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide will operate a Le Méridien resort on Koh Samui from October 1, 2011.

Located on Lamai Beach on the east coast of Koh Samui, the resort is a short drive to the island’s recreational and cultural facilities, including Lamai Temple and the Yacht Club.

The property will offer 77 guest rooms and villas, three F&B venues, a full-service spa with six treatment rooms, a fitness centre, four swimming pools and 100m2 of meeting and event space.

SOFITEL Luxury Hotels has opened its first hotel in Guangzhou, the Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich, bringing its China portfolio to 20 properties.

Located in the heart of Tianhe, Guangzhou’s financial and business district, the property offers 493 rooms and suites, a gym, an indoor pool, five F&B outlets, 17 meeting rooms, as well as a 900m2 conference room.

The hotel is also the first Sofitel in Asia to offer the group’s So SPA-branded day spa.

FEWER than expected Chinese FITs travelled to Taiwan in July, the first month that individual travellers from mainland China were allowed to visit the country on FIT visas (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 27).

Even though the number of FIT visas issued is limited to 500 per day and restricted to residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, only 1,440 Chinese FITs had travelled across the Taiwan Strait as of August 7.

This was much better, though, than the figure recorded for the whole of July, when only 587 made the trip.

“That first month was bad, bad, bad” said Roget Hsu, secretary-general of the Travel Agent Association of the Republic of China, Taiwan.

Hsu said Taiwanese inbound operators were not inclined to take on too many Chinese customers because of relatively lower margins. “Travel agents here don’t like working with Chinese tours. The tour fees are too low, so there is little or no profit,” he said.

Kitty Wong, president of Taipei-based K&A International, cited a few other hurdles facing mainland Chinese who might want to visit Taiwan.

“These people might live and work in Beijing or Shanghai, but to get a travel permit, they must return to and apply in their hometown,” she explained.

“They also lack the basic information. The Chinese government blocks websites that end in .tw.”

By Glenn Smith