THE ERAWAN Group has ditched Six Senses Resorts & Spas for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, rebranding its resort on Naka Island in Phuket to a Luxury Collection property.

Six Senses has managed the property for about three years. A statement from Six Senses said the decision, effective August 1, was “mutual”.

The Erawan Group is pouring an additional investment of 70 million baht (US$2.4 million) to rebrand the resort as The Naka Island, including enhancing the 67 pool villas. The resort, closed on July 31, is scheduled to reopen on November 1.

A statement obtained by TTG Asia e-Daily quoted president of the group, Kamonwan Wipulakorn, as saying the rebranding would transform the resort from “its formerly restricted wellness destination” to “a broader market demand of luxury pool-villa resort”.

The company anticipates a growing number of tourists in the second half of the year with the increase in direct flights from various destinations to Phuket.

In Singapore last week, Starwood’s regional vice president South-east Asia, Chuck Abbott, said “there are lots of activities” with existing owners to rebrand properties into Luxury Collection.

There are 13 Luxury Collection properties in operation in Asia-Pacific and six more openings by 2014. The website shows the following: Keraton at the Plaza, Jakarta (December 1, 2011), Twelve at Hengshan (May 1, 2012), Vana Belle Samui Resort & Spa (July 1, 2012), The Royal Begonia, Sanya (February 18, 2012), The Sarasvati, Bali (July 1, 2013) and The Chengbao Hotel, Dalian (January 1, 2014).

CHINA Southern Airlines will double its Melbourne services by introducing twice-daily flights between Guangzhou and Melbourne from October 2011.

The introduction of double-daily services comes just one year after the carrier introduced daily flights, up from thrice-weekly.

Melbourne Airport CEO, Chris Woodruff, said China Southern’s additional services would increase the number of visitors from China to Melbourne and Victoria, as well provide more opportunities for Australians travelling to China.

“China is our number one longhaul market and as Victoria’s international aviation gateway, we are pleased to be able to support the strengthening of Victoria’s tourism, education and business relationship with China,” he said.

There were 386,118 Chinese nationals who travelled through Melbourne Airport in 2010/11, a 26.2 per cent increase over the previous year.

Chinese visitors are responsible for the highest level of expenditure of all international source markets for Victoria.

DUSIT International has released more information about their first resort in the Maldives (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 8) scheduled to open in December 2011.

Dusit Thani Maldives, located on Mudhdhoo Island in Baa Atoll, will feature 46 beach villas, two beach houses, 30 water villas, 20 ocean villas and two ocean houses.

Facilities will include a 50-metre swimming pool and a pool bar, over-water and grill restaurants, a tree-top spa, tennis courts, and a dive centre.

Chanin Donavanik, CEO of Dusit International, said: “This new project is our first foray into the Maldives. This is a very exciting addition to our growing portfolio and represents a great milestone for the Dusit brand.”

A total investment of some US$77 million has been committed to this project with Dusit International as the majority shareholder.

INDONESIA has called on airlines flying from Australia to spread their wings beyond the usual destinations.

Speaking to the media following a meeting in Jakarta with Australian Minister for Tourism Martin Ferguson, Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik said: “We are encouraging airlines to use Lombok International Airport, which is to open in October as a new hub to other parts of Indonesia.”

With air passenger capacity between the two countries having been increased in June (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 27), Wacik said there were opportunities to promote beyond Bali and Jakarta.

“We are not only promoting Lombok as a destination, but also as a hub to the West and East Nusa Tenggaran and even to Kalimantan and Sulawesi,” he said.

There were 769,000 Australian arrivals to Indonesia in 2010, a number which is expected to rise to 800,000 this year. There were 398,000 Australian arrivals to Indonesia in the first six months leading up to July.

THE BANGKOK International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) will be providing a shuttle service for its events visitors arriving at Bang Na Station via the extended Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) SkyTrain Sukhumvit Line, which will be opened to the public on August 12.

The long-awaited BTS extension will connect On Nut terminal station to Bearing station in greater Bangkok. Panittha Buri, BITEC marketing and sales director, said the centre had launched marketing activities, including offering free rides from August 12 to January 1, to raise awareness of the new route.

BITEC is currently building a skywalk that will link the venue directly to Bang Na station. The skywalk ends at the footpath on Sukhumvit Road, and is slated for completion by September 30. The centre is also negotiating with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for the construction of a link bridge between the skywalk and Bang Na station.

Meanwhile, a new 1,700m2 welcome hall is being constructed between the skywalk and the main building. Slated to open next year, the hall will cater to press conferences, product launches, exhibition showcases and receptions.

TOURISM industry stakeholders in Myanmar are urging the government to repeal a new law implemented in June, stipulating that tourists must enter and exit the country at the same checkpoint when using land-based border crossings.

Under the new rule, tourists who enter via Ruili/Muse or Tachileik, for example, would have to return to those gateways in order to depart from Myanmar.

A Yangon-based tour operator said it had been hard to obtain entry permits since the new rule took effect. The government rejected the company’s recent application for an entry permit on the grounds that it did not comply with the procedure.

Another Yangon-based travel agent said the government needed to look at the situation elsewhere in the region, where land access across borders was becoming easier rather than more difficult.

18,073 tourists entered Myanmar via land checkpoints shared with China and Thailand in the first six months of the year, an increase of almost 150 per cent compared to the previous year’s 7,236.

Approvals for land entry permits have come to a standstill since the directive was issued in June.

KHAZANAH Nasional, the Malaysian government’s investment arm that holds a 69 per cent stake in Malaysia Airlines (MAS), has facilitated a share swop deal between MAS and AirAsia as a means of turning round the national carrier.

Among the driving factors for the deal were MAS’s first-quarter loss of 242 million ringgit (US$80.2 million) (TTG Asia August 5 issue) and the forecast of operating losses for the full year. In contrast, AirAsia recorded a first quarter profit of 172 million ringgit.

As part of the deal, Khazanah has offered Tune Air, the holding company for AirAsia, a 20 per cent stake in MAS, in exchange for a similar stake in AirAsia.

AirAsia CEO, Tony Fernandes, and co-founder partner, Kamarudin Meranun, hold slightly more than 26 per cent of AirAsia, and are likely to become among the largest shareholders in MAS if the deal goes through.

Malaysian Minister for Transport, Kong Cho Ha, said the deal would add synergies between the two airlines and help rationalise their operations. “The resulting synergies will especially be obvious in the routes both airlines are flying and will also reduce their operating costs,” Kong was quoted by The Star as saying.

AirAsia has a market capitalisation of 11 billion ringgit, which is more than double that of MAS’s 5.3 billion ringgit.

Believed to have been negotiated over the past year, the deal has already received government approval and is expected to be signed this week, possibly even as early as today.

TC CHUN, managing director of Goodmiles, a Brunei-based DMC, passed away on August 7.

A funeral service will be held on August 9, 14.00 at the Church of Our Lady Assumption in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan.

Chun has been a part of Brunei’s tourism industry for over 30 years.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts has opened two new hotels in Pattaya, growing its portfolio in the city to three properties.

The Nova Hotel & Spa Pattaya and Centra Pattaya Resort are both located in central Pattaya.

Suthikiati Chirathivat, chairman, Centara Hotels & Resorts, said: “We have been delighted with the response we have had to the five-star Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya, and our two new hotels are strategically in the four-star and mid-range categories.”

Nova Hotel & Spa Pattaya, part of the Centara Boutique Collection, offers 79 rooms and suites, two F&B outlets, a swimming pool, a Spa Cenvaree and a fitness centre.

Centra Pattaya Resort offers 152 rooms and suites, an all-day-dining restaurant, a bar, a swimming pool and a fitness centre.

Centra Pattaya also features a meeting room which can hold up to 140 persons seated theatre-style, 90 people in a classroom setup and 160 persons for a reception.

HOTELS in Kandy are overflowing with tourists during this year’s Esala Perahera (Festival of the Tooth) which began on Thursday.

Held every July or August in the central Sri Lankan city, the Bhuddist festival features a multitude of dancers wearing elegant costumes and elephants adorned with lavish garments.

Rodney Armstrong, resident manager, Mahaweli Reach Hotel and president of the Kandy Hotels Association, said the event was getting more popular each year, especially after the end of the civil war.

Armstrong said around 8,000-10,000 foreign visitors are expected to witness the 10-day event, which ends this year on August 14. Kandy only has about 1,200-1,300 keys inclusive of hotels and guesthouses. “Over the last six to seven days, all hotels here have been fully booked, and no rooms are available,” he said.

Vasantha Leelananda, head of inbound, Leisure Inbound at John Keells Holdings, said that this year’s festival received more promotion as a religious event in Asian source markets such as Japan.

Visitors from traditional markets such as the UK and Germany attend the festival as part of their regular tours.