SINGAPORE-based Crescentrating.com has endorsed all five properties of Malaysia-based Legend Group of Hotels & Resorts for their halal-friendly services and facilities.

Crescentrating.com rates hotels on a scale of one to seven based on services and facilities provided to Muslim travellers, with a rating of seven being the most halal-friendly.

Legend Hotels, the first big Malaysian hotel group to receive these ratings, scored a Crescentrating rating of five for each of its properties, indicating that food is prepared in halal-certified kitchens, there are kiblat direction markings in the guestrooms, and Muslim prayer timetables and prayer mats are provided on request, explained Crescentrating CEO Fazal Bahardeen.

Andy Muniandy, director of sales and business development of Asian Overland Services Tours and Travel, said the Crescentrating rating was an added value for hotels, especially when catering to conservative Muslim travellers from Gulf countries.

Ally Bhoonee, executive director of World Avenues, an inbound tour operator and wholesaler strong in the Middle East market, agreed, saying the high ratings would help convince conservative Muslim travellers that they would feel comfortable staying in the properties.

According to Fazal, more than 12 hotel brands in Malaysia have been rated so far.

SOME Malaysian inbound operators, reeling from a drop in European arrivals over the last two years as the continent continues to suffer from a limp economy and weak currency, have turned to developing new markets to make up for the revenue loss.

To compound the situation further, the UK and Germany have also implemented additional flight taxes – air passenger duty and green tax respectively – that have affected passengers to longhaul destinations like Malaysia the most.

Ping Anchorage Travel & Tours CEO, Alex Lee, saw business from Europe halve in 2010 compared to 2008. “We also saw a decrease in the length of stay and spending among the leisure market in Europe,” he said.

Lee said targeting the Asian markets would help address the problem. “We have intensified our marketing efforts to the domestic (Malaysia) market, South-east Asia (Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia) and China to make up for the shortfall,” he said.

Similarly, Diethelm Travel’s managing director Manfred Kurz is “developing new markets in advance”, extending marketing efforts to Russian-speaking tourists in Eastern Europe. The company will initially target FITs before expanding to groups and MICE.

SITE Global, the worldwide association for professionals in the incentives industry, will hold its first board meeting of the year in New Delhi from February 10 to 12.

During their visit, SITE board members will meet key officials and players in the Indian tourism industry for bilateral discussions on how India can grow in this sector.

An executive summit has also been scheduled for February 11 to facilitate discussion between the board, local SITE members and other companies engaged in MICE, on how best to market their destination and the latest industry trends.

BEST Western International has signed its first hotel in Cambodia – the Suites And Sweet Resort Angkor.

Tentatively set to complete its rebranding this quarter, the property features Khmer-style design and décor in a setting similar to a typical Cambodian floating village, and a restaurant serving Khmer and French cuisine.

A 10-minute drive from both Siem Reap town and the Angkor Wat temple complex, the resort offers 18 suites in nine villas, each with their own private pool and terrace.

SINGAPORE Airlines and its regional wing SilkAir will raise the fuel surcharge for tickets issued on or after January 27, marking the second price hike by both carriers in less than two months.

Prices will go up by between US$3 and US$27 per sector, depending on the distance and class of travel.

In a statement, Singapore Airlines said this was “a result of the recent sharp and sustained escalation in the price of jet fuel”, which had now risen above US$110 per barrel.

The application of fuel surcharges may be subject to regulatory approval or variation in some individual markets.

BRUNEI’S only international hotel brand, Radisson Hotel Brunei, will undergo a refurbishment exercise, even as new flights between Bandar Seri Begawan and Melbourne are expected to boost travel demand for the sultanate.

Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) will launch four-weekly direct services on March 29 (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 19, 2010).

The renovation, which will commence in the first half of this year, will be carried out in stages over 18 months, and cover all 142 rooms, the business centre and club floor rooms.

The hotel, previously the Sheraton Utama Hotel until May 2010, closed last year at 50 per cent occupancy, higher than the country’s average of 40 per cent.

General manager Peter Feran said he was banking on RBA’s new service to attract more Australians, which is an important market for the hotel. RBA already flies to Brisbane and Perth.

INDONESIAN outbound operators are looking to religious travellers as a form of diversification, and are increasing offerings or introducing new programmes to cater to this market.

Agents at the Indonesia Pilgrimage Travel Fair, held in Jakarta over the weekend, said such tours went beyond pilgrim worship purposes.

“Indonesia has the largest Muslim society who also needs to travel for a holiday. Their common concerns when taking an overseas trip are the praying times and halal food,” said TIM Tour and Travel general manager Anni Nuraini, who is also secretary general of the Community of Muslim Tour Operators (KPWM).

The consortium of agents introduced Muslim tour packages covering Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and South Korea in 2010, and will add programmes to Japan, Australia and Turkey this year.

Star Midas Travel Service director Rini Indriani said he was also planning to come up with Muslim tour programmes, in addition to his main business in corporate incentives and Mecca pilgrimages.

During the trade show, Panorama Tours also launched a slew of religion-related packages such as the Korea Pilgrimage for Catholics and the India Lotus Path Pilgrimage for Buddhists. These will be offered during the January-March low season.

AGAINST a backdrop of a strong rebound in premium air travel, Singapore Airlines’ next Airbus A380 – its 12th out of an order for 19 – and subsequent deliveries will feature an all-Business Class upper deck, a credible industry source told TTG Asia e-Daily.

It is also understood that Tokyo (Narita) and Los Angeles will be among the first destinations to be served using these A380s.

The move will lower the seat density onboard the A380, which currently has 471 seats in total. At press time, no further information was available on the number of seats in this section or the number of seats in Suites, Business and Economy classes.

Only one other airline has opted for an all-Business Class upper deck. Korean Air’s first A380, which will arrive in May, will have 94 Business Class seats on its upper deck out of a total of 407 seats. On the main deck, the First Class section will have 12 seats and the Economy Class section will have 301 seats.

INDONESIA is proving to be a fast-growing tourist destination for Riyadh-based Unique Choice who recently appointed a Jakarta-based resident director for hotel contracting from February 1 just after it started selling the country slightly over a year ago.

CEO Zawfir Ziard said the tour operator sent 1,800 passengers to Indonesia in 2010, and anticipates the Middle East market to the country to grow to 2,000 pax this year.

He added that last year’s passenger numbers to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand were 16,000, 6,000 and 3,000 respectively, with expectations of a 60 per cent growth in 2011.

Driving the numbers were the Middle East’s strong economy and increased air links to the three countries, explained Zawfir.

Unique’s clientele is mainly leisure traffic from the UAE, Qatar and Oman.

By Sirima Eamtako

AGENTS are touting river cruises as the activity du jour for Asian travellers, with many looking to tap the growing demand with new initiatives.

Lim Chee Tong, managing director of Malaysia-based Jebsen Travel & Tours Services and consultant for Singapore’s Stamford Discovery Cruise Centre, said demand from Malaysia and Singapore for European river cruises had been doubling every year since 2008.

“Demand for river cruises in Europe is expected to grow further this year,” he said, citing the strong Asian currencies as a push factor. Best-selling packages are for sailings along the Danube River and the Rhine River with an extension to Volga River in Russia, he added.

Lim, whose company is the general sales agent for five river cruise lines, is currently looking for agents in South-east Asia to develop the river cruise segment. According to Lim, commissions for river cruises are much bigger – 30 to 40 per cent – compared to ocean cruises, which offer a mere 10 per cent.

Seeing potential in this growing market, Cambodia-based World Express Tours & Travel will introduce Asian river cruise itineraries by mid-year. Managing director Ho Vandy said the company will target families.