The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) yesterday signed an MoU on tourism cooperation to jointly promote travel to Thailand from priority markets, including Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Effective until March 31, 2019, the MoU between TAT and SIA will cover a series of joint activities including branded advertising and promotional campaigns, tactical and digital marketing, fam trips, joint roadshows and product development. The joint activities are expected to boost visitor numbers from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and Singapore to Thailand.

Bangkok, Thailand

Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor, said: “Australia and New Zealand markets has long been important source markets for Thailand while the South Africa market has been growing in recent years, so this strategic MoU will certainly help boost visitor numbers to Thailand.”

SIA and its subsidiary SilkAir currently operate 89 flights per week to Thailand. SIA operates 35 weekly flights to Bangkok, while SilkAir operates 35 weekly flights to Phuket, 14 weekly flights to Koh Samui and five weekly flights to Chiang Mai.

In 2017, TAT has set a target of 34.1 million international visitors, generating an estimated 1.8 trillion baht (US$50 billion) – a 10 per cent year-on-year increase – in international tourism receipts. Amongst these numbers, TAT projects an increase of 7.4 per cent and 9.7 per cent from the Oceania region and South Africa respectively.

Chinese luxury hotel company Wanda Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement with Turkish developer Mar Yapi to build Wanda Vista Istanbul, scheduled to open by end-2018.

The Philippe Starck-designed property will offer 150 guestrooms and suites, and will be located in a business district. The new hotel is also situated a five-minute drive from Ataturk International Airport and 25 minutes away from the city centre.

Wanda Vista Istanbul signing ceremony group photo

“Wanda Vista Istanbul is more than just the first Wanda hotel to be opened overseas; it is also the first brand we have marketed overseas. It marks another significant step toward our goal of becoming a respected international luxury hotel company from China,” said Qian Jin, president of Wanda Hotels & Resorts.

As of end 2016, Wanda Hotels & Resorts owns and operates 104 luxury hotels in China, with six international projects in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Chicago, Los Angeles and London under the Wanda Vista brand.

Malindo Air’s upcoming services from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah, the first Middle Eastern destination in its network, is expected to bolster Malaysia’s Muslim pilgrimage travel segment.

Malindo Air will complement other carriers on this route, namely Saudi Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia.

Chandran Rama Muthy, CEO, Malindo Air, said in a press release: “This new route will create another affordable option for our Muslim guests to perform Umrah and Hajj. We already have plans to progressively increase our frequency from twice to four-times weekly, and to a daily frequency during the month of Ramadan.”

The service will run twice weekly from February 21 until March 25, with frequency likely be increased thereafter.

Syed Razif Al-Yahya, group managing director of Sutra Group of Companies, said: “This route will cater to Umrah and Hajj pilgrims from Malaysia during the Malaysian school holiday and Ramadan peaks.”

The new Jeddah-Kuala Lumpur service will benefit inbound traffic into Malaysia too, pointed out Within Earth Holidays’ executive director Saini Vermeulen, as it will help to curb the “shortage of seats during the Middle East peak travel season in summer”.

“However, the airline will have to create brand awareness of its offerings in Saudi Arabia as this is its first foray into the market,” Saini added.

There will be an hour-long technical stop at Ahmedabad, India along this route.

Sens Asia Travel, founded last year by Vietnam-based HG Holdings, has entered into a joint venture in Germany to create Sens Asia Travel GmbH and offer its “sensory-driven” Asian itineraries to German travellers.

The official signing will be held during ITB Berlin next week.

Photo credit: Sens Asia Travel on Facebook 

“German travellers love extraordinary travel experiences and this, combined with the importance of sustainability in their travel decisions, made this a very logical step for us as we grow the brand in Europe,” said Sens Asia Travel managing director Linh Bui Ngoc.

German entrepreneur Martin Peter Moll, who has been appointed as managing director of Sens Asia Travel GmbH, said: “This is a company that puts people first and is deeply committed to sustainable travel experiences, working with communities and ensuring they are direct beneficiaries of the tourism to their areas.”

Based in Hanoi, Sens Asia Travel operates offices in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia, with openings in Sri Lanka due later this year.

Malaysian travel agents expressed their relief when authorities declared klia2 clean of any trace of the VX nerve agent, following a sweep of the airport after the assassination of Kim Jong Nam that has also resulted in a diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea.

Ally Bhoonee, executive director at World Avenues Travel & Tours, opined: “Statement and actions taken by the relevant authorities have provided a reassurance to overseas tourists that this airport is free of the toxin. When there is any negative publicity, our overseas clients will enquire about the situation before sending their clients to Malaysia.”

People walking at the departure terminal of KLIA2 Airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Alex Lee, CEO at Ping Anchorage Travel & Tours, said: “The declaration clears the air of any doubt people may have. The Malaysian authorities did the right thing in carrying out a sweep of the airport and screening it for contamination from hazardous materials.”

The VX nerve agent, a deadly chemical declared by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction, was smeared on Kim’s face on February 13 at the airport, resulting in his death.

Air China will launch thrice-weekly Barcelona-Shanghai flights beginning May 5 this year.

Flights depart Barcelona’s airport at 12.30 and reach Shanghai at 06.40 the next day for Fridays and Sundays. The Tuesday flight will depart from Barcelona at 11.45 and reach Shanghai at 05.55 the following day, while the return flight will depart at 00.30 and land in Barcelona at 08.00 on the same day.

The route will be operated on an Airbus 330-200 with 16 business class seats and 239 economy class seats.

This is Air China’s second route to Barcelona. In May 2014, the carrier started flying four-times-weekly from Beijing to Barcelona via Vienna.

Minor Hotels will roll out its first Avani property in South Korea with the 400-key Avani Busan, scheduled to open in 2019.

The hotel also represents Minor Hotel’s first property in South Korea, which sees the company signing a management agreement with hotel developer, UL Group.

Avani Busan’s facilities will include an all-day dining restaurant, meeting rooms, a rooftop bar, spa, gym, swimming pool and a Korean-style bathhouse. In addition to the hotel, 136 exclusive branded residences will also be included in the development.

The hotel will be situated within the East Busan Tourism Complex Zoning, where Lotte World (opening 2019) and Lotte Mall will be located less than 250m from the property. Also within walking distance is the Haedong Yonggungsa Buddhist temple.

William Heinecke, founder, chairman and CEO of Minor International, commented: “South Korea is an important feeder market for Minor Hotels and we also see a lot of opportunity as an inbound market, both for this new Avani and potentially for future Minor Hotels’ properties as well.”

Minor Hotels currently has a portfolio of 156 hotels and resorts in 24 countries across the globe, 17 of which are Avani-branded.