Three of Hertz Global Holdings’ car rental brands – Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty – are now operating in Sri Lanka’s capital of Colombo, following the signing of a multi-brand partnership agreement with local franchise partner Andrew The Car Rental Company.

Mahen Kariyawasan, managing director, Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty Sri Lanka, said: “We intend to expand to the Colombo international airport and another downtown location by early 2018.”

Kariyawasan expressed optimism citing the country’s “booming tourism, growth in expatriate relocations and an increase in international investments”.

Rental options in Sri Lanka vary between short- and long-term, self- and chauffeur-drive options, with vehicles including compact, wagon/state, luxury cars, SUV and minibuses.

All international customers renting with Hertz in Sri Lanka will receive a free SIM card and gift coupons while supplies last.

Tourism has mostly escaped the devastating effects of flooding and heavy rains in Sri Lanka over the past week, which resulted in at least 177 deaths and half a million people displaced in the country.

“Tourism-related activity has not been hampered because most hotels are located on the southern coastline; the airport is open, roads and hotels are operating,” Paddy Withana, chairman of state-run Sri Lanka Tourism told TTG Asia.

The impact is kept minimal as the May-June period is the traditional low season for tourism in Sri Lanka.

Officials at the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators added that round-tours were operating as usual and major cultural sites such as Kandy and Sigiriya rock were unaffected.

“We have asked for a report on the situation from hotels in affected areas but so far there’s been no major impact,” said Sanath Ukwatte, chairman, Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka.

The floods caused by swollen rivers breaching their banks affected districts mostly south of the capital. Though most Sri Lankan hotels are on the southern coastline, many are located miles from the rivers, according to hoteliers interviewed. The floods are now receding.

CLIA will hold a river cruise conference in Asia for the first time next year.

The inaugural event in Asia will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on April 10, 2018, followed by a sailing on the Mekong River for travel agents on April 12.

Ho Chi Minh City

The announcement was made at the CLIA Conference. Further details will be announced when registration opens this summer.

CLIA member travel agents will be able to take advantage of a trade fair and conference sessions, which will focus on identifying potential river cruise customers and learning more about the wide variety of experiences offered on a river cruise holiday, and particularly around the cruise holiday choices in Asia.

Read the full story here.

In a move that parallels Lufthansa’s surcharge levy introduced in 2015, British Airways and Iberia will soon impose a fee of eight pounds (US$10) on bookings made through GDSs.

The surcharge will be effective from November 1 this year, covering fares across all cabins and classes, announced both airlines – owned by International Airline Group (IAG) – in a letter to the UK agents.

The fee is expected to recover “the additional costs applied” on existing distribution channels, namely GDSs like Amadeus, Travelport and Sabre.

Bookings made through channels such as the airlines’ websites, sales offices and call offices, as well as NDC channels, NDC via an IT service provider/aggregator or self-booking tools connected to both carriers via NDC, will be exempted from the booking fee.

An IAG booking portal will soon be available.

Finnair, the flag carrier for Finland, has joined PATA as its aviation member, the first Nordic airline to do so in recent years.

“Finnair’s growth strategy is strongly linked to the Asia & Pacific region. Serving 18 Asian destinations non-stop from Helsinki… it is a natural step for us to join this leading association,” said Juha Jarvinen, the airline’s chief commercial officer and executive board member.

“We want to further develop our business and intensify the ties (with) important local tourism authorities, associations and regional/local companies,” he added.

As a PATA member, Finnair will have access to the organisation’s extensive network and in-depth research and insights provided by the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre, according to PATA CEO Mario Hardy.

Barely a month after Thomas Cook India announced its purchase of Kuoni Global Travel Services’ DMC network in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, JTB Corporation today announced its acquisition of all shares of Kuoni Global Travel Services for an undisclosed price.

The Kuoni Global Travel Services acquisition is a move to bolster JTB Corporation’s ambitions to become a top global DMC, as the partnership is expected to strengthen the inbound business services and increase the market share in Europe.

It will also support the expansion and strengthening of the global MICE services in Europe and the US markets, which is complementary to existing JTB MICE business, the company said in a statement.

Thomas Cook’s acquisition does not include Kuoni Destination Management Europe and Kuoni Destination Management US, which remain in the portfolio of Kuoni Global Travel Services.

Reto Wilhelm, CEO of Kuoni Global Travel Services, said: “JTB is one of the biggest and most respected market players in our industry. Joining JTB provides our company with the best positioned owner, which will help us realise the full potential of Kuoni Global Travel Services.”

Eijiro Yamakita, president & CEO of the European regional headquarters of JTB, said: “Kuoni Global Travel Services is one of the world’s leading travel companies with an important presence especially in Asian leisure and corporate groups visiting Europe. The acquisition offers an excellent opportunity to be a unique operator by gathering the network and knowledge. It enables the provision of detailed services to meet each customer’s needs with high added-value and the expansion of the inbound business.”

In the past few years, JTB has been expanding the inbound travel business to Europe, a major destination for travellers. By 2020, it is forecasted that foreign visitors to Europe will reach approximately 620 million (a 150 million increase from 2010), driven especially by China and Asian markets.

In addition to the Japan market, JTB has enhanced the outbound travel business from growing markets. In February, JTB also bought a 40 per cent share of Panorama Tours Indonesia to grow its Indonesian outbound business and inbound business into Japan.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant competition a1uthorities and compliance with any other local legal requirements.

Kuoni Global Travel Services in a statement says it will continue efforts to be a neutral land operator to work with many companies other than JTB, paying full attention on the protection of any sensitive information.

Beginning June 1, Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture will introduce a new hotel classification and rating system, which trade players generally believe is fairer and more representative than the existing star-rating system.

The new classification houses categories of city hotels, highland hotels, island/beach/lake/river resorts, innovative hotels and boutique hotels. Further details of the new rating system are not available at press time.

Brinchang town, Cameron Highlands

Shaharuddin M Saaid, executive director, Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners, who was on the committee to review the classification criteria, said the old rating system – in basing its requirements on city hotels – put island and hill resorts at a disadvantage.

Citing examples, Shaharuddin said: “Based on the old system, a hotel needed an executive floor and lounge to be rated five stars. This was alright for a city hotel which received business travellers, but not necessarily for island and hill resorts where guests were holidaymakers.”

Hotels also needed to have a swimming pool to be rated four stars and up, although the criteria was not as important in beachfront hotels or hill resorts, he added.

The Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa’s managing director, Anthony Wong, said: “In the past, hotels must have two restaurants to be classified as a four-star property. We only had one and were classified as three-star under the local rating, although TripAdvisor and travel agents rated us as a four-star.

“We didn’t see a need to have more than one restaurant as there were many restaurants outside our hotel, giving visitors plenty of choices.”

Ganneesh Ramaa, manager at Luxury Tours Malaysia, similarly opined that the new classification will provide a more accurate picture to agents and partners.

“Based on the old system, Cameron Highlands only has two properties that fit the five-star category, when (in reality) there are many more hotels that provide the services of a five-star. The old system of one-shoe-fits-all simply cannot be applied.”