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.

Bolstered by the strong double-digit growth in arrivals from Hong Kong (35 per cent), Singapore (33 per cent) and Malaysia (65 per cent) in the year ending September 2016, Tourism Tasmania will keep its marketing priority on these key markets as well as China’s top-tier cities.

During the sales mission to Hong Kong last week, Tourism Tasmania’s CEO John Fitzgerald, told TTG Asia: “This year, we will not have extra marketing dollars for new markets and (instead) maintain our focus on existing ones. There is a growing awareness (of Tasmania) in some Asian destinations such as Indonesia, but we are not planning to create offices in those places.”

Tourism Tasmania’s CEO John Fitzgerald speaking at the sales mission in Hong Kong

Although China fell from top to second spot after registering a 15 per cent drop in arrivals, Fitzgerald sees that as a natural slowdown after the spike in 2015 following president Xi Jingping’s visit to the state in 2014. He is confident that Chinese arrivals will “bounce back”.

But while the lack of direct international access has been a stumbling block in marketing the state, Fitzgerald expects an improvement when Hobart Airport’s runway extensions are completed in mid-2018 to enable the landing of widebody aircraft.

He added: “Hobart will also welcome 1,200 new hotel rooms in 2018/2019, an increase of 30-40 per cent in capacity. Apart from homegrown brands like the 114-room MACq 01 (opening mid 2017), there will be international brands like the 221-room Hyatt Centric (2019) and 187-room Crown Plaza (opening 2017).”

As well, Kai Yang, director of Tassie HD Holiday, among the 13 operators participating in the sales mission, hopes to drum up awareness for the company’s two new properties – Macquarie Hotel and Elizabeth Hotel – set to open in December 2017 and June 2018 respectively.

Meanwhile, Elanor Investor Group, which owns Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge in Tasmania, has recently appointed a salesperson for Asia in Sydney to step up its marketing efforts in the region.

Said its marketing manager for hotels, tourism and leisure, Philip Haine: “Our top markets are Singapore and Hong Kong while Malaysia is small but growing. I want to (promote) that the hotel offers more than luxury rooms but versatile experiences too like wine tasting to touring.”

Tourism Tasmania’s 2017 Asia Mission took place in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chengdu from February 20-27.

Despite recent safety issues surrounding Europe, the continent remain the best-selling destination for agents participating in Travel Revolution 2017, which was held at the Marina Bay Sands over the weekend.

Organised by the Singapore Outbound Travel Agents Association (SOTAA), the three-day travel fair saw a strong turnout despite fewer travel agents this year, said Kay Swee Pin, president of SOTAA.

Travel Revolution 2017. Photo courtesy: Chan Brothers Travel

Kay, who is also SA Tours’ managing director, told TTG Asia that the agency outperformed last year’s sales for Europe, a crowd favourite, with Spain, Portugal and the Balkans topping the list.

“It is quite surprising, because it’s only February and (consumers) are already booking for December. In 2016, we had record numbers going to Finland and Norway, so maybe those who have gone have come back and spread the word. We are very optimistic and have pre-booked hundreds of igloos to make sure we cater to the demand,” she said.

Kay added that many are repeat travellers venturing out of Central Europe, with the Balkans especially popular at the fair.

Meanwhile, Chan Brothers Travel expects to achieve its sales target of S$20 million (US$14 million), double that of last year’s edition, based on its performance in the first two days, said its head of marketing communications, Jane Chang.

Chan Brothers Travel saw a surge in demand for Central Europe unlike the previous year where demand leant towards destinations outside of Central Europe.

The tour operator also saw good uptake in new tours introduced this year such as the Southern Lights tours in New Zealand, as well as self-drive campervan convoy tours in Western Australia.

With the spike in sales, Chang commented that infusing creative ideas in mass travel fairs like Travel Revolution 2017 have helped change Singaporeans’ perspective on travels and exposed them to different experiences.

Following the assassination of Kim Jong-nam at klia2 airport last week, Malaysians have been advised not to visit North Korea over security reasons.

North Korea has demanded for the return of Kim’s body and has blamed Malaysia for his death. In response, Malaysian tourism and culture minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz has dubbed North Korea “a rouge state”, according to a report by The Star.

An outbound agent, who requested anonymity, do not see any fallout arising from the tourism minister’s declaration as demand for North Korea has always been slow. He said: “It is a remote country and there is not much information on the place. But we will stop selling since Mohamed Nazri has made this statement.”

Currently, Malaysian passport holders do not need a visa to visit North Korea. Instead, they only need an entry permit, which can be obtained after purchasing a full package tour that includes hotel accommodation, transfers and meals through an accredited travel agency.

According to the North Korea Tourism website, the accredited agency will submit the entry permit application to Kuala Lumpur-based DPR Korea Tourism office for processing, which will take two weeks.

And despite calls from Malaysian parliamentarians to review the country’s visa-free policy for North Koreans, Mohamed Nazri did not deem it a necessary move as the initiative only benefitted North Korean officials; ordinary citizens are forbidden to travel out of their country in the first place.

(From left) Schaetz, Marco Polo Ortiga’s Frank Reichenbach, Cronin, Marco Polo’s Caretti 

Eschewing the consolidation tide currently surging through the global hospitality sector, Marco Polo Hotels has opted to adopt a lean and nimble strategy with expansion limited to Asia and just its existing brands.

President Jennifer Cronin foresees no more than 15 hotels to be added to its stable of 12 Marco Polo and Niccolo hotels in Hong Kong, China and the Philippines in the next five years.

The company does not see the need to expand beyond these two upmarket brands, said Cronin in Manila Wednesday during the introduction of Niccolo Hotels and its flagship property, The Murray, a Niccolo Hotel, Hong Kong, which will open in October. The first Niccolo hotel debuted in Chengdu in 2015, while upcoming Niccolo hotels will open in Chongqing this August, Changsha in 2018 and Suzhou in 2019.

“We punch above our weight. We’re small but the brand is well-known,” she said. “We make sure we give good returns and (the properties we manage) become iconic hotels.

“When a company gets big, you get lost. The small operating groups are going to be more attractive to owners who want the personal touch, and we want to grow the business together with strong partners,” Cronin added.

Marco Polo’s lean and mean strategy is working, emphasised Philip Schaetz, vice president for sales and marketing, as its hotel performance in January was better than 2016.

Schaetz said the first three quarters of 2016 were “very tough” due to the less-than-favourable international business climate but the company’s performance started improving in 4Q2016 and is projected to continue this year.

Cronin said Marco Polo Ortigas in the Philippines will be “the benchmark” for Marco Polo Hotels as the company undergoes a restructuring that includes a widening its global sales network and the appointment of key executives in HR and purchasing roles for the group.

Apart from adding three hotels in the Philippines, the company also has its expansion sights on South Korea and Vietnam, she told TTG Asia.