AN increase in flight connectivity to Thailand’s resort island of Samui has greatly benefited hotels there, especially those in the lower-tier segments, according to a report by C9 Hotelworks.

During the first six months of 2016, year-on-year international arrivals have grown by 18 per cent with Samui Airport welcoming a total of 624,914 visitors from both overseas and domestic flights.

True to other Thai markets, China is leading the growth with a 26 per cent rise in arrivals versus the same period in 2015, while Australians rose by 21 per cent. The passenger growth is reflected by a 10 per cent spike in additional flights mainly from Singapore, Malaysia and from within Thailand.

In tandem, Samui’s hotel occupancy sharply rose by 7.7 per cent from January through August, with average room rates seeing only a minor 1 per cent increase, indicated hospitality benchmarking group STR.

Bangkok Airways plans to further expand China airlift, adding daily scheduled flights from Guangzhou and three-times weekly charter flights from Chongqing by the end of 2016. Greater frequency of flights between Samui and Phuket will also be added in the fourth quarter of this year.

“Bangkok Airways plans to extend its coverage of Mainland China to accommodate demand in tours, and we forecast a growing supply share of lower-tier hotels (as a result), which are already becoming more visible in the pipeline projects,” said Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks.

THAILAND’s Onyx Hospitality Group is set to enter the Laotian market with the signing of three properties by developers Tang Charoen Group.

All three hotels will come under Onyx’s Amari brand. The first will open in Vang Vieng in 2017 while the other two properties in Vientiane and Pakse are both scheduled to open in 2020.

Amari’s signature Amaya Food Gallery, Breeze Spa and creative meeting venues will be featured in each property.

Commenting on the project, Peter Henley, president and CEO of Onyx, said: “Laos is emerging as one of South-east Asia’s fastest growing destinations, with the ongoing introduction of new flight routes and tourism infrastructure enhancements. We are excited to enter this market with not one but three Amari properties as part of our continuing regional expansion plans.”

Onyx currently has a portfolio of 63 properties with 22 under construction. There are presently 14 properties operating under the Amari brand and another eight are under development, including the three upcoming in Laos.

TUI and Etihad Aviation Group are in discussion to create a new European leisure airline group focused on point-to-point flying to connect key tourist markets.

The air operations of Air Berlin (which Etihad holds a 29.21 per cent stake in) and TUIfly, including the aircraft currently operated by TUIfly for Air Berlin under a wet-lease agreement, will likely be utilised while Etihad will contribute its expertise. TUI’s broad distribution network will also be leveraged.

Countries to be served include Germany, Austria and Switzerland, revealed a joint statement by Etihad and TUI, with further intentions to connect a “broad network of destinations”.

Air Berlin in a separate statement confirmed its participation in the discussions, citing the airline’s “far-reaching restructuring” announced last week to focus itself as a network carrier with hubs at Berlin and Dusseldorf, and to “evaluate strategic options for its touristic business”.

TUI, Etihad and Air Berlin intends to finalise an in-principle agreement in due course, subject to all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals.

TALKS are underway between the operator of Narita International Airport, the Japanese government, the prefectural authority and local residents over the construction of a new 3.5km runway to meet soaring demand to Japan.

A committee has drawn up a proposal for a third runway at Narita that would increase takeoff and landing slots from 300,000 a year at present to around 500,000.

Narita’s operator also hopes that adding a third runway will make the facility more attractive in comparison with other regional hub airports in Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul.

More than 11.4 million foreign nationals arrived in Japan in the first six months of calendar 2016, a record high and the first time the figure has surpassed the 10 million mark. The surge has placed a strain on infrastructure.

Koh Takagi, of the airport’s international department, said the project is at the “start line” and that it would be difficult to predict a completion date – although he confirmed that work should begin by 2020.

“We have to negotiate with the local authorities and local residents to win their understanding for the proposal and that might take a long time if there is resistance,” he said.

Geoffrey Tudor, senior analyst for Japan Aviation Management Research, agrees that Narita needs a third runway.

“Increasing landing and takeoff slots to 500,000 a year will be a great benefit to the airport and they are clearly banking on growth in the air transport sector, including the budget carrier segment,” he said.

“For many years, Narita has been losing out to other regional airports and the authorities now appear to want to turn Narita into a hub.”

THE It’s More Fun in the Philippines campaign will be dropped and replaced in time for the Philippines’ hosting of the Miss Universe pageant in January 2017, said tourism secretary Wanda Teo in a press briefing earlier this week.

The decision comes as a Nielsen Media study showed that the campaign had not been successful enough in terms of arrivals.

While Teo did not mention the direction nor agency handling the new campaign, she previously mentioned that it will reflect the changes in the new Philippines under current president Rodrigo Duterte.

Citing the Nielsen study, tourism undersecretary Catherine de Castro said that while 65 per cent of respondents in Europe liked the It’s More Fun in the Philippines campaign, only 26 per cent of them would visit the Philippines. Meanwhile, 72 per cent in North America liked it but only 45 per cent indicated they would actually visit.

The news had drawn mixed reactions from the travel trade. Rajah Tours president Jojo Clemente is not in favour, saying that the campaign “has been the best one I have come across…I would be hard pressed to find a better slogan”.

“It encapsulates what the Philippines has to offer. It is something very easy to explain to our clients and to people who haven’t been here,” he added.

Clemente suggested keeping It’s More Fun but changing the latter portion of the slogan, pointing out that the Amazing Thailand campaign has been there for many years and has remained effective.

On the other hand, Great Sights Travel and Tours managing director Paul So said that the new campaign should have “good impact” and that it should fulfill the old campaign’s promise.

Offering a balanced view, TravelExperts consultant Arnie Bayag said: “It depends on what they will come up with. It will be good if they can find a good replacement.”