Hampton by Hilton celebrates launch of China hotel

HILTON Worldwide has launched the 223-room Hampton by Hilton Guangzhou Zhujiang New Town, marking the brand’s flagship property in China.

Hampton by Hilton Guangzhou Zhujiang New Town features amenities such as free Wi-Fi, 24-hour snack bar, restaurant, meeting room and fitness center. Fittings in each guestroom include a movable desk, an ergonomic chair, Serta mattresses, a sofa bed and Peter Thomas Roth amenities in the bathroom.

Managed by Huanpeng Hotel Management (Guangzhou), the hotel is located in Guangzhou’s Tianhe district near the Guangzhou International Finance Center, Citic Plaza and Pazhou Complex. The property is also situated close to the Guangzhou East Railway Station and offers access to leisure, shopping and entertainment venues.

Hilton boasts a portfolio of more than 2,100 hotels in its Hampton portfolio worldwide.

ETHIOPIAN Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, is stepping up its flight frequency to India with the commencement of a second daily service between New Delhi and Addis Ababa on the next-generation Boeing 737-800 Sky Interior aircraft from March 27, 2016.

The launch comes on the back of the additional bilateral air services agreement that was signed between the two countries in November 2015.

The airline’s flight frequency from India has since been brought to 28 daily flights, 14 from New Delhi and 14 from Mumbai, with a load factor of 77 per cent and 80 per cent respectively.

“The airline is recording a 10 per cent year-on-year growth in passenger traffic from India, said Tadesse Tilahun, regional director, India Sub Continent, Ethiopian Airlines, attributing the rise in demand to the growing business relations between India and African countries.

Ethiopian Airlines is also considering adding a third destination in India, as the new bilateral agreement allows the African carrier to operate in one of the South Indian cities like Chennai and Bengaluru, shared Tilahun.

Chinese tourists are spending drastically more overseas

WHILE outbound travel from China still shows no sign of slowing down and Chinese expenditure on outbound travel surged 53 per cent to US$215 billion in 2015, inbound tourism into the country grew a mere three per cent, according to the Economic Impact Report 2016 by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

The WTTC research shows enormous opportunity for China to take greater benefit of the travel and tourism industry, which supports over 75 million jobs in the country and can help the Chinese government to fulfill its objective of shifting towards a more service-focused economy.

David Scowsill, president & CEO, WTTC, said: “China’s unparalleled investments in infrastructure over recent years have created a good foundation for the further expansion of tourism by increasing connectivity and the country’s tourism capacity.

“Interest in inbound tourism into China will thrive if there is resolve on continuing visa facilitation into the country and focusing on strong destination promotion,” he urged.

Chinese outbound travel favourably impacted Japan and longer-haul destinations such as Europe and Oceania.

On the contrary, severe declines were experienced in its neighbouring regions such as Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan due to local factors.

THE Malaysian government is awaiting approval from the South African authorities to send an investigation team to conduct a coastal search focused along South Africa and Mozambique, following the discovery of two plane debris in Mozambique which are likely to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370.

Malaysian transport minister, Liow Tiong Lai, said the paint and stencilling on both debris as well as the dimensions, materials and construction matched that used by MAS.

MAS described this as another breakthrough and hoped it would bring all parties closer to resolving the disappearance of MH370. A flaperon found on the French island of Réunion was confirmed late last year to be part of the missing aircraft.

MH370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 with 239 passengers on board.

GENTING Hong Kong’s new premium cruise line Dream Cruises has announced that its first ship, the 150,000-tonne Genting Dream, will make its maiden sail from the Guangzhou Nansha homeport on November 13 this year.

Genting Dream will offer five-night itineraries to Danang, Halong Bay and Sanya from November 13, 2016 to January 2017, and to Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City from January 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. There is also a choice of a two-night weekend itinerary to Hong Kong.

Thatcher Brown, president of Dream Cruises, said: “In order to support our travel agent community, we’ve built up a sales and marketing team with over 100 staff in the region and plan to expand capability of call centres in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.”

Promotional roadshows have also been organised over the last several months. Cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and international markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and India will be revisited in the next few months.

On top of its core market of Chinese luxury travellers and meeting groups, Dream Cruises is also expecting affluent Indian travellers to drive demand for Genting Dream’s high-end offerings.

In line with the luxury positioning of Dream Cruises, the Genting Dream will be priced 30-35 per cent higher than Star Cruises.

The cruise liner’s 142-suite, VIP-only Dream Mansion, for instance, will offer private access to areas such as a private sundeck with pools, Jacuzzi, a private gym and a private dining room. The ship will also boast a purpose-built spa with a choice of over 100 types of reflexology treatments.