Yangon International Airport

YANGON International Airport’s new terminal, part of an over US$633 million expansion project, opened last week to cater to growing tourist arrivals into Myanmar’s main gateway.

This new terminal, the first of three planned phases of the expansion project, will mainly service international flights.

With domestic and international passenger arrivals through the airport increasing from 4.4 million in 2014 to over 5 million in 2015, the terminal will add much needed capacity to accommodate greater tourist arrivals in subsequent years.

“The existing terminal can only handle 2.7 million passengers a year and the arrival numbers show rapid year-on-year increase. Upon completion (of the full project) within the next year, the airport will be able to accommodate 20 million passengers,” said Nyi Nyi Maung, general manager of Yangon International Airport.

Nay Lin, project manager at Yangon Aerodrome Company, the operator of the airport, said: “As part of the renovation, local flights will be moved to the old international terminal and the domestic terminal will be demolished. We have a master plan that involves 20 boarding bridges and 20 remote gates.”

At present, there are 28 international airlines and 11 domestic airlines servicing Yangon International Airport.

Meanwhile, work is due to start on the new Hanthawaddy International Airport in the Bago Region. The US$1.4 billion project is slated for completion in 2022 and will become Myanmar’s largest with a capacity for up to 30 million passengers a year.

Hans Jenni, co-founder and president, GHM

THE Chedi hotels brand, part of General Hotel Management’s (GHM) portfolio, has entered the greater China market, with the first property carrying the Chedi flag located in the hilly coastal region of Ninghai in China’s Zhejiang province.

GHM had earlier this year in January formalised a partnership with Beijing Tourism Group and Jin He to introduce The Chedi to China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Hans Jenni, co-founder and president, GHM, said: “It has always been our intention to grow The Chedi brand. For China, this is a perfect fit in terms of style, quality and product offering.”

Other The Chedi hotels in GHM’s portfolio include The Chedi Muscat in Oman, The Chedi Andermatt in Switzerland and The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, Ubud in Bali, Indonesia.

THE upcoming launch of thrice-weekly flights from Singapore to Dusseldorf by Singapore Airlines (SIA) this July looks set to court more Singapore travellers into the western German city.

As traditional German cities like Munich and Frankfurt are the typical top destinations to visit in Germany, outbound travel agents said this new option will appeal especially to repeat visitors.

Although there is currently “minimal demand” into this city, Alicia Seah, spokesperson at Dynasty Travel said she expects it to change with the new flight.

She said: “This will be a new option for travellers to explore further into Germany beyond the typical cities, and Singaporeans like direct flights because of its convenience and time-savings.

“Singaporeans are getting very affluent and repeat visitors may want to travel to single cities for a more in-depth experience and we see this as a growing trend,” she added.

Seah also highlighted that as this city is currently mostly visited by trade and business travellers, there are “a lot of opportunities” to woo leisure travellers as many have yet to visit it.

For instance, over at ASA Holidays, they have since launched new itineraries that include Dusseldorf as either the start or end city in their 10-day Central Europe packages.

Shannon Hee, spokesperson for ASA Holidays, said: “Some of the highlights in the programme include river cruising on the Rhine, which is the longest river in Europe from Amsterdam to Switzerland. With this cruise, visitors will be able to better understand the cultural heritage of Europe.”

Meanwhile, Chan Brothers Travel’s head of marketing communications, Jane Chang, said: “Dusseldorf is currently not a top-of-mind leisure destination for Germany travel and is (thus) not within our programmes.

“Nevertheless, it is worth leveraging on SIA’s extensive marketing initiatives in driving awareness for Dusseldorf to further promote it as a new Europe leisure destination for Europe-loving Singaporeans,” she said.

This new flight will operate on SIA’s new Airbus 350-900 jets and is the third German city served by the national carrier after Frankfurt and Munich.

The Sheraton Macau Hotel, Cotai Central, part of Starwood’s portfolio

A COHORT led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group has made an estimated US$13 billion offer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, in an attempt to upset the pending US$12.2 billion offer made by Marriott International in November last year.

Anbang’s partners include Primavera Capital Group and J.C. Flowers & Co.

Anbang’s unsolicited rival bid values Starwood’s shares at US$76 each, an amount carrying a 7.9 per cent premium over Marriott’s offer – consisting of US$11.9 billion in Marriott stock and US$340 million in cash – that was worth US$63.74 per share as of Friday’s closing.

Starwood will be obligated to give Marriott US$400 million in termination fees if they were to retract from the deal, a small price to pay for the substantially bigger offer at hand.

Still, Marriott stated in a statement released yesterday that they are committed to the original proposal, belaying fears of a bidding war. Shareholders of Starwood and Marriott are scheduled to vote on the deal on March 28, less than two weeks from now.

This is not the first time Beijing-based Anbang is making large-scale foreign investments. They had just agreed to a US$6.5 billion purchase of US-based hotel owner Strategic Hotels & Resorts from Blackstone Group.

They also purchased the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, New York, for almost US$2 billion less than two years ago.

Casper Urhammer, CEO, Contiki Holidays

CONTIKI Holidays has introduced two policies under its new Freedom Guarantee scheme that allows customers greater convenience when making and altering bookings.

This move comes on the back of the agency hoping to embrace what it understands to be an appetite for flexibility among its core segment of millennial travellers.

The first Zero Change Fees policy allows customers to change their chosen trip, departure date or even destination at no additional cost. The customer will then owe the difference for switching to a more expensive trip or be refunded for choosing a less expensive trip.

The second FlexDeposit policy gives customers the option to rollover deposit that they’ve already paid as credit towards a future Contiki trip, valid before their 36th birthdays, or transfer the amount to a friend within five years of the original booking. For travellers age 36 and above, the credit can be used with one of Contiki’s sister brands, such as Trafalgar and Insight Vacations.

“When it comes to booking travel, at Contiki we believe that a more non-committal approach to trip changes and deposits will resonate strongly with our travellers and deliver on a millennial expectation for more flexibility,” said Casper Urhammer, CEO of Contiki Holidays.

The Indonesian booth at MATTA Fair 2016 held in Kuala Lumpur

INDONESIA’s Ministry of Tourism has set a target for two million arrivals this year from Malaysia, Indonesia’s second largest source market after Singapore.

To achieve those numbers, Rizki Handayani, director for promotions South-east Asia, Ministry of Tourism Indonesia, said new destinations will be promoted to Malaysians, including East and Central Java, Lombok, Flores, Komodo and Yogjakarta, besides traditional destinations such as Jakarta, Bandung, Medan and Bali.

Rizki added that the ministry will be directing promotions at the travelling public as well as outbound agents by organising more fam trips, sales missions, and by participating at various MATTA (Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents) travel fairs.

At last week’s MATTA Fair 2016 held in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia was represented by a delegation of 50 sellers who were there to support 19 local outbound tour operators in Malaysia.

“Indonesia always had its appeal because of the cultural similarities and the availability of halal food,” said Raaj Navaratnaa, general manager of Johor-based New Asia Holiday Tours & Travel.

“We have also seen a growing trend of younger travellers, in their early 20s, choosing Indonesian destinations because of its affordability and its variety of experiences for adventure seekers, honeymooners, golfers and nature lovers.”