MONTHS of speculation over the future of Batang Ai Longhouse Resort, managed by Hilton in Sarawak until December 31, 2015, was put to rest yesterday during an industry briefing in Kuala Lumpur.

It was officially announced that local Malaysian company Aiman Agro Park had purchased the property from Tradewinds Hotels & Resorts this month for an undisclosed sum and will be managing the property through its subsidiary, Planet Borneo Lodge Management.

The 100-key property will be renamed Aiman Batang Ai Resort and Retreat from January 1, 2016.

Rumours that the 20-year-old property will be closed after Hilton makes an exit had caused some European operators to remove the product from their brochures.

Gracie Geikie, director of operations at Batang Ai, said current contract rates will be honoured and maintained until March 31, 2017. She added: “This will give us time to complete our handovers, reassignment of licenses and permits, new insurances and to focus on the critical areas of rebranding and repositioning of the resort as well as repairs and maintenance.”

The immediate plans for the resort, located on the fringe of the Batang Ai National Park, is to give it an extensive refurbishment with minimal disturbance to guests. “There will be no major construction or demolition works,” promised Geikie.

Current staff will be kept, along with 14 new additions, many of which are senior positions including a general manager and a F&B manager.

FORMER Diethelm Travel Group CEO, Richard Brouwer, is joining Khiri Travel as CEO effective January 4 as founder Willem Niemeijer steps up as chairman of Khiri Travel and Khiri Travel Group.

The appointment is in line with aspirations to double the size of Khiri Travel in five years, according to Brouwer in an interview with TTG Asia e-Daily.

“Khiri Travel is extremely well-organised at the back of the house – systems, staff, product, IT, etc – thanks to Willem’s vision in putting that in order so that we are now ready to go for further growth,” said Brouwer.

Khiri Travel is the main pillar of Khiri Travel Group, which has other ventures including the outbound travel company in Thailand, Khiri Voyages, and a non-profit foundation, Khiri Reach. Niemeijer is expected to further develop these and other ventures within the group.

Niemeijer said: “Richard’s appointment is a major statement by Khiri Travel. It underscores Khiri Travel’s ambition to grow while staying true to its commitment to responsible tourism.

“Under Richard’s leadership, Khiri Travel’s mission and vision will remain the same – to be the best DMC in Asia and the champion of the triple bottomline: people, planet and profit.”

Operating in eight countries with some 180 staff today, Khiri Travel makes its mark in responsible tourism, offering specialised inbound tours to key tour operators in Western Europe and the US. Brouwer said this niche was its key advantage, when asked how he planned to double the size of the company.

“Khiri is extremely deep into the product; it is able to give people experiences and this is what people want today. Even the general tour operators have been complaining that there aren’t enough innovative products – this has been their constant refrain. Willem is fantastic in product development, it is now a question of us getting a foot in more doors and talking to the right person in the company,” said Brouwer.

Brouwer brings to Khiri a regional and global network of contacts and over 25 years of professional experience in the travel industry. He was COO of Diethelm Travel, the largest DMC in South-east Asia, for six years to 2012, before taking on the role of CEO from 2012 to 2015. Prior to joining Diethelm Travel in 2000, he had an 11-year executive career at Amari Hotels and Resorts as corporate director sales & marketing and group marketing manager.

Said Brouwer: “I have admired Khiri Travel’s achievements in responsible tourism over the last few years. I aim to work closely with the Khiri Travel country teams to help them grow their business. We will do it by staying true to Khiri Travel’s responsible travel commitment and heritage.”

Night Safari’s latest experiential meetings offering caters to those who enjoy the company of nature and nocturnal wildlife while dining in air-conditioned comfort

Why
In a destination where new experiential meeting options are few, Singapore Night Safari’s venture to delve into this emerging trend and offer something only they can is a much-welcomed initiative.

Named An Evening in the Wild, the package features the attraction’s diverse wildlife and is designed for corporates looking for a small but intimate venue that can accommodate between 40 (seating) to 60 (standing) pax.

What
On the recommended itinerary, the evening begins with a cocktail reception at Ankole Terrace, located conveniently near the entrance of the Night Safari. This is a great gathering spot where guests can keep themselves entertained by the grazing Ankole cattle nearby.

Once everyone has arrived, a chartered tram brings guests on the usual Night Safari tour, guided by a host. Roughly a third into the journey is where the path diverges from the norm.

Guests are ushered off the tram at East Lodge Station, where the Leopard Trail starts, but instead of heading down that route, visitors are guided to a wooden bridge leading into the forest.

What will draw you in first as you amble across the bridge are the fairy lights hanging from the thick branches of towering trees. Paired with the nearby campfire and tipi tent structure, the feeling is magical – of being completely transported away from the urban jungle of Singapore into a lush alcove of plants and wildlife.

You can touch these nocturnal creatures if you choose to, which range from majestic owls and spiny hedgehogs to scaly lizards and playful civet cats. Zookeepers will be around to handle these animals of course, so guests who are not partial to wildlife need not worry.

How
The interior of the air-conditioned tipi tent is a warm and intimately designed space. There is flexibility for the setting to be altered to suit the occasion, but for my experience, a dessert buffet table and cocktail bar are the centerpieces, flanked by four long wooden tables.

A three-course dinner with vegetarian option is available, featuring mains such as wagyu beef tenderloin, black cod or grilled capsicum and eggplant. Free flow coffee, tea and house wine is also served throughout.

The dessert buffet steals the show here, serving as a central spot where guests, especially those seated at other tables, can meet, interact and mingle while jostling for the intricately placed treats. The pyramid of fruit skewers is especially photo worthy, while an assortment of pastries forms the bulk of the offerings. The most unique offering, the star anise crème brulee, is definitely an acquired taste but grows on you quickly.

After dinner, a Thumbuakar performance – a tribal fire dance – serves as an evening highlight before guests are whisked onto the chartered tram to complete the rest of the Night Safari tour.

Verdict
As one of Singapore’s most iconic attractions, this offering feels like a long time coming. Every part of the package makes sense and guests get to experience the full attraction while being treated to a formal yet lively event at the Night Safari.

BEST Western Hotels & Resorts has opened the midscale Best Western Plus Eastern Palace Hotel in the city of Mandalay in Myanmar.

Sited minutes away from the city’s main business district and historical landmarks, the new hotel offers a range of rooms and suites equipped with flat-screen TVs, USB ports and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Facilities include an all-day dining restaurant serving local and international cuisine, outdoor swimming pool, a pool bar, lobby lounge, spa, fitness centre, steam room, sauna, business centre as well as meeting spaces.

This is the group’s third hotel in Myanmar with two others in operation in Yangon.

HONG Kong Airlines has launched a new flight between Hong Kong and Kumamoto, Japan which will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays.

On Mondays, flights depart from Hong Kong at 11.00 and arrive in Kumamoto at 15.00 while on Fridays, it will depart at 12.00 and arrive at 16.10.

Return flights leave Kumamoto at 16.00 and land in Hong Kong at 19.05 on Mondays. Friday’s return flight will leave Kumamoto at 18.10 and land in Hong Kong at 21.00.

With the new route, Hong Kong Airlines now operates 26 weekly flights in total between Hong Kong and Japan.

COSTA Group, in partnership with French company Aldebaran, a subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank, will be making available humanoid robots named Pepper to serve guests aboard the cruise conglomerate’s Aida and Costa branded ships.

Pepper robots will work alongside crew members on board Aidaprima and Costa Diadema from Spring 2016 onwards, mainly performing guiding and concierge services in German, Italian and English. By Summer 2016, all Aida and Costa ships will feature Peppers.

According to a statement by Costa Group, Pepper is the first humanoid robot in the world capable of recognising the main emotions of human beings. It is also able to take its environment into account and act accordingly.

Peppers are 120cm tall, weighs 28kg, and are equipped to communicate, move fluidly and analyse expressions and inflections using advances in voice and emotion recognition.

HOTEL bookings in Paris are down this holiday season in the wake of last month’s series of terrorist attacks in the French capital.

Wholesale hotel room buyer JacTravel, which fills 250,000 bed nights a year in Paris, revealed that properties are offering promotions, including room upgrades, reducing the minimum length of stay, offering 25 to 30 per cent discounts for one or two-night stays and special offer vouchers for New Year’s Eve dinners in order to lure more customers.

It added that the impact from this is worse than the effects following January’s Charlie Hebdo incident.

Most affected are hotels with international clientele from China, the US and Japan with longhaul visitors choosing to stay away from Paris. Those catering to the domestic market are faring better.

Hotels are still reluctant to slash their rates however. Cecile Danielo, regional head of contracting at JacTravel, said: “Families are staying away and those who are visiting are staying for fewer nights. The picture is highly volatile with prices changing from day to day.”

“The city is less crowded than you would expect for this time of year, but there is still life in Paris.”

JacTravel believes hotels will wait until after the holiday period before deciding on future pricing strategies in January.

JAPAN Airlines (JAL) is suspending daily flights from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport to Paris after demand fell roughly 60 per cent in the aftermath of the terror attacks on the French capital in November.

The daily flight will be suspended from January 12 and a decision will be made in February whether to extend the measure or to resume regular operations, said Jian Yang, public relations spokesperson of JAL.

“This is a temporary suspension of the service that we have introduced because of the lower load factor,” he added.

Load factors were down as much as 30 per cent as passengers cancelled their holidays immediately after the November 13 attacks in Paris. Bookings for later in the year were also down.

“We have had to make adjustments and travellers who have reservations will be able to use our daily flights from Haneda International Airport instead,” he said.

The load factor on flights to Paris from Haneda has also fallen, by 40 per cent, and JAL intends to continue serving the French capital from Tokyo’s second airport.

RED Planet Hotels has opened the Red Planet Surawong in Bangkok, the budget chain’s fifth property in Thailand.

The 201-key hotel features in-room working desks and fridges, while the lobby provides Apple computers as well as complimentary Wi-Fi for guests.

The launch of Red Planet Surawong, Bangkok brings the group’s total room count to 4,118 in the region.