THE Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA), Hawaii’s tourism agency, is making a big push into Asia with the appointment of Aviareps Southeast Asia and Brandstory Asia to provide destination management services in South-east Asia and China respectively.

Aviareps Southeast Asia, which has offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta and Bangkok, will focus primarily on Singapore and Malaysia, with Indonesia and Thailand being secondary markets. Both leisure and business segments will be targeted.

Meanwhile, Brandstory Asia, headquartered in Shanghai and with offices also in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore, will begin representing HTA from January 1, 2016.

In a statement, the company said it will employ “a strategic mix of airline and travel trade partnerships as well as consumer marketing via advertising, PR and social media programs to increase the desire for and actual travel to the Hawaiian Islands.”

Khao Phing Kan, Thailand.

DATA from travel search engine Skyscanner has revealed the cheapest months in 2016 to book a flight to locales featured in James Bond blockbusters through the years.

In Asia, flights to Khao Phing Kan, Thailand, featured in The Man With the Golden Gun, can cost as low as US$119 in September next year. Meanwhile, flying to Shanghai, as featured in Skyfall, will only set you back $115 when booking in January, while flying to Tokyo, filmed in You Only Live Twice, is as affordable as $163 in February.

Further afield, jetting to St Andrews, Scotland, featured in Goldfinger, will have fares starting from $616 when flying in February, and as filmed in James Bond’s latest film, Spectre, bookings to Mexico City will only cost $946 in May.

For more information, visit Skyscanner’s website.

TRAVELLERS from Helsinki via Finnair will be able to connect to codeshare services operated by Singapore-based Jetstar Asia from December 15, 2015 onwards.

Finnair’s code will be added to Jetstar Asia’s flights to and from Singapore’s Changi Airport, as well as services in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Phuket, Perth and Darwin.

Guests flying on Finnair will retain its baggage allowance aboard Jetstar Asia’s flights.

Barathan Pasupathi, CEO of Jetstar Asia, said: “The collaboration between Jetstar Asia and Finnair is a welcome enhancement towards the codeshare and interline model at Jetstar Asia. The Finnair service from Helsinki will connect to Jetstar Asia’s services at Changi Airport.

“This will allow customers from Europe to connect via Singapore onwards to Jetstar Asia’s Australasia destinations”.

SINGAPORE’s nocturnal wildlife park, the Night Safari, has adopted a time-based admission for visitors.

Visitors will now need to choose an admission time at either 19.15, 20.15 or 21.15 when they purchase tickets online or onsite, as opposed to the previous policy which allowed entry anytime during opening hours.

Guests are also encouraged to purchase tickets online to avoid disappointment as there are limited slots available per timing.

Tokyo in winter. Credit: Knot Mirai/Shutterstock.com

JAPAN has emerged as the favourite destination for travellers from Singapore and Hong Kong.

Tokyo in particular is the most-searched destination on Kayak’s Singapore and Hong Kong portals during the holiday season, with Osaka ranking 4th and Sapporo the 7th most popular destination for travellers from Hong Kong during this Christmas period.

Other popular places shared among Singapore and Hong Kong travellers include Seoul, Bangkok, Taipei, London and Paris, all ranking among the top 10 most-searched destinations.

In another finding, travellers from Singapore are increasingly searching for the Japanese cities of Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo, according to Skyscanner. All four cities are among the top 10 destinations that have seen the greatest increase in flight searches from 2012 to 2015.

Surprisingly, Phu Quoc, Vietnam, has seen the greatest surge in search on Skyscanner, increasing by 209 per cent over the same period.

LUXURY planners seeking ideas for special experiences for honeymooners may consider Love in St Moritz, a package offered by the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains which aims to bedazzle couples.

Here’s how: It begins with a BMW limousine service from either the Milan or Zurich airport for the most direct and convenient route to St Moritz.

On arrival in the new elegant Kempinski Residences, a serene and exclusive wing of the hotel, the butler will welcome them with an exotic fruit plate and champagne, and provide round-the-clock service. That same evening, Michelin-star chef Matthias Schmidberger creates a candlelight dinner at the gourmet restaurant Cà d’Oro and pampers them with aphrodisiac delicacies including French oysters and the finest Valrhona chocolate.

The next day, a private helicopter flight over the snow-capped mountain peaks. For lunch, a romantic sleigh ride and a subsequent gourmet menu served on the frozen lake surrounded by a picturesque winter scene and brilliant sunshine. On the second day, recharge at Kempinski The Spa. with a full body massage for two in the spa suite, followed by cosy high tea by the fireplace in the lobby bar afterwards.

The package price starts at CHF 10,000 per person for a stay of three nights, including honeymoon welcome treatment and daily breakfast and all of the above exclusives. It is now available to book for stays from December 4 to March 28.

– The next issue TTG Asia Luxury is out January 8, with bonus circulation at ASEAN Tourism Forum 2016

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) is mitigating its Europe route cutbacks with a codeshare agreement with Emirates from February.

MAS is suspending its Paris and Amsterdam routes from January 25 as well as severing 10 codeshare agreements with existing partners. This leaves London as its only direct route in Europe, where it has double daily flights and operates the A380.

Christoph Mueller, CEO of MAS, pointed out that the partnership with Emirates will enable MAS’ passengers to continue having access to Paris, Amsterdam and many more longhaul destinations, with the added advantage of better schedules and greater frequencies.

Under the agreement, MAS will codeshare with Emirates flights to the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas. In return, Emirates will codeshare with MAS flights to domestic routes in Malaysia, South-east Asia and select cities across the Asia-Pacific region.

The agreement will be implemented progressively and is still subject to regulatory approvals.

THAILAND’s inbound agencies are more worried about the impending European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) safety rating review than the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s move to downgrade the civil aviation authority’s safety rating.

EASA is expected to announce its verdict on Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) next Thursday.
Willem Niemeijer, CEO of Khiri Group, said: “An adverse decision by the EASA will not just affect Thailand, but also countries such as Myanmar and Laos, which rely heavily on Bangkok as an aviation hub. That said, Thailand remains very resilient as a destination and other airlines will quickly fill in any gap left by airlines based in Thailand.”

Niemeijer further explained: “It is important to know the FAA decision is not directly made against THAI or any airline, but rather against the DCA.

“The DCA in turn needs to urgently make changes in order to get out of the downgrade. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), problems include understaffing, outdated manuals and systems, and an archaic aviation law,” he added.

Luzi Matzig, chairman of Asian Trails concurred, saying that “things are not just black and white”.

“Of more importance is the decision by EASA controlling European airspace, and if they decide to downgrade Thailand, then THAI may no longer be allowed to fly into Europe which would of course negatively affect tourist movements to and from Thailand.

“I do not expect this to happen as nobody can claim that Thailand’s standards are not up to date,” added Matzig. “Let’s wait and see.”

However, Hamish Keith, COO of Exo Travel, is taking a stronger stance. He said: “The downgrading of Thailand’s aviation sector by the FAA is very bad news for Thailand and the region.

“If action is not taken quickly and decisively by the authorities, we risk facing a ban similar to Indonesia a few years ago, which we all know had a serious impact on the destination’s reputation and created a very difficult situation for tour operators.”