BEYOND Resort Khaolak has unveiled the Palm Villa Elite, a collection of 24 new private luxury villas added to the resort premises.

Features in each of the 78m² villas include a garden with outdoor shower, loungers and a 3 by 8-metre pool or Jacuzzi. Inside each villa is a spacious bathroom with separate shower, double basins, walk-in wardrobe, king size or twin beds, flat screen TV with direct internet access and a complimentary mini bar.

Villa stays are offered as part of a three-night package for couples which includes daily champagne breakfast featuring smoked salmon, fresh fruit juices, coffee and selection of cheeses, while dinner, which includes a range of seafood, wine, beer and soft drinks, will take place by the beach. Round trip airport transfers to Phuket International Airport are also included.

The highlight of the tour is a trip to the nearby Similan Islands, a national park featuring rare marine life. The package is priced at 38,000 baht (US$1,059) and is available until March 31, 2016.

HONG Kong Airlines will increase flight frequency to Haikou from seven to nine flights per week come December 25 in response to growing market demand.

On Fridays, an added flight will depart from Hong Kong at 19.25 and arrive in Haikou at 20.50. Meanwhile on Sundays, a second added service will depart at 18.15 and arrive at 19.45.

The return flight will leave Haikou at 21.55 and land in Hong Kong at 23.15 on Fridays, while on Sundays, it will leave Haikou at 21.15 and land in Hong Kong at 22.35.

Amari Yangshou Guilin

ONYX Hospitality Group has added two new developments – Amari Yangshou Guilin and Shama Daqing Heilongjiang – to its pipeline of properties in China.

The 75-room Amari Yangshou Guilin, slated to open in 2017, is part of an integrated commercial development located in the city’s downtown area. Facilities include a spa, Thai restaurant and more.

Shama Daqing Heilongjiang

Scheduled to open in late-2016 is the 110-unit Shama Daqing Heilongjiang located within the city’s CBD. Amenities at the serviced apartment include a Shama kitchen, lounge, fitness area and business centre.

Onyx’s seven other properties under development in China include Amari Dali Yunnan, Amari Huidong Guangdong, Shama Yanglin Beijing, Shama Tianfu Chengdu, Shama Pazhou Guangzhou, Shama Caojiadu Shanghai and OZO Shishi Xiamen.

It currently operates a portfolio of six properties in Shanghai and Hangzhou.

EMIRATES will be retiring 26 aircraft while taking delivery of 36 new aircraft – 20 A380s and 16 Boeing 777-300ERs – in 2016 as part of plans to rejuvenate its fleet.

The planes being retired include 12 A330-300s, 4 A340-300s, 1 A340-500, 6 Boeing 777-200ERs, 2 Boeing 777-300s and 1 Boeing 777-300ER.

By the end of next year, Emirates’ average fleet age will stand at 5.6 years.

The airline will also be retiring 26 more aircraft by end-2018.

Inauguration of the Joint Visa Application Centre in New Delhi, India

VFS Global opened its largest visa application centre in Asia in New Delhi last week, equipped to process 12,000 visa applications per day for 31 countries including Japan, Australia, Austria, Belgium and the UK.

The US, China, Thailand and Malaysia will be serviced at VFS Global’s other centres in the city.

The facility is located at the heart of the Indian capital, at Connaught Place, spread across an area of 6224m2 with a total of 153 counters. It offers premium lounges, an intelligent queue management system, play area for children and a food court among other amenities.

“We may also look to open more such facilities in other Indian cities after gauging the success of the new centre,” said Vinay Malhotra, COO, South Asia, VFS Global.

Travel agents interviewed said the centre will benefit the leisure segment most. “It is great convenience for outbound tour operators and even the end consumer to have visa application facilities available for so many countries under one roof,” said Ashwani Sharma, CEO, Sheraton Travels.

“Leisure travellers are likely to benefit more as they prefer to avoid service charges incurred when availing the services of a travel agent,” said Sharma, adding that he expects outbound travel in north India to increase as a result.

ASIA’s 50 Best Restaurants, which will be held in Bangkok next year after being staged in Singapore for the past three years, said the move had nothing to do with Michelin’s announcement of launching a guide in Singapore.

William Drew, group editor of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, said the intention had always been to move the event to different host countries across the region, although sources speculated it was probably due to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) cutting back its support as it had the Michelin Guide in mind.

A new willing partner, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, sees the awards ceremony for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants taking place on February 29 at the W Hotel Bangkok. Drew is unfazed by Singapore’s Michelin Guide, saying: “Since its launch in 2013, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants has established itself as the ultimate reference point for gastronomy across the continent, celebrating great restaurants and great chefs and providing a unique guide to the finest dining destinations.

“We will continue to build our presence and profile in Asia, using our panel of over 300 independent expert voters from every corner of the region.”

While hoteliers and restaurateurs in Singapore welcome the guide, they too do not expect its entry in the second half of next year to add fire to an already sizzling dining scene.

Said Beppe de Vito, owner of a string of restaurants in Singapore including Aura at the National Gallery, said: “It is definitely a positive thing to finally have Michelin in Singapore, especially since none of the other local guides have ever been able to offer similar professional reviews.

“Personally I doubt it will change anything as Singapore’s dining scene has been steadily improving over the past 10 years, and especially since the arrival of the two casinos.

“Most surely it will inflate some egos and destroy some others, especially in the Western dining scene. I also believe it is still just a minority of the whole customer spectrum who ‘listens’ to Michelin.”

Loh Lik Peng, director of Unlisted Collection, which also owns trendy restaurants apart from boutique hotels in Singapore, agreed. He said: “I think the guide will be interesting for Singapore’s dining scene… I’m not sure if it will make a difference to the vast majority of restaurants here, but our world-class restaurants will have another avenue to really showcase what they are doing. Overall, probably a positive for Singapore but I do hope our local cuisine gets a good shout out from the list.”

Olivier Bendel, CEO of Deliciae Hospitality Management, is more enthusiastic, saying: “The Michelin Guide is a real institution for over 100 years in France and probably the leader in restaurant classification around the world. It’s amazing to have it here soon and it will help even more to promote Singapore and our profession. We all hope that the guide here will be as accurate and as independent as in France, promoting ingredients, dishes, talent and hard work. It will for sure push all of us hard to do even better as of today.”

Hilton Worldwide Asia-Pacific’s vice president of F&B, Markus Schueller, believes the guide will elevate Singapore’s culinary scene to the level of other cities in Asia that already have it, namely, Japan, Macau and Hong Kong. “Having said this, the Michelin Guide is just one of a number of ways guests today are assessing restaurants.

“Fundamentally, more guests are looking for authentic dining experiences that give them a way to experience the city or locale they are visiting, or that offer something not currently found in the local market,” said Schueller.

This is why the chain is continually investing to ensure “we are future-proofing our dining concepts that are relevant to people living and working in that city”, said Schueller.

“Across our portfolio in Asia-Pacific, we have invested in key masterplan projects… most recently Opus Bar & Grill at Hilton Singapore.”

Schueller works alongside chefs and designers to redevelop F&B concepts at Hilton hotels in the region. Aside from the Hilton Singapore, multi-million dollar refurbishments of dining areas in properties such as Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Hilton Tokyo Bay, and Hilton Tokyo have also been carried out.

THE travel industry needs to keep an open mind and continually adapt in order to cater to the needs of millennial travellers, according to a report by travel search engine Wego.

“It’s not quite as simple as relying on a set of common and rather vague signals, including reliance on travel review sites, the use of metasearch, mobile usage, social media and continuous connectivity,” said Rick Mulia, chief advertising and sales officer at Wego.

“Travel reviews are popular, however millennials are far more influenced by family and friends when it comes to making travel choices,” he added, saying that many of the common beliefs about millennial travellers may be misinformed.

For instance, they are value hunters who look for comforts at reasonable prices, rather than being extremely budget conscious to forego premium amenities. As such, premium economy airline seats cater specifically to the millennial traveller, according to Wego, as they are affordable, yet offers a more comfortable flight experience.

“No matter what, if you’re in the business of travel it’s imperative you consistently evolve and deliver fresh experiences that provide great value, and approach your marketing strategies in the same manner,” said Mulia.