LUXURY line Crystal Cruises has unveiled plans to roll out three new luxury cruise brands as well as its own Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Making the announcement together, Crystal’s president and chief executive, Edie Rodriguez and chairman Lim Kok Thay said the first of the new cruise classes would take shape with the delivery of Crystal Esprit in November this year.

The Crystal Esprit marks the debut of the new all-inclusive Crystal Yacht Cruises programme, which will sail regional itineraries of seven days. The 62-guest, 3,000-tonnage yacht’s maiden voyage will explore the Seychelles Islands when it sets sail on December 23, 2015, ending with an inclusive, post-cruise New Year’s Eve celebration at the Taj Dubai Hotel.

Come 2017, Crystal will enter into river cruising with the launch of Crystal River Cruises, bringing its all-inclusive service onto the waterways.

In the same year, Crystal Luxury Air will also mark the company’s foray into air travel on board a specially configured Dreamliner, which flies 60 guests in fully reclining business class seats to destinations to which major airlines do not offer nonstop service. The itineraries, which last around 28 days, will offer non-stop service with visits between 10 to 12 different destinations.

Crystal will also launch three new Crystal Exclusive Class cruise ships in late 2018. These all-suite, all-balcony vessels will accommodate 1,000 guests, similar to the capacity of the 922-guest Crystal Symphony and 1,070-guest Crystal Serenity.

“With an impressive 100 tons of space per guest, the average space ratio for luxury cruise ships being 60 tons per person, our new ships’ guest-to-space rations will be vast in comparison to past, current and under-construction luxury ships, reaching all corners of the world safely, smoothly and in the utmost style and comfort,” said Rodriguez.

Additionally, the 48 Crystal Residences, situated on the top deck of Crystal Cruises’ new ships, will boast a space starting from 56m2 and facilities such as a private restaurant and reception.

SINGAPORE-BASED online home-sharing platform PandaBed.com has launched PeerMatch to help Asian holidaymakers find reliable lodgings and like-minded homeowners.

The newly added PeerMatch technology uses an algorithm to do advanced profile matching between local hosts and guests, connecting Asian homeowners to travellers who share similar cultural and social interests.

Hosts and travellers fill in a one-minute questionnaire to indicate and weigh the preferences they look for in a host or guest, such as gender, age, interests, profession, language spoken or dietary requirements.

The PeerMatch algorithm then computes a matching score between the host and guest, with a higher score indicating a better match and a more pleasant experience for both.

By taking into consideration the other party’s interests and preferences, PeerMatch also helps both host and guest to get a better understanding of each other before they meet.

PandaBed.com currently has over 10,000 listed accommodations across Asia in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

GLOBAL travel interest in Greece has been relatively stable over the past few quarters despite the country’s financial difficulties, according to Sojern, a data-driven travel performance marketing engine.

Stewart Hunter, director for Asia Pacific, Sojern, said: “Over the past three quarters, we’ve seen Greece stay in the top 10 most popular destinations globally, except for Q4 of 2014, when they fell just barely outside of it.”

“In terms of travel strictly from Europe, Greece remains among the top 10 destinations, despite a drop during the second quarter of 2015 to position eight, from position four during the previous quarter,” he adds.

Hunter expects Greece’s tourism numbers to bounce back up despite the recent drops.

He said: “Since the announcement of the referendum, travel intent numbers to Greece have gone down by around 23 per cent, but we are already seeing indications of a rebound.

“In the long term, however, should Greece leave the Eurozone, its tourism could ultimately benefit from the devaluation of its currency, and that could potentially bring about an increase in tourism from the Europe and Eurozone countries specifically,” Hunter added.

THAI hospitality company Kata Group Resorts is embarking on a new phase of expansion following the appointment of financial consultants Asset Pro Management (APM).

APM will prepare Kata Group Resorts, owner and operator of six resorts in Southern Thailand, for a listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) following a restructuring of the hospitality company’s business plan and finances in accordance with SET requirements.

With a listing expected in 2017, Kata Group will embark on a period of significant growth fuelled by extra capital, including developing a hotel and community mall in Phuket called The Landmark Patong, as well as projects in Pattaya and Hua Hin.

Pramookpisitt Achariyachai, president and owner of Kata Group Resorts, said he was encouraged by the growth of Thailand’s tourism sector and the increasing number of attractions, which was driving the growth of the hospitality industry.

“We feel we still have a lot of room to grow,” he said. “We currently own and operate six hotels in absolute beachfront locations – with one a two-minute walk from the beach – featuring concepts in the four- and five-star categories, appealing to a wide range of target groups and markets from around the world.”

PATA has announced the winners of the 2015 PATA Grand and Gold Awards, an initiative that recognises the achievements of organisations and individuals in the tourism industry.

The PATA Grand Awards are presented to outstanding entries in four principal categories: Marketing; Education and Training; Environment; and Heritage & Culture.

Taylor’s University, Malaysia will receive the 2015 PATA Grand Award for Education and Training for its ‘Tourism Academy at Community College Langkawi, Malaysia’ project, an initiative that aims to make Langkawi among the top 10 tourism island destinations with qualified manpower in the service sectors.

The Environmental Award will be presented to Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka, for its ‘The Success of Self-reliance’ project. Set within the outskirts of the Yala National Park, the hotel was created to be as sustainable as possible, by conserving energy and being part of the environment without harming it.

The Heritage and Culture Award will be awarded to Ratchada Niramit, Thailand for its ‘Siam Niramit Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam’. The world-class performance aims not only to introduce Thai arts and culture to the world, but also to make Thai people take pride in their culture.

The Marketing Award goes to Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) for its ‘Follow Me to Hong Kong’ campaign, where world-renowned Instagram couple, Murad Osmann and Natalia Zakharova, were invited to Hong Kong to capture romantic photos and share them on social media. This increased the city’s exposure as a travel destination via the couple’s personal experiences.

The awards luncheon and presentation will take place at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on September 8 during the PATA Travel Mart 2015.

For the full list of award winners, click here.

PASSENGER traffic showed strong growth in May 2015, with Asia-Pacific and Middle East airports both reporting 10.6 per cent and 10.9 per cent year-on-year growth respectively.

According to figures from the Airports Council International (ACI), passenger growth was supported by robust international traffic despite slowdown in regional trade activities.

A number of the major airports recorded year-on-year growth in excess of 20 per cent: Dubai (DXB) rose 23.2 per cent, Shanghai (PVG) increased 22 per cent and Bangkok (BKK) grew 22.8 per cent. Bangkok Don Muang (DMK) continued to deliver the highest growth among major airports, surging 49.6 per cent.

Though passenger traffic remained resilient, the lull in trade activities and air freight traffic may put downward pressures on business travels in the coming months, said ACI in a press release.

Credit: Changi Airport Group

CHANGI Airport Group (CAG) and Xiamen Airlines have signed a MoU to jointly collaborate on initiatives to grow connectivity and passenger traffic between Singapore and China.

Effective until March 31, 2018, the MoU formalises the partnership to increase air services between the two countries, and to grow transit and transfer traffic between South-east Asia, South-west Pacific and China, via Singapore.

Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of CAG, said: “The Chinese market holds enormous potential and in terms of passenger traffic, Xiamen is currently the fourth largest Chinese city for Changi Airport, just behind the key metros of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.”

“The signing of this MoU is a strategic step to enhance our connectivity through the establishment of more direct air services to new secondary and third-tier cities in China,” added Lee.

Exclusive offers and shopping promotions to enhance the retail and dining experience for Xiamen Airlines’ passengers at Changi Airport are also in the works.