TRAVELPORT today announced it has signed a new content and data partnership with Alitrip, formerly known as Taobao Travel.

The agreement allows Alitrip, Alibaba Group’s online travel platform, to work with Travelport and Travelport-enabled agencies, effectively expand its merchant and customer base beyond the borders of China.

Alitrip also gains access to Travelport’s pricing and availability data as well as its flagship shopping products ePricing and the Search Control Console.

Zheng Zhou, general manager of Alitrip’s transportation business unit, said in a statement: “With this partnership we can now have a more efficient way to engage the wider agency community and bring them onto the Alitrip platform. This wil provide our users with the best fare options.”

On the other hand, existing Travelport users and partners can now tap China’s growing demand for travel by participating on the Alitrip platform.

DUSIT International last week relaunched the Krabi Resort as the Dusit Thani Krabi Beach Resort.

The resort is a one-hour flight from Bangkok and located on a quiet stretch of Klong Muang Beach on the west coast of southern Thailand, a stone’s throw away from natural waterfalls, caves and cliff formations.

The resort offers 240 guestrooms and suites, free high-speed Internet access in every room, private balconies and terraces, and disability accessible rooms. Guests looking for privacy can book the Club Suite which comes with its own plunge pool.

For leisure, guests can choose to play a variety of water sports or take a leisurely stroll through the mangroves. The resort also offers a Kid’s Club, two sea-facing swimming pools and a 24-hour fitness centre.

F&B options include Mangosteen’s Restaurant, offering Western and Pan-Asian cuisine; Gecko’s, Italian cuisine; and Malati Restaurant, which serves authentic Indian and Thai cuisine. There is also The Deck, which offers poolside dining; and three bars.

The resort also offers five meeting rooms to cater to event planners. The meeting rooms all feature high-speed Internet access, technical assistance, and a hospitality desk which provides personalised support.

In celebration of the relaunch, the resort is having an opening special of 50 per cent off all room types, valid until October 31, 2015. Free breakfast is also included.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, Will Horton, analyst at CAPA – Centre for Aviation, said: “Hubs benefit from competition as that’s what you see from Singapore to Bangkok to Tokyo. In fact, point-to-point full-service demand in Hong Kong is reaching saturation and to stimulate travel you need a structurally different airline – such as an LCC.”

Travel agency Arrow Travel’s managing director Tommy Tam, pointed out that LCC penetration in Hong Kong remains under 10 per cent so there is still room to grow.

“The rejection may result in limited competition to existing players and less choice for consumers. If Jetstar clinched the licence, I reckon it would have opened up routes to Australia and other second and tertiary cities within the region,” he said.

Horton added: “Hong Kong needs to shift its visitor demographics. Not all source markets want to go to shopping malls, which are at saturation, provoking public angst. Some source markets prefer to explore the New Territories and outer islands, which will inject benefits to the local economy rather than designer boutiques.

“But to get those visitors Hong Kong needs more airline competition. Rejecting Jetstar wasn’t simply refusing a licence – it was a decision that will negatively shape Hong Kong for years.”

Hong Kong carriers such as Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express had expressed vehement objection to Jetstar Hong Kong from the outset, though they have denied being anti-competition.

But other travel consultants were less persuaded about the need for another lCC on the scene.

Dannia Cheung, Morning Star Travel Service general manager, commented: “We hardly benefit from LCCs as they don’t offer commission and choose to go direct to consumers.”

Wing Wong, W Travel managing director, also played down the impact of ATLA’s decision, saying capacity is already an issue at the airport. “In the long run, the city needs its third runway to sustain future growth,” Wong said.

TRIPADVISOR has teamed up with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to launch a microsite promoting off-the-beaten-path experiences in Singapore, the first time the travel website is partnering an NTO.

Supported by media agency MEC, the aptly named Live Like a Local site features user reviews, recommendations from TripAdvisor local experts and curated content to promote popular neighbourhoods in Singapore such as Tiong Bahru and Joo Chiat.

Lesser known Singaporean brands will take centrestage on the microsite and TripAdvisor-run master classes for featured businesses will also be held in order to help them better harness the benefits of online reviews.

Live Like a Local is currently available on TripAdvisor’s Australian, Indian and Malaysian domains, three of Singapore’s key source markets.

Lim Shoo Ling, deputy director, strategic marketing and brand, STB, said in a press release: “The Live Like a Local hub showcases our city through the eyes of locals and travellers. Their unique insights and ideas will empower fellow travellers to personalise their itineraries and inspire new visitors to experience a more authentic side of Singapore.”

A NEW Sheraton-brand development is set to come up on the coral island of Mactan in Cebu, the Philippines in 2019, featuring a hotel and a branded residences.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts said in a statement yesterday that it has signed an agreement to manage a new-built property owned by AppleOne Mactan, a subsidiary of AppleOne Properties.

The new Sheraton Mactan hotel will open in 2019, followed by the opening of the residences in 2020.

Located in Punta Engana Barangay, the property is a 10-minute drive from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

The Sheraton Mactan Resort hotel will feature 250 guestrooms, including 20 suites, with views of the Magellan Bay. A spa, three dining venues, lobby lounge, swimming pool, fitness centre and 1,313m2 of meeting space will also be found on site.

On the other hand, The Residences at Sheraton Mactan Resort will offer 182 units of one- to three-room apartments.

AIMING to boost the its Altea suite of offerings, Amadeus is set to acquire Navitaire for US$830 million.

Navitaire is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture that provides technology and business solutions to the airline industry, with a special focus on the low-cost and hybrid segments.

It has a base of over 50 international airlines which it supports with revenue-generation and cost-streaming solutions in the areas of reservations, ancillary sales, loyalty, revenue management, revenue accounting and business intelligence.

“Bringing Navitaire’s experience, industry knowhow, client base and strong product portfolio is a significant step for Amadeus in the low-cost and hybrid carrier segments,” said Luis Maroto, president and CEO of Amadeus in a press release.

“Airlines of all shapes and sizes face an increasingly competitive market for an increasingly demanding traveller, and this transaction will give us the ability to serve all airlines with a technology that can enable them to drive new revenues and contain their costs.”

Under the terms of the agreement, about 550 Navitaire employees, including the company’s senior management team, are expected to transfer for Amadeus.

The transaction is expected to complete in 4Q2015.

Separately, Amadeus has announced it will form an alliance with Accenture as its Strategic Partner. The alliance is focused on digital travel services with an emphasis on commercial passenger operations.

A third agreement sees Accenture supporting Amadeus with infrastructure outsourcing, application and research and development services as well as hosting services for existing Navitaire clients and future Amadeus clients who purchase the Navitaire solution.

SPANISH chain NH Hotel Group is planning to open eight properties in China this year in a joint venture with Hainan-based HNA travel group.

The group also said it expects to return to profits in 2015 – a year after HNA took over as its biggest stakeholder – for the first time since 2007.

The initial plan for its expansion in China, announced to Spanish stock market authorities in September 2014, was for the two groups to form a joint management company to run six hotels with a total of some 1,300 rooms.

That number has now been increased to eight properties with more than 2,030 rooms, in cities such as Beijing, Haikou on Hainan island, Tianjin and Dongguan in Guangdong.

A spokesperson declined to give further details at this stage when interviewed by TTG Asia e-Daily.

After being hit hard by the European economic crisis, which particularly affected the group’s predominantly business customer base, NH president Rodrigo Echenique declared at the company’s annual shareholder meeting this week that “the worst is now past”.

“The improvement in all the economic indicators in all business units, and growth in income above our competitors’ (levels) in many of the destinations where the group operates, confirm that the company as a whole is making the necessary steps to return to growth,” added CEO Federico González Tejera.