REGIONAL DMO Capital Region USA, which represents Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland, is keen to boost the China market with an extra US$800,000 marketing budget this year, having added Hong Kong to its annual sales mission in China.

Capital Region USA president & CEO, Matt Gaffney, said: “We visited Chengdu and Guangzhou before coming to Hong Kong. Our goal is to create awareness and educate the trade and media about our destination.

“In 2015, we will work closely with Brand Story plus partner with Air China, which inaugurated its four-weekly, Beijing-Washington route last June. In fact, Asia is ranked as the top market, registering double-digit growth last year. It is a star in terms of arrivals. China even surpassed the UK for the first time, delivering the highest traffic of 285,000 visitors.

“Another favourable development is the reciprocal 10-year multiple-entry visa access policy for business and tourist travel in both countries since last November.”

Explaining the solo mission in China, president and CEO for Washington DC, Elliot Ferguson, said: “Unlike other popular states, we are not that well known, so it’s good to come alone and build (awareness of) our destination before joining hands with the others.

“We hope to build a relationship with travel consultants and target organising our first fam tour this year, followed by more next year. The consultants can spend three to four days in DC.”

Martens Law, assistant manager for international travel, Smartcom, said: “We have branches in the capital and regularly arrange trips for company partners and staff from China. Washington DC is a good option and I would like to learn what the destination can offer.”

FOLLOWING the opening of a global sales office in Bangkok, new Thai hospitality entrant Manathai Hotels & Resorts has rolled out beachfront resort Manathai Khao Lak.

Overlooking the Andaman Sea and a 90-minute drive from Phuket International Airport, Manathai Khao Lak features 158 rooms, the Pad Thai restaurant, facilities for kids, a swimming pool, fitness centre, private library, and meeting space for up to 30 guests.

The property is offering special opening rates from 4,895 baht (US$149) which include daily breakfast for two in a Deluxe Balcony room, until April 30, 2015.

Manathai Khao Lak also joins Manathai Hua Hin and Manathai Surin Phuket in the collection, with Manathai Koh Samui set to open in Q2.

ABACUS has signed an agreement with research company GfK to supply anonymised booking data for the latter’s Travelscan report.

Under the agreement, which follows National Association of Travel Agents Singapore’s earlier commitment to share with GfK its members’ weekly consolidated live booking data, GfK will receive a feed of the aggregated weekly live bookings of participating Abacus travel consultants, initially based in Singapore.

Rani Francois-Marie Saad, vice president for Abacus ventures and corporate development, said: “Big data now plays a central role in the travel industry…It is an opportune time for exploring multifaceted ways of improving market intelligence through Travelscan, to allow better predictions and in-depth knowledge of travel consumption in APAC for travel consultants.”

Future projects include integration of other datasets for travel consultants to measure their own performance against market demand.

ACCOR Ambassador Korea has opened its first ibis Styles property in Seoul to meet growing demand from leisure and business travellers.

The group already operates 15 properties in South Korea, including eight in the capital, but the 180-room ibis Styles Ambassador Seoul Myeong-dong is appealing to a younger clientele with a trendy interior themed on the movie industry, as well as a rooftop restaurant.

“Seoul is one of the top tourist destinations in Asia and a strategic market for us,” said Patrick Basset, Accor’s COO for Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines.

“We’re seeing solid growth in the number of guests staying in our hotels throughout the country amid strong demand for quality, yet affordable accommodation in Seoul.

“This hotel will cater well to the design-centric, tech-savvy crowd, which is one of the fastest-growing segments on the international hospitality scene,” he added.

The property also has a selection of meeting rooms, as well as a gym, sauna and dining options.

Accor Ambassador Korea is a joint venture between France’s Accor and Korean hotel company Ambassador, and it opened its first ibis Ambassador property in the Gangnam district in 2003.

Basset told the local media that all the joint venture’s properties have shown annual growth of 10 per cent every year since they opened. The company plans to increase its portfolio to 23 hotels by 2017, including Grand Mercure and Suite Novotel properties.

Myeong-dong has emerged as a popular location for hotels developing new properties, in part thanks to a surge in Chinese tourists, who comprised over 40 per cent of the record 14 million foreign visitors to South Korea in 2014.

SWITZERLAND Tourism is aiming to grow the Indonesian FIT market as well as increase the length of stay of incentive groups.

At the Switzerland Travel Experience workshop held in Jakarta last week, Daniel Derzic, deputy head of mission, Embassy of Switzerland in Indonesia, told Indonesian outbound executives: “Thanks to the rising (Indonesian) middle class, there is growth of FITs (into Switzerland). While serial trips from Indonesia will grow the most in the coming years, there will be a gradual shift to incentives and FITs.

“Although FITs are still the smallest category, we wants to focus more on this group in the future, tapping special-interest groups such as honeymooners, art enthusiasts, luxury travellers and students.

“(The majority of) travellers from Indonesia to Switzerland are on a Europe tour and we want to increase their length of stay, especially of incentive travellers.”

Ivan Breiter, director for South-east Asia, Switzerland Tourism, added: “We have seen good growth of arrivals from Indonesia since we opened a South-east Asia office in Singapore three years ago.

“We saw a year-on-year decrease – up to 20 per cent – in 1H2014 due to the election, but growth was strong again in 2H2014. Arrivals this January was up by almost 50 per cent year-on-year.”

Indonesian travellers’ total hotel overnight stays last year were 69,615, down nine per cent from 2013. But they were also among the big Asian spenders with US$318 per day, alongside China and India which recorded US$348 and US$298 respectively, according to Switzerland Tourism’s data.

While Indonesian outbound travel players TTG Asia e-Daily spoke with acknowledged rising interest for Switzerland, they are not anticipating major business growth with the country being more expensive than other European destinations plus the high Swiss franc against the US and Asian currencies.

Fachri Kurniawan, general manager, PanTravel, said: “Indonesian travellers spend a lot for shopping, but they are price sensitive when it comes to tours and accommodation.”

However, Derzic highlighted: “The Swiss franc depreciated in February, and the downward trend is continuing. I’m sure there will be a very acceptable situation for Asian tourists.”

THE Ascott has secured a contract from UMCity Medini Lakeside Development to manage the group’s third property in Nusajaya, stepping up its presence in Iskandar Malaysia.

Slated to open in early 2019, the 30-storey, 214-unit Citadines Medini Nusajaya is part of UMCity, a mixed-use development comprising offices and a retail podium, near Legoland theme park and Medini Lifestyle Mall.

The serviced residence is a 15-minute drive from the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link expressway and 25 minutes from Johor’s Senai International Airport.

Units will range from studios to one- and two-bedroom, each with a fully equipped kitchen, separate living, work and sleeping areas, and ensuite bathroom. Recreational facilities include a swimming pool and gymnasium.

Ascott opened Somerset Puteri Harbour Nusajaya last month, and will be opening Somerset Medini Nusajaya later this year.

Gerald Yong, Ascott’s chief investment officer, said: “Our first Citadines Apart’hotel in Malaysia, Citadines Uplands Kuching, has been enjoying very healthy occupancy since it opened in 2012. We see great potential in expanding our Citadines brand in Malaysia and in January 2015 we opened another Citadines Apart’hotel in Cyberjaya.

“With the addition of Citadines Medini Nusajaya, Ascott now has nine properties with more than 1,900 apartment units in Malaysia.”

THE Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA) has unveiled its 2015 lineup ofIslands Philippines Fun Caravans programmes, introducing a new self-drive component for tours in Luzon and new destinations for the international market.

Three of the five “major” programmes – Cordillera’s Heritage Warrior, Southern Luzon Kulinarya Caravan, as well as Plains and Heights of Central Luzon – are Luzon based and offer a bring-your-own-vehicle option. The other two are fly-then-travel Bicol Express and Visayan Charms.

The three “minor” programmes, of shorter duration and smaller area coverage, are Rediscover Batanes, Northern Palawan (Calamianes) Eco Adventure Discovery and Hola! Zamboanga.

“The plan is to come up with 10 major caravan programmes eventually,” said Cesar Cruz, PHILTOA president. “For Visit the Philippines Year 2015, (the caravan programme) is the best contribution of the association to the campaign.”

The Visayan Charms and Plains and Heights of Central Luzon tours are broken down into three legs each to allow travellers to join in segments of their choice, while the Southern Luzon Kulinarya tour will be offered as a post-tour programme for delegates attending the Madrid Fusion Manila gastronomy congress and exhibition in April, he added.

The land programmes are insured with Blue Cross, and all itineraries guarantee security convoys and special assistance from the local governments.

Eleanor Ng, director of tourism services, Marsman Drysdale Travel, likes the flexibility. “The programmes cater to different markets, being action-packed but also very laid-back. You can bring your own car or ride with the caravan, or go as high as five-star if there’s accommodation.”

Eric Boroy, inbound general manager, Baron Travel Corp, said: “We’ve sent these programmes out to our partners, and there’s been a good response, especially from the Europeans, who want fixed dates for longer itineraries.”

As in previous years, PHILTOA would sell these programmes via a members’ consortium, which this year numbers 15 companies.

THAILAND-based longhaul LCC NokScoot, a joint venture between Thailand’s budget Nok Air and Singapore’s no-frills Scoot, will spread its wings to China and South Korea come May.

From its Don Mueang Airport base in Bangkok, NokScoot will launch thrice-weekly flights to Nanjing from May 5, operating on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

On May 10, it will begin thrice-weekly services to Incheon on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The flight frequency will be stepped up to daily from June 15 onwards.

Both services will be operated on 415-seat Boeing B777-200 aircraft, with 24 seats in ScootBiz cabin and 391 seats in Economy Class cabin.

When enquired on the choice of both cities for the carrier’s inaugural destinations, NokScoot’s CEO, Piya Yodmani, commented: “We aim to provide a regular link between Bangkok and Nanjing. Nanjing is steeped in history and culture amid the modern shopping places and food. This, together with the scenic sights in and around the city, will be a new tourist destination for Thai travellers.

“Meanwhile, Bangkok as a destination is a perennial favourite among Chinese tourists as well.

“For (South) Korea, the tourism flow between the two countries are well established and NokScoot aims to offer exceptional value and choice for travellers.”

According to a NokScoot spokesperson, another new destination will be revealed later this month and that “East Asia is an integral part of (the airline’s) network plan”.

NokScoot’s latest announcement is expected to intensify competition on the Thailand-East Asia market, as longhaul budget rival Thai AirAsia X had already commenced services toOsaka, Tokyo-Narita and Seoul last year.

TO EDUCATE travel consultants about the new British-Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS), Tourism Ireland today kick-started a three-city roadshow with VisitBritain in New Delhi, to be followed by Mumbai on March 24 and Bengaluru on April 21.

India is the second Asian country after China to benefit from the BIVS, which commenced in the country a month ago and replaces the Irish Short-Stay Visa Waiver Programme, which has been extended until October 31, 2016.

The new scheme enables visitors to travel throughout the Irish-British external border of the Common Travel Area on one visa, excluding the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. It applies to short-term visit visas for a maximum of three months and does not apply to student or work visas.

“Given that visitors from India are travelling a considerable distance and often want to include more than one destination on their itinerary, it makes sense to make it as easy as possible for them to visit both Ireland and the UK on a single visa,” explained Huzan Frazer, representative from Tourism Ireland India.

Mahendra Vakharia, managing director, Pathfinders Holidays and secretary, OTOAI western region, opined: “The scheme will greatly boost Ireland and UK tourism as it removes the hurdle of opting for a separate visa, which forces clients to spend extra.

“The BIVS enables us to plan and sell the itineraries better. Although we have not noticed an increase in sales so far, enquiries have increased tremendously. BIVS will be a big hit during the peak season.”

M S Raghavan, managing director, Passion and Pleasure Travels & Tours in Bengaluru, said: “The enquiries for the UK and Ireland itineraries have increased from all segments of travellers. In the long run, we expect 80 per cent of tourists visiting the UK will extend their trips to Ireland.”