THAI aviation is facing a crisis after the UN’s industry watchdog raised “significant safety concerns” about the sector, spurring Japan and South Korea to curb new flights from a number of local operators.

The ICAO in January audited the local industry for the first time in a decade, with Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) reportedly only passing 21 of 100 requirements.

Thailand’s failure of ICAO’s audit and the barring of new charter flights to key destinations in the region will have a “tremendous impact” on business over the coming Thai New Year holiday, said Chotechuang Soorangura, associate managing director, NS Travel & Tours.

“(Some) 150,000 Thai passengers will be affected by the situation,” he said. “This doesn’t only impact Thais going overseas; charter flights normally need to fill up the seats for both inbound and outbound to be most cost-effective.

“Scheduled flights are also standing on the edge of a cliff. If the problem is not resolved soonest, the entire tourism industry will be hurt. Inbound will face another tough (price) war with fewer tourists coming in. This is a wake-up call for all authorities in Thai tourism to take action seriously and timely.”

Pornthip Hirunkate, vice president for marketing at 
Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), concurred ICAO’s decision would have a “colossal impact” on the Thai trade, adding that the aviation business requires long-term solutions for the issues raised, not quick fixes.

“This is a major travel period for Thais wanting to experience and explore (outbound) destinations,” she said. “With regards to inbound, both Japan and South Korea markets and other markets are not affected by these issues – it’s business as usual. TCT is actively taking the lead to find immediate resolutions to ease the situation.”

Meanwhile, Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Thailand’s prime minister, said he will invoke article 44 of the interim charter, essentially granting him absolute power over most aspects of government, to establish a new aviation body to work with DCA to resolve the problem.

Bangkok Post reported that Japan may ease its ban on new flights from Thai carriers, including Thai Airways International, NokScoot and Thai AirAsiaX, if the new authority proved effective.

In an official statement Thai AirAsiaX said it will “continue operating flights to Japan as usual as well as to South Korea and that its passengers will not be affected in any way”.

BEST Western International today announced the launch of the Best Western Chinatown Hotel in Yangon.

The hotel’s 91 deluxe rooms all feature flat-screen TVs with satellite channels, mini bars, tea- and coffee-making facilities, bathrooms with showers and bathtubs, and free Wi-Fi.

Other facilities include an all-day dining restaurant, bar, fitness centre, business centre, and three function rooms able to host both small and large meetings.

Best Western’s growth will continue in the near future, with plans for new openings in Mandalay and Naypyidaw.

TRAVEL agencies remain the most popular touchpoint for Malaysian travellers when planning their vacations both online and off, according to GfK’s Consumer Travel Tracker research.

The research was conducted online in Malaysia from last December to January 2015 with over 500 respondents who had made a travel booking in the last three months.

About 80 per cent of Malaysian travellers use online channels when planning their trips, with 45 per cent using both online and offline platforms and the remaining using only the Internet. Offline channels continue to play an important role as they are still used by one in five travellers.

Around 40 per cent of those surveyed said they use travel agency websites, making it the most popular of all the online and offline touch points. OTAs and airline websites are the next two most frequently used sources, as indicated by 33 and 30 per cent of respondents respectively.

“Consumers are relying heavily on the Internet, so it is very important that travel agencies establish a strong presence on this platform to reach out to a wider audience,” said managing director of GfK Malaysia, Selinna Chin.

About two-thirds of the respondents prefer bundled packages that include ticket and accommodation.

The study also revealed that Malaysian consumers tend to be mid-term bookers, with 41 per cent preferring to book their trips three to four months in advance.

Their top-three booking purposes are for family travel, rest and relaxation, and packaged holidays.

Asian countries remain the choice destinations for 86 per cent of respondents, with China being the most popular, followed by Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand.

GURGAON-BASED budget accommodation provider OYO Rooms has raised about US$24 million through financial institutions for expanding its network to 1,000 hotels in 25 cities by year-end.

Currently, OYO Rooms has more than 200 hotels in 10 cities booking 50,000 room nights monthly.

Ritesh Agarwal, CEO, OYO Rooms, said: “We are going to use these funds to fuel our next round of growth and to realise our ambition of becoming the largest technology-enabled network of hotels in the world.

“The demand for predictable-quality budget accommodation is enormous in India and we believe we have barely scratched the surface. The north-east region is definitely part of our expansion plan and we will launch OYO Rooms in major tourism and business districts in due course.
“The seven north-eastern states are gifted with many tourist attractions and we are well aware of the shortage of high-quality budget accommodation in the region. While we are working towards bridging this gap, we will also consider any opportunity to expand outside India.”

OYO Rooms’ USP is to offer hotels with high-quality rooms with an average 20-35 per cent lower price than comparable rooms in other hotels.

“Our rooms start at just US$15 per night and have all the standard amenities. Our vision is to offer the ‘OYO Rooms experience’ to every business, leisure and pilgrim traveller across 100 cities through a network of 10,000 hotels,” Agarwal added.

Bejul Somaia, managing director, Lightspeed India, said: “The economy-stay segment is large, unorganised and fragmented. OYO brings a new, scalable and customer-friendly approach to addressing this market.”

MOST popular for its beaches, Goa is mulling policies to promote travel to hinterland destinations and and prevent overdevelopment on its shores.

The Department of Tourism and Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) will give the regions of Pernem, Satteri, Dharbandora, Sanguem, Quepem and Canacona special promotion for their eco-tourism activities. Two agrotourism spots on government farms – one located at Codar in Ponda and another at Kalay in Sanguem – will also be developed.

“Our tourism masterplan intends to showcase the natural assets of Goa and develop initiatives in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner to highlight the state’s rich culture, history and heritage besides our beaches,” said Laxmikant Yashwant Parsekar, chief minister of Goa.

In total US$41.6 million have been sanctioned by the state government this year to do this and 33 tourism infrastructure projects are in various stages of planning and implementation state-wide.

GTDC managing director, Nikhil Desai, said: “Next month we are floating a global tender for a area of 125,000m² in Farmagudi, about 28km from Panji, for developing a state-of-the-art convention centre on PPP model by 2020.

“Meanwhile, 42 resorts are being developed in Selaulim in South Goa and we are also developing Mayem Lake in Bicholim. A theme park on the banks of Mayem Lake will be established to draw family travellers.”

Additionally, US$1.6 million will be spent on building an international convention centre at Panaji and the Global School of Tourism is also planned for capacity building and skills development.

“(Promoting) hinterland tourism is a very good initiative by the government. Although the beaches are still an important draw for tourists, we have to look at other options to give our clients a good experience,” remarked Gajanan Kerkar, CEO, Best Tourism Deals India.

BRUNEI Tourism has announced the official launch of the Maritime Museum in Bandar Seri Begawan on March 23.

A project under the 10^th National Development Plan, the 3.5ha museum located at Kota Batu near the river bank of Brunei is a repository for the country’s historical maritime artefacts and technologies from different eras.

There are three galleries: Brunei Ship Wreck Gallery, which displays artefacts from the Brunei Shipwreck discovered in 1997 and considered to be the most important discoveries in Brunei’s maritime history; Brunei Water Vessels Gallery, which focusses on the connection between Brunei people and the river; and Temporary Gallery, which showcases the history of trade and cultural exchange between China and Brunei from as early as 2,000 years ago.

The museum will be open to the public daily; Saturdays to Thursdays from 9.00 to 17.00, and on Fridays from 9.00 to 11.30, and 14.30 to 17.00.

ANA today announced it has introduced new travel classes from Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta to Tokyo in a bid to attract the routes’ high volume of business travellers and in response to rising demand from international passengers.

The airline’s First Class and Premium Economy service via NH802/801 – the latter already popular on flights to Europe and North America and introduced in Asia for the first time – were both launched on the Singapore-Tokyo (Narita) route yesterday.

The Premium Economy service will continue to be launched on Singapore-Narita on June 11 via NH846/845, Bangkok-Tokyo (Narita) on August 1 via NH808/807, and Jakarta-Tokyo (Haneda) also on August 1 via NH856/855.

ANA has also announced it would be operating more Singapore-Tokyo (Narita) and Bangkok-Tokyo (Narita) flights and would also change the type of aircraft used on flights to Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta in respond to increasing demand.

AIRLINES in the Asia-Pacific region are mulling a change in rules that would require a second crew member to be present in the cockpit at all times, as carriers in other parts of the world implement it with immediate effect.

Some airlines that have already done so include easyJet, Air Canada, Air Berlin and Norway’s Air Shuttle, and Lufthansa has announced it will be joining the group.

The need to have a constant two-crew presence in the cockpit was underscored as investigations into last week’s Germanwings flight 4U 9525 crash revealed that the captain had been locked out of the cockpit after stepping out.

Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is believed to have crashed the plane deliberately, resulting in the tragic loss of all 150 lives on board.

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) spokesperson told TTG Asia e-Daily that “We have strict procedures in place regarding the security of our cockpits. However as a matter of policy we do not comment publicly on security matters.”

However, local broadsheet The Straits Times reported that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore is in talks with local carriers to implement such a rule, which is not mandatory. A timeline has not been set but would affect SIA, SilkAir, Jetstar Asia, Tigerair, Scoot and SIA Cargo.

A spokesperson for Japan Airlines (JAL) told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Currently there is no specific mandate by the related authorities, and JAL does not have a compulsory policy that requires two pilots in the cockpit all the time.

“Following the events related to Germanwings, JAL is now in close communications with the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau regarding this issue to determine if it is necessary to adjust our existing policy.”

News agencies reported that Air New Zealand’s aviation authority has already made the rule effective for all domestic and international flights.

Meanwhile, Qantas was quoted as saying it has a strict security system in place but would not reveal more. Australian authorities are likewise reviewing whether the regulation is necessary.

THE Indian Embassy in Indonesia is working hard to increase Indonesian arrivals, especially the youths, through the Festival of India in Indonesia campaign that runs up to June 21, despite the lack of direct flights between the two countries.

Speaking at a press conference during the Indian Travel Congress 2015 in Bali, ambassador of India to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Gurjit Singh, said 30 events “targeted at young people” have been lined up in 16 Indonesian cities, including Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Surabaya and Semarang.

The events include folk dances such as bhangra and Gujarati Garba, masked dances and puppet shows, photo exhibitions, and literary and cross-cultural exchanges with Indonesian authors.

The congress was held in Bali to support the campaign, by giving the Indonesian exhibitors an opportunity to network with Indian travel consultants and to experience Indian culture and cuisine, said Sunil Kumar, president of the Travel Agents Association of India.

This was the first time the congress’s travel mart component also had exhibitors from India promoting inbound tourism to India.

Gurjit added: “We are also promoting education tourism to encourage young people to study in India, and inviting Indonesian bloggers with big followings on tours to India so they will blog about their experiences.”

Additionally, Gurjit said the embassy wants to ride on Indonesia’s current Bollywood craze and has proposed to India’s Ministry of Tourism to introduce tours of four circuits where Bollywood films were shot.

From 2012 to 2014, Indonesian arrivals to India doubled from 25,000 to 50,000, while arrivals from India to Indonesia also doubled from 125,000 to 250,000.