LUXURY river cruise company Pandaw has announced for sailing next year a new seven-night river recce itinerary on the Upper Mekong River.

The new itinerary will offer eight departure dates from February 29 to April 18, 2016, sailing aboard the new Laos Pandaw from Thailand’s Chiang Saen to Burma, then on to Laos.

It will also, for the first time, cross the border into China sailing on the Mekong to China’s Jinghong city in Yunnan province.

Pandaw’s founder, Paul Strachan, said: “It has been a long-held ambition to sail the length of the navigable sections of the Upper Mekong River. With the construction of our new vessel (specifically built for sailing on the Upper Mekong) and working with our partners, this journey is now possible.

“Travellers need to be up for a real adventure as the daily itinerary might change, but with a flexible attitude they will have the trip of a lifetime.”

Additionally, Pandaw is offering pre- and post-cruise extensions with a private vehicle and guide visiting Kunming, Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan province and the hill tribes of Northern Thailand.

Cruise-only prices start from US$3,150 per person based on twin-share in a main deck stateroom, including a 10 per cent discount for early bookings made by April 30, 2015.

THE luxury Garcha Hotels will launch Hotel Vagabond in Singapore this September, the first Jacques Garcia-designed property in Asia.

Situated in Kampong Glam, between Little India and the Arab Quarter, the luxury boutique hotel is also the first of its kind with an Artist in Residence programme, featuring two spacious, light-filled Artist Atelier rooms designed specifically for hosting a range of local and international artists.

Housed in a traditional art deco building, the 41 guestrooms all boast classic Garcia touches through elegant side lamps and rich colour schemes.

The largest rooms will include a two-bedroom Suite Royale and two Artist Ateliers – each with a space-saving Murphy Bed to allow easy conversion into an artist’s studio.

ACCOR has launched its third property in Myanmar with the opening of the mid-scale Novotel Yangon Max.

Located close to the city’s commercial and cultural hub, and Yangon International Airport, the hotel’s 366 guestrooms include 123 executive rooms and suites.

It features seven F&B outlets, including an all-day-dining restaurant, a Cantonese cuisine restaurant and a pool bar. Recreational facilities include a fitness centre, spa, tennis court and an outdoor swimming pool.

For meetings and events, the hotel is equipped with two ballrooms, a conference room and six meeting rooms. The Yangon ballroom accommodates up to 700 guests while the Pyay conference room seats 400.

SINGAPORE’S Amara has now spread its wings to Thailand with the opening of the 250-key Amara Bangkok.

Located in the city’s CBD near shopping and nightlife district, it is also conveniently positioned between Chong Nonsi and Sala Daeng BTS stations.

Facilities include an all-day-dining restaurant, a rooftop infinity pool and bar, a 24-hour gym and a 24-hour minibar boutique that allows guests to buy items at convenience store rates instead of hotel prices.

Events and meetings can be held in the hotel’s grand ballroom and two function rooms.

The hotel also offers bespoke services through its Little Brown Book, an e-concierge service that recommends places of interests.

To celebrate its opening, the hotel is offering a special rate of 2,558++ baht (US$79) including breakfast, valid until April 30.

A HOTEL that can trace its heritage back 100 years has become the first in Tokyo to join the portfolio of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH).

Tokyo Station Hotel opened in November 1915 with features that were state-of-the-art at the time. Located in the iconic Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building, the hotel reopened in 2012 after renovation work that lasted more than six years.

The second-oldest hotel in Tokyo, the property presently has 150 guestrooms, 10 restaurants and bars, fitness and spa facilities and banquet facilities.

“Our becoming the first member hotel in Tokyo is strategically significant for both parties and should prove a great advantage to SLH customers around the world,” said Hitoshi Fujisaki, general manager of the hotel.

The property is the ninth in Japan to become a member of SLH. The group’s CEO, Paul Kerr, said the agreement “speaks to our intent to expand in the Asia-Pacific market.”

GARUDA Indonesia and Accor yesterday signed an MoU in Jakarta, strengthening a partnership that officially started in 2012.

With the MoU, customers of both parties will get benefits such as special rates at Accor hotels, Accor’s Earning Mileage and Garuda’s Mileage Redemption.

Garuda president and CEO, Arief Wibowo, said: “Through our partnership, which officially started in 2012, we have had joint programmes, such as bundling flight and accommodation for incentive groups, and accommodation for our growing network and crew members. Accor has also become Garuda’s corporate account.”

Arief added cooperation in 2014 had contributed US$10 million in revenue for the airline, and the enhanced partnership this year is expected to increase revenue by 10 to 12 per cent.

AS CRUISES continue to take off in Asia in an unprecedented way, the lack of infrastructural support will prove to be a stumbling factor for optimal growth, according to Christina Siaw, CEO of Singapore Cruise Centre.

A panelist the PATA Singapore Chapter seminar held yesterday at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore to discuss the impact of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) on regional tourism, Siaw said cruising in Asia is a “very small proportion” of the region’s population, with just 1.3 million cruise passengers in Asia per year, compared to the total of 22 million globally.

She told TTG Asia e-Daily: “The growth potential of cruises here is huge. While the projection is that it will grow up to four million by 2020, I think it can rise by a lot more to 10 million.”

While implementation of the AEC 2015 is currently underway, Siaw pointed out that its implications for the cruise industry are minimal due to the existing curb on free flow of foreign capital for cruise infrastructure building.

“Building cruise terminals is not a priority for developing countries because they have other more pressing bread-and-butter issues to deal with, such as the roads and logistics in their countries,” she said.

“That is when (foreign investors) can come in, but there is no free flow of capital, which is a problem.

“For example, it is not so easy for a Singapore company to build a cruise company in the Indonesia or Philippines. It must be a joint venture with (locals) holding a majority stake.”

Earlier this week at the Singapore Tourism Industry Conference, Singapore Tourism Board’s chief executive Lionel Yeo said cruises are expected to experience “siginificant growth” this year, with five to eight per cent compounded growth rate in passenger throughput.

While Singapore is able to thrive on the booming cruise industry, Siaw said that the archipelago nations Indonesia and Philippines would be able to benefit especially if foreign direct investment restrictions come down.

She said: “It is simple reasoning – without the infrastructure, the ships are not going to come into their countries.”

THE Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced it will be enhancing the Lion City’s MICE appeal through a 35 per cent increase in marketing investment this year.

At the Singapore Tourism Industry Conference today, STB assistant chief executive, Neeta Lachmandas, was unable to provide the exact amount of the investment but said it will be a “substantial sum” channelled into brand building and marketing campaigns.

Lachmandas told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Prior to 2013 and 2014, we had a bit of a quiet period which we did not have that much of a destination branding for MICE.”

With the aim of generating greater awareness through PR activities, advertising and increased participation in tradeshows, she said: “In the US and Europe markets, we are targeting the association conventions as well as exhibition and conference event organisers; in Asia-Pacific, we see bigger opportunities for corporate meetings and incentives.”

Asked how STB will build event attendance, she elaborated: “We want more people to know about a specific event so we can increase participation numbers through advertising driven towards the delegates.”

According to Singapore’s second minister for trade and industry, S Iswaran, STB is on track to secure more best-in-class exhibitions and conferences, and has made good progress towards the annual target of securing 10 new association world congresses.

New large-scale events this year such as the Oriflame Diamond Conference 2015, BestWorld Convention 2015, USANA Asia & Pacific Convention 2015, Forever Living Global Rally 2015 and Jeunesse Global Expo Unite Annual World Conference are expected to bring in more than 24,000 business delegates combined.

LUANG Prabang’s top hotels and restaurants had raced to fill all 72 seats of Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality’s (Lanith) Passport to Success training sessions in March, in a bid to achieve The Mark certification for food production as well as workplace safety and hygiene.

Launched last July, the training modules accredited by Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) have since received overwhelming demand, prompting Lanith to offer two more sessions commencing on June 8 and 15.

Luang Prabang View Hotel general manager, John Morris Williams, who sent four of his kitchen crew to the courses, said: “CIEH carries a lot of power behind it, and staff being trained under that banner gives recognition to both our hotel and staff, while assisting travel agents, who are always looking for establishments with high standards.”

Two CIEH training sessions will be offered at the institute’s Vientiane campus from August 17 to 28.

To attain The Mark certification, restaurants and hotel dining outlets must pass a strict CIEH audit awarded by the Luang Prabang Safe and Green Tourism Scheme.