NICCOLO Chengdu is opening its doors on April 15, the first Niccolo by Marco Polo hotel and China’s maiden Ultratravel Collection property.

Located within the International Finance Square Shopping Mall in the centre of town, the hotel is 25 minutes away by car from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and is easily accessible by subway.

Scheduled to open in stages from March 28, Niccolo Chengdu will offer 230 guestrooms and suites when fully operational.

The hotel is furnished with a gym, pool and sauna, while F&B options at the hotel include the Tea Lounge, Niccolo Kitchen, Yue Hin Chinese restaurant and The Bar.

For event planners, there is the Niccolo Ballroom on the seventh floor and the Conservatory on the eighth floor, as well as a host of medium and small function venues.

Marco Polo Hotels Group first announced plans for the luxury Niccolo by Marco Polo brand last year.

Niccolo Chengdu is China’s first property under the Ultratravel Collection, which will see it share in benefits such as an integrated global platform for guest recognition and loyalty rewards, the Discovery programme from partner Global Hotels Alliance as well as other founding partners Travel Leaders Group and Ultratravel.

A LOCAL DMC has launched tour packages tailored to the needs of persons with disability (PWD), a first in the Philippines.

This comes after Blue Horizons Travel and Tours’ partnership with Wheel Mobile, which is a Filipino transport service for PWDs and funded by non-profit organisations.

Wheel Mobile’s vans, which will be used to shuttle travellers about, can carry two persons in wheelchairs, two additional lightweight wheelchairs that can be folded and secured, and two companions/caregivers. The newest vans have a special holder for a small oxygen tank.

As Gregor Zajc, general manager, Blue Horizons Travel and Tours, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “We have been lacking this product in the Philippines and had been striving for the last three years to put it together.”

Itineraries of the 4D/3N Manila: PWD Tours feature historical areas like the walled city of Intramuros and a day tour to the highlands of Tagaytay. Suppliers including hotels, restaurants and operators have been carefully assessed as suitable for PWD travellers.

Zajc expects demand to come mainly from South-east Asia. “We will not only focus on pure leisure travellers but also businessmen and people attending different kinds of events,” he said.

Blue Horizons is already aiming to offer such tours beyond Manila. Said Zajc: “As pioneers in PWD tourism in the Philippines, we want to go further to make provinces like Cebu, Bohol and Boracay accessible for PWDs.”

The new product will go some way towards making travel in South-east Asia more inclusive for travellers with mobility challenges, a niche market that remains unaddressed and under-served in the region.

AS OF July 8 this year, Scoot will fly 10 times a week to Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport.

Three extra flights will depart from Singapore for Bangkok’s downtown airport on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 08.45 and arrive at 10.10.

Return flights leave the Thai capital at 03.30 on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays starting July 9, to touch down in Singapore at 06.45.

The additional services will be operated on Boeing 787 aircraft that Scoot will begin deploying to Thailand from May, offering in-flight Wi-Fi.

Scoot is offering an early-bird special starting today, with one-way Economy fares priced at S$10 (US$6.80) with a free return ticket. The sale lasts until 14.00 Singapore time tomorrow, for travel period July 8 to October 24.

Price stated excludes all taxes and surcharges.

TOURISM Selangor this month unveiled a series of tour packages showcasing the Malaysian state’s heritage and culture, sports, and ecotourism aspects, and is inviting the trade to spread the word.

The packages are targeted at domestic and international markets and were created by Tourism Selangor Travel & Tours, a division of Tourism Selangor. Travel consultants who sell the packages will be able to earn commissions.

Noorul Ashikin Mohd Din, Tourism Selangor’s general manager, said the packages were rolled out in conjunction with the year-long Visit Selangor Year campaign, which itself rides on the national Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 (MyFest 2015).

The state tourism body has increased its annual marketing and promotional budget by 30 per cent, with allocations for travel consultant support, fam trips to Selangor for trade and media, and advertisements.

This year, Tourism Selangor is aiming for seven million tourists, up form the 6.1 million in 2014.

THE Japanese government has extended the deadline for the sale of Kansai International Airport until July after no companies or consortiums agreed to meet the US$18 billion asking price.

The government is selling off the airport, which was completed on an artificial island in Osaka Bay in 1994, in an effort to reduce Japan’s national debt, but the price has put off potential investors.

A number of companies and consortiums have expressed interest in purchasing the 45-year lease on the airport, including: IFM and AMP Capital, the owners of Melbourne Airport; and Macquarie Capital, another Australian infrastructure investor, Changi Airport Group, and Ferrovial, a Spain-based multinational.

More than 19.4 million passengers used the airport for international and domestic flights in 2014, up nine per cent from the previous year, but the colossal construction costs incurred in the project have weighed heavily on the operator’s bottom line.

Nevertheless, the operator is pushing ahead with plans for a third terminal on the island, dedicated to LCCs, scheduled to open in 2017.

A hub for All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines and budget carrier Peach, Kansai International operates 780 flights a week to destinations in Asia and Australia, around 60 per week to Europe and the Middle East, and a further 80 to North America.

INDONESIA welcomed the first Raffles Hotels & Resorts property with the launch of Raffles Jakarta earlier this week.

The 173-key property is part of the Ciputra World super block development, which includes offices, shopping mall, and residences, and linked to art centre Ciputra Artpreneur Centre that opened last year.

It pays homage to the iconic Indonesian artist Hendra Gunawan, and guests will find his works incorporated into hotel décor in both guestrooms and public areas.

The entry of the brand in Indonesia is part of the Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Fairmont Raffles Hotels International’s (FRHI) expansion programme, bringing Raffles’ portfolio to 12 strong.

Richard Schestak, general manager of the hotel, said the hotel is opening at a time when the luxury market is growing for Jakarta, despite the unstable current exchange rate. “Indonesia has good potential, it has strong growth of trade within the country.

“We believe the fluctuation of the rupiah will not impact international travel as we quote in the US dollar, while for Indonesian weekenders, we are offering special weekend rates,” he said.

Artadinata Djangkar, president director of Ciputra Adigraha, the owning company, said some Rp1.2 trillion (US$91.6 million) had been invested in the hotel and he expects an ROI within 12 years.

Jakarta has become an international business city like Singapore and Hong Kong, and Artadinata predicts that 90 per cent of Raffles Jakarta hotel guests will be international travellers.

FRHI also has plans to double its Fairmont Hotels & Resorts portfolio from its current strength of 114 properties within the next five years – with the spotlight largely on Asia-Pacific and particularly China.

ASIA-PACIFIC travellers are willing to sacrifice perks offered by LCCs to save more money, according to Expedia’s Low Cost Carrier Airline Index released yesterday.

The study polled about 3,200 travellers in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, examining perceptions regarding customer service and perks between LCCs and traditional carriers.

Key findings include:

• the most important deciding factor when choosing a carrier is the airline’s safety track record;
• men are slightly more willing to sacrifice amenities such as pillows and blankets, free checked luggage and bathroom privileges to save on fares;
• younger fliers (under 35 years) will give up legroom and carry-on luggage while fliers above 55 years old will forgo full-meal service;
• over 56 per cent of respondents will give up in-flight entertainment to save money, followed closely by full-meal service (49 per cent) and pillows and blankets (48 per cent). They are least likely to sacrifice legroom, bathroom privileges and carry-on items;
• 76 per cent will accept a slightly lower level of customer service;
• 51 per cent will consider an LCC for a weekend getaway, slightly more than a third for a flight up to three hours, 23 per cent for five hours, seven per cent for eight hours, and only one per cent for 16 hours; and
• 46 per cent spend more money on a hotel when booking a flight on a LCC.

LCC growth and supply in Asia-Pacific is expected to increase 9.5 per cent year-on-year during March 2015, according to the study.

For country-specific results of study, click here.

MALAYSIA today saw the launch of a new carrier, flymojo, which will be based out of Johor Bahru and Kota Kinabalu.

Speaking at the launch of flymojo at he Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) 2015 exhibition, Aziz Kaprawi, deputy minister of transport: “With flymojo’s primary hub at Senai International Airport, Johor and secondary hub in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, the airline’s ultra-modern fleet of CS100 aircraft will play a key role in improving connectivity between the Peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak, as well as other parts of the region.

“In addition, as the only airline utilising the Southern Corridor as its headquarters, flymojo will transform Senai into a key regional aviation and logistics hub – augmenting the government’s initiatives in developing Iskandar Malaysia and the Southern Corridor,” he added.

“Further strengthening Kota Kinabalu’s standing as a gateway into Malaysia, flymojo will also boost tourism into Sabah and Sarawak.”

Flymojo is expected to be the first customer and operator of the CS100 aircraft in the region upon execution of its firm purchase agreement with Canadian company Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

Both parties signed a Letter of Intent for the sale and purchase of 20 CS100 aircraft, with options for an additional 20, at the LIMA 2015 exhibition.

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) yesterday announced the extension of their partnership for the Changi Transit Programme to March 31, 2016.

In a joint press statement, SIA’s divisional vice president for sales and marketing, Foo Chai Woo, said: “The Changi Transit Programme has been very well received by our customers since it was launched in October 2012. We are pleased to extend our successful partnership with CAG as we work together to attract more customers to transit through Changi Airport and experience more of what it has to offer.”

Under the extension, SIA and SilkAir customers transiting through Changi Airport through either carrier as well as selected Air New Zealand-operated flights to or from Auckland can redeem a Changi Dollar Voucher of S$20 (US$14) or S$40 value, depending on their point of origin.

The vouchers are valid for one-time use at more than 510 retail, F&B and service outlets in the transit and public areas of Terminals 1, 2 and 3, and are redeemable for one-time access to the Ambassador Transit Lounge at Terminals 2 and 3 for up to two hours.