TO ENCOURAGE tourists to create their own compelling experience in Singapore, an app which purposefully guides tourists to take detours while enroute to their main destination proved to be the winning idea at the Travel & Tourism Hackathon yesterday.

Organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the Hackathon is the first time STB is roping in industry partners to explore digital solutions to enhance the Singapore travel experience.

Winning app Detourist, which is still a prototype at this stage, will help tourists plan routes within the city-state depending on the user’s schedule to seek out “hidden gems”.

For example, a tourist planning to go to Orchard Road from City Hall could have his or her route detoured through South Bridge Road.

One of the five behind Detourist app, Alexander Lim, who is also a senior copywriter from advertising company JWT Singapore, said: “We want to bring people out of the usual Singapore to discover our culture and heritage. There is a lot more Singapore can offer.

“We want to showcase our strangely wonderful place and bring them into our kopitiam, getai, trishaw riders, while still hitting the well-known attractions.”

The team bagged the top prize of S$10,000 (US$8,000) cash.

Other than Detourist, other ideas presented at the Hackathon include utilising social apps like Instagram and Facebook to create personalised itineraries.

This is STB’s third hackathon this year. By tapping “top-notch creative minds”, STB hopes to generate ideas to enable local tourism businesses to offer something different to both locals and visitors.

John Conceicao, executive director, capability & innovation, STB, said: “Like many other destinations, Singapore is seeing increasingly discerning visitors who are also digitally savvy. We hope to generate refreshing and innovative ideas that can engage people on a more personal and meaningful level through good storytelling.”

STB’s CEO, Lionel Yeo added that STB is prepared to work together with some of these agencies that participated in the Hackathon, and will be looking at setting aside a “modest sum of money” to help polish these raw ideas for commercial use.

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide last week announced the opening of Sheraton Wuhan Hankou Hotel, the brand’s first foray into the capital city of Hubei Province in China.

Owned by China Oceanwide Construction Group, the property is located at Jianshe Dadao, with retail malls directly accessible via the hotel’s lobby, and less than two kilometres from the Hankou Railway Station.

It offers 509 guestrooms and suites, each equipped with amenities such as a 46-inch LED flat-screen TV and a spacious work area with wired and wireless high-speed Internet access.

There are 15 meeting rooms, plus a pillarless Sheraton Ballroom with a high-definition LED screen and outdoor pre-function areas. Other facilities include the Sheraton Club Lounge, a gift shop, fitness centre, spa, Kid’s Club and three F&B venues.

“With the region’s robust economic growth and rapid infrastructure development, there has been an increase in the demand for quality accommodations, and Sheraton Wuhan Hankou hotel is well positioned to serve hospitality needs of upper-scale business and leisure travellers in Wuhan,” said Liu Zong, area managing director, West & Central China, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

A special opening package is available till April 30, 2015, starting from RMB688 (US$112) plus 15 per cent service charge, with breakfast for one person for one night’s stay in a Deluxe Room.

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group has launched a revamped Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, which now sports a new lobby, guestrooms and F&B options.

The 512-key hotel’s new design is themed on the Singapore River, with dual-coloured fins inspired by shophouses lining the lobby and a feature wall at the reception displaying abstract map work of the Singapore River and its surroundings.

Next month, the new Atrium Bar 317 will begin operations to provide breakfast, lunch and bar bites as well as live music in the evenings.

Anne Johnston returns to the hotel as its new general manger, having served as executive assistant manager there from 2008-2011. She was most recently general manager of Crowne Plaza Bratislava.

Meanwhile, Chua Yew Hock is now the hotel’s executive chef and will manage the new Atrium Restaurant, formerly known as the Melting Pot Café. Chua enhances the restaurant’s offerings to include his signature dishes, mussel otah-otah, curry laksa, assam fish and chilli crab.

AZAMARA Club Cruise yesterday kicked off its first India cruise this season with the Azamara Quest embarking on the 13-night Spice Route Voyage from Mumbai.

It will pass through Goa, Kochi, Maldives, Colombo, Galle and Chennai.

Through the cruise line’s AzAmazing Evenings destination immersion programme, guests will be able to explore a marketplace featuring tea and toddy shops, an astrologer, a potter, a cane weaver and a mehendi (hand-art) artist in Kochi. They will also witness performances of traditional Kerala dance forms, mohiniyattam and kalaripayattu.

“The cruise will allow passengers an opportunity to soak in the culture of South Asia and explore tropical beaches, colonial outposts and a wealth of world heritage sites,” said Ratna Chadha, chief executive of Tirun Travel Marketing, the exclusive India representative for Azamara Club Cruises.

In Azamara Quest’s second run starting December 9, the cruise line will set sail from Chennai for another 13-night voyage, this time crossing the Bay of Bengal to the Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

“There is a good demand for cruise holidays to shorthaul destinations like Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. However, cruise holidays still form a small part of the Indian outbound market,” said Guldeep Singh Sahni, managing director, Weldon Tours & Travels.

“Cruise tourism in India will grow in a big way if a cruise liner can deploy a ship locally. For this, port infrastructure needs to be developed.”

* This article originally stated that the sailings are the first ever from India, as advised by the company’s India representative. This was incorrect and has been edited for accuracy.

ONYX Hospitality Group has snagged a management contract in the Maldives, and will open Amari Havodda in 2016.

Amari Havodda is located 400km from the capital Malé in the Southern Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll. Guests can access the resort via a 55-minute domestic flight followed by a speedboat transfer.

Designed by award winning Isabelle Miaja, guestrooms have subtle references to traditional Maldivian art and architecture.

In total, the property will encompass 120 villas, including 48 Beach Villas, 12 Beach Pool Villas, 58 Overwater Villas and two Overwater Pool Villas that each offer uninterrupted views over the reef and ocean.

The hotel is owned by Crystal Plaza Resorts, a joint venture between Sanken Overseas and Singapore Hospitality Holdings, and managed by Onyx.

Commenting on the new deal, president and CEO, Onyx Hospitality Group, Peter Henley, said: “Tourism in the Maldives is strong and we see huge potential for an upscale brand like Amari. Our entry into the Maldives with Amari Havodda marks a key step in our international development plan.”

RESPONDING to a sharp increase in demand for travel to France, eight new visa application centres will be opened in India from December 1.

The new centres will be located in Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Pune, Goa, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

Francois Richier, the French ambassador to India, made the announcement yesterday: “Visas will be delivered within 72 hours in these new centres, depending on the time it will take in transporting visa applications to the French consulates.”

He said that Indian citizens could now apply at any visa centre in the country, regardless of his or her area of residence. Existing visa centres are located at New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Puducherry and Chennai.

Also launched was Chalo Paris, a new travel app for Indians visiting the French capital.

The French government has been on a drive to smoothen visa processes for the India. In July, French minister for foreign affairs Laurent Fabius announced that French consulates would issue tourist and business visas within two working days beginning January 1, 2015.

“The number of visas issued by French consulates in India has jumped by 33 per cent for January to October 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. We expect to reach 90,000 visas delivered in 2014,” said Richier.

Catherine Oden, director of Atout France India, commented: “Although the majority if Indian travellers visit France as part of escorted tour packages, we are also seeing a steady increase in the number of FITs in the last few years.”

THE disagreements that led to the exodus of 24 outbound agencies from the 2015 NATAS Travel Fair have been 80 per cent resolved, according to NATAS, which said it has no issues with members starting their own event.

NATAS spoke to the media yesterday following a forum with over 70 NATAS members. Devinder Ohri, president, said: “The outcome was very positive. We are quite close to achieving what we set out to achieve, which is to have one fair, rather than two competing fairs.”

He added that “things are looking very bright” and issues that led to the split are about 80 per cent resolved.

Regarding the pull-out, Ohri commented: “It is a commercial decision if our members should choose to organise their own travel fair, and we have no issues with them doing so.”

“However, we are of the opinion that having a single travel fair will benefit the industry and consumers the most in the long run, and we will continue to engage our members to bring this matter to a swift resolution,” he said.

The association announced at yesterday’s media conference that entrance fees for both its fairs in March and August next year would be waived, claiming this was not in direct response to the new rival fair but to celebrate Singapore’s 50th year of nationhood.

It has also adjusted exhibitor booth rental rates for savings of between 18 and 22 per cent.

Entrance fees and booth rentals costs were key points of contention raised by the working committee of the new Outbound Travel Fair earlier this week when it announced that 24 outbound agencies would be holding a separate event.

However, the committee representing the Outbound Travel Fair remains unimpressed.

Alicia Seah, director of marketing communications at Dynasty Travel and committee spokesperson, said: “As we see it, resolution is still far from the 80 per cent that NATAS has cited…we feel that they are reactive rather than proactive now.”

Seah said the waiver of entrance fees for next year’s NATAS fairs is temporary and the association is still withholding financial information specifically about the fairs.

MAJOR OTA Expedia is leveraging the exponential growth in mobile bookings with a new tablet app, even as it urges hotels and airlines to make available suitable inventory for the channel.

Speaking at the first Expedia Partner Appreciation Event in Hong Kong this week, Expedia’s area manager, Jenny Wong, said: “This year, we observed that about 15 out of 100 bookings are generated by mobile phones, which is 193 per cent year-on-year growth. This demonstrates great potential (for further growth).

“About 40 per cent of mobile bookings are for same-day reservations or within three days of booking, so I recommend hotel partners ensure same-day room availability. Mobile-only special deals are definitely a plus,” she added.

Kathleen Tan, CEO of AirAsiaExpedia, said her company had enhanced its booking platform by rolling out a new app for tablets six weeks ago for both iOS and Android tablets.

Called the New Expedia Tablet App, it offers a streamlined search function and federated search, allowing users to view hotel and flight prices simultaneously.

Abhiram Chowdry, VP and MD of Hotels.com, which comes under the Expedia group, said: “For Hotels.com, about 20 per cent of our sales are from mobile devices (global data) and Hong Kong numbers exceed this 20 per cent figure.”

Hotels.com last month launched the latest version of its Android app, which is also compatible with wearables besides the regular mobile and desktop devices.

More than 250 hotel and airline partners took part in the appreciation event, which was also staged in South Korea. The group plans to hold similar ones in Singapore and Tokyo in 2015.