TRAVEL technology provider Illusions is making its move on Asia next month when it opens its first regional office in the “travel hub” of Bangkok.

Vice president Asia of Illusions and former PATA CEO, Greg Duffell, will be relocating to the Thai capital with the aim to get major DMCs on board with the company’s marketplace solution IWTX that he calls the “Amazon of the travel trade”, as well as deepen Asian products within its wide scope of inventory.

He told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Let’s face it, Thailand is the hub of travel in Asia, and a lot of major DMCs – Diethelm, Khiri, Destination Asia, Exotissimo – are based there, and we’re pitching to get this crowd.”

“Five years ago, Asia was struggling but now it’s the leading travel market in the world…Trade comes so naturally to Asians, look at the wet markets!”

Illusions has had four salespeople based in Thailand since three years ago.

Another aim of the shift is to get more content aggregated on Illusions’ IWTX solution to in turn fulfill its aim of offering all travel-related products under the sun, eventually including peer-to-peer vacation rentals as well.

Duffell pointed out there is “not so much” inventory on products from Cambodia and Vietnam.

Asked what was next for Illusions, he said: “We’ll go to B2C eventually, but there’s enough trade on the B2B platform to be happy.”

BRITISH Airways (BA) will resume direct daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to London from May 27, 2015, after suspending services to Kuala Lumpur in 2001 as global travel slowed after 9/11.

The service will be operated by a four-cabin Boeing 777-200ER, featuring 12 seats in first class, 48 in Club World business class, 32 in World Traveller Plus premium economy class, and a further 127 in World Traveller economy class.

Flights will arrive at and depart from London’s Heathrow Terminal 5.

BA034 will leave Kuala Lumpur at 23.05 and arrive in London at 05.25 the next morning. BA033 will depart Heathrow at 20.15, arriving into Kuala Lumpur at 16.00 the next day.

Jamie Cassidy, BA’s area general manager for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, said in a press release: “It’s wonderful to be back in Malaysia. We are starting the new flights in response to strong customer demand for direct flights to Kuala Lumpur.”

Badlisham Ghazali, managing director of Malaysia Airports, added: “I greatly welcome the return of BA to Malaysia. This announcement underlines the strength and vibrancy of the air travel market between the UK and Malaysia, and I believe that this new route of BA will bring about positive impact of great proportions to both countries from the economics, political, social and cultural standpoints.”

SILVERSEA has made available for reservation new voyage options for 2016, covering 385 destinations on 177 voyages.

Among 19 new ports are Summerside, Prince Edward Island (Canada); Rockland, Maine (US); Le Marin, Martinique; Shimizu, Japan; Rijeka and Rab Island, Croatia; Bremerhaven, Germany; Ullapool, Scotland; and Kalmar, Sweden.

Some highlights include the 115-day Venetian World Cruise departing Fort Lauderdale on January 5 to 51 destinations in 31 countries; the 
66-day Circle South America voyage departing Fort Lauderdale on January 15; the 10-day South Africa trio of voyages departing Cape Town in February; the Mediterranean, Northern Europe & Baltic voyages from April to November; and the Alaska voyages from May to September.

Additionally, the line’s Silver Explorer, Silver Discoverer, and Silver Galapagos will collectively explore over 500 destinations on 95 expedition cruises, including 88 inaugural calls such as Gough Island, St Helena; Lizard Island, Australia; Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles; and Ko Phra Thong, Thailand.

Visit www.silversea.com for details on the 2016 voyage collection.

Direct flights from the Philippines to Myanmar will begin soon, following the former’s Civil Aviation Board recent granting of seat entitlements to AirAsia Zest and Cebu Pacific on the Manila-Yangon route.

In May, the two countries reached an air service agreement allowing airlines to fly between the two destinations.

Currently, Philippine nationals enjoy 14 days of visa-free travel in Myanmar, while Myanmar nationals are entitled to 30-day visa-free travel in the Philippines.

“Myanmar will be an alternative destination for Filipino tourists and Myanmar’s government extending visa-free privileges to Filipinos (last December) is a welcome support,” Joy Cañeba, AirAsia Zest CEO told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“To attract more inbound tourists, we hope that (our country’s) President will sign the ASEAN open skies agreement and open up the Philippines,” she added.

Cañeba said that the company has been receiving requests to fly to Yangon and other parts of Myanmar through social media platforms and also from numerous Filipino travel bloggers.

According to Marcus Allender, founder of Go-Myanmar.com, figures from 1H2014 show that Filipino visitors to Myanmar do not rank in the top 10 for Asian countries.

“I am sure that the recent allocation of a direct route from Manila to Yangon will help, but clearly the numbers show there is a lot of work to do to raise awareness in the Philippines of Myanmar as a tourism destination,” Allender said.

THE Maldives, after 40 years as a one-island, one-resort destination catering to the upscale market, is promoting mid-market offerings under a new tourism policy.

Adam Mohamed, director, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, revealed: “We are moving to a vertical tourism concept with high-rise accommodation facilities. We also need beds in the mid-market category.”

Deputy tourism minister, Hussain Lirar, told TTG e-Daily that a reason for adopting the vertical concept is that the current resorts do not have any capacity to expand, as by regulation, they can only use 30 per cent of the island for infrastructure development.

In July, the government launched Thumburi Integrated Resort Development on the uninhabited twin islands of Thumburi and Hulhiyandhoo in Laamu Atoll in northern Maldives, to build 200 rooms in 23 units under three different categories, including guesthouses, and a few four- to five-storey hotels.

The project is due for completion in 2015 and aims to offer cheaper accommodation.

The new, focused mid-market offerings vis-à-vis Thumbiri, aimed at Asians, especially the Chinese, and European travellers, is eagerly anticipated by the trade.

“There is a huge demand for mid-market offerings from the Chinese and European travellers. It would also help bring down prices in the upmarket range,” said Shafraz Fazley, managing director of Viluxor Holidays, which handles a sizeable segment of the Chinese market.

He said having several hotels on one island can also add new experiences, since Thumburi is on uninhabited islands where hotels would be allowed to sell alcohol, whereas currently many guesthouses and hotels are found in Male and other islands where liquor and pork are prohibited, along with bikinis or skimpy outfits.

According to Michelle Flake, co-founder of Koamas Luxury Escapes, honeymooners love to return to the Maldives with their families four or five years later, but if there are only luxury resorts this would not be affordable to them.

“For tourism to continue to grow in any destination there must be options for all clients worldwide, no matter what budget,” she opined.

Mohamed concurred that there are a lot of people who like to visit the Maldives but cannot afford it, adding that the domestic airport at Laamu Atoll will be upgraded to an international one to offer direct flights to Europe and the East.

PATA’S Indonesia Chapter (PIC) is taking the lead in developing secondary destinations in Indonesia, beginning with a pilot programme in Cirebon that aims to drive tourism to the port city, which is on the north coast of Java and three hours away from Jakarta.

With support from Indonesian industrial estate developer, Jababeka, PIC is creating B2B and B2C platforms, making tourist attractions and other services in a destination more accessible to both the travelling public and the trade.

A B2C booking platform for Cirebon will be launched on October 23.

Agus Canny, director of Jababeka investment & promotion board, who is also PIC’s director of marketing & new business development, said: “Most cities in Indonesia have different tourist attractions, but many of them are not managed or promoted well.”

In Cirebon, for example, there still remains palaces of the late 15th century Muslim sultanate (Keraton Kasepuhan, Kraton Kanoman, Keraton Kacirebonan and Keraton Keprabonan).

Explained Agus: “We are first developing an online ticketing system that enables domestic travellers to buy entry tickets to the palaces.
“PIC (through Jababeka) is inviting Telkom Indonesia and financial institutions to develop a distribution system to sell the palaces (with Kasepuhan as the first).”

Hotels, travel companies and convenience stores within Indonesia can also connect with the network, enabling travellers to buy entry tickets through offline means or directly via the website.

Added Agus: “PIC will also develop a B2B platform by linking the system with the worldwide business network that it has and promote it to international wholesalers (for packaging).”

After Cirebon, PIC will facilitate the development of similar digital platforms in Semarang (Central Java) and Medan (North Sumatra). Currently, 17 destinations are in the pipeline.

“These cities will be linked to each other and content in the website will grow,” Agus said.

While Jababeka’s flagship development is the 5,600 ha industrial township of Kota Jababeka in Cikarang, it has also invested in tourism projects.

Using Kota Jababeka as a blueprint, the company is developing an integrated resort destination in Tanjung Lesung, approximately 200km south-west of Jakarta.

THE Philippine authorities have tightened security around Mt Mayon, located near Legazpi City, Albay province in southern Luzon, following reports yesterday that indicated imminent stronger eruption and ashfall activity.

Pagasa, the country’s national weather unit, extended the safety perimeter around Mayon volcano from six kilometres to 10km, as magma has begun to flow out of the volcano’s crater.

The unit also said any ash expelled from within the volcano would likely go towards the towns of Tabaco and Santo Domingo, given current weather patterns.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines instituted a 15-mile no-fly zone as an additional precaution.

All treks and ATV rides up to the six-kilometre “permanent danger zone” have been suspended, according to Miggie Macasinag, general manager, Roam International, which has just lost two forward bookings in October.

“I won’t discourage visitors to come (to Legazpi), but I have to tell them the truth.”

ATV rides in the area of Camalig in Tabaco were still possible, she added, as long as no ashfall occurs.

Jessica Noelle Wong, sales and marketing manager, Donsol Ecotour, said further eruptions could take place in the next two to three weeks but that there is nothing to be scared about.

Instead, Wong said, the event presents viewing opportunities for tourists, particularly in the evening, in areas such as Daraga church and Legazpi Boulevard in the city’s downtown, as well as Lignon Hill, which remains closed after 19.00 for safety reasons.

LUFTHANSA Airlines today announced it concluded the extension of its contractual partnerships with three leading travel agencies in Myanmar.

Dirk Grossmann, general manager of Lufthansa Thailand and the Mekong region, said: “Now tickets can easily be purchased not only by individual travellers but also by smaller travel agencies in the sales office of Columbus Travels Lufthansa City Centre in Yangon, which is Lufthansa’s global franchise travel agency partner; Sun Far Travels and Tours; and Myanmar Aviation Center.

“The staff of these agencies are highly qualified and have received special training on the Lufthansa product.”

Lufthansa’s Star Alliance and bilateral airline partners, among them Thai Airways, and Bangkok Airways, offer services several times a day from Naypyidaw, Yangon, and Mandalay to Europe with seamless connection via Bangkok.

The partnerships make it convenient for Myanmar people to connect to the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, the Swissair flight to Zurich or the Austrian Airlines flight to Vienna.

“Myanmar is a rapidly growing market with increasing demand from business and leisure travellers to Europe. Also, more and more travellers from all over the world are exploring Myanmar,” said Grossmann.

“Mobility is the key to economic growth. Against the background of Myanmar’s increasing trade integration with the Mekong region, Asia and Europe, a functioning infrastructure is required even more. We are excited to support that development,” he added.

Besides the passenger transport business in Myanmar, Lufthansa also has been operating its airline catering company LSG Sky Chefs, in Myanmar for 15 years.

In 2012, Lufthansa Systems also signed a contract to provide flight navigation system with Golden Myanmar Airlines.