THE Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has begun seeking partnerships with the Philippine travel trade for halal and pilgrimage tourism, offering new programmes for Maguindanao and the islands of Tawi-Tawi.

The Maguindanao programme showcases the highlands of Upi with its caves, waterfalls and Tiruray ethnic community, while Tawi-Tawi highlights its beaches and Muslim pilgrimage site Sheik Makhdum mosque built in 1380.

“The (Upi) culture is preserved. People behave the way they were doing one hundred years back, growing organic food like rice and corn,” said Marites Maguindra, DoT regional cabinet secretary for the ARMM.

Speaking at the Philippine Tour Operators Association’s 25^th Philippine Travel Mart held September 5-7, Maguindra said with the involvement of the private sector, these new programmes sold by three Maguindanao operators are ARMM’s way of using tourism as a “bridge of peace”.

She acknowledged that safety remains a concern in ARMM, known for intermittent clan warfare and kidnaps for ransom.

Two European bird-watching tourists visiting Tawi-Tawi were kidnapped in 2012 and have not been freed to date.

However, ARMM has been developing a Top Cop programme similar to that already in place in Boracay and Bohol for the safety of tourists, Maguindra assured, adding that the region is already seeing Malaysian visitors.

“There is a real demand for halal products and services. Look at Malacca, which has seen Arab investments and tourism growth. Their products and services are compliant with the halal standard,” she noted.

Standard economy accommodations are available in ARMM, which has seen 45 per cent growth in tourism investments in the last two years. Tawi-Tawi now has 12 beach resorts in Bongao and another on the way.

ARMM is in a period of transition as the Philippine government moves to promulgate a Bangsamoro Basic Law, which creates a new bangsamoro (Muslim people) state, a measure aimed at quelling longstanding unrest in the region.

TRAVEL solutions provider Travelport has kicked off its IPO with 30 million of its common shares and applied to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TVPT.

Funds raised through the IPO will be used to repay debt and “certain other liabilities”, said Travelport in a media statement.

The estimated price range for the IPO is US$14 to US$16 per common share.

Morgan Stanley, UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities are serving as joint book-running managers for the IPO, with Cowen and Company, Evercore, Jefferies, Sandford C Bernstein, and William Blair serving as co-managers.

INTERISLAND Airlines will commence its first route from Romblon to Boracay on November 8, having recently launched at the annual Philippine Travel Mart as a brand new light aircraft air taxi service.

With its hub in Romblon province, the airline will initially focus on a triangle route covering Sibuyan Island in Romblon, Kalibo and Caticlan.

However, it will fly wherever customers request as well. “We are a charter service available for the whole country,” said vice president John Batacan.

“We are aiming to feature Sibuyan as a destination for tourists. Then we will be looking to expand (into) Boracay-Busuanga,” he added.

Vince Reyes, head of sales and marketing at Elite Aviation, which is handling marketing for the air taxi service, said that Interisland is adopting a hub-and-spoke programme that complements routes already covered by major carriers, and plans to use the provinces of Romblon, Bicol, Palawan, Batanes, Baler and Aurora as hubs.

The services will employ six single- or twin-engine aircraft that can carry three, and five to 11 passengers respectively.

Elite’s tours division is selling a 6D5N itinerary to Coron and Boracay at 27,888 pesos (US$635) including Coron-Caticlan airfares and tours at both destinations. The package is on offer between November 2014 and May 2015.

HILTON Worldwide this week announced that it will open in 2018 a third Waldorf Astoria on Indonesian soil, again on the Island of Gods.

Owned by Sharandy Land, the 100-key Waldorf Astoria Bali, Ubud will be the fourth Waldorf Astoria property in South-east Asia following the planned openings in Bangkok, Bukit-Pandawa Bali in 2017 and Jakarta in 2018.

Situated along the Ayung River in the Balinese village of Sayan, the resort is 5km away from central Ubud and 31.4km from the island’s international airport.

The resort spans 8ha, accommodating 100 luxe suites and villas built on the slopes of a terraced rice paddy for views of its surroundings and river. Villas will come in one- to five-room configurations, all with a private pool each.

Dining experiences at the resort come in the form of two restaurants and a destination bar, while event facilities include three meetings and event rooms, a wedding chapel, an outdoor event lawn and a business centre.

An outdoor pool and a health club and spa will also be available for guests’ use.

INDIA-based MakeMyTrip is on the lookout for start-up companies to invest in, announcing yesterday that it has set up a new US$15 million Innovation Fund.

Funds will go especially towards supporting mobile and IP-based companies that deal in travel technology.

MakeMyTrip’s board has greenlighted the formation of an Investment Committee to decide which firms to invest in, comprising six directors including founder Deep Kalra and co-founders Rajesh Magow and Keyur Joshi.

Kalra, who is also group CEO of MakeMyTrip.com, said of the fund: “This is an additional prong of our inorganic growth strategy by pursuing merger and acquisition opportunities in the travel technology space. We intend to purposefully go out and look for such companies and take early-stage positions.”

THE Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has teamed up with Etihad Airways to launch a competition for Italian travel consultants.

With the aim of boosting Italian arrivals during the upcoming winter season, the TAT/Etihad Travel Agent Contest will see Italian travel consultants compete in the number of air tickets and packages to Thailand sold for the period September 2014 to January 2015.

They will need to submit the figures alongside a short article about Thailand, and 10 best entries will be picked.

Winners will earn a fam trip to Phuket and Krabi in March next year, with accommodations and a gala dinner provided by Kata Group, TAT’s Thai partner for the competition.

TAT expects submissions from roughly 500 travel consultants.

Italy was Thailand’s eighth largest European source market last year, with 207,192 arrivals in 2013 or a 3.2 per cent increase year-on-year.

Between January and August this year, Thailand welcomed 145,456 Italian tourists for an increase of 6.7 per cent over the corresponding period in 2013. The NTO expects a total of 193,939 Italian visitors for 2014.

Last year, visitors from Italy spent a total of 394 million baht (US$12.1 billion) or 3,841 baht per day on average, and stayed an average of 16 days.

THE Lion City’s inbound operators have pounced on the implementation of 14 new direct charters to Okinawa by SilkAir and Jetstar from this month through to January 2015, creating new packages to the up-and-coming destination.

Dynasty Travel director of marketing communications, Alicia Seah, said: “More and more Singaporeans have already been to many parts of Japan, such as Hokkaido, Tokyo and Osaka, so Okinawa is somewhere new and unique they would like to explore.”

CTC vice president of marketing and PR, Sylvia Tan, added: “Demand for Okinawa has certainly been growing in recent years. There is no dramatic change of climate for Singaporean travellers, and Okinawa offers a variety of options like island tours, cultural sites, family attractions and DIY activities.”

Seah explained: “Currently, scheduled services to Naha require a stop in Taipei, Hong Kong, or other Japanese cities. Although there have been chartered flights from Singapore to Okinawa periodically since 2010, they are only in March and October.

“With the addition of direct charters by SilkAir and Jetstar, our company has launched a 5D4N tour package to Okinawa ranging from S$1,838 (US$1,455) and it is very popular among Singaporeans.”

Similarly, CTC has jumped on the bandwagon with the introduction of two 6D5N packages – one for Christmas, the other for the Muslim market – in December, via SilkAir flights.

However, Chan Brothers Travel is sticking to its current 7D6N package twining Okinawa and Taipei as it is “gaining traction” among customers.

Its manager of marketing communications, Jeremiah Wong, explained that the direct impact of the new charters has not surfaced yet. “(With the current package) not only would customers be able to explore the varied marine bio-diversity of Okinawa and indulge in outlet mall shopping, they are also able to enjoy two days free and easy in Taipei for shopping and food.”

He added: “With the direct charters, consumers will undoubtedly reap benefits such as more competitive fares, increased frequencies and more choices of flight timings, hence lending a hand in boosting travel to Okinawa.”