THE Azure Qiantang started welcoming guests this week in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, as a member of Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ The Luxury Collection.

Designed by renowned architect Pierre-Yves Rochon, the property boasts a blue glass structure with design elements paying tribute to the Qiantang River, along the bank of which The Azure Qiantang is located. It takes its name from Memories of the South, written by Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi.

The hotel offers 205 guestrooms and suites, all coming with river views. Notable amenities include the hotel’s swimming pool, spa with seven treatment rooms and three massage rooms, and the 24-hour fitness centre.

Culinary offerings at The Azure Qiantang include: Lan Ting Chinese Restaurant and its 14 private dining suites and main dining hall, serving Hangzhou cuisine; Panorama Restaurant & Fare dishing up favourite local snacks; the Riverview Terrace on the 22^nd floor for cocktails; and the Lobby Bar where guests can have local afternoon tea.

In terms of meeting spaces, the hotel provides a 650m² Grand Ballroom with a 312m² foyer and six other rooms. All venues are fitted with floor-to-ceiling glass windows to allow natural light in.

The Azure Qiantang has introduced an opening package valid from now until December 31. Deluxe rooms are priced at RMB1,300 (US$212) a night. Guests who book consecutive nights will receive free breakfast for two. Prices are subject to a 15 per cent service charge.

Its opening brings Luxury Collection’s portfolio to six hotels in China, including the Astor Hotel in Tianjin, Twelve at Hengshan, The Hongta Hotel in Shanghai, The Royal Begonia in Sanya, and the recently opened The Castle Hotel in Dalian.

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) has scored chartered flights from two Russian destinations for the high season beginning October while a third is likely to be on the way.

The national carrier will fly from Vladivostok to Manila every 10 days and from Khabarovsk to Boracay every 14 days, starting next month until April next year.

Bigger aircraft will be used for these charters this year, doubling capacity from a minimum of 130 passengers.

Details of the third charter from Moscow – Russia’s largest and most populous city – is still under wraps but is likely to commence early next year, said Valeri Ishunkin, Department of Tourism’s marketing director for Russia, adding that a Siberian charter service is also underway.

Chartered flights are “extremely important” to Philippine inbound as there are no direct flights from Russia and commercial flights can be long and expensive, he pointed out.

He said that with Russia expected to ban travel to Europe in retaliation for economic sanctions, there is an opportunity for the Philippines to fill the gap. “Russians will look for other destinations and travel more to Asia…They are tired of certain destinations in Asia so they will look for new Asian destinations.”

Consumer marketing in Russia is being intensified, including the rollout of the second Philippine sales manual and media broadcasts from the Philippines in Russia.

CEBU Pacific Air (CEB) has opened more opportunities for Philippine outbound to Australia with its four-times-weekly Manila-Sydney service that began yesterday.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily ahead of the launch, Philippine Travel Agencies Association president, John Paul Cabalza, said that his members were meeting Australian operators to discuss products.

“These should priced be as low as possible, so that (travel consultants) can sell it. If you’re flying low-cost, you should match that with low-cost accommodation, for instance,” he said.

Cabalza expects families to comprise the bulk of budget travellers. “There are also a lot of local companies that have travelled around South-east Asia and might consider Australia for incentives.”

He added that Australia may decide to relax visa requirement for travellers who may not meet prerequisites on their own, but are now travelling in a group and sponsored by the company with set itineraries and pre-determined lengths of stay.

Marianne Malismo-Tismo, CEO, Amkor Travel & Tours, shared that her company is leveraging the service to introduce four-day tour programmes focusing on shopping, theatre and the outdoors.

“Since prices are lower, CEB will definitely earn a share of the market,” said Dino Molina, head of sales and marketing, Rajah Travel Corp, but added the smaller seats would be a concern for tall Australian passengers.

CEB last week also announced a new thrice-weekly Manila-Dammam service launching October 4, a service to Riyadh starting October 1 and a finalised interline agreement with Tigerair Singapore.

Two weeks ago, CEB was also appointed designated official carrier to New Zealand, Myanmar and Canada, and received added seat entitlements from Manila to Singapore, Myanmar, New Zealand and Macau, as well as Cebu to Hong Kong.

HE Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) will organise its annual Asia Pacific Ecotourism Conference (APECO) in Sabah next month.

Held from October 16 to 18 at The Pacific Sutera Hotel, Kota Kinabalu, the two-day conference is themed Adding Value Through Eco-Tourism Development and comes with a one-day pre-conference workshop.

Attendees can expect 16 speakers from four continents sharing their knowledge and experiences with ecotourism. This includes: Masaru Takayama, executive director, Japan Ecolodge Association, who will talk about ecotourism’s contribution to conservation; Alison Pritchard, manager, Mulu National Park in Sarawak who will speak on the place of tourism in park conservation and on developing ecotourism facilities in national parks; and Ross Dowling, who will speak on geotourism and geoparks.

Organising chairman, Albert Teo, said: “This will also be a great opportunity for academics, industry experts and practitioners to network and share their expertise and know-how on the latest trends in marketing, conservation, ecolodge design and operations, and community-based projects during the coffee breaks, workshops and post-conference tours.

“Delegates will learn to manage, market and maintain ecotourism facilities, products and services using sustainability, community benefits as the guiding principle.”

Hamzah Rahmat, MATTA president, added: “The conference and pre-conference workshop is meant to share best practices and to give participants a better understanding of more effective methods and technologies for ecotourism and sustainable development. “

APECO is open to both MATTA, non-MATTA members, and students.

For further details of this conference, email secretariat@apeco2014.com.

MYANMAR’S rich history will be brought to life in a new cultural show in Bagan, designed jointly by local and foreign companies.

Beginning this November, Dandaree features 100 performers and crew members from Myanmar and other South-east Asian nations, and will comprise of dance, sport and martial arts performances.

Also on the bill are pyrotechnic effects, a full Myanmar orchestra and life-size puppets, enhanced by production techniques used in feature films.

The show is a collaboration among Bagan Myanmar Tourism Company, Thailand-based Index Creative Village and Myanmar officials.

Speaking on the sidelines of the preview show held at Sule Shangri-La, Yangon, Narindej Thaveesangpanich, regional director of ASEAN, said a survey found that tourists who had been to Bagan reported a lack of activities in the ancient city.

The 80-minute show will run daily from 19.00 at the Bagan Golden Palace.

Tickets are US$50 per person and can be purchased in Yangon at 28, Lamin Condo, Kan Road, Hlaing Township; or Bagan at the Golden Palace, close to Tharabar Gate.

Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, chairman of Myanmar Tourism Marketing, expressed hope that the travel trade will use the show to promote Myanmar as a destination.

“The pre-launching of this show coincides with the tourism peak season in Myanmar…Tourists coming through the Yangon gateway have exceeded 500,000 as of end-June,” he shared.

“I hope Myanmar will be able to achieve about three million tourist arrivals by the end of the year, through all its international gateways and border checkpoints.”

Phyoe Wai Yar Zar added: “We will be the host of ASEAN Tourism Forum in January next year and Dandaree will also be there. This is not the first and last show, as more programmes will be created for visitors to Myanmar.”

NUMEROUS high-energy objects pierced the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 as it flew over eastern Ukrainian airspace, causing the aircraft to break up mid-air, found a preliminary report released yesterday by the Dutch Safety Board.

The board stated it was likely that this damage resulted in a loss of structural integrity of the aircraft that led to an inflight break-up, explaining the abrupt end to the data registration on the recorders, the simultaneous loss of contact with air traffic control and the aircraft’s disappearance from radar.

While the 35-page report did not specifically say MH17 was downed by a surface-to-air missile, commentators for news agency BBC noted that the report of “high-energy objects” is consistent with how Russian surface Buk missiles work – exploding near the target to pierce it with shrapnel.

The report, which is available on the Dutch Safety Board website, ruled out pilot error and mechanical problems, and also said that there had been no on-board emergencies, pointing to an external cause instead.

Tjibbe Joustra, chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, said in the report: “The initial results of the investigation point towards an external cause of the MH17 crash. More research will be necessary to determine the cause with greater precision.”

No blame was attributed by the report, which was aimed solely at establishing the aviation circumstances surrounding the tragedy, but international media such as the Wall Street Journal have highlighted the growing amount of evidence pointing towards Russia’s role in the incident.

The board’s final report is expected to be published next year.

HOSPITALITY company Cenizaro Hotels & Resorts has launched a freshly redesigned website for The Residence by Cenizaro in line with the brand’s next phase of transformation.

The tablet- and mobile-friendly website, www.cenizaro.com/theresidence, features information on the group’s four hotels: The Residence Tunis, The Residence Mauritius, The Residence Zanzibar and The Residence Maldives.

Visitors can make use of the easy-to-use booking engine to view real-time room availability, convert pricing into local currency as well as save reservation history and guest profile for future bookings.

Further, the Singapore-based company’s social media channels are also fully integrated with the site.

To mark the occasion, guests who book nights at any of The Residence hotels before March 30, 2015 will enjoy a free upgrade to full board, while reservations made online before November 30 will also be entered into a prize draw to win a five-night stay at the winner’s The Residence of choice.

STRONG sales are expected at the Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair (GITF) this weekend, which for the first time is being held twice a year.

Organised by Garuda Indonesia and Bank Negara Indonesia since 2009, the B2C show will be held from September 12-15 in Jakarta with a target of 80,000 visitors and Rp50 billion (US$4.3 million) in ticket sales.

Erik Meijer, executive vice president marketing and sales, Garuda Indonesia, said: “Initially, we set a target of Rp75 billion in sales from the two events this year. However, this target was almost reached in one event only.

“We have thus revised the total target for the year to Rp120 billion. This means that we need to at least grab Rp50 billion more, which I think is achievable.”

GITF in April generated Rp70.8 billion in sales and drew 44,724 visitors.

Meijer said GITF this weekend would highlight new domestic destinations, especially in East Indonesia. “Through the travel fair we would like to introduce Garuda’s new destinations like Labuan Bajo, Ende and Bima in East Nusa Tenggara; Bau Bau and Kolaka in South-east Sulawesi; Jember and Banyuwangi in East Java; Sibolga in North Sumatra and other interesting destinations in Papua.”

Separately, Garuda Indonesia yesterday launched the first of its five weekly flights from Jakarta to London via Amsterdam. The capital city of the UK forms Garuda’s second gateway in Europe after Amsterdam.

Meijer commented: “There are strong business, educational, and cultural ties between Indonesia and the UK, and we believe this new service will further boost those activities among the two countries, while offering easier access for travellers from the UK to Indonesia, which is now one of the fastest economic growth centres in the world.”

Following the carrier’s entrance into the SkyTeam global airline alliance in March, Garuda made Amsterdam its hub for Europe and beyond.

TOURISM stakeholders from China’s Hubei province are looking at how they can better sell the destination, which is undergoing positive developments in both products and access.

Five tourism groups from Hubei visited the UN World Tourism Organization headquarters in Madrid last weekend and made contact with officials from the regional and city governments in Spain.

Qian Yuankun, director-general of the Hubei Tourism Administration, said: “By bringing these tourism entrepreneurs with us to make contacts in Spain, we are setting up a two-way tourism promotion that should help companies in both Hubei and the Spanish regions. It’s a good way to see how to sell ourselves internationally.”

He said the new culture-centric The Han Show will open soon in a purpose-built, lantern-shaped theatre in Hubei’s capital city of Wuhan this December.

Links to Wuhan have also been growing. “Moscow became the second European capital after Paris to be linked with direct flights from Wuhan in July,” said Qian. “We are hoping there will soon be more. New high-speed train links within China are also helping us to develop our tourism very fast.”

China is also currently training up more Spanish-speaking guides, he pointed out.

Yin Hanning, chairman of the Hubei International Cultural Exchange Association, said Spain has a “rich experience in the internationalisation of tourism”.

“That is why we want to promote these interchanges,” he added.