CONDOLENCES have poured in for P R Gopal, former president of the National Association of Travel Agents of Singapore (NATAS), who passed away peacefully in Perth on September 21.

Having served as president of NATAS for four terms from 1984 to 1992, he was integral to the formation of the association in 1979. Gopal also worked at World Express Singapore and Orient Explorer Singapore.

Ex-CEO of NATAS, Robert Khoo, fondly remembers Gopal as a man who did not take no for an answer.

He said: “I originally wanted to step down from the NATAS Executive Committee to focus on running my own travel agency, but Gopal would not accept it,” Khoo explained with a laugh. “Over the better part of a year, he convinced me to ultimately take up the reins of president of NATAS!”

“Gopal was also a highly charismatic leader. Back in those days, Gopal really emphasised the importance of ASEAN Tourism Association and Federation of ASEAN Travel Agents Associations meetings, as well as leveraged the associations as platforms to engage and negotiate with many different agencies. Both associations saw stellar attendance from the delegates of various countries,” Khoo added.

Robin Yap, president of The Travel Corporation Asia, said: “Gopal was truly our pioneer generation industry leader. He was a fearless NATAS president who fought for his members’ rights. I am sending my deepest condolences to his family.”

HOTELS and tour operators in Hong Kong are feeling some impact from the Occupy Central protest that began yesterday at the Central Government Complex (CGO) in Admiralty, ahead of the intended date on October 1.

The police cordoned off access to CGO while protesters blocked traffic flow on Gloucester Road and Harcourt Road. The situation became chaotic around 18.00 when the police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

Uni Asia Tours managing director, David Luk, said: “We initially thought only Central would be affected, but it’s a different story now and nobody knows which part of the city would be next affected.

“We don’t have emergency plans except advising clients to avoid those affected areas. So far, we have only received requests from clients who want to move from the hotel in Causeway Bay to other less affected areas.”

Holiday World Tour managing director, Paul Leung, added he would not take groups to crowded areas like Mongkok and Causeway Bay.

“It’s still safe to visit the city as protesters are adopting a peaceful and non-destructive approach. However, I do worry how international media like CNN interprets this issue as their coverage may influence visitors’ impressions.

“October is our usual peak season and we haven’t heard of any cancellations yet, since the incident only just happened yesterday.”

Hong Kong Tourism Board is handling visitors’ enquiries and disseminating information to its in-town visitors through visitor service centres, while updating the trade on traffic arrangements.

At press time, Metropark Hotel Wanchai had only received two cancellations.

However, the hotel’s general manager, Evan Chiu, said: “We expect more cancellations if the situation becomes worse. As groups of people increased around our hotel, we closed the wine and pinchos bar The Parlor and the main entrance until 08.00 this morning.”

Another hotel in Wanchai also closed its front gate when the tear gas was deployed.

Predicting that the situation may last for a few more days until October 3 because of the holidays, its spokesperson said: “We are advising our guests to take the taxi to the airport, instead of the MTR. Our F&B is affected as we have received cancellations of bookings for National Day dinner due to concerns about the traffic.”

A MODERN skyscraper in downtown Dubai is the seventh location of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts’ newest hotel within the emirate, which will open in 2H2017 to cater to longer-staying guests.

Announced last week after the signing of a management and operating agreement with El Housein, Mövenpick Hotel Apartments Downtown Dubai will offer 246 hotel apartments ranging between 36m² for studio apartments and 104m² for two-bedroom apartments. It is sited within walking distance from Dubai Mall and 1km from Dubai International Financial Centre.

Facilities will include a speciality restaurant and lobby café, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a spa and beauty salon, several shops as well as two meeting rooms.

Andreas Mattmüller, COO of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Middle East and Asia, revealed in a statement that the property’s main focus will be on providing medium- and long-term accommodation.

“There is a growing market for travellers to Dubai who prefer the comfort and convenience of fully furnished, fully serviced, branded hotel apartments. Of course, the proximity to Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa and associated attractions means we will also be well placed to accommodate GCC families and leisure travellers once it opens in 2017,” he said.
The company’s six properties in Dubai are located at Ibn Battuta Mall near Jebel Ali, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Jumeirah Beach on The Walk, Bur Dubai, Deira and in Mamzar near Sharjah.

The next property to open in the region is Mövenpick Hotel Riyadh, which is scheduled to welcome guests from early 2015.

HK Express will add a second daily direct flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo-Haneda from November 16, flying to the Japanese city 14 times a week.

The new service is an evening flight from Hong Kong, departing 19.10 and arriving in Tokyo-Haneda at 23.55, while leaving Tokyo-Haneda in the morning at 01.10 and touching down in Hong Kong at 05.25.

HK Express’ deputy CEO, Andrew Cowen, said: “Since the launch of our Tokyo route last November, we have been consistently enjoying a load factor, and have flown over 80,000 guests to the city…the North Asian region continues to be an important market in our development strategy in 2014 and beyond.

“Adding a morning departure from Tokyo to Hong Kong will give guests the option of a mid-morning arrival into the city, which will mean better connections for travellers going for work, or beyond Hong Kong to other cities on our network in South-east Asia.”

The additional Tokyo flights follow the launch of a daily service to Nagoya from September 18, and current double-daily services to Osaka.

To celebrate the launch of the two new flights, the airline is offering one-way fares from HK$680 (US$88) on all Tokyo flights, valid from today until September 30, 2014 at 23:59, for travel between September 26, 2014 and December 31, 2014.

MARRIOTT International will soon debut its first Marriott-branded hotel in Haikou, capital of China’s Hainan, on October 13.

Located on the west coast of Haikou and adjacent to Hainan International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Haikou Marriott Hotel will offer 386 well-appointed rooms including two luxury villas in nine different categories.

Event facilities include an expansive lawn with ocean views for up to 800 guests, and over 4,000m² of configurable meeting space including an 845m² Grand Ballroom and seven meeting rooms.

There are three restaurants and four bars, while recreational offerings include adult and children’s pools and an eco-pool. The Touch Spa boasts six hot spring pools, two steam rooms, two saunas, two Jacuzzis, three foot spa rooms and six treatment rooms.

“We are eagerly expecting this international hotel with Haikou’s most beautiful coastline to launch its debut, expanding the Marriott Group’s hotel network in China,” said Lily Jiang, the hotel’s general manager.

SPAIN expects to welcome a record number of tourists from Japan not seen since direct flights between the two countries were scrapped 16 years ago.

The numbers were up 21 per cent year-on-year to over 290,000 in the first eight months of 2014, with Beatriz Marco, counsellor for tourism at the Spanish embassy in Tokyo, optimistic about them “reaching the 400,000 mark”.

Marco said equally important for Spain and its battered economy is the increased spending by Japanese tourists, which showed 35 per cent growth in the first seven months of 2014.

Speaking ahead of the opening of JATA Tourism Expo Japan last week, Marco said the previous record of 377,000 incoming Japanese was set in 1998, the same year Spanish flag carrier Iberia stopped operating the only direct service between the two countries’ capitals.

Since then, numbers had been falling until 2010, after which average yearly growth hovered around five per cent.

Matilde García de Oro, coordinator for the Hispanic Japanese Tourism Association, said the increase corresponded with projections, given the events held in both Spain and Japan between June 2013 and July 2014 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Figures have also been boosted by the recent recovery of the Japanese economy,” she said, but highlighting that the figures did not necessarily bring in more business for tour operators as “many people, especially younger ones, are now making their own travel arrangements”.

Similarly, María Jesús Vicente, operations manager, Japan Travel Bureau’s Madrid office, said although the Japanese market has been growing since 2011, the figures quoted by the embassy for 2014 didn’t correspond with the growth expected by her company.

“It’s true we are up on last year, but we are expecting lower figures this winter because of the increase in value-added (sales) tax in Japan,” she said.

Despite growth in other markets, Japan is still the leading Asian tourism market for Spain, she added.

The autonomous region of Andalucía in southern Spain has also seen high demand from Asia over the last year, said director of Spain Leisure and Culture, Irene Muñoz.

She observed: “These (Asian) countries are the outbound markets that have grown most in recent years and at the same time are taking up hotel rooms in what is our low season, especially in winter.”

THE Maldives is embarking on an aggressive promotion campaign from now until 2015 in North America and the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries, taking part in trade fairs and organising its own roadshows.

In the pipeline are plans to rope in high-profile celebrities for an ad campaign in the US and Canada next year, according to deputy minister of tourism, Hussain Lirar, who declined to disclose the identities of the celebrities.

The Maldives’ main source markets are China, Germany and the UK, with Russia emerging as well.

Adam Mohamed, executive director, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, said the NTO would be participating in WTM Latin America next year, and could also be doing a roadshow in Brazil.

This year the focus has been on roadshows, kicking off with Australia in February, and moving on to China and the CIS states (Kazakhstan) in early October. A roadshow will also be held end-October in Switzerland before participation at WTM in London in November.

“We’re also taking part in a luxury market exhibition in Las Vegas (December 4-7), promoting the honeymoon and water sports segments,” Mohamed said.

Although South America is an emerging market, Abdulla Ghiyas, president – Maldives Association of Travel Agents & Tour Operators, said these travellers prefer a package allowing them to see more of Asia, such as India and Sri Lanka in addition to the Maldives, since they take a whole day travelling to the region.

“(Developing that kind of package) is the challenge we are facing,” he said.