MYANMAR Airways International (MAI) is commencing thrice-weekly scheduled flights to Osaka and Seoul this October.

“Last year, we started flights to Japan and South Korea as regular charter flights but from October we will fly as scheduled flights directly from Osaka to Yangon. The number of Japan visitors to Myanmar is rapidly increasing and this is why we decided to start scheduled flights,” said Aye Mra Tha, general manager, MAI.

“Passengers flying by MAI’s Japan and South Korea routes will also get visa on arrival at Yangon International Airport. So far that facility is only offered to passengers coming by MAI’s Cambodia and Guangzhou routes,” she added.

Meanwhile, plans are afoot for tie-ups with other airlines and to refresh MAI’s fleet.

Said Aye Mra Tha: “There are also ongoing discussions to ally with international airlines in order to expand our operations worldwide. At present, we are talking with All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines and Korean Air.”

She also refuted speculation that ANA will purchase a stake in MAI after cancellation of plans last week to buy into Myanmar carrier Asian Wings Airways, saying MAI would remain 100 per cent owned by KBZ Group of Companies and expand its global network via partnerships.

At the same time, the airline will sell its existing four Airbus 320s and buy four new ones to refresh its fleet, she said.

CHINA’S third-tier cities will find a friend in PATA China Panel of Experts (PCPE), which was formed in late June to provide destinations at different stages of development guidance in creating a sustainable tourism industry.

Bo Wu, regional director, Greater China, PATA, said the panel comprises the director-generals of the tourism bureaus of Shandong, Fujian, Henan, Shaanxi and Sichuan; UNWTO tourism experts; international private sector consultants and PATA members, and is a 10+1 expert consultancy model.

“The aim of the panel is to advise third-tier cities in the different provinces, which are in different stages of development, on how best to allocate their resources.”

PCPE held its first meeting and consultation in the coastal city of Yantai, Shandong on June 28, with the venue also the panel’s first case study.

Yantai hopes to develop into a coastal leisure destination, having recently bought a ship from Costa Cruises to operate to South Korea.

Wu said that challenges for the city include hotel inventory and air access.

“The economy in Yantai is strong. It is well-known for its centuries-old wine history and agriculture, but it now wants to diversify into tourism,” he elaborated. “Winter in Yantai can drop to -10°C, -20°C and the panel suggested tourism activities that revolve around festivals and recommends the introduction of a food festival.”

Leshan in Sichuan is another third-tier city seeking the panel’s advice.

AUSTRALIAN cruise operator P&O Cruises today announced it will return to Singapore to offer four roundtrip voyages as part of its 2015/2016 programme.

The Singapore season will take travellers to destinations in Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia and see the cruise line’s maiden calls to Krabi, Sabang (Palau Weh), Koh Chang and Sihanoukville.

Pacific Eden, which joins P&O under a recent fleet expansion initiative, will operate the Singapore cruises. It is slated to arrive in Singapore in July 2016.

Ann Sherry, CEO, P&O Cruises, said that the cruise operator’s fleet expansion has allowed it to sail out to more destinations including Asia, and that its Singapore-based itineraries were a sign of the maturing of the Australian market, also the world’s fastest-growing cruise market.

“Last year, nearly 834,000 Australians took a cruise holiday, 20 per cent more than in 2012, and many of these are people who have cruised before and are now keen for new destinations and new cultural experiences,” she said.

“As growth in the fly-cruise segment shows, an increasing number of passengers are prepared to travel internationally to begin their cruise and P&O Cruises is responding to this market opportunity.”

The Singapore season will include a seven-night South-east Asia western itinerary to the Malaysian and Thai towns of Sabang, Phuket, Krabi and Langkawi; a seven-night South-east Asia eastern itinerary visiting Sihanoukville in Cambodia and Koh Chang, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and Koh Samui; and a 13-night itinerary from Singapore to Cairns, with a call to Dili in Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Darwin.

P&O last offered roundtrip cruises from Singapore in 2006.

HAVING established itself as a sports tourism destination for top-performing athletes from around the world, integrated resort Thanyapura Phuket (TTGmice e-Weekly, November 28, 2013) is now training its sights on corporate groups from Asia.

“Many people are talking about mindfulness today, and more companies are seeking balance for (their) high performers to relieve stress,” said Philipp Graf von Hardenberg, who was appointed president and CEO of Thanyapura Phuket in June.

Existing programmes combining mindfulness, sports and motivational elements are rising in popularity for corporate groups, which on average stay two or three nights at the destination, he said.

The resort also offers mind-training programmes for corporates, headed by Alan Wallace, an ordained monk and former translator to the Dalai Lama.

While admitting that corporates make up a small component of Thanyapura’s current business, Graf von Hardenberg said: “Some of (these executives) will come back as individual guests. These people have high expectations, and they want to achieve something during their vacation time.”

Thanyapura is aiming at the corporate and MICE markets of Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, regional cities located a short flight from and with ample daily connections to Phuket.

The bulk of Thanyapura’s guests currently hail from Asia-Pacific, with Thailand making up roughly 25 per cent, Australia 15 per cent, China 12 per cent, and the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Singapore at around 10 per cent each.

The chief executive also revealed that it sees the fastest growth in the guest segment aged 35 years old and above. “More middle-age or older people aged 50 and above are coming in regularly to train for triathlons, plus younger people are also keen in sports and marathons.”

Separately, the resort will debut new track and field programmes next year and has plans to partner professional golf courses to develop indoor golf courses for golf clinics.

When asked if the Thanyapura concept will be replicated elsewhere, Graf von Hardenberg does not rule out the possibility but any expansion beyond Phuket’s shores is likely to take place after 2016.

THE owner of Cruise Shipping Miami, Marintec China and Sea Japan has acquired Seatrade Communications, furthering its already extensive reach and control of cruise conventions.

UBM and Seatrade have collaborated on a series of maritime events worldwide in the past, and the new deal, announced last week, consolidates UBM’s position within the industry.

Chris Hayman, executive chairman and owner of Seatrade since 2003, will continue on as chairman, and the business will remain headquartered in Colchester, the UK.

Seatrade’s cruise sector events include Seatrade Latin America Cruise Convention and Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum, backed by Seatrade Cruise Review and the online Seatrade Insider.

The company also operates events in the general maritime and offshore marine sectors and has offices in Dubai, Singapore and China.

Michael Duck, global maritime director and executive vice president of UBM Asia, said: “The unified portfolio and management structure will create a simplified, coherent and stronger global offering for our clients. From both a company and personal perspective, I am delighted that Chris Hayman – who is widely known and respected throughout the maritime industry – will be staying with the business. We look forward to working with him and the world-class teams at both UBM and Seatrade over the coming years.”

Chris Hayman, chairman and owner, Seatrade, commented: “Seatrade’s strategy of developing high-quality events and global intelligence for the general shipping, offshore marine and cruise sectors, fits well with UBM’s world-class events in these fields. We look forward to working with them to expand our combined global reach, and to provide the kind of content which is so critical to success in these dynamic industry sectors.”

AMADEUS has unveiled a new solution suite that it says will cut down the manual processing required of travel consultants in managing visa and passport requirements.

Launched in Asia-Pacific today, the Amadeus Visa Pass enables travel consultants to handle visa and passport issues throughout the travel cycle, including pre-booking, booking and post-booking stages.

At the pre-booking stage, travel consultants will be alerted to the visa and passport expiry dates for repeat customers via email and queue messages.

Amadeus Visa Pass will also automatically check visa requirements according to travellers’ nationality and intended destination once a booking has been made, and add the requirements into the Passenger Name Record for easy tracking and reference by the travel consultant.

In the post-booking stage, the solution can also aid travel consultants in creating, tracking and updating visa request applications through the visa tracking portal, and send application status updates directly to the traveller.

Leon Herce, vice president, distribution commercial, Amadeus Asia-Pacific, said: “The travel potential in Asia-Pacific is unmatched anywhere else in the world; however, visa processing is often complicated. Our goal is to simplify the visa management process as much as possible for both the travel agency and the traveller. Amadeus Visa Pass completely changes the way travel consultants can handle the visa process on behalf of their customers, which will undoubtedly remove some of the hassle commonly associated with visas in Asia-Pacific.”

TRAVELPORT Worldwide has increased its ownership stake in eNett International, a joint venture with PSP International following five successful years of operation.

Since the joint venture’s inception in June 2009, Travelport had held a majority stake of 57 per cent while its partner, PSP International, held the remainder.

The latest deal saw Travelport acquiring an additional 16 per cent from PSP, raising its holding to 73 per cent in a transaction which values the eNett business at US$450 million.

At the same time, PSP has entered into a long-term agreement with eNett to provide various banking services to the company, including PSP becoming the primary issuer of Virtual Account Numbers (VANS) used by eNett.

“eNett is a significant element in realising Travelport’s goal to redefine travel commerce, enabling a range of state-of-the-art and innovative alternative payment methods for B2B transactions which represent a considerable global market opportunity,” said Travelport president and CEO, Gordon Wilson.

“Travelport felt that the time is right to own more of this growing business and this deal provides the opportunity for the two shareholders in eNett to play to their respective strengths.”

Anthony Hynes, eNett managing director and CEO, said: “Following the signing of a significant multi-year extension of our partnership with MasterCard announced last month, this new agreement allows eNett to further leverage the expertise of its respective shareholders as it continues to expand into other markets and verticals around the world.”

Using unique MasterCard VANs, eNett provides travel companies with a fast, easy and secure way to pay or to be paid, reducing the risk of fraudulent transactions and improving overall payment, reconciliation and tracking processes.