INDIA has announced it will throw open a total of seven islands for tourism development in the next few years to increase the country’s beach tourism offerings.

AK Singh, lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said: “We have identified (four) islands for development. A large number of tourist attractions exists across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but we are planning to do more to attract tourists.”

Tourist-friendly infrastructure offering guests scuba diving and water sports options should be completed by 2016.

Singh added that night landing facilities would also be developed at Andaman and Nicobar’s Port Blair airport by 3Q2014 to allow international flights to stop over. While 96 flights pass the airport every day, none land there.

The archipelago comprises 556 islands of which 37 are inhabited. In 2013, 250,000 tourists visited this area.

The government will also build beach resorts and water sports facilities on three uninhabited Lakshadweep islands located in the Arabian Sea.

“Thinnakkara, Suheli Par and Cherium are the three islands in Lakshadweep where we are planning to build tourism infrastructure at a cost of Rs6 billion (US$99.8 million),” said AM Hussain, assistant director, Lakshadweep Tourism.

Other islands in the cluster offer activities such as scuba diving, snorkelling and windsurfing, making use of the silver sand beaches and abundant marine life.

The islands are connected by sea and air from Kochi and Calicut. Lakshadweep Tourism will procure two new ships to cater to the increasing tourist traffic.

In 2013, 17,000 tourists visited the Lakshadweep Islands.

BEST Western Australasia today takes Sea Breeze Resort in Exmouth, Western Australia under its wing to provide guests with one more option in this destination known for its natural attractions.

Converted from the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters 4 of the former Chief Petty Officers’ Quarters in the historic Naval Communication Station Harold E Holdt, guests at this property can enjoy the novelty of staying on an active naval base.

Best Western Sea Breeze Resort offers 28 four-star executive and three-and-a-half-star studios. Each comes with a kitchenette, free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs.

Other facilities within the property include a full-equipped outdoor kitchen, lagoon-style pool and barbecue area.

Axel Passeck, owner of the resort, said that the resort had been upgraded to meet Best Western’s standards.

Exmouth is the gateway to the Ningaloo Marine Park and Cape Range National Park, part of the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, and situated 2.5 hours by plane or 15 hours by car from Perth.

The area is particularly popular for tourists who want to swim with whale sharks, humpback whales and giant mantas.

THE largest strikes in Lufthansa history by the German pilots’ union has led to massive cancellations across the airline’s international network, with flights to and from Asian metropolises also affected.

Vereinigung Cockpit is in the middle of a strike over Lufthansa’s intentions to cut early retirement plans, according to international news agencies. Strike actions between April 2 and 4 will impact flights by Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings.

However, Eurowings, Lufthansa CityLine, Air Dolomiti, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines operations will be spared.

Lufthansa has told the media that some 3,315 services have been suspended through April 4, with 112 planes and more than 1,500 crew stuck abroad as a result of the strikes.

A list of cancelled flights is available on Lufthansa’s website and as of midday April 3, the following itineraries have been scrapped.

For Singapore:
– LH778 and LH779, departing April 3

For Kuala Lumpur:
–       LH782, departing April 3 and 4
–       LH783, departing April 6

For Bangkok:
–       LH773, departing April 3 and 4
–       LH772, departing April 3 and 4

For Beijing:
–       LH720, departing April 3 and 4
–       LH722, departing April 3 and 4
–       LH721, departing April 4
–       LH723, departing April 4

For the full list of cancellations, visit Lufthansa’s website.

MARKETING, branding and the use of social media will take centre stage at the second PATAcademy-HCD training session, as part of the association’s steps to promote human capital development (HCD) within the industry.

As before, participants will be engaged in practical and interactive learning experiences. In this edition, running from June 17 to 20 at the PATA Engagement Hub in Bangkok, they will be tasked to work in a group on destination projects, crisis cases or events, and evaluate the impact of these events on business. Presentations will be shared at the end of the programme.

PATA has arranged a line-up of speakers from the travel and technology industries including: ForwardKeys.com’s Olivier Jager, Digital Innovation Asia’s Jens Thraenhart, E-Tourism Frontiers Kenya’s Damian Cook, Twitter Singapore’s Sonal Patel and GFK Consultancy’s Laurens van der Oever.

The speakers and training sessions will cover a range of topics such as data analysis for marketing and forward planning; developing tourism through online branding and digital marketing; semantic search and behavioural targeting – marketing strategies for the tourism industry; leveraging Chinese social media for consumer engagement – from crisis management and brand awareness; real-time conversation: travel; and building the brand DNA.

Fees are US$998 for PATA members, US$1,200 for Chapter members and US$1,500 for non-members.

For further information and to register, visit www.regonline.com/PATAcademy-HCDJune2014.

The third PATAcademy-HCD training will take place in December 2014.

THE European Commission (EC) has released a proposal for the creation of a new visa that would allow travel within the Schengen area for up to a year, one in a raft of initiatives to draw more arrivals from major outbound markets.

Currently known as the touring visa, it grants visitors passage through the Schengen area for one year with the option of an extension for up to two years, though visitors are disallowed from staying in one member state for more than 90 days within an 180-day period.

The EC has also rolled out a number of proposed changes to Schengen visa rules, noting in its press release that non-EU travellers tended to face “cumbersome, lengthy and costly visa procedures” when applying for short stays.

These include:
–       Reducing the deadline from 15 to 10 days for processing and taking a decision
–       Making it possible to lodge visa applications in other EU countries’ consulates if the member state competent for processing the visa application is neither present nor represented
–       Substantial facilitations for regular travellers including mandatory issuing of multiple-entry visas valid for three years
–       Simplified application form and allowing for online applications
–       Possibility for member states to devise special schemes granting visas at the borders for up to 15 days in one Schengen state
–       Possibility for member states to facilitate the issuing of visa for visitors attending major events

Approvals for the touring visa and reworking of the visa code must be obtained from the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, and are expected in 2015 at the earliest.

Antonio Tajani, European Commission vice president responsible for industry and entrepreneurship, commented: “Our proposal will help (the) European tourism industry at a time when international competition is becoming increasingly fierce with a growing number of countries relying on tourism as a factor for growth. The new visa rules are the answer to this challenge. These changes will help the tourism industry to deal with the expected considerable increase of the flows of tourists visiting Europe. Tourism is Europe´s growth engine and has been the most important stronghold of European economy during the recent crisis.”

A study cited by the EC stated that in 2012, some 6.6 million potential travellers from the six countries with the most travellers (China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Ukraine) were ‘lost’ due to the hassle of applying for a visa.

On the other hand, the report predicted that streamlining visa rules would boost the number of trips to the Schengen region by 30 to 60 per cent from those countries alone, and generate 1.3 million jobs in tourism and related sectors.

MARRIOTT International has launched the 348-room Renaissance Chengdu Hotel in south-west China under a management agreement with Sichuan Master Investment Group.

Located north of the Tianfu Interchange Bridge, the hotel is close to Chengdu’s main commercial, entertainment, and shopping area, and offers easy access to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

It comprises 348 guestrooms including 29 suites, as well as a 29^th floor club lounge for daily buffet breakfast with live cooking stations, afternoon high tea and evening cocktails. Club members can also avail of luxury business services and complimentary usage of an executive meeting room for two hours.

F&B establishments on site include BLD Café featuring buffet and a la carte culinary delights; upscale Wan Li for authentic Cantonese and Sichuanese cuisine; and lobby lounge The R Bar serving coffee, Chinese afternoon tea, wine or a specialty R cocktail in the evenings.

Renaissance Chengdu Hotel also boasts 1,322m² of meeting space across nine rooms that can be configured in various ways, including a grand ballroom with a nearly 7m ceiling. All meeting rooms are equipped with modern audio visual technologies.

Other available amenities are the 24-hour concierge service Navigator, a full-service business centre, 24-hour fitness centre and an outdoor swimming pool.

Henry Lee, COO of Greater China for Marriott International, states: “Marriott International’s portfolio in China continues to expand and we’re thrilled to open our first Renaissance Hotel in the heart of Chengdu. Renaissance Hotels is known for embracing the spirit of each destination, making it a perfect fit for travellers visiting this exciting city.”

MORE corporates are turning towards the buoyant LCC sector as a way to keep travel costs down while budget airlines simultaneously evolve to cater to this market.

Speaking at a panel discussion at ACTE Executive Forum Singapore yesterday, Todd Arthur, vice president, sales & account management, Asia Pacific, BCD Travel and also Asia board member of Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), said: “LCCs now account for over 15 per cent of Asia’s fleet which outstrips the growth of full-fledged airlines.

“The bulk of the new aircraft is all coming from the LCCs and these are evolving into hybrid carriers to expand themselves into the corporate market.”

Lisa Akeroyd, vice president, global sales & program management, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, said: “The trend of the LCCs is very real and our clients are starting to have conversations about them and questioning if they have to continue solely supporting the national carrier.

“We see that hybrid carriers, which is a cross between no-frills and full service, are fitting into corporate travel requirements,” she said.

Citing the example of how LCCs are increasingly available on the GDSs, he said: “The GDSs are not stagnant too and we see that every one is making progress in these spheres.”

However, Joana Yap, general manager, HRG Singapore highlighted that while her clients request for an LCC option for price comparison, most still opt for full-fledged airlines. “At the moment, it is not the corporates’ mandate to use LCCs because given the choice, most of them will still prefer a flight that provides everything from baggage to meals.

“While companies may look at various ways to keep their travel budget tight, corporate travellers will use the reasoning that full-fledged airlines will promise them and the company good productivity to get away (from LCCs),” Yap added.