DUSIT Fudu Hotels and Resorts will open Dusit Thani Dongtai, Jiangsu in 4Q2014 this year, having signed an agreement with Jiangsu Renda International Hotel for management rights.

Located in Dongtai city’s newest economic development zone, the hotel is two hours from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

Dusit Thani Dongtai will offer 160 rooms, Dusit’s Devarana Spa, an all-day dining restaurant, a Chinese restaurant with 11 private dining rooms and a lobby lounge.

Meeting facilities available for guests include a 600m² pillarless ballroom for up to 700 guests and 11 meeting rooms with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment.

Dusit Fudu opened dusitD2 Fudu Binhu Hotel Changzhou last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 24, 2013).

The company is a joint venture between Thailand-based Dusit International and China-based Changzhou Qiao Yu Group (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 24, 2013).

CHINESE travel agency Ctrip officially launched an online booking website and mobile app for the Hong Kong market last week.

Cindy Wang, CFO of Ctrip, said: “The Hong Kong market is no stranger to us as we set up a branch office here in 1999. We are positive about the Hong Kong market as its (outbound) departure rate is the top for Asia and the penetration rate of mobile phones is high, over 60 per cent, when compared to other Asian countries.

“In China, more than 50 per cent of our hotel bookings are generated by mobile apps. This explains why our business model has kept on evolving in the last few years, from OTA to MTA (mobile travel agency).”

Although Ctrip.com.hk’s content mirrors the China version, the Hong Kong version is in traditional Chinese, offers special discounts and waives transaction fees. The app will feature mobile-only hotel prices dangling discounts of up to 50 per cent off. A Cantonese hotline will be added in April.

From February 17 to April 18, users will earn a HK$40 (US$5) coupon rebate for their first booking on the site via both WAP and app, or HK$20 on desktops.

Asked if the new website and app pits Ctrip directly against sister OTA Wing On Travel, Wang said: “Wing On deals with group tours and is locally well-known for its leisure products but Ctrip…focuses more on business travel. The two will complement each other as brother and sister.”

GARUDA Indonesia will upgrade the current Jakarta-Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam to a direct service as of May 30, making the Dutch capital its hub for Europe and beyond.

The airline will swap the Airbus 330 for the Boeing 777-300ER for the direct flights.

Garuda Indonesia passengers will thus be able to purchase tickets for all major destinations in Europe as well as the Americas on a single Garuda ticket, combining flight itineraries with connecting flights from its SkyTeam partners including KLM, Air France, Delta Airlines, Air Europa, and others.

In the meantime, the airline, which originally planned to also fly direct between Jakarta and London (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 5, 2013), will now serve London (Gatwick) through the Amsterdam hub from September 8.

Garuda was scheduled to start London flights in June, but was unable to secure take-off and landing slots at Gatwick for the peak summer season.

Emirsyah Satar, president & CEO of Garuda Indonesia, said: “Following Garuda’s official joining of SkyTeam (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 6, 2014), the opportunities presented by the established SkyTeam hub at Amsterdam are too significant to pass up, as it will be an alternative gateway for passengers who wish to travel beyond Europe.

“They will be able to choose from 1,064 destinations in 178 countries served by the SkyTeam member airlines.”

ENVIRONMENTAL management and certification programme EarthCheck is placing a ‘Disaster HQ’ in the pockets of travel industry professionals with today’s roll-out of the EarthCheck Research Institute (ERI) Risk App, which helps tourism businesses prepare before, during and immediately after a natural disaster.

Available both on Android and iOS smartphones, the Risk App is the result of three years’ and over A$300,000 (US$273,495) worth of research investment.

Based on preparatory action plans loaded during normal operating times, the app will prompt users to capture time-stamped imagery, provide status updates, track unfolding events, communicate with stakeholders and map out recovery. This gives users access to emergency information in times of crisis.

The white label Risk App can be modified for individual hotel clients.

“The world is at a tipping point and the type and impact of climatic events of the last few years like the super storms in the US and the tsunamis in Asia are likely to increase,” said EarthCheck CEO, Steward Moore.

“It’s not so much about if, or when, a disaster will strike. Today it’s about continuity plans and how fast a business can bounce back. And that means adopting new technologies and operational procedures to help build resilience.”

“The ERI Risk App is an evolution of technology that puts the paper-based crisis management practices we’ve been preparing for years into a smartphone and into the hands of operators; no matter where they are,” he added. “Effectively it’s a ‘Disaster HQ’ in your hip pocket.”

OUE consortium is the latest Singapore entity to declare intentions on South Korea, where it will construct the first internationally branded integrated resort in the country.

This comes one month after casino operator Genting Singapore and Chinese partner Landing International Development announced plans for a US$2.2 billion casino resort on Jeju Island, targeting Chinese gamblers.

A statement released on the Singapore stock exchange yesterday stated that South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and tourism had granted pre-approval to the consortium, which is comprised of property developer OUE Limited, Lippo Limited and US-based Caesars Entertainment Corporation.

Expected to be finished in time for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, the integrated resort will feature a hotel, retail and convention and residential properties, as well as a foreigners-only casino to be run by Caesars or one of its affiliates.

The project will be developed on a 4.3-hectare site and cost 855 billion Korean won (US$798.2 million).

Once approved, OUE consortium will receive the first casino licence given to foreign investors, according to Singapore daily The Straits Times, which also said the development will be located on Yeongjong island, close to Incheon International Airport.

TRAVEL specialists have welcomed the termination of the state of emergency in Thailand, but remain unsure as to whether this will enable them to claw back business lost during the months-long political crisis (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 24, 2014).

Willem Niemeijer, CEO of Khiri Travel Group, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “It will be good if it leads to the lifting of negative travel advisories.”

“It would be better if the state of emergency would be lifted without conditions, such as the Internal Security Act (which the caretaker government has implemented in Bangkok and surrounding provinces from today). The confidence of Thailand on the whole can only improve over time, with sustained peace and the political process not taking place on the streets.”

The move by Thailand’s caretaker government should provide a shot in the arm for the MICE sector that had suffered a raft of cancellations, according to Max Jantasuwan, managing director of Events Travel Asia.

“We want to see business and the political situation return to normalcy,” he said. “(Lifting the state of emergency) will help a lot with event clients that are still deciding whether they should risk coming to Thailand or not…especially (for) shorthaul MICE groups from Asia who work on very short lead times.”

In an official statement, Thawatchai Arunyik, governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand, said: “(The lifting of the state of emergency) is a sign that things are fast returning to normal in Bangkok and visitors can look forward to travelling round the Thai capital with ease, as well as to the provinces for next month’s Songkran festival.”

The caretaker Cabinet yesterday resolved not to renew the 60-day emergency decree which was deployed on January 22 to tackle increasingly violent anti-government rallies, which have now disbanded.

SOFITEL So Singapore will flaunt its design cred when it opens in May, almost one year after it was originally scheduled to take off.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily about the unique aspects of the 134-key hotel, general manager Tony Chisholm said it will feature a small lounge adjacent to the hotel lobby, reminiscent of Parisian bookstores with a book selection by acclaimed fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld who designed the hotel’s emblem and had recently completed work on hotel staff uniforms.

Other highlights include a gold-tiled pool and the Xperience gastrobar which will feature a rotation of Michelin-starred chefs every two months.

The hotel’s only event space will be The Box, a 100m² flexible venue that is good for small gatherings of only 30 people. Chisholm explained that the plan is to direct the bulk of MICE business to an upcoming Accor property on Sentosa Island. News of Accor planting a property on the resort island was announced at ITB Berlin this year. While no further details were shared, Chisholm said the Sentosa hotel will offer ample MICE facilities.

Asked if the Sofitel So brand was Accor’s answer to Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ chic, upscale W, Chisholm said: “The idea wasn’t to go out and take on W as the brands have different design inspirations and Sofitel So is meant to mirror what’s happening in the city.

“Everything that’s created for So is totally different from one hotel to the next, and I can’t take what I’ve done with Sofitel So Singapore to Auckland – it would be totally different!”

He pointed out that Sofitel So is the only Accor brand to boast its own scent, and the bespoke scent at the Singapore property is meant to reflect the city-state’s history on the spice route as a trading post.

Intra-Asia travellers from source markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea are expected to provide a strong customer base for the hotel, while Chisholm revealed that the hotel had signed a contract with key German operators that already work with Accor in South-east Asia. He had also seen interest from the Australian market.

Said Chisholm: “Singapore as a market is already strong with 86 per cent (occupancy on average). With our location (on Robinson Road), we are confident of opening with strong occupancies.”

PRINCESS Cruises is adding a host of new features to the 2,670-passenger Diamond Princess in a US$30 million refurbishment ahead of the cruise line’s second Japanese cruise season.

In order to ramp up the cruise ship’s appeal to Japanese passengers, the ship is building an 818m² Japanese bath with both indoor and outdoor bathing areas.

Farriek Tawfik, South-east Asia director, Princess Cruises, said: “Because bathing is an important part of Japanese culture, we want to offer passengers an authentic experience onboard, complete with unparalleled ocean views.

“This is just one of the several additions we’re making to the ship to give passengers an appealing Japanese experience.”

Other additions include a sushi restaurant, enhanced shopping areas, a revitalised Horizon Court, additional staterooms and new interior furnishings and finishes. This will be topped up by fresh hull paint and exterior refurbishment with both contemporary and Asian-style touches.

Once Diamond Princess completes its drydock in Singapore, it will sail to and homeport in Yokohama for a season of Japan-based cruises beginning April 17. Destinations visited in these sailings include Taiwan, South Korea, Hokkaido, Russia and 15 Japanese ports.

The ship will also sail on a special 10-day voyage during Japan’s popular Golden Week holidays and call on Nagasaki, home to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries where Diamond Princess was built, to mark the ship’s 10^th anniversary.

PARIS Convention & Visitors Bureau has stepped up its marketing efforts in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand in order to tap the potential of these  growing South-east Asian source markets.

Speaking at a sales mission to Kuala Lumpur yesterday, leisure marketing manager Patricia Barthelemy, described the three markets as ‘new’ for the French capital.

She said the purpose of the sales mission was “to learn the habits of people from these countries and what they sought when they visited Paris. This takes time. We want to adapt and respond to expectations (of visitors from these three markets).”

The bureau brought 13 exhibitors to Kuala Lumpur for a buyer-meet-seller workshop which was attended by 44 buyers from Malaysia, and will continue on to Jakarta and Bangkok this week for promotions.

This is the second consecutive year Paris Convention & Visitors Bureau is conducting sales missions to the three South-east Asian countries. On the other hand, Barthelemy noted that Singapore is a mature market that the bureau has been working on for 20 years.

Thierry Vannier, head of international sales promotion at Galeries Lafayette, Europe’s largest department store in the heart of Paris, also reiterated South-east Asia’s importance to Galeries Lafayette, saying visitor numbers from the three markets are growing.

He was participating in this sales mission as he wanted travel consultants to be aware of the department store’s offerings such as a dedicated counters for tax refund, and counters and staff specifically to welcome Malaysians, Indonesians and Thais.

Galeries Lafayette early this year introduced a new website in Thai and Malay and will roll out a mobile application in May to help visitors navigate the store, added Vannier.