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.

KOREAN Air will increase its Seoul (Incheon)-New York flights from once to twice daily come May, padding up services that the airline says offer the quickest access between South-east Asia and the US.

The airline deploys an Airbus A380 on the routes to New York and Los Angeles.

John Jackson, vice president of sales & marketing for the Americas, Korean Air, said: “We have the easiest and fastest connections to South-east Asia through the world-renowned Incheon International Airport. Take for example, Houston, our newest market. Our flights to Singapore will be three hours shorter than our closest competitor. And our service to Vietnam will be anywhere from four to 15 hours quicker.”

Korean Air had earlier this year announced that a new four-times weekly Seoul (Incheon)-Houston service will commence in May (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 6, 2014), but has had to increase frequencies to daily following strong response.

MARRIOTT International has successfully introduced the Marriott brand in Osaka city with the launch of Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel in partnership with Miyako Hotels & Resorts.

Located in front of Osaka Abenobashi station, the hotel is 30 minutes from Kansai International Airport and offers easy access to cities such as Nagoya, Kobe and Kyoto.

Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel occupies the 38^th to 55^th floors of the new 300m Abeno Harukas building and features 360 rooms, including six suites and 33 premium rooms.

Hotel facilities include an executive lounge with light refreshments and snacks for executive floor guests, the Greatroom lobby, lobby lounge, bar, kitchen buffet restaurant Cooka for Japanese and international cuisines, and ZK restaurant on the 57^th floor serving Japanese and Western fare.

In terms of meeting facilities, the hotel is entirely Wi-Fi enabled and has one 230m² meeting room and six smaller ones at 32m² each.

Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel is the first Marriott brand hotel in Osaka and the fourth in Japan.

PHILIPPINES-BASED LCC AirAsia Zest will double the number of flights between Manila and Incheon in South Korea as passenger traffic on the route heats up, as well as launch a Kalibo-Taipei service next month.

Beginning May 1, AirAsia Zest will increase flights on said route from once to twice a day. The new frequency departs Manila at 14.55 and arrives in Incheon at 19.55 while Manila-bound services leave Incheon at 20.55 to touch down at 00.10 the next day.

Joy Caneba, executive vice president and COO of AirAsia Zest, said the services would “open up new affordable access between countries especially this summer when more and more Koreans are looking forward to bask in the Philippine sun” and Filipinos travel to South Korea.

To mark the occasion, the LCC is selling promotional seats with base fares starting at 599 pesos (US$13.40), available for booking online between March 19 and 30. Tickets are valid for travel from May 1 to June 30.

AirAsia Zest is also due to launch new daily direct flights linking Kalibo (Boracay) and Taipei from April 15. Promotional fares for this route are also available on the AirAsia website.