A NEW app that lets passengers enjoy movies, order food and more via their Windows 8 devices was showcased at the Singapore Airshow earlier today.

Developed by Microsoft and Lufthansa Systems, BoardConnect can be customised for new airline customers for a differentiated brand product.

“We are making BoardConnect available on Windows 8 to give passengers even more choices to use the platform,” said Norbert Müller, senior vice president of BoardConnect at Lufthansa Systems.

“This makes it easy for airlines to give their passengers a superior in-flight entertainment experience that allows them to watch a wide range of movies, look at flight information and shop, all from their seat.”

Coming up in the near future is another jointly developed app for Windows 8. The app, mCabin, will give cabin crew all relevant flight details at a glance, including an interactive duty calendar, crew positioning, and passenger information.

PAN Pacific Hotels Group has announced the signing of four management contracts to add three Parkroyal and one Pan Pacific hotels to its Asia-Pacific portfolio, namely in Australia, China and Myanmar.

Scheduled to launch this April in Myanmar’s capital, the 180-room Parkroyal Nay Pyi Taw will feature an all-day dining restaurant, a spa, a gym, a swimming pool and a range of meeting facilities. There is already a Parkroyal in Yangon.

The 281-room Parkroyal Melbourne – the fourth Parkroyal hotel in Australia and second in Melbourne – will open in 2016 in the Digital Harbour Precinct of Melbourne Docklands and occupy the first 18 storeys of The Altus, a 37-storey hotel and apartment complex.

The 360-room Parkroyal Chengdu – the Group’s first Parkroyal hotel in China – is scheduled to open in 2017 along the iconic Sha River and opposite the University of Electronic Science and Technology. Part of a mixed-use development comprising high-end residential units, a hotel, office and retail spaces, the property will feature an all-day dining restaurant, a speciality restaurant, a poolside bar and restaurant, a lobby bar and lounge, a ballroom and meeting spaces.

Also in China, the 300-room Pan Pacific Zhuhai will open in 2017 next to the Gongbei Business Circle and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge currently under construction. It will feature conference facilities, a Chinese restaurant, an all-day dining restaurant, an executive lounge, a lobby bar and lounge, a swimming pool and a gym.

With these additions, the Group now owns and/or manages 38 properties with close to 12,000 rooms in Asia, Oceania and North America, including those under development.

ACCESSIBILITY to Indonesia’s Lake Toba is expected to be enhanced with an inked MoU between Angkasa Pura II airport authority and the North Tapanuli (North Sumatra) regency government for the development of Silangit Airport near the famed attraction.

Angasa Pura II president director, Tri Sunoko, said in a press statement the plan is to initially expand the runway from 2,250m to 2,400m to enable the airport to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft and boost terminal capacity from 10,000 passengers currently to one million per year.

Tri estimated the development would cost some Rp200 billion (US$16.7 million).

Accessibility has been a major issue for the development of Lake Toba as a tourist destination as it currently takes four to five hours to drive from Medan to Parapat followed by a boat ride to Samosir.

Earlier on, DetikNews reported that Indonesia minister of state enterprises, Dahlan Iskan, said the government would take two steps in supporting tourism for Lake Toba: to develop a toll road between Medan and Lake Toba, and develop Silangit Airport.

Dahlan was quoted as saying: “The development of the toll road may take around 10 years, but elevating the status of Silangit to become an airport (which can cater to direct international flights) only needs another runway that is 150m longer, 10m wider and 20cm thicker.

“When ready, flights from Singapore, Penang and Kuala Lumpur can fly direct to (Silangit) instead of Medan.”

THE Chinese embassy in the Maldives has launched a visa service last month, enabling Maldivian travellers to obtain Chinese visas directly from the capital of Male.

All visas to China were previously issued from the Chinese embassy in Colombo, forcing all local and foreign passport holders alike in the Maldives to fly to Sri Lanka for applications.

The development is a boost to the Maldivian travel trade who regularly makes business visits to China, currently the Maldives’ largest inbound market.

Chinese visitors to the Maldives numbered 230,000 in 2012 and 284,951 between January and October 2013, contributing over 30 per cent of arrivals to the country.

METASEARCH site Wego has launched the Wego Affiliate Network (WAN.travel), a new platform and set of tools that will allow travel and tourism website publishers to integrate flight and hotel searches into their own sites.

WAN.travel provides affiliates with embeddable search boxes that can be customised through simple point-and-click interfaces, as well as a white-labelled version of Wego’s metasearch product.

Travel publishers seeking more tailored products can use the Wego Flights and Hotels APIs.

Affiliates will also enjoy the support of a dedicated account manager to guide them throughout the integration and customisation process with ongoing optimisation assistance and recommendations.

Allister Barretto, director of affiliate marketing, said: “For many years Wego’s travel metasearch technology has been used by major airports, national tourism boards and large travel portals who have customised and rebranded the Wego experience, and offered it as a feature for their own users.

“Affiliates who have been beta-testing the new WAN.travel platform are seeing significantly higher returns compared to common text ads and static display advertising.

“The gains have been even more significant for sites that attract a higher proportion of users who are in ‘shopping mode’.”

The platform is available at WAN.travel.

SILVERSEA Cruises will launch two 11-day cruises from Singapore to Hong Kong aboard Silver Shadow in 1H2014, calling on popular South-east Asian destinations in Vietnam and Thailand along the way.

Sailing from Singapore on March 19 and April 8, Silver Shadow will first call at Koh Samui before docking overnight in Bangkok, while in Vietnam ports of call include Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Chan May – gateway to the Central Coast cities of Danang and Hoi An. The 382-guest ship then rounds up the trip in Hong Kong.

All-inclusive, cruise-only fares start from US$4,750 per person, based on double occupancy.

MILLENNIUM & Copthorne (M&C) Hotels yesterday announced that it will acquire the Novotel New York Times Square for US$273.6 million, marking the company’s fourth hotel in Manhattan.

Situated in the heart of the Manhattan theatre district, the 34-storey building comprises a 480-room hotel, office and retail space, and a penthouse apartment. The property was built in 1981, and wrapped up extensive renovations in November last year.

Novotel New York Times Square will continue to be managed by the Accor Group under an existing agreement. Long-term leases for office and retail space on the first four floors of the building as well as the top-floor penthouse space will be handed over to M&C.

M&C chairman, Kwek Leng Beng, said: “Times Square is one of the world’s top tourist destinations and this beautifully refurbished property will undoubtedly increase our share of the international travel market in New York, one of our three key gateway cities.

“The property is an important strategic investment for M&C Hotels and will complement our existing midtown and downtown Manhattan hotels without adding significantly to central management costs.”

Completion of the acquisition is expected to occur during the second quarter of 2014.

Novotel New York Times Square will strengthen M&C’s existing portfolio in New York, which includes Millennium Broadway Hotel, Millenium Hilton and ONE UN New York.

INDIA’S Ministry of Culture is holding a string of festivals in South-east Asia to give potential travellers a taste of Indian culture and whet their appetites.

A delegation of 75 artistes will showcase India through food, art, dance, film, a Buddhist exhibition and yoga in Laos (February 9 to 11), Cambodia (February 14 to 19), Vietnam (March 6 to 15) and Myanmar (March 17 to 21).

Sources from the Ministry of Tourism said the festivals would focus on lesser-known destinations including Odisha, Gujarat, West Bengal, Puducherry, Kashmir and Karnataka.

Amaresh Tiwari, managing director of AT Seasons and Vacations Travel, called the move a “constructive” one as it would “enthuse” more tourists from South-east Asia to visit.

Meanwhile Harihar Patra, director-marketing of Odisha-based Toshali Resorts International, said: “With international flights being introduced from South-east Asia to Bhubaneswar (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 27, 2014), it is time that the (state’s tourism offerings) are showcased to elicit the interest of travellers from shorthaul destinations.”

Debjit Dutta, director, Impression Tourism Services, said travel agencies could bank on newfound familiarity with India to build interesting itineraries beyond the Golden Triangle and Goa. “There is so much more India has to offer, but unless you know it, why would you go there?”

HILTON Worldwide has signed an agreement with K Raheja Group’s Palm Grove Beach Hotels to manage India’s first Conrad hotel when it opens in Pune in 2015.

John TA Vanderslice, global head of luxury and lifestyle brands, Hilton Worldwide, said: “Pune is a key gateway destination and we are delighted to establish our brand’s presence in India, one of the key strategic growth markets for Hilton Worldwide, starting with this wonderful city.”

The art deco style luxury property is located in the central business district of Pune, and will offer 310 rooms, six exclusive F&B outlets, a spa, outdoor swimming pool, conferencing facilities and a 24-hour business centre.

Nilesh Bhansali, director of Devam Tours & Travels Pune, said: “Luxury brands like Conrad coming to Pune augurs well, as tourism is bound to increase with better quality hotel rooms.

“Pune’s industries are buzzing, MICE activity is on the rise and inbound footfalls are increasing. Moreover, we are connected by road, train and air to Mumbai, the nearest international gateway city.”