HAVING reopened in 2011 after a major revamp, heritage hotel Royal Ambarrukmo Yogyakarta is now setting its sights farther, launching a Japanese language website, an Eat, Pray, Love in Jogjakarta promotional video and a new ballroom.

The hotel’s general manager, Sudarsana, said the launch of the Japanese version of www.royalambarrukmo.com is a means to reach out to the market, adding that efforts to generate business from overseas has materialised this year, with groups from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the US.

“For next year, we have bookings from at least 40 groups,” he revealed.

The promotional video highlights the hotel’s services based on Jogjakarta’s royal tradition, while the new Kasultanan Ballroom for up to 2,000 guests for a standing reception is the biggest hotel ballroom in the city.

The hotel’s director for sales and marketing, Bagus Dewa, said: “MICE is an important market for the hotel, contributing 30 per cent of the hotel’s business. The ballroom was built not only to meet the demand for this market, but also that of the city.

“There is actually a high demand for big meeting, convention and social function (venues) here in Jogjakarta. Since the new ballroom started operation in September, it has been utilised for around 20 days per month and we have four medical and pharmaceutical company conventions for next year in the book.”

On the leisure front, the hotel’s travel agency and FIT markets contribute to 18 and 20 per cent of the business respectively, while three per cent are inbound business.

The hotel’s other facilities include The Kraton Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 1,000 pax, and 17 meeting rooms for 30-150 pax in theatre style.

ASCOTT is scheduled to launch 57 properties in Asia, Europe and the Gulf region over the next few years, with an aim to reach 40,000 apartment units worldwide by 2015.

The company will open new properties in the key gateway cities of China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

This year, Ascott has added 22 properties with more than 3,700 apartment units to its portfolio, entering into cities such as Hefei, Nanjing and Wuxi in China, Gurgaon in India, Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and Sri Racha in Thailand.

Ascott has recently crossed the 10,000-apartment-unit milestone in China to become the country’s largest international serviced residence owner-operator with 56 properties across 20 cities. The company is targeting 12,000 apartment units in China by 2015.

Besides ongoing refurbishment for its properties in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Ascott has begun offering free Internet access this year. It has also introduced new web and mobile booking features to facilitate bookings for its properties, enabling customers to perform a multi-city, multi-property or multi-apartment booking within a single reservation process.

THE European Quartet – comprising Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia – has come together to promote the four countries as one tourist destination in India with a series of road shows conducted in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi earlier this month.

The “European Quartet – One Melody” joint marketing strategy stems from the cultural and historical similarities as well as the good road, rail and air connectivity between these four countries, revealed Emilia Kubik, project leader – department of marketing planning, Poland Tourism Organisation in a press statement.

“Czech Republic is very famous worldwide for its culinary offerings, especially for its beer. There has also been a significant rise in MICE tourism in Prague in the past few years,” said Klára Vysloužilová, marketing and communications manager for international markets, Czech Tourism Board. “Hence, our primary concentration will be on these segments.”

Hungary will promote its MICE, educational and leisure offerings through fam trips and study tours for the Indian travel trade, according to Krisztina Bacsa, international market development manager, Hungarian National Tourist Office. She added: “We will also open a consulate to facilitate visa issuance in Mumbai next year.”

Tatjana Radovic, congress manager, Ljubljana Convention Bureau, said: “India is a high potential country for outbound congresses. We can combine post tours to neighbouring countries including Croatia and Austria to make the destination offering more attractive.”

Welcoming the Europe Quartet’s interest to woo Indian travellers, Anil Guptaa, director of Mumbai-based Anjali Travel & Tours, said: “Eastern Europe has elicited good interest, especially to Prague and Budapest in the last two to three years. The leisure numbers have doubled each year and we expect exponential growth from 2014 onwards. The multi-country itineraries are proving attractive.”

FROM December 26, 2013, Tigerair will launch three flights every fortnight from Singapore to Ningbo in China’s Zhejiang province, the only airline to offer direct services between the two cities.

Ningbo will become the Singapore-based carrier’s eighth Greater China destination, in addition to Guangzhou, Haikou, Hong Kong, Lijiang, Macau, Shenzhen and Taipei.

According to the Tigerair press release, free bus shuttle services will be available from December 27, 2013 between Ningbo Lishe International Airport and the East Railway Station, connecting travellers to bullet train services to and from Beijing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wenzhou and Xiamen.

Tigerair chief commercial officer, Alexander Knigge, commented: “Ningbo’s reliable and affordable connectivity offered by rail or car to nearby cities opens up new possibilities for planning a clever holiday itinerary spanning a few key Chinese cities.”

Tigerair has rolled out a slew of new destinations in recent months. Besides starting services to Lijiang, Chiang Mai, Langkawi and Lombok in 4Q2013 (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 11, 2013), the LCC will commence four weekly flights from Singapore to Malé on January 24, 2014.

THE largest ship of Star Cruises’ Asian fleet, SuperStar Virgo, is set to undergo a US$19.7 million refurbishment from January 5 to 29, 2014 to upgrade more than 270 balcony cabins and triple the total retail floor area to 562m².

Following the three-week dry-dock renovation, the 75,338-tonne, 13-deck ship will welcome the debut of international brands such as Shiseido SK II, Biotherm, Lancome and Shu Uemura, as well as the expansion and addition of duty-free operator China Duty Free, jewellery and watch specialist Canopus, luxury leather goods retailer Milan Station and souvenir shop Ports O’ Call.

“This US$19.7 million refurbishment of SuperStar Virgo is a reflection of our continuous drive to grow in Asia,” said William Ng, COO of Star Cruises.

Currently homeported in Singapore, SuperStar Virgo will embark on her six-month Hong Kong homeport deployment from April 2 to October 28, 2014, calling at destinations such as Keelung (Taipei), Taichung and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Sanya in Hainan and Halong Bay in Vietnam.

DUSIT Fudu Hotels and Resorts has entered into an agreement with Yunnan Jingdian Real Estate Group to manage a 72-villa hot spring resort at Dianchi Lake, located a 25-minute drive from Yunnan’s provincial capital of Kunming.

Scheduled to open in 2016, Dusit Devarana Dianchi Lake, Kunming will centre on the thermal spring experience with private hot spring pools in each villa.

Among the resort’s wellness amenities are a nano hydro revitalising pool, aromatic pools, therapeutic pools, jade and volcanic stone pools, splash pools, a foot reflexology pool and hot stone relaxation room, in addition to Thai-inspired massage treatments at the Devarana Spa.

Other facilities include a signature Thai restaurant, an all-day dining restaurant, a lobby lounge, a library reading room and three function rooms.

Lim Boon Kwee, president of Dusit Fudu Hotels & Resorts, said: “As a popular tourism destination for travellers, Yunnan Province is experiencing a growing demand for quality, upscale accommodation options…We are confident that Dusit Devarana Dianchi Lake, Kunming will be a great choice for local and international travellers on business or leisure.”

Since the formation of Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 24, 2013) as Dusit International’s Chinese arm, the group has been pressing ahead with its expansion in the country. Following Hainan and Kunming, Dusit Devarana properties in Beijing, Shenyang and Conghua are also expected in the pipeline.

HERTZ has produced its first Global Car Rental Guide for Travel Agents in Asia, with the aim to boost knowledge and encourage car rental bookings by frontline travel consultants.

Catering to all travel consultants in 24 countries, the guide is available in hard and soft copy.

It provides step-by-step instructions for booking Hertz on the GDS platform, fleet guides, location, and other information not available on the GDS. Travel consultants with no GDS access will be able to use Hertzagent.com as an alternative platform.

Hertz vice president Asia, Soon-Hwa Wong, said: “We are seeing increasing demand for both corporate and leisure car rentals. With sound product knowledge and familiarity with booking processes, travel consultants can confidently offer car rental options when taking air ticket reservations.

“In the process, the travel (consultants) will earn commission and at the same time offer clients a higher level of service.”

The guide can be downloaded from www.hertz.com/travelagentguide.

HRG group commercial director, Stewart Harvey, said: “All clients demand a level of control to ensure their corporate duty of care responsibilities are met. Travel managers require at the the touch of the button the ability to see where their travellers are and have the risk management procedures in place to help them when they are in need.”

Meanwhile, the increased number of incidents of compromised corporate data and the risks it brings to personal privacy have sharpened companies’ focus on the security of their travel-related data, said Harvey.

“In order to mitigate risks associated with data protection and privacy, our advice to clients is to put in place a global data consolidation strategy. By consolidating their travel related data with a TMC, quality control assurances will be put in place to protect corporate and traveller information. The added reporting capabilities will also deliver increased compliance and reduced data leakage.”

HRG also expects to see additional demand for more advanced mobile technology next year, which poses further data security challenges.

Harvey explained: “Business travellers are often first adopters of new technology. They understand there is more than just reading their itinerary, so demand for additional functionality to improve the business travel experience will continue to grow in 2014.

“At the same time, corporates need to understand the risks to data associated with travellers going it alone. By implementing security standards and measures surroounding the use of unprotected sites, the flow of data and access to confidential material, corporates can facilitate a safe operating environment for travellers to work in, utilising the technology that will suit them most.”

HRG believes that cosolidating the travel programme will also help companies in cost savings. “Travel managers can leverage on the additional card and expense management data brought into the travel programme.”

THE Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company yesterday introduced a children’s programme at its worldwide properties, in partnership with Ocean Futures Society.

Ritz Kids aims to delight The Ritz-Carlton’s youngest guests with an engaging and immersive experience that builds upon the adventures of travel at 84 of the company’s hotels.

“We are very excited to continue our highly successful relationship with a unique individual whose entire life has been spent dedicated to preservation of the environment, with particular attention to marine conservation and education,” said Herve Humler, president and COO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

The new global brand standard for children’s programming includes robust activities for resorts, in addition to multiple touch points for children at city and urban properties.

The refined luxury experience for young guests aged four to 12 provides a differentiated programme which engages children to explore the world around them.

The content of Ritz Kids is based on the four pillars of water, land, environmental responsibility and culture. Examples of activities include searching for indigenous birds in the wild, exploring gardens as part of food fun, playing games to learn about various types of fish, and learning about local cultures, myths and legends.