HILTON Worldwide has inked an agreement with Duta Anggada Realty to launch its Hilton Garden Inn brand in Bali, Indonesia.

The three-storey Hilton Garden Inn Bali – Ngurah Rai Airport with 292 rooms and well-equipped facilities is scheduled to open this year.

The property is 500m from the new Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport on Jalan Airport Ngurah Rai and 2.5 km away from Kuta, Bali’s popular tourist spot. Lombok island is only a 30-minute flight away.

It will offer an all-day dining restaurant, a bar, a total of six small- to medium-sized meeting rooms as well as a fitness centre, an outdoor pool and car park facilities. Guests will also enjoy complimentary wired and Wi-Fi internet access, 24-hour business centre services and a 24-hour convenience mart.

THAI Lion Air is launching services from Hat Yai to new destinations in Thailand and overseas using an ATR 72-600, the first ATR to join the airline’s fleet and the first -600 model ATR to descend in the kingdom.

The -600 is ATR’s newest model of aircraft, boasting a new avionics system as well as an improved passenger cabin with lighter, more ergonomic seats and benefiting passengers with carry-on luggage with restyled, larger overhead bins.

“Having the ATR allows us to operate to smaller cities and towns in Thailand and develop a more comprehensive domestic network. In some instances we will be pioneering new routes,” says Andi Burhan, executive managing director of Thai Lion Air.
The airline’s first ATR will be stationed in Hat Yai to provide a five-times-weekly service (except Tuesdays and Saturdays) to Hua Hin and a three-times weekly-service (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) to Surat Thani, both starting March 21.

A twice-weekly service (Fridays and Sundays) from Hat Yai to Medan, Indonesia starts April 6 while a four-times-weekly service (Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) from Hat Yai to Subang Kuala Lumpur starts March 21.

Thai Lion is the first to offer scheduled non-stop services from Hat Yai to Hua Hin and Surat Thani.

“We chose Hat Yai to be our second hub, because it is a gateway into southern Thailand and we know that many people want to travel to southern Thailand for business and leisure. There are a lot of popular holiday destinations in southern Thailand,” explained Burhan.

“We will also be encouraging Thais to explore neighbouring countries, namely Indonesia and Malaysia.”

Tickets for the new services have gone on sale since March 1. Promotional one-way fare from Hat Yai to Hua Hin is 1,000 baht (US$31); to Surat Thani, 700 baht; to Subang, 1,000 baht; and to Medan, 1,000 baht.

MAHARASHTRA Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) launched its maiden seaplane service last week with private air charter company MEHAIR.

Apart from connecting its inland water bodies, the service will connect Mumbai with state tourist destinations adjacent to water bodies, deploying a Cessna 206 Amphibian for four passengers. A Cessna 208 Amphibian aircraft for nine will be inducted by April.

In the first phase, the service will be rolled out to destinations like Ambay Valley, Lonavla and Lavasa while in the second phase, MEHAIR will connect Mumbai with the Konkan coast.

The first commercial flight will be flagged off to Ambay Valley, the first approved seaplane waterdrome in the mainland of India. Seats can be booked at www.mehair.in with effect from March 10.

Through the service, MTDC expects to promote the backwaters of Konkan region as a weekend getaway.

“Maharashtra is a diverse landscape ideally suited to be connected by a seaplane service. Presently one has to spend five to six hours to reach backwater areas but with the service, one can reach these places in about 40 minutes,” said Jagdish Patil, managing director, MTDC.

Vivek Kumar, CEO of Ambay Valley City and Hotel Sahara Star, said: “Seaplane services will add to the appeal of Ambay Valley and offer a quick and exciting mode of transport for tourists from Mumbai.”

Meanwhile, MTDC is coming up with an ambitious Sea World India project in Sahyadri. The ocean-based theme park is expected to be Asia’s largest and will be developed as a public-private partnership. The NTO is acquiring 485 hectares of land for the project.

CAMBODIA’S capital will welcome another Shinta Mani hotel, a third in the country, in 2017.

Sokoun Chanpreda, chairman of HMDAsia who manages Shinta Mani hotels, has confirmed the addition of Shinta Mani Phnom Penh to the company’s current two properties in Siem Reap.

The property to be located close to Wat Phnom and the Post Office on Sisowath Quay Boulevard will target the corporate sector and support the Shinta Mani Foundation and Development Center, as do its existing properties.

It will offer 150 rooms, a rooftop restaurant and bar, small conference room, gym and spa. The ground floor will house five to seven F&B outlets.

LEYTE is the latest destination added to the Department of Tourism’s (DoT) cruise programme that aims to bring cruising business to areas affected by the Bohol earthquake or super typhoon Haiyan last year.

DoT begun its tourism recovery cruise programme in the immediate aftermath of the disasters and in January started talks with DMCs and cruise sales experts on the tourism and cruise options available in Leyte, one of the worst-hit destinations.

Leyte joins other affected spots including Cebu, Tagbilaran in Bohol and Coron in Palawan, confirmed DoT director Corazon Jorda-Apo, who works with the cruise niche market development programme.

Sharp Travel Services’ president, Lou Banzon, who brought in a Hapag-Lloyd cruise to Leyte last year and in January this year and will see another one this month, said: “Expedition cruises of up to 600 or 650 are more apt for this destination at this point of time (due to existing damage to Leyte’s port).”

Cruises to Leyte may be preferable to land tour arrangements from Leyte airport in Tacloban City – which is currently running at limited capacity – that add two to three hours of travel to the nearest viable attractions, said Banzon. She has continued to send proposals for other cruise ships to visit Leyte.

A typical Leyte cruise itinerary includes a shore stop in the virgin beaches in the Kalanggaman Island cluster allowing passengers to picnic, swim and snorkel.

WITH increasing hotel inventory on its website and rising awareness among the travelling public, bookpanorama.com is aiming for triple-digit growth in business this year.

Hans Tjandra, general manager, bookpanorama.com, said: “We are confident that the target is achievable because of the huge number of domestic travellers, despite (the devaluation of the rupiah).”

Hans said that since the launch of bookpanorama.com in February 2013 (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 20, 2013), the site’s property inventory has almost doubled.

“There are currently more than 400,000 hotels worldwide, among which 5,100 properties are in Indonesia, comprising of hotels, villas, apartments and hostels,” he said.

Hans shared that the biggest challenge faced after the launch of bookpanorama.com was educating the market on e-commerce and the site’s book-now-pay-later principle.

“The Indonesian market was not convinced that they could pay the hotel after staying and not when they made the booking (like they normally do),” he said.

Appointing popular Indonesian artist Dewi Sandra as its brand ambassador has shown some results, with 35 per cent of customers making bookings on the campaign site.

Bookpanorama.com is an e-commerce site for online hotel bookings of Panorama Dotcom Indonesia, part of Panorama Group.

THE little-known province of Xaysomboun will be thrown into the spotlight when Laos launches Visit Xaysomboun Year in 2015, though poor tourism infrastructure threatens to hobble the campaign.

Situated near capital Vientiane, the province boasts many unexploited tourism sites and stunning natural scenery, including the cave of King Anouvong and Phou Bia, Laos’ highest mountain peak.

Xaysomboun Provincial Department of Information, Culture and Tourism director, Vonepadith Dalanouvong, commented: “Xaysomboun has a population of more than 81,000 people and many ethnic groups of which visitors can explore their unique traditions and customs.”

“We will build roads to connect the province with all other provinces. We also plan to build an airport to facilitate visitors and investors who are interested in coming to the province,” Sombath Yialiher, governor of Xaysomboun province, who last week signed off on the construction of three new roads from Anouvong town in the hopes of building tourist numbers by easing access.

However, Laurent Granier, general manager of Laos Mood Travel, was less optimistic, saying: “Well, it is not going to change the future of travel to Laos! The current road between Pakxan and Phonsavan is in poor state despite being newly built, and during the wet season, it is virtually impossible to venture there.”