HONG Kong’s Panda Hotel will roll out two new accommodation categories from mid-November to meet the needs of a growing number of women travelling for work or leisure.

Reserved exclusively for female guests, the Ladies’ Rooms feature entry only by advanced access cards and electronic door locks to ensure complete safety. Clad in soft, elegant tones, these special rooms also boast such female-oriented amenities as curling tongs, eye masks and foot-bath buckets with complimentary bath salts.

The hotel will also unveil another new room category, Panda Plus, which has been designed for modern business and leisure travellers seeking deluxe accommodation.

Both new room categories are equipped with free Wi-Fi, iPhone and iPad docking stereo units, a wide selection of cable and satellite television channels, message alerts and the like.

According to Judy Tsang, general manager of the Panda Hotel, the launch of the new Ladies’ Rooms and Panda Plus marks an important milestone in the property’s overall refurbishment project, which has been undertaken in phases over the past five to six years.

VISA requirements are a crucial factor in choice of vacation destination for 75 per cent of Asian travellers, while 81 per cent back the idea of an EU-style single visa system for South-east Asia.

Research by Skyscanner that aggregated responses from some 7,000 respondents from Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, India and China found that travel destination choices are “often dictated by visa requirements”, with 90 per cent of the Chinese respondents reflecting this as true.

Although visas play an important role in shaping Asian travel, many of the respondents said they find visa application processes complex. Ten per cent said they have made errors with applications and a further nine per cent reported having a visa application rejected.

Most respondents in Skyscanner’s research also threw their weight behind the idea of a multi-country visa for the countries of South-east Asia (81 per cent).

A visa reciprocity system between countries found supporters in 87 per cent of total participants.

Thailand and Cambodia launched a joint visa (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 3, 2013) end last year, while Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand had also expressed the possibility of a single tourist visa in the past (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 20, 2012).

Meanwhile Japan waived visa requirements for Malaysian and Thai nationals while loosening terms for citizens of the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 14, 2013).

The UK has declared its intentions to streamline visa processes for Chinese citizens (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 16, 2013).

MALAYSIA is pushing Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014 campaign in Turkey for more tourists, with the reopening of a Tourism Malaysia office in Istanbul and trade event in the evening today.

Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, minister for tourism and culture, was at Harmanci Giz Plaza this morning to officiate the launch of the tourism office, which will oversee the Turkish, Armenian, Romanian, Azerbaijani, and Bulgarian tourist source markets to Malaysia. The office was last operational in 2009.

In a press release issued by Tourism Malaysia, Mohamed Nazri said: “This year, Tourism Malaysia estimates that a total of 10,300 Turkish tourists will be visiting Malaysia, an increase from last year’s figure of 9,909. The figure is expected to increase to 11,000 tourists next year, during the VMY2014 campaign.”

Currently, there are no visa requirements between Turkey and Malaysia.

Air accessibility has improved with 7,238 weekly flights serving the Istanbul–Kuala Lumpur route presently through direct and indirect flights on Turkish Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, KLM, Air France and Qatar Airways.

TOURISM New Zealand has opened its first representative office in Jakarta to net more of the rapidly growing Indonesian outbound market.

Led by Christian Sidharta, country manager Indonesia for Tourism New Zealand, the office will be fully running by early November.

The decision to open the office was based on a series of market analyses including the examination of consumer trends, market size and behaviour.

Tim Burgess, general manager Australia and Indonesia of Tourism New Zealand, said: “Our research confirmed the sizable potential that Indonesia presents. Indonesians predominantly travel as families, and have an older age group skew. New Zealand’s scenic landscapes and natural attractions are key interests, as are our food and craft markets, vineyards and unique culture.”

Growth in demand for outbound travel from Indonesia rose 9.7 per cent last year, fuelled by economic growth and the emergence of LCCs. “Visitation to New Zealand is growing at a similar rate, with 12,500 visitors in the year ending May 2013,” Burgess commented.

Tourism New Zealand recently launched its website newzealand.com in Bahasa Indonesia to tap Indonesians’ frequent use of mobile devices and social media.

Burgess also said: “As with any market, aviation links are critical to the success of a sustainable visitor flow. To date, we have engaged with Indonesia from our Singapore office, and New Zealand has been promoted through indirect services with the likes of Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.

“The obvious goal is to secure direct air links to Jakarta, and both Auckland International Airport and Tourism New Zealand have recently been in positive discussions with Garuda Airlines, but no date has been committed to at this stage.”

THE Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DoT) has postponed the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) 5th World Ecotourism Conference, originally scheduled to take place in Cebu and Bohol between November 13 and 15, to 1Q2014.

News of the postponement followed just days after tourism secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr said Cebu would “push through” with it (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 21,2013).

Said tourism undersecretary Daniel G Corpuz in a press statement: “In view of the recent events, the Philippine DoT and (UNWTO affiliate) DiscoverMice are postponing the 5th World Ecotourism Conference (to) the first quarter of 2014 in Cebu and Bohol. All of those who have registered online are advised to reconfirm their interest to attend once the online registration is reactivated with the new schedule.

“We look forward to everyone’s kind cooperation and support as we work for the swift recovery of Cebu and Bohol tourism infrastructure.”

Lyle Lewis, general manager of Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu (where the event was to take place) and vice president – Philippines and Japan, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, said: “Our building has been certified as structurally sound and sustained minor cosmetic damage (in the earthquake). Our hotel is fully operational and we will always put the safety and wellbeing of our guests and employees as our top priority.

“The decision to postpone the conference is made by the organiser and we respect the organiser’s decision.”

PAN Pacific Hotels Group has entered a joint venture agreement with Myanmar’s Shwe Taung Group to develop the country’s first Pan Pacific hotel.

Subject to regulatory approvals from the Myanmar government, Pan Pacific Yangon will open in 2016 as part of a mixed-use development comprising serviced apartments, retail and office spaces.

The hotel will be situated along Shwedagon Pagoda Road and Bogyoke Aung San Road in central Yangon, opposite Bogyoke Augn San Market.

Offering 348 rooms, the new property will also include facilities such as meeting rooms, a ballroom, swimming pool, spa, gym, all-day dining restaurant and specialty restaurant.

Pan Pacific Yangon will be the Group’s second property in Yangon after Parkroyal Yangon, which it owns and has operated for the last 12 years. Parkroyal Yangon is slated to undergo extensive renovations of its public spaces, restaurants and ballrooms.

Gwee Lian Kheng, group chief executive, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, said: “Pan Pacific Yangon underscores the Group’s steadfast confidence in and commitment to Myanmar as an important growth market. By responding to the increasing demand for quality hotel rooms and service through our distinctive Pan Pacific and Parkroyal brands of hospitality, we look forward to contributing further to Myanmar’s flourishing tourism industry.”

The Group is currently exploring opportunities in Naypyidaw, and this year also signed management agreements for Parkroyal resorts in Bogor and Bali. To open in 2015 and 2016 respectively, the new resorts will mark Parkroyal’s debut in Indonesia.

BEST Western International has launched the new Best Western Premier Havana Nha Trang hotel on the coast of Vietnam, months after introducing a mid-range property in the same destination.

Located on Tran Phu Street, the hotel offers 200 upscale rooms and suites with sweeping views of Nha Trang Bay. Each room is equipped with amenities such as LCD TVs with satellite channels, free Wi-Fi and rain showers.

Guests can also enjoy Vietnamese and international cuisines at the hotel’s restaurant or the outdoor infinity pool overlooking the sea.

For corporate guests, there is 1,500m² of conference and banqueting space for events.

Best Western earlier this year launched the Best Western Sea & Sun Nha Trang (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 22, 2013).

ULTRA-luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises has served up 15 short voyage itineraries for 2014 that will allow partners to book out the ship.

Running from May to December 2014, these itineraries will last three to four nights and are available across different ships including the 147-suite Silver Cloud, 194-suite Silver Whisper and 270-suite Silver Spirit.

On offer are four-day roundtrip sailings from Rome, three-day Venice voyages and four-day journeys from Athens, among others.