SINGAPORE Tourism Board (STB) is highlighting the need to build a “robust cruise ecosystem” even as rising interest in cruising has sparked off more shore excursions in the city-state.

Said STB’s assistant chief executive, Neeta Lachmandas, during STB’s annual The Business of Cruise workshop yesterday: “It is essential for Singapore to build up our ancillary services to be ready and well equipped for the expected growth in cruising.”

Annie Chang, deputy director, cruise at STB, added that each player in the ecosystem – comprising cruise lines, terminal operators, cruise suppliers, travel consultants, attractions, airlines, ground handlers, hoteliers as well as the dining and retail sectors – would have to play a part to maximise the economic benefits of cruising for Singapore.

Bob Guy, managing director of Destination Asia (Singapore & Malaysia), pointed out that growing cruise business has led to a bottleneck situation. “When cruise liners come and put 2,000 passengers at the terminals and out into Singapore, it can be a big problem logistically if not managed well.”

Agreeing, World Express’ managing director, Darren Tan, said: “Imagine what would happen if the whole group (of cruise passengers) decides to visit the Night Safari, and everyone arrives at the same time.”

“We do see that the destination is top priority, especially for the longhaul market. The destination is the product as they will explore the country when the ship calls here,” he said.

Giving an example, Noel Hawkes, vice president of resort operations at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), said the express passes at Universal Studios Singapore (USS) would come in handy for cruise groups.

“What we promise cruise passengers is flexibility as they can fully maximise their time with our tailormade programmes…from breakfast with Elmo in USS to viewing the aquatic animals in Marine Life Park, all within a few hours.”

Cruise passengers currently make up less than one per cent of the integrated resort’s visitors, but RWS hopes to grow the figure to three per cent within three years, Hawkes said.

Singapore will host Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific from October 9-10 at Marina Bay Sands.

AIR France will begin offering flights from Paris to Jakarta via Singapore for summer 2014.

Patrick Roux, senior vice president Asia-Pacific for Air France, said the route is a result of rising opportunities for more feeder service. “We will also look at local partners who offer a lot of connections,” he added.

According to Singapore broadsheet The Straits Times, the new route will be tagged onto the airline’s existing daily service between Paris and Singapore.

Matthieu Tetaud, Air France’s commercial director for several Asian markets, was quoted as saying that the airline would consider a second daily flight if response to the service is good.

On other markets the airline was interested in, Roux said: “Apart from Indonesia and Malaysia, we are also looking at developing the Philippines and are growing frequencies for Vietnam.”

Additional reporting by Prudence Lui

THE latest outbreak of violence in Rakhine state has spared the nearby coastal town of Thandwe and Myanmar’s famous attraction Ngapali Beach.

Sectarian clashes broke out from September 29 to October 4, even as Myanmar’s president Thein Sein met local residents and hoteliers in the town that week, leaving close to 500 people homeless.

Travel trade players have reported no major effects so far. Lilli Saxer, managing director of Diethelm Travel Myanmar, said: “As it’s the very start of the season, there are just a few visitors in the beach area of Ngapali.

“Our guests returning from the beach here have not reported any problems or disturbances. The beach area is quiet and airlines are operating as per their regular schedule.”

The violence raises questions about the Myanmar government’s ability to control religious hatred in the country even as it pursues tourism more aggressively as an engine of growth. Despite the restoration of peace in Thandwe, tension remains and the trade continues to take precautions.

Said Saxer: “The main restriction (for our travellers) is that, for their own safety, guests are required to stay within the hotel compounds during the evenings.”

Chris Lee, manager of Asia World Myanmar, is taking it a step further and recommending that tourists do not visit Thandwe “as the violent groups who acted against minority Muslims were operating around tourist areas, including areas close to Thandwe domestic airport”.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels & Tourism last year banned foreign tourists from visiting several attraction sites in Rakhine and Shan states due to instability caused by ethnic clashes (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 12, 2012).

AIRBUS has broken into the Boeing-dominated Japanese market after signing a purchase agreement with Japan Airlines (JAL).

The Japanese carrier placed an order for 18 Airbus A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s, totalling US$9.5 billion at list price, according to Bloomberg. JAL has also secured options for a further 25 aircraft.

JAL and Airbus aim to deploy the Airbus planes beginning 2019 by using the A350s to replace the airline’s ageing fleet.

The A350-900 has capacity for more than 300 passengers in a three-class layout, while the A350-1000 is the largest model within the A350 XWB family and seats 350 pax.

Japanese carriers JAL and All Nippon Airways, with fleets made up mostly of Boeing planes, were forced to ground Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes early this year due to battery troubles (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 17, 2013).

MEMBER states of the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) last week broke new ground by agreeing on a framework to curb the industry’s production of carbon emissions, a mere month-and-a-half before the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) is scheduled to come back into play.

The landmark agreement was reached at the close of ICAO’s 38^th Assembly, and commits ICAO to developing a global market-based measure that will help the industry achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020.

Details of the agreement are likely to be finalised over the next few years and announced at the next ICAO assembly.

Welcoming the new deal in a statement released to the press, IATA’s director general and CEO, Tony Tyler, said: “Today was a great day for aviation, for the effort against climate change and for global standards and international cooperation. Industry, civil society and governments have worked hard to reach this point and keep aviation at the forefront of industries managing their climate change impact. Now we have a strong mandate and a short three-year time frame to sort out the details. Airlines need and want a global market-based measure.

“We should also recognise the important role that the European Commission and parliament have played in raising the aviation emissions issue up the international agenda. Aviation would not be in the climate leadership position it is in today were it not for their early and persistent efforts which inspired both industry and other governments.”

The European Commission ‘stopped the clock’ last November, implementing a year-long suspension of the ETS for international airlines, which means they did not have to surrender allowances in April for carbon emissions produced flying in and out of Europe during 2012 (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 14, 2012).

Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, also welcomed the news. He said: “Looking ahead, the challenge will be in ensuring that the collective industry commitment to carbon neutral growth from 2020 is implemented in a way that is fair and equitable, avoiding competitive market distortion, while reconciling the differing interests and perspectives of developed and developing nations.

“As industry, we will be offering our strong support to the programme of work needed to develop detailed proposals on the design and implementation of the global scheme, for approval at the next ICAO Assembly in 2016.”

MONTHS after escalated tensions between North and South Korea, Philippine outbound to the South is on the mend, thanks primarily to the relentless marketing and promotional drive of its NTO in Manila.

Maria Michelle Victoria, president and general manager, Golden Eagle Travel and Tours, said Philippine outbound to South Korea is recovering from the many tour cancellations in April and May, although it has not yet reached last year’s high levels.

Likewise, Jeahan Mae Aladata, travel consultant for outbound, Jeju Air Philippines, said that the market is coming back, especially with the approach of the peak October to January season.

She said Jeju Air plans to increase flight frequency from Manila and to add more destinations in South Korea. The airline currently runs daily flights to Incheon from Manila and Cebu, and offers Seoul tour packages.

Most travel consultants TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to credited Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) unwavering efforts for the recovery of the market. The NTO subsidises up to 70 per cent of partner agencies’ advertising.

“KTO is always supportive of the travel trade, even to the extent of giving shopping vouchers to our group tours. They’re accessible, we can talk to them anytime,” said Aladata.

Victoria added: “Their support is really there and their funding is all out. They really advertise to market the packages. Every quarter, they have updates on new destinations and places to see in (South) Korea.”

KTO has recently launched religious pilgrimages, replacing medical tourism promotions to the province of Gyeonggi-do. While medical tourism did not find a foothold in the Philippine market, travel consultants expect pilgrimage packages to become a hit in the predominantly Catholic Philippines.

“KTO Manila is very aggressive. It’s the only NTO I know that promotes continuously. One promotion follows another without a lull, unlike other NTOs where they wait for several months before launching another project,” noted Dorothy Aytona, president and general manager, Skynet Travel.

Aytona said a recent promotion for visa-free group packages to Jeju Island via Cathay Pacific’s Manila-Hong Kong-Jeju service was so popular that all seats were snapped up long before the promotion ended.

JETSTAR will launch thrice-weekly direct flights from Adelaide to Bali on December 18, its second international service out of the Australian city.

Jetstar Australia and New Zealand CEO, David Hall, said: “We know that travellers all across Australia love to holiday in Bali…We see many South Australian customers booking flights to Bali via Perth or Darwin, so it’s clear there is demand for a direct service.

“The introduction of a non-stop service reduces the travel time by up to five hours, allowing our customers to make the most of their holiday.”

The new return service will be operated with an Airbus A320 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Last month, Jetstar introduced the first international services out of Adelaide – a thrice-weekly route to Auckland due to commence on December 16 (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 12, 2013).

FORMER managing director of Tina Travel & Agencies Adam Kamal has taken up a new role as general manager of Rakyat Travel, a full-fledged travel agency established in 1973.

In his new post, he has been tasked with further developing the business potential of Rakyat Travel by strengthening its inbound and incentive departments. The company focuses on outbound and corporate ticketing.

Meanwhile, the day-to-day operations at his family business, Tina Travel & Agencies, will be left to his younger sister, executive director Eva Ristina, and younger brother, director Shukri Haris.

Said Adam: “Tina Travel is in good hands as both my siblings have been with the company for a long time. They know the business well and I am confident they will be able to carry out their duties.”

“I was privileged to be ‘born’ into Tina Travel, which my late father established in 1975. I have been with the company for 13 years and I feel it is time to try something new where I can contribute my expertise.”

TUNE Hotels is breaking into the Australian market with the early opening of Tune Hotel Melbourne on October 21, two weeks ahead of schedule.

The 225-key Tune Hotel Melbourne is located on Swanston Street, Carlton. Just next to the University of Melbourne, the hotel is also close to Lygon Street, Queen Victoria Market and minutes away from the city’s central business district.

It also features an indoor courtyard, a recreational lounge, a restaurant, a café/convenience store, luggage storage, a basement car park, a self-service launderette and computer kiosks.

Tune Hotel CEO, Mark Lankester, said: “We are looking forward to introducing (Tune Hotel’s pay-as-you-use) accommodation model to the Australian marketplace and know it will be as popular here as it is overseas.

“Our opening comes ahead of the big Melbourne events, from the Melbourne Cup to Beyoncé’s world tour, so guests can enjoy a stay in the city centre without having to spend a fortune on accommodation.”

Tune Hotel Melbourne marks the 33^rd property for Tune Hotels.

The chain is now dangling promotional rates of A$50 (US$47) per night for stays between October 21 to 31. Bookings are open until October 30 and available for all room types, with rates inclusive of a complimentary Comfort Package comprising towel rental, toiletries, high-speed wireless Internet and Foxtel ready TV entertainment.

CRYSTAL Cruises is bringing on board six new cruise themes for the coming year ranging from microbrews to the Roman Empire.

The six new themes are:

– Extreme Thrill Seekers: with expert shark divers, underwater photographers, deep-sea treasure hunters, etc.

– Explorations Elegance: auction house experts share insights on rare jewels, renowned wines and over-the-top real estate.

– Gladiators & Empires: exploring the Roman Empire and its influences on many aspects of society through Italy’s iconic ruins and renowned museums.

– Up Close & Magical: an expansion of Crystal Cruises’ entertainment programme, with maestros from Hollywood’s exclusive members-only club, The Magic Castle, to hold performances and classes.

– Maritime: Past, Present & Future: a trans-Pacific sailing with experts and historians offering perspectives on stories of maritime history.

– Wine & Food: Microbrews: guests learn more about the increasingly popular world of microbreweries, with experts, tasting and cuisine pairing.

These theme programmes are spread throughout the year and are included in 23 Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity voyages featuring complimentary theme-focused enrichment, activities, performances, educational presentations and shore excursions.

Returning themes include Mind, Body & Spirit; Film & Theatre; Jazz; Ballroom at Sea; Wine & Food; Golf; Ocean Views; Emerging Artists; President’s Cruise; Comprehensive Creative Learning Institute; and Crystal Society.

All-inclusive fares for 2014 theme cruises start at US$1,995 per person for bookings made by October 31, with additional savings available for groups for six and more.