AMANRESORTS has expanded its South-east Asian footprint with the launch of its first property, Amano’i, in Vietnam.

Situated north-east of Ho Chi Minh City on the coast of Nui Chua National Park, Amano’i offers 31 Pavilions, private swimming pools and five Aman Villas, all with a view of Vinh Hy Bay.

Notably, Aman Villas consist of four or five free-standing bedroom pavilions, as well as living and dining pavilions and a private swimming pool. They also come with a live-in housekeeper and cook.

The resort’s recreational facilities include the full-service Aman Spa, a gym, a pilates studio, a lakeside yoga pavilion, two outdoor tennis courts and the expansive Beach Club.

Amanresorts is also in Phuket (Amanpuri), Siem Reap (Amansara) and Luang Prabang (Amantaka).

JET Airways will further increase connectivity between India and Singapore with the commencement of a second daily service from Mumbai to the Lion City this November.

A Boeing 737-800 aircraft will be deployed for the day flight, complementing the existing daily late-evening Airbus A330 flight.

From November 1, Flight 9W 10 will depart Mumbai at 09.50 to arrive in Singapore at 18.00, while Flight 9W 09 will depart Singapore at 20.05 to arrive in Mumbai at 23.10.

The additional frequency will also make Jet Airways the only Indian carrier to operate six daily direct flights connecting Singapore with New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.

AMADEUS has launched its VIP Innovation Series Workshops, with the aim to provide travel agencies with an in-depth look at the trends and new technologies that will shape the industry over the next 18-36 months.

Having recently held its inaugural workshop in Bangkok for more than 20 participants representing Asia-Pacific’s top travel agencies, VIP Innovation Series is the first of many planned for the region over the next 18 months.

Attendees will have an exclusive peek at Amadeus’ new suite of solutions that will be introduced to travel agencies over the coming year, including mobile and social media solutions that will help them increase sales, enhance customer service and improve operational efficiency.

Amadeus Asia-Pacific vice president for customer solutions, Bruno des Fontaines, said that constant innovation is key to staying ahead in a rapidly evolving industry.

“These workshops are a great opportunity to build on mutually beneficial long-term relationships and to better understand how we can help our customers. Our role in Asia-Pacific is to develop new solutions and continue to support our customers’ success. We believe these workshops are just one way to do that,” he added.

SINO Group of Hotels announced yesterday the opening of The Johnston Suites, the first serviced apartments under its management.

The property on 74-80 Johnston Road was formerly Frasers Suites Hong Kong. It offers 87 apartments ranging from 52.1m² to 92.9m², with a special monthly rate starting from HK$36,500 (US$4,707).

Each apartment comes with a separate spacious living room, dining room, bedroom and kitchen. Recreational facilities include outdoor terraces and rooftop leisure areas, a jet pool, a whirlpool and a gym.

In a press statement, the group’s executive director and group general manager, Nicholas Yim, said: “We see a rising demand for the serviced apartment market in Hong Kong, and foresee an average occupancy rate at an uptrend of 85 to 90 per cent for The Johnston Suites.”

THE impact on tourism from the creation of a single ASEAN market in 2015 is one of the topics that will be highlighted at the Philippine Tour Operators Association’s (Philtoa) first tourism forum next week.

To be held on September 3, the forum will run in the same week as the yearly Philippine Travel Exchange, Philippine Travel Mart and jobs fair at the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia.

Philtoa president, Cesar Cruz, said the association has decided to highlight the impending creation of the ASEAN Economic Community as implementation is only two years away, yet there is a “very low awareness of it in the Philippines”.

Cruz added that the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Agreement – which calls for the regional mobility of and competency-based education and training for those in the hotel and travel services – would “affect tourism professionals the most”.

One worry was that the free flow of tourism professionals would result in a loss of good talent as they opt to work in other ASEAN countries, he noted.

Philtoa is lobbying for the last week of September to be declared as an annual “tourism week”.

“We need to raise the level of consciousness among Filipinos on the importance of tourism, that it is not just for those who can afford to buy tour packages but that it also benefits the country by creating jobs, economic and development opportunities and that we are also responsible for making the tourism industry sustainable,” said Cruz.

The forum, organised jointly by Philtoa and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), will be graced by speakers from ASEAN and the Philippines and is one in a series of forums that MAP will be spearheading regarding ASEAN economic integration.

EAST Asia’s cruise tourism is set to receive a boost with Worldwide Cruise Terminals (WCT) and Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC) having signed a letter of intent earlier this week for wide-ranging cooperation in developing the industry.

Under the agreement, major focus areas of the agreement include encouraging cruise operators to develop itineraries that include Hong Kong and Taiwan, and promoting policies that give impetus to marine passenger transport.

WCT and TIPC will also exchange marine transport information and techniques, undertake joint sales and promotion of the passenger transportation business, and share operational and management experience through an exchange of personnel and visits.

“(The) promotion of cruise destinations is a team game in which nearby ports of call must work closely together to raise service standards and jointly attract more cruise lines to visit,” said Jeff Bent, managing director of WCT.

The port operator runs the newly launched Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 13, 2013), and shareholders include Worldwide Flight Services, Shun Tak Holdings and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

“We are fortunate to have found a partner in TIPC that operates an extensive range of attractive ports of call, enabling cruise lines to create a diverse selection of itineraries,” Bent added.

TIPC was established in 2012 and manages seven international ports in Taiwan.

THE Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) is to launch the consumer-facing Explore Mekong Giveaway programme, and is offering travel and tourism stakeholders a chance to raise their company profiles as sponsors.

The Giveaway project includes a website where travellers can create an online account, play games based on sponsors’ content to accumulate points and redeem points to claim travel prizes. As users return to acquire more points, they become familiar with sponsors’ brands and products.

Some two-thirds of sponsorship opportunities will be allocated to eligible social enterprises picked by MTCO, with four from each member country to be picked for a free sponsorship.

Larger organisations such as airlines, hotel chains and tour operators may participate as one of 12 premium sponsors.

Sponsors stand to benefit from prominent and interactive branding, promotions scheduling, product showcases, a dedicated sponsor profile page and value-added social media advocacy.

Mason Florence, executive director, MTCO, said: “We are very excited by the potential of this project. It ticks all the right boxes: it’s in the spirit of public-private partnership and in line with the MTCO’s objective to promote the Mekong region’s vast array of responsible, sustainable and community-based tourism credentials, and in turn to help spread the benefits of tourism more widely.”

The Explore Mekong Giveaway is the product of collaboration between MTCO – an intergovernmental body uniting the NTOs of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China – and Internet start-up FreePlayo.com.

SINGAPORE Airlines’ regional subsidiary, SilkAir, has announced it will commence thrice-weekly direct flights between Singapore and Jogjakarta on November 25.

Subject to regulatory approval, flights to Jogjakarta will depart Singapore Changi Airport at 08.10 and arrive at 09.30. Return flights leave Jogjakarta at 10.15 and touches down in Singapore at 13.30.

The new flights are to be operated with Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration comprising business and economy seats.

“Jogjakarta will be the 12^th destination in SilkAir’s Indonesian network. This comes right after our launch to Semarang and Makassar on July 29 and August 1 respectively (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 3, 2013) and reinforces our strong commitment to increase connectivity between Indonesia and Singapore,” said Leslie Thng, chief executive, SilkAir.