GENTING Hong Kong, parent company of major Asian cruise operator Star Cruises, is spending 707.2 million euros (US$959.2 million) on a new build from German shipbuilder Meyer Werft.

In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, the company said that the vessel would be designed to cater to the China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets in particular, strengthening its brand there. Delivery is expected in October 2016.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific, Genting Hong Kong’s COO, William Ng, said the new ship would be an “international-style ship with Asian touches such as karaoke”, like the rest of the cruise operator’s fleet.

He added that while demand from China was still “building up”, he was confident that the company’s cruise offerings would take off in the market.

Star Cruises this year home ported Superstar Gemini in Shanghai (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 2, 2013), its second destination in China after it entered Sanya in 2012.

Asked why Star Cruises had taken so long to build a new ship, Ng answered: “Over the last few years the economy has gone up and down, but our chairman decided now was time (to buy a new ship).”

PREMIUM cruise brand Celebrity Cruises is upping its focus on the Asian market with the formation of a dedicated team to court the region’s affluent customers.

Celebrity Cruises president and CEO, Michael Bayley, said: “There is a high percentage of affluent travellers in (Asia-Pacific) who are eager for more premium cruise options.

“This will give our brand greater visibility, and our travel partners can expect more attention and support.”

Based in Singapore, the new team of three is headed by Celebrity Cruises’ Asia-Pacific commercial director, Kelvin Tan, who was previously regional director at the brand’s parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises. Besides overseeing Celebrity’s commercial, sales and marketing activities in the region, he will also provide trade support.

Tan explained that there had been little focus on the Asia market up until now, although the brand is well known in Japan, Hong Kong, India and Singapore.

“We have already established markets in many countries, but China is a newer market and this is where there are a lot of affluent consumers,” he said, adding that new markets for the fly-cruise business would be targeted.

According to Tan, there will be a “layer by layer” approach in China, where the initial focus will be on first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, before moving on to second-tier ones like Wuhan and Xiamen.

Celebrity kicked off its inaugural season in Asia last December with the 2,158-guest Celebrity Millennium at Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore. (TTG Asia e-Daily December 10, 2012)

Celebrity Millennium’s second consecutive Asian season will commence in December from Singapore and Hong Kong. In addition, Celebrity Century will begin her first Asia season in January 2015 from Singapore and Yokohama.

HONG Kong Disneyland has announced it will open a new themed area in late 2016 based on Iron Man, one of some 7,000 plus characters that are part of the Marvel entertainment brand.

Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said: “Since Marvel became part of the Disney family (in 2009), our Imagineers have been dreaming up exciting new ways for our guests to experience their favourite Marvel characters and stories. We are thrilled to bring this first attraction featuring Iron Man to Hong Kong Disneyland.”

This e-ticket attraction will include a storyline that takes place in the streets and skies of Hong Kong. Guests will have the opportunity to see the progression of Iron Man suits and other Tony Stark innovations as well as take flight with Iron Man on an epic adventure against the forces of evil.

The experience will also include a Marvel merchandise location and an area where guests can meet and take photos with Iron Man.

In the past two years, Disneyland’s other themed areas, such as Toy Story Land, Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point have increased the size of the park by about 25 per cent, bringing the number of attractions and entertainment offerings at the park to more than 100.

Staggs said the Iron Man Experience “underscores commitment to and confidence in the continued growth of Hong Kong Disneyland”.

BRAND USA will introduce an online education certification programme for Indian travel consultants by early next year.

A similar programme to create greater awareness of the US’ destinations and products has already been developed for European markets.

Said Jay Gray, vice president – global partnership development, Brand USA: “Travel trade education is a key part of our strategy in India. The programme is much more social network-oriented and is in conjunction with fam trips. For instance, when a travel consultant is on a fam trip to the US, he can upload photos and share experiences on this site.”

“We are planning several mega fam trips for Indian consultants. The uniqueness is that the trips will be consistent with how a consumer travels. We will have a multi-state itinerary instead of just focusing on one particular US destination. Hence when a consultant talks about the US, it will be a holistic view,” added Gray.

The marketing organisation recently concluded its second India travel mission that covered Mumbai and New Delhi. It will also soon introduce a consumer campaign that focuses on the leisure segment.

Around 725,000 Indians visited the US in 2012 compared to 663,000 in 2011. There was a two per cent drop in VFR traffic from India in 2012, while FIT traffic increased two to three per cent. Brand USA is targeting one million Indian visitors by 2015.

However, air links remain a challenge.

Tom Kiely, executive vice president, Tourism San Francisco Travel Association, said: “We would like to have a nonstop link from New Delhi or Mumbai to San Francisco. We have spoken to Jet Airways, Air India and United Airlines, and are hoping that some announcements in this regard will be made in the near future.

“Last year, 65,000 Indians visited San Francisco, double the number in 2010. We are expecting it to further increase significantly by end-2013.”

THAILAND-based ONYX Hospitality Group has been appointed to manage a property under its upscale Amari brand in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru.

The 207-room Amari Johor Bahru owned by Exquisite Mode is part of the Suasana Iskandar Malaysia development and is scheduled to open by end-2015. It will be situated a five-minute walk from the upcoming JB Sentral Mass Rapid Transit System, which will link the city to Singapore.

The hotel will offer Amari’s signature features such as the Asian Food Gallery, Breeze Spa and Idea Rooms.

Johor Department of Tourism is targeting 24.2 million arrivals for this year, having recorded 12.6 million arrivals as of July. Neighbouring Singapore is currently the state’s top source market for international arrivals, followed by Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines and India.

Earlier this year, ONYX announced its first property in Malaysia under its Ozo brand. Ozo Penang is scheduled to open in 2016.

ETIHAD Airways has announced the increase of its Jakarta-Abu Dhabi flights from once to twice daily as of October 27.

In a statement, the airline said the additional flight will complement its existing daily flight as well as the codeshare services between Jakarta and Abu Dhabi operated by Garuda Indonesia.

EY474 will depart Abu Dhabi at 02.40 and arrive in Jakarta at 13.55, while EY475 will leave Jakarta at 18.00 to arrive in Abu Dhabi at 23.20.

To introduce the new flight, the airline has come up with special prices for travel from Jakarta, Medan, Denpasar and other Indonesian cities to various destinations in the Middle East, Europe and South Africa. For example, the airfare for coral economy class from Jakarta to Abu Dhabi is US$300; to London, US$350; and to Johannesburg, US$500.

The promotion is available for booking up to October 15, for travel between October 27 and November 30.

BALI’S hotel sector is grappling with low occupancies during the week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit following the closure of the island’s airport and cancellation of over 670 flights.

To facilitate the arrivals and departures of APEC delegates, Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport announced that operations would be suspended on October 6, 8 and 9 (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 27, 2013).

About 50 per cent of the 1,370 flights scheduled to land during the Summit week were cancelled, representing a total of 106,171 seats.

Santika Indonesia Hotels & Resorts’ general manager corporate sales and marketing, Guido Andriano, said: “Our hotels in Nusa Dua and surrounding areas are running at full occupancy, but the ones in the Kuta area are running at below 50 per cent occupancy when (normally) they should be running at 60 per cent (at this time of the year).

“Travellers have expected the airport closure and tight security levels on the island, perceiving these as inconveniences when moving around, so they have chosen to postpone their trips to Bali…However, it is a long weekend this time, so we do hope to see traffic flowing, especially for the domestic market.”

Tauzia Hotel Management’s director, Christoph Glass, said: “We have anticipated that the week will be slow for several hotels in areas like Kuta and Seminyak, as travellers, especially the Indonesians, South Koreans and Japanese, are not arriving during the week due to the many flight cancellations.”

Garuda Indonesia alone has suspended the operation of 139 flights, including routes from Bali to Tokyo (both to Narita and Haneda), Osaka, Singapore, Surabaya, Jogjakarta, Bandung, Lombok, Makassar and Jakarta.

However, Glass expects traffic will bounce back after the end of the Summit.

IT’S business as usual for tour operators in Laos despite the severe flooding affecting 10 districts in the southernmost Champasak province.

“The flooding in Champasak region is focused around the 4,000 Islands area, where the Mekong River is at its widest, and the provinces north from there along the river towards Pakse,” commented Touy Syhalath, general manager for Buffalo Tours Laos.

“Most of the hotels we use in this region are located in Pakse, which has escaped the flooding. The 4,000 Islands area is more of a backpacker destination with smaller properties located on the riverfront, placing them in a high-risk zone. We do use a couple of hotels down there and we have been in touch with them. They remain unaffected at this time.”

Jason Blackwell, general manager for Exotissimo Laos, added that the main tourist trails have not been affected and hotels are open for business.

Authorities have hailed the disaster as the worst floods experienced in Laos in 35 years, after a tropical depression passed through the region. The districts of Soukhouma, Xanasomboun and Patoumphone bore the brunt, with water levels 1.5m higher than normal.

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