DESPITE the choking smoke haze that enshrouded Singapore in June, passenger traffic at Singapore Changi Airport recorded 4.7 million arrivals, the highest number in 2013 so far.

According to Changi, June’s traffic movements measured a 6.1 per cent increase year-on-year. In terms of flight movements, there were 28,300 aircraft landings and take-offs.

Singapore’s tourism sector was affected, however, with the haze hitting record highs last month and a number of attractions shuttering temporarily to protect their employees (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 21, 2013).

Yet, at least one travel agency said it had seen a slew of last-minute bookings as Singaporeans attempted to escape the bad weather (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 21, 2013), while LCCs jumped at the opportunity by offering snap getaway deals.

June’s performance brings the total number of passengers managed by Changi to 26.2 million for the first half of 2013, a five per cent rise over the corresponding period in 2012.

Meanwhile, aircraft movements for January to June grew 4.6 per cent to 166,800. Among cities with at least 250,000 passengers during this period, Yangon, Taipei and Bangkok posted strongest growth to register 27 per cent, 19 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.

SHUN Tak Holdings has raised the curtains on the group’s first branded hotel management company, Artyzen Hospitality Group (AHG).

According to a media statement from Shun Tak, AHG will develop a collection of its own luxury hotel brands catering to different lifestyles and offer management solutions to hotel owners and developers, including Shun Tak’s own properties.

AHG will be led by Rogier Verhoeven, executive director of Shun Tak Holdings, who will be supported by Robbert van der Maas, president of AHG and Jerry Huang, president of AHG Greater China.

Shun Tak managing director, Pansy Ho, had confirmed that the group was working on establishing its own management company in an interview with TTG Asia e-Daily earlier this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 20, 2013).

Said Ho in the statement: “The (tourism) market is gaining sophistication at such a dazzling speed that established multinational hotel brands have difficulty keeping pace. This has created a window of opportunity for us, as we have accumulated a wealth of experience in the region and insights on the consumption patterns of Chinese travellers.

“Creating our own hotel brands now makes sense as it naturally complements our existing businesses, with the various real estate and hotel investments in our pipeline.”

Shun Tak has also since come onboard as an equal-share investor in Jetstar Hong Kong, joining Qantas Group and China Eastern Airlines (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 7, 2013).

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) is stepping up India services by introducing a third daily flight to the country’s capital of New Delhi.

With the beginning of the Northern Winter season on October 27, the carrier will launch the additional flight with Boeing 777 aircraft.

From October 27, SIA and SilkAir will operate a total of 107 weekly services to 11 destinations in India.

Destinations served include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.

BEST Western International has signed a franchise agreement with local Eden Palace Company for a new hotel project, the 205-room Best Western Premier the Grand at Nay Pyi Taw.

The hotel, due to start operations by 2Q2014, will become one of the first international-brand hotels in the city, which is also the seat of Myanmar’s government and one of the world’s fastest-growing hotel markets.

Glenn de Souza, vice president international operations-Asia and the Middle East, Best Western International, predicted Naypyidaw would experience a surge in business and leisure tourism in the coming years.

With the new Best Western Premier hotel, the hotel company would be perfectly placed to help the city grow.

He commented: “Being an American hotel, we are glad that the sanctions were lifted and we see Myanmar as a country with a lot of opportunities for tourism business. We are seeing a huge influx (of arrivals) but not enough international hotels. So that’s why we are here.”

U Tin Htwe, chairman of Eden Palace Company, pointed out that the hospitality industry in Myanmar was booming due to the reforms of late.

“The existing number of hotel rooms is not sufficient to meet the influx of tourist arrivals in Naypyidaw. Therefore, we have decided to develop an international-class hotel to plug this gap,” U Tin Htwe said.

Best Western earlier this year announced it would take over the management of and rebrand an existing hotel into the Best Western Green Hill Hotel (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 22, 2013).

According to de Souza, the company is looking at opening an upscale hotel in Yangon.

“We will probably have two hotels in Yangon. The owner of Green Hill Hotel is giving us the second hotel, which will have 100 rooms, in the Chinatown area, and (development) will take six to eight months to complete,” he shared.

Bagan and Mandalay were other cities the group is currently eyeing, he added.

THE Malaysian Association of Hotels Training and Education Centre (MAHTEC) will introduce its hospitality course in Brunei for the first time, as the association explores new international markets for its programmes.

MAHTEC commences its one-year Diploma in Hotel Management course for staff of The Empire Hotel & Country Club, Brunei on July 29.

“Twenty employees of the hotel have enrolled for the course,” said Reginald T Pereira, director, MAHTEC.

He added that the course was part of MAHTEC’s initiative in developing human capital within South-east Asia and beyond.

The association is also exploring the possibility of offering its range of hospitality courses in Vietnam, India and Mauritius.

In January this year, MAHTEC announced its collaboration with the Lao Hotel & Restaurant Association and its training partner, V Serve, to run the Bartender Management Certificate Programme in Laos (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 27, 2012).

DUSIT Fudu Hotels and Resorts has launched its first China project, the dusitD2 Fudu Binhu Hotel Changzhou.

The soft-opening is also the first Dusit-brand hotel in China, managed by the joint venture hotel management company between Thailand-based Dusit International and China-based Changzhou Qiao Yu Group (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 24, 2013).

Located within the Wujin Hi-Tech Industrial Zone, the hotel is 30 minutes from Changzhou Benniu Airport and railway station and 15 minutes from downtown Wujin.

Rooms at dusitD2 Fudu Binhu Hotel Changzhou range from 35-105m² and feature floor-to-ceiling windows for views over West Taihu Lake.

The hotel offers three F&B outlets, including Tian Xiang Lou Chinese Restaurant, for authentic Cantonese and Huaiyang cusines; Coffee Garden, serving international fare from its signature open-plan kitchen; and The Deli, an all-day bar.

MICE planners can make use of the hotel’s 518m² pillarless ballroom or any of the four multi-function rooms or the 100m² foyer.

To mark its opening, the hotel is dangling a 30 per cent discount on all room types when booking through d2bcrsvn@dusitfudu.com, until August 23.

VETERAN hotelier Philip Randolph Hill has died on Monday, July 22 at his Sanur residence in Bali after battling a long illness.

Hill, aged 60, had held management positions at numerous international hotels that took him to Jakarta, Bali and most recently, the Kima Bajo Resort & Spa in Manado, reported Balidiscovery.com.

In a career spanning more than three decades in the hospitality industry, the US national also worked in China, Singapore, the UK and the Middle East.

FOLLOWING a surge in the number of attacks on foreign tourists in India, the country’s tourism ministry has exhorted state and union territory authorities to set up tourist police as soon as possible.

The ministry said tourist police could be culled from the police department or ex-servicemen, and that cases involving tourists should be investigated immediately and trials sped up.

An awareness campaign sensitising travel service providers towards the safety needs of female tourists, was another of the ministry’s suggestions floated at last week’s national tourism conference in New Delhi and attended by 23 tourism ministers.

“We need to instill confidence among foreign tourists coming to India. The safety and security of tourists is of utmost importance to us and I expect all the states and union territories will consider deploying tourist police,” said K Chiranjeevi, India’s tourism minister.

At present, 13 states have tourist police. Inbound travel to India plunged 25 per cent in April as female travellers shunned India (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 2, 2013) and Western nations issued travel advisories against the country (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 22, 2013) after a spate of high-profile rape cases.

Iqbal Mulla, president, Travel Agents Association of India, applauded the ministry’s calls: “Of late, a lot of negative publicity has been generated about the safety and security of foreign tourists in India. The move by the tourism ministry has come at the right time and I hope that all the Indian states will soon form tourist police.”

Brijmohan Agarwal, tourism minister, Chhattisgarh, said his state would consider setting up tourist police.

However, PP Khanna, director, Diplomatic Travel Point, said: “Tourist police alone cannot ensure the safety of tourists. The change will come when every citizen of the country is educated to respect foreign tourists coming to India and is made sensitive to their well-being.”

At the same time, Chiranjeevi also pointed out that India’s high taxes were driving tourists to neighbouring destinations instead, and urged the states and union territories to discuss the rationalisation of taxes with their finance ministry.