CRUISE Lines International Association’s (CLIA) board of directors have adopted a Cruise Industry Passenger Bill of Rights, detailing member cruise lines’ commitment to the safety, comfort and care of guests.

A condition of membership in the association, the Bill will be submitted to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for formal global recognition and applicability under IMO’s authority over the international maritime industry.

It has taken immediate effect for US passengers who purchase their cruise from CLIA’s North American member cruise lines, regardless of itinerary.

CLIA president and CEO, Christine Duffy, said: “By formally adopting industry practices into a Passenger Bill of Rights, CLIA is further demonstrating consistent practices and transparency across CLIA member cruise lines.”

The Bill can be found on the respective websites of CLIA and its member cruise lines, while nearly 14,000 travel consultant members have been provided materials to communicate it to current and prospective customers.

The cruise industry also undertook other related initiatives recently, including the establishment of an Operational Safety Review in 2012, launch of a Preparedness Risk Assessment in March 2013 and completion of a multi-day emergency drill in early April.

INTERNATIONAL corporate services company Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has crowned India as the strongest destination in Asia for business travel, based on their latest air trends data survey.

HRG figures revealed a year-on-year growth of 11.1 per cent for corporate travel expenditure in India – the highest among all countries in Asia.

Joana Yap, incoming general manager, HRG Singapore, said: “Corporate travel expenditure (in India) has seen an almost five-fold increase over the past five years.”

While China may be tipped to overtake the US as the world’s biggest business travel destination by 2015, Yap said India had surpassed China, as HRG figures reflected a 2.3 per cent year-on-year decline in the latter’s corporate air travel transactions.

“As more Indian companies become internationalised, and MNCs establish their presence in India due to a stable government and strong macroeconomic fundamentals, the number of Indian business travellers is increasing,” said Yap.

Meanwhile, the survey results also reflected the adverse impact of travellers’ belt-tightening on airlines’ business class transactions.

Yap explained: “Due to a growing number of LCCs and companies choosing to consolidate global travel policies, there are more business travellers who choose economy class and LCCs over business class.”

HRG figures showed that an overall decrease of 14.8 per cent for business class transactions, while economy-class transactions recorded an overall increase of 0.5 per cent.

Yap pointed out that business-class transactions “declined dramatically” in the UK and Europe with year-on-year dips of 22 per cent and 45 per cent respectively, suggesting a widespread shift in travel policy on these routes.

GARUDA Indonesia yesterday commenced the deployment of its newly arrived Boeing 777-300ER for its Jakarta-Jeddah service.

The new aircraft sets a new standard of service for the airline, especially for longhaul flights. This is the first aircraft with first class category and is equipped with Wi-Fi facility, whch at the initial stage, will be available for first class passengers only.

Garuda has ordered 10 B777-300ERs, four of which are scheduled for delivery this year.

The airline expects to take delivery of the second aircraft end of this month for the Jakarta-Jeddah service from August, while another two aircraft will arrive later this year to serve the Sydney-Jakarta-London route from November.

The remaining six aircraft will arrive in 2014 and 2015.

SINGAPORE Sports Hub’s upcoming National Stadium unveiled and opened 1,655 premium seats for sale yesterday, with each seat costing S$1,950 (US$1,525) a year with a fixed three-year commitment.

The move has been dubbed the first dedicated hospitality membership programme of its kind in South-east Asia.

This follows the launch of the Singapore Sports Hub’s 62 executive suites last year (TTG e-daily, September 13, 2012).

Adrian Staiti, senior vice president-stadiums and arenas of World Sport Group, the commercial partner of Singapore Sports Hub, said: “Premium seat membership offers businesses and individuals the unique proposition of a guaranteed spot in a prime location in the National Stadium. It is ideal for a world-class experience (at) exciting events.”

Members are given priority ahead of the general public to buy tickets. During events, they will be seated in special sections in the north and south wings of the stadium, where their seats will be padded and fitted with armrests.

They will park their cars in reserved lots and have access to the private lounge and restaurant. They will also enter the stadium via a VIP lobby and have a concierge at their service.

According to Singapore’s The Business Times, the 55,000-capacity National Stadium – due to open in April 2014 – has some 60 committed events lined up all the way till December 2015. These events include the Women’s Tennis Association championships next year and the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup tournament.

LUXURY hotel management group GHM has signed an agreement with Taiwanese business development company Elements Innovation to launch three luxury hotels in Zhudong, Taiwan.

The three hotels will stand together as the hospitality anchor to Eutopia, a mountain-getaway development one-hour’s drive by car from Taipei on the border of Shei-Pa National Park in Hsinchu County, overlooking Wuzhi Mountain.

The Chedi Club will feature 25 villas spread across a maple forest, each with dedicated staff and butler service.

The Chedi will feature 92 guestrooms and suites with views of the mountain peak, along with restaurants, meeting rooms, a spa and an infinity pool.

The Serai will offer 200 rooms and suites. It is located nearest to Eutopia, which will include a wildlife eco-park, a traditional Taiwanese village with a teahouse, a winery, art galleries, live theatre, specialty restaurants, a biomedical spa and a modern open-air shopping mall.

SINGAPORE’s boutique hotel Naumi will reopen its doors this September following a multi-million-dollar transformation.

The hotel will boast being the first in Singapore to offer Apple TV in each of its redesigned 73 guestrooms, in addition to opulently designed meeting spaces, a stunning rooftop offering an infinity pool and spectacular views of Singapore’s skyline, as well as an entire floor dedicated to female travellers with special products and complimentary benefits.

Refreshing F&B perks include Table by Rang Mahal, a new Indian restaurant serving award-winning contemporary Indian cuisine, and Naumi Nutrition for Breakfast, developed by a specialist nutritionist.

The hotel’s staff will also don stylish uniforms designed by a renowned local fashion brand.

RESORTS World Genting will hold a month-long celebration for its 48^th anniversary, with special programmes and deals scheduled to run between August 8 and September 8.

Genting Malaysia’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, Rocky Too, said: “The highlight of the celebration is the Superstars of Magic 3, where our production cost for this show is over RM3.5 million (US$1.1 million).”

Michelin-starred chefs will be joined by celebrity chefs and culinary professionals in taking over the integrated resort’s restaurant kitchens.

Scotsman Grant MacPherson will be serving at The Olive restaurant from August 12-18 and Rodrigo de la Calle, famous for his invention of Gastrobotanics, from September 2-8.

For Chinese cuisine, Lai Yau Tim from Hong Kong cooks at the Imperial Rama from September 5-8, while Edward Kwon from South Korea will run the kitchens at Ltitude at the Genting Club between August 29 and September 1.

The resort is also holding RM48 promotions, offering a total of 4,800 rooms at First World Hotel priced at RM48 each, with a free mooncake as well. Bookings are open until August 5 for stays between August 11 and September 9.

Guests can also purchase a one-day admission tickets to the resort’s theme park at RM48 for adults and RM28 for children. For shoppers, First World Plaza offers RM48 promotions at participating outlets. First World Plaza is also dangling RM48 promotions at participating retail outlets.

Too added that visitors would be able to meet football legends Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler and Lee Sharpe in September.

HILTON Worldwide has opened DoubleTree by Hilton Chongqing-Wanzhou, close to China’s Three Gorges and offering the largest meeting facilities in Wanzhou.

The 253-key hotel is situated within the downtown area of the Wanzhou District. Close to the Yangtze River, DoubleTree by Hilton Chongqing-Wanzhou is 15km from the Wanzhou Railway Station and 25km from Wanzhou Wuqiao Airport.

Meeting and banquet space at the property covers some 1,700m². This includes the 1,100m² grand ballroom and adjoining foyer, which together can accommodate over 700 pax, as well as five meeting rooms with a combined space of 600m² for up to 300 guests.

There is also an in-house banquet and conference service team for support.

Guests can choose to refuel at any of the hotel’s restaurants and bars – the all-day dining Senses for fusion food; Yue Xuan, where classic Chinese cuisine and seven private River View rooms are available; the upscale Han Xiang for Korean delicacies; and the hotel’s Lobby Lounge to unwind.

Besides F&B outlets, the hotel also offers an indoor pool, sauna and steam rooms, a Jacuzzi, 24-hour fitness centre, beauty salon and a teahouse.