PATA’s third China Responsible Tourism Forum (CRTF) will take place in Sheraton Hotel Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan province on September 12, bearing the theme Beautiful China – A Responsible Visitor Economy.

Co-organised by the ASEAN-China Centre and the Jiuzhaigou National Park Administration, the event aims to raise awareness of responsible tourism concepts and showcase best practices to encourage tourism stakeholders to operate in and develop more sustainable processes.

While discussion topics and featured speakers have not been finalised, a statement from PATA said there were plans to adopt the Cape Town Declaration during this year’s gathering.

Kate Chang, PATA’s regional director – Greater China, expects the forum to attract 80 to 100 attendees, a smaller audience compared to the past two editions, as “Jiuzhaigou is a very small ecological place”.

The first CRFT in 2011 drew 120 people, 85 per cent of whom stayed for the full programme, noted Chang. “They found the topics practical and touched on grass-roots (issues),” she explained.

CRFT in 2012 was attended by 150 people, and the Young Tourism Professionals Challenge for students was introduced.

“We are glad to see that ecological progress has been given a more prominent position by the central government. The government has incorporated more responsible practices into the country’s overall development plan, particularly those that relate to economic, political, cultural and social progress. The China National Tourism Administration has also released a new logo and tagline, promoting ‘Beautiful China’,” said Chang.

“Given these developments, I think the forum is quite timely and provides a platform for the Chinese industry to share best practices with their overseas counterparts.”

A webpage dedicated to CRFT will soon be launched, allowing interested individuals to register for the forum.

“CRTF this year will be held right before PATA Travel Mart (in Chengdu), which will make it easier for mart attendees to add the forum to their agenda. Jiuzhaigou is a 40-minute flight from Chengdu, (presenting) an opportunity for anyone to explore the ecological valley and the Tibetan minority that still exists there,” she said.

ONLINE accommodation booking website, Hotels.com, which recently launched its third Xtreme Booking video as part of a communications campaign to underscore the convenience offered by its booking app, has reported “healthy growth in mobile bookings across Asia-Pacific”.

Abhiram Chowdhry, senior director of marketing with Hotels.com Asia-Pacific, revealed that 20 per cent of global transactions today came from mobile devices.

To-date, the Hotel.com booking app has been downloaded 15 million times.

Chowdhry added: “We have found that almost 70 per cent of mobile bookings are for same-day stays. This is particularly true for countries where people take a lot of driving vacations. There is a growing trend for last-minute bookings through the Hotels.com app as customers embrace smartphone and tablets to book trips on the move.

“In many Asian markets we have also found that people are booking longhaul trips using mobile (devices) and with a longer booking window as well.”

Australia, Japan and South Korea contribute the most outstanding growth in mobile bookings in Asia.

Chowdhry declined to reveal booking figures for India, a gargantuan market of 27 million smartphone users in urban districts according to a Nielsen study, but said there was “healthy growth”.

“Many of these bookings are domestic bookings, so the book-as-you-go phenomenon is certainly catching on in India. On top of using mobile (devices) to research and book their hotel stays, many (Indian) users are also using that to share their bookings with friends and family.”

Hotels.com’s Xtreme Booking video series had been successful in capturing consumers’ interest, noted Chowdhry, who revealed that the first two videos scored “millions of views”.

The first video debuted in 2011, showing the Hotels.com app being used while sky-diving in the US. The second, launched last year, featured a hotel booking being made by a user involved in a Spanish bull run. The latest instalment shows Japan’s shock jock comedians, the Tokyo Shock Boys, booking a hotel using the app while surging down mountain rapids and free-falling down a seven-metre waterfall.

He said: “The video demonstrates that even in the most extreme situations… our app can help you find the perfect last-minute deal, many of which are exclusive to the mobile.”

QATAR Airways is set to launch flights from Doha to its sixth Chinese destination Chengdu, on September 3.

The thrice-weekly service will be operated with an Airbus A330 in a two-class configuration, offering 248 economy-class seats and 36 business-class seats.

Flights out of Doha will depart at 02.00 and land at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 14.30. Return flights from Chengdu leave at 01.00 to touch down in Doha at 03.50.

Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, remarked: “The new service is part of the airline’s commitment to boost services to the Far East and Asia-Pacific.

“China is one of our key markets and we are excited to further expand our footprint in China, allowing us to provide greater options for business and leisure travellers ready to take advantage of new flights to and from another entry point in China.”

Passengers flying into Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport can also take advantage of the 72-hour visa-free transit allowance now available there (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 10, 2013).

Chengdu is Qatar’s sixth destination in China after Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chongqing.

Over the next few months, Qatar will expand its network to include destinations such as Clark International Airport, the Philippines on October 27 and Philadelphia, US.

In May this year, the carrier sealed a codesharing agreement with Bangkok Airways for flights within Thailand and the South-east Asian region (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 16, 2013).

WITH trade between China and India growing exponentially and load factors as high as 82 per cent on routes linking the two countries, Air China is looking into establishing more flights to India, said a spokesperson from the airline.

The carrier is currently conducting a market study as it intends to launch two new flights – Ahmedabad-Shanghai and Hyderabad-Beijing – according to Tang Zhongling, general manager Mumbai, Air China, who was unable to give a start date for the flights.

She observed: “The satisfactory growth of passenger load is encouraging us to add flights to other cities in China as part of our growth plans for India. We intend to make the Mumbai service a daily one in the near future.”

Air China currently operates a total of 11 weekly services: Mumbai-Chengdu via Shanghai boasting an 82 per cent load factor; Delhi-Beijing with 78 per cent; and Bengaluru-Shanghai with 76 per cent.

Tang said 65 per cent of Indian travellers visited China for business, while the rest travelled for leisure or to visit friends and relatives.

Rajendra Dhumma, director, Classis Travel & Tour, said: “We are getting healthy growth in demand for China and if more cities are added to the airline’s network, we (will likely) see more business travel and MICE clients.”

Subhash Goyal, chairman, STIC Travel Group, commented: “As the Air China representatives in south and west India, we are eager to grow flights to multiple cities in India. I see signs of robust tourism growth of 20 per cent year-on-year, from India to China and vice versa, in the coming years.”

He said some 85,000 Indians visited China in 2012 and 46,000 did the same in 1H2013.

HONG Kong witnessed the launch of its first Pentahotel this week with the debut of Pentahotel Hong Kong, Kowloon.

Located a few minutes’ walk from the Diamond Hill MTR station, the property features 695 New York loft-style inspired guestrooms and the Pentalounge which combines a lobby, reception area, bar and café into a single venue.

Two games rooms, Internet corners and music stations within the Pentalounge also provide recreation options to guests and neighbourhood residents alike.

The hotel comes with two F&B outlets: eatstreet@pentalounge for local dishes, Western comfort foods and desserts by local celebrity pastry chef Tony Wong, and the pizzabar for Italian-style pizza.

Other facilities and amenities include free hotel-wide Wi-Fi, in-room smartphone docking, smartphone charging service and digital check-in and check-out.

To celebrate the launch of Pentahotel Hong Kong, Kowloon, guests who stay at the hotel anytime until September 30 can enjoy rates starting from HK$888 (US$114) per night, subject to availability. Guests who take up Pentahotel Hong Kong’s promotion will enjoy hotel-wide Wi-Fi and two daily buffet breakfasts at eatstreet@pentalounge, excluding service charge.

The hotel’s two eateries will also be dangling 20 per cent discounts for all guests and drop-in customers until September 30.