THE first two lifestyle events that will receive backing under Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) new Kickstart Fund are the Spot Art Festival and the Singapore Art Book Fair.

Spot Art is an international juried visual arts festival that will showcase the works of emerging artists from South-east Asia. Its inaugural edition will feature over 200 works from more than 70 artists during its run from October 25 to November 4 at the Artrium@MICA.

Developed by creative consultancy Hjgher and independent bookstore and publisher BooksActually, the Singapore Art Book Fair will be launched this November at Gillman Barracks. Specialising in art and design literature, the fair will also offer ticketed fringe events such as artist talks, film screenings, book launches and retail booths.

STB’s Kickstart Fund was launched in June with a S$5 million (US$4 million) kitty to support innovative lifestyle events and concepts with tourism potential.

Both Spot Art and the Singapore Art Book Fair were culled from a total of 23 proposals after two months of evaluation and interviews.

The second cycle of the Kickstart Fund is now taking applications and will close on September 30, with the third cycle due to begin in early December.

DRAGONAIR will launch a new thrice-weekly seasonal service connecting home base Hong Kong to Siem Reap on October 29, with inbound operators and hotels in the Cambodian destination welcoming the imminent increase in arrivals.

Flights depart Hong Kong every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Diethelm Travel Group’s key account director, Sam Vincent, commented: “The current flights from Hong Kong to Phnom Penh do not allow for easy connections with flights to Siem Reap, often requiring an overnight in Phnom Penh.

“With the start of the direct Dragonair flight, we are eagerly looking to develop business with our existing partners in Hong Kong. The area is already known for its selection of hotels and international golf courses, all of which appeal to the Hong Kong traveller,” Vincent continued.

“Hong Kong is most definitely an emerging market for us and we are looking forward to welcoming an increase in visitor arrivals from this region,” said Dennis Kam, director of sales and marketing at Le Méridien Angkor in Siem Reap.

While Exotissimo Travel’s Cambodia outfit is currently not tapping the Asian market, this may soon change with Dragonair’s new connection. “Many expatriates are based in Hong Kong and are likely to include a visit to one of the most revered highlights in Asia over the course of a weekend,” commented Grégoire Imberty, general manager.

“Hong Kong is also an extremely popular MICE destination. We will look to offer attractive combinations with our sister office in China to link the modern wonders of Hong Kong with the magic of centuries-old Angkor temples.”

CHINESE conglomerate HNA Group and Spanish partner NH Hoteles have rolled out a roadmap for expansion in China over the next five years, intending to open up to 300 mid-range hotels.

Bai Haibo, CEO of HNA’s hospitality division, indicated at an annual Spanish-Chinese business forum in Beijing that there were plans to develop “mixed-capital companies, expand the NH brand in China, and build between 200 and 300 hotels”.

He was quoted by Spanish business daily Expansión as saying that the openings would likely start in 2014, “perhaps with the simultaneous opening of several city establishments”. Beijing, Hangzhou, Kunming, Xi’an and Sanya are potential locations.

Said Bai: “We want to use Spanish (hotel) management capabilities to create a brand that is adapted to Chinese customs and international standards.”

But back in its home market, NH has been cautious about committing to a figure. The company has sent a statement to the Spanish national stock market authority CNMV, acknowledging that it is working on the “constitution of a joint venture in the Chinese market”.

NH also said the situation was “premature” to be exact about dates and the number of hotels that are in the pipeline.

Besides cooperating in the Chinese market, NH said it is also pushing its European network of hotels as the preferred brand for HNA’s outbound passengers.

HNA, owner of Hainan Airlines, took a 20 per cent stake in NH in April (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 22, 2013), making it one of the chain’s two main shareholders.

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) is ramping up frequencies to Sydney and Melbourne with additional flights to come on stream from November 21 onwards.

The airline’s double-daily operations from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney will see four more weekly flights added for a total of 18 weekly flights. This will be raised further to 21 flights from February 5 next year.

Its Melbourne service will also be boosted from twice-daily to thrice-daily on November 21.

Holiday Tours’ vice president inbound, David Jayabalan, said the increased capacity will help grow tourism for both Malaysia and Australia. The change in frequencies is also timely given the country’s campaign Visit Malaysia Year 2014, he added.

“Hopefully, the increased capacity will also reduce airfares as that would encourage a higher number of Australians to visit Malaysia. For the Australian market, Malaysia competes with other destinations such as Bali, Jakarta, Hong Kong and the Philippines,” commented Arokia Das, senior manager, Luxury Tours Malaysia.

“We will promote beach stays in Peninsular Malaysia and nature tours to Taman Negara National Park and to East Malaysia.”

Earlier this year, MAS also upped the capacity on the Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei route on August 15 and added a third daily flight to Medan on September 15.

The carrier reinstated its Kuala Lumpur-Dubai service in August (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 27, 2013), and is launching new destinations Kochi and Darwin in September and November respectively (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 9, 2013).

In a recent release, MAS said it had seen a steady increase in passenger traffic since the start of 2013 matching the added capacity. Seat loads have also improved, registering 83.3 per cent in July 2013, a 9.1 percentage point increase from last year.

EUROPE’S oldest luxury group Kempinski Hotels has opened Kempinski Hotel Yixing, its latest property in China.

Situated on the banks of Lake Tai in southern Jiangsu Province, Kempinski Hotel Yixing has 446 rooms and suites ranging in size from 49-397m² that come with flat-screen LCD televisions, lake views and high-speed Internet access.

Guests staying on the Executive Floor between levels 57 and 59 can enjoy access to the Executive Lounge for complimentary breakfast buffet, beverages, all-day snacks and pre-dinner drinks. They will also receive free laundry service upon arrival, free minibar, use of the Lounge’s meeting rooms, priority early check-in and late check-out in a private registration area.

The hotel also features a range of F&B venues including Yuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant, Elements All-Day Dining Restaurant serving international cuisine, and Le Chai, said to be Yixing’s first European wine bar.

Other facilities include the wellness centre and its indoor swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms, and an outdoor terrace for relaxing.

Kempinski Hotels operates a total of 19 hotels in China, with a Beijing hotel slated to open in 2014.

Located in the ‘golden triangle’ between Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou, the cultural city of Yixing also welcomed another international five-star property, Le Méridien Yixing, earlier this year.

ROYAL Cliff Hotels Group has unveiled a new QR code express check-in option at its hotels in order to cut guests’ waiting time.

From October 1 onwards, guests at Royal Cliff hotels can make use of their smartphones or tablets to check in at their hotels by scanning personalised QR codes that would have been provided them upon reservations.

Hotels will come with QR code express check-in lanes to allow these guests a seamless start to their stays.

Royal Cliff is also developing plans to extend this technology to its other offerings, including its fitness centres, Cliff Spas and restaurants.

The new QR code express check-in is believed to be the first of its kind in Thailand.