VIETNAMESE travellers remain keen on visiting Thailand, with arrivals between January to May this year indicating that this source market will outdo its performance in 2012.

According to a Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) media release, 260,261 Vietnamese visited Thailand in the first five months of 2013, a 10.4 per cent year-on-year increase.

The rise in numbers flies in the face of Vietnam’s sluggish economy, which has instead encouraged the country’s travellers to seek out shorthaul holidays.

TAT said that Thailand was a popular destination for Vietnamese travellers due to its nearness, good value for money and variety of attractions.

Improved access options have also made getting to Thailand easier. Vietnamese LCC VietJet Air launched a Hanoi-Bangkok service in early June and Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok service in February.

The opening of the second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge spanning the Mekong River at Savannakhet in Laos and Mukdahan in northeastern Thailand has also brought more overland tourist traffic from Vietnam’s central region, which comprises Hue, Danang and Quang Tri.

Thanik Khachonkittisakul, managing director of Thai tour operator Thai2020, said: “Our company has been receiving many Vietnamese tour groups from early this year, and we have plenty of future bookings till year’s end.

“Many are opting for the big-city shopping opportunities of Bangkok and the seaside entertainment atmosphere of Pattaya.”

He also shared that his company was receiving large incentive groups from Vietnam.

MINOR Hotel Group (MHG) today announced that it would take over the management of Amari Atrium Bangkok in October and relaunch the property as Thailand’s first AVANI-branded hotel next year.

Ahead of the rebranding in 2014, the hotel will be subject to extensive renovation works to guestrooms and public areas.

The move is part of MHG’s plans to expand the reach of AVANI Hotels & Resorts, an upscale brand that was debuted in 2011 to go hand-in-hand with the group’s Anantara brand properties.

The AVANI portfolio presently consists of two AVANI resorts in Sri Lanka and two more to come – one in Quy Nhon, Vietnam and the other in Sepang, Malaysia. MHG also intends to take the brand across Asia, India, the Indian Ocean and the Middle East.

The 568-key Amari Atrium Bangkok is located in New Petchburi Road, a commercial and retail district in the Asoke-Sukhumvit area and currently offers two executive floors, as well as deluxe and superior guestrooms.

Facilities include restaurants and bars, a swimming pool, sun deck, fitness centre, ballroom, and meeting and event spaces.

THE owners and operators of Sydney’s The Star casino have submitted a US$1 billion proposal to link Pyrmont, Darling Harbour and Barangaroo as part of an integrated resort, encompassing the casino as well.

Echo Entertainment, in a press statement, said the ‘Aiming Higher For Sydney’ proposal would provide tourism and hotel facilities to complement the approved Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct.

The proposal suggests the development of meeting and event facilities, two new hotels to bring total room inventory at The Star to 1,150 rooms, 20 more restaurants and bars, architecturally designed parklands featuring public art, a new pedestrian and cycling bridge connecting Pyrmont to Barangaroo, and upgrades to The Star’s light rail station.

According to Echo, 93 per cent of The Star’s additional floorspace will go towards non-gaming tourism and entertainment infrastructure. The gaming company will also pay the New South Wales government A$250 million (US$231.4 million) to remain the sole casino operator in Sydney.

Echo expects the new development to attract 330,000 visitors to Sydney annually, increase its tax contribution to more than A$1 billion and create 5,750 permanent jobs.

ETHIOPIAN Airlines has made an about-turn in its previously announced expansion in Asia, ditching plans for Ho Chi Minh City and Manila services in favour of a Singapore one.

Ethiopian Airlines will inaugurate a thrice-weekly Addis Ababa-Singapore service via Bangkok on September 3, using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.

With no traffic rights between Bangkok and Singapore, the airline will not accept bookings from passengers wishing to only travel from Bangkok to Singapore and vice versa.

Ethiopian’s GSA in Singapore is Maple Aviation.

Ethiopian currently has a codesharing agreement with fellow Star Alliance member Singapore Airlines, an arrangement that dates back to November 2011. Both jointly operate a service linking Addis Ababa and Singapore via Dubai.

The carrier was to launch thrice-weekly flights to Manila on July 1 as a tag-on to its Addis Ababa-Hong Kong flights, and a similar thrice-weekly tag-on service from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City scheduled to begin in September, but both plans have since been shelved.

INDIA will see the advent of two new airlines this year – Air Costa and Kairali Airlines, to take off in July and November respectively.

Air Costa, based in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh, is currently awaiting final approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It has purchased one and leased two Embraer jets so far, and is shopping for two more to lease.

K N Babu, CEO, Air Costa, revealed: “We intend to link regional towns and cities with short-haul connectivity to ensure that these destinations are served adequately with air services.”

Meanwhile, LCC Kairali Airlines will commence operations from Kerala with five planes, connecting Bengaluru, Chennai, Mangalore and Mumbai with Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kochi. It will also run a service to popular diving destination, Lakshwadeep Islands.

K Praveen Kumar, chairman and managing director, Kairali Airlines, said: “Our tickets will cost at least 25 per cent less than other Indian carriers in the domestic sector.

“In the overseas sector, after six months of domestic operations, we will connect Kerala with the United Arab Emirates first, and then spread to other international destinations.”

DGCA rules stipulate that a new airline must be in operation in India for at least three years before it can apply to fly overseas, but airlines can sidestep that by tying up with an existing international carrier. Kairali has yet to announce the international airline it will ally with.

C. Nagendra Prasad, chairman, Chennai-based Travelexpress, commented: “Regional airline hubs are necessary for greater flight access for tourists and business clients to under-served cities and towns. Many south Indian cities are booming because of industrial growth and the demand is extremely high. The idea of regional airlines is probably the most feasible and economically viable proposition in Indian aviation today.”

THE Philippines Bureau of Immigration will launch a new Long Stay Visitors Visa Extension, enabling temporary visitors to extend visa validity by six months after the expiry of the standard 21-day visa.

Foreigners will be able to apply for an extension up to two times in Manila or at major provincial offices, at 13,000 pesos (US$302) each time plus a further 100 pesos for a security visa sticker.

Currently, visitors would have to obtain a 38-day extension after the standard visa expires, and then continue to apply for up to three more two-month extensions. Under the new scheme, the 38-day permit will no longer be offered.

Welcoming the measure, Eleanor Ng, director for tourism services at Marsman Tours, remarked: “It can be a tedious process to extend one’s visa once (tourists) are here…(The new visa) will make the process simpler and gives them the option to plan ahead for longer stays.”

Cesar Cruz, president, Philippine Tour Operators Association, said the visa would benefit business travellers “especially if this visa is valid for multiple entries”. Filipinos already holding foreign passports could also use the service, which would “entice them to stay longer in their country of birth”, said Cruz.

Raquel Calma Nakayama, managing director, Stars Travel, expects the Japanese market, to whom her company caters, will make use of the new facility. “Twenty-one days is too short for them…Backpackers come here for six months and stretch their budget.”

However, she pointed out that travel agencies were unlikely to profit from this, as business travellers were likely to apply for the extension independently or have someone in the company process it for them.

She was also sceptical about the hefty price tag: “The fees are unreasonable. This discourages people from staying.”

Celine Clemente, president, Tourism Congress of the Philippines, said the new long-stay visa saved travel time and processing at immigration and potential markets for this service include foreign retirees, medical tourists and students who come to study the English language.

Like Nakayama, Clemente predicts that travel agencies will not earn much from offering the service. Furthermore, firms intending to offer it will have to obtain special accreditation at the Department of Foreign Affairs, as the latter wants to discourage fixers.

RESTRICTIONS on the import of fabrics threw an unexpected spanner in the works for The Sanchaya, a luxury resort that was slated to open in Bintan in 1H2013.

Styled as a grand colonial estate with lush landscaping and original furnishings and offering bespoke luxury, The Sanchaya will now welcome its first guest on November 1 this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 30, 2013).

Estate manager, Murlidhar Rao, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the booking function would go live on the resort’s website on July 1 and trial stays would be conducted in October.

“The delay was not due to insufficient funds. The Sanchaya is all about bespoke luxury, so everything in the estate is customised, from the fragrance to the dinnerware. We will even have an exclusive blend of tea by Ronnefeldt. It is not an option for us to buy fabrics off the shelves. So when we realised that we were not allowed to import fabrics, we had to send our designers to meet with local manufacturers to make what we need, ” Murlidhar said.

“We are not just another all-villa resort; there are many of these around. We are an estate and we want to evoke the elegance and grandeur of sprawling governor residences in India. Guests can play games like croquet and lawn bowls and indulge in English high tea, for instance,” he said, adding that an activity concierge will create programmes for guests.

Room rates are expected to begin at US$660 plus taxes, and will include express immigration and custom clearance at Bintan ferry terminal, transfer, breakfast, Wi-Fi access and maxi-bar access.

The Sanchaya will leverage its membership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World and Secret Retreats to reach out to travellers and travel consultants, aiming for a 35 per cent sales contribution from travel consultants, 11 per cent from international wholesaler and 44 per cent from direct bookings.

Explaining the importance of travel consultants, Kris Marthin, director of sales and marketing, said: “Statistics from the latest visitor survey conducted by Bintan Resorts International shows that 32.5 per cent of travel arrangements were made through travel (consultants) while 29.5 per cent were made direct through hotels. We will continue to (build) a good relationship with travel (consultants) from across Asia.”

The property will also court high-end, small-sized meeting and incentive groups for its weekday business.

THE Australian state of Victoria is aiming to increase its number of Indonesian arrivals by 5.7 per cent annually to reach 70,000 arrivals a year by 2021.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, Victoria’s minister of tourism and major events, Louise Asher, said: “Tourism is very important for the Victorian economy. It is a A$15.9 billion (US$14.7 billion) industry for us, the second biggest industry after education.”

She said that while Indonesia was still a small source market, arrivals in fiscal year 2012/2013 until March 2013 registered 43,000. However, the state expects arrivals to grow 5.7 per cent annually through to 2021/2022 and Indonesia to become the state’s third fastest-growing market.

“Indonesia is an important and growing source of tourists to Victoria. Melbourne’s strong calendar of events, stylish city experiences and the ease of access to nature-based attractions on the city’s doorstep appeal to the increasingly discerning Indonesian traveller,” she said.

The minister was in Jakarta recently as part of the Victoria government’s Super Trade Mission, having made pit stops in Kuala Lumpur (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 18, 2013) and Singapore as well.

Asher said of the Super Trade Mission: “The tourism sector programme seeks to provide Victorian delegates with the platform to explore new commercial opportunities, gain market insights and meet local travel partners and media.”

GARUDA Indonesia will install a new service system on June 29 as part of the airline’s transformation and expansion programme, called Quantum Leap, and also to prepare for its admittance into the SkyTeam alliance (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 7, 2013).

The airline will apply Amadeus’ Altéa Passenger Services System in place of Garuda’s Automatic Reservation of Garuda Indonesia, which the airline has been using since 1987.

Garuda Indonesia’s president and CEO, Emirsyah Satar, said: “In line with the growing number of passengers, flight frequencies and fleet size, Garuda needs to (improve its) system.”

He added that the new system was part of preparations the airline is taking ahead of its admittance into SkyTeam, which requires members to have a system on a par and integrated with other international airlines in the alliance.

The cutover process will take place from 21.00 on June 29 to 11.00 on June 30, during which time both online and call centre reservations will not be accessible.

The airline has advised passengers to make their reservations and purchase tickets before or after this period.

Although flight operations will continue as per normal, Garuda advises passengers to bring their printed e-ticket and arrive early at the airport during this period.

THE Ritz-Carlton, Bali will open its doors in 2014 offering 288 guestrooms including 10 cliff-top villas with views of the ocean.

Oriental Indah Bali Hotel Company owns the Ritz-Carlton, Bali, which is located in Sawangan.

The resort offers six restaurants and bars, including a cliff-side restaurant in a natural cave, a beach grill, an Indonesian restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, a pool bar and an all-day dining outlet.

Guests may also make use of the Ritz-Carlton Spa, a water sports pavilion and other recreational facilities.

For travellers who want to tie the knot in Bali, the resort comes equipped with two wedding chapels, a ballroom, three intimate function rooms and outdoor terraces for events.