TO ENHANCE the attractions industrys experience creation capabilities, the Association of Singapore Attractions (ASA), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) have joined hands to kick off a series of seminars and interactive masterclasses.

The Attractions and Development Series is the first initiative to be executed under the Attractions Industry Productivity Roadmap, to help the industry sustain revenue growth through the rejuvenation of visitor experiences.

Throughout the series, to be implemented from this month until March 2014, participants will learn how to craft compelling stories, deliver memorable experiences and develop dynamic business models, via lectures, hands-on activities and in-depth discussions.

Speakers and facilitators for the seminars and masterclasses were selected based on their relevant experiences and global portfolio of projects in the industry.

The first seminar and masterclass took place from July 9 to 10 and was facilitated by Metaphor, a leading masterplanner and designer for attractions, museums and landscapes worldwide, based in the UK. It attracted around 150 participants.

Participants who successfully complete all five seminars and at least three of the four masterclasses will be awarded a certificate of completion jointly endorsed by ASA, STB and WDA.

Janice Foo, director of tourism division, WDA, said: “Insights gained from the sharing of best practices among local and international experts from the industry will provide the practical knowledge required to meet real life challenges.

“By tapping on these holistic training options, our tourism workforce is primed for more sustained growth in the industry.”

The next seminar is expected to take place in September. Interested industry members can contact the ASA Secretariat office.

HOTEL Reservation Service (HRS) has announced its expansion to Asia-Pacific with the opening of its regional headquarters in Singapore.

Singapore was chosen as HRS believes it is home to regional and global headquarters of multinational organisations as well as many Asian companies. Not only is it a popular destination for business travel but it also has a high number of outbound travellers, serving as a hub in the region.

“Asia is experiencing a strong economic growth and an unprecedented rise in the consumption of travel services. With the worlds’ biggest, youngest and most tech-friendly consumer group working and living in this region, it is a promising market to be in,” added HRS commercial director of APAC, Christian Lukey.

Early this month, HRS announced the opening of its Beijing branch, marking the company’s efforts in increasing its investments in China and expanding the country’s Northern market from the core of Beijing.

The Beijing office is located at the central business district, comprising hotel, customer service and sales teams.

HRS CEO, Tobias Ragge, said: “China’s business travel market has a great potential, with an increase of more than 20 per cent last year and I believe there is an even better growth this year.”

He added that currently 20 per cent of hotel bookings in China were made online, while the rates in Europe and the US had reached 45 per cent, signifying a huge room to promote smart travel in China.

HRS China managing director, Jiang Jun, said Siemens was an important client in Northern China due to its rapidly growing hotel reservation rate. For Chinese enterprise Haier, she added, its internationalisation would lead to a large volume of international travel.

PUERTO Galera, a top diving spot and tourist magnet in Oriental Mindoro, will soon have its first upscale beach resort with the opening of Fridays Boquete Island, Muelle Bay first week of November.

The new resort will be on par with five-star Fridays Boracay Resort Hotel, according to Jill Miranda, sales manager of Fridays Boquete Island. Both resorts are owned by publicly-listed Boulevard Holdings.

Under construction near the UNESCO-protected Muelle Bay and just behind the white-sand Boquete Beach, the resort will bear Fridays’ trademark tropical, rustic feel. It will also offer luxurious and modern amenities, 43 premier suites, a restaurant that can be converted into an event area, and a huge swimming pool, among others.

Miranda said that from Manila’s international airport, guests would be shuttled to a private welcome in Batangas, a province south of Manila. From Batangas, they can be transported to Fridays Boquete Island either by helicopter or private ferry, the latter taking two to three hours.

She added the resort would cater more to leisure travellers, with up to 20 per cent of business from corporates and MICE. Half of the resort’s guests are targeted to come from abroad, such as from Australia, North America, Japan and South Korea.

Fridays’ presence in Oriental Mindoro is a big coup for the destination which, although near Palawan and boasts pristine beaches and coral reefs, has not developed as fast. It has no airport, has not attracted top brand hotels, and has yet to reach its target of one million tourists.

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.