ASCOTT will open its eighth serviced residence in the Philippines in 2017, but has more recently announced the launch of its new web and mobile booking features to enhance search and reservation on its website.

Available across its three brand websites – www.the-ascott.com, www.citadines.com, www.somerset.com – Ascott’s enhanced reservation system allows guests to view a list of all available properties, filter available apartments by price, view properties on a map and perform multi-city, multi-property or multi-apartment bookings within a single transaction.

There will also be collapsible sections for ease of comparison across various apartment types and rate categories. Customers will also be reminded of the available, optional apartment upgrades and supplementary services before booking confirmation.

Confident its websites offer the lowest rates for its properties, Ascott will give any guest who finds lower online rates a 50 per cent discount off the first night of stay and a matching rate for subsequent nights.

Separately, Ascott will launch the Somerset Alabang Manila in 2017. The 150-unit property will be situated in Alabang, a major business district in Metro Manila and within Filinvest City, an integrated development offering office, retail, residential and leisure space.

A 25-minute drive from the airport, the serviced residence is also within close proximity to the industrial parks of Laguna, Cavite and Batangas.

Residents can choose from studio, one- to three-bedroom residences and penthouse units, all of which will come with a fully-equipped kitchen and living, dining and work areas. Other facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, gym, residents’ lounge, children’s playroom, meeting rooms and a business centre.

Arthur Gindap, regional general manager for the Philippines and Thailand, Ascott, said: “We see immense potential for Ascott in the Philippines as the country continues to enjoy strong economic growth and to attract foreign direct investment.

“Ascott already has a strong foothold in Makati City, the country’s primary financial centre, with three operating properties. Hence, we are actively expanding in other business districts where foreign direct investment has generated robust demand for serviced residences.”

IN AN unexpected turn of events, AirAsia announced today that it was considering the dissolution of subsidiary AirAsia Japan, less than a year after the LCC commenced operations (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 7, 2012).

AirAsia Japan, a joint venture company set up by AirAsia and All Nippon Airways (ANA), is largely staffed by ANA employees, including its CEO and CFO.

A statement by AirAsia said that management opinions had clashed, “most critically on the points of how to operate a low-cost business and operating from Narita (airport)”.

The statement went on to say: “Since its launch in 2012, Japan AirAsia has failed to track its proposed business plan due to the inability to manage costs, but has seen customer adoption increasing as the AirAsia brand starts to resonate in the market.

“AirAsia continues to be…committed to Japan and sees the potential for a low-cost airline to thrive in the market and would not rule out any options to make this happen, including dissolution of the joint venture.”

AirAsia and ANA are exploring all available options at the moment, said the statement.

THE continuous roll-out of mid-scale hotels is predicted to bring Singapore’s pricey average room rate (ARR) down, according to local travel consultants.

Mid-scale hotels that have debuted this year include The Ramada Singapore at Zhongshan Park, Days Hotel Singapore at Zhongshan Park (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 6, 2013), Park Avenue Changi and Dorsett Singapore (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 16, 2013). The Village Hotel Katong and The Amoy will also open their doors later in 2013.

In a report by CBRE Global Research and Consulting, some 11,000 rooms are expected to enter the market in the next four years. Mid-scale hotels will supply the largest number of rooms at 4,100 (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 1, 2013).

Luxury Tours & Travel’s director, Michael Lee, said: “The entry of these new mid-scale hotels with comparatively lower hotel rates can help ease the typical high hotel rates by the bigger brands in the market.”

Sharing similar sentiments, Ramesh Travel Service’s general manager, Ram Samtan, said the entry of such hotels was “significant in this price-sensitive market” and the impact had already been manifested in the recent dip in ARR.

Preliminary estimates from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) reveal that ARR for January to April slipped 2.2 per cent year-on-year to S$253.70 (US$202.20), while revenue per available room was 2.6 per cent lower at S$217.80.

CTC Travel senior vice president, marketing and PR, Alicia Seah, noted that competition was “very stiff” among business hotels, and observed that four-star hotel rates had fallen 10-20 per cent year-on-year in Q2.

However, she highlighted that this effect was unlikely to spill over to other sectors, saying: “The five-star hotels will still hold up their rates because of their prime position and iconic status.”

Agreeing, Lee said: “These new mid-scale hotels will create more choices into the three- and four-star hotel segment, but (are) unlikely to pull traffic away from the upscale market.”

However, STB statistics also show that while room rates have softened slightly, the average occupancy rate for January to April held firm, edging down just 0.3 per cent to 86 per cent.

INDONESIA’S Merpati Nusantara Airlines flight crash-landed at El Tari Airport, East Nusa Tenggara yesterday but all 46 passengers survived.

Flight MZ6517, which was operated by a Xian MA 60 aircraft, was scheduled to travel from Bajawa, Flores to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. There were no reports of malfunction during the course of the flight.

Merpati’s corporate secretary, Herry Saptanto, said in a media statement that the aircraft was in good condition and the preliminary presumption was that the aircraft hard-landed.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Apart from the Bajawa-Kupang service, the same aircraft was also serving Kupang-Waingapu (East Nusa Tenggara) and Kupang-Alor routes. The airline has since deployed another Xian MA60 to minimise disruption on the other routes, said Saptono.

Merpati Nusantara Airlines is a state-owned airline company, which mostly serves remote destinations within Indonesia, including the eastern islands of Indonesia frequented by special interest tourists such as Flores and Rajaampat.

TOURISM Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) renewed efforts to promote the kingdom as an eco and adventure destination at Thailand Travel Mart Plus (TTM+) this year drew a mixed response from buyers.

Chris Ball, CEO of AdventureHoney.com, an Australia-based OTA specialising in adventure travel in Thailand, said: “Having not attended TTM before, I had limited expectations. It has certainly been a positive experience.

“There’s some wonderful adventure tour and activity operators in Thailand, but finding the best ones takes time. An event like this speeds that process up, which is great, not only for my business, but for the industry in general,” he said, adding he was now in a stronger position to sell Thai adventure products.

However, Brad Moss, director of sales and marketing at the Los Angeles-based ROW Adventures, said while he was pleased with support from the TAT, the fam trip he was taken on did not profile enough adventure activities and he had not met enough suppliers to convince him he could sell Thailand to American activity-focused tourists.

“(TTM+) was okay at best,” he remarked. “There were not a lot of suppliers in my realm of adventure. I think three or four booths was all.

“I think the TAT is 90 per cent focused on beach resorts, shopping and mass tourism. I think the country’s entire infrastructure is set up around those themes… I had extensive conversations about this with Thailand Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association. They agree, and feel my concerns too.”

Ecotourism and activity holidays were one of the four elements promoted under the Thailand Travel Mart’s Customize your Experience concept, the others being golf, weddings and honeymoons, and health and wellness.

Although promoting Thailand as an eco and adventure tourism destination was not a new strategy, bringing over so many international buyers to this year’s event marked a refocusing of efforts, a TAT spokesman said.

TAT hosted 21 international ecotourism buyers at the event, an increase of almost 15 per cent from the previous year, making it the second largest category of hosted buyers after weddings and honeymoons.

YANGON International Airport is gearing up for projected 20 per cent annual growth ahead of the 27^th SEA Games in December with its new common-use system from air transport specialist, SITA.

SITA’s Airport Connect Open system will equip the airport with a common-use solution to facilitate passenger check-in and boarding processes, including 30 new check-in counters, six new boarding gates and 10 new self-service check-in kiosks.

U Win Ko, general manager, Yangon International Airport, said: “Since 2008, passenger numbers at Yangon airport have nearly doubled to three million, and by 2015, we expect to handle more than five million passengers annually.

“Over the last year, we have seen the airport grow from 14 to 22 airlines, which means we need to increase our capacity immediately, while also planning for the future.”

Yangon International Airport serves seven domestic and 22 international airlines, including Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Air India and Air China.

FIREFLY is expanding its route network with a Johor Bahru-Pekanbaru service and padding up its flight schedule with extra frequencies for the Hari Raya season.

The airline will operate a four-times-weekly service between Johor Bahru and Pekanbaru, Indonesia between August 1, 2013 and July 31, 2014.

Departing Johor Bahru at 10.20, the flight will land in Pekanbaru at 10.40. Johor Bahru-bound flights leave Pekanbaru at 11.00 and touches down at 13.20.

“We’re targeting both business and leisure traffic out of Johor Bahru. We intend to provide Johorians a smarter travel option for them, especially with Hari Raya just around the corner,” said Ignatius Ong, CEO, Firefly.

To mark the launch of this new route, the carrier has rolled out promotional all-in RM99 (US$32) fares.

For Hari Raya celebrations expected to fall on August 8 this year, Firefly will step up flights to the destinations of Kota Bharu, Pekanbaru, Koh Samui and Penang from its central hub of Subang.

The carrier will add Phuket flights out of its northern hub Penang and introduce direct flights to Penang from southern hub Johor Bahru.

Said Ong: “The demand for flights on these routes during the (Hari) Raya period has been high historically, and this year is no exception. In fact, with the longer weekend, which coincides with the school holidays, we are expecting demand to be even more than that of last year’s Eid festive break.”

Firefly customers will earn double the amount of Enrich Miles for ticket purchases between June 1 and July 31.

AIRASIA X plans to raise up to RM859.3 million (US$274.9 million) through an IPO exercise to fund its fleet expansion plans and repay bank loans.

The company is offering 790.1 million shares at an indicative price range of RM1.15-1.45 for institutional investors. The deal will be priced on June 24.

Proceeds from the IPO will be used to repay bank borrowings, purchase new aircraft and for working capital.

The airline also has plans to set up new hubs in Indonesia and Thailand. Its CEO, Azran Osman-Rani, said: “The initial process of getting licensing from the regulatory bodies are underway.”

AirAsia X is looking at creating hubs in Bangkok, Jakarta, Denpasar and Tokyo – cities with AirAsia hubs in order to capitalise on AirAsia’s massive feeder network to build a stronger brand and group presence in the Asia-Pacific region (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 22, 2013).

The longhaul arm of AirAsia will take delivery of seven new Airbus A330 aircraft and another seven aircraft next year, part of its scheme to increase its operating fleet size to 32 by 2016, through a mixed strategy of purchasing and leasing aircraft.

The new aircraft will be used to increase frequencies on current routes and introduce new ones.

Tony Fernandes, CEO, AirAsia Group, said AirAsia X would also resume flights to India but declined to reveal whether the airline would recommence services to Delhi and Mumbai.

AirAsia X’s services from Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai and New Delhi were suspended on January 31, 2012 and March 22, 2012 respectively.

SOME 97 travel consultants in Singapore have been recognised for their expertise under the NATAS (National Association of Travel Agents Singapore) Accreditation Scheme since its launch on March 14 (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 22, 2013), and at least 92 individuals are now in line for the next enrolment.

Describing the response to the new scheme as “excellent”, NATAS spokesperson, Alvin Lim, said that several more applications were pending confirmation and the target was to accredit 300 travel consultants by end of 2013.

“We have offered a 50 per cent discount on course fees for the first 100 applicants in the second enrolment to make this programme more accessible to travel consultants from both inbound and outbound travel companies,” said NATAS COO, Anita Tan, adding that while fees are meant to be borne by the travel consultants themselves, some agencies have offered to absorb the cost for their employees.

The three-stage programme (TTG Asia Online, Tip Sheet) costs S$50 (US$39.74), S$75 and S$100 depending on the level of accreditation. When accreditation expires in two to three years’ time, consultants must upgrade their skills through courses to earn a renewal.

According to Tan, the scheme is currently supported by 19 industry leaders, among them are Chung Tak Ing, senior assistant general manager of ASA Holidays and Lee Hwee Noi, manager of Hong Thai Travel services.

“We will review our panel of industry leaders regularly as we are concerned that (the activity) may be too taxing for them. This is a voluntary service after all, and each assessment takes up a full day. Our next review will likely be at the end of this year or early next year,” said Tan.

She added: “Through NATAS Accreditation, we hope to recognise travel consultants who choose to upgrade themselves on their own accord. The accreditation is for the individual, not the company, so it is to their own benefit to earn this recognition. At the same time, the scheme gives consumers a mark of assurance, knowing that the travel consultant serving them is a professional who will deliver quality and reliable service and advice.”

To raise the awareness of this “stamp of quality” among consumers, NATAS is running advertisements in traditional print media and on buses that ply commercial and heartland networks, as well as in a travel supplement to be published during its travel fair this August.