ASCOTT will debut two new serviced residences in Jeddah early next year, having secured management contracts for Citadines Tahlia Jeddah and Citadines Al Salamah Jeddah.

The two contracts add 1,500 serviced apartment units to Ascott’s Gulf portfolio and are awarded by the Abdul Samad Al Qurashi Group, a Saudi Arabia-based conglomerate with operations in the region.

The 166-unit Citadines Tahlia Jeddah is located along Tahlia Street and close to many MNCs and Le Mall, a prominent shopping centre. It offers a range of studio to two-bedroom apartments.

The 136-unit Citadines Al Salamah Jeddah is situated north of Jeddah, 15 minutes away from the King Abdulaziz International Airport and close to Iceland Theme Park and Stationary Fantasies Water Park. Residents can choose from either a studio or one-bedroom apartment.

Apartment units at both serviced residences come with fully-furnished kitchens, living and dining areas and home entertainment systems. Other amenities include a residents’ lounge, café and gym.

Sym Lee, head for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Ascott, said Jeddah was “poised to be one of the region’s key cities for commerce”.

“Jeddah is also a popular destination for domestic and foreign leisure travellers. For the many Muslims pilgrims, Jeddah acts as the gateway city to the two holy cities, Mecca and Medina…We are confident that both Citadines Tahlia Jeddah and Citadines Al Salamah Jeddah will perform well in the market and they will pave the way for more Citadines serviced residences in the region.”

Ascott had last month unveiled the Ascott Olaya Riyadh, which is scheduled to open in 2015 (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 21, 2013).

SINGAPORE welcomed the largest ship to homeport in Asia over the weekend, when Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) Mariner of the Seas made its maiden call at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on Saturday.

This marked the start of the 3,807-pax Mariner of the Seas’ Asian season in Singapore with three cruises of three to 10 nights to Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Shanghai.

The ship also replaces the 2,076-pax Legend of the Seas, which completed her Asian deployment in April (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 14, 2012).

Jennifer Yap, managing director, RCI (Singapore), said: “There is tremendous potential in the Asia market because the penetration rate for Asia is the lowest compared to Europe and North America.”

“If you see the Asian market as a whole, it is still in its infancy because a large majority (of Asians) have yet to board a cruise ship before. So by establishing greater presence in Asia, we aim to attract all these passengers onboard.”

Asians comprise 10 per cent of the cruise line’s passengers, with about 200,000 customers a year, with China and Singapore being the strongest regional source markets.

Mariner of the Seas offers a variety of Asian cuisine and visual entertainment programmes like acrobatic performances.

Unique onboard amenities and programmes include the 900-seat ice-skating rink, a full-sized sports court, in-line skating track, rock-climbing wall, mini-golf course, three-tier theatre, themed bars and lounges as well as a mezzanine split level nightclub. The DreamWorks parade stars characters from popular cartoons Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, with whom cruisers can interact.

From November 2013 to March 2014, Mariner of the Seas will return again to Singapore to offer a series of South-east Asian cruises.

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) will cancel its thrice-weekly Manila-Delhi service via Bangkok on June 15, but travel consultants do not expect any negative impact on the growing traffic between the two countries.

A PAL source who sought anonymity confirmed the “indefinite suspension” of the flight. While the Manila-Bangkok leg of the flight will be retained, the Bangkok-New Delhi leg would be dropped for commercial reasons.

Meanwhile, an India-based travel consultant confirmed that PAL will close its Delhi office next month. “(PAL) is not making money on the (Manila-Bangkok-Delhi) services. New flights should be marketed but PAL wasn’t doing enough of that.”

Glen Augustin, Team India head, market development group, Department of Tourism (DoT), said the cancellation would affect the NTO’s plans to facilitate a 300-pax Outbound Tour Operators Association of India convention in Manila this September.

However, Philippine travel consultants were less negative. “I don’t think (the consequences of cancelling Delhi flights) will really be negative. For one thing, PAL’s rates are high. The market is price-driven yet the airfare is high,” pointed out Kristine Shroff, marketing director, Shroff International Travel Care.

Travel consultants said airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific would likely fill the vacuum left by PAL as they already offer better connections on the route. Cebu Pacific in March applied with the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board to be recognised as the official carrier to India.

However, DoT’s marketing office in India noted that other carriers operating India-Philippine routes had raised prices after news of PAL’s move broke.

Shroff said tourist traffic between India and the Philippines had been “good” during the last three years due to greater awareness in India about the Philippines through DoT’s promotional efforts.

“The market is ready and matured enough to consider the Philippines,” she added.

DoT statistics show that arrivals from India grew 22 per cent in 1Q2013 to 13,510, from 11,065 during the same period in 2012.

Additional reporting by Marianne Carandang

MALINDO Air has launched a two-month long incentive programme in the hopes of growing its 700-strong base of travel consultants by threefold.

Between June 1 and July 31, travel consultants who issue tickets for FITs via the airline’s B2B system will receive a cash reward. Consultants will earn RM8 (US$2.60) per passenger for meeting monthly sales targets of 100-250 passengers per segment, RM10 per passenger for 251-500 passengers, RM12 per passenger for more than 501 passengers.

Consultants also stand to earn RM50 per passenger per segment for business class tickets.

Commissions will be calculated at the end of June and July, and the incentive paid out by the 15^th of the following month.

Malindo Air CEO, Chandran Rama Muthy, said: “We are a (consultant) friendly airline and we wish to reward (those) who help us fly with high loads…Our services between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, Kuching registered average loads of 80 per cent.

“The scheme is timely as we are about to launch new turboprop services out of Subang Skypark (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 20, 2013) to Johor Bahru, Kota Bharu and Penang on Monday (June 3) and commence new jet services from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Sibu (June 11), Miri (June 14) and Tawau (June 26)” (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 13, 2013) .

THE J Willard and Alice S Marriott Foundation has pledged RMB40.5 million (US$6.5 million) to expand existing hospitality curricula and programmes for universities and vocational schools in China.

Known as the Marriott China Hospitality Education Initiative (CHEI), Marriott Foundation hopes the scheme will prepare Chinese youth for careers in China’s tourism and travel industry, many of whom come from hard-pressed rural areas.

CHEI is now in the midst of identifying 10-12 pilot schools for the upcoming aademic year and aims to benefit some 20,000 students annually across 50 schools in five years.

San Diego State University has been nominated as CHEI’s academic advisor, and has identified opportunities that CHEI will pursue, including: professional development opportunities like internships, work experiences, site tours and interacting with industry insiders; industry-specific conversational English studies; faculty development such as exchanges with US universities and internships at hotels in China; development of content to augment existing curricula; and an annual teaching conference gathering leaders in hospitality education to share best practices.

“We are customising the programme based on input from the industry and the impressive vocational schools and universities in China, and we hope to be part of a community of hospitality educators,” said Carl H Wilson, director of San Diego State University’s school of hospitality and tourism management.

Marriott International has also come on board as CHEI’s industry advisor, and will provide input on curriculum relevance, data to measure programme outcomes, internship opportunities for students and also host faculty internships at partner schools.

The hotel group in April launched the Marriott Institute of Hospitality Education in partnership with Anhui Zhong-Ao Institute of Technology in China, offering a three-year diploma programme initially centred on hotel management (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 25, 2013).

GARUDA Indonesia is strengthening connections at its Medan hub, having launched a new flight and increased the frequency of two others.

On June 1, Garuda started twice-daily Medan-Penang services and doubled flights to twice-daily to Palembang and Padang. These routes are served with Garuda’s new fleet of Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen with a capacity of 96 seats, comprising of 12 executive class and 84 economy class seats.

Garuda Indonesia vice president Asia region, Nicodemus Lampe, said: “The new (Medan-Penang) service will provide convenience for travellers from Penang visiting Medan and the surrounding areas, and the other way around.”

During the launch, Penang chief minister, Lim Guan Eng, said: “Traffic between Medan and Penang is high. Besides travelling for business and leisure, many Medan people study or go for medical treatment in Penang.

“The new route will certainly foster the growth of business and trade in the area, especially because of Medan’s strategic location and (role as a) gateway to Sumatra and Western Indonesia region.”

Garuda opened Medan as its fourth hub after Jakarta, Denpasar and Makassar on May 3.

The airline has deployed five aircraft in Medan and currently serves Batam, Padang and Palembang from there.

Garuda’s only other Malaysia flight is its twice-daily Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur service.

AIR China launched direct flights from Chengdu to Frankfurt last month, allowing passengers easy connection to destinations within the Star Alliance network.

On May 19, the airline kickstarted thrice-weekly services on the route, operating flights on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays via the Airbus A330-200.

Frankfurt-bound flights take off at 01.30 and arrive at 06.10 the same day, while return flights leave Frankfurt at 14.00 and touch down in Chengdu at 05.40 the next day.

Frankfurt is home to Star Alliance’s headquarters and Air China’s Europe headquarters.

ROBERT Hamer has been appointed the general manager of Andaz Shanghai.

Australian-born Hamer brings with him over 25 years of experience with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts to the role, and was last general manager at Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Sha Tin.

He started his career at the Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove and has worked in many cities in the Asia-Pacific, including Singapore, Melbourne, Tokyo, Bangkok and Fukuoka.