AS THE number of Indian travellers to Japan continues to rise yearly, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) is stepping up efforts to penetrate the market.

According to JNTO statistics, Japan welcomed 38,900 Indian travellers in 1H2013, a 12.7 per cent year-on-year rise. Having received 59,354 travellers in 2011 and 68,914 in 2012, Japan predicts 80,000 Indians will visit this year.

Hideki Manabe, executive director, JNTO Singapore Office, said: “The Kanagawa area is seeing significant growth (in arrivals) due to an increase in visitors to Yokohama and Hakone. Other destinations gaining in popularity are Shizuoka, Mount Fuji, Hiroshima, Chiba, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo.”

He also said that JNTO was “very optimistic” about the Indian market and there was “considerable focus on exploring marketing activities and achieving significant growth rate in 2013”.

The NTO intends to participate in travel events such as SATTE and liaise with Indian trade players through travel seminars and roadshows, as well as identify and promote suitable destinations for filming to attract more Bollywood filmmakers to shoot on location in Japan.

Susrita Banerjee, managing director, Fly Faraway, commented: “Indians are very attracted to Japanese culture and greater flight connectivity to the Far East is fuelling the opportunity to travel to Japan.

“Many tourists are stopping over for a few days on their way to destinations on the US west coast. The onsen (hot springs) are becoming popular for their therapeutic properties,” he added.

However, Koushik Goswami, general manager-outbound, Travelcorp, shared: “We facilitated location-hunting for shoots in Japan as well as the recruitment of bilingual technicians, line producers and camera persons for the film, which was challenging. Flights, hotels and ground handling were a cakewalk by comparison.”

MALAYSIA-BASED carrier Eaglexpress Air Charter has locked on to the Philippine Muslim pilgrimage market, with plans to open a Davao office on November 5 and begin flights to the Middle East.

The airline, which has had a GSA and Manila office since 1H2013, hopes to launch flights from Davao to Jeddah and/or Medina in January 2014 once it attains clearance from the Civil Aeronautics Board and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Flights will come with two halal meals, baggage allowance for holy water and will be served by Muslim staff.

Raudah Travel Philippines, Eaglexpress’ GSA in the Philippines, will facilitate tours, accommodation, food and the acquisition of hajj and umrah visas.

Edmund T Thelmo, president of Raudah Travel Philippines, said Eaglexpress’ flights saved travellers US$300-$400 by flying from Davao, eliminating additional travel time from Manila.

“Most of the (Philippine) Muslim population is in Mindanao. Davao is the only airport (in the region) that can handle international flights, specifically a Boeing 747,” he said, ruling out operations from the General Santos City airport. TTG Asia e-Daily understands that the airport in question lacks the customs, immigration and quarantine facilities needed for international operations.

Raudah is planning to work with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and the Magbassa Kita Foundation to attract local business.

Thelmo added: “We’re a wholesaler, so we’re open to partnerships with other travel agencies (in the Philippines).”

Established in 2011, Eaglexpress currently has operations in Malaysia, Indonesia and Africa servicing Muslim pilgrims for hajj and umrah trips.

MANDARIN Oriental Hotel Group has clinched management rights for a luxury hotel in Shenzhen, Southern China.

Due to open in 2017, the Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen will form part of Shum Yip’s UpperHills mixed-use project – comprising offices, residences, retail and outdoor space and parkland – located minutes away from Futian Central Business District and close to the main customs and immigration checkpoint to Hong Kong.

The hotel will feature 190 guestrooms including 17 suites, offering views of the city and the surrounding city parks.

Guests will have access to an exclusive executive club lounge and enjoy F&B outlets such as a rooftop specialty restaurant and bar, a Chinese restaurant with extensive private dining rooms, an all-day dining venue, lobby lounge and a signature Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop.

A 1,200m² Spa at Mandarin Oriental with six treatment suites, and fitness facilities including a heated indoor swimming pool will also be available.

Meeting spaces at Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen include a 1,000m² grand ballroom, 830m² junior ballroom and a variety of multi-purpose function spaces.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts has signed a management contract with Adler Group for Centra Bangtao Resort Phuket, which is slated for an August 2016 opening.

The new-build project is the hotel group’s eighth property in Phuket and second Centra value brand hotel – the first being Centara Ashlee Hotel Patong – and will be built within the Laguna resort complex.

Centara’s senior vice president for sales and marketing, Chris Bailey, said the hotel company had a strategic expansion plan for Phuket, where the group currently had four different brands to cater for specific market segments.

Said Bailey: “We have at present properties in Patong, Karon Beach, Kata Beach, and Mai Khao Beach…We also have a resort at Khao Lak, and two in Krabi.

When completed, the hotel will have 150 guestrooms, a swimming pool, a sundeck, a restaurant, a Cense by Spa Cenvaree, a mini-gym, a business corner and a kids’ corner.

*The earlier version of this article reported that Centara Hotels & Resorts was to open the Centra Laguna Resort Phuket in 2016, as per information from the hotel group. This has found to be inaccurate and corrections have been made to reflect the latest information.

BLUE Sky Group last week opened its third property in Indonesia – the Blue Sky Hotel Petamburan Jakarta.

The hotel has 96 guestrooms across five categories: Single, Superior, Deluxe, Super Deluxe and Executive Suite.

Facilities include Golden Palace Suki & Oriental Restaurant, a lobby lounge, a fitness centre and a swimming pool. The hotel’s three meeting rooms each accommodate between 12 and 100 pax.

The first Blue Sky property, Blue Sky Hotel Balikpapan is situated in East Kalimantan while the second, Blue Sky Pandurata, is also located in Jakarta.

THIS year’s Shanghai Tourism Festival will light up the streets of the Chinese city between September 14 to October 6, with a parade, music festival and markdowns at Shanghai’s attractions.

For the duration of the festival, Shanghai’s tourism suppliers will offer a range of discounts for customers, with 51 of the city’s most-visited attractions, such as the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai Wild Animals Park and Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, cutting admission prices by half between September 14 to 18.

New events joining the lineup of festivities include the Shanghai W-Bank Music Festival, which will be held from October 1 to 3 at Xuhui Riverside Lawn.

Shanghai Tourism Festival’s float parade makes a return featuring performers from Belgium, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and the Bahamas for the first time. In total, 29 troupes and 20 floats from 25 countries will take to the streets.

The English version of the festival’s website is due to be launched soon.