INDONESIA Lion Air Group launched its full-service subsidiary, Batik Air, yesterday, with a twice-daily Jakarta-Manado flight slated to be the latter’s first service come May 3.

The launch was postponed earlier this month to allow the parent group to focus on recovery following the Lion Air crash in Bali on April 13 (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 18, 2013).

Batik Air will begin operations with a fleet of six Boeing 737-900ERs this year, serving routes between Jakarta and Balikpapan, Pekanbaru and Ambon.

The aircraft has 180 seats including 12 business and 168 economy, offering a seat pitch of 32 inches and 29 inches in the respective classes. The interior is equipped with individual touch-screen entertainment monitors and telecommunications services.

Lion Air general affairs director, Edward Sirait, said: “(Passengers) will be able to make calls and access the Internet on board at a later stage. We are in the process of materialising (the telecommunication service) with related parties.”

Lion Group has also placed on order for five Boeing 787 Dreamliners – scheduled for delivery in 2015 – to strengthen Batik Air’s international operations.

A NUMBER of international sport events will take place in Vietnam this year, bringing with them hopes of stronger foreign arrivals into the country.

The inaugural Laguna Lang Co Triathlon kicked off the year’s race calendar on April 11. Held over four days at the new Laguna Lang Co integrated resort, which sits some 55km from Da Nang International Airport, the race was attended by 246 people, most of whom were foreigners who stayed onsite at Angsana Lang Co and Banyan Tree Lang Co.

Mui Ne in south-eastern Vietnam will host an off-road triathlon this month, an event that is expected to draw 350 participants.

Jean-Luc Voison, joint founder of race organiser, VietAdventure, said: “We have two other events, the Madagui Trophy and the Mountain Bike Forest Challenge, which are both based out of our new Talai Eco-Lodge. These events have been key to the success of (the Talai Eco-Lodge) as it is based in an area where there has been almost zero tourism until now.”

Later in the year, Danang will host the new Danang International Marathon, managed by US-based World Marathon Tours.

Ben Thanh Tourist in Ho Chi Minh City has been appointed official tour operator for Vietnam, and its vice director, Nguyen Minh Quyen, said the company had already secured 500 entrants from the US alone.

“This (event) is huge for Danang. We are working with many of the city’s five-star hotels, including Furama Resort Danang and Fusion Maia Resort, as well as three- and four-star options,” said Nguyen, adding that the company has developed a series of packages, including a 10-day tour that will drive business to hotels in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen added that Vietnamese consumers are also set to travel for the event.

He said: “We are seeing a lot of interest from locals who will take part in the fun run and make a holiday out of the event.”

Meanwhile, more events are being planned for Vietnam, including an ultra mountain race, golf tournaments and a multi-discipline race in Ninh Binh, a city in the north.

By David Lloyd Buglar

AYALA Land and the Makati Tourism Foundation are banding together to increase Makati’s visibility as an arts and culture destination through a year-long campaign, offering up event spaces that can also be booked by groups.

Make it Makati is the tagline for Ayala’s ongoing 60 billion peso (US$1.5 billion) redevelopment masterplan for Makati, which began in 2011 and divides the city into six distinct hubs for business, lifestyle, entertainment and transport.

Said Christian Pirodon, president, Makati Tourism Foundation: “We would like Makati to be known not just as a centre for business, but also as a centre of cultural activity, with historical sites of its own.”

Pirodon, who is also InterContinental Hotels Group’s area general manager Philippines, added that enhancing Makati’s leisure image would also allow hotels to attract more room nights from families and FITs.

Its entertainment district, Circuit, opened in January with an events ground, and will be augmented by a sports park due to open in October followed by a 1,500-pax Circuit Theatre for local and international, Broadway-level productions, as well as a number of 300m² Black Box spaces.

Retail outlets, dining options and accommodation are still under construction, and Ayala Land president, Antonino Aquino, predicts that about 90 per cent of Circuit will be complete by 2016.

Two major music festivals will kick off in May: Wanderland Musicfest, targeting 5,000 participants, and Circuit Fest, a skateboard and music festival aiming for a 15,000-strong crowd.

However, Mel Ignacio, assistant vice president, Ayala Land, said that the arts would not be the sole focus of Circuit. “We don’t want to limit (the Theatre) as an arts venue. We know that in other countries it could be utilised as a conference facility,” she said, adding that surrounding spaces such as rehearsal rooms and meet-and-greet areas would be attractive for private parties. “Our venue packages are designed to accommodate groups of less than 100 people or as large as 15,000-20,000.”

A foreign bank has already booked Circuit for a cocktails function for an estimated 800-1,200 pax later in the year, while Ayala Land’s Family Day in December expects to welcome 1,500 pax.

Ignacio also revealed that Ayala Land is looking for a site in Makati for a convention centre.

Meanwhile, the Makati Tourism Federation is rolling out a new Makati Loop coach tour that will make stops at parks, churches and art galleries, as well as a tourist information kiosk. Ayala Land is also supporting the foundation’s efforts with a smartphone app to promote Makati.

*Our original copy stated that the year-long campaign referred to Ayala Land’s Make it Makati tagline for its redevelopment masterplan and that the smartphone app was a product of the Makati Tourism Foundation. These are incorrect and have been changed.

ACCOR’S board of directors has given chairman and CEO Denis Hennequin the boot and instituted an interim team, following differences over the implementation of the group’s strategy.

A statement released by the French company said that the board “requested that the top priority be given to focusing energy and resources on transforming Accor’s business model. The board took note of Denis Hennequin’s reservations and unanimously voted to terminate his mandate with immediate effect on April 23, 2013”.

According to Reuters, Hennequin was employed in 2010 to speed up the implementation of an asset-light strategy, focusing on franchises and management contracts. However, stakeholders grew impatient when Accor shares performed poorly on the market, falling close to five per cent in 2013, and wanted to expedite asset sales and franchising for better returns.

Yann Caillère, previously president and COO has been appointed as CEO, vice chairman Philippe Citerne is now non-executive chairman, and board member Sébastien Bazin will take over Citerne as vice chairman.

Reuters stated that Hennequin’s predecessor, Gilles Pelisson, was shown the door in 2010 after “strategic differences” with the board.

THE Indian government has given the go-ahead for the introduction of visa-on-arrival (VOA) service at five more international airports – Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi in Kerala, Goa, Hyderabad and Bengaluru – with a formal notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs expected this week.

The service will be available to citizens from 11 countries, namely Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.

The decision to extend VoA services beyond New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata’s international airports was made at the recent third inter-ministerial coordination committee on tourism.

“Preparations to implement the scheme at (Kerala’s airports) are currently underway. The new scheme and the convenience it offers will encourage more tourists to travel to Kerala,” said Anil Kumar, tourism minister for Kerala.

“Tourists planning to visit Kerala will no longer have to wait for issuance of visas by the respective Indian embassies or consulates. The numbers are definitely going to increase,” asserted Arun Anand, managing director, Midtown Travels.

“If visa processes are simplified, we can expect many tourists from South-east Asia as these two airports are well-connected (to the region). We’ll look to see if the notification makes people of Indian origin holding other passports eligible for VoA, as this will further boost tourism to Kerala,” he added.

OCCUPANCY, average daily rate (ADR) and RevPAR for hotels in Asia-Pacific fell in March, although South-east Asia boasted positive growth.

Hotel occupancy dropped one per cent year-on-year to 70 per cent, while ADR slid 0.8 per cent to US$129.40 and RevPAR tumbled 1.9 per cent to US$90.60, according to statistics from STR Global.

Unsurprisingly, figures from 1Q2013 echoed similar negativity – occupancy was down 0.9 per cent to 65.8 per cent, ADR fell 1.6 per cent to US$131.60 and RevPAR decreased 2.5 per cent to US$86.60.

However, South-east Asia and Taiwan were the bright spots in the region.

Elizabeth Winkle, managing director, STR Global, said: “In US dollar terms, the region overall started off the year slow. However, South-east Asia, Australia and Oceania posted positive RevPAR growth during the first quarter.”

“Coinciding with the Easter vacation, South-east Asia reported an almost six per cent increase in ADR, signifying its continued popularity as a leisure destination for many Europeans,” she said.

In US dollars, Taipei and Phuket displayed the largest ADR increases in March, with 25.7 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. Bangkok (27.3 per cent), Phuket (23.8 per cent) and Taipei (19.3) also had RevPAR growth of over 15 per cent.

In terms of local currency, Bangkok reported the largest occupancy increase year-on-year, growing 13.6 per cent to 80.9 per cent, followed by Hanoi, which rose 10.7 percentage points to 78.1 per cent.

Of the three markets that saw ADR rise by more than 15 per cent, Jakarta and Bali posted 18.9 per cent and 18.2 per cent growth respectively. The third was Taipei, expanding 30.3 per cent.

Bangkok (21.5 per cent), Phuket (18.2 per cent) and Jakarta (17.8 per cent) were three of the four markets that secured RevPAR increases of over 15 per cent, with the last being Taipei (23.6 per cent).

MARRIOTT International has launched the Marriott Institute of Hospitality Education in partnership with Anhui Zhong-Ao Institute of Technology in China, and will begin with an intake of 300 students this year.

The school will become an integral part of Anhui Zhong-Ao Institute of Technology, and offer a three-year diploma programme.

The curriculum will centre on hotel management initially, before expanding to include tourism management and culinary and nutrition. Final-year students will also be allocated work placements at Marriott’s China properties.

Students will have the chance to attend lectures by Marriott’s senior executives, go on student field studies and take up internship opportunities at Marriott’s hotels.

Michael Malik, market vice president – eastern China, Marriott International, has been appointed deputy dean of the Marriott Institute of Hospitality Education.

Regan Taikitsadaporn, chief human resources officer, Marriott International Asia-Pacific, said that the establishment of the school “serves as a timely move to fuel our tremendous portfolio growth in China”.

Marriott already has in place cooperation programmes with 15 tertiary institutions in locations such as Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, and relations with 112 colleges across China. In 2012, the company hired over 2,500 interns.

Wang Yuang Hao, dean, Marriott Institute of Hospitality Education, said: “The hospitality industry of China has been growing rapidly and this trend is expected to continue in coming years. Therefore, it is essential that our education will keep pace with and meet the human resources demand of the industry.”

TAIWAN’S China Airlines will today sign an agreement with Russia’s Transaero Airlines to codeshare and launch a jointly operated flight.

According to AFP, the deal will be signed at the Taiwanese carrier’s headquarters in Taoyuan today.

From May 1, the two carriers will launch a twice-weekly flight between Taipei and Moscow via Bangkok, deploying Boeing 747-400s on this route.

China Airlines spokesman Yang Tzu-pao was quoted as saying: “This will be a milestone in the history of air transportation between Taiwan and Russia.”

RAMADA Plaza Menam Riverside Bangkok has promoted Klaus Sennik to general manager.

Sennik, who brings more than 40 years of hospitality experience to his latest position, was most recently hotel manager of Ramada Plaza Menam Riverside Bangkok and has worked in many cities across the world with many international hotel chains.

In his new role, Sennik will manage day-to-day operations and work with the hotel’s owners to supervise the refurbishment and upgrade of the hotel.