BRITISH Airways (BA) will trim capacity on its Bangkok services by 22,568 seats annually in each direction between London and Bangkok from October 27.

BA will replace the 337-seater Boeing 747-400 that operates its daily connection linking Bangkok and London with a 275-seater B777-200ER.

As a result of this change, BA will no longer offer first class service on the route. The latter comprises 48 seats in business class, 24 in premium economy and 203 in economy.

Additionally, the flight’s departure time from London-Heathrow has been moved from 22.05 to 15.05 to arrive in Bangkok in the morning. Bangkok-London will now become a daylight flight.

Just like the carrier’s Sydney and Singapore services, outbound Bangkok flights will move from the current Terminal 3 to Terminal 5.

HILTON Worldwide has made its maiden foray into Pune with the signing of a franchise agreement for DoubleTree by Hilton Pune-Chinchwad, slated for opening in June.

The franchise agreement with Panchshil Hotels secures the fourth DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in India. The 115-room property is located in Chinchwad, which forms one of the country’s largest industrial hubs together with neighbouring suburb Pimpri.

Facilities include in-room Internet access, three dining outlets, an executive lounge, 24-hour business and fitness centres, an outdoor rooftop pool and 260m² of meetings and events space.

“With the launch of our fourth (DoubleTree) hotel in India, we will be well on our way to doubling our network in the country this year. Presently, we have two hotels in Delhi NCR, at Gurgaon and Mayur Vihar, and a resort in Goa. We will open an all-suite hotel in Bengaluru and a resort in Jaipur later this year,” said John Greenleaf, global head, DoubleTree by Hilton.

Hilton Worldwide currently operates 12 hotels and resorts in India.

Martin Rinck, president, Asia-Pacific, Hilton Worldwide, anticipates the hotel group’s portfolio will increase to 17 hotels in India by the end of 2013.

OAKWOOD has picked a new colour for each of its brands in Asia, launching a summer promotion and consumer campaign to promote its properties.

Oakwood Premier is associated with peacock blue, Oakwood Residence, forest green and Oakwood Apartments, mandarin orange.

Eric Ow, spokesman for Oakwood Asia-Pacific, explained that the shift to the brands’ new colours would take place in a gradual and subtle way. “You won’t see our residences suddenly painted all green, for example, but in some decorations and amenities,” he said.

“We also organise themed activities and gifts to introduce and (allow guests) to interact with the new colours. At the Oakwood Premier Cozmo Jakarta, for example, the residents are delighted with a teal macaroon exclusively prepared by the signature restaurant,” Ow revealed.

The company has rolled out the Oakwood’s Color of Summer promotion, featuring special deals for stays in any of its 25 properties, while a new consumer campaign, What’s My Color, has also been launched, inviting the public to share in words, photos or videos what the colours mean to them.

CREATING a pipeline of unique and innovative content is one of the priorities set for Singapore’s tourism industry in the medium term, as the country seeks to sharpen its leisure and business event offerings in pursuit of quality growth.

Speaking at the annual Tourism Industry Conference yesterday, second minister for trade & industry, S Iswaran, said that in order to differentiate Singapore in the midst of keen regional competition, it was imperative to develop “distinct content and programming”.

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) chief executive, Lionel Yeo, explained that this would entail the NTO working with travel consultants to “create more itineraries that are catered to discerning travellers”, meaning less of the mass-market, single-day tours but those that offer “deeper immersion”.

In line with this push, details of the new Kickstart Fund, which supports experimental lifestyle concepts with tourism potential, were outlined yesterday. Running from June 3 to March 2016, grants of up to 50 per cent of qualifying costs per project will be available, capped at a maximum of S$75,000 (US$60,457). Projects could range from art tours to live events.

Agencies can also leverage the existing Tourism Technology Fund in either their business processes or the creation of enhanced experiences.

In addition, STB will launch a series of workshops in July, which will see leading consultants engage with attraction players in master classes to develop more in-depth products.

While industry members generally felt that the high-yield direction taken by the government was a necessary one, not every one agreed on how to get there.

For STB’s Yeo, what was lacking was the “ability to tell a good story”, a similar point raised by Association of Singapore Attractions chairman, Kevin Cheong, who said “heartware” – providing heartfelt service and targeting the heart of the consumer ­– was key.

However, Chan Brothers Travel group managing director & CEO, Anthony Chan, said that a master plan needed to be drawn up by STB to chart the resources, such as land and manpower, required by the tourism sector over the next decade.

– Read more in TTG Asia, May 3 issue

TRAVEL-related Internet searches among Thailand-based consumers have doubled in the past two years, driven by a jump in searches via mobile platforms, shows a new study by Google Thailand.

Travel-related queries originating in Thailand increased from 1,300 per minute in 2011 to 2,500 per minute early this year, with the proportion of searches conducted via mobile phone surging by a factor of 10 to 35 per cent, according to Business Insights with Google: Travel produced in partnership with Thai AirAsia.

Travel companies that develop clear online and digital strategies will be better equipped to survive and profit in today’s market, while those that fail to do so risk falling by the wayside, said Ariya Banomyong, country manager for Google Thailand who highlighted that online generates 85 per cent of sales for Thai AirAsia.

“If (travel experts) continue to just rely on their brick-and-mortar business and wait for people like you and me to go to them to buy an air ticket or tour, I think they are going to be very disappointed. They are in an era now where they have to go to the consumers.”

Travellers on average make seven searches before deciding to purchase, providing firms with seven opportunities to connect with customers before they buy, the same research found.

“Search is customers telling you what you want. That is very powerful if you understand it,” said Ariya. “The beauty is it’s not about (the) size (of your business). The Internet is the most affordable and effective channel for sales and marketing.”

However, Pascal Orczech, director of business development of golf tour operator, Golfasian, said: “The online channel has become pretty competitive, especially for general tour businesses.

“Providing a niche product, such as golf holidays, certainly helps to stand out from the crowded online tourism market place.”

MORE travel experts are now offering a greater variety of add-on options during hotel bookings in order to attract and retain customers, with airport transfers and sightseeing tours representing the biggest cross-selling opportunities.

According to Amadeus’ second Asia-Pacific hotel distribution survey, travel consultants were also increasingly rolling out assistance for car rentals, concert ticket purchases, dinner reservations and even metro passes.

Kartikeya Tripathi, regional director, hotel distribution, Amadeus Asia-Pacific, said: “Travel consultants today need to respond to changing consumer preferences by providing a one-stop service to travellers, particularly given the rising demand for ancillary options when travellers book their hotels.”

The study found that travel consultants now consider ease of booking and commission guarantees as the most important criteria when choosing a channel to make hotel reservations. Results mark a shift in priorities from 2010, when the amount of commission was the foremost concern.

The trade also listed hotel reviews as among the top five must-have features in a hotel booking solution, with findings indicating that some 70 per cent of travellers check user reviews before booking.

Meanwhile, those polled indicate that they have less influence over a traveller’s final choice of hotel, with only 32 per cent noting that customers accepted their hotel recommendations without question. The same figure was 51 per cent in 2010.

Furthermore, 62 per cent of travel consultants said travellers now compare their offers against consumer website prices, up from 48 per cent in 2010. The study suggested that travel consultants could influence travellers’ choice of hotels by offering a better deal and prepaid vouchers.

Over 1,047 travel consultants in Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand were surveyed.

GARUDA Indonesia will launch one regional and eight domestic routes, having taken the delivery of several new aircraft.

Regionally, Garuda will kickstart flights from Medan to Penang on June 1. Within Indonesia, the airline will commence Batam-Pekanbaru and Medan-Pekanbaru services as of May 1, Jakarta-Bengkulu and Jakarta-Tanjung Pandan on May 15, and Surabaya-Denpasar from May 19.

The aforementioned routes will be operated by Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft, configured with 96 seats in a two-class layout.

Garuda will also begin Denpasar-Bandung and Balikpapan-Denpasar services on May 18, using Boeing 737-800NG aircraft offering 156 seats in two classes.

The opening of these routes means that travellers from Bandung and Balikpapan can connect to international routes such as in Australia, China, Japan and South Korea through Denpasar, said Garuda president and CEO, Emirsyah Satar.

CROWNE Plaza Resort Xishuangbanna in China’s Yunnan province has opened its doors to guests, becoming the pioneer Crowne Plaza Resort in China and also the first five-star resort in China’s southernmost region.

The 520-key property’s design takes inspiration from Dai culture and the hotel is located close to the town of Jinghong.

Guests can choose from 80m² king rooms, two-room King-bedded suites, Club accommodation, two 470m² Royal suites and 1,600m² Presidential Villas. Club wings come with their own individual arrival areas, outdoor private pool and lounge facilities.

The hotel is equipped with F&B outlets such as Man Lin Chinese Restaurant, the Padma Dai that serves Yunnan clasics, lobby lounge S Bar with live entertainment in the evenings, Lotus Thai eatery and all-day dining restaurant Noo Sam.

Other on site services and amenities are: a 2,000m² fitness and leisure centre, a heated indoor pool, an outdoor resort pool, tennis courts, outdoor exercise areas, private shade retreats, a temple, a kids club and day trip arrangement services.

Meetings-wise, the hotel offers over 5,000m² of function space, with three ballrooms and 16 meeting rooms. The largest ballroom seats up to 1,000 guests while outdoor areas are available for themed dinners.