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.

AUSTRALIA’S regulatory authority has approved Virgin Australia’s 60 per cent stake in Tiger Airways Australia, a move hoped to tame the latter’s unprofitability and transform it into an effective competitor to Jetstar.

Launched six years ago, Tiger Australia has not reported operating profit since, said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims.

“We concluded that it was highly likely that Tiger Australia would leave the market if this acquisition didn’t go ahead, and accordingly blocking the acquisition would not serve to protect competition,” he explained.

As such, ACCC would “not oppose” Virgin’s intentions to purchase the Tiger Australia stake for A$35 million (US$35.9 million).

The deal will strengthen the loss-making LCC’s balance sheet by S$128 million (US$103.1 million) and contribute S$120 million to Tiger’s pro forma profit and loss account, Singapore’s The Business Times quoted Tiger Airways group CEO, Koay Peng Yen, as saying. Tiger also completes its S$297 million equity-based fundraising exercise this week.

Both sides have further agreed to inject another A$62.5 million into the business and grow Tiger Australia’s fleet size to 23 aircraft by March 2018, stated the report.

Separately, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is in the process of upping its stake in Virgin Australia through the acquisition of another 9.9 per cent share in the latter to bring its total stake to 19.9 per cent. The move is subject to approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review.

SIA acquired 10 per cent of Virgin Australia late last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 30, 2012) but the relationship began in 2011 when the two airlines entered into a long-term partnership including codesharing and reciprocal frequent-flyer programme benefits, among others (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 12, 2011).