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.

CHINESE conglomerate HNA Group and Spanish hotel chain NH Hoteles are taking a second stab at collaboration, with details of the tie-up to be revealed in September.

HNA has secured a 20 per cent stake in NH worth 234.3 million euros (US$306.1 million) and at least two of HNA’s directors will join the NH board.

The announcement on the terms of investment comes nearly two years after a failed initial attempt at collaboration in 2011 (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 31, 2011). The deal was dropped because of the volatility of NH shares on the stock market at the time.

A spokesman for NH, which specialises in budget-minded business travellers and operates close to 400 hotels in 26 countries, said part of the deal will see NH managing HNA hotels outside of China, as well as developing and running hotels in China under its brand name.

The Spanish company will also enjoy preferential treatment from HNA travel agencies sending clients overseas.

He explained: “The priority up to now has been to reach an agreement on the investment.

“Other parts of the agreement will probably be revealed in September, given that NH is working on a five-year plan in which it will be incorporated.”

HNA Group’s travel-related subsidiaries include Hainan Airlines and 13 airports, in addition to a tourism holding that includes Lucky Way International Travel Agency, a hotel chain operating 70 properties in China, and car rental and convention services.

NEW Zealand’s prime minister and tourism minister, John Key, has announced that the country will inject some NZ$158 million (US$133 million) into the tourism sector as part of an internationally-focused growth package targeting different types of tourists across various markets through its 2013 budget.

Of the total amount, NZ$44.5 million will go towards attracting visitors from emerging growth markets such as India, Indonesia and Latin America.

“Travellers from these countries are looking for destinations to visit now and we want New Zealand to be the first choice. Although tourist numbers are growing, we currently have a very small presence in these markets. Our additional investment of NZ$44.5 million will enable us to attract them,” said Key.

Another NZ$24.5 million will be channelled into traditionally important markets such as Australia, the US, the UK, Germany and Japan, as well as China, a source market that has continued to grow exponentially over the last ten years.

The government will also partner the tourism sector to offer NZ$28 million in four years under a co-funding model to be called the Tourism Growth Partnership, to support business innovation and growth initiatives, with the government contributing up to 50 per cent to each initiative.

A further NZ$34 million will go to growing the business events sector, which includes conferences, conventions and exhibitions. “Conference and convention visitors are particularly valuable as they spend NZ$318 on average, compared to NZ$208 for the average tourist,” Key observed.

“In addition to this, we will spend NZ$20 million over four years to target very high-value visitors who spend far in excess of the average tourist. These visitors use luxury accommodation, private transport, bespoke activity providers and high-end tours,” he said.

BEST Western International is enlarging its presence in Cebu with a second hotel opening, hot on the heels of its debut property.

Located on Mactan off the coast of Cebu, Best Western Cebu Sand Bar Resort is a 58-room midscale hotel with facilities such as a freeform outdoor swimming pool, an entertainment centre and a playground.

The hotel also caters to business travellers and corporate groups with three meeting rooms, a 280m² ballroom and complimentary Internet throughout the premises.

Glenn de Souza, Best Western’s vice president of international operations – Asia & the Middle East, said: “Since we debuted in Cebu late last year with the Best Western Plus Lex Cebu Hotel (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 21, 2013), we have experienced strong demand, both from within the Philippines and elsewhere.”

Best Western Cebu Sand Bar Resort will become the seventh Best Western hotel in the Philippines, joining midscale Best Western hotels in Manila, Angeles City and Boracay, as well as upscale Best Western Plus hotels in Makati City and Cebu.

The chain plans to operate 11 hotels with almost 1,200 rooms in the country by end-2014, adding four more hotels, including two in Cebu.