THE Royal Pacific Hotel & Towers, Hong Kong will unveil its new Internet booking engine on July 1 and mark the occasion with the launch of a month-long deal for stays.
The hotel is offering one night’s accommodation in a Deluxe Harbour View Room with free Wi-Fi, daily breakfast and 300 Asia Miles for HK$1,280 (US$165) per night.
More details are available at www.royalpacific.com.hk.
THE 8th Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Session 2015 and the Congress on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) 2017 have made Melbourne their destination of choice.
Some 1,700 delegates will converge on the city for the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Session, while 900 scientists, patients and medical professionals are expected to attend the Congress on SLE.
Both events will be held over four days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and will generate approximately A$10.5 million (US$9.6 million) for the state economy.
“These successful bids add to some of the world’s largest and most prestigious medical conferences Melbourne has won in the last few years, including the International AIDS Conference and the World Congress of Cardiology, both of which will be held in 2014,” said Victorian minister for tourism and major events, Louise Asher.
Since December 2010, the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) has secured 56 international association meetings for the MCEC. These events are expected to attract more than 77,000 delegates and generate A$370 million worth of economic impact for the state of Victoria.
MCB CEO, Karen Bolinger, said working collaboratively with the organisation’s partners was the key to success.
“Our proven bidding strategy, working with local hosts such as the Australian Rheumatology Association in the case of the Lupus bid, has seen Melbourne secure a further two medical events that will create a number of flow on business opportunities for the city, including an estimated 7,800 roomnights for our accommodation providers,” Bolinger said.
MCEC chief executive, Peter King, said: “The attraction of Melbourne and MCEC continues to be a major drawcard for business events.”
LANGHAM Hospitality Group is bringing back its Double the Extra Mile campaign for the third time, seeking to reward event planners who take their events to participating hotels between July 1 and December 31 this year.
Event planners can enjoy double takethelead points or earn up to 130,000 miles from any of the 10 selected frequent flyer or travel reward programme partners.
To qualify for the perks, events must be booked between July 1 and September 30, and have a revenue of at least US$6,500.
Double the Extra Mile is available at all properties worldwide except Eaton Smart New Delhi Airport Transit Hotel.
Simon Manning, vice president of sales and marketing for Langham Hospitality Group, said: “As Double the Extra Mile was so successful for the past two years, we are happy to extend the offer to meeting planners for another year. They can earn four reward points or two miles for every US$1 spent on meetings and events while enjoying our bespoke service and innovative meeting solutions.”
WITH the burgeoning use of smartphones and tablets as well as the proliferation of 3G coverage, mobile will pave the way forward for the travel industry, according to technology and hospitality experts speaking at the No Vacancy Southeast Asia 2013 conference in Bangkok.
Bambos Kaisharis, Google’s industry head of travel for South-east Asia, said: “Mobile searches have overtaken desktop searches in many parts of Asia, especially in (South) Korea, Japan and Indonesia.”
However, he pointed out that mobile still had much growth potential in the region, saying: “In Asia, only one-quarter of bookings are made online, versus 50 per cent in the US.”
Tomas Laboutka, CEO and co-founder of last-minute booking app HotelQuickly, agrees that the travel landscape has seen a “shift to mobile”.
“Forty-eight per cent of travel planning are conducted via mobile in Asia-Pacific…Mobile has massive growth ahead, especially among affluent, spontaneous travellers, flashpackers and staycationers in Asia,” he added.
Given that 65 per cent of affluent travellers are undecided when they begin a search process, Google’s Kaisharis urged travel websites to enhance the mobile experience.
“We no longer talk about ‘why mobile’, but ‘how mobile’…Offering the right experience on the right platform makes the difference,” he explained.
Good design is therefore vital for the mobile experience, pointed out Anthony Green, digital director, QUO Global.
He urged hoteliers to adopt user-friendly booking engines, to ensure websites are designed to suit all platforms, and to invest in content delivery network to enhance user experiences.
SRI Lanka is ramping up its entertainment inventory with a casino and gaming resort in a bid to attract the wealthy Chinese and Indian crowd.
Backed by Australian casino mogul James Packer’s Crown and Sri Lankan gaming industry veteran Ravi Wijeratne’s Rank Group, the 36-storey casino cum super luxury resort will occupy a 1.3-hectare space within a special gaming zone in Colombo.
The US$350 million resort is scheduled to open in 2016 and its development is in line with tourism planners’ hopes to make Colombo’s nightlife appear as exciting as that in Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur.
Vipula Wanigasekera, general manager of the state-owned Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, said MICE and big business delegates needed an atmosphere that not only offers various cuisine but also music, dance and entertainment.
“Gaming is part of the overall package of nightlife. When we bid for MICE events we need to show that there is some form of nightlife for delegates,” he commented.
Rank Group’s CEO, Wijeratne, was unavailable for comment but an interview published in the local Sunday Times last week quoted him as saying the objective of the new resort would be to attract wealthy Indian and Chinese nationals, among others.
Imran Hassan, director – Lanka Exhibition and Convention Services, said that unlike other capitals, Colombo was “dead” and there was a dearth of good entertainment.
“Look at Las Vegas…it’s the largest meeting place in the world because of the entertainment,” he remarked.
MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) will be bringing back a daily Dubai service beginning August 5.
The Kuala Lumpur-Dubai return service will offer 282 seats per flight or 3,948 seats weekly, using the Boeing 777-200 aircraft.
Beginning August 5, Dubai-bound flights will depart Kuala Lumpur daily at 23.30 to arrive in Dubai at 02.20 the next day. The return flight will depart Dubai at 04.10 to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 15.25.
MAS suspended the route in January 2012 as a result of its rationalisation exercise (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 16, 2011), according to its CEO, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.
The reintroduction of the Dubai service follows Emirates’ recent increase of frequencies for the same route in April this year, from 26 to 28 weekly flights (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 3, 2013).
MAS is offering promotional fares starting from RM1,999 (US$628) and RM5,999 for all-inclusive economy- and business-class return travel, respectively. Bookings end July 15 for the travel period August 5, 2013 to March 31, 2014.
ASCOTT has secured a contract to manage its first Ascott-branded serviced residence in India, the 160-unit Ascott Ireo City Gurgaon, which is slated to open by 2016.
Located in the centre of Ireo City, the property is next to the planned two-storey Ireo City Central retail zone and entertainment hub on Golf Course Extension Road.
The serviced residence offers one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as facilities such as a swimming pool, gym, and an in-house restaurant.
Ascott’s CEO, Lee Chee Koon, said: “We remain confident in India’s long-term economic fundamentals and continue to see potential for serviced residences in the emerging country. With the addition of Ascott Ireo City Gurgaon, we now have nine properties with more than 1,900 apartment units in India.”
Ascott also recently announced its plan to open its eighth serviced residence in the Philippines. The 150-unit Somerset Alabang Manila is slated to open in 2017 (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 12, 2013).
From left: Keita Sekine and Shuichi Ueda
THAI hotel chain Dusit International is growing its reach farther abroad with the creation of a regional sales office in Tokyo and two key appointments.
Keita Sekine has been named Dusit’s regional director of sales and marketing – Japan. He brings 15 years of experience in sales and operations to his new position, and has chalked up experience as director of sales with Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo and Marriott International’s Guam Marriott Resort and Spa.
Also on the Dusit sales team is Shuichi Ueda, now the director of sales – Japan. Ueda was last assistant director of sales at Dusit Thani Manila, where he oversaw Japanese corporate and leisure accounts.
According to a press statement by Dusit, Japan has been one of the chain’s strongest source markets, a trend expected to continue ahead of the opening of the Dusit Thani Guam resort.
Dusit has embarked on a global expansion plan in what it has termed its “Year of Expansion”, having sealed a joint venture agreement for China with real estate and hotel developer Changzhou Qiao Yu Group (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 24, 2013) and securing hotel openings in the Middle East, North America and India (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 15, 2013).
JAPAN National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Singapore has ushered in a new executive director in Hideki Manabe, as predecessor Motonari Adachi returns to Japan for his next appointment.
Manabe, who arrived in Singapore last week, formally introduced himself yesterday at a reception held by JNTO and attended by travel trade representatives, joking: “I came with the haze.”
The new executive director was last director for railway policy planning, general affairs division, with Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Meanwhile, Adachi will bid Singapore farewell this Friday after three years of helming the local JNTO office.
He returns to Tokyo to assume the role of senior deputy director, general affairs division, minister’s secretariat within the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Looking ahead, the NTO is collaborating with Expedia on a new consumer campaign, Jalan Jalan Japan, set to launch on July 1.
Targeting single women in their 20s and 30s, the campaign seeks to woo this segment for FIT trips to Japan by highlighting local destinations and activities that are easy on the pocket.
“The yen is dropping now and we hope to introduce affordable shopping and food to women travellers,” shared Kenichiro Ozaki, director, JNTO Singapore. “We’re aiming for 200,000 outbound travellers from Singapore this year, and 10,000 more women travellers per year.”
According to JNTO, preliminary Singapore outbound arrivals to Japan between January and May this year posted 61,600, a 13.6 per cent year-on-year increase over 2012’s 54,202 arrivals.
INDIA is expected to unveil a national policy for MICE by end-September this year, the absence of which has crippled the country’s endeavour to position itself as an international MICE destination.
India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) vice chairman, Chander Mansharamani, said: “Deliberations for the policy are underway. We recently had a meeting with the additional secretary of the Ministry of Commerce with regards to the finances necessary for aggressive marketing. The ministry is positive about the policy.
“We are working to announce the MICE policy by end of September at the celebrations of ICPB’s silver jubilee…. We have plans to get some top 50 buyers from the world at the function so that we can interact with them and provide a peek into what all we can offer.”
According to ICPB, the new MICE policy will include a system to record MICE-related statistics in the country, a guidebook providing information on India’s various MICE facilities for foreign buyers, and education programmes for state governments on the economic benefits of MICE events.
“We at ICPB feel that we need the support of a city if we are looking to attract international events. In countries like Singapore or Australia, the city goes and bids for a conference, not an individual. So, we need to convince our governments to get international conferences to our cities. We will try to engage local governments and all the stakeholders of the city,” said Mansharamani.
Anup Nair, managing director, Incentive Destinations, said: “(Having a) MICE policy will help the segment. However, it is important that through the policy, the government is proactive in finding solutions to various issues hampering the growth of the MICE market in the country.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism has begun talks with the state government of Maharashtra for the introduction of a single-window clearance system for MICE, and is likely to seek discussions with other state governments once the system is up and running in Maharashtra.
