AFTER weathering a long phase of investor apathy and governmental clearances, the Pune International Exhibition and Convention Centre (PIECC) has finally been cleared for construction.

Scheduled for completion by 2017, the 97-hectare PIECC will boast a staggering seating capacity of 20,000, with a floor area of 13,000m². It will have seven exhibition centres, a convention centre, a golf course, a five-star hotel, a business complex, shopping malls and residences.

The US$115 million project is developed by the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority. Upon completion, a private company will be appointed to market PIECC at an international level.

PIECC can expect a ready market, as automobile companies such as Land Rover, General Motors, Fiat, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Tata Motors, which have manufacturing bases in the vicinity, currently go to New Delhi for their auto shows and conferences.

Sushil Wadhwa, chairman, Platinum Incentives, said: “In India, the domestic demand for large MICE spaces is high and the sooner the PIECC is functional, the better it will be for the industry. With many international corporations and global associations looking at India to host their events, this will be a huge boost for the MICE trade in India.”

TWO Malaysian inbound tour operators specialising in German-speaking markets have reported a decline in business for the year, although statistics from Tourism Malaysia showed a single-digit percentage increase in arrivals from these markets up until the first half of 2012.

Diethelm Travel Malaysia’s managing director, Manfred Kurz, and Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel’s (AOS) director, business development, Noor M Ismail, concurred that the depreciation of the euro and high airfares had resulted in the poor showing.

Said Kurz: “Year-on-year, we have seen a 10 per cent drop in the German-speaking market. The weak euro is not helping as total package prices have gone up by 10 to 20 per cent, depending on the product. Our overseas partners in Germany and Austria have also complained that airfares to the Far East have become more expensive.”

Noor said AOS had seen a drop of some 20 per cent this year and predicted that the drop would be even more severe in 2013, as travellers would hesitate to spend on longhaul holidays.

The company last year began intensifying efforts in other markets, such as the UK and Eastern Europe, to make up for the possible drop. It is also promoting dual destinations such as Singapore-Malaysia and Malaysia-Cambodia to attract repeat visitors from German-speaking markets.

Meanwhile, Diethelm is reaching out to niche market segments such as “photography enthusiasts and those who love nature and soft adventure”. “There is still a following for the normal packages such as city tours, and visits to the national park of Taman Negara. Langkawi and Sabah are still high in demand,” said Kurz.

Germany showed 7.2 per cent growth in the first half of 2012 over the same period in 2011, recording 64,705 arrivals from 60,347 before. Arrivals from Switzerland grew 8.9 per cent to 13,058 in the first half of 2012.

INDIA’S Ministry of Tourism has successfully won the right to host the Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS). To be held in Jaipur from October 4-7, 2013, this is the second time that the event will be held in Asia, after it was held in Bali in 2011.

This is the seventh edition of GSWS. Earlier editions have been held in New York City, Interlaken, Istanbul and Aspen.

The ministry expects about 400 international delegates from over 40 countries to attend this by-invitation-only global summit. Participants will come from sectors like hospitality, tourism, finance, real estate, medicine, technology, consultancy and other related industries, according to Ministry of Tourism sources. Max Healthcare, a private sector company, will be responsible for ground facilitation for the conference.

Gerie Bauer, president, Great Spas of the World US, said: “India is a logical place to hold this summit. India has offered its ancient wellness secrets through yoga, Ayurveda and meditation to the rest of the world.”

Susie Ellis, chairperson and CEO, GSWS, said in a media release: “It is very significant that we will be meeting in India, where the government has taken a worldwide leadership role by identifying wellness tourism as an important contributor to a nation’s economy. India is an ideal location to explore the historic roots of wellness, and address new markets and new revenue opportunities around the globe.”

Sonal Swamy, director, Syrisa Travels India, said: “Spa and wellness products in India have attained quality standards on par with the rest of the world…GSWS will benefit from the interface with Indian stakeholders.”

FOLLOWING a recently inked codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, Garuda Indonesia has commenced services to London, Paris, Manchester, Moscow, Athens and Muscat, via Garuda’s new Middle Eastern hub, Abu Dhabi.

The Indonesian airline also flies from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Abu Dhabi four times a week.

Garuda Indonesia president & CEO, Emirsyah Satar, said: “The opening of the Abu Dhabi hub will facilitate passengers who wish to travel to more than 80 destinations served by Etihad Airways in 50 cities in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.”

As partner, Garuda Indonesia will support Etihad Airways’ network development in the eastern regions, while Etihad Airways will endorse Garuda Indonesia’s expansion in the west.

As part of this collaboration, Garuda Indonesia can sell Etihad Airways’ tickets for more than 27 destinations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.

Etihad Airways will also be able to sell Garuda Indonesia tickets on the following routes: Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta-Abu Dhabi and to major cities in Indonesia, such as Surabaya, Denpasar, Manado, Makassar and Balikpapan (from Jakarta).

The agreement covers several aspects, such as passenger codeshare, cargo cooperation, airport service improvements, engineering and maintenance, lounges and frequent flyer programmes.

BASED on the results of its recent survey, Travelport is exhorting travel agencies to harness mobile technology to offer younger, technology-savvy travellers support throughout the travel cycle and create new points of sale.

According to the findings, ‘digital natives’ or people aged 35 and under, show a strong preference for accessing travel information via their mobile devices to view itineraries, search for travel-related information, view boarding passes and perform online check-ins, with 60 per cent viewing their smartphones as their “travelling companion” to whom they turn to for advice for the duration of their trip.

While leisure travellers rate the ability to receive travel alerts as the most critical aspect of notifications, there is a growing demand for travel offers and advice, such as promotional offers on hotels, dining offers, destination guides and airport information.

They also wanted to see a better design, offline access, a user-friendly format and the ability to customise what is viewed.

Yet half of all agencies surveyed are involved only up till the traveller’s point of departure. Though most offer multiple services including car rental, travel insurance and rail, communication is limited to traditional face-to-face contact, email or telephone.

This creates an opportunity for travel consultants to cash in on, stated the survey.

Travel agencies can provide discount vouchers, restaurant promotions as well as airport information, destination news, traffic and weather updates, thus adopting new points of sale via mobile platforms that are likely to be key sales conversion factors.

A move in this direction would take agencies closer to becoming full service, ensuring they are available for the traveller throughout all the phases of the travel cycle and not just when bookings are made.

The survey also found that despite being technology savvy, one in two travellers used offline travel agencies and two in three used OTAs. Digital natives were also more likely to engage travel consultants when planning complex trips.

POWER was reportedly back in Samui at 4am today, with major hotels heaving a sigh of relief as many were worried their back-up generators could not keep up much longer due to a fuel shortage on the island.

Tour operators and hoteliers said though the debacle was disappointing, no cancellations had been received for the imminent peak holiday season.

The three-day black-out was caused when a section of an underground high-voltage cable out to sea, which provides electricity to Samui and Phangan, ruptured. Surat Thani Governor Chatpong Chatphut declared the two islands a disaster zone after engineers failed to restore electricity on Thursday. The Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday that “tourists were rushing to leave the island”.

Said Chris Bailey, senior vice president, sales & marketing, Centara Hotels and Resorts: “It was very disappointing, especially as both of our units (hotels) were impacted and running high occupancy. Fortunately we had back-up generators at both units and were able to supply most of the services at the resorts.”

“Overall customers had been very understanding as they knew that it was beyond the control of individual resorts. However the length of time to resolve was frustrating and disappointing to all concerned, guests and business operators on the island alike.

“We have not seen any cancellations for the upcoming peak season.”

Exotissimo Thailand’s general manager Michael Lynden-Bell said: “A small number of agents contacted us to check on their clients but there was little panic. I believe this will not have any major impact on the image of Samui and we haven’t seen any cancellations.”

Said Martin Kunzmann, resident manager of Amari Palm Reef Koh Samui: “From our side there wasn’t much of an impact as the hotel had a full generator back-up, meaning all services were available as normal. The only real effect to guests were, not being able to use ATMs and other outside services not powered by a generator. Fortunately most people I spoke to were in a forgiving frame of mind – the weather is fabulous and they are just getting on with enjoying their holiday.”

The incident however has renewed calls for Samui to develop a stronger infrastructure that will support its growth and maintain its image as a world-class resort.

Utilities, both water and electricity, are deemed insufficient to meet population growth and

KOREAN Air is resuming flights to Colombo after 28 years, becoming one of only three airlines to fly to Sri Lanka with a first-class cabin.

The thrice-weekly flights between Seoul and Colombo will begin on March 9, 2013 with an Airbus A330, said Priyantha Mendis, managing director of Alpha Tours, GSA for Korean Air in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The flights will be extended to the Maldives through Colombo.

“We are catering to Korean and Japanese traffic to the Maldives via Colombo in addition to passengers to Colombo,” he told TTG Asia e-Daily.

The A330 to be used on this sector has six first-class seats, 18 business class-seats and 252 economy seats. The other airlines with first-class cabins into Colombo are Emirates and Singapore Airlines.

Korean Air stopped flying to Colombo in 1984 for reasons such as the break out of hostilities between government troops and Tamil rebels in 1983.

Nilmin Cooray, managing director of NKar Travels, said the development was an endorsement of Sri Lanka as a good tourism destination.

However, Sasi Ganeshan, CEO of travel group VMS, said the Maldives would stand to benefit more because it receives a higher number of South Koreans than Sri Lanka.

INDIAN tour operators welcomed the government’s move to scrap a mandatory two-month gap in between visits to India for foreign nationals. This took effect on November 21.

“The 60-day restriction clause for re-entry was dampening tourists’ interest. We expect an increase of 15 per cent in tourist arrivals after the new regime – 10 to 12 per cent of this growth will come from the leisure segment and three to five per cent from the business segment. The results will be seen in all our markets, especially Europe and the US,” said Subhash Goyal, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators.

Subhash Verma, president, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India, said: “All the Indian associations had joined hands to lobby for the lifting of the two-month gap restriction, and even met the prime minister’s office to push our case.

“I see (the market from) South-east Asia gaining the most, as many travellers on business tours from these countries want to come soon after with their families on leisure trips, but the two-month gap has acted as a handicap.

He added that because these restrictions were also applicable to tour group escorts, they could only handle one group in two months.

“We can now see more overseas tour operators pushing for more groups in India,” said Verma.

Nevertheless, some tour operators expressed unhappiness over the fact that the restrictions still remained for nationals of Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Bangladesh, foreigners of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin and stateless persons.

“Why should we discriminate against a few countries? For example, there is a growing interest among the Chinese to travel to India. But now (growth in) this market will probably slow down,” said Arun Anand, managing director, Midtown Travels.