THE UK has lifted its travel advisory for visits to key tourist areas in Kashmir such as Jammu, Srinagar and Ladakh in the wake of improvements in the area’s security.

This makes the UK the third country to withdraw its travel advisory for Kashmir, following Germany and Japan in 2011, though it remains intact for travel to remote areas of the region.

Meanwhile, the US, Australia, New Zealand and several European countries still have travel advisories in place.

To further initiate dialogue with other trade players, negate the threat perception and persuade other countries to do away with travel advisories, Jammu & Kashmir Tourism is participating in roadshows in several countries.

Reacting to the news, P P Khanna, director of Diplomatic Travel Point New Delhi, said: “The withdrawal of the UK’s travel advisory on Kashmir will open the floodgates (of tourists) as the country is a prime source market for inbound tourists to India.

“Surely, other countries will follow suit now that the perception of insecurity in travel to Kashmir has been dispelled. Kashmir is and will continue to be a prime tourist destination in India.”

In 1H2012, Kashmir received 14,500 foreign tourists, a 24 per cent rise over the same period last year.

THE UK’s unpopular UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) came under fire on Monday night at the House of Commons, with travel industry leaders calling for a freeze on its planned increase and a reduction in duty levels.

Hosted by PATA CEO Martin Craigs, the dinner saw 50 global business leaders, members of parliament, ministers and international press come together in an aligned advocacy event aiming to draw attention to unfair taxation and travel-related schemes that were hurting tourism, especially UK outbound to longhaul destinations.

The UK APD is levied on outbound passengers and is said to be the world’s highest tax by a wide margin. The tax has also risen 140 per cent for economy class passengers and 325 per cent for business class passengers since 2007, and will be increased further next year.

According to Craigs, 73 per cent of PATA member destinations were in the two most heavily taxed bands of the UK APD.

An economy passenger from the UK flying to Australia has to pay 92 pounds (US$147) in taxes, while a business class passenger has to fork out 184 pounds. These amounts are to be revised to 94 and 188 pounds respectively come April 2013.

Craigs said the UK APD had turned away tourism and trade from Asia-Pacific, the world’s highest growing economic region.

“It is now time for a ‘declaration of interdependence’ among travel industry bodies. The travel industry is being victimised disproportionately by this tax. It negatively impacts travel industry jobs in the UK and abroad at a time when we desperately need to create growth,” he said.

“The best is yet to come, as we cajole and, where necessary, coerce political non-believers and short-termers into realising that travel and tourism is the fastest job-creating industry in the world.”

AMADEUS today launched Mobile Access, a browser-based mobile device reservation solution that allows travel consultants to make bookings on the go.

Rolled out in India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Taiwan, this is the smartphone and tablet version of Amadeus Selling Platform.

Powered by Resbird Technologies, India, Mobile Access enables travel experts to access a range of travel content, such as fare quotes, bookings, PNR creation, modification and cancellation, ticketing and sales reports across air, cars and hotels.

Bruno des Fontaines, vice president, business solutions, Amadeus Asia-Pacific, said: “As consumers increasingly look to travel comparison sites and even direct bookings to arrange their travel, Mobile Access helps travel agencies maximise sales, efficiency and customer service in a highly competitive environment.

“Not only does the tool support new sales, but it allows travel (consultants) to provide a premium service to existing customers, ensuring customer loyalty with no additional cost involved.”

JAPAN Airlines (JAL) and Bangkok Airways (PG) will launch their codeshare tie-up on November 15, applicable on selected flights between three airports in Japan and Bangkok operated by JAL, as well as between Bangkok and four destinations in Asia on PG.

Customers on both airlines travelling from Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports and Osaka’s Kansai airport will see a smoother transit through Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and onward to Mumbai, Koh Samui, Phuket, Chiang Mai and vice versa.

The two carriers have also linked their mileage programmes, enabling members on both sides to redeem award tickets on either airline for departures on or after November 15.

All reservations, sales and redemptions for codeshare flights and award tickets begin November 8.

PG’s senior vice president, network management, Peter Wiesner, said: “This new partnership will offer better flight connectivity for passengers travelling from longhaul routes with Japan Airlines to Bangkok for their onward journey to Mumbai.

“Moreover, Thailand’s key destinations, namely Koh Samui, Phuket and Chiang Mai, always have great potential, which attracts a large number of tourists, especially Japanese.”

TAUZIA Hotel Management has launched economy brand Yello Hotels to complement its midscale Harris Hotels and the budget Pop! Hotels.

Yello Hotels – which takes its name from the word ‘hello’ – is targeted at today’s middle-class, Internet-savvy travellers, who make up 60 per cent of Indonesia’s population. The hotel’s design and décor are based on the concept of street art to reflect values like freedom of expression.

Rooms will feature king-size beds with 100 per cent cotton linen, while other offerings include free Wi-Fi, tablet corners and a healthy breakfast.

The group expects to operate 20 hotels under this brand, with four under construction: one in Jakarta, one in Bali and two in Surabaya. All are expected to open by end-2015.

Tauzia Hotel Management president director, Marc Steinmeyer, said: “We want to have a network of hotels in major cities and also in resort areas.The properties can range from 80 to more than 400 rooms, depending on the location and potential demand. Public facilities such as swimming pools will be optional depending on the location.”

While younger travellers are the main target group and direct bookings will be an important source of business, Yello Hotels will still use travel consultants and OTAs.

RAFFLES Hotels & Resorts, which is celebrating its 125-year origins, will have a new president, four new properties opening soon and anniversary initiatives to encourage the travel trade to book.

Peter French, regional vice president – Europe, Middle East & Africa for Raffles Hotels & Resorts and general manager of Raffles Dubai, will succeed John Johnston from January 1 as president, based in Singapore.

Johnston, who has held this role since 2009 and who has been with parent company Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) since 1998, will be retiring at the end of the year.

The luxury chain is scheduled to open Raffles Makati next month, Raffles Hainan in 1Q2013, Raffles Istanbul in the third quarter and Raffles Jakarta in 2013. It currently has eight hotels in operation.

In conjunction with its 125th anniversary, it has a different promotion each month and special deals such as the ‘125 Hours’ series.

125 Hours in Paris with Raffles, for instance, packs in an extraordinary five-day adventure in and around Paris, based at Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris, featuring exclusives such as behind-the-scenes jewellery class at Van Cleef & Arpels, a six-hour tour of Parisian art with the hotel’s art concierge, helicopter trip to the Loire Valley with lunch, and cooking class with the hotel’s celebrated chef, among others.

Diana Banks, Raffles’ vice president sales & marketing, said: “Our focus is to get the travel community to understand how we have successfully transferred our service and expertise to locations from here (Singapore).

“We’ve grown, but the fundamentals of what makes Raffles great remains.”

COMPLEX itineraries and packaged tour choices are major reasons why over half of Australians will choose to book an overseas holiday with bricks-and-mortar travel experts, according to industry sources.

Based on an annual report by Roy Morgan Research, for the 12 months to June 2012, 51.6 per cent of Australians used a travel expert to book their last overseas holiday or leisure trip, compared to 32.1 per cent through airlines, 25.9 per cent through accommodation suppliers and 12.9 per cent through online-only travel booking websites.

According to Haydn Long, spokesperson for Flight Centre, most international travel in Australia is booked via travel experts. He said: “For some airline bookings, (travel consultant) sales will be as high as 80 or 90 per cent. A considerable amount of domestic travel is also booked through travel (experts).

“Finding the best airfare online is time-consuming and it’s generally no cheaper than buying from an (expert). (Experts) can talk customers through the complexities and outline alternatives that may not be easy to find on the web, potentially saving them time and money. Australians are adventurous travellers and have a fair degree of complexity in their arrangements. (Experts) can really add value to complex trips.”

Outgoing CEO of Wotif.com Rob Cooke also noted that customers tend to turn to travel consultants when travelling overseas, driven by the trend to purchase package holidays, while many travellers are still hesitant to book overseas holidays online.

AIR New Zealand has decided to terminate services between Hong Kong and London-Heathrow in March 2013.

The daily Auckland-Hong Kong-London service was launched in 2006 and the Auckland-Hong Kong daily service will continue to operate.

Air New Zealand has instead signed a strategic agreement with Cathay Pacific Airways that will see the latter’s flights on the Hong Kong-London sector bearing Air New Zealand’s codeshare flight numbers.

This marks yet another case of cross-alliance strategic partnership as Air New Zealand is a Star Alliance member while Cathay Pacific is a oneworld member.

MALAYSIA-based LCC Malindo Air has brought forward its commencement date to mid-March 2013, two months earlier than its original scheduled date in May 2013.

Said Malindo Air CEO, Chandran Ramamuthy: “The airline will operate out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as the LCC Terminal is too congested. (KLIA) is also the point where Lion Air flies to.”

He added that Malindo Air would later move its base to KLIA2, which is currently under construction and slated to open on May 1, 2013.

Initial flights will connect East and West Malaysia but Chandran declined to confirm whether the East Malaysian points would be Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. He also revealed that Malindo Air’s first international route will begin in either April or May to India, and is targeting a fleet of 12 B737-900ER by December 2013.

Malindo Air will commence operations with two B737-900ER aircraft in a two-class configuration (12 business seats and 168 economy seats), and will be equipped with Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment.

Malindo Air is operated by Malindo Airways, a joint venture between Indonesian’s Lion Group and Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defence Industries.

According to a report by The Star, Lion Group chief Rusdi Kirana said that the launch of its subsidiary, Batik Air, would be delayed from March 2013 to end-2013 so as to focus on building Malindo Air to become a regional player sooner.

ACCOR will beef up its South Asian portfolio by opening two Novotel properties in Bangladesh, marking its debut into its 17th market in Asia-Pacific with the addition of over 350 rooms in the country’s two largest cities.

“The two properties, which are new builds, will add much-needed hotel inventory to Bangladesh’s two largest cities including the capital – Dhaka – and Chittagong,” said Michael Issenberg, chairman and COO, Accor Asia-Pacific. “We see Bangladesh as a tremendous opportunity for expansion, given the country’s growing manufacturing presence in the region.”

He added: “We are well on track to achieving our target of operating 700 hotels across Asia-Pacific by 2015, which includes a targeted network size of around 90 hotels in South Asia.”

Accor Asia Pacific, vice president, communications, Evan Lewis, told media that Accor is also looking into opportunities in Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

The 185-room Novotel Dhaka Gulshan Avenue will be located in Dhaka’s diplomatic and business district of Gulshan, about 13km from the international airport. The hotel will feature state-of-the-art conference facilities, two restaurants, a bar, a swimming pool and a gym.

The 170-room Novotel Chittagong will be located in the main business district of Chittagong, approximately 30-35 minutes from the international airport and within easy reach of the main Export Processing Zones and the port. Part of a mixed-use complex, the property will offer three F&B outlets, a swimming pool, a fitness centre, a sauna and a spa.

Welcoming the launch of two international-standard hotels, Syed Ghulam Qadir, general manager, Galaxy Holidays Bangladesh, said: “We get a fair share of corporate and business travellers, so we also want (an increasing) higher-end room capacity to encourage leisure travellers to visit the two key cities in the country more frequently.”