IN KEEPING with its ‘asset-light’ strategy, Accor has sold 60 per cent of its stake in 15 Formule 1 hotel projects in India to Samhi, an Indian hotel investment and development firm that owns properties, particularly those in the mid-scale and economy segment, across India.

Accor ­­will, however, continue to run the hotels under long-term management contracts.

Of the 15 wholly-owned or leased Formule 1 hotel projects in India, two – in Ahmedabad and Greater Noida – are already open and functional, while one is due to open this December in Pune.

Samhi has partnerships with Chicago-based Equity International, Marriott International and GTI Capital Group, and had bought over Royal Orchid Hotel in Ahmedabad in April this year. They are also developing properties in Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon with brands such as Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield by Marriott and Hyatt Place.

SINCE establishing a presence in China four years ago, Tourism Tasmania has registered rising arrivals from mainland China and Hong Kong.

Some 9,000 travellers from Hong Kong visited the Australian island-state between June 2011 and June 2012, a year-on-year increase of 38 per cent, while Chinese arrivals rose 30 per cent to 10,800.

However, Tourism Tasmania director of marketing, Kathryn McCann, acknowledges that growth has been impeded by a number of factors.

McCann said: “To Chinese travellers, Tasmania is a new destination and our challenge is to create awareness among consumers. We want to tap young affluent travellers, but the lack of point-to-point air connection and charter flights is an issue.

“In the next 12 months, we will leverage past campaigns and (push) experience-driven itineraries such as food tours and (visits to) natural habitats.”

“The lesser-known north-west and western districts of the island will also be (promoted) in Asia,” she added.

To support Tourism Tasmania’s Asian foray, a full-time representative in Shanghai was recruited to build the Chinese market. Lara Giddings, the premier of Tasmania, also led a delegation to China and Hong Kong in September to promote tourism and explore investment opportunities.

The tourism bureau will further enhance marketing efforts in Asia with its first-ever 10-day Asian roadshow, which will cover Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore in May next year.

HILTON Worldwide has entered a management agreement with Chatan Hotel and Resort Corp, a subsidiary of Orix Real Estate Corp, to manage Hilton Okinawa Chatan in central Chatan, Okinawa, Japan.

The 346-room Hilton Okinawa Chatan is scheduled to open in 2014, offering a 530m2 function room, a 120m2 meeting room, a business centre, an all-day dining restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a lobby lounge, a full service spa and fitness gym, indoor and outdoor pools, and other facilities.

“This agreement is a significant milestone for us as it represents the Hilton brand’s entry into Okinawa and our 11th property in Japan. Okinawa hosts nearly 5.5 million visitors a year and tourism contributes close to US$5 billion annually. Backed by a strong partner like Orix Real Estate Corp, we are confident that Hilton Okinawa Chatan will compete well with the existing international and local hotel supply,” said Andrew Clough, senior vice president, development, Middle East & Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide.

Hilton Okinawa Chatan sits approximately 20km away from Naha International Airport, and faces Mihama American Village, one of the largest shopping complexes in Okinawa.

HONG KONG-BASED Dragonair will commence a new four-times weekly service to Yangon, Myanmar on January 9 next year ­– provided the government gives its nod.

The new service will enhance Dragonair’s presence in the region and provide a significant boost to both leisure and business traffic between Hong Kong and Myanmar.

The airline intends to operate the new service with Airbus A321 aircraft, departing Hong Kong every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Besides connecting passengers from around the world with Myanmar, Dragonair will offer passengers from Myanmar a greater choice and convenience in flying onwards to mainland China via its own network, or to other destinations worldwide via Cathay Pacific Airways, through the Hong Kong hub.

In addition to the new Yangon service, Dragonair will also be increasing frequencies to a number of destinations in its winter schedule, effective from October 28. Services to Phnom Penh will rise from seven to 10 flights per week, while an extra flight has been added to Kota Kinabalu, making a total of six weekly flights to the Malaysian destination.

As well, the airline is set to resume services to Haikou, Hainan, with a daily flight commencing October 28.

ITB ASIA, which opens tomorrow in Singapore, will feature a series of Responsible Tourism programmes in a bid to encourage social responsibility in tourism.

Held from October 17-19 at The Sands Expo and Convention Center, the tradeshow’s Responsible Tourism initiative will feature events hosted by experienced practitioners who will share their insights and advice on best practices.

The initiative also features clinics that are organised in cooperation with The Blue Yonder, Wild Asia, Green Circuit and International Council of Tourism Partners (ITCP).

Rounding up the Responsible Tourism initiative will be the Responsible Tourism Forum and Networking at ITB Asia 2012, a two-hour event featuring guest speakers from The Blue Yonder, ITCP and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

“As the tourism industry in Asia continues to grow, we need to be aware of the practices used to develop our businesses to ensure they are also aimed at maximising economic, social and environmental benefits while minimising costs to destinations,” said Nino Gruettke, executive director of ITB Asia.

“ITB Asia’s Responsible Tourism initiative will feature experts from various fields to share recommended practices for companies to cultivate a socially-responsible approach to their businesses. This will be mutually beneficial for both parties, as it prolongs tourism operations in the region and preserves the environment,” he added.

AIRASIA and its Indonesian partner, Fersindo Nusaperkasa, have dropped their plans to acquire Metro Batavia Group (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 26, 2012), which operates Indonesian carrier, Batavia Air.

“The precise scale of integration, including a re-fleeting exercise, as well as streamlining an amalgamation of cultures is expected to take up considerable time and effort, joint resources which can be more efficiently utilised in a targeted manner,” AirAsia explained in a statement.

Instead, “the proposed tie-up between the parties has been reorganised as a multilateral, multi-phase collaboration agreement encompassing groundhandling, distribution and inventory systems”.

In addition, Batavia Air and AirAsia Indonesia will jointly establish a separate aviation training facility with classroom, fixed-wing and simulation training capabilities.

AirAsia group CEO, Tony Fernandes, said: “In our minds, the timing was perhaps not appropriate as it would have induced too many risks and would ultimately be earnings dilutive to our shareholders. We always knew it was not going to be an easy transaction.”

He added: “It has been a good experience, and we come out of it feeling more confident of what we need to do to grow the market in Indonesia. Our aggressive focus in Indonesia remains and we will push our Indonesian IPO plans (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 12, 2012).”

Fersindo shareholder, Muhamad Riza Chalid, said: “As an Indonesian company, our interest was to find the best solution for all parties, including the Indonesian consumer. The acquisition at this time would not have achieved these objectives.”

Dharmadi, CEO, AirAsia Indonesia, said the airline would accelerate its fleet expansion starting from 2013, upgrade its sales and distribution system, and provide differentiated services while implementing dynamic pricing strategies.

“We are looking to more than triple our fleet size in the next five years to accommodate an average annual passenger growth rate of 24 per cent and 28 per cent in international and domestic markets respectively. We will continue to strengthen our network by adding more hubs and developing our services to Eastern Indonesia,” he said.

THE acute shortage of mid-range and high-end accommodation in Yangon should ease when 1,670 new hotel rooms become available next year, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels & Tourism.

U Aung Zaw Win, director general of the ministry’s Directorate of Hotels & Tourism, said the 270-room Centrepoint Towers Hotel in Yangon was scheduled to launch in April 2013, while the 100-room Nawarat Hotel in Hlaing Township would open around the same time.

Shangri-La Group will unveil a 240-unit serviced apartment project near Kandawgyi Lake in 2013, while Rose Garden Hotel Yangon will open 60 rooms. Both represent the first phases of larger projects: Shangri-La will add 460 rooms in 2015, while Rose Garden will add 255 more rooms in 2014.

A spokesperson from the ministry said 1,255 and 2,455 rooms were due to be injected into Yangon’s inventory in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The ministry has also estimated that 1,000 rooms will come online across various local-owned hotels over the next three years.

TIGER Airways today introduced its Tiger Plus premium add-on service for flights departing from Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2, including Mandala Airlines and SEAir, as part of an initiative to expand its product and service offerings.

Available for purchase at S$48 (US$39) through the Tiger Airways website or service desks at the terminal, Tiger Plus offers customers access to a dedicated check-in counter providing an early check-in service (from 04.00 to 23.59 hrs on the same day as their flight), as well as usage of the SATS Premier Lounge and BoardMeFirst priority boarding service.

Amenities at the lounge include free flow of refreshments and beverages, shower facilities, massage chairs, workstations with high-speed Internet access, wireless Internet connectivity, cable television, and a wide selection of international magazines and newspapers.