KARIMUNJAWA, an archipelago of 27 islands off the coast of Indonesia’s Central Java province and situated north of Semarang, is fast gaining popularity among travellers from Singapore and Malaysia thanks to improved accessibility and heavy promotions by provincial tourism stakeholders.

This year, the Central Java Tourism Promotion Board estimates that arrivals to the destination to date are up 20-30 per cent over the same period in 2011.

The board’s director of market development, Marah Indra Madewa, said: “Karimunjawa has been one of our focus for promotions since last year, and it has started to gain recognition among Singaporean and Malaysian travellers who like beach holidays and activities, such as diving and snorkelling, thanks to direct daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Semarang by AirAsia, and from Singapore by Batavia Air.”

The Central Java provincial government is also planning to upgrade Dewa Daru Airport on Kemujan, one of the main islands in the archipelago, to attract more chartered and regular services to the destination.

The airport is capable of handling six- to 12- seater aircraft, and currently serves chartered flights from Semarang.

Normally a 4D3N package, the choice of activities in Karimunjawa includes island hopping, snorkelling, diving, swimming with sharks, and night fishing.

Madewa said: “Travellers have a choice to go directly from Semarang by fast boat, or overland from Semarang to Jepara (approximately 80km south-east of Karimunjawa) and visit the wood carving and furniture industry which Jepara is famous for, and (subsequently) take a three-and-a-half-hour speed boat ride to the islands from there.”

“On the way back, they have the option of staying one night in Semarang for shopping,” he added.

EVA Airways started thrice-weekly services between Taipei and Yangon on October 9.

Operated every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday on McDonnell Douglas MD-90 aircraft, the new flights are expected to usher in an influx of North American visitors to Myanmar via Taiwan.

Taiwan’s national carrier, China Airlines, currently operates five flights a week between Taipei and Yangon, which will be boosted to seven flights a week from October 28.

EVA Airways is one of several international airlines, including Qatar Airways (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 5, 2012), Korean Air (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 19, 2012) and Singapore Airlines (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 5, 2012), to have added Yangon to their destination rosters recently.

All Nippon Airways will also offer the first direct link between Japan and Myanmar on October 15, operating three flights a week between Tokyo and Yangon.

Other international carriers preparing to fly to Yangon include Dragon Air, Condor, TransAsia Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways and Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

TO meet the anticipated increase in demand for Subang-Kota Bharu services this coming Hari Raya Haji season, Firefly will mount additional flights on October 25 and 29, 2012.

Firefly CEO, Ignatius Ong, said: “This year, Hari Raya Haji will be falling on a long weekend, therefore we are expecting encouraging response from celebrating Muslims eager to return to their respective hometowns for a reunion with families and friends, as well as those taking advantage of the short break.”

“The historical pattern of this route indicates that demand for flights during the Muslim festive seasons has always been high. Based on our advance sales figures, the demand has been even higher this year.”

The additional flights are available for booking on Firefly’s website, mobile app, call centre, airport and city ticketing offices, as well as travel agency representatives.

DAFAM Hotels & Resorts will mark its entry into Sumatra with the opening of two hotels in Bandar Lampung in 2014.

The 168-room Grand Dafam Lampung will form part of a mixed-use development that offers retail and entertainment space. Facilities will include a restaurant, a spa, a fitness centre and four meeting rooms.

The second property, the 98-room Dafam Luxury Hotel, will be a three-star property featuring a spa, a karaoke lounge and two meeting rooms.

Andhy Irawan, managing director, Dafam Hotels & Resorts, said: “Lampung is a growing destination, especially for business travel. The airline traffic here is really high and average hotel occupancy in the city is 65 per cent.”

He added: “The convenient business licensing, especially in hotel development, also clearly demonstrates the government’s support to businesses.”

According to Meidy Tjahjadi, a board member of the Indonesia Hotel & Restaurant Association’s Lampung chapter, there are 10 hotels in the pipeline in Lampung, including a 300-room Mercure targeted to open next year.

BEST Western International (BWI) will this month open Best Western The Mint Hotel, said to be the first international branded hotel in Angeles City, the Philippines.

Located on Fields Avenue, in the heart of the Balibago tourist district, the hotel will offer 52 rooms equipped with flat-screen HD TVs, minibars, work desks and complimentary Wi-Fi connectivity. Amenities will include a café-restaurant offering complimentary buffet breakfast, a laundry and car rental services.

With the nearby Clark International Airport gradually turning into an international hub, Best Western The Mint Hotel expects to attract a growing number of international and domestic visitors.

Glenn de Souza, vice president international operations-Asia & the Middle East, BWI said: “The potential for Angeles as a destination is enormous and the recent arrival of AirAsia Philippines, as well as the presence of Cebu Pacific, SEAir, AirPhil Express and other international carriers at Clark Airport is testament to the growth of the area.”

BWI currently operates five hotels in the Philippines, but this portfolio is expected to more than double to 12 properties by the beginning of 2014.

THE Lampung provincial government is working to improve its airport and road infrastructure to facilitate the growth of inbound business and leisure tourism.

Radin Inten II Airport, which serves the capital Bandar Lampung, will undergo renovations from beginning next year, prior to being upgraded to an international airport. An 80 hectare piece of land has been set aside for the expansion of the airport and its runway.

Secretary of Lampung provincial government, Berlian Tihang, said: “The development will include expansion of the runway from 2.5km to 3km, which will enable the airport to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft (such as Airbus A330s), as well as expansion of the terminal.”

In West Lampung Regency, Pekon Serai Krui Airport, which was originally built for disaster mitigation purposes, will be refurbished and made available for chartered or commercial airline services.

Tihang said: “(The opening of Pekon Serai Krui) will not only improve accessibility between Bandar Lampung and West Lampung, but also allow direct flights from Jakarta for tourists going to Tanjung Setia (surfing destination), which is just 6km away.”

Other developments in the pipeline include the construction of Sunda Strait Bridge between Sumatra and Java, and the building of a toll road between Bakauheni in South Lampung and Terbanggi Besar in Central Lampung –expected to begin in 2014.

INDONESIA’S Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy expects the next few editions of the annual Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo (TIME) to take place in Sumatra, with Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, already earmarked to host next year’s event.

Faried Moertalo, director of domestic promotion, Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, said: “In its 18-year history, TIME has previously been held in Java and eastern Indonesia (Makassar and Lombok). Lampung is the first venue in Sumatra (for TIME) and we are happy to note that next year’s edition will take place in Padang.”

He added: “There are six (regional) gateways in Sumatra, namely Banda Aceh, Medan, Pekanbaru, Padang, Palembang and Batam. While direct regional services are still limited to Malaysia and Singapore, destinations in Sumatra can use these regional hubs to attract travellers from beyond these countries.”

Various destinations in Sumatra are also equipped with a good variety of quality hotels as well as cultural, natural and man-made attractions, Faried said, adding that hosting TIME would allow international buyers to take a closer look at the products on offer and aid local tourism stakeholders in selling their products overseas.

Next year, TIME will take place at the 162-room Grand Inna Muara Hotel & Convention Centre, which is scheduled to reopen in November following a makeover. The hotel features a ballroom with capacity for 1,600 pax, five pre-function rooms and 13 breakout rooms with capacity ranging from 15-200 pax.

“The ballroom and pre-function rooms can comfortably accommodate 55 booths of 3mx3m, but we will still discuss with Pacto Convex (the PCO for TIME 2013) to maximise the available space,” said Reiky Alfaridzi, general manager of the hotel.

TIME 2012 attracted 83 buyers from 28 countries and 74 Indonesian sellers occupying 60 booths.

AIRASIA Japan will launch its international operations by introducing daily services from Tokyo (Narita) to Seoul (Incheon) and Busan on October 28.

Both flights will be operated on Airbus A320 aircraft with 180 seats.

AirAsia Japan CEO, Kazuyuki Iwakata, said: “It makes much sense to begin our international flights to South Korea, our next-door neighbour, and I am sure that this will further enable more people to travel to international destinations.”

AirAsia Japan kicked off domestic operations to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa in August (<a href="TTG Asia e-Daily, May 31, 2012).