THE launch of Ibis Hong Kong Central and Sheung Wan in Hong Kong on Wednesday sets a standard for the economy brand’s new direction (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 11, 2012), and also marks Accor’s expansion beyond 100,000 rooms in Asia-Pacific.

Said Paul Richardson, COO of Accor Greater China: “Ibis Hong Kong Central and Sheung Wan represents the brand’s new flagship property for Greater China. The opening of the hotel strengthens Accor’s presence in this market and will help us further promote the Ibis brand throughout the region.”

The 550-room Ibis Hong Kong Central and Sheung Wan features three room types – Studio, City View and Harbour View – all outfitted with lightwood timber floors, 3m-high ceilings and large bay view windows. In-room amenities include complimentary WiFi Internet access, 32-inch LCD televisions, and coffee- and tea-making machines.

There are two dining outlets: Taste, offering eight hours of breakfast service beginning from 04.00, and a 24-hour bar offering drinks and snacks.

Situated near Sheung Wan MTR station and the Macau Ferry Terminal, Ibis Hong Kong Central and Sheung Wan also boasts convenient access to Hong Kong International Airport. Airport bus pick-up and drop-off points are located within the hotel, while Airport Express trains can be boarded one MTR stop away in Central.

A NEW luxury beachfront resort, The Sanchaya, is poised to open its doors on the northern shore of Indonesia’s Bintan Island in the first half of 2013.

Spread across 1,300 ha in the Lagoi Bay area, The Sanchaya – which means “collection” in Sanskrit – is a selection of 19 villas and nine suites. Each guestroom features Bang & Olufsen TVs and integrated sound and vision systems, as well as 462-threadcount Egyptian cotton Percale bedding.

Michael Gaehler, general manager of The Sanchaya, said: “Bintan is well-known to Singaporeans as a convenient island getaway, but we believe our offering will also appeal to sophisticated international travellers who might not otherwise have considered Bintan as a destination.”

He added: “Our vision for the estate is to offer guests an extraordinary experience like no other. Each and every one of our villas and suites will have its own exceptional style, reflecting the region’s art, culture and rich history.”

The Sanchaya is a part of a wider development project for Lagoi Bay and its surroundings, which will include private residences, hotels and private estates, commercial spaces, a golf course and an international airport (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 28, 2011).

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) has ramped up its services to India from September 1 (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 9, 2012), adding four daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bengaluru, and three daily flights from the capital to both Mumbai and Chennai.

Duncan Bureau, senior vice president, global sales & distribution, MAS, said: “With the launch of these flights, we are expecting a 26 per cent increase in capacity from India in 2012. India is a prominent and growth-centric market for us, and we are expecting a 15 per cent growth in terms of passenger load.”

MAS currently operates 40 flights per week from Kuala Lumpur to India, of which 12 are to New Delhi and seven each to Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Rajendra Churiwala, managing director, Survottam Travels, said: “Increased connectivity with Malaysia through MAS will fill the void left by the exit of AirAsia X (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 13, 2012). Moreover, onward connections from Kuala Lumpur will increase through the MAS network. This offers good scope for growth in India-ASEAN tourist traffic.”

A NEW level of corporate hospitality was unveiled yesterday with the launch of 62 executive suites as part of the new Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang, touted to be the first of its kind in South-east Asia.

Dubbed the National Stadium Club, the suites, which come with exclusive VIP privileges and private facilities, are priced between S$72,000 (US$58,616) and S$272,000 annually.

Companies will be able to lease the suites, which range in size from 25-89m2, for either three or six years. Each suite will be able to accommodate between eight and 30 people, and can be customised on request.

The suites are managed and marketed by the World Sport Group, a sports marketing, media and event management company. A line-up of sports events is also being readied including football, cricket, rugby and athletics, alongside major concerts, to draw not only local spectators but regional ones.

The National Stadium is expected to host some 140 events per year, attracting a projected two to three million visitors annually.

“What we are focused on is creating consistency. What we want to avoid is having events that only happen once a year. We want to engage totally with visitors to Singapore as well as with local residents,” said Andrew Georgiou, COO, World Sport Group.

Some 8,000 premium club seats will also be offered to individuals further down the line.

The Sports Hub, with its centrepiece being the 55,000-seater National Stadium, is scheduled to open in April 2014.

PHILIPPINE hotel chain The Astoria Group is embarking on a resorts expansion and renovation plan in four of the country’s key tourist areas over the next two years.

The group, which recently ended its management contact with Genesis Hotels and Resorts, will be adding 30 rooms to its existing 39-room Astoria Boracay property, which opened in 2010. It will also debut a brand new 100-room property in a quiet and wider beachfront area in Boracay’s Station 3 in 2014.

Expansions are also underway in Bohol, where eight villas are currently operating at Astoria’s beachfront resort near the historic church of Baclayon. Sixty-two rooms will be opened by 1Q2013.

In Palawan, Astoria is readying the launch of a 60 native-style bungalow property in San Rafael, Honda Bay, south of Puerto Princesa.

Back at flagship property Astoria Plaza in Pasig, located near the Ortigas business district in Metro Manila, 120 rooms will be upgraded gradually to four-to-five-star standards.

“We aim to be in tried-and-tested destinations like Boracay,” said John Tanjangco, marketing services consultant, Astoria. “In Bohol, our resort is near the airport and just 10 minutes away from one of Bohol’s most important historical sites.”

Astoria receives strong occupancies from the country’s top visitor markets, especially the US, but is also visible in the European market, where German companies like Dertour and Meier’s Weltreisen promote its resorts in their brochures.

PRODUCT diversification and customisation were the buzzwords at the inaugural Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macau this week, as industry experts urged delegates to meet changing consumer demands.

The three-day forum drew some 1,000 delegates from 20 countries, with the theme of Growth driving growth: the synergistic interplay of tourism and economic development.

One company that has walked the talk is Chinese OTA Ctrip, which recently acquired Chinese high-end tour operator Trip TM to expand its luxury offerings.

CEO, Min Fan, said the market for luxury travel in China was ripe as the country produced an increasing number of wealthy citizens. “There isn’t a travel consultant specialising solely in high-end products in Taiwan, Hong Kong or China. (Ctrip) will create different themes to suit different markets. For instance, wine-tasting tours.”

“In the long-term, we intend to leverage a full range of versatile products such as different grades of hotels, and explore more overseas options,” he added.

Chairman of executive board, TUI AG, and chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council, Michael Frenzel, said: “Real experience will become the status symbols of the future. Thus destination and resort planning is no longer a question of capacity but of experience management. Only those who know the customer can serve their very individual personalised needs.”

China International Travel Service president, Yu Ningning, agreed that travel consultants needed to keep innovating by introducing more diverse products such as self-drive holidays. In China, the silver hair market currently has the biggest potential, she added.

Research by TUI Travel’s think tank predicts that Chinese group travel to Europe would evolve into a large range of niche options for widely differing target groups, while customers would want to play an active role in arranging their holidays.

Frenzel added: “Digital solutions are becoming crucial in any customer interaction along the tourism value chain.”

AIRASIA will commence thrice-weekly services between Kuala Lumpur and Nanning from December 11, becoming the sole airline to provide direct links between the two destinations.

Flights will depart Kuala Lumpur every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 13.25, and arrive at Nanning at 16.45. Return flights will leave Nanning at 17.30 and arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 20.50.

Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel managing director, Yap Sook Ling, said the direct flights would attract more incentive travel to Malaysia especially with Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s aggressive marketing efforts in China and its Twin Deal promotion.

The Twin Deal programme rewards corporate meeting and incentive planners who bring their events to Malaysia (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 22, 2012).

She said the direct flights would also encourage more FIT travellers to come, especially the well travelled from Nanning looking for a new destination with direct accessibility.

AirAsia is currently holding a special offer in conjunction with the announcement of the Kuala Lumpur-Nanning route, with one-way, all-in fares starting from RM99 (US$32) available online until September 16.

HYATT Hotel Corporation has announced a partnership with a Cambodian association as part of its corporate social responsibility programme as it gears up for the opening of its first hotel project in the country, Park Hyatt Siem Reap, in April 2013.

The Park Hyatt Siem Reap and Life & Hope Association Sewing School was launched last week to equip young, underprivileged Cambodian women with professional skills, helping students to find a source of livelihood and improve their living conditions. The hotel is committing to funding a significant portion of the school’s regular operations.

General manager of Park Hyatt Siem Reap, Franz Mascarenhas, said: “We believe that providing people with professional skills is crucial to the long-term prosperity of society and our communities. We feel privileged because this partnership allows us to actively support such an endeavour.”

Last week also marked the start of a top-to-toe renovation of the rebranded Hotel De La Paix. Earlier this year, Hyatt announced that it would reopen the independent property as Park Hyatt Siem Reap under a new management agreement.

Located near the 12th century ruins of Angkor, the hotel will have 109 rooms, two restaurants, a bar, meeting facilities, a spa, fitness centre and two swimming pools.

INDIA and Pakistan have inked a landmark pact liberalising the visa regime between the two countries. A new group tourist visa has been introduced, while individual business and leisure travellers will also be able to visit more cities and enjoy an easier visa application process.

This replaces the visa pact of 1974, paving the way for increased travel both ways after years of frosty relations.

The group tourist visa will be issued to groups between 10 and 50 pax. Valid for 30 days, applications must be done through tour operators, impanelled by the two governments. It will also be available to students of educational institutions of both countries but cannot be used to seek admission in educational institutions of either country.

Travellers on a visitor visa will be allowed to visit thee cities instead of one, and a single-entry visa will be valid for six months for a stay not exceeding three months. This contrasts with the old single-entry visa that was valid for only three months. The visitor visa must also be granted within 45 days compared to the absence of a time limit in the past.

Meanwhile, senior citizens above 65 years old and children are no longer required to report to the police and will be granted visas on arrival at the Wagah border point of entry, close to Amritsar in India and Lahore in Pakistan. Likewise, business travellers need not report to the police. They can obtain multiple-entry visas that will allow them to visit five cities instead of the current three.

Jatinder Gupta, partner, Dove Travels, India, said: “People of both countries are keen to visit places of interest in the other country and this (agreement) will finally open the floodgates of tourism between the two. A South Asian iron curtain has been lifted.”