CHINA’s State Council has approved a new visa policy that will grant foreign transit visitors to Shanghai with visa-free access for up to 72 hours, an extension over the current 48-hour waiver.

Currently, a 24-hour visa-free stay is available to all international passengers passing through Shanghai, while the 48-hour waiver is available to citizens of 32 countries.

Lu Zhitao, deputy director of the Shanghai Exit & Entrance Frontier Inspection Station, said the expanded policy would “greatly benefit both passengers and airlines.” Authorities are still working out how the system will be implemented, and a timetable for its introduction has not yet been finalised.

Ding Jianmin, assistant general manager of Shanghai CITS International Travel Service, does not expect the new policy to increase business from the stopover crowd.

“Japanese tourists have been granted 72-hour visa-free stays for many years, and we never saw a surge in numbers. When tourists visit China, they usually spend at least 10 days. So a 72-hour visa-free stay is no big difference from a 48-hour policy,” he explained.

Beijing is also considering implementing a similar initiative that grants foreign tourists with visa-free access for up to 72 hours (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 31, 2012).

Reporting by Hong Xu

HAVING ramped up its airline IT business, Amadeus sees bright skies ahead in the growth area of airport IT, as its new division looks to sell a suite of some 20 modules to all relevant actors including ground handlers and airlines.

Recently-appointed head of airport IT, John Jarrell, told Asia-Pacific media that Amadeus had whittled down the 100 systems currently being used by airports by about a fifth. These will cover areas such as ground operations, passengers and bags, and will be different from the Altéa Departure Control System for Ground Handlers.

However, integration with Altéa, Amadeus’ technology platform used by over 100 airlines, is possible, which means flight information from the millions of passengers boarded can be tapped.

Said Jarrell: “Today airports are sorely lacking in information. How many times are (travellers) there when the flight is not there and the flight information display still says the flight is leaving on time? It happens all the time because they don’t have seamless information (transfers) with the airlines.”

He added that Amadeus’ USPs include its service model of providing software “in the cloud” and transaction-based pricing, which reduces the need for costly investments and makes it even easier for developing countries to adopt. As this platform will be sold around the world, it will also breed greater collaboration between airports.

Jarrell was not able to disclose specifics at this stage, but said more details on the modules would be available by early next year.

He estimated the airport IT market to be worth some €2.4 billion (US$3 billion) a year, but admitted that this was still just a small percentage of the money that could be made from airline IT. Ultimately, Amadeus wants to get all airlines onto a single IT platform, which it says will benefit all stakeholders.

According to Amadeus’ new report surveying over 800 passengers, expectations of airports are evolving: 62 per cent wanted to make airports and flying as part of the travel experience, and more than half desired location-based services and remote check-in and bag collection.

– Read more about Amadeus’ growth in Asia-Pacific in TTG Asia August 10, 2012

AMADEUS revealed it is developing solutions that will transform the way users search for travel, including one that harnesses motion sensor technology found on gaming devices.

Speaking to Asia-Pacific media at the Amadeus Executive Briefing Centre near Nice, Francois Laburthe, director, operational research & innovation, presented results from a recently commissioned study that showed the way travel bookings are being made is rapidly changing, with an increased emphasis on the search process.

“In the good old days, people would go direct to a travel (consultant) or airline or hotel chain to make their reservation. Now there’s a whole experience prior to purchase.

“This (means) players in the travel chain have to take into account not only the management of bookings but…the way they handle the shopping experience, how to display their products and enable easy comparison,” he explained.

Among the products demonstrated include a door-to-door search tool that will churn out address-to-address results combining various modes of transport required such as flights, trains, car rentals and even public buses and taxis. Prices can then be quoted to travellers and some segments will be bookable through Amadeus, with the entire itinerary available for storage on mobile devices.

The intent is to roll this out to all markets, and the solution is applicable for both leisure and corporate travel companies, said Laburthe, only confirming that the launch date was “soon”.

A separate solution that should become a commercial product this year is an iPad app that provides travel inspiration, he added.

Instead of the usual form-based requests, Travel Seeker relies on geo-location to display on a map flight prices from a traveller’s point of origin, destination activities and friends who have been there before via Facebook integration. Searches can then be refined to accommodate date selection and specific budgets.

This is already being showcased in the US to potential customers, and agreements are in place with OTAs to incorporate this technology while leisure agencies with a web presence can build their own version and load them onto the app store for their travellers to download. The solution could also allow non-Amadeus content to be pulled from other sources, said Laburthe.

The third innovation that is still a lab prototype is a new interface for travel search, using Microsoft’s Kinect device. Standing in front of a TV, travellers will be able to navigate using mere body movements.

“Games will become a future channel for e-commerce and the gaming industry is really large. The majority of gamers are no longer just teenagers or students,” said Laburthe.

– Read more about Amadeus’ growth in Asia-Pacific in TTG Asia August 10, 2012

THE LALIT Suri Hospitality Group has announced its impending entry into Europe with the scheduled opening of The Lalit London in 2014. The 70-room boutique hotel will also be the group’s inaugural property outside of India.

Situated near Tower Bridge in Central London, The Lalit London will be housed within the 140-year-old St. Olave’s heritage building, acquired by the group for 15 million pounds (US$23.5 million).

“It was very important for us to establish our footprint at the international level,” said Jyotsna Suri, chairperson & managing director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group.

“We expect a good response for our property, especially considering that the occupancy level of the hotels in London have been more than 85 per cent for the past few years,” he added.

Lalit Suri Hospitality will be pumping in approximately 12 to 13 million pounds into restoring the hotel. Scheduled to start in early 2013, the renovation is expected to be complete by end-2014.

Indian art and culture will be showcased throughout the hotel, which will also feature a bar, a fine dining Indian restaurant, a spa, a gym, and several meeting rooms.

Meanwhile, Lalit Suri Hospitality is also looking to establish a presence in Asia and the Middle East, through opening joint venture properties in Thailand and Dubai.

The company currently operates nine luxury hotels and resorts in India.

Reporting by Divya Kaul

TIGER Airways registered a loss after tax of S$14 million (US$11.2 million) for the first quarter of its 2012/2013 financial year, an improvement on the S$21 million loss recorded one year ago (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 5, 2011).

Total revenue for the quarter was S$181 million, 1.4 per cent higher than the S$179 million recorded the previous year. The increase was largely due to higher yield (+7.8 per cent), offset by a 4.5 per cent decline in capacity and lower passenger load factor (-2.2 percentage points to 83.3 per cent).

Total expenses increased 1.2 per cent to S$193 million as a result of an increase in average fleet size (+18 per cent), partially offset by lower fuel cost (-3.1 per cent) during the quarter. Cost per available seat-kilometre increased by 5.9 per cent.

Chin Yau Seng, Tiger Airways group CEO, said: “The group’s financial performance is gradually coming back on track with Tiger Airways Singapore turning in an operating profit of S$4 million this quarter. It recorded a healthy passenger load factor of 85.1 per cent as demand has caught up with capacity, which grew 14.3 per cent during the quarter.”

“Tiger Australia has also made good progress since the hiatus in services a year ago. (The outfit’s) operating loss narrowed from S$23 million to S$21 million this quarter,” he added.

BEST Western International (BWI) has consolidated three of its existing Best Western hotels in Manila into a single property – the chain’s inaugural Best Western Plus hotel in the Philippines.

Located in the Makati City area, the Best Western Plus Antel Hotel is the result of a merger between Best Western Antel Spa Suites, Best Western The A. Venue Suites and Best Western Plus Serenity Suites.

“Combining the three properties will enable us to offer an increased range of facilities and amenities to our guests, and to achieve significant operational synergies,” explained Glenn de Souza, BWI’s vice president International Operations – Asia & the Middle East.

“This, in turn, will enable us to better focus our resources and offer the best possible experience to our customers.”

Post-merger, the Best Western Plus Antel Hotel offers 210 rooms, all non-smoking and opening onto balconies. In-room amenities include kitchenettes fitted with refrigerators and microwaves, as well as work desks, and complimentary Internet access.

Amenities at the Best Western Plus Antel Hotel include eight function rooms, three lobby lounges, two restaurants, two swimming pools, two fitness centres, a spa, a games room, and a children’s playground. MICE facilities include a ballroom and several meeting rooms capable of accommodating a total of 120 delegates.

Following the merger of the three Makati City hotels, BWI now offers five distinct properties in the Philippines, offering close to 700 rooms and suites across four destinations.

PATA re-established its Hong Kong chapter earlier today – on the eve of the association’s executive board meeting in Hong Kong.

João Manuel Costa Antunes, PATA chairman, said: “The PATA family is very glad to see the re-opening of the Hong Kong Chapter. Hong Kong is one of the most dynamic cities in the world and a mature tourism destination. It has tremendous potential to contribute in a more structured way to the association and its goal of (encouraging) responsible development of the Asia-Pacific travel and tourism (industry).”

Linda Song, executive director of Plaza Premium Lounge Management, and one of three PATA executive board members based in Hong Kong, has been installed as chair of the new PATA Hong Kong Chapter.

“Knowledge sharing is important in elevating the quality of our local tourism service industries, while preserving cultural heritage in an environmentally sensitive way,” she said.

“Our coalition of travel and tourism specialists is ideally placed to support balanced and value adding progress on vital tourism infrastructure, such as the third runway at (Chek Lap Kok Airport).”

Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO, said: “I am delighted to welcome the revitalised Hong Kong PATA Chapter back into the family circle. This is an important time for Hong Kong tourism as it seeks to strike the right balance and ensure tourism remains an overwhelming force for good as in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.”

Formally adopted in 1957, the PATA Chapter network currently includes 41 chapters and six student chapters across America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

MYANMAR is planning to extend its visa-on-arrival (VOA) facility to business travellers, conference delegates and transit visitors arriving at Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay airports from October.

Currently only available to business travellers and transit visitors arriving at Yangon International Airport (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 30, 2012), the limited VOA scheme is set to be introduced at the other two airports in time for the peak tourist season in October 2012 – March 2013.

U Maung Maung Than, director general of the Ministry of Immigration and Population’s Immigration and National Registration Department, said: “There is a possibility to start from coming October at Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw international airports, but it has not been confirmed yet.”

According to U Khin Yi, Myanmar’s Minister for Immigration and Population, the limited VOA scheme introduced at Yangon International Airport on June 1 had been a success so far.

He said the ministry was planning to offer a similar service at land border checkpoints around the country, but that the required equipment had not yet been installed.

THE BELLEVUE Hotels & Resorts is keen on expanding its portfolio of five-star Bellevue and three-star B Hotels in the Philippines.

The Bellevue Bohol is scheduled to open in September, while there are plans to launch a Bellevue resort in Palawan and two B Hotels in Mindanao’s Cagayan de Oro and General Santos over the next few years.

The hotel chain’s corporate director of operations & marketing, Carlo Gomez, told TTG Asia e-Daily that The Bellevue Bohol would be the only five-star resort in the area once it opens.

“We believe that there is a place (in the Philippines) for homegrown brands like ours,” he said. “Our hotels are managed professionally versus those that are small mom-and-pop operations.”

Offering 159 rooms and suites, amenities at The Bellevue Bohol will include a 250-m beachfront, several conference venues, an infinity pool and a Thai-themed spa.

The hotel will target a mix of 40 per cent international and 60 per cent local clients, said Gomez.