AIR Astana will mount first-ever direct flights between the capitals of Kazakhstan and China when it launches twice-weekly Astana-Beijing services on August 25.

Operated every Wednesday and Saturday using a Boeing 757-200 aircraft, this will be Air Astana’s second route to mainland China, adding to existing Almaty-Beijing flights that are operated five times a week.

Meanwhile, Air Astana will also introduce twice-weekly Almaty-Hong Kong flights on August 28. To support this connection, Kazakh nationals have been granted visa-free stay in Hong Kong for up to 14 days. Reciprocally, residents of Hong Kong SAR have been granted 14-days’ visa-free entry into Kazakhstan.

Air Astana president, Peter Foster, had previously mentioned that the airline was planning to operate daily services from both Almaty and Astana to Beijing, as well as daily services from Almaty to Urumqi.

BRITISH Airways (BA) is planning to resume flights to Colombo, after pulling out from the Sri Lankan capital some ten years ago due to the civil war.

According to Sri Lankan aviation authorities, the UK flag carrier plans to operate thrice-weekly services between London (Gatwick) and Colombo via Male, beginning next March. Currently, the only direct connection between London and Colombo are daily flights operated by SriLankan Airlines.

“It’s a very good move. There will be (increased) positivity and confidence when an airline like BA starts flying to Colombo,” said Michael Elias, CEO of Walkers Tours, which represents Kuoni, Virgin Holidays and Thomas Cook in Sri Lanka.

Elias added that flying from Gatwick in South London would be a boon, as some of the main outbound travel operators such as Kuoni and Virgin Holidays had offices nearby.

Chaminda Dias, executive director, Luxe Asia, said the return of BA would lend credibility to Sri Lanka’s efforts to ramp up post-war tourism development. “It will legitimise the fact that Sri Lanka is normal and ready for tourism,” he said.

THE AUSTRALIAN Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) is planning to do away with its Travel Compensation Fund (TCF) by 2014, due to a lack of consumer awareness and doubts about the fund’s efficacy.

The TCF, which provides protection for local consumers in the event of the financial collapse of a participating travel agency, will be replaced by new consumer protection legislation, said AFTA CEO, Jayson Westbury.

“In a 2010 PricewaterhouseCoopers report, only three per cent of consumers surveyed were aware that the TCF was in existence. We do not believe that the TCF adds to the confidence of consumer decisions to purchase via a travel (consultant),” he said.

AFTA estimates that the average travel agency forks out about A$19,500 (US$20,500) a year to cover bonds, administration fees and regulatory red tape when dealing with the TCF.

Rose Yong, managing director of Melbourne-based inbound/outbound tour operator Extragreen Holidays, said her company had not seen any benefits from the TFC in over 18 years of membership.

Tracey Schwass, a travel consultant with Brisbane-based group tour specialist Travel by Tracey, believes the TCF should close as bonds and administration fees are too costly for smaller agencies – at about A$8,000 a year, while a disproportionate amount of time is spent with accountants on regulatory compliance.

“(The TCF closure) will be positive depending on the outcome of the new consumer legislation,” she said.

CHINA is experiencing a stagnation in the growth of Indian visitor numbers this year, due to an unfavourable currency exchange rate and increasing costs.

According to data from the China National Tourist Office (CNTO), 245,901 Indians visited China during January-May 2012, an increase of just 0.72 per cent over the same period in 2011. China is targeting 610,000 arrivals from India this year, compared to 606,500 in 2011.

“We expect only a marginal increase in the number of Indian visitors to mainland China this year. With the rupee on a downhill and the yuan on an upward spiral, we have to take this into account,” said CNTO in a statement.

Sajan Gupta, director, Vayu Seva Tours Kolkata said: “Hotel rates and transportation costs (in China) are up with a stronger yuan and US dollar, so the nett cost of tour packages to China have risen, making it less attractive for the outbound tourist.”

Even with the dampened forecast, CNTO has ramped up this year’s promotional budget for the Indian market, and is actively targeting the travel trade in Bangalore, Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai.

Rajendra Dhumma, director, Classis Travel & Tours Mumbai, said: “Roadshows and promotions should provide inputs about language, belief and customs, cultural values and attitudes, the Chinese socio-economic environment, social etiquette and protocol; as 75 per cent of Indian travellers to China travel for business.”

HONG Kong Airlines will ground its daily Hongkong-London (Gatwick) flights on September 10, barely five months after the all-business class service was launched in March.

Hong Kong Airlines president, Yang Jiang Hong, said the decision was made after a review of the carrier’s European strategy as a result of the continued weak economic outlook in Europe.

“We believe that a regional model focused on Asia-Pacific is most appropriate for Hong Kong Airlines at this stage of our growth. Our key focus will be building our regional network and strengthening our business across China, South-east Asia, Japan and South Korea,” said Yang.

“Our plan is to re-deploy the three specially-equipped, all-business class Airbus A330-200s which currently service the London route to charter flights following the suspension,” he added.

Joyce Fung, director of Happy Star Travel Services, which caters mainly to business travellers, said: “There are many (alternative) choices for the London-Hong Kong route, like Cathay Pacific and British Airways. Of course, Hong Kong Airline’s price is attractive to FITs.”

ROYAL Caribbean International’s Legend of the Seas will be returning to Singapore for her final season this October, and will complete her long-running Asian deployment next April.

From October 31, 2012 till April 1, 2013, the cruise ship will offer a mix of popular and new South-east Asian itineraries from Singapore, including several two- to seven-night sailings to Malacca, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Phuket.

Other highlights include the four- and five-night festive cruises for Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year, the new seven-night Borneo Explorer Cruise to new ports-of-call Kota Kinabalu and Bandar Seri Begawan, and the five-night Bangkok and Koh Samui Cruise.

Prior to being based in Singapore, Legend of the Seas will offer a series of four- to nine-night North Asian sailings out of Yokohama and Shanghai from September to October. Highlights include the nine-night Russia & Hokkaido Cruise to Vladivostok and for the first time, Japan’s Muroran and Kushiro.

The ship’s Hong Kong season in October will line up itineraries to Taiwan, Vietnam and China, calling at Manila, Taipei, Halong Bay and Sanya, and new ports-of-call Boracay and Kota Kinabalu.

LUXURY group The Peninsula Hotels is aggressively courting the lucrative Chinese market with a number of new initiatives this year, including tailored experiences in its US hotels and lifestyle programmes in its Greater China properties.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, The Peninsula Hotels vice president, sales, Simon Yip, said Chinese guests currently comprised around 10-12 per cent of the customer mix across its nine properties worldwide, but he expects the market to account for at least 20 per cent by 2014.

He said: “The China market contributes 40-50 per cent of the mix for Shanghai and Beijing, 16-18 per cent for Hong Kong, seven per cent for Bangkok, four to five per cent for Tokyo, and still a small percentage for Manila and our three US hotels but it has huge potential.

“(Chinese guests) tend to pick the higher room types or the suite categories. This is good for us in terms of yield.”

Yip singled out two new programmes catering to the market. One is a Lifestyle Academy in Peninsula’s Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing hotels. Guests are assigned style experts who offer professional shopping advice and are taught how to host dinner parties, from table etiquette to menu selection.

“Chinese travellers are fast becoming affluent travellers and want to enjoy the good things in life. Unfortunately, because of rapid growth in China, they might not always get the chance to…There’s a desire to learn,” he explained.

When Peninsula’s 10th property opens in Paris at the end of next year, it will have similar initiatives and there will also be a Cantonese restaurant.

Another programme is The Very Best of America by The Peninsula, which can be found in New York, Beverly Hills and Chicago. The aim is to allow Chinese travellers to have quintessential American experiences, while still feeling “at home”.

Yip pointed out that for the many families who were visiting to scout around for American universities, the hotels would help in the research process and offer services such as limousine rides to campuses and translators. Tickets to Broadway shows and baseball games, as well as Chinese breakfasts are also examples of what can be provided.

When asked if Peninsula would create a separate brand to reach out to Chinese guests, Yip said: “We are focused on strengthening our Peninsula brand and don’t want to deviate from that. There is a fine line between being Chinese-friendly and becoming too Chinese.”

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) has increased the frequency of its Kuala Lumpur-London (Heathrow) services from three times a week to a daily, effective August 12.

The route is currently served by the airline’s two existing Airbus A380 aircraft, which are configured in a three-class layout, seating a total of 494 passengers.

MAS group CEO, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, said: “We are also on track to providing the A380 service on the main ‘kangaroo’ route between London and Sydney, when (our) third A380 begins daily operations between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur by end November.”

MANDALA Airlines launched its maiden flight between Jakarta and Bangkok on August 10, intensifying competition on the route, which is also served by Thai Airways International, AirAsia and Garuda Indonesia.

The daily Jakarta-Bangkok flight is operated using the airline’s new Airbus A320 aircraft, which can seat up to 180 passengers.

Mandala president director, Michael Coltman, said: “The launch of Jakarta-Bangkok services is part of our plan to develop a network between Indonesia and the rest of Asia.”

The Thai capital is Mandala’s third overseas destination after Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 13, 2012).