BEGINNING January 2013, mainland Chinese tour groups cruising to Taiwan via Hong Kong will be allowed to continue their journey (on the same vessel) to Japan and/or South Korea before returning to China.

The new policy was announced last month as an extension of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangment signed between the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, which aims to enhance bilateral integration of goods and services.

Costa Cruises senior marketing & PR manager, Eunice Lee, said: “Cruising has enjoyed an increase in attention in mainland China in recent years. However, compared to western markets, the number of cruise travellers (in mainland China) is still small. Mainland Chinese face many challenges when cruising to Asian countries, one of which is having to obtain a visa for each and every port of call.”

“The new policy has great potential in driving cruise tourism in this market. More mainland Chinese will be encouraged to go on cruises, where they will be able to travel to multiple destinations while enjoying the onboard experience. Cruise operators will also have more flexibility in creating different route options,” she added.

Kevin So, senior manager of cruise specialist Sightseers (Hong Kong), believes the policy will boost overall cruise arrivals to the SAR, and will mainly benefit cruise travel consultants in mainland China.

“The impact will only be confined to the mass market segment, as cruising is not yet mature in mainland China. Due to cultural differences, Hong Kong clients may also choose not to board vessels dominated by mainland Chinese passengers,” he said.

AIRASIA Expedia, the one-year-old Singapore-based joint venture between Expedia and AirAsia, is set to commence the roll out of its latest country-specific Expedia site and travel expert affiliate programme in the Philippines.

Scheduled to debut in early August, AirAsia Expedia will first unveil its Philippine travel expert affiliate programme in Manila, then shift the focus to Clark/Pampanga and beyond. The OTA will enlist the services of Discover the World Marketing to reach out to local travel firms and associations.

“We are targeting everyone, but we start with Manila outbound (consultants),” said Charee Guico, South-east Asia travel distribution manager for AirAsia Expedia. “They go online, make a booking, they get 10 per cent (commission upon checkout), that’s it. It’s really straightforward – no system requirements.”

Customised packages can also be created by purchasing flight tickets, accommodation, and support services like tours and transfers separately, said Guico.

AirAsia Expedia CEO Dan Lynn said the Philippines’ readiness for online travel bookings was about to hit critical mass.

“Goldman Sachs reports that the Philippines will grow into the 16^th largest economy in the world in the mid-term, so it’s really important that we build a big expedia.com.ph business now,” he said.

OKURA Hotels & Resorts is planning to expand its global network, starting with the proliferation of its five-star Okura Prestige brand.

“It is our intention to expand aggressively in the global market,” said Toshihiro Ogita, president & CEO of Hotel Okura Co, which owns the Okura Hotels & Resorts, Hotel JAL City and Nikko Hotels International chains.

“Our Okura Prestige brand will be used for a new group of mid-sized, international luxury hotels, featuring futuristic, ultra-modern design, which we believe will appeal to upscale, hip consumers regardless of their age,” said Ogita.

The first Okura Prestige hotel, the 240-room The Okura Prestige Bangkok, made its debut in May. The hotel features a cantilevered outdoor swimming pool and a luxury spa.

The second, The Okura Prestige Taipei, soft-opened on July 17, and will have its grand opening on August 3. The 208-room hotel features a fitness centre, a heated rooftop swimming pool, a massage room, and a sauna.

Based on comments made by Ogita in February 2011 (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 7, 2011), Okura Hotels & Resorts is planning to operate up to 20 Okura Prestige hotels worldwide within the next four years.

Meanwhile, Hotel JAL City has two openings in the pipeline for 2013: Hotel Nikko Guangzhou and Hotel Nikko Suzhou.

ASCOTT has secured a contract to manage Ascott Raffles City Chengdu, the serviced apartment operator’s third property in the capital of Sichuan province, China.

This follows Ascott’s recent contract wins to manage its first serviced residence in Xiamen, Citadines Jinshang Road Xiamen, and its second property in Wuhan, Somerset Wusheng Wuhan, which are scheduled to open in late 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s deputy CEO & managing director for North Asia, said: “Besides expanding in gateway cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, we also see potential in China’s high-growth cities such as Chengdu, Wuhan and Xiamen. These cities have been attracting investments from multinational and local corporations due to their rapid urbanisation and strong infrastructure. Chengdu, Wuhan and Xiamen are also well-known tourist destinations.”

Located in the heart of Chengdu’s business district along Renmin Nan Road, Ascott Raffles City Chengdu will form part of the Raffles City Chengdu integrated development comprising serviced residences, Grade A offices, luxury apartments and a shopping mall.

When it opens in 2013, Ascott Raffles City Chengdu will offer a total of 296 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Facilities will include an indoor swimming pool, a sauna, spa and gym, a reading lounge, restaurants, a children’s play area, a business centre, and several meeting rooms.

In Chengdu and Wuhan, Ascott currently operates Somerset Riverview Chengdu and Citadines Zhuankou Wuhan. It expects to open Ascott Financial City Chengdu in 2014 (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 2, 2011).

NTUC Club, the entertainment arm of the Singapore National Trades Union Congress, announced yesterday that it would pour some S$200 million (US$160 million) into revamping the Downtown East integrated complex in Pasir Ris over the next five years.

The Escape Theme Park, which ceased operations last November, will be demolished to make way for an expansion of the Wild Wild Wet theme park.

The project will also include a facelift for the 360-room Costa Sands Resort, which will gain an additional 40 rooms. Once completed, the overall area of the resort will increase from three to 3.8 hectares, offering a mix of hotel-style rooms and one- and two-bedroom chalets.

A meeting and conference facility, featuring a multi-purpose hall with space for up to 3,000 pax, will also be constructed.

The revamp will be carried out in two stages, with the first stage starting in 4Q2012, and the entire project scheduled for completion in the second half of 2017.

DESPITE the unfolding economic slowdown, Asian travellers remain bullish about their travel plans for this year, surpassing the global average in expected travel accommodation bookings, according to a new study commissioned by AsiaRooms.com.

The inaugural Traveller Confidence Index found that Asia scored 61.4 points, while Europe trailed behind with 55.9 points. The former was only bested by Latin America (66.7 points), and both were above the 60.8-point average.

As a region, Asia led in spending, and was also the least price-sensitive, independent market research firm VisionOne UK discovered, after surveying about 20,000 travellers worldwide during the first quarter.

Within Asia, Singapore came out tops for overseas leisure travel propensity at 67.9 points, compared to China at 62.8 points and Malaysia at 48.3 points.

Use of online channels for accommodation bookings was highest among Asian respondents (70.3 per cent), with China (57.5 per cent) ahead of the pack, followed by Singapore (57.4 per cent) and India (55 per cent).

AsiaRooms.com brand development lead, Clarence Lin, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the findings would help shape the OTA’s supply and marketing decisions. “For example, with China having the highest proportion of online bookings, we need to beef up on the kind of hotels that are popular with Chinese travellers. These could be resorts in more exotic and prestige locations. They are no longer just looking at Hong Kong and Macau, but places like the Maldives,” he explained.

“Knowing that Singapore and Malaysia are key, we also have to make sure we have adequate voices in those markets. We are spending and investing heavily in the two countries with our ongoing marketing campaign.”

According to Lin, the main source of bookings for AsiaRooms.com were Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

With an inventory of 60,000 properties, Lin said AsiaRooms.com was positioning itself as an Asian expert, backed by the “financial muscle of (its parent) TUI Travel”.

“At this point in time, we are growing the B2C market, as there are other brands within the TUI portfolio that deal with corporate wholesale business. We are quite clear about our strengths and competencies,” he said.