THE CIVIL Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has progressed in its efforts to persuade the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to upgrade the nation’s aviation safety rating.

Following last month’s technical review by FAA officials in Manila, CAAP director Mon Gutierrez said the eighty-eight ‘significant findings’ discovered during the FAA pre-audit in January had since been cut down to two.

CAAP is currently acting on FAA requests to develop a new technical training programme based on recognised international aviation standards. It will also facilitate a revalidation process of Philippine carriers flying international routes. It will apply for a new FAA audit once these requirements are met.

The Philippine government is intent on regaining Category 1 status with the FAA, which downgraded the country’s aviation industry to Category 2 in December 2007.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez said CAAP was working to address the “significant safety concerns” that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) raised during their last visit, such as “the lack of (qualified) technical personnel,” noting that the concerns echoed those of the European Union when it imposed a blanket ban on Philippine carriers in April 2010.

ICAO officers are scheduled to visit Manila for an airline compliance inspection in July-August.

Aileen Clemente, president, Philippine Travel Agencies Association, said: “CAAP is fast-tracking the (reinstatement) process with support from the government. We will be over the hump very soon – they know what needs to be done.”

RAFFLES Hotels & Resorts is close to sealing a deal with a Sri Lankan conglomerate, Cargills (Ceylon), to open a Raffles hotel in Colombo.

The arrangement will see Raffles managing its inaugural hotel in Sri Lanka, housed within a Cargills-owned colonial building dating back to 1844.

The deal will also mark Cargills’ first foray into hospitality business. The company’s other interests span the food retail and manufacturing industries – it owns Sri Lanka’s largest supermarket chain, Cargills Food City, and the local KFC franchise, among other subsidiaries.

Hiran Cooray, chairman of Jetwing Hotels, said the entry of more international hotel brands like Raffles was a boon for Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry.

“They will raise the standard of service and excellence, which will ensure that local brands have to follow suit or fall by the wayside,” he explained.

Raffles Hotels & resorts had earlier been in discussions with the Bank of Ceylon to rebrand and manage its 80-room Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo, built in 1837 and believed to be the oldest hotel in Asia, as a Raffles.

HILTON Worldwide has opened its first-ever DoubleTree by Hilton in Japan in Naha, Okinawa.

Located directly opposite the Okinawa Monorail station in Asahibashi, the 12-storey DoubleTree by Hilton, Naha offers 227 rooms, a 40m2 meeting venue, a salon, and a laundry.

F&B options include The Riverside Restaurant & Café, the hotel’s all-day dining outlet serving international cuisine.

Including the DoubleTree by Hilton, Naha, Hilton Worldwide currently operates 10 properties in Japan.

LUXURY Travel Vietnam will launch a new office in Danang on June 1, in anticipation of an influx of visitors to the coastal city.

Pham Ha, CEO of Luxury Travel, said: “Danang is going to boom. Our business (in Danang) has increased by 30 per cent, and much of that has to do with the new airport (terminal) and air links to the central coast of Vietnam.”

“We have just won several new big accounts, and will open our new Danang office to meet the increased demand.”

Pham added that relatively few travel companies in Vietnam had their own offices in Danang, as most were sub-contracted to local tour operators.

Danang is seeing a growing array of tourism infrastructure and attractions, such as the Montgomerie Links golf course, international-chain hotels and luxurious resorts. The new terminal at Danang International Airport, with a capacity of four million passengers per year, opened last December.

Luxury Travel’s new Danang office will be located at 38 Hai Phong Street, near the Han River Bridge.

THE RAFT of cancellations by Chinese tour groups and charters has freed up large swathes of room inventory and may even result in reduced rates in Boracay, as the Philippines tourism industry continues to count the costs of Manila’s standoff with Beijing.

Several properties in Boracay have even reported cancelled roomnights up to a year in advance.

Dada Estonactoc, director of sales & marketing at the recently opened Nandana Boracay, had orginally made “healthy forecasts” for the resort’s Chinese tour and FIT markets up till March 2013.

Now, Estonactoc has turned to Taiwan and South Korea to plug the shortfall in Chinese bookings. “Europe, Australia, and the US can be added to these alternative markets, (although) they are still seasonal”, she added.

“There hasn’t been a lean season in Boracay in one year,” said Hannah Yulo, director of the 150-room Paradise Garden Resort Hotel & Convention Center in Boracay. “We’re (now) focusing on the domestic market, and are diverting our (overseas) efforts to South Korea and Japan.”

“But it’s not easy…it takes time to develop these (alternative) markets,” she added.

Meanwhile, Yulo predicted that many Boracay resorts would be slashing prices when they exhibit at the upcoming Philippine Travel Mart from August 10-12.

RAHSIA Estates, a property developer based in Kuala Lumpur, has appointed Ri-Yaz Hotels & Resorts to manage its new five-star hospitality project in Langkawi.

Currently being constructed at a cost of RM380 million (US$127 million), Rahsia Estates Resort Residences & Spa will comprise 268 hotel rooms and residential suites when it opens in mid-2015.

Rahsia Estates CEO, Hanizah Abdul Hamid, said: “This will be Langkawi’s first gated mixed hospitality and resort residential development.”

According to Hanizah, the 6.9-hectare estate will be divided into three precincts. Precinct 1 will have 121 apartment units ranging from 73m2 – 167m2, Precinct 2 will feature a 116-room hotel and spa, while Precinct 3 will offer 31 cabana villas with private pools and landscaped gardens.

Ri-Yaz Hotels & Resorts managing director, Shaheen Shah, said: “Our expected average room rate (for the Langkawi property) is RM1,200 a night, and we are targeting 65 per cent occupancy.”

Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel assistant account manager, Ronnie Chan, said: “This property will compete with the Four Seasons (Resort Langkawi) in price, which is hard to sell. It will be a bigger challenge to sell 268 units at that price. Our clients from Europe, Australia and Asia are more comfortable with rooms in five-star hotels costing about RM500-600 a night.”

Ri-Yaz currently operates two other hotels in Malaysia – the Cyberview Resort & Spa in Cyberjaya, and the Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa in Duyong Island, Terengganu.

By N. Nithiyananthan

IATA has urged China to continue the development of its aviation industry by ensuring sufficient capacity based on global standards and best practices.

Speaking at the China Civil Aviation Development Forum 2012 in Beijing, IATA director general and CEO, Tony Tyler, said that air transport played a significant role in China’s ongoing economic development.

“China is looking to increase its share of world trade from 10.4 per cent to 15 per cent. Aviation connectivity will be critical to making that happen,” he said. “Already, (China) is prioritising investments in airport and air navigation infrastructure.

“The challenge is to keep pace with rapidly growing demand, based on global standards which underpin safe and efficient global connectivity.”

In order to maximise growth potential, Tyler highlighted the need for China to expand its air navigation infrastructure to keep pace with burgeoning demand.

“IATA has worked successfully with China to open new entry points and create more flexibility in cooperation with the military. However, the challenge is growing daily as travel demand increase,” he said.

The more flexibility we have in how we share airspace between military, domestic and international flights, the better we will be able to manage growth and meet passenger expectations.”

Tyler added that planning for hub capacity at Beijing Capital International Airport, already the world’s second busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers handled, should also be a top priority.

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) registered a loss after tax of RM171 million (US$54 million) for 1Q2012, a 29-per cent recovery on its RM242 million net loss during the same quarter last year.

In an internal circular to staff, MAS group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya attributed the marginal upswing to measures implemented since the airline embarked on efforts to streamline its network, lower costs and win back customers.

“We cut unprofitable routes, especially longhaul where yields were low. For cost, we lowered our fuel bill considerably – helped by the progressive delivery of new aircraft and returning old ones,” he said.

However, the situation remains dire for MAS. “(There is) a daily cash burn of RM5 million. It is imperative that we keep pushing up our revenue throughout the network and very closely watch all costs,” said Ahmad Jauhari.

To get around its financial handicap, the airline has resorted to a three-pronged fundraising initiative to bankroll its ongoing fleet revamp.

The first facet involves a 10-year Sukuk (Islamic bond issue) programme to generate RM2.5 billion.

The second involves a deal with Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance, which will purchase six Airbus A380s and two Airbus A330s worth RM5.3billion, and lease them to MAS through a special purpose vehicle.

The remaining funds will be sourced through commercial loans, with the shortfall met by MAS majority shareholder, Khazanah Nasional.

As an additional cost cutting-measure, MAS has offered its workforce up to two years of no-pay leave. The arrangement allows staff to seek alternative employment, except with rival airlines, but still avail of air travel benefits.

Reporting by N. Nithiyananthan

THE TOURISM Ministers of the G20 economies (T20) have issued a joint declaration calling for priority to be given to facilitating travel as a means to boosting economic growth and job creation.

“To ensure that tourism can play a key role in creating employment opportunities, both directly and indirectly through linkages to the local economy, raising national income, improving the balance of payments and boosting economic growth, priority should be given to facilitating travel and tourism,” the declaration states.

The declaration further urges the G20 nations to leverage new technologies to make travel “more accessible, convenient and more efficient without a diminution of national security”, and to ramp up cooperation on bilateral, regional and international travel facilitation.

The T20 were attending a summit in Mérida, Mexico on May 16, where research presented by UNWTO and WTTC demonstrated that improvements to visa processes would generate five million jobs for G20 economies and US$206 billion in international tourism receipts by 2015.

“UNWTO applauds the commitment of (the T20) to visa facilitation,” said UNWTO secretary-general, Taleb Rifai. “This declaration is an extremely positive signal to the international community that we are moving ahead on this issue of vital importance to the tourism sector and global economy.”