WITH just two months to go before the London 2012 Olympics kicks off, VisitBritain is upbeat about the local tourism industry’s prospects during the event.

Ticket sales for the Oympics – which will run from July 27 to August 12 – are proceeding well, with most domestic allocations selling out within hours of release.

International ticket sales have also been positive. Kai Yu, president assistant of CAISSA Touristic Beijing, a certified distributor, reported strong demand within China, due to sustained interest following the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Nevertheless, Keith Beecham, overseas network director, VisitBritain, is expecting full year arrivals growth to be flat (30 million visitors through 2012), while displacement during the Olympics is a concern.

Beecham is hoping that Fair Price Charters will dissuade UK venues and suppliers from aggressively hiking prices during the event, to alleviate concerns over spiralling costs for visitors.

“This is a non-binding pledge and rates are subject to supply and demand, but we need to price fairly as the eyes of the world will be on Britain,” he said.

Beecham also played down worries over transport congestion during the event, citing the trend of tube traffic dipping by about 20 per cent in August – Londoners usually holiday during this period.

“London can deal with a large number of visitors, and infrastructure is there to support them. Historical patterns suggest London will cope,” he insisted.

Reporting by Timothy France

A TOTAL of 62 travel companies from the UK visited Bangkok last week to open doors to an Asian market which even in its infancy, is starting to supplant the traditional source markets.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily during VisitBritain’s ninth Destination Britain & Ireland APMEA in Bangkok, Alex Mawer, director of marketing, VisitEngland said: ““Asian visitors are holding our country up at the moment. We are losing European visitors as the euro (continues to) depreciate.”

“Asia is where it’s happening and is the right place to invest. Even though (at the moment) we will make a lower return (in Asia) than in Europe or the US, we must have an open door to push on in the coming years,” he added.

Keith Beecham, VisitBritain’s overseas network director, agreed, saying that growing high-yield Asian visitor numbers was top of the agenda, as the UK was experiencing a decline in traditional markets.

“The value (of the Asian market) has grown significantly and we are seeing disproportionately good growth from the region,” he said.

“(Focusing on Asia) is doubly important at the moment, because European source markets are down. The total number (from Europe) is still very big, but they are down trading and not travelling as often as before.”

According to Beecham, APMEA accounted for 14 per cent of total arrivals and 27.7 per cent of tourist spend in the UK last year. Growth from Australia, China and Singapore was particularly robust.

Reporting by Timothy France

AIRASIA X is expanding its network with the introduction of direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Starting June 22, 2012, the carrier will operate four-weekly services from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport. Frequency will increase to a daily from August 6, 2012.

AirAsia X’s Beijing-Kuala Lumpur flights will be operated using the Airbus A330-300 aircraft, with a configuration of 12 premium-flatbed and 365 economy seats.

Azran Osman-Rani, AirAsia X CEO, said: “China is a key market for AirAsia X, and our entry into Beijing supports the Malaysian government’s Economic Transformation Programme, which seeks to enhance connectivity between the two countries. The launch will allow for new segments of travellers between Malaysia, South-east Asia and China.”

Kathleen Tan, AirAsia’s group head of commercial, said: “China National Tourism Administration (recently) named Malaysia as one of the preferred destinations for Chinese tourists. The number of Malaysians travelling to China has also grown tremendously.”

“We are confident travel demand to Beijing will be strong, and (also) hope many (Chinese) will take the opportunity to visit Malaysia, and use it as a gateway to destinations across the region,” she added.

Meanwhile, AirAsia X has decided to suspend flights to Tianjin, effective June 21, 2012. All affected customers will be given the option of switching their bookings to the Beijing route.

SEEKING to alleviate congestion at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Philippine Department of Transport and Communications (DOTC) is taking steps to tone down domestic operations at the country’s main international gateway.

Firstly, DOTC has ruled that no additional domestic services are to be mounted during NAIA’s peak operating period, which stretches from 07:00 – 16:00 daily.

Nina Fernandez, a sales & operations officer with Friendship Tours & Resorts, an inbound operator dedicated to the Japanese market, said: “Reducing flights in the morning is okay, but (reducing flights) in the afternoon might create complications for our clients with connecting flights. Otherwise, Japanese flights arrive between 14:00 and 17:00 at NAIA, so reducing flights (to ease congestion) won’t benefit us.”

Philippine transportation secretary Mar Roxas is also pondering the redeployment of existing connecting services – from NAIA to domestic destinations such as Batanes, El Nido and Amanpulo – to an airstrip in Sangley Point, Cavite, about 30km away. Civil aviation authorities are currently sorting out guidelines for the move.

SEAir COO, Patrick Tan, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the airline’s Manila-Basco (Batanes) and Manila-Busuanga (Coron, Palawan) flights, which are operated using Dornier 328 aircraft, were unlikely to be affected by the proposed changes.

Instead, services likely to be bumped off from NAIA to an alternative airport were “non-standard, non-scheduled” charter flights, he explained.

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has decided to pull the plug on services to Abu Dhabi and Athens. The last flights to both destinations will depart Singapore on October 26, 2012.

SIA said in a statement that the suspensions were due to sustained weak performance on both routes, and were in line with policy to match capacity to prevailing market demand.

Customers holding confirmed bookings for travel to and from Abu Dhabi and Athens after October 26, 2012 (October 27 for the return Abu Dhabi-Singapore service) will be eligible for refunds, without administrative fees or penalties. This also applies to KrisFlyer redemption bookings.

In addition, affected customers will be offered alternative travel arrangements.

Meanwhile, SIA will continue to serve Dubai in the UAE, while connections to Athens are available on Star Alliance partner airlines via several of SIA’s other destinations in Europe.

SIA’s Athens service, active since 1972, is currently operated twice weekly, rising to three times per week between early July and late September. The carrier’s Abu Dhabi service, active since 2006, is operated thrice weekly.