PREFERRED Hotel Group reported substantial portfolio growth in 1Q2012 through the addition of 22 hotels, including gains in new markets such as Russia, Iraq, and the Maldives.

“Preferred had a strong first quarter,” said Lindsey Ueberroth, president, Preferred Hotel Group. “We are pleased to see new member growth across all our brands and our continued expansion into key new markets.”

The group’s Preferred Hotels & Resorts brand registered the most significant increase, taking on eight new members during the quarter. Other notable additions include Dusit Thani Maldives under its Preferred Boutique banner, and The Toy Hotel, Chandigarh in Punjab, India under its Sterling Design brand.

During the quarter, Preferred also registered a 24 per cent year-to-date hike in booking volume, and a 31 per cent year-on-year jump in reservation revenue.

“Looking ahead, our reservations data is showing signs that summer travel is off to a great start, with June bookings already 20 per cent higher than this time last year,” said Ueberroth.

AMWAY China’s 15,000-pax incentive seminar in Phuket, which concludes this evening with the 21st and final gala dinner at the Laguna Phuket resort complex, has effectively raised the destination’s profile among Chinese travel firms and travellers.

Aaishah Bohari, director of sales & marketing, Angsana Laguna Phuket, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the resort was expecting a surge in Chinese guests during the upcoming Chinese New Year season.

“Because of the Amway China incentive, we have been getting a lot of calls from Chinese travel agencies that do not usually work with us. Many of these agencies have locked in room allotments for the festive season next year,” she said.

Michelle Ko, corporate and MICE manager of East Shanghai International Travel Service, which handles all travel procurement for Amway China’s incentive movements, said: “Amway China’s incentive in Phuket has been widely reported by Chinese media, and many Chinese companies are following the developments closely.”

“(These) companies want to see how well Phuket copes with such a huge event, to (help them) decide if they (should) bring their own events here in the future.”

Meanwhile, Laguna Phuket intends to showcase the Amway China incentive as a marketing tool in its promotions in China, said the resort’s assistant vice-president of destination marketing, Debbie Dionysius.

Angsana Laguna Phuket will also continue investing in Mandarin lessons for local staff engaged in frontline positions, an extension of the courses that the resort put its staff through in anticipation of the Amway China event.

TTG ASIA’s Facebook Contest finds its lucky April winner in Khoi Huynh, a travel consultant with Vietravel in Vietnam.

Huynh won a three-night stay in a deluxe room at Destination Surin Resort & Spa in Phuket, after ‘liking’ the TTG Asia Facebook page and subscribing to the travel trade magazine.

TTG Asia has now come to the end of its Facebook Contest, and would like to thank its readers and sponsors for their continued support.

For more details, visit www.facebook.com/ttgasia

BEST Western International (BWI) has opened Best Western Premier Sukhumvit Hotel, its fifth property in Bangkok and 14th across Thailand.

Located on Sukhumvit Soi 1 opposite Bumrungrad International Hospital, the 145-key hotel offers a mix of premier studio rooms and suites, ranging in size from 32–54m².

Facilities include a rooftop swimming pool and bar, a business centre, all-day dining restaurant, a wine lounge, and a meeting room with capacity for 40 pax.

“With the advantage of its central location, Best Western Premier Sukhumvit is an excellent option for travellers wishing to explore (Bangkok),” said Glenn de Souza, BWI vice president, International Operations – Asia & the Middle East.

BWI’s Bangkok portfolio now consists of 600 keys across its Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier brands.

ALTHOUGH China has yet to issue an official travel ban over the ongoing territorial dispute in the South China Sea, the Philippines’ travel industry is bracing for the worst amid rumours that Chinese travel firms may suspend tours to the destination indefinitely.

So far, the Philippine Department of Tourism has acknowledged the cancellation of at least 10 group tours from China – mostly pre-paid and each with 50-100 pax – to Boracay, Cebu, Bohol and Davao.

The high cross-straits tensions have also spooked Cebu Pacific into suspending its twice-weekly Shanghai-Clark charter flights, which were scheduled to run till September.

Zest Airways has also discontinued its twice-weekly Shanghai-Kalibo and thrice-weekly Jinjiang-Manila charter services, as well as shelved Shanghai-Cebu and Beijing-Kalibo flights orginally slated to start next month.

– Read the full story in TTG Asia, May 18, 2012 issue

SPAIN has become the latest country to provide a simplified visa application process for Chinese nationals.

The system – the first of its kind for Spain – will become fully operational “very soon”, said a spokesperson for Turespaña, the national tourism promotion board.

While declining to speculate on how much quicker the new system would be, the spokesperson said it would enable Spanish consulates to “increase the number of visas (handled) without (having to boost) staff (numbers)”.

Visa processing centres have been installed at three Spanish consulates in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to test the new system. These centres will handle applications from all over China, and there are currently no plans to extend the system to other provinces.

VFS Global, which also works with the Canadian, French, Indian and British consulates in China, has been appointed to manage the visa processing facility.

Last year, the number of Chinese tourists to Spain rose 25 per cent, from 128,454 in 2010. No predictions have been given for growth this year, but the market is described as remaining “buoyant”.

MARRIOTT International will introduce another of its hotel brands to the Indonesian market next year, as part of its regional expansion strategy.

Neelima Chopra, Marriott’s chief sales and marketing officer, Asia-Pacific, disclosed this to TTG Asia e-Daily during a recent visit to Singapore, but declined to elaborate further on the development.

Chopra also revealed that the hotel chain was planning to introduce a new MICE concept in Asia next year, as well as roll out a new marketing campaign for the Renaissance brand in 3Q2012.

“There’s a world of opportunity out here in Asia to capitalise upon, and we expect all segments of the (hotel) market to perform well. Marriott is always on the lookout for the right location and owners to work with, wherever that might be on the Asian continent,” she said.

When asked if Marriott was exploring the feasibility of developing an Asia-centric brand, Chopra replied: “As far as I know, Marriott does not have any such plans in place, as Asian customers know and love our current brands.”

TRAVELPORT is set to unveil a host of new mobile solutions for its travel agent partners in Asia-Pacific.

The Viewtrip Mobile app, first released in the UK and Ireland in January, will be launched in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Thailand this June. Viewtrip Mobile allows travel consultants to post itineraries, messages, reminders and updates to clients using an Android or iPhone smartphone. It is free to download, but consultants looking to display their own branding will have to pay a fee.

A tablet and smartphone version of Galileo Terminal, which allows consultants to access both the Galileo and Apollo GDS remotely via the Internet, is also scheduled for release in Asia-Pacific within the next two months. The product was first introduced in the US and Europe last year.

Expressing confidence in the uptake of these new products, Linda Kelly-Smith, Travelport’s head of solutions and customer support for Asia-Pacific, said: “Based on our past experience, adoption rates (for Travelport products) have always been good, and so far, feedback for our existing products has been quite positive.”

“Usually, there is some resistance initially, but once consultants start using our products, they become more receptive to trying new solutions,” she added.

Travel consultants whom TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to at the recent Travelport roadshow in Singapore said they were keen to find out more before committing to any new solution.

“It is costly to integrate brand new systems, so it is imperative that we weigh both the cost and benefits, and compare Travelport’s product suite to other GDSs before we make a final decision,” said Tang Hoe Kun, general manager, Diners World Travel.