COSTA Cruises, a first mover in China, has now opened an office in Singapore and, for the first time, is homeporting a ship in the city.

It will base the Costa Victoria in Singapore in November and offer 11 sailings to Malaysia and Thailand with three-night, four-night and seven-night itineraries, the shorter duration being ideal for Asians.

Costa is eyeing the Singapore cruise market and a booming regional leisure traffic to Singapore to fill the 2,394 pax ship.

“In the past, Singapore was just a port-of-call for us during winter. We have observed that in the last three to four years, Singapore has made tremendous development in tourism attractions and has become a final or true vacation destination for Asian travellers.

“For us, a home port must be a big source market and Singapore has become one,” said Leo Liu, Costa Cruises’ vice president of strategy.

Read the full report in TTG Asia, May 18, 2012

FINNAIR inaugurated flights to Chongqing on May 9, the first carrier to open direct services between Europe and the inland Chinese megacity.

Mika Vehviläinen, CEO of Finnair, said: “We believe Chongqing has the potential of developing into a hub for travel between Western China and Europe, both for business and leisure travellers.”

Chongqing’s population of 32 million, about the size of Austria, is expected to double over the next five years. Chinese and Western companies, especially in the electronics, automotive and chemical industries, are currently expanding their operations in Chongqing, said the airline.

Chongqing also provides convenient access to river cruises on the Jialing and Yangtze rivers, and the city is well connected to Lhasa, Xian and Kunming.

Finnair is using Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft on this route, which takes eight and a half hours.

The airline first announced its plans to fly to Chongqing last year. The new route is in line with its strategy to offer shorter connections between Asia and Europe via Helsinki.

In addition to four flights per week to Chongqing, Finnair also flies daily to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong from Helsinki.

This summer, Finnair will operate 81 flights per week to 11 destinations in Asia.

THE FIRST travel agency in Singapore for women travellers only has opened. Its name? Stilettos Travel, of course.

The company offers Asian programmes, but will expand to other parts of the world. It focuses on heritage and culture, exotic destinations that single women travellers may find difficult to travel to if travelling alone, and CSR-oriented activities. Itineraries are designed around regular sightseeing, but made more “involving” by including interactions with the local communities.

It also offers a Travel Buddy Pairing service to help women find like-minded travel companions.

Founded by two women entrepreneurs, Tay Lay Suan and Anna Koh, Stilettos Travel has since organised trips to Bhutan, Siem Reap, South Korea and Hua Hin. Group sizes range between four to 10 pax.

“As women ourselves, we noticed that travel agencies could not cater precisely to our needs. What does a woman look for when she travels? She wants a programme focused on her interests, good company, and above all, she wants to be assured of her safety,” said Tay.

Added her co-founder, Koh: “On top of this, we find that many of our female friends would very much like to travel and experience the world, and have the means to do so, but are often constrained by companionship and differing interests with their spouses or families.”

THE INDONESIA Corporate Meeting and Incentive Travel Mart (ICMITM) 2012, ending today in Medan, is anticipating a 30 per cent jump in transaction amounts compared to last year’s event, buoyed by strong domestic and overseas demand.

Jointly organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and Bank Danamon American Express (AMEX) Corporate Card, the fifth ICMITM brings together 100 AMEX corporate card members and 80 sellers from North Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia for two days.

Participating hoteliers yesterday said they were getting business worth between 500 million rupiah and 800 million rupiah for events within the next one to three months. Between 91 billion rupiah (US$10 million) and 95 billion rupiah in total is expected.

Dessy Masri, Bank Danamon, executive vice president – card business head, said: “Before the event, we asked buyers to send us (information about) the events they are planning and we sent them to the sellers, so that sellers come prepared with special offers to discuss with the buyers.”

Indonesia’s deputy minister of tourism and creative economy, Sapta Nirwandar, said: “We hope to see bigger transactions this year with the MICE market in Indonesia growing, as we promote more destinations in the country.”

According to Dessy, the average T&E budget of a company was between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of total company spending, of which 30 per cent were on MICE. Total transaction for T&E recorded by Bank Danamon AMEX corporate card last year was 500 billion rupiah.

AUSTRALIA is seeing increasing numbers of Chinese and Japanese visitors, who are driving steady growth in inbound tourism despite the robust Australian currency and continued economic frailty in key longhaul markets.

According to Australia’s Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, overall arrivals in 1Q2012 grew 4.1 per cent year-on-year. During the quarter, there were nearly 200,000 Chinese visitors to Australia, a 10.7 per cent year-on-year increase, while Japanese arrivals rose 5.8 per cent to 98,000.

Longhaul markets such as the US and UK did not fare too badly either, said Australian Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson.

“A recovery in arrivals is now more evident from the US, which has increased by 3.3 percent and the UK, which rose by 3.1 percent, despite relative weakness in their respective economies,” he was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.

Meanwhile, the main underperforming markets were Malaysia and Germany.

Ferguson credited improved flight access as a key driver in the growth of inbound tourism. “The Australian government has been in negotiations to continue to expand our airlines’ access to the world and to allow foreign carriers to increase their access to Australia,” he said.

Carriers such as China Southern Airlines, which doubled its Guangzhou-Melbourne services to twice-daily last October, and launched thrice-weekly Beijing-Perth flights a month later, are leading the charge to provide adequate air connectivity for Chinese tourists looking to head Down Under.

SERVICED apartments player Frasers Hospitality has launched a hotel brand, Capri by Fraser, with three hotels to open within the next 12 to 16 months in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City.

The hotel in Singapore, Capri by Fraser @ Changi City, opening in the third quarter, is expected to fetch a rate of between S$250 (US$200) and S$300, Frasers Hospitality CEO, Choe Peng Sum, told TTG Asia e-Daily at the launch of the brand today.

Though pitched at the four-star market, Frasers Hospitality believes the brand will be anything but a typical four-star.

An extensive range of facilities and customised services are offered, along with the convenience of a full-serviced residence such as the option of cooking and doing laundry.

Room size will range from 32sqm to 70sqm in the Singapore property.

The brand is “urban inspired, high-tech and intuitive”, with experiences such as iPad-activated check-in, interactive e-concierge, AirPrint and WiFi e-Print facilities for business, meeting rooms with interactive walls, and a Data Box to charge all digital services.

Choe said: “Capri by Fraser bridges the gap between hotels and serviced residences, to meet the short-term accommodation needs of the 24/7 digital generation, who work and play to a different beat from that of the business travellers of the past.”

“Market feedback has indicated that while regional travel stays are becoming shorter, usually between one to two weeks, they are also becoming more frequent, with professionals working longer, irregular hours across different time zones,” he added.

“Capri by Fraser is focused on enhancing the work-life balance of our guests with the flexibility and freedom to rest, relax and recharge according to their individual lifestyle needs.”

While hotel chains have been making inroads into the lucrative serviced apartments sector with their own residences, few if any serviced apartments players have officially gone into the hotel industry with their own hotel brands.

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

MALAYSIAN budget hotel chain, Tune Hotels, will open its inaugural Jakarta property, Tune Hotel Pasar Baru, on July 12.

Mark Lankester, Tune Hotels Group CEO, said: “Jakarta has been on our radar screen for a long time now, with many of our guests consistently asking about our plans there. The wait is over.”

Located in central Jakarta, near Mangga Dua wholesale complex and Kemayoran Expo Centre, Tune Hotel Pasar Baru will offer 117 double, 36 twin, and a single special needs room.

The hotel will be Tune Hotel’s third in Indonesia, joining other properties in Bali’s Kuta and Legian.

Elsewhere, Tune Hotels currently operates eleven hotels in Malaysia, two in London, three in the Philippines, and two in Thailand.

LOOKING to build on momentum gained from the launch of Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) twice-weekly Manila-Bali services in April, Aneka Kartika Tours & Travel Service will embark on its first-ever sales mission to Manila this month.

The Surabaya-based DMC, together with representatives from eight Indonesian hotels and seven Asian airlines serving Indonesia, will jointly participate at Pesta Indonesia in Manila on May 15.

Targeting some 100 travel industry members in the Philippines, the event aims to increase awareness of Indonesia and stimulate interest in sending groups to the destination.

Adjie Wahjono, operations manager, Aneka Kartika Tours & Travel Service said: “We have been working on (the Philippine) market since seven years ago, even before PAL started Manila-Jakarta direct flights, and have seen the market growing well over the past three years.”

“Now, with PAL serving (both) Jakarta and Bali, we feel it is important to bring our hotel partners to meet the travel industry in Manila.”

According to Adjie, Philippine visitors to Indonesia usually consist of FITs, families and corporate incentives. They stay an average of three nights, visiting theme parks, and shopping in Jakarta, Bandung and Bali.

“Many Filipinos have no idea where Jakarta, Bali and Borobudur are yet. We have had requests to combine Jakarta with Borobudur or Bali in one day, which is possible but (over intensive),” he said.

“We hope (the Filipino travel trade) will understand Indonesia better (after the sales mission), and in turn look to increase (outbound) traffic (to Indonesia).”

BEST Western International (BWI) has opened Best Western Wana Riverside Hotel in Malacca, as part of ongoing expansion efforts in Malaysia.

“We hope to be able to help cater for a new wave of business and leisure tourists attracted to this historical city,” said Glenn de Souza, BWI vice president International Operations – Asia & the Middle East.

Located on the banks of the Melaka River, the 170-key Best Western Wana Riverside offers a mix of superior, deluxe, grand deluxe, studio and executive rooms, ranging in size from 29 – 40m². The hotel also features meeting facilities for up to 400 persons, a sports bar, and a riverside café.

BWI is scheduled to operate 15 properties in Malaysia by 1Q2015, offering more than 1,700 rooms across nine cities.