SCOOT has chosen Bangkok as its fourth destination, a move that is expected to exert downward pressure on rates of similar services offered by Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia and Thai AirAsia.

The low-cost medium and longhaul carrier’s Singapore-Bangkok flights will be operated daily using the Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

Other destinations already announced by Scoot include Sydney and Gold Coast in Australia, and Tianjin in China. The Sydney, Gold Coast and Tianjin services are scheduled to start on June 4, June 12, and in August, respectively.

Bangkok will be the second destination served by both Scoot and Singapore Airlines, after Sydney.

Earlier in the year, Scoot polled its fans on Facebook for preferred destinations, with Bangkok emerging as a popular choice.

INDIA’s Solang Valley, located in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, is fast gaining a reputation as a ski holiday destination.

Accessible from New Delhi by road or flights to nearby Bhuntar Airport, the valley hosted the inaugural Alpine Premier League skiing competition in February, and is likely to be added as a regular feature in the international skiing events calendar.

In addition to skiing, Solang Valley boasts other outdoor activities such as paragliding, mountain biking and snowmobiling. The other popular ski resort in India is Gulmarg in Kashmir, which is accessible from New Delhi and Srinagar.

Bjorn J. Sjursen, managing director, Metro Tours Norway said: “We can motivate a large number of clients to combine a ski holiday with beach or cultural tours of India. It will be exciting to ski in the Himalayas.”

Mandip Singh Soin, vice president, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India said: “We have to upgrade our ski destinations into ski resorts by adding high quality hotel rooms, F&B, good medical care and other facilities that are taken for granted in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps and Colorado. We must create a Brand Himalaya.”

ASCOTT has kick-started a global sustainability drive, Go Green @ Ascott, targeting 15 per cent savings in water and energy consumption across its offices and properties worldwide by 2015.

Tony Soh, chief corporate officer, Ascott and chairman of the company’s Green Committee, said: “Climate change is a real issue that is affecting how we live, work and play… we are taking proactive and meaningful steps to transform our business practices and promote sustainability among our staff, residents and business partners.”

Besides implementing green practices such as using sustainable building materials for construction of new properties, and increasing the usage of green products at its serviced residences, the serviced residence owner-operator is targeting international environmental certification for all properties by end-2012.

In addition, Ascott will actively promote water, energy and paper conservation, as well as waste reduction. The company will also organise a regular Ascott Earth Day, to be held every first Friday of the month across all properties.

ACCOR has opened its inaugural Pullman-branded property in India: Pullman Gurgaon Central Park.

Located in Gurgaon city in the state of Haryana, the 285-key hotel offers 120 superior rooms, 90 deluxe rooms, and 75 executive floor rooms including 22 suites.

“We are very excited with the launch of Pullman brand in India, as it will further strengthen our portfolio in the upscale market,” said Jean-Michel Cassé, senior vice president, operations Accor, India.

“We believe Pullman Hotels will enable Accor to participate in the fast-paced growth being experienced in the business and MICE segment in India.”

F&B options at the hotel include SEN5ES, an all-day dining restaurant serving international cuisine; La Riviera, a fine dining establishment offering Southern French and Italian dishes; and Pondichery, a rooftop restaurant due to open by year-end.

The hotel also offers over 1,580m2 of meeting space, including a ballroom with an eight metre-high ceiling, and a wedding pavilion. Leisure facilities include a fitness centre, a Mandara Spa, and an outdoor heated swimming pool.

ROYAL Caribbean International has released details of its deployment in Australia for the 2013/2014 winter season, offering 53 itineraries aboard Voyager of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas, with departures from September 2013 through April 2014.

Voyager of the Seas will embark on a 14-night cruise from Singapore to Sydney on October 24, 2013, beginning with an overnight in Singapore and with calls at Kuala Lumpur (Port Keland), Darwin and Brisbane.

The ship then homeports at Sydney to offer nine sailings to New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia, ranging from nine- to 14-night itineraries. At the end of the season, the ship will sail an 18-night Australia and New Zealand itinerary to Perth, and return to Singapore, via Bangkok, on a 14-night programme starting March 27, 2014.

Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas will be homeported at Sydney from October 2013 to early May 2014, offering a range of seven- to 15-night itineraries to Tasmania and Queensland, New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia.

Radiance of the Seas will also circumnavigate twice around Australia – comprising a 16-night north coast and 17- night south coast and New Zealand sailing each – departing October 24, 2013 and February 14, 2014.

Both ships will offer trans-Pacific crossings between Vancouver and Sydney pre- and post-winter season, comprising a 12-night Hawaii and a 16- or 17-night South Pacific sailing, departing September 13, 2013 and April 10, 2014 aboard Radiance of the Seas, and September 6, 2013 and April 18, 2014 aboard Rhapsody of the Seas.

SWITZERLAND registered a 50 per cent rise in Chinese arrivals between January and February, while its second most populous city, Geneva, saw a 37.2 per cent increase over the same period.

According to representatives of Switzerland Tourism and Geneva Tourism & Conventions, who exhibited at IT&CM China for the first time, business tourism and events are the drivers of the Chinese arrival boom.

Geneva Tourism & Conventions director, Anja Loetscher, said: “About 75 to 80 per cent of our business in Geneva is business tourism and (most are) from Ningbo (in Zhejiang province). We are seeing a greater number of visitors coming from the green industries. Last year we had 300 delegates from Ningbo coming in for a big conference, and this September, we are expecting another 300 from the city.”

Switzerland Tourism sales manager, Jeffrey Wang, said the last two to three years had seen a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese incentive groups to the country. These groups range from 20 to 300 pax, and are from investment banks, insurance, direct sales and chemical companies.

Said Wang: “We want to increase the number of visa applications by helping Chinese travel (companies) improve their communication with the embassy and consulate on visa application procedures. We are also inviting Chinese corporate clients on familiarisation trips.”

The bureau will be hosting Chinese buyers from IMEX this year for a four-day post-event tour.

Reporting by Patricia Wee

SWISSÔTEL Hotels & Resorts has signed a management contract for a flagship project in India: Swissôtel Grand Mumbai.

Located in the Andheri Kurla business district in north Mumbai, the five-star business hotel will offer 300 guest rooms, executive rooms and suites when it opens in 2014.

The hotel’s conference and banqueting facilities will occupy a total area of around 1600m², including the main ballroom measuring 500m2. The hotel will also have a Pürovel Spa & Sport centre.

“This exciting project at the heart of Mumbai’s commercial centre will drive forward our expansion in the highly promising Indian market,” said Meinhard Huck, president, Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts.

“A robust domestic tourism industry coupled with the increasing global nature of Indian businesses is boosting business travel and providing a very healthy platform for the growth of the hospitality industry.”

Swissôtel opened its first hotel in India – Swissôtel Kolkata – in July 2010. Another Swissôtel is under development in Bangalore.

DUSTING off its old days of declining relevance, PATA’s Next Gen strategy to add value to members has been described as a three-legged stool comprising aligned advocacy, innovative events and the newly launched travel data platform PATAmPOWER.

Speaking at the PATA Annual Conference held in Malaysia over the weekend, PATA CEO, Martin Craigs, said PATAmPOWER aimed to be the single, authoritative source of travel data for the industry.

Created in HTML5 and available on mobile devices, information such as tourist expenditure, hotel occupancy and passenger flows can be summoned up with a few clicks. Content partners include NTOs, STR Global, IATA, ComScore and Sinotech.

“We want to empower (members) in their business…so we’ve combined a massive 20-course banquet and given them all the vitamins in one pill,” he explained.

For advocacy, PATA will team up with global organisations such as the World Travel & Tourism Council to lobby policy makers with one voice. Hot-button issues such as the UK Air Passenger Duty and the European Union Emissions Trading System are currently priorities.

“We’re here to stop hindrances to travel. We’re here to name and shame people who are the weakest links and who are often hypocrites,” said Craigs.

To that end, PATA has also appointed a communications global advisor, former BBC news anchor Keshini Navaratnam. Based in London, she has already helped to secure a speaking slot for PATA in the UK House of Commons in November.

Craigs added that PATA’s line-up of new Hub City Forums in a number of Asian destinations this year, as well as existing initiatives such as the PATA Travel Mart and the Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart were also part of the strategy in connecting members through events.

He told TTG Asia e-Daily that the goal was to restore the association’s reserves to 2009 levels – around US$2 million – by 2016. The figure is now closer to US$1 million. “We want to rebuild PATA step by step. We’re not going to have a V-shape recovery, but a U-shape one,” he said.

Said incoming PATA chairman, João Manuel Costa Antunes: “We want to develop the concept of PATA being the voice of Asia-Pacific…we want existing members to feel the value of participating in this association.”

WORLDHOTELS has established a foothold in the Philippines through a 10-year deal to provide sales, marketing and reservations support to the Worldhotel and Residences Makati, which is scheduled to open in metro Manila next year.

Located in Makati’s central business district, the deluxe four-star property will offer 252 rooms and 149 serviced apartments, and is part of Worldhotel’s plans to open five branded hotels in the Philippines over the next decade.

“The branded hotel solution offers one of the most flexible models for upscale independent properties and hotel groups. Adopting the Worldhotel brand enables quality independent hotels to position themselves internationally in the face of competition from global hospitality brands,” said Roland Jegge, Worldhotels vice president Asia-Pacific.

“We allow more flexibility for owners to develop their concept, and to manage the concept or theme a la carte. Owners have more freedom to create unique concepts, not cookie cutter hotels, but hotels with personality and up to international standards,” he added.

The Makati hotel is the fourth Worldhotel branded property in Asia after Worldhotel Saltanat in Kazakhstan, Worldhotel Grand Juna Wuxi in China and Worldhotel Turquoise Chandigarh in India.

SHERATON Hotels & Resorts Hotels is planning a US$350-million makeover for its flagship properties worldwide.

The hotel chain will splash the cash on several large-scale renovation projects this year, including US$160 million on Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, and US$20 million on Sheraton Mirage Resort & Spa Gold Coast in Australia.

Several Sheraton hotels in China are also due for multi-million dollar upgrades, including The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing, Sheraton Xian Hotel, Sheraton Chengdu Hotel and Sheraton Nanjing Hotel.

Over the next three years, The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing will undergo an expansive overhaul of its three wings – one wing at a time – including renovation of all guestrooms, public spaces and F&B outlets, for a total outlay of US$50 million.

“We are delighted to follow our highly successful US$6 billion brand-wide revitalisation with a significant investment in several of our flagship properties,” said Hoyt Harper, global brand leader for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.

“As business and leisure travel continues to gain momentum, Sheraton is well positioned to meet the increased demand for high-caliber lodging with upgraded brand offerings and a line-up of freshly renovated landmark hotels in key cities across the globe.”