INDONESIA is looking to grow its share of Australia’s burgeoning outbound cruise market.

“Australia has been contributing some 40 per cent of cruise calls to Indonesia. The number of Australians taking a cruise today is around (half a million), and is projected to reach one million (by 2020),” said Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Mari Elka Pangestu.

“So, this is a big market with huge potential that is waiting to be tapped, apart from the surfers, backpackers and other (leisure and MICE) segments (from Australia) to Indonesia.”

Indonesia has been registering double-digit growth in Australian arrivals over the past few years, with the market expanding by around 20 per cent in 2011 alone, added Pangestu.

According to Carnival Australia shore excursion manager Michael Mihajlov, apart from Bali, Lombok and Komodo Island were growing in popularity among P&O and Princess cruises sailing out of Australia.

Mihajlov said: “Travellers would like to see the real Indonesia, local activities, soft adventures, and something educational. Indonesia, in the minds of the Australians, is an exotic destination, with warm people and good value.”

BEST Western International (BWI) is busy expanding its Indonesian portfolio, and will open fifteen new hotels in the country by 1Q2013.

The new properties will add some 1,700 keys to BWI’s existing inventory of 623 rooms in the country.

Best Western International Area Development Office (ADO) Indonesia president director, Iwanto Hartojo, said: “We have been operating five hotels in Indonesia since (ADO Indonesia) opened five years ago.”

“We are now expanding, and up till 2013 will open another 15 hotels across Jakarta, Bogor, Semarang, Solo, Bali, Banjarmasin, Samarinda, Palu and Malang.”

Best Western ADO Indonesia corporate director of sales, Bina Sembiring, said: “We now have three hotels in Bali, one in Jakarta and one in Solo, which currently is the only Best Western Premier hotel in Indonesia.

“The new projects underway will see us present in Java, Bali, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. We are also looking to have our footprint in Sumatra.”

Hotels scheduled to open this year include the 140-room Best Western Serpong, 138-room Best Western Premier Galaxy Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan), 272-key Best Western Premier Sun Heritage Bali, and 80-room Best Western Mansion Kuningan, Jakarta.

JET Airways is planning to boost international services from 370 to 518 flights per week for the upcoming winter 2012 schedule, after Air India’s monopoly on unutilised international routes was lifted.

The airline has sought permission from India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation to mount an additional 35 weekly flights to Germany, and seven weekly services each to Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Doha and Sharjah.

Jet Airways has already added 74 flights per week for the ongoing 2012 summer schedule.

Other Indian carriers such as SpiceJet and IndiGo are also expected to file for permission to expand, not only for winter 2012 but also for summer 2013.

Aviation analysts at KPMG believe that high operating costs and lower profits in the domestic market are pushing Indian airlines to shift capacity to international routes.

Arjun Dhanwatay, COO, Cenin Tours & Travels Nagpur said: “(More) Indian carriers (will soon be able to) offer international connections from non-metro cities, where a critical mass of demand exists, and can win over a large segment of international travellers who currently have to fly domestic to New Delhi or Mumbai to avail of international flights.”

VFS Global would like to clarify the final paragraph of the article, New India visa centres in Singapore unlikely to boost travel (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 11, 2012).

We had published: BLS International Services is a partner of the High Commission of India in Singapore, entrusted with the management of passport and visa application processes, while VFS Global is a subsidiary of the Kuoni Group, which was appointed to manage the new VACs in Singapore. The latter is responsible for accepting and processing visa applications from Singapore residents only, while all other applications will continue to be assessed by the High Commission of India.

In a note to TTG Asia e-Daily, a spokesperson of VFS Global said:

“BLS International and VFS Global share the identical service-provider relationship with the High Commission of India in Singapore. It is not that BLS is a “partner” and VFS Global has a different kind of relationship with the High Commission of India as your article mentions.

Also please note that both companies have been appointed to deliver the same basic bouquet of services. It is not that VFS Global can accept applications from Singapore residents only “while all other applications continue to be assessed by the High Commission of India”. While VFS Global, and BLS International, accept and process applications for passport, visas and other consular services, ALL applications (regardless of nationality) continue to be assessed by the High Commission of India exclusively.”

TTG Asia e-Daily has revised the article as such:

THE LAUNCH of two new India visa application centres (VACs) in Singapore, managed by VFS Global, received mixed responses from travel consultants, who welcomed the move but deemed it insignificant in boosting travel to India.

India’s tourism minister, Subodh Kant Sahai, said in an official statement that he hoped the VACs – located at Rangoon Road and Anson Road – would facilitate travel to India for Singaporeans. Tour consultancies handling Singapore’s outbound market to India, however, believed that the new VACs would have a negligible impact on demand.

Rajeev Kohli, joint managing director, Creative Travel India, said: “The opening of the two centres in Singapore will certainly make it easier for Singaporeans to submit applications. However, I doubt that this will heighten demand dramatically. In fact, Singapore has been on India’s visa-on-arrival list for a while but this has not translated into a significant increase in arrivals.”

“In my opinion, a similar service for core markets such as the UK would have been a more logical priority for the government, as Singapore constitutes a minute proportion of arrivals into India each year,” he added.

Ramesh Travel Service Singapore’s general manager Ram Samtani also expressed similar views that the VACs would do little to augment demand. He said: “The Indian government should focus on marketing India more actively to Singaporeans instead. Many are still unaware of tourist spots outside the Golden Triangle.”

The two new centres highlighted the High Commission’s commitment to improving its service capabilities though, said Samtani. “Previously there were five appointed visa administration bureaus in Singapore, four attached to travel consultancies and one to a courier company. This has now been whittled down to two – VFS Global and BLS International Services – which are both specialists in visa processing so there’s no conflict of interest. It is definitely the right approach,” he said.

VFS Global and BLS International Services are both entrusted with accepting and processing applications for passport, visa and other consular services. All applications will continue to be assessed by the High Commission of India, Singapore.

KENYA Airways will commence four-weekly flights between Nairobi and New Delhi on May 15, with further plans to expand its reach in India to four other cities soon.

The airline currently operates 10 weekly Mumbai-Kenya flights.

Tasneem Sharafally, director, Mumbai-based Global Destinations said: “Kenya is becoming increasingly popular for family vacations. (Travellers) want (Kenya’s) safari and luxury outdoor accommodation.”

Sharafally expects an increase in business for the summer holiday season, driven by additional connections to other African destinations via Nairobi.

Jennifer Opondo, head-marketing, Kenya Tourist Board, said: “Historically India and Kenya have had a good amount of trade and visits, as there is a large Indian migrant population in Kenya. We are culturally familiar with each other. This makes for a good platform to increase Indian (arrivals) to our country.”

Kashmira Irani, director of Mumbai’s Maher Tours & Travels, noted that Indian leisure traffic to Kenya had been growing, “compared to Indians mainly visiting friends and relatives”.

“This is a healthy trend and a sign of good growth,” Irani said.

India is Kenya’s largest Asian source market and the fifth largest worldwide. Kenya Tourist Board aims to grow Indian tourist arrivals from 58,986 in 2011 by 15 to 20 per cent in 2012. Most of the tourists and business travellers to Kenya are from the western Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, followed by New Delhi in the north.

SOME travel companies in Singapore and China have joined forces to launch twice-weekly direct flights between Singapore and Nanning in southern China on Jetstar Asia.

The scheduled service, which will run until March next year, is mounted by Singapore’s ASA Holidays and AZ Holidays in partnership with a tour operator in Nanning, and supported by a consortium of Singapore-based tour operators.

According to a press statement issued by ASA Holidays, the inaugural flight on April 14 has been filled.

Jetstar Asia is said to be the only operator to provide direct routes between Singapore and Nanning after other carriers, such as China Eastern ceased serving this route last month. Travellers from Singapore can now reach Nanning in 3.5 hours. Without the direct connection, travellers from Singapore have to fly almost eight hours to the Chinese city via Guangzhou or Hong Kong.

The flight will depart from Singapore Changi Airport every Wednesday and Saturday.

A NUMBER of airlines in South-east Asia have resumed their operations after the tsunami alert was lifted yesterday.

Phuket International Airport, which was shut down amid fears of a tsunami after two strong earthquakes rattled Indonesia’s Aceh region on April 11, has reopened. In response, AirAsia and Bangkok Airways have resumed flights to and from the popular resort destination. Bangkok Airways will operate 26 flights to clear all stranded passengers before the day is over.

Malaysia Airlines also has normalised its twice-daily flight operations to Phuket today, while services to Colombo, Chennai and Male, where tremors were felt, are on schedule.

Although the tsunami alert has been withdrawn, Malaysia Airlines said in a press statement that it would continue to monitor the situation and connect with customers if there were further updates.

FRESH from launching its fourth integrated resort (IR) in Macau, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is planning to grow its network of IRs across key Asian destinations including South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

In Macau, LVS already operates Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, Plaza Macao and Sands Macao, in addition to the Sands Cotai Central which opened in a grand affair yesterday. It also operates Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in Singapore.

Besides plans for another 3,600-room property next to Plaza Macao, the fourth tower of Sands Cotai Central is also under development. Due to open after 2013, the fourth tower will house a St. Regis-branded hotel and serviced apartments, adding to the IR’s existing Holiday Inn, Sheraton and Conrad offerings.

Outside of the former Portuguese colony, LVS is looking to expand in North Asia and South-east Asia, with cities such as Seoul, Busan, Tokyo, Taipei, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the crosshairs.

Speaking at the opening of Sands Cotai Central, LVS chairman and CEO, Sheldon Adelson, said: “We are looking to build two (IRs) each in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.”

Asked why LVS was targeting these destinations in particular, LVS president and COO, Mike Leven, said: “We are looking at places which have the characteristsics to be successful (in supporting IR development), and are either relatively mature or emerging markets. We need places where there will be people to fill the resorts, where the tourism infrastructure is capable…places where people will want to visit for both MICE and leisure.”

“Our long-term strategy is to have IRs in every Asian capital, using Singapore as the model,” he added.

Meanwhile, Leven confirmed that LVS was in discussions with the Singapore government to develop additional rooms and MICE space on another plot of land adjacent to MBS, a suggestion that was first mooted at the start of last year.

“Marina Bay Sands will run out of space within a year and a half, but it’s going to take a long time (before we get the approval for expansion in Singapore),” he said.

WITH the opening of Sands Cotai Central yesterday, Macau has welcomed the addition of three international hotels brands – Conrad, Sheraton and Holiday Inn – to its hotel mix.

The trio, located within the integrated resort, will offer a total of 5,800 rooms. They are also the largest in the world for each of the three brands.

The Conrad Macao, Contai Central, which is the brand’s fourth hotel in Greater China, occupies a 39-storey tower, with access to leisure and entertainment facilities on the Cotai Strip. The hotel offers 636 rooms and suites, as well as four restaurants and bars including Conrad’s signature restaurant, Dynasty 8, which serves high-end Chinese cuisine.

Martin Rinck, president, Asia-Pacific, Hilton Worldwide, said: “The opening of the largest Conrad hotel to date signals our firm intent to extend and deepen our presence in Greater China.”

The Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central offers 1,224 guestrooms including 65 suites.

Keith Barr, CEO Greater China, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), said: “With the opening of Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central, we are targeting the growing Chinese middle-class and mainstream consumers. This particular market segment wants consistency, a high quality product at a good price and value, and they want international standards. We believe that the price positioning of the Holiday Inn product is a great fit for the middle-class in China, and will address the lack of value positioning in Macau previously.”

Barr pointed out that Holiday Inn was among the first international hotel brands “to make its debut in China, and has been here for the last 28 years”. There 57 Holiday Inns in Greater China, offering 17,938 rooms. Another 41 hotels are in the pipeline.

Barr added: “China is the fastest growing market for IHG globally. We have about two million loyalty programme members in China alone.”

The last of the trio to open is the 4,000-room Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, which is slated to welcome guests in September this year. It will have extensive meeting and convention space spanning over 20,000m², with one of the largest ballroom in Asia that can cater for up to 4,000 guests.

Josef Dolp, the hotel’s managing director, said, “Macau will now have an edge with the additional rooms and MICE facilities combined in one location.”

Additional reporting by Deborah Cornfield