SILKAIR has started thrice-weekly flights to Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in China.

The service will depart Singapore on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and will be operated using Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft, both featuring business- and economy-class cabins.

Wuhan is SilkAir’s seventh destination in China after Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Shenzhen and Xiamen, and increases the number of destinations in the carrier’s network to 40.

SilkAir’s chief executive, Marvin Tan, said the new route would further strengthen its presence in China.

“We are delighted to add Wuhan to SilkAir’s expanding network. We expect this new destination to be popular for both business and leisure travel,” he said.

LOOKING to grow inbound traffic from India, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has thrown its support behind the promotion of certain cruise programmes originating from Singapore, such as Costa Victoria’s upcoming Singapore-Dubai sailing.

Trade reports from a range of Indian tour operators reveal that 24 per cent of Indians headed to Singapore also embark on cruises from the destination.

STB is keen to take advantage of this trend and market cruise options out of Singapore to Indian tourists. Although details of the promotional tie-up have yet to be revealed, G. B. Srithar, area director – South Asia Marketing (Mumbai) for STB, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the initiative would be linked to the NTO’s ‘Singapore – The holiday you take home with you’ campaign targeted at Indians.

“Singapore continues to evolve and one (upcoming) addition is the opening of its International Cruise Terminal in 2Q2012. The terminal will double Singapore’s berthing capacity and enable it to cater to some of the largest cruise ships in the world. The facility will turn Singapore into a major hub for cruises,” he added.

Veneeta Rawat, director, Amazing Vacations Mumbai said: “Promotional efforts by STB through campaigns with travel consultants will help cover a larger segment of the market. Since cruises are very popular with our clients, more options will elicit greater interest.”

The 1,928-pax Costa Victoria is scheduled to sail from Singapore to Dubai this November. Both cities are popular shopping havens for Indian leisure travellers.

Thomas Cook India and Mercury Travels Mumbai have been appointed to sell this cruise, while Lotus Destinations, Costa Cruises’ GSA in India, has been tasked with promotional duties.

FIREFLY has mounted twice-weekly charter services to Nanning in Southern China, operated using a Boeing 737-400 aircraft with 162 seats.

The services comprise of direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Nanning every Sunday, and flights from Kuala Lumpur to Nanning via Penang every Thursday.

Ignatius Ong, CEO, Firefly said: “Nanning is our first foray into China. We see demand for both leisure and business travel. We are also exploring the possibilities of flying to more cities in China using our B737 aircraft.”

This is the second time that Firefly and Guangxi China International Travel Service are operating scheduled charter services to Nanning. The first collaboration saw seven scheduled charter services between November 19 and December 31 last year.

With the new flights, Firefly becomes the only airline to operate direct services between Malaysia and Nanning. Without the direct connection, travellers have to fly six hours to get to Nanning via Guangzhou or Hong Kong.

TIARA Tunggal Cemerlang (TTC) Indonesia, an event organiser that holds B2B outbound travel marts in Indonesia twice yearly, will conduct its first-ever Philippine edition of the mart this August.

“After organising 16 TTC outbound travel marts in Indonesia over the last eight years, we are now stepping forward by organising similar (events) in the Philippines,” said Tedjo Iskandar, owner and director, TTC Indonesia.

The move was facilitated through a joint venture with Philippine wholesaler TGEH Holiday, which led to TTC Indonesia opening an office in Manila.

Thepphitak Phankwan, executive vice president, TGEH Holiday, said: “The idea (to organise a B2B outbound travel mart in the Philippines) came after my company joined TTC Indonesia, and discovered how effective a B2B table-top event could be.”

The Philippine mart will take place in Manila on August 28 and Cebu on August 30.

Iskandar is targeting 100-120 sellers from various countries, while Phankwan is optimistic that he will be able to attract 500 buyers from Manila and Cebu.

“Many of the suppliers and tour operators who participate in our shows in Indonesia also target the Philippine market, so we are confident of our first event (in the Philippines),” said Iskandar.

ACCOR is ramping up its commitment to sustainability with the launch of PLANET 21, a comprehensive programme that places sustainable practices at the core of its global business strategy.

“At a time when (Accor) is embarking on a phase of brisk expansion, we are reaffirming our commitment to responsible growth capable of generating shared value for all,” said Denis Hennequin, chairman and CEO, Accor.

With the enhanced focus on sustainability, Accor has made 21 commitments and is targeting the same number of quantified goals by 2015, including: employees trained in disease prevention in 95 per cent of hotels; 80 per cent of properties promoting balanced dishes; 85 per cent of hotels using eco-labelled products; a 15 per cent reduction in water consumption; and 10 per cent decrease in energy use at all owned and leased hotels worldwide.

Sophie Flak, executive vice president, Sustainable Development and Academies, Accor said: “Seventy per cent of our key account customers have integrated sustainable development criteria into their supplier policies, and one out of two take this criterion into account when choosing a hotel.”

Accor properties will only be allowed to use PLANET 21 messages if they comply with a certain level of sustainable development performance, or if they achieve an internationally recognised external environmental certification.

The name PLANET 21 is a direct reference to Agenda 21, the environmental action plan signed by 173 heads of state at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

ABU Dhabi is attempting to tap a larger slice of the growing Chinese outbound market by staging roadshows to raise its profile in Greater China.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (ADTCA) organised its inaugural Chinese roadshow from April 9 – 17 across five major cities: Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

According to Mubarak Rashed Al Nuaimi, international promotion manager, ADTCA, the nine-day roadshow served as a platform to drive business interactions between Chinese outbound travel consultants and hotels, airlines, attractions and destination management companies based in Abu Dhabi.

A total of 11 Abu Dhabi tourism stakeholders and nearly 800 Chinese travel consultants participated in the roadshow, which will become an annual affair, said Al Nuaimi.

“The Chinese market is growing and the world’s first Ferrari World theme park (in Abu Dhabi) has been a big draw. In 2011, the number of Chinese visitors to Abu Dhabi increased by 29.6 per cent compared to the same (period) in 2010. We expect similar growth for this year given new flight connections,” he said.

Last December, Etihad Airways commenced four direct weekly services between Abu Dhabi and Chengdu. In March this year, the national carrier launched a Shanghai (Pudong)-Abu Dhabi route with five-weekly flights, which has been boosted to a daily service from April 16.

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is set to grow its presence in China further, after surpassing its 100th hotel milestone in the country following recent openings in Ningo, Sanya, Yangzhou and Xian.

“About 70 per cent of our hotel openings in Asia this year are in China,” said Simon Turner, president of global development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. The hospitality giant plans to open 15 more properties in China by year-end, in addition to the eight hotels already opened in 1Q2012.

The 3,863-room Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central – the largest Starwood hotel in the world – will be unveiled in mid-September, while Westin properties will be added to China’s second- and third-tier cities, including Ningbo, Xiamen, Changbaishan and Taiyuan. Starwood will also debut two hotels under its Luxury Collection brand – Twelve at Hengshan in Shanghai and The Royal Begonia on Hainan Island.

“We’ve signed 12 new deals in the first three months of 2012 and Greater China accounts for 44 percent of our global pipeline driven by an ever-increasing Chinese domestic travel market, as well as the fast-growing international inbound market,” said Frits van Paasschen, president & CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

According to a press statement by the hotel group, China is now Starwood’s second largest market after the US, fuelled by the growth of its Sheraton and Westin brands.