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

THE RELAUNCHED Sofitel Plaza Hanoi on West Lake will be unveiled on Thursday, after its most significant overhaul since opening in 2001.

Renovations throughout the 317-key property range from rooms to dining venues and meeting facilities. Luxury Club Rooms have been remodelled and given technological upgrades; the Summit Lounge rooftop bar redesigned with a new outdoor wooden deck; open kitchens and VIP rooms added to the flagship Chinese restaurant; the business centre rebuilt in a new location; the Plaza Ballroom redecorated; and a new meeting space on the ground floor carved out.

As part of its repositioning, the hotel also carried out a fresh round of service training for employees across all levels, with emphasis on developing Vietnamese employees to play greater roles.

Antoine Lhuguenot, general manager, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi, said: “This renovation is about fulfilling the potential of this magnificent lakeside property, in a way that we always knew was possible. There is a new outlook, a new energy within the hotel that was brought on by this renovation, and so far guests are responding enthusiastically to the changes.”

The capital’s two Sofitel properties are the only five-star hotels in the city that have undergone a thorough refitting of their facilities within the last three years.

COACH ticket prices for Singapore-Malaysia trips might soon see a jump, due to rising insurance premiums, highway toll charges and fuel costs.

Singapore-based coach operators said insurance premiums are tipped to increase further, especially since there is only one travel insurance provider at the moment.

Sebastian Yap, a committee member of the Express Bus Agencies Association (EBAA) and managing director of Regent Star Travel, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “In the past, coach operators had a host of travel insurance providers to choose from. Unfortunately, many insurance firms found that, owing to the complexities involved in designing cross-border travel policies and settling claims, it was simply not worth the investment, time and effort.”

To encourage competition, EBAA has been in talks with other insurance providers, although according to Yap, many remain unconvinced. EBAA is also in the midst of negotiating with Liberty Insurance to secure better premium terms for members.

Yap said that while major coach operators could probably absorb any hike in insurance premiums, it would be hard for the over 200 smaller players in the industry to do so. “They have little bargaining power and will thus be less likely to secure a good deal and they may have little choice but to pass the increase on to passengers. This could be detrimental for their business,” he explained.

“Frankly, for the larger players, (rising) fuel prices and toll increases are more of a worry than the tipped hike in insurance premiums. However, most of our members will only be able to make a decision on whether they need to up their ticket prices early next year when things are clearer and these operational costs can be factored in,” added Yap.

Malaysian authorities are now studying the feasibility of increasing toll charges for Singapore-registered vehicles entering the country. Diesel price has also risen by around 3.5 per cent in the last 12 months.

IN AN effort to capture new market segments, Indonesia’s Aston International has launched luxury brand Alana, alongside mid-market two-tiered brand Neo and Neo+.

Citing Starwood’s W Hotels as a benchmark, Norbert Vas, vice president of sales and marketing, said Alana would also be a luxury lifestyle brand.

On the other hand, Neo and Neo+ will cater to hotel developers who are keen on mid-market properties that are more playful and less standardised, with features like a garden in the lobby and communal tables in restaurants. Neo is postioned as a two-star-plus product that will cost more than Aston’s two-star favehotel, while Neo+, with larger rooms and more facilities such as a spa, will be priced higher than Aston’s three-star Quest.

Under construction are four Neo properties in Jakarta and Bali and four Alana properties in Bali, Jogjakarta and Surabaya.

Said Vas: “With the exception of five-star properties Grand Aston City Hall in Medan and Grand Aston Jogjakarta, our hotels mostly cater to the mid-market. However, many developers have expressed the need to develop luxury properties and have asked Aston to manage them.”