SCOOT will introduce daily flights to two new destinations, Tokyo and Taipei, from October.

The low-cost medium and longhaul carrier will operate the Singapore-Tokyo and Singapore-Taipei services using the Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

Scoot’s maiden flight to Sydney yesterday was delayed by about 90 minutes due to a technical fault in the plane’s cockpit.

Other destinations already marked out by Scoot include Gold Coast in Australia, Tianjin in China, and Bangkok.

The carrier’s Gold Coast and Tianjin services are scheduled to start on June 12 and August 23, respectively.

SINGAPORE’S Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) has signed 10 hotels in Saudi Arabia, as it seeks to boost its portfolio in the Middle East.

Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, president & CEO, M&C Middle East, Africa and Indian Subcontinent, said: “We are very excited about the Saudi market, where we see huge potential for our brands. It is clear our investors agree with us too, as six of our hotels were signed with the same owner.”

Together, the 10 properties will account for more than 4,000 rooms across Saudi Arabia. The largest hotel will add 1,500 rooms to the group’s inventory in Mecca once it opens in 2015, while another hotel in Riyadh will offer 650 rooms. Other cities that have been earmarked include Medina, Al Bahah, Ha’il, Jazan and Tabouk.

The first M&C hotels in Saudi Arabia are scheduled to open later this year, with further openings over the next three years.

Elsewhere in the region, M&C has more than 34 hotels and hotel apartment properties in the pipeline across the UAE, Qatar, Jordan and South Africa.

PHILIPPINES’ AirAsia has shelved its plan to launch daily flights between Clark and Macau.

The LCC’s Macau service, envisioned as an additional connection for the Philippines to tap the Chinese outbound market, was originally scheduled to begin on July 1, 2012.

However, the prolonged territorial dispute between Beijing and Manila has severely dampened Chinese demand for the destination.

Philippines’ AirAsia CEO, Marianne Hontiveros, said the carrier had not yet fixed a new date for the launch of Macau services, but was still planning to introduce daily flights to Hong Kong in July.

Philippines’ AirAsia is not the first airline to be affected by the dispute. Philippine Airlines axed its Hong Kong-Kalibo flights in May, while China Southern Airlines halved its twice-daily Guangzhou-Manila services from May 26 – June 30.

THE EGYPTIAN Tourist Authority will shortly unveil an aggressive tourism campaign to attract more Malaysian travellers to the country.

The campaign in Malaysia will involve road shows, advertisements in various print and digital media, art and cultural performances, and partnerships with the local travel trade.

Egypt’s Deputy Tourism Minister, Samy Mahmoud, said: “We see a huge potential in Malaysia’s (outbound) market, and as such, we are looking at ways to strategically attract more Malaysians to visit Egypt.”

Malaysia ranked seventh among Egypt’s Asian source markets in 2010, contributing 34,000 visitors – behind Japan, India, China, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud downplayed the ongoing incidents of street violence in downtown Cairo after the Arab Spring, and affirmed that the country’s security was generally good.

“Egypt is safe, especially for Malaysians,” he insisted. “We are now a new Egypt, especially after the revolution. The Egyptians are now friendlier, more open-minded and more honoured to welcome tourists.”

In 2010, Egypt received 14.7 million visitors, generating US$12.5 billion in tourism receipts. Due to the political upheaval, only 9.8 million tourists visited the country last year, while revenue dropped to US$8.8 billion.