A CRUISE ship operated by luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises was involved in a head-on collision with a container vessel while en route to Ha Long Bay, Vietnam last Friday.

Reportedly sailing in conditions of reduced visibility due to thick fog, passengers on board the Silver Shadow were called to muster stations following the impact, but no evacuation maneuvers were executed in the end.

Passengers eyewitness accounts described severe damage to the container vessel – struck in the bridge, and with a large tear ripped in its side – as well as unconfirmed injuries to its crew.

The Silver Shadow emerged from the collision relatively unscathed, with a hole punctured in its bow. The ship is now docked in Hong Kong to undergo assessment of damage sustained.

In a press statement issued this morning, Silversea Cruises sought to downplay the incident:

“Silver Shadow was involved in a minor incident on March 16, 2012 at around 4:20 GMT as it was approaching the pilot station in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. There was contact between Silver Shadow and a local commercial vessel. Silver Shadow incurred limited minor dents and guests’ safety was never compromised. The ship was fully operational and continued on its course to Ha Long Bay where all shore tours operated normally.”

“Silversea will carry out a full investigation into the incident.”

Built in 2000, the 28,258-tonne Silver Shadow can carry a maximum of 382 passengers. The ship is scheduled to depart March 28 on a seven-day itinerary starting and ending in Singapore.

THE SINGAPORE Tourism Board (STB) has unveiled a ‘Singapore – The holiday you take home with you’ campaign to appeal to Indian travellers’ longing for experiences that last a lifetime.

This is the third in a series of differentiated marketing campaigns targeted at top overseas markets, and follows similar initiatives aimed at China and Australia.

Randall Tan, STB’s regional director for South Asia, Middle East & Africa, explained that the India campaign focuses on imparting enriching experiences based on four core facets – family fun, active lifestyle, culinary and romance.

“The campaign attempts to draw Indians by appealing to their personal interests, rather than just selling Singapore’s major attractions,” he said.

“Indians are becoming more cosmopolitan, and they now want to visit destinations that can engage them and offer them unique experiences.”

STB’s marketing efforts for India will be driven by a digital thrust integrating online and mobile advertising, social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, and a dedicated landing page on the YourSingapore destination website—which allows visitors to customise travel itineraries, view travel consultant listings, and obtain first-hand information on the latest events and attractions in Singapore.

Thomas Cook (India) and Mercury Travels have also been roped in to offer travel packages based on the four key tenets. The former will offer itineraries based on the family fun and active lifestyle themes, while the latter has developed packages showcasing Singapore’s culinary and romance hotspots.

The campaign is envisioned to run for at least the next two years.

DESPITE rampant jet fuel prices, Indonesian’s demand for outbound travel is expected to rise this year, with some outbound operators projecting up to 20 per cent year-on-year hikes in booking volume.

Elly Hutabarat, Association of Air Ticketing Companies in Indonesia (ASTINDO) chairman and PanTravel president director, said: “If you ask all the (operators) who organise tours, the numbers of travellers they are handling has been growing significantly.”

“Travelling has become a need and based on previous experience, even with fuel price hikes and fuel surcharges, no matter how high they are, people who have planned to travel will travel anyway,” she added.

According to Hubarat, Indonesia’s fast-growing middle class is fueling the rise in demand.

“This emerging middle class consists of discerning consumers who will definitely spend their money on quality. Millions of them are with (at least) US$3,000 in disposable income every year,” she said.

The recently concluded ASTINDO International Travel Fair (AITF) 2012 was organised to cater to this emerging market, with exhibitors doling out huge discounts on various travel products and services, tour packages and airfares, said Hubarat.

Garuda Indonesia, for example, offered up to 18 per cent off both domestic and international routes, with some ‘hot offers’ of up to 50 per cent discount. Chartis Travel Insurance offered complimentary trip cancellation and personal accident coverage for every package purchased during the fair.

Final sales results have yet to be released, but AITF executive chairman Anto Haditono expects to achieve the sales target of 50 billion rupiah. Last year, the show managed to reap a total of 42 billion rupiah in deals.

JET AIRWAYS will consolidate its low fare service products under a single JetKonnect brand as part of a strategic rebranding exercise, which the group hopes will simplify its service proposition and enhance brand recall.

Effective March 25, JetLite and Jet Airways Konnect services will operate under the JetKonnect brand, enabling guests to avail of a single in-flight product in the full service (Jet Airways) and low-fare (JetKonnect) categories.

Sudheer Raghavan, CCO, Jet Airways, said: “The decision was made to streamline our product portfolio and offer our guests a single superior in-flight product in the full service and low fare categories respectively, drawing synergies from the Jet Airways mother brand.”

Jet Airways (India) and JetLite (India) will continue as distinct business entities operating under their own airline operating permits.

JetKonnect will be the dedicated low fare service with a mixed fleet of Boeing and ATR aircraft to operate on metro, tier II and III routes.

The total number of flights by the Jet Airways group, which currently operates around 600 flights daily with a fleet of 120 aircraft, will remain unchanged.

VIRGIN Atlantic will relaunch daily services from London (Heathrow) to Mumbai starting October 29, following a suspension of the route in 2009 due to the global financial crisis.

The reinstated London-Mumbai flights will be operated using the Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which will feature the British carrier’s new Upper Class Dream Suite product with 33 seats, in addition to 48 premium economy- and 185 economy-class seats. Tickets will be sold from April 4.

Anju Desai, vice president, HMA Travel Mumbai said: “Flights to London are critical for onward connections within Europe and to the US. Virgin is popular with Indian fliers and we should see several new combinations of itineraries opening up.”

Meanwhile, Jet Airways launched on March 17 four-weekly flights from New Delhi to Dammam in Saudi Arabia, using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with business- and economy-class seating.

The Indian carrier already operates flights to Dammam from Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, while its other Middle East destinations include Dubai, Sharjah, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jeddah and Riyadh.

Anil Punjabi, chairman (east), Travel Agents Federation of India, said: “The western and southern parts of India have immense demand for the Gulf, so added flights to Saudi Arabia will relieve the stress on seats. Moreover, the steady stream of non-resident Indians travelling that sector will keep up a sustained demand.”

CONTINENTAL Airlines’ (CO) merger with United Airlines (UA), which was completed on March 3, sees the consolidation of both carriers’ fleets, products, services and policies to create a streamlined customer experience.

The new entity, branded as United Airlines but with updated livery and logo, will offer passenger services with a common check-in process, ancillary product portfolio and frequent flyer programme under UA’s MileagePlus.

The airline has also revamped its international, longhaul premium products by introducing United Global First (first class) and United BusinessFirst (business class). In 2Q2012, the longhaul first-class product will feature new amenities such as an expanded in-flight menu, upgraded bedding and branded skincare products.

In Hong Kong, UA and CO package tours sold under the United Vacations and Continental Airlines Holidays banners, and managed by Jetour Holidays and Travel Resources respectively, will be integrated over the next few months. A tender will be issued in April/May to select a single vendor to sell all the packages under a new brand banner within the United Vacations portfolio.

Simon Wo, general manager, Jetour Holiday (China) said: “We have handled the packages for UA (in Hong Kong) for the last five years. Our contract will end later this month, but I believe it will be extended to June after the tender result is completed. We will definitely go for the tender bidding.”

“So far, the merger has gone smoothly without any glitches. In fact, the merger means expanded networks. Now we can fly to Hawaii via Guam,” he added.

Tommy Tam, owner, Arrow Travel Hong Kong, said: “We haven’t heard of any troubles from other travel experts about the UA/CO ticketing. It’s so far, so good.”

With the additional planes from the merger, UA is planning to invest US$550 million on various aircraft upgrades, including adding flat-bed seats, economy seats with extra legroom, and WiFi connectivity and streaming in-flight video capabilities by mid-2012. Up to 24 new aircraft, including five Boeing 787 Dreamliners, are scheduled for delivery this year.

UA also intends to hold trade seminars in April to update travel experts about its new reservations system.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts will open two new hotels in Bangkok in the third quarter, which will operate under the group’s Centra four-star value brand.

Centra Government Complex Hotel & Convention Centre Chaeng Watthana and Centra Central Station Bangkok will be the third and fourth Centra-branded properties to open after Centra Ashlee Hotel Patong, which opened in Phuket last year, and Centra Taum Seminyak Bali, which opened in December.

Forming part of the government facility along Chaeng Watthana Road, the Centra Government Complex Hotel will target guests who have dealings with the various government bodies. The hotel will offer 192 superior rooms and 12 junior suites, a restaurant serving international and Thai cuisine, and a coffee corner in the lobby providing complimentary WiFi access.

The hotel’s convention centre will offer 27,293 m2 of event space, including 24 function rooms with capacity for up to 2,000 pax. Meeting rooms will range in size from 212-1,850m2, while the Ratthaprasasahabhakti building where the government offices are located will offer another 17 function rooms.

The second property, Centra Central Station Bangkok, will offer 150 rooms and suites on the periphery of Chinatown – a short walk from the Hua Lampong Railway and subway station.

The hotel will feature a restaurant serving international and Thai cuisine, and another serving Chinese dishes. Leisure facilities include a Spa Cenvaree, a fitness centre with separate sauna and steam rooms, and five function rooms with large pre-function areas.

EUROPE continues to be the top holiday destination for Indonesians, while Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey also rank high on the popularity scale.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily at the ASTINDO International Travel Fair (AITF) over the weekend, ASTINDO executive chairman and Golden Rama Tours & Travel president director Anto Haditono said: “Europe has always been a favourite destination. The recent improvement of the visa application process (to enter Europe), from two weeks to three days, has made the Schengen states even more attractive.”

Panorama Tours Indonesia managing director-Leisure Travel Management, Meity Lukito, begged to differ: “I think it is the improving (Indonesian) economic condition that is driving traffic to Europe. (As the shorter visa application process is newly implemented), not everyone is informed about the new visa policy yet.”

Packages to Europe accounted for 40 per cent of Panorama Tours’ sales during AITF, while Turkey contributed 20 per cent of overall business, according to Lukito. Turkey packages have been selling well in recent years, drawing seasoned travellers looking for new destinations.

Meanwhile, WITA Tours director of sales and marketing, Rudiana noted a growing interest among Indonesia’s high-end segment in visiting far-flung exotic destinations such as Iceland.

“This is a niche market of travellers who have ‘been there, seen all’, so they are looking for new places to visit. Often, they travel with their families, spend between US$5,000 and US$8,000 per person, and stay up to 10 days.”

While longhaul travel has its charm, tried-and-tested neighbouring destinations continue to attract flocks of Indonesian visitors.

“Singapore’s new integrated resorts have attracted a lot of (family) travellers, while Malaysia remains in the eyes of the travelling public because it offers more affordable accommodation,” said ASTINDO’s Haditono.

Meanwhile, Thailand was heavily promoting itself at AITF, where a four-day Bangkok-Pattaya package including accommodation cost as low as US$140 per pax.