ORION Expedition Cruises has raised rates on eleven sailings throughout 2013, on the back of record April sales following the release of its 2013 Calendar of Expeditions in March.

Orion reported that sales during the launch period were double the previous year, with increased number of bookings from both repeat and first-time customers.

The cruise line explained that the rate hikes were in line with yield management policy, and that a number of competitive lead-in fares for key destinations had been retained.

Orion founder and managing director, Sarina Bratton, said: “We have experienced unprecedented sales for a new calendar release, which reflects increasing confidence in the market, as well as recognition that the earlier you book, the better price you will receive.”

“As announced when we released the 2013 Calendar of Sailings, we held our launch prices till end of April and our guests responded positively.”

The new pricing has already been implemented on the Orion website, www.orionexpeditions.com. Revised savings levels are only guaranteed until the end of June, after which Orion will undertake another review of its rates.

Nakala Godahewa

SRI Lanka’s top tourism official, Nalaka Godahewa, abruptly resigned from several key posts yesterday over differences with the government on international marketing and promotion strategy.

Godahewa stepped down as head of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management, but retained his role as chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

Citing difficulties in amalgamating the four state tourism bodies as one of the reasons for relinquishing the posts, Godahewa stated his intention to focus on the development aspect of Sri Lanka tourism moving forward.

An industry leader who declined to be named said many were aware of Godahewa’s hands being tied in promoting the destination. “I hope (Godahewa’s) sacrifice will make the government take note and resolve some of these issues,” he said.

In recent times, Sri Lankan tourism bodies have encountered serious hindrances related to funding, with P.B. Jayasundera, secretary, Ministry of Finance & Planning, actively slashing their budgets.

Tourism representatives including Godahewa have also been absent from key international travel trade fairs over the past 18 months, due to permission to attend these events being withheld by the Ministry.

JAPAN Airlines (JAL) will boost its New Delhi-Tokyo services to seven flights a week starting December 2012, up from the current five weekly flights.

The carrier operated daily services to New Delhi till 2009, when the global economic crisis forced it to trim its frequency.

Shelly Egbert, manager-sales, JAL said: “We will utilise (Boeing) 787 Dreamliner aircraft on the additional (New Delhi-Tokyo) flights. We have all the necessary approvals required to begin the daily operations. At present, there is good demand (about 70 per cent load factor) on this sector.”

JAL recently deployed the Dreamliner on four out of five weekly flights on the route. A Boeing 777 plane is still being utilised on one of the flights, and will be phased out in due course.

Ashwani Gupta, managing partner, Dove Travels Amritsar, said: “The daily service to New Delhi will play a significant role in increasing the traffic between the two countries. Indian travellers are keen to explore cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, while Japanese travellers will have more flight options to explore Buddhist circuits in India.”

Reporting by Divya Kaul

THE CIVIL Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has progressed in its efforts to persuade the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to upgrade the nation’s aviation safety rating.

Following last month’s technical review by FAA officials in Manila, CAAP director Mon Gutierrez said the eighty-eight ‘significant findings’ discovered during the FAA pre-audit in January had since been cut down to two.

CAAP is currently acting on FAA requests to develop a new technical training programme based on recognised international aviation standards. It will also facilitate a revalidation process of Philippine carriers flying international routes. It will apply for a new FAA audit once these requirements are met.

The Philippine government is intent on regaining Category 1 status with the FAA, which downgraded the country’s aviation industry to Category 2 in December 2007.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez said CAAP was working to address the “significant safety concerns” that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) raised during their last visit, such as “the lack of (qualified) technical personnel,” noting that the concerns echoed those of the European Union when it imposed a blanket ban on Philippine carriers in April 2010.

ICAO officers are scheduled to visit Manila for an airline compliance inspection in July-August.

Aileen Clemente, president, Philippine Travel Agencies Association, said: “CAAP is fast-tracking the (reinstatement) process with support from the government. We will be over the hump very soon – they know what needs to be done.”

RAFFLES Hotels & Resorts is close to sealing a deal with a Sri Lankan conglomerate, Cargills (Ceylon), to open a Raffles hotel in Colombo.

The arrangement will see Raffles managing its inaugural hotel in Sri Lanka, housed within a Cargills-owned colonial building dating back to 1844.

The deal will also mark Cargills’ first foray into hospitality business. The company’s other interests span the food retail and manufacturing industries – it owns Sri Lanka’s largest supermarket chain, Cargills Food City, and the local KFC franchise, among other subsidiaries.

Hiran Cooray, chairman of Jetwing Hotels, said the entry of more international hotel brands like Raffles was a boon for Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry.

“They will raise the standard of service and excellence, which will ensure that local brands have to follow suit or fall by the wayside,” he explained.

Raffles Hotels & resorts had earlier been in discussions with the Bank of Ceylon to rebrand and manage its 80-room Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo, built in 1837 and believed to be the oldest hotel in Asia, as a Raffles.

HILTON Worldwide has opened its first-ever DoubleTree by Hilton in Japan in Naha, Okinawa.

Located directly opposite the Okinawa Monorail station in Asahibashi, the 12-storey DoubleTree by Hilton, Naha offers 227 rooms, a 40m2 meeting venue, a salon, and a laundry.

F&B options include The Riverside Restaurant & Café, the hotel’s all-day dining outlet serving international cuisine.

Including the DoubleTree by Hilton, Naha, Hilton Worldwide currently operates 10 properties in Japan.

LUXURY Travel Vietnam will launch a new office in Danang on June 1, in anticipation of an influx of visitors to the coastal city.

Pham Ha, CEO of Luxury Travel, said: “Danang is going to boom. Our business (in Danang) has increased by 30 per cent, and much of that has to do with the new airport (terminal) and air links to the central coast of Vietnam.”

“We have just won several new big accounts, and will open our new Danang office to meet the increased demand.”

Pham added that relatively few travel companies in Vietnam had their own offices in Danang, as most were sub-contracted to local tour operators.

Danang is seeing a growing array of tourism infrastructure and attractions, such as the Montgomerie Links golf course, international-chain hotels and luxurious resorts. The new terminal at Danang International Airport, with a capacity of four million passengers per year, opened last December.

Luxury Travel’s new Danang office will be located at 38 Hai Phong Street, near the Han River Bridge.