CHAN Brothers Travel’s Premier Edition tours to Taiwan, South Korea and Japan have now garnered close to 50 confirmed departures, including forward bookings, since its soft launch in December, the company claims.

The Singapore travel firm is set to unveil the rest of its Premier collection, which comprises 18 exclusive group itineraries around the globe, by the first half of this year. Itineraries to China, Australia, South Africa, the UK, France, Switzerland, Italy and the US, will be rolled out gradually in the coming months.

Ivy Tan, marketing communications director, Chan Brothers Travel, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the tours were created as part of the firm’s strategic plans to cater to a new breed of seasoned Singaporean travellers. She said: “The Premier collection is for individuals who have seen it all ­and now desire to explore destinations in-depth, and don’t mind forking out extra for a unique experience.”

Premier tours run from six to 12 days, with group sizes capped at 30, compared to 40 on its mass-market tours. Generally, these tours cost 30 per cent more than the standard itinerary.

A week-long tour in Taiwan retails from S$1,698 (US$1,342) per person on a twin-share basis, excluding airport taxes and surcharges, and up to S$7,999 per person for a 12-day trip to the west coast of the US.

Bilingual guides will lead the new tours, with travellers staying in deluxe accommodation and dining in Michelin-starred restaurants as part of the itinerary. The tour package also offers customers a complimentary ride to the airport and access to the Premier Club lounges operated by Singapore Airport Terminal Services.

DIETHELM Travel Group (DTG) has filled a key gap in its Asian network – Hong Kong – by partnering Vigor Tours in the SAR, which will set up a dedicated Diethelm Travel Hong Kong within its office.

The marketing and fulfilment agreement will see Vigor handling DTG’s clients in Hong Kong, and Vigor selling Diethelm’s B2B services to Asians in Hong Kong.

“This takes our regional presence to 13 countries, with at least one more new opening planned,” said DTG’s CEO, John Watson.

Vigor is part of listed company Kwoon Chung Motors and has been in business since 2002 operating four divisions: airport bus shuttle service to 100 hotels, limousine service, DMC and Royal Vacations (focusing on deluxe travel). The latter is a six-month-old offering established by Richard Willis, who came onboard Vigor as corporate development director in January last year.

Vigor’s strength was handling incentives from China, said Willis, who is Diethelm Travel Hong Kong’s managing director.

DTG would bring groups from new markets such as Russia and South America, apart from its traditional Western European market, he said.

“And Diethelm has completed its last jigsaw puzzle in Asia, as Hong Kong is a must-see destination,” he added.

INTERSTATE China Hotels & Resorts has nabbed the management contract for JC Mandarin Hotel in Shanghai.

This is the third Shanghai property to be managed by Interstate China, a joint venture between US-based Interstate Hotels & Resorts and China’s Jin Jiang International Hotels. Interstate China’s portfolio comprises seven managed and signed hotels with over 2,500 rooms throughout China, including Beijing and Wuhan.

The 514-room JC Mandarin Hotel, owned by Shanghai Jin Cang Mandarin Hotel, is located on Nanjing Road.

INDEPENDENT travel consultants in the US are reducing their traditional dependence on cruise sales in favour of other revenue streams.

Findings of the 2011 NACTA Independent Agents Report released by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and the National Association of Career Travel Agents (NACTA), reveal an increasing number of US consultants specialising in a specific destination (nine per cent), tours (six per cent) and honeymoon sales, luxury travel or family travel (five per cent each).

Trends in the US are usually a harbinger of the shape of the travel trade communities elsewhere. Commission cuts, for example, started in the US, moved to Europe and then Asia.

While cruise sales remains a primary income source for 57 per cent of consultants, it was a significant decrease from the year before, when 75 per cent said they were cruise specialists. For the second consecutive year, 57 per cent of 1,762 independent consultants surveyed reported an increase in business in 2011.

“Independent agents are strong generators of new business, especially group travel,” said Ann van Leeuwen, NACTA vice president. “This growing segment is not only changing the way travel agents conduct their daily business, but how travel is promoted and sold.”

ASTA CEO Tony Gonchar said: “As this sector of travel agents continues to grow, we want to ensure suppliers are able to get an in-depth understanding of what drives the independent travel agent community.”

According to the survey, 70 per cent of independent consultants do not use a Global Distribution System, up from 67 per cent in the year prior.

Royal Caribbean emerged as the top cruise supplier among consultants in 2011. Globus was crowned the top escorted tour operator, Sandals was the top choice among resort suppliers, while Marriott was ranked the top hotel supplier.

The 2011 NACTA Independent Agents Report was an email survey conducted among NACTA members in June 2011.

A NEW website start-up, medisherpa.com, targets US medical tourists with a database of pre-screened medical institutions and clinicians i in Asia.

Currently running on a beta version, the website is scheduled to officially launch on March 31.

Michael Ruggles, co-founder of Singapore-based medisherpa.com said: “There is no denying that the medical tourism market in Asia is seeing unprecedented market growth. We are building a platform to facilitate this influx of medical travellers and there is no better place to do that from than the citystate of Singapore that serves as the gatekeeper to a region synonymous with world-class healthcare, all at low treatment costs.”

Targeted chiefly at North Americans, the website currently features over 300,000 medical institutions and professionals from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Australia.

Ruggles hopes to seal similar arrangements with leading healthcare providers in South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa by the end of the year.

The company is also working with partners to develop packages for medical tourists. Plans are also in the works to build the site’s Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) category to expand its appeal to the Singaporean, Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese markets, and to link the site to hotel and airline booking engines.

Medisherpa.com will be free to users, with revenue deriving mainly from display advertisements on the website, and a tiered membership scheme for healthcare professionals who want to be listed on the site.

To date, the website has received approximately 20,000 unique visitors a month, a figure expected to increase five-fold in the coming months as the start-up firm’s online marketing campaigns unroll.

KATA Group Resorts Thailand has launched a new hotel brand, Beyond Resorts, which sees the mid-market value accommodation group venture into the luxury end.

Group president, Pamuke Achariyachai, said: “In order to allow the Kata legend to grow and attract a broader scope of international vacationers, the company will expand its hospitality offerings into the luxurious four-star plus market.”

“Our corporate strategy has been to grow Kata Group’s current four properties to include two high-specification resorts with more to be added in the future.”

Two new Beyond Resorts will open in Khao Lak and Krabi on March 23, strengthening Kata’s presence in the Andaman region.

Beyond Resort Khao Lak is a couples-only hotel offering 153 villas with easy beach access, while Beyond Resort Krabi caters for couples and families with 171 rooms in six configurations.

Beyond Resort Khao Lak has witnessed strong demand since soft opening, with major travel agents Thomas Cook and Go Vacations making 100 room bookings for six months.

Looking ahead, Pamuke plans to re-brand the Karaon Beach Resort & Spa in Phuket under the Beyond label. Confident that there will be sufficient demand, he also intends to increase capacity at Beyond Resort Khao Lak with 50 more villas.

Reporting by Timothy France

JAPAN’S Agora Hospitalities has signed a cross marketing agreement with Hong Kong-based Kosmopolito Hotels International (KHI). Combined, they offer a portfolio of 29 hotels – 23 KHI properties and six Agora hotels.

Both companies can cross-sell each other’s hotels, use the services of supporting functions and share operational resources.

President and CEO of Agora Hospitalities, Aya Aso, said the alliance could help reduce costs now that the total number of rooms exceeds 7,000.

KHI’s current portfolio includes 12 hotels in Hong Kong, five in Malaysia, four in China, one in Singapore and one in London, while Agora manages six hotels in Japan.

MYANMAR’S Ministry of Energy’s announcement that it would stop subsidising aviation fuel from March 1, instead selling it at market rate, will result in an increase in domestic airfares by about 20 per cent from March 8.

Travel consultants caution against such sudden changes, saying they could harm the country’s tourism industry, as they would have to renegotiate prices with customers and overseas partners.

Eainsie Phyu from New Age Travellers said: “Myanmar tourism won’t thrive in this region if these kinds of things happen regularly. We should remember that we are not alone. Travellers have many destinations to choose from.”

Customers who have already been issued tickets for travel from March 8 will be required to pay the fuel surcharge on check-in for most airlines.

But Myat Thu, an assistant general manager from Air KBZ, said his company would impose the surcharge only on those who bought their tickets from March 3 [for travel from March 8] and not before.

The surcharge will depend on the destination, with the largest increase being on routes from Yangon to Myitkyina, Putao, Bhamo, Lashio, Kalay and Kawthoung. Increases range from US$10 to $25 for foreign visitors.

A PUSH by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for buyers to look beyond the oft-trodden Delhi-Agra-Jaipur circuit is seeing willing takers, thanks to better connectivity through the Kolkata gateway.

Buyers at CII’s Destination East showcase in Kolkata give a nod to the push.

Patrick Lee, regional director of Singapore-based Best Travels Deals, said: “There are several exciting options that the outbound market in ASEAN does not know of. The connectivity is very good in Kolkata and I am sending groups and FIT to beaches in Odisha and the mountains in Darjeeling. Most people do not know that a part of the Himalayas is so near,” he said.

Alan Moxon, managing director of Carte Blanche Travel UK, said: “This is my second visit to eastern India and we are already selling FIT packages for tea tourism in Darjeeling combined with a heritage tour in Kolkata. I hope to bring small groups this year.”

The third edition of Destination East brought 53 buyers from 15 countries to Kolkata to meet suppliers and join a three-day familiarisation trip to Darjeeling, Sikkim, Odisha and the gateway metropolis Kolkata.

A STRONG delegation of 30 to 40 delegates from the Maldivian government and private sector are making a big pitch to buyers at ITB this week that all is well in paradise.

Discussions are also underway to revive the old and familiar “Sunny Side of Life” slogan, a move welcomed by Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators. The slogan was said to work better and re-branding would require a lot of funding.

The 11-year-old “Sunny Side of Life” was replaced last October with a new slogan called “Maldives – Always Natural”.

Sim Mohamed Ibrahim, secretary-general of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry, said: “This (ITB) is a good opportunity to meet clients from our main source markets and allay fears that tourists need not worry coming to the Maldives.”

There have been cancellations of bookings since political unrest erupted in Male, the capital of the Maldives, after former President Mohamed Nasheed stepped down on February 7.