ACCOR has revamped its Grand Mercure brand in China, offering products and services tailored for local clientele, in a move aimed at taking advantage of the booming upscale domestic travel market.

“Our clients are now expecting brands capable of understanding the diversity and the complexity of their identity,” said Grégoire Champetier, chief marketing officer of Accor.

“With Grand Mercure, the group demonstrates its ability to have more flexible brands, that are locally relevant.”

The re-engineered branding for Grand Mercure, referred to in Mandarin as Mei Jue, was unveiled at the inauguration of Grand Mercure Shanghai Zhongya, the first hotel adapted to the new positioning.

The group’s nine other similarly branded properties in China are due to adopt the new identity, which will see the practicing of ceremonies exemplifying elements of Chinese culture.

In Shanghai, for example, employees will be conversant in the local Shanghainese language, and guests will be welcomed by staff wearing Qipao, a traditional evening dress.

All local staff will be identified with name badges bearing firstly Chinese characters, followed by a pinyin translation enabling them to use their given names rather than adopting foreign equivalents.

Other signature services include daily Tai chi lessons, lavender-scented bathroom amenities, and complimentary head and shoulder massages for guests staying on premium floors.

Since launching this evolved version of the brand, Accor has confirmed commitments for ten more Grand Mercures in China.

Sam Shih, chairman and COO, Accor Greater China, said: “The Grand Mercure brand provides Accor with a fresh platform for organic upscale expansion throughout the country.”

SOFITEL Luxury Hotels has officially opened the Sofitel So Bangkok, the second global address for the design-focused brand after Sofitel So Mauritius.

“With the opening of this hotel, we are able to diversify our offering in this city with a unique designer establishment aimed at a more urban clientèle,” said Robert Gaymer-Jones, CEO Sofitel Worldwide.

Situated close to Bangkok’s business district and Lumpini Park, Sofitel So Bangkok offers 238 Apple Computer-powered guestrooms and suites.

The hotel features three F&B outlets – including a themed eatery, a rooftop restaurant-bar and a chocolate deli – as well as a fitness centre, a spa, and a swimming pool.

MICE facilities include a 380m² pillar-less ballroom, and various meeting rooms—including one suspended in mid-air with three glass walls overlooking the city.

In related developments for the brand, two new Sofitel So properties are under construction in Mumbai and Singapore.

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) reported a loss of RM1.28 billion (US$427 million) for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011, bringing the group’s net financial deficit to RM2.52 billion for the entire year.

“The bottom-line group losses for 2011 underscore the imperative need for MAS to immediately adopt strong measures to stop the bleeding,” said MAS group CEO, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.

“These include staff redeployment, increasing productivity and efficiency, relentless cost control and making further route reviews. We are (also) implementing an aggressive sales and marketing strategy.”

MAS’ full year results for 2011 come on the back of a two-per cent rise in group revenue and 1.3 million increase in passenger numbers handled compared to the year before.

However, performance was impacted by a 21-per cent hike in expenditure over the previous year, attributed to 33 per cent and 15 per cent year-on-year increases in fuel cost and non-fuel expenses, respectively.

“The accounts for the year under review recognise provisions and escalating operational costs which although painful, give us a holistic snapshot of the organisation,” said Ahmad Jauhari.

“With full knowledge of our actual position, we will be better prepared to move forward,” he added.

Reporting by N. Nithiyananthan

THE GOVERNMENT of Gifu prefecture in Japan has unveiled two new expressway toll passes targeted at foreign self-drive tourists.

Introduced in partnership with the Toyota Rent-A-Lease Aichi and Central Nippon Expressway companies, the Hayatabi Central Nippon Expressway Pass 2012 G-Pass A and G-Pass S allow travellers to drive along specific toll expressways in Gifu prefecture at discounted rates.

Drivers are provided with an electronic toll collection pass, which facilitates automatic toll payment on expressways, as part of car rental services offered by Toyota.

G-Pass A, which includes routes through the Japan Alps, is priced at ¥7,000 (US$87) excluding car rental, while G-Pass S, which covers expressways along the coast of the Japan Sea, costs ¥9,000. Both routes start from Chubu International Airport, and pass through the city of Nagoya as well as major tourist sites such as Hikone and Takayama.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily at the Visit Japan Travel Trade Meet in Singapore, Gifu Prefecture Tourism Federation director, Toshiyasu Kataoka, said: “This is the first time that Gifu has developed a toll pass especially for international arrivals. This was introduced as we wish to capitalise on the growing demand for self-drive holidays among international tourists. Hokkaido introduced a similar scheme last year, and to bolster tourism, we decided to do the same.”

Kataoka added that normally, tourists bypass Gifu when travelling between Tokyo and Osaka, and the federation was hoping for the new initiative to help divert some tourist traffic to the prefecture.

Both passes are valid for seven consecutive days after purchase, and will only be issued on condition that a vehicle is rented from the Toyota booth located at Chubu International Airport, which is the main international gateway for the central region of Japan.

The self-drive promotion runs from March 21 till June 30, with applications to be submitted latest by June 24.

BANYAN Tree Hotels & Resorts is scheduled to open its inaugural resort in India, Banyan Tree Kerala on December 1, 2012.

Located in Nedithuruthu, midway between Kochi and Alleppey in the southern state of Kerala, the resort will offer 59 villas and one houseboat for a maximum of four guests. All villas will feature two private pools – one lap pool and one regular – in addition to a common outdoor swimming pool.

The resort will also feature four meeting rooms, two F&B outlets, a kids’ club, a gym, and a spa with six treatment rooms.

Manas Sinha, assistant director Key Accounts, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts said: “Our focus (for Banyan Tree Kerala) will be on the domestic luxury market. We are adopting a different business plan from what we practice elsewhere.”

Manoj Saraf, managing director, Gainwell Travel & Leisure Kolkata said: “Banyan Tree opening in India is very welcome, as we now have an option to send our high-end clients to a resort within the country. This will be handy for last minute decision-making by clients, and we will not have to bother about visas as in the case of overseas destinations.”

Meanwhile, in order to boost brand recognition in the domestic market, Banyan Tree has organised a series of one-on-one meetings between high-end local tour operators and marketing representatives from its resorts in Asia, starting with one such meet in Kolkata on March 20.

A plot of land in Goa has also just been acquired for the group’s second India property, which will be a 50- to 65-key resort, scheduled to open in fourth quarter 2014.

Banyan Tree will open four resorts worldwide this year, including two in China and one in Vietnam, while 2013 will see the launch of one Angsana in Vietnam and one Banyan Tree each in China and the Philippines.

SINGAPOREANS are still keen on travelling to Japan, even though fewer are actually making their way there due to fears over radiation fallout.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily at the Visit Japan Travel Trade Meet in Singapore, Japan National Tourism Organization’s (JNTO) executive director-Singapore office, Motonari Adachi revealed that 3,154 bookings to Japan were confirmed at the recently concluded NATAS fair, compared to 3,931 the year before.

According to Adachi, Hokkaido was the most popular Japanese destination at the fair, while enquiries for other areas, including Kyushu, Okinawa and Gifu, increased significantly compared to last year.

“The Singapore market is showing signs of revival, although not as fast as we would like it to be,” he said. “But we believe that there is a lot of pent-up demand. JNTO forecasts that visitor volume from Singapore will return to pre-disaster levels by the middle of this year.”

In 2011, Singapore arrivals to Japan dropped by 38.5 per cent year-on-year, the biggest decline among all key source markets, according to figures from JNTO.

Singapore outbound travel experts and Japanese tourism organisations whom TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to attributed the drop to the trimming of itineraries offered outside the main tourist destinations of Hokkaido, Tokyo and Osaka following last year’s disaster.

“Travel firms still prefer to focus on selling Hokkaido, Tokyo, and destinations as far away as possible from the Fukashima incident site, as Singaporeans are still afraid to travel to Japan,” said Hamid Samad, assistant director–Business Development, Fascinating Holidays Singapore.

“Fear about radiation contamination is still rife, and some customers have even asked if another earthquake is likely to occur,” he added.

“Singaporeans are an overtly cautious lot,” said Sam How, general manager, Asia-Euro Holidays Singapore. “Japan, for the time being, will probably only draw so called ‘hardcore Japan lovers’ – Singaporeans who have been to Japan before and adore it and all it has to offer.”

As of January this year, preliminary data from JNTO showed that Singapore visitor numbers to Japan were down by only 0.4 per cent year-on-year. JNTO has set a target of 200,000 arrivals from Singapore by end-2012, just below the 180,000 achieved in 2010.

THE PHILIPPINES Department of Tourism (DoT) is targeting a 15-per cent growth in Singapore arrivals this year, as it continues to roll out its newest marketing campaign, It’s more fun in the Philippines, across the region.

Singapore is already the largest South-east Asian source market for the Philippines, contributing 121,083 visitors last year, a 13.8 per cent jump over 2010, according to figures from DoT.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily during the Singapore leg of the annual Philippine Tourism Roadshow, Marie Corazoon Jorda-Apo, director and group head, North America and Asia-Pacific, DoT, said the NTO’s marketing plan for the year would involve advertising through a combination of traditional and online media channels.

“We are going to unveil outdoor billboards this year, and are working out joint promotions with local travel (experts),” she said. “Due to our past success with online tools like Facebook and Twitter, this will continue to be used as part of our marketing efforts.”

According to Jorda-Apo, DoT will attempt to market lesser-known destinations such as Palawan this year. Boracay, Cebu and Bohol are currently the most popular destinations outside of Manila for Singaporeans visiting the Philippines, she added.

“We want to encourage Singapore-based travel experts to market Palawan, a beach resort which is undergoing significant development with the help of major foreign investors,” she said. “Our focus will be on Puerto Princesa, which the Philippine government intends to turn into an international gateway.”

A spokesperson for Pinnacle Travel Service Singapore said: “The Philippine’s beaches have always been (leisure) bestsellers for us. Palawan should do well too, especially since most Singaporeans are becoming more curious about what the Philippines has to offer.”

EXHIBITION and Trade Fairs (ETF), an exhibition organiser based in Australia, has been forced to postpone the 2012 edition of their special events tradeshow, Melbourne’s Event Showcase.

Originally called RSVP Melbourne, the owners and organisers of the tradeshow cited residual effects of the global financial crisis, the consolidation of event suppliers, and reduced marketing budgets as having a dampening effect on the strength of the show.

Even after implementing brand, venue and dates changes during last year’s show—based on feedback from industry representatives and visitors following the 2010 edition, “the overall show format still doesn’t appear to be fully resonating with the industry,” said Jodie Richmond, general manager & CEO, ETF.

“Therefore, we have taken the decision to postpone the show for this year and focus our energies on better understanding the challenges and specific needs of Melbourne’s event industry,” she added.

Consultations with industry members are due to take place later this year to pave the direction for 2013 and beyond, while ETF will now focus on managing Sydney’s Event Showcase and the co-located Australian Business Events Expo in 2012, the company said in a statement.