THE MELBOURNE Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has appointed Peter King, currently the chief executive of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales, as it’s new CEO.

In his present role, King has overseen on an annual basis the Royal Easter Show – the largest single event in Australia –and has played a leading role in securing government investment for the new A$65 million (US$66 million), 25,000-seat Main Arena Stadium.

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust chairman, Bob Annells, said: “Peter King brings great insight and a tremendous track record of achievement in venue management and international marketing among many other attributes.”

“With his valuable range of skills, King will be instrumental in providing higher level strategic planning and management input as the MCEC business grows over the coming years.”

King was selected after an extensive public recruitment and executive search process throughout Australia and internationally.

BUSINESS Events Sydney (BESydney) has secured the rights to host the 12th Congress of the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement in Sydney in 2013.

This will be the first time the bi-annual congress is held in Australia, and the event is expected to attract over 400 delegates to focus on all aspects of organ and tissue donation and procurement.

BESydney ambassador, Professor Jeremy Chapman, said: “This congress will bring the field’s leading academics, doctors, researchers, government and professional organisations together to debate, discuss and innovate.”

“Securing the event for Sydney is a huge success and I eagerly anticipate the outcomes of the congress for the future of organ donation and transplantation.”

Professor Chapman, a renal physician with a special interest in transplantation, had previously worked with BESydney to secure the 9th International Donor Registry Conference and WMDA Working Group Meetings for Sydney in 2012.

FORMER Emaar Hospitality Group CEO, Patrick Heuze, has been appointed CEO of Sunland Hotels in the Maldives, a newly created position designed to steer the group’s expansion of its Coco Collection in South and South-east Asia, Africa and Europe.

Heuze, who previously oversaw the development of Emaar’s luxury projects in key global cities and worked closely on expanding The Address brand, is now in charge of Sunland Hotels’ assets and spearheading Coco Collection’s rebranding and strategic development.

In an email interview with TTG Asia e-Daily, Heuze explained that Coco Collection would be “a house of brands” incorporating resorts, retreats and hotels associated as five-star and above properties. A new brand for four-star properties is also in the works.

Primary countries being targeted for expansion are Zanzibar, Kenya, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The common denominators for these destinations include natural beauty, seclusion, rich cultural and historical heritage, and that they offer “holistic” and “lifestyle” choices, said Heuze.

“There is space for a brand that delivers a new offering and level of services in a market which is presently either covered by a large brand or individually owned properties,” he said.

“The timing of this expansion is based on the emergence and continued growth of new feeder markets such as China, Brazil, India and Russia, and the anticipated growth of Africa as a leisure and corporate destination.”

When queried about what was driving the expansion, Heuze said: “Opportunities are ripe for evaluating distress assets, but also (as a result of) the recent trend for developers and owners to consider alternative brands instead of relying on the big brands.”

– Full report in TTG Asia, January 27 issue, 2012

SRILANKAN Airlines will boost the frequency on its Colombo-Chennai route to four-daily starting December 23.

The airline operates a mix of Airbus A320s and A330s on the route, which caters to a mix of leisure, business and student travellers from Colombo, as well as transit traffic from the Far East and Europe.

SriLankan Airlines CMO G. T. Jeyaseelan said: “We are developing Colombo into a hub for the South Asian region, and it is vitally important that we provide the best service for our connecting passengers to South India and other parts of India.”

“While we are planning to expand our operations into India with more destinations, we are also consolidating our presence in the sub-continent, with enhanced frequencies.”

SriLankan Airlines regional manager for India, Lalith De Silva, added: “India is one of SriLankan Airlines’ best markets, and tourist arrivals from India are on the increase.”

“There is a heavy demand for additional flights, and better frequencies will facilitate us selling more out of the Far East and Europe via Colombo to India.”

SriLankan operates direct flights to seven destinations in India, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Trivandrum, Cochin and Trichy.

HOTEL transaction volumes in Thailand have risen and even surpassed yearly average rates following the devastating flood crisis that affected the country, according to the latest figures from HotelClub.

“Now that the Thai flood situation has stabilised with cleanup well underway and all tourist attractions open for business, our on-the-ground hotel experts are seeing a significant increase in market confidence and foreign visitors,” said Chaminda Ranasinghe, commercial director, HotelClub.

Hotel transaction volumes in Thailand have risen sharply in the past five weeks for HotelClub. The week commencing November 8 produced a 400 per cent increase in transaction volume compared to the week commencing October 24, when volumes plummeted due to worsening flood conditions.

Year-on-year transactions are increasing as well, with transaction volumes during the week commencing November 28 up by 15 per cent compared to the same period last year.

For Bangkok specifically, hotel volumes increased 40 per cent during the week commencing November 28 compared to the week prior – resulting in a return to pre-flood average weekly transaction levels.

Meanwhile, to encourage inbound traffic further, HotelClub will be launching a Thailand – Still Amazing campaign on December 12.

As part of the initiative, HotelClub will donate AUD$5 (US$5) from every transaction at participating hotels to the Thai Red Cross Society. Selected Thai hotels will also be offering discounts of up to 60 per cent off regular rates.

For more information on the campaign and how to contribute, visit www.hotelclub.com/promo/thailandstillamazing

AIRASIA X, the longhaul affiliate of Malaysia-based LCC AirAsia, has launched four-weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur to Osaka, the carrier’s second destination in Japan after Tokyo and sixteenth overall.

Speaking at the official launch ceremony, Azran Osman-Rani, CEO, AirAsia X, said: “Brand affinity for the AirAsia X brand remains at an all time high, with demand also returning to pre-tsunami levels.”

“The route would be a strong feeder for our guests intending to connect onwards either domestically or internationally from Osaka.”

“Similarly, guests from Japan and surrounding regions would be able to fly into Kuala Lumpur and connect onwards to AirAsia’s network of over 165 routes in South-east Asia and beyond,” he added.

To coincide with the launch, AirAsia X is offering special introductory all-in fares from as low as RM199 (US$63) for a one-way Kuala Lumpur-Osaka ticket. The offer is valid for online bookings made from now till December 11, for immediate travel from now till March 31, 2012.

THE SURIN Phuket, formerly known as The Chedi, will reopen its doors on December 21 after undergoing an extensive refurbishment.

Located on Pansea Beach, the resort has been redesigned by Paris-based architect and interior designer Ed Tuttle, who was also the resort’s original designer.

The property’s 89 one-bedroom and 19 two-bedroom cottages, which come in Hillside Cottage, Superior Cottage, Deluxe Cottage, Beach Deluxe Suite and Beach Studio Suite categories, are now larger and brighter.

Public areas have been expanded, and a new beach bar and 90m² gym added on to existing facilities such as a pool, a gym, and three meeting rooms which can accommodate up to 64 guests.

The resort’s lounge and restaurant have also been renovated.

Meanwhile, The Surin is offering an early bird discount of 10 per cent for bookings made at least 60 days in advance, for stays between March 1 and April 15 next year.

INDIAN tourism authorities are dishing out incentives to local filmmakers in a bid to persuade them to showcase the county’s various destinations and attractions.

India’s Minister for Tourism, Subodh Kant Sahai, discussed this agenda with leading Indian filmmakers at the recent International Film Festival of India in Goa, offering cash incentives of up to US$20,000, tax waivers and marketing assistance.

“India is not being promoted enough,” he lamented.

The efforts are an attempt to replicate the success of movies like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (You don’t get life a second time; shot in Spain), Don (Malaysia), and 3 Idiots (Ladakh) in creating a surge in Indian visitor numbers to these destinations.

The Ministry of Tourism will also assist in logistics management and location shoot infrastructure, and may even decide to subsidise filmmaking expenses if one or more predetermined destinations are featured.

“This is an innovative and brilliant move. We need such out-of-the-box initiatives to promote our destinations,” said P. P. Khanna, director, New Delhi-based Diplomatic Travel Point.

SCOOT, which recently unveiled plans to operate Singapore-Sydney flights starting June 2012 (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 7), is trying to build strong relations with the travel trade to boost its reach, as part of its two-year marketing strategy.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, Susan Teng, National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) – Outbound Committee chairman and general manager of Singapore-based Viewers Choice Travel, said that Scoot representatives recently met with NATAS officials, to share details about the airline’s business model and future plans.

“They are happy to work with the industry and are happy to take on groups, something other low-cost carriers did not do when they first launched,” she said.

Teng declined to reveal further details, but did mention that Scoot was keen to line up exclusive packages for Singapore-based travel consultants to sell, although this is still in the process of being worked out.

“We are still in the dark about Scoot’s exact plans, but we generally view their willingness to work with travel professionals as a positive sign of things to come,” she said.

AYUTTHAYA is starting to see a recovery in tourist numbers as restoration and rehabilitation efforts gather pace following the subsiding of floodwaters, which completely submerged the ancient Thai capital for more than a month.

Supot Prommanot, director of the Third Regional Office of Fine Arts, Ministry of Culture, said FIT and group traffic to Ayutthaya started to recover starting end-November, and the Fine Arts Department was planning to resume admission fee collections from mid-December onwards.

According to Supot, floodwaters are no longer a problem at the majority of popular attractions in Ayutthaya. Some residual water at certain sites is still being drained, albeit slowly so as not to destabilise temple foundations, he added.

Meanwhile, a team of experts from Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Thailand, led by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, is surveying Ayutthaya to formulate recommendations for a short- and long-term restoration plan to be presented to the Thai government.

Last year, Ayutthaya recorded more than 6.53 million domestic and international visitors, an increase of 82.3 per cent over 2009, and generated about nine billion baht in tourism revenue.

By Sirima Eamtako