CHAN Brothers Travel has reported a strong showing in the second half of 2011 so far, with overall sales for the year projected to reach the S$200 million (US$152 million) mark, a 20 per cent increase over 2010.

In particular, the travel firm has seen a 30 per cent year-on-year jump in demand for cruising beyond regional shores, as demonstrated by the recent departures (November 14 and 15) of the 10-day Three Gorges and Zhangjiajie charter cruise with over 200 passengers, the company’s fourth charter cruise foray in the Three Gorges region since the inaugural sailing in September last year.

Chan Brothers’ first company-owned franchise shop and bespoke travel agency, Chan’s World Holidays, has also proven lucrative, recording S$1 million (US$761,600) in sales since its launch in September (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 2). Plans are in the pipeline to add golf vacations, cycling expeditions and trekking journeys to its product mix.

Meanwhile, based on forward bookings for 2012 as of mid-November, Chan Brothers has revealed that destinations on an uptrend include China, Europe, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia tying with Japan, with 56 per cent of customers scheduled to depart over the Chinese New Year long weekend.

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide will open another four Sheraton branded properties in China before the end of 2011.

This fall, Sheraton will open its first hotel in Hangzhou and Daqing, and its second hotel in Xian and Changzhou.

Sheraton Daqing Hotel is scheduled to make its debut today in the central Saertu Commercial District of Daqing, Heilongjiang. The property will offer 290 rooms, and 11 meeting spaces with a combined floor area of 2,165m2.

The 380-key Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort, located in the Xixi National Wetland Park in Hangzhou, will open on November 30.

Sheraton Changzhou Xinbei Hotel will launch in Xinbei District, Changzhou on December 10. The 247-room property will be part of the Changzhou Wanda Plaza.

Sheraton Xian North City Hotel, due to begin operations on December 31, will offer 490 rooms, and 1,700m2 of meeting space including a 626m2 pillar-less grand ballroom.

Eight Sheraton hotels and resorts have already debuted this year in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Zhenjiang, Hainan, Jinzhou and Changzhou.

With the addition of these 12 properties, Sheraton will grow its portfolio in Greater China to 46 hotels by year’s end, moving Starwood closer to its goal of operating 100 hotels in the region by end-2012.

IN A bizarre turn of events last week, about 600 passengers flying on a Comtel Air charter flight from Amritsar to Birmingham were asked to pay a fee of around 23,000 pounds (US$35,570) when the plane landed in Vienna for refueling.

Airline crew on the Austrian-registered jet informed the passengers that they did not have the resources to pay for fuel or airport charges, and asked passengers to chip in by withdrawing cash from the ATM facilities at the airport terminal.

The passengers, mostly immigrants from the northern Indian state of Punjab, and UK residents who were returning to England after visiting their ancestral homes and relatives in India, protested but eventually paid out the cash, allowing the flight to carry on to its destination.

A spokesperson for Comtel Air has promised tour operators in India that the money would be refunded to the affected passengers, but so far no schedule has been set for such a payment.

According to a report by The BBC, the incident was the result of a monetary conflict between Comtel Air and Skyjet UK, a British travel consultancy that has filed for bankruptcy.

Comtel Air subsequently cancelled four scheduled flights on the same route after news of Skyjet’s insolvency broke, leaving several hundred passengers stranded in India without the return flight back home.

Jatinder Gupta, partner, Amritsar-based Dove Travels, said: “The airline’s credentials should be investigated and punitive action taken immediately so future passengers are protected against such mala fide (bad faith) intent and exploitation.”

“Punjab has huge potential and British Midland International (BMI) has recently started flights, which should encourage other full service international carriers to start flying to Amritsar.”

“We have re-booked some of the stranded passengers on BMI flights,” Gupta added.

OAKWOOD Asia Pacific will be debuting its Oakwood Premier brand in China with the launch of the 225-key Oakwood Premier Guangzhou in first quarter 2012.

Located in the Tianhe District city centre, the property will offer accommodation options ranging from studios to one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments.

Facilities will include a restaurant and bar, a fitness centre, meeting rooms, a business centre, a swimming pool, a sauna and Jacuzzi, an Angsana Spa by Banyan Tree, a children’s play area, and a residents’ lounge.

Oakwood Premier Guangzhou will be the second serviced apartment opened by Oakwood Asia Pacific in the capital of Guangdong province. The first was Oakwood Gold Arch Residence Guangzhou on Er Sha Island.

With the launch of Oakwood Premier Guangzhou, Oakwood’s portfolio in China will be boosted to seven properties in six destinations, including Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

LAO Airlines has signalled its intention to tap into the rest of the world with its latest expansion: thrice-weekly Vientiane-Singapore services that started yesterday.

Timed to arrive and depart Singapore in the evening to facilitate connections from Europe and Australasia, the flights – operated on an Airbus A320 with 16 business-class and 126 economy-class seats – offer regional and longhaul travellers an alternative to Bangkok, which has served as the primary gateway to Laos for many years.

“Prior to this, the need to connect in Bangkok resulted in a minimal number of Singapore-based travellers to Laos compared to other Asians,” said Universal Travel Corporation’s managing director, Khoo Boo Liat.

Lao Airlines’ sales manager for Singapore, Lester Song, said: “Forward bookings on our thrice-weekly services are looking good and our first flights are all going out full or nearly full. We are working with tour operators, expatriate associations and various special interest groups to promote travel to Laos.”

Khoo added: “Within six weeks of our sales effort taking off, we had more than 200 bookings and these continue to grow. The numbers are promising and encouraging.”

With this new link to Vientiane, Singapore Changi International Airport now offers direct air connections to all nine countries in the ASEAN grouping.

HONG Kong will finally have its own homegrown low-cost carrier (LCC) when Hong Kong Express Airways – part of the Hainan Airlines group – adopts a low-cost model in mid-2012.

The yet-to-be-renamed carrier will operate a fleet of 15 Airbus A320 aircraft over the next three to four years, while its existing group of Boeing B737-800 planes will be transferred to Hong Kong Airlines.

The LCC is planning to operate to destinations such as Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Osaka, Taipei, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Hong Kong International Airport is already served by about a dozen foreign LCCs including Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways, AirAsia, Spring Airlines, Jin Air and Cebu Pacific.

The new airline is currently looking to hire a CEO with previous LCC experience in Europe.

Hong Kong’s previous attempt at operating an LCC failed when Hong Kong Oasis Airlines ceased operations in 2008, after having served London (Gatwick) and Vancouver using B747-400 aircraft.

THOMAS Cook is seemingly headed for a financial overhaul after one of the banks with which it is engaged in ongoing discussions indicated it was keen for an expedited resolution of the tour operator’s debt crisis, according to a report in The Financial Times.

The UK-based travel firm’s share price nosedived 75.2 per cent to close at 10.2 pence (US$0.16) on London’s FTSE 250 shares index on Tuesday, after the company announced it was seeking a new £100 million loan from a conglomerate of 17 banks, just a month after the same group had extended it a £100 million lifeline.

The share plunge left Thomas Cook valued at just £89.25 million.

“As a result of deterioration of trading in some areas of the business in the current quarter, and of its cash and liquidity position since year-end, the company is in discussions with its principal lending banks with regard to its facilities during the seasonal low period of cash in the business,” Thomas Cook said in a statement.

The travel firm added that it would have to delay the release of its full-year results, which were originally due to be published today, pending the conclusion of the bank discussions.

Europe’s second-largest travel company after TUI Travel has suffered a calamitous year, with one setback after the next leading to the resignation of its CEO Manny Fontenla-Novoa in August (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 3).

Meanwhile, according to a report in UK’s The Sunday Times, Thomas Cook is planning to close about 200 of its travel outlets and reduce its aircraft fleet by six planes.

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) is planning to reintroduce a tourist visa fee waiver scheme for China, India, Russia and Taiwan nationals, as part of a wider stimulus initiative to boost inbound traffic and help local tourism operators affected by the floods.

The exemption of tourist visa fees for certain nationalities, first introduced in 2009 following the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport the previous December, had seen several extensions over the ensuing two years, before finally being discontinued in March (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 3).

According to TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni, a proposal to reinstate the tourist-friendly policy has already been tabled to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, along with a request for funding to help beleaguered Thai tourism operators, and to kick-start the Miracle Thailand campaign—put on hold since the start of the floods in October.

In the immediate term, Suraphon said the country’s long-running Amazing Thailand, Always Amazes You marketing campaign would remain as the key message throughout efforts to restore visitors’ confidence, with the NTO having scheduled fam trips for foreign media and travel experts starting December 13.

Asian market representatives are scheduled to visit tourist attractions in Bangkok and Ayuthaya—inundated by floods but now back to normalcy, before moving on to other unaffected destinations. As for the European market representatives, the trips will focus on special interest itineraries encompassing elements such as ecotourism.

Meanwhile, TAT is predicting that even if the flood situation is resolved by the end of the month, the country’s international tourism targets for the year are expected to fall short of about 220,000 arrivals and US$275 million in revenue.

Before the flood crisis started, Thailand was anticipating 19.5 million overseas visitors and 746 billion baht (US$23.8 billion) in tourism receipts.

By Sirima Eamtako

THE HONG Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has boosted its ongoing Hong Kong Rewards incentive programme for MICE groups with two new features.

Available only to corporate meetings and incentives groups from South-east Asia, the two add-ons are a one-day Mass Transit Railway (MTR) pass and a See Hong Kong single tour pass, which are valid till June 2012.

To qualify for these incentives, groups must have between 20 to 300 delegates staying at least two consecutive nights in Hong Kong. Interested event planners are required to complete an application form, and requests will be answered within 14 working days.

According to Linda Tan, HKTB marketing manger, the one-day MTR pass and See Hong Kong single tour pass offer business delegates a chance to explore Hong Kong’s sights and attractions at their own pace.

“We have only just introduced these and the response from event planners has been very strong,” she said.

Meanwhile, Tan noted that Singapore arrivals to Hong Kong have been growing year-on-year. The destination welcomed 590,000 Singaporean visitors from January to September, an 11.5 per cent jump over the same period in 2010.

Tan said leisure travellers were still the dominant segment from Singapore, and that Hong Kong would continue to leverage on mega events such as the Hong Kong WinterFest, which kicks off tomorrow and ends January 1, 2012, to increase footfalls.

“There are a lot of programmes and activities involved in mega events, which offer value to leisure travellers who visit Hong Kong,” she explained. “Hong Kong WinterFest, for instance, will feature the first outdoor ice skating rink in Hong Kong.”

INDIA’s Jet Airways will introduce new direct daily flights on its Mumbai–Riyadh and Mumbai–Bangkok routes starting December 14.

With the flight additions, the carrier’s Mumbai-Riyadh and Mumbai-Bangkok services will be boosted to twice-daily and thrice-daily, respectively.

The airline will deploy a Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the routes, offering 16 Premiere and 138 economy-class seats.

Sudheer Raghavan, COO, Jet Airways, said: “Jet Airways has decided to enhance capacity on these sectors to meet the growing demand. These services will offer seamless connections to several destinations to our guests across the network through our Mumbai gateway.”

Meanwhile, Jet Airways and New York-based JetBlue Airways have entered into an interline agreement that will offer guests travel options from India to JetBlue destinations in the US.

Travelling via Jet Airways’ daily non-stop services from Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai to Brussels, customers may transfer to non-stop Jet Airways flights bound for New York’s John F. Kennedy and Newark Airports, and onward to destinations including Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.