SILKAIR launched yesterday thrice-weekly Singapore-Bandung services, operated using A319 aircraft with business- and economy-class seating.

Flight frequency will be increased to five-weekly from October 30.

The airline is targeting between 70 per cent and 80 per cent seat load factor on the route, according to SilkAir chief executive Marvin Tan.

Although its airfares are significantly higher than AirAsia – the only other carrier operating Singapore-Bandung services – Tan is optimistic there is a market segment for the airline.

“Not all passengers care only about low cost. There is a market for premium carriers as well,” Tan was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia as saying.

Bandung is SilkAir’s ninth destination in Indonesia and its 37th overall. The airline’s other Indonesian destinations include Balikpapan, Lombok, Manado, Medan, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Solo and Surabaya.

THE RECENTLY-formed Vietnam MICE Club (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 18) has attracted 12 members to-date, and is on track to reach a total of 30 by year-end.

Club members joining its inaugural trade show participation at IT&CMA 2011 in Bangkok last week included Center of Incentive Tours and Events, Rex Hotel Saigon and Furama Resort Danang.

According to Vietnam MICE Club president Gilbert Whelan, the organisation has budgeted to participate in eight trade shows in its first year of operations, including IT&CMA, World Travel Market in the UK, IMEX in Germany, AIME in Australia and EIBTM in Spain.

“Although we are not the official national tourism organisation, we will be presenting our club stand as a country’s pavilion in all the trade shows,” he said.

Whelan added that members had been allowed to participate free-of-charge in two shows—IT&CMA and International Travel Expo in Hong Kong.

Even though the club is aiming to take a proactive approach in promoting Vietnam as a MICE destination, Whelan said he would leave it up to clients which members they preferred to award business to.

“We will focus on the marketing activities only,” he said.

By Sirima Eamtako

AN INCREASING number of young adults from Singapore are heading to the Kansai region for free-and-easy holidays, according to Japan National Tourism Organisation executive director Singapore office, Motonari Adachi.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of the Kansai Diamond Route Promotion roadshow in Singapore yesterday, Adachi said: “FIT arrivals from Singapore have been increasing steadily over the past few years.”

Adachi said FIT travellers made up 70 per cent of overall Singapore arrivals to the Kansai region last year, up from 60 per cent two years ago. “We are certain that this segment will exceed 80 per cent by the end of this year,” he added.

Travel agents at the roadshow, which highlighted tourism products in various cities including Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka and Sakai, shared the positive expectations. Most attributed the rising interest to greater awareness of Kansai, as well as the appeal of the Universal Studios Japan theme park and shopping opportunities in Osaka.

According to Asia-Euro Holidays senior tour executive, head office, Peter Lee, air access is not an issue despite there being only two carriers connecting Singapore to Kansai.

“Singapore Airlines flies twice daily services to Osaka, and offers excellent promotional rates,” he said. “Jetstar Asia’s daily service on the Singapore-Taipei-Osaka route is also popular because travellers can do a shopping stopover in Taipei.”

Adachi added that the rapid rise in young FIT travellers to Kansai was most prominent from Singapore, compared to other Asian source markets.

He said: “Hong Kong already has a strong segment of FIT travellers, so growth is not so prominent. Thais require travel visas to Japan, so group tours are preferred. Malaysia is only starting to see some growth in the FIT segment, but we believe a growth spurt will occur once AirAsia commences direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Osaka in November.”

STAR Cruises’ SuperStar Aquarius will be deployed to Sanya in November, where it will be homeported for the coming season.

The five-month deployment will see SuperStar Aquarius offering two- and three-night cruises to Vietnam’s Danang, Halong Bay and Hue, operating out of Sanya.

Michael Goh, Star Cruises senior vice president, sales, said: “Star Cruises’ Sanya-homeported itineraries and diverse shore excursions will appeal to the mainland Chinese, as well as regional and international holidaymakers.”

“We believe that most of our passengers will come from the mainland, but we also expect strong demand from markets such as India, Japan, Russia, South-east Asia and Chinese Taipei.”

Goh added that the company had seen an increase in mainland Chinese customers, “as most of our ships call at destinations that they like, such as Thailand and Malaysia”.

THE ASIAN travel industry is set to continue growing, albeit at a slower pace, despite the turbulent economic conditions in Europe and the US threatening to spread to the region.

Speaking at Abacus Asia Travel Insights 2011 in Singapore earlier today, Robert Bailey, president and CEO, Abacus International, said: “Even though the climate of uncertainty caused by the financial crisis in Europe has affected travel to a degree, this has not translated into a big downturn in travel bookings.”

Market growth from Asia for 2011, anticipated by Abacus at the start of the year to reach four to eight per cent, has been revised downwards to two to four per cent. On the other hand, 2010 was a record year, with Abacus claiming that booking volumes from Asia swelled by 12 per cent.

“Hong Kong, Singapore, China and India remain the main engines of growth for the Asian travel industry, which is being powered by the strong economic growth within these markets,” said Bailey. “Travel remains reasonably resilient.”

A survey conducted by Abacus prior to the European economic crisis found that 75 per cent of travel companies interviewed anticipated business from Asia to expand by more than 10 per cent in the next 12 months, while 25.8 per cent projected growth to exceed 20 per cent.

“We acknowledge that the figures may not be as strong currently,” said Bailey, adding that there was a “clear risk that business sentiment would eventually soften by year-end”.

“Looking forward to 2012, we will probably adopt a more conservative outlook,” he added.

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) says it is too early to determine the impact of ongoing floods on the country’s tourism industry, even as rising water levels threaten to reach Bangkok and reports emerge that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered government agencies to prepare to evacuate people.

According to TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni, Ayuthaya has been the only key tourist destination to be affected thus far, with sightseeing tours of the ancient capital diverted to the Ancient City outdoor museum in Samut Prakan, and the TAT Ayuthaya office relocated to TAT headquarters in Bangkok.

Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Samui, as well as Suvarnabhumi and other major airports remain accessible, he added.

Suraphon said: “The TAT overseas offices have reported no cancellations in the short-term, and forward bookings and charter flights scheduled for the high season starting November remain intact.”

Suraphon added that there had been enquiries on the flood situation from the French and German markets, which are key contributors to Ayuthaya, staying one night on average during the high season.

Meanwhile, the flood has prompted 15 source markets – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the US – to issue travel advisories ranging from level one to four, one rung below the maximum level five.

By Sirima Eamtako

PERTH Convention Bureau (PCB) is riding on the organic growth of business events from Indonesia to build long-term relationships and boost inbound MICE traffic to the Western Australia capital.

Speaking at PCB’s inaugural marketing campaign and roadshow to Indonesia, the bureau’s CEO, Paul Beeson, said: “There have been about 60,000 business event visits (from Indonesia to Perth) in the last eight to 12 months, representing an increase of 26 per cent over the same period last year. Our long-term goal is to have an annual six per cent increase of the market.”

“It is an organic growth so we know the market is there,” Beeson added. “We know it is coming and we just have to facilitate it.”

According to Beeson, PCB will organise an annual roadshow to Indonesia to facilitate meetings with travel trade members and business events planners.

Tourism Western Australia marketing manager Indonesia, Faridah Ibrahim, has also been tasked to visit multiple Indonesian cities every three months to garner leads and build business opportunities.

Beeson added: “We will invite the decision-makers to come and visit Perth. We have noticed that people tend to be reluctant to come, but when they do come, they enjoy it. So if we can get the decision-makers down, we hope they will bring their events to Perth.”

Only four-hours’ flight from Jakarta, Perth is not new to Indonesians. However, there has been a lack of marketing activities targeting Indonesians since the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s, until Tourism Western Australia resumed promotions recently.

HAINAN Airlines has seemingly shelved its plans for expansion into South Asia, with the termination of flights to Kolkata, Mumbai and Colombo effectively wiping out its regional footprint.

The airline halted its thrice-weekly Shenzhen-Kolkata services (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 9) in view of dismal forward bookings, after having operated only four flights.

The carrier’s twice-weekly Shanghai-Shenzhen-Mumbai service was cancelled less than a month before the intended September 20 launch, while its four-weekly Beijing–Bangkok–Colombo services using a B737-800 aircraft, scheduled for launch on October 18, have also been dropped.

Hainan Airlines’ general manager Colombo, David Yang, was bullish about the Beijing–Bangkok–Colombo route when it was first announced in June this year, having been given full traffic rights to ferry passengers between Bangkok and Colombo.

Yang speculated at the time that the larger Airbus A330, A340 or B787 Dreamliner aircraft might be deployed to handle the influx of travellers, and was even planning to provide Chinese language training to Sri Lankan tour guides to boost traffic further.

Hainan Airlines also had expectations of strong bookings from Indian travellers headed to Hong Kong via its Shanghai-Shenzhen-Mumbai service.

However, the need to clear Chinese customs on arrival in Shenzhen, Hong Kong customs at the border, and thereafter arrange one’s own transportation to downtown Hong Kong, has proven to be a major stumbling block.

THAILAND will continue with its international tourism marketing activities despite the current flood crisis in the country, but the launch of its Miracle Thailand campaign (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 6) has been postponed from this month to December.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Suraphon Svetasreni said the country would continue to be represented at ITB Asia in Singapore next week, China International Travel Mart in Kunming from October to 27 to 30, and World Travel Market in London from November 5 to 7.

According to Suraphon, Loy Krathong Festival activities in 10 key locations nationwide, scheduled for November 10, would continue as planned.

By Sirima Eamtako

THE WESTIN brand is returning to Singapore with a planned opening in 2013.

The Westin Singapore Marina Bay will occupy the 32nd to 46th floors of Asia Square Tower 2, featuring 305 rooms and the highest hotel lobby in the citystate.

Westin was in Singapore until 2002, in the form of The Westin Stamford and The Westin Plaza at the Raffles City complex, now Swissotel the Stamford and Fairmont Singapore respectively.