ASIA could account for as much as 80 per cent of Finnair’s revenue by 2020, up from the current 60 to 65 per cent, according to CEO Mika Vehvilainen, who revealed a vision 2020 for the carrier to be “the most desired alternative” between Asia and Europe.

Finnair plans to double the number of departures into Asia to 140 per week, from 74 now, by 2020. Vehvilainen told TTG Asia e-Daily that this would be a combination of new destinations in China, Japan and South-east Asia, and additional frequencies on existing routes, although he would not be more specific with details.

The airline flies to 10 Asian destinations, the latest being direct flight Helsinki-Singapore flights launched a few months ago (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 4). The 11th Asian destination, Chongqing, China, will be launched in July next year (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 6).

Since 1995, Finnair has been building its case as the ‘shortcut between Asia and Europe’, with flight time to Helsinki being less than 10 hours from all its Asian destinations except Singapore (11.5 hours). With two-hour transfers from Helsinki to more than 50 European destinations, it has been able to siphon off business travellers between the two continents, and now aims to be among the top three in transit traffic between Asia and Europe by 2020.

“Of 30 million passengers between Asia and Europe, half can fly direct, hub to hub, e.g. Frankfurt to Shanghai, London to Beijing, etc. The other half must transit (due to an absence of direct flights) – that is the market we’re after,” Vehvilainen explained.

Vehvilainen said the future was not so much in European corporate travel going into Asia, but Asian business travel going into Europe.

The biggest limitation to expansion in Asia was aircraft capacity, Vehvilainen said. But Finnair has 11 Airbus A350 aircraft on order, with an option for eight more. A “very large part” of the additional capacity from the new A350s, which will take to the skies from 2014, will be deployed to Asia, he said.

“We’ve had an Asian strategy since 1995. Without Asia, we would not exist today…certainly Finnair wouldn’t be the size and scale it is today without Asia,” he said.

– Full report in TTG Asia, September 30 issue

A TEAM from Singapore’s island resort of Sentosa went last week on a three-city tour of India, its leading source market. Representatives of the resort’s various attractions gave presentations highlighting product offerings, and interacted with agents in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi.

Sentosa Leisure Group assistant director, leisure sales and international marketing, commercial division, Steven Chung, said: “India is our top source market and we’re here to show our appreciation.”

During this summer’s peak India outbound period from April-June, Sentosa recorded a 25 per cent increase in India visitors to 253,000. Seventeen per cent of total arrivals to Sentosa last year were from India.

Mumbai-based Travel Forte director, Rosita Haribal, said: “All our 500 plus clients visiting Singapore visited Sentosa. Songs of the Sea, Siloso Point, Underwater World and the cable car ride are popular activities. Some also enjoy beach walks, the Butterfly Park and overnight stays on the island. High-end travellers may even try the new luxury cable car.”

Another travel agent in Mumbai, Kesari Tours director, Sudhir Patil, said: “Sentosa is a popular attraction in Singapore for our clients, and we’ve been receiving better support (from Sentosa) since last year, when they started India roadshows and introduced the Preferred Partner Scheme.”

Sentosa’s Preferred Partner Scheme offers exclusive support to 12 agents in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. Club 7 holidays and Sachin Travels have replaced Yatra.com and Jagdish Air Travels in this year’s lineup, which also includes Kesari Tours, Cox & Kings, Kuoni, Thomas Cook India, JTB Travels, Mercury Travels, Saltours International, MakeMyTrip, TUI Select Vacation, and D Paul’s Travels & Tours.

By Anand & Madhura Katti

MEGA Maldives Airlines has launched the only direct service linking the Maldives and South Korea.

Mega Maldives spokesperson Muzaffar Naeem said the flag carrier would operate Seoul-Male return flights once every five days, using a leased Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with 12 business-class, 42 premium economy-class and 196 economy-class seats.

The airline, which began operations in January this year, runs similar services to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.

Maldives saw a 54 per cent increase in South Korean arrivals last year to 24,000, compared to the year before. However, the number dipped 11.1 per cent to 11,525 in the first seven months of 2011, compared to the corresponding period last year.

CAMBODIA Airports’ recently appointed CEO, Emmanuel Menanteau, is planning to boost capacity and entice more carriers to all three airports under his portfolio, despite the airport management company already looking set to break arrivals records this year.

Menanteau, who took over from incumbent Nicolas Deviller last month, is expecting a 12 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap International Airports, which welcomed new services by Air France and Myanmar Airways International earlier in the year.

He said Cambodia Airports was considering further expansion of all three of the airports to attract more airlines, and persuade existing carriers to hike flight frequencies and launch new routes, especially to Sihanoukville Airport.

Menanteau revealed that Cambodia Angkor Air and Tonle Sap Air had both expressed an interest in operating domestic flights to Sihanoukville, while Myanmar Airways International was considering a Yangon-Siem Reap-Phnom Penh service.

Cambodia Airports was rebranded from Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports in March, as the group celebrated the 15th anniversary of its airport concession in the country.

By Sirima Eamtako

ACCOR has unveiled a massive shift in its global brand strategy, beginning with the revamp of its economy brands.

The group’s Ibis label will become a mega-brand with three smaller brands under its belt, namely Ibis; Ibis Styles, rebranded from All Seasons; and Ibis Budget, evolving from Etap Hotel and Formule1.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of Economy Hotels World Asia 2011, Gaurav Bhushan, Accor’s senior vice-president and head of development-Asia-Pacific, explained that the group wanted to leverage on the strength of the Ibis brand, while highlighting points of difference within its economy segment.

In a presentation at the conference, he also said that Accor needed to “revitalise the economy segment to meet consumers’ new and fluid expectations”. A significant 36 per cent of Accor’s portfolio is economy, with more than 900 hotels out of 1,500 already under the Ibis brand.

Some 150 million euros (US$206 million) will be invested into re-inventing its economy hotel products, which will also see hardware improvements such as better beds, public areas, F&B offers and technologies. “Essentially, we want our product to stand out, and we hope this will translate directly into RevPAR,” said Bhushan.

A vast communications campaign will be launched next year to capitalise on the image of the new Ibis mega-brand. The implementation of this new economy segmentation, which will be rolled out simultaneously worldwide from today, is expected to be completed by early 2013.

Another key global branding exercise that Accor will embark on is increasing the visibility for its parent brand.

To this end, a new tagline, Open New Frontiers in Hospitality, was unveiled alongside plans to rename the group’s A|Club loyalty programme as Le Club Accorhotels, closely linking it to its direct distribution channel, Accorhotels.com. Accor will also become an endorsement brand, with a signature, by Accor, to be used in all brand communications in order to strengthen the credibility of its brands.

Bhushan surmised that the tweaks would better enable Accor to communicate with its customers through a singular identity, instead of a patchwork of brands.

FRASERS Hospitality is working on a new brand to tap the short-stay market, even as it faces increasing competition from hotel chains that have started to gnaw at its market share with expansion into the apartment sector.

Unlike the Singapore-based operator’s existing properties, the new brand would operate more like a hotel, rather than a serviced residence, explained Frasers Hospitality CEO, Choe Peng Sum. This also means that all of them would have hotel licences.

Choe explained that the move would help “close the gap” between overnight hotel stays and longer-term apartment rental. Currently, many of Frasers’ guests stay put for months or even years, he said.

“You already have your Marriott and Four Seasons (that have entered the extended-stay market). More will come. We see this as a window to gain a bigger footprint as a dedicated player,” he added.

Properties under the new brand will be equipped with meeting facilities ­­– but not ballrooms – and likely an all-day dining restaurant.

Rates will be “a notch below compared to that of Fraser-branded properties”, as it would be more closely associated with a four-star level of service, said Choe.

The number of initial properties has yet to be finalised, and an announcement of the brand will be made soon.

THE JAKARTA City Government Tourist Office is attempting to tap outbound travel from China through a roadshow to Guangzhou, Chong Qing and Beijing this week.

The roadshow, featuring both B2B and B2C elements, will run from September 16-24, with 40 delegates from Jakarta, including representatives of 10 hotels, travel wholesalers, cultural performers, and government officials in attendance.

Jakarta Tourist Office marketing manager, Sri Juniarti, said: “Most travellers from China know Bali, but awareness of Jakarta is minimal. It is about time that Jakarta promoted more seriously in China.”

The roadshow will promote products ranging from three-day/two-night packages designed for the China market, featuring Jakarta and the Pulau Seribu islands north of the capital.

According to Juniarti, Chong Qing had been included in the itinerary based on recommendations from the private sector.

“Chong Qing is a growing city with some 30 million residents, and is located in between Guangzhou and Beijing,” Juniarti said. “While there are no direct flights from Chong Qing to Jakarta, travellers can catch Garuda Indonesia flights from either Guangzhou or Beijing.”

LAO Airlines’ thrice-weekly Vientiane-Singapore flights from November 1 (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 25) have been rescheduled to November 24 due to a revision in the delivery schedule of two new Airbus A320s, one of which it plans to deploy on the route (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 29).

The airline and its GSA in Singapore, Maple Aviation, have been in contact with travel agents and travellers who booked seats on the cancelled flights to offer alternative travel arrangements.

Sitthideth Douangsiththy, Lao Airlines’ newly appointed general manager in Singapore, said: “The two A320s will arrive in Laos at the beginning of November.”

Douangsiththy confirmed that during the first six months of operation, return airfares to Vientiane and Luang Prabhang were being offered at S$395 (US$316) and S$495, respectively, including surcharges and taxes.

He added that Lao Airlines was planning to leverage on its Singapore operations to encourage connecting flights to and from Europe, Australia and many parts of Asia.

Besides longhaul visitors, Lao Airlines is targeting corporate travellers, FITs, and Singapore-based expatriates – including the sizeable French, Dutch, German, Scandinavian and Japanese communities.

Lao Airlines is also planning to cooperate with the Lao National Tourism Administration, Laotian travel agents, and hotels to participate in the upcoming ITB Asia.

“Under the bigger umbrella of a national pavilion, we will have a stronger presence to signal our commitment to tourism,” said Douangsiththy.

HONG Kong outbound travel agency Lotus Tours has been appointed the exclusive representative in the territory for Taiwan-based Mandarin Airlines’ branded holiday package tours.

This is the first time that the China Airlines subsidiary, which operates regular services between Hong Kong and Taichung and Kaohsiung, has partnered with a travel agent outside of Taiwan to offer branded package tours.

According to Lotus’ marketing representative, Frank Wong, Mandarin Airlines Holidays would also be available through Lotus’ many sub-agents.

“Mandarin Airlines Holidays, set up as its in-house product brand, aims to develop leisure packages by making use of the airlines’ network to Taiwan and beyond,” he explained.

Lotus started operating the tours last month, with three itineraries focused on Mandarin Airlines’ homeport in Taichung.

“Taichung is only an hour and a half away (from Hong Kong),” said Wong. “Taiwanese speak Chinese, so there is a sense of home. Unlike popular destinations such as Tokyo or Shanghai, Taichung allows Hong Kong travellers to escape their concrete jungle and experience the tranquility of nature.”

“Most importantly, a trip to Taichung is inexpensive. It costs 1/4 of a trip to Australia or 1/3 of one to Sapporo,” he added.

Headlining the packages is a three-day/two-night, four-for-the-price-of-two option priced at HK$1,590 (US$54) per pax, featuring bus tours from Taichung to Sun Moon Lake and other nearby destinations.

Two other three-day/two-night packages include either tours of Taichung’s hotspring spas, or the nearby Sun Moon Lake, costing HK$2,150 and HK$1,990 per pax, respectively.

By Glenn Smith

LAS VEGAS-based Wynn Resorts has signed a deal with the Macau government to build its second casino-resort in the SAR.

Wynn Resorts will fork out more than US$193 million for the 25-year lease of 51 acres (20.6 hectares) of reclaimed swampland in the Cotai strip, where an integrated resort will be constructed incorporating a hotel and casino, F&B outlets, as well as spa, shopping, entertainment and convention facilities.

Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn is hoping the property will be open by 2015, and will feature 1,500-1,600 hotel rooms, about 500 game tables, and 1,300 slot machines.

The resort will compete with rivals on the Cotai Strip, including the recently opened Galaxy Macau (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 16), and the Venetian Macau.

Macau raked in US$23.5 billion in gambling revenue last year, a 58 per cent year-on-year increase. The SAR’s gambling sector is showing no signs of slowing down despite growing global economic uncertainty, skyrocketing 57 per cent in August compared to the year before.