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.

ROYAL Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas cruise liner will embark on its first Asia-Pacific voyage in May 2012, commencing the trip from Singapore’s new International Cruise Terminal.

With over 40 per cent more staterooms and five more categories than existing offerings in Asia, as well as onboard innovations such as an ice-skating rink, a full-sized sports court and a golf simulator, the 14-deck 3,840-guest ship will be the largest ever to be home docked in Singapore as well as Asia.

Michael Bayley, executive vice president, international of Royal Caribbean Cruises, said: “Singapore was picked as the Voyager’s home port as it is an iconic tourist destination. We have a good relationship with local authorities as well as its tourism board, which actively markets Singapore as a destination.”

Voyager of the Seas joins its sister ship, the 2,076-pax Legend of the Seas, in targeting Australian, Chinese, Indian and South-east Asian holidaymakers, and will call at similar ports with the exception of Nagasaki, Kobe and Tianjin.

From May to June, Voyager of the Seas will sail three- to five-night cruises to Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket, as well as an eight-night cruise to Shanghai that features Ho Chi Minh City, Xiamen and an overnight stay in Hong Kong.

The ship will then sail from Shanghai and Tianjin visiting a variety of Japanese and South Korean destinations including Kobe, Okinawa, Fukuoka and Jeju from June to October.

On top of scheduled sailings, Bayley explained that the charter segment was also drumming up a considerable amount of business, and demand was rising, particularly from China. According to Bayley, the Legend of the Seas was chartered out 11 times in 2010. “The (charter) business is incredibly vibrant and healthy,” he said.

Bayley revealed that Royal Caribbean intends to keep Voyager of the Seas in Asia, where it hopes to eventually double its guest count. “At the moment, we plan to build the brand, and I imagine that if Voyager proves to be a success, we will add more capacity to our Asia-Pacific fleet,” he said.

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) will be launching a new marketing campaign targeting couples planning to tie the knot overseas, as part of plans to entice the India outbound market.

TAT’s intentions were first announced at a media briefing at PATA Travel Mart 2011 in New Delhi.

A promotional wedding package, which is being offered jointly with Thai Airways, will run from October 1 to December 31. Couples who book economy air tickets directly with Thai Airways for themselves and their wedding party to Thailand will receive a free upgrade to business class. Elephants, drummers and dancers will welcome the couple and their guests upon initial arrival at the hotel. This offer is limited to the first 50 couples, on a first come, first served basis.

Sethaphan Buddhani, director based in TAT’s Mumbai office, said the Thai national tourism body had organised a series of fam trips for Indian wedding planners to Bangkok, Hua Hin, Phuket, Krabi and Chiangmai over the last two years.

The TAT is also in discussions with the Royal Thai Customs department to address the issue of import taxes levied on Indian couples bringing in their wedding jewellery. A solution is yet to be finalised, but the problem will be resolved sooner rather than later, said Buddhani, adding that this would persuade more Indian couples to hold their weddings in Thailand, which he believes costs “only a third of what is normally forked out in India”.

According to Buddhani, Indian weddings in Thailand last for a minimum of three days, and in some instances, up to 1,000 guests are invited.

He added that TAT Mumbai branch handled 11 weddings in 2010, but was unable to provide exact figures for the New Delhi office. Nonetheless, he suggested that New Delhi often handled significantly higher volumes than the Mumbai branch.

A press release published by TAT in June revealed that over 100 large-scale Indian weddings were organised in Thailand last year. “We hope to increase the number of Indian weddings by 15 per cent year-on-year by the end of 2011,” Buddhani said.

VISIT Berlin is strengthening its tourism marketing efforts in Asia through cooperation with the regional travel trade and airlines, and is positioning the German capital as the gateway to central Europe.

According to Visit Berlin sales director, Ralf Ostendorf, the destination marketing agency started promotions in India three years ago in a joint-effort with other German cities, and began this year its online strategy in China through the local travel trade.

“We now plan to attract more visitor numbers from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia,” he said, noting that arrival figures from these markets were small at present.

Although there is no specific marketing campaign, Visit Berlin’s strategy for its push in Asia includes the positioning of the German capital as the gateway to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria.

This position will be further strengthened when the new Capital Airport Berlin Brandenburg International, with a total annual capacity of 27 million passengers, opens in June next year.

Ostendorf added that Berlin was a destination for all seasons, with music and street festivals being held in the city throughout the year.

Last year, 88 airlines operated via Berlin to 171 destinations, including 127 European cities. The German capital is also connected to longhaul destinations such as New York, Bangkok, Phuket, Beijing, Doha, Dubai, Miami and Mombasa.

By Sirima Eamtako