HONG Kong Disneyland Resort launched last week its new themed attraction by hosting an interactive roadshow for the travel trade in Mumbai, its first stop on a 16-city Asian tour ahead of the November 18-opening.

The roadshow will take the Toy Story Land launch to New Delhi, Singapore, Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei, Seoul, Busan, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort director, Travel Trade Sales, Terruce Wang, said: “Toy Story Land, with the theme It’s Playtime, is based on characters and experiences of the global blockbuster movie Toy Story. It’ll have new rides and entertainment options to attract new clients and repeaters.”

The key attractions include three rides – rollercoaster RC Racer, Toy Soldier Parachute Drop and Slinky Dog Spin – set among oversized blades of grass and toys, with Woody, Slinky Dog, Rex and the Green Army Men as the main characters.

According to Wang, India is one of the attraction’s key source markets, with an 80 per cent growth in Indian arrivals last year making India one of the top five markets for the park.

Wang added: “We are working on a specialist program that we plan to introduce next year. We currently have partnerships with six wholesalers in India – Kuoni, Thomas Cook India, Kesari Tours, Sal Tours, STIC Travels and D’ Pals.”

Meanwhile, the theme park has introduced a new two-day ticket priced at HK$499(US$64) per pax. One-day tickets are available at HK$399 (US$51) each.

The park is also offering buy-two-get-one- and buy-three-get-one-free vacation packages with partners Cathay Pacific Airlines and Dragon Air, and a Travel Agent Salute promotion valid from now till December 15 offers up to 25 per cent off accommodation and 10 per cent off entry prices.

By Anand & Madhura Katti

THE PAN Pacific Hotels Group has introduced refreshed interpretations for its Pan Pacific- and Parkroyal-branded hotels, resorts and serviced suites.

Pan Pacific will adopt the brand slogan Your refreshing Pacific experience, a reflection of the Pacific Touch, a sensory expression of the culture, geography, design and heritage of the Pacific Rim.

Parkroyal will be characterised by the expression Your Trusted Local Companion, which is based on the brand pillars – Modern Comfort, Local Connection, and Always There.

The move follows a review of the brands through consumer insights research in the Pan Pacific group’s key markets of Australia, China, North America and Singapore.

Patrick Imbardelli, president and CEO of Pan Pacific Hotels Group, said: “Brands today must connect with consumers. We spoke to guests in key markets to find out what they liked and wanted, and are excited to be unveiling refreshed brands for Pan Pacific and Parkroyal, which will create deeper connections with the people that matter most to us – our guests, customers and associates.”

The group is hoping the revamp will enhance brand association and delivery, resulting in greater distinction of the two brands to boost mindshare and competitive advantage.

An advertising campaign will be rolled out this month through local and regional print titles, in-flight channels, and online sites, featuring refined visual and verbal brand identities including logos, websites and marketing collateral, across the group’s portfolio of over 30 properties under the two brands.

The Pan Pacific campaign has adopted the tagline Embrace the Pacific, while the Parkroyal campaign has taken on the tagline Found by Parkroyal discovered by you.

A GROUP of 12 Gold Coast tourism businesses led by Gold Coast Tourism embarked last week on an overseas mission to establish working relationships with travel operators in China.

The trip will see Historic Rivermill, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Tropical Fruit World, Southern Cross 4WD, Gold Coast Airport, Paradise Jetboating, Tall Ships, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Harbour Town Outlet Shopping Centre, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, Mantra Group, and Hot Air Gold Coast engage in a 13-day programme of meetings and workshops with 80 of China’s most prominent travel wholesalers and retailers in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing.

Gold Coast Tourism CEO, Martin Winter, said the mission was an important aspect of the destination’s strategy to develop a productive and sustainable relationship with the Chinese travel industry and tourists.

“This particular group of active Gold Coast tourism businesses are export ready but not yet connected to the Chinese market, so we are building that bridge with them,” Winter explained.

“The result will be more Gold Coast experiences being used to promote the destination in China, and more Gold Coast products being booked on itineraries for Chinese travellers,” he added.

China is the Gold Coast’s second largest source of international visitors, and is expected to overtake New Zealand as the number one international source market by June 2012.

In the year ended March 2011, the Gold Coast hosted 121,000 Chinese visitors (a 14 per cent year-on-year increase), who spent a total of A$111 million (US$117 million) in the city (a 37 per cent year-on-year increase).

HILTON Worldwide has opened a new island resort on Aow Thai Beach. The Conrad Koh Samui joins its sister hotel, Conrad Bangkok, which recently celebrated its eighth anniversary in Thailand.

Located 28 kilometres from the airport, Conrad Koh Samui features 80 freestanding villas with private plunge pools and sundecks. There are 65 one-bedroom villas, 14 two-bedroom villas and a Royal Villa, all overlooking the Gulf of Thailand and the resort’s white-sand beach.

F&B options at the resort include private in-cellar dining at The Cellar, fine Thai cuisine at the cliff-side specialty restaurant, Jahn, and Mediterranean-inspired dishes at the all-day dining restaurant, Zest.

The property also features a spa, an on-site diving and sailing centre, a 180-metre floating pier, a 24-hour fitness centre and an outdoor yoga pavilion.

THAILAND’S government has confirmed the country is being promoted under both the existing Amazing Thailand, Always Amazes You campaign, as well as the new Miracle Thailand (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 19) initiative.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports is still working on details and budgeting for the ad-hoc campaign, which will run from now till 2012, and centre on celebrations to commemorate the 84th and 80th birthdays of the Thai King and Queen, respectively.

Chumpol Silpa-archa, deputy premier and reappointed tourism and sports minister, said the campaign would help to stimulate domestic and inbound tourism revenue for the country.

“It will help boost the country’s tourism revenue by two folds within five years, as we will be focusing on tourist spending more than arrival numbers,” he said.

Thailand earned some 590 billion baht (US$19.7 billion) in foreign tourism revenue last year, and is expected to hit 700 billion baht this year. Revenue is expected to escalate to about two trillion baht by 2015.

– Read more in TTG Asia, September 16 issue

By Sirima Eamtako

VISITBRITAIN kicked off in Singapore over the weekend the next phase of the global roll out of its Great Britain You’re Invited campaign (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 13).

ION Orchard and the Mandarin Gallery were the venues for several giant three-dimensional floor art installations depicting scenes from various tourism attractions in the UK, such as Covent Garden, Westminster Abbey, Wimbledon, Loch Ness in Scotland, and even the Abbey Road zebra crossing immortalized in pop culture by English rock band The Beatles.

Singapore was the first international stop for the Great Britain 3D project, which will take the three-dimensional canvasses on a 10-city tour including Sydney, Shanghai, New York, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Moscow and Stockholm among others.

VisitBritain global head of market planning and operations, Garry White, said: “Each one (of the canvasses) tells an individual story about a part or place in Britain. Instead of traditional media, we decided to go with something fun and interactive, hoping that after interacting with the canvasses, people would go and tell their friends about what they had experienced.”

VisitBritain is hoping to increase media hype in the run-up to a year of celebrations in 2012, highlighted by the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Over a million visitors were estimated to have visited London for the royal wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William earlier this year, with the UK seeing an eight per cent increase in visitors to over eight million during the March-May period, according to VisitBritain.

Over a million more overseas visitors are expected to attend the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, while over five million are anticipated for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Meanwhile, Singapore National Olympic Committee chef de mission, Jessie Phua, said of the widespread riots in London last month: “It was a blessing in disguise. London will be even more prepared than ever to cope with potential problems in the future.”