ONYX Hospitality Group’s Amari Hua Hin property is scheduled to open in March next year.

Located on Takiab Beach, about four kilometres from Hua Hin town centre, the 1.2 billion baht (US$40 million) property is part of a mixed-use development that also comprises the 210-unit Amari Residences.

Amari Hua Hin will feature 223 rooms in four categories, a range of F&B outlets and recreational facilities, a 450m2 ballroom, four function rooms, a standalone conference centre with five meeting rooms, and a 400m2 beachfront area and 600m2 landscaped garden for outdoor events.

According to general manager Simon Dell, the hotel will target leisure, corporate and conference business from local and international markets, especially Europe, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and India.

“Rates are being determined, but will most likely be in the four-and-a-half-star category,” he said.

This means the hotel will be in the rate range of Hua Hin Marriott Resort and Spa, and heading into a segment already saturated with strong brands such as Sofitel, Hilton, Sheraton, InterContinental, Anantara and Dusit Thani.

By Sirima Eamtako

TRAVIX International, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based BCD Holdings, will be launching Cheaptickets, its B2C online travel-booking brand and the leading OTA in Germany, in Singapore this October.

Cheaptickets.sg will feature fares offered by scheduled as well as low-cost carriers operating within Asia-Pacific, using a proprietary system that permits Cheaptickets to integrate with low-cost airlines’ reservation systems, which are by and large not connected to major GDS channels.

Isabel Gonzalez, brand manager at Cheaptickets.sg, said: “We will be concentrating on selling flights, which will remain our core product, but the site will sell accommodation as well. Dynamic flight and hotel packages are also on the cards.”

Gonzalez mentioned that plans were in the pipeline for similar sites in Hong Kong and Thailand. She added that there were no plans to work with local travel agents at the moment, and that Cheaptickets was concentrating on establishing its B2C presence first.

PATA’S half-day forum on outbound tourism from India and China, entitled Get the Insights – Build the Business, will take place in New Delhi on September 6.

The forum will focus on the present and future behavioural characteristics, expectations and consumption patterns of the 12.07 million Indian and 57.39 million Chinese travellers who travelled overseas last year.

According to PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre, Chinese travellers spend an average of US$55 billion each year when they travel abroad, up from US$8 billion 15 years ago. Indians spend US$11 billion each year when they travel internationally.

John Koldowski, PATA’s head of tourism strategy, said: “Our objective is to help PATA members and the travel industry understand where this phenomenal movement of people and money is going. With these insights, PATA members can position themselves to get a bigger share of this growth.”

Apart from Koldowski, Terence Mak, CEO of 3rd Planet, will demonstrate how to use technology to tap the Chinese and Indian markets; Jens Thraenhart, CEO of Beijing-based e-marketing company, Dragon Trail, will give an overview on China’s outbound situation; and Surekha Poddar, executive director of Consumer Research Nielsen India, will reveal the latest findings from Nielsen’s ongoing India and China outbound surveys.

Access to the forum costs US$100 per pax for PATA Travel Mart delegates (New Delhi, September 7-9) and US$150 for non-delegates.

TAIWAN’S second largest convenience store chain, Family Mart, is planning to process applications for Taiwanese nationals travelling to China at its 2,800 retail outlets in the country.

Family Mart will offer entry permit extension services for Taiwan residents headed to the mainland, charging NT$499 (US$17) per head, undercutting local travel agents who normally charge between NT$500-NT$600 for the same service.

Roger Hsu, secretary general of Taiwan’s Travel Agent Association, said: “This is illegal. According to our laws, only travel agents and immigration agents can process visas.”

He added that non-travel agencies are also prohibited from selling outbound air tickets and tours.

Family Mart is planning to sidestep the regulations by delivering completed applications to a single travel agency for processing, believed to be local branch of China Travel Service (Macao).

Hsu said: “We talked to the legal authorities at the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, and we were assured that it would be illegal for a non-travel retail business to aggregate visas and deliver them to a single travel agency. The TTB will tell this agency that this is not permitted.”

Although low in price, fees generated by processing entry permits for travel to China can contribute a significant level of income.

Flying Master CEO, Chen Min Tang, said as much as 20 percent of his revenue comes from this source. “These fees are significant, due to the high volume of Taiwanese travelling to China, and they are part of what enables us to exist. Not all Taiwan travel agencies specialize in outbound to China, but for those that do, the loss of this business would be a serious problem.”

Daver Lau, general manager, Amadeus Taiwan, held a more pragmatic stance: “If you take a longer view, the distribution business will evolve in such a way that the line is less defined.”

“For example, 10 years ago, airlines didn’t sell direct, but now Internet sales are part of their strategy. Even then, the business didn’t all shift to the airlines. Travel agencies also found new ways to adapt. Eventually, there will be a new equilibrium.”

By Glenn Smith

THAILAND has secured the rights to host 26 international conventions up until 2016, with about 30,000 delegates due to attend. The wins were generated over the period November 2009 till July this year, according to the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).

Among the newest wins are the 5,000-pax Million Dollar Round Table Experience for life insurance and financial service professionals in February 2012, and the 3,000-pax International Congress on Infectious Diseases in June next year.

The latest and largest win by far is the 4,500-pax International Congress of the Transplant Society in 2016.

The wins are on top of 16 events with some 66,600 delegates already penciled in from 2010-2012, including the much-anticipated Convention of Rotary International for some 30,000 delegates in May next year.

Destination Asia (Thailand) managing director, Pornthip Hirunkate, said the resurgent conventions figures demonstrated the return of market confidence in Thailand following last year’s political crisis.

TCEB president Akapol Sorasuchart said despite the positive outlook, the Thai MICE bureau would continue to be aggressive with its financial support,

Akapol revealed that TCEB had adjusted its financing strategy to be more proactive on a case-by-case basis in Asian markets with high growth potential.

Akapol identified China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines as key markets, as well as South Korea and Japan. For the European market, TCEB will strive to maintain presence, he said.

By Sirima Eamtako

ASIAN Overland Services (AOS) Tours & Travel and travel trade partners will host the inaugural One Earth Music Festival at Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa from November 11-12.

Featuring regional and Malaysian musical artistes in concert, the festival will have a green theme, with flea markets and workshops on environmentally-friendly practices.

According to AOS group managing director, Anthony Wong, the Frangipani resort has so far implemented 150 eco-friendly measures, including installing its own water filtration pond. “The main objective (of the festival) is to make our life more green and sustainable and to reach out to those with the same thinking,” he said.

A secondary objective for the festival is to provide an extra draw for Langkawi during the non-peak period.

“One has to start at home and with ourself, and we cannot depend on the government all the time. So, it is important that the private sector and community do this event during the quiet season in Langkawi, just before the (Malaysian) school holidays start,” Wong explained.

“The dates November 11 to 12 were chosen deliberately to precede LIMA (the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition to be held from December 6-10) and to help augment the build up to the year-end peak season,” he added.

To be rolled out on an annual basis, the dates for the 2012 edition have already been fixed for November 9-10 next year.

While the inaugural event will start off as a “modest” affair, Wong said: “The plan is to grow the festival into a truly international annual event to rival other major music festivals in the region.”

By N. Nithiyananthan

LAO Airlines has signed a contract with Airbus for the purchase of two new A320 aircraft, to be delivered in October and November. The planes will be used on routes linking Vientiane to key cities in South-east Asia, including Bangkok and Singapore.

The two aircraft will feature two class-seating configurations, with 16 business-class and 126 economy-class seats.

The flag carrier’s president, Somphone Douangdara, said: “The A320 will see Lao Airlines introduce a new level of premium service as we expand our international route network.”

Somphone added that in addition to the highest standards of in-flight comfort, Lao Airlines would also benefit from the relatively low operating costs offered by the fuel-efficient A320s.

THE RITZ-Carlton Hotel Company has signed an agreement with the Shanghai Greenland Group for the development of two new Ritz-Carlton hotels in Wuhan and Dalian.

Scheduled to open in 2017, the 330-room The Ritz-Carlton, Wuhan will be located in the centre of the Wuchang Binjiang central business district. The hotel will offer a heath club, a pool, a spa, and more than 2,500m2 of meeting space.

F&B options at the The Ritz-Carlton, Wuhan will include a 170-seat three-meal restaurant, a 150-seat Chinese restaurant with 12 private dining rooms, a lobby lounge capable of hosting 70 guests, and a 50-seat Ritz-Carlton Bar.

Located in the heart of Dalian’s Donggang CBD, the 300-room The Ritz-Carlton, Dalian will form part of a mixed-use development, and will feature a variety of restaurants bars and other facilities.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will have 13 properties in China by 2017.

TRANSNUSA Aviation Mandiri has received an air operator’s certificate, transforming the chartered airline management company into a scheduled domestic airline operator.

TransNusa, founded in 2005, previously provided services through tactical cooperation with a number of airlines specialising in Bali and Nusa Tenggara routes.

TransNusa president director and CEO, Juvenile Jodjana, said: “The lack of services connecting the islands in East and West Nusa Tenggara, and the potential traffic growth in the area, has pushed us to turn the company into an operator.”

Jodjana said that with the Bali-Nusa Tenggara Economic Corridor set to focus on tourism development, there was much potential for developing regional routes.

“We will continue to focus on developing connections between Bali and destinations within West and East Nusa Tenggara, like Sumbawa, Bima, Labuan Bajo (Komodo), Ende, Maumere, Kupang and Alor,” he said.

Future expansion will include Timor Leste and Darwin, Australia, he added.

TransNusa now operates three 50-seater Fokker 500s and will add two more by year-end. The airline is planning to operate 10 of these aircraft by end-2012.

Panorama Destination managing director, Rocky Praputranto, said: “The area does need air transportation, even if they are small aircraft. Therefore, I welcome TransNusa’s move, especially now when demand for Komodo Island and Flores is up.”

THE FEDERATION of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is looking to hold an annual Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar (GDTB) in New Delhi, starting with the inaugural edition in August next year.

According to FICCI secretary general, Rajiv Kumar, GDTB will be a platform for state tourism boards and industry stakeholders to congregate and share best practices in domestic tourism.

FICCI Tourism Committee chairperson & The LaLit managing director, Jyotsna Suri, added: “GDTB will also be a platform to mobilize more locals into taking domestic tours to explore various destinations within the country.”

“India’s outbound is growing at 15 per cent annually, while inbound growth is not proportional. Our hotels, airlines and other infrastructure can’t survive only on inbound tourists.”

Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) president, Subhash Verma, said: “(GDTB) is surely a good proposition as the Indian domestic market is estimated at 740 million travellers. Around sixty to 65 per cent of these opt for religious tours.”

FICCI has organized the Great India Travel Bazaar, an annual inbound travel mart, since 2009.

By Anand & Madhura Katti