KUONI Group says it is making good progress with integrating Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) into its Division Destinations arm, a process that is expected to take four months.

Nearly two months following the acquisition of GTA from Travelport (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 6), Rolf Schafroth, the new CEO of GTA and Kuoni Destination Management (KDM), painted a positive picture of both GTA and KDM senior management working together to review current structures, businesses and processes, in order to shape the division for further growth.

The division will comprise half of Kuoni’s annual turnover, balancing the group in a new way.

Schafroth said: “It’s not an objective of the integration process to change the goals of GTA, or KDM. On the contrary, they remain very much unchanged. The focus is on the right organisation and activities to best cater and capture growth potential.”

“Both GTA and KDM have a clear and strong position in the market. We will continue to grow our market share, this is also much to the benefit of our clients and suppliers.”

– Read the full interview in Schafroth digests GTA acquisition, Editor’s Pick

INDONESIA president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has become the first Asian head of state to pledge his country’s support for the UNWTO and World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)’s Global Leader for Tourism campaign.

As part of the campaign, UNWTO and WTTC are jointly presenting heads of state and governments around the world with an invitation to acknowledge tourism’s role in delivering on sustained and balanced growth, and to prioritise the sector high in national policies, in order to maximise its potential.

The campaign has already received the support of the presidents of Mexico, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and Hungary, while President Yudhoyono accepted the invitation extended by UNWTO secretary general, Taleb Rifai, during a recent meeting in Bali.

“We are delighted that Indonesia has joined this important campaign to raise international awareness of the relevance of travel and tourism. Indonesia is sending out a strong message that it recognises tourism’s potential as a force for development.” said Rifai.

President Yudhoyono said: “Tourism plays a significant role not only in the preservation of cultural values, but also in increasing people’s welfare. Tourism has provided job opportunities for millions of people across the globe. It is a leading export of developing countries, and a key stimulus in the transformation to a green economy.”

WTTC president and CEO, David Scowsill, added: “The importance of travel and tourism as a driver of Indonesia’s economy is clear. Over the next ten years, travel and tourism’s contribution to the country’s GDP is expected to grow by nearly six per cent per year.”

THIS YEAR will be crucial one for the Bangkok hotel industry, with a swathe of new supply set to descend on the market, in the process ramping up pressure on the city’s occupancy and rates.

In the first three months of the year, the inventory in downtown Bangkok – Sukhumvit, Ploenchit, Silom, Sathorn and Riverside – grew to 29,511 rooms, an increase of one per cent quarter-on-quarter and eight per cent year-on-year, according to commercial real estate company CB Richard Ellis Thailand’s MarketView Bangkok Luxury Hotel Q1/2011 report.

New hotels already opened this year in Bangkok include the 75-key Sivatel Bangkok, 370-key Novotel Bangkok Fennix Ploenchit, 224-key The St Regis, 50-ley Best Western Bangkok Hiptique, 78-key Best Western Plus@20 Sukhumvit, 188-room Ramada Encore, and 125-room Park Plaza Sukhumvit Soi 18.

The rest of the year will see 5,199 keys added to the Thai capital’s inventory, a 19 per cent increase consisting of 203 luxury rooms, 2,773 first-class rooms, 1,168 mid-range rooms and 1,055 economy rooms.

The deluge of keys will be provided by the 283-room Novotel Bangkok Platinum, 297-room aloft Bangkok, 39-key The Siam, 166-key Hotel Muse, 421-room Four Points by Sheraton Sathorn, 120-room Golden Tulip Mandison Suites, and 390-room Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn, all due to open this year.

Increased competition from the slew of new hotels is expected to push down ADR. “The performance of the tourism industry this year will also depend heavily on the outcome of the upcoming election (on July 3),” the report added.

In the luxury hotel sector alone, the report stated that ADR in the first three months of the year was down by 15 per cent to 5,789 baht (US$189), and RevPar declined by nine per cent to 3,685 baht. In US dollar terms, the ADR was US$191, a decline of nine per cent, and RevPar was US$122, a three per cent drop.

PHILIPPINE low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific has launched a new four-weekly Manila-Busan service, its fourth route to South Korea.

The airline also flies four times weekly from Cebu to Busan, two times from Manila to Incheon, and daily from Cebu to Incheon.

Philippine tourism department secretary, Alberto Lim, welcomed the development. “South Korea has become an extremely important market for us. Cebu Pacific has likewise been on its toes in delivering on this market, now with 29 weekly flights to South Korea including this new service to Busan,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific has signed an MOU with Airbus to acquire seven more Airbus A320s and 30 Airbus A321neos. The deal, worth US$3.8 billion, is the largest single aircraft order ever made by a Philippine carrier.

Cebu Pacific CEO and president, Lance Gokongwei, said: “Cebu Pacific has made the largest firm order for the Airbus A321neo aircraft in the world. These 220-seater aircraft will be a real ‘game changer’ for Cebu Pacific because the A321neo will have a much longer range. We will be able to serve cities in Australia, India and Northern Japan, places the A320 cannot reach.”

Cebu Pacific currently utilises 10 Airbus A319s, 15 Airbus A320s and eight ATR-72 500. If the deal is completed, Cebu Pacific will double its fleet by 2021.

The airline is also planning to launch two new domestic routes targeting central and southern Philippines, with services between Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi, and Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo, slated for October.

Cebu Pacific is targeting 12 million passengers this year, a 19 per cent increase over 2010.

WORLDHOTELS has signed a deal with China-based air travel and tourism IT solutions provider, TravelSky, for the two companies to provide mutual access across their respective inventories.

The agreement will allow TravelSky customers to access Worldhotels’ global portfolio of more than 450 hotels, while giving Worldhotels an expanded presence in China through TravelSky’s GDS and travel agent network.

TravelSky’s global computer reservation system is subscribed to by over 7,000 Chinese travel agents. Its GDS supports more than 8,000 domestic hotels, and 60,000 hotels elsewhere in the world.

In addition, TravelSky processes more than 200 million passengers annually, through 30 domestic and 200 regional and international airlines, operating at 147 airports across China.

Worldhotels vice president Asia-Pacific, Roland Jegge, said: “This partnership dramatically extends our potential distribution reach in China’s rapidly growing travel market. It is a significant milestone for Worldhotels in the world’s most populous country.”

TravelSky is headquartered in Beijing, and has more than 4,000 employees. The company was listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2008, and has subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Europe and the US.

HYATT Hotels Corporation has entered into an agreement with Bahagia Investment Corporation (Malaysia) to manage Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. The hotel is under construction and is expected to open in 2012.

Willi Martin, area vice president, South-east Asia, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, said: “We see Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur as a remarkable opportunity to expand the presence of the Hyatt brand into a principal city in the rapidly emerging South-east Asia market.”

Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur will be located in the Golden Triangle area of Kuala Lumpur, in a prime location on Jalan Pinang, close to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Petronas Towers.

The hotel will be part of a mixed-use complex, occupying floors 17 through 39 of the property. It will feature 412 guestrooms, including 42 suites, over 3,000m2 of meeting and event space, a cafe, a specialty restaurant featuring multiple cuisines, a Sky Lobby Lounge, a poolside restaurant and bar, a spa with 11 treatment rooms, and a swimming pool.

There are currently 51 Hyatt-branded hotels in Asia-Pacific, and Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur will join the two existing Hyatt-branded hotels in Malaysia, Hyatt Regency Kinabalu and Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort.

In addition to Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, twelve other Grand Hyatt properties are currently under development around the world.

TIBET Airlines, the only carrier to be based at Lhasa Gonggar Airport, will launch its inaugural route, from Lhasa to Beijing on July 20. This is two weeks after the carrier takes delivery of the first of three Airbus A319s on order.

The other two A319s are scheduled for delivery in August and September. All three aircraft will offer eight first-class and 120 economy-class seats.

The airline is planning to grow its fleet to 20 aircraft over the next five years.

Besides providing links from Lhasa to other Tibetan cities, the carrier intends to expand its network to South Asia (India, Pakistan and Nepal) and South-east Asia by 2013, and to Europe by 2015.

Tibet Airlines has a start-up capital of RMB280 million (US$43 million), with the Tibet Autonomous Region Investment Company holding a 51 per cent stake, and two companies, Tibet Sanli Investment Company and Tibet Ruiyi Investment Company, owning 39 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

Air China, Sichuan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines are the top three carriers currently serving Lhasa.

THE PANORAMA Leisure Group is targeting consolidated revenue of 2.3 trillion rupiah (US$270 million) this year, a 27 per cent increase over 2010.

Speaking at a public expose in Jakarta recently, Panorama Leisure Group president director/CEO, Budi Tirtawisata, said: “The business climate continues to be positive this year.”

“Internally, we will continue our consolidation programme for Panorama Sentra Wisata’s four business units, covering inbound, travel and leisure, transportation and MICE, and sharpen each unit’s focus to achieve the target.”

According to Tirtawisata, Panorama posted net profits of 6.4 billion rupiah last year, an 11.74 per cent increase over the 5.7 billion rupiah earned in 2009.

He added that the group’s inbound arm, Panorama Destination, posted 264.6 billion rupiah in revenue last year, a 14.36 per cent increase over 2009’s 231.4 billion rupiah.

Panorama Destination director of operations, Rocky Praputranto, said: “This was a result of the increased number of tourists we catered to last year, and the wider choice of tour packages.” The group catered to 116,419 customers last year, 23.50 per cent more than in 2009.

“The Sumatra, Java overland operations contributed 58.85 per cent of revenue, followed by beach holidays (18.34 per cent), then incentives (16.79 per cent),” Praputranto added.

Panorama Destination is planning to open offices in Makassar and Labuan Bajo this year.

AFTER launching last Friday a promotional website targeting tourists as part of its I Need Spain marketing campaign, the National Tourist Office of Spain is now planning to start a dedicated website for the trade.

National Tourism Office of Spain, Mumbai director, Miguel Nieto-Sandoval, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “The Spain Addicts website is a kind of private network for Spain supporters. We will launch a new website in August for the trade. Travel trade members can log on using their password to access detailed information of the destination.”

The NTO also launched a dedicated Facebook page targeting the India market on June 2. Sandoval said: “India is an emerging market for Spain, the third most important in Asia, after Japan and China. We felt the need (for the Facebook page) as more and more people there are using social networking sites to communicate. It will also help build brand awareness and educate people about Spain.”

The Spain in India Facebook page offers regular updates on events, festivals, music, trade fairs, food and other interesting information on Spain, and will also run regular contests for its visitors.

Meanwhile, the National Tourism Office of Spain in India is planning to work closely with the Indian travel trade over the next months. Sandoval said: “We’ll have personalised visits to individual offices in Mumbai and Delhi, and conduct training for staff. Bengaluru and Chennai might also be included for this.”

The NTO has also engaged in joint marketing activities with the upcoming Bollywood film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, due for release on July 15. Sandoval said: “We joined with the film for a marketing campaign, as the plot was Spain-related and the footage filmed entirely in Spain over two months. It connects with the destination.”

According to IATA, Indian arrivals to Spain in 2010 were 10.1 per cent higher than the year before, while 25,667 Indians visited Spain in the first quarter of 2011, a 49.61 per cent year-on-year increase.

By Anand & Madhura Katti

GLOBAL distribution technology provider Pegasus Solutions has enhanced its RezView NG central reservation system with mobile capabilities.

Dubbed RezView Mobile, the mobile version enables hotels to centrally manage content and rates for all channels, as well as provide a customised mobile experience, on consumers’ mobile devices.

Pegasus Solutions claims that RezView Mobile is more affordable than standalone solutions. Since the mobile offering is operated via a private label website and Internet booking engine, it does not require in-house design, development and maintenance costs on the hotel end.

Mark Peacock, chief information officer of Pegasus Solutions, said that burgeoning opportunities in mobile are proving a challenge for hoteliers with tight technology budgets and limited resources.

“We’ve developed a suite of products that support the two most strategic direct channels for hoteliers… (and) we’ve done this in a way that makes participation in the mobile market accessible for hotels, that previously would have had to devote extensive time and resources to building homegrown mobile solutions or work through costly third-party providers,” he said.

Pegasus Solutions is among a growing pool of travel and tourism players who have plunged into mobile distribution in recent months. Global hotel booking website, Hotels.com, launched in May two mobile apps for iPhone and Andriod smartphones, allowing travellers to search and book more than 20,000 accommodation deals from over 135,000 hotels worldwide.

Hotel chain Dusit International also created a mobile version of Dusit.com for smartphone users. Available in English, Mandarin, Japanese and Arabic, the smartphone-friendly site allows for real-time online bookings, maintains guest history and booking status, and provides users with information on special offers, and hotel information and directions.

– Read more in travel distribution report, TTG Asia, July 22 issue