PASSENGER ferry services kickstarted between Sri Lanka and India last week, after being suspended in the 1980s due to the Sri Lankan civil war, will be a boon for cross-straits tourism, according to members of the Indian travel trade.

The cruise ship Scotia Prince, operated by Dubai-headquartered Flemingo Liners, will ferry passengers twice-weekly between Tuticorin in India and Colombo in Sri Lanka. Tuticorin is the closest Indian port to Colombo, and the travel time between the two cities is about 14 hours.

Flemingo has obtained a 10-year concession to run the service, while Star Destination Management has been appointed as Scotia Prince’s GSA.

Travel Agents Association of India Tamil Nadu chapter chairman, R. Venkatachalam, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Tourism industries in both Tamil Nadu and Colombo will definitely improve with these cruise services.”

“Many tourists will happily utilise this nominal-fare, five-star cruise service to Colombo. Indian tourists can go on a short trip to Sri Lanka, and similarly, Sri Lankans can visit South India for pilgrimage and tourist attractions,” he added.

One-way fares on the ship, which can accommodate 1,044 passengers on its nine decks, start from US$51 and peak at US$317 for a platinum cabin.

Travel Services CEO, A V S Ramani, said: “Travelling by sea to a nearby international destination will be a great attraction. There’s a huge market for this cruise, especially from places in southern Tamil Nadu like Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Trichy and Kanyakumari.”

“If the cruise company can get the right publicity, it will be able to tap business from across Tamil Nadu.”

By Anand & Madhura Katti

DOMESTIC passengers departing from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines flights will now have the the option of checking-in at three Delhi Airport Metro Express Line terminals in the Indian capital.

Air India and Jet Airways passengers can check-in at all three terminals – New Delhi, Shivaji Stadium and Dhaula Kuan, while Kingfisher Airline passengers may only avail of the check-in facility at New Delhi station.

New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium stations offer baggage check-in services, while Dhaula Kuan station only offers check-in services without baggage.

The three airlines will accept passengers and baggage not earlier than six hours, and not later than two-and-a-half hours before scheduled departure.

Jet Airways mentioned in a press statement that it was planning to introduce similar services for its international passengers, subject to clearance from regulatory authorities.

By Anand & Madhura Katti

SINGAPORE-based Dreamscape Journeys has been appointed by US-based RocketShip Tours to market and sell suborbital space flights to high-end customers in Asia.

Dreamscape Journeys CEO, John Sutherland, said: “We are sole representatives of the Lynx programme in Singapore. RocketShip Tours are the company marketing Lynx, and we are delighted to be representing them in Asia.”

The Lynx, a two-seater piloted space transport vehicle built by XCOR Aerospace, will take a participant on a half-hour suborbital space flight. Starting from a standing stop on a traditional airport runway, the craft takes off under rocket power, accelerating to Mach 2.5 as it rockets up to 60km in under four minutes, followed by a 25-minute glide to a safe landing on the takeoff runway.

“This particular space adventure is going to attract a lot of attention due to the safety-first approach from XCOR and the affordability of the programme,” said Sutherland.

“It’s going to be interesting to see who wants to be among the first in Asia to experience it, and I’m also taking enquiries for incentive groups of up to 10 people,” he added.

Dreamscape’s five-day programme currently starts in Phoenix, Arizona. There, customers will be met by representatives and taken to a resort at Camelback Mountain, where they will prepare for the voyage through astronaut training, a medical examination and a fit up for the space suit required for the flight.

Once the training is completed, they will embark on the flight piloted by retired US air force colonel, NASA Astronaut and test pilot, Colonel Rick Searfoss.

The programme is now available for bookings, and first flights may take place as early as 2012, but more likely in 2013. The cost of the five-day programme is US$95,000 per person, and a deposit of US$20,000 will secure a place.

For more information, visit the website www.dreamscapejourneys.com or contact John Sutherland at john@dreamscapejourneys.com

THAILAND officially submitted its bid to organise World Expo 2020 at the 149th General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris last week.

This comes less than two months after Turkey tabled the first bid on May 2.

Both countries made their initial presentations at the assembly, which was attended by representatives from 157 BIE member countries. Thailand has proposed Ayuthaya as its host city (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 5), while Turkey has suggested Izmir.

Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau president, Akapol Sorasuchart, said the event presented an opportunity for Thailand to create a good first impression on representatives from member countries, who will be casting votes to pick the World Expo venue.

Akapol said Thailand would begin its campaign to secure votes from member countries ahead of its second presentation, scheduled to take place at the 150th General Assembly for BIE in November.

The bidding deadline for World Expo 2020 is November 2. Other countries considering whether to bid to host World Expo 2020 include the US (Houston, San Francisco), Australia (Brisbane), Brazil (Rio de Janiero, Sao Paulo), Canada (Montreal), Denmark (Copenhagen), Russia (St Petersburg) and UAE (Dubai).

The BIE will announce the host city in 2014.

By Sirima Eamtako

THE SOFITEL So Bangkok will open early next year, and is banking on its Apple-based digital hotel entertainment system and service directory to give it a competitive edge.

All 238 rooms will offer an Apple Mac mini computer, a high-definition 40-inch flat panel television, a wireless keyboard and trackpad, and high-speed Internet access.

The Apple Mac mini will function as a multimedia centre, giving guests access to digital television and radio channels, movies, a music library, a DVD and CD player, and the ability to sync with personal iPods, iPhones and iPads.

The hotel, located on the corner of Rama IV and Sathorn Road, will join a host of new upscale properties, including the 224-key The St Regis Bangkok that opened in April, and the 414-room W Bangkok, slated to open middle of next year.

THE RECRUITMENT process to fill three key roles at PATA is well underway, according to the organisation’s interim CEO, Bill Calderwood.

The first interviews for the roles of director of marketing & membership and regional director Asia will be held this week. “I’m hopeful that we’ll be in a position to make a decision by mid-July, and then have someone in place by the end of August for both positions,” said Calderwood.

Meanwhile, candidates interested in the position of CEO have until the end of June to submit their applications, after which PATA will work together with an executive search team to select the successful individual. The aim is to have someone identified, appointed and in place by October, said Calderwood.

To ensure that the new appointees will be able to hit the ground running, Calderwood explained that PATA was currently working on a series of strategies and plans that would allow them to turn April’s strategic focus paper into more concrete deliverables.

At the heart of this was what Calderwood referred to as the Strategic Link Programme, which will ensure that different components of PATA’s service delivery – from insights and research, to events, advocacy, marketing and communications – focus on the same issues identified as being most relevant to PATA members.

“This is the way in which the strategic plan is evolving,” he said. “I want to see PATA become one team, with one voice, one message and one focus. That focus has got to be about building the business.”

Calderwood said he was currently working on 15 different projects for PATA. The projects include looking at how to improve the organisation’s membership structure, setting up new committees, establishing the new Outreach Programme (which will see PATA hold highly-focused events in key ‘world cities’), Chapter development, communications, developing organisational structure, research and insights, providing education and training, as well as setting up tasks forces – of which two are now up and running (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 12).

While many of these plans are still in their infancy, Calderwood said he was already seeing a change in attitude towards PATA. “In recent weeks, I’ve spoken at various conferences, and it’s been very interesting to hear the reaction of companies who have not engaged with PATA in the past, but now are seeing it from a different perspective,” said Calderwood.

“They’re now talking about joining up as members,” he said. “It’s not because I’m a better salesperson, but because we’re talking in a simple language that people can understand. We’re talking from the consumer perspective, rather than perhaps from more of a production perspective.”

By Catherine Monthienvichienchai

SOME Singapore travel agents are expecting a short-term drop in bookings to Australia and New Zealand due to the ash cloud from the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano in Chile, as airlines plying the routes between the three countries continue to see service disruptions.

Alica Seah, senior vice president (marketing & public relations), CTC Travel, said: “Some of our tour groups as well as independent travellers have been affected by the ash cloud. It will take about a week or so for us to gain a clearer grasp of the situation, but we expect that new bookings will not be made in the next two weeks.”

Margaret Low, managing director, Airelated Travel, said: “More than a week ago, we had a couple of enquiries, but none of them have turned into actual bookings. There have been zero bookings since the ash cloud, and travellers seem to be adopting a wait-and-see attitude.”

Singapore Airlines (SIA) was today forced to divert its SQ297 Singapore-Christchurch flight to Auckland. The return flight, SQ298 from Christchurch to Singapore, was also unable to operate as planned.

SIA said in a statement on its website that accommodation has been arranged for affected customers in both Auckland and Christchurch.

The airline added: “At this time, all other flights to and from New Zealand and Australia are operating.”

Qantas’ services to and from New Zealand were non-operational today. The airline said in a statement on its website that its New Zealand operations for June 17 would be confirmed by this evening.

Aside from a few cancelled flights due to the ongoing disruptions across its network, the majority of Qantas’ domestic (Australian) services were operating as scheduled, and are due to operate as per normal on June 17 and 18.

Jetstar’s services between Singapore and Auckland, which were cancelled earlier today, have now resumed, with their first flight leaving from Singapore this evening.

The low-cost carrier’s Perth-Singapore flights are operating as planned.

All the carrier’s domestic (Australian) services are running as per normal, and no changes are expected tomorrow.

WHILE recognising the good foresight of the UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 13), tourism stakeholders attending the recent 10th World Committee on Tourism Ethnics (WCTE) session in Bali believe that implementing the code in the private sector will not be plain sailing.

Stuppa Indonesia executive director, Wiendu Nuryanti, said: “The code of ethics may apply universally, but the effective implementation is easier said than done. How do we encourage the industry to adopt these guidelines?”

Brunei Darussalam director of tourism, Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, was another who questioned whether the UNWTO would have the authority to enforce the code across the board.

Floressa Wisata Bali president director, Paul Edmundus, meanwhile, was unsure whom should be tasked to deal with unethical practices by foreign investors who violate the guidelines.

UNWTO secretary general, Taleb Rifai, said: “The codes are implemented voluntarily by the member countries. The regulation and enforcement of the guidelines will take place at the individual country’s government level.”

Rifai added that the WCTE’s role was to convince the tourism industry that they would get better business through successful implementation of the code.

WCTE executive member, I Gede Ardika, said: “It is through dialogue with the industry that will we be able to accelerate the implementation (process).”

PHILIPPINE leisure and gaming company Belle Corp is planning a common stock offering next quarter to raise four to five billion pesos (US$93 to 116 million) for its Belle Grande Manila Bay project within the upcoming Entertainment City Manila.

Also known as Pagcor City, Entertainment City Manila is a US$15 billion gaming and entertainment complex sitting on an 8km2 piece of reclaimed land on Manila Bay, along Roxas Boulevard and Macapagal Avenue. It is the largest project of its kind in the Philippines.

The Belle Grande Manila Bay project is worth US$750 million. Belle is partnering with Leisure and Resorts World Corp, who put up about US$200 million in capital and will run Belle’s casino operations.

Willy Ocier, vice chairman of Belle Corp, said that the fully-built Belle Grande Manila Bay would occupy 300,000m2, up from the originally-intended 220,000m2.

Belle Grande will offer 19,626m2 of casino gaming space, including 1,600 slot machines and over 300 gaming tables. A 6,000m2 VIP playing area will be operational by late 2013.

Belle Grande’s soft opening is slated for second quarter/mid 2012. An initial 100 rooms should be ready by December 2012, while 1,000 rooms will be operational by end 2013. One of the hotels will be an 86-suite five-star facility for VIP guests, while another four- to five-star hotel will offer 159 rooms.

Belle hired HSAI Raintree in April to manage one of the hotel towers. HSAI Raintree manages the Discovery chain of hotels in the Philippines. Another hotel management company will be brought in to take care of the four remaining condotel tower projects, named Belle Grande Suites, with a total of 466 units.

Three other integrated casino projects have qualified for construction and gaming licenses within Entertainment City Manila. Two of these deals were inked by Genting Malaysia, which runs Resortsworld Manila, and Kazuo Okada, a business partner of Steve Wynn. Another Filipino company holds the remaining contract.