BANGKOK Airways will be launching a five-weekly service to Bangalore, its second Indian destination after Mumbai, starting on September 26.

The airline will be using the Airbus A320 with 162 seats in a single configuration on the Bangkok-Bangalore route.

Bangkok Airways president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth said that the new service was expected to run at a load factor of about 60 per cent in the beginning. The airline is planning to increase flight frequency to daily starting in December.

The airline launched the six-weekly Bangkok-Mumbai service in March, and has been operating on the route using the 144-seater A319 that features a two-class configuration of business and economy seats.

By Sirima Eamtako

SINGAPORE outbound travel agents are adopting an optimistic but cautious stance as the local outbound market shows signs of revival.

Agencies previously reported that outbound travel from Singapore was muted in the first half of 2011, as uncertainty brought on by the string of regional disasters and the general election kept Singaporeans firmly at home (TTG Asia e-daily, July 4).

Stella Chow, manager advertising and marketing division, outbound tour department, Hong Thai Travel Services, said the outbound market was picking up, but had yet to make a full recovery.

According to Chow, all segments are seeing marginal growth, with longhaul destinations in Europe and the US posting better gains than short or mediumhaul destinations.

Most agencies TTG Asia e-daily spoke to were adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude on promotions and marketing campaigns to bolster sales.

A spokesperson for SA Tours, Eva Wu, said: “We are optimistic about the prospects for the Singapore outbound market, but we have to be realistic at the same time.”

“The market is still reeling from the after-effects of the Japan disaster and other shocks. We do not expect the market to be as buoyant as it was last year.”

Nonetheless, the outlook is decidedly rosy for at least for one player in the market.

ASA Travel’s head of marketing and communications, Eileen Oh, is looking forward to a “good showing at the upcoming NATAS fair” in view of the performance of its pre-NATAS sales event last weekend.

“Our takings for the fair last weekend hit a five-year record. We generated in one day the revenue it took us two days to earn the year before,” she said. “There is certainly a lot of pent-up demand.”

– Read more in TTG Asia, August 5 issue

ASA Holidays launched on July 10 a new budget travel subsidiary targeted at youth travellers and retirees.

The new addition, Air One Aviation (A1A), offers low-cost group tours, as well as free-and-easy packages.

Eileen Oh, head, marketing & communications, ASA holidays, said that A1A was started to garner a share of the burgeoning Singapore outbound budget travel market, especially to destinations in China and South-east Asia.

“More young people are backpacking abroad and they desire more flexibility, but they are on a tight budget,” she explained.

“Retirees, on the other hand, are looking for value-for-money packages, but are not savvy enough to search for trips online, and are more comfortable dealing with travel agents.”

A1A’s packages comprise both land and air components. Second-tier national airlines, such as TransAsia and Hong Kong Airlines, have been roped in to supply flights.

Even though Oh declined to give any specific figures, she did reveal that sales have been promising so far, with “long queues during A1A’s opening day”.

Chan Brothers launched a low-cost travel division, Asia Global Vacation, in 2007

MEGA Maldives, the country’s sole international carrier, recently launched non-stop Beijing-Male flights, adding to scheduled Shanghai and Hong Kong services.

The airline, focusing on the lucrative China outbound market, began operations earlier this year, with flights to Hong Kong and then Shanghai.

The carrier operates a total of 18 flights a month, with six flights to each of the three Chinese destinations.

According to Muzaffar Naeem, Mega Maldives’ spokesperson, flights on all three routes are fully booked (over 90 per cent load factor) until September.

He said additional frequencies were being planned for September and October, while a fourth route to Seoul is scheduled to launch in September through the lease of a second aircraft.

Mega Maldives operates a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with a 12 business-class and 252 economy-class seat configuration.

WORLD-class hotels and MICE facilities will soon be available in Kinmen, a cluster of islands near the Chinese city of Xiamen and governed by Taiwan.

Two projects have been earmarked for the destination, with one already underway.

Last month, a subsidiary of Xiamen Huatian Group started construction on a five-star resort next to Kinmen’s Tai Lake. This is the first time a China-registered business is being allowed to invest in Taiwan’s hotel sector.

The yet unnamed resort is being financed with the help of several local investors. All funds are believed to be from private sources.

The new resort will include MICE facilities, as will a second project being planned by Kinmen County’s Industrial Department and Investment Promotion Committee (IDIPC).

IDIPC is in the process of sourcing investors for Shuitou International Harbor Economic and Trade Park, which it hopes will revitalise Kinmen’s key port of Shuitou.

IDPIC CEO, Thomas Xiao, expects construction to begin in 2013 and finish by 2016.

Xiao said Kinmen lacked modern hotel facilities, and pointed out that the only available MICE facility was a 300-seat venue at National Quemoy University.

By Glenn Smith

KHIRI Travel will kick-start Myanmar operations by opening an office in Yangon next month.

Willem Niemeijer, Khiri Travel Group CEO and co-founder, said the timing was perfect for the expansion. “People around the world are starting to look at Myanmar with fresh eyes. The time is right,” he said.

Edwin Briels has been appointed as general manager of Khiri Myanmar.

He joins Khiri Travel from Air Mandalay, and previously worked for Exotissimo Travel in Myanmar as well as Balloons over Bagan. Between 2007 and 2010, Briels was general manager of Exotissimo Thailand.

Briels said: “Khiri Myanmar will open with many innovative travel offerings from around the fringes of the country. Being Khiri, our approach will be to deliver an innovative and responsible take on each place.”

Khiri Travel currently has seven offices in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.

SILKAIR’S impending launch of direct flights from Singapore to Koh Samui (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 14) is expected to help relieve the room glut on the Thai resort island.

Centara Hotels and Resorts sales and marketing senior vice-president, Chris Bailey, believes the new services will help to alleviate Koh Samui’s oversupply of rooms.

Leon Pink, general manager of the recently-opened Outrigger Koh Samui Resort and Spa, said he saw positive signs going forward, especially with the new direct link from Singapore.

According to the Thai Hotels Association (THA), Koh Samui has an inventory of about 20,000 keys, but is served by slightly more than 3,000 seats a day.

The 78-villa Banyan Tree Samui, 75-villa W Retreat Koh Samui, 81-villa Outrigger Koh Samui Resort and Spa, and 61-key Akyra Chura Samui have all opened over the past year.

The 79-room InterContinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam Resort is scheduled to reopen in December, following a US$15 million renovation.

New hotels under development include the 118-room Conrad Koh Samui Resort and Spa, 180-room Vana Belle Samui Resort and Spa, and 81-pool villa Mövenpick Resort and Spa Mae Nam Beach Koh Samui.

While hoteliers in Koh Samui are hoping to see additional airlift, THA believes that hotel zoning is necessary to solve the island’s woes in the long run.

AIRASIA has refuted news reports that it was planning to shift its regional headquarters from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said the group’s regional base would continue to be Malaysia, and that the company would remain listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

The office to be opened in Jakarta, called AirAsia ASEAN, was explained as a means to broaden the airline’s branding as a Truly Asean carrier, and to extend its outreach to various regional groups interested in tourism and aviation.

The office’s location in the Indonesian capital is expected to enhance AirAsia’s relationship with the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat, and help the carrier get across its ideas on developing regional aviation and tourism.

“We believe that having our Asean representative office in Jakarta will also help our Group coordinate more effectively with the Indonesian authorities and interact more closely with the Indonesian people,” an airline spokesperson said.

Paradise Group of Companies executive chairman, Pardip Kukreja, said AirAsia’s plan to open a representative office in Jakarta was a very logical thing to do.

“Indonesia is a big market with a big population, and the office will tap the country’s potential,” he said.

By N. Nithiyananthan

MORE beach resorts in Myanmar, which traditionally close shop during the monsoon season from May to October, are electing to remain open due to an increase in bookings.

Flight services have also been operational, as opposed to being cancelled or having frequencies reduced.

Oliver E Soe Thet, owner of Laguna Lodge Eco Hotel on Ngapali Beach, said the property had received twice as many bookings as last year. He added that most of the hotels that were operational were offering discounts of up to 50 per cent during the monsoon.

Four hotels have chosen to stay open at Ngapali Beach, up from two last year.

At Ngwe Saung Beach, nine out of 22 hotels are open for business, according to Silver View Hotel director, Aung Htay Linn.

Ocean Paradise is offering a 10 per cent discount on bookings during the monsoon. Its operations manager, Tun Zaw Oo, said the hotel was targeting budget-conscious local travellers.

At Chaungtha Beach, where bookings are up about 10 per cent, some 15 hotels are offering discounts of about 15 to 20 per cent.