U HOTELS & Resorts will open its first Indonesian property in Bali by early 2012.

The U Paasha Seminyak Bali will feature 103 suites, a rooftop swimming pool and a fitness centre.

There will also be two F&B outlets including an all-day dining venue featuring Mediterranean cuisine, and a New York-style lounge bar.

The resort will offer U’s distinctive service concept: checkouts available till the same time as when the guests checked in, and breakfast whenever/wherever.

Bangkok-based Absolute Hotel Services owns the U Hotels & Resorts brand.

THE TWIN debt crises in the US and Europe that is causing havoc in Asian stock markets has so far left the region’s incentive and corporate meeting business segment unscathed.

BCD Travel Singapore head of MICE and corporate leisure, Desmond Lim, told TTGmice that enquiries and bookings for meetings and incentives were still coming in.

“Things are still proceeding as normal now, and we are seeing a 70 per cent materialisation for enquiries. There are no signs of slowing down,” he said.

Kuala Lumpur-based Feature Tour owner, ET Quah, believes that Asian economies will not feel the full impact of the debt crises in the US and Europe till later.

He also pointed out that the region’s meetings and incentives industry was “still secure”, at least till the end of the year. “Many of this year’s events were planned and confirmed much earlier, and clients are going ahead as planned. None of my clients are reacting negatively yet,” he explained.

However, Quah said it was difficult to predict how the first quarter of next year would turn out. “Planning for 2012 will start this October, and we will be able to see how clients’ budgets will move,” he said.

On the corporate travel front, HRG managing director Asia-Pacific, Greg Treasure, expects some short-term reduction in customer expenditure due to ongoing economic uncertainty, but retains a positive outlook in the long run.

“Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world, and as we have seen with similar events in the past, things bounce back very quickly when sentiment turns positive,” he said.

THAILAND’S Department of Disease Control has identified exposure to insecticide as the likely cause of death of five tourists and a Thai tour guide who stayed at the Downtown Inn Hotel in Chiang Mai.

The department’s five-month investigation covered the six deaths, as well as illness in three other individuals in Chiang Mai between January 11 and February 19.

Investigators concluded that the cause of death was likely exposure to chemicals commonly found in pesticides, based on blood and biological test results. Another indicator was the proximity of the rooms the guests were staying in.

An independent probe by New Zealand’s 60 Minutes revealed earlier that rooms at the Downtown Inn were being sprayed with a potentially lethal toxin called pyrophus – which is banned from indoor use in many countries.

Local police initially dismissed the deaths as food poisoning cases. Most of the victims had similar symptoms, including inflammation of the heart, believed to have been caused by food or water contamination.

Thai health authorities said a panel would be established to introduce stricter measures for the use of chemicals – including pesticides – in hotels and public areas.

INDIA-based OTA MakeMyTrip reported strong financial and operating performance for its fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2011, with stellar results in particular from its air ticketing and hotels & packages segments.

The OTA’s gross bookings for air ticketing and hotels & packages increased by US$89.5 million to US$264.1 million, a 51.2 per cent year-on-year jump. The number of transactions for the same segments increased 54.4 per cent year-on-year.

Deep Kalra, MakeMyTrip chairman and CEO, said: “Our strategic marketing investment this quarter has resulted in very robust growth in transactions and expansion of margins in our hotels & packages business, as we worked to further differentiate ourselves from our competitors.”

Group revenue rose 54.3 per cent year-on-year to US$52 million, while revenue less service costs increased 52.3 per cent year-on-year to US$21.1 million. Net revenue margin for air ticketing and hotels & packages increased to 7.7 per cent year-on-year.

Profits from operating activities improved year-on-year to US$1.8 million, an increase of US$0.5 million over the previous year’s fiscal first quarter. Adjusted operating profit improved to US$1.6 million, versus US$1.4 million previously.

Profit for the period was US$0.8 million, versus US$1.3 million in the previous year’s fiscal first quarter. Adjusted net income was US$1.5 million versus US$1.7 million previously.

Meanwhile, MakeMyTrip entered into a share purchase agreement in July to acquire 19.9 per cent of Gurgaon-based Le Travenues Technology, which owns and operates www.ixigo.com, an online travel metasearch engine.

The OTA will pay US$4.8 million for the purchase of new and existing shares, while SAIF, MakeMyTrip’s largest shareholder, will acquire 56.7 per cent of Le Travenues for US$13.7 million.

MakeMyTrip is expecting to complete the deal this month.

THE PHILIPPINE Department of Tourism (DoT) has decided to try reviving group and FIT traffic from Hong Kong, which plunged in the aftermath of the tour bus hostage incident in Manila a year ago (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 23, 2010).

DoT has appointed JJ Explorer Tours as its marketing representative for Hong Kong and Macau. Former regional director for Tourism Queensland, David Leung, will lead the outfit.

According to Leung, the renewed drive to woo the Hong Kong market will involve fam trips for media, monthly travel trade seminars starting mid-September, as well as a new website.

Leung said: “It’s a good time (after one year) to do something, especially after (the Philippine) government implemented various measures to rebuild tourists’ confidence, such as deploying police to guard key attractions.”

“Apart from traditional leaders, I will be looking for new agents because they may have their own source of clientele.”

Leung added that upcoming destinations like Palawan, Davao and Bohol would be highlighted as part of the initiative. “We will also be pushing FIT packages as the Philippines offers flexibility and convenience with its short flight time,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government has yet to downgrade its black travel warning to the Philippines, and has given no indication as to when it will be lifted.

MAINLAND Chinese tour groups visiting Taiwan could soon be restricted to staying in star-rated accommodation if the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) has its way.

TTB director-general Janice Lai said earlier this month that the measures could go into effect as early as the second half of 2012, and would help reduce the number of disputes over travel arrangements between Chinese tourists and Taiwan hotels.

Travel trade members like Kitty Wong, president of Taipei-based K&A International, have their doubts about whether the system would work.

“You can’t discipline your guests. This is a hotel problem, not a government problem,” she said.

Taiwan hotels have been at odds with the TTB for a full decade now over its attempts to implement its star rating system, modeled after the American Automobile Association’s diamond ratings for evaluating hotels and restaurants.

The star rating system was developed to replace the homegrown Plum Blossom evaluation system, previously abandoned due to low awareness among foreign visitors.

To date, only 116 of Taiwan’s 2,703 hotels have been evaluated. Of these, only 67 were eventually given a star rating.

By Sirima Eamtako

QANTAS Airways is planning to establish two new airlines based in Asia as part of a crucial revamp of its international operations. The move also involves a US$9 billion fleet upgrade and up to 1,000 job cuts.

The Australian flag carrier will launch a new, premium Asian airline, as well as a Japanese low-cost carrier, the latter through a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Qantas subsidiary Jetstar (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 1).

“To do nothing, or tinker around the edges, would only guarantee the end of Qantas International in our home Australian market,” said Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, adding that the airline’s international operation cost base was around 20 percent higher than those of its major rivals.

Joyce did not elaborate on when the new premium airline would be launched, but did say it could be based in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, and would not be majority-owned by Qantas. A source with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters that China was also a possibility for its base of operations.

Qantas’ latest move has confirmed speculation that the carrier had been planning to establish an offshore operation in Asia, involving its pilots and engineers, to cut costs and unprofitable routes (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 18).

Previously, there was also a rumour that Qantas had applied for a Malaysian Air Operators certificate, which was denied at the time by the airline’s spokesperson, Olivia Wirth.

Meanwhile, as part of the revamp, up to 1,000 jobs at Qantas may be made redundant, while the airline’s international network will be altered significantly.

Qantas’ older planes will be retired, and between 106-110 new Airbus A320s (28-32 will be current-generation A320s; the rest will be A320neos) will be acquired for around US$9.4 billion.

Some of these new aircraft will be operated by Jetstar Japan and the new premium Asia-based airline.

Qantas has also delayed the delivery of its final six A380s for up to six years.

CENTARA Hotels and Resorts is pressing ahead with plans to operate 85 hotels by 2015, and to launch a budget hotel brand by end-2011.

Group president and CEO, Gerd Steeb, said the number of managed and signed properties in Centara’s portfolio might double within the next five years.

The Thai-based hotel chain currently operates 32 properties – with a further 29 under construction – under six mid- to upscale brands in Thailand, the Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Also in the works are ongoing negotiations to manage a property in China within the year, as well as the debut of its budget brand concept and prototype – after a two-year delay – with the first property to be developed under a joint venture in Thailand.

Centara registered 2.56 billion baht (US$85.7 million) in revenue for the first half of 2011, a year-on-year increase of 21.3 per cent.

In Thailand alone, Centara recorded an average occupancy of 71 per cent in the first quarter and 58 per cent in the second quarter, higher than the country’s average of 65 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively.

Citing high occupancy in July and strong bookings for the rest of the year, Ronachit Mahatthanaphruet, senior vice president of finance and management for Central Plaza Hotel Public Company, the chain’s parent company, said Centara was expecting 80 to 90 per cent occupancy in its Thai properties for the second half of 2011, and 65 per cent average occupancy for the whole year.

By Sirima Eamtako

AIRASIA yesterday launched its new Philippines affiliate based at Clark International Airport, and took delivery of its first Airbus A320 aircraft.

According to AirAsia Philippines CEO Marianne Hontiveros, the airline is not expected to start commercial operations until October, when it will receive final regulatory approval from the government.

AirAsia Philippines will operate flights to Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Bangkok at the offset. Its fleet is expected to expand to four Airbus A320s by June next year.

AirAsia already operates daily services from Clark to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.

Meanwhile, Hontiveros said there were plans to turn Clark into a hub for AirAsia’s services to the United States.

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) posted positive first-half 2011 figures, with Asia-Pacific RevPAR up by seven per cent, including rate growth of 3.7 per cent.

Excluding Japan (32 properties) where the earthquake and resultant events negatively impacted growth, IHG’s RevPAR in the region grew 11.6 per cent. Greater China was IHG’s strongest-performing market, with RevPAR up 12.7 per cent, including rate growth of 7.1 per cent.

In the second quarter alone, Asia-Pacific RevPAR grew 4.4 per cent, with 2.7 per cent rate growth. Excluding Japan, second quarter RevPAR growth was 9.8 per cent.

The group’s Asia-Pacific revenue increased 14 per cent to US$156 million and operating profit increased 31 per cent to US$46 million. This was driven by strong RevPAR growth and a five per cent increase in year-on-year room count, led by Greater China, up 11 per cent.

Managed operating profit increased by US$9 million to US$39 million, despite the US$3 million impact from the natural disasters in Japan and New Zealand.

IHG signed 4,978 rooms (22 hotels) in Asia-Pacific during the half, comprising nine hotels in Greater China; four hotels in India as part of the deal with Duet Hotels India; six hotels in Indonesia and three hotels in Thailand.

4,538 rooms (15 hotels) were opened in Asia-Pacific, including three hotels in India and nine in Greater China, where IHG now has 154 hotels in operation and 142 in the pipeline.