THE NATIONAL Tourism Council Malaysia (NTCM) will hold its inaugural B2C luxury tourism fair from May 20 to 22 in Kuala Lumpur.

NTCM president and Lifestyle & Luxury Tourism Fair chairman Shamsul Falak Abd Kadir said the fair would feature travel products and experiences for affluent customers, with exhibitors displaying a range of luxury properties, spa, cruise, golf and tour packages in Malaysia and abroad.

He added that 70 of the 100 available booths had already been taken up.

Apple Vacations & Conventions managing director, Desmond Lee, intends to sell tour packages to Scandinavia and Iceland, among other destinations. “We decided to participate, as the fair targets a very niche market. We believe sales will be good for we have seen a pick up in the luxury segment since 2010.”

Ministry of Culture and Tourism Indonesia’s country manager for Malaysia, Shafie Obet, said the Indonesian NTO was participating in the fair to raise awareness in the Malaysian market of luxury products in Indonesia. “We want to dispel the misconception that Indonesia only has mid-range products for the middle-income segment.”

Other participating NTOs include Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tourism Australia and Macau Government Tourist Office.

UNITED Business Media (UBM), which is buying SATTE for UBM Asia from India’s Cross Section Publications, foresees the travel trade show, already the largest in India, becoming twice as big in three years.

In an interview, UBM Asia senior vice president, Michael Duck, said that apart from leveraging on the expertise of the existing India team, the company would also use UBM’s own operational expertise to bring about economies of scale and best practices to SATTE in areas such as marketing communications, stand contracting and global PR.

UBM owns and/or organises 14 exhibitions in India, running the gamut of industries, from food and fashion to pharmaceuticals. It also produces at least six publications and medical directories. It has five offices there, in Mumbai (the India HQ), Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

Duck said the partnership that Messe Berlin had with SATTE would continue. The show is branded as “in cooperation with ITB Berlin”, and Duck said following first meetings with Messe Berlin and the acquisition announcement, “they (Messe Berlin) had agreed to continue to support SATTE, as they believe the India travel market plays an important part of the ever-growing industry”.

“We at UBM Asia look forward to also seek opportunities/ways to improve and continue the relationship with them,” he added.

The only problem to growth is finding suitable venues in Delhi as convention space, he said. However, he foresees the problem to ease, as more hotels with convention facilities open in Delhi.

Other than space, the sky’s the limit for SATTE. “There is great hunger among India’s wealthy to explore new countries, so the outbound growth will continue to be good. But it is also important to position the show as inbound, as India is changing so much – look at the quality of airports, hotels and the increase in professionalism of the tourism industry staff. And we’re coming into it at the early stages still of the market, so there is tremendous potential,” Duck said.

Currently, SATTE’s size is around 6,500m2 nett. It is held in Delhi every January. This year’s edition, the 18th, saw close to 600 exhibitors and 9,300 attendees from more than 40 countries.

UBM is expected to complete the acquisition by the end of April following Indian regulatory approval.

MARRIOTT International’s largest hotel brand, Courtyard by Marriott, has opened its first hotel in Indonesia, the Courtyard Bali Nusa Dua.

The 250-room hotel is owned by PT Peninsula Bali Resort and will operate under a long-term management agreement with Marriott International, with Philip Spencer as general manager.

“We are very excited about entering into the Indonesian market,” said Janis Milham, vice president and global brand manager for Courtyard by Marriott.

“Global expansion is very important to Courtyard, as 25 per cent of our pipeline is outside of the United States. We have experienced significant growth in Asia recently where we are serving both business and leisure travellers.”

Over the next few years, Courtyard is planning to enter into several new countries, including Cambodia, Romania and Jamaica. The overall portfolio is expected to total more than 1,000 hotels in 40 countries by 2013.

WYNDHAM Hotel Group is strengthening its position in India, with its first Ramada Encore hotel to open in Bangalore at the end of 2011. The brand debut follows recent announcements of the chain’s expansion plans in the country.

The group’s first Wyndham Hotels and Resorts property for the market will be unveiled this year. It will also introduce the Days Inn brand, with three new hotels to open over the next few years.

Owned by J.A.K. Associates, the eight-storey Ramada Encore will be located 15 minutes from the city centre. Geared towards value-conscious guests, the lifestyle boutique hotel will have 90 rooms featuring contemporary décor.

Ken Greene, Wyndham Hotel Group president and managing director – Asia-Pacific, said: “India is a strong growth market for us with many opportunities, especially in the mid-scale space.

“The launch of the Ramada Encore brand allows us to diversify our offerings in the country and provide travellers with yet another choice within Wyndham Hotel Group.”

Ramada Encore’s amenities include a fitness centre, a multi-cuisine restaurant, a lounge bar and meeting facilities.

THAI Airways International (THAI) has temporarily shifted one of its three daily Bangkok-Tokyo (Narita) flights to serve Bangkok-Incheon due to poor performance on the Japan route.

THAI president Piyasvasti Amranand said the Bangkok-Tokyo (Narita) service, which normally enjoys about 90 per cent load factor during this period, had recorded just 50 per cent over the past two weeks.

The daily Bangkok-Tokyo (Narita) flight will be suspended from March 27 to April 26, and THAI will instead operate a special Bangkok-Incheon daily flight from April 5 to 26.

South Korea has progressively become a more popular destination for outbound Thais, and the airline is hoping that the special flight will help make up for the loss of revenue on the Japan route, said Piyasvasti.

THAI’s other services to Japan, including to Tokyo (Haneda), Fukuoka, Nagoya and Osaka, remain unchanged.

By Sirima Eamtako

APPLE Vacations & Conventions will organise a charter service from Kuala Lumpur to Busan to coincide with the Hari Raya Puasa festive period beginning in August. This is the company’s first charter to South Korea.

Departing on August 27 and returning September 2, the 288-seat flight will utilise Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) A330-300 aircraft.

Senior manager, procurement & marketing, Ellyza Lee said hot demand on the Kuala Lumpur-Incheon sector made it difficult to get seats on MAS and Korean Air during the peak outbound travel period.

Last year, during the same one-week Hari Raya period, the company managed to sell 20 series group departures to Incheon.

Its all-inclusive package will include tours to Busan, Seoul and Jeju Island.

KOH SAMUI’S air and sea access will begin to operate again, with the last backlog of stranded air passengers expected to be cleared within the morning.

Bangkok Airways, which operates the largest number of daily flights to and from Koh Samui, said there were about 80 passengers who remained today. Thirty-six flights on Monday and 54 flights on Tuesday were cancelled due to bad weather that left about 2,000 passengers stranded. The airline resumed operations yesterday with 38 flights, including six special flights, between Bangkok and Koh Samui.

Thai Airways International also resumed its twice-daily Bangkok-Koh Samui flights yesterday and added one extra return flight to help clear its own backlog of 600 passengers.

Both airlines are expected to resume normal operations today. Bangkok Airways will operate 56 flights, or at its normal daily capacity, including 33 flights on the Bangkok-Koh Samui service and a daily flight each on the Koh Samui-Hong Kong and Koh Samui-Singapore routes.

Some ferry services from Koh Samui to the mainland’s pier in Surat Thani have also resumed since late afternoon yesterday, said Saiphayom Somsuk, chief of Koh Samui Tourism Coordination Centre, Tourism Authority of Thailand.

She said tourists could continue their journey to Bangkok by air at Surat Thani Airport, which also resumed operations yesterday, or by road, which is almost back to normal conditions. However, rail service remains closed.

Saiphayom added that more ferry and katamaran services would be operated today from Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao to Surat Thani and Chumphon on the mainland, though these would not be running at the normal capacity.

By Sirima Eamtako

OUTBOUND agents are saying that Singapore Airline’s (SIA) Singapore-Sao Paulo service that debuted Monday will open up demand for Brazil as a holiday destination. The demand is expected to peak as the 2014 FIFA World Cup draws closer.

The new route will help make airfares to Brazil more competitive and affordable, said Asia-Euro Holidays’ product manager, longhual, Rosemary Yeo.

“The prohibitive cost of holidaying in Brazil is the main reason why Singaporeans have been reluctant to head there,” Yeo explained. “The airfare from Singapore to Brazil is usually about S$3,000 (US$2,370), so a very basic seven-day trip to Brazil would cost at least S$5,000 per person.”

Yeo expects the improved access to spur partners Trafalgar Tours and Insight Vacations into creating more Brazil itineraries for her agency to sell.

Bonvo Travel (Singapore) travel consultant – channel sales/leisure, Florence Ho, said interest in Brazil had so far only been for business travel, but that the World Cup is expected to change this.

“We will definitely be creating tour packages that feature the World Cup. Soccer fans usually book as far as three years ahead and I think we may start to get some enquiries later this year.”

SIA’s thrice-weekly service via Barcelona to Sao Paulo, SIA’s first port-of-call in South America, operates on a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

KOP Hotels & Resorts, which has most of its properties in Europe, will debut its upscale, family-friendly Montigo Resorts brand in Batam this year with the opening of the Montigo Resorts Nongsa on November 11.

The group’s vice president marketing and brand development, Anton Kilayko, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “While the product is premium, with all the trappings of a luxury resort, our rates will begin at an approachable level.”

Opening rates begin at S$350 (US$277), excluding service charge and taxes.

The resort will offer 88 villas – each with two bedrooms, a plunge pool, an al-fresco dining area, a living room and a sky terrace ideal for parties – as well as spaces for teambuilding activities and creative meetings.

The resort is expected to draw a small- to mid-sized MICE crowd during the weekdays and holidaymakers over the weekends. Singapore and Indonesia are expected to be the key market sources, with the rest of the guests drawn from South-east Asia, South Korea and Japan.

KOP will partner with its nautical hospitality arm, Aqua Voyage, to provide transportation between Batam and Singapore’s Tanah Merah ferry terminal.

JEBSEN Travel & Tours Services will be organising a fam tour for travel agents, corporate clients and the media when Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Voyager docks in Port Klang on April 14.

The 700-guest luxury vessel is making her maiden call to South-east Asia (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 13).

Currently on a 165-day World Cruise, the ship began its journey in San Francisco on January 13 and will complete its itinerary in London on June 7.

Embarkation points in South-east Asia are Bangkok on April 9 and Phuket on April 16. Ports of call in the region include Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Port Klang and Penang. It will then sail to Chennai, Sri Lanka, Cochin, Mumbai and onwards to Europe via the Middle East.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ representative in Malaysia, Jebsen Travel & Tours Services managing director Lim Chee Tong, said the liner had all-inclusive fares and accommodation onboard would be suites with balconies.