LUFTHANSA has resumed normal operations in Japan following the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear crisis there.

Having reduced capacity on its Japan routes by 25 per cent in the immediate aftermath of the disaster to maintain load factors of about 80 per cent, the airline’s services to Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo (Narita) are now back on full schedule.

Speaking at a media gathering yesterday to announce the stewardship transition of the German national carrier’s Asia-Pacific operations, outgoing Lufthansa vice president Asia & Pacific, Uwe Mueller, said that many Japanese were starting to book air tickets again, ending a six-week period where the airline had been experiencing cancellations and a downturn on its Japanese routes.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa’s operations in the rest of Asia, excluding Japan, has seen a double-digit increase in business for the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2010.

“Our yearly outlook in Asia, excluding Japan, is going as planned,” said Mueller. “We are confident we will achieve our target of 14 to 15 per cent increase in capacity through employing larger aircraft and increasing frequencies.”

Incoming Lufthansa vice president Asia & Pacific, Steffen Harbath, said expansion in the region would focus on the key markets of China and India. “Asia-Pacific profitability is the backbone of Lufthansa profitability,” he said.

Harbath added that the airline was not planning to launch any new destinations in Asia-Pacific this year.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts is supporting the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) efforts to boost arrivals from the Middle East by offering benefits to Arabian travellers between now and October 31.

Among the incentives are Arabic newspapers and television channels, exclusive family floors and private lounge areas for women and children, halal and regional Arabian cuisine in restaurants and room service, Arabic-speaking guest relations staff, and assisted hospital visits for those in Bangkok on medical programmes.

During the Ramadan period in August, the traditional pre-dawn meal of suhoor will be served. After sunset, the fast-breaking refreshments known as iftar will be provided. Extended spa opening hours and a private evening lounge will also be available.

The benefits will be offered at select Centara properties in Bangkok, Pattaya, Samui, Phuket, Krabi and Chiang Mai.

According to TAT, the Middle East is a fast growing market for Thai tourism, with arrivals to Thailand from the Middle East jumping from 483,983 in 2009 to 595,298 last year, an increase of 23 per cent. The leading Middle East source markets for Thailand are the UAE, Kuwait and Oman.

The recent sharp hike in the number of arrivals can be attributed to greater ease in obtaining visas and increasing direct air links. Currently, citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE can obtain visa-free entry to Thailand, and 12 airlines connect Thailand to nine countries in the Middle East.

WYNDHAM Hotel Group will open and manage its first Ramada Encore Hotel in the region, in Bangkok, on May 20.

Wyndham Hotel Group president and managing director-Asia Pacific, Ken Greene, said: “Bangkok continues to be a growing market that offers great opportunity for Wyndham Hotel Group and its brands.”

Conveniently located on Sukhumvit Soi 10, the Ramada Encore Bangkok will feature 188 guestrooms, a rooftop swimming pool, a fitness centre and two well-equipped meeting rooms.

The hotel will also have two dining options. The Hub offers local and international dishes all day, while Chakra is a rooftop restaurant and bar.

SRI LANKA-based Sunshine Holdings subsidiary Sunshine Travels and Tours last week signed an agreement with Nadathur Far East, an affiliate of Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality Group, to manage and develop new hotels in Sri Lanka.

Sunshine Holdings said in a statement that the move was in line with SilverNeedle’s plans to expand its room base in Asia to 10,000 within five years through three-to-five-star properties.

Sunshine Travels and Tours operates a string of boutique hotels under the Mandira brand in Sri Lanka’s tea-growing hill regions using colonial-styled bungalows.

BUFFALO Tours (Thailand) plans to open an office in Chiang Mai in June and in Phuket by year-end, as the Hanoi-based tour operator is anticipating improved performance from its Thai operations in its second year in the country.

Buffalo Tours (Thailand) general manager, Kenneth Jørgensen, said the company’s Thai operations had suffered due to the political crisis in the country between last March and May, with business achieving lower than expected results for 10 months of the year, and finishing with around 9,000 clients.

Despite a good first quarter so far this year, Buffalo Tours CEO, Tran Trong Kien, said the target for Buffalo Tours (Thailand) in 2011 had been kept conservative at 12,000 customers, which even then would make it the company’s second largest market after Vietnam.

Even though Tran admitted in hindsight that opening a business in Thailand last year had been “a risk in extreme”, Buffalo’s Thai operations are still being expanded in line with the company’s strategy to become a destination expert in terms of product offerings. “It sends a message to the industry that we are committed to Thailand,” he added.

Buffalo Tours also has operations in Cambodia and Laos.

By Sirima Eamtako

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) to jointly promote tourism to Sri Lanka through the airline’s services to Colombo.

SIA’s executive vice president commercial, Mak Swee Wah, said: “The forming of this strategic partnership with SLTPB is testament to our strong commitment to the Sri Lankan market.”

The one-year agreement, effective April 1, will see SIA and SLTPB jointly funding tourism promotion activities such as fam trips targeting trade partners, international media and overseas markets.

According to a statement by SIA, “key markets in the agreement include Australia, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and China. Under the partnership, both parties will also provide each other with branding opportunities in their proprietary marketing channels”.

SIA, which has daily flights between Singapore and Colombo, is the longest-serving foreign airline operating to the Sri Lankan capital, having provided air services between the two destinations for more than 40 years.

ANANTARA will open its first Vietnamese property in autumn with the rebranding of L’Anmien Resort and Spa as Anantara Mui Ne Resort & Spa (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 27).

Located 198km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City on the south-east coast of Vietnam, next to the town of Phan Thiet in the province of Binh Thuan, the resort will have 89 rooms, suites and pool villas, and offer a spa, a beach swimming pool, a fitness centre and a reading lounge.

Banqueting, event and meeting facilities at the resort will include five conference rooms for up to 250 participants, as well as al fresco reception locations.

HILTON Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Hatten Group to operate the DoubleTree by Hilton, Melaka. The deal will see the second DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Malaysia and Hilton’s entry into Malacca.

Scheduled to open in 2014, the 265-room DoubleTree by Hilton, Melaka will form part of a mixed-use development in downtown Malacca, featuring the hotel, extensive retail offerings and residential apartments.

Hilton currently operates five hotels in Malaysia including Hilton Kuala Lumpur, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Hilton Kuching, Hilton Petaling Jaya and the Batang Ai Longhouse Resort, managed by Hilton.