THE THAILAND Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has urged the newly-elected Pheu Thai-led coalition government to restore the country’s image as a safe and secure destination.

Following the general election last weekend, the TCEB is hoping that the relatively peaceful political climate in the country will continue, and that barring further crisis, the local MICE industry will be able to sustain a 25-30 per cent annual growth rate from next year onwards.

TCEB president Aksapol Sorasuchart said that the Thai MICE industry had missed out on more than 100 billion baht (US$3.3 billion) in revenue between 2008 and 2010, as the uncertain political environment had affected the confidence of event organisers and travellers to the country.

The TCEB is expecting the local MICE industry to grow by 10-15 per cent this year, with 720,000 foreign MICE visitors and 57 billion baht in revenue.

By Sirima Eamtako

ASEAN is well on its way to developing its five-year tourism roadmap. The region’s NTOs are starting to promote their Visit South East Asia: Feel the Warmth marketing campaign, and are seeking to double the annual budget from members to US$20,000 a year over the next four years.

According to Thanittha Maneechote, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, the various NTOs had already endorsed a tourism roadmap template during the 34th ASEAN NTOs Meetings event in Luang Prabang last month. This template will pave the way for the official use of the slogan and logo for the marketing campaign.

With detailed marketing activities to be discussed at a special meeting of the marketing communications working group in October, the ASEAN NTOs also requested that a US$23,000 budget be allocated to market and promote the region under the campaign.

In addition, the NTOs sought US$5,000 to fund the production of a promotional video with the theme ASEAN: A World of Wonders and Diversity, as well as proposed that the annual US$10,000 contribution per country be doubled between 2012 and 2015.

The five-year tourism blueprint is targeting 86.7 million arrivals to the region by 2015.

By Sirima Eamtako

SINGAPORE outbound travel to Taiwan is flourishing, thanks in part to the proliferation of media programmes and advertising showcasing Taiwan’s historical and cultural treasures, as well as its leisure offerings.

Closer trading and bilateral ties, as well as increased air links, have also played an integral role in boosting outbound traffic.

Vanessa Shih, head, Taiwan Representative Office in Singapore, speaking at a press conference for TransAsia Airways recently, said that the two countries “shared a conviction to open skies”.

This was demonstrated earlier this year, when Singapore and Taiwan moved towards establishing a bilateral open skies policy that would remove capacity limits for flights between the two countries (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 18).

TransAsia Airways was the latest carrier to leverage on this newly-forged pact when it launched a daily service between Taipei and Singapore last week (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 5).

The Taiwan Visitors Association and the Taiwan Representative Office in Singapore have various marketing initiatives to support the six airlines now plying the Singapore-Taipei route. A new marketing programme that rewards every two travellers whose combined age reaches 100 with a gift of US$100, will be launched soon.

According to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, some 241,334 Singaporeans visited Taiwan last year, an increase of 24 per cent over 2009. From January to April this year, the number of Singapore visitors to Taiwan grew 22 per cent – the largest growth among foreign arrivals.

Shih said the Taiwanese NTO was targeting a 20 per cent increase in Singapore arrivals by year-end.

BEST Western International has added two properties, one each in Hua Hin and Bangkok, to its upscale Best Western Plus portfolio.

Best Western Plus Serenity Hua Hin opened in May with 54 rooms, each with its own private balcony.

The hotel’s facilities include the all-day dining Charisma restaurant, which serves Thai and international cuisine, a business centre, function rooms for up to 40 people and an 80-metre swimming pool.

The Grand Howard Hotel, located in the Sathorn area of Bangkok, is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2012. Its 256 rooms come in studio, superior, deluxe, cabana and premier categories.

Facilities include a swimming pool, an all-day dining restaurant, a coffee lounge, an outdoor bar, a fitness room, a business centre and function rooms – among these a grand ballroom that is able to hold up to 700 people.

PATA has signed an agreement with the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) to enhance cooperation in the sharing of research, intelligence and information, as well as the execution of joint lobbying and policy development activities.

The deal offers the two associations reciprocal arrangements in sharing data and the results of their studies, reports and surveys, and will also facilitate lobbying activities for the benefit of both organisations’ members.

Bill Calderwood, PATA Interim CEO, said: “Both PATA and ETOA will start to work together in pursuit of our shared interests. We’re seeking to minimise the obstacles to two-way growth between Asia-Pacific and Europe.”

Tom Jenkins, executive director, ETOA, said: “As Europe works towards economic recovery, the Asia-Pacific region is a vital partner.”

“The impulse to explore the world is something that can easily be discouraged. Visa and tax arrangements are problematic, health and security concerns are exaggerated. The industry needs to respond to a wide range of consumer concerns and interests,” he added.

ETIHAD Airways has confirmed plans to start four-weekly services between Abu Dhabi and Chengdu from December 15.

The flights will be operated using Airbus A330-200s with 22 business-class seats and 240 economy-class seats.

Etihad will be the first Middle Eastern airline to operate to the capital of Sichuan province, which will be Etihad’s 69th destination worldwide, and second in China after Beijing.

Calling Chengdu the economic centre and transportation and communications hub of China’s booming South-west, Etihad CEO, James Hogan, said: “(The new route) will provide a new, more convenient gateway into South-west China for business and leisure travellers from Europe and the Middle East, and a faster, new route to Europe and the Middle East for the rapidly growing Chinese outbound travel market.”

“With the purchasing power of the Chinese consumer rising in sync with annual GDP growth of 7.5 per cent till 2030, the Chinese travel market has enormous latent potential,” Hogan added.

FINNAIR is the latest airline to venture beyond the coastal first-tier Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with plans to operate non-stop flights between Helsinki and Chongqing starting May 2012.

The flights will be operated four times weekly using Airbus A340-300 aircraft.

The Finnish national carrier will be the first European airline to operate to Chongqing, its fourth destination in China, after Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and its 12th Asian destination.

Finnair’s president and CEO, Mika Vehviläinen, said: “China is a key part of our Europe-Asia strategy. Western China is an important growth area, and the new route will strengthen our market share in the growing Asian markets.”

With a growing number of Western companies in the electronics, chemical and automotive sectors expanding their presence in Chongqing, Finnair is hoping to target business travellers among Greater Chongqing’s population of more than 32 million, as well as a secondary leisure market.

This year, Finnair expanded its operations in Hong Kong and relaunched daily nonstop flights to Singapore (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 4).

MARRIOTT Hotels & Resorts has a global pipeline of 49 new hotels and resorts, which are scheduled to open over the next four years.

The properties under development include 24 in Asia-Pacific destinations such as Nha Trang and Hoi An in Vietnam, and Xian in China. The other properties in the pipeline include nine in the Middle East/Africa, four in Europe and twelve in the Americas.

Two hotels in Shanghai, and one each in Jaipur, Guangzhou, Rayong and Haikou are expected to open by end-2011.

The 295-room Shanghai Marriott Luwan, opening this month, will offer six restaurants and lounges, a 24-hour health club, and 1,510m2 of meeting space.

The 364-room Jaipur Marriott Hotel, also opening this month, will be Marriott International’s first hotel in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. The hotel will have the largest room inventory in the city, seven restaurants, a nightclub, a signature Quan spa, and 3,395m2 of meeting space, including the largest ballroom in Jaipur.

The five-star, 720-room Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre will be opening in late June, and will offer more than 2,000m2 of event space, five restaurants and lounges, and a fitness centre and spa.

The 319-room Guangzhou Marriott Hotel Tianhe, opening in August, will have three restaurants, a lobby lounge, 1,200m2 of meeting facilities, and a fitness centre.

The 199-room Rayong Marriott Resort & Spa, opening in October, will offer four restaurants, a lobby lounge, 880m2 of meeting space, a fitness centre and spa, a kid’s club and a water sports pavilion.

The 392-room Haikou Marriott Resort and Spa will open in November as part of the new Hainan International Conference & Exhibition Center. The hotel will offer three restaurants, a lobby bar and lounge, 1,351m2 of meeting space, a fitness centre, a spa and tennis courts.

TRANSASIA Airways’ newly-launched Taipei-Singapore service got off to a strong start, with its inaugural flight from Singapore departing last Thursday with a full load of 150 passengers.

Taiwan Representative Office in Singapore’s Vanessa Shih said: “Although Singapore Airlines and China Airlines recently added flights on the route, there continues to be a shortage of seats, and TransAsia injection of 1050 seats per week in each direction is timely.”

Shih added that Taiwan was a top destination among the youth in Singapore, according to a survey by a local Chinese daily newspaper in 2009.

Lester Song, assistant general manager of Maple Aviation, TransAsia’s Singapore GSA, said: “While we initially have to rely on tour groups to fill the daily flight, we are aggressively targeting both individual and corporate travellers. Corporate travellers are being reached through a combination of initiatives with corporate agents and various business associations.”

He added: “Through social media such as Facebook, we are reaching out to the younger FITs, and these currently account for about 20 per cent of the bookings. We hope to increase this to 30 per cent soon.”

TransAsia Airways’ chairman, Vincent Lin, said: “Our flight GE888 is the first in the morning from Singapore to Taipei, and the return flight departs Taipei at 7.20 pm. This schedule is not only favourable for leisure visitors, but also creates a possibility for business travellers to have half a day of meetings in Taipei before returning to Singapore the same day.”

Lin said that TransAsia would build Singapore into its South-east Asian hub, from where the airline is considering further links to Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

He also confirmed that the airline’s first wide-body aircraft – an Airbus A330-300 – will be deployed on the Singapore route after being delivered in November 2012.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts is planning to open its third hotel in Bangkok, the Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel and Spa.

The new four-star property will be located at Rachaprarop, and will occupy 10 floors of the Watergate Pavillion shopping complex.

The property is being developed at an investment cost of approximately 700 million baht (US$23 million), and will be opening in the second quarter of 2012.

Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts, said the four-star category of the hotel would broaden Centara’s base in Bangkok, as both of its existing properties are five-star.

“This opens up another sector of the market for us and enhances our presence in the Rachaprarop district, where Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld is also located,” he said.

The Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel and Spa will offer 288 guestrooms. Of these, 243 will be standard rooms, 27 will be premium rooms, and 18 will offer a family-friendly concept.

Facilities will include an all-day restaurant, a rooftop restaurant and rooftop bar, a Spa Cenvaree with nine treatment rooms, a 56m2 fitness centre, and two 56m2-meeting rooms.