ALILA Hotels & Resorts is growing its global footprint, with some 20 properties to open within the next five years.

Expansion plans include Alila’s first foray into Europe, with the opening of Alila Roncão in the Alentejo region east of Lisbon.

New resorts are also under development in Oman – Alila’s first venture into the Middle East – including a beach resort in Salalah, a property in the mountain region of Jebel Akhdar, and an Alila Villas in Musandam.

Developments have been earmarked for Calicut in India, as well as expansion in Cambodia and Indonesia. New ventures are in the pipeline in Vietnam and China.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-daily at the group’s 10th anniversary celebration in Singapore today, Alila Hotels & Resorts CEO, Frederic Simon, said: “These properties are at different stages of development, and most will open in the next one-and-a-half to two years.”

The group, which presently manages nine properties across Indonesia, India and South-east Asia, has been receiving “good support” from its travel agent partners, according to the group’s vice president sales & marketing, Doris Goh.

Travel agents contribute 45 per cent of Alila’s bookings, with the rest coming from direct and online channels.

While recognising that “the world is changing and more people are booking online”, Alila COO Guy Heywood said the company remains committed to its travel agent partners.

“While we are actively strengthening our presence online and on social media platforms, we will continue to support agents financially (through attractive rates), and protect them by not diverting too much traffic (from them) to our direct channels.”

TOURIST arrivals to Sri Lanka in May rose by 39 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to Sri Lanka Tourism.

The surge in arrivals came from India, Sri Lanka’s biggest source market last year, with a 55.8 per cent year-on-year increase to 16,649.

Visitors to Sri Lanka from South Asia grew 53 per cent to reach 21,016 arrivals, compared to Western Europe’s 17.4 per cent rise to 12,419.

The number of visitors from the UK dropped 0.4 per cent to 4,452 in May, while arrivals from Germany, Sri Lanka’s third largest source market, increased by 3.2 per cent to 2,137.

Sri Lanka’s visitors from China rose by 100.1 per cent year-on-year to 1,337 in May.

In all, there were 327,902 arrivals to Sri Lanka in the first five months of the year, an increase of 40 per cent over the year before.

Western Europe contributed the largest number of visitors over the January to May period, with 129,367 arrivals, a 37.1 per cent increase. Arrivals from South Asia rose 50 per cent to 93,139.

THE VOLCANIC ash cloud originating from Chile has returned to Australia, prompting airlines there to cancel or redirect their Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide and Hobart services.

Qantas cancelled 73 domestic and six trans-Tasman flights today. The carrier halted domestic services to and from Adelaide throughout the day, suspended Canberra domestic operations from 12.00, and grounded Sydney domestic flights from 15.00.

Qantas’ international services to and from Australia are still in operation, with some flying alternative routes. For instance, its QF32 Singapore-Sydney service has been diverted to Brisbane, while Johannesburg-bound services will operate with a refuelling stop in Perth until further notice.

Jetstar cancelled all flights to and from Adelaide today, and all flights originating from Sydney and Newcastle after 15.00 were suspended for the remainder of the day.

Two of Jetstar’s domestic flights between Melbourne and Perth were also grounded. All other flights to and from Australia will run as planned.

Tiger Airways cancelled all domestic flights within Australia today, but all of its international services were operating as usual.

Unlike previously, flights to and from New Zealand were unaffected by the return of the ash cloud today.

Singapore-based travel agents with whom TTG Asia e-Daily spoke with said they were mostly unaffected by the disrupted air services, and that it was still too early to comment on the long-term impact of the ash cloud on bookings.

They had previously indicated there would likely be a short-term drop in bookings to Australia and New Zealand (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 16).

Julie Lim, general manager, Gulliver Associates, said: “We have nothing to report at the moment, but we will be monitoring the situation closely.”

She added: “There have not been any outright cancellations, although a small number of clients have rescheduled in view of the flight cancellations.”

Chan Brothers Travel spokesperson, Ivy Tan, said: “So far both our group and FIT pax are not affected by the flight cancellations this week in Australia, as most flights that have been grounded are domestic.”

“However, we are keeping our fingers crossed for the tour group that is scheduled to return from Sydney tomorrow on Qantas, as we have yet to receive any update from the airline.”

“With the mid-year school holidays coming to an end this week, the impact this round is lesser,” she added.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts has signed a management contract for a four-star resort property in Mauritius, the group’s sixth destination outside of Thailand.

“Centara is delighted to be entering the Mauritius resort market,” said Gerd Steeb, president of Centara Hotels & Resorts. “We have identified a gap in the market for a quality four-star beachfront family-friendly resort, offering a choice of half-board or all-inclusive stays.”

Due to open in October 2012, Centara Poste Lafayette Resort & Spa Mauritius is located on the northeast coast of the island, and will have its own diving reef.

The resort will offer 98 guestrooms, an all-day dining restaurant and bar, a themed restaurant blending local and Asian dishes, a beach bar and snack deck, a spa, a kids’ club, a sea sports and recreation centre, a recreation room and a meeting room.

HONG KONG-based New World Hospitality has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, a privately held ultra-luxury hotel management company based in the US.

The closing date for the US$229.5 million purchase from current owners Rosewood Corp. and Maritz, Wolff & Co. is July 29.

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, with 19 properties in eight countries, will operate as the premium luxury brand in New World Hospitality’s portfolio, and will later extend its reach to new international markets with New World Hospitality’s support.

Sonia Cheng, chairman of New World Hospitality, said: “This acquisition represents a strategic direction for our company to establish a robust presence in the international luxury hospitality arena. With our strong Asia base, Rosewood will be positioned for substantially accelerated global growth.”

New World Hospitality manages the New World Hotels brand of deluxe properties in China and South-east Asia, as well as the select service pentahotels brand in Shanghai and Beijing.

The group is aggressively expanding its presence, with more than 20 properties under development.

ACCOR has appointed Arizona-based Connect-Worldwide as its GSA in India.

Connect-Worldwide, which has its regional headquarters in New Delhi and an office in Bengaluru, will be responsible for boosting sales among retail travel agents and small and medium enterprises. The GSA is planning to organise road shows and participate in trade fairs in India.

Accor executive vice president, hotel marketing and distribution, Jean-Luc Chretien, said: “Accor has ambitious targets for growth in sales from India, and we are constantly working towards improving the reach of our distribution system in the country.”

“With increasing number of Indians travelling overseas and within India every year on business and pleasure, our association with Connect-Worldwide will help us to significantly increase our market share,” he added.

Meanwhile, Accor has introduced a national call centre in India with a toll-free number for travel agents. The staff at the call centre are trained to provide expert advice on Accor’s global portfolio of hotels and destinations.

Blue Star Air Services director, Madhav Oza, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Accor is a huge group with many brands. It is difficult to recall the different hotels within each brand. The new call centre will mean communication will be now be centralised, and Accor’s extended hand will help boost agent-hotel relationships.”

By Anand & Madhura Katti

PASSENGER ferry services kickstarted between Sri Lanka and India last week, after being suspended in the 1980s due to the Sri Lankan civil war, will be a boon for cross-straits tourism, according to members of the Indian travel trade.

The cruise ship Scotia Prince, operated by Dubai-headquartered Flemingo Liners, will ferry passengers twice-weekly between Tuticorin in India and Colombo in Sri Lanka. Tuticorin is the closest Indian port to Colombo, and the travel time between the two cities is about 14 hours.

Flemingo has obtained a 10-year concession to run the service, while Star Destination Management has been appointed as Scotia Prince’s GSA.

Travel Agents Association of India Tamil Nadu chapter chairman, R. Venkatachalam, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Tourism industries in both Tamil Nadu and Colombo will definitely improve with these cruise services.”

“Many tourists will happily utilise this nominal-fare, five-star cruise service to Colombo. Indian tourists can go on a short trip to Sri Lanka, and similarly, Sri Lankans can visit South India for pilgrimage and tourist attractions,” he added.

One-way fares on the ship, which can accommodate 1,044 passengers on its nine decks, start from US$51 and peak at US$317 for a platinum cabin.

Travel Services CEO, A V S Ramani, said: “Travelling by sea to a nearby international destination will be a great attraction. There’s a huge market for this cruise, especially from places in southern Tamil Nadu like Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Trichy and Kanyakumari.”

“If the cruise company can get the right publicity, it will be able to tap business from across Tamil Nadu.”

By Anand & Madhura Katti

DOMESTIC passengers departing from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines flights will now have the the option of checking-in at three Delhi Airport Metro Express Line terminals in the Indian capital.

Air India and Jet Airways passengers can check-in at all three terminals – New Delhi, Shivaji Stadium and Dhaula Kuan, while Kingfisher Airline passengers may only avail of the check-in facility at New Delhi station.

New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium stations offer baggage check-in services, while Dhaula Kuan station only offers check-in services without baggage.

The three airlines will accept passengers and baggage not earlier than six hours, and not later than two-and-a-half hours before scheduled departure.

Jet Airways mentioned in a press statement that it was planning to introduce similar services for its international passengers, subject to clearance from regulatory authorities.

By Anand & Madhura Katti

SINGAPORE-based Dreamscape Journeys has been appointed by US-based RocketShip Tours to market and sell suborbital space flights to high-end customers in Asia.

Dreamscape Journeys CEO, John Sutherland, said: “We are sole representatives of the Lynx programme in Singapore. RocketShip Tours are the company marketing Lynx, and we are delighted to be representing them in Asia.”

The Lynx, a two-seater piloted space transport vehicle built by XCOR Aerospace, will take a participant on a half-hour suborbital space flight. Starting from a standing stop on a traditional airport runway, the craft takes off under rocket power, accelerating to Mach 2.5 as it rockets up to 60km in under four minutes, followed by a 25-minute glide to a safe landing on the takeoff runway.

“This particular space adventure is going to attract a lot of attention due to the safety-first approach from XCOR and the affordability of the programme,” said Sutherland.

“It’s going to be interesting to see who wants to be among the first in Asia to experience it, and I’m also taking enquiries for incentive groups of up to 10 people,” he added.

Dreamscape’s five-day programme currently starts in Phoenix, Arizona. There, customers will be met by representatives and taken to a resort at Camelback Mountain, where they will prepare for the voyage through astronaut training, a medical examination and a fit up for the space suit required for the flight.

Once the training is completed, they will embark on the flight piloted by retired US air force colonel, NASA Astronaut and test pilot, Colonel Rick Searfoss.

The programme is now available for bookings, and first flights may take place as early as 2012, but more likely in 2013. The cost of the five-day programme is US$95,000 per person, and a deposit of US$20,000 will secure a place.

For more information, visit the website www.dreamscapejourneys.com or contact John Sutherland at john@dreamscapejourneys.com

THAILAND officially submitted its bid to organise World Expo 2020 at the 149th General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris last week.

This comes less than two months after Turkey tabled the first bid on May 2.

Both countries made their initial presentations at the assembly, which was attended by representatives from 157 BIE member countries. Thailand has proposed Ayuthaya as its host city (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 5), while Turkey has suggested Izmir.

Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau president, Akapol Sorasuchart, said the event presented an opportunity for Thailand to create a good first impression on representatives from member countries, who will be casting votes to pick the World Expo venue.

Akapol said Thailand would begin its campaign to secure votes from member countries ahead of its second presentation, scheduled to take place at the 150th General Assembly for BIE in November.

The bidding deadline for World Expo 2020 is November 2. Other countries considering whether to bid to host World Expo 2020 include the US (Houston, San Francisco), Australia (Brisbane), Brazil (Rio de Janiero, Sao Paulo), Canada (Montreal), Denmark (Copenhagen), Russia (St Petersburg) and UAE (Dubai).

The BIE will announce the host city in 2014.

By Sirima Eamtako