BAAN Taling Ngam Resort and Spa in Koh Samui, Thailand will be closed for renovations from March 1 and reopen as a five-star InterContinental resort on October 1.

Resort sales and market director Tasa Soonthornsima told TTG Asia e-Daily that parent company Elite Villa would spend 800 million baht (US$26 million) on overhauling the 73-key property.

Elite Villa managing director Vikorn Srivikorn, also the owner of InterContinental Bangkok and Holiday Inn Bangkok, took over the resort from the defunct Lehman Brothers (Thailand) last May.

The 17-year-old resort used to run under the Mandarin Oriental and Le Meridien brands, and was previously a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

By Sirima Eamtako

IN a testament to the strong rebound of the travel industry in 2010, Abacus International saw booking transactions hit a record high last year, growing by 11 per cent compared to 2009, when it saw a one per cent slide in bookings.

Transaction increases were led by North Asia (14 per cent), followed by South-west Asia (10 per cent) and South-east Asia (eight per cent).

“I foresee that 2011 will continue to be a high growth year for Asia, albeit at a slightly slower pace,” said president and CEO, Robert Bailey, adding that Abacus expects to see a four to six per cent jump in bookings this year.

Besides obvious leaders of growth, China and India, Bailey singled out Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia as markets to watch.

Indonesian agents, he said, were benefiting from a stable economy and political scene as well as a recent removal of exit tax, while Vietnam and Cambodia’s emerging economies were driving travel demand.

Abacus also reported an eye-popping 126 per cent increase in hotel bookings in 2010, while noting that hotel average daily rates were up by four per cent, with properties in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China at the top of the table.

The GDS predicted that the major drivers of travel distribution for 2011 would be online travel agents, airline ancillaries, mobile travel bookings, social media and personalised trip planning.

– Read more in TTG Asia, February 25

THE ASSOCIATION of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) Jakarta Chapter has offered to assist suspended Mandala Airlines by giving testimony and recommendations to potential investors.

“Airline traffic continues to grow, especially domestically, and Mandala is an old player with many years of experience,” said ASITA board member Asrul Aziz Taba. “It is in our best interest that they are back in the air so we can do business again.”

In return, ASITA has requested priority for its members to claim deposits and ticket refunds if the carrier, which halted operations on January 13, is eventually declared bankrupt.

Mandala’s fate will be determined on February 18, when the company will find out if the majority of its creditors agree to a proposed restructuring programme, said the carrier’s retail sales manager Made Lesmana. “If so, we will be able to take further steps to resume operations, otherwise the company will be declared bankrupt.”

Swatrav Tours and Travel director Muhammad Arsyad said the fact that Mandala neglected to inform agents it was stopping operations, and still accepted payments on the day it suspended business had damaged its reputation.

“Don’t dream Mandala will regain the confidence of customers without its agents,” he warned.

THAILAND’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MoTS) plans to extend or reintroduce some tourism stimulus policies launched over the last two years.

Permanent secretary Sombat Kuruphan said the ministry was currently debating which of the seven policies originally launched to counter the multiple tourism crises in the country were worth renewing.

Policies still active include the exemption of tourist visa fees for some nationalities, including Indians and Chinese, which will cease on March 31.

Policies that have already concluded include the soft loan scheme for tourism-related operators, travel insurance coverage for foreign visitors in case of riots and the waiver of hotel operating fees at 80 baht per room per year.

Meanwhile, Sombat said the ministry would press ahead with construction of the new government-funded convention and exhibition centre in Chiang Mai, scheduled for completion by end of this year.

NORWEGIAN Cruise Line (NCL) has started a dedicated contact centre in Manila to cater to its growing Asia-Pacific business.

In view of Asia-Pacific sales doubling year-on-year in 2010, and in anticipation of a significant increase in bookings this year, NCL decided to launch the operation to provide real-time assistance to travel partners based in the region.

“This is just another step in building our Asia-Pacific business,” said Francis Riley, NCL director of sales for Asia-Pacific. “It’s important that as we continue to develop and grow these core markets, that we are able to provide a quick and efficient process for agents to deal with us locally.”

The centre will have a team of 15 reservation consultants, more than double the size of its original Asia-Pacific support team based in its Miami head office.

CAMBODIAN operators report a strong rebound in bookings in January after a difficult period last year, with the upward trend set to continue into the February-March low season.

FCC Cambodia, which operates a total of 60 rooms at an average daily rate of US$115, recorded occupancy of above 80 per cent in January at its three boutique hotels—two in Phnom Penh and one in Siem Reap.

This was an increase of about 10 per cent over last year, said FCC operations director Benoit Jancloes.

Based on advanced bookings, Jancloes also projected a similar performance for February and March.

Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra general manager Didier Lamoot said bookings continued to “look good” at the two Sofitel hotels in Cambodia heading into the off-peak period.

Agents are similarly looking at higher numbers, with Mekong Heritage Travel general manager Som Sun Sovann reporting a 20 per cent increase in Cambodian tour bookings last month.

“We expect the same in February and March—about 25 per cent more than last year,” she said.

By Steve Finch

LUXURY cruise company Silversea Cruises is offering for the first time a US$200 commission bonus per suite to travel agents in Asia, for reservations made before March 31 on any voyage departing till end June.

Silversea Cruises regional director (Asia) Melvyn Yap told TTG Asia e-Daily that the company usually issued a fixed commission of 10 per cent on each cruise-only fare to travel agencies, but not individual travel agents.

“We realised that we did not have any rewards for travel agents who are contributing almost 100 per cent of bookings,” Yap explained. “We hope by doing this, the reward of selling Silversea will trickle down to the agents who support us.”

Yap added that the Asia-Pacific region currently generates 15 per cent of Silversea’s total bookings. “We also hope to grow bookings from the region with this incentive,” he said.

SINGAPORE Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre is developing a new convention wing that will house 23 meeting rooms, pre-function spaces and other visitor facilities, ready to be unveiled in early 2012.

Branded as MAX Atria, the addition will be connected to the centre’s existing conference facilities in Foyer 1, located close to Hall 1. Greenery will be incorporated into the architecture.

Natalie Leung, a spokesperson of Singex Venues which manages the Singapore Expo, said the new wing was being developed to a tune of S$55 million (US$43 million) to S$60 million, which includes upgrades to the rest of the venue that started since last October.

MAX Atria’s new conference facilities will come in handy at a time where the business events industry is witnessing a a greater adoption of the confex model, a phenomenon Singex Venues CEO, Aloysius Arlando, described as “holding one or several conferences within an exhibition itself”.

In gearing up for the expansion, Singex Venues is also adding business development personnel to its human resource pool.

MAX Atria will join other upcoming projects in the Changi precinct such as the UE Biz Hub East, which comprises office and retail space, event venues and a 300-room Park Avenue Changi Hotel, also slated for completion in the same year.

AUSTRALIAN associations are increasingly looking to professional conference organisers (PCOs) to deliver not just quality meetings, but strategic ideas and sponsorship dollars, revealed a study conducted by the World’s Leading Conference Organisers (WLCO).

While issues such as governance and membership still dominate the agenda, developing new revenue streams beyond membership dues ranks a close third in priority for the non-profit sector.

Bryan Holliday, managing director of ICMS Australasia, the founding member of WLCO, said: “The survey of 38 of Australia’s major associations confirms anecdotal evidence that professional conference organisers are now major drivers of not only effective meetings but profitable events.

“The days where conference committees are happy just to break even are becoming a thing of the past. Non-profits now expect their PCO to be more than an organiser but a strategic partner as well.”

Holliday added that communication and relevance to Gen Y are also two major emerging issues that would likely impact the delivery of programmes via social media and the educational content of conferences.

THE VERDICT is out: Komodo National Park will stay on as an authorised New7Wonders of Nature finalist, but Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism will no longer be given Official Supporting Committee status for Komodo’s entry in the global poll, stripping the tourism authority’s rights to campaign for votes.

New7Wonders Foundation (N7W) president and founder Bernard Weber said: “The Ministry’s role should have been to support us and to lead the search for a solution to honour the legally binding contract for New7Wonders Official Host, signed in December 2010 with a leading Indonesian private consortium – a consortium endorsed by the Ministry in the first place.

Instead, they have reacted with malicious misinformation, invented financial commitments and prejudicial action to cover up for an apparent lack of moral responsibility and duty.”

Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik had earlier said the costs of hosting the official declaration ceremony was too high (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 7, 2011).

At a press conference yesterday, the minister added: “I don’t know what was said in the contract between the consortium and N7W, but if things don’t come out according to the contract, why should we be held responsible for it?”

The ministry also said it was ready to sue N7W for “acting overboard and illogically by linking the status of Komodo as a finalist and the offer to host the declaration of the winners”.