STARTING June 30, Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways will operate daily flights between Taipei and Singapore using a leased 154-seat Boeing 737-800.

Lester Song, assistant general manager of Maple Aviation, GSA for the airline in Singapore, said: “Our distribution channels in Singapore will include both travel agents and the airline’s website booking engine. Right now, the website is only in Chinese, but we are exploring the possibility of an English-language Singapore site. We will also have a presence on Facebook.”

“Attractive introductory fares are currently being mulled over and will be announced soon,” he added.

The full-service carrier will join five other airlines already operating between both countries – China Airlines, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, Jetstar Asia Airways and Tiger Airways – and expects to deploy its own 162-seat Airbus A320 or 194-seat Airbus A321 by end-2011.

TransAsia Airways has ordered two A330-300s and six A321s. Its network includes seven destinations in Taiwan, 13 cities in China and Japan.

SPECULATION is rife that Australian national airline Qantas is planning to establish an offshore operation, involving its pilots and engineers, in South-east Asia. The airline has not commented on the matter yet.

Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) public relations officer, Anil Lambert, told TTG Asia e-Daily that although Qantas’ plan to ship its operations to Asia is mere speculation, “the airline’s refusal to deny or comment on this matter, its refusal to agree on the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) AIPA has brought to the table on behalf of its members, what AIPA members have been hearing, and the numerous media reports that were written last Friday including a report in The Australian, all seem to point in the direction that Qantas is pursuing the offshore option.”

Lambert added that AIPA members were gravely concerned about the speculation, due to the assumption that the main focus of offshoring operations would involve pilots, citing Jetconnect – Qantas’ subsidiary plying trans-tasman routes – as an example.

Until recently, Qantas’ New Zealand-Australia routes were flown using aircraft painted with its livery, using Qantas flight numbers, and with pilots donning Qantas uniforms. However, these routes were in fact operated by Qantas subsidiary Jetconnect, employing pilots and crew on overseas wages and conditions. Lambert said pilots were worried that this would be the first of several steps that Qantas would take to base operations out of South-east Asia at a cheaper operating cost.

Qantas pilots have been in a nine-month negotiation process, with the airline refusing to give in to their demands. The EBA has requested for job security clauses to include all viable, existing Qantas routes flown by Qantas pilots, and that whenever Qantas codeshares with another airline from within its organisation (e.g. Jetstar), it must be flown by pilots on the Qantas long-haul EBA. In addition, when a Qantas long-haul route is scrapped but replaced by Jetstar within 12 months, that Jetstar pilots be employed under the Qantas long-haul EBA.

Lambert added that Qantas has applied for a Malaysian Air Operators certificate. According to The Australian, this was denied by the airline’s spokeswoman, Olivia Wirth. But she said the airline’s international review was considering all options to include new products, new routes, existing and new markets.

By Faith Chang

THIS YEAR’S Global Spa Summit is taking place in Bali – the first Asian venue for the annual meeting of the world’s top decision-makers for spa-related industries – from May 16 to 19.

The summit, with the theme, Engage the Change. The Customer. The Money. The Future, aims to advance the spa and wellness industry in the world. Two hundred ninety-six delegates from 28 countries are at this year’s event.

Spa Finder CEO and Spa Global Summit founding board member, Pete Ellis, said: “We have to come to Asia because Asia is the heartbeat of spa. In Asia, spa is a century-old heritage. To the rest of the world spa is a relatively new industry.”

Mandara Spa Indonesia COO and Global Spa Summit co-founder, Jeff Mathews, said that the modern version of spa actually started in Bali around 1995 to 1996. “It was based on traditional methods, but the new type of scrubs, like papaya, have since been introduced. Today, spa is a US$260-billion business,” he said.

SINGAPOREANS made up more than half of the 49,000 tourists – 52.5 per cent or about 25,800 – who availed of homestay packages in Malaysia last year.

Japanese guests made up 22.4 per cent (about 11,000 pax), while European guests 9.3 per cent (over 4,500).

Johor was the most popular destination for homestays, recording 23,300 visitors, followed by Selangor with 5,600 visitors and Pahang in third with 2,500 guests.

Malaysia Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen told media at the launch of the Kampung Gali Hilir Homestay Programme in the Raub district of Pahang state: “Homestay programmes offer foreigners an experience of village life, of living with a typical Malaysian family and participating in activities that are memorable.”

“Homestays are also an opportunity to develop rural economies, benefiting families and communities directly. A successful homestay can earn up to RM10,000 (US$3,295) a month,” she added.

Alex Lee, managing director of Ping Anchorage Travel and Tours, said homestays are an excellent way of introducing a foreign guest to traditional Malaysian life. “Homestays are definitely an added attraction for operators’ packages,” he said.

By Ellen Chen

VISITBRITAIN introduced in Bangalore on Monday its goodwill ambassador programme targeting Asia-Pacific source markets, part of its 100-million-pound (US$162 million), four-year Britain, You’re Invited global marketing campaign.

According to VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe, the ambassador programme, featuring Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar, Asia-based television presenter Asha Gill and 2012 Olympic Chinese equestrian rider Alex Hua Tian, will be the first in a series of promotional activities to be rolled out in the next six months to market the destination.

VisitBritain will be spending 50 million pounds for its efforts, a sum that will be matched by contributions from travel trade partners.

Dawe said Asia Pacific was one of Britain’s most important source markets. Last year, the destination saw double-digit growth in arrivals from India, China and South Korea, while numbers from Australia are poised to hit the one-million mark this year.

Indian arrivals, in particular, look promising, said Dawe. “Britain welcomed more than 366,000 Indian visitors last year, a 34 per cent increase over 2009. Indian travellers spent about 358 million pounds during their travel to Britain, a 33 per cent growth over 2009.”

VisitBritain is planning to introduce its ambassadors at home in June. It will launch a global television advertising campaign in September, followed by a stimulus programme targeted at the visiting-relatives market in October.

By Sirima Eamtako

IRELAND is waiving visa fees for citizens of seven Asian and Middle Eastern countries who have valid UK visas, from July to October next year, to attract more visitors.

Under the scheme, citizens of China, India, Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar who are already holding valid UK visas and have cleared UK immigration, will have their 60 euro (US$85) visa fees waived for a stay in Ireland of up to 90 days at a time. A UK visa costs 76 pounds (US$123).

Tourism Ireland marketing manager Middle East and Asia, Aisling McDermott, said the visa fee waiver would be of added significance during the Olympic Games 2012 in London.

India-based Dejavu Holiday director, Jaspreet Chopra, who is planning to introduce Ireland as a new destination to his clients this year, said the waiver was encouraging, especially with his company projecting a 15 to 20 per cent growth in outbound Indian clients to the UK this year.

By Sirima Eamtako

MÖVENPICK Hotels & Resorts has undertaken the management of the Palm Beach Club hotel and rebranded it as Mövenpick Residences Laguna Beach Phuket.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to operate this exclusive retreat and to expand our presence in Thailand,” said Andreas Mattmüller, COO of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Middle East & Asia.

“We have plans to increase our portfolio in the country and to operate six hotels in Thailand by 2014,” he added.

Mövenpick Residences Laguna Beach Phuket is located on Bang Tao Beach and features 39 residences, including penthouses and two- and three-bedroom suites, some with a private pool or Jacuzzi.

The resort will complement the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket, the first property the hotel company opened in Thailand in 2006.

MACAU’S newest integrated destination resort, Galaxy Macau, officially opened its doors yesterday. It is set to play host to between 30,000 and 40,000 guests daily.

The resort brings together three different hotel brands – Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Okura Hotels & Resorts and Galaxy Hotel – offering a total of 2,200 five-star rooms, suites and villas, and accounting for nearly 12 per cent of Macau’s room total and nearly 20 per cent of its five-star capacity.

The HK$14.9 billion (US$1.9 billion) property features a Grand Resort Deck, where a 350-tonne white sand beach frames a 4,000m2 sky-top wave pool, the largest of its kind in the world.

The Grand Resort Deck also features the first Banyan Tree Spa in the Pearl River Delta, which at 3,400m2 is also the largest in the Banyan Tree group.

CHINA will commemorate its inaugural National Tourism Day on May 19.

To promote the occasion, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) has revealed plans to solicit ideas for a logo and slogan, as well as launch a public campaign with various events and activities that are scheduled.

Zhu Shanzhong, vice chairman, CNTA, said: “Creating a National Tourism Day helps raise people’s awareness of tourism, and establishes its role in education by improving peoples’ civility and knowledge through travel.”

He added: “It draws greater attention from society for the development of tourism by forging a better environment for it, boosting spending on travel and thereby establishing tourism as a strategic pillar of the economy.”

Bill Calderwood, interim CEO, PATA, said: “This is an extremely positive signal being sent by China to both the travel and tourism sector and the world in general, about the importance that China places on the travel and tourism industry.”

RAIL Europe has opened its Asian flagship retail outlet in Hong Kong in partnership with Sincerity Travel, a leading local agent for train travel in Europe.

The company’s expansion into Asia is in response to a significant increase in demand for exploring Europe by train, especially among university students and younger travellers.

Philippe Kirsanow, Rail Europe’s sales director for mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, said Hong Kong was selected for Rail Europe’s flagship in Asia, as a model and reference for its other regional markets.

“Bookings in Hong Kong were up by 48 per cent from January to April this year, with a 141 per cent increase in April alone,” he said.

Sincerity Travel chairman, Lam Keung, added: “Train is the only way to really explore and experience Europe, and passes aboard Rail Europe are exceptional, affordable value for young travellers.”

With a focus on university students and youth travel, Sincerity Travel has been Rail Europe’s premier sales agent in Hong Kong for over a decade. The group operates six retail outlets in Hong Kong, one in Macau and one in Guangzhou.