BAGGAGE check-in facilities at the Makkasan City Air Terminal on the Suvarnabhumi Airport (SA) Rail Link will be available to passengers from today.

The check-in services, now only for passengers on flights operated by Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways travelling via the SA Express Line, require passengers to check in their baggage at least three hours prior to flight departure, or up to 12 hours in advance.

A one-way non-stop journey on the SA Express from Makkasan to Suvarnabhumi costs 150 baht (US$5), up from 100 baht previously (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 23, 2010) and takes 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, the alternative SA City Line, which runs between Phaya Thai Station and the airport, charges 15 to 45 baht per trip according to distance.

Passengers using this line have direct access to the BTS SkyTrain network, which is in turn linked to the Bangkok MRT system.

Both lines depart every 15 minutes, and operate daily from 6am to 12 midnight.

THE 70-room Innotel Hotel will officially open this week, adding some relief to the city-state’s shortage of mid-tier properties.

Located in the downtown Dhoby Ghaut area, the three-and-a-half-star property will have four accommodation options (superior, deluxe, executive & suite) spread across eight storeys, with room sizes ranging from 19m² to 35m².

The current average room rate is S$160 (US$124) per night. This should stabilise at around S$200 once promotional prices cease to apply, said general manager George King.

All rooms come with complimentary broadband Internet access, LCD TVs with cable channels and Internet Protocol telephones that can divert calls to mobile phones, while larger ones feature stereo sets with iPod/iPhone-compatible docks, bath tubs and leather recliners.

On the ground floor is an Asian cafe run by an external vendor, while there is a 17th-century-styled bar and lounge on the second level.

Business travellers make up the bulk of Innotel’s clientele, and rooms are mainly distributed through online travel agents and corporate accounts.

The hotel, however, wants to give a fair share of business to brick-and-mortar agents too, said King. He revealed that two agents had already expressed interest in buying 300 roomnights on a monthly basis.

ASIA Experience Tours is looking to double its online revenue to 50 per cent of total revenue by year-end, by improving its online B2B portal which went live a year ago.

Besides the addition of more product offerings in South-east Asia, a larger inventory of hotels and excursions will be made available on OneAsia.travel, said Asia Experience Tours CEO Ngiam Foon.

The company is also working with Malaysian suppliers to provide more online hotel allotments to key tourism destinations, especially during peak seasons.

“By this first quarter, we hope to add a new service offering flights out of Malaysia for local travel agents,” Ngiam added.

THE INDONESIAN Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched its new brand campaign Wonderful Indonesia on January 1 to help achieve its target of 7.7 million visitors this year, a 10 per cent increase over 2010.

This target is achievable with Indonesia holding ASEAN chairmanship and the MICE sector set to receive visitors for over 100 big and small meetings this year, said Indonesia Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik.

While persuading regional and international airlines to fly or add seat availability to secondary cities besides Jakarta or Bali, the ministry is also working on a proposal to the Ministry of Transportation recommending potential new hubs and routes needing additional air rights.

There were 7,000,571 arrivals to Indonesia last year, up 8.5 per cent from 6,452,259 in 2009, while the average length of stay increased from 7.69 days to 8.04 days.

– Full brand report in TTG Asia, January 14 issue