VIETNAM Airlines (VNA) is pressing ahead with plans – launched last year – to become the second largest airline in South-east Asia by 2020.

VNA general director Pham Hong Minh said the flag carrier was able to exceed its 2010 target with a 34 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger numbers. Total revenue grew to an estimated 36.3 trillion Vietnamese Dong (US$1.86 billion) based on the 12.3 million passengers recorded.

The airline has been steadily increasing its regional footprint, with its induction into the SkyTeam alliance last June helping to enhance its position in international and regional markets.

Late last year, VNA launched a thrice-weekly Ho Chi Minh City-Beijing service and a daily Narita-Ho Chi Minh City-Danang flight (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 24). This comes on top of 46 Hong Kong-Danang charter flights, operating November to May.

By Luat Tran

TWO new high-speed services have been added to Seoul’s rail network, with the first a direct rail link between Incheon International Airport and downtown Seoul, and the other connecting Seoul to Chuncheon, capital of nearby Gangwon province.

The new underground airport line, at a fee of KRW13,500 (US$12) per person, can take passengers from Incheon Airport to Seoul Station, the city’s central transport terminus, in about 40 minutes, less than half the travel time of other services.

This new link comes at a time when plans are underway to revitalise the Seoul Station area, which in 2015 will see the completion of the Seoul Station Convention Centre.

This 50,000m2 venue, larger than COEX (46,400m2) – currently Seoul’s main exhibition site – will include Korea’s largest conference facility (23,000m2), a 16,000m2 exhibition space and a 3,000-seat international conference centre.

Meanwhile, Seoul’s Gyeongchun Line launched its new double-track rail service between the city’s Sangbong Station and Chuncheon on December 21.

For a fee of KRW2,600 (US$2.30), travel times between Seoul and Chuncheon have been cut down from 110 minutes to approximately 79 minutes, while a journey on the express service is even faster at 63 minutes.

A ROYAL Caribbean cruise was forced to return to port in Tampa, Florida last Saturday after 150 passengers and crew suffered a stomach illness.

The company said it suspected the illness on board the Radiance of the Seas, which was en route to Mexico, was stomach flu, which is highly contagious, especially in confined communal spaces.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement on its website: “We will conduct some enhanced sanitizing on board the ship and within the cruise terminal to help prevent any illness from affecting the next sailing.”

The ship is scheduled to leave on another cruise this Saturday.

VETERAN hotelier Bobby Toh succumbed to cancer on January 7 at the Singapore General Hospital.

Toh’s career in the hospitality industry spanned more than three decades. He was last with Indonesia-based Golden Seal as group general manager of Metro Hotel Sydney and Quality Hotel Singapore, and previously held positions including group general manager of Sokha Hotels and Resorts in Cambodia, group general manager of Far East Hospitality, and senior vice president of sales and marketing at Le Meridien in Singapore.

Toh left behind his wife, Florence, and two daughters aged 13 and nine.

THE CITY of Manado in North Sulawesi is gearing up for its hosting of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in January 2012 with the development of a new exhibition hall and a line-up of B2B travel events this year.

A new hall is under construction within the Grand Kawanua International City (GKIC), near the Novotel Manado Golf Resort and Convention Centre, where the ASEAN ministerial meetings will be held.

The 10,000m² venue will be able to accommodate 500 booths, and works are scheduled to finish in November, according to Widijanto, managing director of Wenang Permai Sentosa, which owns GKIC. The total investment is 100 billion rupiah (US$11.1 million).

North Sulawesi Regional Tourism Office director Haerfrey Sendoh said: “As far as the facilities are concerned, the Travex venue is the only addition we need to fulfil. Other requirements such as accommodation and buses are already there.”

Two “warm-up” events – the Indonesia MICE and Corporate Travel Mart and the Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo – will also be held in Manado this May and October respectively.

HONG Thai Travel Services will target young travellers, promote more FIT products and shorthaul destinations as well as start to sell packages on its online platform this year, following a robust rebound in 2010 that saw annual turnover increase by 30 per cent.

The Hong Kong-based agency will market more chic hotel stays and trips to nearby locations such as Guangdong province and Macau. In addition to selling just air tickets and hotel rooms online, it will now also upload group tour and FIT packages.

Hong Thai is also setting aside HK$7 million (US$900,000) to reward its staff for a successful 2010. Volume of traffic handled by Hong Thai rose five per cent for the first 11 months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. The agency’s Macau office also outperformed the Hong Kong market for the first time, with turnover increasing by 30 per cent and profit surging by 60 per cent.

General manager Jason Wong said: “Leveraging on the launch of the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed train, the Xiaoguang route recorded 10 times more traffic whereas the Singapore-Malaysia and Eastern China routes also showed 50 per cent and 40 per cent growth, owing to new tourism facilities and the World Expo respectively.”

FINNAIR launched yesterday a daily service to Delhi, having already increased frequencies at the end of 2010 to Asian destinations such as Osaka, Nagoya and Seoul.

Said senior vice president, commercial division, Mika Perho: “Growth is excellent in our main strategy area, namely Asia-Europe traffic. We have gradually increased flights to a number of Asian destinations, the latest being Delhi.”

The airline will also fly to a new destination, Singapore, this May, while flights to Hong Kong will increase in June.

MALAYSIA’S win of the 7th International AIDS Society (IAS) HIV Conference on Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in 2013 marks the first time the biennial conference will be held in Asia.

Between 5,000 to 6,000 delegates from 125 countries – among them the world’s leading scientists, clinicians and public health experts – are expected to converge at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre for the four-day conference in July 2013.

Tourism minister Dr Ng Yen Yen said: “With almost an estimated 90 per cent of the delegates coming from overseas, the conference is estimated to generate over RM78 million (US$25 million) in economic value to the Malaysian economy.”

THE COURTYARD by Marriott Beijing has been relaunched as the pentahotel Beijing, making it the second China property of the select service brand. There is only one other pentahotel in Asia, located in Shanghai.

The 299-room hotel is located in the downtown Chongwenmen District and is close to popular tourist attractions.

By the third quarter, the hotel’s public spaces and guestrooms will be redesigned, and a new service culture will be introduced to reflect the pentahotels’ concept of a neighbourhood lifestyle hotel.

Launched in Europe, the brand’s properties in Asia are managed by Hong Kong-based New World Hospitality. Further expansion is on the cards, with a target of 30 pentahotels in Asia by 2015.

NEW aviation company Heritage Air (Melaka) plans to commence thrice-weekly regular charter services between Malacca and Bandung, Indonesia by the end of the first quarter.

Set up last year, Heritage Air (Melaka) is wholly owned by Kumpulan Kemuning Nilam. It is currently awaiting the Air Operator’s Certificate from Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation.

The Malacca-Bandung route will be serviced by a BAe 146-200 aircraft, which has a seating capacity of 94 passengers, said Heritage Air (Melaka) executive vice-president, Mohd Azhan Ariffin.

The company also intends to lease another three aircraft by 2014 and to fly to regional destinations which are within a three-hour flight radius, added Azhan. Malacca will be its base of operations.