THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) is teaming up with the public and private sectors to help revive tourism for the south, where eight provinces were hit by floods last month.

TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni said affected operators of tourism-related businesses in the south would be hosted at a special 150-booth consumer fair, to be held from May 26 to 29 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

A slew of activities has also been lined up for the flood-hit areas, including a TAT Golf Challenge in Surat Thani in May, a corporate social responsibility project to build 84 dykes on Koh Samui in June, and a car rally on the Bangkok-Surat Thani-Nakhon Si Thammarat route and a bicycle tour on the Chumphon-Ranong route in July.

“This will help restore confidence in land travel, as road links were reported to be damaged during the floods,” said Suraphon.

The NTO is also preparing to launch a new website, www.travelsouththailand.com, which will offer real-time tourism updates on the south. Fam trips for corporates, as well as agents and the media, are also in the works.

The eight provinces in mid-southern Thailand that were affected by last month’s floods are Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Chumphon, Phatthalung, Trang, Phang Nga, Songkhla and Krabi.

By Sirima Eamtako

PERTH Convention Bureau’s (PCB) Christine Allen has resigned from her position as managing director. She will continue in her role until the end of the financial year, according to PCB chairman Ian Laurance.

Laurance explained: “Christine is reluctantly stepping down as managing director because of changes in her personal circumstances. Her departure will be a great loss to the bureau and to the business tourism industry in Western Australia.”

He added: “Last year, PCB achieved its best year on record, securing convention and incentive travel business worth more than AUD$93 million (US$98.5 million) to the Western Australian economy. This was a wonderful achievement and a testament to her outstanding and innovative leadership.”

During her time as managing director, Allen guided the PCB through a significant transformation, including a substantial increase in state government and industry funding, the creation of a “business events” brand for Western Australia, and the development of a business model that was driving the bureau’s increasing sales success.

Allen said PCB was “heading towards another record result”, and was poised to achieve even greater things in the future. “Business tourism is the shining star of all the tourism sectors in Australia at the moment, and it is extremely satisfying to have been a part of that success story,” she said.

Laurance said the board would be looking for a replacement who could bring “a similar level of commitment, passion and business acumen to the managing director’s role”.

CAPITALAND’S wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, Ascott, has extended its footprint to Frankfurt, where it has acquired a turnkey serviced residence property slated to open in 2014.

Investing €28 million (US$40.4 million) into its latest buy, the new 165-unit Citadines Messe Frankfurt increases Ascott’s Europe portfolio to over 5,300 apartment units in 48 properties across 22 cities.

In January, the company had signed a sale and purchase agreement for Citadines St Michaelis Hamburg, scheduled to open in 2013.

CEO Lim Ming Yan said: “Europe is a key market for Ascott in its international expansion. With this acquisition, we are on track to achieve 7,000 apartment units in Europe by 2015. Germany is Europe’s largest and strongest economy where we already have properties in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg.

“Besides building upon our strong presence in Germany, Paris and London, we will also look for opportunities to expand into Central and Eastern Europe.”

Located in the city centre across from the Frankfurt Messe Trade Fair Area, the Citadines will offer a range of apartments, from studios to two-bedroom units. There will also be amenities, including meeting rooms, a fitness centre, a business centre and a breakfast lounge.

WITH MICE visitors spending three to four times more than the average leisure traveller, the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) is eager to boost the popularity of the country as a MICE destination through increasing the number of convention centres.

SLCB general manager Vipula Wanigasekara said 80,000 MICE travellers, some 12 per cent of arrivals into Sri Lanka, brought revenues of US$50 million last year, while 85,000 are expected this year. Much of this traffic comes from India, with over 250 events in Colombo hosted by Indian companies since 2007.

Although Sri Lanka has just a few convention centres that can accommodate over 2,000 delegates, new facilities were underway in Colombo, Negombo on the west coast, Jaffna in the north and Hambantota in the south, added Wanigasekera.

The biggest facility being planned is a 200-acre (over 80 hectares) multi-purpose complex at Peliyagoda, near Colombo, built along the lines of Sentosa Island in Singapore or the Hyderabad Convention Centre. It will have a convention centre, a 200-room hotel and cinema halls.

Meanwhile, the Hambantota Convention Centre is due for completion by August, while a 100-acre site is being scouted for a facility in the northern city of Jaffna.

AFTER more than a 10-year wait, luxury hotel group The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts finally opened a hotel in Delhi on Sunday, realising its ambition of owning a property in India’s capital.

Earlier in 2004, legal complications had forced Leela to drop a plot of land it had acquired from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation in 1997. It later managed to grab a 1.2-hectare plot in Chanakyapuri at a record price of 6.11 billion rupees (US$137.64 million) in 2007.

Described by New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as the city’s new iconic building, The Leela Palace Kempinski New Delhi is a premium business hotel with 260 rooms, including 19 suites. Rooms boast of designer upholstery and the latest digital technology. The property also offers banquet and meeting space spread over 3,048m².

Aside from specialty restaurant Jamavar and all-day dining The Qube, Leela will be incorporating franchised restaurants in a hotel for the first time, with international restaurants Megu (Japanese cuisine) and Le Cirque (classic Italian and contemporary French food).

By Anand & Madhura Katti

DUSIT International is accelerating its overseas expansion plans, roping in veteran hotelier Giovanni Angelini as its new vice-chairman, and growing its presence in China by opening two offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Angelini, retired CEO of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and presently CEO of Hong Kong-based Angelini Hospitality, will be looking after all overseas expansion of the Thai hotel chain. Dusit now operates and manages 22 properties in four countries and plans to open 10 more hotels in six countries.

In a bid to expand its footprint in China, Dusit will be opening a regional sales office in Shanghai on July 1 and a development office in Hong Kong on May 1, joining its existing regional sales office in Hong Kong. The group has also added Mandarin pages to its website and appointed Mandarin-speaking associates at properties in key locations.

China has been one of Dusit’s fastest growing markets in terms of visitor numbers to its properties in Thailand, Manila and Dubai over the past few years, according to the chain’s sales and marketing vice-president, Jennifer Cronin.

Cronin said Chinese guests at Dusit Thani Dubai accounted for eight per cent of the property’s business in the first quarter of this year, up from one per cent over the same period last year, while Dusit Thani Pattaya saw year-on-year growth of three to six per cent from the same market.

By Sirima Eamtako

EVEN if it may negatively impact tourism, news presenter Richard Quest made a case for media’s responsibility to accurately report what is happening on the ground during disasters.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of PATA’s 60th Anniversary & Conference in Beijing last week, the business travel specialist said: “The tourism industry would rather us shut our eyes to the unpleasantness, but we cannot pretend and wish things were normal. We have a responsibility to be honest.”

He added that the element of realism should prevail. “The travel industry is all about selling dreams and experiences. All too often, however, the industry blinds itself to certain impracticalities and realities.

“Some travellers would say it’s the perfect time to go to Japan, what with bargain flights and all, but honestly, would you want to go on a nice luxury holiday to Japan at the moment? Would you really want to go on a holiday in a country where there is a civil war or disaster?”

Quest also denied that the media often resorts to sensationalisation to attract more viewers.

“When a crisis happens, the expenditure for CNN goes through the roof,” he explained. “We have to fly people and equipment to location. The advertising revenue also goes down due to the increased frequency of breaking news segments.”

Quest, who over the last two decades has covered a variety of stories from Yasser Arafat’s demise to the Lockerbie bombing, said that he treads more carefully when it comes to crisis reporting.

“I ask myself: What is happening in the country at the moment? What is it exactly that I am saying? What are the effects of this is going to be? Could somebody interpret this as not being safe to be here?”

MAJOR outbound operator CTC Travel has started to offer seven-day tours to Hokkaido at almost half the price, and is planning a media fam trip to Japan in a bid to rebuild Singaporeans’ confidence in the disaster-hit country.

There will be four departures in May for these Ganbatte Japan tours, which go for a mere S$1,399 (US$1,129) compared to the usual S$2,388. The packages have reeled in 20 bookings to date, said the agency’s senior vice president (marketing & PR), Alicia Seah.

“It is a good sign, and with Tokyo Disney Resort now reopened, tourists will return to Japan slowly but surely,” she said.

Seah also hoped to organise a fam trip as soon – possibly on May 9 – in order to discourage travellers from cancelling tours booked for the May to July period.

“There are many areas in Japan that are not affected, and we have been getting updates about radiation levels in Japanese cities, some of which are lower than that in Singapore. But the words of the media will carry more weight, so we have partnered other industry players such as airlines to conduct media fam trips to destinations like Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kyushu and Hokkaido,” she said.

HONG KONG has been seeing increased interest in its ecotourism offerings since it started promoting green outdoor activities two years ago, with teambuilding and incentive groups especially keen to take advantage of the sector’s diversity.

Hong Kong Tourism Board’s (HKTB) general manager, MICE and Cruise, Gilly Wong, said the sector had been receiving “much more bookings and enquiries compared to when (it) first started”, with the bulk of interest coming from longhaul source markets like Japan and South Korea.

“When most people think of Hong Kong, they tend to think of luxury, shopping and the city,” she said. “We want to highlight that the green side of Hong Kong is complimentary to these other offerings.”

Wong said that aside from team hiking activities and boat trips, there are also nature excursions to Hong Kong National Geopark and Lantau Island for those who want to take a break from the city life.

Over 50 per cent of Lantau Island consists of national parks, including a large number of well-marked hiking trails. There is also a marine park north of the island, which has been designated to protect Chinese White Dolphins, often called pink dolphins.

Meanwhile, Wong said HKTB would soon be embarking on an advertising blitz via print and online channels to highlight MICE activities and offerings in Hong Kong. According to Wong, the campaign will revolve around four topics: themed attractions, wine and dine, MICE cruise charters and Lantau Island.

AN OVERSUPPLY of hotel rooms has caused a price war among hotels in Jaipur, with rates in three- to five-star categories dropping by 20 to 25 per cent over the last three years, according to Le Passage to India Tours & Travels executive director Khalid Khan.

Golden Tulip Jaipur general manager Shailesh Joshi explained that three- and four-star properties were forced to reduce rates whenever five-star properties dropped their prices.

Joshi said he was sustaining rack rates at his hotel (about US$50 to US$75) by targeting more corporate business, which is year-round, compared to leisure business, which tends to be seasonal.

While the better prices benefit the consumer, Khan said rates in Jaipur and India as a whole were still relatively high compared to countries such as Thailand, Singapore and China, which offer similar category hotels at lower rates, and where destination marketing is better.

According to Khan, staying in a standard four-star property in Jaipur costs around US$150 to US$200 per night, whereas staying in a four-star property in Singapore sets you back around US$70 to US$90 per night.

Over the next 18 months, Jaipur’s inventory is expected to increase by another 2,500 rooms, with the opening of eight new hotels. The destination is also gearing up for more MICE business, as some of the new properties will be equipped with MICE facilities. A large, new convention centre that can accommodate up to 5,000 delegates at Sitapura Industrial area in Jaipur will also be ready by 2013.

Inbound agents are split over the potential impact of these new developments on hotel rates.

Sita general manager Rajasthan Sanjay Sharma was of the opinion that rates would drop further. “Business will improve, but rates are uncertain to go up. The MICE business cannot be counted on 365 days,” he said.

Khan, however, said the international hotels opening in the near future would be conducting their own destination marketing, creating more awareness and resulting in an inflow of business, which would in turn result in higher rates.

Creative Travel senior manager Lalit Bhatt said: “I am optimistic business will come back. By winter 2012, provided there are no calamities in India, rates in Jaipur will go back to pre-recession levels.”