PASSENGER arrivals to Phuket reached a new high of 3.5 million last year – a 22 per cent growth over 2009 – but room supply outpaced demand for the first time in a decade, resulting in a slide in rates as hoteliers battled to retain occupancy.

According to C9 Hotelworks’ latest market research report on Phuket, Russia and China emerged as the major drivers of growth due to burgeoning charter and direct flight capacity.

Figures for 2010 showed a 44 per cent increase in Asian travellers from the previous year, while overall European visitors dropped by one per cent. This translated into a decline in average length of stay, noted the report.

C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett said: “The departure of legacy geographic markets has come at a cost with shrinking average room rates.”

Keen competition last year also exercised further downward pressure on room rates, as supply growth edged higher by 17 per cent, outstripping demand growth of eight per cent. Market-wide occupancy increased by four per cent, but was offset by a three per cent fall in room rates.

Phuket has a total pipeline of 5,749 keys, representing a 12.9 per cent increase in existing supply.

AIRASIA X’s four-weekly direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Paris commencing on February 14 are being hailed by inbound players as a huge opportunity to cater to an under-tapped market.

The route is currently served only by Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) daily flights.

Ping Anchorage Travel & Tours CEO, Alex Lee, said the country had previously lost out on French business to neighbouring Thailand and Singapore due to insufficient seats on MAS’ services.

The additional 1,308 seats weekly would ease the supply crunch during peak travel periods such as the European summer and winter seasons, he added.

Grace Holidays general manager Godwin Miranda said the company would resume marketing efforts to France, which were stopped in 1994, and also look at Swiss and Belgian customers.

Grace has already developed itineraries for eco-tourism packages in Peninsular Malaysia, and will start promoting East Malaysia to French-speaking markets in the second half of the year.

ASCOTT will manage the 220-unit Ascott Bonifacio Global City Manila and the 215-unit Citadines Salcedo Makati, both slated to open in 2014.

Ascott Bonifacio Global City Manila will be the second Ascott-branded property in the Philippines and the group’s first property in Taguig City. A 15-minute drive from the Makati district, the property will offer studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, as well as office suites, and boardroom and meeting areas.

Citadines Salcedo Makati, the first Citadines Apart’hotel in the country, will be situated in Salcedo Village within the Makati Central Business District. It will offer studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and recreational facilities including a fitness centre and swimming pool.

Ascott currently operates four properties in the country.

BALI tourism authorities have taken steps to ensure the local tourism industry suffers minimal impact from reports of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on the island.

With 11 cases – nine Australian, one Dutch and one French – of the potentially fatal infectious disease detected in tourists returning home from Bali so far, the Bali Hotels Association (BHA) has advised members to conduct immediate tests, increase spot checks at their respective properties, and report findings to the association.

Bali governor Made Mangku Pastika also urged hotels to maintain better standards of hygiene. “The hotels (where the 11 affected tourists stayed) have been summoned and sternly warned,” he said.

Meanwhile, a number of hotels in Kuta – favoured by Australian travellers – said the issue had not yet affected business.

Discovery Kartika Plaza Bali director of sales and marketing Alice Matulessy said bookings for the hotel remain steady. “It is too early to say whether it will affect bookings later,” she added.

Ismullah Lahsin, general manager of White Rose Bali Hotels & Villas and Sun Island Boutique Villas and Spa, said it was not really a big issue among tourists. “I haven’t received any queries about the disease from travel agents or travellers,” said Lahsin.

SINGAPORE-based Crescentrating.com has endorsed all five properties of Malaysia-based Legend Group of Hotels & Resorts for their halal-friendly services and facilities.

Crescentrating.com rates hotels on a scale of one to seven based on services and facilities provided to Muslim travellers, with a rating of seven being the most halal-friendly.

Legend Hotels, the first big Malaysian hotel group to receive these ratings, scored a Crescentrating rating of five for each of its properties, indicating that food is prepared in halal-certified kitchens, there are kiblat direction markings in the guestrooms, and Muslim prayer timetables and prayer mats are provided on request, explained Crescentrating CEO Fazal Bahardeen.

Andy Muniandy, director of sales and business development of Asian Overland Services Tours and Travel, said the Crescentrating rating was an added value for hotels, especially when catering to conservative Muslim travellers from Gulf countries.

Ally Bhoonee, executive director of World Avenues, an inbound tour operator and wholesaler strong in the Middle East market, agreed, saying the high ratings would help convince conservative Muslim travellers that they would feel comfortable staying in the properties.

According to Fazal, more than 12 hotel brands in Malaysia have been rated so far.

SOME Malaysian inbound operators, reeling from a drop in European arrivals over the last two years as the continent continues to suffer from a limp economy and weak currency, have turned to developing new markets to make up for the revenue loss.

To compound the situation further, the UK and Germany have also implemented additional flight taxes – air passenger duty and green tax respectively – that have affected passengers to longhaul destinations like Malaysia the most.

Ping Anchorage Travel & Tours CEO, Alex Lee, saw business from Europe halve in 2010 compared to 2008. “We also saw a decrease in the length of stay and spending among the leisure market in Europe,” he said.

Lee said targeting the Asian markets would help address the problem. “We have intensified our marketing efforts to the domestic (Malaysia) market, South-east Asia (Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia) and China to make up for the shortfall,” he said.

Similarly, Diethelm Travel’s managing director Manfred Kurz is “developing new markets in advance”, extending marketing efforts to Russian-speaking tourists in Eastern Europe. The company will initially target FITs before expanding to groups and MICE.

SITE Global, the worldwide association for professionals in the incentives industry, will hold its first board meeting of the year in New Delhi from February 10 to 12.

During their visit, SITE board members will meet key officials and players in the Indian tourism industry for bilateral discussions on how India can grow in this sector.

An executive summit has also been scheduled for February 11 to facilitate discussion between the board, local SITE members and other companies engaged in MICE, on how best to market their destination and the latest industry trends.

BEST Western International has signed its first hotel in Cambodia – the Suites And Sweet Resort Angkor.

Tentatively set to complete its rebranding this quarter, the property features Khmer-style design and décor in a setting similar to a typical Cambodian floating village, and a restaurant serving Khmer and French cuisine.

A 10-minute drive from both Siem Reap town and the Angkor Wat temple complex, the resort offers 18 suites in nine villas, each with their own private pool and terrace.

SINGAPORE Airlines and its regional wing SilkAir will raise the fuel surcharge for tickets issued on or after January 27, marking the second price hike by both carriers in less than two months.

Prices will go up by between US$3 and US$27 per sector, depending on the distance and class of travel.

In a statement, Singapore Airlines said this was “a result of the recent sharp and sustained escalation in the price of jet fuel”, which had now risen above US$110 per barrel.

The application of fuel surcharges may be subject to regulatory approval or variation in some individual markets.

BRUNEI’S only international hotel brand, Radisson Hotel Brunei, will undergo a refurbishment exercise, even as new flights between Bandar Seri Begawan and Melbourne are expected to boost travel demand for the sultanate.

Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) will launch four-weekly direct services on March 29 (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 19, 2010).

The renovation, which will commence in the first half of this year, will be carried out in stages over 18 months, and cover all 142 rooms, the business centre and club floor rooms.

The hotel, previously the Sheraton Utama Hotel until May 2010, closed last year at 50 per cent occupancy, higher than the country’s average of 40 per cent.

General manager Peter Feran said he was banking on RBA’s new service to attract more Australians, which is an important market for the hotel. RBA already flies to Brisbane and Perth.