INDONESIAN outbound operators are looking to religious travellers as a form of diversification, and are increasing offerings or introducing new programmes to cater to this market.

Agents at the Indonesia Pilgrimage Travel Fair, held in Jakarta over the weekend, said such tours went beyond pilgrim worship purposes.

“Indonesia has the largest Muslim society who also needs to travel for a holiday. Their common concerns when taking an overseas trip are the praying times and halal food,” said TIM Tour and Travel general manager Anni Nuraini, who is also secretary general of the Community of Muslim Tour Operators (KPWM).

The consortium of agents introduced Muslim tour packages covering Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and South Korea in 2010, and will add programmes to Japan, Australia and Turkey this year.

Star Midas Travel Service director Rini Indriani said he was also planning to come up with Muslim tour programmes, in addition to his main business in corporate incentives and Mecca pilgrimages.

During the trade show, Panorama Tours also launched a slew of religion-related packages such as the Korea Pilgrimage for Catholics and the India Lotus Path Pilgrimage for Buddhists. These will be offered during the January-March low season.

AGAINST a backdrop of a strong rebound in premium air travel, Singapore Airlines’ next Airbus A380 – its 12th out of an order for 19 – and subsequent deliveries will feature an all-Business Class upper deck, a credible industry source told TTG Asia e-Daily.

It is also understood that Tokyo (Narita) and Los Angeles will be among the first destinations to be served using these A380s.

The move will lower the seat density onboard the A380, which currently has 471 seats in total. At press time, no further information was available on the number of seats in this section or the number of seats in Suites, Business and Economy classes.

Only one other airline has opted for an all-Business Class upper deck. Korean Air’s first A380, which will arrive in May, will have 94 Business Class seats on its upper deck out of a total of 407 seats. On the main deck, the First Class section will have 12 seats and the Economy Class section will have 301 seats.

INDONESIA is proving to be a fast-growing tourist destination for Riyadh-based Unique Choice who recently appointed a Jakarta-based resident director for hotel contracting from February 1 just after it started selling the country slightly over a year ago.

CEO Zawfir Ziard said the tour operator sent 1,800 passengers to Indonesia in 2010, and anticipates the Middle East market to the country to grow to 2,000 pax this year.

He added that last year’s passenger numbers to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand were 16,000, 6,000 and 3,000 respectively, with expectations of a 60 per cent growth in 2011.

Driving the numbers were the Middle East’s strong economy and increased air links to the three countries, explained Zawfir.

Unique’s clientele is mainly leisure traffic from the UAE, Qatar and Oman.

By Sirima Eamtako

AGENTS are touting river cruises as the activity du jour for Asian travellers, with many looking to tap the growing demand with new initiatives.

Lim Chee Tong, managing director of Malaysia-based Jebsen Travel & Tours Services and consultant for Singapore’s Stamford Discovery Cruise Centre, said demand from Malaysia and Singapore for European river cruises had been doubling every year since 2008.

“Demand for river cruises in Europe is expected to grow further this year,” he said, citing the strong Asian currencies as a push factor. Best-selling packages are for sailings along the Danube River and the Rhine River with an extension to Volga River in Russia, he added.

Lim, whose company is the general sales agent for five river cruise lines, is currently looking for agents in South-east Asia to develop the river cruise segment. According to Lim, commissions for river cruises are much bigger – 30 to 40 per cent – compared to ocean cruises, which offer a mere 10 per cent.

Seeing potential in this growing market, Cambodia-based World Express Tours & Travel will introduce Asian river cruise itineraries by mid-year. Managing director Ho Vandy said the company will target families.

DANIEL Corpuz, formerly executive director of the then Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation (PCVC), has been appointed undersecretary for tourism promotions and planning of the Philippine Department of Tourism.

Corpuz retired from the PCVC in June last year. The PCVC has since been replaced by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board.

By Ollie Quiniquini

HONG KONG expects arrivals this year to grow by 10 per cent over 2010’s 36 million visitors, and has formulated a strategy to meet this target.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board’s (HKTB) 2011-2012 tourism work plan gives the city a new destination brand, “Hong Kong – Asia’s World City”, and an enhanced calendar of events.

The NTO has identified Vietnam and the Netherlands as emerging markets, in addition to India, the Middle East and Russia. According to HKTB chairman James Tien, this was spurred by Vietnam’s robust economic growth and better air connections between Hong Kong and the Netherlands. The HKTB will also open its office in Taiwan soon.

Business arrivals to Hong Kong increased by 14.4 per cent in 2010, and overnight MICE arrivals surged to by 23.3 per cent to around 1.31 million from January to November. HKTB executive director Anthony Lau expects the uptrend to continue. “We anticipate a 10 to 15 per cent growth this year, with both exhibition and convention segments (performing well).”

On the leisure front, the board will push new products such as Aqua City and Rainforest at Ocean Park, Sky 100, Tai O Heritage Hotel and Hong Kong Disneyland’s Toy Story Land.