| Prince Park Tower Tokyo joins Preferred Posted: 11 Aug 2011 01:37 AM PDT |
| Hyatt opens hotel in Chennai Posted: 11 Aug 2011 01:30 AM PDT |
| The Shore at Katathani named "Number one hotel in Phuket" Posted: 10 Aug 2011 09:28 PM PDT + Click Image to Enlarge  THAILAND-Luxury beachfront pool villa resort, The Shore at Katathani has been crowned ‘Number One Hotel in Phuket’ following its official opening just eight months ago, triumphing over some of Phuket’s finest hotels. The prestigious accolade is based solely on the millions of real and unbiased reviews and opinions from travellers on the travel guide website www.tripadvisor.com TM . World travellers gave The Shore at Katathani its top place in the Phuket rankings despite fierce competition from luxury hotels across the island.
Nantida Atiset, Chief Marketing Officer of the Shore at Katathani, said: “We are extremely proud that The Shore at Katathani has been recognised in this way. This represents one of the most powerful recommendations – the endorsement of other guests.
The tripadvisor recognition follows the prestigious ‘Asia Pacific Hotel Award’ which Naga Concepts (the firm that designed The Shore at Katathani) was awarded earlier this year in the category of the ‘Best Hotel Construction and Design’ in Asia Pacific.
Since the opening of The Shore at Katathani in November 2010, new developments have included the construction of 11 additional villas. Commenting on The Shore’s growth, Atiset said: “We look forward to enhancing our guests’ experiences even further with the opening of ‘The Orchard’ later this year providing guests with hands-on insight into Thai food and authentic Thai cookery experiences”.
The Shore’s philosophy is based on their passion for beauty, celebration, romance and life. They believe in a natural fusion of indoor and outdoor living ‘where time has no meaning beyond the pleasure of every moment’.
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| Blossom Japan: Positive signs for Japan’s recovery Posted: 10 Aug 2011 08:45 PM PDT + Click Image to Enlarge  JAPAN-As we move into the second half of 2011, it is clear that Japan is shouting out to the world that the vast majority of the country is safe to travel to. Inbound to Japan, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) reports that the International arrivals to Japan have picked up slightly in June 2011, welcoming 433,100 foreign arrivals. This represents a decline of -36% over June 2010 but one which is better than the -50% decline in May and the -62% decline in April 2011.
Outbound from Japan, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) estimates that outbound travel from Japan has dropped by around 3.6% over the last five months. However, a number of destinations in the Asia Pacific region are defying the odds and actually boosting their market share of Japanese arrivals.
The market is now flooded with various comeback initiatives for the Japanese tourism industry. One of Blossom Japan’s exhibitors, The Real Japan, launched the unique “100 + 1 days Travel Volunteer” project. The winner of the contest will visit all 47 Japanese prefectures, between September 15 and December 24 and share his or her impressions through a blog. The sponsors of the initiative will cover all travel and accommodation expenses during the trip, including international airfares.
“Through various marketing and promotional activities that The Real Japan have been undertaking all over the world, they are really trying to get the message across that they want us back. They have put together some excellent footage that shows us the rebuilding of a nation”, says Jay Martens CEO of Lucioles.
“Back to normal is our take on Japan… we have families AND corporate travellers heading to the land of the rising sun”, says Michael Holtz, President of SmartFlyer New York.
With just over 6 months until Blossom Japan makes its second debut in Japan, Lucioles is pleased to announce that its International Buyer Programme has now closed with over 40 companies on a waitlist. Furthermore 70% of the Japanese Buyers have also been contracted with a number of companies currently being qualified for approval.
Lucioles has also appointed two new Sales Agents to its extended team with Neil Pollett representing Blossom Japan across Australian and New Zealand. Neil brings with him over 20 years of international marketing experience across a range of industries and markets.
Blazon Communications will represent Blossom Japan across the entire MENA region.
“Some of the world’s finest hotels and travel services are available in the Middle East and therefore it is vital that this part of the world has a strong representation at Blossom Japan. We are confident that, with our strong network of contacts in the travel and hospitality sectors, we will bring a high-profile, high-end portfolio of products to Kyoto in 2012”, said Sarah Campbell, Director of Public Relations, Blazon Communications.
Blossom Japan 2012 will be held in Kyoto, 13-16 February 2012, it will commence with a full day conference followed by a three-day exhibition at ICC Kyoto.
The exhibition will be facilitated by pre-scheduled meetings ensuring that all attendees are conducting serious business by day, and will be supplemented by a series of networking events by night for all Buyers, Exhibitors and Media attending.
Blossom Japan is a dedicated invitation only event that brings Buyers from 39 different countries all of whom are looking for exciting new products to present to their clients. By creating a platform for all the key luxury brands to meet, Blossom Japan provides a new dynamism for the whole luxury travel industry internationally and in Japan.
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| Revamped Bangkok park opens Posted: 10 Aug 2011 08:35 PM PDT + Click Image to Enlarge  THAILAND-Bangkok has reopened the Sanam Luang park following a major restoration. The park, which is located in the historic part of the Thai capital, close to the Grand Palace, closed last July for a THB180 million (US$5.9 million) facelift, which has seen it re-turfed, and a perimeter walkway adorned with new trees and public benches.
Sanam Luang will be open between 5am and 10pm, although a thoroughfare through the middle of the park will be open 24 hours. To mark the opening, a fi ve-day exhibition will be held at the park to mark HM the Queen’s birthday.
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| Phuket expecting record visitor arrivals Posted: 10 Aug 2011 08:13 PM PDT + Click Image to Enlarge  THAILAND-Phuket Airport is expecting a record four million passenger arrivals this year. According to data released by C9 Hotelworks, arrivals in H1 2011 to the popular Thai resort destination increased 20% y-o-y.
These numbers are straining the handling capacity of the airport with AOT expecting 7.95 million passengers in 2011, which will exceed capacity by 22%.
A US$164 million expansion plan that will increase handling to 12.5 million by 2014 is scheduled to start construction next year and tourism operators are increasingly concerned over the mounting delays experienced by travellers.
The island's top five tourism source markets (in order) to date for 2011 are China, Russia, Australia, South Korea and Sweden.
A leading indicator in the cyclical development was shown in 2010 when charter flights hit their highest ever level. This equated to a 153% increase in y-o-y growth.
As guest demographics evolve, the colourful Patong area which accounts for 35% of the 43,571 accommodation rooms on the island, produced an occupancy rate of 82% in H1 2011, with China and Russia now taking a quarter share of the market.
“First half trading by volume markets saw a surge in Phuket’s average occupancy across all hotel tiers to 73%. Key market metric RevPAR moved up to its highest level since the global financial crises in 2008,” said C9 Hotelwork’s Managing Director, Bill Barnett. “As long as the infrastructure keeps pace with the increased numbers of tourists and expansion of hotels and faculties are well planned and implemented, hotels will be able to properly manage their room rates in line with the supply and demand dynamics.”
C9 Hotelworks’ Phuket Hotel Market Update shows a supply pipeline for the island of 6,968 rooms. This will see an increase of 16% by the end of 2014.
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| AirAsia and Tune Money partners AIA Posted: 10 Aug 2011 07:56 PM PDT + Click Image to Enlarge  MALAYSIA-Tune Money, in cooperation with American International Assurance (AIA), will offeir a range of insurance protection products exclusively for AirAsia guests in Malaysia. Tune Money is the appointed Insurance Manager for AirAsia’s Direct Insurance Business and manages AirAsia INSURE Lifestyle Protection programme and supports operationally AirAsia INSURE Travel Protection programme to AirAsia guests.
Under the AirAsia INSURE Lifestyle Protection Programme, AirAsia guests will be offered life, accident and health insurance protection products.
Among the protection plans that are being promoted via telemarketing are ‘Cancer Shield Rider Plan with Refund of Premium’ and ‘Critical Illness Plan with Refund of Premium’. More innovative products are being developed in order to continuously meet the lifestyle needs of AirAsia guests.
Commenting on the collaboration, the Chief Executive Officer of AIA Bhd., Mr Khor Hock Seng said, “AIA Bhd. is delighted to work with Tune Money in supporting AirAsia INSURE Lifestyle Protection Programme to provide the protection for AirAsia’s guests. Very often people are underinsured without realizing it. As a leading provider of protection in Asia we are focused on ensuring our customers and our partners’ customers are aware of any protection gap they may face and how they can close it.”
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| Singapore Airlines to order 8 more Boeing 777-300ERs Posted: 10 Aug 2011 07:31 PM PDT + Click Image to Enlarge  SINGAPORE-Singapore Airlines has agreed to order eight more Boeing 777-300ERs to support its growth plans for the years ahead. Deliveries of the new aircraft are scheduled to begin in the 2013/14 financial year. They will be operated by Singapore Airlines on medium and long-haul routes. The order is valued at US$2.3 billion at list prices.
Powered by General Electric GE90 engines, the aircraft will join 19 Boeing 777-300ERs already in service with SIA.
The aircraft will be configured in a three-class layout featuring the airline’s latest cabin product and service offerings.
“These additional B777-300ERs will help support our ongoing programme to further strengthen the Singapore Airlines network, providing more travel options to our customers,” said SIA CEO Mr Goh Choon Phong. “The order is in line with our longstanding policy of operating a young and modern fleet. This enables us to offer our latest cabin products which have proven extremely popular with our customers.”
Singapore Airlines’ fleet comprises 106 widebody aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. With the agreement for eight additional B777-300ERs, SIA will have firm purchase or lease orders with the two manufacturers for another 70 aircraft.
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| Aston launches first favehotel in Jakarta Posted: 10 Aug 2011 07:11 PM PDT + Click Image to Enlarge  INDONESIA-Aston International announced the opening of the first favehotel in Jakarta – the Favehotel Wahid Hasyim. Located in the centre of Jakarta, just off Jalan MH Thamrin, the two-star hotel will feature 70 guest rooms and several meeting rooms, while all guests will receive complimentary Wi-Fi. Other facilities include in room-massage and laundry services.
Aston International's Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Norbert Vas said; “With favehotels we aim to redefine the way travellers think about budget hotels. Values for money hotels like our faves are “in” and can be trendy. Good design, service from the heart and uncompromising standards for safety and cleanliness do not have to be expensive. The favehotel Wahid Hasyim is a stellar example for this philosophy.”
The favehotel Wahid Hasyim joins the brand’s existing hotels in Denpasar and Surabaya and will soon be followed by new openings in Bali’s Seminyak, Umalas and Legian districts, as well as the first international favehotel in the Malaysia resort island of Langkawi.
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