Sept 26, 2011 – Tiger Airways has taken delivery of two new Airbus A320s, expanding its Singapore-based fleet to 20 aircraft. The additional aircraft will be used to boost capacity on routes to Bangkok (from 28 to 31 times a week), Ho Chi Minh City (21 to 28), Tiruchirapalli (seven to 11), Guangzhou and Taipei (both from seven to 10). Tiger also plans to use the aircraft to launch flights to new destinations, including Bengaluru, Cebu and Davao.

“These additional aircraft will fuel the expansion of our business in Singapore,” said Stewart Adams, Managing Director of Tiger Airways Singapore. “Tiger Airways has one of the youngest fleets in Asia, and our focus will continue to be on delivering great value fares, safe and reliable air travel to great destinations in the region.”

The latest deliveries are part of the Tiger Airways Group’s overall plans to grow its total fleet to 68 aircraft by December 2015.

Source From: traveldailyasia

Sept 26, 2011 – Orchard Hotel Singapore has unveiled its new Claymore Wing. The SG$10 million (US$7.7 million) refurbishment project has seen all 331 guest rooms in the Claymore Wing undergo a full refurbishment, including its Executive Club Floors. The new Executive Suites, Executive Club Rooms and Deluxe Rooms now feature timber flooring, a new colour scheme and a pillow menu, while a range of media connections, including HDMI, USB, and PC Link have been added to allow guests to project their laptop data on the rooms’ 40-inch LED TV screens. Bathrooms now feature a drop-in shower stall and sunken long bath, and Wi-Fi is now available throughout the hotel.

“Singapore expects more than 13 million visitors this year so the refurbishment at Orchard Hotel introduces a breath of fresh air and keeps the hotel poised for long-term competitiveness,” said Lim Boon Kwee, Senior Vice President of Asia for M&C International, the regional arm of Millennium & Copthorne. “I am pleased to announce that our SG$10 million refurbishment project is completed and reflects our commitment to create a memorable experience for our guests.”

The newly-created Executive Suites feature a separate bedroom with study area, a living room with a 46-inch LED TV, a formal dining area and two separate entrances.

“Guests staying in the Executive Club Rooms and Suites will be pampered with exclusive club services and a Bose wave music system. A dedicated Executive concierge team will be on hand to assist with every little whim and fancy, from theatre and restaurant reservations to organising an exclusive shopping trip. Executive amenities and services from personal aromatic therapy with a range of essential oils, kits for ladies, businessmen, couples or babies, blood pressure devices, the latest in-room office equipment and stationery are also available upon request,” said Ruprecht Schmitz, General Manager of Orchard Hotel.

The 17th floor Executive Lounge has also been revamped and offers personalised check-in and check-out services, refreshments throughout the day, happy hour cocktails and canapés, complimentary local calls and wireless internet access, and breakfast.

Source from: traveldailyasia

July 27, 2011 – Hong Kong and Singapore were the destinations most frequently visited by business travellers in the first half of 2011, according to a survey by Accor. The two Asian economic hubs were both visited by 38% of respondents, ahead of Thailand (29%), China (28%) and Malaysia (24%). For intended travel in the second half of 2011, Singapore and Hong Kong continue to lead the way at 39% and 38% respectively. Thailand and China are joint third at 29%.

China leads the way for travel to Hong Kong, with almost three-quarters of surveyed corporate travellers from the mainland reporting that they visited Hong Kong in H1 (73%) or have the intention of doing so in H2 (72%). Likewise 68% of Indonesian executives surveyed cited Singapore as the predominant business travel destination. These trends are consistent with the observation that countries tend to gravitate towards their geographical neighbours. For example Australia is a major hub for New Zealand business travellers, as Singapore is for Malaysians.

Evan Lewis, Vice President of Communications for Accor Asia Pacific, said; “Based on findings from our survey, business travellers have told us that Singapore is expected to be the top business travel destination in the second half of 2011, thus reinforcing the city’s position as a key business hub for Asia Pacific.”

Another interesting observation is that though Singapore ranks second in destinations frequented by Hong Kong’s business travellers in the first half of 2011. This trend is not reciprocated however, with Hong Kong ranking fourth for Singaporean business travellers. External business matters (as opposed to internal company matters and attending trade shows) were the overriding purpose for trips into Singapore (46%) and Hong Kong (44%).

In terms of outbound travel, business travellers from Hong Kong have cited China as the primary business travel destination with 79% of those interviewed making trips there in H1 2011. For Singapore, both Malaysia and Thailand emerged as the top destinations (57% and 49%). Hong Kong’s business executives ranked fourth with outbound business travel volumes averaging 6.8 regional trips in H1. Singapore’s executives come in third with outbound business travel averaging 7.1. The average for the Asia Pacific region was 6.3 trips in the first half. Budget wise, there was no clear distinction between Hong Kong’s executives, who averaged US$132 per room night, and Singapore’s business travellers at US$134. Business travellers from Australia are the highest spenders at US$158.

Sorce From: traveldailyasia

Sept 22, 2011 – This year’s ITB Asia will feature four new conference sessions. These include panel discussions on Loyalty Programmes, Boutique Hotels, Women in Action and a Business Travel Plenary Session.

This year’s conference programme is already the show’s largest line-up to date, with the ‘Asia for Asia Conference’ organised by Singapore Tourism Board, as well as the second instalment of the ITB Asia Association Day already confirmed.

“The conference component has always been a key element of ITB Asia’s knowledge-sharing platform and this year’s programme is all set to be even bigger and better with over 3,000 minutes of high powered content, about 40% more compared to 2010,” said Nino Gruettke, Executive Director of ITB Asia.

“To ensure that ITB Asia truly represents the travel industry, we’ve put together an exciting and more in-depth programme that will probe into the most relevant issues surrounding the industry this year. All sessions will be addressed by key industry players who will provide case studies and share first hand experiences and valuable insights not only from the Asia Pacific region but from around the world,” he added.

The conference programme will kick-off on the first day of the show with a keynote speech from Paul Brown, Hilton Worldwide’s President of Global Brands & Commercial Services, who will address the impact of demography and technology on MICE business in Asia.

The panel on loyalty programmes held on the same day will be represented by key industry figures including Paul Kerr, President & CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), Robert M. Rush, President & CEO of LRA Worldwide, Maria Taylor, Vice President Loyalty & Direct Sales for Asia Pacific for Accor, Sung-A Hong from Starwood’s Loyalty & Partner Marketing division, Alfie Yee, Director of Marketing – Asia Pacific for Hilton Worldwide and Sim Beng Koon, Regional Director of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).

“Delegates will learn the key to getting the balance right when executing loyalty programmes from these industry experts. They will also learn how to stay relevant to travellers’ needs,” added Gruettke.

The session on boutique hotels which will also take place on 19 October, will feature speakers from some SLH, Wanderlust, New Majestic, Hotel 1929, The Scarlet Hotel, W Hotels Worldwide and Design Hotels. In this discussion, boutique hotel industry leaders will share some of their trade secrets and big chains will also reveal their strategies on countering competition from the niche players.

The Business Travel Plenary session will include research findings on ‘The Economic Impact of Business Travel in Asia Pacific’ by Adam Sacks, Managing Director of Tourism Economics. The company designs market strategy models, tourism policy recommendations, tourism forecasting models, and tourism economic impact studies. This session will take place on the second day of the show, 20 October.

The final conference session which is scheduled to take place on 21 October, will put the spotlight on female travel leaders. These ‘Women in Action’ will share the stories of their journeys, what they have done to achieve success and their vision for the future of travel and tourism. Speakers confirmed so far for this panel include Claire Chiu, Director of Business Development from Warwick International Hotels, Jeanette Ho, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Raffles Fairmont Hotels, Aya Aso, President & CEO of Agora Hospitalities, which manages the Nojiriko Hotel EL BOSCO, a boutique resort hotel in Nagano, Japan, and Barbara Gallay, President of FROSCH New York. Gallay also sits on various advisory boards including The Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, and Starwood Luxury Collection.

This year’s ITB Asia will take place at Suntec Singapore from 19-21 October.

Source From: traveldailyasia

Sept 22, 2011 – No frills carrier Indigo launched flights between Delhi and Singapore last week and has many more routes in the pipeline. According to a CAPA report, IndiGo is aiming to quickly expand operations to Singapore and tap into fast-growing demand at the lower end of the Singapore-India market.

IndiGo expects to be serving Singapore’s Changi Airport with six daily flights by early next year, which would make it the largest Indian carrier and the second largest carrier overall in the Singapore-India market after Singapore Airlines. Plans are afoot to launch Mumbai-Singapore services on 15 October. Chennai and Kolkata services are due to commence within the next few months, followed by additional daily flights on the Delhi and Mumbai routes early next year. Flights to Singapore from Bangalore and Hyderabad are also under consideration.

IndiGo President, Aditya Ghosh, is bullish on the Singapore market as IndiGo is the first LCC to connect Singapore with the two main Indian metros of Delhi or Mumbai. According to CAPA, both routes are relatively underserved given the economic and ethnic ties between the two countries and IndiGo’s lower fares are also expected to stimulate significantly more demand on both routes. The Singapore-Chennai market, however, has significantly more competitive as it is already served by six carriers including two LCCs. But Ghosh is adamant that demand for this service is strong enough to make the route profitable given the ethnic ties between the two countries.

Source From: traveldailyasia