EUROPE: Hyatt Takes Alila To Europe

Hyatt is to bring its newly-acquired Alila brand to Europe, with a new hotel in La Gruyere, western Switzerland.

The brand currently operates 20 properties in Indonesia, India, China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Oman and the US.

Alila La Gruyere is due to open in 2023, overlooking a lake in Pont-La-Ville and forming part of the Golf Resort La Gruyere development.

It will have 85 hotel rooms alongside spa, conference and meetings facilities, restaurants, and a world class 18 hole golf course.

Hyatt took over Alila last year as part of its acquisition of lifestyle hotel management group Two Roads Hospitality.

Guido Fredrich, Hyatt regional vice president of development for Europe, said: "The Alila brand offers tremendous potential for growth in Europe by responding to the increasing trend of eco-tourism and wellness travel.

"We also know that well-travelled guests are looking to make impactful connections, and the Alila brand caters to this demand by crafting rare and intimate experiences."

Alila Hotels and Resorts is a hotel management company that operates in Indonesia, India, Oman and China, with their headquarters located in Singapore. Alila Hotels and Resorts is part of the Global Hotel Alliance.

Alila Hotels and Resorts was founded in May 2001 when their first property, "Alila Jakarta", opened its doors in Indonesia’s capital city. The brand was founded primarily by Mark Edleson, Alila operates 11 properties in Asia.

At present Alila Hotels and Resorts has a portfolio of 11 properties located in Indonesia, India and Oman. These hotels and resorts are also members of Design Hotels, which features properties that showcase modern design.
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In December 2012, Alila Hotels and Resorts added a liveaboard Phinisi sailing ship to their portfolio named the Alila Purnama.

It was the brand’s first luxury liveaboard ship. At present, the ship sails over the Indonesian waters of Raja Ampat and the Komodo area.

In May 2014, Alila Hotels and Resorts and Commune Hotels & Resorts announced their new partnership. Commune Hotels & Resorts owns Joie de Vivre Hotels, Thompson Hotels and tommie.RAlila was awarded The Best Foreign Hotel Brand 2010 by Condé Nast Traveller.


Tourism Observer

SINGAPORE: Ascott To Manage 14 Properties In China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

The Ascott Limited, has clinched contracts to manage 14 properties with over 2,000 units across eight countries namely: China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

Three of the 14 new properties are under its co-living ‘lyf’ brand, strategically located in the vibrant cities of Fukuoka in Japan, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Shanghai in China.

Under a partnership with Japanese real estate company, NTT Urban Development Corporation – a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Ascott will manage lyf Fukuoka as well as jointly explore serviced residence opportunities in Japan.

The 131-unit lyf property, nestled within Fukuoka’s major retail and recreational centre, is targeted to open in 2020.

Meanwhile, the 160-unit lyf Hongqiao Shanghai, strategically located in the Central Business District of Hongqiao, is set to open in 2022. lyf Raja Chulan Kuala Lumpur, which resides within Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle, the Malaysian capital city’s commercial, shopping and entertainment hub, is scheduled to open in 2020.

Mr Kevin Goh, Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer, said: Demand for our lyf-branded co-living properties is gaining ground.

We are bringing lyf to Fukuoka, Kuala Lumpur, and Shanghai as the buzzing start-up ecosystems in these cities have given rise to a popular culture of living and co-creating as a community among the millennials.

Ascott’s lyf properties, with their flexible communal spaces and social programmes, will cater to the lifestyle aspirations of creative professionals, technopreneurs, trendsetters and millennial travellers who seek collaborative and networking opportunities in the community.

Millennials already account for a quarter of Ascott’s customer base; and with our lyf brand, we can seize opportunities presented by the booming millennial generation, set to become the largest spending travel demographic in the near future.

Besides Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines where we will be opening lyf properties, we are also looking to bring lyf to other potential markets including Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom.

The 14 new properties marked Ascott’s first foray into Changchun, the second largest city in Northeast China, and deepened its presence in Foshan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; Frankfurt, Germany; Fukuoka, Japan; Gurgaon, India; Jakarta and Semarang, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Pattaya, Thailand; and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia.

The Ascott Limited is a member of CapitaLand. It is an international serviced residence owner-operator with more than 73,000 units in over 500 properties, spanning over 130 cities across 30 countries like the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Its portfolio of brands includes Ascott The Residence, Citadines Apart’hotel, Somerset Serviced Residence, Quest Apartment Hotels, The Crest Collection and lyf.

From 1984 to 2000, merger and acquisition activities involving real estate and hospitality players in Singapore, Scotts Holdings, Pidemco Land, Somerset International, Liang Court Holdings, Stamford Group, DBS Land and Citadines an established hospitality brand in Europe led to the establishment of The Ascott Limited.

In 2006, the company established the world's first pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, the Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott REIT).

The Scotts Holdings, a Singapore corporation with business interests in serviced apartments, shopping centres and property investments, opened Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced residence, The Ascott Singapore on 14 August 1984.

Scotts Holdings was listed in 1991. In 1998, Pidemco Land set up Somerset International, its new serviced residence arm. It acquired Liang Court Holdings, one of Asia's largest serviced residence operators, to form Somerset Holdings.

Together, these two companies had a combined portfolio of 3,200 serviced residence units in 15 cities. Scotts Holdings merged with Stamford Group, the serviced residence arm of DBS Land to form The Ascott Limited, creating a joint portfolio of more than 1,700 units in eight cities.

Citadines merged with Orion, while Whitehall and Westmont later sold its tourist-oriented Orion serviced residences to focus on its business clientele.

In 2001, The Ascott Limited was listed following the merger of Somerset Holdings and The Ascott Limited in 2000. In the following year, Ascott acquired a 50 percent stake in Citadines, which made it the largest international serviced residence operator outside of the US.

In 2004, it acquired the remaining 50 percent interest in Citadines.

Ascott Reit was established with the goal of investing mainly in real estate related assets and real estate which are used or essentially used as rental housing properties, serviced residences and other hospitality assets which generates revenue.

With 11,430 units and 73 properties, in 37 cities across 14 countries, Ascott Reit has a presence in regions such as The Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.

The asset size of Ascott Reit has grown to S$5.2 billion, four times the amount since it was listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX – ST) in March 2006.

Ascott Reit clinched the “Best REIT (Asia)” award by World Finance magazine at its Real Estate Awards in 2015.

Ascott Brands are:

- Ascott The Residence

- Citadines Apart'hotel

- Somerset Serviced Residence

- Quest Apartment Hotels

- The Crest Collection

- lyf


Tourism Observer

AUSTRALIA: Malindo Air Crew Arrested After Smuggling $21m Worth Of Drugs

Police have busted an international drug syndicate that they allege has been using airline cabin crew on board flights from Malaysia to smuggle drugs into Australia over a number of years.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Victoria Police have arrested eight people in the past 10 days who they allege brought heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine worth $21 million into Australia.

Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh from Victoria Police said the arrests occurred as part of Operation Sunrise, which involved the AFP, Australian Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

The joint investigative team has alleged that the syndicate used cabin crews at Malindo Air, a small airline based in Malaysia, to bring the drugs into the country.

Investigators allege the drugs were brought in via Melbourne and Sydney, carried on the bodies of the cabin crew.

One defendant allegedly told investigators it was his 20th trip into Australia.

Operation Sunrise is a complex, five-month operation targeting an alleged Vietnamese organised crime syndicate based in Melbourne, Assistant Commissioner Walsh said.

Assistant Commissioner Walsh said police believed the syndicate had been operating for at least five years and that the drugs seized so far were clearly not the total amount of drugs alleged to have been imported.

This is a significant seizure but I think reality would say that it's not the total amount of drugs that this team have brought into this country, she said.

Intelligence would tell us that this crew has been operating for some years, I would say five plus I don't know whether or not it's decades.

Those arrested by police include a 38-year-old woman arrested on January 7 in Tullamarine, and another six people arrested in raids at Sunshine North and inner-city Melbourne a day later.

On January 14, a woman from Richmond was also arrested.

Two of the defendants were Vietnamese-born Australians.

Six kilograms of heroin were seized, as well as 8kg of methamphetamine and half a kilo of cocaine.

Luxury cars, $100,000 in cash and drug paraphernalia were also seized.

Assistant Commissioner Walsh said the investigation was active and ongoing.

Malindo Air's website describes it as a premium airline with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, a town just outside of Kuala Lumpur.

In a statement, Malindo Air it was aware that one of its cabin crew had been arrested on arrival at Melbourne Airport on January 7.

While the airline said it had not had any official communication with its staff member or the AFP over the crew member's detention, the person had been suspended with immediate effect.

It said none of the other Malindo Air crew on the flight were detained.

Malindo Air stands ready to co-operate with all the relevant authorities be it in Australia or in Malaysia in this regard, the airline said.

Given all that we know to date and based on the findings of our internal investigations, we are confident that this arrest appears to be an isolated incident arising out of a crew's misconduct.


Tourism Observer

PHILIPPINES: Jeju Air Opens New Routes

Jeju Air launched six new routes in the space of four days in late December, including two new links each from its home market of South Korea to the Philippines and Taiwan, and one each to Malaysia and Thailand.

Frequencies on the sectors range from two weekly flights to daily services. All flights are operated by the South Korean LCC’s 737-800s. Only the two routes from Muan (MWX) will see no direct competition.

The longest of the new sectors is the 3,397-kilometre connection between Muan and Kota Kinabalu (BKI), while the shortest is the 1,395-kilometre link from Daegu (TAE) to Taipei Taoyuan (TPE). The average sector length across the six routes is 2,482 kilometres.

Cebu Airport celebrated the inaugural Jeju Air departure on the South Korean carrier’s new route to Muan on 22 December.

Flights will operate five times weekly on this 2,754-kilometre sector facing no direct competition. This was one of six new routes launched by the LCC between 19 December and 23 December 2018.

Jeju Air introduced a new route from Daegu (TAE) to Macau (MFM) on 2 December. The South Korean LCC will operate the 2,110-kilometre connection five times weekly, using its 737-800s. There is no direct competition on the route.

Commenting on the airport’s latest link, Eric Fong, Director of Marketing Department, Macau International Airport Company Limited said: There are four low-cost airlines from Korea operating services between Seoul, Busan and Macau.

This new service between Macau and Taegu would be in time to satisfy the Christmas peak season for travel in the coming December. Daegu becomes Jeju Air’s second route to Macau, with the carrier already operating a service from Seoul Incheon.

Jeju Air, is a South Korean low-cost airline, the first to be founded in the country. It offers scheduled domestic services between several cities in South Korea, as well as between Seoul and international destinations including Japan, China, Russia, the Mariana Islands, and various Southeast Asian countries.

It is also a founding member of the Value Alliance. Jeju Air is named after the Jeju Island. The airline, a member of AK group, is scheduled to open a Seoul head office tower hotel at Hongik station of the Seoul Metro, to diversify income.

Jeju Air operates an all-Boeing fleet consisting of the following aircraft:

- Boeing 737-800: 40

Total: 40

QATAR: Qatar Airways Heads To Cardiff

The first Qatar Airways flight between Doha and Cardiff, Wales has been officially inaugurated after the aircraft touched down. The aircraft was welcomed by a celebratory water cannon salute followed by greetings from the Mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan, Janice Charles.

This route is important to the Cardiff economy as it will connect the airport to more than 150 destinations across the world.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, was joined by the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, the UK Ambassador to the State of Qatar, Ajay Sharma as well as the Chairman of Cardiff Airport, Roger Lewis on the inaugural flight.

To celebrate this new route link, Qatar flew a one-off A350-900 service under the QR323 flight number to celebrate the first time that a commercial A350-900, whose wings are built by Airbus in Wales, had landed on Welsh soil.

However, on the normal QR323 service, it will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which will have a two-class configuration featuring 22 seats in Business Class with a 1-2-1 configuration followed by 232 seats in Economy.

However, on the normal QR323 service, it will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which will have a two-class configuration featuring 22 seats in Business Class with a 1-2-1 configuration followed by 232 seats in Economy.

Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, said:

Today marks an especially important milestone for both Qatar Airways and Cardiff Airport. The new service, our fifth gateway into the U.K., now provides the people of Wales and the South West with an extensive network of more than 150 destinations globally.

We are delighted to welcome Cardiff into our route network and to be able to provide the Welsh people with a new gateway to the world. We look forward to welcoming our new Welsh passengers on board and to connecting them to Doha and many points beyond.

Secretary of State for Wales, Cairns, stated:

The first direct flight from Cardiff to Qatar plugs Wales straight into an area of massive investment and an airport with 150 onward destinations around the world. This is the fast track for Welsh companies doing business in the Gulf.

Today’s announcement is the culmination of months of Government activity in public and behind the scenes. The ambition for a daily flight was on the agenda when I met Qatar Airways Chief Executive H.E. Akbar Al Baker more than a year ago at a UK investment summit.

The UK Government has continued to press that case supported by the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence.

The UK Government Qatari trade mission last September was all about growing links and unlocking the region for Welsh exports. Qatar is the UK’s third largest export market in the Middle East and accounts for £35 billion of existing investment.

Passengers disembarking from the first direct flight from Doha to Cardiff will get the unmistakable message that Wales is open for business.

First Minister of Wales, Jones, shared:

I am delighted to welcome the first Qatar Airways flight from Doha to our capital city, Cardiff. The new direct service between Cardiff and Doha is a huge boost for Wales.

It will open up Wales’ links with the rest of the world and deliver new economic, leisure and travel opportunities for Welsh businesses and the people of Wales.

Providing a direct route into the world’s fastest-growing hub airport, Hamad International Airport will also bring Wales closer to leading global markets such as India, China, Singapore and Australasia.

Chairman of Cardiff Airport, Lewis, commented:

This is a pivotal moment for Cardiff Airport, for Wales and the South West of England. The far-reaching consequences of this service for passengers and businesses will be transformational. I sincerely thank H.E. Mr Akbar Al Baker, for the trust he and Qatar Airways are placing in us.

I am confident that the team at Cardiff Airport will deliver a world-class service with Qatar Airways for all of our passengers both visiting Wales and those traveling across the world.

The critically important relationship between Qatar, Wales and the United Kingdom is substantially strengthened today.

The launch of the new route to Cardiff is Qatar Airways’ first-ever service to Wales, providing passengers enhanced connectivity to the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, with seamless connections to Sydney, Hong Kong, China, Melbourne and many more attractive business and leisure destinations.

Services to London Gatwick, another key entry point for Qatar Airways is due to begin from May 22nd, which will host two route additions in the UK in a single month, highlighting the rapid expansive growth in the airline’s UK network.

These new additions are a part of rapid expansion plans put forward by Akbar. Qatar Airways this year, for example, will be the first Gulf carrier to begin direct services to Luxembourg, which will be yet another niche route that they operate.

The carrier is also going to be operating out of Estonia, Malta, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey, Greece and other areas of Spain over the course of 2018.

The aircraft in question, A7-ALU, is one of Qatar’s newest A350’s, aged at just over a month old and has been in the airline’s hand for a space of a week when it was delivered towards the end of April.

By showcasing this aircraft in Wales, it shows that with the new aircraft being so new, it highlights the elements of being proud of having the A350 in their fleet, especially in Akbar’s perspective.

By then using the 787 could have been seen as quite a tactical ploy to keep both parties happy. However, if the Cardiff service was to become more popular, it would not be a surprise if we saw the A350-900 once more over there.

With the likes of Qatar Airways and Emirates launching routes into the more niche areas, it begs the question of whether this is a new strategy taken out by the Middle Eastern carriers.

Emirates is launching a new service to London Stansted, bearing in mind they already have significant operations out of Birmingham, Manchester, London Gatwick and Heathrow already.

This could potentially be because of the fact that most of the Middle Eastern carrier has most corners of the world already covered and that adding frequencies will not provide them with the growth that they actually want.

By operating to the less dense and busy airports, it gives these airlines the chance to have a further growth spurt and cover every area as best as possible.

Collectively, this isn’t just a strategy taken out by Qatar or Emirates.

I believe that going into the future, we are going to see the rise of the smaller airports, such as Cardiff, Liverpool and Newcastle to name a few and I think that these airports are going to be the solution to the overcapacity that those in the UK are currently experiencing.

With the Heathrow expansion not set to be completed for at least another five to ten years, it does beg the question into whether these carriers will need the extra capacity out of the main airports in the years to come.


Tourism Observer

SINGAPORE: Resorts World Sentosa

Resorts World Sentosa is an integrated resort on the island of Sentosa, off the southern coast of Singapore.

The key attractions include one of Singapore's two casinos, a Universal Studios theme park, Adventure Cove Water Park, and S.E.A. Aquarium, which includes the world's largest oceanarium.

The S$6.59 billion (US$4.93 billion) resort was developed by Genting Singapore. It was the third most expensive building ever constructed.

The resort occupies over 49 hectares (120 acres) of land and, when fully open, will employ more than 10,000 people directly. Resorts World Sentosa is a sister resort to Resorts World Genting, Pahang, Malaysia and Resorts World Manila, Philippines.

The soft launch of the first four hotels took place on 20 January 2010, with the FestiveWalk shopping mall following on 1 February.

The casino opened on 14 February 2010 on the first auspicious day of the Chinese New Year. The Maritime Experiential Museum opened on 15 October 2011 and the last attraction opened on 22 November 2012, The Marine Life Park.

The grand opening of the integrated resort was held on 7 December 2012, officiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong together with Genting Group Chairman Lim Kok Thay.

Resorts World Sentosa is also expected to hold large-scale exhibitions such as Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future.

Construction of Resorts World Sentosa Singapore began on 16 April 2007 on the demolished plot of Imbiah Lookout.

It opened in a record time of 34 months of construction on 20 January 2010.

Crockfords Tower, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Festive Hotel and Hotel Michael opened 20 January 2010, followed by FestiveWalk on 31 January 2010.

Resorts World Sentosa Casino opened on 14 February 2010. Universal Studios Singapore was opened for sneak peek week in view of the Chinese New Year Celebrations, from 5 pm to 9 pm every night between 14 and 21 February 2010.

The whole park was opened but none of the rides were operational. Visitors had to pay SGD10 to get into the park.

Park tickets for the week were sold out in 2 days. The park had its soft opening period from 18 March 2010 to 26 October 2010.

10 October 2006 – Genting International and Star Cruises submitted its proposal, suitably named Resorts World at Sentosa to the Singapore government.

16 October 2006 – Genting International and Star Cruises unveiled its proposal Resorts World at Sentosa.

8 December 2006 – Genting International and Star Cruises won the bid for the Sentosa IR.

16 April 2007 – Resorts World at Sentosa broke ground on 49-hectare site.

7 November 2007 – Resorts World at Sentosa announced that it will be adding six new attractions to its resort.

October 2008 – Resorts World at Sentosa announced new Transformers attraction for Universal Studios Singapore.

September 2009 – Universal Studios Singapore unveiled Far Far Away and Madagascar.

October 2009 – Universal Studios Singapore unveiled attractions, dining options and merchandise outlets at Universal Studios Singapore

20 January 2010 – Soft Opening of Resorts World Sentosa – Crockfords Tower, Hotel Michael, Hard Rock Hotel and Festive Hotel

31 January 2010 – Opening of FestiveWalk

1 February 2010 – Opening of Waterfront Station of Sentosa Express.

14 to 21 February 2010 – Sneak Peak week for Universal Studios Singapore.

14 February 2010 – Opening of Resorts World Sentosa Casino.

Late February 2010 – Opening of Link Bridge from Resorts World Sentosa to Imbiah Lookout.

18 March 2010 – Soft opening of Universal Studios Singapore with Pantages Hollywood Theater, Lights Camera Action, Battlestar Galactica, Accelerator, Revenge of the Mummy, Treasure Hunters, Canopy Flyer, Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure, Waterworld, Amber Rock Climb, Dino-Soarin', Shrek 4D Adventure, Donkey Live, Enchanted Airways, Magic Potion Spin and King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round.

24 April 2010 – MediaCorp and RWS presents the Star Awards 2010 Show 2, a Mandarin TV awards ceremony which is a prize presentation for performance based and popularity awards.

2 July 2010 – New Lake Hollywood Spectacular show on Friday and Saturday nights at Universal Studios Singapore.
October 2010 – Opening of Candylicious, one of Asia's largest candy store.

Late October 2010 – Opening of Waterfront Area.

25 December 2010 – Opening of Crane Dance.

Spring 2011 – First anniversary

21 February 2011 – The re-opening of Battlestar Galactica after a technical glitch caused it to be closed just one week after opening.

23 April 2011 – MediaCorp presents the Star Awards 2011 Show 2 for the second year running.

16 May 2011 – The scheduled opening of Madagascar: A Crate Adventure in Universal Studios Singapore.

15 October 2011 – Opening of Maritime Experiential Museum.

3 December 2011 – Opening of Transformers: The Ride at Universal Studios Singapore. The ride had its world premiere at an exclusive evening event on 2 December 2011 with director Michael Bay graced the event.

16 February 2012 – Opening of Equarius Hotel and Beach Villas.

6 July 2012 – Opening of ESPA by RWS.

22 November 2012 – Opening of Marine Life Park, S.E.A Aquarium except Dolphin Island and Adventure Cove Waterpark

7 December 2012 – Official Opening Ceremony of Resorts World Sentosa.

1 March 2013 – Opening of Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase at Universal Studio Singapore.

9 April 2013 – Unveiling of dolphins for public viewing at S.E.A. Aquarium.

22 May 2013 – Launch of Ultimate Maritime Encounters with Open Ocean Dive at Adventure Cove Waterpark.

15 June 2013 – Launch of Shark Encounter at Adventure Cove Waterpark.

30 June 2013 – Launch of Sea Trek Adventure at Adventure Cove Waterpark.

21 July 2013 – Battlestar Galactica ride at Universal Studios Singapore closed for an attraction review.

30 September 2013 – Opening of Dolphin Island at Marine Life Park.

8 April 2015 - Puss In Boots ride opens in Universal Studios Singapore.

27 May 2015 - Battlestar Galactica ride at Universal Studios Singapore re-opens.

15 Jan 2016 - Announcement that Action Superstar Donnie Yen and his wife Cissy Wang are brand ambassadors and spokespersons for RWS.

The Marketing campaign will be launched in March where Television commercials and print media will allow audiences to experience RWS through the eyes of Donnie and Cissy.

The resort was designed primarily by American architect Michael Graves. The six hotels offer a total of 1,840 rooms for accommodation.

Each hotel is designed with a different theme, catering to both the leisure and business visitors. The resort is split into west, central and east zones.

Four hotels are located in the central zone.

Crockfords Tower, formerly planned to be named Maxims Tower, is an 11-storey all-suite hotel overlooking the Singapore harbour and the Southern Islands. The resort's casino is located beneath the tower.

The hotel was topped-out on 27 February 2009 and opened on 20 January 2010.

Both the latter and Hotel Michael sit on the area of the former Sentosa Musical Fountain The hotel also features Crockfords Premier, a casino club with private rooms for High Roller located on 10th floor.

Hotel Michael is an 11-storey hotel named after Michael Graves. Hotel Michael topped-out on 15 July 2009 and was opened on 20 January 2010. Together with Crockfords Tower, it replaces the site of former Sentosa Musical Fountain

Festive Hotel is a family-oriented hotel next to Crockfords Tower and Festive Walk.

Beneath the hotel is Festive Grand, a 1,600 seat plenary hall which will host Resorts World Sentosa's resident musical Voyage de la Vie.

The Hard Rock Hotel Singapore is the site of meeting and conference facilities, and indoor exhibition space.

This includes 26 differently-designed function rooms and one of Asia's largest ballrooms with seating for 7,300 guests.

Construction of Singapore's first Hard Rock Hotel started in May 2008, and the hotel opened on 20 January 2010.
Equarius Hotel is situated at the west of the resort.

The casino, capped at 15,000 sq.m. by regulation, is located beneath Crockfords Tower.

Government regulations also require Singapore citizens and permanent residents to purchase a S$100 day pass or S$2000 yearly membership for access into the casino.

Both types of entry levy (daily or yearly) allow the patron to visit to only one casino.

Overseas citizens can enter free of charge with their passports or employment passes.

The entry fees are collected by the Singapore Totalisator Board and used for public and charity causes. The casino does not keep any portion of the fees.

In May 2011, the Casino Regulatory Authority fined Resorts World Sentosa for two violations related to reimbursements and two other violations related to surveillance practices.

The total fine was S$530,000 (US$425,000).

Dining

- Tunglok heen by Susur Lee – Chinese cuisine

- Restaurant de Joel Robuchon by Joël Robuchon – French cuisine

- L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon by Joel Robuchon – Contemporary French cuisine

- Osia by Scott Webster – Modern Australian cuisine

- Forest by Sam Leong – Contemporary Chinese cuisine

- Fratelli - Trattoria ∙ Pizzeria – Contemporary Italian cuisine

- Feng Shui Inn – Contemporary Cantonese cuisine

- TEPPAN by Chef Yonemura – French-Japanese teppanyaki fare cuisine

- SESSIONS at Hard Rock Hotel Singapore – Western & Asian Buffet

Voyage de la Vie is the first permanent production show to open at Resorts World Sentosa.

This resident rock musical is set in the Festive Grand Theatre with a capacity of 1,600 people. The production was created by Mark Fisher.

Martial Combat, Asia's largest mixed martial arts fighting championship, is staged over six months each year at the Compass Ballroom, and broadcast by ESPN STAR Sports.

Crane Dance is a multimedia moving art installation with choreographed animatronic cranes built over the sea, and designed by Jeremy Railton.

Edward S. Marks and Bob Chambers of The Producers Group were brought on to oversee the construction, installation and programming of the Cranes.

Marks served as Project Director and Producer while Chambers served as its Senior Technical Director. It opened on 25 December 2010.

Lake of Dreams is a multimedia spectacular that combines the elements of water, fire, air and light, designed by Jeremy Railton.

Edward S. Marks and Bob Chambers oversaw the construction, installation and programming of this attraction as well.

West zone

- Equarius Hotel, close to the Adventure Cove Waterpark.

- Beach Villas, a collection of 22 villas floating on a lagoon. It opened on 16 February 2012.

Salons & spas

- ESPA

Marine Life Park, the world's largest oceanarium, opened its doors on 22 November 2012. The park houses two attractions, the S.E.A Aquarium and the Adventure Cove Waterpark, previously known as the Equarius Water Park.

The Maritime Experiential Museum was opened on 15 October 2011 that features more than 400 artefacts and replicas with a 360-degree Multi-sensory Typhoon Theatre.

It is the only museum in Singapore to display the history of ancient maritime trade where visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the history of maritime Silk Route from the 15th to 19th century.

The museum consists of more than 10 interactive points as well as an experience to board on the authentic harbour ships from Asia docked outside the museum.

It will become the permanent home of the Jewel of Muscat, a gift from the Oman Government.

East zone

Universal Studios Singapore is Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park and opened its doors on 18 March 2010.

It features 24 attractions and is divided into seven zones – including Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, New York, The Lost World, Far Far Away, Madagascar and Hollywood.


Tourism Observer

NEPAL: Hi Fly To Provide Nepal Airlines Two Airbus A330-200s

Nepal Airlines Corp. (NAC) will take delivery of the first of two Airbus A330-200s in June, in order to expand its international network following the acquisition of the two wide-body planes.

Portuguese wet-lease specialist, Hi Fly, will provide both airplanes, which are currently in final assembly stage in Toulouse, France.

The two A330-200s, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, will feature a two-class cabin configuration that will seat a total of 274 passengers, respectively 18 in Business class and 256 Economy class.

Likewise, the 2-aisle cabin will have each seat equipped with RAVE Centric, the latest In-seat AVOD In-Flight Entertainment System.

According to NAC, it has signed a 12-year contract of total-care-package for the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines, including spare engines, if needed.

Nepal Airlines flies to eight international destinations from its main hub in Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), including Kathmandu to Doha (Qatar), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand) and Dubai as well to Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai (India).

Also, it operates domestic flights from its regional hubs at Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, and Pokhara.

As of January 2017, the oldest airline from Nepal manages a fleet of 12 aircraft, consisting of two Airbus A320-200s, one Boeing 757-200M, two Xian MA-60 used for regional flights, three de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, and four Harbin Y-12 only two used due to lack of pilot.


Tourism Observer

MALAYSIA: Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Set To Open 2021

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn.

Berthed, for the first Park Hyatt hotel in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.

The high class hotel, designed to meet the needs of the discerning global traveler, will join the city’s prestigious development – the PNB 118 tower.

Expected to be completed in 2020, the tower is expected to be the tallest skyscraper in Southeast Asia and the third tallest in the world.

Set to open in 2021, Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur will offer a one-of-a kind experience for guests as it will occupy the top 17 floors of the 118-floor tower overlooking Stadium Merdeka, Malaysia’s national treasure and a UNESCO heritage site, where the country’s independence was declared in 1957.

Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur is the first brand to announce plans to join the PNB 118 tower development, which will redefine the Kuala Lumpur skyline with its classic and contemporary aesthetics.

The hotel will boast 232 guestrooms, including 28 suites and 30 residential apartments.

True to the Park Hyatt brand, the hotel is being designed to offer guests warm, intimate experiences, including residentially-inspired spaces such as galleries and libraries.

The hotel will feature more than 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting spaces for events and celebrations.

With three on-site restaurants and bars, guests will also be able to experience exceptional food and beverage services, a signature restaurant, and a skyline-level bar and restaurant.

Grounded in mindfulness, the hotel will provide luxurious wellness offerings including a six-treatment room spa, state-of-the-art fitness center and a swimming pool with city views of Kuala Lumpur.

The Merdeka 118 Precinct project is anticipated to attract business and leisure travelers from around the world and will include the PNB 118, a tower spanning more than three million square feet that will be compromised of Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, office space and an observation deck.

Major infrastructure plans are underway to improve accessibility to the precinct including the Merdeka Mass Rapid Transit station (MRT), which is already in operation, and construction of two tunnels for vehicular access to the tower.



Tourism Observer

AUSTRALIA: Shangri-La To Manage New 500 Room Luxury Hotel In Melbourne Opening 2022

Hong Kong-based luxury hotel group Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and Malaysian property developer S P Setia Berhad Group signed a management agreement for Shangri-La to operate the planned luxury development in Melbourne’s CBD.

At 308 Exhibition Street, the two-tower development was designed by Cox and Fender Katsalidis, and will be loacted near Melbourne’s World Heritage-listed Carlton Gardens.

The property is currently under consideration for planning approval. When it is completed in 2022, the Shangri-La Hotel, Melbourne will have an estimated 500 guestrooms with three floors of amenities, including a sky lobby, restaurants, a spa, a fitness center, a pool and a ballroom.

The second tower will include about 300 luxury residential apartments and office space.

A sky bridge will connect the two towers, and retail space will be in the lower floors of the development.

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid, chairman of S P Setia, said that Shangri-La supported the project’s vision to provide development that increases capacity, creates local economic development opportunities and sets a new benchmark for five-star luxury in Melbourne.

Through the design and construction phases and for many decades to come as a luxury residence, retail and hotel precinct, the economic benefits of this project will be significant for Melbourne, Zahid said in a statement.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently operates over 95 hotels in 22 countries and 73 destinations under the Shangri-La, Kerry, Hotel Jen and Traders brands.

Primarily operating in Asia, the group has established its brand over four decades in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, North America and the Indian Ocean.

The group has upcoming projects in Australia, mainland China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

Launched in 1974, S P Setia's portfolio includes townships, eco-sanctuaries, luxury enclaves, high-rise residences, commercial and retail developments.

The group is established in the three economic centers of Malaysia, namely Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang. It also has a project in Sabah.

Its international reach now includes five countries which are Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, China and the United Kingdom.

As of March 31, 2017, the group has 30 ongoing projects, with a stake of 5,141 acres in undeveloped land banks remaining and about $11.1 trillion in gross development value.

Most Visited Cities In The World

Hong Kong is the world’s most popular city to visit?

According to Euromonitor’s latest global rankings, Hong Kong reigns supreme. Even with a slight drop in the number of international visitors it attracts, the Asian city is hard to beat.

In 2015, Hong Kong recorded just under 27,000 arrivals. This is about a third more than second-in-line Bangkok, which achieved a growth of 10% in international visitors, and London in the UK, which was the third most popular city, with international traveller numbers growing by 7%.

Asian cities top the list

Five of the ten most popular cities are in Asia: after Hong Kong and Bangkok, Singapore is in fourth place, Macau in sixth and Malaysia in tenth.

The report highlights that Chinese cities are struggling to maintain their attraction for international visitors, with not only Hong Kong but Beijing and Shenzen also recording falling visitor numbers. Seoul in South Korea had to face up to the biggest losses in Asia, with 6% fewer visitors.

Among the biggest winners was Japan. Tokyo rose six places to rank 17th, and Osaka and Kyoto jumped 27 and 11 places respectively, as an increasing number of travellers followed the popular ‘Golden Route’ around Mount Fuji. With 52% more international visitors in 2015, Osaka registered the biggest visitor growth of all cities surveyed.

Instability Affects Europe, Economic Sanctions affect Russia

Europe’s most popular city was Paris, which came 5th in the overall rankings. Athens experienced the biggest surge in popularity in the region with a 23%, although the migrant crisis affected Greek holiday destinations like Heraklion and Rhodes.

Italy’s cities also received a big boost. On the back of Expo Milano 2015, Milan’s visitors grew by 18%, while Venice and Florence also recorded big increases.

Moscow saw the biggest slump in arrivals, in the wake of its deteriorating relationship with the EU, economic sanctions and the decline of the ruble.

New York City Is okay but South American cities doing fine

In the Americas , New York City seems to hold an unassailable lead, making tenth place in the ranking in spite of weak growth in 2015.

Toronto (Canada), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and Lima (Peru) demonstrated the biggest visitor growth in the region, all expanding by 9% and more.

Traditional Mexican favourites Mexico City and Cancun were the biggest losers in the region, However, Mexican tourism is booming as travellers shift their focus from the top cities to other resorts, which have been heavily promoted to both business and leisure tourists.

Hajj and Umrah pilgrims improve visitor numbers to Saudi Arabia

The Middle East and Africa region has 12 cities in the Top 100. Dubai was the most popular, making it to 7th place overall with an 8% increase in arrivals.

In the wake of terrorist attacks, both Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt (-7%) and Jerba in Tunisia (-17%) - along with some of the country’s other resorts - suffered a major decline in visitor numbers.

At over 17%, Mecca in Saudi Arabia experienced the biggest growth among its peers in the region, driven by increasing numbers of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims converging on the city.

On the initiative of the Saudi government, a new programme now allows them to convert their pilgrimage-specific visas into tourist visas, so that they can extend their stay in the country. This appears to have particularly benefited Riyadh, which registered an 11% increase in popularity.

Short term lettings are changing visitor dynamics

In analysing the dynamics of where international visitors like to travel, Euromonitor highlights the change which short-term lettings have brought about for cities.

Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, Airbnb and its peers have seen explosive growth on a global scale.

By offering cheaper and more authentic accommodation, short-term lettings may not just be benefiting from overall growth in arrivals to city destinations, but may also be fuelling it, according to the report.

MALAYSIA: Amari To Open Properties In Sri Lanka, Malaysia And China

Amari Hotel under ONYX Hospitality Group is spreading its wings by opening new properties in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and China.

Located on Sri Lanka’s southwestern coast, Galle offers a variety of historical and cultural features that allow visitors to travel back to the colonial era.

Ideal for a restful stay by Galle’s beachfront, the Amari Galle will offer guests rooms and suites with sea views, and an open design that circulates the natural ocean breeze throughout the property. The resort is set to welcome its first guests this summer.

Amari Johor Bahru is situated in the city’s commercial district, the perfect location to discover the surrounding museums, cafes, traditional bakeries and local restaurants.

The hotel is only a five-minute walk away from the customs, immigration and quarantine complex for guests arriving from or departing to Singapore. It is set to open in May.

The heart-stirring scenery of Yangshuo’s karst mountains has not only attracted visitors to this countryside town of Guilin, but also inspired traditional Chinese paintings and classical poetry.

Various cycling routes and rock climbing sites offer exciting ways to experience Yangshuo’s natural beauty for adventure enthusiasts. Amari Yangshuo is located right next to West Street, a central location with historical significance.

Filled with restaurants, shops and bars, the bustling street is a combination of local architecture and contemporary design. The property is under construction

Special pre-opening rates are being offered starting at US$160 (Bt5,550) per night including breakfast valid until July 15 at Amari Galle Sri Lanka and from MYR 320 (Bt2,500) per night including breakfast valid until July 31 at Amari Johor Bahru.

MALAYSIA: Mcdonald's Announces Lionhorn Pte. Ltd As Developmental Licensee For Malaysia & Singapore

McDonald’s Corporation today announced Lionhorn Pte. Ltd as the Developmental Licensee (DL) for its Malaysia and Singapore markets.

In a statement, McDonald's said Lionhorn is led by Sheik Fahd and Abdulrahman Alireza, who bring 20 years of experience as the DL for the nearly 100 McDonald’s restaurants in the Western and Southern regions of Saudi Arabia. "This transaction marks another milestone in our company’s ongoing efforts to identify strategic partners, who share our values, vision to accelerate growth and scale across diverse markets as well as drive innovation.

"It places us closer to our customers and the communities we serve," said McDonald’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Easterbrook. The new DL assumed ownership of the McDonald’s business in Malaysia and Singapore on Dec 1, 2016, which includes a total of 390 restaurants, more than 80 per cent of which were company-owned.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Under the DL structure, McDonald’s transferred its ownership interest in McDonald’s Malaysia and Singapore and granted a license to the DL to run McDonald’s restaurant operations in these markets. The DL partner will provide the capital necessary to support and grow the business and will pay an initial franchise fee and an ongoing royalty to McDonald’s.

Leading the day-to-day management of the Malaysia and Singapore markets, respectively, will be local operating partners Azmir Jaafar and Kenneth Chan, both of whom previously held senior leadership positions at McDonald’s and together possess over 40 years of experience. "Local leadership and market knowledge will be key to driving business success in Malaysia and Singapore," said Azmir Jaafar, Operating Partner and Managing Director McDonald’s Malaysia.

This announcement, McDonald's said, follows a rigorous evaluation and selection process over the past year. As part of its turnaround plan announced in May of 2015, McDonald's said it is committed to refranchising 4,000 restaurants by end-2018 with the long-term goal of becoming 95 per cent franchised. With this transaction, McDonald’s has now refranchised about 1,300 restaurants.

MALAYSIA: Chasing After Ivory Smugglers

Whether we like it or not, Malaysia is a major global hub of wildlife trafficking. Both indigenous species and foreign ones, as well as their body parts, continue passing into and out of the country at the hands of unscrupulous criminal syndicates. That must stop.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar agrees. Recent seizures by officials of ivory smuggled into the country has highlighted the need for unflagging vigilance, he says. “Malaysia’s geographic location is central, allowing for the smuggled ivory to be transported to China, Thailand and Taiwan, which are the three main countries with the strongest demand for ivory,” the minister told the Malay Mail newspaper.

Between 2011 and August this year officials have documented 24 cases of ivory smuggling. The various hoards amounted to a total of RM43.4 million at black market prices, indicating how lucrative wildlife trafficking can be for criminals. Within a two-year period from 2013 to 2015 Wildlife and National Parks Department officials seized 216 elephant tusks, smuggled either in parts or in whole, as well as products made from ivory, weighing 920kg in total.

In April, Malaysian officials destroyed 9.5 tons of ivory, seized from smugglers, at a much-publicized event in an effort to dissuade trafficking gangs from continuing to use the country as a transit point. That, however, did not dissuade them all. In June, a large hoard of ivory, 1.2 tons of it, was seized at an international airport in South Sudan: the tusks were bound for Malaysia. A month later, Malaysia's Customs Department discovered yet another cache of ivory, worth around RM10 million, at Kuala Lumpur's international airport. The tusks had been from sub-Saharan Africa, via Turkey.

Malaysia has developed a National Ivory Action Plan to try and roll back the international trade in ivory, which has seen thousands upon thousands of elephants slaughtered in Africa and Asia for their tusks by poachers. The country is also participating in joint operations overseen by the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network, Interpol and the anti-wildlife trafficking group Freeland Foundation.

These are laudable initiatives. They are bound to be less effective, however, without public support. After all, we cannot just blame poachers and traffickers for the rampant trade in ivory and other exotic animal parts like tiger bones and sun bear paws. They merely cater to widespread demand for those parts. If we all stop buying exotic animal parts, poachers and smugglers will have no incentive to keep selling them.

We should also stay vigilant and report any suspicious activities involving wildlife. “The public are encouraged to report to Perhilitan should they come across any instances of suspicious activities which may involve endangered wildlife,” Wan Junaidi said.

SINGAPORE: Confirmed Cases Of Zika virus in Singapore rose to 82

Confirmed cases of Zika virus in Singapore rose to 82 on Tuesday, as the United States joined a growing list of countries warning pregnant women or those trying to get pregnant to avoid travel to the city-state.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has caused explosive outbreaks in the Americas and the Caribbean since late last year, poses a particular risk to pregnant women because it can cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

On Tuesday, the United States warned pregnant women not to travel to Singapore, joining Australia, Taiwan and South Korea.

The warnings followed news that Zika transmission appears to be occurring outside of the original cluster, with at least five of 26 new cases confirmed late on Tuesday detected in the Aljunied area in the southeast of Singapore, the health ministry and National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a joint statement.

Singapore has advised pregnant women to take a free Zika test if they showed any symptoms or if their partners tested positive. "This is regardless of whether they have been to Zika-affected areas," health officials said in a statement.

The outbreak and advisories come as the tourism industry in one of the world's busiest travel hubs already faces weak global economic growth. Singapore's Tourism Board said it was premature to consider any impact on the sector, adding it remained a "safe travel destination".

More than 55 million people pass through Singapore's Changi airport every year. In the first half of this year, tourism arrivals topped 8 million, around 1 million more than a year earlier.

Singapore reported its first case of locally-transmitted Zika at the weekend, and the number of confirmed infections has risen steadily since then. At least three dozen patients have made a full recovery.

Neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia have stepped up protective measures, introducing thermal scanners at airports and border checkpoints with the island state. Such measures, however, will only identify symptomatic cases of Zika, but only one in five people have symptoms of the virus, which include fever, rash, joint pain and pink eye.

Singapore residents responded to government calls to be vigilant and to take precautions against mosquito bites.

Online retailer Lazada Singapore said sales of insect repellents jumped five-fold in the past three days. FairPrice supermarkets and Watsons pharmacies said their sales of such products had doubled.

Most of the early infections were among foreign workers, hundreds of thousands of whom, mainly from the Asian sub-continent, work on Singapore's construction sites and in the marine sector.

The Singapore government has not said where the infected foreign workers are from. The foreign ministry directed queries to the health ministry, which did not respond to Reuters questions on the issue. The Ministry of Manpower also did not respond to a request for comment made outside working hours.

The High Commission of Bangladesh, which represents the largest community of foreign workers, said none of those infected were Bangladeshis, and the Thai foreign ministry said none were from Thailand. The embassies of China, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar said they had not been notified by Singapore whether their citizens were among those infected.

Authorities inspected thousands of homes in seven parts of Singapore, including five foreign worker dormitories, spraying insecticide and removing potential mosquito breeding habitats.

The NEA has inspected about 5,000 premises in and around the initial outbreak area, issuing 400 notices to owners of buildings they could not access. The NEA can force entry into those premises if needed.

Zika was first discovered in Uganda in 1947. It caused clusters of human infections from the 1960s to 1980s across Africa and Asia, according to the World Health Organization.

The outbreak in the Americas was caused by a Zika strain from Asia, possibly carried to Brazil through travel to a sporting event. Many experts believe once infected, Zika produces lifelong immunity.

"Unfortunately, it is not clear the level of immunity that is currently in Asia," said Alessandro Vespignani of Northeastern University in Boston.

WHO declared Zika a global health emergency because of its link with microcephaly. In Brazil, Zika has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly.

NIGERIA: 60 Million Nigerian Fraudster Arrested By Interpol

A Nigerian behind an online fraud network which engineered scams worth more than $60 million (54 million euros) has been arrested in southern oil city of Port Harcourt, Interpol said on Monday.

“The 40-year-old Nigerian national, known as ‘Mike’, is believed to be behind scams totalling more than $60 million involving hundreds of victims worldwide,” the international police organisation said in a statement.

“In one case, a target was conned into paying out $15.4 million,” Interpol said, indicating that the arrest was carried out with the support of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“The network compromised email accounts of small to medium businesses around the world including in Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Romania, South Africa, Thailand and the United States,” it said.

The suspect ran a network of at least 40 people working from Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa which used malware and carried out the fraud, and he also had money laundering contacts in China, Europe and the US who provided bank account details for the illicit cash flow.

“Following his arrest in Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria, a forensic examination of devices seized by the EFCC showed he had been involved in a range of criminal activities including business e-mail compromise and romance scams,” it said.

The suspect and a fellow fraudster, 38, who was also arrested in the city, face charges including hacking, conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretences.

TANZANIA: MH370 Parts Found In Pemba

When Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared was the global aviation industry left baffled for the lack of finding the wreckage, in fact for the lack of direction the flight might have taken in its final hours before, after running out of fuel, vanishing in the proverbial thin air.

Tens of millions of US Dollars spent in search and recovery efforts later have few clues emerged from the deep ocean, where the aircraft is likely to have found its final resting place.

Experts are still divided over which direction the flight took after doing a u-turn enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, overflying a section of Malaysia and then disappearing in the skies over the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean.

Eventually is was beach combers in Reunion which found the first hard evidence that the plane was indeed lost and not, going by dozens of conspiracy theories, abducted by aliens or kept hostage by rogue regimes.

A piece of debris was discovered on a beach on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, clearly identified as being part of the stricken plane. Since then have more finds been made, on Reunion, in Mozambique, in South Africa, not yet conclusively resolved on Madagascar and now, way off that main directional course, apparently on the Zanzibari island of Pemba.

Tanzanian authorities will be making the large piece of debris available to aircraft accident investigators tasked to find the wreckage and determine the cause of the crash, to conclusively rule in or out that the wing element came from the Boeing B777 which operated flight MH370.

Results should be known in a matter of days as aircraft parts are numbered which helps identify from which plane the debris came.

UNITED KINGDOM; Secret Escapes Announces More Global Expansion

Secret Escapes, the London-based flash sales site for affordable luxury travel, has expanded into Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The move follows a $60 million investment in 2015, led by Google Ventures and Octopus Ventures, and forms part of the company's ongoing international expansion plan.

In the last 12 months, Secret Escapes has begun operating in additional markets in Europe (The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy), and is planning further openings later in 2016. In addition, it will continue to grow its operations in North America.

Since launching in 2011, Secret Escapes - which offers its members exclusive deals on hand-picked hotels and holidays at up to 70% off - has established itself as a major player in the travel scene, reporting an average year-on-year growth of 230% and securing over $650 million cumulative global turnover.

Its membership base has grown from four million in January 2014 to over 28 million members worldwide and has now sold over 3.6 million room nights across the world.

Chief executive Alex Saint said: "Last year's $60 million cash injection is helping us to realise our ambition to become a truly global brand, enabling us to open up opportunities in Asia, continue our expansion throughout Europe and capitalise on our good start in the US.

"We want to be the number one destination for customers looking to book affordable luxury holidays, and it seems pretty clear to us that there is a strong desire for our kind of product in Asia."

MALAYSIA: Malaysia Announces Tourism Campaign At Arabian Travel Market

Tourism Malaysia’s deputy director general (International Promotion) Azizan Noordin officially launched a new advertising campaign for the West Asian market during a press conference held in conjunction with the Arabian Travel Market (ATM).

The new advertising campaign targets the West Asia, Iran, and North and South African markets in a series of print, broadcast, and online advertisements. It will focus on themes that appeal to travellers from these markets, such as shopping, luxury holidays, eco adventure, family fun, and honeymoon.

Besides that, Noordin also introduced Malaysia’s latest shopping icon Miss SHOPhia (pronounced Sho’ fi’ ah). She is the country’s shopping ambassador and retail queen, who keeps her followers up-to-date with the latest bargains, new fashion, food outlets, and shopping events on her blog. She is their ultimate shopping buddy and gives them the best advice on fashion, trends, the latest gadgets, etc. Miss SHOPhia will also take on cameo roles in viral videos and TV commercials to promote shopping in Malaysia.

The new campaign is in line with Tourism Malaysia’s effort to boost arrivals from the West Asian market. Last year, Malaysia received 316,209 tourists from West Asia, signifying a drop of 10.7 per cent compared to 353,955 arrivals in 2014.

Noordin is leading 124 Malaysian sellers from 77 organisations to promote Malaysia’s extensive tourism offerings at this year’s ATM, which marks the 23rd year of the country’s participation in this prestigious event. It is a testament to its commitment to make Malaysia a top-of-mind destination for travellers from the West Asian market.

The Malaysian delegation is comprised of a good mix of hotels and resorts, travel agents, tourism product owners, and representatives from state tourism boards. During the four-day event, they will be highlighting their respective tourism products and services that cater specially for the Middle Eastern market.

Noordin will also take the opportunity to meet up with the top management of West Asian airlines, namely Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Oman Air, besides having several interviews with the local media.

Besides having sales missions/road shows to various parts of West Asia and participating in major tourism events like ATM, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia also lends support to efforts that will help boost arrivals from West Asia, such as the concert of award-winning Lebanese superstar Nancy Ajram in Kuala Lumpur, which will be held on July 30 and 31, 9 pm, at Merdeka Hall, Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).

RUSSIA: Visit Russia Tourism Office Opens In Hanoi

The Russian government opened a Visit Russia office in the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi on April 14. The office aims to promote tourism in Russia from ASEAN and East Asian countries.

The office will work with travel agencies from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea.

“The main missions of the office are to create a positive image of Russia as a country favorable for tourism and recreation, increasing confidence in the Russian tourism industry, and promoting all regions and all types of tourism in Russia from Asia,” Alexander Basov, the head of the Hanoi office told RBTH.

According to the latest Russian government statistics, tourism from Asian countries to Russia grew significantly in 2015. Last year, arrivals from Thailand grew by 76 percent, while the number of tourists visiting Russia from Vietnam grew by 57 percent. In 2015, the number of South Korean tourists visiting Russia grew by 41 percent.

Visit Russia also has offices in China, Germany, Finland, Italy, Iran, Kuwait and the UAE.

In 2015, the organization held 11 familiarization trips for tour operators and members of the media. It also conducted nine road shows. Over 500 foreign tour operators approached Visit Russia for information on tourism in Russia last year.

THAILAND: Budget Carriers Drive Thailand's Big Numbers Of Tourists

Passenger at Don Muang airport seeks help at a counter of Thai AirAsia, the market leader in Thailand for budget airlines.

When the refurbished Terminal 2 building reopened at Don Muang airport, north of Bangkok, for the New Year holiday rush, teething problems were expected. Among those causing headaches for Phet Chan-charoen, the airport's general manager, were the crowds waiting at immigration counters during the busiest hours at sunrise and sunset.

But the crush of people highlights a milestone passed by Don Muang in the first half of 2015, when it overtook Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport as the world's largest low-cost carrier airport by passenger numbers, according to the Sydney-based Centre for Aviation. The airport handled 14.4 million passengers in that period, with 13.4 million traveling on low-cost flights. That compares with 15.7 million budget passengers in the whole of 2014, when Don Muang was the world's 20th busiest LCC airport.

Don Muang's growth spurt has also catapulted it past the busiest LCC airports in Europe and North America -- Spain's Barcelona-El Prat and Las Vegas McCarran International in the U.S. Don Muang has room for further significant growth: the airport currently handles 650 flights a day, but has enough capacity for 950, said Phet.

Much of the growth is due to increased numbers of foreign tourists, particularly from China. But it also reflects the rising use of Thailand's growing LCC fleet by Thai travelers. "Domestic fares have come down, more and more and Thais are flying instead of taking buses or trains," said Brendan Sobie, chief analyst at CAPA.

A glance at the blue screens announcing departures at Terminal 2 bears this out. Travelers can take late afternoon flights from Bangkok to 11 provinces by selecting from 20 budget flights that depart every hour. Routes to second-tier travel destinations, such as Udon Thani, in the northeast, compete for passengers with Phuket, the southern resort island that is the crown jewel of Thai tourism.

These extensive LCC options underlie a Tourism Authority of Thailand plan to promote growth in regions that have not received many travelers. Tourism, which accounts for nearly 10% of Thailand's gross domestic product, is the only industry thriving in an otherwise gloomy economy. In 2015 Thailand attracted a record 29.8 million tourists.

Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya were ranked as the top three Asian destinations for international travelers, according to the MasterCard Asia Pacific Destination Index 2015. Bangkok attracted 21.9 million visitors, who spent $15.2 billion, followed by Phuket, which saw 9.3 million tourists spending $8 billion, and Pattaya, where 8.1 million visitors spent $3.1 billion.

The concentration of tourism spending has not been lost on travel industry officials, who are looking for ways to expand the tourism footprint to less explored areas. Somkid Jatusripitak, the deputy prime minister, recently outlined plans for a drive designed to "create new destinations through a storyline to encourage travelers to explore new places."

The tourism authority recently hosted a three-day fair in a park at the edge of Bangkok's business district to highlight the attractions of the country's second-tier travel destinations. Visitors posed for pictures with large posters of flowering trees, a mermaid rising from the sea, and the dancing troupes that are seen in the less known parts of the country. These were all part of a "12 Hidden Gems Plus" tourism campaign to encourage travel to 24 relatively unknown destinations.