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Cebu Pacific returns to Melbourne

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TTR WEEKLY
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MANILA, 27 January 2023: Cebu Pacific Air will resume its Melbourne-Manila flights at the end of March following the relaunch of its Sydney-Manila service in mid-2022.

To celebrate the relaunch, CEB introduces a one-way fare starting at AUD299 on the Melbourne to Manila sector.

The seat sale expires on 31 January, with the travel period extending until 30 June 2023. The airline also offers a fare of AUD309 on the Sydney to Manila route.

CEB’s direct Melbourne-Manila flights, with a flight time of around eight hours, will operate three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) starting 27 March using either an A330ceo aircraft with 436 seats or an A330neo with 459 seats.

In addition to its international network, the airline flies to  34 domestic destinations, including popular islands such as Bohol, Boracay, Cebu, Coron and Siargao, and 19 international destinations.

Commenting on 2023 recovery trends, the airline says it “is firmly in place for full recovery in 2023 and expects to restore 100% of its pre-Covid network and capacity by March”, when it should reinstate all of its flights to  25 international destinations in 14 countries.

CEB has made significant progress restoring  92% of its pre-Covid capacity since December.

Qantas extends IndiGo codeshare

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TTR WEEKLY
-

SYDNEY, 27 January 2023: Qantas is offering customers even more travel options across India as part of an expansion of its codeshare partnership with IndiGo.

It follows the initial codeshare agreement with India’s largest domestic carrier signed last August that offered seamless connections from Qantas flights in Bengaluru and Delhi to IndiGo services to other major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Chennai,  as well as smaller destinations such as Pune and Goa.

Under phase two of the agreement, Qantas customers can now travel to an additional eight cities, bringing the total number of Indian destinations available for connection from Delhi and Bengaluru to 21. Qantas customers will also have more choices across IndiGo’s domestic network, with more than 250 new flights available for booking.

Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (with the QF code), and IndiGo recognises Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One), including priority check-in and priority baggage.

New codeshare destinations:

  • Guwahati
  • Indore
  • Chandigarh
  • Mangalore
  • Jaipur
  • Nagpur
  • Thiruvananthapuram
  • Visakhapatnam

Existing codeshare destinations:

  • Ahmedabad
  • Amritsar
  • Bengaluru
  • Chennai
  • Delhi
  • Goa
  • Mumbai
  • Kochi
  • Kolkata
  • Hyderabad
  • Lucknow
  • Patna
  • Pune

Qantas flights to India

Qantas operates four return flights from Melbourne to Delhi per week and four from Sydney to Bengaluru per week.

Mui Ne resort names GM

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 26 January 2023: Centara Hotels & Resorts has appointed Tom Pieter Van Tuijl as the new general manager of Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne in Vietnam.

He will be responsible for strategically managing and operating the resort’s 984 Mediterranean-designed rooms and villas.

Before joining Centara Hotels & Resorts, he was general manager of FLC Hotels & Resorts, responsible for FLC Sam Son Beach & Golf Resort and FLC Halong Bay Golf Club & Luxury Resort. Before that, he worked for the flagship Lotte Hotel in Hanoi.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “With its favourable geographical location, just four-hour driving from Ho Chi Minh City, mild climate all year round, and rich and unique local cuisine, Mui Ne is becoming one of the best ideal cities for luxury tourism investment, as well as an attractive beach destination for both Vietnamese and foreign tourists.”

(Your Stories: Centara Hotels & Resorts)

Emirates restores Aussie flights

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TTR WEEKLY
-

SINGAPORE, 26 January 2023: Emirates will relaunch its daily direct flight between Singapore and Melbourne from 26 March 2023 as part of its frequency ramp-up to Sydney and Melbourne in response to strong travel demand.

From 26 March to 01 April 2023, Emirates’ flight EK404, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, will depart Dubai at 2115 and arrive in Singapore at 0850. The flight will continue to Melbourne, taking off at 1025 from Singapore and touching down in Melbourne at 2035. The return service EK405 will take off from Melbourne at 0325 and arrive in Singapore at 0815 before departing for Dubai at 0940. It will arrive in Dubai at 1300.

Starting from 02 April 2023, Emirates’ flight EK404 will land in Melbourne at 1935 and take off to Singapore as EK405 at 0225.

Flight

Number

Departure

Local Time (hrs)

Arrival

Local Time (hrs)

EK404

Dubai

2115

Singapore

0850

Singapore

1025

Melbourne

2035

EK405

Melbourne

0325

Singapore

0815

Singapore

0940

Dubai

1300

The resumption of Emirates’ Singapore-Melbourne route will help serve the pent-up demand for air travel between the two cities and beyond across the airline’s global network, providing even more choice and flexibility for travellers with the capacity to transport up to 5,000 passengers a week between the two points.

Emirates country manager for Singapore & Brunei, Rashid Al Ardha said: “The return of our direct service between Singapore and Melbourne further establishes our commitment to supporting the local travel and tourism recovery in both markets. With travel restrictions easing globally, we are progressively restoring our operations to pre-pandemic levels, as we expect customer demand to remain strong in 2023.”

Emirates has been serving Singapore since 1990. Aside from the newly-restored Melbourne service, the airline continues to connect travellers to 130 cities across the globe through Dubai three times a day. Tickets can be issued on emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via both online and offline travel agents.

Emirates’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration offers travellers eight private suites in first class, 42 lie-flat seats in business class and 304 spacious seats in economy class.

(Your Stories: Emirates)

Danang develops a duty-free zone

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TTR WEEKLY
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Danang, Vietnam, 26 January 2023: The People’s Committee of Danang has submitted a proposal to build a duty-free zone on a site located 30 km southwest of the city centre, Vietnam News Agency

The area will cover 151 ha at the end of Ba Na – Suoi Mo Road – 30km southwest of the centre and near the Ba Na Hills resort.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is reviewing the project that would include a trade complex with entertainment sites, duty-free shops, a logistics hub, warehouses, healthcare services, an R&D centre, an international education centre, a medical school and an exhibition centre.

If it gains the green light from authorities, developers say it will open in 2027. Construction would take around three years.

VNA reported that the first downtown duty-free shop was launched at the beachfront Crowne Plaza Danang resort at the end of last year.

(Source: VNA)

PATA meets in Kuching

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 26 January 2023: The Pacific Asia Travel Association will host its annual Destination Experience  Forum and Mart, in Kuching, Sarawak, from 21 to 23 June.

More than 200 travel professionals from around the Asia Pacific region will attend to gain first-hand destination management and marketing experience responsibly and sustainably.

Photo credit: PATA. Bird’s eye view of Kuching, Sarawak.

Sarawak is also home to the popular Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), and PDFM delegates will gain complimentary access to the world-renowned festival.

The PATA Destination Experience Forum and Mart 2023 (PDFM 2023) will adopt the theme ‘Responsible Tourism, Gastronomy Tourism and Ecotourism’ for the three-day event.

The three-day programme consists of a one-day destination experience hosted by the Sarawak Tourism Board, a one-day conference rounding off with tabletop sales and networking sessions on the final day.

For more information, visit:

https://www.pata.org/pata-destination-experience-forum-and-mart-2023?mc_cid=43b4a882cb&mc_eid=093990fc71

Hyatt lifestyle expands in Asia Pacific

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TTR WEEKLY
-

SINGAPORE, 26 January 2023: Hyatt Hotels Corporation declares a record pipeline of approximately 117,000 rooms worldwide in its 2022 year-end report released earlier this week.

Notably, nearly one in four pipeline properties are classified as lifestyle hotels, representing 10% of the existing portfolio, further strengthening Hyatt’s position in the luxury, lifestyle and leisure segments.

A notable driver of this growth is the announced asset-light acquisition of Dream Hotel Group’s lifestyle hotel brand and management platform, which is expected to bring established lifestyle hotel brands – including Dream Hotels, Unscripted Hotels and The Chatwal – into the Hyatt portfolio. The acquisition will welcome more than 600 new properties into the Hyatt family.

Hyatt anticipates additional organic growth across its luxury, lifestyle and leisure offerings in the Asia-Pacific.

Park Hyatt

The Park Hyatt brand will expand in the Asia Pacific region with Park Hyatt Taipei (Taiwan), Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Park Hyatt Phu Quoc (Vietnam) in 2024.

Andaz

In 2023 the group will add Andaz Doha in Qatar plus the Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach in Thailand.

Andaz Macau is set to become one of Asia’s iconic event destinations with the Galaxy International Convention Centre (GICC) opening within the largest Andaz hotel, worldwide, which will have more than 700 rooms and suites.

Andaz Nanjing Hexi in Greater China will open in Nanjing.

Centric

Expansion of the Hyatt Centric brand will see the opening of the Hyatt Centric Zhongshan Park Shanghai and Hyatt Centric Xi’an Gaoxin.

Destination by Hyatt

The anticipated debut of the Destination by Hyatt brand in Asia Pacific starts with the Grand Resort in Qingchengshan, China, later this year.

Air India boosts flights to the UK

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

DELHI, 26 January 2023: Air India will launch 12 weekly flights to London Gatwick Airport and five additional services to London Heathrow Airport, effective 23 March 2023.

To Gatwick, Air India will operate a thrice-weekly service from cities such as Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Goa, and Kochi. It is the only scheduled airline to offer direct services to UK’s second-largest airport.

On the route to Heathrow, Air India will add five weekly frequencies, with Delhi increasing from 14 to 17 times a week and Mumbai from 12 to 14 times a week.

Middle East tops hotel pipeline data

By
TTR WEEKLY
-
Riyadh city towers in Saudi Arabia

SINGAPORE, 26 January 2023: Middle East & Africa was the only world region to show an increase in overall hotel pipeline activity at the end of the fourth quarter, according to December 2022 data from STR released last week.

STR data compares the hotel pipeline in December 2022 with percentage changes compared to December 2021.

Middle East & Africa

In Construction: 122,686 rooms (-5.8%)
Final Planning: 41,086 rooms (+6.0%)
Planning: 74,863 rooms (+11.5%)
Total Under Contract: 238,635 (+1.1%)
Saudi Arabia (40,742) and the United Arab Emirates (27,456) lead in construction activity.     

Asia Pacific

In Construction: 476,942 rooms (+0.6%)
Final Planning: 108,955 rooms (-36.0%)
Planning: 305,339 rooms (+2.6%)
Total Under Contract: 891,236 rooms (-5.4%)
Among countries in the region, China has the most rooms in construction (300,163), followed by Vietnam (31,570).

Europe

In Construction: 189,698 rooms (-14.5%)
Final Planning: 140,663 rooms (-14.1%)
Planning: 153,587 rooms (-3.6%)
Total Under Contract: 483,948 (-11.2%)
Germany (36,162) and the UK (28,426) lead Europe in total rooms in construction.  

Americas

In Construction: 207,112 (-2.1%)
Final Planning: 244,982 (+11.3%)
Planning: 284,829 (-13.6%)
Total Under Contract: 736,823 (-3.2)
The US held the majority of rooms in construction (159,344) in the region and showed its first year-over-year increase in the phase since late 2020. After the US, Mexico (11,398) and Canada (6,752) have the highest number of rooms in construction in the region.

For more information, visit https://str.com/

(Source: STR)

Carnival time in Spain

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

SINGAPORE, 25 January 2023: Come to Spain and enjoy the carnival, an exhilarating festival celebrated in many places all over the country. Carnival is celebrated between February and March; the dates differ each year. The festival is noted for humour, parodies and costumes in the streets of Spanish towns and cities, which all have their traditions. Below, we recommend several different carnivals which stand out for being original, beautiful and spectacular. Start thinking about your costume and book a flight to Spain.

Carnival in Cadiz

Cadiz, in Andalusia, is the carnival of “comparsas”, “coros” and “chirigotas”: songs full of irony and criticism that are written by the different groups who participate in the fiesta. They parade through the city centre, spreading freedom and fun in a carnival officially declared of International Tourist Interest.

Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

One of the world’s biggest carnivals awaits you in the capital of the island of Tenerife and has also been declared of International Tourist Interest. Join in the parades and be amazed by the imaginative, fancy and eye-catching costumes of the Carnival Queen hopefuls. Lose yourself in the music, rhythm and joy of this celebration with people from all over the world.

Carnival in Águilas

Another of the most famous carnivals, also of International Tourist Interest, is in Águilas (Murcia). This colourful event features numerous parades and competitions for the most spectacular costumes. Two of its traditions are particularly famous. One is the tossing of eggshells (eggs filled mostly with confetti), and the other is drinking “cuerva”, a drink described by many as the “magic potion” that awakens the spirit of carnival.

Entroido of Xinzo de Limia

This Galician festival of International Tourist Interest has the longest carnival programme in Spain. It begins on Fareleiro Sunday (three weeks before Carnival Sunday) and ends on Piñata Sunday. The parade of floats and troupes is led by a group of traditional masked characters called “pantallas” who wear belts with bells on them. They are responsible for making sure people dress up and they are the top stars of this celebration. Carnival Tuesday is the most important day.

All over Spain

Also in the Canary Islands, you can enjoy the carnival in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with its “Gala de la Reina” (Queen’s Gala) to crown the Carnival Queen and the main “Gran Cabalgata” parade, which attracts thousands of people every year. At Verín Carnival (Galicia) highlights include the “fariñadas” (flour fights) and the strange masked figure of Cigarrón. We can also recommend several carnivals of National Tourist Interest such as Badajoz, Villarrobledo, La Bañeza, Toro, Miguelturra, Herencia and La Vijanera in Cantabria… Which one will you choose?

Summer festivals

To check festivals during summer, visit: https://www.spain.info/en/top/summer-festivities-in-spain/

(Your Stories: Turespaña)

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