Participants at the forthcoming ITB Asia 2012, which will be held at The Sands Expo and Convention Centre from 17 to 19 October, are in for a conference treat.
Messe Berlin (Singapore), in partnership with travel organisations such as UNWTO, Web in Travel, MCI, National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS), Global Business Travel Association, Asia Cruise Association, WTTC and PhoCusWright, is delivering over 3,700 minutes of high quality content.
Kicking off the conference schedule is the Web in Travel Conference from October 15-17. On the first day of the show there will be a keynote speech from Horst Schulz, President & CEO Capella Hotels, who will share insights on “The Global Hospitality Industry Today and Tomorrow”.
Also in the line-up are a panel discussion on the “Luxury Retailers vs Luxury”; session on new developments in Chinese corporate travel market in “GBTA: Corporate travel update from China”; discussion on the cruise industry, “Navigating the cruise Industry towards greater profits”; and a session by Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) on “Building a more collaborative relationship between buyers & vendors”.
Full details, visit the ITB Events & Conference site.
Eva Airways joins the Amadeus Altéa community
Eva Airways, Taiwan’s second largest international airline, has selected the full Amadeus Altéa suite to manage its international passenger loads.
The airline signed the long-term agreement with Amadeus in the wake of its acceptance onto the Star Alliance, and the suite will help it integrate seamlessly into the alliance.
The agreement brings EVA Airways and its subsidiary, UNI Airways, on to a common IT platform already used by 64% of the Star Alliance members, which offers enhanced customer service functionalities for both sales and airport environments.
The full solution roll-out, scheduled for completion in 2013, will include a series of streamlined passenger service solutions including inventory, reservations, fare quote and ticketing, passenger check-in and departure control capabilities, and business process alignment. This ensures Eva Airways has even greater co-operation within the alliance, enabling a seamless customer experience between members.
In a region first, EVA Airways will also become the first Taiwanese carrier to use the Altéa Revenue Management system, offering traditional airline revenue management techniques paired with demand forecasting and advanced decision support tools.
In addition, the integration of Amadeus’ E-Commerce Web Design Services solution will allow the airline a tailored approach to updating its web portal.
A deluxe pay-in lounge at KLIA
Hong Kong-based pay-in airport lounge service provider, Plaza Premium Lounge Management, opened Malaysia’s largest commercial lounge – the Plaza Premium Lounge – at the KL International Airport (KLIA) on September 18.
The lounge, opened in 1998, has undergone a RM3.8 million (US$1.2 million) facelift. Designed by Kinney Chan from Hong Kong, the 7,500sqft lounge is located at KLIA’s Satellite Building.
Plaza Premium Lounge is constructing lounges at the domestic and international departure halls of airports in Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Penang and Kuching (Sarawak). It is also bidding to set up a lounge in KLIA 2, which is expected to be operational in May 2013.
Plaza Premium Lounge operates in 91 locations at 22 international airports in Asia, the Middle East and North America. In Malaysia it is presently in KLIA, the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang, and Langkawi. It targets to operate 100 lounges worldwide by the end of the year.
The group serves 3.5 million customers yearly, generating an annual revenue of HK$750 million. – Corinne Wan
AirAsiaGo partners with Wego
Wego has inked a commercial agreement with AirAsiaGo.com, AirAsia’s holiday division, to reach new customers globally.
Under this agreement Wego integrates its competitive hotel listings into over 50 localised sites in 30 languages around the world. This gives AirAsiaGo the additional bookings from Wego’s millions of monthly metasearch users.
Wego has added AirAsiaGo’s negotiated rates with over 70,000 hotels into its total inventory of 350,000 accommodation options.
Users of the portal can simultaneously compare AirAsiaGo’s hotel rates alongside those of other Wego’s partners, with the option to click through, with deep links to book direct. This broadens their choice and complements Wego’s flight metasearch featuring AsiaAsia’s schedules and fares.
AirAsiaGo’s content is now live at www.wego.com.
HICAP 2012 Sustainable Hotel Awards winners
Burba Hotel Network (BHN), Horwath HTL, and Stiles Capital Events, co-hosts and organisers of the annual Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP), have announced the winners for the HICAP 2012 Sustainable Hotel Awards.
The awards, launched at HICAP in 2007, recognise hotels in the Asia Pacific region demonstrating exemplary sustainable best practices. They will be presented at the 23rd annual HICAP, which will be held at the InterContinental Hong Kong from 10-12 October.
- Sustainable Project Design – Jetwing Vil Uyana, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka (pictured above)
- Sustainable Operations – Radisson Blu Resort Temply Bay, Mamallapuram, Tamil Naidu, India
- Sustainable Destinations – Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa, Chiang Rai, Thailand
- Sustainable Communities – Song Saa Private Island, Koh Rong Archipelago, Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Click here for full details of the winners.
