Tune Hotels expands into resort cities to meet strong demand

Tune Hotel Patong in Phuket, Thailand

Malaysian based international hotel chain, Tune Hotels, has widened its presence into resort islands and beach destinations across Southeast Asia to meet strong demand from holidaymakers for accommodation in these places.

The 144-room Tune Hotel Patong in Phuket, Thailand, which opened its doors in December 2012, is the latest addition to resort properties that include Kuta and Legian in Bali, (Indonesia), Pattaya (Thailand) and Cebu (Philippines).

Tune Hotels Group CEO Mark Lankester attributed this positive development to the exponential growth in cross-border regional tourism due to easy access to and affordability of air travel across the region.

“Years ago many people could only dream of holidaying in Phuket or Bali but the proliferation of low cost carrier services, such as AirAsia, has transformed most of these dreams into a reality. What used to be a luxury affair in the past is today a regular routine for many.”

He added that by setting up hotels in popular islands and resort destinations Tune Hotels is making it possible for more people to visit these places without burning a big hole in their pocket.

Southeast Asia, with a population of over 600 million, is a huge market for the Tune group and it plans to open more hotels in both the region’s cities and resort destinations, said Lankester.

SriLankan Airlines adopts Amadeus’ Altéa IT suite

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, and the Amadeus IT Group have inked an agreement that will see the airline migrate to Amadeus’ full Altéa suite by 2014.

The deal, the first of its kind for Amadeus in the Indian subcontinent, will enable both SriLankan Airlines and its sister airline, Mihin Lanka, to adopt Amadeus’ next generation IT suite to manage its mission-critical reservations, ticketing, inventory and departure control processes.

The agreement will also help facilitate the airline’s entry into the oneworld global alliance. Currently Amadeus is the standard IT platform for the alliance with more than half of the members of oneworld adopting the Amadeus Altéa suite to date.

The two companies will work in close co-operation to begin the migration process from SriLankan’s existing passenger service system to Altéa. The first phase of the migration, covering the reservations, inventory and ticketing modules, is scheduled to be completed this year. Migration to the Altéa departure control system module is planned to commence in the first half of 2014.

Last year Amadeus signed similar agreements with airlines that include Garuda Indonesia and EVA Air. It has also successfully migrated Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines to Altéa, with Garuda scheduled to migrate later in 2013.

Amadeus’ Altéa suite is used by over 120 airlines globally.

Refurbished SuperStar Libra returns to Penang, to call on Myanmar

SuperStar Libra

Star Cruises’ newly refurbished SuperStar Libra returns to Penang after a month-long refurbishment, which saw a restyling of her various facilities. These included upgrade to the restaurants, entertainment and recreational venues and the swanky 1,200sqft duty-free shopping space.

The refurbishment also saw SuperStar Libra getting a  acelift with a new hull artwork,which depicts the zodiac scale lifted by a soaring dove amidst a sea of four-leaf clovers – an imagery that emanates peace, prosperity and luck.

To celebrate this occasion Star Cruises launched two special 7 days/6 night cruises departing from Penang to Krabi/Yangon/Phuket on May 26 and August 11.

The cruises mark the return of the superliner to Yangon after SuperStar Virgo’s first call to the port in 2003. It will be SuperStar Libra’s first Yangon call since homeporting in Penang in 2010.

The cruisea are also to meet the growing demand for Myanmar as a holiday destination. Guests get to explore Yangon through shore excursions that include Myanmar-style dining at House of Memories, visits to Bogyoke Aung San Museum and shopping.

SuperStar Libra continue to offer cruises from Penang to Phuket and Krabi.