Travel Business Review
Travel Business Review provides updates throughout the day on events affecting the travel industry. TBR focuses on all levels of the leisure and business travel sectors, from multinational giants to smaller independent travel companies, offering concise and informative stories as soon as they break.
Below you will find a recent sample of the publication.
W Dubai – The Palm to Begin Operations by 2009
A new hotel is to be launched on The Palm Jumeriah in Dubai by Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ W Hotels division.
W Dubai - The Palm is to be W Hotels’ second hotel in Dubai and its third in the Middle East. It is scheduled to open in late 2009.
W Dubai - The Palm was developed as per an agreement signed between Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Al Sharq Investment, a wholly owned company of Ali bin Suleiman Al Shehr.
The hotel, which is shaped in the form a palm leaf, offers 400 rooms and suites, a signature W Living Room experience, multiple restaurant outlets, a destination bar and spa, luxury boat marinas, and access to shopping on The Golden Mall.
According to Ross Klein, president of W Hotels Worldwide, ‘The Palm Jumeirah and its exclusive offshore city is one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. W Dubai-The Palm will offer our guests a truly distinct experience in one of the most vibrant and unique destinations in the world.’
Increased Flights on Singapore-Darwin Route Introduced by Tiger Airways
Tiger Airways is to increase the number of flights between Singapore and Darwin to five per week, with an additional 100,000 seats to be available per year.
A promotional fare of SGD2 for travel one way - excluding taxes and fees - for travel between August 1 and September 25, 2007 is available for bookings between December 15 and 19, 2006. The Northern Summer 2007 fares start from SGD8.88 one way, excluding taxes.
Royal Pines Resort in Australia Re-Branded
Gold Coast, Australia-based Royal Pines Resort has been rebranded as the Crowne Plaza Royal Pines Resort after the closure of an agreement between InterContinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs) and Morgan Stanley’s MSREF fund.
The 331-room Crowne Plaza Royal Pines Resort offers a convention centre, four restaurants, three bars, a cafe, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, seven tennis courts and a health club.
According to Keith Barr, InterContinental Hotels Group Chief Operating Officer for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, ‘Royal Pines Resort is the latest in a string of recent additions to the Crowne Plaza brand portfolio throughout the region – including Hunter Valley and Queenstown, New Zealand – that demonstrate our strategy of establishing the brand in primary locations for leisure and meetings. It is one of the best examples in Australia today of how these two areas of the hotel business can be combined to best effect, and we are delighted to be establishing the hotel as the fourteenth Crowne Plaza hotel in the country. This rebranding also adds another link between the Crowne Plaza brand and golf, which is a critical element when it comes to residential meetings and incentives. It creates natural synergies with the new Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley and other international initiatives, including international tournament sponsorships in Asia and the United States.’
He added, ‘We are also excited to be partnering with Morgan Stanley and its management arm Panorama Hospitality at a point where a major refurbishment programme is nearing completion, and will be encouraging our regular Crowne Plaza leisure and meeting guests to experience the new product as soon as possible.’
Etihad Partners with Malaysian Tourism Board
Etihad Airways has partnered with the Malaysian Tourism Board for the promotion of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur is the airline’s fourth destination in the Far East after the launch of a double-daily service to Bangkok and non-stop operations to Jakarta and Manila.
According to Peter Baumgartner, head of Marketing, Etihad Airways, ‘Many of the UAE’s top representatives from the automotive industry attend the Autocar awards, which gives us a unique opportunity to talk directly to them about our fantastic new route to Kuala Lumpur. Since announcing that we will soon fly to Kuala Lumpur, Etihad has been inundated with bookings from guests looking to experience Malaysia’s multi-cultural delights either as part of a business trip or for a short break.’
Syed Muhadzir Jamallulil, UAE, Gulf and Iran director, Tourism Malaysia, stated, ‘The launch of Etihad’s new flight to Kuala Lumpur in January is very exciting because we will be celebrating our ‘Visit Malaysia Year 2007’ campaign to mark Malaysia’s 50 years of nationhood. Etihad’s Kuala Lumpur service will also assist Tourism Malaysia in bringing more tourists from the Middle East region to the country.’
Frankfurt Hahn Airport Faces Alleged Indirect Ryanair Payment Accusation
Frankfurt Hahn Airport has been accused by Deutsche Lufthansa of allegedly granting indirect payments to Ryanair Holdings Plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY), an Irish budget airline company.
Ryanair has been asked to return EUR2.7m to Frankfurt Hahn that it had allegedly received in reduced airport fees. Lufthansa is also demanding information regarding money paid to Ryanair between 2004 and 2005 in the form of marketing support. No further state aid may be paid to Ryanair unless it has EU approval.
