CITIES & BEACHES: Far East
Hotels: Kuala Lumpur saw the
opening of a 412-room Grand Hyatt last August 2012, and the city is expecting numerous other high-profi le openings in coming months and years, including a 513-room Pullman hotel scheduled for 2013 and a 200-room St Regis fi xed for 2014. Singapore unveiled the 240-room
W Sentosa Cove in September 2012, while in Hong Kong the 359-room Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East soft-opened in the same month. In Vietnam, Ritz Carlton has signed a deal to manage its fi rst hotel in the country – the Ritz Carlton Saigon is penned in for 2017. Over on Bali, meanwhile, the 203-room Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort opened in December and the Centara Grand Nusa Dua is due to launch imminently with 68 suites and 14 private villas. Attractions: Legoland Malaysia,
accessible from both KL and Singapore, opened in September 2012. It is Malaysia’s fi rst interna- tional theme park. Operators: Hong Kong and the
Chinese province of Yunnan have partnered to promote their potential as a twin-centre option
– Wendy Wu Tours has two new private tours for 2013. In other news, Travel Indochina has joined independent agent body TIPTO.
Tourism talk ”We don’t have a specifi c breakdown of fi gures, but we had 230,000 UK visitors
to Singapore between January and June 2012, and of the 80% of those who were leisure visitors, I would say more than half were twinning
Singapore as part of a city-and-beach holiday. Singapore Airlines has recently introduced a fourth daily service from Heathrow, so there’s more choice of departure times for the consumer. Bali and Phuket are popular options to twin with Singapore, as is Bintan, which is just 45 minutes away by ferry.
“In the UK we’ll be
holding industry events in London and Manchester in summer 2013.”
Stephanie Yong, Area Director Northern & Western Europe, Singapore Tourism Board
Where to book it TRAVEL INDOCHINA - 01865 268944
A 13-night beach and city stay in Vietnam, with three nights in Saigon at the Liberty Central before an eight-night stay at the fi ve-star
Angsana Lang Co in central Vietnam, costs from £1,595pp including fl ights with Vietnam Airlines based on travel in May.
travelindochina.co.uk ROYAL CARIBBEAN - 0844 493 4005
A three-night ‘Best of Malaysia’ cruise in March, departing from Singapore on the Legend of the Seas and calling at Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang) and Penang before returning to Singapore, starts from £222pp. There are three departures in the month.
royalcaribbean.co.uk REGENT HOLIDAYS - 020 7666 1244 A 17-night Vietnam Honeymoon Luxury Tour, with fi ve-star
accommodation and time in Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, leads in at £5600. The Nha Trang section of the tour includes three nights at the
Six Senses Evason Hideaway.
regent-holidays.co.uk TRAVEL 2 - 0800 0224 182 An 11-night package to Thailand starts from £1,269pp, Included are three nights in Bangkok and eight nights at the fi ve-star Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort & Spa on a B&B basis. The price includes international and internal fl ights.
travel2.com
Meet the Operator
Which beach/city combinations would you recommend?
Our best-selling ones are the basics, like Thailand city-and- beach and Singapore city-and- beach – they’re the popular ones for people who haven’t done the Far East before. Phuket still holds its charm and for newcomers it’s got a bit of everything. And Singapore-Bali was popular in 2012, as was Hong Kong-Bali, too.
What’s the appeal of this type of holiday?
You can do the sightseeing and the city activities, then relax on a beach. The cities offer very specifi c experiences – Bangkok, for example, is really lively but it’s still very cultural in its ways, whereas Singapore and Hong Kong are a lot more dynamic and cosmopolitan.
Are you offering any new beach/ city product for 2013?
We’re looking at Vietnam – the new fl ights from London have opened up a brand new destination. It’s always been popular in some markets, of course, but now that it’s got the direct air route it’s going to be somewhere that’s going to really grow over the next few years. Vietnam has got some incredible beaches.
Sample Package Funway Holidays currently has a
Left: Shangri La resort in Borocay, the Philippines’ most popular beach resort. Right: The Singapore Flyer and the surrounding city, lit up at night.
32 February 2013 • •
www.sellinglonghaul.com February 2013
www.sellinglonghaul.com
10-night Singapore and Bali trip in May from £1429pp, including three nights at Singapore’s Park Hotel Clarke Quay and seven nights at Bali’s Puri Santrian. 0844 557 4242
funwayholidays.co.uk
Nandita Patel, Product Administration Executive, Funway Holidays
T B
selling tip
“Combining Singapore with Bali is a really good, natural option. They’re not far apart – about an hour and a half’s flight”
S
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