Krabi in southern Thailand is one of my favourite beach resort areas: there is a good selection of hotel accommodation without it being over-developed.

“Singapore’s budget carrier Tiger Airways will resume flights to the Thai resort of Krabi four times a week from end-October. “

Read: Tiger Airways to resume flights to Krabi, Thailand

The Singapore Flyer by Cheeweng

From 01 July 2009 another no-frills airline will be flying between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Firefly, Malaysia Airline’s budget carrier, will be joining rivals AirAsia, Jetstar and Tiger Airways on this traditionally lucrative route. It will start with 3 flights daily and move up to 4 on 12 July.

The recent liberation of air services between Malaysia and Singapore means that competition is really hotting up: good news for the consumer. Firefly has an introductory price of RM88 one way, which is around £15. (Currency Converter)

The airline arguably has the edge on its rivals because it flies from the ‘old’ airport at Subang, which is around half the distance from the city as Sepang.

Later on in July the airline will also be flying between Singapore and the Malaysian cities of Ipoh, to the north of KL, and to both Kuala Terengganu and Kuantan on the east coast. This will open up the opportunities for more Singapore beach combos. The weather will still be good on the eastern seaboard until around September when the rainy season kicks in.

Photo source: Cheeweng

Courtesy of Tanjung Rhu Resort, Langkawi

I was pleased to read that the Malaysian government has agreed to Air Asia operating direct flights between Singapore and Langkawi.

The timetable operated by Malaysia Airlines and SilkAir is limited (currently there is no flight on Mondays for example) and thus to have more capacity on the route is a good thing for consumers. Admittedly whether it is good for the airlines is another matter: the local Chinese community seem to believe there is enough traffic so let’s hope so.

From the longhaul perspective I would say that if consumers see there are more flight options they are more likely to consider Langkawi as an end destination. Certainly from my point of view I would. On my last visit to Asia I couldn’t decide between Langkawi or Ko Samui: flight availability and cost were two of the factors I considered and I chose Ko Samui.

I will though be returning to Langkawi and a 2-centre Singapore/Langkawi for me is a good holiday combo. I enjoy just pottering around Singapore and contrary to what some people think there are little gems to be discovered. On our last visit for example we wandered around Chinatown and stumbled upon the Chinatown Heritage Centre on Pagoda Street. (Ok, I know had I read a guidebook I could have saved the ‘stumbling’ but I enjoy just discovering!).

We met a very charming man, Andrew Yip, on one of the stalls outside the Centre and we now have 3 stunning black and white prints taken by his late father Yip Cheong-Fun, an award-winning photographer. You can see some of his work here .

Langkawi Cable Car

Langkawi, on the other hand, is somewhere you go pretty much just to relax. The beaches are good and the scenery on the north coast is stunning. During our last visit we took the cable car ride at Gunung Machinchang. I am not a great one for heights but the views were worth the anguish!

The best time to visit Langkawi, weather-wise, is December through to March. Any other time there is a risk of rain although generally the sunshine is not too far behind. I usually go May/June when it is quieter and the hotel rates are just about at their lowest. You do get very spoilt though having swimming pools all to yourself, which we have had on many an occasion.

So I look forward to seeing the start of an Air Asia service between Singapore and Langkawi before our next visit!

With our credit well and truly crunched and wallets squeezed so no moth could survive, the travel industry needs to be inventive if we are to be enticed away from our homes.

Shangri-La Singapore Garden Wing - Koi Pond

It started in a small way back in February when Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts claimed to be the first international hotel group to offer free WIFI and wired Internet to every guest. Then in March the same group announced the launch of their Customised Hotel Package Programme. You can make a reservation on the Shangri-La website using the Custom Stay (Best Available) Rate and then add extras like airports transfers, Spa treatments, laundry etc etc at a discounted price. The actual ‘menu’ of extras varies from hotel to hotel.

The point about the promotion is that a) you are getting the hotel’s best internet rate: subject to Terms and Conditions; b) you are receiving a discount by pre-booking; and 3) you are able to budget more easily.

Amari Palm Reef Ko Samui

A few days later, the Thai-based hotel group Amari Hotels and Resorts came out with their own version of this promotion called “Dynamic Packaging”. The timing was so close that I am sure this was a coincidence but it is interesting the way the hotel marketer’s mind is working.

Just like the Shangri-La offer, you can pre-book your ‘extras’ e.g. airport transfers, meals and excursions thereby saving money on the advertised prices and keeping track of your hard-earned, fatigued cash.

The last promotion is for me the most-interesting. The Quincy Hotel in Singapore is a new 108 room, boutique hotel at Mount Elizabeth and its rates are inclusive of:

• Personalised limousine pick-up from airport on arrival
• Daily buffet breakfast, set lunch & dinner
• Cocktails
• Unlimited broadband Internet access
• Local telephone calls
• Daily 2 pieces of laundry
• Minibar is replenished daily
• All day coffee and tea

The headline rate is S$208 plus tax and service for a single and S$268 ++ for a double.

That means, based on a double room, you can stay in Singapore for around £71 per person (using current exchange rates with the only extras to think about being sightseeing and perhaps shopping – well this is Singapore!. N.B. These prices are scheduled to increase in May.

Chicken Rice - Image courtesy of the Singapore Tourism Board

This all-inclusive concept is of course nothing new but there are not many proponents in Asia; and to my knowledge there are no other city properties going down this path. Now, you could argue that is for one very good reason: Asia is one of the best regions in the world to eat out with Singapore right up there at the top. The city is one of the easiest places anywhere to travel around with oodles of noodles, sticky rice, laksa and Chicken rice. In fact probably just about any type of cuisine you care to mention: pizzas, burgers, sushi, banana leaf curry, Thai Green Curry…..(OK, enough – my mouth is watering).

So why would you just want to eat in the hotel? Well, according to a report in the Straits Times

“Quincy’s novel pricing policy seems to be pulling people in, economic downturn or not: It has achieved 76 per cent occupancy since its soft opening last month, higher than the national average occupancy rate of 67 per cent in January.

Quincy’s general manager Franck Hardy said guests will have a ‘hassle-free’ stay during these belt-tightening times without worrying about add-ons to their bills. ‘We wanted to do something completely different, not follow the norm.’”

I applaud the initiative and I hope it continues to work.

It would not suit me because part of the fun of Singapore is exploring and finding new places to eat. (I know that for some people ‘fun’ and ‘Singapore’ do not belong in the same sentence but I am a fan of the city and will happily debate its virtues). But it is obviously suiting some people and the thrust of this piece is that hotels have to be more inventive in the way they present their hotels and some hotel managers are breaking away from the norm.

There is nothing here that could be called rocket science and it is more evolution than revolution but I believe it is only the start. In my opinion it is now for us, the consumer, to tell the hotel industry what it is we want. Are any of these initiatives going to persuade you to travel and if not what would?

I was interested to see though that in Bali, a destination that has been suffering from low tourist numbers mainly as a result of negative Travel Advisories like this one from the Australian Government, RevPAR actually rose 17.5%; and this during a low-season month. At the other extreme Singapore dropped 30%.

No doubt there will be many intense discussions taking place in Berlin this week when representatives from the world’s travel and tourism industry meet at ITB.

By their nature those that work in the industry are an optimistic lot and, whereas there will be some wringing of hands, they will apply their collective brain power to find a way of moving forward. ‘Down but not out’ will be the mood.

For example, Accor Hotels announced last week the development of 4 more hotels in Thailand: 3 in Bangkok and one on the island of Samui. I appreciate these deals might have been set before the crunch started to bite but I still see it as a positive move.

Incidentally I do realise that this blog is beginning to read like a spin-off from Accor Hotels press department but it is entirely coincidental: they happen to be pushing out a lot of positive news at the moment. And that I think is a good thing. In my opinion there is too much talking down of our economies. We know it’s bad but let’s keep looking for the good bits and eventually we will spot a few green shoots.

Many of us might be down but we are most definitely not out!

Singapore Airlines has teamed up with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in a global campaign to attract visitors to Singapore.

The special SIA Holidays package to be launched from the end of this month will be supported by a range of promotional activities throughout the year in the Singapore Airlines and SilkAir route network of 93 cities in 38 countries.

“The thrust of the campaign is to bring visitor numbers back to Singapore. Both short and long haul markets would be targeted from the outset,” said Mr Huang Cheng Eng, Singapore Airlines Executive Vice President, Marketing & The Regions.

“The promotions will be launched in phases across Singapore Airlines’ network and over $9 million will be pumped in jointly by Singapore Airlines, STB, CAAS and the travel industry for joint in-market promotions and advertising, as well as value-adds to the package,” he added.

“STB’s collaboration with Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and CAAS is a prime example of the travel industry here working together.  We are very excited with the partnerships that are being forged – and pleased that travellers will benefit and get to enjoy so much more value in the great deals and irresistible offers under the ‘2009 Reasons to enjoy Singapore’ banner”, said Mr Ken Low, Singapore Tourism Board’s Assistant Chief Executive (Marketing).

CAAS’ Deputy Director-General (Development), Mr Tan Lye Teck, said, “This partnership is an example of CAAS’ commitment to support airlines, the tourism industry and also to pass on greater value to our passengers, especially during this time. We hope such collaborative campaigns will help entice more travellers to come to Singapore and also from here to the region.”

To kick-start the campaign, Singapore Airlines and its industry partners have lined up many irresistible packages for travellers, including a FREE first night’s stay in Singapore, with a minimum stay of two nights, subject to terms and conditions.  Also included in the package are free airport transfers, discounted entry to selected Singapore’s leading attractions and unlimited free rides on the Singapore Airlines “Hop-On Bus” – an air-conditioned bus service that allows customers to visit over 20 major attractions in Singapore, including the popular shopping malls and restaurants.  Customers staying at participating hotels will also enjoy 50 per cent off food and beverage discounts at their respective hotels’ designated F&B outlets.

Apart from boosting tourist arrivals, there are also attractive deals for Singaporeans looking for short-getaways!

Singapore Airlines and SilkAir are offering SIA Holidays and SilkAir Holidays to their destination cities in countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong.  Some of these exciting holidays will first be offered from 27 February to 1 March 2009 at the NATAS Travel Fair.

SIA Holidays and SilkAir Holidays will continue to introduce more free-and-easy packages progressively to more destinations worldwide.  These packages comprise attractive airfares, hotels and transfers bundled together to provide customers a variety of value-offers to suit their budget. Customers can look out for promotions in their markets and at singaporeair.com for these packages. Tradewinds Tours & Travel is the appointed manager for SIA Holidays and SilkAir Holidays.

Depending on the markets, customers can begin their journey by visiting their nearest travel agent or Singapore Airlines/SilkAir offices to savour hot deals and enjoy big savings. In Singapore, the packages can be booked with participating travel agents and Tradewinds Tours & Travel directly.  Customers will soon be able to directly access the available holiday packages and book online at singaporeair.com.

The sale of SIA Holidays and SilkAir Holidays packages is subject to local regulations and terms and conditions in the different countries.

SIA Holidays Participating Hotels in Singapore
1. Allson Hotel Singapore
2. Carlton Hotel Singapore
3. Concorde Hotel Singapore
4. Copthorne Orchid Hotel Singapore
5. Furama Riverfront Singapore
6. Hotel Miramar Singapore
7. Hotel Royal
8. Hotel Royal @ Queens
9. Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen
10. Link Hotel Singapore
11. Pan Pacific Orchard
12. Parkroyal on Beach Road
13. Peninsula Excelsior Hotel
14. Rendezvous Hotel Singapore
15. River View Hotel Singapore
16. The Regent Singapore
17. York Hotel

In the UK, as air travellers, we are quite well protected financially but only if we are booking our travel arrangements through an ATOL bonded operator; in which case our operator’s ATOL licence gives cover under the government backed-scheme. This area is potentially quite confusing but the ATOL site covers the topic very well.

On my last trip to Asia (Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand) I bought my air tickets through one agent (ATOL bonded) and my accommodation through two separate online accommodation agents. My flights were ATOL protected, my accommodation wasn’t! I wasn’t being totally reckless though because I purchased the accommodation with a credit card and so was covered under the Consumer Credit Act. I am also talking about early 2008 when most people had no inkling of a “credit crunch”, £1.00 equalled $2.00 and everything in the travel world was rosy!

Now that we are in these more uncertain times I am wondering to what extent we are more wary about whom we give our money to. For example, if I were booking that same holiday to Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand now would I be booking the whole thing through an ATOL operator or would I still mix and match?

On balance I would probably do the same thing again but then I have been doing this for over 25 years and would find it difficult to surrender total control to a third party! But if my flights were not covered by an ATOL licence, for example they were with a no-frills carrier, I would make sure I had insurance cover against airline failure.

As an aside, it is worth mentioning that booking everything with the same ATOL holder means more than just financial protection. If anything goes wrong with the trip, the company is obliged to help you out; whereas doing it my way means you are on your own.

Are people more wary now than they were say a year ago?