Cebu Pacific (CEB) is now the Philippines’ largest airline by total number of passengers flown on domestic and international routes.

Based on Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) data, CEB flew 2,448,990 domestic and international passengers from January to March this year, almost 110,000 more than Philippine Airlines’ system-wide figures of 2,339,788.

CEB claimed the No. 1 domestic carrier last year when it captured 50 percent of the domestic market share. It remains the number one carrier in 2010, with 51 percent market share. It started operations only in 1996.

“Our consistent focus and commitment to offering the lowest fares for value service continue to pay off. We expect to grow even more in the coming years as we take delivery of more brand-new planes which we will use to expand our capacity, increase frequencies, and fly to more local and foreign destinations,” said CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog.

CEB is buying 22 more 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft for delivery starting in Oct. this year till 2014, which by then would make the airline’s Airbus fleet the largest in the country as well.

The airline currently operates the youngest aircraft fleet in the country, composed of 21 Airbus and eight ATR 72-500 aircraft.

“Our expansion will drive our costs lower, benefiting the flying public with CEB’s trademark low fares,” said Iyog.

Last year, CEB flew 8.8 million domestic and international passengers, with a 31% year-on-year growth. This year, it expects the number to rise to 10 million. By 2013, CEB expects to carry a total of 15 million passengers, exceeding the capacity of the NAIA Terminal 3, its home base.

From the last quarter of 2010 onwards, CEB expects to strengthen its network of 33 domestic and 15 international destinations with more routes and increased frequencies. It just recently announced its newest Brunei route, slated to start this Aug. 21. Continue Reading

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• candice iyog (7)
• Airbus A320 planes (2)
• cebupacific a320 (1)

Thailand’s tourism industry may eventually go bankrupt if the current political violence is prolonged, says an industry executive.

Kongkrit Hiranyakit, chairman of the Tourism Industry Federation of Thailand, said the federation agreed at the meeting that a relief center for tourism operators be set up to act as their representative to work together with the state sector to find assistance measures for operators affected by the political rally.

He said the federation had evaluated the situation since the political violence erupted in April and found the tourism industry had shrunk by 10 per cent, but since the violence persisted until now, the industry is expected to contract by 20 per cent.

It is also forecast the number of foreign tourists would be less than 13 million this year.

In addition, Mr Kongkrit estimated the incident would cause a Bth100 billion in damages to the tourism industry, which could affect Thailand’s tourism competitiveness in the future.

If the political rally drags on, he warned, the tourism industry might finally go bankrupt.

For those looking to soak up the sun as well as the atmosphere of the largest sporting event in the world, Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort (www.olhuveli.com) in the Maldives is offering football fans and their other halves the perfect getaway throughout the FIFA World Cup.

With live matches showing outside the Lagoon bar, 25% discount on all alcoholic beverages and a light snack buffet after midnight, Olhuveli offers a fantastic alternative venue to watch the football stars on the large outdoor screen under the night sky. In addition, the special drinks menu has a medley of beers and cocktails to tantalise the taste buds during games, from a Cappelo Cosmo to a World Cup Woo Woo.

The Sun Spa is also on hand with a range of treatments guaranteed to whisk guests in to a world of rest and relaxation. Valid between 11 June and 11 July, footy supporters can take advantage of a complimentary Football Frenzy Foot Massage with every Sun Spa Signature Massage taken – the perfect remedy for pre-match nerves!

Watch Football

For the aspiring Gerards and Lampards out there, Olhuveli plans to invite guests of all ages to join in the island’s weekly beach football matches. Continue Reading

It will come as no surprise to learn that the ongoing crisis in Bangkok is having a significant negative impact on the city’s hotel performance.

Daily data compiled by STR Global shows the immediate impact while monthly trend data shows a marked resilience by hoteliers in the Thai capital during the last few years.

A dramatic decline in occupancy was experienced across the city following several disturbance-related fatalities during early April. After a slight rebound, occupancy plummeted again as the foreign offices of several key Thai feeder markets, such as Germany and the U.K., advised against all but essential travel to the market.

With the safety of both guests and staff in mind, some international hotels near areas of intense violence closed and have yet to reopen. Quite astonishingly, the Dusit Thani, which is right in the heart of the action, directly on the front line, remained open during all the recent violence, but has confirmed that it will today close after guests and staff spent Sunday night in the basement.

These daily performance fluctuations mirror the market’s long-term monthly occupancy trends. Declines in the metric began during 2006 at the onset of military control and bounced around throughout 2007. The 2008 protests were more significant: Unrest during August result in poor September occupancy levels; following the November airport closures, December also suffered with occupancy of only 38.6%. Continue Reading

Just an hour’s drive from the jostling metropolis of Seoul lie trails nearly untouched by humans for six decades, tempting adventurous hikers seeking pristine landscapes and scenes from the Korean Peninsula’s unfinished war.

But up until now, the overgrown routes just south of the Demilitarized Zone — a 259 kilometer strip of rugged no-man’s land stretching from coast to coast — have eluded most trekkers, except those with local knowledge.

This weekend, the government of Gyeonggi Province, which borders the DMZ, is unveiling a total of 182.3 km of courses in the area. It plans to post a map on its Web site and has started marking trails as part of a strategy to boost eco-tourism.

Trekking Sites near Seoul Korea

“If you come and visit this area, you can get a first-hand experience of the reality on the Korean Peninsula, which has been divided for over half a century, and also see a beautifully protected natural environment,” says Han Bae-soo, who is in charge of the project.

The courses include a dozen major routes passing through the cities of Gimpo, Goyang, Paju and the county of Yeoncheon, and vary in length from 8 to 21km — three to seven hours’ walk for an adult. Continue Reading

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• korea tourism DMZ (1)

The Travel Industry Council of Macao Monday announced that over 40 local travel agencies, which are members of the Council, have decided to suspend their package tour service in Bangkok until April 20, due to the ongoing political unrest there.

Aside from the member travel agencies, the Council also discussed the issue with a non-member agency which has also moved to cancel tourist trips to Bangkok, and a total of seven such package tour trips were canceled in the next nine days, said Andy Wu, president of the Council.

Wu also said that the Council will meet again next week and decide whether to cancel other package tours scheduled to depart for Bangkok after April 20.

Saturday’s clash in Bangkok between Thailand’s troops and “red-shirts” anti-government protesters, who are supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has led to 21 deaths and 858 injuries. Despite the bloodshed, the protesters continued staging demonstrations against current government.

The government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has already issued its travel warnings, in which local residents were told not to travel to Thailand as the demonstration staged by anti- government protesters turned violent in Thailand’s capital.

A package tour group of 25 tourists returned to Macao safely from Thailand by air last night, and the tourists said that their tour there was not affected by the protest.

Thailand has long been the first choice of Macao tourists, as approximately thirty to forty percent of Macao’s outbound tourists go to the country every year, according to Wu.

Effective today, Philippine Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, is banned from entering the air space of the 27-nation European Union (EU), it was decided on Tuesday by the Brussels-based European Commission (EC).

Reacting to the move, PAL acknowledged that the EC blacklist is “a direct consequence of the downgrade of the Philippine government’s aviation safety rating.”

PAL is the sole Philippine-certified airline with a permit to fly to the EU.

The move was part of EC’s overall evaluation of air travel safety to the European bloc. Continue Reading

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The number of foreign tourists to arrive in Viet Nam in March reached 473,000, lifting the total arrivals in the first quarter to 1.35 million, up 36.2 percent over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The number of visitors from Cambodia was reported to be the highest increase of 147.2 percent, followed by mainland China with a surge of 115 percent. Visitors from Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia also rose sharply between 22 percent and 37 percent.

Foreign tourists from Japan, France and Malaysia also rose significantly between 12 and 15 percent.

The ministry’s statistics showed that most foreign tourists arrived by air or road.

The ministry attributed the increase to the recovery of the world’s economy, especially in Asian countries, which are traditional markets to Viet Nam’s tourism industry. Continue Reading

Fed-up of waiting for summer to arrive? Dreaming of a white-sand beach, warm, azure-blue sea and lazy days stretching into balmy relaxing evenings?

Would love to visit a tropical island but wondering if the holiday budget is more suited to the Mediterranean than the Indian Ocean? Then think again, as Sun Hotels & Resorts, who have two idyllic resorts in the Maldives, have announced lower high-season rates and a reduction in the all-inclusive supplement – perfect for those seeking sunshine and savings!

Olhuveli Sandbank

Available through selected tour operators and valid for departure from 16 April until 31 October, choose from two beautiful resorts: Continue Reading

The International Rinjani Mountain Climbing event in Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), is scheduled in July 2010, with more foreign mountain climbers taking part.

“I have several times coordinated preparations of the international event in Jakarta, and this time its schedule has been set in July 2010,” Head of the NTB Cultural and Tourism Agency Lalu Gita Ariadi said here on Tuesday.

Ariadi said the organizers of the international event was set up by the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Natural Conservation (PHKA), of the Forestry Ministry.

Rinjani is the second highest volcano in Indonesia after Mt Kerinci (3,800 meters) in Sumatra, and has become very popular to local and foreign tourists.

The geo-tourism potentials include the beautiful cauldron, lake, peak, waterfalls, hot springs, caves, eruption history, blast-hole and new lava flow, and has therefore been suggested to become the first geopark in Indonesia.

The 3,726 meters high volcano had been suggested to be developed into Indonesia`s first geopark, or one of the 54 geoparks in 17 countries of the world. Continue Reading

Vietnam’s capital Hanoi is ranked third among 12 most attractive destinations in the world in 2010 according to Vietnam News Agency.

The announcement was made by Frommer’s, a travel guidebook series and one of the bestselling travel guides in the United States, VNA said.

Frommer’s said that the city will celebrate its 1,000th birthday and this year is also Vietnam’s National Tourism Year 2010.

According to VNA the guidebook’s author Ron Emmons said that Hanoi also “happens to be Asia’s most Asian city.”

A cultural center littered with pagodas, temples and historic monuments, Hanoi offers plenty for travellers to seek an authentic experience with excellent meals available at both street-side stalls and fine eateries, Frommer’s said.

It said that Hanoi will restore important beautiful landscapes to mark the National Tourism Year 2010. (PNA/Bernama)

South Korea’s Incheon International Airport (IIAC) has been voted the world’s best airport by the Airport Council International (ACI) for the fifth straight year, the airport said in a statement Tuesday.

The IIAC scored the highest marks in the ACI’s annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award, receiving the top honor in three categories to become the Best Airport Worldwide, Best Airport in Asia-Pacific, and Best Airport with annual passenger traffic between 25 and 40 million, according to the IIAC.

The IIAC scored 4.99 points out of a perfect five, which was the highest points ever awarded in the survey’s history, by way finishing at the top spot from 2005 to 2009, the longest winning streak ever as well, the statement said.

“Winning the top honors in the ACI survey as the best airport for five consecutive years is the result of the combined efforts of the government and 35,000 airport employees who have consistently delivered excellent service every year,” C.W Lee, president and CEO of IIAC said in a statement.

Singapore’s Changi International Airport and the Hong Kong International Airport were second and third respectively in the ranking, which was based on 250,000 responses from passengers that rated 34 airport services worldwide last year.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the 5th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Hainan, China on May 13th this year.