Hotel industry and travel news from around the Asia Pacific region; this week: Six Senses unveils Seychelles, Asian air traffic, Courtyard debuts in Singapore and more...

Austrian to launch summer Maldives flights

Austrian Airlines will offer summer flights to the Maldives for the first time this year. From July 2014, the airline will launch weekly flights between Vienna and Male, with services leaving the Austrian capital every Thursday and returning from the Maldives the following day. All flights will be operated using a twin-aisle Boeing 767-300 aircraft. Prior to 2014, Austrian had only flown to the Maldives during the winter. The expansion of its Maldives operates follows Austrian's return to Iran. From 11 March 2014, the airline will operate five weekly flights to the country's capital Tehran.

favehotel expands in Jakarta

Located in the Melawai area of the Indonesian capital, the favehotel Melawai Jakarta is set in a development called Block M Square, a Japanese enclave known as ‘Little Tokyo', which is home to a range of retail and F&B outlets. The hotel features 101 rooms, equipped with free high-speed Wi-Fi and LED TVs, while property facilities include a cafe and three meeting rooms. Following the launch of the favehotel Melawai Jakarta, Archipelago has firm plans to open a further 10 favehotels in Jakarta. These form part of a total development pipeline of approximately 40 new hotels in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Six Senses to debut in the Seychelles

Six Senses has unveiled plans for its first resort in the Seychelles. Scheduled to open in 2015, the Six Senses ZilPasyon will be located on the private island of Félicité, 55km northeast of Mahe. The resort will be accessible by helicopter or private boat ride. Spread across 264 hectares, Six Senses ZilPasyon will be located on the north side of the island and will feature 30 one- and two-bedroom villas and 17 private residences, all with private pools. Resort facilities will include two restaurants, a bar, retail outlets, a gym, swimming pool, recreation centre and a spa. It will also feature space for wedding and events.

Asian air traffic rises in January

Airlines in the Asia Pacific region carried 21.1 million international passengers in January, 8.7% more than the same month last year. According to the latest data from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), the strong demand for flights was linked to the Chinese New Year holiday season, which fell in late January this year. Measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), passenger traffic grew by 8.1%, while available seat capacity expanded 7.2%. This allowed average load factors to edge up 0.7 percentage points, to 79.0%. International traffic on Asia Pacific's airlines reached 220m passengers in 2013, 6.0% more than 2012.

Vietnam arrivals surge in February

There was a sharp rise in international visitor arrivals to Vietnam in February. According to the latest data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the country welcomed 842,026 overseas visitors during the month, 47.6% more than in February 2013. The growth was driven by a sharp rise in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam. The country's top five visitor source markets last month were China, South Korea, Japan, the US and Taiwan. For the first two months of the year, Vietnam has now welcomed 1.62 million international visitors, 33.4% more than the same period in 2013.

Marriott's Courtyard brand to debut in Singapore

Marriott International has unveiled plans to open its first Courtyard hotel in Singapore. The US hotel company has penned a management agreement for the Courtyard by Marriott Novena – a new 250-room property that scheduled to open in 2017. The new midscale hotel will form part of a 33-storey mixed-use development, Royal Square at Novena, which will also feature restaurants, retail outlets and medical facilities. Marriott currently operates two hotels in Singapore; the Singapore Marriott Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore.

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