THAILAND - Saudi Prince inks B4.3bn resort deal

Phuket gazette, Wednesday, September 27, 2006

PHANG NGA: Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), which is chaired by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, has signed a deal to acquire land on which it proposes to build a US$115 million (about 4.3 billion baht) “Raffles Phang Nga Resort and Residences”, comprising 150 rooms and 25 luxury villas.

The deal was made through a joint-venture company that is 80% owned by KHI and 20% by European Hotels Corporation Ltd (EHC), KHI’s joint venture partner in the Four Seasons Hotel in Marrakech.

The acquisition is KHI’s second in Thailand this year. In May, the Crowne Plaza Karon Beach Phuket resort was bought by KHI for US$98.5 million (3.7 billion baht), including US$30.5 million (1.1 billion baht) in debt.

Tim Hansing, Senior Vice President for Development, Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), told the Gazette, “The deal is definitely still going through. We signed the deal on the evening of the coup. We heard about it, and we took the decision to also announce it [the deal] the very next day, in line with our policy.

“We are very confident that the [government] transition process will be smooth. The tourism offer in Thailand has not changed. It still has wonderful beaches, wonderful people.

“We’ve invested into a 100-million-dollar project in the Movenpick Karon Beach Hotel earlier this year, and we are very confident about this project in Phang Nga, the Raffles Resort.

“We’re an emerging markets company. Our eyes are open. We have full confidence that tourism will continue to grow in Thailand.”

The Raffles Phang Nga Resort and Residences is proposed to start operations in 2009 on some 240,000 square meters (150 rai) of land, approximately a 35-minutes drive north of Phuket International Airport.

The project is expected to boast an 80,000sqm freshwater lake and 400 meters of beachfront.

Residential villas will be offered for sale during the development period on a long-term leasehold basis. The sales proceeds will be used to partly finance the development, of which KHI states it expects to invest US$12 million for an 80% ownership stake.

KHI will seek debt financing to fund approximately 50% of the total project.

DEVELOPMENTS - Tourism is a key resource for sustainable economic and social development, think-tank finds

eTN, 29-9-2006

Lisbon, Portugal (eTN) – The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Think-Tank where officials, experts and entrepreneurs from Europe, the Americas and the Middle East gathered here to discuss the opportunities and challenges for tourism as a leading socio economic driver. The event was held on the occasion of the United Nations´ World Tourism Day and hosted by Portuguese Tourism Secretary Bernardo Trindade,..

It was concluded at the The Think Tank that tourism represents 40 percent of all exports of services; revenues have grown far stronger than international trade, that tourism has spin-off effects ranging from construction over to agriculture or telecommunications, creating quality employment for developing countries; and that tourism has to be included in the policy and development agenda of governments, donors and financing institutions.

According to the UNWTO, investing in tourism infrastructure, information communications technology (ICT) and education can create long term employment which benefits local communities.

Governments and development agencies need to become aware of this added value chain provided by tourism. Only then tourism will be included as a strategic element in policies targeting job creation, sustainability and poverty alleviation, UNWTO said in a release.

On a socio-cultural level, tourism can promote a culture of peace and understanding thanks to direct contacts between visitors and host communities "How can we feel enmity towards someone we know personally; someone whom we have received or who has received us," asks UNWTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli.

The participants endorsed the view that the linkage of tourism and ICT as catalytic sectors could provide significant leverage in managing growth and bridging the digital divide.

UNWTO said it has recently initiated a long term partnership with Microsoft Corporation to expand ICT in the tourism sector, providing ICT systems and tools for emerging tourism economies to improve their export competitiveness, product quality and support skills. Its primary focus will be on Africa.

Meanwhile, the consolidation of tourism over the past decades "constitutes one of the most positive socio-economic developments of our time," Frangialli said. The UNWTO claims international tourist arrivals grew from 25 million in 1950 to 808 million in 2005. This expansion rate by 6.5 percent "continues unabated and there is no evidence of saturation of demand despite wars, terror, tsunamis and other crises," the UNWTO secretary general added.

>>Full article

THAILAND - “LIFESTYLE HOTELS” MAKE THEIR MARK

TRAVEL IMPACT NEWSWIRE -- Edition 62 – Thursday, 28 September 2006

Although the expansion and marketing plans of the brandname hotel groups attract most of the publicity, the lineup of exhibitors at the Fifth Annual Thailand Travel Mart 2006 Plus Amazing Gateway to the Mekong Region (TTM+ 2006) suggests that the future lies with the dozens of boutique and lifestyle hotels. These are emerging nationwide, both in Bangkok as well as in the beach resorts of southern Thailand and the landlocked but culturally rich provinces of north and northeast Thailand.

Of the 361 seller organisations participating in this year’s TTM+, which ended yesterday, 227 were hotels. Of these, at least 50 were independently-run, boutique, resort and spa operations. Essentially, this was in line with the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s goal which, according to Deputy Governor Mrs Phornsiri Manoharn, is to “bring in Thailand’s many small and medium-sized enterprises which do not have the large marketing budgets to attend the major international trade shows, and need the buyers’ support to generate growth and business.”

Although international brandname chains are expanding aggressively in Thailand, the smaller lifestyle properties are proving popular with clients seeking more privacy and inividuality. This is in line with the fourth ‘European Lifestyle Hotel Survey’ released in August by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP which reports that lifestyle hotels “are continuing to raise the bar for the industry through differentiation, innovation and value-for-money. This niche sector continues to have widespread consumer appeal and, although there have been new developments throughout the lifestyle segment, the budget end saw the most action in terms of new names and new ideas.”

The survey said, “There is some evidence that the sector is now becoming more attractive to investors particularly venture capitalists and private equity firms. In the past, lack of scale has tended to make returns insufficient to attract investment groups, but this may be changing.”

Private discussions with the owners and managers of the Thai lifestyle hotels indicate a meeting of minds. Both want to achieve a balanced lifestyle between enjoying their jobs while providing a good product and generating good financial returns. Many of them are run by western expatriate executives who want out from the cut-throat competitive politics of corporate ascendancy. They find greater job satisfaction in running a small, more manageable property and relish the challenge of taking on the “brands” with their more formidable marketing muscle and loyalty programme databases.

Said one operator, “We are to the hospitality industry what the low-cost airlines are to the aviation industry, with the sole exception that we provide a full-service, first class product, and charge accordingly.”

Generally, the Thai hotel industry as a whole is back to normal levels of profitabilty as visitors and business travellers return by the droves. The following is a list of some key hotel developments in Thailand over the last few months, many of which were compiled by the consultancy company HVS International - Asia Pacific:

<> Kingdom Hotel Investments will develop the Raffles Phang Nga Resort and Residences at an estimated cost of US$115 million. Land was recently acquired through a company 80% owned by KHI and 20% by European Hotels Corporation. The proposed Raffles Phang Nga Resort and Residences will open in 2009, with 150 rooms and 25 luxury residential villas located on 240,000 square metres of prime freehold land. It is anticipated that standard rooms will contain a gross area in excess of 100 square metres per unit.

The built up areas of the villas will be roughly 500 sq m per villa. Located 35 minutes from Phuket Airport, the site includes an 80,000-sq-m fresh water lake and has about 400 m of direct beachfront. KHI is targeting to invest US$12 million for an 80% ownership stake in the proposed development. KHI will seek debt financing to fund approximately 50% of the total project.

<> Crown Hotel Investment Inc purchased the Thai Garden Resort in Pattaya, effective as of 4 Sept 2006. The company has taken total ownership control over the 181 unit resort hotel including the popular Moon River Pub & Restaurant located at North Pattaya Road.

<> InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) will open its first 367-room Holiday Inn property in Pattaya at the end of 2008, while Starwood Hotels and Resorts will debut its first Luxury Collection property in Koh Samui in 2011. The Holiday Inn will have a 450-seat ballroom and two function rooms. Starwood’s Vana Belle Samui Resort and Spa located near to Koh Samui’s popular Chaweng Beach, will have 180 rooms, including 30 standalone villas, four restaurants, meeting facilities, spa and fitness centre, business centre and a swimming pool.

<> The Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel opened on 1 Sept 2006. It is a three-minute walk from the airport’s main terminal connected by a 200 m, air-conditioned underground walkway. A direct rail link under construction will connect the 612-room hotel to existing transport systems, downtown Bangkok and its CBD by early 2008.

<> Central Hotels & Resorts is to revamp the Central Hua Hin Village. The new facility will cover 8.43 acres and be renamed The Villas at Sofitel Central Hua Hin Resort. The renovation of the 41 contemporary-style bungalows will be completed this November. The villas will offer either a private five-metre splash pool or oversized Jacuzzi spa. The 41 villas will be available in four types of accommodations.

<> Central Hotels & Resorts, together with an investor, has setup a joint venture company - Karon Phuket Hotel Co., Ltd with 50:50 ownership ratio. On 1 April 2006, the company took over Phuket Islandia Hotel in Karon Beach for US$27 million and will invest US$3.9 million to renovate and rename it to “Central Karon Beach Resort, Phuket.” Central Hotels & Resorts plans to own 22 hotels & resorts by 2010.

<> Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI) has acquired the Karon Beach Hotel, Phuket, it’s first acquisition in Asia. The hotel, currently managed by Crowne Plaza, has been purchased from LaSalle Investment Management for US$98.5 million, including US$30.5 million of debt. The property is a freehold asset in a prime area of rebounding tourism demand. KHI will re-brand the Hotel as a Mövenpick.

<> Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts confirmed that the company will manage a new hotel in Chiang Mai. The Pan Pacific Chiang Mai, will be the group’s second in Thailand. Previously a condominium complex, under the V Group Property Co. Ltd, the condominium development is undergoing a conversion to a 300-room deluxe hotel and will open in October 2006.

<> The 20-year-old four-star Pearl Village Resort in Nai Yang Beach has been closed for a US$20.4 million renovation that will transform it into a 290-room five-star property. The Indigo Pearl will feature rooms ranging between 56 and 120 sq m, eight bars and restaurants, three swimming pools, a cooking school, tennis courts, a modern spa, a children’s club, a fitness centre and a meditation pavilion. The resort expects to attract a younger market once the makeover is completed.

<> Accor has launched its Ibis economy hotel brand in Thailand with two new hotels - Ibis Siam Bangkok and Ibis Huamark Bangkok. Ibis has made an impact in countries such as China, Korea, Indonesia and Australia and will make its debut later this year in India. The 180-room Ibis Siam Bangkok is in Bangkok’s Pratunam shopping area within walking distance to Suansantipab Park and Victory Monument BTS Skytrain station. Ibis Huamark Bangkok features 269 rooms and is next to one of Bangkok’s largest shopping malls, the Ramkamheng University and the Huamark Stadium.

<> The Erawan Group PCL, which owns the Grand Hyatt Erawan in Bangkok, has bought land to build its first 3 Ibis hotels as part of its plan to diversify its hotel portfolio into the economy segment. It plans to add 10 Ibis hotels by 2010. The first 3 Ibis hotels will include 1) Ibis Sathorn Bangkok: 210 rooms, targetting budget travellers close to Bangkok’s Central Business District and a short walk to the Lumpini MRT station; 2) Ibis Patong Phuket: 250 rooms between Patong’s first road and second road, catering to the leisure crowd, only 5 minutes walk to Patong beach; 3) Ibis Pattaya: 250 rooms, on Pattaya’s second road in central Pattaya, to accommodate both MICE and leisure markets. All three are projected to open by early 2008. Total investment is roughly 1,250 million baht including land costs.

<> On 9 June 2006, Erawan Phuket Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Erawan Group PCL signed a 30-year Management Agreement with Sarppasamphat Company Limited (a company under Six Senses Group) to operate a resort in Koh Naka Yai. This will be a 67-pool-villa 5-star-deluxe resort with a total investment of roughly 1,250 million baht and opening planned for 4Q 2007.

<> Grande Asset Development PCL, owner of several hotels in Thailand including the Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel in Bangkok, plans to launch three projects: 1) Sheraton Hua Hin Resort at an investment of 1,100 million baht 2) The Sails condominium, and 3) Le Meridien hotel, Pattaya. Expected investment cost for Project 2 and 3 are about Baht 2,000 billion, now in the construction process.

BORNEO - US gov’t pledges grant for Borneo conservation project

eTN Asia, 28-9-2006

The US government has pledged to support the Heart of Borneo conservation project initiated by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia with a grant of US$100,000.

US Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice pledged the financial support during her visit to Malaysia last month at an ASEAN summit meeting.

WWF Malaysia, along with the International Tropical Timber Organization, will oversee the project aimed at protecting rainforests through managing sustainable forest areas.

The Malaysian and Indonesian governments have been the target of conservationists worldwide for allowing illegal logging of forest reserves for planting of palm oil. The wholesale clearing of vast tracts of jungle areas has led to the loss of habitat for the jungle animal inhabitants.

The grant is in addition to the US government financial aid of about $217,000 for the protection of elephants, gibbons, orang gutan and rhinoceros in Sabah, Borneo Malaysia since 2005.

The proposed Heart of Borneo conservation project, covering an area of 220,000 square km of virgin rainforest straddles the three Borneo states of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

"The US government will continue to cooperate with the three countries to help preserve one of the oldest rainforests in the world," said US ambassador to Malaysia, Christopher LaFleur, during his visit to the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Center.

>>Full article

AVIATION - WORLD’S OLDEST AIRPORT MAKES WAY FOR THE NEWEST

TRAVEL IMPACT NEWSWIRE -- Edition 62 – Thursday, 28 September 2006

The world’s newest airport opened for business early today following the closure of the world’s oldest commercial airport. Bangkok’s Don Muang airport, until last night located in the same place where the first domestic flight landed in 1914, was shut down to make way for Suvarnabhumi airport, being positioned as the new “Gateway to Asia.” Suvarnabhumi also holds the distinction of the world’s longest delayed airport and certainly Thailand’s most controversial infrastructure project. By early indications, massive logistical shift had gone off painlessly in spite of pouring rain.

First mooted in a study way back in 1961, the massive new airport has been dogged by the twists and turns of revolving door governments which struggled year after year on how best to execute it, until one man came along and rammed it through. That man was not around to officiate at the opening. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a quiet Thai regime change on 19 September and is pondering his future in a posh London hotel.

At 155 billion baht (roughly US$ 4.07 billion), Suvarnabhumi is not just an airport but a honeypot, capable of both creating thousands of jobs as well as winning elections. The high stakes and multiplicity of fingers in the cake prevented it from taking off under dozens of previous coalition governments. By dint of his parliamentary majority, Mr Thaksin changed that and set a deadline for its completion with a threat to make heads roll. King Bhumibhol laid the first foundation stone in January 2002, four years after the 1998 Cabinet resolution cleared the budget for the airport.

Although the original completion deadline of July 2005 was missed by more than a year, it was nothing compared to the 45 years the project remained on the shelf while brand new airports or terminals emerged in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Singapore, among others. Further technical details about the airport and its facilities are available at: http://www.tatnews.org/tourism_news/3034.asp.

The former Don Muang airport was served by just under 100 domestic and foreign airlines, both cargo and passengers. Between Jan-July 2006, it handled 21,816,649 domestic, international and transit passenger movements, up 14.04% over the same period of 2005. The fastest growing were low-cost airline passengers which surged 48% in to 1.46 million in the 3rd quarter of 2006 alone. The first phase of the new airport can handle 45 million passenger movements, up from the 36 million passenger capacity of Don Muang, but a combination of construction delays and rapid growth in passenger throughput means that it will be operating at nearly full capacity almost from the very opening. Airport officials are projecting it will hit 60 million passenger within three years.

As 80% of all visitor arrivals to Thailand enter through Bangkok, it will give a new impetus to travel & tourism throughout the region. It is superbly connected by expressway to all the inner Bangkok city hotels as well as to the beach resort of Pattaya. The surrounding area, today largely a greenfield, is also set to fill up with housing estates and commercial areas to support the thousands of people who will work at or near the airport.

Built with the help of loans from the Japanese government, Suvarnabhumi is owned and operated by Airports of Thailand (AOT), a publicly traded company listed on the stock market but owned largely by the Thai government. By dint of being a monopoly, it is a hugely profitable exercise. Bangkok airport is the largest of the five international airports under the AOT’s control nationwide, the others being Phuket, Chiang Mai, Haad Yai and Chiang Rai.

Bidding for various airport contracts has been robust, accompanied by regular media stories about “irregularities” including one highly publicised case over the supply of X-ray baggage scanners. Journalistic probing dogged the project at every step. Even now, stories are circulating about who will pocket the “payouts” now that the decision-makers are no longer in power.

One of the biggest controversies was over the landing and parking charges for aircraft. Citing their huge cost burden stemming from higher fuel bills and the move itself, international airlines went all-out to dissuade the AOT from levying what they felt to be unjustified increases in parking and landing charges. The AOT insisted that the higher charges were justified by the vastly improved services and facilities.

After some hard bargaining, and some publicly traded barbs, the AOT eventually agreed to defer the increases. Now, the airport Passenger Service Charge (airport tax) will rise as of February 1, 2007 to 700 baht for international flights and 100 baht for domestic flights. The landing and parking fees will rise by 15% as of April 1, 2007. Airport authorities hope the deferment will attract more airlines to fly in. The aeronautical charges are also set to rise.

The airport tax generates roughly 40% of its total revenues, and landing/parking charges about 21%. A key third area is the shopping concessions which generated roughly 26% in the third quarter of fiscal 2006 (April-June). Like the former airport, Suvarnabhumi will have a very mall-like interior, albeit more elegantly laid out. The concessionaire, King Power Duty Free, has been given a 10-year contract for management of roughly 20,000 sq m of retail area. It has officially paid a minimum guarantee of 2.46 billion baht for the first two years and is contractually bound to a minimum guarantee of 16.73 billion baht over the 10 year period.

The previous openings of KL and Hong Kong airports have been carefully studied to ensure no repetition of the mistakes and operational problems they faced. Financial incentives were offered to domestic airlines to start shifting gradually earlier than the opening date in order to test all the equipment. As with any operation this size, many teething problems have been reported, including complaints by the user airlines about the short notice to make the move, but airline executives say the real problems will come when the entire operation migrates and the system has to bear the full load of thousands of passengers and their bags.

If there are any problems, the former Prime Minister would have taken much flak for trying to get too much done too quickly. On the other hand, he won’t be able to claim credit for a successful shift. Either way, there is little doubt that it will continue to be a political football far into the future as its facilities continue to be expanded to cope with growth projections.

There is enough space for four runways and an eventual capacity of 100 million annual passenger movements. Work on a third runway is to start soon, given the fact that competition is already in on its way as Singapore Changi airport expands its terminal and new airports emerge in Dubai, Doha, Hyderabad and Bangalore. A low cost airline terminal will also be built at a projected cost of 900 million baht and a rail connection straight into downtown Bangkok will open in two years.

Don Muang will remain open as the runways need to be used by the Air Force for its base there. It will handle charter traffic, VIP flights and training flights. THAI Airways International’s maintenance centre will also remain. There is talk of using the rest of the real estate to set up a convention centre and commercial complex as well as an aviation museum.


THE BIGGEST MOVE IN AVIATION HISTORY

The night of Sept 27/28 2006 saw arguably the largest logistical operation in global aviation history as millions of tons of aircraft and equipment were flown and/or trucked from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi within a span of roughly 12 rain-soaked hours. There have been a number of recent airport moves in the Asia-Pacific -- Seoul, Hong Kong, Nagoya and Kuala Lumpur -- but none involve the volume of equipment in an airport the size of Don Muang, now believed to be the largest in the Asia-Pacific in terms of aircraft movement.

As the major user of Bangkok airport, the brunt of the effort fell on the shoulders of Thai Airways which spent years planning the logistics. According to Kobchai Srivilas, Senior Executive VP, Corporate Planning and Information Technology Services, the relocation involved a military-style exercise that began with an inventory and analysis of the total volume of equipment, a plan to identify where it will be loaded and unloaded, as well as transportation routes and potential bottlenecks.

Five Business Units including catering and cargo, plus the Operations centre were transferred. The shift involved thousands of tools, spare parts, engines, cargo containers, pallets, loading/unloading equipment, kitchenware, cranes, forklifts, cabin items, IT hardware, aircraft moving vehicles, etc. These were classified into eight “packaging” units and transported via 2,928 trips between the two airports, mostly by 10-wheel trucks.

Administrative related material not required for direct aircraft operations actually began to be moved 15 weeks ago. The critical equipment was moved between the time Don Muang airport shut down after the last commercial flight landed/took off and six hours later when the new airport opened the following morning. This operation was designed to be precisely timed and directed by a communication network (i.e. trunk radio, LAN, PBX, mobile phone, GPRS) to ensure smooth traffic flow.

A critical element of the move was determining the best day of the week. This involved analysing both the number of aircraft movements plus the state of traffic along the routes to be used. The entire move was televised live nationwide all through the night.

Even as the equipment was on the move overland, 22 THAI aircraft were flown empty between the two airports. The trip distance of 28 nautical miles was covered in 13 minutes with the aircraft flying at an altitude of 2,000 feet at a cruising speed of 210 knots. The last THAI commercial flight from Don Muang was TG 662 to Shanghai at 0145. The first flight departure from Suvarnabhumi was TG 008 at 0630 to the domestic city of Uthai Thani. The first international flight to land was a Lufthansa Cargo aircraft.

Asked if people were avoiding those initial flights just to be on the safe side in case of equipment malfunctions and the delays that will result, as happened in both Hong Kong and KL, Mr Kobchai indicated that exactly the opposite was happening as many wanted to be part of history by being on one of the first-day flights out of Suvarnabhumi.

While moving equipment and aircraft will be only a logistical issue, another key issue is the ‘software’, the impact on airport staff for many of whom a move will require finding new homes, schools and adjusting to an entirely new environment. Fearing a serious impact on service delivery and standards if key staff have to leave the company either by choice or circumstance, THAI hired a local university to survey and analyse staff needs, concerns and expectations, involving 17,433 staff, including 6,747 in operations alone. The survey indicated concerns about a changed way of life, increased transportation costs, relocation of children’s school and resistance to change caused by inadequate internal communication.

The airline has had to help staff find alternate homes via long-term instalment schemes and low down-payment/interest rates. For those who chose to stay in their existing homes, staff buses will be provided by the airline to help them make the daily commute.

AUSTRALIA - Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irwin leaves behind legacy in Australian tourism

eTN Asia/Pacific, 27-9-2006

The passing of animal conservationist Steve Irwin did not only leave a legacy to Australian tourism, he also taught Australia how to sell the country to the world.

To most of the world, Steve is Australia. “The Crocodile Hunter” program on television is seen in 160 countries around the world. He has built Australia Zoo to become a “Mecca” for international tourists, a byword for Australian wildlife conservation.

He has left behind a legacy that says you not only can leave behind a better world for future generations - but you can have fun doing it.

Even if it is true most of his popularity and fan base, estimated to be in excess of 300 million, has been based on children. He taught them to love animals and wildlife.

In a moving tribute to her father, 8-year old daughter Bindi said, "He was working to change the world so everyone would love wildlife like he did."

Queensland state premier Peter Beattie said it's “impossible to replace” someone like Steve. "He was a great Australian who did wonderful things not only for the environment, but for Australian tourism. Queensland tourism had a great product."

Despite accusations, his memorial service was staged-managed to derive maximum exposure for Australia Zoo, best mate and manager John Stainton and his staff deserve to be bestowed Australia's highest honors for services to Australian tourism.

Maybe John's work in achieving their worldwide fame was overshadowed by Steve Irwin's antics in front of the camera, but together as a team they have managed to sell Australia to the rest of the world just by using crocodiles and wildlife as their “capital.”

Steve Irwin showed he was bigger than Australia put together as a destination - the world knew about him better than the Australian outback.

In his tribute at the memorial, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Steve was genuine, authentic, unconditional and with a great zest for life.

"He demonstrated his love for his family and for his country. He brought to Australians and to the world an understanding of nature.

>>Full article

AUSTRALIA - Aboriginal Tourism Strategy for Western Australia

Westernaustralia.com, 27-9-2006

A growing number of visitors to Western Australia have a strong interest in experiencing Aboriginal history, art, culture and heritage. With international visitor numbers expected to increase by 5.2% every year over the next ten years, there are huge opportunities for Aboriginal people to become involved in tourism. For the vast majority of Aboriginal people, engagement with the tourism industry means much more than earning an economic livelihood. Often social and cultural issues are key drivers for tourism development. Sustainable tourism enterprise can mean:

• maintenance of cultural and social values;
• jobs for youth; and
• pride in showing the rest of the world a living culture.

>>Full article

THAILAND - The new Suvarnabhumi Airport brings in cheer for resort city Pattaya

eTN Asia, september 27, 2006

The new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand is proving to be a boon for famous tourist destination Pattaya, a resort city less than two hours by road from capital city Bangkok.

The new airport is located 100 kilometers from Pattaya, and will open as planned on September 28 despite the military coup on September 19 which ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

It is being felt that images of criminals on the run, girls enticing westerners into sleazy bars, and most disturbingly, child sex tourism, all associated with Pattaya is expected to undergo a change.

In fact, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) believes the resort can change its focus from solely being geared towards single male tourists.

“Developers are buying land to develop shopping malls, five-star hotels, and in a few years Pattaya will change its face,” Chaiwat Charoensuk, the director of TAT in Pattaya.

Niran Wattanasartsathorn, Pattaya City mayor, is confident that the new airport will improve the beach resort destination’s popularity.

>>Full article

INDIA - Female lifeguards set to patrol Goa’s beaches

eTN Asia, 9-27-2006

The pristine beaches of Goa will have additional charm soon.

The popular tourist destination in the western region of India is set to hire women to patrol its white-sand beaches as lifeguards for the first time. Goa will train women and men from the local fishing community to serve as lifeguards.

Women in India going out to beaches in swimsuit is surely not a common sight. But this all is set to change, at least in the case women being deployed for security at the beaches in Goa.

According to the National daily The Times of India, the women will wear one-piece bathing suits.

“The women lifeguards would be wearing swimming costumes, but they’ll be decently dressed,” Fatima D’sa, a state tourism official reportedly said. “These are not women anyone can misbehave with.”

The development comes at a stage when more than 200 people have drowned in the sea off Goa’s beaches over the past four years. This year alone, 45 people drowned, six of them on a single day last month, it is being said. More than two million tourists throng its beaches each year. The state tourism says the women protecting Goa’s beaches are strong enough -- after all, they’re from the local fishing community and regularly pull heavy boats and nets.

>>Full article

SINGAPORE - 73% of Singaporeans welcome tourists: survey

eTN, 9-27-2006

A survey of over 900 Singaporeans showed that 73 per cent believe more should be done to encourage tourism, while some find sharing the city a little testing at times.


More Singaporeans - some three-quarters of them - also felt tourism brings benefits over costs, compared to respondents in Hong Kong (65%), Thailand (61%) and Indonesia (41%). 84 per cent of those surveyed said tourism helps create jobs and lifts the economy while 74 per cent appreciated the increased cultural exchanges. However, nearly a quarter said there is a downside to tourism, including diluting Singapore culture, putting a strain on infrastructure and having too many foreigners around. While most tourists are seen in a positive light by a majority of Singaporeans, some are not. 49 per cent of Singaporeans voted mainland Chinese as the least polite visitors followed by those from India (14%) and America (6%). The survey was carried out by global market research company, Synovate. - CNA/ir

VIETNAM - Tourism ‘spearheads’ Binh Thuan Province economy: local official

(25-09-2006) Vietnam news

Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) spoke to Ngo Minh Chinh, director of Binh Thuan Province’s tourism department, about how tourism has built the local economy.

Can you tell me about Binh Thuan’s tourism developments in recent years?

Over the past few years, tourist activity has improved remarkably and now plays an important role in the socio-economic structure of the province.Tourism development has spearheaded the economy and increased development in other aspects of the province.The revenue from tourists to the province has increased as their numbers increase. Specifically, at the start of July, tourism revenue had reached VND461 billion. Provincial hotels have welcomed about 136,000 tourists.

What did Binh Thuan do to improve their advertising and increase their appeal as a tourist attraction?

>>Full article

VIETNAM - Ecotourism in name only?

Vietnam Investment Review, 18 September, 2006

The term “ecotourism” is frequently used to describe a number of package holidays on offer to foreign and local tourists, yet tourism experts are saying true ecotourism has yet to be developed in Vietnam.
Many experts are also concerned that overuse of the term will affect the quality of a type of tourism that should benefit local communities.
An Institute for Tourism Development Research (ITDR) report shows that, 95 per cent of the country’s sites are advertised as offering ecotourism, yet all these sites are based on nature holidays, not ecotourism.
Le Van Lanh, deputy director of the National Park Centre, said to develop ecotourism operators should be taught that type of tourism is based on nature and indigenous culture. Yet, should also include environmental education and contribute toward the development and participation of the local community.
Lanh said ecotourism should be used to promote holidays along the country’s 3,260 kilometres of diverse coastline. However, the term should not be abused as it will eventually affect the quality of ecotourism.
“Tour managers have yet to clearly understand the term ecotourism as well as the criteria of this tourism product. This situation leads to weaknesses in managing ecotourism sites,” said Pham Trung Luong, deputy director of ITDR.

>>Full article

SINGAPORE - initiatives to spur growth in ME business travel

Times of Oman, September 26, 2006

MUSCAT — Singapore is widely acknowledged as a leading destination for business travel, meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions.

Ranked the world’s second top convention city, as well as Asia’s top convention city by the International Convention and Congress Association, Singapore has also retained the position of Asia’s top convention city in the Union of International Associations’ 2005 rankings — a position it has held for the last 23 years.

And for the first time, Singapore has moved up to fourth position globally. To encourage Middle Eastern and other business travellers to stage or expand their business events in Singapore, the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau — a group of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), has launched a new set of initiatives to help drive the growth and volume of business events staged in the country.

The initiatives aim to rally the MICE (meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions) industry to meet the targets envisioned for the business travel and MICE sector in the Tourism 2015 strategic blueprint and to establish Singapore as the ideas exchange capital of the world.

With the MICE landscape expected to transform due to new developments such as the Marina Bay Sands and the re-development of the Marina Bay area into an integrated, compact and vibrant MICE location offering 200,000sqm of convention and exhibition space as well as appealing leisure options, the stage is set for the STB to partner the industry to aggressively attract, create and grow business events.

>>Full article

AVIATION - Thai Airways pins hopes on new airport

Business Times Malaysia, September 25 2006

BANGKOK: Flag carrier Thai Airways International has pinned its hopes on a successful transition to Bangkok's new airport, aiming to cement its rebound from a disastrous 2005 after the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The airline has invested US$400 million (US$1 = RM3.68) in its facilities at Suvarnabhumi airport, boasting Asia's largest aircraft maintenance centre and tripling its cargo facilities.

In early September, it started gradually shifting equipment and 15,000 staff from its old office at Don Muang airport to Suvarnabhumi.

The carrier even began operating domestic flights at the new airport two weeks before the official opening on September 28 to test its ability to get passengers from the check-in counters, onto planes and into the air.

Despite last week's bloodless coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, airline officials said their confidence has not dimmed and they have not changed any of their plans.

>>Full article

MALAYSIA - More must be done for tourism

The star.com.my, September 23, 2006

It’s Malaysia’s major income earner, but are we doing everything we can to nurture the tourism sector, asks DEEPAK GILL.

TOURISM is big bucks, especially for a country like Malaysia, where a huge chunk of our country’s income is from foreign visitors.

Tourism is now the country’s second biggest economic contributor after the manufacturing sector, with US$9.2bil (RM35bil) from 16.4 million tourists last year. Worldwide, tourism grew by almost 10% in 2004, generating US$623bil!

(Tourism income includes all transactions and consumption by the visitor, like lodging, food and drinks, fuel, transport in the country, entertainment, shopping, etc.)

Malaysia has been fortunate. We have nature, food and, to some extent, shopping as attractions. The push for tourism began in the mid-80s, and has been relentless since. However, tourism is a lot more sophisticated these days, and tourism authorities need to keep up. It’s also a very sensitive and unforgiving industry, so care must be taken.

Tourists have a lot of choices these days. Within the region, Thailand and Singapore are well-known destinations. Although we’re getting more visitors than them, tourists spend a lot more per person in Thailand and Singapore – something our leaders need to think about. Also, of the 16.4 million tourists to Malaysia last year, 9.6 million were from Singapore.

Tourism is generally a well looked after industry in Malaysia, but there are issues that need to be looked into as Visit Malaysia Year 2007 approaches.

Eco-waste

The country’s best asset for the future is probably eco-tourism, which remains undeveloped. The same tired destinations are pushed – where else but the National Park (Taman Negara), Mulu Caves and Mt Kinabalu, one for each region of the country. It seems there are no better options.

These attractions are hundreds of kilometres apart. Tourists coming into Kuala Lumpur who want a nature-based experience will invariably end up in the National Park, and not out of choice. Activities there are extremely limited: you can’t even raft on the river. The park does not feel like a tourist-friendly one and can get claustrophobic due to lack of space and sceneries.

There are many forests that are a lot more beautiful just outside the city. Organisations like the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) know all about these. Smaller parks located all over the country, with adequate information, facilities and guides, would be a lot more useful and convenient.

Unfortunately, we don’t seem to appreciate the treasures we have. Many smaller forests fall to logging. World-class white water rafting rivers get spoilt because of logging or dams. The Selangor River in Kuala Kubu Baru used to bring in thousands of tourists and millions of dollars due to its rafting potential. Top international rafters rated it very highly, and it was extremely accessible.

Then a damn was built upstream. The developers, Gamuda Bhd and Splash, promised that rafting would continue and improve but the attraction is suffering now. In places like Cameron Highlands and Fraser’s Hill, development and other activities are likewise destroying the assets of the place.

>>Full article

MALAYSIA - Lost opportunities

The star.com.my, September 23, 2006

“While ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’ works well as an overall theme, there are sub-themes that need to be worked out. For Australians, for example, it might be sun, sea and surf, and for Koreans it might be shopping, shrines and spas,” says Australian David Bowden, 54, a freelance photojournalist who has lived in Kuala Lumpur for 15 years.

“It’s interesting that many travellers don’t have Malaysia high in their travel sights but once they visit here, they love it. Perhaps there could be ads with messages from foreign nationals who live here, directed at their countrymen back home.

“Thailand has the variety of natural and cultural experiences that Malaysia has, but it is cheaper. They do some very colourful and professional ads. Malaysia does too, but it should move more into lifestyle experiences – many people are looking for holidays with style now. Thailand does this well and there is no reason why Malaysia can’t.

“More money could be devoted to making the service industry more professional and to educate people in the industry about the destinations. Ask some waiters in a five-star Langkawi resort what you should do for a day, and often they don’t know.

“This is sad as they could really help sell destinations and products – ‘You should try island-hopping or maybe a sunset cruise with Crystal Yacht Cruises or drop by Bon Ton Resort for sunset drinks etc’. Travellers appreciate this kind of information.

>>Full article

MALAYSIA - Hope for Sabah wildlife

Daily express news, 18 September, 2006

Kota Kinabalu: Efforts to conserve wildlife such as elephants and their ecosystems will be further enhanced following the formation of the Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT).

Protem chairman Tan Sri Richard Lind said at present many plantations plant oil palm right up the riverbanks, which inevitably isolate natural forests in the process.

"Even the remaining undisturbed natural forests are sold as soon as land application is accepted. Thus, it is urgent to negotiate the land which has remaining natural forest," he said after a meeting with Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat.

He said the current issues and problems relating to biodiversity and wildlife conservation in Sabah are mainly isolation of protected areas as well as intensive use by oil palm plantations without considering the integrity and continuity of wildlife habitat and ecosystems.

Lind said the plantations blocked the migration route of Borneo Pygmy elephant and also isolated the orang-utan into small habitats.

Back in 1955, when he travelled by boat along the Kinabatangan River, he said he saw hundreds of orang-utans eating berries.

However, as the years passed by, the wildlife became isolated and their migration routes were damaged, resulting in them turning to agriculture and villages of local communities for food, he said.

Because of the situation, a number of conservation-oriented groups worried about the situation started working for conservation.

>>Full article

VIETNAM - APEC meeting brings golden chance for Quang Nam tourism

VNECONOMY, 22/09/2006

The APEC Tourism Ministers' Meeting to be held in Hoi An Town in mid-October is considered a "golden chance" for central Quang Nam province to promote its image, which is famous for many landscapes and world cultural heritages.

The meeting at Quang Nam will be attended by tourism officials from 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies, the APEC Secretariat and three APEC observers, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (APECC) and the South Pacific Forum (SPF).

The meeting has also attracted by international and regional tourism organisations such as the Asia Pacific Tourism Association (PATA), the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the Pacific Inlands Forum (PIF), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), and the APEC International Centre for Sustainable Tourism (AICST).

The province has worked hard to prepare for the event and plans to pick up the guests at the Da Nang Airport and will ensure absolute security and high standard services for them during the meeting.

Well-known hotels such as the Palm Garden, Golden Sand, Victoria, Hoi An Beach Resort, Hoi An Trails and Agribank have reserved 1,000 rooms of international standard to welcome the participants.

>>Full article

DEVELOPMENTS - PATA Gears up for Second Profit in the Pacific

eTN, 9-25-2006

SYDNEY, September 21, 2006/eTN -- The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) says preparations for PROFIT in the Pacific 2006 are gaining momentum.

The business-to-business (B2B) applicant screening process is underway and key speakers and panellists are filling the conference programme slots. PRO€INVEST, a European Union ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) initiative under the European Commission’s Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE), has entrusted PATA to be Lead Organisation for PROFIT in the Pacific 2006.

The event will take place November 29-December 1 in Port Vila, Vanuatu. PROFIT ‘06’s B2B meeting sessions will link travel industry investors from the EU and other parts of the world to Pacific Island tourism entrepreneurs. The B2B sessions also provide governments the opportunity to promote infrastructure projects relevant to tourism development in their nation. A concurrent conference programme addresses significant regional tourism issues and trends. Mr Greg Urwin, Secretary General of the region’s premier political and economic policy organisation, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, has confirmed his participation in PROFIT ‘06. Sydney-based PATA Regional Director-Pacific Mr Chris Flynn said attendees will note several changes at this year’s PROFIT event. "A stringent pre-qualification process for both project developers and prospective investors and partners is in place this year," he said.

>>Full article

DUBAI - Hotel room shortage hurts tourism

Gulf News, 9-25-2006

Overseas tour operators are cancelling holidays to Dubai because there is a shortage of hotel rooms to accommodate guests.

Dubai: Overseas tour operators are cancelling holidays to Dubai because there is a shortage of hotel rooms to accommodate guests, according to government officials. Figures released by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) reveal that Dubai currently supplies 30,000 hotel rooms (with a further 8,000 hotel apartments) and is expecting to add 18,000 more rooms in the next two years. Although substantial investments have been made into the emirate by leading hotel chains, the construction time-span has seen supply rates dip below accelerating demand, resulting in substantial untapped tourist dollars.

>>Full article

AVIATION - Private airline in Myanmar to fly China's Kunming in December

Xinhua, 9-25-2006

Myanmar's private airline, Air Bagan, will fly China's Kunming in December as its first international flight.

Myanmar's private airline, Air Bagan, will fly China's Kunming in December as its first international flight, the airline announced on Monday. Using a 97-seat Fokker-100 aircraft, the airline will fly the route Yangon-Mandalay-Kunming-Yangon for thrice a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, the airline's marketing department said. According to its earlier disclosure, Air Bagan is also planning to stretch its wings to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia in the early phase of its international flight.

>>Full article

IRAN - sets focus on geotourism

eTN Middle East, 9-24-2006

Dasht-e Loot (Loot Desert), Sahand and Sabalan Mountains, and Kalateh Khore cave have been suggested as the geotourism attractions of Iran to be inscribed in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage.

Iran has seven historic sites registered in UNESCO while no natural site from this country which enjoys enormous potentials has been registered yet. By introducing its natural sites, Iran is trying to take a step towards introducing its geotourism attractions.

The file will be first studied by the registration council of the historical and natural department of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, and after approval, it will be submitted to UNESCO for a final decision.

Geotourism as a form of cultural-environmental tourism was given an important attention by UNESCO since the year 2000 when the issue of geoparks was first introduced.

>>Full article

BALI - Showing solidarity during troubled times

eTN Asia, 9-24-2006

Despite regular hiccups in the form of bombings, Bali isn’t facing any shortage of bullish investors.

It is being openly acknowledged that the island still attracts investors for super-luxury hotels for the rich and famous, providing a fillip to the tourism industry. This is despite two bombings in the past four years.

Bulgari, an Italian brand famous for watches and jeweler, has opened its second luxury hotel in the world on the cliff hills of Bali’s southwest. On its part, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is also expanding its operations in the country.

“Bali has changed as a tourist destination in the last decade. There is a growing demand for cultural tourism and a resort experience with a greater ‘sense of place’. Our name change will enable us to respond to the rapidly increasing demand for hotels with individual character and away from ‘generic’ chain branded hotels geared more toward mass-market appeal,” said Peter O’Connor, Ayodya’s general manager.

>>Full article

BALI - A Closer Look at Arrivals Through August 2006

Balidiscovery.com, 9/22/2006

A closer look at Bali's foreign arrivals January to August, providing a comparative look covering the years 2000-2006.

Total Arrivals All Markets

Total foreign arrivals to Bali January – August 2006 reached 792,665, a number that was down -21.1% from the same period in 2005. However, when compared to 2003 - another "post-bombing" year, arrivals for the first eight months of 2006 are +29.78% ahead of the same eight months just three years ago.

>>Full article

BALI - The Bulgari Resort, Bali is Open for Business

Balidiscovery.com, 9/25/2006

As of September 23, 2006, The Bulgari Resort, Bali, has begun welcoming privileged guests to its secluded "all villa" cliffside retreat. Set on a 150 meter high plateau overlooking the Indian Ocean, the 59-villa resort is the second property by Bulgari Hotels Resorts, following the successful 2004 opening of the Bulgari Hotel, Milan, Italy.

Designed by architects Antonio Citterio & Partners, the Bulgari Resort, Bali is located on the southern tip of the Jimbaran Peninsula, close to Bali sacred temple of Uluwatu. The resort reflects the traditional Balinese architecture combined with a sophisticated contemporary design, using indigenous stones, native wood finishes and refined craft-made fabrics exclusively created for the Bulgari Resort.

>>Full article

MALDIVES - opens up 35 new islands

Sep 22-28, 2006, TTG asia

HONG KONG – The Maldives will open up 35 new islands for development in the next two years, adding between 5,000 and 7,000 new beds.

Twenty are small islands which have been leased to resort operators, while the rest will be developed by the government. Upcoming new hotels include a W Hotel on Fesdu Island and a Shangri-La on Gan Island due open next month and late-2007 respectively.

Maldives Tourism Promotion Board, assistant director, Mr Mohamed Adam, said: “The upmarket segment remains our key direction, but we are also looking into the budget market. We plan to build and open five budget hotels in early-2008 on Fuahmulah Island. The new properties will have between 100 and 200 beds. Gan Island, a new tourist region in the south, will have 2,000 new beds.”

There are now 19,000 beds and 88 island resorts.

About 70 per cent of foreign arrivals to the Maldives are from Europe, and Mr Mohamed said the board was working towards a better market spread of 40 per cent Europeans and 60 per cent Asian.

“In fact, we are expecting growth of six to seven per cent annually from Asia, and new markets such as China, India, South Africa, Australia and the Middle East will be targeted,” Mr Mohamed added.

>>Full article

THAILAND - High five for Suvarnabhumi

Sep 22-28, 2006 TTG asia

BANGKOK – With less than a week to go before the official opening of Bangkok’s new international airport, five major airlines have confirmed their operational readiness – while tour operators hope a number of problems will be rectified before the big day.

Emirates, Air France KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa and Thai Airways International (THAI) told TTG Asia their offices, ticketing counters and lounges at Suvarnabhumi Airport would be ready in time for the September 28 opening.

Emirates area manager, Mr Soonthorn Suree, said the carrier would deploy an additional team in the first few days of operations to ensure its passengers would be well looked after.

Alternative arrangements would be provided if there were unexpected delays, he said.

Mr Soonthorn said he was confident Airports of Thailand (AoT), operator of the kingdom’s international airports, had tried and tested all facilities to ensure airlines would not be confronted with any major problems.

However, he added: “We must remember that this is a massive new airport, and as with everything that is new and big, there could be some teething problems.”

Air France KLM general manager, Mr Francis Richard, said all the airline’s electronic systems would be working on September 28 and a manual check-in system would be available as a back-up.

>>Full article

AUSTRALIA - New wildlife attraction opens in Darling Harbour

eTN Asia/Pacific, 9-22-2006

new $50 million wildlife centre Sydney Wildlife World showcasing Australia’s unique flora and fauna has been launched.

Located in the heart of Darling Harbour, the attraction, owned by the Sydney Attractions Group, features the largest variety of native Australian plants and animals in the one location, with more than 6,000 animals and 130 plant species in a two-storey indoor and outdoor centre. It has the largest variety of native Australian plants and animals in one location, allowing visitors an opportunity they might otherwise never get without years of travel.

Visitors will get to tour more than one kilometer of glass walkways. Habitats on show include rainforests and grasslands, along with animals such as cassowaries, rock wallabies and taipans.

Sydney Wildlife World is working in partnership with Australian Wildlife Conservancy to raise funds to protect endangered species.

“This new attraction is a wonderful addition to our tourism industry that will surprise not only visitors from overseas and interstate, but also locals. It provides an insight into our unique wildlife and encourages people to consider the importance of conservation of our precious, endangered species,” said New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma.

>>Full article

AVIATION - Sri Lanka's first ever budget airline ties up with Asia's best

Colombo, 20 September, (Asiantribune.com)

Bringing an end to months of speculation, HolidayAir, Sri Lanka's first-ever budget airline has officially re-launched as Air Asia Lanka, after sealing a deal with Malaysia-based Air Asia, reportedly the region's most successful budget airline.
Air Asia Lanka Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arjun Ruzaik told the "Asian Tribune" that the deal signed in Malaysia early last month was primarily a technical collaboration, and thus his company remained a 100% Sri Lanka-owned Company. "But there is a future possibility for Air Asia (Malaysia) to acquire our company. However, we are currently operating under our own team without any stakes from Air Asia," he said. The CEO, however, noted that there were logistical issues which needed to be sorted out, which was one reason why they haven't made a big fuss about the wrapping-up of the agreement.

>>Full article

BAHRAIN - to get a new family-oriented tourism project

eTN Middle East, 9-20-2006

Economic Development Board (EDB) has shared its plans to develop a new family-focused tourism project on the western coast of Bahrain.

Bahrain, a group of 33 islands, with an area of 707 square kilometers, is situated in the Arabian Gulf, off the east coast of Saudi Arabia.

EDB, according to its deputy chief executive Dr Zakaria Hejris, would be working in partnership with the private sector, represented by Ithmaar Bank on the project. The project will cater to the entire family.

The initiative will provide economic benefits for Bahrain by creating job opportunities apart from enhancing country’s status as a key regional tourism destination.

“In order to encourage family tourism, for both Bahraini citizens and for visitors from across the GCC, the project places great importance on providing a diverse range of activities and entertainment,” Dr Zakaria said. “The project will be developed to provide an exciting and accessible leisure destination that caters to Bahraini citizens and residents first and foremost, as well as to visitors and tourists. The project places great importance on ensuring that AlJazaair Plage is a resource that is developed for the public.”

As per the information avaliable, the top priority is being given to leisure type facilities. Additional details and an action plan for the development will be announced by the end of the year.

>>Full article

DEVELOPMENTS - WHAT COST DRAMATIC TOURISM GROWTH? SAYS TOURISM CONCERN

eTN, 9-22-06

“Global Travel and Tourism is set to cater for over 1,000 billion tourists and to provide jobs for over 9% of the global population by 2010” Says Tourism Concern, Britain’s biggest and most vocal tourism campaigning organisation.

Launching an ambitious membership drive today, Tricia Barnett, Tourism Concern’s director said, “What enormous cost will we pay for this dramatic growth? More long-distance holidays extend our environmental footprint and contribute to global warming. Poverty-stricken countries precious water is often squandered on rich wasteful tourists. Mass tourism’s low prices mean local workers frequently work for a pittance in sweatshop conditions. Big organisations and authoritarian governments deny local populations’ and worker’s rights to make a fast buck and then move on to where the pasture is greener. Behind the Smile The heartbreaking aspect of tourism desecration - the smiles of tourism workers who cannot afford to complain, were hauntingly shown at a recent Tourism Concern- sponsored photograph exhibition - “Behind the smile - the Tsunami of tourism”. “Our holidays may desecrate beautiful local areas and reduce our host workers to the status of servility,” said Ms Barnett. “And this is not only the case in resorts – UK travel workers are frequently underpaid, under trained and overworked – many travel and tourism organisations rely on low pay to deliver profits.” Eliminate Tourism Poverty “We all know it doesn’t have to be like this,” said Ms Barnett. “Everybody could benefit from the global tourism boom. It just needs more thought, more care, more education and more understanding of tourism impacts to reap tourism’s vast potential for good and eliminate tourism poverty”.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Pattaya’s new attraction “Dive into the Under Water World”

Pattaya daily news, September 14, 2006

According to Tourism, their strategy of Cholburi is to discover new places for tourist attraction and at the same time preserving the existing tourist attractions around Pattaya. Currently Pattaya City has a lot of tourist attractions which could be enjoyed for both thai and foreigners. The tourism business in Pattaya has expanded more.

The most effective selling points are the water activities; keeping them in order and making it safe for tourist. Pattaya City joined with Royal Thai Navy set up a new area for water activity.

Pattaya has obtained part of budget to purchase the Royal Ship Krood to provide divers to dive under the water and view the natural beauty and coral reefs. The Royal Ship Krood is docked under 3 locations 1. Koh Sak, in the Western Part, this is most suitable place for docking the ship because there are not too many boats passing and the deepness is very appropriate 2. In the middle between Koh Larn & Koh Sak, about 1 kilometer away, it is the central location for underwater diving. Visitors will prefer to come here for diving. 3. End of Koh Sak, southern part, the depth of water is not appropriate and rather dangerous because boats are passing all the time.

>>Full article

CAMBODIA - bets big on tourism

Business standard New Delhi, September 14, 2006

A mix of culture, entertainment and improved infrastructure has put the country back on the tourist map.

More than 1.4 million tourists visited Cambodia last year and at least 1.1 million of them visited Angkor, despite the bad roads. The government expects total annual arrivals to reach 1.9 million this year, and 3 million by 2010. For a country whose tourism, practically speaking, is no more than six years old — three, to be more precise — this is a remarkable achievement and should leave one in no doubt that Cambodia is finally on its way.

The SARS outbreak in 2003 was the latest in a series of calamities that ravaged the country and its tourism for nearly three long decades. This was the period of death and trauma under the notorious Khmer Rouge, of war and occupation by Vietnam, of years of UN peacekeeping when safety was still fragile and land mines kept popping all over the place to kill and maim. Some 465,000 tourists still braved the odds to visit in 2000 and things were just beginning to look up when SARS injected a fresh bout of scare.

Now that’s almost forgotten. Peace and stability have returned and are holding, the mines have been largely removed, Vietnam is now a trusted neighbour, relations with Thailand are back to normal, the nations of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region are in an extraordinarily cooperative mood, foreign investments are creeping in, and the government seems at last to have got its priorities right. Since improving the physical infrastructure is a must for any effort to improve the economy — and tourism — Prime Minister Hun Sen has committed his administration to building better roads and airports, expanding communications facilities, generating more electricity, and developing urban areas. >>Full article

INFRASTRUCTURE - Asian Highway: Modern Silk Road Promises Economic Benefits

World Politics Watch, 12 Sep 2006

Another piece of the ambitious 87,546 mile Asian Highway (AH) network slotted into place last month as Vietnam completed its section. The milestone was announced by Do Ngoc Dung, vice director of the Vietnam government's My Thuan Project Management Unit. The Asian Highway now links Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. The $144.77 million construction bill was partly financed by the Asian Development Bank.

When completed, the $44 billion AH network will weave through 32 countries, connect Asia with Europe, and boost regional economies by facilitating trade and tourism. It also fuels dreams of a Pan-Asian community with a common social-political-economic identity analogous to the European Union.

>>Full article

INDIA - Another feather in Kerala Tourism's cap

The Hindu, Sep 18, 2006

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The "Honorouble Mention" award that the renovated Arakkal Palace here has won from the UNESCO in its announcement of its Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for 2006 is seen as a recognition of the efforts by the Department of Archaeology and the Department of Tourism to restore the 400-year-old palace complex (`kettu') from its dilapidated state and to develop it into a museum.

The Arakkal Kettu, a palace complex of the erstwhile Muslim royal Arakkal house, has been turned into a museum after its renovation at an estimated cost of Rs. 90 lakh. The renovation included preservation of the durbar hall building of the `kettu'. The restored palace complex is among the three heritage sites that has bagged the UNESCO's Honourable Mention award, the others being the Liu Ying Lung Study Hall, Hong Kong, and Leh Old Town in Ladakh.

"This honour is a tribute to sustainable tourism, which Kerala has adopted in a big way," said Minister for Tourism and Home, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

"The outstanding achievement would not have been possible if not for the Kerala Tourism (Conservation and Preservation of Areas) Act 2005 that provides guidelines for preserving the heritage and environment," said Principal Secretary, Tourism, E.K. Bharat Bhushan.

>>Full article

VIETNAM - Certificates awarded for trainers in tourism sector

Nhan Dan, September 16, 2006

The Management Unit of the “Vietnam Human Resources Development in Tourism Project, in co-operation with the Vietnam Tourism Certification Board (VTCB), held the first certificate awarding ceremony for 142 qualified trainers from the Northern area, in Hanoi on September 15.

These trainers were officially accredited by VTCB, which is the awarding body. This will enable them to conduct the on-the-job training activities and register their trainees who go through a training and assessing process.

These trainers came from 59 organizations operating in the tourism sector, including 6 tourism schools, 27 hotels and 26 travel agencies from Nghe An province to the north of Vietnam.

Enterprises that have the largest number of accredited trainers include the Sofitel Metropole with 10, the Melia Hotel with 8, The Hoa Sua school and Hanoi Tourism College also with 8 trainers, each.

Trainers are normally skilled and experienced supervisors and managers from hotels and travel agencies and teachers from tourism training institutes. They have attended a 7 day Trainer Development Programme, during which they learn how to use the VTOS standards to conduct training, as well as training techniques to enable them to conduct training and pass on their skills to their trainees. At the end of their programme, their training skills are evaluated and those that pass are certified by VTCB.

The certificate awarding ceremony for accredited trainers from the southern area is tentatively scheduled for Ho Chi Minh city later.

>>Full article

PHILIPPINES - Cebu tourism groups to form a coalition

Philippine Information Agency, 18 September 2006

Stakeholders and players in Cebu's tourism industry had decided to form into a coalition to fast track the industry's developments and to establish a niche in the tourism hubs in other parts of Asia.

This developed as the Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines , Peter Sutherland told the various tourism-related groups in Cebu that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is willing to provide technical assistance to Cebu's tourism industry through its PEARL 2 program (Private Enterprises Accelerated Linkages 2) saying further, "But the industry must organize first and apply for assistance as one."

Mila Espina, chairperson of the tourism committee of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) said she has already discussed the industry's need for funding with the Canadian Ambassador, "but he said we have to be a bigger group; we have to unite into a bigger organization without losing the identity of each association," Espina added.

Espina further said, PEARL 2 has provided financial and technical assistance to the CCCI, Cebu-GTH Manufacturers and Exporters and the Confederation of Philippine Exporters Foundation Inc. Cebu, in terms of capability building in serving the member organizations, which are mostly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

>>Full article

PHILIPPINES - Captivating Coron

Philippine news.com, Sep 13, 2006

CORON, Palawan — What people already know about Palawan are facts that cannot be negated: it is the country’s last frontier. Its islands and the genuine treasure each one holds are beyond mortal depiction. Its ample bosom gives life to some of the world’s richest and most diverse land and marine species. To both postcards and The Lonely Planet guidebooks, it is paradise.

But still there are misconceptions: tiny seedlings of doubt that inhibit the wary traveler, notions that hold whole experiences back and must be debunked. These majestic islands may just be the loveliest conspiracy of sky, sea, land and history ever to befall our country yet, a jagged slope of real and extraordinary visions— altogether not a bad place for such and much needed enlightenment.

Misconception #1. A trip to Coron costs a bundle.

Not with the great tug-of-war for passengers happening among air and shipping lines it’s not. Rates have conveniently dropped—and continually drop—lower than ever, especially during lean seasons. SEAIR and Asian Spirit both have one-hour flights to the Busuanga airport; those who prefer a longer and personally, more interesting travel experience may choose either Superferry or Negros Navigation to shuttle them across the briny sea.

Room rates in Coron town are also surprisingly inexpensive. At the Seadive resort where we stayed, the fan rooms went for P400 to P500 (with a view) and P800 for air-conditioned ones (although for the life of me I still can’t figure out why some people choose this artificial abomination over the natural sea breeze).

>>Full article

INDIA - Sikkim seeks scientific development of tourism

expresstravelworld, September 2006

With a view to develop tourism in a scientific manner in the state, Sikkim Tourism has decided to do so in collaboration with national and international agencies that specialise in the infrastructure development sector, particularly tourism.

Some tourist destination products will be identified for development, for which necessary project reports will be prepared for submission to donor agencies. R B Subba, minister of tourism, government of Sikkim says, "Sikkim Tourism is in active dialogue with Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) and its agency, Tata Consultancy Services, for taking up projects that will help promote Buddhist tourism and other general tourism facilities in the state.”

Its tourism board has already signed an agreement with SNV, the Netherlands Development Agency. The work on preparation of a feasibility report has already started. "We are also negotiating with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for taking up some tourism projects in the state," Subba says.

>>Full article

INDIA - XXII IATO Convention focuses on New Opportunities and Challenges Ahead

expresstravelworld.com, September 2006

The theme of the annual convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) this year is Tourism - New Opportunities and Challenges Ahead. According to Subhash Goyal, president, IATO, all prime topics of the business session will be centered around the theme and will deal with issues like infrastructure, transport, rural health, adventure and sports tourism. The convention to be held from September 7-10 at the Birla Auditorium in Jaipur will be attended by nearly 1,500 delegates from across the country. Union ministers, chief ministers, bureaucrats, big industrialists, hoteliers, airline professionals and railway officials will also participate in the convention.

Commenting on the forthcoming event, Goyal said, "I expect the convention to be a meeting ground for all our delegates and the representatives of government, airlines and big hotels. During this convention they will discuss their common problems and try to hammer out suitable solutions. I expect that the recommendations made by the convention at its conclusion will have far reaching consequences and contribute significantly to the growth of tourism in the country."

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VIETNAM - Sky is the limit

Nhan Dan news, September 18, 2006

There seems to be plenty of room for more hotels to be built as competition is low, a situation quite the reverse to Thailand or Malaysia where a new hotel will go up against a number of well established properties.

Karl Derek John, chief executive officer of consultant group TCK, recommended that investors pour money in Vietnam because "it is a new destination and will have a shelf life that is much longer than Bali, Phuket or Langkawi." As Bali is still suffering from the bomb attacks and Phuket will take some time to recover from the 2004 tsunami, tourists are looking at Vietnam as an alternative. Most hoteliers are confident that sooner or later Vietnam will become one of the major players in the regional tourism market. Developers recognise the opportunities and are building multiple tourism projects. While many are seeking prime land for developing upscale hotels in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, others are heading to the beaches to build resorts.

VinaCapital, which recently bought out the Sofitel Metropole and Hilton in Hanoi, has acquired 260 hectares of land in Danang and will invest $100 million to build a golf resort.

US firm South Fork Development has obtained the investment licence to develop 600 hectares in Phan Thiet into a $1 billion destination with golf courses, resorts and Disneyland-styled theme park. A group of local investors are building a "new Sentosa" in Nha Trang with three resorts along with attractions such as a sea-crossing cable car system, shopping village, amphitheatre, convention centre, golf course, water world and an enormous spa.

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INDIA - Cashing In On The Tourism Boom

Express Healthcare Management, September 2006

Dual Purpose Tourism

According to an official from the Karnataka Tourism Department, healthcare in Bangalore came into the limelight when Noor Fatima from Pakistan came to Narayana Hrudayalaya in July 2003, and was operated on by Dr Devi Shetty. After that, there was no looking back for the city. Her surgery was a landmark because not only did it help in thawing the hostility between the two neighbouring countries, but also drastically reversed the table in the medical scenario of the city for the better.

Hospitals and corporate establishments in the city have realised the potential of this niche market and have accordingly channelised their needs and facilities. Travel agents and hotels are structuring their packages and holiday schemes in accordance with the inflow of foreign patients coming into the city. Corporate bigwigs like Apollo have collaborated with travel agents to come up with SitaCare in a bid to attract more tourists to the city. It's not just the Indians and the NRIs from the neighbouring countries who are streaming into India for medical treatment. Apart from NRIs, foreign patients mainly come in from the Gulf, Europe (mainly UK) surprisingly from South East Asia and the US. They come to Bangalore with a dual strategy in mind to get their medical treatment at one-third the cost and to explore Bangalore. A spokesperson from Thomas Cook India informs, "International patients mainly go to Coorg, Mysore, Hampi, Ketur, Belgaum and Bagalkot." In the long run, they add to the foreign exchange of the country. The idea is to kill two birds with one stone.

Why Bangalore?

From being a global outsourcing centre, Bangalore has now become a health giver to the world. Medical tourism as a phenomenon is only eight to ten years old in the city. Compared to metros like Mumbai and Chennai, Bangalore was a late starter in the race. However, considering the entrepreneurial spirit of the city, it has caught up. Today, the city aims to become the numero uno in attracting foreign patients from all across the world.

So the question is, why Bangalore? How has it managed to emerge as the hot seat for healthcare both for domestic and for offshore patients? Experts point out myriad reasons.

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BALI - ready to host PTM06

e Travel Blackboard, 18 September 2006

Indonesia has completed preparations a year ahead of hosting PATA Travel Mart 2007 in Bali, according to the country's Ministry of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik.

During an exclusive interview with e-Travel Blackboard, Mr Wacik said they were "100 per cent ready" for next year's event, which he said will also include pre and post touring of surrounding areas such as Borobodur to allow delegates to "see the rest of Indonesia".

Bali, recently awarded the best island destination by Travel and Leisure magazine in the USA, has faced a number of difficulties in attracting Australian and New Zealand tourists over recent years, which Mr Wacik said he was determined to overcome.

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EAST TIMOR - boosting efforts to Increase Tourist Numbers

ASIA Travel Tips .comFriday, 15 September 2006

East Timor, or Timor Leste as it is officially known, is stepping up its efforts to attract tourists. The country gained independence in 2002, and offers travellers an abundance of unspoilt diving opportunities, trekking and other activities.In 2005 there was a total of 35,000 visitors to Timor Leste of which 3,000 were estimated to be actual travellers or tourists, with the remainder being military, media, aid related etc. Timor Leste currently offers just one four star hotel and this, included with other lower category hotels, means there is a total of just 1,500 rooms for travellers to choose from.In an attempt to spread the word of what the raw beauty of Timor Leste has to offer, officials this year attended three major trade shows - the ITB in Berlin, the BTL in Lisbon and the PATA Travel Mart in Hong Kong. Participation at these events was made possible largely thanks to support from Portugal, Macau, Thailand and other industry partners.

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HAWAII - Aloha on a tourism high

eTN, 17-9-2006

The 2006 Hawaii Tourism Conference held last week at the magnificent Hawaii Conference Centre in Honolulu attracted a record 500 tourism and hospitality industry professionals from all over Hawaii and mainland USA.

Organized by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the conference attracted a selection of leading local, American and overseas speakers covering topics ranging from Cultural tourism, sports tourism, crisis and recovery management , airline trends, volunteer tourism, business and incentive travel and destination marketing.

The theme of the conference was Aloha, Aku, Aloha Mai (the responsibility of Aloha). President and CEO of The Hawaii Tourism Authority, Rex Johnson, set the tone for the conference when he called on the Hawaii tourism industry for their commitment in making the tourism experience in Hawaii a happy, memorable, unique and welcoming experience.

The keynote speech was delivered by Emmy award tourism TV presenter and journalist Peter Greenberg, who gave an entertaining speech in which he called on travel professionals to treat tourism as an experience rather than just a business transaction.

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle expressed her gratitude to the outstanding contribution of the tourism industry to economic and employment growth in Hawaii and of her own state government's commitment to the tourism industry. She recognized the need to upgrade infrastructure but explained some of the bureaucratic and legal barriers her administration has been forced to cope with and overcome in the development of sustainable enhancements.

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THAILAND - imposes new visa regulations for tourists

THAI NEWS AGENCY, Sept 16 2006

The Thai government on Friday announced new visa regulations for tourists limiting the foreign visitors to a maximum stay of 90 days each every six months in order to ease social problems and crime in the country.


Immigration Bureau chief Pol. Lt. Gen. Suwat Thamrongsrisakul told journalists that the new visa regulations, which will take effect from October 1, are aimed to prevent foreign tourists from commiting crime, or creating social problems. Under the existing system, foreigners from 41 countries which have good relations with Thailand , are granted 30-day tourist visas, which can be extended twice from within the country. Under the new system, the tourists from the 41 countries will only be granted 30-day tourist visas, which may then be extended twice, after which the tourists will have to leave the kingdom for at least 90 days before returning again.

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CHINA - Qinghai-Tibet railway hailed for its success

eTN Asia, 9-15-2006

Even as there have been concerns pertaining to danger to the fragile high altitude ecosystem and intrusion into culture of Tibet, the Qinghai-Tibet railway is proving to be a roaring success.

The Qinghai-Tibet railway line has carried 272,700 passengers since the commencement of the service on July 1. About 40 percent of the passengers were tourists.

According to Jin Shixun, director of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of Development and Reform the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has turned Tibet into one of the most coveted travel destinations in China.

“In July and August, Tibet played host to 913,000 domestic and overseas tourists and raked in 942 million yuan (about US$117.75 million) in revenue. Average occupancy for three-star and four-star hotels in Tibet over the past two months was 83.7 percent. Food and drink sales rose 55.7 percent from the same period last year to hit 127 million yuan,” reported local media.

Quashing any concerns, the spokesperson of Tibet Autonomous Regional Tourism Bureau said the initiative has proved to be “a win-win scenario whereby tourism and the protection of the environment works hand-in-hand.” Till June this year, getting to Lhasa meant either a long and hard road journey or an expensive air one.

Beijing authorities say the railroad link will open Tibet up for economic development and much needed tourism income to improve living conditions. It took Chinese engineers five years to complete the last section of the 1,142-km railway from Golmud to Lhasa. It is the first in the world to be built at such imposing heights; at one point, the train passes through a 16,640 feet pass.

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