eTN Asia, 19-12-2006
Myanmar is reportedly planning to build an airport for a tourism-business-booming beach resort of Ngwesaung in the country’s southwestern division of Ayeyawaddy to facilitate local and foreign travelers.
Recently, it was shared that Myanmar’s Yangon International Airport, which is under extension, would have the capacity of accommodating larger aircraft such as Boeing-747 on completion. The new airport on completion can also handle about 2.7 million passengers a year against the present 500,000.
Ngwesaung’s silvery beach, about 30 miles from the town of Pathein, stretches an unbroken line for nine miles from Zee-Maw Village in the north to Majee-Maw Village in the south with its scenic and occasionally rocky shoreline, all set against a backdrop of tropical rain forests and the towering Rakhine mountain range.
>>Full article
Thursday, December 21, 2006
MYANMAR - focuses on its airport infrastructure
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
PHILIPPINES - Postponed summit drove away potential visitors
The Manila Times, December 18, 2006
CEBU CITY: Some 6,000 potential Korean tourists skipped Cebu this month due to expensive hotel rates and lack of rooms as the province prepared for hosting the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit which was later moved to early January, a local Korean community leader said.
Charlie Shin, general manager of the United Korean Community Association Inc., said many Korean tourists instead went to Phuket, Thailand, because they can’t be accommodated in Cebu.
Shin said the low turnout of Korean tourists in Cebu this month was unusual since December is a peak season for travelers. For the past two weeks in December, there were no significant bookings for Korean tourists, he said.
Shin said 6,000 to 7,000 Korean tourists redirected their bookings to Phuket in Thailand, Guam and Saipan instead of taking their vacations in Cebu.
>>Full article
THAILAND - Tsunami-stricken beaches revive, but survivors carry deep scars
Napavalleyregister.com, December 18, 2006
KHAO LAK, Thailand — Martin Bleck is still spooked by water. He vividly remembers the wave that swept him and his mother away, and the field of corpses through which he waded to safety. He chooses to live on high ground, away from the shore.
He has tsunami waves tattooed down his right arm.
But this amiable 20-year-old, a professional guitarist from Lisbon, Portugal, has chosen to return to the beaches where the tsunami struck Thailand two years ago, and to pour his heart into helping survivors like himself by teaching them English and guitar. It’s his way of coping with the nightmare and repaying a debt.
“There was something inside me that wanted to come back to help the people who helped me when I was in the worst situation in my life,” he says. “Some of the Thais had lost as many as eight children and still they looked after me. It was the least I could do.”
Within moments two years ago, the tsunami turned this tropical paradise into a graveyard for more than 5,000 Thais and foreign vacationers like Bleck. Around the Indian Ocean rim, some 230,000 people in a dozen countries were left dead or missing when an undersea earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra unleashed the giant wave of Dec. 26, 2004.
MALAYSIA - Wavelength: Rebranding Sarawak will do wonders for tourism
Newstraitstimes onine, 16 Dec 2006
IF talks over the management changes of the resort hotels belonging to the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation at Damai Beach outside Kuching are finally firmed up, the development may well signal a welcome change in the branding and marketing of Sarawak — particularly Kuching — as a tourist destination.
Sarawak had not quite taken the traditional well-trodden route to holiday paradise superstardom, traversed by such leading lights as Penang, Phuket or Bali, which started out as low-budget destinations before graduating to the five-star international travel circuit.
Sarawak went about it by attempting to leapfrog headlong into the international circuit. Building up a brand name for itself obviously takes both time and money; the result so far has been rather mixed.
>>Full article
FIJI - Western Sanctions Make Fiji Turn to China, Asia
IPSnews.net, Dec 13
Sanctions imposed on Fiji by Western countries following the overthrow, last week, of the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase may push the country's new military leaders towards its Asian neighbours, particularly a willing China, for support.
Ganesh Chand, a former University of the South Pacific lecturer in economics, says that while the sanctions are aimed at the perpetrators of the coup, rather than the country, they could cause the regime to distance itself from its traditional bilateral trade partners, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Britain and the United States.
Chand cited precedence from the 1987 and 2000 coups when interim regimes headed by the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Qarase, respectively, responded to Western sanctions by embarking on a ‘Look North' policy, seeking new export markets and investment.
>>Full article
MALAYSIA - Efforts to disburse the tourists all over Sabah
Dailyexpress.com.my, 12 December, 2006
THE State Government wants Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (BPMB) to look beyond the State capital and extend loan facilities to more tourism players in Sabah.
DCM Tan Sri Chong said he was glad that BPMB had already approved a total of RM140 million tourism infrastructure loans and was scrutinising several other applications for loans totalling RM200m in Sabah.
"In fact it is a small figure, I hope it will be more because Sabah is the place for the courageous and diligent (tourism investors).
"You have to look beyond Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu, especially with the coming up of the POICÉalso in the interior (to extend benefits to develop the tourism infrastructure)," he told BPMB President/Group Managing Director, Datuk Haji Abdul Rahim Mohd Zin.
Chong also said the State Government was unperturbed by the Federal Tourism Ministry's statement on the shortage of hotel rooms in the State capital, especially in coping with the coming Visit Malaysia Year 2007.
"There is no shortage of rooms. Sabah is not KK and for the past few years we have been promoting the whole of Sabah (as a tourism destination). It is a very big State and it is beyond KK," he said.
>>Full article
MALDIVES - Welcome to paradise
The Guardian, 18-12-2006
For holiday-makers, the Maldives are an idyllic retreat. But among the islanders there is increasing anger at a repressive regime. There's a cafe just outside arrivals at Hulhulé airport. Sit at one of the little aluminum tables, under the sign reminding passengers of the harsh penalties for drug traffickers, and you'll see the holiday-makers arrive.
The ones on the cheaper packages - families and budget divers - wait for their holiday reps. The richer types, perma-tanned middle-aged couples and upscale honeymooners, are greeted by neatly-uniformed men who whisk them off in speedboats to islands with $3,000-a-night water villas, personal butlers, infinity pools and brochure copy peppered with phrases such as "redefining luxury".
These are the places you read about in travel pages, usually under headlines containing the word "paradise". You may have noticed that you read about paradise rather a lot. There always seems to be a free trip for a writer to suffer a week of pampering in return for a few bland paragraphs. You may have also noticed what's missing from all those articles: people.
The Maldives of the travel brochures is an eerie place, a culture-free series of coral dots adrift on a deep blue sea. This is no accident. Tourism here is a highly regulated activity: visitors and locals are carefully segregated. By law, resorts are located on uninhabited islands and you need written permission to stay elsewhere. Most people arrive and leave without knowing where they really are.
>>Full article
HONG KONG - Refusing entry to pregnant women if tourism is not the real motive
eTN Asia, 18-12-2006
Immigration authorities in Hong Kong are considering turning back pregnant women from the mainland at the border.
Observing that over 12,000 babies had been born in Hong Kong to non-resident parents in the
first 10 months of this year, a 20-fold increase since 2001, a senior official in Hong Kong has referred to such trend involving Chinese women as a serious and sensitive issue.
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong has shared that one of the options on
board was for immigration authorities to refuse entry to pregnant women if the “tourist’s real reason for entering Hong Kong is not tourism”.
“Chinese women in advanced stages of pregnancy are testing the limits of the “one country, two
systems” arrangement between mainland China and Hong Kong by nipping across the border into the former British colony, delivering babies in public hospitals — and in many cases leaving without paying their bills,” reported media. “One reason why this “maternity tourism” thrives is that Chinese babies born in Hong Kong get permanent residency rights — and a slew of welfare benefits like free schooling and medical benefits. Additionally, many women seek out Hong Kong’s vastly superior public health service.”
>>Full article
BALI - Gets High Marks in Australian Safety Audit
Balidiscovery.com (12/16/2006)
One of Australia's leading private security companies, SNP Security, recently completed an intensive four-day safety audit of Bali and its tourism industry that tracked significant improvements in the Island's approach to safety and security.
The Managing Director of SNP Security, Tom Roche, said Bali today is in a visibly and vastly more improved security situation than ever before.
SNP Security was commissioned to conduct the audit by the Sydney-based Public Affairs company S2i Communications who are seeking to quantify claims of security improvements in Bali.
>>Full article
BALI - The Growing Problem of Pedophilia in Bali
Balidiscovery.com, (12/16/2006)
Experts speaking at a UNICEF-sponsored seminar held in Nusa Dua on December 4, 2006, warned that the incidence of sexual exploitation of children is expanding at an alarming rate in Bali.
Speaking at a Workshop of the Sexual Exploitation and Commercialization of Children, Anna-Karin Jatfor, an expert staff of UNICEF, admitted that monitoring such activity is problematic, although the government has sufficient information to attack the root causes of the problem.
The workshop reported that many under-aged sex workers are in evidence on Bali streets, night clubs, entertainment centers and hotels. According to Jatfors, young people who drop out from school are mong those most susceptible to commercialization and sexual exploitation.
>>Full article
BALI - Government to Buy Share in Air Paradise?
Balidiscovery.com, (12/16/2006)
The Indonesian language Bali Post reports that Bali's Governor is eager to see the Bali-based airline - Air Paradise International (API) recommence operations and has indicated his willingness to carefully review the possibility of Bali's provincial government becoming an investor in the Company.
Following a meeting on Friday, December 15, 2006 attended by Governor Beratha, API President Commissioner I Made "Kadek" Wiranatha, API Director Oka Semadi, and the Chief of the Bali Tourism Authority Gede Nurjaya – the Governor reiterated his long-standing interest in seeing the Island's government become an active participant in an international air carrier operation.
>>Full article
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
BALI - Go Directly to Jail, Do Not Pass Go
Balidiscovery.com, (12/17/2006)
The Indonesian language Nusa Bali reports that two foreign tour guides were recently apprehended during the course of leading a group of travelers through the Tirta Empul Temple Complex near Tampaksiring.
According to the press report, the two guides, identified as a Polish female named "Agniszka" and a Russian male "Valery," were arrested by police in early November and December.
Current regulations only permit licensed individuals to provide guiding services in Bali. To qualify as a guide in Bali a person must be an Indonesian national, have fluency in the national language of Indonesia, prove residency in Bali for at least two years and undergo testing to demonstrate a command of local history and culture.
>>Full article
BALI - Nyepi 2007 to Fall on March 19, 2007
Balidiscovery.com, (12/17/2006)
Gede Nurjaya, the Head of the Bali Tourism Authority, has issued detailed instructions addressing local rules and regulations pertaining the celebration of Bali's official day of silence - Nyepi set to fall on Monday, March 19, 2007.
Nyepi - the Balinese equivalent of the word for silence is the name given to the day each year when it is he religious obligation of every Balinese Hindu to dedicate an entire day to quiet introspection and spiritual cleansing as he or she embarks on a New Year in the Balinese lunar calendar.
>>Full article
CHINA - flexes its muscles to position itself as Asia’s largest outbound market
eTN Asia, 15-12-2006
China is consolidating its status as Asia’s largest outbound tourism.
In another instance of making the world sit and take notice of its potential as the
most lucrative source market for tourism, China has consolidated its status as Asia’s largest outbound tourism market as 28.55 million people travelled abroad in the first 10 months of this year.
According to China’s State Tourism Administration, the number has expanded by
some 10.8 percent compared to the same period last year.
Shao Qiwei, head of the administration, attributed the increase in China’s outbound
tourists was the result of the Beijing’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 which opened up the tourism industry. With the opening of the tourism industry, Chinese tourists can now visit 132 countries and regions, up from the limited 18 destinations in 2001, including the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.
>>Full article
THAILAND - Villas in Phuket
phuket.com, 14-12-2006
Luxury villas in the tropics, he points out, need good maintenance and this comes at a price; to maintain a large home with four to six bedrooms, on two or three rai of land (a rai is two fifths of an acre, or 1,600 squaremetres) costs around 100,000 to 150,000 baht a month. There are two levels of villa management company. The first is the company that ensures that the property is always clean, in good shape and ready to be used by the owners or their guests.
A typically premium property has upwards of 300 square metres of interior space, a sea view or at least a mountain view, two to four bedrooms and a private swimming pool.
High-end premium villas are larger - 400 square metres or more of living space on a plot of at least 800 square metres - and are generally oceanfront or have a very good sea view. Each has between three and five bedrooms, and a private swimming pool, usually an infinity-edge pool.
Currently, one of the most interesting developments, he said, is Jumeirah Phuket Private Island Resort, formerly called Barama Bay. It is to be built on a private island in Ao Po, in Phang Nga Bay. It has plots-plus-villas touching the five-million-dollar mark," Mr Barnett said. "It will combine a top-tier international hotel, luxury private villas and a private yacht club. This turns a new page in [the story of] luxury homes in Phuket.
Adrian Zecha, the man behind Aman Resorts, probably has the best claim to have started the luxury villa market in Phuket. He opened Amanpuri in 1988 as a high-end resort, but also included in the property were a number of luxury villas for private ownership
>>Full article
DEVELOPMENTS - Sixty Years Serving World Tourism
13 December, 2006/eTN
The year 2006 marks a double anniversary for international tourism. UNWTO celebrates the 60th anniversary of the existence of an organization at the service of world tourism, and 30 years of its presence in Madrid. During this time, tourism has become a "major economic, social and cultural phenomenon", said UNWTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli, on the occasion of the inauguration of the exhibition "1946-2006: Sixty Years of an Organization Serving World Tourism" at UNWTO headquarters in Madrid.
Tourism has transformed itself and represents today one of the
most dynamic economic sectors. Over the last three decades alone, international tourist arrivals increased five-fold to 806 million in 2005, and tourism expenditures totalled US$ 682 billion. Tourism demand continues to exceed expectations and proves resilience to adverse external factors.
>>Full article
THAILAND - Thai social workers bracing for rise in child sex tourists
eTN Asia Pacific, 14-12-2006
Ten to fifteen year olds earn as much as US$300 per night trawling the streets as child sex workers.
On the eve of the UN Convention on The Rights of The Child to be held in Geneva on December 25, Thailand's social workers are bracing for the influx of child sex workers who will flood the streets of Bangkok and neon-lights of Pattaya during the coming year-end holiday season, according to latest news reports.
Social workers, unable to turn the tide, have been lamenting the sharp increase in the number of
sex tourists and child prostitution in Pattaya in recent years.
Under the pretext of selling flowers and sweets to western tourists, some children as young as seven end up selling their bodies, said Sudjai Nakphain, who works on a social project for children in Pattaya.
"While some kind adults will offer them money, others are just waiting for the invitation to exploit the children, who more often than not have been sexually abused by their families.
"To entice their customers, the children will use sexual tactics, including holding a customer's arms or legs," added Nakphain.
Social workers claim there are now over 20,000 bars in Pattaya, compared to 500 a decade ago. "They are mostly sidewalk bars with a few stools and scantily-clad, overly made-up girls, many as young as 14."
Supagon Noja from the Pattaya-based Child Protection and Development Center told Reuters, Pattaya has attracted children from all over the country, both voluntarily and those lured by child traffickers.
>>Full article
ENVIRONMENT - Rising Number of Vehicles Feed Deadly air Pollution in Asian Cities
eTN, 14-12-2006
With 600,000 people in Asia dying prematurely from air pollution each year, the continent’s major cities face a key challenge in reducing the daunting figure, according to a new United Nations-backed report: although vehicle emissions are being reduced, the volume of vehicles is rising rapidly.
The UN - study, Urban Air Pollution in Asia Cities, released ahead of the first
governmental meeting on urban air quality opening today in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, reports that while air quality has improved in some, pollution remains a threat to health and quality of life in others. Asia’s growth in population, urbanization, motorization and energy consumption remain major challenges.
One of its key findings is that concentrations of the fine particulate matter PM10, one of the main threats to health and life is, “serious” in Beijing, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Shanghai.
“There is as strong an association between fine particulate matter and health issues in Asia as there is in Europe and the United States, but in Asia the concentrations of particulates are much higher,” the study’s lead author Dieter Schwela said.
But the report, focusing on 22 cities, also finds that Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo have an “excellent” capacity to manage air quality. Beijing, Busan and New Delhi are rated as having “good” air quality management capability. All these cities have achieved major reductions in key emissions but still need to address fine particulate pollution from vehicle fumes.
>>Full article
INDIA - Poor India? No, a rich travel experience
Times News Network, 13-12-2006
There are low-budget tourists and no-budget tourists. And Indian travel and hospitality companies are increasingly discovering that no-budget tourists — the top-end luxury ones — are willing to splurge top dollars for the India experience.
A helicopter ride from Delhi to Jaipur to shop for curios or for a breakfast with royalty, a private dinner in the middle of a lake, an exclusive session with a yoga guru, a networking cocktail party with corporate honchos and celebs, or it could even be a visit to the local market with the hotel chef as he selects the ingredients for the hotel’s daily menus — luxuries are increasingly less about extravagance and more about memorable, engaging personal experiences. India is fast coming on its own as a destination for top-end luxury travel, with a niche but growing number of foreign tourists attracted by the allure of the Indian experience, through its wellness industry, palaces, forts, reserve forests, beaches, the Himalayas, and soft adventures. Luxury hotels and travel companies are going the extra mile to woo the cash rich-time poor discerning traveller from Europe and United States. “Interest in India is increasing amongst luxury travellers and we expect this trend to continue,” said a spokesperson from the Oberoi group, which started tapping into this niche market with its “Vilas” properties.
>>Full article
DEVELOPMENTS - Bridge opens route for 'caravan tourism' in Mekong Delta
eTN Asia, 12-12-2006
Typhoons which have become more frequent lately have not stopped Vietnam from being a tourist destination for land 'caravan tourists' which is booming.
The opening of the East-West Economic Corridor in the Mekong Delta has brought with it an unexpected boom in 'caravan tourism' to Da Nanag, in central Vietnam, according to latest news reports.
The official inauguration of the Huu Nghi Bridge, connecting Mukdakhan in Thailand
and Savanakhet in Laos in the Mekong Delata on December 20, picked to commemorate Laos's 61st National Day is expected to boost tourism and trade activities along the economic corridor.
Foreign tourists have helped to popularize overland journeys to Vietnam from
Thailand, pushing the number of caravan tours to 20,000, up five-fold from last year's figures, said Thai Ba Canh, deputy director of Da Nang Tourism Department.
>>Full article
MALAYSIA - Minister: Sabah unable to cope with tourist arrivals
Dailyexpress.com.my, 10 December, 2006
Kuala Lumpur: Sabah, especially its capital Kota Kinabalu, is facing an overflow of tourist arrivals in the current peak period, rendering many tourists without hotel rooms to check-in.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said his Ministry was concerned over the matter and tried to sort it out by diverting tourists to other states like neighbouring Sarawak by promoting tourism events there.
"We will try to address the situation by promoting other destinations such as Sarawak and dispersing tourist arrivals," he said after launching Visit Malaysia Year 2007 Domestic Tourism Guidebook and Tourism Exhibition. The high hotel occupancy in Kota Kinabalu had caused concern to the Ministry, he said.
The overflow of tourist arrivals in Sabah served as an "eye-opener" to his Ministry on the need to build more hotels, particularly budget hotels, under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to cope with the targeted 24 million tourist arrivals under the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign, he said.
VIETNAM - Central coast lags behind nation in luring investment
Vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn (06-12-2006)
Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) spoke to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Duc Hoa about investment opportunities in the central coast region.
Following Viet Nam’s accession to the World Trade Organisation and the capital’s hosting of the APEC meeting, the Ministry of Planning and Investment opened a conference on raising investment for the central coastal region in Quy Nhon City, in the central province of Binh Dinh last month. What is the event’s significance?
After 20 years of renewal, the achievement of attracting foreign investment is remarkable and the foreign invested sector now contributes 55 per cent to the nation’s export value, 36 per cent to industrial production and about 16 per cent to GDP.
However, there are some problems with the country’s development. For example, the development gap between the central regions and other regions is quite large.
In 2005, GDP per person was US$640 nation-wide, while in the central region the index was $364 per person due to low economic development and limited foreign investment.
DEVELOPMENTS - East Meets East
Washingtonpost.com, December 10, 2006
Fifteen years ago, it would have been impossible to identify a uniquely East Asian identity. Few Southeast Asians or Japanese had traveled to China, for instance, and almost no Chinese had left their country for tourism. The legacy of the Cold War continued to divide the region, and most nations remained reliant on the United States to solve their disputes. Asian businesses also looked West rather than East, exporting to America more than among themselves. And East Asian elites sent their children to universities in the United States and Australia, jetted to Las Vegas for holidays and bought up the latest CDs from American pop stars.
But in the mid-1990s, East Asia began to reorient its compass inward. Regional economies expanded, producing a class of younger businesspeople. These new cosmopolites grew up forging ties among East Asian corporations, building firms such as Thai agro-industrial giant Charoen Pokphand, which quietly became the largest foreign investor in China. More sophisticated Asian companies also began developing the high-tech industries that would keep Asian talent from migrating to Silicon Valley.
NOOSA - EcoNova’s water reclamation plant unveiled
Ferret.com.au, 12 december 2006
Australia’s first private utility is ready to roll out a wastewater treatment plant, powered by its own waste.
A water reclamation plant invented by new Queensland utilities provider EcoNova has been hailed as a world leader. It turns out water to a previously unreachable standard: six star Class A++, and is thought to be the first wastewater treatment unit, fully powered by energy extracted from the waste products that it treats.
EcoNova has also recently become what it says is the first private firm in Australia authorised to provide water, sewage, recycled water and garbage services to any community. The Queensland Government gave it the green-light on the basis of its integrated systems, which operate independent of the water mains. EcoNova hopes councils will outsource their services in new developments to avoid upgrading infrastructure and shift the service risk to the private sector.
EcoNova’s first venture is a $1.47 million contract to provide wastewater treatment units for 300 existing and future properties at the Noosa North Shore Tourism Portal, plus on top of that to supply potable water and solid waste services.
PHILIPPINES - Tubbataha generates P4M from dive tourism in 2006
Bayanihan.org, December 18 2006
Tourism Prime divespot Tubbataha Reef National Park has generated P4 million from dive tourism from January to December 2006.
Angelique Songco, park manager, said the Tubbataha Management Office has collected P3.6 million as conservation fees from dive tourists and operators during the period.
However, Songco said it didn't meet its P4.5 million target income from diving activity.
The reef, located off Sulu Sea and some 182 kilometers (113 miles) southeast from this city, is home to 10,000 coral reefs, 483 species of fish, two nesting species of marine turtles and nine species of marine mammals.
The reef's islets are among the last breeding strongholds of seabirds in Southeast Asia.
Songco said tourism income will be used for conservation, research and monitoring and other park-related management job which pegged at P10 million annually.
In the last week's national conference, Songco said, the well-managed conservation of Tubbataha has benefited the lives of Cagayancillo in terms of fish resources.
Fish biomass doubled from 166 metric tons per square kilometer in 2004 to 318 metric tons per square kilometer in 2005.
Tubbataha, which was declared as World Heritage Site by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1993, has reportedly contributed ecological value of P840 million every year in the country's economy in terms of fisheries and tourism. (PNA)
>>Full article
AVIATION - SEAIR to posts P1-billion this year
Business.balita.ph, December 06 2006
Business South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) will post at least P1-billion this year, from P600-million in 2005.
Avelino L. Zapanta, newly appointed President and CEO of SeAir, said that the company has grown exponentially to more than 10 times its initial revenue output since it started commercially 10 years ago.
”SeAir will continue to pump additional investments for its long-term plans. The field of opportunity for expansion has widened with the inevitable push for greater liberalization of the aviation industry, emergences of new breed and models of airlines, coupled with the potential for greater growth of tourism in the country,” Zapanta said.
Pushed by a market-driven business demanding additional aircraft, flights and destinations, the company will buy two Airbus A320 from Tiger Airways within the first quarter of 2007.
The planes are se to operate in domestic and regional routes as soon as the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) grants the necessary regulatory approvals,” Zapanta said.
”SeAir is in an eviable position of operating a fleet of modernad cost efficient aircraft. It has the most modern fleet in the jetcrop industry,” he added.
Aside from the local expansion, SeAir si positioning itself to enter the international market such as Singapore and Macau from Clark and other destinations after its appointment as one of the official carriers for the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) region.
>>Full article
AVIATION - Thai Air Asia To Fly To Langkawi From Next Month
(Bernama) Dec 9, 2006
Thai Air Asia will introduce four-times-a-week Bangkok-Langkawi direct flights from next month, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said.
He said the airline would be making more announcements on this at the end of this month.
"For the Kedah government, we support and welcome this direct flight service as it will help to increase tourist arrivals to Langkawi island," he told reporters after presenting wings to 23 cadet pilots of HM Aerospace Sdn Bhd's flying course 03/2005 here.
Mahdzir said the airline had requested for a one-year landing fee subsidy at the Langkawi International Airport in Padang Matsirat for introducing the direct-flight service.
He said the state government and the Langkawi Development Authority had agreed to bear half the cost of extending the subsidy, and had requested the Tourism Ministry to pay the remaining 50 per cent.
>>Full article
Monday, December 18, 2006
PHUKET - Tourist Arrivals Jump 87 Per Cent In Post-tsunami Phuket
eTN, december 11, 2006
Tourist arrivals to Phuket - one of the Thai beach resorts hit by the December 26, 2004 tsunami - are expected to reach 4.7 million this year, up 87 per cent from 2005, a Thai think tank predicted Sunday.
According to a report issued by Kasikorn Research Center (KRC), an affiliate of the Kasikorn Bank, about 70 per cent of 4.7 million tourists visiting Phuket in 2006 were foreigners, up 150 per cent from last year. Parts of Phuket Island were hit by the Boxing Day tidal wave two years ago that killed more than 5,300 people in Thailand's six provinces rimming the Andaman Sea. Nearly half of the tsunami victims were foreign nationals vacationing at Thailand's popular beach resorts Phuket, Phang Nga and Phi Phi - all on the Andaman coast. The return of foreign visitors to Phuket this year demonstrates their confidence in Thailand's tsunami safety measures and the success of publicity campaigns carried out by the Thai public and private sectors, said the KRC.
>>Full article
INDIA - Wyndham Hotel Group Agreement Calls for 10 New Ramada Hotels in India
eTN, december 11, 2006
PARSIPPANY, N.J., Dec. 8 / -- Wyndham Hotel Group, the lodging unit of Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN) , today announced it has signed an agreement with Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd. of Bangalore, India, to develop 10 Ramada(R) hotels totaling at least 1,000 rooms in the Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtr, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.Chender Baljee, Royal Orchid chairman, said his company would invest 5 billion Indian rupees, or about $100 million, to build four-star-quality Ramada hotels during the next three to four years. Steven. A. Rudnitsky, Wyndham Hotel Group president and chief executive officer, said India represents a "significant, ongoing opportunity" for hotel development in the Asia-Pacific region. He said a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report indicates the India market will require up to 125,000 new hotel rooms in India during the next five years.
>>Full article
BALI - Banyan Tree Spreading its Branches in Bali
Balidiscovery.com, (12/9/2006)
Singapore-based Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts are scheduling to open two new resorts in Bali in 2008 - The Banyan Tree Ungasan Resort and the Angsana Tepi Kahyangan, Bali, Indonesia.
The Banyan Tree Ungasan Resort
Developed in cooperation with Indonesian Developer PT Surya Semesta Internusa, the Banyan-branded resort will be comprised of 73 villas located on a ten-hectare site 70-meter high cliff on Bali's southern Ungasan peninsula.
Costing an estimated US$30 million, the project is being financed via an "owner lease-back" scheme in which investor owners will pay from US$650,000 for a one-bedroom suite to US$2.7 million for a presidential villa.
The units will then be leased back to the Resort who will rent them out to the public at rates starting at US$600 per night.
>>Full article
BALI - Responsible Tourism
Balidiscovery.com, (12/9/2006)
WildAsia.net seeks out tourism operators in Asia who demonstrate a "high degree of commitment towards respecting local cultures, benefiting local economies and achieving low environmental impacts."
Supported by the British Government's Global Opportunities Fund and the Langkawi Development Authority, Wild Asia is a Malaysian-based think-tank that specializes in supporting conservation initiatives in Asia. It runs programs promoting conservation in tourism, forestry, and plantations.
Bringing special recognition to Bali were the Alila Manggis and Alila Ubud who came to the selection committee's attention for their deep and abiding respect Bali, its culture, people and environment.
>>Full article
INDONESIA - VP Expresses Heightened Interest in Bali Tourism
Balidiscovery.com, (12/9/2006)
During a Thursday, December 7, 2006, visit to Bali to meet with the Island's tourism leaders, Indonesian Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla declared Bali the gateway for visitors to Indonesia and the key to the revival of the nation’s tourism fortunes.
Beautiful Bali Indonesia
As reported by Antara News Agency, the VP underlined his conviction that Bali must serve as the gateway to Indonesian tourism by ordering the Culture and Tourism Ministry and urging all elements of the tourism industry to begin using "Beautiful Bali Indonesia" as a motto for the promotion of Indonesian tourism. Complaining that tourism promotion has been plagued by a "lack of funds and an unclear theme," he called on Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik to make movies featuring interesting tourism destination nationwide under the "Beautiful Bali Indonesia" theme, promoting Indonesia's many "Beyond Bali" attractions.
>>Full article
FIJI - No respite for Fiji’s tourism industry
eTN Asia/Pacific, december 8, 2006
For Fiji, which heavily depends upon tourism when it comes to propelling its economy, the coup’s adverse impact is resulting in alarming situation. Tourism is considered to be Fiji’s biggest foreign exchange earner.
“Now the industry worth about $700 million a year is braced for a backlash as tourists stay away as the military coup takes effect. The tourism industry employs more than 45,000 and makes up a quarter of Fiji's economy,” according to a media report.
According to Economist.com, tourism numbers are bound to fall off sharply as bookings are cancelled in light of the latest coup. On top of this, aid inflows are likely to be revised—and sanctions imposed—as Fiji’s neighbors review diplomatic relations with the military government.
Apart from tourism, the overall situation is getting adversely affected. The international rating agencies, Standard and Poors, and Moodys have put Fiji on negative credit watch as a result. It is being felt that the drop-off in tourism following the coup will add to Fiji’s existing problems, such as the declining sugar and garment industries. Meanwhile, the global bank Citicorp, says the continuing unrest means the next time Fiji’s government goes to the market for money, the interest rates will be much higher.
AUSTRALIA - Foreign tourists stay longer in Australia and spend more
eTN, 7-12-2006
International visitors to Australia are staying longer and spending more, which was positive news for the tourism industry, the Australian Tourism Export Council said today.
ATEC Managing Director Matthew Hingerty, was commenting on today's release of Tourism Research
Australia's latest International Visitor Survey figures, which revealed a 12 percent increase in visitor nights and expenditure for the year ended September 2006.
"International visitors stayed 149.4 million nights in Australia and spent an average $2665 each while in the country in the year to September 30 2006 - up 12 percent on the previous year," Mr Hingerty said.
"Overall, international visitors contributed $18.9 billion to our economy, making tourism one of Australia's most important exports."
Mr Hingerty said the figures were good news, particularly in light of actual visitor numbers, which remained static at just over five million for the year - about the same as for the corresponding period in 2005.
"It is important to not just look at actual numbers as increases in volume without a corresponding increase in profits is not a sustainable outcome for the industry," he said.
>>Full article
SINGAPORE - Royal Caribbean to begin operations in Singapore next year
ChannelNewsAsia, december 7, 2006
Singaporeans can look forward to a whole new cruising experience next year. Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has announced its entry into the local cruising scene.It is the latest tie up between Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and an international cruise operator. Rhapsody of the Seas, which will debut on December 2007, will offer a series of trips that will call on neighbouring countries. Under this partnership, RCI will tap on the Singapore Fly-Cruise Development Fund for its product development and marketing activities.
>>Full article
VIETNAM - New tourism wave in Vietnam: more travellers reached
VietNamNet, december 7 2006
Experts believe that Vietnam will be an attractive destination for more and more tourists in the time to come, as the image of Vietnam is becoming well known in the world.
Vietnam has become an attractive destination for different types of tourists. Popular tourists find Vietnam a place they need to visit after they hear about Vietnam’s joining of the WTO and Vietnam’s successful organisation of the APEC summit 2006. Moreover, Vietnam has also attracted ones who want to come to visit the wonderful landscapes here and seek business opportunities at the same time. More rich visitors will knock on the door.
The fact that a lot of international political officials came to Vietnam in November to participate in APEC summit 2006 is a milestone worth remembering in Vietnam’s tourism industry. It is clear that the satisfaction of the states’ leaders has been the best advertisement for Vietnam.
Duc Tung, an official from a travel company, said that it was not by chance that the Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angielina Jolie came to Vietnam just several days after the APEC summit ended. It is clear that the name of Vietnam has become attractive in the eyes of foreign tourists. Experts said that the number of tourists coming to Vietnam, especially rich travellers, has been increasing sharply in recent days.
>>Full article
BANDUNG - Restore them and tourists will come, Bandung official says
The Jakarta Post.com, december 7 2006
Bandung is planning to restore more than a hundred old and historic buildings in the city as part of an aggressive campaign to attract more tourists, an official said Tuesday.
Askary Wirantaatmadja, the head of the Bandung Tourism Office, said his staff were currently making a list of the city's old and historic buildings for restoration. Out of 637 historic buildings standing in the increasing busy city, 160 would be prioritized for development, he said.
"All of the buildings ... will be included in a regional draft bill on old and historic buildings, which is currently being worked out by members of the city's legislative council," he said.
If the bill was passed, Bandung would be the third city in the country to have a bylaw protecting heritage buildings after Jakarta and Surabaya, Askary said. Structures could be classed as protected if they were more than 50 years old, had important architectural features or were once used as venues where noted figures gathered.
>>Full article
DEVELOPMENTS - Tourism Land-Grabs Mean Thousands of Tsunami Survivors in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand Remain Homeless
eTN, 6-12-2006
The pressure group Tourism Concern welcomes BBC 2’s two-part TV drama ‘Tsunami, The Aftermath’ which raises that most hidden of issues – why local people have not been able to move back home, nearly two years after the 2004 Boxing Day disaster in South East Asia. This is an outstanding opportunity for all of us to finally understand what happened to local people following the tsunami.
Tourism Concern’s report, “Post-tsunami reconstruction: a second disaster?” was the first to reveal back in October 2005 that it was very likely that people would be doubly displaced, first by the tsunami and then by opportunistic tourism development.
Tourism Concern is campaigning for displaced peoples’ rights to the coastal land and their involvement in the reconstruction process. Tricia Barnett, Director, said, “The tourism industry is treating the tsunami aftermath as an financial opportunity. This has resulted in strategic displacement of traditional fishermen communities from the coast and their livelihood. “ She continued, “The ongoing impacts on tsunami survivors, the loss of their livelihoods and natural resources are devastating and need to be addressed”.
In Sri Lanka, India and Thailand there is conflict between the needs of local communities affected by the tsunami and the plans of government and businesses to rapidly promote tourism in the area. Why is coastal land being used for tourism resorts while thousands of people are stuck in temporary housing? The governments of all affected countries prioritized high-end tourism development rather than the needs of local people. Many survivors were ordered by the government to live away from the sea and provided with housing that was too small, hot and inappropriate. Fishermen have been housed two miles inland.
Thai communities have said they are suffering from six ‘tsunamis’: the actual tidal wave; disorganized and divisive aid agencies; intrusive and insensitive press; landlords threatening eviction with violence; religious organizations trying to convert beneficiaries; and researchers and NGOs collecting information without giving any information.
>>Full article
CHINA - Long checklist for China to become tourist hub
CHINAdaily.com.cn, dec 6th 2006
China must improve infrastructure and services, as well as offer visas upon arrival, to develop a thriving travel industry and enjoy its economic benefits, a top global tourism expert said on Tuesday.Beijing should also spread out holidays to avoid the mad rush caused by the three "golden weeks" off every year when hundreds of millions of people take to the roads, rails and air, said the head of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). "There is a strong appeal to go to China. The country is intriguing. It has a 5,000-year history, which is the best marketing campaign someone could ever do for a country," WTTC President Jean-Claude Baumgarten said in an interview.
Last year China received more than 17 million tourists -- excluding visitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau -- according to Chinese government figures. "Will that figure become 70 million or 80 million in 2020 or 2025. The potential is here.
It all will depend on the infrastructure," Baumgarten told Reuters at a luxury hotel in Beijing's central business district. To boost tourism, China needs to build more roads, improve the standard of spoken English, make sure credit cards can be more widely used in a cash-dominant economy and bring in foreign expertise to improve management of the industry.
>>Full article
MACAU - to receive more than 20 Million Visitor Arrivals in 2006
Search ASIA Travel Tips .comWednesday, 6 December 2006
In the year 2000 and 2001, Macau’s visitor arrivals experienced breakthroughs of 9 million and 10 million respectively. Seven years after the establishment of the Macau SAR, the number doubled to 20 million.
In the first ten months of 2006, visitor arrivals exceeded 17 million, an increase of 15.85% compared to the same period last year. The top ten tourism market sources of Macau (in accordance with volume) are Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, the United States, Singapore and Thailand. Mainland China, the largest source market, occupies nearly 54% of total visitor arrivals; among which, half of the 9.7 million visitors are comprised of individual travelers. On the other hand, the increment of the other markets was also satisfactory.
Director João Manuel Costa Antunes of MGTO said, “It is not easy for Macau, a tiny enclave with an area of only 28.2 sq. kilometers and a population slightly over 500 thousand to receive 20 million visitors a year. The outstanding result is fruitful of the great support of the Central Government, our Macau SAR leaders as well as the hard work both the travel and tourism industry and the public.”
>>Full article
DUBAI - IFA Hotels & Resorts to launch US$ 1 billion Luxury Resort on The Palm Jumeirah’s Crescent
ASIATravelTips .com, 5 December 2006
IFA Hotels & Resorts, international leaders in the development of premier mixed-use hotel and tourism resort projects, is launching one of the largest projects on The Palm Jumeirah’s Crescent - Kingdom of Sheba. The resort covers 141,500 sq. metres in a prime location on The Crescent of The Palm Jumeirah, adjacent to the renowned Atlantis development.
Talal Jassim Al-Bahar, Chairman and Managing Director of IFA HR, said “This is by far our most ambitious resort development to date. Following in the footsteps of our successful projects in Dubai with over 1,800 units sold in the past three years, the Kingdom of Sheba is certain to become a significant landmark in our international portfolio.”
Al-Bahar added “The Fairmont Palm Residence, the last development we announced on The Palm Jumeirah, is already 90% sold out. The Kingdom of Sheba will be the final opportunity for investors to buy into IFA Hotels & Resorts’ developments on The Palm Jumeirah.”
>>Full article
DUBAI - Nakheel explains How The World Works
ASIATravelTips .com, 6 December 2006
Nakheel, a leading property developer in the UAE, has explained how it foresees The World will function as a project, revealing plans for infrastructure, transportation and the different types of islands that are available to developers.
Land reclamation of The World, a series of more than 300 man-made islands shaped to form the map of the world, is currently 90% complete with developers currently working to complete their plans for estate islands, residential and resort communities.
Hamza Mustafa, General Manager, The World, said, “This is a big step forward in the evolution of The World. The project has played an enormous role in raising awareness of Dubai on a global scale; many people know about Dubai because of this incredible project, but I think few people understand how The World will actually work in reality.
“With reclamation at such an advanced stage, The World is truly turning from an incredible vision into a reality and is quickly evolving into a one-of-a-kind destination and investment opportunity. Engineered to be flexible and designed to be unforgettable – The World is a blank canvas in the azure waters of the Arabian Gulf with endless possibilities.”
>>Full article
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
THAILAND - High Season at Khao Lak, Phang Nga
Andaman News TV11, december 2006
This is Khao Lak today. Two years after it has been struck by the tsunami, nature seems to have recovered, as well as the tourism industry here. More than 48 hotels and tourism businesses have been rebuilt and around 2,700 accommodation rooms. The Scandinavian, German and new markets like the British have come in on direct charter flights from UK to Phuket and are now prominent tourists here.
John Graham, the holiday representative of Thomson Tour Operations in UK, part of the German company TUI, Europe’s biggest tour operators, said that Thomson just started bringing British tourists to Khao Lak since the 2nd of November; and most of the tourists usually love to spend 2 weeks here.
At the moment we have around 70 guests for three hotels in Khao Lak now we have the charter flight which flies from Manchester 2 times a week:
Many tourists seem not to worry about what had happened in the past. We talked to a few tourists who we met on the beach and asked why they liked to come to Khao Lak:
Prasert Chanpol-ngam, the owner of Royal Bangsak Beach Resort and the President of Phang-nga Tourist Association, mentioned the readiness of Khao Lak and activities provided for the tourists, including beach and water activities, trekking and diving.
>>Full article + video
THAILAND - The Phuket Professional Guide Association called for the Governor to resolve the 'Korean Guide' issue.
Thaisnews.com, december 5th 2006
Around 30 members of Phuket Professional Guide Association, led by its vice president Subin Pakdi, submitted a petition to Phuket Governor Nirund Kalayanamit to resolve the Korean guide issue. According to Thai law, guide careers are reserved for Thai nationals only. Mr. Subin pointed out that the problem has long existed as tour companies want to bring in the maximum number of tourists while there are insufficient quality guides who can handle Korean tourists groups. The association members disagreed with the proposed law easing by temporarily allowing Koreans to act as tour guides. They stated that some operators disobeyed the law and ended up damaging the image of local tourism with some officials receiving bribes. The petition calls for the issue to be discussed in a meeting of the Travel Business committee chaired by the Minister of Tourism and Sports.
>>Full article
A one way traffic system will be introduced in Phuket's Patong on a trial basis early next year
Andaman News TV11, december 5th 2006
In another attempt to tackle traffic congestion in the famous tourist area of Patong, the Municipality there plans to introduce a one way traffic system in the middle of January 2007. The Patong City Mayor, Pean Keesin, said the system will be on a trial basis for 3 months, then it will be assessed for improvement. The traffic in the famous tourist area is heavily congested, especially during rush hours while parking spaces on the beach front road are almost 100% occupied by rental vehicles and public transport like Tuk Tuks. It has lead to many complaints from tourists for a long time.
>>Full article
MALAYSIA - RM460mil budget for Penang
Thestar.com.my, November 28, 2006
RM460mil budget for Penang
CHIEF Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has tabled a budget of RM461.86mil for next year, an increase of RM71.56mil (18.33%) from the 2006 Budget.
The management budget saw an increase of RM4.27mil (1.44%) to RM300.76mil while the development budget went up by RM65.34mil (48.13%) to RM201.1mil.
Dr Koh described the budget as realistic and pragmatic.
“It is in line with the state’s consistent commitment to generate high economic growth, ensure the rakyat’s progress and enhance their quality of living,” he said when tabling the Supplies and Development Bill 2007.
Dr Koh said emolument expenses to pay out salary raises and allowances for 3,471 government employees increased about RM4.24mil to RM84.61mil.
>>Full article
NEW ZEALAND - clean, green tourism brand put under microscope
University of Otago, Thursday 30 November 2006
The future of New Zealand’s clean, green tourism brand is up for debate at two upcoming international conferences being held at the University of Otago.
Next week, the University’s Department of Tourism, based in the School of Business, will host the Atlas Asia Pacific ‘Tourism after Oil’ and the Tourism and Hospitality Research ‘Beyond Nature’ conferences.
The conferences, held consecutively, will feature national and international experts in nature tourism, international trade, environmental management and destination branding who will present various views on the need for a long-term perspective on tourism in the Asia-Pacific region.
Tourism Associate Professor James Higham says New Zealand has long been promoted and, arguably, studied in terms of its natural dimensions.
“The ‘100% Pure’ campaign and an emphasis on ‘clean and green’ branding has had great benefits in attracting visitors to New Zealand, but how sustainable is the focus on nature in the long term?
SABAH - Enough emergency facilities: Chong
Dailyexpress.com.my, 01 December, 2006
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Parks is equipped with enough emergency facilities to administer assistance during emergencies. Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat, who said this in his winding-up speech Thursday, added that its staff are also trained in basic first aid skills.
During the debate earlier, Sook Assemblyman Tan Sri Joseph Kurup had highlighted the death of an eight-year-old Korean girl after being stung by jellyfish at Pulau Manukan, off here, recently.
Chong said Sabah Parks has 43 staff trained as life guards, 19 of them stationed at the Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park, namely, six in Pulau Manukan, eight in Pulau Sapi, three in Pulau Mamutik and two in Teluk Molohom, Pulau Gaya. "The lifeguards in Sabah Parks were trained by the Kinabalu Life Saving Society and Malaysia Life Saving Society.
>>Full article
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
MYANMAR - Better than Thailand?
Phuket post, 4-12-2006
Myanmar has long been a controversial destination for tourists, with the argument being about whether visiting the country actually helps to support the ruling junta in the face of an international boycott over its undemocratic ways.
Now Aljazeera reports online that some people are claiming Myanmar is a better destination, morally, than Thailand.
Reporter Veronica Pedrosa, once a familiar face on CNN, says that a tourism promoter told her on a recent visit that Myanmar was being seen in some markets as a ''decent'', safe and cultural alternative to Thailand.
Well, it depends on your concept of decency. What's a “decent” government?
While coming off a low base number of visitors, Pedrosa reports that tourism in Myanmar is on the rise. According to Myanmar figures, she says, it has tripled since 2000.
''At Yangon's best known tourist spots, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Spanish and Italian tourists pose for photographs and bargain hard for the best deals,'' she writes.
And there are clearly some good reasons for visiting Myanmar. She mentions the pristine beaches, colonial architecture, temple complexes and ethnic villages, untouched by mass tourism.
>>Full article
PHUKET - The Islands North
Phuket post, 4-12-2006
When does the high season begin? Opinions vary. The Patong Festival usually is promoted as the opening of the high season, and that's always around 1 November. But most Phuket hotels don't increase their rates until December at the earliest, and sometimes not until the middle of the month.
Perhaps one indication is that the Chedi, which has been operating on a headland north of Surin beach for 16 years, will be holding a party this Wednesday (7 December) to mark the high season.
The Chedi forms the first Phuket Post DAILY resort profile. More will be coming, Monday to Friday, from north, south, east and west.
Daniel J Meury, general manager of The Chedi for four years, believes that when it comes to tourists, quality is more important than quantity. While the occupancy rate there is 80 percent for November, he can see it topping 90% very soon – a good result considering guests can be asked to pay up to $US500 a night for a holiday along the beachfront.
“The beach is very private,” he said. The Chedi followed on the site of the Pansea Hotel, one of the first on the island, which went up about 25 years ago. According to Mr Meury, the beach is still The Chedi's best asset.
>>Full article
MYANMAR - tourism industry to boost in current tour season
People's DailyOnline, December 01, 2006
Myanmar's tourism industry is signaling to boost in the current tour season with reservations at almost all major hotels in the country's tourist sites fully booked, according to local tour operators Friday. Myanmar's tour season lasts from November to May.
Reservations at hotels in Bagan, Mandalay and Inlay have been full up to next February, the sources said.
Meanwhile, air tickets for airlines flying the main route for international transit between Yangon and Bangkok have been sold out, the sources quoted the Thai Airways International (TG), Bangkok Airways (PG), Myanmar Airways International (8M), Phuket Airlines (9R) and Thai Air Asia (FD) as saying.
To meet passenger demand, the main foreign airline of TG flying between the two destinations is arranging to increase its afternoon flight services and the new schedule will last until next March, it added.
Observers see a new record high of one million tourists arrivals in the tour season especially in this year-end through to the first quarter of next year.
ACCOMMODATION - Accor takes Major Step in its Expansion in India
As part of its global development strategy aiming at opening 200,000 new hotel rooms by 2010, of which 60% are in emerging markets, Accor has signed a significant partnership that triggers a major expansion in India. This expansion plan covers the full spectrum of the hotel market in India, including budget Formule 1 hotels, economy Ibis hotels, mid-market Novotel hotels and upper-upscale Sofitel properties.
BALI - Electrical Power Supply Under Threat
Balidiscovery.com, (12/1/2006)
The Indonesian language Bisnis Indonesia reports that PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) predicts the shortfall in electrical power production for Java and Bali will reach critical stages in 2008 as the result of the shortfall in new power-generating capacity.
Fahmi Mochtar, General Manager Distribution for Jakarta and Tanggerang for PLN told the newspaper that electricity requirements in 2007 will be met for the most part by new capacity coming on line in 2006 and entering into full service in 2007. Nonetheless, he warned, "the condition (of electricity generation in 2007) won't be substantially different than 2006."
>>Full article
BALI - Bali Tourism Board Restructured
Balidiscovery.com, (12/1/2006)
In the wake of a torrent of recent criticism attacking the management style of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB) and the manner in which recovery funds have been handled, the heads of the tourism stake holder organizations that steer BTB have met and decided to restructure the private sector group charged with representing the Island's tourism industry.
The nine stake holding organizations that comprise BTB have decided that the Chairmanship position leading the group will be abolished in favor of a "Consortium Coordinator" - the new job title given to the individual who will execute the directives and decision made by the respective chairmen of the nine tourism stake holder groups.
>>Full article
BALI - A Tidal Change Needed in How We Care for Bali's Oceans
Balidiscovery.com, 12/1/2006
Increasing pollution along Bali's southern beaches is a source of growing public concern and closer scrutiny on how business and tourism operators across the island dispose of their waste and sewage.
Minister of Tourism Reacts
As reports of concerning levels of nitrates, bacteria and other pollutants in Bali's coastal waters arrived on his desk, Indonesia's Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, called for quick action to stop the pollution which threatens the entire tourism industry. The Minister called for legal action against the perpetrators of the pollution, if that was necessary to clean up the Island's waters.
Although pollution enforcement fall under another branch of the Government, Minister Wacik has issued instructions to his staff in Bali to find out who is responsible for polluting the waters off Bali's beaches. Two days prior to the story reporting the Minister's "get tough" order in the Indonesian language Nusa Bali, that paper carried a front page photograph of a large sewage pipe discharging waste on Sanur beach, allegedly connected to a nearby star-rated hotel.
>>Full article
AVIATION - Viva Macau launches Super Low Fares Promotion to Maldives, Phuket and Jakarta
ASIATravelTips .com, 1 December 2006
Viva Macau, the new international low-cost Macau-based airline, has launched its first flight schedule with fares as low as HK$88 to top destinations.
The airline is selling one-way tickets to its short-haul destinations Phuket, Thailand and Jakarta, Indonesia for HK$88; while fares to long-haul route Maldives cost only HK$888.
“Viva Macau is set to fly in December in a bid to bring residents of Macau, Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) to our exciting destinations at great value for money,” said Andrew Pyne the airline’s chief executive. “With this, we also bring quick and efficient access to the spirit of Macau, Asia’s vibrant entertainment capital.
”Viva Macau will fly to the Maldives twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays beginning December 21, 2006. Tickets on this special introductory fare are valid for travel until January 31, 2007.
>>Full article
CHINA - Tourists sites struggling with online promotion
China Daily, 1-12-2006
Beijing's tourist spots are not using the Internet effectively to promote their appeal to foreign visitors, according to experts speaking at a forum Thursday in Beijing.
Official statistics show Beijing has 121 scenic spots, 38 of which are top-ranking sites. But only 34 of the 38 have built official websites.
"Every tourism attraction in Beijing should build a website and make it easily accessible," said Liu Feng, assistant research fellow of the Development Research Centre of the State Council.
Adding to the problem, the websites in existence are not pulling in the visitors, according to Liu.
"When you search Google for websites introducing Beijing's tourism spots, the top result is a small American travel service. None of the scenic spot websites are in the first 10 pages," he said.
With the 2008 Olympic Games fast approaching, the need for promotion is more pressing than ever. According to the administration's estimates, 4.4 million overseas tourists will visit Beijing in 2008, spending US$4.5 billion.
SINGAPORE - plans a themed destination tourist attraction
eTN Asia, 30-11-2006
Singapore has unveiled a S$12 billion-worth master plan to turn its islands into a themed destination as an added tourist attraction, Channel News Asia reported.
According to the report, Singapore’s planners are turning natural resources available on six islands to the south of Sentosa into a tourist destination by mixing education and entertainment.
The Sentosa Master Plan will include Harbourfront and the Southern islands of Sisters', Kusu and St John Islands.
"We plan to tap on the momentum created by the Sentosa integrated resort developments and extend investor interest to the islands nearby," Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a statement.
""Enhancing the lush greenery and natural foliage of the Southern Islands will make them irresistible to tourists," added the statement from STB. "They will be developed into a resort island, cultural site, natural ecosystems and rainforest park."
CAMBODIA - Shinta Mani Hotel & Institute of Hospitality recognised for Poverty Reduction in Siem Reap
The accommodation and learning complex comprising the Shinta Mani Hotel and Institute of Hospitality has been globally recognised for the immense benefit it brings to the Siem Reap community.The Shinta Mani Hotel and Institute of Hospitality was highly commended in the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards’ “Best For Poverty Reduction” category, which focuses on poverty diminishment initiatives that assist local communities in developing countries.
MALDIVES - South of Maldives looks ahead to tourism expansion
eTN, 28-11-2006
Plans to develop the most remote part of the Maldives into a new tourist zone have been unveiled to the tourism industry in London. The project will bring prosperity and new jobs to Addu Atoll, and particularly the island of Gan, in the southern-most part of the Maldives.
New career opportunities in the hotel and catering sector and demand for local expertise and opportunities to sample Maldivian culture will boost employment for the islanders and will contribute to the overall growth of the economy of the region, where there is an enduring longing and welcome for visitors especially from Great Britain.
Gan is a former British military base and the former Royal Air Force station is currently used as an airport for domestic flights from the capital Malé. Gan airport is being upgraded to international standards and could be ready to receive direct flights from London next year. The Maldives Tourism Development Board is in talks with charter flight operators in the UK and one well-known company has already been signed up.
CHINA - eyes explosive tourism growth, scores massive rail investment
eTN China, 28-11-2006
After posting record-breaking figures in terms of tourist numbers and revenues last year, China is eyeing an explosive growth from the tourism in the years to come.
China is to earn US$156.5 billion from tourism in 2010, according to Liu Kezhi, head of the Tourism Promotion and International Contact Department, China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
Liu says the number of foreign tourists who will spend at least one night in China is expected to jump to 68.8 million in 2010, when domestic tourists are expected to take 1.78 billion overnight trips.
The Chinese government has formulated the Eleventh Five-Year Program for Tourism Industry (2006-2010). The program aims to make China a strong tourist nation in the world.
China is counting on the forthcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai to provide unprecedented opportunities for the development of Chinese tourism industry.
CHINA - Shenzhen vows to become hot tourism spot
People's Daily Online, 28-11-2006
This coastal city in South China's Guangdong Province is set to capitalize on its proximity to Hong Kong in a bid to become a global tourist city. Li Xiaogan, an official from Shenzhen municipal tourism department, made the remarks at an international tourism conference in Shenzhen in late October.An important part of the Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival, which kicked off yesterday, the International Conference on Building International Tourist Cities under Globalization was held on October 25-27, focusing on building international tourist cities and other issues related to development of international co-operation in the tourism industry. To build it into an international tourist city, Li said that Shenzhen would promote its image as a young metropolis and seaside resort, plan international-level events, and enhance co-operation with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
>>Full article
AUSTRALIA - Federal Group Recognized with Four Tasmanian Tourism Awards
eTN, 28-11-2006
Federal Group was presented with four Tasmanian Tourism Awards on Friday night, recognising excellence within the State’s tourism industry.
Gordon River Cruises won the Significant Tour and Transport Operator award for the second consecutive year, and will now aim for its second Australian tourism award in two years.
Gordon River Cruises provides the pre-eminent wilderness experience on Tasmania’s West Coast, taking visitors up the majestic Gordon River into the World Heritage Area.
The Pure Tasmania brand launch was presented with the Tourism Product Marketing award. It was also the second year the Group’s marketing program has been recognised, winning with the Federal Hotels and Resorts campaign in 2005.
>>Full article
AVIATION - Jet Star to add more flights between Thailand and Australia
(TNA), Nov 25 2006
Jet Star announced additional flights between Australia and Thailand.
The carrier’s Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce announced that Jet Star starts flying the routes between Melbourne and Bangkok; and Sydney and Phuket three times a week during the peak travelling season. The service will be increased to five times a week in December.
He said Thailand is a popular destination among travellers and these additional flights will help to boost passenger traffic to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
In addition to these flights, Jet Star is operating three direct flights a day between Bangkok and Singapore, and four flights a week between Singapore and Phuket. In September next year, it plans to operate services to five cities namely Ho Chi Minh City, Bali, Honolulu, Osaka and Nagoya.
THAILAND - Accidents and crime Phuket’s biggest tourism threats
Phuketgazette.net, November 24, 2006
PHUKET: Despite fears of terrorism, natural disasters and health pandemics, government officials rate everyday crime and road accidents as the greatest dangers to Phuket’s tourism industry, a Phuket Provincial Tourism Management Strategy (PPTRMS) workshop revealed on Tuesday.
During the workshop, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, government officials were presented with the results of a survey from the previous workshop, held on August 22, when attendees were divided into four groups.
Each group was asked to collectively assign a “likelihood” and “consequence” rating of 1, 2 or 3 to 12 potential threats, with the total “level of risk” calculated as the product of the two ratings.
The overall results found that “crime” had the highest overall risk level (7) on average, followed by “road accidents” (6).
>>Full article
MALAYSIA - Mideast investors tap Malaysia property
Businessweek.com, November 22, 2006
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia
Middle Eastern investors interested in diversifying their risks are zeroing in on Malaysian real estate, property executives and bankers say.
Malaysia's growing infrastructure projects, relatively transparent laws on ownership and the availability of Islamic financing make the country attractive to Middle Easterners, who are familiar with Malaysia as a vacation destination.
Since 2005, two Middle Eastern parties have invested more 2 billion ringgit (US$548 million; euro428 million) in three major development projects in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
Kuwait Finance House, the first foreign Islamic bank to operate in Malaysia, is a 49 percent investor in the Pavilion, a condominium, hotel, office and retail complex in Kuala Lumpur.
It also owns 20 percent of the Sunway South Quay housing development in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur -- a project expected to have about 4,000 luxury home units and apartments.
Bahrain-based Al Salam Bank is partnering Malaysia's E&O Property Development Bhd. to develop seafront luxury villas in northern Penang state.
