BALI - Indian tourists to Bali up 81%

The Financial express, Jan 17 2008

The number of Indian tourists visiting Bali in the first eleven months of 2007, jumped 81.6% to 19,204 from a year earlier, a tour operator said.
“I believe the number of Indian tourists visiting Bali will continue to increase, because the Indian and Balinese people have many things in common,” Cokorda Agung, the tour operator, said.

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AUSTRALIA - Tourism reverses as more check out than in

Theage.com.au, January 21, 2008

FOR the first time in almost 20 years, the number of Australians going overseas for their holidays is poised to overtake the number of foreign tourists coming here, as one market booms and the other stagnates.
Preliminary estimates by the Bureau of Statistics suggest that foreign tourism into Australia stagnated again last year. Tourist numbers totalled 5.65 million, a rise of just 2%, on top of a rise of just 0.6% in 2006.
In sharp contrast, the number of Australians holidaying overseas shot up 11% in the 11 months to November, and has risen more than 60% in the past four years, as fears of terrorism have subsided and the dollar's value has soared.

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MACAU - set to surpass Hong Kong as tourist destination

eTN, Jan 10, 2008

Hong Kong - The number of visitors to Macau jumped almost 23 percent last year, putting the fast-growing gambling haven on track to surpass neighboring Hong Kong.
The tiny, former Portuguese-ruled enclave of about half a million people registered more than 27 million arrivals in 2007, up 22.7 percent from the previous year, according to government statistics.
Hong Kong registered more than 28 million visitor arrivals, an increase of more than 10 percent on 2006 and a record. If growth rates are maintained, Macau will take the lead this year.

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MALAYSIA - Malaysian tourism targeting big spenders next

eTN, Jan 08, 2008

Malaysian tourism has said it is seeking to increase the numbers for mid to long-haul visitors market by 20 percent during its extended Visit Malaysia Year campaign.
"They will in bring in more revenue as they would usually spend twice more than the average tourist," said Malaysian Deputy Tourism Minister Donald Lim, explaining Malaysian tourism's new marketing strategy, following encouraging visitor numbers during its Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign.
The tourism ministry has estimated that the campaign brought in 20.7 million tourists, bringing the total receipt to US$13.7 billion.

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HONG KONG - Tourist arrivals in HK reach new peak

chinaview.cn, 2008-01-07

Tourist arrivals in Hong Kong surpassed the 28 million-mark in 2007, up 10 percent on 2006, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said Monday.
Once finalized, tourist spending for last year is expected to have grown to more than 130 billion HK dollars (16.7 billion U.S. dollars), breaking the 119.43 billion HK dollars record in 2006.
Per capita spending by overnight arrivals is forecast to be about 5,100 HK dollars compared with 4,799 HK dollars in 2006.
As for same-day in-town visitors, their average per capita spending is expected to rise to about 1,100 HK dollars from 1,015 in 2006.

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NEPAL - Right Track Ahead for Nepal

eTN Nepal (NE) Jan 03, 2008

Year 2007 proved to be an encouraging year for Nepal and its tourism industry. Thanks to steady development in the Peace process and return to political stability in the country, Nepalese tourism succeeded to bounce back after suffering badly in the past 6 years.
Nepal enjoyed 27.1% growth in Tourists arrival by Air in 2007 with the arrival number reaching 360,350 all time high since the year 2000. As per Nepal Tourism Board, the total number of tourists arrival to Nepal is expected to cross half million mark after adding the number of tourist who arrived by road.

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FIJI - tourism losses hit $200m

eTN, Jan 02, 2008

The loss in tourism earnings was the result of fewer visitors, shorter lengths of stay and discounted rates.
"It has been a very difficult year, with the loss of numbers and employees working short hours. The industry had to reduce rates to make business," he said.
"Everyone reduced their rates from the airline to the hotels to the transport.
"Certainly in the TAG (Tourism Action Group) recovery program, everyone contributed to the reduction. It has been a very challenging year for the industry.
"The foreign exchange earnings subject to confirmation will be a $150m-$200m loss," he said.
Fiji Visitors Bureau chairman Patrick Wong said while he expected visitor numbers to exceed the forecast, fewer people stayed in hotels and at heavily discounted rates.

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BALI - Visitors Spending More, But Leaving Sooner

Balidiscovery.com, 12/29/2007)

The authoritative Indonesian Digest prepared by Ibu Wuryastuti Sunario reports:The most recent 2007 Passenger Exit survey conducted among international visitors to Indonesia reveals that, on average, tourists spent US$ 57.89 more per stay this year than was the case in 2006. At the same time, length of stay declined by 0.7 days, reports the Department of Culture and Tourism in its website budpar.go.id

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BALI - The Russians are Coming!

Balidiscovery.com (12/23/2007)

Assisted by regular flight service from Moscow to Bali on Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines and visas-on-arrival, Russian arrivals to Bali are booming – up +64.56% year-to-date January-November 2007..The December – January period if high season ex Russia with travel operators organizing charter flights to Southeast Asia to handle the added demand.Big spenders, often traveling with limited English, evidence of the growing importance of Russian tourists in Bali are the hotels offering Russian language menus and directories of services and a large number of shops posting Russian signs in their windows.

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BALI - a Bargain Destination for Japanese Travelers

Balidiscovery.com, (12/22/2007)

Republika on Line reports that Japanese tourists consider the cost of a Bali holiday as relatively inexpensive, costing only Rp. 5 million (US$526) for a three day holiday including accommodation at a star-rated hotel.Quoting a Ubud-based travel agent, Ni Wayan Kawiani, the low cost of a Bali holiday has made the island a repeat destination for many Japanese travelers. Popular with both young Japanese and older office workers, the Japanese, according to Kawiani, see Bali largely as a safe and secure destination.

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MALAYSIA - Langkawi cashes in

TTGasia.com, Dec 14 - 20, 2007

THE tourism industry in Langkawi is pinning its hopes on its new Geopark status to capture the imagination of leisure and meetings and incentives travellers seeking a unique beach destination in South-east Asia.The trade is banking on more tourist traffic coming from Singapore via Kuala Lumpur in 2008 with the deregulation of Singapore-Kuala Lumpur flights to allow low-cost carriers to ply the route. The anticipated boost in traffic is expected to spill over from the Malaysian capital to secondary destinations.In 2008, all infrastructure and tourism projects are directed towards enhancing and promoting the Langkawi Geopark. An important project on Tuba Island is the provision of access and a viewing gallery at Wang Buluh Cave. “The people of Tuba Island are getting excited about the projects coming into their backyard, including a coastal rural road that would provide a scenic drive and also potentially attract fishing enthusiasts,” Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) general manager, Datuk Kamarulzaman Abdul Ghani, said.

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MALAYSIA - Malaysia, Iran venture

TTGasia.com, Dec 14 - 20, 2007

Tourism stakeholders in Malaysia and Iran want to set up a joint committee to promote tourism related activities between the two countries and curb illegal practices among agents. Bumiputra Travel Agents Association president, Mr Syed Razif Al Yahya, and 14 other travel agents from his association met with Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization general-director of Foreign Tourism Development, Mr Mohammad Ali Pakseresht, early last month in Tehran, where the latter had, in principle, agreed to a joint committee. Mr Syed Razif said he would meet Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor this week, to moot the idea of having tourism ministry officers in the committee to give it effective enforcement powers to curb bad practices among travel agents in Malaysia.

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THAILAND - Bookings hit the roof for south Thailand

TTGasia.com, Dec 14 - 20, 2007

Thailand is seeing unprecedented confirmed bookings to Phuket, Khao Lak and Krabi this high season.Tour operators told TTG Asia Phuket and Khao Lak in particular, devastated by the December 2004 tsunami, were seeing an absolute turnaround and Krabi was hot on their heels.Diethlem Travel Asia chief operating officer, Mr Richard Brouwer, said: “For us, the absolute winners are Phuket and Khao Lak; hotels are full and right now, some have even stopped selling.”In terms of clientele, Mr Brouwer said Khao Lak was a gathering place for Germans and Scandinavians while Phuket enjoyed a mix of tourists from every market worldwide.Stockholm-based TUI Nordic product area manager for Italy and South-east Asia, Ms Lin Wessblad, said her company saw about 6,000 clients booked for Phuket per month this high season from October 2007 to April 2008. Krabi and nearby Koh Lanta were also doing very well in terms of volume at about 3,000 clients a month.

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PHILIPPINES - October tourist arrivals up by 8% despite blast

manilastandardtoday.com, Dec 13, 2007

Foreign tourists ignored the negative news and advisories about the Philippines in October, as they continued to arrive in record numbers in the country, which now has a $4-billion international tourism market.
The statistics division of the Department of Tourism said international visitor arrivals in the Philippines rose 8 percent to 241,745 in October from 223,818 a year ago, despite the Oct. 19 blast that hit a major shopping mall at the financial center of Makati.
This brought the total foreign arrivals in the first 10 months of the year to a record 2.508 million, up 8.6 percent from 2.31 million a year earlier.

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REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - Russia-Asean draft projects

sunstar.com.ph, December 17, 2007

THE Russian Government expressed last Friday strong interest in tapping the huge potential of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc, particularly in relation to trade and tourism. Representatives of the Russian federation and Asean member countries converged for the sixth Asean-Russia Joint Cooperation Committee in Cebu last Dec. 13 to 14. The meeting reviewed the implementation of the Comprehensive Program of Action (CPA) to promote the Asean-Russia cooperation from 2005 to 2015. Discussions on priority areas for cooperation included culture, tourism, energy, disaster management, counter terrorism, and science and technology.

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THAILAND - courting Chinese tourists after 12% drop-off

Bangkokpost.com, December 17, 2007

Thailand hopes to welcome about 1.3 million Chinese tourists next year, about a 10% increase from one million visitors estimated in 2007, the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Beijing reports.
The number of Chinese arrivals visiting Thailand has been falling since last year due to Thailand's political problems and the bombs in the capital, drawing 12% fewer Chinese visitors in the first 10 months to 655,154, down from 747,067 in the same period of 2006. Total Chinese visitors would have zero growth this year.
But TAT hopes that its marketing campaigns together with explanations about the real situation in Thailand would bring back tourists from China.

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SRI LANKA - tourism recovers from earlier slump

eTN, Dec 13, 2007

Tourism has staged a turn around from November, with a robust arrival gain of 20% for the month. The drop-in arrivals peaked in May this year to 40% after the LTTE attack on the Bandaranaike International Airport and the subsequent curfew imposed on night flights.
Since September this year, a recovery was seen with a strong turn into a positive last month. Arrivals for November was 45,102 compared with 37, 591 for the same month last year. With the current boost Sri Lanka tourism got with the Barmy Army of nearly 7,000 fans currently enjoying the cricket test matches.

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THAILAND - High-end tourists targeted

nationmultimedia.com, December 10, 2007

The Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association have just concluded the four-day Chiang Mai Tourism Forum 2007, held in a bid to attract more high-end international visitors.The TAT invited more than 120 buyers from East and Southeast Asia to meet 50 local sellers representing golf courses, spas, boutique hotels, shopping plazas, hospitals and restaurants in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas.

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BRUNEI - Tourist Arrivals Surpass ’07 Target

Brudirect.com, 8-12-2007

Tourist arrivals in the first 11 months of the year rose considerably from last year, even exceeding the country's target for all of this year, a government official told The Brunei Times yesterday.
"Our tourism sector is doing very nicely," said Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohammad, director of the Brunei Tourism Development Department.
"For this year alone there were 176,000 tourists, our target was a seven-per cent increase but now we see there is a ... (bigger) increase from last year when there were 120,000 tourists coming in."

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CAMBODIA - S Korean, Chinese tourists most frequent in Siem Reap of Cambodia

chinaview.cn 2007-12-08

Most of the foreign tourists coming to Siem Reap, where the renowned Angkor Wat is situated, were from South Korea and China in October, Chinese-language newspaper the Commercial News reported on Saturday.
The percentage is unclear, but they just shared the majority, the paper quoted a report from the provincial tourism authority assaying. Meanwhile, altogether 170,180 people visited Siem Reap in October, it said. Among them, 86,833 were foreigners, a 22.15 percent increase over the same period last year, and 83,347 Cambodians, a rise of 50.93 percent, it said.

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