The Freeman 11/06/2006
Despite the influx of tourists coming to Cebu, there is a still need to identify and develop a specific tourist site where foreign visitors can shop and dine in style for it to be comparable with popular international tourist destinations like Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, said a tourism executive.
Robert Lim Joseph, member of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies, recently said Cebu has a lot to offer for foreign tourists but for it to be effectively marketed, it should have a particular tourist area for shopping and dining.
"We should not try to package Cebu as a foreign tourist destination where everything is cheap, as Cebu can really compete with the likes of Sentosa of Singapore, Ocean Park of Hong Kong and Phuket, Thailand," he added.
While Cebu has an edge due to its international airport serving direct international flights, Joseph said there is need for it to make foreign tourists to spend more, adding that luring these tourists would mean additional income because they have the capacity to spend in dollars.
Cebu Vice-Gov. Gregorio Sanchez agreed with the need to come up with an exact spot not only for a well-known commercial tourist site but likewise, for an investment area as well. The vice-governor said tourism is a major thrust under the administration of Gov. Gwen Garcia as one major infrastructure project, which is the transaxial highway, will also be a main tourism attraction.
Sanchez declared the transaxial highway that is expected to cost between P3 billion to P4 billion will help spur economic development faster in the countryside as the major thoroughfare connects from the southern tip to the northernmost part of Cebu.
>>Full article
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
PHILIPPINES - Need for "central" tourist spot seen
DEVELOPMENTS - Asia welcomes plans for delayed `Iron Silk Road'
AFP, SEOUL, Nov 06, 2006, Page 11
Asian transport ministers meeting in South Korea this week will take a major step towards making a decades-old dream a reality -- integrating the entire continent into a single rail network.
Transport ministers and officials from 43 countries will gather in the port city of Busan starting today for this year's ministerial conference on transport organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
The highlight of the six-day conference will be Friday's signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) -- more poetically known as the "Iron Silk Road."
The 81,000km network, first mooted by the UN in 1960, would link capitals, ports and industrial hubs across 28 Asian countries all the way to Europe.
`COMMITMENT'
By signing, Asian states will "demonstrate their commitment to working together" on the mammoth project, said Barry Cable, director of UNESCAP's Transport and Tourism Division.
"We expect this will trigger new development in the railway sector both in terms of increasing capacity and in terms of increasing connectivity," he said.
Cable said such an international commitment would make it easier for countries to attract finance for railways from international banks.
"The agreement lays a framework for coordinated development of internationally important rail routes," UNESCAP chief Kim Hak-su said in a statement.
BALI - Where the Bali Hell are You?
Balidiscovery.com (11/4/2006)
A small group of Bali hotel and travel operators recently produced a tongue–in-cheek video advertisement to draw attention to their growing frustration with the Australian market's prolonged recalcitrance to return to Bali for their holidays.
Seeking to launch a low-cost Bali awareness campaign, the Little Bali Hotel & Resort Company (LBHRC) tore a page out of the controversial Australian Tourist Commissions "Where the Bloody Hell are You" campaign and created an amateur-quality video narrated by a traditionally dressed Balinese on a walking tour of Bali asking where the Australian tourists had gone?
>>Full article
BALI - Call for a Halt to More Golf Courses in Bali
Balidiscovery.com (11/4/2006)
The Saturday, November 4, 2006 edition of the Indonesian language Bali Post carried the headline story: "Stop the Development of Golf Courses in Bali."
The article, quoting Sri Budhi, the Dean of the Economics Faculty of Bali's Udayana University, suggests that Bali will only suffer both economically and environmentally from the development of additional golf courses on the Island. According to Professor Budhi, seen from a profit-loss perspective, Bali loses much more than it gains from more golf courses. More golf courses will put added strain on Bali's already limited water resources in the creation of a facility only enjoyed by a minority in the elite economic classes of society. From a carrying capacity standpoint, the construction of more golf courses usurps Bali's very limited supplies of water and land, while placing added strain on an already over-burdened traffic grid.
>>Full article
BALI - Resignations at Bali Tourism Board
Balidiscovery.com (11/4/2006)
Five members of the supervisory body charged with monitoring the financial accountability of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB) resigned on Wednesday, November 1, 2006.
As reported onbalidiscovery.com [Bali Tourism Board Under Attack], the BTB has been criticized for a lack of communication and transparency with the stakeholder organizations that comprise the tourism promotion body.
According to a report published in the Indonesian language Bali Post, the five members who resigned en masse from BTB are: I Gusti Agung Prana, Hadi Taryoto. John Ketut Pantja, Cok Putra and I Gusti Bagus Yudhara. In resigning, the five stated they were no longer prepared to share responsibility for decision made by BTB.
The resignation was tendered at an internal meeting held in Denpasar last week at which the leadership of BTB was criticized by the five who resigned the organization. Also joining the chorus of criticism leveled at BTB's leadership were Yos WK Amerta, the Bali head of the Water Sports Association (Gahawisri) and Rudy Antara of Bali Village.
Quoted in the Bali Post, John Ketut Pantja complained: "I speak frankly. The Chairman of the BTB cannot operate independently. If everything's fine, then why are members of the Supervisory Body resigning? The Chairman must correct himself."
In a separate press conference, the Chairman of BTB Bagus Sudibya insisted that he had clarified all the various problems surrounding Bali's recovery funds. Moreover, he reminded everyone that the Secretary General of the Department of Culture and Tourism, Hengky Hermanto, had attended the just completed meeting with stakeholders in order to clearly explain the funding issues which are, in the end, controlled by the Central Government.
>>Full article
CHINA - to come heavily on unauthorized tourism at nature reserves
eTN Asia, 3-11-2006
The drive to protect its famous monuments and nature reserves continues to get stronger and stronger in China.
Following the recent decision to pass its first set of laws against vandalizing the country’s legendary Great Wall, China has now stepped up protection of its state-level nature reserves to crack down on activities such as film shooting and unauthorized tourism, according to a new regulation.
“The maintenance and management of state-level nature reserves should be evaluated by a State Council-authorized committee at least every five years,” as per the regulation, which will come into effect from December onwards. The regulation pertaining to the Great Wall is also going to applicable from December with those found violating the laws to be fined as much as 500,000 yuan ($63,300).
It is being felt that some of the local governments waiver nature reserve protection in favour of economic development.
“If dereliction of duty, unapproved changes of the reserve area or unauthorized tourism are found at state-level natural reserves, the reserves will be officially warned or even revoked of their state-level status and related officials will be punished,” said Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). “If the reserves lose their state-level status, they can not apply for it again for five years.”
SINGAPORE - Budget Terminal Sees Encouraging Growth
eTN, 1-11-2006
In the first six months since it opened for scheduled flight operations in March 2006, Singapore's Budget Terminal (BT) has seen an impressive 97 per cent increase in flights, 46 per cent increase in passenger numbers, 33 per cent more city links and added a second airline.
The positive outlook of the BT was revealed today by Mr Raymond Lim, Singapore's Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, at an event to mark the terminal's official opening. The positive growth of the BT is testimony that the terminal's business model of keeping operational costs low for airlines is bearing fruit. When the BT commenced operations on 26 March 2006, it had one airline - Tiger Airways - operating 124 weekly flights to 12 cities. Tiger Airways has since launched a substantial number of new flights and expanded its network.
Five months later in August, the BT welcomed its second airline, Cebu Pacific, a Philippines-based low cost carrier. Today, the total number of flights at the BT has almost doubled to 244 weekly scheduled flights, of which 222 flights are operated by Tiger Airways and the remaining 22 flights by Cebu Pacific. The BT's city links have increased by 33 per cent to 16 cities namely Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Krabi, Phuket, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Cebu, Manila, Clark, Macau, Guangzhou, Haikou, Shenzhen, Darwin and Padang.
HONG KONG - Visitor Arrivals for September 2006
Asiatraveltips.com, 1 November 2006
Hong Kong’s visitor arrivals in September 2006 was 1,830,189 million, which is 2.4% more than in the same month in 2005. Cumulative arrivals for the first nine months of 2006 now stand at 18,571,976, a 9.5% increase compared with the previous year.More than 1.10 million arrivals (60.3% of the total) in September stayed in Hong Kong for at least one night, with the remainder of over 725,000 (39.7%) classified as same-day in-town visitors. This takes the cumulative January-September total for overnight visitors to more than 11.65 million (62.7%), while over 6.92 million (37.3%) left on the day of arrival.Arrivals from key regional source markets were as follows:
- Mainland China: 930,532 visitors (a 0.6% increase)
- Taiwan: 166,143 (-2.9%)
- South and Southeast Asia: 188,642 (9.5%)
- North Asia: 168,761 (2%)
- Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 151,650 (8.8%)
- The Americas: 120,522 (2%), and
- Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific: 61,949 (6.4%).
Visitors from Mainland China represented 50.8% of the September arrivals. Of these, 427,026 travelled under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), 45.9% of the Mainland total, and 14.9% more than in the same month last year.
September 2006 Arrivals by Markets
THAILAND - famous Tuk-tuk traverses borders, to adorn foreign streets
eTN Asia, 1-11-2006
Tuk-tuk, considered to be a symbol of Thai ingenuity, continues to be in the news at home and abroad.
The three-wheeled motorized vehicle, a popular mode of transport, is traversing borders as it sustains in demand in some of the developed countries.
“London has its black cabs, Venice its gondolas and Bangkok its tuk-tuks, but Thailand’s iconic three-wheeled taxis are going global as foreigners scramble to pick up a piece of Thai culture. The smoke-belching motorized rickshaws can now be seen plying Britain’s seaside towns, Canada’s golf courses and Tokyo’s neon-lit streets, and manufacturers have seen a surge in global sales and recognition,” AFP reported.
The report refers to comments from Anuwat Yuteeraprapa, owner of Expertise, a tuk-tuk manufacturer which exports 95 percent of its vehicles abroad. “They are really cute and unique,” says Yuteeraprapa, whose company exports the vehicle to the United States, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Britain and elsewhere in Europe. “Tourists come to Thailand and they know the beaches, temples and tuk-tuks. It has become a big symbol of Thailand.”
The vehicle is a modification of a Japanese delivery vehicle popular in the country during the 1960s. Tuk-tuks are adorned and painted in the many different ways and colors. The colorful tuk-tuk has in fact become a tourist attraction in itself because of its novelty.
MARIANA ISLANDS - gets aggressive with Korean market
eTN, 1-11-2006
Mariana Visitors Authority (MVA) on Tuesday confirmed its various marketing tie-up promotions, PR activities, and campaigns showcasing the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to Korean travelers have produced positive results. MVA said it recorded a 24 percent increase in arrivals attributed to its aggressive marketing efforts.
MVA executives headed by managing director Perry John P. Tenorio and marketing manager Wayne Pangelinan, along with YT Park, MVA Korea representative, were in Seoul, Korea for yet more promotional activity to expand the islands awareness to travel agents, according to MVA. “MVA made courtesy visits and conducted a Marianas Workshop speaking directly to travel agents providing updates about the destination and the products available,” a release from MVA stated.
A visit to Asiana Airlines was also part of the trio’s itinerary while in Korea, as well as courtesy visits to major travel agencies. Representatives from Hana Tour, Mode Tour and Tourmall met with MVA to discuss other opportunities to market the islands more attractively for Korean consumers, according to the MVA release. “The travel agents visited by MVA have representative offices in Saipan that cater to their guest and provide the highest quality of service for the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota,” it stated.
PHILIPPINES - Camiguin pushes for expansion of airport
Manila standard today, 30 Oct 2006
MAMBAJAO, Camiguin—Investments in this province’s tourism industry is expected to get a big boost once the national government fulfills its plan to expand the airport here, Gov. Pedro Romualdo said over the weekend.
While the industry is already doing well in terms of domestic tourism, Romualdo said they also want to entice foreign visitors and investors to the island but this island-province’s accessibility to Metro Manila is the major factor why tourists opt to go to nearer destinations, like Boracay Island, Batangas, Palawan, Bohol and Cebu, among others.
“That’s because tourists want direct flights,” he told Standard Today in an interview, adding that the Camiguin Airport only has a 1.50-km runway which cannot accommodate commercial airplanes, like those of the Philippine Airlines.
He said tourists coming from Metro Manila area and other nearby provinces have to take a ferry boat ride from Balingoan in Cagayan de Oro City, which could last for four hours before reaching Camiguin Island.
Romualdo related that when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited the island last Oct. 19, she promised to help it expand to 2-km airstrip so it could accommodate bigger planes.
“We can reclaim land or go inward for the additional runway,” said the governor, who served as congressman of the island-province from 1987 to 1998. “We are working hard to develop and promote Camiguin Island as the best destination for tourists.”
He said Camiguin’s selling point is that the island-province practically has everything, waterfalls, hot springs, mountains and white sand beaches, among others.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
NEW ZEALAND - Plan to restore Wanganui’s “beating heart” announced in NZ
eTN Asia/Pacific, 31-10-2006
New Zealand’s Wanganui region, located on the lower west coast of the North Island, south of Taranaki and the Taupo and Ruapehu regions, is set to have an $85 million makeover, in a bid to establish the city as a cultural center.
Wanganui area is known for maori culture, heritage, Wanganui National Park and river adventures. The region takes its name from the city of Wanganui, which rests on the banks of the spectacular Wanganui River.
According to local media, the initiative is aimed at restoring Wanganui’s “beating heart.” Mayor Michael Laws has introduced the Heart of Wanganui project, which includes moving the library, a substantial redesign of the Region Museum and a new building linking the Sarjeant Gallery and Alexander Library. The big project would form a ‘beating heart for the city,’” he reportedly said, confirming Wanganui as a cultural center, luring tourists and attracting people to live.
“This project will have recreational, cultural and financial ramifications in Wanganui for the next 50 years. It’s about spending a small amount of money and getting an exponential return,” he said, adding that a public referendum would be held by June to determine which one of seven revamp designs would be followed and the public vote would decide which, if any, projects went ahead and in what order.
CHINA - world heritage site to get international airport
eTN Asia, 31-10-2006
The Chinese government is to build an international airport in Dunhuang, located in northeast China’s Gansu province, to accommodate the increasing number of overseas tourists.province has grown by 30 percent annually.
Official figures from the local tourist administration office revealed that a total of 71,000
The number of overseas visitors coming to see the ancient Buddhist cave paintings in the international tourists have passed through the airport up to September this year. In 2006, a total of 78,000 international tourists passed through the airport.
More than 60 percent of the international tourists are from Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia, where Buddhism is a major religion.
Dunhuang airport, opened in 1982 and expanded in 2002, can currently handle 300,000 passengers.
Hainan Airlines group president Chen Fang, whose airline is based in the southernmost island of Hainan, indicated his support for the expansion project, and interest to further tap into Dunhuang's potential as a tourist destination, especially during the slack winter and early spring seasons.
ABU DHABI - the next Gulf property boom?
Ameinfo.com, October 30 - 2006
Dubai and Doha have the tower cranes today but with $100 billion worth of new development projects now in hand, Abu Dhabi is the boom of tomorrow. Indeed, the boom of its neighbors has distracted attention from the start of a property boom in the UAE's capital city which also has the highest per capita income in the world. But the stage is set for explosive growth and major investment opportunities.
>>Full article
SINGAPORE - Mining the final frontier
| mediacorp.com.sg, October 31, 2006 |
.Approval is being sought from Singapore's civil aviation authorities for the project, but Mr Lyon is already looking to the future, when spaceports set up in RAK and the United States could well reduce flying time between Singapore and New York to just one-and-a-half hours.
QUEENSLAND - Delegates to spend up big at convention
Townsvillebulletin.news.com.au, 30 oct 2006
ABOUT 400 national and international convention delegates are expected to spend $1 million when they stay in Townsville this week.
Palmer St will be at the frontline of what is one of the most lucrative conventions the city has seen. The five-day Ecotourism Australia International conference, to be held at the Southbank Hotel, has attracted 300 delegates who are also tipped to visit Magnetic Island and Charters Towers and other ecotourism destinations as part of the event.
Townsville Enterprise Convention Bureau manager Dawn Combs estimated they would spend more than $900,000.
At the weekend, 100 members of the Australasian Society of Cardiovascular Perfusionists met for a convention at Jupiters Hotel and Casino.
Perfusionists operate the heart-lung machines during heart surgery.
Ms Combs said a conservative figure of more than $4 million had been injected into the region through Townsville Convention Bureau bid wins alone this year.
That includes delegates' expenditure on accommodation, shopping, transport, restaurants and cafes, domestic airfares, entertainment and tours.
"Research shows most delegates will return to holiday to a place they have been for business," she said.
"The rest of the population will absolutely benefit.
"There should be a spike in taxi fares and they will go to the mall to shop and visit pubs and restaurants."
Ms Combs said the bureau had hosted five familiarisation tours to Townsville for potential groups of convention organisers and professional conference organisers.
Townsville Enterprise estimates international delegates spend about $637 a day, national delegates spent $420, state delegates $363, and regional delegates $100 a day.
The ecotourism conference will bring expert speakers from the Asia Pacific region in a bid to tackle issues surrounding the ecotourism industry.
>>Full articleACCOMMODATION - Growing a real estate success with Grove Gardens
ScandAsia.com, 2006-10-25
For those keen on property in Southeast Asia, it is probably hard to find a developer originating from Scandinavia with more experience than Swedish Lars Ydmark of Tri-Asia, a Phuket-based management company within the hospitality business and more recently a developer on the real estate market.
Well-known among Scandinavians for Jiva Resort and Spa, 2006 has also seen the finalization of Tri-Asia’s first real estate, Grove Gardens, on Phuket’s east coast. Nearly all units were sold by then on this housing estate which puts the individual in the centre.
“The minimalist design allows the individual to design their own home with the flair they want, without any extra cost and having to change the existing plan. You can compare it with a hotel in that everything looks the same. However the interior will be individual. We don’t force them anything complicated that they might like or not like, so they have the possibility of continuing to develop by them selves,” Lars, who did not become a developer over night, explains.
Having opened twelve hotels up to now for the likes of Sheraton, Shangri-La, Accor, and for himself, Lars knows the process in and out from inception to completion.
Having started out in the Asia-Pasific region on Fiji in 1990, he established the Thailand-based firm with this Thai wife in 1999, after a few worthwhile years working for Novotel and Amanpuri respectively.
“If not for the first years employed as a GM and the knowledge I gained from opening three hotels in Thailand, then I would not have been just as successful today. That was a very good entrance to start running one’s own business,” says Lars with appreciation.
Also, this was a very fruitful period within tourism as the Asian financial crisis made Southeast Asia a real bargain for visitors.
“During my three years with Accor we had nothing less than 90 per cent occupancy and could increase the prices every year.”
Tri-Asia initially took care of some hotel management contracts in Southern Thailand before embarking on the challenge of building their own hotel Jiva, a business venture that came to be both very trying and another essential learning experience. As Jiva opened in 2002, the invasion of Iraq, the Bali bombing, and all the rest of it, followed with the tsunami on top of everything.
But since 2005 business caught up significantly, while the property sector really never saw any downward trend at all.
Lars brought along the constructor of his own house and the subcontractors from Jiva to Grove Gardens. It is difficult to find people and good subcontractors, especially when you are a small business.
“There are many accepting large projects without having the organization enabling them to deliver. So they have breakdowns and go bankrupt,” says Lars who has learned the hard way.
>>Full article
SABAH - Cash Supports Gov't Proposal To "Clean Up" Pulau Gaya
Bernama, KOTA KINABALU, Oct 27
The Consumers Association of Sabah (Cash) has expressed its full support for the government's proposal to "clean up" Pulau Gaya and turn it into a scenic tourist destination.
However, its president, Datuk Patrick Sindu, said the government should first evict all illegal squatters on the island before embarking on the project.
"We are aware that there are locals or original inhabitants living on Pulau Gaya. But there are also reports of the existence of illegal squatters.
"If it is true, then these illegals should be evicted without compensation or not be placed to a new settlement...the government must be fair on this matter because illegal local settlers were evicted just like that from the Paitan Forest Reserve," he told Bernama today.
He was commenting on Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat's statement yesterday that there was a programme to upgrade facilities on Pulau Gaya for the benefit of genuine Malaysians living there.
>>Full article
BUSINESS WIRE, October 30, 2006
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) today announced the latest milestone in its expansion effort for the upscale, full-service Doubletree® hotel collection in the burgeoning China market. The Company has signed a multi-year agreement with Tianjin Automobile Industrial Group Company, one of China's largest automobile manufacturers, to manage an upscale, 360-room hotel in Tianjin, China's fourth largest city. The Doubletree by Hilton™ Hotel Tianjin is anticipated to open in this world-class city in late 2007.
The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin will be located in the heart of this thriving business and tourism centre, 14 km from the Tianjin Binhai International Airport. Developer Tianjin Automobile will refurbish and redesign a 25-storey office building to house the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin, as well as a shopping centre.
Amenities and services at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin will include 2,500 square meters (26,900 square feet) of meeting and ballroom function space and state-of-the-art business centre facilities. The hotel will feature a variety of food and beverage outlets, including all-day dining facilities, to cater for in-house guests and local banqueting events. Room and suite sizes will range from 30 to 90 square meters (320 to 950 square feet) and the hotel will feature a fitness centre.
AUSTRALIA - Drawing visitors
News.com.au, October 29, 2006
CULTURAL attractions such as Brisbane's new Millennium Arts Gallery, opening in December, should be a welcome boost in Queensland's bid to attract more tourists from China.
The Gallery of Modern Art's first exhibition will be the 5th Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.
As the only major exhibition in the world that focuses exclusively on the contemporary art of Asia, Australia and the Pacific, it is expected to attract much interest from international visitors.
The opening will come only weeks after Austrade hosted a Celebrate Australia event in Shanghai promoting Aussie entertainment and travel.
Austrade chief economist Tim Harcourt said rising disposable income in the Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou regions has resulted in more cashed-up urban Chinese coming to Australia.
"The average expenditure by Chinese visitors is greater than their American, British or other East Asian counterparts," Mr Harcourt said.
He also expected China would soon start to play the role that Japan once did as a major source of tourists for Australia.
And cultural activities are on the list of half of all international visitors to Australia, according to latest research by Tourism Research Australia.
Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said it was heartening that art gallery and other events were popular among younger travellers, especially those in the 15 to 34 age group.
The research showed art galleries and museums attracted 56 per cent of international visitors, while one in four attended a theatre, concert or performance event.
"Whether it's visiting a festival, art gallery or historic building, or experiencing Aboriginal art, craft and cultural displays, these tourists deliver huge opportunities for Australia," Ms Bailey said.
