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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BRUNEI - Ready to engage

TTGasia.com, Nov 30 - Dec 6, 2007

ROYAL Brunei Airlines (RBA) resumed thrice-weekly services between Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuching, Sarawak on December 1, and the year ahead looks bright for the tourism industry in Borneo.There are better rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak since Malaysia Airlines subsidiary, MASWings, took over the Borneo routes from October 1. This has given travel agents and the tourism boards of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei confidence to promote Borneo jointly as a single destination through The Wings of Borneo tour packages. Targeted at the longhaul European market, it was launched at the recent World Travel Mart in London. Three travel agents are involved – Sunshine Borneo Tours in Brunei, Seridan Mulu Tours & Travel Services in Sarawak and Borneo Eco-Tours in Sabah.

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AVIATION - Tourism Players Want A Say In BIMP-EAGA Air Links

Bernama.com.my, Nov 3 2007

Tourism players want their input considered when airlines initiate air connectivity within the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).The call follows the disclosure that a Malaysia Airlines subsidiary, FireFly, is considering serving the sub-region.Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) president Wee Hong Seng said Saturday such feedback would help create a win-win situation for the airline industry as well as the BIMP-EAGA stakeholders in the public and private sectors of the four participating countries."We need to promote two-way traffic for both inbound and outbound tourists, otherwise the load may not be enough for the airlines to be viable in this sub region," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Value Chain Tourism Forum held in conjunction with the Third BIMP-EAGA Travel Exchange 2007 here.

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AVIATION - Tourism Players Want A Say In BIMP-EAGA Air Links

Bernama.com.my, Nov 3 2007

Tourism players want their input considered when airlines initiate air connectivity within the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).The call follows the disclosure that a Malaysia Airlines subsidiary, FireFly, is considering serving the sub-region.Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) president Wee Hong Seng said Saturday such feedback would help create a win-win situation for the airline industry as well as the BIMP-EAGA stakeholders in the public and private sectors of the four participating countries."We need to promote two-way traffic for both inbound and outbound tourists, otherwise the load may not be enough for the airlines to be viable in this sub region," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Value Chain Tourism Forum held in conjunction with the Third BIMP-EAGA Travel Exchange 2007 here.

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BRUNEI - New Executive Committee for Brunei Association of Hotels

Asiatraveltips.com, 12 September 2007

The Brunei Association of Hotels (BAH) has appointed a new Executive Committee for the next 2 year term.
Heading up the new BAH Executive Committee is BAH President- Mohammad Irwan Goh, General Manager of The Rizqun International Hotel with Pg Dato Hj Jaludin Pg Mohd Limbang, Owner of Nazira Guesthouse as BAH Vice President. Other Executive Committee members are Cynthia Bong, General Manager of Brunei Hotel as Honorary Treasurer, Shamsul Bahrin Pehin Hj Ahmad, General Manager of Orchid Garden Hotel as Honorary Secretary and Executive Committee Members- Alex Riva, General Manager of Sheraton Utama Hotel, Manfred Keiler, General Manager of The Empire Hotel & Country Club, Bambi Sumadsad, Assistant Operations Manager of The Holiday Lodge and Simon Leong, General Manager of Traders Inn.

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BRUNEI - Reason to be upbeat

TTGasia.com, Jun 8-14, 2007

DOMESTIC campaign – Kenali Negara Kami (Know Our Own Country) – to educate the man on the street on the importance of tourism seems to be paying off for Brunei.Apart from the software upgrade – getting the population more interested in Brunei’s tourism products, changing their attitude about courtesy and keeping the environment clean and green – Brunei is bullish it will meet its seven per cent growth target for 2007 for a number of reasons, among them positive tourism developments, including an aviation shot-in-the arm.It is “all systems go” for Singapore-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Tiger Airways to start operations to Brunei according to Brunei Tourism Board director, Sheikh Jamaluddin Bin Sheikh Mohamed. Although no firm launch date has been announced, it is likely to be around October, according to a source.

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DEVELOPMENTS - Asean eager to lure cruise liners

Singapore (dpa), 29 January, 2007

Southeast Asian tourism ministers are focusing this week on a joint strategy to woo more cruise liners by promoting the region as the next Caribbean, participants said Monday.Stepped up efforts to attract more youth travellers are also on the agenda of the Asean Tourism Forum, being held through Saturday in Singapore.The Association of Southeast Asian Nations needs a "concerted effort" to become a compelling cruise destination, Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran told The Straits Times.With only a handful of attractive cruise ports, Asia has yet to catch up with such popular cruise hubs as the Caribbean and Mediterranean, he said.Air links are also being discussed. Iswaran noted how an "open aviation regime will pave the way for more flights and competitive airfares." This, in turn, will give Asean member states the extra boost to emerge into booming tourism markets.ASEAN is also bringing forward a plan to permit unlimited flights between the capital cities of member countries by next year.

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DEVELOPMENTS - Asian development bank chief meets with regional groups

Malaysia Sun, 12th January, 2007

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda Friday participated in the summit meetings of two Asian subregional economic cooperation groups.The head of the Asian Development Bank offered continued support for the groups to reduce poverty and promote growth. Mr. Kuroda met with government leaders at the 3rd Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit, which was chaired by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Republic of the Philippines, as well as at the 2nd Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit, chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Republic of Indonesia.

The ADB President praised the progress made in both initiatives. The subregional cooperation being developed though BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT is an important building block within the ASEAN region, Mr. Kuroda said. They are building momentum towards regional integration and development.

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BRUNEI - Flotilla Of Tourists Coming To Brunei

Bruneidirect.com, january 15 2007

Bandar Seri Begawan - The New Year is beginning with the arrival of a "fleet" of tourists to the Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures.
Last week, the ocean-liner "The Coastal Marine" stopped by for a day bringing about 700 tourists who managed to visit several places of interest, including a half-day city tour, and the tropical rainforest in Temburong.
Today, the cruise ship "Spirit of Adventure" is coming to Brunei from Kota Kinabalu with about 180 tourists. The cruise ship will dock in Brunei for 10 hours before heading off to Nhatrang Port in Vietnam.
Another cruise ship "Artemis" from the United Kingdom is scheduled to dock at Muara Port on January 18, this time bringing in a total of 1,700 passengers and crew. According to the shipping manager of Jasra Harrison, the passengers onboard comprise Americans, British, Europeans and Australians.

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