REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - Tourism as a good Samaritan for the poor

eTN, Jan 09, 2008

Since 2004, SNV and the UNWTO has forged ahead with pro-poor sustainable activities, especially in regions where SNV is active such as West/ East/ Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, the Himalayan region, the Andes/ Amazon region, the Central American region and the Balkans. The organization seeds money to launch activities.
“It is working,” said Dirk Essen, SNV’s chairman and director of the board. For instance, in Lao PDR, two projects in the area of Viengxay in the north-eastern part of the country were completed. There are approximately 200 limestone karst caves of historical and cultural importance. SNV guided in developing and marketing the area, turning the war shelter into a poverty shelter.

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REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - Flow of tourists from Indochina seen surging

Bangkokpost, 15th October 2007

Private tourism operators are being urged to prepare for an influx of foreign tourists as the East-West Economic Corridor linking Burma, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam approaches completion.
According to Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, deputy secretary general to National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), the East-West Economic Corridor linking Thailand, Laos and Vietnam has been finished, with the construction of 18 kilometres in Burma nearly completed.
The economic corridor is created based on a road of 1,450 km with the west end at port city of Mawlamyine (Burma), crossing Kayin Division, the Thai provinces of Tak, Sukhothai, Kalasin, Phitsanulok, Khon Kaen, Yasothon, Mukdahan and the Laotian provinces of Savannakhet, Vietnamese provinces of Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue Province and Da Nang city as the east end.

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REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia join forces to develop tourism

Vietnam Net bridge, 29/06/2007

Dinh Hai, director of Quang Nam's Department of Tourism, told the Daily that the tourism authorities of Siem Reap, Luang Prabang, Champasak and Quang Nam would sign the deal on the sidelines of a tourism festival.
The four-day Quang Nam - Heritage Road Festival 2007 kicked off on Wednesday in the World Heritage-listed town of Hoi An.
The four provinces, Hai said, will jointly market tourism products and promote their World Heritage sites. "We have special tourist attractions - World Heritage sites, so we want to join hands to introduce them to attract tourists," he said.
The UNESCO-recognized World Heritage sites are Hoi An and My Son in Quang Nam, Luang Prabang and Wat Phou in Luang Prabang, and Angkor Wat in Siem Reap.

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DEVELOPMENTS - New bridge brings swell of Thai tourists

VietNamNet Bridge, 19/01/2007

The new Second Friendship, Bridge linking Thailand and Laos has provided for a swell of tourists entering Vietnam on the Trans-Asia Highway.
The new bridge across the Mekong River has connected the central coast of Vietnam with Thailand via the Trans-Asia Highway, which runs from central Vietnam through Laos and Thailand to Myanmar.

Between 1999-2003, only 1,300 Thai visitors crossed into Vietnam at the highway's Lao Bao border gate in the central province of Quang Tri.
But thanks to the bridge's opening on December 20, more than 1,500 Thai tourists entered Vietnam via Lao Bao on the first day of the new year (January 1, 2007), according to the provincial tourism authority.
Recent policies to waive visas between Thailand, Laos and Vietnam have also supported the boom.

The bridge is part of the Trans-Asia highway or the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) initiative which aims to boost trade, tourism and transportation along the highway.

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INFRASTRUCTURE - Locals give new bridge lukewarm welcome

Bangkokpost.com, Wednesday December 20, 2006

Mukdahan _ Despite being planned as a commercial link, the second Mekong bridge linking Thailand and Laos is receiving only a lukewarm welcome from local people, who do not expect any immediate benefits. They welcomed this symbolic and significant part of the East-West Corridor, but said it would be a few years before the 2.6 billion-baht-bridge began to yield concrete benefits.
Setthayuti Krailassiri, 29, managing director of the 150-room Ploy Palace Hotel built in downtown Mukdahan about 12 years ago, will be among the first to gain.
He and his colleagues did not begin to fully enjoy their investment until the Asian Development Bank-financed rehabilitation of the 250km Road 9 connecting Laos and Vietnam was completed in October last year. This coincided with the popularity of the Thai TV soap opera Hoi An: I Love You, which was set in Vietnam. Mr Setthayuti said many Thais travelled to Vietnam by land and as a result discovered more of Mukdahan's tourist attractions.

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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.

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MARKETS - Asia on their minds

TTGasia, Nov 17 - 23, 2006 / No.1502

UK tour operators say the region will be a hotbed of holiday activity next year

NO surprises as to what is hot in the market for 2007 as Indochina continues to feature strongly in brochures of UK tour operators next year.

With more people recognising the value for money in Asia and choosing to go upmarket, more luxury products are also being offered.

China had a good year in 2006 and this upward trend is expected to continue in 2007.

Kuoni Travel product manager, Mr Darren Lancaster, said: “We expect double-digit growth for Indochina, especially Vietnam and Cambodia.

“The draw is in the number of good hotel products, culture and beach destinations.

“The biggest challenge is accessibility. If Vietnam Airlines can put in a direct service, more travellers will be open to Vietnam and the rest of Indochina will follow.

“All UK operators are going to see growth in business to China predominantly from first-time clients. The demand is definitely there and it is up to us to service the market with new and fresh products.

“For India, travellers are mainly repeat visitors or adventurous first-timers. Taj tours remain a popular option with more clients asking for customised itineraries. Kerala is doing exceptionally well. We have contracted directly with suppliers in 2007 and have some great offers.

“The challenge for India is high rates and availability.”

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MALAYSIA - rail tracks adds to SKRL project

eTN Asia, 11-09-2006

ASEAN looking to China for assistance to build next stretch covering 257km.
KUNMING, China (eTN): The ASEAN-led Singapore to Kunming Rail Link (SKRL) has taken another step with the addition of used rail tracks donated by Malaysia.

Cambodia will start lying the rail tracks in early 2007, and on completion of the line in 2009 it will link Poipet to Sisophon.

The stretch will enable travelers to journey by train all the way through from Singapore to Phnom Penh, via the SKRL route in eastern Cambodia.

"The tracks, to be delivered in six batches, have arrived in the Thai-Cambodia border town of Aranyaprathet," chairman Chan Kong Choy, Malaysian transport minister told transport and rail authorities from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and ASEAN Secretariat who attended the 8th Working Group meeting here.

The SKRL, added Chan, will seek assistance from China to complete the next connection between Phnom Penh-Loc Ninh covering a distance of 257km inside Cambodia, eventually linking the line to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

"Funding to lay the tracks for the additional 48km Poipet-Siophon link will come from the US$72 million loan granted by the Asian Development Bank to Cambodia."

A part of the money will also be used to rehabilitate the Phnom-Penh-Sihanoukville connection.

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ASIA PACIFIC - Tourism Breaks Records in 2005

PATA COMMUNICATIONS, September 13, 2006


The ‘PATA Annual Statistical Report 2005 Summary & Extracts’ was launched today in Hong Kong, at a PATA Travel Mart 2006 luncheon workshop on Asia Pacific travel and tourism’s state-of-play. The new report by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) brings together in one volume the top-line performance statistics for destinations across the Asia Pacific region for the period 2001 to 2005. Covering both inbound and outbound flows, the report provides an overview of annual travel movements to and within the most dynamic region in the world today – Asia Pacific. During the workshop, PATA Director-SIC Mr John Koldowski outlined the major issues and trends affecting international travel flows to and within the region. International visitor arrivals (IVAs) to Asia Pacific in 2005 numbered nearly 330 million trips, representing region-wide year-on-year growth of 7.6%. Since 2001, IVAs have grown at an average annual rate of 6%. “Calendar year 2005 was a very successful year in terms of IVAs into and within Asia Pacific,” said Mr Koldowski. “In fact, by the end of 2005, a number of international inbound volume records were broken.” The following destinations posted “best-ever’ performances” in 2005:- • Chile and Mexico in the Americas; • Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in South Asia; • China (PRC), Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Korea (ROK) and Macau SAR in Northeast Asia; • Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam in Southeast Asia; and • Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu in the Pacific.

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LAO - Rides Economic Good Times Thanks to Mining, Tourism and Hydropower

The Lao economy is enjoying robust growth as it benefits from investment in the mining and hydropower sectors as well as tourism. But economic reforms, poverty reduction and persistent corruption remain challenges for the government.

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