eTN Asia, 09-15-2006 Official statistics show, as Vietnam shifts to a market economy, tourism is booming, contributing an average of 7 percent yearly to the country's economic growth for the past ten years. Vietnam is expecting 4 million tourists for the current year. "A lot of Vietnamese Americans and families of Americans who lost their lives in Vietnam want to come back," Le Dang Doanh, from the Ministry of Planning and Investment told newswires. "The new generation in the US is increasingly interested in visiting Vietnam." "Any war and any wound needs time to heal. Sufficient time has now passed," added Doanh. Vietnam is hoping to sell the country's 3,000 km of beaches (1,865 miles), war exhibit museums, and Reunification Palace in HCM City (Saigon) as major attractions to attract its visitors from the US.
Three decades after the war in Vietnam, the country is looking forward to welcoming back its war refugees and US war veterans to bolster its booming tourism industry.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
VIETNAM - tourism targets US visitors
MARKETS - Segments Emerge in China (PRC) Outbound Market
PATA COMMUNICATIONS, September 14, 2006
China (PRC) outbound travel to Asia Pacific destinations has grown at an average annual rate of 19.8% since 2001, fuelled by strong economic growth; greater consumer spending power; Beijing’s moves to loosen travel restrictions and allow the Chinese currency to strengthen; and greater segmentation in the marketplace.
Travel trade participants in the PATA Travel Mart 2006 China (PRC) Outbound luncheon workshop learned this today at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong.
Panellists in the interactive session included Shanghai Business International Travel Service Deputy General Manager Ms Li Guo; Shanghai Shihua International Travel Service Assistant General Manager Mr Tom Wang; and Tourism Australia Regional General Manager-North Asia & Business Tourism Mr Johnny Nee.
Panel moderator and PATA China (PRC) Representative Ms Kate Chang warned destinations to be wary of the sheer number of potential Chinese travellers in the future.
“Destination tourism organisations will have to check how the Chinese “golden weeks”, which coincide with Chinese New Year, May Day and National Day, fit in with existing inbound patterns,” she said. “There is a risk of destinations being “swamped” by travel demand from Chinese travellers.”
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.
>>Full article
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
AUSTRALIA - Queensland tourism to focus on Chinese market
eTN Asia/Pacific, 09-13-2006 A flat domestic market, declining number of tourists from Japan, which contributes the second highest number of foreign visitors to Australia and stiff competition in the international market have forced the state to focus on high-yielding overseas markets, including the Middle East and Europe, reported the CourierMail. "The Chinese market and protecting the Japanese market will be two vital components of the state's tourism industry for the next 10 years," said Queensland Tourism Minister Margaret Keech, outlining the industry's expansion plans. "We will be focusing on developing the Chinese, Indian and Japanese markets, but China will become our biggest overseas market.
Tourism officials from one of Australia's leading tourist destinations, Queensland state, said they recognize the Chinese market as a vital component in the state’s tourism industry plans for the next 10 years.
NEW ZEALAND - records highest tourism figures
eTN Asia/Pacific, 09-12-2006 Tourism Ministry figures from New Zealand showing international visitors spent a record new high of NZ$6.6 billion confirms its strategy of attracting higher spending visitors has paid off. "This is great news for the industry," said Damien O'Connor, tourism minister. "It is the highest recorded figures in New Zealand tourism." In a recent poll of 30,000 readers by Conde Nast Traveller (UK) magazine, New Zealand was voted the second best country in the world, behind Italy for visitors. Figures show visitors spent 8 percent, or $500 million more, compared to the same period in the last year, despite arrival figures dropping 0.4 percent. "The increase is pleasing given that many tourism businesses has been feeling the effects of slow growth," said Fiona Luhrs, chief executive of Tourism Industry Association New Zealand. "The figures show our strategy of targeting high-spending visitors is paying off." The figures include $172 million spent by British rugby fans during the 2005 Lions tour, proving that hosting sports events can be a lucrative income-earner. Neighbor Australians contributed $1.5 billion (up by 9 percent), British visitors $1.1 billion (up by 18.5 percent) while visitors from the US contributed $649 million (up 5.6 percent) during the year.
ACOMMODATION - Western hotel chains mushroom in Vietnam
USA Today, 8 September, 2006
Hyatt last year opened its first hotel in the country in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. InterContinental will open its first hotel in 2007 in Hanoi. Accor, with nine hotels, plans four more by 2008.
Starwood entered the country in 2003 and operates two Sheratons. Marriott operates two hotels, and Hilton, one.From 2000 to 2005, the number of rooms in Vietnam grew by 72 percent to 95,700, according to the Vietnamese government.
Western companies, for the most part, are building business hotels in big cities: Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Beach-front resorts are slower to develop. Strengthening business ties with the West and Asia are boosting demand for good hotels. In the first eight months this year, the number of visitors grew 10 percent from a year earlier to about 2.5 million.Nearly 80 percent of the available rooms in four hotels in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City owned by France-based Accor have been filled this year, largely by business travelers from Asia."In the last two years, the growth in occupancy there was higher than any other Asian country," says Accor's Peter Hook. "Vietnam is hot."
The shortage of rooms in Hanoi will be felt in November when the city hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference that will draw thousands of diplomats, journalists and business people, Hook says.
MALAYSIA - Action plans needed to conserve wetlands
DAILY EXPRESS NEWS, September 10, 2006
Realistic goals and action plans must be formulated to ensure the sustainable development and conservation of wetlands in Sabah, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat.
Chong, who is also Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, said there was a great need to have an integrated approach and effort in managing these areas involving all stakeholders, including the public and private sectors, NGOs and local communities.
"I believe this integrated approach will not only help minimise negative environmental impacts of development programmes but also prevent unsustainable activities," he said.
However, in order to enable the stakeholders work as partners as well as develop smart partnerships in new and different ways, especially in the planning, organisation and implementation, realistic goals and actions are needed, he said.
Towards this end, Chong believed the establishment of the Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society (SWCS) was appropriate and timely as another important strategy to strengthen the institutional framework to enhance environmental conservation and protection efforts in Sabah.
MALAYSIA - Sipadan to be exploited as 'sustainble' (sic) dive tourism toilet
CYBER DIVER News Network, 7 September, 2006
Keeping to his word to personally monitor development at eco-sensitive areas, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman yesterday visited Pulau Sipadan. He toured the island which was thrown into the limelight for the wrong reasons when a barge damaged coral reefs the size of one-and-a-half tennis courts four months ago.
The barge had gone to deliver building material for the construction of a RM5 million clubhouse, a project which was later called off.
After the walkabout, Musa told reporters that a facility costing less than RM1.5 million would be built for the comfort of divers and government officers stationed there.
"We are looking at some options that have been given to us by a consultant to construct facilities which include toilets, showers, a rest area for divers and staff quarters," he said.
He said once there was sufficient input, views would be sought from the Joint Committee on the Management and Supervision of Pulau Sipadan and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who recently made it clear that he was concerned about conserving the island's environment.
EAST ASIA - Seminar on Decentralization in East Asia and the Philippines: SECOND Session
worldbank.org
Over the past two decades, subnational governments in East Asia have taken on core responsibilities for raising and spending public money and for providing critical services and infrastructure. This decentralization has unleashed local initiative and energy, providing new ways to deliver services to people. With great potential for continued improvement and innovation, says a new World Bank report, it is essential that decentralization be carried out correctly. The report, East Asia Decentralizes—Making Local Government Work, was launched during a policy seminar on Decentralization in East Asia and the Philippines on June 14, 2005, at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City, Philippines. The event was organized by the Center for Local and Regional Governance at the University of the Philippines and the World Bank, in partnership with the Philippine Department of Interior and Local Government. Alex B. Brillantes, Jr., Dean of the National College of Public Administration and Governance at the University of the Philippines, chaired the event. The second session centered on a presentation by Jorge Vazquez-Martinez, Economics Professor at Georgia State University, who provided an international perspective on Philippine decentralization. Vazquez-Martinez pointed out that while the Philippine system had a good start, a second generation of reforms is still needed. He insisted that reliance on transfers, among other concerns, has prevented local governments from being truly able to fend for themselves. A panel discussion on decentralization challenges in the Philippines followed. Panelists included Representative Rodolfo Agbayani, Member of the Philippine House Committee on Local Government; Geronimo Treñas, President of the League of Cities and Mayor of Iloilo City; Sixto Donato Macasaet, Executive Director of the Caucus of Development Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Network; and Galina Kurlyandskaya, General Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy (Moscow).
>>Watch video
EAST ASIA - Seminar on Decentralization in East Asia and the Philippines: FIRST Session
worldbank.org
Over the past two decades, subnational governments in East Asia have taken on core responsibilities for raising and spending public money and for providing critical services and infrastructure. This decentralization has unleashed local initiative and energy, providing new ways to deliver services to people. With great potential for continued improvement and innovation, says a new World Bank report, it is essential that decentralization be carried out correctly. The report, East Asia Decentralizes—Making Local Government Work, was launched during a policy seminar on Decentralization in East Asia and the Philippines on June 14, 2005, at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City, Philippines. The event was organized by the Center for Local and Regional Governance at the University of the Philippines and the World Bank, in partnership with the Philippine Department of Interior and Local Government.
>>Watch video
INDIA - ADB expects loans to hit $2.85 bn in 2009
The Financial Express, New Delhi, September 09, 2006
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral finance institution that promotes economic and social progress in the Asia-Pacific region, expects to step up its loans to India, reaching $2.85 billion in 2009 from a planned $2.25 billion this year, mainly to fund infrastructure projects, a senior official said on Friday.
The bank’s lending will touch $2.45 billion in 2007, ADB director general for South Asia, Kunio Senga, said in a statement. “Broadly, it is our aim to raise annual lending levels to more than $2 billion, and disbursement to between $800 million to $1 billion annually. The bank and the government are working closely toward reaching these goals,” he said.
>>Full article
MALAYSIA - Attractive packages urged to woo 2.7mil
Daily Express, 10 September, 2006
Sabah is confident of attracting 2.7 million tourists to the State in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007. Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Karim Bujang said the State tourism's target could be achieved with effort and cooperation of all. The Federal Government had targeted 20.1 million tourist arrivals next year and to achieve it, the Government is improving the quality of tourism infrastructure under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
"The State Government will cooperate closely with the public and private sectors especially the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, airline companies, hotel entrepreneurs and tourism agencies to make the Visit Malaysia Year a success," he said.
In this regard, Karim urged all parties involved in the tourism industry to offer attractive packages to lure tourists to the State. Karim said this while officiating the "Community Service with a Smile" event organised by the Tanjung Aru Tours and Travel Sdn. Bhd. (TATT) at Prince Phillip Park, here, Saturday.
His speech was delivered by Sabah Tourism Board Chairman Tengku Datuk Dr Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahmood.
PHUKET - City Office conducts training to improve service quality of beauty parlor operators and masseurs.
Andaman News TV11, September 12th, 2006
In an attempt to upgrade the service and hygiene of beauty parlours and masseurs for the health services in its perimeters, the Office of Phuket City is organizing a training workshop for the operators and masseurs. There are around 330 operators in the Phuket City area for the two businesses. The mayor Somjai Suwansupana urges the masseurs to form a club to help check on their quality and acquire appropriate technical support. If the business operators are strong, it would be good for the customers and tourism atmosphere as a whole.
ACCOMMODATION - Seeking to diversify, Banyan Tree places hopes in China
Herald Tribune, September 11, 2006
SINGAPORE Banyan Tree Holdings, an operator of luxury hotels from the Seychelles to Bahrain, said that China would become its fastest-growing market in a global expansion plan that seeks to cut dependence on its flagship resort in Phuket, Thailand.
>>Full article
VIETNAM - to simplify investment procedures
People's Daily Online, September 11, 2006
Vietnam will empower the People's Committees of cities and provinces, and management boards of industrial parks and export processing zones nationwide to license nearly all kinds of domestic and foreign-invested projects.
Under a draft decree on guiding the implementation of the new Investment Law, taking effect in July, the committees and the boards will have the rights to either directly consider and license most of projects or indirectly license some projects which are earlier approved by the prime minister, local newspaper Youth quoted Pham Manh Dung, director of the Legal Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as saying.
The prime minister is in charge of approving projects in some limited fields, including construction of airports, air transport, building and running national seaports, mineral exploration and exploration, broadcasting and television, and casino, Dung said, noting that if projects in the fields have already been listed in Vietnam's development plans, investors do not have to submit them to the prime minister for approval.
VIETNAM - resorts: few in number, poor in quality
VietNamNet Bridge, 10/09/2006
The development of tourism in Vietnam has created a boom in newly built resorts across the country. However, it has been revealed that running these businesses is not easy. Vietnam is in the early stage of resort development. Experts say that there are 26 3-5 star resorts nationwide. Currently, the number of rooms in these 26 resorts is 1,972, accounting for 0.4% of total hotel and resort rooms in Vietnam. Most resorts in the country are in well-known tourism sites such as Ha Long, Nha Trang, Vung Tau, Phu Quoc. They are operating under the forms of either joint venture or 100% foreign invested. Many other tourism sites in Vietnam are also in need of more resorts. But a lot of investors say that planning work and other red tape have discouraged them from investing. Pham Hoang Minh, an investor in Phu Hai resort in Mui Ne, said he had had to spend at least one year to complete procedures for his project to be begun.
>>Full article
PHILIPPINES - 7-Mo Hotel Occupancy 71.79% Vs 71.07% Year-Ago
September 8th, 2006
An average seven in every 10 hotel rooms in the Philippine capital were occupied during the first seven months of the year with guests brought by business seminars, conventions and group tours, data from the Department of Tourism showed Friday. The survey of 75 hotels operating in metropolitan Manila showed that in the January-July period, 71.79% of the 13,612 available rooms were filled with guests that stayed an average of 2.65 nights. In the same period a year earlier, the survey covered 65 hotels and reported an average occupancy of 71.07% of the 12,594 rooms available. The average stay was 2.63 nights.
>>Full article
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
PHILIPPINES - Puerto Princesa fund for Palawan Tourism
palawan.com, 12-9-2006
The city’s local government has allotted some US$100 million, or P5.5 billion, in the next three years for project developments to attract visitors and investors.
In an interview with reporters, Mayor Edward Hagedorn said the $100 million will be used for the construction of hotels and infrastructure projects to entice more foreign and local visitors. He said that the fund for the city development will be sourced from loans, internal revenue allotment and local revenues.
Hagedorn noted that in 1992, the investment capital in the city only reached P50 million but in 2001, it reached as much as P4-billion capital investment because of the new airport and major infrastructure projects. With the city’s development, Hagedorn is confident that after three to four years, Puerto Princesa will be the main tourist destination in the country, with a projected 600,000 local and foreign visitors yearly. Puerto Prinsesa has 117,000 visitors a year.
"Tourism really contributes a lot to the economy and gives employment," Hagedorn said.
>>Full article
PHILIPPINES - 3rd among World’s best dive sites
palawan.com, 9-12-2006
Thailand, Hawaii and other South Pacific and Caribbean countries are known for their prime scuba sites — but they have nothing on the Philippines, which has officially earned the distinction of being among the world’s top three diving destinations. Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) general manager Robert Barbers said the country was chosen as one of the top three dive sites in the world during the Dive and Travel Awards for 2006 held in Japan. The best dive site award was a result of a survey conducted by the Marine Diving Fair (MDF), now considered to be Asia’s largest scuba diving and beach resort exhibition that annually attracts over 50,000 travelers. "The Philippines was very fortunate to be given recognition and the honor to be named among the best dive sites in the world next to Maldives and Palau," Barbers said. The Philippines swam past other locations with internationally known diving sites including Thailand, Hawaii and several South Pacific and Caribbean countries. During the award ceremony, Barbers expressed optimism that with this new distinction, more foreign travelers will be encouraged to visit the Philippines and enjoy the many different dive sites around the country. According to Barbers, the tourism market of the world’s diving industry is Very Very Big (Billions of US Dollars), Philippine tourism industry stakeholders must intensify efforts to develop dive resorts around the country in order to attract more tourists.
>>Full article
