Tourism Asia Online

Vol. 08 | No: 3. March 2012

Malaysia on a drive to expand hotels, attractions

Kerala Tourism wins national award for best website for 5th time in 10 years

contents march

08 Sri Lanka joins ICTP

ICTP welcomed Sri Lanka as a new destination member, represented by the Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation (SLEF). The Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation is the pioneer “Ecotourism Society" in Sri Lanka, and was established in 1998. Its vision is to make Sri Lanka one of the most sought-after ecotourism destinations in the world and to build a professional ecotourism network, which

Wares for sale in Batu Ferringhi

serves as a model for ecotourism in the Asia and Pacific regions.

12 Laos opens cave tourism

10 Kerala Tourism wins national

award for best website for 5th time in 10 years

14 New website start-up targets US medical tourists

Tourism Asia | March 2012

3

contents march

16

Etihad eats up competition

22

AirAsia looking into market opportunities in south india

24

Philippines Department Of Tourism and DPWH to boost tourism infrastructure

21

Malaysia on a drive to expand hotels, attractions

In what is perhaps another first in the history of Philippine tourism, the Department of Tourism (DOT) forged a convergence with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that seeks to boost tourism infrastructure projects in priority tourist destination areas in the Philippines under a “Convergence Program for Enhancing Tourism Access.�

28 Internet in hotels more important than breakfast

30

4

Vietnam Tourism Needs Better Organization

Tourism Asia | March 2012

From the editor’s desk Managing Editor

:

Sreekumara Menon

India has been known for mainly inbound

Group Editor

:

Janeesh Jalaluddin

movement for years but slowly it is also turn-

Executive Editor

:

Kriebel George

ing out to be a fabulous outbound source

Photo Editor

:

Madhu Menon

market. The growing demand and increasing

Art Editor

:

Dileep

no. of people wanting to travel outside India

Senior Correspondent :

Subhash Ghosh

has shot up tremendously in the last few

Senior Sub Editor

:

Anish Kumar

year.

Editorial Team

:

Anu S

:

Viji V S

Marketing

:

Suresh Kumar S

Legal Advisor

:

Adv. Preeja K S

Financial Controller

:

Abhilash S P

Representatives

Indians have been known as globe trotters mainly seeking jobs or exploring avenues to do business for ages, ever since the air connectivity across the continents became a reality. But this trend has changed and has now added momentum with the Indians traveling out of their home country for pilgrimage, leisure and pleasure.

North India

:

Vinod Chandana

East India

:

Gagan Sarangi

Today there is a great demand for destinations like Malaysia,

West India

:

S K Singh

Singapore, Thailand Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius and many

Bahrain

:

Shine G Nair

European countries, thanks to the low cost carriers like Air Asia,

Bangalore

:

Bhagvan Din Kumar

Tiger Airways, Cebu Pacific Airways. There are no official figures

Bhubaneshwar

:

Gagan Sarangi

available as yet to gauge the volume but going by the big sharks

Chennai

:

Balachandar

in the trade and the visible advertising spends it is something

Dubai

:

Shinu

that cannot be ignored.

New Delhi

:

Annie Chacko

Philippines

:

Cynthia Lim

Pune

NTO‘s or National Tourist Organizations of many countries have

:

S K Singh

Qatar

realized India’s potential and slowly making a beeline to impress

:

Aneena Jacob

Singapore

the country men. Tour operators in other countries have also

:

Ajith Menon

Srilanka

realized the potential business that can be generated from India

:

Prebuddha

Thailand

and are now constantly seen making marketing calls in India.

:

Tae

All communications to: Tourism Asia Ground Floor, ‘Tower House’, Convent Road Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India Phone: +91 471 2470660, Fax: +91 471 2470660

Email: news@tourismasiaonline.info website: www.tourismasiaonline.info

Improved connectivity and increasing no. of middle class people with upscale incomes have lead to this sudden blast in nos. Indians habit to splurge in shopping wherever they go makes our tourists a very big source market. The trend is really encouraging and this is bound to scale up more in the years to come.

Regd Office: ‘Sreeji Nivas’ , Peroorkada, Thiruvananthapuram

Edited and Published by: Sreekumara Menon

Are we seeing a momentous shift in the Indian’s taste and travel patterns - the answer is a definite yes.

For Advertisements: marketing@tourismasiaonline.info The news and Advertisements published herein have been collected from various source, which are considered to be reliable. Readers are however requested to verify the facts before making business decisions using the same.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. Copyright 2010

V.Sreekumara Menon Editor & Publisher editor@tourismasiaonline.info +91 9447798108

Tourism Asia | March 2012

07

News & Events

Sri Lanka joins ICTP ICTP welcomed Sri Lanka as a new destination member, represented by the Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation (SLEF).

The Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation is the pioneer “Ecotourism Society" in Sri Lanka, and was established in 1998.

Its vision is to make Sri Lanka one of the most sought-after ecotourism destinations in the world and to build a professional ecotourism network, which serves as a model for ecotourism in the Asia and Pacific regions.

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz, Chairman of the International Council of Tourism Partners said: “We are so pleased that Sri Lanka has joined ICTP. The longterm goals of Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation are right in line with ICTP’s commitment to green growth.”

It is the mission of SELF to use ecotourism in Sri Lanka as a tool to conserve the

environment,

assure

maximum

economic benefits to the host community, preserve age-old cultural heritage, provide in-depth information about Sri Lanka, and to satisfy the needs of both national and international ecosites

Ecotourists in

visiting the

genuine

The President of the Sri Lanka Ecotour-

island.

ism Foundation (SLEF), Palitha Gurusinghe, said: “The focus of Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation is the social and economic development of rural communities in Sri Lanka, through Community-Based Ecotourism Enterprises (CBEs). From its inception, SLEF has worked hard to introduce and implement programs

poverty through

alleviation

ecotourism.

To

realize this objective, SLEF provides support services and motivates local communities

to

Community-Based

participate Ecotourism

in and

environmental conservation projects.

We are confident that our membership with ICTP will only benefit our work.”

08

Tourism Asia | March 2012

News & Views

Kerala Tourism wins national award for best website for 5th time in 10 years Tech-savvy Kerala Tourism set a record by

winning

the

National

Tourism

Award for its website, fifth time in the last ten years.

Kerala Tourism Minister A.P.Anil Kumar received the prestigious award from President Pratibha Patil Wednesday, according to a tourism department press release.

Bolstered by the award, Kerala Tourism announced it would roll out a new set of user-friendly mobile-based applications very soon. he award winning website receives around 1.75 lakh visitors and 7-8 lakh page views every month and is available in English, Hindi, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Arabic and Chinese, besides the Malayalam version.

Several international search engines

have

ranked

www.keralatourism.org

as

the first site for information on Kerala since 2003 and the official page of Kerala Tourism

on

Twitter

has

8,400 followers.

* * * *

10

Tourism Asia | March 2012

News & Events

Laos opens cave tourism WIANG PHUKA, 5 March 2012: A remote cave in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s Wiang Phuka district has been opened for tourists.

Situated 12 km from Wiang Phuka town, Kao Rao cave was officially opened for tourism, 1 January. Officials believe it can attract international travellers interested in nature trails, mainly Europeans who stay in the country for two weeks or more.

The cave pioneer, Sriwang Kaewmanee, told TTR Weekly that he found the cave in 2001 and asked the Lao’s government to support efforts to introduce it to tourists.

“I spent considerable cash from my

tite shaped like a bathtub, which villag-

own pocket, but the Lao government

ers believe was once a place where the

supported my efforts with US$100,000

legendary serpent, Naga, rested and

to put in infrastructure and electricity.”

bathed.

Mr Sriwang said around 1,500 interna-

The Kao Rao Cave opens daily and Mr

tional visitors visited the cave since it

Sriwang and his team (four people) are

opened, mainly Germans, Thais and

on stand-by to welcome visitors daily.

Chinese.

The admission fee for Thais and inter“The cave earns revenue for the district

national visitors is Bt40 or 10,000 kip.

and helps the local economy,” he added.

Visitors are given flashlights to explore the cave. For safety reasons visitors

The income from an entrance fees is

need to wear strong canvas shoes and

shared; 20% for Nam Hang villagers as

clothing suitable for trekking.

the cave is located in their district; 30% for Wiang Phuka tourism office; and

The cave does not have roped off

50% for the Lao government.

paths so visitors have to be cautious and follow the instructions of the

A highlight of the cave is a huge stalac

12

guides.

Tourism Asia | March 2012

News & Views

New website start-up targets US medical tourists in South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa by the end of the year.

The company is also working with partners to develop packages for medical tourists. Plans are also in the works to build the site's Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) category to expand its appeal to the Singaporean, Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese markets, and to link the site to hotel and airline booking engines.

Medisherpa.com will be free to users, with revenue deriving mainly from display advertisements on the website, and a tiered membership scheme for healthcare professionals who want to be listed on the site.

A NEW website start-up, medisherpa.com, targets US medical tourists with a database of pre-screened medical institutions and clinicians i in Asia.

Currently running on a beta version, the website is scheduled to officially launch on March 31.

website currently features over 300,000 medical institutions and professionals from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Australia.

Ruggles hopes to seal similar arrangements with leading healthcare providers

To date, the website has received approximately 20,000 unique visitors a month, a figure expected to increase five-fold in the coming months as the start-up firm's online marketing campaigns unroll

Michael Ruggles, co-founder of Singapore-based medisherpa.com said: "There is no denying that the medical tourism market in Asia is seeing unprecedented market growth. We are building a platform to facilitate this influx of medical travellers and there is no better place to do that from than the citystate of Singapore that serves as the gatekeeper to a region synonymous with world-class healthcare, all at low treatment costs."

Targeted chiefly at North Americans, the

Tourism Asia | March 2012

14

News & Views

Etihad eats up competition

Etihad Airways is talking with Bangkok Airways to pursue opportunities to expand cooperation with possible partnerships as the cash-rich airline continues its aggressive growth strategy.

On Tuesday, Etihad Airways CEO, James Hogan met with Bangkok Airways’ founder, Prasert Prasatthong-osoth, to discuss further cooperation. “..Obviously, we want to understand his network development, type of aircraft, airport ownership and as our partnership has been successful, we can look for ways to work closer and move forward..

Also he is involved in medical services, we can see what we can do on medical tourism to Thailand,” said Mr Hogan.

Usually when Mr Hogan mentions partnership it involves cash injections that will further the airline’s ambitions to be a

Tourism Asia | March 2012

global leader in aviation. It has already bought into other airlines with Air Berlin the latest in a move to gain more traffic rights in Europe.

increasing its 2.99% share to 29.2% through the purchase of US$95 million in new shares and providing US$255 million in loans to finance new jet purchases.

The relationship with Bangkok Airways is far less complicated. It has code-share agreements on routes to Samui, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Singapore, Luang Prabang and Yangon and partners in frequent flyer programmes.

From 25 March, Air Berlin will operate a daily flight from Phuket through Abu Dhabi, rather than direct from Germany, all part of a plan to turn Abu Dhabi in to the leisure and business gateway hub to Asia.

Mr Hogan makes no secret of his ambitions for the airline. Partnerships are a strategy to extend reach to the corners where the airline cannot reach itself.

Etihad also has code-share agreements with Vietnam Airlines on the BangkokHanoi and Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh City route. It has 35 code-share partnership presently.

In late December 2011, Etihad becomes the biggest shareholder in Air Berlin 16

News & Views Air Berlin’s leisure passengers will have to make a stop in Abu Dhabi. They will also have to board connect with an Etihad aircraft to fly to Bangkok from all of Air Berlin points in Germany, a move that will not sit well with Air Berlin’s traditional market— loyal customers who will want nonstop flights to Thailand on a European airline rather than one from the Middle East. Using an immediate point in the Middle East may also be a concern for security conscious customers.

Etihad plays down these concerns claiming passengers now have a daily option and more tourists from the Middle East will be able to join the flight to Phuket.

Air Berlin passengers will be able to board any of Etihad’s three daily flights to Bangkok out of Abu Dhabi, effective 15 April, when Etihad increases services to Bangkok to three daily. The services to Bangkok will be co-designated.

Etihad positions this change as a benefit for passengers, but it could backfire on Air Berlin that relies on leisure travellers who have a long history with the company that started with LTU and Condor charters.

Thailand loses nonstop flights from Berlin and Dusseldorf to Bangkok. Phuket gains a link to Abu Dhabi that could top-up business in the low season months, May to October.

Dusseldorf to daily, resulting in four daily flights from Germany to the UAE through the Air Berlin/Etihad partnership.

Etihad used Air Berlin to gain a backdoor entrance to Europe as pressure builds to contain the expansion of Middle East airlines in the EU. The policy is not official, but is all part of a polarisation of interests.

Through an equity stake, Etihad gained access to Air Berlin’s European network where it has been facing considerable opposition to its plans to expand, as Europe tightens policy.

It is a response to what aviation officials call “cut throat” practices adopted by

Middle East carriers that have jeopardised the financial viability of European airlines. They are losing to competition from Middle East airlines that can cut fares to the bone, mainly due to cheaper running costs such as subsidised airport fees at their home-bases and lower fuel costs.

As for Etihad’s benefit, Mr Hogan said access to Europe through Air Berlin would yield around US$50 million to the airline this year.

Recently, Etihad also acquired a 40% stake in Air Seychelles to expand its network in Africa and Indian Ocean islands.

Air Berlin’s summer schedule starting 25 March shows it will fly three daily services to Abu Dhabi — two daily from Berlin and one from Dusseldorf. Then from 15 April, Etihad will increase its services to

Tourism Asia | March 2012

18

News & Events

Malaysia on a drive to expand hotels, attractions

MALAYSIA'S government investment arm Khazanah Nasional is on a drive to expand its hotels and attractions portfolio across the country, with its crown jewel being the Desaru Coast Integrated Tourism Destination that will include upscale resorts, golf courses and theme parks.

A 30-minute ferry ride away from Singapore, the revamped Desaru will target well-heeled Malaysians as well as families from existing core markets such as Singapore, the Middle East, South Korea and China.

Scheduled to open in 2014, it will feature a marine life park offering dolphin encounters, a water theme park, a golf club with 18-hole and 27-hole courses designed by Vijay Singh and Ernie Els, a Riverwalk Dining & Retail Village, and hotels including Aman Country Club and Villas, Sheraton Desaru Resort and a fivestar resort. There will also be 5,000m2 of exhibition and conference space, includ 21

ing a 1,000-pax hall and four breakout rooms.

alter the product mix and add new accommodation options.”

Undertaking the development are two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Khazanah, Destination Resorts and Themed Attractions Malaysia, both present at ITB Berlin to kickstart marketing for the project and establish partnerships with airlines and operators in Singapore and Malaysia.

Raja Zafura Raja Zain, senior vice president marketing, sales & communications, Themed Attractions Malaysia, added that the goal was “to create a reason for families to spend extra days in the country”.

Eliena Ahmad Gaman, director, corporate strategy, Destination Resorts, said: “It’s a repositioning for Desaru, which has been sleeping and under-managed for some time. We realised a fresh coat of paint wouldn’t be enough, so we decided to

Besides Desaru, family-friendly theme parks and attractions such as KidZania Kuala Lumpur, as well as Johor ’s Legoland Malaysia and Puteri Harbour Indoor Entertainment Theme Park have either opened or are scheduled to open this year. Another integrated cultural attraction will also be launched in the capital in 2014.

Tourism Asia | March 2012

News & Views

AirAsia looking into market opportunities in south india

Low cost airliner, AirAsia, said on Friday that it is studying the market opportunities in connecting Bangkok with southern cities in In dia.

Announcing the launch of a direct flight between Chennai and Bangkok, to be offered five times a week, Thai AirAsia CEO, Mr Tassapon Bijleveld, said they were studying the opportunities in connecting southern cities with Bangkok.

“We are currently studying the market..,” he told reporters here.

The direct flight between the two cities would begin on March 23, he said.

Air Asia is looking to introduce direct flights between Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad to Bangkok and other places in Thailand, he added.

Tourism Asia | March 2012

The Thai airline operates in various cities, including Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore, Tiruchirapalli and Kolkata offering 47 flights per week to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and other places.

Noting that the number of tourists visiting the South East Asian country was growing in the last few years, he said with the launch of direct flights between Chennai and Bangkok, they were expecting about 75—80 per cent “occupancy rate” in their Airbus A320 flights.

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CAMBODIA

JAPAN

MAURITIUS

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

CHINA

KENYA

PHILIPPINES

UNITED KINGDOM

HOLYLAND TOURS

MACAU

SINGAPORE

U.S.A

HONG KONG

MALAYSIA

SRI LANKA

VIETNAM

INDIA

MALDIVES

THAILAND

COMBO TOURS

News & Views

Philippines Department Of Tourism and DPWH to boost tourism infrastructure projects In what is perhaps another first in the history of Philippine tourism, the Department of Tourism (DOT) forged a convergence with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that seeks to boost tourism infrastructure projects in priority tourist destination areas in the Philippines under a “Convergence Program for Enhancing Tourism Access.”

“This is something that has been long and coming. In fact, when you think about it, this is happening for the very first time.

That’s helping to build a strong public sector institution that promotes transparency, good governance especially in tourism – an industry which has now gained national importance,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. in his speech at the signing.

The MOA calls for, among others, the development of Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP) Criteria led by DOT, and identifies Convergence Champions to provide policy guidelines and supervision in formulating the TRIP. Tourism Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions Daniel G. Corpuz is the designated Convergence Champion for DOT.

24

Tourism Asia | March 2012

News & Views

The agencies will be aided by the Research, Education and Institutional Development (REID) Foundation, a policy research and advocacy institute based in Metro Manila. The foundation is currently implementing a “Partnership for Better Infrastructure and Tourism Management” technical assistance program with select civil society, business and government groups, and had previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DPWH and the Department of Education (DepEd) on a school building program.

prioritized tourism road projects and an Annual Tourism Road Infrastructure Program.

TWG members will also undergo a training program to fine-tune the TRIP Criteria, to be organized by the REID Foundation. The set of criteria considers four basic guidelines, namely: road network importance, tourism importance, project readiness and other economic and social development impacts.

Also to be established is a Technical Working Group (TWG) composed of division chiefs, technical and administrative staff from both DOT and DPWH. The TWG will be co-chaired by DOT Director for Tourism Development Planning, Research and Information Management Rolando Cañizal. The TWG will prepare the MultiYear Program and Forward Estimates of

26

Tourism Asia | March 2012

Nesw & Views

Internet in hotels more important than breakfast “When I joined the hotel industry 12

years ago, I was told that it’s a ‘bed, bath and breakfast business’, but now it’s a ‘bed, bath, breakfast and internet business’

and

for

many

guests,

internet’s probably more important than breakfast,” said Nick Price, CEO of Netsys

Technology,

worked

as

chief

who

formerly

information

officer/chief technology officer at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group for 11 years.

Speaking on a panel entitled 'Which technology should I invest in' at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin last week, Price said that offering a “good” internet connection in a hotel room was better than offering a free one, adding that most hotels only currently offered a bad but free connection or a paid, good connection.

Hotel technology experts have said that a good internet connection in a hotel room is more important than breakfast to many guests.

but it’s so frustrating when you can’t

related to wifi, even more so than not

download anything because the band-

having hot water – its something the

width is limited,” added Neumann.

guest complains about immediately,”

“Last year we provided to guests qual-

confirmed European hotel firm NH

ity internet by updating the bandwidth

Hoteles chief strategy and develop-

for all hotels.”

ment officer Francisco Zinser.

Neumann revealed that one of the

Price said hoteliers often imagined

most common guest complaints was

internet usage in hotels as business

that they could not access the internet

travellers on their laptops, but the

“easy and quick enough and on top of

reality of usage was much broader: “It’s

that the hotel is charging for it”.

an explosion of usage happening right before us and we have to respond to it

“We receive around 140,000 guest

in an intelligent way – we can’t put a

comments a year and the biggest reac-

dissatisfy [factor] in front of our

tion to something not working is

guests,” he asserted.

The Rezidor Hotel Group chief operating officer and executive vice president Wolfgang

Neumann

commented:

“Rezidor is not providing internet for free [across all hotels], but the Radisson Blu is. In our midscale brand, Park Inn, we charge for wifi in guestrooms and provide it for free in public areas.

“Radisson Blu is still the only international operator providing good, free internet. Access is like hot water or the bed in the guestroom in today’s age, it’s essential to provide good access.

“Some of the players provide it for free,

28

Tourism Asia | March 2012

News & Views

VIETNAM TOURISM NEEDS BETTER ORGANIZATION What comes as good news is the government decision to return VAT on locally purchased products at international airports to travelers who are on their way home.

Vietnam tourism has improved significantly in recent years. The country is an appealing destination, yet room for improvement in terms of services and organization is still considerably big.

Vietnam already enjoys a very favorable reputation among many tourists who come there from all over the place.

Thanks to local diverse and emotional past, history fans gather there to understand the country’s recent as well as ancient past.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are the two energetic cities which appeal to visitors of all ages and those in favor of spending their free time exploring the marine world have plenty to discover there. On the other hand, services are still not at a completely satisfactory level and experts agree there is a lot of room for improvement.

Tourism Asia | March 2012

What many see as potential threat is the fact that many Vietnamese locations are developing at a dangerous pace, without any considerations to the environment.

The notion of eco-friendliness has not been fully introduced and immediate gain tends to overrule all other, more savvy, approaches to building up the tourist infrastructure.

The problem is multi-layered. The country is becoming increasingly popular for Cambodian tourists, yet there are no tourist guides to speak the language.

Such attitude is very impractical and needs changing.

What tourism representatives name as yet another negative feature of local development is overcharging. Many sites of cultural and historical relevance along with small and mid-sized businesses have increased their prices.

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