Tourism Asia

Vol. 07 | N o: 11. Nov embe

- Jaisalmer Desert Festival

r 2011

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

contents november 06 DESERT FESTIVAL JAISALMER Start Date :

05-Feb-2012

End Date :

07-Feb-2012

Venue :

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

City :

Jaisalmer

Country :

India

State :

Rajasthan

10 10

10

Hong Kong achieves record visitor arrivals In August, visitor arrivals from mainland China grew by 23% year-on-year to exceed 2.91 million, making it the highest-ever mainland arrival figure for a single

08

month.

TTG China Launches Travel Industry Breaking News Service for the Greater China Region Full Suite of Online Products Offered, Including Revamped Website and Digital Version of Publication

Property of the month

20

Ideas Manzil, Dhaka,

Bangladesh

Intimate,

stylishly

decorated 5-suite heritage

guest-

house located on a quiet road in the backstreets Dhaka’s

of

Gulshan

neighbourhood, where most of the foreign embassies and development agencies have ...

Tourism Asia | November 2011

3

contents november 16

Ha Long Bay’s World Wonder bid receives a boost

22

Asia Pacific visitor arrivals rise again International visitor arrivals to the Asia Pacific region increased 6% year-on-year in August 2011, according to the latest data

26 14

Nishorgo Nirob Eco-Cottage UN helps boost tourism in least developed countries The UNWTO has joined with eight of the world’s Least

from the Pacific Asia Travel Association

Developed Countries (LDCs) to assess their tourism

(PATA). The growth rate marks a slight slow-

development needs.

down compared to the 7% increase seen in July 2011, but South and Southeast Asia continued to demonstrate strong doubledigit growth.

12

China, India hold key to travel industry growth Malaysia's first luxury wellness retreat, The Banjaran is

24

World Travel Awards Celebrates Success of Asian Tourism in Bangkok

slated to open its doors at historic Tambun, Perak.

“To become the recipient of a regional World Travel Award is indeed recognition of our staffs dedication to service and of Dusit Thani Bangkok which continues to remain a preferred hotel in Asia” - Alex Willats 4

Tourism Asia | November 2011

From the editor’s desk Managing Editor

:

Sreekumara Menon

India is probably the ultimate destination of

Group Editor

:

Janeesh Jalaluddin

all kinds of pilgrims following any faith

Executive Editor

:

Kriebel George

around the world. The great religions like

Photo Editor

:

Madhu Menon

Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Christi-

Art Editor

:

Dileep

anity and Sikhism are the integral part of

Senior Correspondent :

Subhash Ghosh

Indian culture and heritage whose values

Senior Sub Editor

:

Anish Kumar

and

Editorial Team

:

Anu S

soil and the sky of India.

faiths

are

mingled

with

the

air,

:

Viji V S

Marketing

:

Suresh Kumar S

Legal Advisor

India is the land of gods and diverse religions where lies the

:

Adv. Preeja K S

Financial Controller

serenity of its heritage. India is dotted with pilgrimages. Great

:

Abhilash S P

religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism have originated on the Indian soil. Over 80% of India's population practices

Representatives North India

:

Vinod Chandana

East India

:

Gagan Sarangi

West India

:

S K Singh

Bahrain

:

Shine G Nair

Bangalore

:

Bhagvan Din Kumar

Bhubaneshwar

:

Gagan Sarangi

Chennai

:

Balachandar

Dubai

:

Shinu

New Delhi

:

Annie Chacko

Philippines

:

Cynthia Lim

Pune

:

S K Singh

Qatar

:

Aneena Jacob

Singapore

:

Ajith Menon

Srilanka

:

Prebuddha

Thailand

:

Tae

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

Hinduism, the ancient indigenous religion of India which has a wide variety of forms and expressions. Muslims constitute about 10% of the Indian population. Other significant religious groups in India include Jains, and Christians. Buddhism is almost extinct in the land of its birth, but many exiled Tibetan Buddhists now make their home in India, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. India's famed spirituality has made it a popular destination for spiritually-inclined travelers..

There are a number of Tour operators in the country that offer various pilgrimage tour packages to tourists. These operators also arrange for the stay, the food and other comforts for the pilgrimage. Any pilgrimage tour in India is sure to make you feel elated. These pilgrimage tours are sure to provide the tourists with peace and tranquility.

Pilgrimage tourism as a business has also become big in India in the recent times. There is no denying to the fact that Indians are religious and religion is a part of their life. The boom in the

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

travel industry has helped tourists to visit these pilgrimage

Regd Office:

world are being attracted to India for its pilgrimage destina-

‘Sreeji Nivas’ , Peroorkada, Thiruvananthapuram

spots often. A lot of people from across different parts of the tions.

Edited and Published by: Sreekumara Menon 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

Tourism Asia | November 2011

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

5

News & Events

DESERT FESTIVAL JAISALMER Start Date :

05-Feb-2012 End Date :

Venue :

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

City :

Jaisalmer

Country :

07-Feb-2012 India

State : Rajasthan

Organizer

Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, Jaipur, India

The Desert Festival is an annual event

During the festival, the desert folks

organized

city,

sing and dance eloquently to the

Jaisalmer. This three days festival is

triumphs and the tragedies of the land.

held in the month of February. It is

Other major celebrations of the Desert

organized in association with the

Festival of Rajasthan include the tradi-

Rajasthan

Development

tional gymnasts, mystical snake charm-

Corporation, Jaisalmer. Desert Festival

ers, entertaining puppet shows and

represents

colourful

captivating folk music recitals. The

Rajasthani folk culture and concludes

desert festival is also a musical extrava-

on the day of Poornima.

ganza where musicians and the

in

the

beautiful

Tourism the

rich

and

renowned artists participate. Along with this, a number of competitions are held in the festival like

the

turban

competition, moustaches tion,

etc.

tying

longest competiEven

the

camels take part in a number

of

including

camel

events, polo

and camel dance. Not only the Jaisalmer fort but the whole Jaisalmer city brims with excitement during the Desert Festival.

6

Tourism Asia | November 2011

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Honeymoon Packages

Luxury Packages

Family Holidays

Standard Packages

23 Hotline: +91 9447798108, +91 9847771229

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Tower House, Convent Road, Thiruvananthapuram 695001, Kerala, India.

Phone: +91 9349336702, +91 471 2470660 Email: mail@chalukyatours.com www.keralatrips.in

News & Events

TTG China Launches Travel Industry Breaking News Service for the Greater China Region HONG KONG, October 27, 2011 - TTG Asia Media has launched TTG China e-Daily, a free daily breaking-news e-mail service for travel professionals in the Greater China region. The Chineselanguage e-mail service allows travel professionals to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the travel, hotel, airline, and transportation industries.

Published by the editorial team behind TTG China, the first travel agent newspaper for Chinese-speaking industry professionals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, the TTG China e-Daily will be sent to over 30,000 travel professionals throughout the Greater China region free-of-charge, daily, from Monday to Friday. Each e-mail will provide short summaries of the breaking travel news stories of the day, with links to the www.ttgchina.com website for subscribers to read the stories in-full.

Chinese-speaking travel professionals are invited to subscribe to the TTG China e-Daily at www.ttgchina.com. A contest that rewards one lucky TTG China e-Daily subscriber every month from November 2011 till February 2012 is also underway.

Prizes include 2-night stays at the following Hong Kong-based hotels: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui, Hotel ICON, Le Meridien Cyberport and The Mira.

Tourism Asia | December 2010

Full Suite of Online Products Offered, Including Revamped Website and Digital Version of Publication To complement the launch of the TTG China e-Daily, TTG Asia Media has revamped the TTG China website (www.ttgchina.com) to serve as the onestop Chinese-language travel trade news destination online. The TTG China website includes business relevant sections such as:

communication and exchange within the industry.

• CASE STUDY: Useful summaries and analyses of the benefits gained and challenges faced in staging industry events and both large and small-scale exhibitions.

• TOP STORIES: The tourism industry’s

• VIEWPOINT: Professional viewpoints from the industry/s leading managers provide incisive analysis on the travel industry/s developments, market situations and future trends.

• TOURISM DATA: Statistics linked to the development and research of the tourism industry serve as a useful reference for R&D and strategy-development for professionals in all fields.

• AGENT TALK: An online exchange of ideas on hot topics offers a platform for

latest news allows industry personnel to keep abreast of market conditions and development opportunities.

• HOT MOVES AND HOT JOBS: The latest personnel changes and top positions within the tourism industry ensure travel professionals don't miss out on any career opportunities.

• HOT DEALS: Industry suppliers offer special promotions and packages exclusively for travel professionals

8

News & Events

About TTG Asia Media

Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media, said: ITTG China e-Daily and the revamped TTG China website offer travel professionals in the Greater China region the relevant information they need to make key business decisions both domestically and abroad."

The travel industry can now enjoy timely and reliable travel updates on a daily basis from the most soughtÂŹ after Chinese-language travel news title in the region."

From November, existing and new readers of the monthly TTG China print publication can access the magazine on-thego with TTG China DIGITAL. This electronic flip-book version of the print edition will be accessible on online, desktop and mobile platforms.

About TTG China Launched in 1998, TTG China is the most established travel agent news paper for Chinese speaking industry professionals in China, Hong Kong,Taiwan and Macau.

This leading business resource for dedicated news and reports on the Chinese travel industry, reaches out to a loyal readership base of more than 13,000 monthly. The TTG China online products (www.ttgchina.com, TTG China e-Daily and TTG China DIGITAL) complement its monthly print publication, delivering the latest updates on the Chinese travel trade 24/7.

Visit www .ttgchina.com for more information.

TTG Asia Media Pte Ltd is the leading publisher and organizer of events in travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region. Its publications and trade shows provide the best access and solutions to marketing travel and tourism in AsiaPacific.

Visit www .ttgasiamedia.com for more information.

News & Views

Hong Kong achieves record visitor arrivals In August, visitor arrivals from mainland China grew by 23% yearon-year to exceed 2.91 million, making it the highest-ever mainland arrival figure for a single month.

Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong exceeded four million for the first time in August, setting a new monthly record for the city.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that arrivals in August reached 4.07 million, a year-on-year growth of 17.7%. In the first eight months of 2011, arrivals amounted to 27.24 million - a 16.2% increase compared to the same period last year.

Commenting on the new single-month record, HKTB Chairman, James Tien said; “We are encouraged by the tourism performance in August. Summer has always been a peak season for travel among short-haul visitors. Following a

historic high of 3.8 million arrivals in July, this is the second month in a row that arrivals set a new monthly record. “Overall, during the summer period from June to August, we welcomed a total of 10,940,371 arrivals, 18.8% more than the corresponding period last year. Both mainland China and Southeast Asia achieved outstanding performance, mainly because of the favourable economic climate and appreciation of currencies in these markets. In addition, the local travel trade also proactively launched timely promotions to make the best of the business opportunities arising from the peak travel season.

10

Tourism Asia | November 2011

News & Events

China, India hold key to travel industry growth

China and India will account for more than 150 million outbound tourists by 2020, and the travel trade needs to target these markets effectively if they are to fully capitalise on the huge opportunity.

This was the key message of the ‘Get Insights, Build Your Business’ workshop held yesterday at the PATA Travel Mart 2011 in New Delhi.

John Koldowski (pictured), Director of PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre, led the session, citing data confirming how the two markets are already burgeoning.

According to Koldowski, the number of Indian (+12.9%) and Chinese (+18.1%) visitors to Asia Pacific destinations both experienced double-digit growth in the first half of 2011. This far exceeded the overall 5% rise in arrivals to Asia Pacific in the same period. China’s outbound growth was especially apparent in South and Southeast Asia, at 58.0% and 44.2% respectively. Indian arrivals to neighbouring South Asian nations jumped 47.5%.

He warned however, that tourism operators and destinations wanting to target China and Indian tourists need to realise the regional differences within these countries.

“No way can you consider India and China as homogenous markets; they differ 12

dramatically. Each state or province has GDP power equivalent to whole nations,” Koldowski said.

Adding fuel to the statistical fire, Surekha

Poddar, Executive Director of Consumer Research for Nielsen India, noted the growing affluence and confidence among Indian consumers. Citing data from a recent Nielsen survey, Ms Poddar revealed that India now ranks number one in global consumer confidence indices, with a rating of 126 compared to the global 89. In terms of spending priorities, travel now ranks second among Indian consumers at 34%, compared to the global average of 32%. Most notably, only 7% of Indian consumers now claim to have “no spare cash”, compared to the global 16%. In China this figure is even more impressive, with only

3% of consumers claiming to have no disposable income.

The online sector was clearly a strong driving force behind the rise in travel among Indian and Chinese consumers. In India, while 60% of travellers still get their information from their local travel agent, 57% also now use an internet search engine and 45% use an online travel agent (OTA). While agent bookings have also increased, bookings via OTAs have seen a larger growth in percentage terms. In China, it is notable that while the majority of travellers research their travel plans online, the majority still return to their travel agent to book their trip.

The online theme was continued by Jens Thraenhart, President and co-founder of China-based Dragon Trail, who noted that companies and destinations need to target Chinese social media sites and develop multi-media strategies in order to gain a greater share of Chinese travellers. While social media is a global trend, Thraenhart said it was especially prevalent in China, where affluent consumers are on average 20 years younger than those in the western world.

Tourism Asia | November 2011

News & Events

UN helps boost tourism in least developed countries The UNWTO has joined with eight of the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to assess their tourism development needs. The UN Steering Committee on Tourism for Development (SCTD), held in Switzerland, joined with tourism, finance and trade ministries from Benin, Burundi, Cambodia, Comoros, Lesotho, Maldives, Sao Tome and Principe and Uganda, to learn how to better work together to maximise the countries’ tourism potential and identify funding sources.

“Tourism is one of the few economic sectors through which LDCs have managed to increase their participation in the global economy,” said UNWTO Executive Director, Márcio Favilla. “The multiplier effect of tourism is also particularly effective in the LDCs, where

International tourist arrivals in the world’s 48 LDCs grew from six million in 2000 to more than 17 million in 2010, while international tourism receipts climbed from US$3 billion to in excess of US$10 billion.

- allowed the countries to learn more about how to best access the EIF mechanism to develop their tourism strategies and action plans, as well as leveraging human and financial resources.

The UN workshop, organised with the support of the Secretariat of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) - a programme specifically designed for LDCs

It is now expected that the LDCs will be able to prepare project proposals by the end of 2011, for approval and endorsement by mid-2012.

tourism expenditure generates additional flows of revenue and consumption for other branches of the economy such as agriculture, local fisheries, handicrafts and the furniture and construction industries.”

14

Tourism Asia | November 2011

News & Views

Ha Long Bay’s World Wonder bid receives a boost Vietnamese people will have the chance to vote for Ha Long Bay as a new World Wonder through a TV programme to be broadcast live on October 29.

The live programme will be concurrently aired on Vietnam Television’s Channel 1 (VTV1) linking four places: Ha Long Bay in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, the capital city of Hanoi, the former imperial city of Hue in the central region and Ho Chi Minh City.

Famous figures, including pop stars, will vote for the bay and deliver messages calling on audiences to take part in the vote.

Ha Long Bay has been twice recognised as a World Natural Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The programme will help promote the image of the World Heritage site of Ha Long Bay and Vietnam as well, said Nguyen Van Tinh, head of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) at a press briefing in Hanoi on October 19.

According to MoCST Minister Hoang Tuan Anh, the voting campaign is entering the

Vietnam Holidays

final stage. New7Wonders will announce the final results of voting around the world on November 11, 2011.

He quoted New7Wonders as saying Ha Long Bay has received a relatively high number of votes compared to other nominees.

Vietnamese people can vote for Ha Long Bay

by

logging

www.new7wonders.com

and

on Facebook

and using the SMS service.

The voting will be closed at 11.11am (GMT) on November 11, 2011.

16

Tourism Asia | November 2011

Travel Writer

TRAVEL WRITER of the Month Indu grew up in Bangalore, studied Economic Honours, but spent more time writing birthday cards with personalized gags than writing economics assignments. A gold medal in journalism landed her a job at Deccan Herald, but the Chief Reporter politely but firmly suggested she join an ad agency, after seeing her excessive use of exaggeration. A few months later, Indu joined JWT--and never left for 29 years! After heading the Creative Department in Chennai, she recently quit to pursue a passion travel - particularly because annual leave came around only once a year.

Having been brought up on a diet of Mad Magazines since the age of 8, humour and satire reading/writing is a favourite. Indu wrote a light-hearted monthly column “Meanwhile” for the Sunday Express, Chennai, with over 40 pieces published. She is now a

regular writer for The Sunday Hindu and Travel Plus, both being large English dailies in India. She particularly likes anecdotal travel stories. She also contributes to leading advertising magazines - usually on the lighter side of the advertising life.

Indu has bungee-jumped at Bali, white-water rafted in the Ganges, seen the inside of the Pyramid at Egypt, danced like Zorba the Greek

in Crete, and is constantly looking for the next big adventure…Meanwhile, she's dreaming of publishing her unfinished book on the perils of belonging to the exciting, eccentric world of advertising.

As a writer and reviewer with Travel To Care, she has explored the palace trail from Jodhpur to Udaipur in Rajasthan, stayed at quaint little homestays in Coorg, and watched glorious sunsets from hideaways along the South Kerala Coast.

18

Tourism Asia | November 2011

Property of the month

Ideas Manzil Dhaka, Bangladesh

Intimate,

stylishly decorated 5-suite heritage guesthouse

located on a quiet road in the backstreets of Dhaka’s Gulshan neighbourhood, where most of the foreign embassies and development agencies have ...

Reviewed by Mikey Leung

property. In essence, Ison has created an experience that could be called true Bangladeshi hospitality.

The guesthouse is best suited for those who are seeking an authentic experi-

Ideas Manzil is the brainchild of owner Barry Ison, a long time foreign resident of Bangladesh and indeed, this end of South Asia. Originally born and raised in Darjeeling, Ison has long had a passion for the culture and history of Bengal, and is now one of the few foreign hospitality business owners in Bangladesh, which is probably why the property is so unique.

The Manzil (Arabic term for house) is an intimate heritage guesthouse situated in a quiet corner of Dhaka’s Gulshan neighbourhood, where many of the foreign missions and development agencies are based. With five guest rooms, an upstairs roof terrace, a restaurant and handicrafts boutique, Ison is indeed offering everything that a responsible traveller could want in a single, accessible package.

ence of Bangladesh and a taste of its old world charms, and so historians, culture vultures and a professional traveller would appreciate this place more than young adventure seekers. It’s a good place to base yourself if you’re a visiting development worker or business person, or are a short-term tourist to Dhaka and want to see how local upper class people live in a supposedly ‘poverty stricken’ country.

* * * *

The atmosphere of the guesthouse speaks of an old world hospitality not easily found amongst the modern tileand-concrete hotels and guesthouses of the rest of Gulshan. Corridors are decorated with hand-carved Mughal doorways; Bangladeshi art and photography is displayed prominently around the 20

Tourism Asia | November 2011

News & Events

Asia Pacific visitor arrivals rise again

A A A A A

S S S S S

I I I I I

A A A A A

International visitor arrivals to the Asia Pacific region increased 6% year-on-year in August 2011, according to the latest data from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). The growth rate marks a slight slowdown compared to the 7% increase seen in July 2011, but South and Southeast Asia continued to demonstrate strong double-digit growth.

In August, travel to Southeast Asia grew 15%, up from 11% in July. Thailand (+35%), Vietnam (+29%), Cambodia (+21%), Singapore (+18%) and the Philippines (+11%) all reported stronger international arrivals growth in August compared to July. Growth for Myanmar and Indonesia however, was lower than the previous month.

South Asia was the second fastest growing sub-region in August 2011.

With the exception of India, which saw a 5% increase in arrivals, South Asian across-the-board

visitor arrivals into Northeast Asian

A few Asia Pacific destinations are

double-digit growth. Arrivals to India

destinations has been changing in the

facing

remained significant in volume terms

past few years, with Hong Kong, South

numbers of visitors.� For the first eight

however, with the country welcoming

Korea and Taiwan gaining at the

months of 2011, South Asia has seen a

an additional 20,000 visitors in August

expense of China and Japan.

14% increase in international visitors,

2011 compared to August 2010.

Arrivals

region

while Southeast Asia experienced a

Northeast Asia registered a year-on-

remained level in August following

12% rise. Northeast Asia and the

year increase in arrivals of 4% during

three consecutive months of contrac-

Pacific grew by 4% and 1% respectively.

August. This set a new monthly arrivals

tion, although the key markets of

record for the sub-region, reaching an

Australia and New Zealand achieved

inbound volume of more than 20

growth of 3% and 5% respectively. The

million international visitors in a single

overall result however, was impacted

month.

by a 4% decline in visitors to Hawaii.

Nonetheless, China saw a minor drop

Bill Calderwood, PATA’s interim CEO,

of 1% and Japan struggled with a 32%

said; “International arrivals momentum

decline in international arrivals during

into the Asia Pacific region continues

the month, as the negative impact of

to hold at a relatively strong rate. Many

the 11 March disasters continued. PATA

destinations are performing above that

noted that the share of international

6% aggregate average.

nations

22

achieved

into

the

Pacific

difficulties

with

contracting

Tourism Asia | November 2011

Awards & Achievements

World Travel Awards Celebrates Success of Asian Tourism in Bangkok

Asia’s role in leading the global travel and

tourism

recovery

has

been

acknowledged at a gala ceremony hosted by World Travel Awards in Bangkok.

VIPs, senior tourism leaders, captains of industry and international media travelled from over 30 nations across the region to attend the WTA Asia &

“To become the recipient of a regional World Travel Award is indeed recognition of our staffs dedication to service and of Dusit Thani Bangkok which continues to remain a preferred hotel in Asia” - Alex Willats

Australasia Ceremony 2011 at Dusit

It was also an evening of travel triumph

Thani Bangkok.

for Australasia. Among the big winners

Malaysia Airlines overcame stiff com-

were Air New Zealand, which was voted

petition from Cathay Pacific, Singapore

“Australasia’s Leading Airline”,

World Travel Awards president Graham

Airlines, Japan Airlines, Thai Airways and Air China to collect “Asia’s Leading Airline”.

Meanwhile India saw off the likes of Bali, Korea and Sri Lanka to win “Asia’s Leading Destination”; while Trident Gurgaon was voted “Asia’s Leading Hotel”.

Korean Air was voted “Asia’s Leading Airline First Class” and the new super luxury hotel Oberoi Gurgaon collected

Cooke

underlined

the

incredible

“Asia’s Leading Luxury Hotel”.

strength of the region’s travel and

Thailand, which played host to WTA for

Bora Bora, French Polynesia named

tourism economy.

the first time, enjoyed a large slice of

“Australasia’s Leading Destination” and

He said: “Asia is powering the global

the evening’s honours, reflecting its

Sheraton on the Park, Sydney, which

travel

growing role as a travel and tourism

picked up “Australasia’s Leading Hotel”.

tonight’s winners represent the very

hub of Asia.

The industry’s elit travelled from over

cream of our industry.

Home-grown winners included Bang-

30 countries across Asia and Austral-

“The burgeoning middle classes in

kok Airways (Asia’s Leading Regional

asia to attend the glittering gala

markets such as India, China and

Airline); Six Senses Hideaway, Samui

ceremony. The raft of media in atten-

Malaysia are fuelling a surge in intra-

(“Asia’s Leading Honeymoon Resort”);

dance included CNN, Thailand Tatler,

Asia travel.

and Bangkok (“Asia’s Leading Meetings

Bangkok Post, National Geographic

“We expect this growth to continue for

& Conference Destination”).

Traveller and Lonely Planet.

at least the next decade, making the

24

and

tourism

recovery,

and

Tourism Asia | November 2011

Awards & Achievements future very bright indeed for Asia’s

world.

The event partners were Dusit Thani

luxury hospitality sector.

The Asia & Australasia Ceremony

Bangkok, Tourism Authority of Thai-

“Thailand, in particular, is reaping the

marks the fourth leg of World Travel

land, Thailand Convention & Exhibition

rewards of the changes sweeping

Awards 2011 Grand Tour, and follows

Bureau, BBC World News and WeClick-

across the region thanks to its culture,

the legs in Dubai, UAE; Antalya, Turkey;

Media,

amazing

and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; while

included eTurboNews, Breaking Travel

facilities.”

Montego Bay, Jamaica will play host to

News, Trav Talk and Travel Daily News.

The famed Dusit Thani Bangkok played

the final heat on October 29th.

host to the ceremony.

The regional winners will then progress

For a full list of winners at World Travel

For 41 years, the 517-room five-star

to the Grand Final at the end of the

Awards

property has served as a social and

year.

Ceremony visit the official website.

beaches

and

world-class

and

2011

the

Asia

media

&

partners

Australasia

business landmark in Thai capital.

Alex Willats, acting general manager, Dusit Thani Bangkok, said: “It was a marvellous honour for Dusit Thani to play host to this blue riband event in Asia and the opportunity to showcase our unique Thai hospitality to the

25

World Travel Awards rewards excellence in tourism from across the region

Tourism Asia | November 2011

News & Events

Nishorgo Nirob Eco-Cottage Meet Mr. Shamsul Hoque. The enterprising villager from Srimongol was one of the fortunate few chosen to open an eco-cottage on his property by the Nishorgo Support Project, a USAID (American aid agency) initiative that was trying to create tourism opportunities in the vicinity of the few forests Bangladesh still has. After receiving training from staff of the Radisson and getting a start up loan to build a nice bathroom and a rustic bamboo cottage, he began receiving guests in early 2008. His first cottage was situated in his backyard lemon grove and overlooked a small stream – a really pleasant place to dip one’s feet (or more) and to watch the sunset.

Today his little village business has been so successful that they’ve already begun expanding. By the time you read this, things will have likely changed. Shamsul built another two cottages already, one made entirely of concrete and another with mixed construction materials, and such was the demand for his accommodation in this scenic and hilly part of Bangladesh.

Surrounded by nearby tea fields, the Srimongol area has plenty of eco-friendly tourism potential, to best of which would be cycling or walking around in the tea

gardens. The nearby Lawachara National Park itself is about a 45 minute walk away, where you can try to spot the very rare, very beautiful and much endangered Hoolock Gibbon. By maintaining a locally-produced product and style of hospitality, Shamsul is already capitalising on the eco-tourism potential of his region. The only danger here is that his property becomes irresponsible by virtue of its popularity and his own desire to make more money. There is already a hint of this in that his newest buildings use corrugated tin for the rooftop and concrete foundations, where as his bamboo cottage was built on stilts and uses bamboo throughout except in the bathroom.

* * * *

Tourism Asia | November 2011

26