Jeju island, South Korea

THE Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) and Jeju Tourism Association (JTA) have signed an MoU during the Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF) 2016 held in Bali last week.

Under the agreement, both parties will cross-sell to boost arrivals in Jeju and Bali.

Kim Yeong-Jin, chairman of Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Tourism Association, said that Bali and Jeju share similarities that enable both destinations to grow in traffic.

He said: “Bali is one of the most popular destinations in the world, and so is Jeju island. Like Bali, Jeju is also the land of the gods and goddesses. With this MoU, JTA becomes the marketer for Bali, promoting the destination to Jeju travellers.”

Kim said the next step would be to work on the chartered direct services between Jeju and Bali to facilitate the traffic.

Ketut Ardana, chairman of ASITA Bali Chapter said this MoU was a follow-up of an umbrella agreement between JTA and ASITA National Board last year for the development of travel between Jeju and Indonesia.

Said Ketut: “Apparently, Jeju sees Bali as the launch pad for growing arrivals. Some of the programmes we (hope to) organise include a sales mission to Jeju. We will also ask JTA to bring buyers to BBTF 2017.

“On the other hand, we will support their sales missions here and bring outbound operators from here to visit Jeju and develop packages.”

Inside of Istanbul Atatürk Airport after the attack. Credit: Conflict News

THREE gunmen assaulted Turkey’s busiest airport Tuesday evening, killing at least 36 and injuring 147 more.

The three men opened fire with their AK-47 automatic rifles before committing suicide bomb attacks at Istanbul Atatürk Airport. Details are unconfirmed, but Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim said that terror group ISIS is behind the attack and that foreigners are among those killed. However, ISIS has yet to officially claim responsibility.

All flights at the major European gateway were also suspended after the attack, but has since resumed this morning.

International media reports based on leaked video footage indicated that one of the blasts took place at the entrance of the terminal. Local witnesses also saw body parts and blood strewn and splattered on the airport floor and walls.

One of the terrorists was also shot by a police officer but managed to detonate his suicide bomb as he fell to the ground.

This is the worst terror attack to have hit Turkey this year, having suffered two other suicide bombings in tourist areas of Istanbul and two car bombings in capital Ankara.

Brussels airport was also attacked in March this year, killing 16.

(From left) Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner, US Customs & Border Protection; Kirk Wagar, US ambassador to Singapore; Amrin Amin, parliamentary secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs; and Clarence Yeo, commissioner, Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority

TRAVELLERS from Singapore and the US are now eligible for expedited clearance at selected airport immigration checkpoints in both countries.

It is part of the Trusted Traveller Programme (TTP) bilateral initiative which came into effect since June 27. Under the agreement, Singapore passport holders who meet prevailing criteria for the TTP may make an online application via the US’ Global Entry Programme (GEP) website at www.cbp.gov.

After submitting an application, those qualified will receive a notification to schedule an in-person interview at the US Embassy in Singapore.

For eligible US passport holders aged six and above, they can apply for the use of enhanced-Immigration Automated Clearance System (eIACS) in Singapore by applying online with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) at www.ica.gov.sg.

Approved applicants will receive a notification of their application outcome and they will be advised on the completion of enrolment procedures.

ASEAN tourism ministers and top executives at the opening ceremony of AEF 2016

RECOGNISING the high-yield, low-impact benefits of ecotourism, governments in South-east Asia are now putting serious efforts to develop this niche market by including sustainable and responsible travel in national planning policies.

At the regional level, the first-ever ASEAN Ecotourism Forum (AEF) which took place in Pakse, Laos last week saw the adoption of the Pakse Declaration, which will lead to a roadmap for the strategic development of ecotourism clusters and tourism corridors.

Speaking during the AEF, Frans Teguh, director of infrastructure development & tourism ecosystem at Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, sees “big potential for marine tourism” and projects ecotourism to contribute to 10 per cent of the country’s tourism market within the next five years.

The Indonesian government will integrate ecotourism into the national masterplan this year, in addition to identifying destinations like Toba Lake, Labuan Bajo and Mandalika as priority areas for ecotourism development. As well, a special pavilion dedicated to sustainable tourism will debut at PATA Travel Mart this year, Frans told TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of the forum.

The Malaysia National Ecotourism Plan 2016-2025 will be using the cluster approach – i.e. grouping a critical mass of competitive and/or complementary tourism products in a geographical area – as a planning tool to foster integration, informed Amran Hamzah, a professor in tourism planning and director of the Centre of Innovative Planning and Development at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

While he declined to reveal more details of the plan at press time as the strategy was still undergoing discussion, Amran said that it will seek to avoid earlier weak points in the National Ecotourism Plan 1996 such as the absence of “buy in” from the private sector.

For Thailand’s minister of tourism & sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, bringing standards at ecological sites, national parks and historical cultural centres to international levels is a key concern. Besides working with global organisations like UNWTO to pursue internationally recognised standards, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has rolled out the Seven Greens campaign to promote responsible travel and destinations, she revealed.

Many areas still need the strong support of governments in the ecotourism development field though, industry stakeholders pointed out at the AEF.

Owing to the “high startup costs” in ecotourism ventures, Asian Development Bank’s senior portfolio management specialist of Lao PDR Resident Mission, Steven Schipani, urged governments to proactively identify viable tourism projects and provide stronger destination marketing in order to lend a helping hand for SME entrepreneurs in this niche sector.

Meanwhile, Xu Jing, regional director for Asia and the Pacific, would like to see more open visa policies. “Unless visa issues are facilitated and seriously taken up by governments, ecotourism benefits cannot be fully realised,” he remarked.