Vietjet takes flight from HCMC to Yangon

October 7, 2015

Credit: VietJet

VIETNAMESE budget carrier VietJet has launched a new service between Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Yangon. The new route will initially operate five round trips per week with a flight duration of 2 hours 15 minutes per trip.

Flights are scheduled to leave from HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 10.25 and arrive at Yangon International Airport at 12.10. The return flight departs from Yangon at 13.00 and arrives in HCMC at 15.45.

The airline currently operates two daily flights from Singapore to HCMC. Flights depart Singapore Changi International Airport at 13.00 and 17.25 while return flights from HCMC depart for Singapore at 08.55 and 12.55.

Greater local involvement needed for Myanmar’s tourism stakeholders

By Sid Dhartha

October 7, 2015

STRONGER coordination between stakeholders and increased local participation in tourism-related decisions are key focus points if Myanmar’s tourism industry is to grow sustainably.

This is according to a multi-stakeholder workshop on responsible tourism and human rights – attended by over 100 participants from the government, tourism businesses, associations, civil society groups, international NGOs and travel specialists – organised by the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB) and Hanns Seidel Foundation last week in Nay Pyi Taw.

The issue at the top of the list for over 20 per cent of participants is the lack of local participation. Next five highest ranking concerns are waste and water management, safety, access to land, relocation of communities and tourism’s impact on children.

Many participants noted that while current policies set strong frameworks for local involvement, things are not actually taking place on the ground, mainly due to a lack of capacity, money and time needed.

“This meeting highlighted how transparency, constant communication and the sharing of lessons learned and different perspectives facilitates better decisions on how to develop tourism sustainably,” said Vicky Bowman, director of MCRB.

“The recent history of hotel zones in Myanmar shows how quick decisions taken without a full understanding of the potential social, environmental and cultural impacts, as well as the needs of the market, and local concerns, can lead to bad outcomes for communities, economic losses for business, environmental degradation and unhappy tourists,” he added.

InterContinental HK rolls out new deal, As Seen in the Movies

By TTG Asia

October 6, 2015

FANS of Hong Kong cinema can now relive their favourite film moments with InterContinental Hong Kong’s As Seen in the Movies package stay in its luxurious Presidential Suite.

The suite was the venue for several feature film scenes including Lost in Hong Kong, Overheard 3 and Z-Storm. It is also the largest suite in Hong Kong at 650m2, complete with a duplex living room, dining room, kitchen, private study, gym, and a 232m2 rooftop terrace which comes with a private swimming pool and Jacuzzi overlooking the harbour.

Credit: InterContinental Hong Kong

The package also comes with a private butler available 24 hours and transportation to and from the airport in a Bentley limousine driven by a chauffeur.

Guests will also have access to the Executive Lounge, where they can enjoy breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails from 18.00 to 20.00.

A special dinner for two at the hotel’s two-Michelin star Cantonese restaurant Yan Toh Heen is also included in the package, excluding beverages.

The package is priced at HK$58,000 (US$7,484) plus 10 per cent service charge per night, valid from now until December 17, 2015, and is non-refundable and must be fully prepaid.

More details can be found at the hotel’s website.

Visa glitch put dent in Malaysia’s Chinese visitor numbers

By S Puvaneswary

October 6, 2015

THE social visit pass, extended to Chinese tourists to Malaysia, has hit a bump in implementation since its October 1 launch date, with travel consultants saying the application process has not been revealed by the Malaysian government.

Mint Leong, managing director of Sunflower Holidays in Kuala Lumpur, said her incentive group of 50 arriving from Shanghai today is being given special assistance on last-minute visa processing by the Malaysian Consul-General office in Shanghai.

Leong, who is also secretary-general at the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA), said Chinese tourists intending to visit Malaysia must continue to apply for a visa until further notice. MITA had also written to Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs to come up with procedure details by October 10, she added.

MITA estimates a loss of 8,000 arrivals from China during the Chinese Golden Week period (from October 1 to 7) resulting in a loss of RM25 million (US$5.7 million) on tourism revenue.

Albert Tan, president of the Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association, said: “Operators in China are unhappy because there is no clear direction. Our concern is also whether the entry points in Malaysia have clear directions from the Ministry of Home Affairs as we don’t want tourists to be turned away.”

Tan, who is also managing director at Tong Yan Tavel & Tours in Penang, is expecting to lose 40 per cent of targeted arrivals during the Golden Week period. “Without clear direction, we cannot promote Malaysia at this point of time,” he said.

Restructuring of Air France to take off despite violent protests

By TTG Asia

October 6, 2015

Credit: Air France

AIR France-KLM’s board of directors today confirmed it is going ahead with its long-discussed restructuring plans for Air France, amid dissident responses from its flight crew unions and a violent strike which resulted in seven injured on Monday.

Despite discussions in gridlock between Air France and union representatives, the airline will be implementing reforms in line with its Perform 2020 restructuring goals, which should see longhaul capacity drop by approximately 10 per cent, with overall passengers dipping by around two per cent, contrary to previous estimates of three per cent growth by 2017.

This will result in the closure of five routes and the cancellation of 35 weekly frequencies by 2017, with flights plying the Asia and Middle East routes affected most. According to a statement from Air France-KLM, those routes have incurred the greatest losses for Air France.

Air France’s longhaul fleet will also be scaled back by 14 aircraft to a total of 93 by 2017, with deliveries of new Boeing 787s made in 2011 now cancelled.

“This reduction in activity will result in estimated overstaffing of 2,900 people, comprising approximately 300 pilots, 900 cabin crew and 1,700 ground staff,” Air France-KLM said in a statement.

Air France, with a current staff of 52,000, is not ruling out compulsory redundancies and are welcoming voluntary resignations at the moment.

During the unveiling of the restructuring plans on Monday, Xavier Broseta, Air France-KLM’s human resources manager was almost lynched by striking workers, according to a report by AFP. His shirt was also ripped off as security guards assisted him over a fence to safety.

Another security guard was knocked unconscious by protesters and is being treated at a hospital.

In the statement released in reaction to the violence, Alexandre de Juniac, chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM, said: “We regret that no agreement has been reached with the Air France flight crew unions. The turnaround of the company can only be fulfilled with the mobilisation of all its employees.

“The Air France management remains available to reopen negotiations with its unions at any point. We reaffirm our determination to implement the adaptation measures vital to ensuring the long-term future of Air France and allow it to finance its growth.”

Media to speak up on media-handling

By TTG Asia

October 6, 2015

WITH the next headline-grabbing disaster just around the corner, can you handle the media and the buyers?

As the industry gets hit by one crisis after another, TTG Asia Media’s workshop at ITB Asia in Singapore on October 21 will field top journalists and media practitioners giving their views on how to engage the media constructively and creatively, and how crisis management must progress beyond the SOP like media fam trips and using social media.

CEOs from recent disaster-hit destinations will also give a reliable account of recovery progress to-date and share their thoughts on the media/buyers’ role in rebuilding.

Data-crunchers will pinpoint the common patterns or trends that stand out again and again when a crisis hits – how traffic redirects itself, the role data and intelligence play in crisis management and how affected destinations can adjust their sales and marketing efforts.

The two-hour not-for-profit workshop will be held on October 21, 11.00-13.00 at Marina Bay Sands, Sands Convention Centre, Basement 2 Hall D-F. This is within ITB Asia travel mart. It is free for all ITB Asia delegates while arrangements have also been made for a visitor pass at discounted rates.

Seats are on a first-come-first-served basis as the room could accommodate only 150 pax. To-date, more than half of the seats have been taken up.

Journalists and media practitioners who will speak at the workshop include Kannan Chandran, founder and publisher, E-Quill News Media and Six-Six News; Imtiaz Muqbil, executive editor of Travel Impact Newswire; and Ken Scott, former journalist and now PR practitioner of Scott Asia Communications.

Listen also to the real experiences and recovery updates from direct sources including Marcus Cotton, managing director of Tiger Mountain Nepal, and Jamili Nais, director, Sabah Parks, who was personally involved in the search, rescue and now rebuilding of Kota Kinabalu mountain trails.

Data-driven analysts include Stewart Hunter, director Asia-Pacific of Sojern, and Todd Arthur, managing director Asia-Pacific of HRS.

The workshop will benefit the media, PR practitioner, seller, buyer, NTO marketer – practically anyone who wishes to learn how to engage the media better. Register now at the following website or contact Stephanie Toh at (65) 6395 7531 or stephanie.toh@ttgasia.com.

Stronger joint marketing push for Greater Mekong Subregion

By TTG Asia

October 6, 2015

A NEW marketing strategy has been introduced by the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) – which includes Cambodia, Laos, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – at the 20th GMS Ministerial Conference held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

Named Experience Mekong Tourism Marketing Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2020, the initiative focuses on joint tourism marketing by GMS countries and aims to bolster cooperation through the development of thematic multi-cultural tour programmes and the promotion of multi-country itineraries.

The objectives of the new strategy include an emphasis on secondary destinations and multi-country itineraries, especially community and river-based tourism, as well as local cuisine and cultural appreciation.

“We encourage tourists to spread their spending beyond established locations such as Angkor Wat, the Grand Palace in Bangkok and Yangon in Myanmar,” said Jens Thraenhart, executive director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office.

Thraenhart is optimistic that the marketing plans will further raise the profile of the GMS as a world-class destination with quality tourism services and convenient visa policies.

A freely accessible GMS tourism e-library will also be made available on the MekongTourism.org digital platform.

Preparation of the plan was led by the GMS Tourism Working Group, with support from the Asian Development Bank and the MTCO.

Soneva invites travel consultants to live like a millionaire in new competition

By TTG Asia

October 6, 2015

Credit: Soneva Resorts and Residences

LUXURY resort operator Soneva Resorts and Residences has launched its first Live like a Millionaire competition with a prize offering worth US$250,000 for the global travel industry.

The competition invites travel consultants worldwide to compete for confirmed bookings for villas three rooms and larger at the Soneva Fushi or Soneva Kiri – located in the Maldives and Thailand’s Koh Kood respectively – for stays between October 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016.

The individual who generates the highest value of bookings between October 1 and December 31, 2015 will win a seven-night stay in a luxurious villa for eight people with full board, plus business class flights and resort transfers.

Winners will be announced in March 2016. For more information, head to Soneva’s website or email sales@soneva.com.

Indonesia’s Toraja wakes up from hibernation

By Mimi Hudoyo

October 6, 2015

Peace has descended and Toraja is luring tourists back with agro-tourism and cultural experiences.

Toraja in South Sulawesi is striving to put itself back on the international tourist map after lying dormant for some 15 years.

Death is celebrated with much excitement and festivities for the Torajans, who practise elaborate funeral rites and carve burial sites into rocky cliffs. This unique culture and tradition had been a major draw for Western tourists who dominated arrivals to Indonesia in the 1990s.

However, following the race riots in Indonesia and the Poso riots in Central Sulawesi in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the European market dipped and Toraja was scrapped off from tour operators’ itineraries, wiping the destination off the tourism map.

Toraja also subsequently failed to attract the rising domestic and regional markets, partly because of the sensitivity of some markets towards death-related attractions.

In 2012, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy established the Toraja DMO, a destination revitalisation programme, with the assistance of Swisscontact. Toraja DMO is now leading the developments taking place in Tana Toraja Regency, the southern part of Toraja.

Tri Laksono Juliharto, project officer for destination development at Swisscontact, said: “Currently, only 30 per cent of tourist attractions in Toraja is in Tana Toraja, while the rest are in North Toraja. This gives a chance for Tana Toraja to develop nature-based tourism products. While culture is its major attraction, our survey showed that nature is also a strong attraction of the destination.”

Luther Barrung, chairman of Toraja DMO, said: “The southern part of Toraja, which has large plateaus surrounded by mountains, has great potential to develop agro-tourism.

“Pango-Pango, for example, is developed for agro-tourism around tamarillos, passion fruits and vegetables while Sarambu Assing is known for its waterfalls and coffee plantations. Toraja arabica coffee is internationally known and we want to develop an attraction around there,” he added.

In the North Toraja Regency, where most attractions are located, upgrading of the infrastructure and facilities such as food and drink stalls, and public toilets will be rolled out over the next five years.

Juliharto said Swisscontact was assisting the destination in creating a campaign that will change its image, highlighting not only “the other side of Toraja” like Tongkonan – a Torajan traditional house – but also the philosophy behind it.

“Today, there needs to be more interaction between travellers and the local people. (By) experiencing their daily lives, (visitors can better) understand the culture,” Juliharto said.

Barrung agreed: “We are developing homestays, so that travellers can stay and experience the local culture and way of life, while the local people will benefit directly.

“Torajans produce palm wine called ballo. The Ministry of Tourism has started providing technical assistance for the locals to produce ballo in a more hygienic way. Visitors will be able to visit the plantation, learn about the winemaking process and enjoy the drink,” he added.

Meanwhile, Yohan Tangke Salu, chairman of Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association North Toraja Chapter, is encouraging hotels to relaunch in Toraja.

“A lot of people have left tourism business since the industry declined…With the entry of fibre optic to Toraja, we are training hoteliers about Internet usage and channeling them to OTAs. We have started to see some results,” he said.

A new airport with a 2.4km runway is being built in Buntu Kunyi. Slated to open in 2017, the airport will help to improve accessibility to Toraja, as the nearest airport in Makassar is an eight-hour drive away.

Tourism stakeholders are also talking to Garuda Indonesia and Citilink to launch services from Makassar to Lagaligo Airport in Bua, Palopo, which is about a two-hour drive away to Toraja.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, September 18, 2015 issue, on page 27. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Glitz, glitter and family fun in Macau

By Prudence Lui

October 6, 2015

The city wants to shed its gaming skin and position itself more as a leisure destination for families

Macau is currently undergoing a rejuvenation drive, with a spate of new hotels and integrated resorts coming online within these few years.

Following the lavish opening of the Galaxy Phase 2 development and Broadway Macau in May, upcoming debuts this year include Studio City, St. Regis Macao and Crowne Plaza Macau. The list would extend beyond 2016/17 as Lisboa Palace, Palazzo Versace Macau, The Parisian Macao, the Karl Lagerfeld hotel, Wynn Palace and MGM Cotai are currently under construction.

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, said: “The MGTO, along with the city tourism stakeholders, have been working to diversify both the tourism products and source markets to the city so that visitors from around the world have more reasons to come and stay longer.

“Our strategy all along has been to leverage the city’s well-known leisure and entertainment industry to develop related areas, such as reinforcing our calendar of events and festivals, organising MICE events and world-class shows, while enhancing elements such as shopping and dining.”

Galaxy Macau’s Phase 2 has seen the addition of more non-gaming elements. For instance, the expanded Grand Resort Deck features the Skytop Aquatic Adventure River Ride with the world’s longest skytop aquatic adventure river ride at 575m. Also, young ones can be kept entertained at the world’s largest JW Kids Club at JW Marriott Macau with its abundance of interactive activities.

When Studio City opens in 3Q2015, the US$3.2 billion destination will boast attractions such as the Golden Reel, Asia’s highest Ferris wheel; a Warner Bros-themed family entertainment centre; the Batman Dark Flight themed ride; a 5,000-seat multipurpose live performance arena; a live magic venue; as well as 1,600 hotel rooms, a vast array of F&B outlets and 32,500m2 of retail space.

MGM Cotai, set for a 2016 opening, will feature a convertible theatre capable of accommodating a variety of shows, and restaurants with American and Peruvian-Japanese cuisines.

Macau’s diversification drive has so far found favour with travel operators, many of whom are now keen to bait more families from the region with the city’s new offerings.

EGL Tours (Macau), general manager, Sabina Long, noting that Galaxy Macau’s pool has drawn many South-east Asian families this summer, said: “If Macau wants to vie for more traffic, it needs newer elements like playgrounds, theme parks, circus and magic shows to appeal to kids.”

The family market is an important and key differentiator for Sheraton Macao, which has been offering family packages and DreamWorks-themed family suites since its launch in 2012.

Said the hotel’s general manager of sales & marketing, Daniella Tonetto: “For Macau to grow as a family destination, more non-gaming offerings are needed to entertain the entire family. The good news is that Macau is moving in that direction, and we will soon see new properties offering much more activities for children and the young at heart.”

To woo more family visitors, Grand Lapa Macau and Grand Coloane Resort have rolled out value-added, family-oriented packages via third-party distribution channels such as OTAs and wholesalers, said regional director of sales for Hong Kong and new markets development, Antony Box.

He said: “We retain our usual mix of guests from key outbound destinations, primarily Hong Kong and southern China. Staycations are fast becoming popular among families wishing to avoid expensive airfares, in favour of more affordable options to escape and unwind.

“If Macau wants to drive this segment, it needs to provide (attractions) other than gambling. The challenge is to establish what that (attraction) is, especially in relation to the (mainland Chinese) market.”

This article was first published in TTG Asia, September 18, 2015 issue, on page 24. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.