WITH less than 4 months to ATF 2016, more than 92 per cent of exhibiting booths have already been sold.

Come 20 to 22 January 2015, the TRAVEX event is expected to showcase products and services from over 40 destinations across the 10 ASEAN countries, with a representation of 500 exhibiting booths on the show floor. Host country Philippines, alongside Thailand, Malaysia and the seven other South-east Asian nations as well as a strong showing of renowned corporate hospitality brands, DMCs and operators are leading the exhibition showcase.

Among the DMCs and operators is Tobias Fischer, Director of Business Development from Go Vacation who has 25 years of experience operating within South-east Asia. He believes that “participating at ATF will only further strengthen our position in the region.”

Aileen Clemente, President of Rajah Travel Corporation concurred, saying, “ATF helps to increase our brand exposure, not just in the Philippines, but across South-east Asia.”

Other renowned ASEAN DMCs and operators with a confirmed presence include Asian Trails, Baron Travel, Destination Services, Discovery Overland Holidays, Focus Asia, Hong Thai Travel Services, ICS Travel Group, Luxus Pacific Travel and Tours, Marsman Drysdale Travel, Pan Pacific Travel Corporation, Paveway Explorer Holidays, RMG Tours, Sharp Travel Service, Siam Express, Tacentre, Tour East, Uni Orient Travel, Vietravel and World Express Tours.

They are joined by over 20 corporate hospitality brands including Accor Hotels, Best Western International Asia, CHM Hotels, FRHI Hotels & Resorts, Furama Hotels International, HPL Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Intercontinental Hotels Groups, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, Park Hotel Group, Premier Inn Hotel, Sol Melia, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels, Shangri-la, Dorsett Hospitality, Marco Polo Hotels, The Peninsular, Far East Hospitality, and Minor Hotel Group.

Can you afford not to be here?

For more information on booth space, email atfsellers@ttgasia.com or visit www.atfphilippines.com.

HAVING given its well-established 100% Pure New Zealand campaign a new spin earlier this year with the Every Day a Different Journey tagline, Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) is confident that the refreshed strategy will continue to appeal to travellers from South-east Asia.

“That’s been incredibly successful” Steven Dixon, regional manager, South and South-east Asia for Tourism New Zealand told TTG Asia e-Daily during its roadshow in Bangkok last week.

“The aim of the campaign is to highlight that we have these amazing landscapes that are easy to get to,” Dixon explained. Among the attractions are glaciers, snow-capped mountains, vineyards, indigenous Maori villages and hot springs.

The new tagline is expected to resonate well in Thailand, an emerging market for New Zealand with just 21,000 visitors a year, of whom just over half are tourists on a 12-day package.

“It will speak to this market because Thais, when they come to New Zealand, tend to explore places outside of the main tourist centres,” said Dixon. “We’ve got a target of five per cent growth for (Thailand) this year.”

As well, Thais are increasingly FITs seeking self-drive journeys in New Zealand, according to Dixon, which help disperse tourism throughout the country.

Whilst Thailand’s numbers are modest against the 1.3 million Australian and 300,000 Chinese arrivals to New Zealand, South-east Asia is becoming a niche but premium source, said Dixon.

New Zealand is usually busy during the November to March summer period, but TNZ is encouraging travellers from South-east Asia to come during the shoulder seasons from March to May and from September to November.

TNZ also have plans to tap the emerging markets of Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as having great hopes for the Indian market which grew 28 per cent last year to 42,000 arrivals.

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.