SRI Lanka this month welcomed its 100,000^th visitor from China, reaping the fruits of promotion campaigns targeted at the Chinese.

Chinese tourist numbers to Sri Lanka have soared in the past four years from just 10,340 in 2010 to over 100,000 now.

Between January and September, arrivals hiked 141 per cent year-on-year to 94,994 to make China Sri Lanka’s third biggest market. During the same period, India took the lion’s share of 170,671 arrivals, the UK registered 107,330, and Germany 75,133.

“There are three elements that are attracting the Chinese to Sri Lanka: this is peaceful country and it is very green, the people are friendly, and there are a lot of wildlife and beaches,” noted Bhaswara Gunaratne, chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT).

He said SLT promotions in China over the past 18 months are now paying dividends. Arrivals should “easily peak over 120,000” by end-2014.

While agreeing that SLT promotions have helped boost arrivals, Shafraz Fazley, managing director of Viluxor Holidays Sri Lanka, believes social media and blogs have played a bigger role.

“Chinese visitors take pictures and put it on blogs, and that attracts their friends. Sri Lanka’s attraction is essentially gems, mountains and culture,” he said.

He noted that the Chinese rarely spend two nights in the same place, and buying gems is a dream for them.

Viluxor, which also has a huge market share in the Maldives for Chinese visitors, has so far handled 1,000 Chinese guests this month (as of last week) and 700 last month.

AS THE expected surge in tourists fails to materialise unlike previous years, Albay’s travel trade wants to allay safety concerns over the impending eruption of Mount Mayon, which has been spewing lava since September.

Arrivals this month pales in comparison with the daily influx of 2,500 visitors during Mount Mayon’s last eruption in December 2009, said Maria Ravanilla, regional director for Albay province, Department of Tourism. Provincial capital Legazpi City is the gateway to Albay.

“Airplanes, buses and all forms of transport are operating as usual. Everything is safe for as long as you don’t go to the (6km permanent danger zone and 8km high-risk zone) around the volcano,” she said, adding that Mount Mayon’s eruptions were frequent but less dangerous than Mount Pinatubo’s in Pampanga.

With no clear idea when Mount Mayon will erupt and what will happen in the immediate aftermath – e.g. ashfall – travellers are scared of getting stranded in Albay.

Bernadette Ramos, COO and managing director of Eco Leisure & Hospitality, which has four hotels in Albay, said: “We’re actually losing than gaining more business unlike in previous years (when eruptions brought more visitors).”

Jessica Wong, Donsol Eco Tour director for business development, said many clients have been emailing to ask about the situation. “(But) It’s actually nicer to come when the volcano is erupting. It’s beautiful, especially the orange glow of lava at night.”

However, Gil Velasco, rooms division manager of The Oriental Legazpi, said occupancy is averaging 70-80 per cent, 30 per cent up from previous weeks, although the hotel is cutting online rates to attract tourists.

WYNDHAM Hotel Group expects to maintain its number of new openings in China for next year despite the country’s economic slowdown.

Wyndham Hotel Group president and CEO, Geoff Ballotti, said: “We currently have five brands in China but will introduce Planet Hollywood and TRYP by Wyndham. We are also considering bringing a few other upscale and midscale brands to China in the future due to the real demand.”

Shanghai-based vice president of development, Brian Liu, revealed: “Business was not good this year due to the downturn of the real estate market. However, we are alright due to our full spectrum on offer, from budget to upscale brands.”

“In China, both Ramada and Wyndham (brands) currently share a 50:50 ratio in terms of development, but we are opting for more Wyndham Hotels in key cities in the coming years.”

The recent openings of Wyndham Grand Xi’an South and Wyndham Kunming Resort, plus the expected year-end launch of Wyndham Xuzhou East, will add to the group’s 760 hotels and over 86,200 rooms in China.

“I am still looking for new locations, mostly second and tertiary cities in China. In 2014, we opened 250 hotels, mostly Super 8 due to demand, but also added one Wyndham and one Wyndham Grand,” he said adding that the group will continue to follow a franchise and management contract business model.

Asked about new destinations in Asia, Ballotti noted a greater presence is needed for Taiwan and Japan. In 2014, Wyndham Hotel Group had 154 new signings in Asia-Pacific (excluding India), with the lion’s share in China, and the rest covering Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand and Vanuatu.

PATA is organising the Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2015 (AT&RTCM 2015) in Bhutanese capital Thimphu from February 4-6, 2015.

The three-day event is hosted by the Tourism Council of Bhutan, and supported by Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines.

Themed Explore Beyond Tourism – Celebrate Happiness, AT&RTCM 2015  follows up on the success of its predecessor, AT&RTCM 2012, which was the first B2B travel trade event ever held in the country.

The event aims to bring together tourism professionals involved in adventure travel and responsible tourism to discuss creating new opportunities for promoting environmental protection and social sustainability.

It also aims to address issues facing adventure travel, responsible and sustainable tourism among both the private and public sectors, with topics such as Linking National Philosophy to Tourism and Future Trends of Adventure Travel.

AT&RTCM 2015 also offers a large-scale platform for adventure travel sellers and buyers to secure effective business appointments.

Martin Craigs, PATA CEO, stated: “PATA is proud to be returning to Bhutan to again show travel trade professionals first hand about this magical destination and the travel opportunities it has to offer. During these challenging times, Bhutan is the perfect place to celebrate happiness, explore beyond tourism, and examine responsible and sustainable tourism growth across the region.”

GOA is seeking to reassure female travellers that the state is safe with the launch of a taxi service for women, driven by female drivers equipped with knowledge of martial arts, self-defence, first aid and tourist attractions.

These taxis – found primarily at airports, railway stations, and bus stations – are equipped with both a GPS monitoring system and a panic call button. Optimal route assessment and journey planning is also available.

Electronic fare meters allowing print-outs are being installed in the vehicles, and taxi services accept payment in cash or credit card. The movement of these taxis will be monitored by the control office and emergency numbers will be displayed inside each taxi.

The introduction of such taxi services could counter the negative media coverage of high-profile assaults on women in India last year, leading to a 35 per cent loss of female travellers in 2013.

Sonal Swamy, director of Syrisa Travels, felt this would help drive an increase in female travellers. “Introducing women drivers in taxis for women travellers is a proactive move to ensure a sense of safety,” she said.

GARUDA Indonesia will gradually replace its current narrow-body aircraft Boeing 737-800NG with the B737 Max 8 as part of its effort to operate aircraft of an average age of up to five years.

The change will commence in 2017 and will see the airline’s 50 B737-800NG being swapped in stages until 2023.

Garuda Indonesia’s vice president of corporate communications, Pujobroto, said in a media statement: “The rejuvenation of aircraft will take place gradually, by the end of each aircraft’s lease.

“The move is taken in line with the company’s programme in anticipation of the growth of air traffic, both domestic and regional, and to maintain Garuda’s business and market share in the full-service carrier’s market.”