STATE-run Myanma Airways is welcoming the peak tourism season with new sightseeing tours from Mandalay, Yangon and Ayeyarwady kicking off this month.

Myanma Airways’ Mandalay branch manager, who declined to be named, said: “We have already received a few bookings…Currently all bookings are made by local travellers because the high season is just starting.

“We hope this new service will reach international visitors.”

From Mandalay’s Chanmyathazi airport, Myanma Airways offers three routes: Chanmyathazi-Bagan/Nyaung Oo-Chanmyathazi, Chanmyathazi-Pyin Oo Lwin-Goke Htaik Bridge-Chanmyathazi and Chanmyathazi-Bagan/Nyaung Oo-Monywa-Chanmyathazi.

Tours are available from 07.00 and 15.30 daily. Prices vary from US$50-$60, depending on the route, while charters are priced US$750 per hour. The airline will deploy 10-seater Grand Caravan aircraft for the tours.

Using the same kind of aircraft, Myanma Airways has also started tours from Yangon. Yangon-Pathein-Yangon tours are at US$30 per person.

From Pathein, Ayeyarwady, the airline is also running two routes: Pathein-Ngwe Saung Beach-Chaung Tha Beach at US$25 and Pathein-Ngwe Saung Beach-Mawtinsoon-Pathein at US$30.

SAN Miguel Equity Investments has released its 49 per cent stake in national carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) to the Lucio Tan Group (LT Group), which is now offering to buy out minority shareholders as well.

According to a PAL press release, LT Group’s owned companies Buona Sorte (BSHI) and Horizon Global Investments (HGIL) have acquired respectively a nine per cent share and 40 per cent share of San Miguel’s stake in Trustmark Holdings Corporation.

Trustmark owns 89.8 per cent of the shares for PAL Holdings, which in turns owns 98.3 per cent of PAL.

BSHI and HGIL are calling for voluntary tender offers at the same time, and minority stakeholders selling their shares will receive the same economic terms and conditions as San Miguel.

SRI LANKA’S tourism industry has expressed surprise over the restrictions on access to the northern parts of the country for foreigners.

Last week, the military announced that all foreign passport holders will now require permission from the defence ministry to travel to the north. Clearance will be granted in two to three days from application.

Industry sources told TTG Asia e-Daily that foreigners visiting the north were turned away at security checkpoints last week, when president Mahinda Rajapaksa was in the region.

At least two tourism industry associations TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to were surprised by the announcement. An association official who requested anonymity said: “I thought the ban was temporary due to the president’s visit…last week.”

The region, once the stronghold of Tamil guerillas during the civil war years, has seen travel restrictions relaxed since the end of conflict in 2009 and several small tourist hotels and guesthouses have sprung up.

Around eight per cent of tourists to Sri Lanka visit the north, mainly Jaffna, which is considered the regional capital.

However, military spokesman brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya, said the restriction is not a new development. “It has been there since the war ended in 2009. It was not relaxed but ‘less implemented’. It was never removed.”

Military sources say the tightening of security is due to concerns that rebels are regrouping to relaunch their movement.

THE Philippines is pitching itself as a luxury destination for Indian travellers, buoyed by the unprecedented investment boom in integrated resorts, luxury hotels and experiential attractions.

Within the next two years the country will see the launch of a number of luxury properties including a Conrad hotel near Mall of Asia, Grand Hyatt and Shangri-La at Bonifacio Global City and Nobu Hotel City of Dreams Manila.

While Bali and Thailand are popular for Indian destination weddings, where group sizes can reach 500 pax, the Philippines hopes to become a new option for couples tying the knot.

Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa, Cebu has been particularly successful in attracting wedding parties from India, noted Sanjeet, India representative for Department of Tourism (DoT).

“Hotels just need to keep the banquet halls ready. (The couple) can bring their own priest from India, the wedding planners will fly their own people in and do everything, even rent chefs if the local hotels allow,” said Sanjeet.

Honeymooners are another market the Philippines wants a crack at, as India’s younger generation enjoys beach destinations.

Sanjeet added that the Philippines has become a stand-alone destination for the younger segment, who are drawn to parties, nightlife, shopping and beaches.

To draw these target markets, DoT will continue attending tradeshows in India including SATTE for the first time in January 2015, conduct fam trips for India’s  travel trade, hold roadshows in India and educate the trade through the Philippine Specialist Programme launched in August.

THE Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has released its report on the city-state’s performance for 1H2014, which saw international visitor arrivals dropping three per cent year-on-year to 7.5 million.

Despite this, the market achieved two per cent growth year-on-year in tourism receipts to generate S$11.8 billion (US$9.3 billion), fuelled by an increase in expenditure in sightseeing, entertainment and gaming.

The STB report stated that the decline in visitor numbers was likely due to China’s new tourism law implemented in October 2013. The high-profile incidents of Malaysia Airlines’ MH370, kidnappings in Sabah and political unrest in Thailand, also took a toll on inbound Chinese traffic into the region.

But discounting Chinese tourists, visitor arrivals from other markets grew two per cent between January and June.

Meanwhile, gazetted hotel room revenue posted 9.1 per cent year-on-year growth during the same period, hitting S$1.6 billion.

As for Q2 results, tourism receipts fell three per cent year-on-year to S$5.6 billion and international visitor arrivals dropped six per cent to 3.6 million.

The shrinking in tourism receipts was attributed to lower shopping expenditure from the key markets of China, Indonesia and Malaysia. However, this was offset by growth in sightseeing, entertainment and gaming spend.

Gazetted hotel room revenue posted S$0.8 billion or 5.2 per cent growth in the same quarter.

BANDA Aceh, the capital of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (Aceh) will host the 20^th Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo (TIME) 2014, through which it hopes to further raise its profile on the international stage.

The show will take place from October 23- 26 at Hermes Palace Hotel Banda Aceh.

Esthy Reko Astuti, director general of tourism marketing, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, said: “Aceh has the potential to become a tourist destination, not only because of its proximity to Medan (as a major airline hub for Western Indonesia), but also due to its rich in nature, culture and culinary delights.”

Reza Fahlevi, head of Banda Aceh Culture and Tourism Office, commented: “We expect TIME 2014 to be an important moment for Aceh to develop tourism in the province, and an opportunity for the people of Aceh to get involved in developing the province as an international tourist destination.”

He said that following the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh after the devastating tsunami in 2004, tourism has been growing between 10 and 15 per cent in the last couple of years. Arrivals reached 42,000 last year, with Malaysia, Europe and the US as major source markets.

“With the growing interest in travelling to Aceh, we hope investors will also inject funds for the development of hotels and other tourism-supporting facilities,” Reza added.

Meity Robot, chairman of TIME 2014’s organising committee, said: “So far there are 66 confirmed buyers from 17 countries coming to meet with 60 sellers.”

One-third, or 22, of the sellers are from Aceh.

Attendance is smaller than last year’s event held in Padang, West Sumatra, which saw 83 buyers from 27 countries and 81 sellers.

Ketut Salam, managing director of Pacto Convex, the appointed PCO for TIME 2014, said: “The limited access to Banda Aceh has been an issue for sellers. For example, there is no direct service from (Palembang) to Banda Aceh, so the trade in South Sumatra needs to fly to Jakarta to catch a flight to Aceh.

“Based on the number of sellers, we also limited our number of hosted buyers so that the show maintains its balance between buyers and sellers at a 1.2:1 ratio.”

CHINESE women will have no more reason to fear ‘Big Aunty’ – a euphemism for menstruation – when planning hot spring trips, thanks to a new insurance service offered by the Chinese OTA.

Jointly launched this week by Ctrip.com and women’s health management app Big Aunty, the “women’s care service” insures female travellers who have booked trips to China’s hot springs, allowing them to amend these self-drive itineraries without penalty should their periods coincide with the trip.

Travellers pay a token fee to make a reservation at the hot spring and can choose to buy a standard service for RMB1 (US$0.16) that guarantees refunds for unused admission tickets to the hot spring, while the deluxe edition at RMB2 will ensure a full return of accommodation and hot spring entrance costs, among others.

Consumers need only present a screenshot of the Big Aunty app, which is the sole authentication platform for this service, for verification and refunds.

The service covers more than 1,000 self-drive hot spring itineraries currently, and Ctrip expects the insurance programme to attract even more women to buy hot spring travel in the autumn and winter months via its online portal.

Ctrip’s tourism department marketing director, Dai Yu, said that the service is a first in China, following its insurance on cancellations due to pregnancy and visa issues. It is considering extending the insurance scheme to other activities such as island-hopping, skiing, and diving, and aims to launch special care programmes for senior and child travellers.

Article by Yvonne Chang. Translated by Ong Yanchun from the original TTG China e-Daily, October 15, 2014 article.

UNDER India’s aggressive attempt to regain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) category 1 status, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has commenced the recertification of all Indian carriers prior to the FAA audit scheduled for December.

Air India and Jet Airways, both of which currently fly to the US, are the first to be recertified to ensure they meet standards set by the Air Operators Certification Manual.

This will be followed by the remaining Indian carriers except AirAsia India that was certified in July according to the upgraded norms.

Each airline must submit all manuals and conduct a ‘proving flight’ to demonstrate complete compliance.

The FAA downgraded India to Category 2 in January, barring the country’s airlines from adding new flights to the US or entering new codeshare agreements with US airlines.

DGCA has since beefed up aviation standards to recapture Category 1 status, and now has 35 full-time flight operation inspectors to supervise the 500 aircraft flying in India.

A DGCA spokesperson added: “Aircraft makers and airlines will have to train our officials on any new type of aircraft they bring into the country.”

Rajendra Churiwala, director-eastern region, IATA Agents Association of India, said: “Indian carriers need to resume longhaul flights to US cities and codeshares to be financially viable.”

VIETNAM-BASED carrier VietJet will begin five-times-weekly flights to Taipei on December 12 out of Ho Chi Minh City.

The new service will operate on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Flights depart Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 14.30 local time and touch down in Taipei Songshan Airport three hours and 25 minutes later.

Return flights leave Taipei Songshan Airport at 20.00.

The airline is offering special flights with zero-dollar basic fares for bookings made from October 20-22, for travel from December 12, 2014 to March 27, 2015. Visit www.vietjetair.com.

VietJet started Ho Chi Minh City-Singapore services in May. It also announced earlier this week it would be starting Hanoi-Siem Reap services in November.