BOHOL is picking up the pieces through the Bohol Tourism Recovery Programme (BTRP), spearheaded by the Philippine Department of Tourism (DoT) together with USAID, UNWTO and PATA.

BTRP outlines new marketing strategies to woo international markets and develop new products, while at the same time strengthening Bohol’s positioning as an eco-cultural destination.

“The (tourism recovery) programme identified very specific projects that we’ll enact,” said Philippine tourism secretary Ramon Jimenez. “When you have a major earthquake, you actually end up with geological features that are highly touristic. There are parts of Bohol, for example, that have now exposed the bottom of the ocean – and USAID got very excited about that.”

Some travel consultants have suggested that the ruins of churches destroyed by the earthquakes would make potential tour products in the future. Jimenez said that it would take some time, as “some of them are still shaky” but welcomed more voluntourism efforts.

Tourists have already begun returning to the province and occupancy rates are now within the 80-85 per cent range, said assistant tourism secretary, Rolando Canizal.

Renalie Locsin, reservations supervisor, Annset Holidays, confirmed that European travellers were coming back too, having brought a group of 120 Austrians to Bohol in February.

Roads and attractions reopened late last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 4, 2013) after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocked the province in October, disrupting transport networks (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 16, 2013).

Bohol experienced nearly five per cent growth in foreign tourists by the end of 2013, but suffered an almost 60 per cent drop in domestic travel.

However, the gateway Tagbilaran airport has no night rating capability and had to turn away evening charter requests from Japan and South Korea, Canizal confirmed. “We’ve asked the Department of Transport and Communication to make adjustments that (will) allow (these) charter flights,” he added.

A SOUTH Korean consortium has broken ground on the US$220 million Daewoo Amara Hotel, with construction scheduled to finish by late 2016.

The consortium – comprised of Daewoo International, Posco Engineering and Construction and Lotte Hotels and Resorts – is collaborating with Myanmar company IGE Group of Companies on the project.

The project was commissioned under a build-operate-transfer agreement by the Myanmar Investment Commission, which offers a 70-year lease on the site.

Daewoo Amara Hotel will include a 15-storey luxury hotel and a 29-storey serviced residence, located close to Yangon’s Inya Lake.

Han Chan Kun, COO of Daewoo Amara Hotel, said the hotel would offer 346 rooms and the serviced residence, 315 rooms. “So this will be the biggest hotel project so far in Myanmar and we will also add a convention hall, indoor/outdoor pools, a fitness centre, a spa, restaurants, all-day dining eatery and a club lounge,” he elaborated.

The hotel’s interior design takes inspiration from the birth of the sacred lotus, a symbol of Myanmar. Meanwhile, the serviced residence will draw on four renowned Myanmar destinations for design – Inle Lake, Ngapali Beach, Yangon and Bagan, said Han.

NEW Zealand’s tourism industry stakeholders have rolled out Tourism 2025, a strategy that aims to make tourism a NZ$41 billion (US$35.5 billion) industry by 2025.

Announced at TRENZ 2014, Tourism 2025 was developed to provide an overall vision for the industry, a framework to develop within, and context for individual businesses to contribute and build on.

Through the new masterplan, the association is responding to the fall in New Zealand’s tourism performance over the last decade.

Grant Lilly, chairman, Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand: “Although our industry generates NZ$24 billion in annual expenditure, NZ$10 billion in export earnings… tourism has not had effective strategic framework for some time.”

“Ten years ago tourism was growing strongly at about six per cent a year, and it was the country’s number one export earner,” he added. “Although performance was up in the last two years, there is a need to develop a sustainable growth path of tourism.”

He said: “There are five areas of development which are improve connectivity; prioritise insights so that we can drive and track progress; target value; improve visitor experience; and grow productivity and improve profitability.”

Explaining the strategy, Kevin Bowler, chief executive of Tourism New Zealand said his office will target high-yield visitors, special interest and business events.

A budget of NZ$34 million has been set aside to promote the country for MICE and NZ$20 million to target the upscale market for the next four years. This refers not only to international high rollers but also families of immigrants and foreign students in New Zealand.

HAVING emerged from a record-breaking summer when visitor arrivals, guest nights and accommodation occupancy all reached unprecedented levels, Auckland is revising upwards its 2021 target for annual tourism revenue.

The destination is targeting annual tourism revenue of NZ$7.2 billion by 2021, up from the NZ$4.8 billion announced in 2012.

Auckland has been making significant investments in the visitor economy over the past three years, including the development of Shed 10 as a cruise ship terminal, new infrastructure to accommodate superyachts at Westhaven Marina, and a NZ$20 million (US$17.3 million) investment in the WERO whitewater rafting tourism destination in Manukau.

Explore Group, based in Auckland, has also just announced at TRENZ it will begin offering daily departures on the power catamaran Discovery 5 to the Hauraki Gulf islands of Rangitoto, Motutapu and Waiheke in July.

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) chief executive, Brett O’Riley, said the focus is to increase demand for Auckland and enhance the visitor experience.

“Over the next decade it is estimated that Auckland’s inbound air capacity will need to grow by around 200,000 seats per year and Auckland will need up to 3,400 new hotel rooms by 2021,” he said.

“Auckland is ripe for future investment and several hotels are already under construction or in the planning stages. The investment is happening in step with visitor demand and in a way that maintains profitability and yield for the industry,” said O’Riley.

VIOLENT protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) last week have led to a number of hotel cancellations in both cities, but the full impact of China’s most recent political retaliation remains to be seen.

Paul Stevens, vice president of operations for Accor Vietnam, said: “Our hotels in Hanoi and HCMC are seeing some room cancellations from guests from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan…There have been no cancellations in other areas (such as Nha Trang, Danang).”

“We have received approximately 30-40 phone calls and messages from travel agencies and 20 from FITs in Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and China asking about safety in HCMC,” added Jason Huynh, sales manager at Hotel Majestic Saigon.

“As of yet we have not received any cancellations, but we are prepared for a five per cent cancellation rate over the coming weeks from these markets.”

Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center‘s deputy director, Nguyen Bao Anh, noted: “Some hotels have seen a rise in bookings from Chinese and Singaporean clients since Tuesday, however the numbers are only small.”

Nguyen’s comment echoes reports from other international hotel chains in Vietnam of an increased number of Chinese nationals who have temporarily relocated out of concerns for their safety.

The riots, which killed two Chinese nationals last week, were sparked when China shifted an oil rig into a part of the South China Sea that Vietnam is also claiming.

In retaliation, China has suspended bilateral exchanges with Vietnam and has urged its citizens not to travel to Vietnam. News agency Xinhua confirmed on Sunday that major travel agencies in China have announced they are suspending tours to Vietnam.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily last week, before the boycott was announced, Christopher Low, general manager at Lac Hong Voyages Vietnam, said: “None of our tours in Ho Chi Minh have been affected, and from our Asian market, we have had just a single cancellation from a Singaporean client.”

Likewise, Huyen Dung, vice director at Sinhcafe Travel, commented: “We have had a single cancellation from a MICE group of 37 pax in May. There have been no requests for change in June and July.”

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has called on tourism and hospitality business not to “discriminate against Chinese tourists”.

VNAT general director, Nguyen Van Tuan said he will “continue keeping a close watch on the situation and would act to prevent any moves that could affect relationships between the two countries”.

SINGAPORE Changi Airport yesterday started performing temperature screenings for air travellers coming from countries where the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has been reported.

Local daily broadsheet The Straits Times reported that over 1,200 passengers from Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi were checked as they filed past thermal scanners located at the aerobridge.

Travellers who feel feverish will have their temperatures retaken by doctors based at Changi Airport and be sent to hospitals should MERS be suspected, reported the newspaper.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health will follow up with the passenger in question with daily phone calls and ask the affected to consult a doctor should their condition deteriorate.

Changi Airport welcomes 50,000 travellers from the Middle East every month.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that it “does not advise any special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it currently recommend the application of any trade or travel restrictions including for upcoming pilgrimage travel to Saudi Arabia” (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 12, 2014).

Separately, The Straits Times also reported that Singapore’s immigration authorities are mulling installing self-service kisoks at the upcoming Terminal 4 building (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 14, 2013) to have foreign arrivals register their fingerprints. The move would hasten the immigration process and beef up border security.