ALMOST a full year after it was first announced (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 16, 2012), a joint visa allowing non-ASEAN nationals to travel freely between Cambodia and Thailand was finally implemented on December 27, 2012.

A press release issued by Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the visa can be obtained at diplomatic and consular missions of either country and is valid for 90 days from date of issuance, three times the validity initially floated. Each visa will cost US$20.

Nationals of the following countries are eligible to apply for the visa: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bahrain, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, India, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US.

The joint visa is part of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), a cooperation framework among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam to utilise member countries’ diverse strengths and to promote development in the sub-region.

The launch of the ACMECS Single Visa was held after the 8^th Thai-Cambodia Joint Committee meeting, reported Xinhua News Agency.

Last September, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam had also expressed the possibility of a single tourist visa, with Thailand as a fifth partner in the scheme (TTG Asia e-Daily,September 20, 2012).

IN AN abrupt about-turn, the Indian High Commission has ruled that Malaysians cannot stay for more than 30 days at a time in India, a move that has dismayed tour operators.

It also flies in the face of an earlier policy change which saw the mandatory two-month gap between tourists’ visits to India scrapped just weeks ago (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 7, 2012).

Malaysian Indian Travel and Tour Association president, K Thangavelu, said the change would affect Malaysians planning to stay more than a month in India, especially those who go for yoga and meditation, Ayurvedic treatments and pilgrimage tours.

“We feel the new ruling is unfair as it is only implemented for Malaysia and not worldwide. We have written to the deputy high commissioner, Aseem R Mahajan, to express our concerns on the matter and are awaiting a response,” he opined.

M Nantha Gopal, managing director, Nantha Travel & Tours, said he had seen a group of 30 Malaysians planning a three-month visit to Bengaluru in March defer their plans.

Johnson Francis, managing director of Oscar Holidays, added that he had yet to decide whether he would shorten his pilgrimage itinerary – which stretches beyond 30 days, starting from Varanasi and ending at Tamil Nadu – or break it into two tours. The peak period for such pilgrimage tours is from November to February.

THE Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE) officially launched its 29^th chapter in India in late December, comprising 22 members from the region, including three members from Nepal.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch in Gurgaon, Anup Nair, president of SITE India chapter, said: “The (launch) is a big boost to incentive travel professionals in the country as it will provide members an enormous opportunity to network and learn on a global platform.

“Apart from increasing our membership we will work towards bringing the SITE International Conference to India by 2016.”

Membership is open to all MICE professionals at an annual fee of US$445. An admission fee of US$50 applies.

Rajeev Kohli, director on the SITE Global Board and the 2013 vice president of SITE International, said that the new chapter would offer members a joint platform where they could share ways to maximise their revenues and work with airline and hotel partners for mutual benefits.

“With SITE India we plan to collectively market our products. Competition is good, but this is an era of cooperation. A few of us have been working together on joint initiatives and the formation of the India chapter will give us a formal umbrella branding when we talk to the world. We expect to be taken more seriously,” he added.

AUSTRALIA’S StayWell Hospitality Group will debut its first Indian property in Hyderabad come May. The 82-room Leisure Inn hotel will be located in the city centre, the company’s first step in an ambitious US$50 million expansion plan.

StayWell – which operates the four-star Park Regis and three-star Leisure Inn brands – wants to establish 50 hotels in India by 2017, with 60 per cent under Park Regis and the rest, Leisure Inn.

Following Hyderabad, the Group will launch properties in Greater Noida, Raipur and Goa by mid-2014. StayWell also intends to expand its footprint to Chandigarh, Pune, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai.

All StayWell hotels will be a mix of three business models that the company employs in other global markets – a third will be management contracts, a third, lease agreements and a third, with equity involved.

Rohit Vig, managing director for India, StayWell Hospitality Group, said: “India has a growing annual travelling population of 650 million, and one of the largest, growing middle classes in the world, meaning opportunities for accommodation providers are very apparent.

“StayWell offers recognised brands in the three- and four-star hotel space with established systems and hotel networks – something that is lacking in the Indian market.”

Arun Anand, managing director, Midtown Travels, welcomed StayWell’s entry into the Indian market. “Even though there are many hotels in the mid-market segment, StayWell’s entry into the market will provide one more international option to travellers who are looking for value for money propositions.”

StayWell Hospitality Group currently has 35 hotels with 4,000 rooms under its umbrella in Australia, Asia-Pacific, the UK and the Middle East.

THE Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) will strengthen its marketing efforts in new markets this year, which include China, India, South Korea, the Middle East and Australia.

The tourism body aims to do this through digital channels, travel tradeshows and fam trips for travel consultants, while sustaining efforts in its traditional UK and European markets.

Khalid Ramli, CEO of LADA, said: “This year we will also intensify our efforts to get more charter flights from Finland, Russia and Kazakhstan. We hope to attract at least 51 charter flights in 2013.”

Between January 2012 and end-March 2013, Langkawi will see 36 charter services to Langkawi from South Korea, Sweden, Finland, Kazakhstan and Vladivostok.

Khalid also revealed that Langkawi had recently picked up the slogan Naturally Langkawi to capture the essence of the destination, which lies in its natural attractions such as forests and 500 million-year-old rock formations.

The branding exercise will spearhead LADA’s plan to meet the targeted RM3.8 million (US$1.3 million) in tourism revenue and three million arrivals in 2015. The goal is for 2.6 million tourists this year.

Said Khalid: “By 2015, we want Langkawi to be among the top 10 island destinations in the world.”

BORACAY’S sunny shores have been voted as the best for unwinding on and the third best for night owls, according to a survey conducted by OTA Agoda.com.

Based on feedback from over 113,000 customers, Boracay was the “clear top choice” for relaxation, stated the press release, trouncing the ever-popular Bali. The destination also ranked third for nightlife destinations, becoming the sole Philippine destination to make top 10 for both categories.

Thailand was a heavyweight in the relaxation category, occupying five spots among the top 10. Koh Samui and Chiang Mai came in third and fourth after Bali, while Krabi was sixth, Hua Hin, eighth and Phuket, ninth.

For the nightlife category, Bangkok took top honours, followed by Dubai.

KUALA Lumpur-based DMC Panorama Tours Malaysia has expanded its portfolio to include outbound leisure business to the US and China.

Panorama’s managing director, Richard Vuilleumier, said: “We see US outbound as a big potential market with the depreciation of the US currency. (The US) is a slightly more affordable destination compared to Europe but the advantage it has over Europe is that everybody speaks English. After September 11, demand from Malaysians for a US holiday dropped but it started to pick up again (in 2012).”

China is also another destination the DMC is hoping to push for, commencing sales of series tours last September.

“Our sister company Panorama Tours Beijing recently opened in November, and we plan to leverage on the company to build our network and to handle tours and groundarrangements to Beijing and other parts of China,” he added.

In 2012, Panorama Tours Malaysia recorded a 50 per cent year-on-year growth in its overall business from the previous year, and Vuilleumier believes business will pick up further after the Malaysian general elections this year.

The company, set up in 2009 as a subsidiary of Panorama Tours International, recently moved to its new five-storey office and now boasts a a staff strength of 25.

FOLLOWING a US$50 million renovation (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 6, 2012), the newly refurbished SuperStar Gemini was launched at the Singapore Cruise Centre on December 28.

Formerly known as Norwegian Dream, SuperStar Gemini joins Star Cruises’ stable of four other cruise ships, boasting a capacity of 1,532 passengers, 766 cabins and 557m² of retail space, including a range of luxury items from China Duty Free.

The ship is today scheduled to embark on a series of inaugural cruises from Penang around South-east Asia and Hong Kong. From April to October, the ship will homeport at Shanghai, where it will offer itineraries to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the last pending approval. Shanghai marks the cruise operator’s second Chinese destination, following Sanya last year.

When asked how Star Cruises was dealing with increased competition within the Asian cruise market, David Chua, president of Genting Hong Kong, replied: “Rather than (targeting) a bigger slice of the pie, there is a need for cruise lines to come together and enlarge the pie.”

While declining to reveal Star Cruises’ marketing strategy and training programmes for travel consultants for the coming year, he added that the company would leverage its experience as an Asian cruise operator to set itself apart.

Chua also pinpointed the MICE market as one sector to focus on, as cruises were viable alternatives in the light of rising hotel rates. Star Cruises is also looking to target weddings.

As for Resorts World Manila – also operated by Genting Hong Kong – he remarked that the integrated resort had its “hands full” managing the 2,000 rooms expected to come online with the opening of Hilton Manila in December 2012, as well as the planned debuts of Westin Manila Bayshore in mid-2016 and Sheraton Manila Hotel in early 2017.

Emphasising the untapped potential within the intra-ASEAN market, Chua said: “The Philippines has the second highest GDP growth after China within the region, and Filipinos are a common sight at Universal Studios Singapore.”