INBOUND tour operators are calling for watersports certification in the wake of an accident on Saturday which saw a Chinese tourist being rammed by a water scooter while walking along Penang’s Batu Ferringhi beach.

Responding to the case, the state government immediately ordered a temporary ban on watersports activities on Batu Ferringhi.

Malaysian Tourism Minister, Dr Ng Yen Yen, has also urged the Penang state government to come up with regulations involving safety procedures, zones for watersports activities and insurance claims.

She said seven beach accidents had been recorded in Penang over the last three months with three people sustaining serious injuries.

DiscoveryMICE CEO/president Lee Choon Loong said: “A temporary ban on watersports activities in Penang is not an effective solution because it does not address the core issue of safety. Certification will ensure that all operators know how to handle the equipment professionally.”

Anthony Wong, group managing director, Asian Overland Services Tourism & Hospitality Group, added that the government should introduce certification nationwide.

“Those who are not certified should be banned from operating and working in watersports centres,” he said.

FACING possible elimination of Komodo National Park from the New7Wonders of Nature nomination (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 1, 2011), Indonesia’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik claimed the problem arose because Indonesia declined to host the official declaration ceremony.

He said: “When the foundation offered Indonesia to be host, we were interested, but then the requirement was tough. We had to pay US$10 million as soon as we said ‘yes’, and to organise the event we would need to pay another US$35 million.

“It was hard when we weighed the amount of money we needed to host the event even though Komodo might or might not be a winner.”

Meanwhile, New7Wonders said in a media announcement that it contracted with the private sector, not the government.

New7Wonders spokesman Eamonn Fitzgerald said: “The fact remains that there is a legally-binding contract between New7Wonders and a private consortium in Indonesia, and this contract is not being honoured. Unless the contract is honoured or another group takes over the contractual obligations, or the government and private sector decide to work together to resolve this, then New7Wonders cannot operate legally safely in Indonesia, and is forced to withdraw all its activities.”

INDONESIA’s Komodo National Park is in danger of being suspended as a finalist of the New7Wonders of Nature campaign.

The initiative, started in 2007 to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen through a global poll, announced on its official website yesterday that it may be forced to suspend the Indonesian entry as one of its 28 finalists on February 7 “due to certain legal commitments and official pledges not being honoured”.

“Discussions are underway to resolve this matter positively,” the initiative added.

In an SMS response to TTG Asia e-Daily’s request for comment, Indonesia Ministry of Culture and Tourism director general of tourism marketing Sapta Nirwandar said: “We are studying the matter.”

Nirwandar had earlier said that a win by Komodo would help emphasise Indonesia’s new Wonderful Indonesia tourism brand.

BANGKOK hotel occupancy and room rates dropped to their lowest levels in history last year, according to the Thai Hotels Association (THA).

THA president Prakit Chinamourphong cited Horwath International’s Regional Outlook report, which said that Bangkok hotels ran at an average occupancy rate (AOR) of 53 per cent and average daily rate (ADR) of US$93 last year, down from 54 per cent and US$91 in 2009.

“These are the lowest levels ever experienced,” he said.

Other South-east Asian cities beat Bangkok in the rankings, according to the report.

Last year, Manila’s AOR was 72 per cent and its ARR was US$113, Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City’s was 64 per cent and US$126, Singapore’s was 83 per cent and US$198, Kuala Lumpur’s was 68 per cent and US$111, while Jakarta’s was 68 per cent and US$79.

Prakit said Bangkok hotel rates had always been among the top three in the region before the multiple crises over the last few years.

Oversupply and a burgeoning number of non-licensed hotels further aggravated the situation, he added.

– Read more in TTG Asia, February 11

By Sirima Eamtako

INDIA will get even more exposure in the international scene through special programmes by foreign tour operators who previously did not feature the country.

Gino Bassaletti, product manager of Chile’s Viajes Falabella, said his market’s growing fascination with spiritualism and Buddhism warranted a dedicated programme on India.

“We promote new destination every year. This year, we will do India. We will invest a lot in marketing it but expect good returns,” said Bassaletti.

Zainabz Kutty, director of Singapore’s Travel Z2000 Tours, said she would definitely push India to her clients. “Having now seen the country firsthand, my understanding of India is much better. It is a matter now of deciding which destination to promote first.”

Anita Travel Singapore director Raj Singh also plans to sell India programmes to his largely expatriate clientele. He said he would start with free and easy tours to destinations other than the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, and expects to send at least 100 pax per quarter in the first year.

– Read more in TTG India

By Ollie Quiniquini

ALL Nippon Airways posted healthier financial figures for the April to December 2010 period as booming travel demand and costs cuts reinforced the carrier’s bottomline.

The airline posted net profit of 37.54 billion yen (US$459.3 million), compared to a 35.2 billion yen loss during the same period last year.

The carrier credited a strong rebound in business travel for bolstering revenue on international routes, while there was also increased demand among both business and leisure customers in the domestic flight division, said ANA CEO Eiji Kanazawa.

The opening of the new international terminal at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in October, which allowed ANA to increase capacity on passenger and cargo routes, also contributed to the strong performance, said Kanazawa.

ASIA-based luxury hotel and resort management company General Hotel Management (GHM) has opened representative offices in India, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

In India, GHM is represented by marketing consultancy firm Sartha, headquartered in New Delhi and with branch offices in Mumbai and Chennai.

In Russia and the CIS, the company is represented by Moscow-based agency TOP Signature, who will provide strategic sales, marketing and public relations support.

The expansion follows the opening of a China regional office in Shanghai last year.

GHM’s portfolio of hotels and resorts is set to expand with a number of new openings in the pipeline, including The Chedi Club Suzhou and The Chedi Taiping Lake. Also under development are resorts in Egypt, Jordan, Switzerland, Morocco and Malaysia.

THE 79th edition of the UFI Congress, the annual meeting for members of the global association of the exhibition industry, will convene in the Arabian Gulf for the first time in 2012.

To be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in the United Arab Emirates, the annual meeting is recognised as a platform to showcase the mega event capabilities of host cities and venues to decision-makers in the exhibition industry.

Ali Saeed Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, ADNEC’s managing director, said: “The opportunity to host this prestigious event is a very significant win for Abu Dhabi and for ADNEC. We are very happy to note this multi-pronged approach to promote our city and our event facilities to the world is bearing fruit.”

This year’s congress will take place in Valencia, Spain from November 9 to 12.

ONE World Hotel in Petaling Jaya has spent close to RM3.5 million (US$1.14 million) on upgrading the audiovisual equipment in its 2,000-pax capacity ballroom to attract more meetings and conventions.

One World’s general manager Ho Hoy Sum said besides a range of new state-of-the-art equipment, the hotel had recently installed two sets of line array speakers and an additional giant projection screen in the ballroom, bringing the total number to three speakers, two giant screens and five wide screens.

The hotel has also increased its dedicated Internet bandwidth to 15mps, with additional bandwidth on demand for those who require it.

One World Hotel, which opened in 2007, has a predominantly corporate mix of guests.