THE QUESTION of who should be hosted at ATF has arisen as some of the biggest European producers to ASEAN were rejected as hosted buyers, shocking these big-timers and creating a debate on how TRAVEX should strike a balance between old and new buyers going forward.

Of the more than 400 buyers at TRAVEX, which kicks off today, about 300 are hosted, but major travel groups such as Germany’s Meier’s Weltreisen, Thomas Cook UK and The Mark Travel Corporation US did not make the cut for the first time in years. Trade buyers have to pay their own airfares and are accommodated free only on a first-come-first-served basis.

Deputy director of the Cambodia Ministry of Tourism’s marketing and promotion department, Lor Thoura, who oversees the hosted buyer selection, said: “We had 1,000 people registering as buyers, but our main target for the show is Asia-Pacific buyers and we have limits on the number of buyers we host for each country and region.

“We select who to host on a first-come-first-served basis and once we get enough, we don’t accept any more. Some big operators from Europe may not be hosted if they register later than others.”

– Full story in TTG Asia, January 28

ASEAN’S waters are seeing an increase in activity with a burgeoning number of western cruise liners sailing into the region.

The 1,300-pax AIDAaura, 220-pax Le Diamant and 110-pax Clipper Odyssey have all made maiden calls at South-east Asian ports over the last three months, bringing the Germans, French and Americans to shore respectively.

Due to stop in Singapore this year are the Seabourn Sojourn, Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, Silversea’s Silver Spirit and Orion II, while Malaysia is scheduled to receive several calls from P&O’s Artemis and Arcadia, Hapag Lloyd’s Columbus, Bremen and Europa, AIDA Cruises’ AIDAluna and AIDAaura, and Compagnie du Ponant’s Le Ponant, Le Diamant and L’Mistral.

For its next Asian cruise season starting end-2011, AIDA Cruises will also assign a larger ship – its heavyweight 2,500-pax AIDAdiva.

– Full story in TTG Asia

AHEAD of their massive room expansion, emerging ASEAN countries are seeking assistance from their counterparts that have advanced human resource (HR) training programmes.

Indonesia Hotels and Restaurant Association (IHRA) chairman Yanti Sukamdani said: “Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have requested for the training, and we will start with rank-and-file vocational training for hotel and restaurant staff. Each course will take between six months and a year.”

Lao Hotel and Restaurant Association president Oudet Souvannavong said: “There are between 10 and 20 hotels under development in various cities in Laos that will open within the next two years with approximately 2,000 rooms. We need the vocational training and we are going to work with IHRA to do this.”

– Full story in TTG Asia

RUSSIAN outbound feed to the ASEAN region grew to 562,000 last year, from 458,000 in 2009, with Thailand receiving the bulk of Russian travellers, said Valery Korovkin, head, international department of Russia’s Federal Agency For Tourism.

After a meeting between ASEAN NTOs and Russia at ATF 2011, Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports deputy permanent secretary Thanitta Maneechote said Russian arrivals to Thailand in 2010 leapt almost 100 per cent over 2009.

“Pattaya was the hot favourite for Russian tourists, but last year saw Phuket rising in popularity too. In fact, the Russian market became Phuket’s biggest source market, overtaking Scandinavia,” Thanitta said. “Seventy per cent of Russian tourists to Thailand are repeats. Many have been to Pattaya, so they are looking at other resort destinations in Thailand. And that, we have many!”

Singapore Tourism Board senior director, international group, Kevin Leong, said Russian arrivals to Singapore also saw growth, although this was “modest compared to what Thailand saw”. The city-state had 7.9 per cent more Russian tourists between January and November 2010, compared to the same period in 2009.

– Full story in TTG Asia

THE FEDERATION of ASEAN Travel Association (FATA) has earmarked human resource development as one of its key priorities this year to nip the problem of staff poaching in the bud.

FATA president William Tan said: “Everyone of us (FATA members) is facing a shortage of trained staff. As a result, poaching is rampant.”

To tackle this, Tan said a request for funds had been submitted to the ASEAN Secretariat. “Once the request is approved, we will establish an online training portal that will list all available training courses that travel agencies can apply for. A committee will also be formed (to lead this initiative).”

Courses would be conducted in each ASEAN country and experienced industry practitioners would lead the lessons, said Tan. “Because the travel industries of Malaysia and Singapore are more developed, I expect much of the training leadership to be coming from these two member countries,” Tan added.

– Full story in TTG Asia

FIRST-EVER direct air access between Yangon in Myanmar and Siem Reap in Cambodia is spurring ASEAN tourism cooperation, with the two destinations wasting no time to ink joint promotions to attract international travellers.

Both Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board and Cambodia Tourism Promotion Board are now in talks on how best to maximise their limited promotion budget as a result of Myanmar Airways International’s twice-weekly service between Yangon and Siem Reap, to be launched on February 23.

The direct service brings closer two of ASEAN’s most veritable heritage sites, Bagan in Myanmar and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, at a time when Myanmar is making a comeback and Cambodia is nursing a room oversupply.

– Full story in TTG Asia, January 28