Myanmar deliberates bed tax

January 25, 2018

yangon — Bed tax meant to finance tourism promotion

The Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is hoping to fatten its limited destination promotion funds with income from a possible bed tax.

Tint Thwin, director general of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said the plan is to collect US$1 per room per night from international travellers, and 1,000 kyats (US$0.80) from domestic travellers staying in hotels.

Bed tax meant to finance tourism promotion

Tint Thwin explained that the bed tax is needed, as the ministry has “a very tight budget (allocation) for promotion from the government”.

Money collected from the proposed bed tax will go into financing Myanmar’s participation in travel tradeshows, production of destination promotion materials, development of human resources, online presence, and improvement of tourism infrastructure such as building public toilets, among other things.

Tint Thwin expects the country to collect between US$4 million and US$5 million a year in bed taxes, based on last year’s international arrival of 3.5 million people staying an average of one week, as well as five million domestic travellers.

However, the ministry’s decision is vexing local hoteliers, according to Aung Myo Min Din, chairman of the Myanmar Hotelier Association.

Aung Myo Min Din told TTG Asia that this was a bad time to impose the new bed tax as the country might be raising the minimum wage limit by 45 per cent this year, a move that would drive up costs and rooms rates. “We are afraid this will dampen travellers’ desire to visit Myanmar,” he said.

Aung Myo Min Din revealed that this concern was tabled at the recent ASEAN Hotel & Restaurant Association meeting where Malaysian members shared that inbound traffic had dipped when Malaysia imposed a similar tax. In comparison, arrivals into Indonesia grew when the Indonesian government eased regulations on travellers.

At press time, private sector players and the government are in talks to find a better solution to growing the destination promotion fund.

Tint Thwin said: “I am sure the industry understands and agrees that more money is needed. We have a budget of only US$300,000, and our participation in the tourism expo organised by the Japan Association of Travel Agents last year cost us US$200,000.

“We also agree that tourism is one of the most important sectors (driving Myanmar’s national economy) but we are the least developed (in this aspect) among ASEAN members. We have the lowest arrivals of them all and yet our prices are higher than that of Laos, Cambodia and Thailand while our service standards are not as good. We need to improve.”

Tint Thwin hopes “the best solution to this” will be found in a couple of months.

ASEANTA plays problem-solver to industry concerns

By Mimi Hudoyo

January 25, 2018

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atf — ASEANTA working on addressing issue of buyers 'not producing'

A stronger system to qualify ATF buyers and a membership expansion are among some proposed initiatives that have emerged from the ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) Board Meeting on Tuesday.

The initiatives aim to resolve persistent industry concerns.

ASEANTA working on addressing issue of buyers ‘not producing’

Board members deliberated the possibility of establishing a database of quality international buyers to raise the standards of attendees at ATF’s B2B meetings component, TRAVEX.

ASEANTA president Cheah Swee Hee said: “We have been studying the past few ATFs and we see some hosted buyers who are not really producing. ASEANTA must (find a solution for this).”

Cheah revealed that the proposal on the database was presented to NTO representatives on Tuesday.

He said the database could contain buyers recommended by various industry stakeholders and screened by ASEANTA board members.

“If we want the database to be more detailed, we could employ artificial intelligence and use technology to match (buyer profile with destination product offerings).”

Meanwhile, a committee with an IT expert has been formed and it has started to look into antitrust and personal data protection laws that will impact the creation and management of this database. This effort will also give confidence to sources when they collect data, opined Cheah.

A second major initiative considered by the board is the inclusion of airports and tour companies in ASEANTA membership.

“Our ASEAN airline members have been asking for the inclusion of airports so that there is better synergy, as the airports also play major roles in creating seamless travel for travellers,” he explained.

Cheah added that having travel companies in the membership would facilitate the communication and execution of programmes developed by ASEANTA.

“As ASEANTA members, these travel companies will get first-hand information (on what we hope to achieve and can take action accordingly),” he said.

The ASEANTA board will regroup in April for its annual general meeting, and Cheah hopes that the constitution will be amended by then to incorporate the new membership guidelines and to also bring to market the other proposed initiatives.

Record 62.2 million passengers for Changi in 2017

By TTG Asia

January 25, 2018

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changi-airport2 — Capacity expansion ongoing at Singapore Changi Airport

In 2017, Singapore Changi Airport handled a record 62.2 million passenger movements, up six per cent year-on-year, with landings and take-offs growing 3.5 per cent to reach 373,200.

Traffic across all regions saw positive growth, led by China and India which saw increases of 12 and 16 per cent respectively. South-east and North-east Asia contributed to about 70 per cent of total traffic.

Capacity expansion ongoing at Singapore Changi Airport

Connections to Kuala Lumpur grew seven per cent, replacing Jakarta as Changi’s top city link for 2017. Among Changi Airport’s top 20 destinations, Guangzhou was the fastest growing (+15 per cent), while Brisbane, Penang and Phuket recorded growth of at least six per cent.

December was once again the busiest month of the year, with nearly 5.9 million passenger movements (+3.3 per cent) and 32,960 aircraft movements (+3.1 per cent). The busiest day of the year was December 22, 2017 with 208,043 passengers passing through Changi’s terminals – a record for the airport.

During the year, Changi Airport welcomed three passenger airlines – Hebei Airlines, Norwegian and US-Bangla Airlines, joining over 100 airlines. Ten new passenger city links were also established, to China (Harbin, Shijiazhuang, Yantai), Greece (Athens), India (Madurai), Japan (Hiroshima, Okinawa), Malaysia (Bintulu), Sweden (Stockholm) and the US (Honolulu).

Also notable were the airport’s efforts to cater to the fly-cruise and fly-ferry markets, on top of continuing its courtship of MICE and transit segments. A new shuttle service was introduced last year to facilitate transfers between Changi Airport and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, and this has seen a ridership of close to 10,000 passengers in its seven months of operations.

To grow the fly-cruise market, the Changi Airport Group (CAG) has also signed various collaborations with cruise companies – which are expected to bring in more than 600,000 visitors over a four-year period.

“Looking ahead in 2018, we expect to see more developments in the longhaul segments to Europe. This includes Scoot’s non-stop service to Berlin, and LOT Polish Airlines’ service connecting Singapore and Warsaw. We will also welcome the return of Qantas’ Singapore-London route and an overall increase in seat capacity between Singapore and Australia, as well as Lufthansa’s resumption of its service to Munich,” said Lim Ching Kiat, CAG’s managing director, air hub development.

CAG will also continue efforts to strengthen connectivity to secondary cities in China and India – its fastest growing markets in 2017, Lim added.

Demand for air travel in Asia-Pacific is expected to triple in the next two decades. With the opening of Jewel Changi Airport and the completion of Changi’s Terminal 1 expansion in 2019, Changi Airport’s total handling capacity will increase to 85 million passengers per annum.

Curtains to rise on new Mekong film festival

By S Puvaneswary

January 25, 2018

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The Mekong Mini Movie Festival will make its debut at TRAVEX this Friday as a year-long event to celebrate the myriad faces and experiences of the Greater Mekong Subregion, promote the region as a single tourist destination, and attract business.

Jens Thraenhart, executive director of Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), said the festival is a public-private partnership initiated by Destination Mekong, an organisation set up this month and comprising the NTOs of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, MTCO and private sectors in the six countries.

Thraenhart: hopes to turn campaign into an annual affair

To achieve its objectives, the festival will attract both amateur and professional moviemakers to create short films – running no more than 60 seconds – of any one destination or up to three in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Videos must first be registered at MekongMoments.com, and then be posted on the creator’s own Twitter, Instagram or YouTube accounts, bearing the hashtags #MekongMoments, #Minis and the country being showcased.

The organisers will shortlist some of the best submissions, with three winners in the single-destination category to be announced at the Mekong Tourism Forum in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand this June 27 to 28, and another three in the multi-destination category awarded at ATF 2019 in Vietnam.

Thraenhart told TTG Asia: “We hope to create a large amount of inspiring content for the region with promotions and screenings internationally. We also hope this will become an annual campaign.”

The festival will be promoted through the MTCO website and social media, as well as the online and offline channels belonging to NTOs and DMOs of the Greater Mekong Subregion, and participating media owners and private sector.

India lends ASEAN a helping hand in hospitality, tourism training

By Marissa Carruthers

January 25, 2018

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asean-india-tourism-working-group — Exploring areas of collaboration in tourism training

India is offering her extensive network of hospitality and tourism training to South-east Asian nations, in an effort to help the region’s tourism workers brush up their skills.

At an ASEAN NTO meeting on Tuesday, D Venkatesan, deputy director general of India’s Ministry of Tourism, said: “India has offered to carry out human resource development training for ASEAN, where the countries send people to us to use our extensive network of established hotel management and tourism schools, covering many sectors, as well as our wealth of experience.”

Exploring opportunities for collaboration in tourism training

He cited the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering, the Indian Institute of Tourism and Management Training, and the Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Ecotourism as examples.

Added Venkatesan: “There is a lot of scope to collaborate.”

India is currently hammering out the final plans with Laos, which will be the first country from the ASEAN group to send staff to study. It is hoped this will take place this year, with other countries following suit.

Venkatesan told TTG Asia: “The finer details need to be worked out, such as how many people from each country and which category of people, and then we can get started.”

India is also pushing hard to establish direct flights with South-east Asian countries. He shared that Vietnam has submitted a proposal for a flight connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Delhi, with hopes it will launch this year.

Venkatesan added: “South-east Asia is a big market for India for Buddhist pilgrimages so more flights connecting us to Buddhist countries would be very welcome.”

Airbnb allows users to pay less upfront for bookings

By TTG Asia

January 25, 2018

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airbnb-pay-less-upfront — Airbnb users no longer have to pay the full amount at the point of booking

Airbnb is introducing Pay Less Up Front, which allows guests to pay only for part of the trip at the time of booking – a 50 per cent deposit in most cases – and pay the rest closer to the check-in date.

This is a departure from before, where guests had to pay in full when booking.

Airbnb users no longer have to pay the full amount at the point of booking

In the testing of the new scheme, Airbnb said it saw “clear demand” for more convenient payments. Given the option of paying less up front, 40 per cent of guests chose to do so, and opted for higher-value bookings on the whole.

The company also found that Pay Less Up Front encourages bookings further in advance. Compared with ordinary bookings, the new payment option led to bookings with nearly double the lead time, helping hosts to secure and manage bookings more easily.

The new payment option is available today across all platforms: iOS, Android, mobile-web and desktop.

To qualify for Pay Less Up Front, the total stay must be US$250 or more, and be booked at least 14 days from check-in.

Aviation roundup: Philippine Airlines, Thai AirAsia X and more

By TTG Asia

January 25, 2018

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PAL slashes Singapore for more Bangkok flights
Effective March 25, 2018, as part of the airline’s route rationalisation, Philippine Airlines (PAL) will suspend its Cebu-Singapore operations and increase its Cebu-Bangkok flight frequency from thrice-weekly to daily.

Passengers with confirmed tickets on CEB-SIN/SIN-CEB flights from March 25 onwards may rebook on CEB-MNL-SIN/SIN-MNL-CEB flights within 30 days from original flight date, with rebooking penalties/charges waived. They also have the option to refund the cost of their tickets within 30 days from original flight date with refunding charges waived.

The said date will also mark the start of daily operations between Cebu and Bangkok from the current thrice-weekly service. PR738 departs Cebu daily at 21.10 and arrives in Bangkok at 12.10 the following day. PR739 leaves Bangkok daily at 01.30 and touches down in Cebu at 06.30.

Thai AirAsia X returns to Sapporo
Thai AirAsia X will commence daily flights between Bangkok (Don Mueang) and Sapporo (New Chitose) on April 10 after abruptly ceasing the route in 2015.

Flight XJ620 will depart Bangkok at 23.55 for arrival in Sapporo at 08.40 the following day. XJ621 will leave Sapporo at 09.55 to arrive back in Bangkok at 15.10.

JAL Group unveils changes for 2018
JAL Group (JAL) has announced a slew of changes for FY2018 (ending March 31, 2019).

Instead of introducing twice-daily Tokyo (Narita)-Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) and Osaka (Kansai)-Honolulu services until October 27, 2018, as was announced in December, the airline has confirmed it will extend and maintain 14 flights per week for both routes until March 30, 2019.

Also, in an effort to match the demand between Japan and Russia following the relaxation of visa requirements, JAL will offer seasonal daily flights on its Tokyo (Narita)-Moscow (Domodedovo) service from July 1 through to October 27.

JC International launches Singapore-Phnom Penh flights

Cambodian carrier JC International Airlines will launch daily flights between Phnom Penh and Singapore today, according to Routes Online. Operated with a Airbus A320, flight QD675 departs Phnom Penh at 09.15 and arrives in Signapore at 12.15. For the return leg, flight QD676 leaves Singapore at 12.55 for arrival in Phnom Penh at 13.55.

Khiri connects travellers with Myanmar personalities, experts

By TTG Asia

January 25, 2018

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myanmar-leading-minds — Personalities who were part of the significant points of Myanmar's history

Khiri Travel has created a new tour component which brings travellers into contact with some of the key eyewitnesses to Myanmar’s turbulent history – including Burmese royalty, artists and activists.

Through the Personal Stories and Encounters – Meet the Leading Minds of Myanmar programme, tourists can meet Soe Win, a descendent of the last King Thipaw of Myanmar, to learn about the fate of Burmese royalty.

Personalities who were part of the significant points in Myanmar’s history

Another encounter that tourists can have is with art gallery owner, Aung Soe Min, who will give insights into the country’s reawakened art scene. Academic Aphwar Nyein will reminisce the days when Myanmar had some of the best universities and highest literacy rates in South-east Asia; while Dewi Thant will describe the environmental challenges confronting the country now that the ‘Burmese Road to Socialism’ has been abandoned in favour of Western-style economic development.

The programme, which can be purchased as an add-on to any of Khiri Travel Myanmar’s tours, also offers encounters with a lethwei boxer, a puppet master, an author, a food connoisseur, a former political prisoner, a tattoo artist, and various craftsmen and women.

Edwin Briels, managing director of Khiri Travel Myanmar, said: “These meetings with remarkable people add a rewarding new element to tourists’ understanding of Myanmar, past and present.”

Most of the encounters take place in Yangon, with some in Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake. In all, Khiri Travel Myanmar can facilitate meetings with around 20 experts throughout the country.

For more information, visit www.khiri.com.

Triponyu.com steps beyond peer-to-peer boundaries

By Mimi Hudoyo

January 24, 2018

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Indonesian peer-to-peer marketplace Triponyu.com, which connects savvy independent travellers with local hosts of travel experiences in the country, is now looking to expand its market reach through partnerships with tour operators and participation in travel marts.

Triponyu.com was established by four milliennials from Solo, Central Java in 2016, and officially launched in mid-2017.

Augustinus Adhitya, CEO of Triponyu.com, said a system to incorporate the B2B component is in development and will “launch soon”.

Augustinus (left) tells TTG Asia’s Mimi Hudoyo (centre) about his plans to start partnering with tour operators

He said his business is all about “empowering the local community, which used to be a spectator of the tourism growth around them, to become active players (themselves)”.

“The trips we offer are created by the locals (who) develop interesting and unconventional products,” he added.

Programmes are mostly day tours that run for four to five hours.
Citing examples, Augustinus pointed to a culinary tour in Solo that takes tourists beyond sampling local food, and instead also imparts philosophy behind traditional cuisine, history of the eateries and knowledge of food preparation.

Another example is a batik tour that throws in tips on how to determine the quality of a batik cloth and lessons on batik production.

Experience hosts join Triponyu.com for free and determine the price of their own programmes. To ensure quality of experiences, Triponyu.com verifies and approves content, and also guides local hosts on package creation and pricing.

In return, the company draws seven per cent of sales takings as commission.

Since its launch, Triponyu.co has quickly expanded its product range beyond Solo and Java to include experiences in other parts of Indonesia such as Bali and Lombok. As well, Triponyu.com offers homestays and car rental services too.

Augustinus believes there is good growth potential for experiential tours, as “the trend today is for people to travel individually rather than in groups” as well as a growing desire for adventure and travel flexibility.

“(Independent travellers today don’t want to) come to a destination clutching tickets and accommodation vouchers. They want to look for things to do after they have arrived and they prefer value-for-money products found on the Internet,” he said.

ASEAN travel associations work towards a closer partnership

By Mimi Hudoyo

January 24, 2018

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The ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) Board has made an unusual move of bringing together several travel industry associations at ATF 2018 to facilitate a more coordinated approach to resolving issues such as market penetration and courtship of Muslim travellers.

Cheah Swee Hee, ASEANTA president, pointed out that this decision has resulted in a “merrier” ASEAN airlines meeting on Monday, as three member airlines – Thai Airways, AirAsia and Philippine Airlines – are joined by NTO representatives from Indonesia and Thailand as well as ASEANTA Board members.

Cheah: strengthening collaboration between region’s airlines, NTOs and associations

Explaining the benefit of bringing all parties together, Cheah said: “Member airlines target different market segments and can contribute to our plans. Philippine Airlines, for example, is strong in North America, so we can work with it should we hope to grow that market.”

He added that NTO presence was also valuable as they were the ones to bring travellers into their destination and garner critical support from their governments and airport authorities to expand an airline’s network.

Airline, NTO and ASEANTA Board members also discussed on Monday ways to improve intra-ASEAN travel for Muslims, an increasingly attractive segment in the region.

Desiree Bandal, Philippines AirAsia’s head of government policy & ASEAN, told TTG Asia: “AirAsia hopes for the tourism industry in South-east Asia to create increased awareness about halal-compliant products and services, and make them more readily available across the region.

“South-east Asia’s population comprises around 40 per cent Muslims, with Malaysia and Indonesia being the biggest tourist source markets. As we continue to promote intra-ASEAN travel, it is important that the needs of Muslim tourists from the region are met.”

Cheah is engaging his peers from the ASEAN Hotel & Restaurant Association (AHRA) and the Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations as well, through separate meetings during ATF 2018.

He noted that stakeholders within South-east Asia’s tourism sector were dependent on each other and only by helping each other – such as through the sharing of business information – would they meet their business objectives.

For example, he believes that the ASEANTA Board can share knowledge on halal tourism with AHRA members to enable more hotels to be Muslim-friendly.

Cheah acknowledged that a single meeting would not bring about immediate solutions, so numerous and regular meetings with various travel industry associations in this region would be arranged going forward.

Myanmar deliberates bed tax

ASEANTA plays problem-solver to industry concerns

Record 62.2 million passengers for Changi in 2017

Curtains to rise on new Mekong film festival

India lends ASEAN a helping hand in hospitality, tourism training

Airbnb allows users to pay less upfront for bookings

Aviation roundup: Philippine Airlines, Thai AirAsia X and more

Khiri connects travellers with Myanmar personalities, experts

Triponyu.com steps beyond peer-to-peer boundaries

ASEAN travel associations work towards a closer partnership

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