Marriott International has signed an agreement with Hon Tam Nha Trang Sea Joint Stock Company to open Courtyard by Marriott Nha Trang Hon Tam Resort in southern Vietnam.

Due to be completed in 2020, the beachfront resort will feature 373 guestrooms and onsite dining venues.

Hon Tam island

The property is situated a 20-minute boat ride away from Nha Trang city on an exclusive island, and lies within easy access to key attractions including the Vinpearl amusement park, Long Beach and the historic Po Nagar Cham Towers.

Since opening an office in Singapore this January, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has identified Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia as key target markets in South-east Asia.

Arrivals from Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia rose by 15.4, 15.5 and 16.1 per cent respectively from 2015 to 2016, while the figure for Indonesian arrivals is currently unavailable.

Neuschwanstein, Bavaria

Further growth is expected from these origin countries as “travellers seek newer destinations in central Europe”, explained Chun Hoy Yuen, director of marketing & sales for Germany National Tourism Office (GNTO) – Singapore (ASEAN), who added that the NTO also “(aims) to encourage more people to stay longer in the country”.

The board has forecasted that overnight stays by visitors from Asia-Pacific will increase by 122.7 per cent by 2030.

Till Weigl, GNTB’s international market relations manager for Asia and Australia, elaborated: “Many travellers start or end their journey in Germany… Germany-exclusive routes usually focus on the alpine region, the Black Forest region and the capital Berlin.”

To nudge travellers towards longer stays, GNTB aims to “extend the routes also towards the north and the German shoreline as well as focus on the beautiful scenery in the east of Germany”, said Weigl.

In line with this, GNTB will promote its Destination Germany campaign through annual themes, with 2018’s being “Culinary Germany”, the 200^th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth and the European Athletics Championships in August at The Olympiastadion Berlin.

The board is gearing its marketing efforts towards digital channels, with an emphasis on social media campaigns and collaboration. Its website, www.germany.travel, has recorded a total of 10 million visits to date.

GNTB also recently set up office in Buenos Aires to pursue the Argentinian and Chilean markets, and its Dubai sales office underwent a facelift earlier this year.

Singapore has entered into an open skies agreement (OSA) with Armenia, allowing airlines of both countries to operate any number of services between each other as well as beyond to any third country, with no restrictions on capacity, frequency, aircraft type and route schedule.

Avetisyan (left) and Shum

The pact was signed in Singapore last week by the director-generals of Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Civil Aviation of Armenia, Kevin Shum and Sergey Avetisyan, respectively.

With the signing, Singapore has concluded air services agreements with more than 130 states and territories, of which over 60 are OSAs.

Thailand’s north-eastern province of Nakhon Phanom, which borders Laos and the Mekong River, has been chosen as the host venue for the Mekong Tourism Forum (MTF) 2018.

Organised by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, MTF was last held in Thailand in 2012 when Chiang Rai was host city. This year, the forum was organised in Luang Prabang.

Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in Nakhon Phanom 

In Nakhon Phanom, more visitors are arriving for meetings and conferences, and the Nakhon Phanom University participates in the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s MICE Curriculum Programme to help equip the region with professional meeting and events expertise to support the growing sector.

The annual MTF aims to give industry stakeholders a platform to discuss the promotion and marketing of travel and tourism to and within GMS countries – Cambodia, China’s Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. It also promotes sustainable growth in the industry and invites keynote speakers to talk on tourism issues.