Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) is encouraging more inbound agents to cater to the China market to ensure there are enough suppliers to support the expected influx of Chinese tourists this year, according to the association’s president Uzaidi Udanis.

“By getting new agents involved, we believe Malaysia can create niche itineraries and promote new destinations to encourage more repeat visitors,” Uzaidi said.

Uzaidi: working with Tourism Malaysia on B2B networking sessions in China

He added: “We are also trying to attract agents with non-Chinese speaking staff to enter this market as many Chinese travel agents these days are able to communicate in English. Mandarin is no longer an essential requirement.”

For a start, MITA is collaborating with Tourism Malaysia to organise a B2B networking session in Xiamen from May 22 to 25, following the Malaysian government’s announcement to open a new visa centre in the city to improve tourism numbers to one million from the Fujian province itself.

There are also plans to hold similar B2B networking sessions in other Chinese cities in 2H2017.

Uzaidi said: “MITA hope to keep costs below RM5,000 (US$1,138) per participant and this will cover airfare, ground arrangements and the B2B session. By keeping costs low, we hope to encourage new and small inbound agents to participate.

“We understand many are unable to promote at overseas travel trade events where a table at the Malaysia pavilion will cost anything between RM6,000 to RM20,000, (excluding) airfare and ground arrangements.”

Passengers from Europe, the Americas and the Far East are making more bookings and taking more flights despite recent terrorist attacks and ongoing geo-political wrangles, according to ForwardKeys.

The company revealed that Thailand is benefiting from the BRIC boom, which is helping to fill a gap left by a reduction in Chinese visitors after the Thai government discouraged cheaper tour groups from China since September 2016.

On the recovery of BRIC countries, ForwardKeys found that Brazil has been on the up since the end of its political crisis in 2016, and Russia had its first positive monthly performance, in December 2016, since its annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Both countries’ currencies are recovering in value – indicating more travel to come.

Forward bookings show that four out of five of the top rising destinations for Brazilians are in Europe; Indian travellers prefer Asia-Pacific; and Russians like Georgia, Czech Republic, the UAE and Italy.

Meanwhile, forward bookings to the US have picked up after the uncertainty that president Donald Trump’s travel ban introduced, mainly due to the Easter holiday shift.

Longhaul arrivals in Western Europe are starting to surge again, ForwardKeys said, reaching visitor numbers higher than those seen before the Paris attacks in November 2015.

China, the Netherlands, the UK, and Germany are fuelling the increase in forward bookings to Canada and Mexico, which are setting the pace for longhaul arrivals in North America.

ForwardKeys added that “China’s power to make or break a destination is demonstrated by the recent trend in visitor numbers to South Korea”. International arrivals in South Korea (for stays of four to eight nights) fell 10 per cent in 1Q2017 due to cancellations by Chinese tour groups in March, while forward bookings for the same category are currently lagging 28 per cent.

ASEAN countries are the most likely to benefit from South Korea’s visitor crisis as they have the increased capacity for visitors from China, the company stated.

The findings will be presented at the World Travel and Tourism Council’s Global Summit taking place in Bangkok today and tomorrow.

Pacific World and Singapore-based boutique agency Aonia have entered a strategic alliance to enrich their offerings and cater to a global clientele.

“Bringing together (our) strengths will enable us to offer a holistic solution to clients across the Asia region,” said Selina Chavry, Pacific World’s global managing director.

“From event design and production to on-the-ground logistics and meeting execution to measuring ROI, no matter which country they choose to host their event, we’ll be able to accommodate our clients in a more distinct and impactful way.”

Commenting on the partnership, Daniel Chua, Aonia’s chief executive, said: “Together, we can now offer customised boutique service along with the power and presence of a worldwide destination and event management company with local staffing in more than 40 countries and 100 destinations around the globe.”

A new traditional Chinese wooden junk boat, aqua luna II, has joined the aqua luna family to offer harbour cruises of Hong Kong’s iconic skyline.

Commissioned by Aqua Restaurant Group, aqua luna II is the younger but larger brother to the iconic red-sailed junk aqua luna, which was launched over a decade ago by founder David Yeo.

aqua luna II

Measuring 29m in length and holding up to 80 guests on its two decks, aqua luna II boasts sails that feature an ornate blue-and-white dragon of the Ming Dynasty, often seen on antique Chinese porcelain.

In Chinese, aqua luna and aqua luna II are named after Hong Kong pirate Cheung Po Tsai, who sailed Hong Kong waters over 100 years ago and is said to have stored his stolen treasures in the caves of Cheung Chau. Aqua luna is Cheung Po Tsai and aqua luna II is Dai Cheung Po (big brother of Cheung Po) – indicating its greater size.

The aqua luna fleet, with its two traditional Chinese junk boats, offers 45-minute evening harbour cruises while in the day guests can explore locations around the harbour on the aqua luna’s hop-on/hop-off Harbour Discovery Tour.

From May 1, longer daytime cruises are available to a wider list of destinations including Stanley, Cheung Chau and Lamma Island for its nature trail.

A new offering is the Dim Sum Cruises, which allows guests to enjoy signature dishes prepared by Dim Sum Library, Aqua Restaurant Group’s dim sum and modern Chinese restaurant.

To celebrate the launch of aqua luna II complimentary rides will take place on May 13 and 14 for all Hong Kong ID holders (from 12.00 – 17.30). From now until May 31, all the restaurants in Aqua Restaurant Group will be randomly serving dishes and cocktails in Ming Dynasty plates and cups. Anyone lucky enough to be served the Ming Dynasty ceramic will get complimentary tickets for the new aqua luna II.

Specialist adventure tour operator Rove has now expanded into Vietnam, bringing its countries of operation up to a total of eight, in addition to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

The new tours explore the remote reaches of northern Vietnam, and include activities such as trekking, cycling and kayaking. Designed with both casual and enthusiast adventurers in mind, the trips are conceived to ensure that travellers are given the opportunity to engage with the local communities and experience the spirit of the country, the travel startup stated in a release.

Rove was established by co-founders Holly Richter, formerly of Backroads and Exo Travel, and Struan Robertson, formerly of SpiceRoads, last year.