With the 2017 Chinese New Year celebrating the year of the rooster just around the corner, Singapore outbound agents are reporting healthy travel demand despite a dismal economy.

Attributing the strong Singapore dollar as one of the key factors driving demand, Chan Brothers Travel’s spokesperson Joyce Tan said: “Regardless of a good or bad economy, there are always good travel offerings or forex savings to be mined for the prudent traveller.”

Despite not seeing a significant uptick in booking numbers, the fact that Singaporeans are still able to travel for long stretches of up to 13 days are encouraging signs in a weak economy, noted Issac Ng, spokesperson at ASA Holidays, adding that regional countries like Malaysia and Thailand are most sought after.

This strong wanderlust, remarked Dynasty Travel’s managing director Clifford Neo, is because “travel has become a lifestyle among Singaporeans”. But travellers may tweak their itineraries accordingly, oping for shorter trips or destinations that they have stronger buying power like Japan, Australia and Malaysia, he added.

But as this Chinese New Year falls shortly after the recent year-end holidays, Neo does not see an exponential increase in the number of outbound travellers for the upcoming festive season, especially for the longhaul destinations, as many had just taken their long breaks.

Meanwhile, regional cruises are especially popular for Chan Brothers, according to Tan, hiking 20 to 30 per cent in demand from the last Chinese New Year. She said: “Cruises offer the opportunity for multi-generational families to travel together due to the convenience and proximity of onboard accommodation and facilities.”

In its latest campaign, Jetstar Asia is encouraging travellers to stay home during this celebratory period to be with their loved ones by waiving all change fees and fare difference for passengers who decide to move their flight departures on January 27 and 28.

Genting Hong Kong’s Lim Kok Thay, Dream Cruises’ Thatcher Brown, and Meyer Werft’s Henning Stellermann and Bernard Meyer during the traditional lucky coins ceremony

Genting Hong Kong and Germany’s Meyer Werft shipyard earlier this week celebrated the keel laying of World Dream, the second new-build ship for Asian luxury cruise line Dream Cruises.

During the traditional ceremony that marks the formal start of a new ship’s construction, block number 3 – one of the 92 blocks that will complete the 151,000-tonnage ship – was lifted into the building dock to officially start the block assembly for World Dream.

In keeping with tradition, Thatcher Brown, president of Dream Cruises, laid customary “lucky coins” under the keel block as a symbol of good fortune and to bless the ship.

Upon completion, the 21-deck World Dream will be able to accommodate over 3,300 guests in 1,700 staterooms, of which 70 per cent have private balconies and over 100 offer connecting rooms.

Facilities onboard will include a spa, over 1,000m² of luxury shops, six water slides, a Zouk nightclub, as well as numerous F&B options. Special attention will also be given to the meetings and incentive market, with numerous spaces and services designed to accommodate group needs.

Lim Kok Thay, chairman and CEO, Genting Hong Kong, said: “World Dream will push the bar even higher for the cruise industry through her quality construction and customised design, best in-class service and diverse range of entertainment, dining, leisure and recreation options.”

World Dream is scheduled to debut in November this year to join sister ship Genting Dream.

Coral World Park concept art

Plans to develop the Nickelodeon Resort and Attraction in Coron, Palawan was met with strong opposition from the travel trade, environmentalists and the general public, thousands of whom made their displeasure known in online petitions in just two days.

AA Yaptinchay, general manager of Kirschner Travel Manila, which offers marine wildlife tours in Palawan, said: “Tourists have been enjoying Palawan’s nature as the main attraction. We want to feature Palawan as the Philippines’ last frontier, naturally perfect as it is.

“A monstrous construction like the Nickelodeon theme park will only degrade this environment and present it ‘artificially’. There is no point in doing that except to profit from its exploitation,” continued Yaptinchay, who is also the founder of Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines.

Al B Linsangan III, president of Palawan-based Calamianes Expeditions & Ecotours, said she found the development to be a “weird idea”.

Believing that Palawan should be a destination of natural wonders, he urged: “Do not reinvent the natural and exotic experience (in Palawan).”

But there has been a misunderstanding, according to a statement released yesterday afternoon by Coral World Park Undersea Resorts (CWP), partner of Viacomm International Media Network for the Nickelodeon Resort and Attraction.

CWP marketing and communications director, Susan Lee, said: “There has never been any form of communication from our side mentioning a theme park. Our plans are to build a resort and attraction, which we are designing as an undersea attraction with an ocean conservation focus”.

The release said that “the ‘undersea themed’ CWP is land-based and designed to meet the international standards” and “the only infrastructure in the water is floating and all developments are on land”.

The facility is sited on a private property and will undergo all the necessary approvals from the government before construction starts, according to the release.

AirAsia planes at KLIA2

From January 26, 2017, AirAsia will increase its frequency from Kuala Lumpur (KL) to the Indonesian destinations of Yogyakarta, Lombok and Pekanbaru, in Riau.

These additional flights will be operated by Indonesia AirAsia, bringing up the total weekly frequency to 21 from 14 for both the KL-Yogyakarta and KL-Lombok routes, and from 10 to 17 flights weekly for the KL-Pekanbaru route.

The existing three sectors are currently served by AirAsia Malaysia.

Iwan Kamaruddin, commercial director of Indonesia AirAsia, expects the additional flights to yield a growth of 30 per cent in international arrivals to Indonesia.

He elaborated: “These three routes operated by Malaysia AirAsia have recorded a significant growth of demand and the seat load factor has reached an average of 90 per cent. We hope that the additional frequencies will bring more international arrivals to Indonesia from our hub in Kuala Lumpur.”

Coral Cove, Koh Samui

Although much of southern Thailand is facing its worst flooding problem in three decades, forward bookings for Phuket and Koh Samui are still looking strong for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Twelve southern provinces have been hit by severe floods since late December 2016, with 25 people confirmed dead. The floods have also damaged five government installations, 218 roads and 59 bridges, causing problems for land travel to the south.

But with air travel to main resort destinations unaffected, it is business as usual for tourism in Phuket and Koh Samui.

According to Tourism Council of Phuket president Bhuritt Maswongsa, Phuket’s hotel sector has not suffered, with average hotel occupancy estimated at 85-95 per cent in January and forward bookings for the Chinese New Year period almost full.

Over in Koh Samui, which saw 30 per cent of reserved rooms cancelled, forward bookings for the Chinese New Year period still translate to around 90 per cent, stated Bannasat Ruangjai, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui.

Seni Puwasepphawong, managing director of Coral Cove Chalet Samui, added that tourism operators were confident that the situation would bounce back at the end of January due to good levels of forward bookings.

But he expressed frustration over chronic flooding on the tourist island due to blockage of natural waterways, and urged the authorities to “have a good city plan to solve the problem for good”.

Krit Prapharasnikorn, managing director of President Hotel Hat Yai, did not observe any direct impacts from the flood on Hat Yai tourism. He added the media might have misrepresented the flood situation to make it seem like travel to the south was impossible.