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.

Travel search engine Wego.com has highlighted the growing trend of Chinese adult children travelling with elderly family members, especially as many of these young professionals have either relocated to first-tier cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, or have moved to other countries for their careers.

James Huang, market development manager, Wego, North Asia said: “Young Chinese professionals are taking the lead in travel planning and bookings for their parents and extended family to maintain the limited time they spend together.”

Chinese New Year thus presents a favourable opportunity for family travel, as adding annual leave to the Spring Festival holiday will translate into one of the longest continuous break for many Chinese executives. Long weekends are also becoming a popular time for outbound family travel.

Huang has also noticed an emerging trend of young professionals flying out their family to where they are based or to other destinations to spend quality time together.

“Young professionals living away from home are willing to spend more money to ensure their ageing parents especially travel in comfort by booking full-service flights for them. They prefer family-friendly hotels close to public transport in modern cities such as Tokyo and London,” said Huang.

“For destinations outside of Asia, they’ll select hotels who cater to Chinese tastes with familiar meals such as congee or hotpot, as elderly family members are less likely to adapt to Western food,” he added.

Amid changing market trends, Huang also urged a redefinition of the Chinese family segment to beyond that of younger families with small children in oder to pave for new opportunities and creative offerings.

“Hotels can incorporate local menus and larger, more comfortable road transfers, and airlines might consider flexible flight packages designed for three to suit an older family unit that includes options for premium economy seats (for older parents) and economy for an adult offspring,” he suggested.

Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG) has announced the resignation of CEO Bernold Schroeder, with effect from January 1, 2017.

Schroeder, who has been with the group for three years, will be pursuing other interests. The appointment of a new CEO will be announced before the end of February, the company said in a statement.

In the interim, Gwee Lian Kheng, group chief executive of UOL Group (PPHG’s owning company) will oversee the management of the company.

One of Hong Kong’s largest agencies has partnered UK-based B2B wholesaler JacTravel to connect to its global accommodation inventory.

This agreement will give Travel Expert, a 40-year FIT specialist firm with 60 retail branches and 700 staff, access to over 12,000 directly-contracted hotels under JacTravel’s portfolio, in addition to an aggregated portfolio of over 130,000 properties worldwide.

Alfred Kam, Travel Expert’s COO, said: “JacTravel has a broad selection of city centre hotels in major destinations around the world, which will enhance our offer.”

Inbound agents are hopeful that the government’s recent decision, which limits the number of sales periods to four times annually, will maintain the uniqueness of the events and enhance Malaysia’s appeal as a shopping destination.

Put into place from January 1, 2017, the three sales periods as gazetted by the government will be the New Year Sale from March 1 to 30, Mega Carnival Sale from June 15 to August 31 and the Year-end Sale from November 1 to December 31. Traders are allowed to set a fourth period of their choice to hold another sale on their own.

All sales must have a minimum discount of 10 per cent according to the new regulation.

Abdul Rahman Mohamed, general manager at Mayflower Holidays, said: “It will make it easier to plan a group, especially from regional markets and China, to coincide with the sales periods.”

Nigel Wong, director of Urban Rhythms Tours, Adventures & Travel, said the new regulation now makes shopping sales “a tourism event”. But to strengthen Malaysia’s branding as a shopping destination, he pointed out that retailers too have a part to play to ensure quality and genuine sales.

Concurred Raaj Navaratnaa, general manager, New Asia Holiday Tours & Travel: “It is also important to ensure that branded goods have good discounts as Malaysia is also competing with Singapore’s shopping sales where branded goods can go as low as 70 per cent.”

But a current weak ringgit will work in Malaysia’s favour as accommodation and shopping will comparatively offer more value for money for inbound tourists, he added.