WITH global GDP generated by aviation forecasted to more than double in the next 20 years, aviation industry players are calling on policymakers to put in place frameworks that will support and sustain growth.

The Aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders report by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) states that aviation currently contributes US$2.7 trillion in GDP worldwide and the number is expected to increase to US$5.9 trillion in the next two decades.

In Asia-Pacific, air transport contributes US$626 billion to the region’s GDP. Aviation in the region has the highest share of global traffic at 33 per cent, and is expected to grow at 5.1 per cent per annum over the same time period.

The report also projects aviation-supported jobs worldwide will increase from 62.7 million to over 99 million.

Aviation players in Asia-Pacific are thus appealing for greater government involvement in light of these growth trends and their implications on broader social and economic development.

“Governments have an important role to play in providing a stable policy framework and coordinating the necessary investments in associated aviation infrastructure to match the projected growth in travel and tourism demand, spurring further income growth and job creation, as well as strengthening regional integration and global connectivity,” said Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Representing the airport sector, Patti Chau, regional director for Airports Council International Asia-Pacific, “calls on governments in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East to continue to develop aviation policy that will support the growth of air transport, (while) respecting the balance between growth and sustainability”.

Hai Eng Chiang, director of Asia-Pacific affairs for the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, stresses the need for efficient and cost-effective air traffic management to cope with rising demand.

“States in the Asia-Pacific region have a key role to play by cooperating and breaking down national barriers towards the common vision of a seamless sky,” he said.

In the more immediate term, Michael Gill, executive director of ATAG, wants governmental participation in the drafting of the association’s climate action plan.

“We need support from governments around the world to agree on a key part of that plan at the upcoming International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly, where we hope an agreement can be reached on a global offsetting scheme for air transport.”

NORTH Korea has allegedly started printing counterfeit US$100 bank notes and is passing them off to travellers and in business transactions, according to media reports.

Travel companies with operations in North Korea told TTG Asia e-Daily that they are aware of reports more than 10 years ago that Pyongyang was involved in printing high-quality “supernotes”, but say that they have not come across any fake currency recently.

“If these reports are true, then I think we should probably warn our clients,” said Sabrina Wong, spokesperson for Explore North Korea, based in Dandong.

In mid-June, South Korean media reported that a North Korean national was arrested in Dandong after exchanging US$5 million for Chinese currency at two banks and then depositing the funds.

Counting machines at the banks determined that a number of the notes were fake and the man was arrested and the accounts frozen.

In another case, South Korea’s Yonhap News reported that a Hong Kong-based businessmen was given a US$100 bill as change when he was leaving his hotel in Pyongyang, but only discovered that it was fake after returning to Hong Kong.

A number of other local businessmen have reported being given counterfeit US$100 and US$50 notes in North Korea.

US financial authorities estimate that North Korea started producing fake notes in the 1970s, but began manufacturing notes that were almost indistinguishable from genuine bills in the late 1980s.

Dubbed “supernotes”, Washington estimated that Pyongyang managed to slip at least US$45 million worth of notes into circulation, primarily through its embassies overseas.

But the fake notes began to disappear around a decade ago, after the US introduced new security features, including a three-dimensional security ribbon and microprinting.

North Korea is under stringent UN sanctions and it has been suggested that the regime is seeking ways to obtain hard currency now that many of its traditional money-making operations have been blocked.

MALAYSIA is set to relax restrictive visa regulations for Sri Lankan visitors in hopes to reverse a drop in arrivals from the South Asian nation.

Malaysia’s deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters in Colombo on July 22 that an agreement has been reached to implement e-visas for Sri Lankan tourists and this is expected to be finalised in November.

Currently, Sri Lankan visitors to Malaysia have to submit a plethora of documents and obtain a visa via the Malaysian embassy in Colombo. However, Malaysian visitors to Sri Lanka can use an online facility.

Sri Lankan visitors and travel agents have complained about this restrictive process.

The issue came to the fore in March during a visit by a Malaysian tourism delegation. Leading the team was Daljit Singh, member of the Tourism Malaysia Board of Directors, who then responded to the feedback and promised to recommend a relaxation of visa regulations.

Ahmad Zahid added last week that they would encourage more Sri Lankan arrivals in Malaysia through aggressive promotions and marketing.

Sri Lankan arrivals in Malaysia dropped to 51,337 in 2015 from 61,670 in 2014.