Bandaranaike International Airport

SRI Lanka’s main gateway will operate mostly night flights for three months in 2017, from January 6 to April 6, so that the airport’s 30-year-old runway can undergo urgent repairs.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) informed industry stakeholders last week that flights won’t be permitted between 08.30 and 16.30 at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) for the period.

The dates and hours of closure were decided in consultation with airline operators, said the CAA.

Operators said that the repairs are necessary and agreed to day flights being rescheduled to operate during after hours. Ruha Jasinghe, secretary of the Sri Lanka Association of Airline Representatives said the repairs are needed and long overdue, and are looking at ways to try and reduce the inconvenience to passengers.

This is the first time overlaying work is being carried out on the airport’s runway since it completed construction in 1986.

BIA handles an average of 170 flights per day with roughly 60 flights taking place during daytime. Last year, 8.2 million passengers passed through the airport.

SriLankan Airlines CEO Suren Ratwatte told local media that they are now working on the new schedules. Other sources added that the national carrier would be the most affected due to the volume of flights they operate.

Etihad Airways general manager Kumar De Silva said they would not be impacted as they operate day flights only during the summer.

According to officials, there is also a likelihood that some flights will operate out of Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport in cases of emergency.

A meeting will be held later this month to iron out how carriers will operate during this period, stated the CAA.

Inside the Wonsan Kalma International Airport. Credit: Aram Pan/DPRK360.com

NORTH Korea is embarking on a major campaign to expand its tourism sector and is appealing to foreign investors to sink money into the Kalma district on the east coast of the peninsula.

The campaign to develop Kalma, close to the city of Wonsan, comes just weeks after North Korea created another special tourism zone at Mubong, the area around Mount Paektu and on the border with China.

State media has reported that a resort town is to be constructed along a 4km stretch of beach at Kalma and is emphasising its proximity to scenic spots including Mount Kumgang, Lake Sijung, Samil lagoon and the Masikryong ski resort.

Under the terms of the 2013 Law on Economic Development of Parks, foreign investors are permitted to carry out independent business activities in designated tourism zones. However, the country’s appeal to investors remains questionable as it still faces international economic sanctions.

Simon Cockerell, general manager of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, said a conference last year for potential investors in the Wonsan area attracted “a couple of hundred people, almost all of them Chinese”. Yet, he remains skeptical of the event’s success as “investment there can be complicated”.

It is also uncertain if tourism development in the area will be matched with mass market tourist demand. “Wonsan already has hotels and an airport built, so they have done the easy stuff,” Cockerell said. “But why would tourists want to go there?”

VIETNAM-based DMC Phoenix Voyages will be organising a marathon in Siem Reap in 2017 after a successful inaugural run held earlier this year.

The travel agency, which operates mainly in South-east Asia, initiated the UltraTrail d’Angkor with co-organiser SDPO (a French running association) in January as a way to merge sports and cultural experiences into a singular event. The run brings participants through the famed Angkor Temples, nearby forests, rice fields and local villages.

“Arrivals in Cambodia are increasing every year and I see sports tourism as the next step. I think in five years’ (time and beyond), with its constant development, Cambodia will become more and more like neighbouring Thailand,” said Francois Lefebvre, project manager at Phoenix Voyages, adding that while there are other marathon events in Cambodia, they are the first to hold it in the middle of the Angkor Temples.

The debut run saw 307 registered runners, mostly FITs from 26 different nationalities, spread across four scheduled courses ranging from 32km to 128km, as well as a Nordic Walking route.

According to Lefebvre, most of the participants originated from France, Thailand, China and the UK.

For next year’s marathon, to be held on January 21, 2017, a new 16km category will be introduced. More archaeological sites will also be featured along the routes for sightseeing purposes, if all goes to plan.

On the promotions front, Lefebvre said that utilising social media is the key strategy for now. “We focus mainly on our social networks to provide a constant flow of content and information about our event to stay connected with the marathon community. It also allows us to be in direct contact with them to know their expectations and to answer all their requests.

“We also have partnerships set up with local travel agencies in order to try and have a physical presence in every country.”

He added that interested corporate groups are also welcome to approach Phoenix Voyages for details about team building or incentive packages.

Tourism New Zealand’s newest promotional video featuring James Cameron and his wife walking the Routeburn Track in South Island, New Zealand

INDONESIA and New Zealand have signed an MoU in display of their commitment to boost travel between the two countries.

The MoU, signed by Arief Yahya, Indonesia’s tourism minister, and Todd McClay, New Zealand’s trade minister, in Jakarta on July 18, covers areas such as human resource development, information exchange, destination and tourism product development, marketing and promotions.

In addition, both countries agreed to engage in greater cooperation in regional and international forums.

Commenting on the signing, I Gde Pitana, deputy minister for international marketing development at the Indonesia Ministry of Tourism, said: “(Traffic between the two countries) is still small, but we could make it better, especially through tourism. The MoU is a milestone to enhance cooperation.”

He expects that the number of New Zealanders travelling to Indonesia would increase, especially in light of visa exemptions and the easing of regulation for yachting in the country.

There were around 17,000 Indonesian arrivals to New Zealand during the fiscal year ending May 2016, while around 79,000 Kiwis visited Indonesia in the same period.

Despite weaker arrivals into New Zealand, Steven Dixon, Tourism New Zealand’s regional manager South & South East Asia, said things are looking up. “If we look back at the last five years, we have seen the market grow about 65 per cent.”

According to Dixon, Tourism New Zealand intends to continue boosting demand from Indonesia through branding, public relations and cooperation with the trade.

He further urged the travel trade to work closely with agents from Indonesia to “create compelling packages to market New Zealand”.

As well, the tourism promotion body will bring Kiwi Link, a B2B training exchange, to Jakarta this October for the first time.

“The New Zealand trade would introduce their products to their Indonesian counterparts and learn from the Indonesian trade on the characteristics of Indonesian travellers,” commented Dixon.

Taipei, Taiwan

THAILAND’s outbound agencies should prepare for a mini price war as travellers look to take advantage of Taiwan’s visa exemptions, industry figures warn.

Tourists from Thailand and Brunei will be able to visit Taiwan visa-free for up to 30 days from Aug 1 under a one-year trial expected to bring in an extra 280,000 visitors and US$407 million in revenue.

Kritchanat Meesamran, managing director of Sun Smile Holiday and Travel Company and vice-president of the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), said operators would have to keep prices low even with extra demand.

“From now on, tour companies will have to compete on price for tour packages to Taiwan,” he said, adding that agents can expect a shift towards more last-minute bookings.

The decision came as Taipei seeks to arrest a slide in tourism revenue and was announced just a day before a deadly bus fire killed 24 Chinese tourists, a tour guide and the driver as they made their way to Taiwan’s international airport.

The move puts Taiwan in direct competition with South Korea and Japan for Thai tourists, which respectively offer 90-day and 15-day exemptions. Package tours to Taiwan are relatively cheap, and the stable currency makes it an attractive option.

KTK Tour Enterprise’s managing director Surawat Akaraworamat said he had no doubt Taiwan would soon threaten South Korea and Japan, which are major draws for Thais.

He said: “(With the visa exemption), Thai travel to Taiwan will increase for sure.”

The TTAA is anticipating a rise in outbound travel of between five to seven per cent for 2016, with Kasikorn Research Centre estimating Thais will make 7.4 million trips.

NATIONS worldwide have issued travel alerts to Turkey this week in the wake of a series of terror attacks and a failed military coup in the country.

The US Embassy in Ankara released a statement yesterday that the threat of terrorist activities, whether by firearms, explosives, vehicular assault, or other means, “remains elevated” in Turkey and that westerners have been “explicitly targeted”.

“Attacks in Turkey and other countries may come at any time without advanced warning,” it added.

The US Department of State also earlier this week advised its citizens to avoid travel to Turkey at this point in time in light of the July 15 coup attempt and recent attacks in the region.

“Extremists have targeted large sporting events, theatres, open markets, aviation services, transportation systems, and public venues where people congregate as well as religious sites and high-profile events (throughout Europe),” it warned, adding that southeastern Turkey should be particularly avoided.

Authorities in the UK have also issued updated advisories yesterday, pointing to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s declaration of a three-month state of emergency in the country as they fight to fully reestablish order post-coup.

As for terrorist threats, the UK government warns that “there is a heightened risk of terrorist attack against the aviation industry in Turkey”, and that the cities of Ankara and Istanbul, as well as the south and eastern parts of the country, are especially at risk.

In Asia, Singapore updated its travel notice to Turkey yesterday due to the many attacks in Ankara and Istanbul that took place since the start of the year.

Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned in a statement: “Singaporeans should reconsider the need for non-essential travel to Ankara and Istanbul at this point in time. Singaporeans are further advised to avoid travel to the border regions between Turkey and Syria due to the unpredictable security situation associated with the ongoing conflict in Syria.”

Singapore also raised a travel notice to Belgium this week due to a significant and probable terrorism threat there.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has downgraded their threat level for travel to Turkey from the highest warning level of red to the second highest level of orange after the attempted coup there was quelled.

Still, the orange alert level indicates that Taiwanese citizens should avoid all unnecessary travel to the European nation.