NON-PROFIT organisation World Animal Protection is calling on governments to investigate and close down venues that use tigers for entertainment and for travel companies to halt their sales and promotion of such establishments.

The recent scandal and closure of Thailand’s Tiger Temple has spotlighted the abuse of captive tigers that goes on inside such places and in light of that, the animal welfare group has launched an investigation into the tiger tourism industry in Thailand.

The study, Tiger selfies exposed: A portrait of Thailand’s tiger entertainment industry, showed that the number of captive tigers increased from 623 to 830 in the last five years, or by 33 per cent.

According to the report, such venues are getting increasingly popular as tourists are promised a close-up encounter with wild tigers. But many travellers do not realise the cruelty that goes on in order to domesticate these creatures to the extent of being made submissive enough to entertain tourists.

Issues cited include tigers being punished using pain and fear in order to stop aggressive, unwanted behavior. One staff member told the researchers that starvation is also used as a punitive measure.

Of the 17 major tiger entertainment venues investigated in Thailand, Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Pattaya had the highest number of tigers in captivity. As well, World Animal Protection observed that it has the poorest conditions with at least one tiger so thin its hips and ribs were visible.

“It is very worrying that at the time of our research, 207 more tigers were abused for tourist entertainment than there were five years ago,” said Julie Middelkoop, head of the Wildlife – Not Entertainers campaign at World Animal Protection.

“We’re asking tourists to think about the welfare of the tigers, and we’re calling on the travel industry to stop promoting and profiting from tiger cruelty. If you can get up close to, hug, or have a selfie with a tiger, the attraction is cruel. Don’t go.”

She further urged travellers to stay away from any wildlife tourist entertainment venues that allow direct human-animal interaction, such as hugging and selfies with tigers.

“TripAdvisor, the largest travel site in the world, continues to promote and sell tickets to cruel tiger tourist venues. They could be a real part of the solution and help to end the suffering of tigers,” she added.

Responding to the allegations, a TripAdvisor spokesperson said: “The role of animals in tourism is a highly complex issue involving a variety of stakeholders with diverse points of view. TripAdvisor takes this issue seriously.

“Currently, there is no universally agreed upon criteria by which to assess animal welfare practices, and no feasible means by which an online resource like ours could centrally audit such practices around the globe. While it is the responsibility of national governments and local regulatory bodies to monitor businesses in their respective jurisdictions, TripAdvisor recognises that the travel and tourism community can be a positive catalyst for change.

“We are committed to exploring this in a thoughtful and responsible manner to protect animal welfare, while serving the needs of our TripAdvisor community, promoting sustainable tourism, and respecting the economic interests of the reputable partners who make their living in this area.”

(From left) Ding Yong Zheng, board director of U-FLY Alliance; Andrew Cowen, CEO of U-Fly Alliance; Jimmy Ma, board chairman & director of U-Fly Alliance; Jung Shik Kim, CEO of Eastar Jet; and Steven Greenway, deputy CEO of U-Fly Alliance at the announcement

SOUTH Korean budget carrier Eastar Jet has joined the U-Fly Alliance as a strategic airline partner.

The addition of Eastar enables the LCC alliance to add stops such as Seoul, Busan, Jeju and more to its network of mostly North Asian destinations.

“With Eastar Jet on board, we will be able to expand U-Fly Alliance’s reach to 197 destinations and link guests up with hard-to-reach places all over South Korea and Northern Asia,” said Andrew Cowen, CEO of U-Fly Alliance.

Launched in 2009, Eastar Jet now covers a route map of 24 international and domestic destinations, all of which will be added to the U-Fly Alliance network. The company currently operates 17 aircraft with two more expected by end-2017.

“We are delighted to join the U-Fly Alliance and connect South Korean travellers with this network of exceptional LCCs. We look forward to furthering U-Fly’s mission to create a better-connected Asia and provide affordable travel for all,” said Jung Shik Kim, CEO of Eastar Jet.

The Hong Kong-headquartered U-Fly Alliance was formed earlier this year in January, marking the world’s first LCC alliance, and is made up of founding airlines Lucky Air, Urumqi Air, West Air and HK Express.

El Nido, Palawan

THE Philippines’ newly-appointed tourism secretary Wanda Teo has vowed to efficiently utilise the resources given to her for the promotion and development of the country’s tourism industry.

According to a statement by the Philippines’ Department of Tourism, it has gotten a substantial budget increase this year, up 44 per cent from the 2015 budget of 2.5 billion pesos (US$53 million) to a 3.61 billion pesos (US$76.5 million) sum for 2016.

No details have been revealed as to how the budget is to be allocated, but Teo added that information on activities and transactions of the tourism ministry can be accessed from its soon-to-relaunch website.

In the statement, Teo also lauded the country’s president Rodrigo Duterte on his plans to construct new highways and bridges to network major islands and tourist destinations.

Referring to Duterte’s state of the nation address on Monday, Teo said: “We are elated and inspired by the president’s announcement that topping his list of priorities is the building of highways and roads that can provide easy access to our tourist sites.”

The president had further stated in his speech that labour-intensive industries such as tourism will need reforms in order to ensure competitiveness and to promote the ease of conducting such businesses in the Philippines.

Screenshot of the online survey scam

A SURVEY circulating online via social media promising free AirAsia tickets is a hoax, warned the Malaysian budget carrier in a statement yesterday.

The survey, which also asks participants to share the post in order to qualify for the prize of a pair of free air tickets, is not one initiated by the airline.

AirAsia warned in the statement that “this survey is not conducted by the airline or any of its affiliates, and confirm that this is a scam which uses the AirAsia brand without authorisation.”

It added that they are not liable for any claims pertaining to the false scheme and cautions the public against taking part in the ploy.

“AirAsia would like to once again reiterate that it does not enlist third party services in organising activities and any announcements are made via official channels such as credible mass media and our official social media channels at all times,” the statement continued.

“We will not hesitate to take legal action against individuals or groups who organise illegal schemes using the AirAsia brand, and a police report has been lodged with regards to this scam.”

AUSSIE tour operator Geckos Adventures has taken the Pokémon Go craze to the next level by launching a worldwide trip to catch ‘em all.

The tailor-made, six-week journey, departing on August 28, combines four of Geckos’ most popular itineraries, and will see fans visit Peru, Galapagos Islands, Egypt and Cambodia, amongst other destinations, in search of the virtual creatures.

Intrepid Group’s managing director, James Thornton, said Geckos was using innovative technology and data to predict likely Poké stops and gym locations.

“When Pokémon launched, Geckos Adventures was one of the first travel companies to launch a trip that would take fans to the remotest Poké stops on the planet,” he said.

“We’ve looked at data and been able to make some educated guesses, but for now this is very much an exploratory trip for fans.”

Thornton also said the trip had created a huge amount of buzz in the industry.

“We were inundated with questions from agents on which Pokémon could be found where. We’ve had lots of enquiries about the trip and expect to turn those into bookings once there have been some confirmed sightings of Pikachu at Machu Picchu or Gabite in Giza.”

Prices for Pokémon: Let’s Go start at A$9800 (US$7320) per person, departing from Lima, Peru on August 28 and finishing in Bangkok, Thailand on October 10.