RONNI Dalhoff has been appointed managing director of Diethelm Travel Cambodia, replacing former managing director Pierre Jungo who has retired after being with the company for 20 years of service.

A Danish national, Dalhoff has lived in Cambodia for the past five years working as an operations manager and hotel manager. Prior to these roles, he worked as a sales representative in a Danish travel agency that specialised in South-east Asia, as well as a travel consultant to tour operators in Cambodia.

KYUSHU-based tour operator Walk Japan has launched a self-guided walking tour along the ancient Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route, one of only two in the world with UNESCO World Heritage status.

The 7D6N self-guided Kumano Wayfarer tour begins from Kyoto’s Nakahechi trail, taking participants on a hilly, winding path through forests to get to the sacred Kumano Sanzan shrines.

Participants will also pass oji sub-shrines, carved deities and local villages, with opportunities to catch scenic views of tea fields and the Pacific Ocean along the way.

Accommodation will mostly be in family-run inns offering home-cooked cuisine and onsen baths, with a resort stay rounding up the tour.

Priced from 180,000 yen (US$1,752), the Kumano Wayfarer tour includes accommodation, six breakfasts, two lunches and train transfers departing and returning from Kyoto. Flights are not included in the package.

Walk Japan tags the route a level 4 on its scale of difficulty, implying it is “suitable for anyone who can (comfortably) walk at a gentle pace for four to six hours”. Participants are given the option to lengthen or shorten the daily itinerary to suit their energy levels.

SIA’s premium economy seats

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has unveiled mySQupgrade, a new invitation-only bidding system that allows passengers to upgrade to premium economy, the national carrier announced in an email notification to members of its loyalty club KrisFlyer on Wednesday.

According to the notice, qualified customers booked on economy class will receive an email invitation to bid for a seat in premium economy class seven days before departure. Bids must be in dollars and lie within a preset range.

Passengers can make, change or cancel their bid for an upgrade any time before 50 hours to departure. Successful bidders will receive an email notification 48 hours prior to departure, and only successful bids will be charged.

The airline also assured its KrisFlyer members that redemption booking confirmations will receive priority over upgrade bids through mySQupgrade.

mySQupgrade is only available for premium economy upgrades at the moment but SIA said the service will be gradually introduced across the network.

TRAVEL experts hope Vietnam’s visa waiver for five European countries will be made permanent after the successful scheme was extended for another year.

The Vietnamese government has announced the extension of visa exemptions until June 30, 2017 for tourists from the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany for single-entry stays of 15 days or less.

The move was introduced as a one-year scheme in July 2015 to boost tourists from these countries.

“This is a welcome move because we need the support from these five European countries to increase arrivals to Vietnam,” said Robert Tan, co-founder and business development director of Lac Hong Voyages.

Having seen more guests from the European countries since the regulation was introduced, Khiri Vietnam country manager Florencia Allo Moreno believes the number will continue to rise.

Said Moreno: “We hope this could be a permanent exemption as travellers from these countries are really interested in travelling to Vietnam, and an easy immigration process is always a positive thing.”

Vincent Tran, marketing manager for Minor Hotels Vietnam, agrees that the visa-free policy makes the destination more attractive to foreign visitors.

“With many of our guests coming from overseas, we fully support the decision and look forward to seeing more countries included in the visa-free list,” he added.

The Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong river

CALLS are being made to the industry to help steer tourism in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in the right direction for the next decade.

More cross-country communication, conservation efforts, open borders, co-operation between governments and the private sector, and a stronger emphasis on providing quality experiences are essential to transform the GMS into a more attractive tourist destination, said industry stakeholders at this year’s Mekong Tourism Forum in Sihanoukville.

With the ultimate aim of presenting the GMS – China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – as a single destination focusing on culture, nature and adventure, the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office-led (MTCO) initiative has been working for the last decade to enhance the visitor experience and encourage organisations to work together to promote the region.

“We have already achieved a significant amount of multi-country initiatives, combined events and fam trips collaborated between countries,” said MTCO executive director Jens Thraenhart, adding that last year saw the launch of a united Mekong tourism brand along with a variety of social media platforms to promote the GMS as a whole.

“Governments of these countries said (tourism growth) will keep coming,” said Steven Schipani, senior portfolio management specialist of Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is assisting with drafting the strategy. “They need help to better manage the growth here.”

ADB consultant Walter Jamieson, who is also professor and director at Service Innovation Program, College of Innovation, Thammasat University, added that the formation of several regional agencies, such as CLM, ASEAN, GMS and CLMVT, will boost rather than complicate efforts, with many of the organisations sharing masterplans and objectives.

A draft strategy is set to be compiled by end-September, with the final document ready for approval in November. MTCO will host a series of workshops in the six countries during the next two months, with stakeholders and relevant organisations invited to put forward views.

INDUSTRY leaders in Phuket have welcomed the local government’s move to restrict condo owners from offering their properties for short-term holiday rentals.

The Phuket Provincial Land Office sent formal notices to all 234 registered condo projects on the resort island warning owners that they face fines of up to 20,000 baht (US$567) or maximum jail terms of a year if caught renting out properties by the day.

C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett said the widespread problem is a concern for both hotel owners, who were being put at a disadvantage, and Thailand’s revenue department.

“This has been a long time coming,” Barnett said. “The issue is not Phuket only but a national issue as there has been recent action in Pranburi as well. The proliferation of residential developments offering unit buyers hotel-type returns has spiralled and that’s the core issue, not an Airbnb one.

“It’s about condominiums mainly who have not obtained hotel licences, are not paying tax or adhering to legal requirements so the playing field is not level,” he elaborated.

Phuket Hotels Association president Anthony Lark was pleased to see the provincial government taking the matter seriously as condos operating as hotels had created many problems for the island.

“This practice undermines the business of legal hospitality operations and has implications for tax and tourist safety,” Lark said.

“Hotel licensing protects travellers by enforcing standards of safety and responsible environmental practices, and if these laws are bypassed it will have long-term negative effects on ‘Brand Phuket’ as the travel industry may lose faith in the destination, which affects everyone in travel-related businesses.”