Soekarno Hatta International Airport

TO achieve Indonesia’s arrival target of 12 million this year, the country’s tourism ministry is calling on regional governments and industry players to support the central government’s promotion efforts.

At a coordination meeting with regional tourism stakeholders last weekend, I Gde Pitana, Indonesia’s deputy minister for international promotion development, ministry of tourism, said it is critical to work together to achieve those numbers.

“To achieve the target, we need on average one million arrivals a month. January and February results (814,300 arrivals and 888,300 arrivals respectively) were below this number,” he stated.

Efforts to court arrivals include the advertising of Indonesia’s recently-implemented visa exemptions in destinations that have received the facility.

As well, the tourism authority is looking to attract travellers from Malaysia and Singapore with sporting events and music festivals organised twice a month in Batam, Bintan and West Kalimantan. An estimated 2.7 million travellers are expected from these two markets alone, said Pitana.

As for the China market, efforts are already underway, including having a Chinese film producer shoot in Indonesia, launching of a Chinese guide book on 10 Indonesian destinations, and promotion of the Wonderful Indonesia campaign in campuses in China.

Pitana added that Indonesia has seen Chinese arrivals reach new heights in the traditional peak season of February, and he urges the trade to work together to achieve greater arrival numbers during the next peak season between September and October.

The ministry is also working with TripAdvisor, Baidu and Ctrip to create marketplaces for Indonesian agents to upload their programmes. Similar partnerships with OTAs are on the drawing board with Expedia and Alibaba.

On the airline front, the ministry is lobbying for more direct flight routes from China and India to be opened. It is also in discussions with airlines such as AirAsia Singapore to launch packages to Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta and Bali.

“The achievement of the target will depend on how we can synergise the regional and central government programmes. The ministry does not have the products, they are all yours,” said Pitana to Indonesia’s tourism stakeholders at the meeting.

“We coordinate the promotion, but you need to come up with the products.”

Yuthasak Supasorn (sixth from left), TAT governor; Juthaporn Rerngronasa (fourth from right), TAT deputy governor for international marketing – Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas; Srisuda Wanapinyosak (fifth from left), TAT deputy governor for international marketing Asia and South Pacific; other tourism officials; and Bangkok female celebrities at the Women’s Journey Thailand launch event

THE Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has declared August 2016 as a month dedicated to female tourists in Thailand.

Throughout the entire month, the campaign known as Women’s Journey Thailand, will offer both domestic and foreign travellers promotional rates and special activities via a slate of initiatives such as Lady Golf Challenge, Lady Celebrities to Thailand, Lady Immigration Lanes and Lady Airfare.

“Increasingly women are coming to Thailand in groups or as solo travellers and expect to find activities and attractions geared to their needs. So, this campaign will broaden their recognition on how Thailand can cater for a great experience to female travellers like nowhere else,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of TAT, adding that this is in line with plans to position Thailand as a quality leisure destination.

Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT’s deputy governor for international marketing – Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Americas, added: “Female travellers are an increasingly strong market for local and inbound tourism to Thailand. The global income of women worldwide has risen hugely and the compound growth of female arrivals to Thailand has also risen, averaging 11.4 per cent from the period 2007-2014.”

According to TAT, female travellers enjoy visiting Thailand’s beaches and spas as well as trying Thai cuisine, but are more concerned with safety and privacy than male travellers, and the promotional activities will be arranged taking into account those facts.

The campaign is also being held in conjunction with Thailand’s Queen Sirikit’s 84th birthday.

Byron Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales

GOVERNMENT state agency Destination NSW has signed a contract with Sichuan Airlines in a bid to lure more visitors from western China to Sydney and the New South Wales region.

While the value and duration of the partnership remains undisclosed, it will see direct flights and travel packages from Chongqing to Sydney promoted via Alitrip and Ctrip.

Although the state is already in partnership with Ctrip as part of a two-year MoU signed in August 2015, the new move will see Destination NSW becoming Australia’s first state tourism body to partner with Alitrip, according to CEO of Destination NSW, Sandra Chipchase.

“Destination NSW is focused on increasing our marketing programmes into more geographic source markets in China,” she said.

“Working in partnership with Sichuan Airlines provides us with a targeted opportunity to increase visitation from western China to Sydney and regional New South Wales via direct flights from Chongqing.”

In addition to marketing programmes, the partnership with Sichuan Airlines also includes education and training for agents.

Approximately 567,000 Chinese visited the state last year, spending a record A$2.3 billion (US$1.7 billion).

Average international passenger load factor fell by 1.5 percentage points 

THERE has been continued growth in international air passenger demand for Asia-Pacific carriers, but airlines are not maximising capacity as much as they had before, according to a report by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Preliminary traffic figures for March showed that international passenger volume increased 4.5 per cent to 24.4 million compared to the same period last year.

In revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, international passenger demand registered a corresponding 4.7 per cent growth.

However, flights are operating with greater surplus capacity than before. When combined with the 6.7 per cent expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor fell by 1.5 percentage points to 77.4 per cent in March.

This is despite an increase in international passenger numbers by 7.5 per cent to an aggregate total of 72.8 million for the first quarter of 2016.

Commenting on the numbers, Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general, said: “Overall, the growth in demand for air passenger travel remains quite robust, supported by low oil prices and the widespread availability of affordable airfares.

“Some concerns remain over the global economic outlook, but the region’s airlines are continuing to invest in new aircraft, and products and services to meet the projected growth in consumer demand,” he assured.

The Dhauli Peace Temple in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

ODISHA’s Department of Tourism (DoT) hopes to lure more South-east Asian arrivals by promoting its Buddhist sites, especially the Ratnagiri-Lalitgiri-Udayagiri-Langudi-Dhauli circuit.

“Odisha is home to about 10 important Buddhist sites. Buddhist destinations like Bodh Gaya (in Bihar state) receive a good number of foreign tourists, (hence we are trying to promote) Odisha’s Buddhist heritage to the South-east Asian market. At present, we only get a small number of tourists from these markets,” said UK Pati, deputy director, Odisha Tourism.

Pati adds that promotional efforts will include roadshows in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam taking place after May. Fam trips for travel agents are also in the works.

However, the lack of direct flights has been a stumbling block. Currently, the DoT is negotiating with airlines like SilkAir, Tigerair and AirAsia to begin services from South-east Asia to Biju Patnaik International Airport in Odisha’s state capital Bhubaneswar.

“If we can get direct connectivity, say from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok, it will be a game changer. We are also open to connectivity via other Indian cities such as Kolkata or Hyderabad. For example, IndiGo flies direct from Kolkata to Bangkok. (Perhaps) they can have a stopover at Bhubaneswar as well,” added RK Patnayak, tourist officer, Odisha Tourism.

In 2015, Odisha recorded about 74,000 international arrivals, a growth of 6.5 per cent over the previous year. A record growth of eight per cent in expected this year.

New Halal section at Manila Marriott Hotel 

MANILA Marriott Hotel has become the first hotel in the Philippines to achieve a certification from CrescentRating, a leading authority on halal-friendly travel.

The property achieved a rating of five – the highest possible rating being seven – for its services and facilities that cater to a Muslim clientele, such as a halal food section at its F&B outlet Marriott Café.

Granting hotels in the Philippines a CrescentRating is part of a recent initiative by The Philippine Department of Tourism (PDoT) to diversify its visitor arrivals by attracting Muslim visitors from neighbouring South-east Asia and the Middle East.

The PDoT has also partnered with CrescentRating on a series of activities to increase the awareness of the availability of halal food and mosques in the Philippines.

“Our Philippine Halal Tourism project has broken real ground and set very realistic targets to begin the important work of making halal a real industry in the Philippines,” said tourism secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.

“It is important because it is a given in the Filipino culture that our best and most important welcome to any visitor is with food. And if we are not halal, there is a segment of society in the world that we are not extending a proper welcome to.”

Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating said that more hotels in the Philippines will soon get halal certified by them.

According to the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2016 report, the Muslim travel market is recognised as a key growth tourism sector projected to be worth more than US$200 billion by 2020.

The Philippines currently ranks 46th on the GMTI list.

Wickremesinghe: The government will absorb the airline’s losses and debts

THE Sri Lankan government is looking for suitable partners to manage its ailing national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, which has an accumulated debt of US$3.5 billion.

A top government source told TTG Asia e-Daily that expressions of interest from interested investors will be called in two weeks. Further details were not given at press time.

Earlier on Tuesday this week, prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told reporters that the government would absorb the airline’s losses and debts. Promising to retain the airline’s 7,800 workforce, the government has also said that it will finance and manage the airline until October this year when a viable partner is found.

He said: “If we don’t solve the issue of debt in SriLankan Airlines now, the airline will go bankrupt and our tourism sector will also collapse. This should not be allowed to happen.”

Wickremesinghe added that an order for four new A350 aircraft has also been cancelled in the first cost-cutting step, halting its fleet renewal plans announced earlier this year.

The cabinet of ministers have also agreed to enter into a partnership to manage the airline. This is similar to an earlier arrangement with Emirates, before the Dubai-based carrier exited in 2008, which had a 43.6 per cent stake plus management.

A meeting between Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker and Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo in January 2016 had triggered speculation that the Doha-based carrier may be eyeing SriLankan Airlines.

According to its last 2014/15 annual report, SriLankan Airlines suffered a loss of 16.3 billion rupees (US$111.8 million), while assets stood at 78.2 billion rupees.

The airline has been struggling since 2008 due to political interference in operations, mismanagement, previously high oil prices and competition, particularly from the Gulf carriers on the lucrative Middle Eastern routes.