The Sacred Heart Cathedral, a famous historic site in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

A DELEGATION from the tourism authority of Guangdong Province in China visited Sri Lanka last month to promote tourism in that region, a rare move that surprised Sri Lanka’s top state tourism chief Paddy Withana.

“I find this an interesting moment where I am promoting visitors to go to China rather than inviting them here,” he said, adding however that “this is a unique opportunity because (both tourism authorities) are looking after each other’s interests.”

Withana stated that Guangdong is one of the best destinations in China with many attractions such as museums, parks and street markets.

The Guangdong delegation was led by Huang Guangzhi, vice director of the Tourism Administration of Guangdong Province Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Tourism Affairs Section, who showed a promotional video and invited Sri Lankans to visit Guangdong as well as Hong Kong and Macau under a single visa facility.

An official at Aitken Spence Travels, Sri Lanka’s biggest outbound travel agency, said they were hoping to promote resort destinations in the Guangdong province in a big way in the future.

Many Sri Lankans currently visit Guangdong for the annual China (Guangdong) International Tourism Industry Expo (CITE) event held every September, widely considered to be nearly mandatory for leisure companies.

Reykjavik, Iceland

PROMOTE Iceland last week held its first roadshow in India, covering the cities of New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai in a bid to better promote destination Iceland to the Indian market.

The series of roadshows, which drew about 250 Indian travel agents and seven Icelandic suppliers, came on the heels of increased interest in the destination after a part of Dilwale, a Bollywood movie, was shot in Iceland.

“We have not been very active in the Indian market in the past. But now we think that Iceland has gained interest in India with the movie and we want to build on the momentum through our maiden B2B roadshows,” said Thorleifur Thor Jonsson, manager, trade delegations, Promote Iceland.

Promote Iceland is expecting to spur tourist arrivals from India, which is presently very minimal. Iceland registered a little over 1000 Indian tourist arrivals last year while tourist arrivals from China numbered 40,000 and from Japan 30,000.

The focus on the Indian market is part of Promote Iceland’s strategy to push for tourist arrivals during the shoulder season between November to April, added Jonsson.They will also leverage on internet marketing to reach out to the Indian market.

Promote Iceland is a public-private partnership that some years ago subsumed the overseas marketing department of the Icelandic Tourist Board, among other agencies focused on promoting international trade from Iceland.

Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand’s minister of Tourism and Sports

BANGKOK has been chosen as the host destination for the 2017 WTTC Global Summit, slated to take place from April 26-27, 2017.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) made the announcement at the closing speech of the 16th WTTC Global Summit which took place in Dallas, Texas on April 7.

Explaining the decision, David Scowsill, president and CEO of WTTC, said: “Thailand is an extremely well established travel and tourism economy. Despite challenges, the sector grew by a stunning 18.4 per cent in 2015, contributing nearly 21 per cent to the country’s GDP (US$81.6 billion) and supported 5.9 million jobs, which is 15.4 per cent of the total employment.”

He added that he hopes to highlight the Thai government’s efforts in supporting travel and tourism across the country with the event.

Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand’s minister of Tourism and Sports, who was present at the 16th WTTC Global Summit, said: “We are excited and honoured to host next year’s WTTC Global Summit, which is a great opportunity to showcase Bangkok as an important meeting place for gathering the world’s top travel and tourism executives.

She added: “Being selected by the WTTC to host the summit acknowledges the commitment the Thai government has to the expansion of the travel and tourism sector in the country,”

The Sheraton Stamford Hotel

AT separate meetings that took place last Friday, shareholders of Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide have given the green light for Marriott to acquire Starwood, bringing the creation of the world’s largest hospitality company one step closer to fruition.

This is a crucial step in the merger process, which had seen interference from a third entity led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group, leading to a short but intense bidding war for Starwood.

Now with holders of over 95 per cent of Starwood shares voting in favor of the deal with Marriott last week, the merger is only a few regulatory approvals away from becoming reality.

Pre-merger antitrust reviews in the US, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions have already been cleared while approvals in the European Union and China are currently being processed.

Commenting on the shareholder meetings, Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s president and CEO, said: “With the successful stockholder approval milestone, we are that much closer to completing our transaction. Our teams continue to plan the integration of our two companies, and we are committed to a timely and smooth transition.”

As of Friday’s closing numbers, Starwood stockholders will receive 0.8 shares of Marriott common stock plus US$21 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock.

The transaction remains on track to close by mid-2016.

Marrakech, Morocco

MAKING hotel bookings on TripAdvisor at optimal times can result in savings of about 20 per cent for the period of June to August, according to the company’s recently released Best Time to Book report.

The research shows that the least expensive time to book hotels in Asia is within three months ahead of stay, when travellers can save about 23 per cent compared to the most expensive booking period.

As for hotels in the Middle East, the optimal booking period is within four months ahead, when travellers can get 24 per cent savings. Prices increase slightly between weeks three to four before dropping again for last minute deals within a couple weeks of the travel date.

The best time to book hotels in Europe is three to five months ahead, when travellers can save 23 per cent compared to the peak period.

In comparison, hotel prices in some regions can be relatively uniform over time.

For example, US hotel pricing remains fairly steady throughout the year, with those booking within two months of their trip saving about seven per cent.

Savings are also modest for those booking hotels in Central America. The best time to book is three months ahead, when travellers will be able to save about seven per cent compared to peak periods.

(From left) Rapil Zhoshybayev, commissioner, Astana Expo-2017 and Devinder Ohri, president, NATAS

KAZAKHSTAN’s tourism promotion body, Astana Expo-2017, has signed an MoU with the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) to promote Kazakhstan as a travel destination in the Singapore market.

“Singapore is the gateway for South-east Asia and is an important hub. With this MoU, we hope that NATAS will be able to promote Kazakhstan through its outbound travel agents,” said Rapil Zhoshybayev, commissioner of Astana Expo-2017.

Zhoshybayev, who is also a member of the senior management team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, added that on their part, visa requirements for Singaporeans have been waived and plans to launch direct flights between Kazakhstan and Singapore are already in the works.

Kazakhstan has been gaining prominence as a tourism destination in Singapore, and the country’s National Tourism Bureau made its debut at the NATAS Travel Fair just last month.

Agents interviewed during the show stated that Kazakhstan is a draw because of its exotic nature and is one of the few places well-travelled Singaporeans have yet to visit.

NATAS, who will be hosting the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2017 in January next year, will be inviting trade counterparts from Kazakhstan to attend the annual trade show.