TOURISM’s share of total world exports leapt ahead from 6 to 7 per cent in 2015, outpacing the growth of the merchandising trade for the fourth consecutive year, according to preliminary figures released by the UNWTO.

UNWTO valued tourism spending in 2015 at a staggering US$1.4 trillion, or US$4 billion a day on average.

Non-resident passenger transport services accounted for US$210 billion, while income generated by international visitors on accommodation, food and drink, entertainment, shopping and other services and goods totalled more than US$1.2 trillion, a 3.6 per cent increase from the previous year.

As a worldwide export category, tourism ranks third after fuels and chemicals and ahead of food and automotive products. In many developing countries, tourism ranks as the first export sector, UNWTO stated.

“As prices of raw materials have decreased, tourism has shown a strong capacity to compensate for weaker export revenue in many commodity- and oil-exporting countries,” said UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai while addressing the 60th Regional Commission for the Americas meeting in Havana, Cuba.

“Tourism is increasingly an essential component of export diversification for many emerging economies as well as several advanced ones,” he added.

Looking at countries, the top destinations both in international tourism receipts and arrivals continue to be the US (US$178 billion), China (US$114 billion), Spain (US$57 billion) and France (US$46 billion).

For outbound tourism expenditure, China maintains its lead after double-digit growth every year since 2004, benefitting Asian destinations such as Japan and Thailand as well as the United States and various European destinations.

Spending by Chinese travellers increased 25 per cent in 2015 to reach US$292 billion, as total outbound travellers rose 10 per cent to 128 million.

In comparison, tourism expenditure from the world’s second largest source market, the US, increased by 9 per cent in 2015 to US$120 billion, while the number of outbound travellers grew by 8 per cent to 73 million.

UNWTO also revealed that international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 4.4 per cent, reaching a total of 1.18 billion.

Elsie Chua, chairman of the board, Plenitude Berhad and Dean Schreiber, managing director, Oakwood Asia Pacific signing the management agreement

SERVICED residence operator Oakwood Asia Pacific is set to enter the Malaysian market in September 2016 after a confirmed partnership with developer Plenitude Berhad signed yesterday.

The 252-unit Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur will be located in the Malaysian capital’s Ampang district and is catered for both business and leisure travellers.

Facilities include a swimming pool, children’s wading pool, gym, restaurant, various meeting rooms and a grand ballroom. High-speed internet connection and 24-hour concierge and front desk services will also be available.

According to Elsie Chua, chairman of Plenitude Berhad’s board, 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) has been invested for the renovation and upgrading of the Oakwood property, which takes over the space formerly occupied by The Nomad Sucasa Kuala Lumpur.

Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur is the operator’s 28th Oakwood-branded property across 16 cities in Asia.

UNITED Airlines has launched new nonstop flights from San Francisco to Xi’an on May 8, with the seasonal route set to be in operation until October 27.

Utilising a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flights will depart San Francisco International Airport at 13.25 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and arrive in Xi’an at 17.30 the following day.

Return flights will depart Xianyang International Airport at 09.30 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and arrive in San Francisco at 06.35 on the same day. Flying time is approximately 13 hours and five minutes westbound, and 12 hours and five minutes eastbound.

This thrice-weekly service is the first transpacific service to Xi’an, and United is the first US airline to serve the Chinese city.

Currently, United operates 96 weekly flights between China and the US. On July 13, the airline will also launch its new nonstop service between San Francisco and Hangzhou.

TRAVEL agents specialising in North Korea say that business is still good despite harsh new sanctions set to be imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations.

According to South Korean media, North Korea’s tourism agency has dramatically reduced the price of transportation and accommodation for groups from China, its largest source market.

Cost for a four-day trip to Pyongyang has dropped from 7,000 yuan (US$1,078) to 3,000 yuan, for instance. But even so, few Chinese were crossing the border for vacations.

An agent from China told Chosun Ilbo newspaper that despite the falling prices, the number of Chinese visitors to North Korea is now one-tenth that of the previous year’s figure.

But Sabrina Wong, spokesperson of Explore North Korea, based in the border city of Dandong, said there “is not much difference in prices or the number of Chinese travelling to North Korea”.

“Prices may have fallen in recent years, but I think that has to do with (more competition),” she told TTG Asia e-Daily.

A spokesperson for Dandong Chosun Tour Service, who declined to be named, also claimed that client numbers and prices are “about the same” as last year.

Meanwhile, Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours, said none of the Beijing-based companies had been put off by the UN sanctions.

He explained: “Sanctions have no relationship whatsoever to tourism, and the sort of people who want to go to North Korea are not the kind who check UN sanction lists before making a decision on whether to go or not.”

AN open and sustainable tourism sector can boost the level of peace in a country, according to a study by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in collaboration with the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

The Tourism as a Driver for Peace report shows a positive correlation between tourism sectors that showed sustainability in socio-cultural, economic, political, and environmental domains, and “positive peace”, a measure based on the attitudes, institutions, and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies.

Such conditions in the tourism sector can have far-reaching impact, with improvements in the functioning of governments as a probable outcome. And as governments respond to tourism demand and create a welcoming environment for further tourism expansion, this in turn increases future peace levels, the report stated.

Another finding was that countries not afflicted by conflict tended to have tourism performance more resilient to unrest.

This can be seen from a 6.6 per cent decrease in the Global Peace Index for conflict-affected countries corresponding to a 14.8 per cent decline in the Tourism Index between 2008 and 2015.

On the other hand, the 1.4 per cent decline in Global Peace Index for countries not affected by conflict was compared alongside a 12.8 per cent improvement in Tourism Index in the same time period.

The report instantiated this trend with the situation in Oman, where tourism has flourished despite high levels of militarisation, and Ukraine, where tourism’s contribution to GDP increased from 2.65 per cent to 4.95 per cent between 2014 and 2015 despite continuing war with Russia in the northeast.

Another highlight of the study was on the effects of terrorist attacks on the country’s tourism sector. While countries where terrorist attacks have targeted tourists have seen dramatic impact on their tourism sector, the effect does not last long, according to the report.

“The data shows how tourism and peace can support each other and increase societal resilience, prosperity, and peace in the long term,” said Steve Killelea, founder & executive chairman at IEP.

“This also shows how the tourism sector is one of the key areas in which the private sector can play a positive and tangible role in contributing to global peace.”

Filip Boyen, CEO of SLH

SMALL Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has unveiled a change in the company’s corporate structure, turning member hotels of the collection into shareholders of the company.

This means member hotels now have joint ownership of SLH along with the management company.

According to a statement by SLH, the change also allows for 12 million pounds (US$17.3 million) in investment over the next five years into the luxury brand.

“The 12 million pounds investment will enable us to further drive our newly improved quality assurance programme; refresh our loyalty offering and advance our technology and distribution systems,” said Filip Boyen, CEO of SLH.

No other details were provided.

The corporate restructure was voted for earlier on April 4 by all of the member hotels that voted.

THE parent company of Etihad Airways has made sweeping changes to its management structure to facilitate the growth of the airline into a broader aviation conglomerate, announced its chairman Mubarak Al Mazrouei.

As part of the revamp, James Hogan, president and CEO of Etihad Airways since 2006, will now be president and CEO of Etihad Aviation Group, while Peter Baumgartner, who joined Etihad Airways since 2005, will take Hogan’s former position.

Etihad Aviation Group was formed in 2014 to accommodate Etihad’s growing businesses beyond its core passenger flight services, according to Al Mazrouei.

“Etihad Airways has been steadily evolving into the Etihad Aviation Group for a number of years. This has been driven by the formation of new companies, including Etihad Airways Engineering, Etihad Global Cargo Management Company, the Global Loyalty Company, Hala Abu Dhabi, and Etihad Airport Services,” he said.

Al Mazrouei added that the acquisition of minority equity stakes in other airlines such as Alitalia, Jet Airways and Virgin Australia has also necessitated the need for a dedicated team to manage the shareholding.

Further explaining the need for structural changes, Hogan said: “Etihad Airways is no longer a stand-alone business. The Etihad Aviation Group employs more than 27,000 people and these structural changes and appointments will ensure that we have a unified approach that links all parts of the group and provides wider strategic direction to deliver success.”

Etihad Airways first began operations in 2003 from its Abu Dhabi homebase.