THE Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) and research company GfK will collaborate by means of data exchange to obtain greater market insights and understanding about outbound consumer behaviour among the Malaysian travelling public.

In a pilot project, 10 members of MATTA have agreed to share their data with GfK on the booking habits among Malaysian outbound travellers as well as the common services travellers book via a travel consultant.

“Information collated will provide greater market insights to better understand the rapidly changing consumer behaviour of travellers and help the travel industry make smart decisions to grow their business,” said Nigel Wong, MATTA’s vice president, research & technology.

An MoU was signed yesterday between Hamzah Rahmat, president of MATTA, and Laurens van den Oever, GfK’s global director, travel, for long-term collaboration that will ensure consistency in data collection, which in return will provide a better representation of the Malaysian travel landscape.

On this partnership, Hamzah commented: “As the national association of travel in Malaysia, we recognise the need to leverage technology in order to remain competitive in the market and become more relevant to the modern consumer. The partnership between MATTA and GfK is for the benefit of the Malaysian travel industry and will help the industry grow to its fullest potential.”

GfK will provide monthly reports to MATTA and the travel agencies involved in this pilot project.

Earlier this year, Gfk joined hands with Singapore’s NATAS to produce a holistic report on the Singapore tourism sector that will be launched this June. It is also collaborating with HATA in Hong Kong, with plans to tie up with JATA in Japan and AFTA in Australia for big data analytics support.

ANTICIPATING rising visitor numbers, Singapore-based Keppel Land is launching the new Inya Wing at its Sedona Hotel in end-2015.

The Inya Wing will see an addition of about 420 rooms, bringing the hotel’s total room capacity to 786. At 29 storeys, the new tower block will be one of the tallest structures in Yangon when completed.

The new hotel wing will cost US$80 million to develop and will be fully integrated with the existing Sedona Hotel Yangon.

Speaking at the topping-up ceremony for Inya Wing yesterday, CEO of Keppel Land, Ang Wee Gee, said the property market in Yangon is poised to deliver healthy performance over the next year as Myanmar is expected to enter a phase of sustained economic growth.

Myanmar is forecast to reach 4.5 million tourist arrivals in 2015 and 7.5 million in 2020, said Ang.

Keppel Land owns and manages the Sedona hotels in Yangon and Mandalay.

Deputy minister of hotels and tourism Tin Shwe said the expansion of the hotel is timely and reflects the steady pace of growth in Myanmar’s economy.

FOREIGNERS taking domestic flights by Golden Myanmar Airlines (GMA) should be prepared to pay over 50 per cent more than locals.

Since April 1, the airline has introduced a new price structure with one price category for foreigners and several categories for locals. For a flight between Yangon and Nyaung U, foreigners pay US$89, whereas the lowest advertised price for locals is US$59.

“(Due to) GMA’s trend towards a full flag carrier like other airlines, we have introduced a dual pricing system from now on,” Sabai Phyu Soe, PR and marketing executive for GMA, told TTG Asia e-Daily via email.

Dual pricing is common in Myanmar’s tourism industry. In Yangon, for example, People’s Park charges foreigners more than 16 times the local price for admission.

In March, Yangon’s Winner Inn Hotel advertised on an Internet forum a Standard Single room at US$50 for foreigners and 30,000 kyat (US$32) for locals.

Asked about the dual pricing, Aung Myo Myint, who does business development for the hotel, responded that the GDP in most countries around the world is 10 times that of Myanmar. “If we were to price our local rates to match foreigner rates, locals would not be able to afford the hotel rooms.”

According to Thi Ha, a lawyer from Germany law firm Luther Law Firm’s Yangon office, there is nothing in Myanmar’s law that prevents companies from implementing dual pricing.

But Andrea Valentin, director of Tourism Transparency, opined: “I think dual pricing for airlines is probably not a good idea if there is more competition in the future, but if the Myanmar law allows this then… investors need to be aware of this protectionism.”

“Other countries in the region have taken their time with removing the dual pricing system for foreigners, but eventually they remove it because of market forces,” she said, adding that removing dual pricing may not prove popular with locals.

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts yesterday announced the signing of The Westin Manila Sonata Place and The Residences at The Westin Manila Sonata Place, slated to open in 2019.

The Westin brand’s first mixed-use development in South-east Asia, the new build property will be located in the Ortigas business district in downtown Manila and will be 11km from Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The Westin Manila Sonata Place will offer 300 guestrooms, three F&B venues, fitness centre, spa and swimming pool. For meetings and events, there is 1,400m² of function space, including two ballrooms and six meeting rooms.

Residents of The Residences at The Westin Manila Sonata Place will enjoy a separate pool, fitness centre and lounge, as well as access to the public areas of the hotel.

The property joins two other Philippines-based hotels in the Starwood pipeline, Sheraton Manila Hotel and The Westin Manila Bayshore, scheduled to open in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

THE Bureau of Immigration in India is providing gratis visas for all tourists stranded in Nepal after Saturday’s earthquake that caused widespread damage and over 4,000 deaths.

Usually granted to diplomats and officials or those travelling to India at the invitation of the government, India has now extended gratis visas to tourists who want to leave Nepal as quickly as possible via the country.

K S Dhatwalia, additional director general, Ministry of Home Affairs, said: “In view of recent events in Nepal, we have directed the Bureau of Immigration to provide gratis visas free of charge with minimum validity of 15 days.

“Any foreign national stranded in Nepal seeking to come to India can apply for gratis visa at Indian embassy or can also avail of services at airports (in Delhi and Mumbai which are connected to Kathmandu by flights). We have also made arrangements to grant visa at check posts (if a person is travelling by road).”

Travellers who enter India via Nepal must do so through one of six designated points: Siliguri, Raxaul, Sunauli, Rupadhiya, Gauriphanta, and Banbasa.

The secretariat at Consul General Office of Nepal in Kolkata told TTG Asia e-Daily that all Mount Everest expeditions have been suspended as over 15 climbers are reported dead after the avalanche.

Historical sites and structures in Nepal were razed by the quake including the Dharahara tower and Patan Durbar Square that were part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kathmandu valley.

The famous Basantpur Palace and ancient temples such as Kalmochan Temple have also been severely damaged.

SHORTLY after announcing that it had clinched a deal for a resort in Zaozhuang, Shandong province, Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts says it has secured two new projects in Shanghai.

The joint venture company, backed by Thailand’s Dusit International, will partner Mingyuan Group to open a Dusit Thani hotel and a Dusit Princess serviced residence.

 Dusit Thani Hotel, Shanghai Zhabei will offer guests 215 guestrooms and suites, a conference centre, two restaurants, a lobby lounge, rooftrop swimming pool and pool bar.

Slated to open in early 2019, the hotel will be located within Zhabei district, an up and coming commercial centre with easy access to the city’s international airports and high-speed train transport hub.

To launch before that in summer 2016, the Dusit Princess Serviced Residence, Shanghai Xuhui is situated in Xuhui district, close to the headquarters of MNCs.

The property will come with 112 units ranging in areas from 36 to 78m².  An all-day dining restaurant, indoor swimming pool will come as part of the residence.