ENCOURAGED by the increasing tourist arrivals, Myanmar Tourism Development Company (MTDC) will start developing a new hotel zone project on 808ha of land in Tada Oo Township in Mandalay by end-January.

Yan Win, chairman of MTDC, a business arm of Myanmar Tourism Federation, said the project will cost about US$560 million and will include the building of infrastructure and other facilities.

“With the approval of the Mandalay regional government, we will start to build basic infrastructure such as roads, and we expect to finish the whole project in six years,” he said.

He added that while the project will be designed by a foreign company, it will be developed by local companies. “After completion, we will have 20 international-standard five-star hotels in this zone.”

Foreign investors will build about 100 hotels on about 237ha of land, while local investors will build 192 hotels on 410ha.

The project will comprise two phases, with hotel-related developments planned for the first two years. When completed, there will be 10,000 hotel rooms and at least 50,000 local jobs will be created.

Htay Aung, minister of hotels and tourism, said the project area is strategically situated near several attractions.

He added: “I hope this project will position Mandalay as the main tourism destination of Myanmar since the site is near historical places such as Inwa archaeology zone, Sagaing Hill, Mingun, Maenu Monastery and Bargayar Monastery.”

Su Su Tin, managing director, Exo Travel Myanmar, said: “A rooms shortage has affected the industry in the last three years, and big hotel projects in key destinations will help.

“The ministry should plan similar projects in various key destinations too,” she added.

The government has announced plans for hotel zones in other areas including Yangon, Bagan, Taunggyi, Chaungtha Beach, Inle Lake, Rakhine, Mawlamyine, the Golden Triangle, Bago, Ngwe Saung Beach and Nay Pyi Taw.

MALAYSIAN tour operators are unfazed by the expected rise in package prices arising from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) – set to be introduced in April – and increased operational costs.

Adam Kamal, CEO, Rakyat Travel, said: “Our package rates will go up by six per cent, but we’re mitigating this with add-ons such as free mementos and insurance coverage for clients. I don’t think business will be impacted as the rise will be cushioned by the weakened ringgit.”

Desmond Lee, group managing director, Apple Vacations & Conventions, intends to increase rates by up to 10 per cent. “Initially this will affect demand causing a year-on-year drop of 20 per cent. But travellers will get used to the rise, and from October, demand should return. This year, we plan to attract more visitors from the middle and upper-middle income groups in Japan and China.”

However, Emong Tinsang, senior manager-sales and operations of Borneo Adventure, which is looking at a raise of seven to 10 per cent, said: “It is too early to gauge the impact, but as we offer unique experiences such as longhouse tours to Batang Ai, we don’t compete on pricing.”

Khirul Zainie, managing director, MegaBorneo Tour Planner, Brunei, said while most partners will increase contract rates five to eight per cent, some have taken advantage by increasing rates 15 to 20 per cent.

“We have changed our partners due to this. Tourism Malaysia should educate the players so that the destination does not lose its competitiveness. The weakened ringgit has made the destination much more attractive for Bruneians…I project at least a 30 per cent year-on-year increase this year,” she said.

CP Foo, general manager, Century Travel Centre (Brunei), describes higher contract rates from partners of five to 10 per cent as “quite reasonable”, adding that Bruneians will not stop visiting Malaysia due to the GST, but will be encouraged by the depreciated ringgit instead.

PATA has held bilateral meetings with regional NTOs to discuss hosting the PATA ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Tourism Capacity Building Programme in each ASEAN country.

The objective is to bring together stakeholders from the government and private sectors to discuss, plan, implement and monitor tourism development in order to promote a cohesive mechanism for boosting ASEAN tourism growth.

PATA, as catalyst, will work with the ministries of tourism and tourism boards of interested ASEAN member countries to organise the programme, which will comprise a one-day conference/forum with content customised to meet the needs of individual countries, and optional workshops on ASEAN Crisis Communication and PATA Capacity Building.

PATA regional director-East Asia, Ivy Chee, said the conference/forum will be driven by PATA headquarters in close cooperation with the host country and industry stakeholders.

“The ultimate goal is to facilitate businesses to stay abreast of the opportunities available to promote better appreciation and understanding of ASEAN economic issues within the business community and private sector agencies.

“PATA is willing to assist ASEAN in conducting simulated drills through its crisis communication workshop to identify blind spots, thus improving the ASEAN Crisis Communication Manual, which PATA feels is theoretical as countries have never co-operated in a simulation or real-time scenario,” she noted.

While ASEAN industry members the Daily spoke to expressed optimism on tourism business outcomes with the advent of AEC, they also requested for more information and gave suggestions on ways to make it work.

Francisco LIM, general manager, Adkins Travel Agency, the Philippines, said: “Not many in the travel industry know what AEC is about. We need to be educated. We need more marketing and promotions for AEC.” – Additional reporting by Mimi Hudoyo, Paige Lee Pei Qi, Greg Lowe and Rosa Ocampo

Read more of this story in TTG-ATF 2015 Show Daily

ATF 2015 has attracted some 1,000 Travex delegates from the 10 ASEAN member countries, occupying 527 booths and 300 buyers, said Jason Ng, executive director of MP International.

ASEAN member countries make up the largest buyer contingent at 45 per cent, followed by 33 per cent from Europe and 11 per cent from other Asian countries.

Ng said: “We are expecting 30 to 35 local Myanmar buyers to register on site. The government has given international buyers priority to register first.”

On the seller side, Myanmar has the biggest contingent, taking up 35 per cent of space, followed by Thailand, corporates, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Over the next few days, some 2,000 delegates from 50 countries including 300 government delegates, Travex attendees and media will gather in Nay Pyi Taw.

Ng said this turnout is above target. “Although Nay Pyi Taw has experience in hosting international events, it does not have a dedicated exhibition hall. MICC 1 is a state building for presidential events. We are privileged to be able to use it for ATF, showing the commitment of the government.”

The private and public sectors have given full support in providing hassle-free visas-on-arrival and customs clearance for delegates.

On the private-sector side, Golden Myanmar Air has added Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw flights while SilkAir has extended one of its Singapore-Yangon flights to Nay Pyi Taw during peak delegate arrivals and departure.