MORE golfers are teeing off on Myanmar’s greens as the country continues to report strong growth in tourism.

“Since the country began opening up, we have seen a great increase in golf tourism. I’d say 15 per cent a year,” said Jeff Craig, club manager of Pun Hlaing Golf Club, one of the top golf clubs in the country.

“The main countries are Japan and South Korea, but English and Australian tourists are becoming more frequent,” he added. “The issue is a limited amount of hotel rooms in the area. We are building a lodge with 48 rooms which should help our numbers greatly.”

According to the International Association of Golf Tour Operators, golfers spend 120 per cent more than the average tourist during a golf vacation, and tour operators in Myanmar are beginning to recognise the potential on offer.

“Compared to other countries, golfing in Myanmar is very cheap and although (golf tourism) packages are not regular at the moment, there has definitely been an increase in this area over the last three years,” said Myatt Khaint, owner of MT & K Travel who runs golf package tours.

According to him, the most popular golf tourism destinations in Myanmar are Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and Taunggyi.

“There will definitely be an increase in the industry over the coming years as people are always looking for new places to play, and many courses in Myanmar are undergoing renovations to bring them up to international standards,” he added.

Pun Hlaing Golf Club says that it is currently spending more than US$1 million to upgrade its courses and infrastructure and plans to become one of South-east Asia’s premier golf clubs.

There are 127 golf courses in Myanmar, according to global golfing body Royal and Ancient.

IN A move to bolsters its position in the real-time flight status information market, OAG has acquired Boston-based solutions provider FlightView.

Mark Clarkson, business development director Asia-Pacific of OAG, said: “Real-time flight status information is increasingly important to a wide range of customers. From airlines, airports and online travel businesses to fuelling companies, this data is key to enhancing passenger experience, driving operational efficiencies and traveller-centric services these companies now are eager to pursue.”

“The acquisition of FlightView, with its highly complementary customer base and strengths in the US market, propels us to a leadership position internationally, with unquestionably the most comprehensive combination of flight status and schedules data. The strengthening of our capabilities further consolidates OAG’s role as the trusted single source for high-quality aviation intelligence products and services,” he said in a statement.

FlightView is a real-time flight information solutions provider that aims to aid aviation and travel professionals offer better customer service and operational efficiencies, and has a portfolio of over 600 B2B customers.

OAG holds a schedules database of over 900 airlines, including 113 LCCs and 4,000 airports, and processes more than 21 million flight status updates every month.

SEEKING to heighten awareness of Israel’s offerings as a travel destination for Indians, the Middle Eastern nation earlier this month launched an online training programme for travel consultants.

The five-module education programme aims to educate the Indian trade about Israel’s leisure, adventure and MICE features, and runs for one year. Those who complete the course will receive a certified status.

“So far, about 336 Indian travel consultants have participated in the training programme. We have received a good response not only from metro cities of New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai but also from non-metro cities like Nagpur, Bhopal and Ahmedabad,” said Hassan Madah, director – India, Ministry of Tourism Israel, adding that the Ministry hopes to reach at least 2,000 Indian travel consultants through the programmee.

It is looking to organise three-city roadshows in New Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad later this year, besides planning campaigns with tour operators to promote packages to Israel.

Israel will also host the 600-pax annual convention of the Travel Agents Federation of India from February 22-25.

“Israel is known as a Holy Land. But now through our trade and consumer marketing initiatives we want to showcase our diverse products from the green north of Israel to the desert of the south, wineries and the unique resorts near the Dead Sea and the Red Sea along with Tel Aviv, the capital of culture and night life,” said Madah.

Israel recorded about 36,000 Indian tourist arrivals in 2014 and is expecting 50,000 by end-2015.

FALLING aviation fuel prices have prompted Japan’s two main airlines to revise their fuel surcharges, a move that could boost inbound traffic at a time when outbound travel is cooling due to the weaker yen.

From February 1, All Nippon Airways (ANA) will cut its surcharge per seat on flights to Thailand, Singapore and Myanmar from 10,500 yen (US$89) to 6,550 yen, and the surcharge on flights to Vietnam, the Philippines, Guam and Saipan from 6,500 yen to 4,000 yen.

Similar reductions will be available on flights to Japan from across Asia.

“We hedge fuel prices so we have already bought 70-80 per cent of our fuel for this fiscal year,” Maho Ito, spokeswoman for ANA, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

The airline revises its fuel surcharge every two months, she said, with the next examination of fuel costs to be carried out in mid-February and affecting tickets available from early April.

Japan Airlines (JAL) similarly trimmed surcharges thanks to a drop in the two-month average price of a barrel of Singapore kerosene-type jet fuel.

Charges for travel from Japan to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan tumbled from 5,500 yen to 3,500 yen, and are down from 13,500 yen to 8,500 yen for Hawaii, India and Indonesia.

According to analysts, if the price of a barrel of oil falls below US$60, airlines will be able to scrap surcharges entirely.

Lower ticket prices may appeal to foreigners considering a vacation in Japan as domestic travellers opt to stay home, primarily due to the weakness of the yen.

Over the New Year holidays, traditionally a time when many Japanese opt for a few days in the sun, less then 70,000 flew abroad, a year-on-year decline of 17.8 per cent.

THE party continues at sea for Carnival Cruises in spring 2016 when it will debut Carnival Vista, hailed as its “most innovative” ship ever.

Carnival’s largest ship yet, Carnival Vista is 133,500 tons, 1,055 feet long and capable of fitting up to 3,936 guests, based on a two-per-cabin allocation.

The vessel is home to a number of firsts for Carnival, starting with SkyRide, an open-air cycling feature where riders pedal a recumbent-like bicycle to traverse the 244m track suspended 46m above the sea, and also the Kaleid-O-Slide, which is Carnival’s first raft-riding water tube slide.

Carnival Cruises has also partnered entertainment company Imax for the Imax Theatre, where passengers can view Hollywood movies or documentaries on a three-deck high screen.

The RedFrog Pub is one of over 10 F&B options on board Carnival Vista and the first brewery at sea for the cruise company, offering ales and lagers on tap. Indoor and outdoor seating, live music, and brewing tours and tastings are options here.

Two new accommodation options have been introduced for Carnival Vista – the Havana Cabanas feature private outdoor patios furnished with lounge chairs and a hammock, and the Family Harbor can accommodate up to five guests.

Carnival Vista also marks the cruise operator’s return to Europe, as the ship’s maiden voyage on May 1, 2016, departing from Trieste, Italy on a 13-day European itinerary, the first for the cruise line in three years.

It will cross the Atlantic later that year to arrive in New York, from where it will run a series of sailings.

KORYO Tours, specialising in small group tours to North Korea, is hopeful that the government in Pyongyang will soon lift a blanket ban on tourists.

North Korea closed its borders to travellers in late-October and require diplomats and businesspeople to undergo a 21-day quarantine to ensure that they are Ebola-free.

 “There has been no firm news on when we might be able to start sending groups into North Korea again, but we are very hopeful of an announcement later this month or perhaps early in February,” Simon Cockerell, general manager of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

 “Our contacts at the Ministry of Sport have told us that we could start tours again in 1Q, but nothing official has been said yet.”

No cases of Ebola have been reported anywhere in Asia since the serious outbreak in West Africa last year, but North Korea is taking no chances and had reacted similarly in 2009, when avian flu was confirmed in parts of Asia.

Koryo Tours is hoping the border will be open again before the Pyongyang Marathon on April 12, with dozens of foreign runners already in training for the event. The company has so far had to cancel five tours to date, with its clients drawn primarily from the US and Europe.

“We also have a growing number of visitors from Singapore, Hong Kong and other parts of East Asia,” said Cockerell, who added that tourists are taking advantage of the recent weakness of the euro on global currency markets to book their euro-denominated vacations with Koryo Tours.

The company works with more than 20 travel partners around the world and can be contacted through its website www.koryogroup.com.

ALL Nippon Airways (ANA) is introducing a new daily Kuala Lumpur flight this September.

 The new service is meant to allow travellers departing Kuala Lumpur to make a more seamless connection for onward travel to North America.

ANA will kickstart flights from Tokyo-Narita on September 1, 2015 at 17.20 to touch down in Kuala Lumpur at 23.53 on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Return journeys leave Kuala Lumpur at 07.00 and arrive in Narita at 15.00.

ANA has also announced it will bump up frequencies on the following routes out of Tokyo-Narita: to Singapore from seven to 14 weekly flights starting June 11; to Bangkok from seven to 14 weekly flights starting August 1; to Honolulu from seven to 14 weekly flights starting July 17; and to Chengdu from four to seven flights a week starting March 29.

ANOTHER mixed development project will rise in Johor’s Iskandar region, a joint project between Chinese state-owned Greenland Group and Iskandar Waterfront City.

The RM3 billion (US$830.9 million) Tebrau Bay Waterfront City development will occupy the eastern flank of Johor Bahru, spanning Tebrau Bay to Pasir Gudang, according to Singapore broadsheet The Straits Times.

The paper reported that the first phase will see a snow world theme park, an opera house, a hospital with a traditional Chinese medicine niche, and a school.

Development will take 15 years.

Besides Tebrau Bay Waterfront City, Greenland has tied up with Iskandar Waterfront Holdings for an integrated property project in Danga Bay, also in Iskandar.

THE Asia Premium Travel Mart will fill a gap in the Asia-Pacific luxury travel sector when it debuts as South-east Asia’s first tradeshow dedicated to the high life.

The B2B tradeshow will be held May 26-28 at SMX Manila, bringing together Philippine luxury inbound and outbound travel professionals to showcase the Philippines as a luxury destination and spotlight Asian luxury.

Organisers are S8 Exhibitions, Corporate International Travel  & Tours, Light Miles Travel, Celebrate Life Travel & Leisure, Luxus Pacific and Rajah Tours.

“The only show focused on luxury closest to the South-east Asian region is ILTM  Shanghai, which doesn’t sell too much of Asia,” said Simon Ang, S8 Exhibitions’ corporate secretary.

The show targets 150 to 200 exhibitors with major representation from Asia-Pacific (50 per cent), and a decent showing from Europe (30 per cent) plus the Americas and the Middle East (20 per cent).

Some 60 business meetings with pre-qualified buyers are expected over the three-day show, which will also have a Department of Tourism (DoT)-hosted opening event and a closing gala featuring world-renowned Filipino performer Lea Salonga.

Shan David, president, S8 Exhibitions, said post-fam programmes would take buyers to Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, Palawan and Laoag-Vigan.

“Even if the north doesn’t have many luxury accommodation, we will make it a luxury experience for our buyers; we have three UNESCO sites, so the culture and heritage experience is there. We also know some buyers may not want to see beach destinations (only),” David added.

The tradeshow is anticipated to become an annual event.

Verna Buensuceso, officer in charge, market development group, DoT said: “This show ties in very well with the direction the DoT is going, as the It’s more fun in the Philippinescampaign moves toward the promotion of premium destinations.”