N CELEBRATION of Deepavali, TTG Asia e-Daily will be taking a break on October 22, 2014. News will resume on October 23.

Here’s wishing all our Hindu readers a Happy Deepavali!

MYANMAR’S Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is planning a Visit Myanmar Year for 2016 in order to further boost the country’s growing tourism industry.

Speaking to the Parliamentary Lower House, deputy minister Tin Shwe said that the planned campaign fits into the government’s Tourism Master Plan 2013-2020, which aims to develop a sustainable tourism industry.

No details have yet been revealed about the campaign, but Marcus Allender, director of Go-Myanmar.com, believes the government will focus on more established destinations such as Bagan and Inle Lake, with an eye on developing other lesser-known destinations.

“There are areas such as Nat Ma Taung National Park in Chin State and Loikaw in Kayah State where the government is known to be keen to develop tourism infrastructure, assuming new hotels and roads are built in time,” he said.

While Myanmar has seen a surge in tourism in recent years, with arrivals expected to reach three million this year, Myanmar’s existing infrastructure presents a concern.

“There are obvious limits in the current infrastructure, but things are improving. The number of international-standard hotels is going up at all major destinations, and road and air transport are gradually improving. By 2016, many aspects of travel in Myanmar should be more reliable and easier to cope with,” Allender added.

The Myanmar Tourism Federation is also believed to be gearing up to launch a Green Season campaign encouraging inbound travel during the rainy season months of May to September, when tourism figures tend to drop off.

Thomas Henseler, general manager of the Governor’s Residence Hotel, told TTG Asia e-Daily that many tourism companies are supportive of the idea.

“That’s when the availability is here and when prices are much lower. There is this misconception that during the rainy season, the country is drenched in rain. That’s true in the lower parts, but if you come to Myanmar, you don’t spend the entire nine or 10 days in Yangon. You head to the north and it is not raining in those areas,” he said.

THE Leisure Pass Group, a London-based city sightseeing pass specialist, has forayed into Asia by joining hands with Singapore retailer Travelmania to launch the Singapore Tourist Pass Plus (STP+).

The STP+, an enhanced version of the Singapore Tourist Pass originally developed by the Singapore Tourism Board and the city’s Land Transport Authority, offers visitors to Singapore a package that includes unlimited public transport, one day’s touring on the city’s FunVee hop-on, hop-off sightseeing buses and a River Explorer tour on the Bubble Jet boats.

Available in one-, two- and three-day formats and priced from S$20 (US$15.80), STP+ is already live and fully operational, while the forthcoming Go Singapore Pass is likely to be launched in December 2014 and will include entry to a number of the city’s leading attractions in addition to the transport offering featured in STP+.

“STP+ is just the first step in our partnership with the Leisure Pass Group, with a more comprehensive Go Singapore Pass city sightseeing product planned,” said Travelmania founder Chiang Zhan Xiang.

“As the world’s leading city pass operator, the Leisure Pass Group brings a wealth of experience and an entrepreneurial approach which will help us to develop new sightseeing products, not just in Singapore but in other Asian destinations too.”

Leisure Pass Group CEO, Darran Evans, commented: “Our own popular sightseeing cards in London, Paris, Berlin, New York and Philadelphia are well-established, but our philosophy of developing partnerships with independent operators and tourism authorities has seen the creation of a range of sightseeing products in cities across Europe.

“Asia boasts some of the world’s top tourism cities which would be perfect for this kind of sightseeing card and we are delighted to be working closely with Travelmania to introduce STP+ and Go Singapore Pass. We hope that they will be the first of many exciting new products in the region.”

THAI Airways International (THAI) has resumed direct services between Bangkok and Luang Prabang this month, adding to existing services on the same route by Lao Airlines and Bangkok Airways.

According to the THAI website, the carrier is operating thrice-weekly Bangkok-Luang Prabang flights between October 1-26, stepping up the frequency on the sector to four-times weekly from October 27 onwards.

TG576 will depart Bangkok at 12.25 and arrive in Luang Prabang at 14.00, while TG577 will depart Luang Prabang at 14.50 and land in Bangkok at 16.25, based on THAI’s latest press release issued today.

THAI is also offering a special round-trip fare from Bangkok to Luang Prabang in economy class starting at 6,550 baht (US$203), valid for purchase and travel from now until December 15, 2014.

SRI Lanka this month welcomed its 100,000^th visitor from China, reaping the fruits of promotion campaigns targeted at the Chinese.

Chinese tourist numbers to Sri Lanka have soared in the past four years from just 10,340 in 2010 to over 100,000 now.

Between January and September, arrivals hiked 141 per cent year-on-year to 94,994 to make China Sri Lanka’s third biggest market. During the same period, India took the lion’s share of 170,671 arrivals, the UK registered 107,330, and Germany 75,133.

“There are three elements that are attracting the Chinese to Sri Lanka: this is peaceful country and it is very green, the people are friendly, and there are a lot of wildlife and beaches,” noted Bhaswara Gunaratne, chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT).

He said SLT promotions in China over the past 18 months are now paying dividends. Arrivals should “easily peak over 120,000” by end-2014.

While agreeing that SLT promotions have helped boost arrivals, Shafraz Fazley, managing director of Viluxor Holidays Sri Lanka, believes social media and blogs have played a bigger role.

“Chinese visitors take pictures and put it on blogs, and that attracts their friends. Sri Lanka’s attraction is essentially gems, mountains and culture,” he said.

He noted that the Chinese rarely spend two nights in the same place, and buying gems is a dream for them.

Viluxor, which also has a huge market share in the Maldives for Chinese visitors, has so far handled 1,000 Chinese guests this month (as of last week) and 700 last month.

AS THE expected surge in tourists fails to materialise unlike previous years, Albay’s travel trade wants to allay safety concerns over the impending eruption of Mount Mayon, which has been spewing lava since September.

Arrivals this month pales in comparison with the daily influx of 2,500 visitors during Mount Mayon’s last eruption in December 2009, said Maria Ravanilla, regional director for Albay province, Department of Tourism. Provincial capital Legazpi City is the gateway to Albay.

“Airplanes, buses and all forms of transport are operating as usual. Everything is safe for as long as you don’t go to the (6km permanent danger zone and 8km high-risk zone) around the volcano,” she said, adding that Mount Mayon’s eruptions were frequent but less dangerous than Mount Pinatubo’s in Pampanga.

With no clear idea when Mount Mayon will erupt and what will happen in the immediate aftermath – e.g. ashfall – travellers are scared of getting stranded in Albay.

Bernadette Ramos, COO and managing director of Eco Leisure & Hospitality, which has four hotels in Albay, said: “We’re actually losing than gaining more business unlike in previous years (when eruptions brought more visitors).”

Jessica Wong, Donsol Eco Tour director for business development, said many clients have been emailing to ask about the situation. “(But) It’s actually nicer to come when the volcano is erupting. It’s beautiful, especially the orange glow of lava at night.”

However, Gil Velasco, rooms division manager of The Oriental Legazpi, said occupancy is averaging 70-80 per cent, 30 per cent up from previous weeks, although the hotel is cutting online rates to attract tourists.

WYNDHAM Hotel Group expects to maintain its number of new openings in China for next year despite the country’s economic slowdown.

Wyndham Hotel Group president and CEO, Geoff Ballotti, said: “We currently have five brands in China but will introduce Planet Hollywood and TRYP by Wyndham. We are also considering bringing a few other upscale and midscale brands to China in the future due to the real demand.”

Shanghai-based vice president of development, Brian Liu, revealed: “Business was not good this year due to the downturn of the real estate market. However, we are alright due to our full spectrum on offer, from budget to upscale brands.”

“In China, both Ramada and Wyndham (brands) currently share a 50:50 ratio in terms of development, but we are opting for more Wyndham Hotels in key cities in the coming years.”

The recent openings of Wyndham Grand Xi’an South and Wyndham Kunming Resort, plus the expected year-end launch of Wyndham Xuzhou East, will add to the group’s 760 hotels and over 86,200 rooms in China.

“I am still looking for new locations, mostly second and tertiary cities in China. In 2014, we opened 250 hotels, mostly Super 8 due to demand, but also added one Wyndham and one Wyndham Grand,” he said adding that the group will continue to follow a franchise and management contract business model.

Asked about new destinations in Asia, Ballotti noted a greater presence is needed for Taiwan and Japan. In 2014, Wyndham Hotel Group had 154 new signings in Asia-Pacific (excluding India), with the lion’s share in China, and the rest covering Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand and Vanuatu.