MALAYSIA is eyeing more visitors from South Asia for Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014, with a series of road shows from March 10 to 20 to Sri Lanka and India to whip up enthusiasm and support.

The first leg kicked off in Colombo, where Tourism Malaysia’s deputy director general (Planning) Dato’ Azizan Noordin said the NTO hopes to increase the number of visitors from Sri Lanka this year to 70,000, from 64,051 in 2013.

The NTO also hopes to increase the number of flight frequencies to Malaysia. At present 31 flights operate to Malaysia from Colombo weekly.

Asked by the press about the increase in visa fee to Malaysia for Sri Lankans this year to Rs5,000 (US$38.30) from Rs500, due to the introduction of an outsourced visa-handling agent, Noordin said the NTO will consider a reduction in the visa fee.

The second leg of VMY 2014 started yesterday, with the sales mission team moving on to India’s Kochi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Malaysia is targeting 780,000 Indian arrivals in 2014 compared to 700,000 in 2013.

The delegation led by Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia will introduce initiatives to promote new destinations like Johor, Penang and Borneo in the growing Indian market.

Asked if Malaysia Airlines’(MAS) case of the missing MH370 flight had any impact on the sales mission, Tourism Malaysia’s Mumbai office said there is no change in roadshow plans.

Seema Ahmed, general manager, Kolkata-based Gainwell Travel & Lesiure, said: “The case is still under investigation and I do not want to speculate. Our clients’ opinion is if it was a terrorist act then KUL airport security comes under a cloud. However, we have not seen any great negative impact on travel to Malaysia.”

Sandhya Kartha, director, Mumbai-based Redchilli Holidays, said: ” Flight safety is a concern especially since Malaysian carriers will necessarily have to be used for destinations beyond Kuala Lumpur to Borneo or Penang.”

Meanwhile, he added new destinations need to be introduced to Indian travellers as clients are always looking for fresh ideas for vacations.

However, P P Khanna, director, New Delhi-based Diplomatic Travel Point, highlighted: “New destinations in Malaysia will take time to be assimilated by the Indian travellers.

“Flight prices must be kept low for Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Penang is already a known destination, but numbers are likely to increase with special promotions by Malaysian tourism stakeholders.”

Zulkifly Mohammad Said, director general, Islamic Tourism Centre, Malaysia, which was one of 12 exhibitors at SATTE in New Delhi earlier this year, revealed: “Tourism Malaysia will also focus on promoting golf and sport tourism in the Indian market.”
Additional report from Shekhar Niyogi.

AS SEARCH for the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 continues, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak called for patience and stressed that the government is doing its best to find information that can lead to the discovery of the aircraft.

The search now covers nearly a total of 27,000 square nautical miles in the Straits of Malacca South China Sea. Forty-two ships and 39 aircraft have been deployed, involving 12 countries, with India, Japan and Brunei being the latest to participate.

In a press statement yesterday, acting transport minister and minister of defence, Hishammuddin Hussein, said the way forward is to bring more experts to analyse both civilian and military data; in the East or the West, on land or water.

“We are now working with many experts, including those from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Authority, and the US National Transport Safety Board,” he revealed.

He also described co-operation with the Vietnamese authorities as being “very good”, adding: “We have already requested permission for Malaysian aircraft to search Vietnamese areas of responsibility.

“The Vietnamese have responded positively, and have requested a diplomatic note from Malaysia, which has already been sent by the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Meanwhile, as a mark of respect for the passengers and crew of MH370, MAS today announced the MH370 and MH371 flight codes will be retired from the airline’s Kuala Lumpur-Beijing-Kuala Lumpur route.

With effect from March 14, the new flight numbers to replace MH370 and MH371 will be MH318 for Kuala Lumpur-Beijing and MH319 for Beijing-Kuala Lumpur services. The airline will continue to operate double daily services to Beijing.

THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) yesterday announced the airline industry remains on track to deliver a second consecutive year of improved profitability for 2014.

This is despite a slight downward revision of its industry profit forecast from US$19.7 billion to US$18.7 billion, the main driver of which is higher oil prices now expected to average US$108/barrel (Brent), US$3.5/barrel above previous projections.

The US$3 billion added cost on the industry’s fuel bill is expected to be largely offset by stronger demand, supported by a strengthening global economy, while overall revenues are expected to rise to US$745 billion ($2 billion greater than previously projected).

However, IATA director general and CEO, Tony Tyler, said:“ Overall industry returns remain at an unsatisfactory level with a net profit margin of just 2.5 per cent.”

The industry retains on average US$5.65/passenger in net profit, improved from US$2.05 in 2012 and US$4.13 in 2013, but below 2010’s US$6.45.

“The efficiencies of improved industry structure through consolidation and joint ventures is providing more value to passengers and helping airlines to remain profitable even in difficult trading conditions.

“But we still need governments to understand the link between aviation-friendly policies and broader economic benefits. In many parts of the world, the industry’s innate power to drive prosperity through connectivity is compromised by high taxes, insufficient infrastructure and onerous regulation,” said Tyler.

IATA expects passenger demand passenger demand growth of 5.8 per cent this year, slightly weaker than previously forecast (six per cent), but an improvement on the 5.3 per cent growth for 2013. Passenger yields however are expected to deteriorate by 0.3 per cent.

As airlines continue to introduce new product options, ancillary services may add almost US$14 to the expected average fare per departing passenger of about US$181.

GDP growth projections for 2014 have been raised from 2.7 to 2.9 per cent. Improvements in the global economic outlook are largely being driven by developed economies – job creation in the US, the end of fiscal austerity in Europe and a much weaker yen are stimulating demand.

While China appears to be continuing on a trajectory of impressive growth, key emerging economies such as India and Brazil face major economic challenges.

Regional performance by airlines highlights there is a wide range of challenges and opportunities. All regions are expected to see higher profits and EBIT margins in 2014 than in 2013.

Asia-Pacific airlines are expected to post profits of US$3.7 billion and an EBIT margin of 3.4 per cent, an improvement over 2013. Forecast for the profits of airlines in this region in 2014 is US$400 million less than the previous projection.

QANTAS today announced a new codeshare agreement with Bangkok Airways, effective March 30.

Qantas’ customers will be able to book Bangkok Airways’ services from Bangkok and Singapore to six new destinations in Thailand, including Koh Samui, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

Qantas and Bangkok Airways are working towards a reciprocal agreement, which will enable the latter’s customers to book Qantas’ international services from Bangkok and Singapore to Australia, and on a number of routes on Qantas’ domestic network.

The following codeshare services operated by Bangkok Airways will be available for booking and travel from March 30:
• Bangkok-Chiang Rai
• Singapore-Koh Samui
• Bangkok-Koh Samui
• Bangkok-Phuket
• Bangkok-Chiang Mai
• Bangkok-Krabi

TRAVEL agents prefer to be called travel consultants instead, reports the US-based National Association of Career Travel Agents (NACTA) through a recent member survey.

NACTA research conducted from December 2013 to January 2014 revealed nearly half (47.7 per cent) of the 1,281 respondents want to be called a travel consultant.

About 23.9 per cent prefer to be referenced as a travel professional; 12.7 per cent, travel agent; 7.5 per cent, travel advisor; and 4.3 per cent, travel expert.

The results were consistent with those of parent company ASTA’s survey conducted last fall, which revealed out of 282 respondents, 54 per cent prefer to be called travel consultant; 11 per cent, travel agent; 22 per cent, travel professional; and 10 per cent, travel advisor.

As a result of the findings, NACTA will now use the term ‘travel consultants’ when referring to its membership. NACTA also informally surveyed its members and found they prefer not to be referred to as “home-based agents”.

“The term home-based agent is irrelevant now as technology and personal relationships have changed how and where travel consultants are able to conduct business,” said Ann van Leeuwen, president of NACTA.

“It is not important to label where travel consultants might do business – what’s important is being good at what you do – selling travel and servicing your clients to the best of your ability.”

Meanwhile, TTG Asia Media has been employing the terms ‘travel consultant’, ‘travel specialist’ and ‘travel expert’ for the travel trade community in all its publications for two years now. We would also like to call on travel agency associations in Asia-Pacific to do the same, since travel consultants are more than just agents.

HILTON Worldwide today announced the signing of a new management agreement with Bali Ragawisata for the first Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts property in Indonesia.

The 96-villa Waldorf Astoria Bali located in Bukit Pandawa precinct in south Bali is also the fourth hotel in the pipeline in Indonesia for the global hospitality group.

The property scheduled to open in 2017 will also offer a range of facilities including a wedding chapel, outdoor event lawn, event courtyard, business centre, outdoor sea-facing pool with a beach club, private beach, bar, two restaurants as well as a health club and spa.

Waldorf Astoria Bali will be the brand’s second luxury property in South-east Asia, joining Waldorf Astoria Bangkok.

Just last month, in February, Hilton opened the Waldorf Astoria Beijing, making deeper inroads into the Asian market (TTG Asia e-Daily February 24, 2014)

THAILAND’S political crisis, which began last November, has not dented tourism in Phuket and Koh Samui, according to research by C9 Hotelworks, which cites increased airlift as the key driver of booming arrivals at both destinations.

Koh Samui received 1.7 million visitors last year, 88 per cent of who were from overseas with western Europeans accounting for half of all arrivals to the island.

C9 Hotelworks managing director, Bill Barnett, said growth in passengers travelling through Surat Thani airport, which increased 32 per cent, indicated the coastal town is now fully established as a second gateway to Samui, where Bangkok Airways has a monopoly on air access through its privately owned airport.

“Airlift is the key indicator for Samui’s growing business. Samui airport is capped at 36 flights per day. Surat Thani is Plan B for many travellers. It’s why you’re seeing more Thais travel to the island. Low-cost carriers like AirAsia provide a cheaper option and there are now direct flights to and from places like Malaysia as well as non-scheduled (charter) flights from China,” explained Barnett.

Increased throughput last year saw occupancy, ADR and RevPAR at the island’s hotels increase by five, seven and 14 per cent respectively, even though capacity at Samui International Airport reached 86 per cent.

Charter flights brought some 60,000 visitors through Surat Thani while visitors to the island from Russia and China rose 171 and 127 per cent year-on-year respectively.

Phuket posted record arrivals with 3.2 million people passing through the island’s international airport, representing growth of 26 per cent from 2012. China and Russia led the market, increasing 67 and 41 per cent year-on-year respectively.

ADR rose three per cent to US$147 with only a minimal decrease in occupancy, which fell two percentage points to 74 per cent. RevPAR was flat at US$110.

This positive performance saw Phuket outperform Bali, a key regional competitor, according to Barnett, who said overnight arrivals and increased access via Etihad had catalysed growth in mid- and longhaul arrivals to the destination.

THE search and rescue operations of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 continues into its fifth day, and the authorities have found no trace of the aircraft or the 239 passengers and crew onboard.

Although the aircraft is equipped with a continuous data monitoring system, which transmits data automatically, MAS reported there were no distress calls and no information relayed.

At press time, it is still unknown what went wrong with the aircraft or where it could possibly be.

Meanwhile, the two individuals travelling on stolen passports on the lost flight have been identified as Iranians Pouria Nour Mohammad Merhdad, 19 and Delavar Seyed Mohammad Erza, 29.

Speaking at a press conference in Lyon yesterday, Interpol secretary-general Ronald K Noble said the two had flown to Kuala Lumpur using their own passports and then switched to the stolen passports to board MH370.

Investigations revealed that Pouria Nour was on his way to join his mother in Germany. Noble said: “The more information we get, the more we are inclined to conclude it is not a terrorist incident.”

The press conference was held hours after Malaysia’s inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said the Malaysian police are investigating if the stolen passports are linked to passport theft or forgery rings in Thailand.

The investigation is focused on four main areas – hijacking, sabotage, psychological and personal problems of the passengers and crew.

On psychological and personal problems, Malaysia’s The Star quoted the inspector-general as saying: “Maybe somebody on the flight bought a huge sum of insurance and wanted his family to gain from it, or somebody who owed somebody else a lot of money, you know – we are looking at all possibilities.”