MALAYSIA’S travel trade is divided on the likely impact of the recent Bertam Valley mud flood on visitorship to Cameron Highlands in the coming weeks.

Operators of the hydro-electric Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Ringlet Cameron Highlands had opened a gate to release water in order to prevent the dam from bursting after continuous rain from the day before, but instead caused a mud flood that has since claimed three lives.

The incident also coincides with the rainy season, traditionally a period of low arrivals to the area.

Casa Dela Rosa Hotel Cameron Highlands’ operation manager, Benjamin Jayaraya, said there have been cancellations since the mud flood on October 23, and room occupancy has dipped below 40 per cent, a historic low as weekends usually see occupancies hovering in the 80s to 90s range.

“It is too early to predict how bookings will be for the year-end school holidays. It is still not strong. Occupancies next week for the Deepavali and Awal Muharram public holidays may indicate how it goes for the year-end period. The current rainy season might be discouragement to some travellers.”

Local and foreign travellers alike might be cautious of the recurrence of a similar tragedy in the rainy season, said Andy Muniandy, director of sales and business development at Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel.

He expects a 10 per cent drop in FIT and local groups to Cameron Highlands for the year-end.

But others TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to are more optimistic. Ganneesh Ramaa, manager of Luxury Tours Malaysia, said it is “business as usual” as the main tourist attractions are near or within Tanah Rata and Brinchang towns, which are not near the scene of the flood.

Leonard Francis, resort manager at Cameron Highlands Resort, said his property is a distance from the affected area and occupancies have not been affected.

He said the resort was running at almost full occupancy last week and bookings for the upcoming public holidays high, while reservations for the year-end are “looking good”.

GERMAN tourism authorities are targeting outbound tourists from Thailand, having identified the country as a key Asian growth market given the its rapidly growing middle class.

German National Tourism Bureau, Deutsche Bahn, Magic Cities Germany and visitBerlin yesterday held a joint event in Bangkok, their first-ever post-ITB Asia satellite event, to strengthen connections with the local trade and tap growing Thai demand.

“We are always interested in nations that are developing very fast and have an emerging middle class,” said visitBerlin CEO, Burkhard Kieker. “This is happening all over Asia, especially in Thailand where people are very hungry for travel.

“We were surprised to discover Thais were the second highest spending tourists in Berlin (with an average spend of 546 euros or US$752) after China in (1H2013) according to Global Blue.”

Asian travellers took 89.4 million trips last year, including 2.1 million to Germany, according to IPK International’s World Travel Monitor. China was the largest Asian source market with 818,000 trips. While Thai arrivals to the country were almost 15 times smaller than this, the kingdom exhibits some of the best growth potential from within the region, said GNTB’s Michael Steuer.

“Thais made 55,000 trips to Germany last year, while this is still small compared with China and Japan, it’s a high-growth source market and we’re targeting 100,000 visits (annually) by 2020,” he said.

Germany was the second favourite European travel destination after Switzerland for Thais last year, and Thais contributed more than one-third of visits to Germany from South-east Asia.

SINGAPORE-based Far East Organization has entered a contract to purchase two properties in Australia, including a mixed-use development featuring the Rendezvous Hotel Sydney The Rocks.

Far East will shell out A$72 million (US$68.4 million) for the Clocktower Square in Sydney, a mixed-use complex comprising a shopping centre, a six-storey commercial office tower and the Rendezvous Hotel Sydney The Rocks, according to Singapore business daily, The Business Times. The development is situated within Sydney’s central business district.

Formerly known as Rendezvous Stafford Hotel, the 61-room hotel is the latest addition to Far East’s growing collection of Rendezvous brand hotels.

Far East Hospitality Holdings, a joint venture company between Far East Orchard and the Straits Trading Company (STC), already holds the management rights to Rendezvous Grand Hotel Melbourne, Rendezvous Hotel Perth, Rendezvous Studio Hotel Perth Central, and 13 others under Rendezvous Hotels International (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 16, 2013).

In August, STC sold Rendezvous Hotel Singapore to Far East Hospitality Trust, which is to be rebranded to Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore.

Far East will also purchase Harbour Town Centre, a freehold outlet shopping centre, for A$205 million, said The Business Times.

THAI Smile, a subsidiary of Thai Airways International (THAI), has postponed the date of commencement for its Bangkok-Luang Prabang service.

Previously publicising daily flights effective from November 16, the airline has now revealed that flights will begin from December 15 with a four-times-weekly frequency instead. The route will be operated with an Airbus A320-300 with a 168-seat capacity.

Jason Blackwell, general manager of Exotissimo Laos, commented: “We always welcome more flight connections to Laos, and we hope the increasing competition will help reduce prices in the long-term and improve the possibilities of multi-country tours.

“We also hope the new schedule will fuel the growth of visitors coming to Laos as a stand-alone destination. Currently only a few select international tour operators promote this, but those that do find it very successful.”

He said the new THAI Smile schedule will allow UK clients flying THAI to connect directly to Luang Prabang with no stopover, a development he called “exciting”.

ACCOR’S Novotel has reached a milestone with the launch of its 100^th hotel in Asia-Pacific ­– Novotel Phuket Kamala Beach Resort.

The newly built beachfront resort is located on Phuket’s west coast, 10 minutes from Patong Beach. It features 166 upscale guestrooms, suites and villas with views over lush gardens or the Andaman Sea.

Guests at the resort will also enjoy free Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the property, three F&B options, a rooftop bar, lobby bar, pool bar, kids’ club, fitness centre, day spa and outdoor pool.