SINGAPORE has emerged as the top destination that Myanmar travellers want to visit, with shopping, sightseeing and experiencing different cuisines being the main motivations.

According to a survey by MasterCard Worldwide, the city-state trounced popular destinations such as New York, Bangkok, Seoul and Paris to take the crown.

The survey was based on interviews conducted with 411 residents with bank accounts in Yangon and Mandalay between December 2012 and January 2013.

MasterCard also reported that although less than one in five Myanmar residents had travelled abroad for leisure in the last 12 months, an overwhelming majority of people who did travel intend to do so again over the next one year.

Within Myanmar, 73 per cent of respondents had travelled domestically over the last 12 months. Top local destinations were Taunggyi, Mandalay and Pathein.

Four out of five of those who had travelled domestically plan to do so again over the course of the next year.

The survey stated that Myanmar’s travellers spend an average of 200,000 kyats (US$230) per person on domestic holidays. For international holidays, the amount was six times higher.

Consumers in the South-east Asian country reported high levels of optimism when it came to consumer confidence, according to the latest MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence.

Myanmar’s liberalising economy has seen inbound tourist numbers shoot past one million in 2012 and arrivals are expected to grow another 30 per cent in 2013 (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 25, 2013).

VISITOR arrivals to Indonesia in January 2013 showed a 5.9 per cent year-on-year decline to 614,328.

The fall was led by China with negative 37.2 per cent growth, followed by Taiwan with 28.8 per cent and Singapore with 15.5 per cent.

Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy spokesman, I Gusti Ngurah Putra, blamed the Lunar New Year, which fell in January last year and in February this year, for hurting January arrivals to Indonesia.

While arrivals from Australia also crept into negative territory with a 1.9 per cent decrease, Japan and South Korea showed healthy growth of 14.7 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively, while Malaysian footfalls rose by 8.2 per cent. Emerging markets India and the Middle East also booked an increase of 3.6 and 7.9 per cent.

Ngurah Putra remarked that the positive growth in arrivals had balanced out the fall in visitors from China, Singapore and Taiwan.

On the longhaul front, arrivals from the Netherlands decreased by 11.8 per cent while arrivals from the rest of Europe were up by between 0.3 and 6.6 per cent.

Ngurah Putra expects Indonesia’s role as the official partner country of the recently-concluded ITB Berlin, to boost inbound figures not only from Europe but also other markets.

The country is gunning for nine million arrivals this year, targeting South-east Asia, especially Singapore and Malaysia, and China as major source markets.

HOTEL and serviced apartment operator V Group has opened V Wanchai² in Wanchai, Hong Kong, the group’s first full-fledged hotel.

The 79-room hotel is minutes away from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, as well as the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre.

Its design incorporates Chinese elements such as its abacus-inspired wall feature in the reception area and the custom-made bird and flower carvings on the doors and headboards of its rooms.

V Wanchai² offers 30 studio-style Luxe rooms, 26 Premium Deluxe rooms (47.4m²), 10 Deluxe rooms (55.7m²) and 13 V Grand Suites (68.7m²).

Rooms feature TVs, audio systems, bath and rain showers, and wine coolers in selected rooms. Guests can access a complimentary DVD library, high-speed wireless Internet and local calls.

THAI hotel chain Centara Hotels & Resorts has laid hands on a third property in the Maldives through a partnership with RPI.

Centara signed the management contract with RPI in September last year and the property is currently being developed at a cost of US$36 million.

To be opened within the second half of 2014, the 110-room Centara Hudhufushi Resort & Spa will be located on the eastern side of Lhaviyani Atoll, a 25-minute seaplane ride away from Male International Airport.

The Thai chain currently operates Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives and will open Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa Maldives this month.

Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales and marketing, Centara Hotels & Resorts, said: “Our international presence has grown extremely strongly during the past few years, and the Maldives has been a major success for us.

“We believe that having a third Maldives resort, in a very different location among the Maldivian islands, and with a different style (from) the existing two resorts, will give us a very powerful marketing tool.

“Our marketing division for the Indian Ocean region has recently been strengthened, and we have great confidence in (both) the region and our latest venture.”

Over the next five years, the Thai hotel chain is aiming to acquire more than 45 hotels and resorts, with the intention of reaching 100 properties worldwide by 2017 (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 1, 2012).

ACCOR has announced three new signings in Myanmar, joining other companies like Best Western International and Hilton Worldwide who have also revealed plans to open properties in the country.

Accor will develop three newly-built hotels – a 168-room MGallery hotel in Nay Pyi Taw, 366-room Novotel Yangon Max and 280-room Novotel Mandalay Mingalar – with the second to open by the end of this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 22, 2013).

Meanwhile, senior international development manager from Best Western International’s Asia and Middle East head office, Akarapong Sukjit, has confirmed that the chain has been discussing franchising and ownership options in Myanmar with potential investors.

He said: “We’ve had many meetings with local firms…There are many places we are interested in such as Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay, Kalaw, Bagan and other key destinations.

“After sanctions were lifted and after Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama visited, that gave us confidence in the market. There are tremendous opportunities here, and a lot of foreign direct investment.”

Last week, Hilton Worldwide also signed an agreement with LP Holding to manage the 300-room Hilton Yangon in Kyauktada Township, the brand‘s first-ever property in the country, scheduled to open in 2014 (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 6, 2013).

KOREA Tourism Organization (KTO) is targeting 100,000 arrivals from India in 2013, having identified a wide range of offerings that will appeal to the market ranging from traditional homestays to cuisine.

KTO will focus on developing high-quality tourism products and special incentive programmes for tour operators and travel consultants, while also promoting cultural events, sports, cuisine, temples and traditional homestays to Indian travellers.

After a very successful foray in New Delhi, KTO opened its second Indian office in Mumbai last year. South Korea saw 92,000 Indian visitors in 2012.

Lee Jae-Sang, director, KTO India, said: “We will provide detailed information and product knowledge to the travel trade, as well as promote the destination through roadshows along with advertising, joint promotions, tradeshows and fam trips on a pan-India basis.”

South Korea is also keen to ride on the wave of Bollywood films being shot in foreign locations, in addition to its appeal as one of the top five convention destinations in the world.

Vineet Gopal, secretary, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India and managing director, Engee Holidays, said: “MICE and film tourism will require designing packages to suit these travel segments. The potential for growth is enormous as Indians are looking for new destinations all the time.”

SRI Lanka’s third-largest hotel chain Jetwing Hotels is in expansion mode, with plans to nearly double its room stock over the next 24 months.

Jetwing Hotels’ chairman, Hiran Cooray, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the family-owned group would increase its current inventory of 540 rooms by another 400.

Four new hotels – Jetwing Yala, Jetwing Colombo, Jetwing Dambulla and Jetwing Reef Uppuveli – would be set up under the company’s new subsidiary, Jetwing Symphony.

Another property on Arugam Bay would be added on later, Cooray revealed, adding that there are plans for an IPO for the subsidiary in due course.

“We are absolutely bullish about the present (economic) situation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jetwing’s Hotel J, said to be the country’s first budget property, is set for an April opening in Negombo. The hotel will offer customers a five-star bed, shower/toilet and Internet access for US$35-70 a night. Guests will pay for add-ons, including food.

Jetwing, which currently has 13 properties across the country, will also be managing a hotel in Chennai, India, opening at the end of the year. The company had slowed its overseas activities after the Sri Lankan market became active when the civil war ended in mid-2009.

“Our overseas development slowed down a bit because of the development back home. We earlier focused on Laos and Vietnam, and still manage our properties there. We also own a property in New Zealand,” Cooray said.

TRAVEL consultants will be able to search and book hotel content from multiple sources in a single screen with Amadeus Hotels Plus (Multisource), a new solution that integrates Amadeus’ GDS hotel properties with content from leading hotel aggregators.

Instead of shopping for rates across a variety of channels, travel experts can pre-pay, confirm bookings, issue vouchers and receive commissions instantly at the point of sale.

Said Kartikeya Tripathi, head of hotel distribution, Amadeus Asia-Pacific: “Changing consumer behaviour and enabling easier access to direct hotel content are creating both challenges and opportunities for our travel agency and hotel partners, which is exactly what this new solution addresses.”

Now available in India, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, the platform will debut in other Asia-Pacific markets over the coming months.

Amadeus has also signed a full content partnership with B2B travel aggregator Travel Boutique Online in India, giving Amadeus Hotels Plus (Multisource) users access to more hotels in South Asia.