INBOUND tourism in the Middle East is on an upward trajectory, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Economic Impact 2013, which predicted a positive future ahead for the region’s tourism sector.

Speaking ahead of the opening of the Arabian Travel Mart 2013, Reed Travel Exhibitions’ portfolio director, Mark Walsh, said tourism contributed US$76.6 billion to GDP regionally in 2013, a number that should grow 4.2 per cent this year.

Walsh highlighted Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as bright spots in the region.

In the UAE, industry investment will grow 12 per cent from last year’s US$22.5 billion.

According to reports by Bloomberg and Reuters, Dubai last week released the Dubai Vision for Tourism 2020 programme to develop tourism, aiming to double visitors to 20 million by 2020 and triple tourism receipts to 300 billion dirhams (US$81.7 billion).

The plan outlined three focus areas: promoting the state as a family destination and the regional MICE capital, and increased emphasis on business visitors.

In Oman, the government has injected US$39 million into the development of the Dhofar province to promote its annual Khareef or monsoon festival, while room capacity is predicted to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 5.3 per cent from now until 2016, boosting its current 5,331 rooms by another 2,000 by end-2013.

On the other hand, Qatar is ramping up to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A US$65 billion investment plan will see more than 85,000 new hotel rooms come on stream and Qatar is forecast to welcome 3.7 million visitors yearly by 2022.

In Saudi Arabia, the WTTC estimated tourist arrivals would grow at a compounded annual growth rate of four per cent by 2022, driven by expansion in all sectors including religious, business and leisure travel. Authorities have earmarked US$80 billion for key infrastructure projects including airport expansion, railways and roads.

A NEW charity half marathon is set to debut in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Luang Prabang this October, with proceeds pledged to go directly to the race’s beneficiaries.

Scheduled to take place on October 5, Luang Prabang Half Marathon: La Procession comprises three race routes: the half marathon, a 14km race and a 7km race to allow all members of the family to participate.

Limited to only 500 international runners to avoid overloading the town’s infrastructure, the race will offer runners a chance to pass through many of Luang Prabang’s historical sites.

The race route also draws inspiration from the daily procession of monks that walk through the town each morning collecting offerings.

Costs of the race are fully covered by corporate sponsors. Instead of usual entry fees, runners can make donations directly through online fundraising pages.

Proceeds from the race will go towards funding Friends International, a social enterprise benefiting children and youth in South-east Asia.

“In many of the destination races, after the costs of race fees, flights and hotels, less than one per cent of an average runner’s spend goes to the charities. By restructuring the registration and funding process, we hope to change that,” said founding race organiser and HSBC equities director, Michael Gilmore.

THREE-star hotel Cipaganti Legian Hotel will open its doors to guests this June in Bali.

The 121-room hotel is located on Jalan Bunut Sari, Legian and is within walking distance from the Kuta and Legian beaches, as well as attractions such as Seminyak, Legian Street and Kuta Square.

Offering Superior Rooms, Family Rooms and Suites, Cipaganti also comes with 24-hour reception service, room service, a coffee shop, a pool bar, a lobby lounge, concierge desk, laundry services, a swimming pool, a spa and a parking area.

Hotel facilities also include a meeting room capable of seating 60 pax theatre-style.

Cipaganti Group is an Indonesian company operating shuttle and car rental services.

YTL Hotels’ Tanjong Jara Resort on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is banking on its unique Malay cultural offerings to draw high-end incentives.

The 99-room property offers villas, mostly beach facing, that resemble 17^th century Malay palaces.

Luke Hurford, vice president for sales and marketing, said: “Tanjong Jara’s unique selling point is its distinct Malay cultural offerings through its facilities such as spa treatments and activities that can be arranged within and outside (the resort), like Malay cooking classes and guided bicycle rides to nearby towns. These would go well with incentive organisers looking for unique experiences.”

He added that the resort had drawn mostly leisure tourists until two years ago, when corporates started coming on strong due to increased promotions and awareness about both the resort and Terengganu’s strengths as an incentive destination.

He hopes to end the year with a 25-75 mix of incentive and leisure guests. “We’re targeting international incentives from Singapore, Hong Kong, Greater China and Australia, destinations that have a flight time of six hours or less into Kuala Lumpur.”

From Kuala Lumpur, Tanjong Jara is a one-hour flight to Kuala Terengganu and another one-and-a-half hours by road.

Out of Singapore, travellers can take a direct flight to Kuantan via Firely before embarking on a two-hour drive to reach Tanjong Jara.

The resort is also 45 minutes away by speedboat from marine park, Tenggol Island, reputed to be one of the best places for diving and snorkelling in Malaysia for its rare marine life and untouched gardens. Tanjong Jara can arrange diving and snorkelling activities at the island upon request.

FACED with greater competition for marketing funds, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy will re-evaluate the effectiveness of the Indonesia Corporate Meetings & Incentive Travel Mart (ICMITM), a move that may see the ministry cut back on its support in the coming years.

Over the last six years, the ministry has jointly organised ICMITM with Bank Danamon American Express with the aim of encouraging local and foreign companies to organise events in Indonesia, while also promoting the country’s 16 destinations of focus (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 28, 2012). Buyers were sponsored by the government.

Said the ministry’s MICE and special interest promotion director, Rizki Handayani: “It is time to review the event thoroughly after six years to see how effective it is to host destinations in their efforts to promote themselves as MICE destinations, how the event benefits buyers and sellers and how effective the cooperation (between the ministry and) Bank Danamon American Express is.

“We will survey buyers and sellers to gain their input and determine what we should do next…We will also relook at the government’s role in this event.”

Handayani said that while her directorate was expanding its focus from solely MICE to include special interest areas such as sports tourism, spa and wellness, culinary, cruises etc, the marketing budget was not increasing significantly.

Formerly the Indonesia MICE and Corporate Travel Mart (IMCTM), the annual event was created in 2008 by RajaMICE.com, Bank Danamon American Express and the then Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Last year, RajaMICE.com withdrew its participation, taking with it the IMCTM brand, while Bank Danamon American Express continued to partner the ministry, renaming the event ICMITM.

Meanwhile, Bank Danamon American Express continues to believe that ICMITM has achieved its goal of introducing new MICE destinations. Its executive vice president – card business head, Dessy Masri, said last week that following the ICMITM in Medan in May last year, spending on MICE- and travel-related events grew by 20 per cent between May and December last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 3, 2013).

HILTON Worldwide has ceased managing Hilton Maldives Iru Fushi, having terminated its management agreement with owner Sun Travels & Tours on May 3.

According to a media release from Hilton, the cancellation of the agreement was “unforeseen and due to factors outside (Hilton’s) control”.

Sun Travels has taken over management, and consequently the property is no longer participating in the Hilton HHonors programme.

However, Hilton continues to manage Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and “remains committed to the hospitality and tourism industry in Maldives”, said the statement.

THE Department of Tourism (DoT) says it is on track to meet its 5.5 million arrivals target for 2013 based on the 1.3 million foreign tourists it witnessed during the first quarter, which marks a significant 10.8 per cent year-on-year leap.

South Korea remains the top source market, with arrivals rising 23.9 per cent year-on-year to 328,454 visitors. This puts it at 25.8 per cent of total arrivals.

The US takes second place with 186,065 arrivals or 14.6 per cent of total visitor volume, Japan with 114,269 arrivals or nine per cent, while China and Taiwan round up the top five markets with 98,242 and 53,867 visitors respectively.

Meanwhile, other source markets registering double-digit growth were Russia (26.9 per cent), Hong Kong (25 per cent), India (22.1 per cent), Singapore (15.4 per cent), Australia (12.7 per cent) and Malaysia (11.9 per cent).

By region, South-east Asia grew 14.8 per cent and East Asia, 14.2 per cent.

For March alone, the Philippines posted a double-digit increase of 11.3 per cent year-on-year with 417,392 visitors, the fourth consecutive month since December 2012 that visitor numbers surpassed the 400,000 mark after a record-breaking January and February (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 28, 2013).

Tourism secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr pointed out that the expansion and development of secondary gateways would open the country to more visitors, while investments in the air transportation and accommodation sector would increase the country’s capacity for visitors in the years to come.            

He said: “With key policy reforms such as the lifting of significant security concerns by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the rationalisation of the Common Carriers Tax, the focus is shifted to the tangible areas such as connectivity and improvement of tourism products.”