PENANG has launched its own B2B travel mart with the aim of promoting the destination to overseas markets (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 4, 2012).

Being held at the Hotel Equatorial Penang from July 4-6, the inaugural Penang International Travel Mart (PITM) takes place just one month after the first-ever Malaysia International Travel Exchange in Kuala Lumpur.

Starting on a small scale with 23 Penang sellers and 50 overseas buyers from 13 countries, Penang State Tourism is aiming for PITM to become an annual affair –with April 25-26 already marked out for next year’s event.

Penang State Minister for Tourism Development & Culture, Danny Law, also wants PITM to become more regional in scope, and plans to invite other ASEAN countries to participate as exhibitors.

Commenting on the mart, Association of Tourism Attractions Penang chairman, Gino Ooi, said: “It is impossible for all my members to go overseas for promotion. So bringing in buyers from overseas (for PITM) is the most cost-effective way for my members.”

THE PENANG state government is ramping up its efforts in tourism infrastructure development in an attempt to even out its revenue obtained from the manufacturing and services industries by 2020.

Penang chief minister, Lim Guan Eng, said: “Penang is an industrial state. Ninety-seven per cent (of our GDP) is from manufacturing and services, which contribute 57 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.”

“We would like to balance that within eight years, through increased tourism development, (which in turn will contribute to the services industry).”

According to Lim, air access has been identified as one of the key development areas to facilitate growth in local tourism.

So far, the state government has set aside MYR250 million (US$78.7 million) to expand the capacity of Penang International Airport from three to five million passengers per year. The expansion is scheduled for completion by November 24, 2012.

“Passenger traffic (at Penang International Airport) last year was 4.5 million, and by next year it will be over five million. So, once the airport (expansion) is finished, we will have to plan for a new airport,” said Lim.

CHINA Eastern Airlines has doubled the frequency of its Shanghai (Pudong)-Paris (Charles de Gaulle) flights to twice daily for this summer season.

Effective June 30, the frequency hike represents a 50 per cent increase in capacity for the carrier on the route, which is operated using Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

A representative from China Eastern’s sales department told TTG Asia e-Daily that the frequency on the Shanghai-Paris route was boosted due to burgeoning demand.

A representative from the Outbound Tourism Department of China International Travel Service (CITS) confirmed the trend, saying that outbound travel to Europe and the US was flourishing this year.

“So far, the number of Chinese customers to Europe for our company has grown by 30 per cent over last year, while the number to the US has increased by 50 per cent. We welcome airlines to open or increase flights to these destinations to ease the shortage of flights,” the CITS representative said.

Reporting by Hong Xu

THE PHILIPPINES’ Department of Transportation & Communication (DOTC) has scrapped its plan requiring local carriers to scale down domestic operations at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) by 30 per cent.

Originally scheduled to begin this month, the flight reduction was one of several measures to be implemented to alleviate congestion at NAIA (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 16, 2012).

A check by TTG Asia e-Daily of the flight schedules belonging to Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and Air Philippines revealed that the three carriers had not complied with the DOTC initiative.

According to Maria Victoria Jasmin, acting undersecretary, Tourism Services and Regional Operations, Philippines’ Department of Tourism, scaling back domestic operations at NAIA now seems less of a viable solution since “there are a lot of things to consider, including cargoes…and the destinations to be affected”.

Had the initiative pushed through, it would have affected both local and foreign traffic to popular leisure destinations such as Boracay, Palawan, Cebu, Bohol and Davao, said Ine Faustino, general manager of CCT 168 Travel & Tours.

Meanwhile, Jasmin said DOTC would persist in its consultation process with airlines and government agencies to solve the congestion problems at NAIA.

MYANMAR’s Ministry of Hotels & Tourism has introduced a rate cap of US$150 per room per night for hotels under its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) scheme.

The ministry implemented the rate cap in the wake of complaints from both local and international travel companies about how indiscriminate room pricing was harming the image of Myanmar’s tourism industry (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 4, 2012).

Minister of Hotels & Tourism, U Tint Hsan, also warned that hotel room rates in Myanmar should not be overpriced compared to neighboring countries – especially those in ASEAN.

“If the FDI hotels fail to follow the ministry’s ruling, we will take some serious steps such as not recommending the visa extension of general managers from FDI hotels, and will also review the extension of the lend lease period,” he said.

Ma Sabei Aung, managing director, Nature Dream Travels & Tours Burma, said: “My company lost many tour bookings due to this unpleasant situation. How can we sell our tours if (the hotels) are increasing their room rates so frequently?”

“We were really worried that we would lose our partner agents from overseas if this situation was allowed to continue,” she added.