INDONESIA’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is planning to organise a travel fair targeted at local youth, and will also attempt to persuade the government to introduce additional public holidays, in a bid to boost the domestic travel industry.

Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta yesterday, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy director general of destination development, Firmansyah Rahim, said: “The demand for travel during school holiday seasons and long weekends is high. We need to encourage the young travellers, especially students, to travel within the country.”

“Therefore, we are taking a number of steps to boost the market.”

Firstly, private sector organisations will be invited to organise a special travel mart for youth travellers, in cooperation with the ministry. “We invite the travel trade to come up with special offers and packages designed for students, with (discounted) fares,” said Rahim.

The ministry is also working on establishing additional long weekend holiday periods in Indonesia, either by declaring public holidays on single working days sandwiched between an existing public holiday and a weekend, or by declaring the following Monday a non-working day whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday.

ONE of Vietnam’s leading inbound tour operators, Come & Go Vietnam, has launched its inaugural luxury itinerary to cater to growing demand in the high-end inbound segment.

“We’ve launched the itinerary to reflect the growing number of requests we’re receiving for upscale programmes,” said Tim Russell, director of Come & Go Vietnam, which is based in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Luxury travel is the tourism industry’s fastest-growing sector, and that applies to Vietnam as much as anywhere else,” he added.

Once seen as a budget to mid-range destination, Vietnam has moved upscale in recent years—a development reflected in its growing portfolio of gourmet restaurants and luxury resorts.

This trend has prompted Come & Go to introduce a 14D/13N Luxury Vietnam package for FITs, which takes customers on a north-to-south journey starting in Hanoi, through Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An and the Mekong Delta, and ending in Ho Chi Minh City. The tour can also be undertaken in the opposite direction.

Guests stay in top-end properties such as the Sofitel Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, the Nam Hai resort in Hoi An, and the Park Hyatt Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City. They sample local and international cuisine at renowned dining outlets such as Restaurant Bobby Chinn and La Verticale, which is run by French chef Didier Corlou.

“We find that mid-range travellers are making their own independent travel arrangements,” said Russell.

“Luxury travellers, on the other hand, tend to be cash-rich and time-poor, and are happy to pay experts to take the time putting tours together for them.”

Reporting by Duncan Forgan

SINGAPORE Changi Airport’s budget terminal will be closed on September 25 and flattened to make way for a new Terminal 4.

Construction on the new terminal is slated to begin next year, and is expected to finish by 2017, Changi Airport Group (CAG) said in a statement.

Terminal 4 will reportedly be able to facilitate faster passenger processing and quicker turnarounds, and will not have aerobridges. It will also feature a larger terminal building, with the capacity to handle up to 16 million passengers a year.

In comparison, the existing budget terminal catered to 4.6 million passengers last year.

Airlines currently operating out of the budget terminal, including Berjaya Air, Cebu Pacific, Firefly, South East Asian Airlines and Tiger Airways, will shift operations to Terminal 2 starting September 25.

Aviation executives interviewed by TTG Asia e-Daily during the recent Low Cost Airlines World Asia Pacific 2012 conference in Singapore were unsure if the impending move would bump up airfares for affected airlines, but were certain that operational costs would climb.

Brendan Sorbie, chief representative Southeast Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said: “The (budget) terminal was originally built for modular expansion. That was CAG’s original vision, and this move is certainly not what airlines expected when they began operating at the terminal.”

“The move to rebuild the terminal could also be accorded to the current terminal’s inability to accommodate wider-body aircraft such as the A330, which more low-cost airlines have begun using in recent years to fly midhaul routes,” he added.

JAPAN’s international arrivals have recovered to near pre-disaster levels, with inbound numbers from the three key markets of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong showing signs of resurgent demand.

Overall, arrivals to Japan in January were down by 4.1 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest figures provided by the Japan National Tourism Organization. Japan received some 138,400 Chinese visitors during this time, a 39.6 per cent jump over the same period last year. Inbound numbers from Taiwan and Hong Kong increased by 29.6 per cent and 40.9 per cent, respectively.

However, other source markets remain weak, especially the country’s top market, South Korea—down by 35.4 per cent compared to January 2011. Volume from Australia, the UK, France, Germany and Russia remains fragile as well.

One of the areas worst hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Sendai, is showing faint signs of a protracted recovery.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily during the Visit Japan Travel Trade Meet in Singapore, Hiroki Ichikawa, officer, international economy and tourism department, city of Sendai, Economic Affairs Bureau said: “Even though overall foreign arrivals (to Sendai) are still down by about 80 per cent as of January compared to last year, visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan are trickling in, and domestic tourism, which remains relatively strong, continues to prop our tourism industry.”

Ichikawa added that the China market to Sendai should improve once flights operated by Air China from Shanghai, Beijing and Dalian to Sendai Airport – which were suspended immediately after the tragedy – are restored in March.

According to Sam How, general manager, Asia-Euro Holidays Singapore, besides fear over radiation fallout, the lingering perception of Japan as an expensive destination was a damper on demand.

“However, with airfares being slashed and numerous offers on the table, Japan is now more affordable than ever,” he said. “Subsequently, those who never considered Japan before will be enticed to visit. This is Japan’s golden window of opportunity.”

THE PROVINCE of Palawan in the Philippines has been on the receiving end of heightened international attention ever since once of its main attractions, the Puerto Princesa Underground River, was nominated in the New7Wonders of Nature competition.

Promoted extensively by the Philippine government over the course of the contest, then confirmed in January as one of two winners along with South Korea’s Jeju Island, the campaign provided a welcome boost for the province’s tourism profile.

Extended marketing efforts by the country’s Department of Tourism are also on the cards this year.

Clang Garcia, managing director of Jeepney Tours and Travel Manila said: “Palawan has gained in awareness and popularity since Puerto Princesa’s nomination. It has ignited the curiosity of foreign travellers, who are coming to the province to explore its white sand beaches and pristine islands.”

John Paul Cabalza, managing director of Cencorp Travel and Tours Manila said, “Numerous hotels and resorts in Palawan are gearing for good occupancy. We are looking at substantial increases…and are very bullish about Puerto Princesa.”

Regarded as a backpackers’ haven in the past, Palawan has figured prominently among various companies’ inbound programmes since 2010/2011, and is now promoted as a luxury long-stay destination offering island tours, shipwreck diving, and ‘ultimate getaway’ experiences on exclusive islets.

Various infrastuctural developments will provide the foundations for the expected influx of tourism, such as improvements on the 50-km route between Puerto Princesa and Sabang—where the Underground River is located, thereby cutting down travel time to 1.5 hours.

Puerto Princesa’s airport is also due for expansion into an international gateway. Though this is still in the works, Palawan now receives as many as twelve inbound flights a day, compared to just one previously.

On the inventory front, recent additions include Puerto Princesa’s inaugural four-star property, the 111-room Hotel Centro. Budget accommodation is provided by Microtel Inn & Suites under the Wyndham brand, as well as Robinsons Land Corporation’s soon-to-be-opened Go Hotel.

SRI LANKA is planning to make up for this year’s low season shortfall by drawing foreign fans to watch live matches at a major international cricket tournament taking place in the country from September 18-October 7.

“The International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 tournament is our biggest event for the year,” said Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) managing director, Rumy Jaufer.

“It is happening at a good time because September is our off season. We are expecting at least 10,000-15,000 fans from abroad, mostly from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.”

Sri Lanka’s peak season is usually between November-April.

According to Jaufer, around 8,000 hotel rooms have been booked so far for the biennial tournament, which will see matches played in Colombo and other cities across the country. Another 8,000 rooms are expected to be snapped up before the event begins.

Chandra Mohotti, senior vice president of the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, said one of the challenges was providing enough rooms for the influx of cricket fans.

“There is no seasonal (shortfall) as far as city hotels are concerned. Colombo hotels are experiencing great occupancies with corporate travellers, investors and Sri Lankan expatriates,” he said, adding that the ongoing refurbishment of the 250-room Ceylon Continental Hotel meant 10 per cent of the capital’s inventory would be unavailable.

Meanwhile, Jaufer said cable news broadcaster ESPN would feature various cultural sites, wildlife parks and beaches during live coverage of the matches, while SLTPB would organise fam trips for some 300 foreign journalists during the tournament. “This is a great promotional event for cricket-crazy Sri Lanka,” he said.

Helanka Vacations Colombo has also jumped on the bandwagon to put together special packages for cricket fans, replicating the three- to five-day tours it organised during last year’s ICC Cricket World Cup jointly hosted by Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.