MALAYSIA generated RM58.3 billion (US$19.5 billion) in tourism revenue in 2011, a three-per cent increase over the RM56.5 billion earned the year before. The country received 24.7 million international visitors in 2011, only a marginal rise over the 24.6 million registered the previous year.

Tourism minister Ng Yen Yen attributed the hike in tourism receipts to Tourism Malaysia’s branding of the country as a luxury destination. “Our efforts to attract high-yield tourists to Malaysia have made a difference,” she said.

Since 2010, initiatives implemented to draw high-end visitors include the organising of annual luxury events like the 1Malaysia International Shoe Festival, 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism Festival, as well as the packaging of helicopter tours.

“Private sector collaboration on events like the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia golf tournament also positioned Malaysia as a luxury tourism destination,” Ng added.

Malaysia’s top ten source markets in 2011 were Singapore (13,372,647), Indonesia (2,134,381), Thailand (1,442,048), China (1,250,536), Brunei (1,239,404), India (693,056), Australia (558,411), the UK (403,940), Japan (386,974) and the Philippines (362,101).

The Indonesian market took a major hit last year, with arrivals declining by 14.8 per cent over the year before.

“The abolishment of Indonesia’s fiscal fee allowed its travellers to head to other countries without making a stopover in Malaysia,” explained Ng. “The opening of the integrated resorts and Universal Studios in Singapore, and the reinstatement of Garuda Air’s route to Europe further contributed to the decline.”

Markets that recorded the strongest growth were Kazakhstan, which grew by 65.9 per cent, New Zealand (+ 23 per cent) and Russia (+ 21.3 per cent).

“(Arrivals from) Kazakhstan were assisted by the thrice-weekly direct Air Astana flights from Almaty to Kuala Lumpur, while New Zealand benefited from the opening of a Tourism Malaysia office in Auckland last May,” said Ng.

“Russia saw an increase on the back of strong promotional efforts there, in addition to weekly Transaero flights which commenced last December.”

Reporting by N. Nithiyananthan.

DESPITE mainstream media reports that sales were mostly brisk during this year’s series of pre-NATAS consumer travel fairs, several travel company spokespersons whom TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to painted a different picture.

For instance, Chan Brothers Travel garnered a relatively muted response at its travel fair held at Suntec City on February 12, according to its marketing & communications manager, Jane Chang.

“Booking volume (during the fair) increased by about 10 per cent this year over 2011, which is well within our forecasts,” she said, adding that performance would have been better if not for the six rival companies holding their own fairs over the same weekend.

Eva Wu, marketing & communications manager of SA Tours, shared the same sentiment.

“Sales at our travel fair last weekend remained somewhat consistent (compared to) 2011. The management is satisfied with our performance, but we could have definitely achieved more if there wasn’t so much competition,” she said. “We hope to do better at the upcoming NATAS fair.”

On a more optimistic note, CTC Travel’s senior vice-president of marketing & public relations, Alicia Seah, is expecting the company’s overall business to soar by 40-50 per cent in the first half of 2012 compared to last year, based on strong sales figures at its travel fair held from February 11-12.

Seah estimates that business at the fair increased by 30-50 per cent compared to last year, with bookings for European destinations jumping by 15 per cent.

“Europe remains a top destination, not only because of the strong Singapore dollar, but also because of the overall reduction in prices for land tours and airfares. Travellers can now save as much as 30 per cent on European tour packages compared to 2011,” she said.

Europe was also a bright spot for Chan Brothers, with the company’s booking volume for the continent jumping by 30 per cent during its fair, “Singaporeans are still taking advantage of the strong Singapore dollar, and are venturing further afield, particularly on sea and river cruises,” said Chang.

LOCATED at the crossroads of the ancient Silk Road, the city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of mainland China is looking to grow various aspects of its fledgling economy, with tourism being prioritised as one of its pillars of development.

Speaking during a conference in Singapore to highlight Kashgar’s potential, the Kashgar Municipal Government’s party secretary, Chen Xuguang, said the city was looking to enhance its tourism infrastructure as well as air connectivity to forge “a new Silk Road in the air”. Cultural tourism would be the main focus of its enhanced tourism development thrust, he added.

“Kashgar is the bridge and window to the east and the west, and as it was in ancient times, a hub, being only a short flight away from major points in Europe, the Middle East as well as South-east Asia,” said Chen.

According to Andy Chee, director of Sinostar Strategic, a Singapore-based firm tasked to promote tourism investment in Kashgar and act as its international marketing representative, the Kashgar government is currently in discussions with various international airlines to start weekly chartered flights from Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and Paris. The connections to Singapore and Hong Kong are tentatively scheduled to start this summer, he added.

Also in the pipeline are plans to transform two former consulates in Kashgar’s Old City into luxury hotels. Ang Gao, chief investment officer, Kashgar Development & Investment Holdings, said the city would have seven five-star properties by end-2012, all owned by the the local government, but managed by international brands.

Kashgar’s convention and exhibition facilities will also be given a boost, said Chee. Existing infrastructure such as its sports stadium will be utilised as MICE venues, while new facilities will be constructed, specifically in the east, where a mixed-use development is underway. An MoU has also been signed with Singapore-based Inspire Integrated Marketing to promote Kashgar as a MICE destination.

Currently, some two million tourists visit Kashgar annually, with the majority stemming from international markets. As highlighted by Chee, most of them are high-end, who visit the city on tailor-made itineraries as part of a pan-China tour. The city aims to attract 6.7 million tourists by 2015.

To kickstart its overseas promotion efforts, the Kashgar municipal government signed an MoU with NATAS on February 13 to jointly promote the destination to Singaporeans.

Robert Khoo, NATAS CEO, said details of the joint marketing initiative were still being fleshed out. “When the (Kashgar) municipal government approached us, we decided that it was an opportunity that was too hard to resist,” he said.

ZAIA, a Cirque du Soleil stage production based at The Venetian Macao, will bid farewell to audiences on Feb 19, after completing just 3.5 years of its 10-year contract.

The 90-minute production, which debuted in August 2008 as Macau’s first-ever resident show, was reportedly watched by over a million guests during its short-lived tenure.

According to a spokesperson for The Venetian Macao, the move to axe Zaia was a commercial one made after extensive research into consumer needs.

“Results showed us that customers wanted a greater variety of productions. Therefore, we decided to move on and redesign (the old venue into) a new multi-purpose theatre to meet customer needs,” the spokesperson said.

The redevelopment of the theatre which was purpose-built to house Zaia will convert the 1,800-pax venue into a multi-purpose one capable of accommodating a variety of performances such as concerts, plays and magic shows.

Air Cruise Travel executive director, Eric Chang, said: “The show was not doing well enough simply because there was a better option, the House of Dancing Water. In the eyes of (mainland) Chinese visitors, the show (Zaia) is very common and not a big difference from any good show in many theme parks or acrobatic performances in (mainland) China.”

NO changes are on the horizon for Costa Cruises’ plans in Asia-Pacific despite the Costa Concordia tragedy in January.

In an emailed statement to TTG Asia e-Daily, Buhdy Bok, Costa Cruises vice president Pacific Asia & China said the cruise line’s capacity growth target in Asia would hold steady at 40 per cent, and that all ship deployments to the region would proceed as planned (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 17, 2011).

“We believe that our Asian customers understand that the Costa Concordia incident was an exceptional event. So far, in Asian markets, we have not seen any impact on our business arising from cancellations,” he said.

The Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Isola del Giglio in Tuscany, Italy on January 13, requiring the evacuation of 4,252 passengers on board. The ship subsequently listed to the side and was partially submerged. Seventeen people were killed and 64 others were injured during the accident, with another 15 still unaccounted for.

When questioned by TTG Asia e-Daily about how exactly Costa Cruises would set about reassuring consumers about the safety of its ships, Bok explained that the Costa Concordia incident “deeply affected us all and we are committed never to allow such an incident to ever happen again”.

“Following the incident, Costa is working hard to rebuild the confidence and faith of our consumers, nurtured over the more than 60 years we have been operating cruises,” he said.

As part of its commitment to passenger safety, Bok explained that onboard crew members undergo a series of exhaustive training sessions to deal with crises, in full compliance with international safety regulations. All equipment on Costa ships is tested regularly, with staff performing evacuation drills every fortnight. Additionally, all guests take part in an evacuation drill within 24 hours of joining a sailing, he added.

“We remain fully aware of our responsibility to those who place their trust in us,” said Bok. “We now look to openly communicate the safety measures onboard Costa Cruises and reassure customers that Costa sailings are safe.”

SPECULATION is rife that Sonu Shivdasani, CEO and chairman of Six Senses BVI, is close to signing a deal with an American company, which may result in different shareholdings in the Soneva and Six Senses brands.

Sources expect the agreement to be signed within the next two weeks.

Speculation of the capital restructuring had been in the market since an organisational restructure of the company last July, which separated Six Senses and Soneva into three divisions run by three presidents – Shivdasani for Soneva, Bernhard Bohnenberger for Six Senses Resorts & Spas, and Jan Poul de Boer for Six Senses Properties.

The departure of several executives, as a result of Soneva management being property-based largely in the Maldives and a smaller Six Senses team in Bangkok, sparked rumours that the chain had hit a rough patch. Nearly half of its 15 resorts in operation across three brands (Soneva, Six Senses and Evason) are in Thailand, a destination in perpetual recovery mode since 2009. There was also a guess that its private residences sales were lukewarm as the rich got battered by the financial crisis and the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis.

In a phone interview from the Maldives, Shivdasani declined to confirm or deny that a capital restructuring was in the works. He responded, however, to questions on the organisational restructuring, saying: “Eva (his wife) and I want to focus more on Soneva, that’s why we restructured the company.”

He dismissed talk that residential sales were not doing well. “Our budget EBITDA is US$25 million and residences account for US$10 million. That’s 40 per cent of earnings. We had four sales in the Maldives; (Soneva) Kiri (in Thailand) sold 11 – eight have been built and we start building the other three in summer. Residences is a new income stream, that’s why we separate it (under the properties division).

“Business at Six Senses is up 30 to 40 per cent in revenue in the past 12 months. Thailand’s 30 per cent up on budget, (though) we’re still recovering from the Thai crisis.”

Asked why he wanted to focus more on Soneva, he said: “I’m getting old (laughs).

“Six Senses involves a lot of travelling. We now have 30 spas opened, 11 hotels opened and another 70 different projects in the pipeline, of which 20 are seeing quite a bit of activity. There are also lots of spas opening. Bernhard is doing a great job; he enjoys the travel and managing other people’s properties.”

Shivdasani is 46 years old – hardly old, many would say – and, at that age, already hugely admired globally for his ‘intelligent luxury’ concept. His sustainability practices won him The Most Environment Friendly Hotel Company award, one of four outstanding achievement awards in the annual TTG Travel Awards, in 2007.

BEST Western International is continuing its rapid expansion in South-east Asia with the addition of two new properties in Thailand and the Philippines.

The Best Western at Chaeng Wattana will open in 2014 in Chaeng Wattana area of Bangkok, close to government office buildings and the IMPACT Arena Muangthong Thani conference & exhibition centre.

The property will feature 188 guestrooms and facilities including a swimming pool, a fitness centre and an all-day dining restaurant. The hotel will also have six meeting rooms and three banquet halls.

Best Western International is already represented by four hotels in Bangkok; Best Western Mayfair Suites, Best Western Premier Amaranth Suvarnabhumi Airport, Best Western Plus at 20 Sukhumvit and Best Western Bangkok Hiptique. These properties form part of a Thailand-wide portfolio of 13 hotels and more than 1,200 rooms.

Meanwhile, Best Western International has launched its fifth hotel in Manila, Best Western The A. Venue Suites Makati.

Located in the Makati district of Manila, the property offers 70 suites in standard, deluxe, family and premiere categories, an indoor infinity-edged swimming pool, a kid’s pool, a steam room, a hot tub, a fitness centre and a Mediterranean restaurant. There are also five meeting rooms with more than 420m² of space and able to cater for 20-120 pax.

The launch of Best Western The A. Venue Suites Makati adds to two recently opened Best Western properties in Manila – Best Western Oxford Suites Makati and Best Western Premier F1 Hotel in Boniofacio Global City – and takes the company’s portfolio in the Philippines to six hotels and more than 600 keys.

THE EUROZONE crisis is not all bad news for Asian tour operators, at least not for Indonesia’s Pacto, which has managed to secure two accounts from Italy and Spain.

Pacto has been appointed groundhandler for Italy’s Mistral and started taking care of its Indonesia-bound customers last December.

Beginning March, Pacto will also be handling clients belonging to La Cuarta Isla, a member of Mallorca-based travel company Barcelo Viazes, which is entering the Indonesian market for the first time.

Pacto president director Ratna Ning said: “It might sound against odds, but it shows that (European) people still travel, and they travel here (to Indonesia).”

While unable to provide details about target passenger numbers from both partners this year, Pacto business development director Umberto Cadamuro said the Italian travellers, consisting mainly of incentive groups and FITs, were not only on the lookout for Bali holidays, but were also interested in areas such as Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

Customers from the Spanish operator, on the other hand, were mostly high-end FITs on Jakarta-Jogjakarta-Bali overland tours, he said.

MYANMAR’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is pushing for a significant liberalisation of the country’s visa regulations, and is planning to introduce an electronic visa application system from next month.

“We are trying to introduce an e-visa system from March, that would allow international visitors to apply for a visa from anywhere via the Internet, before visiting Myanmar,” said Union Minister, U Tint San.

“(Visitors) would no longer need to go to a Myanmar embassy to apply for a visa. The pilot project will begin in February before it is officially launched in March.”

The ministry’s efforts to roll out an e-visa system were first unveiled in January (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 30, 2012).

U Tint San said the ministry was also working to attract direct international flights to airports at Bagan and Ngapali “in the near future”.

“We are also in discussions with other ministries to allow tourists to enter or exit the country at any checkpoint by either air or land,” he added.

Tourists wanting to enter Myanmar by land currently a face a raft of restrictions. Only a handful of border crossings are open to foreigners and a regulation introduced in mid-2011 requires tourists to enter and exit at the same checkpoint (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 8, 2011).

KHUN Malai Sakolviphak, a former Skal International (SI) Thailand president, SI Bangkok president and SI Thailand councillor, has passed away.

Robert ‘Bob’ Lee, the immediate past president of SI Bangkok, shared the news with Skal members during yesterday’s AGM at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Bangkok.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I have to inform Skalleagues around the world of the passing of our ‘Skal Thailand Father’ aka Khun Malai. This really came as a shock to us all. He was my teacher and Skal mentor. He was a friend to so many,” said Lee.

Sakolviphak started his career by joining Pan American World Airways in 1949, eventually becoming director for Thailand, Laos and Myanmar from 1982-1985. When Pan Am sold its transpacific route, he joined United Airlines as general manager from 1986-1992. After that, he joined the Pacific Leisure Group head office in Bangkok as senior executive director from 1993-2009.

Sakolviphak was also a former chairman of PATA Thailand chapter, past president of the Airlines Club of Thailand and World Airlines Club Association, as well as executive director of the Association of Thai Travel Agents.

Khun Somsak Kiratipanich, vice president of SI Thailand, said: “He worked hard for others for more than 40 years in Skal. He was so well respected around the world.”

Andrew Wood, past president SI Bangkok and former SI Thailand councillor, said: “Often referred to as ‘Mr. Skal’, Khun Malai travelled around the world almost single handedly promoting Thailand to 20,000+ Skalleagues and senior tourism executives.”

“He was responsible for bringing two Skal World congresses (1996, 2006) and two Asian Area Congresses to Thailand, and was very often seen waving the Thailand flag alone at congresses around the world.”

“Dedicating more than 40 years of his life to Skal, there will never be another Mr. Skal,” Wood added.

Alwin Zecha, executive chairman & founder Pan-Asia (Pacific Leisure) Travel Group, said: “Khun Malai, I first met in the 70’s through Pan Am and later with our business links with United Airlines. A man of immense integrity and honesty, it was my pleasure and honour to have been associated with Khun Malai Sakolviphak.”