OPERATORS and tourism stakeholders in East Malaysia have been forced to rethink their marketing strategies due to Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) impending withdrawal of direct flights between Kota Kinabalu and South Korea, Japan, and Australia (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 9, 2012).

Sabah Tourism Board (STB) deputy general manager, Gordon Yapp, said it was now “a matter of survival”.

“We are an isolated destination; 90 per cent of our arrivals are by air, so the cuts will impact our competitiveness, especially with regards to Japan and Australia,” he said. “South Korea is less affected because of existing flights by Asiana and Korean Air.”

Yapp said STB would attempt to convince Japanese to fly with Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong, or Asiana and Korean Air via South Korea, while traffic from Perth would have to go through Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

“We will work with any willing airline, since we cannot rely on MAS,” he said, adding that incentives will be offered to travel consultants who send customers over. STB will also help with marketing efforts.

Meanwhile, operators like YTL Hotels, which is opening the Gaya Island Resort, Borneo in July, have been forced to overhaul their marketing. “We intended to target South Korea, Japan, Australia and Europe. Now, it looks like we have to concentrate our efforts on Europe,” said Ai Lin, assistant director of sales.

Emong Tinsang senior manager-sales & operations of Kuching’s Borneo Adventure, which has a large Australian clientele, expects at least a 20 per cent drop in business, and now has to target the high-end European market.

Baton Bijamin, general manager of Kota Kinabalu-based Borneo Eco Tours, whose top three markets are Australia, Europe and the US, said he would turn to Eastern Europe and Scandinavia via Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and expats based in China and Hong Kong.

“We will also create more products which are able to sell regardless of whether there are direct flights, such as adventure, nature and wildlife tours, bird-watching, local culinary journeys and tribal homestays,” he said.

• Read more in the ATF Daily

PANORAMA Group’s hotel arm, PHM Hospitality, will unveil two new brands and at least two openings by year-end.

Two new-builds in Bali will carry the new brand names, to be disclosed in February, said the group’s CEO, Budi Tirtawisata, who added that one would be a mid-tier thematic hotel and the other, a budget property.

Four more hotels under the company’s The 1O1 label (three-star premium) are also being constructed in Jakarta, Bali, Bogor and Jogjakarta. The 1O1 Dharmawangsa Jakarta will hit the market in mid-2013 with 138 rooms, while The 1O1 Legian’s new 106-room wing will open early 2013.

“With these four brands (the fourth being The Haven, a four-star brand), we aim to develop 10 more hotels this year,” said Budi.

PHM Hospitality’s aim is to have 15 hotels by 2013 and 30 hotels by 2015. New destinations such as Medan, Surabaya and Manado, where Panorama Group has a competitive advantage, have been earmarked for future development, he added.

LIMITED accessibility and insufficient marketing promotions have been identified as hurdles to growing Indonesia as a tourist destination.

The comments came from buyers representing nine markets – Malaysia, India, Switzerland, Thailand, Russia, Canada, Indonesia, Singapore and the Middle East – during a first-ever dialogue with Indonesia’s minister of tourism and creative economy, Mari Elka Pangestu, at ATF 2012.

Aditya Dhumma, managing director of India’s Classis Travels & Tours, said Manado’s potential as a destination among Indians was hampered by air connectivity. Indian travellers have two route options – Singapore-Jakarta-Manado or Bangkok-Bali-Manado.

Tourcan Vacations Canada president, Vivek Khanna, who used to see better volume to Indonesia 25 years ago when Garuda Indonesia operated flights to Canada, said: “Traffic must go through Hong Kong or Seoul but promotional seats (with Cathay Pacific and Korean Air) beyond those points are difficult to secure. You need to book at least six months ahead.”

The minister said the government would resolve connectivity issues within the next three years. An airport has been planned for Bitung to draw Filipinos to North Sulawesi, as well as for northern Bali. Roads connecting Sanur to Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport, which will complete its expansion by April 2013, will be built.

Buyers also called for stronger destination promotions.

Flex Travel Zurich senior product manager Asia, Ulrike Meissner, suggested that a Visit Indonesia Tourism Officer (VITO) be appointed in Switzerland or incorporated under VITO Germany.

Russia’s Tour Express general manager, Diana Ignatenko, said her travellers were looking for new resort destinations and products such as jungle safaris, cave diving and extreme adventures, but Russian-speaking guides were needed.

The minister agreed to look into increasing cooperation with embassies and the presence of VITOs, and said that a temporary permit for Russian guides could be arranged until locals were ready to take over. Currently, rules stipulate that only locals can be hired as guides.

• Read more in the ATF Daily

THE OLD boys’ club seems to be taking advice from the right people, with its Next Gen logo now imprinted on the association’s namecards and marketing collateral, in addition to a recent hire said to embody its new philosophy.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of ATF 2012, PATA’s new, outspoken CEO, Martin Craigs, revealed that it was also on the hunt for online travel-related companies to welcome into its fold.

It is currently in talks with two (well-known) names, but you will have to watch this space to find out who they are.

Craigs has set about repositioning PATA as a forward-thinking body imbued with “fresh, new blood”, attuned to the world of technology.

MANADO will receive charter flights from Guangzhou this month, the first direct charter service from China.

Operated by Batavia Air’s 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft, the first flight will touch down on January 23 with 170 passengers, while the second – which has not been filled – will arrive on January 26.

Manado-based Mapanget Mega Wisata Tours and Travel managing director, Reenaldo Wangkar, said: “I have learned that Batavia Air is testing the waters, as they are planning to launch regular services between China and Manado. We do hope that our products suit the market.”

The regional government has been vocal about trying to attract more direct flights from the region, as Manado is only served by SilkAir from Singapore.

At a press conference on the sidelines of ATF, governor of North Sulawesi, Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, said: “We would also like to have better access between Japan and Manado, through the Philippines.”

• Read more in the ATF Daily

THE NEW Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board (ITPB), run independently by the private sector, has been formed to support the government’s destination promotion efforts and to replace the former IPTB which became inactive in the early 2000s.

ITPB will receive a seed fund of 23 billion rupiah (US$2.6 million) from the authorities, which can only be used on destination promotion programmes.

Indonesia’s deputy minister of tourism and creative economy, Sapta Nirwandar, said the fund was the government’s way of investing in ITPB, which “will need to generate income to develop more programmes”.

ITPB will start off with three key programmes, focusing on generating arrivals during low season, and developing creative tourism and green tourism.

Detailed programmes are being drawn up and will be presented to the minister of tourism and creative economy after ATF.

ITPB chairman, Wiryanti Sukamdani, said the role of the new body would not overlap with that of the ministry’s directorate general of marketing.

South Sulawesi Tourism Board vice chairman, Nico Pasaka, said: “I’m confident that the board members are people who are dedicated to the development of tourism, but I feel that there are a couple of things that might cause hindrance.”

• Read more in the ATF Daily

TOURISM cooperation between ASEAN and South Korea took a turn for the better in 2011, with the latter implementing measures that paved the way for more ASEAN arrivals.

With South Korea’s visa system seen as a major obstacle to growing ASEAN arrivals, the destination’s authorities cut the number of supporting documents required, introduced double-entry and family-unit visas, relaxed conditions for multiple-entry visas and extended visa validity periods for travellers from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos from last April.

As a result, 459,300 travellers from these markets visited South Korea between April and November last year, an improvement from the 555,012 arrivals in 2010. Cambodia registered the biggest growth (70.1 per cent), while the Philippines accounted for the lion’s share.

Last year also saw the opening of Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) offices in Hanoi and Jakarta. Another will open in Manila before June.

• Read more in the ATF Daily

IN A significant first, Thailand and Cambodia have announced they will issue a single 30-day tourist visa to non-ASEAN visitors from February 1, with Vietnam and Laos to be brought into the ambit by end-2012.

Aynur San, general manager, Turkey-based Oniva Tours, said: “It will benefit us as we will now pick destinations and products from two or more countries and not worry about itinerary changes due to unforeseen events, say the Bangkok flood.”

Frauke Melchert, Germany-based Meeting Consult International, added: “This is best for bringing more MICE events to ASEAN. Now I can plan multi-country incentives and many combinations of events. I hope more countries will be added.”

Michael Lim, managing director of Cambodia-based Dara Hotels and Resorts, was similarly optimistic about the prospects for MICE, giving an example of how a convention in Thailand could be combined with incentives or post-tours in Cambodia.

He said: “Tourists can now come with different objectives, for instance, wellness tourism for Cambodia and beach tourism for Thailand.”

Jose Henrique Goncalves, managing director, France-based Abako said: “Business travel will also benefit hugely because of the flexibility a multi-country visa offers”.

Echoing their views, Virat Chatturaputpitak, vice president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents and managing director Marwin Tours (Thailand) said immediate benefits could be expected from “cross-border travel with itineraries involving destinations of both countries”.

Cambodia’s minister of tourism, Thong Khon, revealed that the next step would be “to include Laos and Vietnam, develop the road network well and offer our four countries as a package to foreign visitors, a unique concept offering in Asia”.

The vision of a single visa enabling seamless travel across 10 ASEAN countries was one of the recurring topics discussed at ATF this year, with countries pledging to take serious steps in working towards its implementation.

• Read more in the ATF Daily