THE THAILAND Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is aiming to boost Indonesian meeting and incentive arrivals by 13 per cent this year, as it introduces new destinations and targets new source markets for its Believe in Thailand campaign.

At a TCEB roadshow in Jakarta yesterday, acting director, Meetings & Incentives, Puripan Bunnag, said: “Indonesia is an important market for us. Despite the political situation in Thailand last year, the market performed positively. The figure has been on the increase, but it is still small compared to the leisure market.”

In 2010, Indonesian MICE arrivals totalled 18,730, contributing a revenue of 1.17 billion baht (US$39.12 million). This year, TCEB projects that the number should increase to 21,247 arrivals with 1.33 billion baht in spending.

“Destination-wise, we are promoting Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, and introducing new destinations like Hua Hin, Hat Yai and Samui. In terms of source markets, we are starting to look at Medan and Surabaya,” said Bunnag.

Hyatt Regency Hua Hin director of sales and marketing Maria Sitanggang said: “Very few Indonesians know Hua Hin, which is actually only two-and-a-half hours from Bangkok. It is a family as well as a golfing destination with 12 golf courses. I’m here to try and attract both these markets.”

Multi Holiday managing director Rudy Techrisna said: “I’m going to ask Garuda Indonesia, who is increasing Jakarta-Bangkok services (from daily to double daily) in June, to do a familiarisation trip to Hua Hin and see how we can promote golfing (for leisure and incentive) there.”

WITH North Korea’s national carrier Air Koryo launching its twice-weekly flights from Pyongyang to Kuala Lumpur this week, tour operators in the Malaysian capital are expecting the new air link to drive demand to the reclusive nation.

Mayflower Travel’s group director/general manager, Chin Ten Hoy, said: “When Malaysian Airlines organised a visit there some time ago, places were completely taken up. So with Air Koryo offering direct flights to Pyongyang, we can most certainly expect demand.”

“Many people want to go to North Korea because this country has been closed off for decades, so everyone is wondering what it is like,” said Chin. “People are curious to see how different it is from South Korea, what its people, the food, and the way of life are like.”

Air Koryo, the first airline to offer direct scheduled flights between Kuala Lumpur and Pyongyang, will be operating this route on Mondays and Thursdays, with the 142-seater TU-204 Next Generation Tupolev aircraft.

Air Koryo’s network also covers Beijing and Shenyang in China, Vladivostok and Moscow in Russia, as well as Bangkok in Thailand.

By Ellen Chen

CHIANG MAI’s travel trade will be launching a Chiang Mai Grand Sale campaign, with different discounts on offer, to boost business during the May to October low season.

Sarawut Saetiao, president of the Chiangmai Tourism Business Association (CTBA), said he hoped the six-month campaign would fill 50 per cent of available hotel rooms, which normally run at about 20 to 30 per cent occupancy during the period.

The campaign will kick off with the third Chiang Mai Golf Festival from May 1 to June 30. An 800-baht (US$27) daily green fee will be offered at 14 golf courses in Chiang Mai and nearby Chiang Rai and Lamphun provinces.

Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Chiang Mai office director, Chalermsak Suranant, said the number of participants and revenue generated from the festival are expected to grow by 15 per cent this year, up from 45,000 golfers and more than 120 million baht last year.

The local travel trade is also preparing to stage a food fair in July, a spa festival in August and two other events in September and October.

Meanwhile, Chiang Mai is set to participate in TAT’s nationwide Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2011 from June 15 to August 15. During this period, tourist attractions, shopping malls, shops, spas, hotels and restaurants in seven participating cities – Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Samui, Phuket, and Had Yai – will be offering discounts from 10 to 80 per cent.

By Sirima Eamtako

CARLSON has inked four new hotel management deals in China, bringing the group’s portfolio there to 25 hotels. Ten are in operation and 15 are under development.

Carlson’s president and CEO, Hubert Joly, said: “We see strong growth potential in China. Today’s four hotel signings are well aligned with Carlson’s Ambition 2015 plan to have more than 1,500 hotels in operation globally by 2015.”

The 300-room The Radisson Blu Resort Baoting, Carlson’s third property in Hainan, will be developed within the Yanoda Rainforest Cultural Tourism Park. It will open its doors in the third quarter of 2013.

The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Hangzhou Xiaoshan will be in the newly established Xiaoshan area of Hangzhou. The hotel, scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2015, will offer 23 suites and 207 rooms, a ballroom and 10 meeting rooms.

The Park Plaza Ordos, with 10 suites and 240 rooms, will be built at the Yixing International Commercial and Trade City in Dongshen district. The hotel, part of a mixed-use development comprising high-end residences, offices, commercial facilities, a golf course and an entertainment complex, is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2014.

The Park Plaza Shenyang Hunnan will be in Shenyang’s central business district, near the Shenyang exhibition center and sports stadium. The property, a mixed-use development comprising the hotel, a cinema and a gaming centre, will feature 18 suites, 344 rooms and 24 meeting rooms. It will be ready by the second quarter of 2013.

SRI LANKA is planning to sign a new air services agreement with the UK to boost flight frequency between the two destinations for the 2011/2012 winter season.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Minister of Environment, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, said services would be increased from the current 14 a week to 21 a week.

All the current services are operated by national carrier SriLankan Airlines, which flies twice daily to Heathrow and back, and is the only turnaround flight to the UK. The carrier has been under pressure to increase frequencies due to growing demand.

Once Sri Lanka’s largest tourism source market, the UK has slipped to number two, with India now in the lead.

BASED on a new law to be implemented this year, tourism-related businesses in Indonesia will have to consider a candidate’s competency certificate during recruitment, a change that several industry members are concerned about.

Speaking at a workshop yesterday, Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism expert staff, who is also the ASEAN Tourism Professional Monitoring Committee chairman, I Gusti Putu Laksaguna, said: “The Tourism Law No. 10/2009 has stipulated that all tourism professionals must have competency certificates. So when a tourism company recruits employees, the candidates must be able to show them certificates according to their competence.

“If one applies to be a general manager (GM), it is not enough for the person to say he or she has been working as a GM for so many years anymore. He or she must be able to show a certificate of competence.”

Laksaguna said government regulation backing the new law, including the kind of sanctions to be meted out, is being finalised and will be implemented this year.

He expects this competency standard to prepare Indonesia for the ASEAN Economic Community, which aims to transform the region into a single market by 2015. ASEAN has agreed on a Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Tourism Professionals and an ASEAN Common Competency Standards Framework for Tourism Professionals.

However, National Tourism Professional Board chairman, Ade Suryanto, noted some reluctance in the industry to adopt the certification.

“What we need is a kind of pilot project for a hotel to see how the certification programme will impact their revenue,” he said.

Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association executive director Carla Parengkuan said: “There are many new hotels opening all over the country and therefore, demand for the middle and top management level staff is very high. As such, whoever can afford to pay high salaries will get staff.

“To make the certification work, we need the government, together with the industry associations, to set up a salary range for every competency standard.”

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) is teaming up with the public and private sectors to help revive tourism for the south, where eight provinces were hit by floods last month.

TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni said affected operators of tourism-related businesses in the south would be hosted at a special 150-booth consumer fair, to be held from May 26 to 29 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

A slew of activities has also been lined up for the flood-hit areas, including a TAT Golf Challenge in Surat Thani in May, a corporate social responsibility project to build 84 dykes on Koh Samui in June, and a car rally on the Bangkok-Surat Thani-Nakhon Si Thammarat route and a bicycle tour on the Chumphon-Ranong route in July.

“This will help restore confidence in land travel, as road links were reported to be damaged during the floods,” said Suraphon.

The NTO is also preparing to launch a new website, www.travelsouththailand.com, which will offer real-time tourism updates on the south. Fam trips for corporates, as well as agents and the media, are also in the works.

The eight provinces in mid-southern Thailand that were affected by last month’s floods are Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Chumphon, Phatthalung, Trang, Phang Nga, Songkhla and Krabi.

By Sirima Eamtako

PERTH Convention Bureau’s (PCB) Christine Allen has resigned from her position as managing director. She will continue in her role until the end of the financial year, according to PCB chairman Ian Laurance.

Laurance explained: “Christine is reluctantly stepping down as managing director because of changes in her personal circumstances. Her departure will be a great loss to the bureau and to the business tourism industry in Western Australia.”

He added: “Last year, PCB achieved its best year on record, securing convention and incentive travel business worth more than AUD$93 million (US$98.5 million) to the Western Australian economy. This was a wonderful achievement and a testament to her outstanding and innovative leadership.”

During her time as managing director, Allen guided the PCB through a significant transformation, including a substantial increase in state government and industry funding, the creation of a “business events” brand for Western Australia, and the development of a business model that was driving the bureau’s increasing sales success.

Allen said PCB was “heading towards another record result”, and was poised to achieve even greater things in the future. “Business tourism is the shining star of all the tourism sectors in Australia at the moment, and it is extremely satisfying to have been a part of that success story,” she said.

Laurance said the board would be looking for a replacement who could bring “a similar level of commitment, passion and business acumen to the managing director’s role”.

CAPITALAND’S wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, Ascott, has extended its footprint to Frankfurt, where it has acquired a turnkey serviced residence property slated to open in 2014.

Investing €28 million (US$40.4 million) into its latest buy, the new 165-unit Citadines Messe Frankfurt increases Ascott’s Europe portfolio to over 5,300 apartment units in 48 properties across 22 cities.

In January, the company had signed a sale and purchase agreement for Citadines St Michaelis Hamburg, scheduled to open in 2013.

CEO Lim Ming Yan said: “Europe is a key market for Ascott in its international expansion. With this acquisition, we are on track to achieve 7,000 apartment units in Europe by 2015. Germany is Europe’s largest and strongest economy where we already have properties in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg.

“Besides building upon our strong presence in Germany, Paris and London, we will also look for opportunities to expand into Central and Eastern Europe.”

Located in the city centre across from the Frankfurt Messe Trade Fair Area, the Citadines will offer a range of apartments, from studios to two-bedroom units. There will also be amenities, including meeting rooms, a fitness centre, a business centre and a breakfast lounge.

WITH MICE visitors spending three to four times more than the average leisure traveller, the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) is eager to boost the popularity of the country as a MICE destination through increasing the number of convention centres.

SLCB general manager Vipula Wanigasekara said 80,000 MICE travellers, some 12 per cent of arrivals into Sri Lanka, brought revenues of US$50 million last year, while 85,000 are expected this year. Much of this traffic comes from India, with over 250 events in Colombo hosted by Indian companies since 2007.

Although Sri Lanka has just a few convention centres that can accommodate over 2,000 delegates, new facilities were underway in Colombo, Negombo on the west coast, Jaffna in the north and Hambantota in the south, added Wanigasekera.

The biggest facility being planned is a 200-acre (over 80 hectares) multi-purpose complex at Peliyagoda, near Colombo, built along the lines of Sentosa Island in Singapore or the Hyderabad Convention Centre. It will have a convention centre, a 200-room hotel and cinema halls.

Meanwhile, the Hambantota Convention Centre is due for completion by August, while a 100-acre site is being scouted for a facility in the northern city of Jaffna.