TOURISM to Cambodia is spreading beyond popular Siem Reap, with tour operators reporting a huge increase in ecotourism and adventure travel in the more remote areas of the country.

Lolei Travel general manager Michael Scholten said adventure-seeking travellers were heading to regions such as Mondulkiri and Rattanakiri in the north-east, where there are vast, pristine national parklands. “This is also a good way to combine Cambodia and Laos (Luang Prabang) in one trip,” he said.

Hanuman Tourism company advisor Nick Ray said: “A few years ago, there was hardly anyone coming to these areas. Over a period of three to five years, the numbers have increased by 400 to 500 per cent. Most of these visitors are from the UK, US and Australia, with some from France and the Netherlands.”

– Full story in TTG Asia, February 25

THE PHILIPPINES’ effort to nab a share of the Indian market, long stymied by an absence of air connectivity, is enjoying a turnaround as Indian buyers gear up for new six-weekly flights between Delhi and Manila.

Philippine Airlines will commence thrice-weekly direct services on March 27, to be followed the next day with three weekly Delhi-Manila services via Bangkok. The carrier will deploy an Airbus A320 with a passenger capacity of 302.

Unimondo Travel and Leisure director – business development, Suraj Khan, said: “Without these direct flights, transit times to Manila via Kuala Lumpur are between two to 10 hours, depending on which airport one is flying out of in India.”

He is now looking to sell niche, high-end products such as spa, yachting and island resorts in Cebu for the FIT segment.

– Full story in TTG India, February/March

SELLERS say buyers with big volumes to ASEAN should be hosted, but concede they also want the presence of new players.

Destinations of the World (Malaysia) regional manager – business development of South-east Asia, Fizlie Mansor, said the “ideal” strategy should be “increasing new buyers while maintaining the traditional heavyweights”.

Singapore-based Tour East group vice president of sales and marketing Judy Lum said: “Why should a major operator be made to pay and the small and medium or up-and-coming operators not have to? I cannot comprehend the logic. Major operators have to work hard at trade shows as every supplier wants to see them.”

Yet Lum agreed that buyers from new and emerging markets presented “opportunities for the show”.

Lac Hong Voyages director of business development Robert Tan expressed the desire to “see new players” at ATF as huge accounts had gone to other groundhandlers.

– Full story in TTG Asia, January 28

FRESH faces at this year’s ATF argue that they, of all buyers, should be hosted.

Australia-based Oasis Travel managing director Nick Page said: “If the big, international tour operators rate the show highly enough, they should have a budget to send their staff to attend. It is the smaller and more boutique operators with no budgets that will benefit more from being hosted buyers.”

Page added that the smaller buyers were the ones who needed to broaden their product knowledge by attending such shows.

Thomas Ng, managing director of Paveway Explorer Holidays in Singapore, explained that shows like ATF were the best avenues for new buyers to be introduced to vendors and subsequent business opportunities. “Without these contacts, new operators will find it extremely difficult to lay the groundwork necessary to start a travel programme,” said Ng.

Greece-based IGI-Mice executive director Chow Laiwah added that with a growing number of enquiries for ASEAN destinations such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, trade shows were an important tool for the company. Said Chow: “Through them, we are able to meet new suppliers, discover new markets and new products.”

– Full story in TTG Asia, January 28

THE QUESTION of who should be hosted at ATF has arisen as some of the biggest European producers to ASEAN were rejected as hosted buyers, shocking these big-timers and creating a debate on how TRAVEX should strike a balance between old and new buyers going forward.

Of the more than 400 buyers at TRAVEX, which kicks off today, about 300 are hosted, but major travel groups such as Germany’s Meier’s Weltreisen, Thomas Cook UK and The Mark Travel Corporation US did not make the cut for the first time in years. Trade buyers have to pay their own airfares and are accommodated free only on a first-come-first-served basis.

Deputy director of the Cambodia Ministry of Tourism’s marketing and promotion department, Lor Thoura, who oversees the hosted buyer selection, said: “We had 1,000 people registering as buyers, but our main target for the show is Asia-Pacific buyers and we have limits on the number of buyers we host for each country and region.

“We select who to host on a first-come-first-served basis and once we get enough, we don’t accept any more. Some big operators from Europe may not be hosted if they register later than others.”

– Full story in TTG Asia, January 28

ASEAN’S waters are seeing an increase in activity with a burgeoning number of western cruise liners sailing into the region.

The 1,300-pax AIDAaura, 220-pax Le Diamant and 110-pax Clipper Odyssey have all made maiden calls at South-east Asian ports over the last three months, bringing the Germans, French and Americans to shore respectively.

Due to stop in Singapore this year are the Seabourn Sojourn, Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, Silversea’s Silver Spirit and Orion II, while Malaysia is scheduled to receive several calls from P&O’s Artemis and Arcadia, Hapag Lloyd’s Columbus, Bremen and Europa, AIDA Cruises’ AIDAluna and AIDAaura, and Compagnie du Ponant’s Le Ponant, Le Diamant and L’Mistral.

For its next Asian cruise season starting end-2011, AIDA Cruises will also assign a larger ship – its heavyweight 2,500-pax AIDAdiva.

– Full story in TTG Asia

AHEAD of their massive room expansion, emerging ASEAN countries are seeking assistance from their counterparts that have advanced human resource (HR) training programmes.

Indonesia Hotels and Restaurant Association (IHRA) chairman Yanti Sukamdani said: “Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have requested for the training, and we will start with rank-and-file vocational training for hotel and restaurant staff. Each course will take between six months and a year.”

Lao Hotel and Restaurant Association president Oudet Souvannavong said: “There are between 10 and 20 hotels under development in various cities in Laos that will open within the next two years with approximately 2,000 rooms. We need the vocational training and we are going to work with IHRA to do this.”

– Full story in TTG Asia