Tourism Indochina: Cambodia names new envoy to Philippines

Cambodia names new envoy to Philippines

Cambodia has a new ambassador to the Philippines.

A week after former envoy Hos Sereythonh was recalled amid a firestorm over comments made in a Philippine newspaper, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has tapped veteran diplomat Tuot Panha for the post, ministry spokesman Koy Kuong confirmed yesterday.

On July 9, following a contentious ASEAN Foreign Ministers summit in Phnom Penh in which backroom bickering over the South China Sea prevented the signing of a joint communiqué – a first in 45 years of such meetings – Sereythonh accused a Filipino diplomat of playing “dirty politics” in an op-ed piece that ran in The Philippine Star.

The former ambassador also took the governments of the Philippines and Vietnam – a fellow claimant to areas of the sea claimed by China – to task, saying they had wanted to “sabatoge and hijack” the joint communiqué by insisting references to the dispute be part of the language.

The Philippine government subsequently publicly summoned Sereythonh to explain the comments, an offer Sereythonh declined to accept, sending a deputy in his stead.

Yesterday, the government continued to deny that ending Sereythonh’s term as ambassador was connected with the row – a theory widely touted in the Filipino press – insisting it was simply the end of his assignment.

“The changing of the ambassador is a normal diplomatic issue,” Koy Kuong said.

“Other countries do the same thing . . . removing the ambassador from one country or to another country. I don’t think this is strange.”

Panha, currently, an undersecretary of state, has been at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for many years. He previously served as deputy cabinet chief for Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

Asked if the new ambassador would be mending fences with the Philippines, Koy Kuong said that would not be necessary.

“We still have a good relationship [with the Philippines],” he said.

Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez and ambassador to Cambodia Noe Wong did not respond to inquiries from the Post yesterday.

Source: Phnompenhpost/17August2012

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Tourism Indochina: Preah Vihear to get new border crossing

Preah Vihear to get new border crossing

The Cambodian government is seeking a new international border checkpoint in Preah Vihear province to link with Thailand’s Ubun province, officials say.

Preah Vihear provincial governor Um Mara said officials from both countries had met to examine the possibility of opening a new international checkpoint.

“These days, this gateway is open only two days a week, but we want it to become an international checkpoint that is open every day of the week,” Mara said.

There is no scheduled deadline to open the new international checkpoint, to be named Anses, because discussions are still in the early stages.

“We are preparing the infrastructure there first, but the opening date is unknown at this time,” Mara said.

When the gateway becomes an international checkpoint, it will allow more goods to be transported through, and tourism in the province would soar as a result.

Kong Vibol, director of the Tourism Department in Preah Vihear province, said the Preah Vihear temple was only a 60-kilometre drive from Anses.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Tourism Task Force of the Government-Private Forum, said he welcomed the news.

Opening the gateway would open the area up to the tourism industry, as associations have suggested since March, 2008.

Source: Phnompenhpost/16August2012

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Tourism Indochina: World Tourism News: British government bids for post-Olympic tourism boost

British government bids for post-Olympic tourism boost

LONDON, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The British government on Tuesday said it hopes the London 2012 Olympics would give a boost to tourism to the country, particularly from China.

Addressing tourism industry leaders in London, British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the British government was hoping to create a lasting tourism legacy from the Olympic games.

The British government has set out a strategy focusing on attracting visitors from China. It said there is potential to triple the number of Chinese tourists to Britain to 500,000 a year, which could generate more than 500 million pounds (784 million U.S. dollars) in extra spending and create more than 14,000 jobs in Britain.

About 150,000 Chinese tourists came to Britain last year. The number of Chinese visitors to France, in the meantime, were some 50 percent higher.

Key to the British tourism boosting strategy is an 8-million-pound marketing campaign focused on China.

The new tourism campaign will increase marketing in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, and will look to improve flight links between the two countries.

The British government aims to increase the number of overseas visitors to Britain from just over 30 million currently to 40 million by 2020.

"We must use this extraordinary year to turbocharge our tourism industry, to create jobs and prosperity on the back of a globally-enhanced reputation," Hunt said.

At the same time, the secretary also hoped to boost domestic tourism. The British government plans to invest 2 million pounds in marketing to encourage Britons to take a holiday within the country.

Source: Xinhua/15August2012

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Tourism Indochina: Upswing in tourists equals more operators

Upswing in tourists equals more operators

The number of tour operators registered with Ministry of Tourism increased by more than 10 per cent in the first half of this year compared to last year due to an upswing in the number of tourists visiting the Kingdom, insiders say.

Figures from the tourism ministry showed newly registrated tour companies reached 568 companies in the first six months while the figures for last year were only 516 tour companies, for the same period. Among those companies last year, 403 were head offices and 113 branches in the provinces. Head offices increased to 459, but the brances decreased by 4 in the first six months of 2012.

Prak Chandara, director of the Tourism Industry Department of the Ministry of Tourism, said the increase in the number of tour companies resulted from an increase in the number of tourists visiting Cambodia.

“Registration increased because they are seeing more tourists come through,” he said.

Among those companies, 205 companies, which are members of Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA), have 76 branches in provinces, mostly in Siem Reap province.

Ang Kim Eang, president of CATA, agreed with Prak Chandara and said some newly established companies were preparing themselves for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

"When the ASEAN Economic Community comes into force in 2015, there would be an increase in the easy circulation of goods, but tourists from the region as well", he said. “This is good preparation for Khmer tour operators,” he said, adding: “I think that some companies will be ready to open branches in other countries by 2015.”

Phoan Sopheak, tour operator at Angkor Seventh Travel company in Phnom Penh, said he saw the numbers of tourists increase considerably in recent months, particularly in Siem Reap where there were crowds of tourists, even thoughout the rainy season.

Source: Phnompenhpost/15August2012

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Tourism Indochina: Tourism entrepreneurs get connected

Tourism entrepreneurs get connected

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has begun matching tourism entrepreneurs in an effort to provide better quality services to tourists in Cambodia, company officials say.

Thourn Sinan, chairman of PATA’s Cambodia chapter, said the matches would allow better quality services among the tourism entrepreneurs of Cambodia to thrive.

“This is the best channel for connecting you to the people you need to know,” he said, adding that “it’s not just about what we know, but who we know in this business.”

The purpose of matching entrepreneurs is to strengthen relations, extend business networks, raise awareness of important issues, and to save time in Cambodia’s tourism industry, according to a press release from PATA.

Nuon Someth, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Tourism, said late last week that this was the second time PATA organised entrepreneur matching, and 63 companies took part, compared to only 40 companies during the previous event.

“We can consider this event as an important one for participating in improving tourism sector in Cambodia,” he said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Tourism show the number of international tourists visiting Cambodia grew almost 27 per cent in the first six months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. Visitors coming to Cambodia during the first six months of the year numbered 1,756,652, compared to 1,385,029 in 2011.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the tourism situation in the Asia Pacific region and ASEAN, in particular, is better than other areas of the world.

Source: Phnompenhpost/13August2012

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Tourism Indochina: Tourism project puts temple on road to recovery

Tourism project puts temple on road to recovery

Walking the vine-wreathed paths of Banteay Chhmar, a 12th-century temple near the Thai border that some call the “second Angkor Wat” feels like sneaking into a renowned historical site after the tour guides and the tourists have all gone home.

The pervasive silence can strike a first-time visitor as odd, given that the temple is open to anyone who embarks on the trip. But it is far from abnormal, say members of the Community-Based Tourism project in Banteay Chhmar village, an initiative supported by the group restoring the temple, Global Heritage Fund.

Hampered by its isolation and working on a shoestring budget, the project has made slow, but steady, progress since its inception five years ago. The number of sightseers goes up and down.

“Some days, one person will sit alone in the temple, some days, there is a group, and some days, no one visits the temple,” says the local director, Tath Sophal, while balancing himself against scaffolding on top of a section of ruins.

“The tourists who want to visit here, they always ask when they email, ‘What about the road?’ he said.

That road, a 69-kilometre sun-baked stretch of potholes, is a turbulent, two-hour ride from sleepy Sisophon town in northwestern Banteay Meanchey.

And that’s without inclement weather.

When the potholes collect water, as they have a habit of doing during the rainy season, the moist clay soil creates muddy, slippery impasses. Towards the end of last year, when the country experienced major flooding, four or five tour groups cancelled their visits.

Although inaccessibility is a problem tourism infrastructure and the financial benefits that go with it have been growing year after year.

In 2007, when the program was established, 281 people visited Banteay Chhmar, which archaeologists believe was built by King Jayavarman VII during the Angkorian period.

The temple, though in disrepair, retains ornate bas-reliefs carved into walls depicting military confrontations between ancient Khmer soldiers and Cham armies.

The first year, tourists only spent around $3,000. Through a number of expanded activities, the project boosted revenue and took in $10,000 last year. In the period of January through July of 2012, visitors and profits were up 25 per cent, Sophal said.

Even the forbidding road that everyone emails about is getting a long overdue makeover, courtesy of the Asian Development Bank. Construction should be finished by the end of 2013.

The project trained tour guides in English, introduced scenic ox-cart rides and offered cooked meals at the office.

Tourists can also sleep over at “homestays,” in which four families have refurbished parts of their residences as modest guest houses.

“I like hosting the tourists when they come here,” said Siem Seiv, 64, who arrived in the dusty and placid area of 1,200 families in 1993, after spending time in a Thai refugee camp following Khmer Rouge rule.

Siev and his family partitioned off a half the second floor, two bedrooms in total, for overnight guests.

“So we are like one family together,” Siev said. Although he makes about $400 a year from the homestay, it’s not enough, he says, explaining that he farms for extra income.

Most of the tour guides have two, or even three, jobs because giving tours is not steady full-time work.

Peat Pel, 38, is a guide, a moto taxi driver, a traditional music teacher and a farmer. He needs the extra work to help raise his two kids. He’s been taking intensive English classes for the past year as part of an agreement with tutors in Siem Reap.

Learning English will help him be a better guide, he says. But first, more tourists need to come.

“Right now it’s not sustainable yet, because the money is only a little,” Peat Pel says.

Source: Phnompenhpost/13August2012

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Tourism Indochina: A very Jolie birthday for Cambodian son

A very Jolie birthday for Cambodian son

He's the lucky Cambodian son hand-picked by Hollywood royalty – the adopted child of the film star Angelina Jolie, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, turned 11 years old yesterday.

Cambodian well-wishers posted messages online in tribute to the boy. Internet users on the local blog Sabay wished him good health.

Maddox, who was originally known as Rath Vibol, was adopted from an orphanage in the country at seven months old.

He is the eldest child of Jolie and her fiancé, actor Brad Pitt.

They went to the orphanage in 2002 while she was in Cambodia filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and also working as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

A year after the adoption she set up the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation in Battambang province, a project dedicated to community development and environmental preservation.

The adoption caused controversy in the United States when allegations were made that the actress paid Maddox’s birth parents to give him up.

The orphanage in Cambodia said that his parents had passed away and nobody has come forward claiming to be his original parents.

Although Jolie and her then-husband Billy Bob Thornton announced the adoption together, she adopted Maddox as a single parent before she met actor Brad Pitt in 2005.

The couple announced their engagement in April. They have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, and three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.

Source: Phnompenhpost/6August2012

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Tourism Indochina: World Tourism News: Vietnam to receive near 4 mln foreign tourists in 7 months

Vietnam to receive near 4 mln foreign tourists in 7 months

HANOI, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam is expected to welcome more than 3.83 million foreign visitors in the first seven months of 2012, a 10.8 percent increase over the same period last year, reported the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) on Friday.

Of the figure, over 3.2 million visitors came to Vietnam by air, accounting for nearly 84 percent of the total number of foreign visitors to Vietnam and an increase of 10.5 percent year-on-year.

The number of tourists arriving by sea is forecast to see the highest increase of 55 percent, reaching over 38,600 person-times while over 578,500 visitors arrived in Vietnam by land.

China, South Korea, Japan and the United States remained the leading markets for the Vietnamese tourism.

During the period, the market saw a strong growth in number of Japanese and South Korean tourists with 21 percent and 38 percent year-on-year, respectively.

In July alone, the country is expected to receive about 466,000 international tourists, up 11.6 percent over June but down 7.9 percent year-on-year.

Since July 1, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has officially opened counters to refund Value Added Tax (VAT) to foreign visitors at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airports. This is one of the measures to boost the sale of goods and promote the country's tourism sector.

This year, Vietnam set target of receiving 6.5 million foreign visitors and 32 million domestic travelers with the revenue of 150 trillion Vietnamese dong (7.2 billion U.S. dollars).

Source: Xinhua/27July2012

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Tourism Indochina: Cambodia's airports too pricey for AirAsia

Cambodia's airports too pricey for AirAsia

While AirAsia, one of the world’s largest low-cost airline, is gearing toward an expansion in the region, the company’s chief executive said that serving Cambodia was expensive due to high airport fees.

Airport charges are high and restrictive, as are over-flight fees, compared to other countries in the region – a factor that will influence the company’s decision whether to increase flights and destinations in the Kingdom.

“I’ve always had a bit of a problem with airports in Cambodia,” Tony Fernandes, AirAsia’s group CEO, said Tuesday at the launch of its ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta.

“But I know the Cambodian government is looking at it right now, because when they did those airports, there were no low-cost carriers.”

Aviation authorities in Cambodia could not be reached yesterday.

After 10 years of focusing on the Malaysian hub in which it started, the company will turn expansion efforts toward reaching a wider set of ASEAN destinations, specifically those in the region’s largest market, Indonesia.

The new HQ launch came on the eve of so-called “ASEAN Day”, marking the 45th anniversary of the economic bloc’s establishment.

Fernandes called Indonesia the “heart of ASEAN” and said attempts to grow further beyond the borders of its 10 member states, home to 690 million people, would come only after continued development within.

“When I started, everyone was talking about India and China. But we were looking at ASEAN,” he said, framing the carrier as an “ASEAN company”.

There is still room for growth in Cambodia, Fernandes noted. AirAsia will meet with Cambodian government officials at the end of August or the beginning of September to further address problems that might stymie growth in air travel.

He also expressed interest in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville airport, which sees little activity outside of charter flights.

“You have a fantastic airport in Sihanoukville where very few airlines are flying to right now. That would be an airport we’re interested in developing,” Fernandes said.

AirAsia is in talks with Indonesian carrier Batavia, but the government may review the proposed acquisition. The airline encountered regulatory problems in Vietnam last year during an attempted joint venture with VietJet. The deal was subsequently called off.

The Bursa, Malaysia-listed company has joint ventures in Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

AirAsia Bhd closed up about 0.3 per cent yesterday at 3.7 ringgit (US$1.2).

While AirAsia flights from Cambodia are limited to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, efforts to enhance regional tourism have benefited the Kingdom indirectly, said Meng Hient, a Cambodian Association of Travel Agents member and owner of Exotissimo Travel Group.

“They don’t seem to be very active in Cambodia, but on the outside they are doing a lot to promote their destinations in the region,” he said. This is bringing tourists to ASEAN, many of whom will pass through Cambodia at some point during their journey.

The lower ticketing prices have indeed allowed for lower-income groups to travel between ASEAN states, Meng Hient said. The point was emphasised by Fernandes on Tuesday.

At a time when Asia’s economic spotlight seems fixed on China, AirAsia’s ASEAN business has brought increased connectivity to the region, Mohan Gunti, a member of Cambodia’s Tourism Working Group, said recently.

“It’s bringing more focus to ASEAN’s potential … It’s truly an ASEAN airliner that’s connecting the region,” he said.

Source: Phnompenhpost/9August2012

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Tourism Indochina: World Tourism News: Beijing sees slow growth in tourism

Beijing sees slow growth in tourism

BEIJING, Aug.4 (Xinhuanet) -- Despite the increasing number of tourists from abroad that Beijing received in the first half of the year, the growth is slowing down.

The capital welcomed more than 2.5 million tourists from overseas - including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan - in the first half of the year, an increase of 4.2 percent year-on-year.

However, the growth has slowed since the second quarter of the year and is expected to continue slowing down, according to the Beijing Tourism Development Committee.

"The capital will come up with more measures and policies to attract inbound tourists," Lu Yong, director of the committee, said at a meeting in Beijing on Friday.

Places of historical interest and scenic beauty have long been attractive for overseas tourists, according to the committee.

An official with the marketing office of the Badaling section of the Great Wall said that Badaling received about 320,000 overseas tourists in the first six months, up 6.7 percent over the same period of last year.

Most of the inbound tourists are from Asia, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Asian tourists make up 48.5 percent of all the people, a 1.9 percent year-on-year increase. Next are European tourists, accounting for 25.1 percent with a year-on-year increase of 8.4 percent, and American tourists, who account for 20.5 percent of the total, according to the committee.

However, even though inbound tourism has seen a year-on-year growth of 9.1 percent in the first quarter, the growth for the second quarter slowed to 1 percent, partly due to the slow recovery of the global economy and the budget deficit, debt and unemployment problems that are hitting many developed countries, the committee said in a report on Friday.

On the other hand, outbound tourism, thanks to the appreciation of the yuan and the promotion of foreign destinations, has outperformed its inbound counterpart, with more than 1.2 million outbound tourists in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 69.2 percent, according to the committee.

The committee said that the deceleration of inbound tourism might continue until the second half of the year.

To further boost the capital's inbound tourism, the city is likely to introduce a 72-hour window to explore the city without a visa, and other policies, according to the committee.

Kajiya Yoichi, an accountant now living in his native Japan, has always wanted to come back to China, where he spent years studying in Tsinghua University, to explore the ancient city again with his family.

However, the visa is a barrier for him.

"If the 72-hour-window is implemented, I bet many potential foreign tourists like me would love to give the city a tour," said the man in his 30s. "Three days would be enough for foreigners to explore the city."

A coordination group has been set up to facilitate the implementation of the policy, said the committee.

"The policy, once implemented, is expected to attract more tourists from abroad," said Lin Song, an officer at the public security bureau's exit-entry administration.

However, details of the upcoming policy were not yet revealed.

"It has been proved that the visa waiver for transit passengers could greatly benefit local inbound tourism, as many cities worldwide have implemented similar policies," said Jiang Yiyi, director of the China Tourism Academy's international tourism development institute. "A tight visa will only drive away potential foreign visitors."

The committee will also carry out more market promotion abroad to attract inbound tourists and make the capital known worldwide, especially in the emerging markets of Africa and the Middle East.

It was revealed that South Korea's Jeju Island has signed a memorandum in May with the Beijing Badaling section of the Great Wall to boost tourism development.

Source: China Daily/4August2012

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Tourism Indochina: World Tourism News: Vietnam probes death of US, Canadian tourists

Vietnam probes death of US, Canadian tourists

HANOI: Vietnamese authorities are investigating the mysterious deaths of two tourists from the United States and Canada who stayed in the same guesthouse, official media reported Monday.

American Karin Joy Bowerman, 27, and Canadian Cathy Huynh, 26, died last week at a hospital in southern Nha Trang province, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said.

Bowerman died on July 30 after suffering "a mysterious illness" and respiratory failure, while Huynh died two days later after developing similar symptoms and suffering a cardiac arrest, the report said.

The pair, who had shared a room in a guesthouse on Nguyen Thien Thuat street in Nha Trang -- a popular backpacker area in the seaside resort -- might have "drunk too much wine" which led to their deaths, a police investigator told the paper.

The family of Huynh, a Canadian of Vietnamese descent, disputed this account, the report said, adding that police are waiting for the results of autopsy tests to establish the cause of death.

"She died because she did not receive proper medical care despite the fact that she had been admitted to the hospital 12 hours before her death," Huynh's mother, Huynh Thi Huong, told Tuoi Tre.

The family have set up an appeal to raise money to repatriate Huynh's body to Canada for a funeral, the report said.

Before their trip to Vietnam, the two women had both taught English at a university in South Korea, it added.

In June two Canadian sisters were found dead in their hotel room on a popular resort island in Thailand, showing signs of having suffered an extreme toxic reaction. The exact cause of their deaths remains unknown.

Source: AFP/ir/6August2012

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Tourism Indochina: Asian tourist numbers up, profits stagnant

Asian tourist numbers up, profits stagnant

The growth in international tourists visiting Cambodia is almost 27 per cent that of the numbers seen during the first six months of 2011, according to tourism officials who are predicting that the growth may be 25 per cent at the end of this year.

Visitors coming to Cambodia during the first six months of the year numbered 1,756,652, increasing 26.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2011, when only 1,385,029 visited the Kingdom.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the tourism situation in the Asia Pacific in general and ASEAN in particular is better than other areas, which is not only better for the region but means that Cambodia no longer suffers from a low season in terms of tourist numbers.

“Previously, in rainy season it was considered a low season tourism but no longer because when it rains in Cambodia, in Europe it is the hot season,” he said.

The growth in tourism numbers was the result of an increase in the number of direct flights from China and Korea, good internal security, broad promotion, and strengthening tourism services, he said.

The minister expects that the increase in tourists to Cambodia may be from 20 per cent to 25 per cent by the end of this year when compared to the same period last year.

Source: Phnompenhpost/7August2012

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Tourism Indochina: World Tourism News: Asian tourism set to grow

Asian tourism set to grow

SINGAPORE: Asian tourism is set to grow at between 4 and 6 per cent this year.

This is higher than global forecasts of 3 to 4 per cent growth according to data from the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer 2012.

Experts said the growth of low cost carriers, the middle class and increase in online bookings are just three things working for the region.

But industry players will need to collaborate to successfully ride the tourism boom.

Travel experts are singling out Indonesia as the next big market for tourism.

Its huge population base, growing middle class and diverse regions, they said, are enough to lure tourists in the years ahead.

But these visitors will likely opt for the more "localised" experience, and industry players are expected to raise the bar on the service front.

Patrick Imbardelli, president and CEO, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, said: "We're spending a lot more time training people, keeping people. We're spending a lot more (time) understanding Generation Y, Generation X and then of course, the whole retention programme. It's far more important than it ever has been."

Experts at an industry roundtable said this shift in consumer preferences is a game-changer.

For tour operators, that means creating client-specific itineraries and having local tour guides for specific locations. For hotels, that could mean designing the hotel to address various market segments.

And more travellers will be looking to the Internet to customise their trips.

Dan Lynn, CEO, AirAsiaExpedia, said: "It's a really exciting time to be in online travel in the Asia Pacific. The overall travel market is growing 6 per cent, online travel market is growing at two or three times that and our business, even faster.

"If we look ahead, a market like Japan where Expedia is already the leading outbound travel business, that business is going to continue very nicely because LCCs are moving into Japan and encouraging more travel."

Singapore sees around 30 per cent of online bookings in Asia - followed by Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The city state gets 75 per cent of tourist arrivals from Asia.

And it's hosting a travel leader's summit in October for regional players to work together.

Neeta Lachmandas, assistant chief executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said: "I think that becomes a really important platform not only for discussing their challenges but for creating new business ideas as well."

While intra-regional tourism is looking rosy, experts said there's also money to be made from visitors in the West.

Dan Lynn, CEO, AirAsiaExpedia, said: "I think the more investment is made into the tourism infrastructure in the Asia Pacific, the easier it comes in terms of visa and releasing visa restrictions, (and) the more travel you'll see for long-haul travel.

"The price of long-haul travel is also coming down... We are still seeing very healthy growth from Europe and America. And I think in a lot of the markets in Asia, the actual prices are still attractive to the American consumer or the British consumer."

Despite the economic slowdown, Pan Pacific said the hotel business also remains resilient.

Patrick Imbardelli, president and CEO, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, said: "In Singapore, (it's) very sustainable, very resilient. When you start operating at 86-88 per cent occupancy, it's strong.

"In China, it's supply and demand. There's a lot more supply coming on and demand is not growing as fast. We're concerned about the slowdown, but overall, we're comfortable that 2012 is looking very good."

Source: CNA/cc/30July2012

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Tourism Indochina: World Tourism News: Olympics: Ghost town London searches for missing tourists

Olympics: Ghost town London searches for missing tourists

LONDON: With its half-empty restaurants and calm streets central London looks more like a ghost town than an Olympic city, and recession-hit traders are still waiting for the promised gold rush of tourists.

Sales are down across the normally crowded British capital after warnings of travel chaos and overpriced hotel rooms apparently scared off many visitors, while those who did come are staying around the Olympic Park in east London.

"Compared to last year people are just not coming," said Michelle Wade, who runs Maison Bertaux in the trendy Soho area, which claims to be London's oldest patisserie.

"It's not just for this kind of business, it's the pubs, even my friend -- he's a very well know hairdresser, but last Saturday he only had two clients. Normally it's about 24."

Halfway through the Games the mood is unusually calm in Soho, a usually busy area in the centre of the capital, several kilometres (miles) from Stratford, where the Olympic Park is located.

In an empty men's clothes store, manager Rob Grogan said there had been a 30 per cent drop in customers in the week after the Olympics started on July 27, compared to the week before that.

"We were told by Transport for London, the local council and Westminster council that we'd probably see a shop increase in footfall and traffic and the resulting increase in sales as well -- that hasn't happened," he said.

He said warnings earlier in the year to avoid central London had "scared a lot of people away from London".

In the run-up to the Olympics, commuters and tourists alike were warned to stay away, amid fears the creaking transport system could not cope with millions of athletes, support staff, media and spectators descending on the capital.

The Games have long been heralded as a key boost to the recession-hit British economy but industry body the European Tour Operators Association said tourist numbers had fallen "dramatically" since the Games began.

And the transport chaos has failed to materialise. Prime Minister David Cameron even appealed to people recently to come back into the deserted capital.

"It is rubbish, we don't want this nonsense any more," said a woman who runs several souvenir shops and stalls on Oxford Street, what is normally Europe's busiest shopping thoroughfare.

Gesturing at an empty store, the woman, who asked not to be named, added: "The tourists should be here, we rely on them, but now they are not interested. They are not spending, they don't have a penny, this is the wrong crowd."

Outside a McDonald's restaurant on Oxford Street three young tourists who came from Amsterdam to watch the qualifying rounds for the Olympic tennis and hockey were eating hamburgers.

They said they were staying at a campsite and were spending no money in central London.

"It is not why we came here, not at all," said Marianne, 27, one of the tourists.

Swedish visitors Ann and Soren Forsberg said they had come to London at the last minute to see the equestrian events and the triathlon after getting a special deal for airline tickets.

"We thought it would be sold out to come here but obviously a lot of people didn't come here at all, and hotels aren't a problem either," Ann Forsberg said.

"We haven't been in the shops, we are not here to shop this time."

But in a leafy square in the middle of Soho, two Swiss students said they were enjoying the quiet compared to the frenzied activity around the Olympic Park itself.

"We were in Stratford for the evening yesterday and it was terrible compared with central London, where it is quite cool, it is less crowded," said Lea, 19, one of the students.

Source: AFP/ck/5August2012

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Tourism Indochina: World Tourism News: Nominations open for UNWTO Ulysses and Lifetime Achievement Awards

Nominations open for UNWTO Ulysses and Lifetime Achievement Awards

PR No.:PR12048,Madrid,02 Aug 12

Nominations are open for the 2012 UNWTO Awards, recognizing exceptional leaders in the tourism community, as well as the most innovative tourism initiatives.

Since 2003, the UNWTO Ulysses Prize and Awards have honored those individuals and tourism initiatives that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of tourism through knowledge creation and innovation, in line with the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In addition to the Ulysses Prize and Awards, this year a new award category has been announced; the UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated excellence throughout their career in tourism and who serve as inspirational role models.

UNWTO confers awards in the following categories:

For individuals:

- UNWTO Ulysses Prize for Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge
- UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement

For tourism initiatives:

- UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance
- UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Enterprises
- UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations
- UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Research and Technology

Winners will be selected by an international jury of tourism experts and awarded during the prestigious UNWTO Awards Ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey (15 November 2012). Following the Ceremony, winners will be invited to deliver a lecture and present their projects to tourism business leaders and public officials meeting at the UNWTO Knowledge Network Symposium (16 November 2012).

Nominations will be accepted until 21 September 2012.

Source: UNWTO/2August2012

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