The annual ATF is a cooperative regional effort aimed at promoting member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as one tourist destination.

The event involves all tourism industry sectors in the 10 ASEAN nations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

ATF kicked off in earnest on 13 January with the ATC component under the theme “ASEAN Goes Green”, during which industry leaders shared the latest information and insights on the region’s ongoing efforts towards sustainable and eco-conscious tourism.

The three-day ATF 2012 TRAVEX also opened on 13 January at the newly constructed Golden Kawanua Exhibition Hall, and featured B2B sessions between some 1,000 exhibitors and 390 buyers from 51 countries – including four new participants from Bulgaria, Egypt, Kuwait and New Zealand – to negotiate contracts to attract more tourists to ASEAN’s destinations.

Host country Indonesia and Thailand formed the largest national contingents with 112 and 92 exhibition booths respectively. Corporate exhibitors participated with around 65 exhibition booths.

China, India, Russia, Japan, and South Korea also joined the forum, under the theme “Tourism for a Global Community of Nations”.

Asia Pacific accounted for 48 per cent of the buyers, while 37.6 per cent represented Europe.

More than 100 media representatives from 36 countries, including first-time participants from Bahrain and Indonesia, were on hand for TRAVEX. All 10 ASEAN NTOs presented media briefings.

This year’s ATF also introduced its new branding, “Southeast Asia – Feel the Warmth”, for the first time.

“Today, the branding is officially used for the first time,” said Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu, Chair of ATF 2012.

TTG Asia’s show daily reported that the branding “is being plagued by disagreements over the inclusion of the ‘ASEAN’ word and funding.”

A four-year marketing plan was outlined at the event, and will be backed by a budget of USD160,000.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Deputy Governor Asia and South Pacific Sansern Ngaorungsi said the plan was to pool common products and activities.

Minister Pangestu said that preparations towards ASEAN as a single destination are showing significant development, though the “Free Visa” policy among member nations still needs to be addressed and a prompt solution is necessary. Cambodia and Myanmar have yet to confirm.

The minister added that the heads of ASEAN member governments had, in principle, agreed to common visas for non-ASEAN visitors and free visas for the residents of ASEAN nations.

Delegates also attended a hosted dinner by Laos, where ATF 2013 will be held next year.

Sources: ASIA Travel Tips, Indonesia.travel, Jakarta Post, Travel Mole, TTG Asia, TTR Weekly

For more information:

Visit: www.atfindonesia.com, www.parekraf.go.id

Events include:

- ITB CSR Day: A keynote panel will examine barrier-free travel (8 March).
- Studiosus: Peter-Mario Kubsch, Managing Director of Studiosus Reisen; Jürgen Büchy, President of the DRV; and Klaus Brähmig, a member of German parliament, will discuss safeguarding human rights at travel destinations (8 March).
- ITB Destination Day: These sessions mainly deal with the challenges facing destination management, with the focus on the burgeoning Asian markets and types of travel with high-growth potential, such as health and cultural tourism (March 8-9).
- Innovator Panel: This ITB Mobility Day forum will focus on sustainable fuels such as wind and solar energy production, examine the burdens resulting from the air travel levy and proposed EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and explore the long-distance coach travel market as well as the popular new combination of air travel and local coach tours (March 9).

Source: Travel Mole

For more information:

Visit: www.itb-kongress.com

The bridge will connect Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand and Houei Xai in Bokeo Province, Laos.

“The bridge should have opened in 2012, but work has been delayed slightly due to project financing that slowed down after the global financial crisis,” Thavone Vorabouth, the 4th Mekong River Bridge Construction Project deputy head, told the Vientiane Times.

Mr Thavone said construction on the Lao side of the 630-meter-long bridge was ongoing.

The bridge is part of the Greater Mekong sub-region north-south economic corridor connecting Thailand to China through Laos’ northwestern mountains, where the LNTA-ADB Sustainable Tourism Development Project is developing the R3A Highway as “The Tea Caravan Trail” with 10 easily accessible tourist sites along the way.

The USD44.8-million 4th Mekong River Bridge Construction Project is being jointly funded by Laos (25 per cent), Thailand (25 per cent), and China (50 per cent).

Source: Vientiane Times, TTR Weekly

This was a hot topic among those attending the Travel Leaders’ Symposium on Sustainable Tourism held in Bagan late last year, with industry experts from across the region saying Myanmar should learn from the “mistakes” made by some neighboring countries, according to the Myanmar Times.

While optimistic about the outlook for tourism, concerns are growing over the country’s lack of hotels and transport capacity, poor infrastructure, high prices, and inefficient booking systems.

Exploration Travel and Tour General Manager Edwin Briels said, “The Myanmar tourism industry is now at a point where we need to become more professional because the number of people who want to visit Myanmar is slowly growing.”

An unidentified tour operator added, “On one side, arrival numbers are growing, but on the other side we don’t have enough facilities to meet demand. We have a shortage of hotel rooms and domestic (airline) seats during this year’s high season, and this issue can potentially have a huge negative impact on tourism. The ministry and private sectors must consider developing a master plan to solve these problems.”

Others attending the symposium also called for the drafting of a tourism master plan and better government regulation of the industry.

Deputy Minister for Tourism U Htay Aung said the government believed that “quick tourism growth” could lead to “a dilution” of Myanmar’s cultural heritage.

“We will go step by step, going from 300,000 air arrivals (per year) to 400,000 and then 500,000. Our government is conscious that this will be the way to prevent an over-commercialization of our assets and the destruction of our social and cultural fabric,” he said.

Anthony Wong, group managing director of Asian Overland Service Tours and Travel, said the establishment of the Myanmar Tourism Board in November 2011 was a “good step,” but it needs to be followed by a master plan based on regional experiences.

“We know that tourism has both good and bad effects on a country. You can suffer from over-capacity and a number of other issues that are not good for local communities or the country in general,” he said. “But I believe Myanmar has a huge advantage if it can learn from the mistakes made in countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.”

Arrivals are expected to increase further next year, especially if the government goes through with plans to liberalize border-crossing regulations and offer a visa-on-arrival scheme. However, unchecked growth is not necessarily desirable, experts agree.

“Private sector businesses will grow the industry but they will not regulate themselves,” said PATA CEO Martin Craigs. “It is up to the government to create the right balance for the benefit of all, and the job of business enterprises to voice their opinions to the government. PATA will then help by facilitating the dialogue between the various players in our industry.”

Assistance for a tourism regulation project could come from several sources, including Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) programs.

“I want to see how we can help develop tourism in Myanmar. We are already encouraging our people to come to Myanmar to see the beautiful country,” said Arne Jan Flolo, a counselor at the Norwegian embassy in Bangkok. “We will talk to the government to share our experience and work out how we can encourage the sustainable development of Myanmar tourism.”

Deputy Minister U Htay Aung said he hoped Myanmar would benefit further from participation in the GMS grouping.

“The world is knocking at our door but at the moment the door is a little bit jammed and heavy. We do hope that in the future we will also have a chance to perform a leading role in implementing GMS programs that will…fulfill the objectives of socio-economic development and poverty alleviation through tourism in the region,” he said.

Sun Birds Tours Managing Director Werner Rumpf said that while European markets were showing more interest in Myanmar, demand was yet to really take off.

“It can be said in one sentence: build up much better infrastructure for tourism, such as more hotels, cars, flights, guides, and not least improved roads so that clients can see this beautiful country overland,” he said.

Source: Myanmar Times (By Yu Yu Maw and Zaw Win Than)

For more information:

Visit: www.myanmar-tourism.com

The event brings together government agencies and businesses every January, and according to VietStock.com, private sector representatives at this year’s meeting wanted to know which government body would be responsible for collecting the tourist fee.

However, due to the different objectives of customs and tax authorities, it is still unclear which agency should implement the collection.

In 2010, the LNTA said the Finance Ministry had been assigned to oversee the collection of USD1 and USD2 fees from border pass and passport holders respectively.

The tax authority was responsible for collecting the fees from outgoing tourists, while tour companies were instructed to collect money from incoming tourists and give it to the LNTA.

The tax department and LNTA then established a committee to draft a resolution on collecting, managing, and using the tourism funds.

The LNTA recently reported that the issue had almost been resolved, but it was still waiting for a receipt template, which needs to be approved by the Finance Ministry.

However, according to the Lao Business Forum report received by VietStock.com, there has been no response from the government since last year.

In the Lao Business Forum Working Group Meeting, businesses suggested that the fee be collected at the border by government officials rather than by hotel owners.

Source: www.EcotourismLaos.com

For more information:

Visit: www.tourismlaos.org

Myanmar is also likely to benefit from flights in the active Greater Mekong Sub-region.

MAI currently operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft including four Airbus A320s and one Airbus A321.

International destinations served from Yangon include: Bangkok, Guangzhou, Phnom Penh, Kuala Lumpur, Siem Reap, and Singapore.

Source: www.alternativeairlines.com

For more information:

Visit: www.maiair.com

Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism (MICT) Marketing and Promotion Department Director General Saly Phimphinith told the Vientiane Times the money will mostly be used to launch a global publicity campaign.

He said the funds will enable Lao officials and tourism representatives to attend international travel trade events to promote the country and invite the worldwide media to visit.

Funds from the budget have also been earmarked for organizing large-scale performances that display Lao culture such as traditional music and dance, traditional and contemporary fashions, and the lifestyle of the country’s various ethnic minorities.

Special events will be also organized in conjunction with annual festivals in various provinces.

He called on Lao people to act as ambassadors of their country’s culture and traditions, and to display the warmth and hospitality that greatly contribute to Laos’ reputation as a sought after tourist destination.

The Vientiane Times also reported that many tourists appreciate the natural beauty and peacefulness of Laos, but complain there is too little information about the country.

Laos held its first Visit Laos Year in 1999-2000, and Deputy Prime Minister Asang Laoly kicked off this year’s campaign on 31 December at a ceremony held at the National Culture Hall in Vientiane.

Source: Vientiane Times (Somsack Pongkhao) and Khaosan Pathet Lao (KPL) Newswire

For more information:

Visit: www.facebook.com/visitlaos

“The dramatic towers, bas-reliefs and dark chambers of Cambodia’s Banteay Chhmar make it a far more atmospheric place than its famous twin at Angkor Wat. What drove Jayavarman VII, regarded as the greatest king of the Angkorian Empire, to erect this vast Buddhist temple about 170 km from his capital in Angkor, and in one of the most desolate and driest places in Cambodia, remains one of its many unsolved riddles,” writes Associated Press travel correspondent, Denis Gray, in a Washington Post exposé.

She calls Banteay Chhmar the “second Angkor Wat” as it is similar in size, but “more frozen in time than the manicured and made-over superstar, and has so far been spared the blights of mass tourism.”

Angkor welcomed some 7,000 visitors a day in 2011, while its vine-wrapped sister, Banteay Chhmar, saw an average of two tourists a day.

Banteay Chhmar opened to the public in 2007 after the area was completely cleared of landmines and the looting of the temple that ran rampant in the 1990s had stopped.

The following year California-based Global Heritage Fund started working with Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture to resurrect the site, and currently spends about USD200,000 a year on the project, which is being implemented by British conservation architect, John Sanday, and his team of 60 experts and workers.

They are trying to rebuild the collapsed shrines and galleries from hundreds of thousands of stone blocks scattered about the 4.6-square-mile archaeological site neing choked by vegetation.

“Three-quarters of the bas reliefs – rarely found at other Angkorian temples – have fallen or been looted, the most notable being eight panels depicting Avalokiteshvara, an enlightened being embodying Buddhist compassion. Thieves sheared off four panels with jackhammers, smuggling them into nearby Thailand…A pair has been recovered and the others are still at the temple, although only two still stand,” Ms Gray reported.

Another bas-relief depicts a figure, believed to be Jayavarman VII, leading his troops into battle. The detailed stonework shows war elephants, soldiers fighting with spears, and crocodiles eating the dead.

Mr Sanday, who has Angkor Wat restoration experience, has been working at Banteay Chhmar for two years, and he told Ms Gray, “Nature and time have proved the culprits: the vaulting protecting the 98 foot-long relief collapsed, exposing the wall to monsoon torrents, which seeped downwards to wash away the masonry and loosen the foundations. Pressure from the weight above toppled sections of the wall or forced it to lean.”

To assist in reassembling the temple’s 34 towers are a pair of Cambodian computer experts using three-dimensional imaging.

Mr Sanday explained to Ms Gray, “Some 700 stone blocks from the tower have been removed or collected from where they fell, and each one will be video-graphed from every angle. Since, like a human fingerprint, no two stones are exactly the same, still-to-be-finalized software should be able to fit all the blocks into their original alignment after they are repaired.”

He added, “We hope that with one push of the button all the stones will jump into place to solve what we are calling ‘John’s puzzle’.”

He said that when an original block is missing or beyond repair, another original stone from the site can be used or if necessary, a new stone will be inserted.

“My philosophy is to preserve and present the monuments as I found them for future generations without falsifying their history. So often people tend to guess what was there,” he said.

Source: The Washington Post, Denis Gray / Associated Press

For more information:

Visit: www.mot.gov.kh

The company’s concept stresses that “having fun and volunteer travel can go hand in hand with a luxury adventure.”

Destination Earth President Jud Yaski said, “It’s about time that there is an opportunity for individuals to both take an exciting trip and help the planet at the same time.”

The Vietnam and Cambodia trip highlights this business model, which is to offer fun, safe adventure tours to those who would like to travel responsibly and give back, while also enjoying their holiday.

On 16 January, Destination Earth will take 12 travelers to Vietnam and Cambodia for an “Eco Volunteer” trip.

Days will be spent seeing the sites, donating supplies, teaching English, and staying and eating at facilities that benefit those in need. The tour winds up with a village stay, where guests put the finishing touches on a bridge the group sponsored. This footbridge will allow children to get an education and nourishment from a local nonprofit school that has been inaccessible during the rainy season.

Along with group tours, Destination Earth will be offering these adventures as team building exercises for companies, and as corporate incentive travel, allowing companies to benefit their staff while contributing to their social responsibility goals.

The company’s model is to offer intimate adventures with no more than 15 people per trip, and are designed to highlight the “must sees” of an area, while also taking guests off the beaten path to see places and meet people they would never encounter on their own.

Source: Destination Earth

For more information:

Visit: www.destination-earth.org

LCA CEO Savanhphone Phongsavanh said the trip, whose passengers included 99 monks and visitors, flew on the airline’s 168-seat Boeing 737-400, just a few days after its arrival, according to an Asian News Network report.

The privately-owned airline will organize a similar trip from Vientiane to Pakxe in Laos’ southern Champasak Province this month.

LCA board member, Thonsay Inthisane, told the local press, “We will officially launch…after the tour to Pakxe,” adding that this could occur “by the end of this month,” when the airline plans to introduce service on the Vientiane-Bangkok route, followed by flights to Cambodia, China, Vietnam, and Singapore.

The launch is awaiting preparations for ticket sales and services, but now that LCA has two planes, as required by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the airline can offer flights.

Mr Thongsay said the current fleet includes two Boeing 737-400s, which will mostly be used for regional services, “and two 19-seat aircraft that will mainly serve the domestic market.”

In May 2010, LCA placed an order for three Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet-100s for delivery in the second half of this year.

TTR Weekly recently talked to an official at Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation, who confirmed the airline had requested time slots at Suvarnabhumi Airport, but had not yet confirmed a flight schedule.

Source: Asia News Network, TTR Weekly (Rapeepat Mantanarat)

For more information:

Visit: www.tourismlaos.org