AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes Named Airline CEO Of The Year For 2009

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes received the Airline CEO of the Year Award for 2009 from Jane’s Transport Finance magazine in London last night.

The award was presented to Tony for successfully leading AirAsia, which has grown into the world’s best low-cost airline and Asia’s largest. Under Tony’s leadership, the airline flew more than 75 million guests in less than eight years.

Jane’s Transport Finance magazine is a UK-based provider of market intelligence and integrated solutions to the transport, public safety, defense, security and law enforcement sectors in more than 180 countries. The publication gives awards annually to outstanding achievers in the airline, airport, rail, road and shipping sectors.

“The award recognizes Mr. Fernades’s vision and AirAsia’s success in the toughest airline market in decades,” Jane’s Transport Finance said.

AirAsia’s success story and its skillful maneuvering of the global economic downturn have drawn applause in transportation and related sectors across the globe. AirAsia has achieved in eight years what other airlines achieved in much longer timeframes. Unlike many other airlines – both legacy and low-cost carriers – that have contracted operations due to the difficult economic climate, AirAsia has gone on expanding its fleet, opening new routes and hiring more staff.

Tony attributed his win to his staff of 6,500 and AirAsia’s culture of innovation.

Tony said, “I’ve come this far because of the support of AirAsia’s incredible staff, who inspire me, and our culture of innovation in the workplace. We have grown AirAsia together, with everybody pitching in with ideas, actively finding new ways to increase efficiency, improving services by effectively combining technology and the personal touch, and aggressively and smartly marketing our brand. We have revolutionized air travel so that now everyone can fly.”

Tony has led AirAsia into the world stage through innovative marketing that includes the offering of revolutionary low fares that come with premium products and services. With the AirAsia slogan of Now everyone can fly, Tony led AirAsia’s growth from an airline with a fleet of two aircraft and a staff of 250 to an airline with approximately 82 aircraft, approximately 120 routes to more than 60 destinations across Asia, and a staff of 6,500.

Now, travelers are able to enjoy great flight frequencies and a route network that spans across the ASEAN region (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines), China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia. Through low-cost long-haul affiliate AirAsia X, which Tony founded, AirAsia guests are also able to connect to Australia, northern China, Taiwan, UK and the Middle East.

A believer in staff empowerment, Tony has led efforts in improving staff efficiency. The airline has invested millions of dollars in quality improvement measures that include the running of its world-class training center, the AirAsia Academy, which implements trainings to ensure high quality service and supports new knowledge acquisition.

For more information, please visit www.airasia.com

For more information, contact AirAsia Communications:
Desiree Bandal : desireeb@airasia.com

China-ASEAN tourism co-operation has already strengthened a lot

Within the context of the annual China International Travel Mart (CITM), the ambitious first China-ASEAN Tourism Co-operation Forum was held at the Empark Grand Hotel in Kunming/Yunnan on November 19-20. Under the theme - Co-operation, Promotion, and Prosperity for All – the forum served as a communication mechanism and bridge between governments, enterprises, and academic circles of the countries concerned. Next to China, the 10 ASEAN countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam were involved.

Some 300 participants gathered at the two-day forum, which was hosted by both the China National Tourism Administration and People’s Government of Yunnan Province as well as organised by both the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration and China Tourism Academy in Beijing.

Being invited by the head of the Organising Committee secretariat Mr. Qi Yongjiang (Peter), I arrived at Kunming International Airport in the afternoon on November 16 with THAI International from Chiang Mai via Bangkok some three days ahead of the event. I delivered my upcoming presentation “Preserving the Mekong River to be a highway of peace and tourism between China and Southeast Asia” and took the chance to visit the world-famous Stone Forest (Shi Lin) on November 18.

Also, there was a sumptuous Welcoming Dinner Banquet for CITM 2009 at the Kunming International Convention & Exhibition Centre, which was attended by more than 1,000 invited delegates on the evening of November 18. The highlight of the banquet was a parade of a colourful music and dance troupe of the Jingpo ethnic minority group. A similar impressive music and dance show was presented on the chilly official Opening Ceremony of CITM 2009 next morning, where 2,148 seller booths from 94 countries opened for buyers, media and the public until November 22.

Back at noon to the luxurious 746-room Empark Grand Hotel, which is located in Kunming’s new city zone, the China-ASEAN Tourism Co-operation Forum offered some introducing speeches of leaders and representatives of China and ASEAN. Thus, Malaysia’s female Minister of Tourism praised Yunnan as “Gateway to ASEAN” and PATA’s CEO Greg Duffell from Bangkok noted an important economic recovery in 2009. Last not least, ASEAN Secretariat’s in Jakarta Mr. Tran Dong Phuong, Head of the Infrastructure Division, set the hope for an imminent ASEAN Community in 2015.

From the first four keynote speeches of the afternoon, it was up to Peter A. Semone, Advisor to the Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA), to highlight the new emerging concept of “Destination Human Resources Development” by banking on the wisdom that knowledge is power. As tourism is a people to people business, Mr. Semone singled out the vision for “best service quality” and called for teachers to deliver quality training for tourism personnel. Under a project financed by the European Luxembourg Government, he already started to work about human resources development in Laos.

At the following ten-course dinner reception, Yunnanese wine and delicatessen were in abundance.

In the morning of November 20, there followed ten plenary speeches. At the first panel, called fostering common markets, the mode was discussed in which the aviation industry, travel agencies and hotel enterprises in China and ASEAN can make mutual investments, open up markets, share these markets and carry out joint marketing in the new China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

At the second panel, called academic circles promoting the development of the tourism industry, the mode was discussed in which China-ASEAN academics offer support through scientific research to governmental departments for the purpose of achieving mutual benefits and win-win results. Here it was up to Hong Kong-based Magnus Bartlett, Publisher of Odyssey Books & Travel Guides, to quote an Arabic proverb: “A traveller without knowledge is like a bird without its wings.”

When the forum ended at noontime, there still was time for other activities such as visiting CITM or the town of Kunming. Kunming is the hub of China’s Yunnan Province with a population of some 5.2 million and home of 26 ethnic minority groups. Known as “City of Eternal Spring” with the average temperature around 15 grad Celsius, Kunming has a lot of interesting places for tourists, such as the Green Lake Park, Yuan Tong Hill Temple, Dianchi Lake and Western Hills National Park. Most of the forum’s participants had the opportunity to visit the night performance of “Dynamic Yunnan” – The Grand Original Native Song & Dance Medley, a project of China National Classic Stage Arts.

Finally, on November 21, I took the chance to visit the highly recommended “Yunnan Nationalities Village” at the edge of Dianchi Lake, where actually all the 26 ethnic minorities of Yunnan are represented with their mysterious cultures. It took me five hours to see all the different 26 villages in the park and read the information about their sophisticated and diversified customs. Impressive were the villages of the Dai, Miao, Lisu, Lahu, Wa, Mongolians, Naxi, Musuo, Yi, and Tibetans, to name just a few of the more well-known. Departing Kunming back to Chiang Mai in the chilly afternoon of November 22, I was assured that China-ASEAN tourism co-operation has already strengthened a lot.

For further information, please contact Media Travel Consultant Reinhard Hohler by e-mail: sara@cmnet.co.th

Airasia Launches Direct Flight Daily From Kota Kinabalu, Sabah To Taipei!

“Best Airline of the Year 2009”, AirAsia today launches direct flights daily to Taipei from Kota Kinabalu, further expanding its international connectivity from East Malaysia.

This new Kota Kinabalu – Taipei route, operated by AirAsia will be open-for-sale on 25th November 2009, with direct flights daily commencing on 15th January 2010. To celebrate the introduction of the new routes, AirAsia will be offering all-in-fare for Kota Kinabalu – Taipei from RM99* (TWD699), booking starts from 25th to 29th November 2009 for the travel period from 15th January to 30th October 2010. Promotional seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis and made exclusively online via www.airasia.com and mobile.airasia.com.

AirAsia recently launched its first route connecting Taipei from Kuala Lumpur with only 5 flights a week. The Kuala Lumpur – Taipei route received an overwhelming response with more than 20,000 seats sold in the first 12 hours since its sales announcement on 23rd April 2009. In meeting the extra demand, AirAsia announced daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei in July 2009. Shortly within 6 months, the airline further expanded its network connectivity to Taipei by opening two more direct flights from Bangkok – Taipei in August 2009 and the latest addition today from Kota Kinabalu – Taipei.

The rapid expansion of its connectivity indicates the strong and pent up demand for the new routes and a positive indication that regional markets in this part of the world are starving for low fares. Although shadowed by economic uncertainties, AirAsia is confident that with aggressive marketing and low fares will be able to entice not only holiday makers, but the Taiwanese public and Malaysians who reside, work and study in Taiwan to be able to fly home to connect with their families frequently. AirAsia held a media briefing for the Taiwanese media today to announce the Taipei-Kota Kinabalu route, with the presence of Director of Tourism Malaysia office in Taipei, Mr Muhamad Nasir Pahmi.

Ms Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial AirAsia group said, “We launched direct flights to Taipei from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok this year and the response has been amazing. The traveling trend to places such as Taipei is increasing and with growing potential household income in East Malaysia, we believe there will also be strong potential demand from East Malaysian travelers to fly directly to the city. The timing of our inaugural flight in January is great as we can ride on the peak Chinese New Year season both ends.”

“With the presence of growing Chinese ethnic population in Kota Kinabalu who are willing to spend more on leisure and a growing interest in East Malaysia to explore Orient cities, we feel that this is a strategic move to create interest and stimulate tourism demand in Taipei. Kota Kinabalu famed for its natural wonders and its scenic beauty is equally captivating to Taiwanese. We have studied the growing travel interests from both ends and it’s a perfect fit with AirAsia as the integral connecting bridge,” she said.

Mr Muhamad Nasir Pahmi, Director of Tourism Malaysia office in Taipei said, “We are working very closely with AirAsia and hope to raise more awareness and interest into the hidden gems of East Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu has so much potential that can captivate and interest our friends from Taiwan. This new route, which is due to begin in January 2010, will help to enhance that interest into a catalyst of culture. There’s simply so much to do, see and experience in Kota Kinabalu and East Malaysia. We invite and usher the opening of a new doorway into this exclusive realm of wonders.”

Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) has the most developed tourism infrastructure for gentle beach life or more active watersports, which made this beautiful coast one of the most coveted tourist destinations of the world. Not to mention the Mount Kinabalu is one of the stunning Tourist Attractions in Sabah alluring tourists with its magnificence and grandeur. Situated in Sabah’s Kinabalu Park the Mount Kinabalu is the third tallest mountain of Southeast Asia. The Mount Kinabalu stands tall at 4095 meters above sea level. Some other primary attractions of Sabah are its outstanding national parks, which include Kinabalu National Park, the Crocker Range Park, and the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary. Sabah is also the gateway to fascinating cultures, beautiful scenery and magical islands. From the world-famous Sipadan Island to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, there’s so much to see and discover in this natural paradise.

The new route will be serviced by the Airbus A320 aircraft with a 180 passenger capacity. To date, AirAsia and AirAsia X now fly direct to Taipei from Kuala Lumpur (1 flight daily), Bangkok (1 flight daily) and Kota Kinabalu (1 flight daily beginning 15th January 2010). With excellent air connectivity between Taipei and Kota Kinabalu, mutual economic benefits can be expected as AirAsia’s low fares and innovative services will definitely stimulate more travel both inbound and outbound from these two destinations. Taiwanese visitors to Malaysia must apply for a social visit visa that costs NT$ 240 that is valid for 2 months.

To add value, AirAsia, under GoHoliday at goholiday.airasia.com, has also lined up some great online hotel deals to stretch the dollar where they may choose their holiday lodgings from over 50,000 hotels. We encourage our guests to purchase food, baggage, hot seats online to enjoy more discounts and savings through airasia.com.

Stay tuned! Follow AirAsia on Twitter, Facebook, and AirAsia’s Blog where we will provide real time updates on our latest promotion. Photos will be available on www.flickr.com/airasia.
*All fares quoted are applicable for one-way travel only

FLIGHT SCHEDULE – KOTA KINABALU TO TAIPEI
Flights FromDeparture / Arrival Flight No Frequency
KOTA KINABALU - TAIPEI06.00am / 09.20amAK 6318DAILY
TAIPEI – KOTA KINABALU09.50am / 13.10pmAK 6319DAILY

For further information, please contact AirAsia Communications Team:
Sherliza Zaharudin : sherlizazaharudin@airasia.com
Linda Foo : fooyanyan@airasia.com

Airasia Celebrates The Inaugural Abu Dhabi – Kuala Lumpur Flight With Free Seats Up For Grabs

From Left to Right- Mr. John Stent; Acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), Mr. Ahmad Hussein; Deputy Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), His Excellency Dato’ Yahaya Abdul Jabar; Ambassador of Malaysia to the UAE, Mr. Azran Osman-Rani; CEO of Air Asia X, Dato’ Seri Kalimullah Hasan; Chairman of AirAsia X; and Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun; Deputy Group CEO of AirAsia and Director of AirAsia X with the magician (middle) during the unveiling of the Free Seats in conjunction with AirAsia’s Inaugural Flight KL-AUH Celebration.

Skytrax ‘World’s Best Low-Cost Airline’, AirAsia officially celebrated its five times weekly direct flights between the two cities of Abu Dhabi – Kuala Lumpur today. The joyous and colorful event was kicked-off with light entertainment at the Yas Island Rotana, Abu Dhabi.

In conjunction with the inaugural flight celebration, AirAsia is offering Free Seats* for the route to guests who book their flights and hotels via GoHoliday; AirAsia’s holiday division at goholiday.airasia.com for selected hotels in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. The Go Holiday Free Flight offer is available for booking period from 24 to 27 November, 2009 for travel from 1st December, 2009 to 31st January 2010. For more details on the hotel listed for this special offer, kindly log on to goholiday.airasia.com.

The momentous event was witnessed by H.E. Dato’ Yahya Abdul Jabar; Ambassador of Malaysia to the UAE, Mr. Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Mr. Syed Mohd. Hasrin; the Consulate General of Malaysia in Dubai, Dato’ Seri Kalimullah Hassan; Chairman of AirAsia X, Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun; Deputy Group CEO of AirAsia and Director of AirAsia X, Azran Osman-Rani; Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia X joined by Board Members of AirAsia X, corporate guests, hoteliers and travel agents.

H.E. Dato’ Yahaya Abdul Jabar, Ambassador of Malaysia to the UAE commented, “Today’s launch signifies an important milestone in the field of aviation and tourism to Malaysia as well as the UAE. The launch of 5 times weekly flights to Abu Dhabi from Kuala Lumpur will be mutually beneficial to both Malaysia and Abu Dhabi tourism, as we can expect a considerable increase in both inbound and outbound travel to both destinations, which bodes well for the economy for both Malaysia and the Middle East. Malaysia looks forward to increase business, commercial, and investment ties with the new connection between the two countries. We see an increase in Malaysian companies’ business interest investing in Abu Dhabi. We anticipate their investments in areas of property development, tourism, agro-based industries, biotechnology, food processing and oil and gas.”

Abu Dhabi which is AirAsia X first destination in the Middle East will complement AirAsia X’s future growth in the market besides feeding more traffic to both countries.

With excellent air connectivity between Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur, mutual economic benefits can be expected as AirAsia’s low fares and innovative services will definitely stimulate more travel both inbound and outbound from these two cities. The UAE population could also take advantage of Kuala Lumpur as the connecting gateway to over 130 routes to 70 hot destinations in Asia and beyond.

Mr. Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority lauded the celebration, “Today, AirAsia X is really bringing an X factor to Abu Dhabi – X for Exceptional air links that AirAsia is now providing this destination to better penetrate the Xtremely important Asian market. There is much here to engage the Asian traveller – and indeed the authority is so convinced of the market that it is now running specialist training courses for our industry stakeholders on how to specifically serve this segment of the market which has its own individual needs.”

“With a flying time of only around seven hours to Singapore and Malaysia – the market has much to offer us. AirAsia’s network to the vast market Chinese market will also increase Abu Dhabi’s access to the People’s Republic which we regard of such great potential that the authority now has three offices operating there,” he concluded.

Azran Osman-Rani, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia X, said, “Abu Dhabi has long been on our network radar and we are very proud to liberalize the market to the world. The demand for the route has been steady with 60% of the load coming from the UAE. This is indeed a clear testament that AirAsia’s low fares have empowered people to fly. Likewise, we are excited to play a key role in promoting Abu Dhabi’s beautiful city and people to the rest of the world. With the convenient ground transportation services available, guests may get to Dubai in less than 60 minutes from the Abu Dhabi International Airport. In fact, our guests from the ASEAN region may use Abu Dhabi as a connecting gateway to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan and many more destinations in the Middle East.”

“We have been promoting Abu Dhabi aggressively to Malaysians, across the ASEAN region and even beyond to destinations such as China, Australia and United Kingdom, in fact we have also included Abu Dhabi in our recent promotion campaign; cross selling the market to other destinations. We are also promoting Abu Dhabi on our website, AirAsia.com. We are certain that the Middle East will definitely leverage from the huge exposure gained from these initiatives. Our current network already covers Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Indochina, Singapore, China, India, Australia and United Kingdom.” concluded Azran

AirAsia’s inaugural flight to Abu Dhabi departed from LCC Terminal on November 23, 2009 with the Airbus A340 aircraft with 286-seater capacity including 30 premium seats. AirAsia guests may enjoy easy payment and booking channels: online at www.airasia.com, via mobile phone at mobile.airasia.com, at sales counters in all airports the airline flies to, sales offices in major cities, and through sales agents.

AirAsia through its one stop travel portal, GoHoliday, at http://goholiday.airasia.com is also offering some great online hotel deals and tour packages where guests may choose their holiday lodgings from over 50,000 hotels to suit their budget.

FLIGHT SCHEDULE KUALA LUMPUR – ABU DHABI
Flights From Departure / Arrival Flight No Frequency
KUALA LUMPUR – ABU DHABI 22:00/01:30 1,4,5,6,7
ABU DHABI – KUALA LUMPUR 02:55/13:55 1,2,5,6,7

AirAsia Commercial PR:
Sherliza Zaharudin : sherlizazaharudin@airasia.com
www.airasia.com

Marketing has changed and the tourism industry needs to embrace new ways

Gone are the days when putting an ad in the paper made the phone ring. Marketing has had a huge shift since the Internet became a household research tool. The Internet allows the average Joe to access a library of travel information 24/7 from the comfort of their lounge room.

Tourism and travel operators need to embrace new online marketing methods if they want to move forward and grow as we head to 2010. The Internet allows any business, large or small, an equal playing field for the consumer dollar. Many small businesses with a great online presence are making waves across the industry.

Pay for performance marketing strategies such as affiliate marketing are now emerging in Australia after being successful for many years in the UK and America. Leah Squire owner of Internet-based travel company www.byokids.com.au said, “Not only can you use affiliate marketing to drive customers to your business, but many tourism operators could be earning a passive income from their websites.” Squire has released a “how to” book on cheap and free marketing strategies for today’s tourism and travel industry. Leah’s advice should not be dismissed lightly; her business has grown from an idea to a
multi-million dollar business in just 3 years with a database of over 20,000 and more than 2,000 people visiting the BYOkids website every day looking for a holiday. Squires book, “Marketing with no money,” also covers topics like how to get publicity, how to grow a database, branding, how to get your clients talking, and more.

Tourism operators and travel agents need to embrace the Internet and online marketing strategies and make the Internet work for them rather than being afraid. The Internet is here to stay, and operators need to move with the times. “Marketing with no money” is available at bookstores nationally or online at www.marketingwithnomoney.com

"Marketing with no money" the book teaches you how to implement simple free or cheap marketing strategies to build your brand, get publicity, optimise your website, e-marketing, internet marketing, using social media marketing to drive traffic to your website, blogging, forums, the power of YouTube, Affiliate marketing and much more.

USAID Cambodia MSME Eco-Tourism Project encourages tourists to take their revenues ‘off the beaten path’

The USAID Cambodia MSME Project promotes sustainable tourism that improves the livelihoods of local people while protecting the environment and preserving socio-cultural aspects of local communities.

Participants from the tour operator sector, provincial departments of tourism and community ecotourism projects gather on 23rd November, 2009 (Monday) at 8:30 at the Cambodiana hotel to raise the awareness of secondary tourism destinations in Cambodia in order to encourage tourists to take their revenues ‘off the beaten path’.

The awards ceremony, part of the “Hidden Treasures Cambodia” initiative, organized by the USAID Cambodia Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Project, marks the recognition of the six winners of the contest, assessed on a number of criteria including environmental and social sustainability, attractiveness, accessibility, and marketability.
The six cultural and eco-tourism communities are:

• Chambok Community-Based Ecotourism in Kompong Speu province
• Banteay Chhmar Community-based Tourism (CBT), in Banteay Meanchey province
• Phare Ponleu Selpak (Social-Cultural Centre) in Battambang province
• Peam Krasop Eco-Tourism Community in Koh Kong province
• Tataikrom Nature Tourism Community in Koh Kong province
• Chi Phat Community Based Eco-tourism in Koh Kong province

The MSME Project ran a contest in July and August called “Hidden Treasures Cambodia” with the purpose of highlighting secondary tourism destinations to the South and West of the Tonle Sap region. Fourteen applications were submitted from a variety of tourism destinations, with six winners chosen.

Curtis Hundley, Chief of Party of the MSME project, says that the focus of the competition is to initially increase the awareness of the country’s secondary destinations, where the potential for tourism development and increased visitation is high.

“Cambodia has achieved world fame in the tourism arena, and with that, large visitor increases year on year. The economic growth opportunities from tourism have the potential to provide income and job opportunities for all Cambodians, particularly in the secondary or provincial destinations where the incidence of poverty is its highest.”

Hundley says the longer term objective of the initiative is to build sustainable relationships between all stakeholders at these destinations, incorporating communities, tour operators, services, and product suppliers.

“This initiative is designed to facilitate those key relationships within the tourism value chain that will enhance these secondary destinations, through the provision of much needed technical and business skills assistance, allowing them to become more productive and competitive as destinations”.

The awards ceremony is the first step in raising the awareness of these secondary destinations as the next ‘must see’ places to visit in Cambodia. Among the ‘rewards’ for contest winners, is the provision of information on their products and services posted on the Mekong Tourism Coordination Office website. These products and services include guided boat tours, bike tours through the rural Cambodian countryside, traditional dance and music performances, village home-stays near interesting sites, ancient temples, bird watching and much more. The six winning destinations will also benefit from having their products and services marketed more broadly.

The ceremony also marks a preliminary investigation into linking the key stakeholders in the tourism value chain to these destinations. To further this, a select group of tour operators who have shown interest in taking tourists to lesser know destinations will be invited, not only to learn more about the winning destinations, but to meet community representatives to discuss further links and potential partnerships.

The USAID Cambodia MSME Project is a gift to Cambodia from the American People. It is implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc., (DAI) and a consortium of supportive partners that possess the necessary skills and understanding of the Cambodian business environment and are dedicated to improving the lives of thousands of rural Cambodians working in the private sector.

For further information about this project mail to pichet_pen@dai.com

The Borneo Corridor

Borneo island can become a magnet for globetrotters and adventure seekers if the three governments, namely Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, give it the tagline “Borneo Corridor” during their tourism promotions abroad.

Pablo Iglesias, programme manager for the European Union-Asean Management Unit of the European Commission, said “Borneo Corridor” had an exotic ring to it to attract attention.

He added that foreigners were always intrigued by places with fascinating names.

He was speaking to reporters at the start of the EU-East Asean Growth Area business and technology partnership dialogue hosted by Miri City here yesterday.

“If we mention Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei or Kalimantan, not many people will think twice about these places. But mention Borneo Corridor, the impression changes.

“Travellers would imagine a place that is intriguing and mysterious.

“Using such exotic names can have great impact for tourism because it generates curiosity,” he added. Iglesias, who is a speaker at the EU-Asean dialogue, gave Bahamas as an example of small islands in the Pacific Ocean that attracted millions of tourists due to its name.

“Bahamas is actually many islands clustered together but are marketed all over the world using this exotic name of Bahamas,” he stressed.

Borneo has a unique natural and adventure setting found nowhere else in the world, he said.

He added that Sabah and Sarawak, Kalimantan and Brunei had their own places of interests which could be developed and promoted.

Tony Fernandes Is Orient Aviation Person Of The Year

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes received today the Orient Aviation Person of the Year for 2009 award for successfully leading AirAsia, which has in only eight years grown to become the world’s best low-cost airline and Asia’s largest.

Orient Aviation chief executive Barry Grindrod, in naming Tony the Orient Aviation Person of the Year, noted that Tony is the first individual whose airline is not affiliated with the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines to receive the award.

This is the 11th year that Orient Aviation, a globally-read Hong Kong-based aviation industry publication, has given the award.

Grindrod highlighted Tony’s role in changing the face of aviation and benefiting travelers in the region.

“They [critics] said he wouldn’t get the air rights, the business model would not work outside Malaysia, and that the major carriers would gobble up the fledgling carrier. Today, there are many LCCs in the region, and AirAsia is leading the way. Because of Tony and his hardworking team, there are tens of thousands of people flying for the first time. He has, quite literally, changed the way people live,” Grindrod told media during the awarding event.

Tony has grown AirAsia into a world-class brand through innovative marketing that offers revolutionary low fares that come with premium products and services. Working with the AirAsia slogan of Now everyone can fly, Tony has led the team in growing the airline, which has now flown more than 75 million guests and is linking cities across Asia Pacific. The airline grew its fleet of two aircraft, one destination and staff of 250 to a fleet of approximately 82 aircraft, 113 routes to almost 60 destinations across Asia Pacific, and a staff of 6,500.

With AirAsia, travelers are able to enjoy great flight frequencies and a route network that spans across the ASEAN region (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines), Australia, China, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Through low-cost long-haul affiliate AirAsia X, which Tony founded, AirAsia guests are also able to connect to more destinations in Australia and northern China and to Taiwan, UK and, by November 23, the UAE.

Grindrod also pointed out how legacy airlines have followed AirAsia’s lead and entered the low-cost travel market.

“Because of his vision, flair and marketing skills, the legacy carriers have adopted the ‘if you can’t beat him, join him’ approach. Just look at how many have entered the LCC market themselves through subsidiary carriers,” Grindrod added.

Tony has entered business ventures aside from AirAsia. Tony also leads Tune Group, which currently includes Tune Hotels, a no-frills hotel chain that offers “5-star beds at 1-star prices;” Tune Sports, which runs the ASEAN Basketball League; Tune Money, which caters to the financial needs of the underserved market at affordable prices; and Tune Talk, a mobile phone service that offers the lowest flat rate for calls. Tune Group also has an investment in 1Malaysia F1 Team to support the 1Malaysia initiative and to provide an avenue for Malaysia to advance in the global sports scene.


About AirAsia and AirAsia X

AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with 113 routes covering almost 60 destinations. Within the grasp of 7 years of operations, AirAsia has carried over 75 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to approximately 82. The airline today is proud to be a truly Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, servicing a network stretching across all Asean countries, China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia. This is further complemented by AirAsia X, its low-cost long-haul affiliate carrier that currently flies to destinations in China, Australia, Taipei, the UK, and, very soon, Abu Dhabi. AirAsia is the only regional carrier with the largest destination network and highest flight frequencies. AirAsia has been awarded the 2009 World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax.

For more information, please contact AirAsia Communications:
Desiree Bandal : desireeb@airasia.com
www.airasia.com

AirAsia Celebrates Kolkata – Kuala Lumpur Inaugural Flight

The world’s best maintains commitment to the Indian market with the launch of new routes

AirAsia held an auspicious celebratory event in the city of Kolkata today, to commemorate its successful inaugural flight from Kolkata - Kuala Lumpur. Kolkata is one of the airline’s latest Indian destinations which opened for sale recently, alongside Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).

The occasion was honourably graced by the presence of the Honorary Consul for Malaysia in Kolkata H.E. Mr. Sanjay Budhia, Honorable Tourism Minister of West Bengal Shri Manabendra Mukherjee and AirAsia Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan.

Following a successful launch of Trichy last year, AirAsia maintained its commitment to expand its Indian network by launching three new routes from Kuala Lumpur to Kolkata, Kochi and Trivandrum which opened for sale on 15 October 2009. The airline is confident that the route will provide a positive boost for tourism activities and stimulate local economies of India and Malaysia. Furthermore, provide direct connection between West Bengal to Malaysia via Kuala Lumpur hub, which in itself is a gateway to many destinations across Asia, the UK and the Middle East.

Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial Airasia said, “With Kolkata added to our extensive network, AirAsia is unlocking the potential of international air travel from Kuala Lumpur to eastern India and its surrounding areas. We are thrilled to be serving Kolkata direct, a huge market that no other airline is serving direct. With the commencement of the direct service to Kuala Lumpur, the people in West Bengal and India may now use Kolkata as a gateway to our extensive route network to ASEAN and beyond. With 28,000 seats sold to date for the new route, it is a significant achievement for this market. We are very committed to expand this market and provide excellent opportunity to the community to enjoy our unbelievable low fares and world class service.”

“We also look forward to add further capacity, options for better travel value and better comfort to travelers between India and Kuala Lumpur in the future. Our persistent focus is to make air travel convenient for our guests via simple and expedient services but at world class standards. Additionally, we always strive hard to continue expanding our presently extensive network, and there are plans to initiate services to other cities in India soon. Be on the lookout for more surprises from us,” Tan concludes.

For all flights to India, AirAsia utilizes a brand new modern fleet of comfortable and spacious Airbus A320 aircraft, fitted with leather seats and spacious cabin. This will be complemented by a variety of palatable hot meals options onboard, convenient and renowned customer service, friendly cabin crew and more. AirAsia encourages guests to pre-book their meals, and check in baggage online for greater savings!

AirAsia is the first airline in the world to abolish fuel surcharges and administrative fees from all its international and domestic flights, to make travel more affordable and accessible for all.

For booking of flights, in place are convenient booking mechanisms through AirAsia’s website, www.airasia.com and mobile devices at mobile.airasia.com, presenting guests with utmost convenience, where a myriad of services are instantly available at their fingertips.

AirAsia through its one stop travel portal, GoHoliday, at goholiday.airasia.com is also offering some great online hotel deals and tour packages where guests may choose their holiday lodgings from over 50,000 hotels to suit their budget.

AirAsia is currently the largest low-cost carrier in Asia and services the most extensive route network in South East Asia with over 70 destinations across 20 countries and 9 major hubs in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu), Thailand (Bangkok, Phuket) and Indonesia (Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Bandung). It has grown from a modest two aircraft to its current fleet of 85, servicing over 130 routes in just 7 years.

Kolkata is recognized as one of the four major metropolis of India along with Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. The city is home to some of the most eminent and legendary personalities such as Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, philosopher Ramakrishna and well known film director Satyajit Ray

Dubbed as ‘The City of Joy’, Kolkata is the state capital of West Bengal which boasts unique cultures and heritage. The cultural essence of Kolkata dwells in its major tourist attractions which attracts millions of people from all corners of the world.

The Victoria Memorial is the most significant tourism attraction in Kolkata, along with the dazzling Howrah Bridge, the Marble Palace, Kali Mandir, the Indian museum and the Eden Gardens which are favourite spots for tourists.

The city of Kolkata is a haven for food lovers with some of the best known restaurants and street food outlets in India. The fabulous 'RasoGulla', and Mishti Doi, two sweet dishes are a must-try for visitors.

If sun, sand and the roar of the sea make up your idea of a perfect holiday, you could also head out for the beaches in and around Kolkata.

Kolkata is well connected to many Indian cities as a majority of domestic airlines have direct services to and from Kolkata.

FLIGHT SCHEDULE KUALA LUMPUR – KOLKATA
Flight No. Destinations
(Flights from/to) Depart Arrive Frequency
AK 323 Kuala Lumpur Kolkata 14:30 15:50 Daily
AK 324 Kolkata Kuala Lumpur 16:35 22:55 Daily

About AirAsia and AirAsia X

AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with 130 routes covering more than 70 destinations. Within a period of 7 years of operation, AirAsia has carried over 80 million passengers and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to 85. The airline today is proud to be a truly Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, servicing a network stretching across all Asean countries, China, India and Bangladesh. This is further complemented by AirAsia X, its low cost long-haul affiliate carrier that currently flies to destinations in China, Australia the UK and the Middle East. AirAsia is the only regional carrier with the largest destination network and highest flight frequencies. AirAsia has been awarded the 2009 World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax and Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Airline of the Year Award for 2009.

For more information, please contact AirAsia PR Team:
Sherliza Zaharudin : sherlizazaharudin@airasia.com
Nazatul Ekma Mokhtar : nazatulekmamokhtar@airasia.com
http://www.airasia.com/

Philippine Carrier Cebu Pacific Air has been greenlighted to fly direct routes to Cambodia

Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific Air has been greenlighted to fly direct routes to Cambodia from next year, although officials have yet to determine a specific launch date for the service

Cebu Pacific Air, a Philippines-based airline, plans to begin direct flights between its home country and Cambodia in the spring of 2010, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said Tuesday.

“Cebu Air is authorised to start flying to our country in March or April next year,” he said, citing a memorandum of understanding signed by Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on September 16 to open the airways between the two countries.

The agreement is the fourth Cambodia has made this year allowing direct flights. The SSCA has also inked deals with Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Under the terms of the agreement, up to seven flights a week originating from Cambodia are authorised to land at Manila, 14 in the Clark Freeport Zone and another 14 for any point in the Philippines outside the two aviation centres.

The Philippines is a major tourism hub in Southeast Asia, Thong Khon said, adding that the deal would draw more tourists directly from the Philippines as well as offer another transfer point for tourists travelling from other locations.

“I hope that tourism from the Philippines will increase further,” he said. “Moreover, with the new flights, we plan not only to attract Filipino tourists, but we also aim to draw tourists from other countries,” he said.

Filipinos do not require a visa to visit Cambodia; nor do Cambodians require a Philippine visa to travel there, Thong Khon said.

Air traffic at the two main Cambodian international airports, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, fell 12.96 percent in the first nine months of 2009 year-on-year, according to Tourism Ministry figures, but the number of tourists arriving from the Philippines bucked the trend. According to ministry’s numbers, 36,608 tourists arrived from the Philippines in the first nine months of 2009, 29.36 percent up from the same period a year earlier.

The Philippines ambassador in Phnom Penh could not be reached for comment, Tuesday.

SSCA Cabinet Chief Long Chheng said the two sides were currently working on ironing out the details of the flights. “I am not sure of the exact date the flights will commence because I have received no confirmation,” he said, adding that an Air Service Agreement (ASA) still must to be signed by both parties.

The SSCA is actively pursuing additional open-skies agreements to boost the tourism sector, Long Chheng said. “We welcome the direct flights from the Philippines and hope they start as soon as possible,” he said. “That will be very good for our tourism sector.”

The SSCA and the CAAP had been working on the agreement since 2007.

AirAsia Welcomes 2nd Lat Plane

Pic 1(Left): Dato’ Mohd Nor bin Khalid (Dato’ Lat) puts “his personal stamp” on the Lat plane. Looking on is GCEO AirAsia Berhad, Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes

Pic 2(Right): Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes, GCEO of AirAsia Berhad, Dato’ Mohd Nor bin Khalid (Dato’ Lat) in red, Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy GCEO of AirAsia Berhad, Sir Bob Geldof and En Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X, accompanied by AirAsia crew.

In 2004, AirAsia paid tribute to one of Malaysia’s greatest cartoonists, Dato’ Mohd Nor bin Khalid, also affectionately known as Dato’ Lat, by featuring his illustrations on one of our Boeing 737 aircraft. Today, Skytrax World’s Best Low Cost airline, AirAsia paid tribute to the cartoonist once again but this time featuring his masterpiece on our brand new A320 aircraft.

When describing his work then, Dato’ Lat explained, “I have wanted the characters and storyboard to reflect the culture, and the way of life of ASEAN people as what AirAsia has grown to become. My vision was for the people of ASEAN to identify with the characters on the plane.”

Dato’ Lat’s colourful characters and universal stories have always captured the very ideals that make up Malaysia’s unique multi-racial society; celebrating our differences as well as our similarities.

These are also the very ideals that have helped AirAsia grow into the Truly ASEAN airline that we’re proud to call ourselves today. We have an ASEAN crew and an unparalleled route network that brings the rest of the world closer to the region, so it’s only fitting that we invite Dato’ Lat back to illustrate another aircraft with his timeless art.

“Now that we’re an ASEAN airline, our dream has been realised and Dato’ Lat helped us realise that dream,” says Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia in his welcome speech.

“We are proud to be associated with someone as talented and well loved across the ASEAN region. With the aircraft flying all over ASEAN, we believe that his creativity will inspire other young artists to greater height,” concluded Tony.

Also present at the ceremony was surprise guest Sir Bob Geldof who paid a visit to AirAsia while in town to speak at the Youth Engagement Summit 2009, Dato’ Kamarudin bin Meranun, Deputy Group CEO of AirAsia and AirAsia’ esteemed Board of Directors.

To celebrate our collaboration with Dato’ Lat, AirAsia will produce a limited edition line of Lat merchandise, including an exact replica of the aircraft bearing his illustrations, that will be available in December 2009.

AirAsia PR & Communications Team:
Desiree Bandal : desireeb@airasia.com
Natasha Md Sivan : natashasivan@airasia.com

Vijaya Priya : vijayapriyaananthan@airasia.com

Philippines Pushes for Single EU-Style ASEAN Visa

The Philippines is proposing the adoption of a single visa policy for 10 Southeast Asian nations, saying it would benefit trade and tourism.

Visitors currently need to secure separate visas for each of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Philippine Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan says he is pushing for a single visa for citizens of countries not belonging to Asean that would enable them to travel freely within the region.

He says the proposal will be discussed at a three-day meeting of regional immigration heads that starts Monday in the Philippine capital, Manila.

Libanan says a common visa, modeled on the European Union system, would bring huge benefits in trade, investment and tourism. - AP

Cambodia's Kratie Provinc in the Emerald Triangle

Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday he planned to incorporate Kratie province into the Emerald Triangle Cooperation Framework, a tourism, infrastructure and trade promotion zone linking northeastern Thailand, northwestern Cambodia and southern Laos. Ratanakkiri, Mondulkiri and Stung Treng provinces are already part of the economic zone. He was speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new section of National Road 78, which is being built between O’Pong Moan and Banlung Town in Ratanakkiri province with a $73 million concessional loan from China.

AirAsia’s 1 Million Free Seats Campaign puts Malaysia firmly on global travel map

AIRASIA Sets World Record – Then Breaks it!

AirAsia, the world’s best low-cost carrier and the largest budget airline in Asia, set a new world record with its latest 1 Million Free Seats Campaign that was launched on 11 November – and then broke it the very next day!

Navitaire, our host reservation provider that powers booking engines to an extensive number of airlines around the world, announced that AirAsia set a new international sales record with 402,222 seats snapped up in the 24-hour period after the campaign was launched.

But even before the ink was dry on the announcement, industry experts confirmed that AirAsia had broken its own new world record when another 489,000 seats were snapped up in the second 24-hour period.

AirAsia Group Deputy CEO, Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun lauded the achievement, “This is amazing news. It’s remarkable that we are setting world records in just over seven short years as a low-fare carrier, trumping established and renowned airlines. We are blazing new trails, and our brand has gone global.

“It is an accomplishment not just for AirAsia, but for Malaysia and ASEAN. The region’s largest low-fare carrier is demonstrating that ASEAN companies can take on the best – and beat them. And think of all those hundreds of thousands of people who will be flying AirAsia to Malaysia and elsewhere in ASEAN thanks to this campaign -- spending their tourism dollars and boosting local economies across our extensive network of over 130 routes.”

“We are also thankful for both the ‘Open Skies’ and ‘New Skies’ booking systems provided by Navitaire, which managed to handle the most demanding requirements of our flight booking operations.

And, of course, all credit to our hard-working and dedicated staff for making this record-setting achievement possible. I am fully confident that the dedication they demonstrate every day will help us deliver on the brand promise we have made to our guests: low fares, high quality, premium service, unmatched route network and frequency of flights,” he added.

AirAsia’s Regional Head of Commercial, Kathleen Tan said “The AirAsia web site – www.airasia.com had registered more than 300,000,000 (300 MILLION) hits in the first 11 hours of the campaign alone. The success of the campaign is attributed to the power of our blog and social network platform with over 100,000 Facebook followers and more than 10,000 Twitter followers.”

“It’s phenomenal. The overwhelming response confirms our belief that consumers are both online savvy and embracing AirAsia’s low-fare revolution. Our growing success proves clearly that the traditional days where consumers have to wait in long lines to purchase their flight tickets at the sales or airport counters are now gone forever. The Internet has made it easy and super fast to purchase airline tickets at the mere click of a finger. It’s also made it super convenient, as purchases can be made from laptops or from mobile telecommunication devices.

“It is also a clear endorsement of our strategy of expanding our route network and adding new destinations – such as Taipei, Chengdu, Kochi, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Abu Dhabi – and adding new hubs in Bali, Phuket and Bandung in Indonesia and Penang in Malaysia in addition to our existing hubs of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Bangkok (Thailand).”

Ms. Tan said the expanding route network and the frequency of flights allows AirAsia’s guests to plan their itinerary to hop and hub around ASEAN in particular, but also in general around Asia, Australia and Europe (London).

“And with our free seats campaign as well as our low, low fares, they can do it at a very affordable price. When you throw in the fact that we also provide tremendous offers on hotel rooms at our goholiday.airasia.com web site, it becomes abundantly clear why AirAsia is attracting the tremendous response that it is doing. In fact, it is already a trend for the young as well as families around the world, some are setting their alarm clocks and taking turns to log on to our website to grab the free seats and low fares” she concluded.

AirAsia Media Relations:
Sherliza Zaharudin : sherlizazaharudin@airasia.com

Linda Foo : fooyanyan@airasia.com

Gaming firm profits on Cambodia's NagaWorld Casino

Elixir Gaming records 6 percent rise in Cambodia revenue in Q3

OPERATING slot machines in the capital’s sole licensed casino provided profitable third-quarter returns for Las Vegas-based Elixir Gaming Co, according to results released Tuesday.

The company, which operates 384 machines in Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld casino, made US$1.1 million in revenues from its Cambodia machines in the July-to-September quarter, a 6 percent increase on the previous quarter.

Elixir signed two agreements in January and July of this year to operate on the gaming floor in NagaWorld. The firm purchases gaming machines from countries such as Australia and Slovenia, and operates them in Asian casinos.

Under the terms of its two Cambodia agreements, Elixir operates 384 machines at NagaWorld, and 32 more machines are slated to be in place by the end of December. The company also holds until February 28 a right of first refusal on a proposed additional 200 units for the casino floor.

Under the terms of its most recent deal, Elixir paid a “commitment fee” of $5.84 million to locate its machines on the gaming floor, said Clarence Chung, CEO of Elixir, in a teleconference Tuesday.

“However, Elixir Gaming is entitled to 100 percent of the net wins per unit per day from the additional machines, starting from the first day of operations until we have received a total accumulative amount of $7.3 million, which represents the commitment fee plus our 20 percent share of the win per unit per day,” he said.

NagaWorld officials declined to comment Wednesday, other than confirming Elixir constitutes just one of several gaming machine suppliers. The casino had 749 machines up to the end of June, according to a company report.

By the end of the year Elixir plans to have “1,300 to 1,400” operational gaming machines, of which 440 will be in NagaWorld, and the rest in the Philippines, Chung said.

In Tuesday’s teleconference the firm discussed possible expansion in Southeast Asia.

“Deployments for such projects could be as early as the first half of 2010,” said Chung. “Such projects that are in negotiation phases include two venues outside the Phnom Penh area in Cambodia, which could total over 500 machines, and one project in Vietnam.”

Commonwealth Games to attract tourists back to India

India’s tourism minister, Kumari Selja has outlined new plans to increase tourism in India. Speaking at the World Travel Market she said that at last it seems that the decline in the number of foreign visitors to the country seems to be leveling out. She said that the year-on-year drop of 7 percent in the ten months to October was mainly due to the terror attacks in Mumbai and the global economic slow down. In 2009 4.2 million tourists visited India which was the first fall in numbers since the increase in tourists from 2.38 million to 5.3 million from 2002 to 2008.

Selja went on to point out that although the countries growth rate had dropped from a six year average of 14.5 percent to 5.6 percent over the last year the country was still ahead of the average drop to just 2 percent experienced by the rest of the world.

Looking ahead Selja announced that amongst a number of events and initiatives planned to stimulate growth in the tourist sector Delhi’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games next October would be one of the most important. She said that the country expected somewhere in the region of 100,000 people to visit the games and went on to say that India planned to supply an extra 30,000 hotel rooms for those doing so.

One of the other main plans to attract tourists is the development of travel to some of the countries more rural areas. She said that 150 sites had been singled out for development, 30 of which had already been promised aid from the United Nation’s Development Council.

Direct flights to Russia from Cambodia

RUSSIA has asked Cambodia’s government to open direct routes connecting Moscow to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cheam Yeap, chairman of the National Assembly’s Finance and Banking Commission, told reporters on his return from a six-day visit to the country. He said the Russian government hoped the prospective routes would open up tourism and trade opportunities between the two countries. A Russian delegation is due to arrive in Cambodia on Sunday and will explore the issue further, he said. Last year, 16,927 tourists from Russia came to the Kingdom.

Airasia mounts biggest promotion: 1,000,000 free seats up for grabs!

Free Seats are back! AirAsia, the world’s best low cost airline is today giving away 1 million free seats*, to over 70 hot destinations including China, India, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and many more across our extensive network of over 130 routes; stretching across 20 countries.

The free seats promotion kicks off from 11 - 15 November 2009 (booking period) for the travel period from 1 May – 30 October 2010. Guests may log on to www.airasia.com or mobile.airasia.com to find out more about these exciting great deals.

AirAsia’s Regional Head of Commercial, Kathleen Tan said, “To usher 2010, this is the biggest and most exciting promotion of the year. With no fuel surcharge, and no administration fee, it’s a real deal, offering fantastic value to our guests. When the economy is tough, people seek cheaper traveling options which offer them better value for money and there is no better option than flying with AirAsia for Free! This is also our gesture of saying a big thank you to our guests and the public who supported and contributed to AirAsia’s success. Without them, we would not have been conferred the recent “Airline of the Year 2009” award from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), flying over 80 million guests to date.”

“AirAsia always observe the importance of low fares to ensure everyone can fly; and bringing back our highly popular free seats promotion will give our guests the greatest value ever. What’s more? To compliment the free flights, GoHoliday, AirAsia’s one stop travel portal is also offering sizzling deals and fantastic packages, including “Free Rooms” for over 180 Asia Pacific hotels online at http://goholiday.airasia.com. With this incredible offer, guests can plan their holidays ahead to enjoy great bargains, take this opportunity to be creative and map their holiday routing via AirAsia’s ten hubs (Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Bangkok, Phuket, Bandung, Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali, Penang and Johor) across our network at ultra low fares. For instance, guests from Australia, Europe or the Middle East may explore exotic ASEAN and beyond to some of the world’s most popular island resorts such as Bali, Phuket, Langkawi, and vice versa. With these great deals, AirAsia’s guests with huge appetite for travel will be spoilt for choice as we not only cater to the leisure market but also the adventure seekers, diving enthusiasts, historical and heritage explorers, shopaholics, and keen golfers all within our vast route network.” concluded Kathleen.

Guests can fly from Kuala Lumpur to domestic destinations such as Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and many more from as low as RM6 (All In Fare)*. Popular international destinations such as Jakarta, Bali, Yogyakarta, Bangkok, Phuket and even Tianjin are offered from as low as RM25 (All In Fare)*.

The best part is that, AirAsia’s long haul affiliate, AirAsia X recently launched routes such as Abu Dhabi, and Chengdu are also offered within the same period with special fares from as low as RM 99.00* (All In Fare)* only. AirAsia X highly in demand “Kangaroo Routes” to Australia such as Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth are offered from as low as RM149.00 (All In Fare)* and the popular London route is also on offer from as low as RM499 (All In Fare)*.

Promotional seats are limited and available on first-come, first-served basis and made exclusively online via www.airasia.com and mobile.airasia.com.

Stay tuned! Follow AirAsia on Twitter, Facebook, and AirAsia’s Blog where we will provide real time updates on our latest promotion.

AirAsia Media Relations:
Sherliza Zaharudin
E-mail : sherlizazaharudin@airasia.com

Linda Foo
E-mail : fooyanyan@airasia.com

China-ASEAN Tourism Co-operation Forum to be held in Kunming

With the development of economic globalization and regional integration, regional exchange and co-operation has become more and more extensive. As the largest industry in today’s world, tourism shows a growing trend towards regional joint development. To build up a China-ASEAN tourism co-operation platform and promote the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, it has been officially decided by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and Yunnan Provincial People’s Government to hold the China-ASEAN Tourism Co-operation Forum in Kunming on November 19-20, 2009.

As an important part of the China International Travel Mart (CITM) 2009, the upcoming forum will be attended by ministers of the ministries of tourism from China and the ASEAN countries. The forum will serve as a communication mechanism and a "bridge" between the governments, enterprises, and academic circles of the countries involved. The participants will discuss the "status quo" of tourism co-operation between China and ASEAN, the existing problems, and possible resolutions of these problems.

The following three major topics are set for governments, enterprises, and academic research, respectively:

(1) Strengthening inter-governmental co-operation by discussing how to simplify travel formalities required by the governments of China and ASEAN and the governments of Yunnan and ASEAN, how to promote mutual investment, and how to carry out joint promotion of tourist destinations, integrated development of tourist resources and tour routes, tourist product upgrading, tourism human resources development, heritage management and social impact control, development of poverty-alleviation tourism, and construction of the relevant tourism infrastructure facilities.

(2) Fostering a common market by discussing the mode in which the travel aviation enterprises, tourism investment enterprises, travel agency enterprises, and holiday hotel enterprises in China and ASEAN or in Yunnan and ASEAN can make mutual investments, open up markets, share these markets, and carry out joint marketing in the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

(3) Academic circles promoting the development of the tourism industry by discussing the mode, in which China-ASEAN tourism academic circles can offer support in scientific research and human resources to governmental departments for the development of the aforesaid co-operation mechanism as well as supporting business circles for the purpose of achieving mutual benefits and win-win results.

Participants can join the China International Travel Mart (CITM) in Kunming during November 19-22, 2009.
By Reinhard Hohler

Northern Eco & Adventure Travel Mart showcased Chiang Mai

Some 400 international and local buyers as well as media were invited to attend the highly promoted Northern Eco & Adventure Travel Mart at Royal Flora Ratchaphruek Garden at the foot of Doi Kham in Chiang Mai on November 6-8, 2009.

During the Welcome Dinner Reception on the evening on November 5 at the Centara Duangtawan Hotel Chiang Mai, there was a short mart briefing by Mr. Vunsadej Thavarasukha, Deputy Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Also, representatives of the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association (CTBA) gave a vivid “Northern Eco & Adventure Product” presentation. After the end of the reception, interested parties were transferred to the newly established “Playhouse” Entertainment Complex to watch a performance of “Sequins and dance!”

On the morning of November 6, Mr. Pairot Saengpoowong, Vice-Governor of Chiang Mai Province, and Mr. Auggaphol Brickshawana, Deputy Governor of TAT for Tourism Products, officially opened the Northern Eco & Adventure Travel Mart, which will be every two years from now on.

Exactly 120 sellers showcased Chiang Mai at its best and the travel trade meeting session at the Expo Centre was scheduled from 10.00-14.00, while TAT hosted a traditional market style buffet lunch. Starting on 14.00 in the afternoon, buyers and media were invited to go for hotel inspections to get a real feeling what kind of new accommodation facilities Chiang Mai has to offer to tourists and the Expo Centre was opened for visitors. The visited hotels included the newly opened Siripanna Villa Resort Chiang Mai, Prince Khum Phaya Resort, and last not least, the impressive and romantic Fueng Fah Riverside Garden Resort at the eastern bank of the Mae Ping River.

Interesting to note is that there were some groups of TAT hosted buyers from Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Kuala Lumpur amongst others. These buyers also took part at the post tour program on November 7 to visit hard and soft adventure destinations around Chiang Mai Province. Just to mention some of the booths at the Expo Centre, which drew a lot of attention:

Thai Eco-tourism & Adventure Travel Association (TEATA). Please contact: admin@teata.or.th
Dokmai Garden. Please go to: www.dokmaigarden.co.th
Lisu Lodge. Please go to: www.asian-oasis.com
Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden. Please go to: www.chiangmaitrekker.com
Inthanon Riverside Resort. Please go to: www.inthanonresort.com
Khiri Travel. Please go to: www.khiri.com
Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium. Please go to: www.chiangmaizooaquarium.com
Nok mini. Please go to: www.nokmini.com
Angkhang Nature Resort. Please go to: www.amari.com
De Naga Hotel, Chiang Mai. Please go to: www.denagahotel.com

Finally, there were informative booths by TAT from the Central Region, I-San Region, Eastern Region, and Southern Region. Mr. Satit Nillwongse, Executive Director of TAT’s Southern Region, revealed that there is the upcoming Andaman Travel Trade Show in Phuket on November 26-29 this month.

All in all, the Northern Eco & Adventure Travel Mart 2009 was a big success and ended on a high note with popular demonstrations at the nearby “Adventure Theme Park” and a special “Northern Eco & Adventure Music Contest” in the night of November 8.

In another development, more than 200,000 visitors are expected to attend a grand festival designed to celebrate and honor His Majesty the King, now the world’s longest reigning monarch, who will be celebrating his 82nd birthday on December 5, 2009.

The entire festival will run from November 30 - December 10, 2009 at the Ratchaphruek Garden in the northern Thai City of Chiang Mai. His Majesty the King ascended the throne in June 1946 and was inaugurated on May 5, 1950. Organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Chiang Mai Provincial Administration, the festival is expected to attract thousands of Thai, expatriate residents of Thailand, and international visitors to the northern region of Thailand.

Mrs. Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications, said that “TAT is very proud to host such a magnificent event for our beloved King. The event is designed to honor His Majesty the King and to promote tourism to Northern Thailand, especially the amazing Ratchaphruek Garden. It fits in perfectly with our plans to diversify our range of destinations, spread visitors around the country, and raise the incomes of rural people.”

The festival will help boost domestic tourism, raise hotel occupancies in Chiang Mai, and give extensive exposure to Northern Thailand, projected to be a bridgehead for Thailand’s future economic development plans and linkages with the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).

The official opening ceremony will be on December 1, with welcoming parades from all four regions of Thailand. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will deliver the opening address and then join the people in releasing 999 Khom Loi or hot air balloons. This will be followed by Thai classical dances from the four main regions, with 99 performers from each region, as the number nine is considered lucky for the Thai people. A slight variation of its pronunciation in Thai also means “progress”

The grandest part of the festival will be held on His Majesty’s Birthday on December 5, with the lighting of thousands of candles, offering of prayers and blessings for his continued good health, and singing of congratulatory songs, followed by a magnificent display of fireworks and a light and sound show.

Throughout the festival, visitors will be able to enjoy a wonderful horticultural exhibition of flowers, trees and fruits, and sales and competitions of agricultural products, handicrafts and village-made souvenirs. Especially, orchid lovers will find this festival a particular delight.

The Ratchaphruek Garden was originally built for the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2006, an international horticultural exhibition, held in the Northern Thai city of Chiang Mai as part of the celebrations commemorating the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty the King’s Accession to the Throne. Roughly 2.5 million plants and flowers, including some rare species of orchids, were on display at the exposition, which received over two million visitors.

Chiang Mai is the economic, communications, cultural, and tourism centre of Northern Thailand. In recent years, it has undergone considerable economic development, but still retains its historic heritage. It is also becoming increasingly well-known as a hub of traditional Thai massage, meditation, spa, health, and wellness.

Presently, Chiang Mai is served by Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, Tiger Airways, Silk Air, Lao Airlines, China Airlines, and Korean Air. At the same time, the Asian Highway network is now taking shape throughout Southeast Asia and will link Singapore with Kunming in Yunnan/China via both Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

The city is also winning international magazine awards for its charm and lifestyle. The Ratchaphruek Garden continues to be a major tourist spot. In addition, a number of the “Royal Initiative Discovery” projects, which highlight the sufficiency economic concept of His Majesty the King, are located in Northern Thailand and are well-worth checking out.

For further information, please contact the International Public Relations Division, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545-48, Fax: +66 (0) 2253 7419, E-mail: prdiv3@tat.or.th or go to: www.tatnews.org

Cambodia Tourism rebound continues in September as arrivals rise

Government statistics show drop-off in arrivals by air persisted, despite what was otherwise a strong Q3 for tourism after a disappointing start to this year

Cambodia's key tourism sector showed further signs of recovery in September, according to newly released Ministry of Tourism data, although all-important air arrivals remained down on last year.

Total arrivals in the Kingdom hit 151,937 in September, the figures showed, up 4.68 percent on the same period last year and beating average annualised growth in the first eight months of the year at 1.68 percent.

However, air arrivals, which bring in longer term, long-haul passengers that traditionally spend more, remained well down from last year. In September, 72,671 air passengers flew into Phnom Penh and Siem Reap international airports, down from 82,764 during the same month last year, a drop of 12.5 percent.

Though more passengers arrived by air in the first eight months of last year than in the first nine months of this year, September’s fall was better than the 13.03 percent decline recorded on average over the first eight months, suggesting things are picking up after a dismal first three months of the year.

Also, visitors to Siem Reap – Cambodia’s main tourism destination – fell 8.45 percent in the first nine months on last year, while 12.18 percent more visitors went to Phnom Penh over the same period.

“I dare to say we will get the same number of tourists as last year.… I have seen recently that package tours are getting booked up,” said Ho Vandy, co-chairman of the private-sector tourism working group and president of World Express Travel and Tours.

Latest figures showed that the third quarter was the best of the year with a 8.39 percent rise in total arrivals compared to growth of 2.25 percent in the second quarter and a contraction of 3.4 percent in the first.

Nevertheless, the figures show that although there is an increase in arrivals overall, a reverse on the slide at the beginning of the year, this is almost all due to the huge increase in land arrivals, particularly from Vietnam. In the first nine months, 42.82 percent more Vietnamese visited the Kingdom compared to the same period last year. Arrivals from Laos were up 92 percent.

Luu Meng, president of the Cambodia Hotel Association, said Tuesday that regional tourists were more sensitive to the price of accommodation, and that visitors this year were staying a shorter time in the Kingdom.

There were 40 percent more day arrivals over the same period in 2008, the figures showed.

“Despite the increase [in arrivals], we see that most tourists are from the region that mostly get here by land rather than air,” said Ho Vandy.

Kong Sophearek, director of the Statistics and Tourism Information Department at the Ministry of Tourism, attributed the rise in regional visitors to government initiatives launched this year designed to curb the impact of the tourism slump as the economic crisis reduced demand for global travel.

Cross-border transport agreements that have increased traffic from Vietnam and Laos, as well as a drive to add border crossings with both countries, had produced benefits, he said.

He predicted overall growth in arrivals of between 2 and 3 percent for 2009, citing the July launch of the new national carrier Cambodia Angkor Air as another factor that would help bring in foreign tourists.

Nicolas Deviller, CEO of Societe Concessionaire de l'Aeroports (SCA), operator of the Kingdom’s two international airports, predicted at the end of last month a 2 percent rise in aircraft movements next year, with new routes and larger planes on some existing routes as the domestic travel sector gears up for the coming high season.

Asiana Airlines, which stopped flying between Siem Reap and Incheon in South Korea at the end of September due to falling demand, is scheduled to resume four weekly flights on November 17, according to published schedules.

Koh Kong recommended

Meanwhile, Lonely Planet, the world’s largest seller of travel guides, has listed Koh Kong province among its top-ten regions for 2010 alongside Goa in India and Bali, the Indonesian resort island, in its Best In Travel 2010, published Monday.

A number of foreign and local investors, including the Royal Group, are building resorts and eco-tourism developments on the provinces many islands and in the Cardamom Mountains although almost none are scheduled for completion before the end of next year.

Experiencing Can Tho in the Heart of Southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta

The flow of a River and a Life - Mekong Delta

I stare from the riverbank at this astonishingly vast and lively world of water. Here, in the charming provincial city of Can Tho in the heart of southern Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, it is as if the land is merely an afterthought. Everything is about the river and the way of life it sustains.

It is a world of colour and movement, of a comforting spray of cool water on your face as you are rowed back to your hotel at night in a slim stick of a boat, of the sleepy glint of dusk as you trail your finger across the river’s surface, of the cough and splutter of a small passenger ferry as it crosses the river to Vinh Long, of the throaty gurgle of a rice boat as it slowly motors to Ho Chi Minh City or Cambodia.

The Mekong begins its 4500-kilometre journey to the sea in Tibet and winds its way through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally into the Mekong Delta. The Vietnamese call the river Cuu Long, or nine dragons, and it is easy to see why, for here the Mekong spreads in great tentacles into nine exits to the sea.

Can Tho sits on the banks of one of these tributaries, the Hang Giang River, also known as the Bassac, an impossibly broad, bustling expanse of brown water. It is a pleasant capital of 300,000 people, with tree-lined boulevards, cool grassy squares and 19th-century buildings that are remnants of French colonial days.

One of the great pleasures of Vietnamese provincial towns such as Hoi An or Nha Trang is the local markets and Can Tho is no exception.

Selling vegetables, fruit and seafood, its large market spreads over an entire city block on one side and follows the curve of the river on the other. There is much to do here and it is a good place to organise a home stay with a farming family. It is also a good place to do nothing much at all. Gazing out from the pleasant promenade, I see boats of all shapes and sizes, one of which takes my friends and me early next morning to the famous Cai Rang floating market. Boats from all over the region – from Bac Lieu, Vinh Long and Camau – come here to sell what seems like every fruit and vegetable ever imagined: jackfruit, oranges, rambutan, bananas, longans, pineapples and sweet potatoes.

Can Tho has several restaurants along the waterfront and that night we decide on the Thien Hoa. We settle happily at a pavement table in the evening balm, show no restraint and order a feast – fried snake with onions, sea bass soup with tamarind, prawns steamed in beer, catfish hotpot and coconut ice-cream. It is a meal to remember and a harbinger of culinary experiences to come.

Loaded up with fruit and sandwiches we’ve borrowed from the sumptuous breakfast buffet at the Victoria Hotel, we board the “fast boat” to Chau Doc, a journey An tells us will take about three hours. She says the slow boat, which leaves at 6.30am, takes about eight hours.

The fast boat is a long, relatively sleek, metal-hulled craft that does not go particularly fast, which turns out to be a blessing, given the pleasure of being on the water and lounging on the deck and watching the world go by. Most of the passengers are part of a package run by Delta Adventure Tours that includes a night at the company’s floating hotel in Chau Doc. As we are travelling independently, we each pay $US20 ($23) for the trip.

The boat seats about 30 people in something more or less resembling comfort. Sitting on the deck munching on a bag of rambutan, it becomes immediately clear to me that this is a working river. Large boats, washing fluttering in the breeze and overloaded with bananas, take their produce to market. Other boats dredge silt from the riverbed to be used in the construction industry. The weight of their cargo lays them so low in the water it is as if just one more grain could tip them into the muddy depths.

The riverbanks jump with activity. A line of brick kilns several kilometres long puffs smoke as families stack freshly baked bricks or load them on to waiting boats, the children straining under the burden. The smell of fermenting fish sauce wafts from factories onshore. Much of the riverbank is lined with sandbags to protect stilted houses from the river, which swells dramatically during the wet season.

There is so much of interest to observe on the water and the riverbanks that the journey passes quickly and before I know it we are approaching Chau Doc, a journey of 5 hours. The river seems to settle in the dusk and takes on a kind of dreamy indolence, as if it has done enough work for the day. Meanwhile, I have been lulled into a sense of well-being I’ve never experienced when travelling by road or air.

Impressed with our stay at the Victoria Hotel in Can Tho, we decide to spend a few nights at the Victoria in Chau Doc. It is another elegant, splendidly positioned; colonial-style building perched on the banks of the Bassac. The view from our room across the spreading river takes my breath away.

Chau Doc shuts down early and we are lucky to get to the Bay Bong restaurant while it is still serving dinner. The restaurant forgoes interesting decor for delicious Mekong cuisine. It’s another feast. We start with canh chua, the local sweet-and-sour fish soup, and follow this with steamed fish and prawns, including ca kho, stewed fish in a clay pot. It’s so good we return the next night.

We’re close to the Cambodian border here and the people are more obviously Khmer, with their fuller features, darker skin and a preference for a chequered scarf over the ubiquitous Vietnamese conical hat. It is also home to a sizeable community of Chams, a Muslim minority of Malaysian appearance who live on the other side of the Bassac River.

We hire a boat and motor across to the Cham village. On the main street, dotted with stalls selling fruit and vegetables and snacks, women chat in the shade of the verandas of their wooden houses. Little girls sell waffles and simple cakes to visitors. I meet the caretaker of one of the two mosques. He shows us a short film about the history of the Cham but it is in Vietnamese so we leave none the wiser.

This part of the Bassac River, where it meets the Mekong, is home to an extraordinary concentration of floating houses, each of which is a self-contained fish farm. In the centre of each house is a large cage submerged in the river, in which families raise local bassa catfish. The fish are fed a kind of meal made from cereal, fish and vegetable scraps in cauldrons that rumble and roil. The smell is challenging.

As we travel towards Cambodia, the river begins to change. Gone is the frenetic boat activity and on the riverbank life takes on a less industrial, more bucolic demeanour. As we rejoin the Mekong, the river widens and soon the factories on the shore are replaced by cornfields, banana trees that shift and flap in the breeze and ragged, palm-thatched huts. Families bathe in the shallows and children scrub and splash their wallowing buffaloes. One-and-a-half hours later, when we reach the border at Vinh Xuong, Vietnam, and Kaam Samnor, Cambodia, we’re in a different, more lush, more languid world.