Mekong Tourism Forum 2010 Set for Siem Reap,Cambodia

"New Roads, New Opportunities"
Mekong Tourism Forum Set for Siem Reap, May 7-8, 2010

This year's Mekong Tourism Forum will be held on May 7-8 the Angkor Century Resort and Spa, near to Angkor Wat the awe-inspiring Cambodian UNESCO Heritage Site.

The Mekong Tourism Forum provides a cooperative platform for stakeholders in the tourism industry to discuss development, marketing and promotion of travel to, from and within the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It presents an inclusive, interactive and results-oriented opportunity to encourage public and private sector participation in representing the GMS as a single destination.

"We are looking forward to hosting this influential networking gathering," said Dr Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism for Cambodia. "It will mark the progress of a pivotal business and travel industry forum initiated by the Asian Development Bank 14 years ago," he said.

The theme of the Mekong Tourism Forum 2010 is, "New Roads, New Opportunities". Business and government sector leaders will assess the latest tourism developments and investment opportunities along the regional road networks linking Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern China provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi.

Across the Mekong region, new areas with previously minor or no tourism infrastructure are now opening up along three main corridors: the southern coastal road from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam via Cambodia; the central east-west route linking Northeast Thailand to southern Laos and Hue in central Vietnam; and the north-south Kunming-Bangkok road through northern Laos.

"Today villages and towns along the way are benefiting from the arrival of tourists where there were none before," said Mason Florence, Executive Director of the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office. "At the Mekong Tourism Forum we will discuss investment prospects and hear from tourism operators who are already taking advantage of opportunities along the new overland corridors."

During the forum at the Angkor Century Resort & Spa, panel discussions will be held on "Pioneering Mekong Tourism Products," "The Path to Community-based Tourism," "How Sustainable Tourism Can Drive Profit" and "The Road Ahead".

The Mekong Tourism Forum works to achieve three main objectives:
- To raise the profile of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) as a single tourist destination.
- To provide an industry-wide platform for the public and private sectors to address sub-regional tourism issues.
- To expand marketing networks and opportunities for promoting the GMS and its stakeholders, pool collective resources and create intra-industry synergy.

To help attract small and medium-sized tourism entrepreneurs and a diverse range of travel professionals, the MTCO, in conjunction with Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism, has reduced the cost of attending the Mekong Tourism Forum 2010 to a nominal US$50 for the two-day event and US$30 for members of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). The registration fee includes access to all forum sessions, including two lunches and two dinners.

Financial support for MTF 2010 is being provided by the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia, the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and the USAID-funded ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement project. Other travel industry partners are providing support in-kind.

The Mekong Tourism Forum 2010 is open to all. Registration can be done online at www.mekongtourismforum.org

For further information email to: info@mekongtourismforum.org or call the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office at: (+66) 2-612-4150.

IT&CM China 2010 in Shanghai features Hangzhou

The theme of this year’s Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings (IT&CM) China, ‘Bridging the Global MICE Business’, aptly reflects China’s important role as a catalyst and emerging platform for international MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions).

Scheduled to be held from 7 to 9 April at the Shanghai Mart Expo, IT&CM China 2010 has confirmed the participation of more Chinese buyers and sellers this year, including many first-time participants. They include trade associations, such as the China Condiment Industry Association, Human Resources Association for Foreign and Chinese Enterprises, Beijing, National Architecture Institute of China, and the Macao Convention & Exhibition Association. These reputable bodies have chosen to source for services at IT&CM China 2010 to complement their meetings and conventions program.

Also attending for the first time is D&S Media Group - Beijing D&S Consulting Co., Ltd, one of the top 10 Chinese PR agencies with branches in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. Its professional service team has nearly 300 people in public relations, advertising, events, online marketing and sports marketing areas. Wu Fan, who will attend as a hosted buyer said, "We organise over 30 incentive trips and activities to both local and international destinations every year. I look forward to sourcing for new and innovative deals at IT&CM China 2010. This will add value to our planning."

More than 300 international and Chinese buyers are expected to attend, with Chinese buyers coming from 13 cities across China, representing a mix of corporate companies, travel agents and trade associations.

IT&CM China has also won over the local and international National Tourism Organisations (NTOs), which translate to a larger participation at this upcoming fourth edition. Darren Ng, Managing Director of TTG Asia Media, commented, "It is gratifying to see more active participation from both the international and Chinese exhibitors. The total number of sellers has increased this year to 250 companies and organisations, up 19 per cent from last year. It is evident that IT&CM China has become the platform of choice for generating new business leads and providing educational and networking opportunities in China."

IT&CM China 2010 will offer a series of fresh and exciting business, networking and learning opportunities for an expected 2,000 participants. Apart from business meetings, social functions and special events, the program will include pre-show city tours of host city Shanghai, an opening ceremony & welcome dinner plus the hosted networking luncheons of the three-day event.

But it is up to Hangzhou to debut as ‘Presenting City’ and be featured accordingly.

As the ‘Presenting City’ for IT&CM China 2010, Hangzhou will play host to international buyers and media as they tour the city after the tradeshow. The post-show tour will showcase the historic beauty of Hangzhou, already described by Marco Polo in the 13th century, and its latest offerings as a modern cosmopolitan city. Besides the post-show tour, the ambitious Hangzhou Tourism Commission will co-sponsor the Opening Ceremony & Welcome Dinner for IT&CM China 2010.

Li Hong, Chairman of the Hangzhou Tourism Commission said, "IT&CM China provides a good opportunity to demonstrate the city’s conference and incentive travel capabilities, create the image of Hangzhou as the top destination for conference and incentive travel, and to drive the development of the local tourism industry."

For further information, please go to: www.itcmchina.com

TAT organized Chiang Mai & Northern Thailand Road Show to China’s Jinghong and Kunming

Some more than 120 travel professionals and media gathered at the Imm Hotel near Chiang Mai’s Tha Pae Gate at midnight to join the ambitious Chiang Mai & Northern Thailand Road Show to China’s Jinghong and Kunming that was organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on March 13-19, 2010. To connect Northern Thai Tourism with the emerging Chinese market, TAT went an extra long way by using the new Highway R3A via Northern Laos to China.

After all the passengers had boarded four modern buses of Standard Tour Chiang Mai, we departed Chiang Mai at 02.00 on March 13 and headed straight to Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai Province (324km), where we arrived at 07.00 in the morning. We had breakfast at the Nam Khong Riverside Hotel and continued to the Thai Immigration border point to board some small motor boats to reach Ban Houai Sai on the Lao side of the mighty Mekong River.

After passing all the border formalities (Foreigners have to pay 30USD for the transit visa!), we boarded new buses, which came from Jinghong in China. We departed Ban Houai Sai at 9.30 and took Highway R3A that leads to the Lao-Chinese border of Boten-Mohan some 228km away. For lunch, we stopped at the comfortable Heuan Lao Restaurant (Tel. 086-211111) in Luang Nam Tha to reach there at 13.30 because nearly the first half of the highway between Ban Huai Sai and Luang Nam Tha was in a deteriorating condition. This stretch has to be fixed accordingly, if more and more tourists will use this way to reach China.

We left Luang Nam Tha at 14.30 to reach the Lao Immigration border point in Boten at 15.15 and needed one hour for the border formalities including passing the Chinese border point in Mohan. Interesting to note is that for foreigners arriving in China there is a visa on arrival service.

China time is one hour onwards, so we left Mohan at 17.15 for the first section of the Mohan-Kunming Highway to Jinghong (249km), Capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. The road is a two-lane highway in a superb condition so that we reached the modern Jinghong Mekong Bridge at 20.00. Before checking in at the centrally located Yunnan Air Xishuangbanna Sightseeing Hotel, we dined in a popular Sichuan Restaurant nearby. Later that night, there was still time to inspect the night market in Jinghong and some entertainment places.

Next morning, we had one day in subtropical Xishuangbanna, the home of the Dai (Tai Lue), for sightseeing. Xishuangbanna in the Dai language means “twelfe administrative areas” and was a long time ago discovered by Bayalawu and a hunting party, who was chasing a golden deer. Today, Xishuangbanna is situated in China’s far Southwest and embraces three counties, namely Jinghong, Menghai and Mengla. Rice-fields, tea terraces and rubber plantations abound.

We visited Ganlanba, also called Menghan Commune, some 27km away on a small road along the Mekong-Lancangjiang River. Just south of Jinghong, there is a cable car line built over the river to reach Monkey Hill, the site of the former Dai king’s wooden palace within Mengle Cultural Park. It is a shame that the cable car line is now idle, because there are plans to construct a residential area there and move all the cultural relics into a newly built Buddhist monastery in town.

In Menghan, we stopped at the colorful morning market to watch the many minorities of the hills to come for shopping. Fish, meat, vegetables, spices, and all kind of fruits can be seen. After that, we proceeded to a kind of Dai Ethnic Garden, which was built on the ground of the five villages of Manjiang, Manchunman, Manting, Manzha and Manga. Highlights are the visits to old Dai pagodas and typical Dai stilt-houses. There is a daily performance of the Water Splashing Festival (Sonkhran in Thai). After lunch in a local restaurant in Menghan, we drove back to Jinghong to use the free afternoon for shopping. For dinner, a visit in a newly built restaurant street along the Mekong River was in order.
It was up to Khun Satit Nillwongse, TAT Executive Director for East Asia, to arrange the “Buyer Meet Seller Program” at the morning of March 15 in the hotel. Mr. Lu Jiang Quan, Bureau Head of the Tourism Administration of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, gave a welcome speech and revealed that some 85,000 Thai tourists visit his place annually. While Khun Satit introduced some leading tourism professionals from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tak, Mae Hong Son, Uthai Thani, Phitsanulok, Phrae and Lamphun, Khun Sarawut Saetia, President of the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association (CTBA), showed a video to highlight the tourist attractions of Northern Thailand. Last not least, Khun Songvit from Standard Tour listed in perfect Chinese the 26 tourist companies for the following tabletop sales.
After an entertaining farewell lunch, the whole delegation left Jinghong to Kunming (577km), Capital of China’s Yunnan Province, at 14.00. We reached Pu Erh, new name for Simao, at 15.30 and then realized that from Pu Erh to Ning Erh (new name for Puerh) and even further, Highway R3A was not existing and still has to be constructed. Only 350km before Kunming we re-hit the now four-lane R3A.
At 19.00 we stopped at Mojiang, where we had an excellent local dinner. We continued to Yuanjiang next, where we crossed the dried up Red River (Yuanjiang), which flows into Viet Nam. We realized that Yunnan and neighboring countries are in the midst of an extreme drought, which was never like this for the last sixty years. No wonder that also the mighty Mekong River experiences low water levels, which are not caused by the new dam building activities of the Chinese alone. Finally, we arrived in Kunming at 23.30 and checked in at the luxury Kai Wah Plaza International Hotel located near the Kunming Railway Station, where we stayed for the next three nights.
To make a long story short, we enjoyed a lot free time to discover the modern metropolis Kunming and had our “Buyer Meet Seller Program” (tabletop sales) on the evening of March 17. For that event, Khun Sansern Ngaorungsi, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Asia and South Pacific) flew from Bangkok to Kunming to welcome all the delegates and Chinese visitors. He said that Thailand is safe and Chinese tourists should visit Thailand. Interesting to note is that TAT hopes that about 0.81 million Chinese will visit Thailand this year - more than double compared to last year.
After a festive dinner function, where THAI Airways International Krissada Napamorakot, General Manager in Kunming, was present, it was clear that the Chiang Mai-North Thailand Road Show was timely and successful. TAT is planning to open an office in Kunming soon. Next morning, most of the road show participants went back the same way from Kunming to Chiang Mai with one overnight stop in Mengla, where we stayed in the new King Land Business Hotel. I counted some 53 tunnels on the highway between Kunming and Mohan. On March 19 at 22.00, we safely arrived in Chiang Mai again after two times 1,378km on the road.
Appendix: Seller List of the participating companies
Prince Khum Phaya Resort & Spa (www.princekhumphayaresortandspa.com)
Royal Princess Hotel (www.dusit.com)
Suriwong Hotel Chiang Mai (www.suriwongsehotels.com)
Star Hotel Chiang Mai (www.starhotelchiangmai)
The Family Hotel (www.thefamilyhotel.com)
Amari Rincome Hotel (www.amari.com)
Holiday Garden Hotel & Resort (www.holidaygardenhotelandresort.com)
Suan Bua Hotel & Resort (E-mail: reservations@suanbua.com)
Inthanon Riverside Resort (www.inthanonresort.com)
Tipchang Lampang Hotel (www.tipchanghotel.com)
Muang Pai Resort (www.muangpairesort.com)
Maesa Elephant camp (www.maesaelephantcamp.com)
Gassan Marina Golf Club (www.gassangolf.com)
Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium
Thai Elephants Home Stay
Thai Massage School Chiang Mai (www.tmcschool.com)
Patawe Health & Beauty Spa (www.patawe.com)
Khum Khantoke Restaurant (www.khantoke.com)
Jia Tong Heng Restaurant Chiang Mai (www.jiarestaurant.com)
Thai House Bird’s Nest (Tel. 053-339493)
Ruby Car Rental (www.rubycarrental.com)
Bright Tour & Trading (E-mail: brighttr@loxinfo.co.th)
Thailand Great Tours (www.thailandgreattours.com)
Udomporn Tours Chiang Mai (www.udomporntours.com)
Chiang Mai K.K. Travel
Standard Tour (www.standardtour.com)
By: Reinhard Hohler, Chiang Mai

Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Appoints New Tourism Ambassadors

It was under the catch phrase “Once a Seychellois, always a Seychellois" that the Seychelles Tourism Board this afternoon at the ITB trade fair in Berlin, Germany, announced a second group of Tourism Ambassadors.

This now brings the number of Seychelles representatives to 60 in 25 countries across the world.
The new appointments were announced by Vice President Joseph Belmont at a trade lunch on the Seychelles stand.

“We shall continue to identify more Seychellois living and working overseas and propose to them to become part of the Seychelles Tourism Ambassadors Program,” said Vice President Belmont.

The director of tourism marketing, Alain St. Ange, on his part said that empowering Seychellois in the four corners of the world to defend and promote Seychelles, remains a novel idea and one that the tourism board will continue to develop.

He explained that by appointing Seychellois living overseas as Tourism Ambassadors, they were responding to President Michel’s “Koste Seselwa" appeal, and they have to date appointed 60 Seychellois in 25 countries to work alongside their overseas offices to make Seychelles more known.

“It is encouraging to see so many Seychellois nationals themselves making the approach to become a Tourism Ambassador and in so doing, express their wish to work for Seychelles,” Mr. St. Ange said.

The Seychelles Tourism Board is presently finalizing a dedicated newsletter for the Tourism Ambassadors to keep them updated on Seychelles tourism news and what the different members are doing in their respective cities.

Sharen Venus, the tourism board’s marketing executive overseeing the Ambassadors program, said that the enthusiasm of the newly-appointed Tourism Ambassadors was so evident, and she was convinced that their personal contacts will help make Seychelles better known in the four corners of the world.

The tourism board is expected to announce the next group of appointments to its Tourism Ambassadors program during the Seychelles National Show, as part of the National Day Celebrations in June.

Seychelles Tourism Board Contacts:

Alain St. Ange Email: alain.s@seychelles.com

Sharen Venus Email: sharen.v@seychelles.com

Seychelles Tourism: http://www.seychelles.travel

Tourism in China’s Hangzhou city promoted in Hanoi

The potential for tourism in Hangzhou city, in China’s Zhejiang province, was featured at a meeting of travel agents in Hanoi on March 18.

Hangzhou, famous with its beautiful natural scenery, was awarded the best tourism city by the China National Tourism Administration.

The city boasts a complex of lakes, including the 6.5sq.km West Lake, one of China’s top ten renowned tourist attractions.

The 2,228 year-old city is also one of China’s seven ancient capitals.

The city’s tourism committee said it looks forward to Hanoi’s travel agents to promote Hangzhou’s images to Vietnamese tourists.

Travel agencies in Hanoi also spoke about their city’s tourism potential and asked Hangzhou travel agents to send more visitors to Vietnam’s capital, and other destinations in the country.

In 2009, Vietnam welcomed 500,000 visitors from China. The country plans to organise tourism promotion programmes in China in the coming time.
Source:vbn

Cambodia Tourism Recovery Begins

Latest figures show total visitors and air arrivals rose in January 2010

Figures released by the Ministry of Tourism Thursday suggested Cambodian tourism is starting to recover after a difficult 2009, as total visitors rose an annualised 6.36 percent in January, which included a nearly 5 percent increase in all-important air arrivals.

Data also showed a dramatic rise in tourists from Cambodia’s two main sources – South Korea and Vietnam – capping a steady upswing from a low base at the start of 2009, the period in which the Kingdom was hit hardest by the global economic crisis. Although overall arrivals climbed 1.7 percent in 2009, air arrivals dropped 10.3 percent, official figures showed.

“We have already received the impact from the crisis. And now it is over, so the sector is on the way to recovery,” Kong Sophearak, director of the Statistics and Tourism Information Department, said Thursday.

South Korean visitors led the spike in air arrivals, reclaiming the top spot with a 39 percent rise in travellers to the Kingdom over second-placed Vietnam, almost all of whose visitors come overland, with a 22 percent increase in arrivals.

South Korean Airlines Asiana, which suspended flights to Siem Reap from Incheon for nearly three months ahead of the tourism high season at the end of last year, saw full loads on its flights four times per week in January to Cambodia’s main tourism hub, Nhim Kimny, the airlines sales and marketing superviser, said Thursday.

Those full loads extended into February, she said, but the real test will once again be at the height of the low season come midyear – flights in January and February were similarly full last year, she added.

“It’s [South Koreans’] holiday period now,” Nhim Kimny said.

Most countries among the top 10 sources of visitors to the Kingdom saw more tourists travel in January compared with last year, including Japan (2.6 percent more), whose economy has struggled to recover from the crisis with just a 0.9 percent official rise in GDP in the last quarter. Australia sent 8 percent more tourists, and visitors from Taiwan increased by 41 percent.

The United States, the number three visitor to Cambodia, saw tourists drop 10 percent, while China saw an unexpected 20 percent fall in tourists to the Kingdom, a surprise given its booming economy and recent high demand for overseas travel as disposable incomes climb and restrictions on foreign holidays are eased.

Overall, however, analysts said the figures were positive, and that a firm recovery would likely take hold throughout the remainder of 2010.

“This year, we are confident of increasing tourism arrivals to Cambodia because the country has an advantageous relationship between quality and price, good customer service and a diversity of offers,” said Mohan Gunti, an adviser to the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents. “There is so much to see in Cambodia.”

Phnom Penh International Airport saw arrivals rise 7.56 percent in January year on year, Thursday’s figures showed, while Siem Reap arrivals climbed just 2.73 percent.

However, Sihanoukville Airport has still not confirmed any flights since renovation was finished at the end of last year.

Asian carriers are expected to post profit of US$900 million in 2010, reversing losses of US$2.7 billion in 2009, as the International Association of Travel Agents on Thursday halved its loss forecast for the global airline industry to $2.8 billion on the back of an Asian-led recovery, AFP reported.

In terms of a Cambodian forecast for the overall industry, Kong Sophearak said Thursday he expected 3-7 percent growth this year. “The sector is in a good position now,” he said.

Mohan said efforts to attract foreign tourists through attractive packages and affordable prices supported by accommodation partners and travel operators would form the strategy for the remainder of 2010.

“All these factors and more will definitely boost the growing tourism industry,” he told the Post.
Source: phnompenhpost

Cambodia to preserve Khmer Rouge sites as tourist attractions

Cambodia will preserve 14 sites at the last bastion of the murderous Khmer Rouge, including the home of their leader Pol Pot, as tourist attractions, an official said Wednesday.

Following Cabinet approval last week, the sites at Anlong Veng will be protected from destruction by local people and illegal encroachment, the area's district chief Yim Phana said.

Anlong Veng, about 185 miles (300 kilometers) north of Phnom Penh, fell to government forces in 1998 after nearly 20 years of fighting.

The Khmer Rouge regime, under which an estimated 1.7 million people died from execution, disease and malnutrition, was toppled in 1979 but its guerrillas fought on in the jungles, with Anlong Veng becoming their last stronghold.

Yim Phana said the 14 sites include homes belonging to Khmer Rouge leaders, an ammunition warehouse and the grave of Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

Once a remote town, Anlong Veng is now connected by good roads to nearby Thailand and Cambodia's greatest tourist attractions, the temples of Angkor.

Revenue from Cambodia Tourism falls around 2pc in difficult 2009

Sector analysts point to shorter lengths of stay and less spending following crisis.
Revenue generated from the Kingdom’s tourism sector fell by about 2 percent last year as the sector suffered a drop in spending amid the fallout from the economic crisis, a Ministry of Tourism official told the Post.

Director of Tourism and Statistics Kong Sophearak said the industry generated revenues of US$1.561 billion in 2009 compared to $1.595 billion the previous year despite an overall 1.7 percent rise in the number of visitors to Cambodia, according to ministry figures.

“Last year, foreign tourists tried to reduce their expenses by reducing their stay and downgrading from high-end hotels to cheaper ones,” he said. “Although the number of foreign tourists to Cambodia went up last year, most of them were from the region, not from European countries.”

A Ministry of Tourism report showed that while total visitors climbed in 2009, air arrivals sank as Vietnamese visitors claimed the number one spot from South Koreans – visitors from neighbouring Vietnam climbed 51 percent last year, and those from Laos were up 55 percent.

Kong Sophereak said that Cambodia had therefore effectively replaced higher-spending Western tourists with visitors who stayed a shorter time and spent less.

Typically a Vietnamese traveller to the Kingdom would stay just three days and spend as little as $150 during a trip, explained Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA). A European visitor, by comparison, would usually stay about 10 days and spend many times more, he added.

“The global economic crisis was a significant factor in regards to the decline in tourism sector revenue as tourists’ incomes were hit, therefore they needed to secure expenses,” he said.

Although the Kingdom’s aim of attracting tourists from a wide range of countries had appeared to have paid off in some respects given the overall rise in tourist numbers, measures such as granting visitors from certain countries free visas had delivered little impact, said Mohan Gunti, a CATA advisor and member of the tourism working group which liaises with the government.

Still, Kong Sophearak forecast that further government measures – including the promise of further direct air links to the Kingdom, which will soon include a route to Indonesia – and a general improvement in the world's economy, and that of Cambodia, would help avoid a further drop in tourism revenues during this year.

“We have taken a lot of action to promote the tourism sector,” he said.
Recent rebound
Kim Eang said there had been recent evidence of an upsurge in visitors to the Kingdom’s main tourism sites including to Angkor Wat.

“Things have become positive now,” he said. “The number of tourists from the region, as well as from Europe visiting the ancient Angkor temples has risen.”

Mohan said that further cooperation among the private- and public-sector stakeholders would be required to continue promoting Cambodia as a tourism destination.

“The crisis is over, so things are moving,” he told the Post.
Source: phnompenhpost