Myanmar: Open for Business Visit Hertz @ Booth #G30 Tourism Ministry Signals Change, Bringing Optimism to the Travel Trade
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Official ATF Daily J 13, 2012 • • R 2 Myanmar: open for business Visit Hertz @ Booth #G30 Tourism ministry signals change, bringing optimism to the travel trade By Shekhar Niyogi and we may see a deluge if some rivals to grow Myanmar can expect busier skies A FAR-SIGHTED new govern- of the policy changes take effect. 35 per cent – six domestic carriers and 15 ment in Myanmar has revealed We now charge US$200,000 or a this year to foreign airlines already serve the that it is studying the implemen- percentage of gross revenue as a achieve 1.2 destination. Myanmar Airways tation of several tourist-friendly fee, whichever is higher. We are million foot- International and Air Bagan changes in the areas of hotel de- working on a formula that will falls. are also slated to begin flights velopment, air access and visas. be attractive to new overseas in- This may to new destinations soon under Policies are in place to develop vestors.” not be out of the ASEAN Open Sky pact, a infrastructure in six regions in- According to U Aung Zaw U Aung Zaw Win: reach, given development which is expected cluding Yangon, Bagan, Inle and Win, director general, Ministry all maxed out that in just to augment the large volume of Mandalay. of Hotels and Tourism, a target the last two ASEAN tourists that Myanmar is U Htay Aung, deputy minister, to build 24,000 guestrooms in months of already attracting. Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, the budget, two- and three-star 2011, there was a 27 per cent leap Myanmar’s largest ASEAN told the Daily that the country’s categories over the next few years in arrivals, compared to the same source market is Thailand (15.8 way. Presently, the country grants land allocation and leasing poli- has been set. period in 2010. per cent), which ranks close to visas on arrival to passengers ar- cies are being relooked, including Illustrating the destination’s Aside from infrastructure, the the destination’s top traffic con- riving on cruises and charter extending the duration of leases dire need for rooms, he said the Daily has also learned that a pro- tributor, China (15.9 per cent). flights, as well as to package tour from two to at least five years. country’s 739 hotels were all posal to scrap tax on all incom- Meanwhile, an effort to cut travellers from countries where He said: “There are 25 foreign booked out till March. ing flights has been submitted turnaround time for pre-arrival Myanmar has no diplomatic rep- investment-backed hotels here, U Aung Zaw Win expects ar- to the government. If successful, visa applications is also under resentation. Flag carrier spurs Myanmar’s aviation growth MYANMAR’S airline sector is finally soaring after suffering three lacklustre years and the grounding of Yangon Airways in 2010. In a dramatic reversal of fortunes, 2011 saw airlines serving the destination adding new routes, new airlines opening and Yangon Airways regaining permission to fly. Today, flag carrier Myanmar Airways International (MAI) faces competition from many Asian airlines including Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways, SilkAir and AirAsia. However, despite stiff competition, MAI grew its regional network in last year. It launched a twice-weekly Yangon-Siem Reap service, which later became a circuit route with stops in Phnom Penh, and a twice-weekly Yangon-Guangzhou service. It currently also has regular flights to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Gaya. According to MAI spokesperson, Aye Mra Tha, the airline intends to acquire more aircraft to support its route and capacity expansion, which includes new services to Jakarta, New Delhi, Tokyo, Seoul, Dubai, Doha and Bali. – Rahul Khanna NATAS to lead missions By Linda Haden member of the association’s inbound sub- THE NATIONAL Association of Travel committee. It will see eight to 10 travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) has taken over companies, three to four attractions and the lead in giving Singapore a face at some up to 10 hotels heading to key trade events major travel tradeshows this year, follow- such as ATM, WTM and CITM under the ing the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) NATAS banner this year. Participation move to cut back on its tradeshow rates are expected to be slightly presence. Inbound players are higher than what STB charges worried that this may be sympto- – between S$3,500 (US$2,708) matic of STB’s gradual withdraw- and S$9,000 depending on lo- al of local trade support. cation – as NATAS does not STB’s decision to skip major have pockets deep enough to tourism events such as GIBTM, subsidise trips. WTM and ATM in 2011 struck To minimise the initial fi- a raw nerve with the trade and Lim: tradeshows nancial outlay associated with many have interpreted the move still important tradeshow participation, NA- as a snub. TAS has applied for subsidies According to a statement from STB to under the International Marketing Activi- the Daily, attendance at AIME, ITB Ber- ties Programme administered by Inter- lin, IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America national Enterprise Singapore (IE). If the in 2012 have been confirmed to date, few- application is successful, NATAS stands to er than last year, when the NTO chose to receive up to 70 per cent relief from IE to exhibit in at least eight major tradeshows. cover expenses incurred for space rental NATAS’ initiative, which is being evalu- and booth construction, among others. ated, is spearheaded by Samson Tan, CEO of travel group GTMC Holdings and a Continued on page 4 ATF-day2 p01KYgc.indd 1 1/12/12 6:05 PM SNAPSHOTS JANUARY 13, 2012 • TTG ASIA OFFICIAL ATF DAILY 2 Visit Hertz @ Booth #G30 The Shanti Collection Indonesia’s Gustu Cocotinos Sekotong’s Iwan Sitompul and Frasers Hospitality Singapore’s Ray Hua and Mahardika and The Shanti Collection Singa- Cocotinos Manado’s Milka Sitorus, both SunTrips Thailand’s Euam Akapatangkul pore’s Patrick Murray from Indonesia Gearing up for a great mart Buyers and sellers arrive in Manado and stream in for registration. Patrick Tan catches the early birds Complete India & Asia UK’s Margaret and Independence Hotel Resort & Spa Cam- Stuart Miller Blue Pacific Tours & Travel Malaysia’s bodia’s Thomas Lam and Dara Hotels & World Express Singapore’s Jimmy Sim Anne Tan and The Traveling Eye US’ Resorts Cambodia’s Michael Lim and Travel Smart Malaysia’s Eric Lau Gene Harley Global Meeting UK’s Sonia Rose and Rose Arnold Marketing UK’s Clifford Rose Aerowisata Senggigi Beach Hotel Indonesia’s Golden Eagle Travel & Tours’ Maria Michelle Ida Bagus Okayana and Reyes-Victoria, Amkor Travel & Tours’ Mari- Asean Resort Net Japan’s anne Malinao-Tismo and BC Travel Services’ Eiji Ogata Privilege Tours Hungary’s Agnes Gonda and Weng Balmes-Catalan, all from the TTG Asia’s Mark Wee Philippines Wild Card Adventures US’ Scott Wild Bintan Resorts International’s SunBird Tours Myanmar’s Werner Rumpf Asad Shiraz and Mercure Vientiane Twinkle Turqueza ATF-day2 p02.indd 2 1/12/12 3:56 PM NEWS JANUARY 13, 2012 • TTG ASIA OFFICIAL ATF DAILY 3 Philippines holds breath on tax More airline pull-outs could hurt the destination, with European demand already a question mark By Marianne Carandang tourists from Europe, (who may) just con- in Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila nance had agreed not to oppose to a revi- THE LOCAL travel trade is hoping that clude their trip in an Asian hub of their and occupy 11,000 roomnights per year.” sion of the laws governing the CCT. A final the Philippine lawmakers will approve the chosen airline.” Speaking to the Daily, Department decision, which will be made by Congress, abolishment of an airline tax, which has Added Ursem: “Our crew will not stay of Tourism secretary Ramon R Jimenez is expected in June. – Additional report- been roundly criticised for its detrimental in Manila from April. Currently, they stay pointed out that the Department of Fi- ing by Sim Kok Chwee and Linda Haden effect on the destination. KLM – the last carrier to operate direct flights from Europe to the Philippines – recently announced it would add an inter- mediate stop in either Hong Kong or Tai- pei to its Amsterdam-Manila route from April. This means that the number of seats from Amsterdam to Manila will be drasti- cally reduced as capacity will be shared by both cities. This situation is compounded by the fact that Philippine carriers are not per- mitted to fly to Europe due to an EU ban. Cees Ursem, Air France-KLM general manager South China Sea, attributed the decision to the financial burden dealt by two taxes – the common carrier tax (CCT), a three per cent business tax on gross receipts, and a 2.5 per cent gross Philippine billings tax. Stephen Crowdey, first vice chairman of the Board of Airline Representatives, said that “less non-stop capacity significantly reduces the appeal of the Philippines for the trade and tourists alike,” a concern shared by inbound travel companies. Philippine Travel Agencies Association president, Aileen Clemente, explained: “The Philippines will be reliant on flights connecting through other Asian cit- ies, which may be the deciding factor for “Seat capacity will be affected, and there will be a domino effect, resulting in fare increases.” Helen Hao President Philippine IATA Agents Travel Association In brief First China charters for Manado MANADO will receive charter flights from Guangzhou this month, the first direct charter service from China. Operated by Batavia Air’s 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft, the first flight will touch down on January 23 with 170 pas- sengers, while the second – which has not been filled – will arrive on January 26.