cover depan.pdf 1 13/12/2019 17:30:54 ATF 2020 January 16, 2020 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Front Cover.pdf 2 14/12/2019 03:27:45 Limitless! C M Y CM MY CY CMY C K M Y CM MY CY CMY K Badung - Bali Inner Cover.pdf 1 14/12/2019 03:48:12 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Inner Cover.pdf 1 14/12/2019 03:48:12 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K cover depan.pdf 1 13/12/2019 17:30:54 ATF 2020 January 16, 2020 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Front Cover.pdf 2 14/12/2019 03:27:45 Limitless! C M Y CM MY CY CMY C K M Y CM MY CY CMY K Badung - Bali January 16, 2020 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei New European markets shine bright Unique offerings and warm locals here are fuelling the growing demand By Pamela Chow also been sending Dutch travellers to “already sell themselves”, he said, adding New source markets in eastern and cen- “every part of South-east Asia, especially that other South-east Asian destinations tral Europe are glowing for South-east the ASEAN countries”, said its director SH such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Asia, just as destinations in the region face Oei. need to step up their promotional push. falling numbers from traditional Euro- He added: “We have special ties with Another area of concern in travelling to pean markets like Germany and the UK, Indonesia, where we’ve been sending Asia is the tourist infrastructure and ac- reported travel agents at ATF 2020. many travellers from the Netherlands. cessibility, commented the agents. Many VietUnique Travel and Myanmar- We get all kinds of travellers, from young “new” destinations spotlighted by NTOs based Nature Dream Travels & Tours told customers to retirees with pension, and still require significant developments and the TTG Show Daily that numbers from they could go for something more relax- enhancements in order to become viable Russia and Greece are strong, with these ing like Lake Toba, or more adventurous for tourism, observed Oei. TTG’s lensmen are on the prowl groups preferring to visit three or four like the jungles of Bukit Bintang. The Ko- Moreover, with more European mar- for great photos. See this countries in a single trip. modo dragons are very popular now, but kets coming into Asia, the need for in- photo and more at our online gallery Filiz Koçer, owner of Turkish agency with the recent closure of Komodo Island, terpreters and language-proficient guides by scanning the code above. Karmitur, explained that the region holds we’re selling more tours to the Lingga Is- becomes increasingly paramount, noted many new and different sights for Turkish lands and Flores.” Monfort. “It would be good for these travellers that cannot be found elsewhere. Also undeterred by the long journey destinations to look at their logistics, es- “Flights to Asia take a long time, so when are the Spaniards, who “love Asia” for its pecially to consider Spanish-speaking my clients come, they will chain destina- welcoming locals and unique food, said guides. It’s easy to find guides who can TTG backs South- tions like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Jaime Monfort, operations manager of speak English, French, or even Russian, Singapore,” she shared. Spain-based Bidtravel. Top destinations but it is almost impossible to find one who east Asia promotion Amsterdam-based Asfalea Travel has like Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia can guide in Spanish,” he said. with new products By Karen Yue Looking to support ASEAN Tour- ism Marketing Working Group’s desire to establish a better understanding of South-east Asia’s tourism potential in the global marketplace, TTG Asia Media has launched Southeast-Asia.COM, a website that provides extensive information on travel products around the region. Content is built around five popular travel themes – Adventure, Culture, Eat, Family, Shop – with more than 5,800 travel products available for purchase via TTG’s bookasean.com booking engine. On top of this, a white label solution has been put out for travel agents to adopt, with 10 expressions of interest since Oc- tober 2019. Soon to come in 1H2020, according ROYAL SUPPORT FOR ATF 2020 to Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media, are a series of paid experien- His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince tial trails in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and and Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (seventh from left) of Brunei Darussalam leads the opening gala of ATF 2020 Manila that utilise Augmented Reality and on Tuesday evening, symbolising a nod to the event’s critical contribution to regional tourism development. audio recordings to enhance the sights Photo by Yingyong Unanongrak travellers will see. Downloadable through Southeast-Asia.COM, the trails come with attractive vouchers and discounts at participating dining and retail outlets. Debuting soon as well is the Experi- New website to replace ASEANTourism.Travel ence Pass which offers bundled prices for attraction entrance tickets. Travellers will By S Puvaneswary tourism and the diversity of the region’s It also provides useful traveller tips for be issued a unique barcode for ease of use. Visitseasia.travel, launched products. each of the 10 ASEAN member countries, Southeast-Asia.COM is endorsed by at the opening ceremony Speaking at a press conference yester- such as habits and traditions, safety ad- ASEAN Tourism Marketing Working of ATF 2020 on Tuesday day afternoon, Suvimol Thanasarakij, vice, and visa requirements and recom- Group of the 10 ASEAN NTOs. evening, will soon replace ASEAN Tourism Marketing Coordinator, mended vaccinations. the current ASEAN- explained that the new Visitseasia.travel While it does not sell tour packages Tourism.Travel web- sports a modern look and is more user- now, Suvimol did not discount the idea site as the vehicle for friendly than the current site. that this might be offered in future up- raising the awareness The website serves as an information dates of the website. of South-east Asian platform, capturing various travel expe- She said the website was needed, as riences and products across categories “a brand audit study revealed that ASE- such as Adventure & Sports, Beaches & AN is seen more as a political entity Suvimol: changing Islands, Cruise, Nightlife and Entertain- rather than a region that is welcoming things up ment. to travellers”. NEWS In brief Temburong Bridge inspires SE Asians crave tech advances Single apps for all travel needs, passport free travel, and mobile app check-in are the top three new travel norms expected new tourism investments by travellers in the 2020s, said a new report by Agoda. Specifically, South-east Asians expect New packages, community projects, luxury eco-resort among upcoming lures these technological advances to simplify travel, with half of all respondents in In- By Marissa Carruthers Temburong from Bandar Seri Begawan Siti Nur Hazirah Bte Haji Abd Latif, donesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Brunei’s Temburong district is gearing must pass through four border checks, assistant officer of marketing and prod- Philippines and Thailand expecting this up for more visitors as South-east Asia’s catching a 45-minute speed boat to uct development at tour operator Darus- to be the norm in the next decade. longest overseas bridge nears completion. complete the journey. The B$1.6 billion salam Holdings, said the bridge will bring The 30km Temburong Bridge and (US$1.2 billion) bridge will shave 70km opportunities for communities to de- APAC travel market growing fast causeway will link the capital Bandar Seri off the journey. velop products that will boost the local Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region Begawan with the district, eliminating the Salinah Selleh, acting deputy director economy. for travel and tourism, as it is home need for travellers to pass through bor- of Brunei Tourism’s tourism develop- This month, Eco-Green Development to 80 per cent of the world’s strongest ders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak ment department, told TTG Show Daily: announced it will start construction of performing tourism cities. The region and reducing travel time from two hours “We hope to see the bridge contribute to Temburong’s first luxury eco-resort. The contributes US$915 billion, or 33 per to less than 30 minutes. a rise in tourism. As well as international B$4.5 million two-hectare project will cent, in direct travel and tourism GDP, Currently, visitors wanting to get to visitors, we hope it will lead to an increase feature 30 chalet-style villas and is slated according to a report by the World Travel in domestic tourism. Not a lot of locals to be completed by the end of 2020. & Tourism Council. have visited Temburong because it is not The company has pledged a further easily accessible.” B$300,000 to refurbish Temburong’s old Salinah added the ministry is working district office into a tourist information with tour operators in the area to develop centre. full-day to multiple-day packages that Meanwhile, the Ministry of Primary AHRA speaks will appeal to both international and do- Resources and Tourism also plans to in- mestic visitors. vest B$387,000 into developing a river out against event centre in Batang Duri to service boats cruising to Ulu Temburong National partnerships with Park. Hazirah said: “There are a lot of prod- short-term rentals There are a lot of products ucts and attractions that can be developed and attractions that can be in Temburong district; with the bridge By Mimi Hudoyo The nine-year, five-Games partnership developed in Temburong comes huge potential.” Tom Chong Tze Tzen, assistant tour su- inked last November between the In- district..