Travel Intelligence 2 3 S e p , 2 0 1 0 www.travelweekly.com.vn www.travelweekly.com.vn Vietnam ranked among top growth tourist destinations Schedule for the 1000th anniversaryof Thang Long – Hanoi India is gearing up for PTM 2011 in New Delhi OfficialMediaPartnerfor:
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Bangkok to the Vietnam capital, viaSavannakhet, Laos. The group will
present a sculpture of HCMC to the
Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi.
Bhaya Cruises has officially opened
its new office in HCMC. The
Halong Bay cruise operator’s new
premises is located on Nguyen Thi
Minh Khai Str, in HCMC’s District 3.
Meanwhile Bhaya’s sister company,
Hai Long Junks, has opened its new
Hanoi Sales office. The new office
is located on Ma May Str in the
heart of the city’s Old Quarter.
Thailand-Vietnam plan
cultural programme
The East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF)
themed, “For sustainable development in East Asia” wrapped up in Ha Long city, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh on 16 September, affirming its commitment to
sustainable development in the region.
The three-day EATOF 2010 reaffirmed the significance
and role of the regional organisation in the new context,and stressed provinces’ commitments to fulfill their re-sponsibility and rights as EATOF members.
Within the framework of the forum, a travel fair was held with the participation of over 30 booths from member
provinces promoting their images and tourist products. Also, a series of workshops and bilateral meetings amongEATOF took place, offering opportunities for cooperation,
investment and tourism development in each locality.
At the closing ceremony, Quang Ninh province’s leaderstransferred EATOF’s flag to Cebu province of the Philip-pines, the host of the next forum.
The Cham people will organise their biggest and mostimportant festival, Kate, next month with processions, rituals,and cultural activities at the Po Sah Inu Tower in Phan Thiet.
The highlights will include colorful traditional rituals like apalanquin procession carrying the costumes of GoddessPo Sah Inu and the Tong On ceremony to keep away “poi-
sonous” winds. The Cham believe these winds can causediseases and bring bad luck to families.
Then there will be a ceremony to bathe the lingam-yoni altarand make an offering of wine. The lingam is a phallic symbolof the Hindu god Shiva and the yoni represents the female.
The festival will also feature the paranung drum dance, otherethnic music and dance, and folk games.
For the benefit of tourists and other visitors, Champa artisans will demonstrate traditional brocade and ceramic production.
There will be a contest to make cakes like banh tet (cylindri-cal glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and fattypork) and banh gung (ginger cake).
The Kate festival falls on the first day of the seventh month inthe Cham calendar (September-October in the solar calen-
dar). It is celebrated in honor of Po Sah Inu, who according tolegend helped the Cham grow wet rice.
It also marks harvest and is an occasion for childless couplesto entreat Po Sah Inu to bless them with children.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)assessed that in the first six months of 2010,
Asia and the Middle East had the highest
ourism growth.
The UNWTO said that the number of foreign
ourists around the globe has been 421 mil-ion, a 7% increase compared to the same pe-
riod last year. With this, the world’s tourism
sector will likely reach a growth of 4% for the
whole year of 2010.
Tourism growth was seen in emerging mar-kets such as the Middle East with 20% and
Asia Pacific with 14%. Some destinations in
Asia had impressive growth, including Sri
Lanka with 49%, Japan with 36%, Vietnam and
Myanmar with 35%, Hong Kong and Macao(China) with 23%, Singapore with 23%, re-
ported the UNWTO.
The UNWTO said that the tourism industry
will continue to grow during the rest of the
year but will still face difficulties from the
global recession of 2009. For the period, re-gional and local tourism will play important
roles in the world’s tourism growth.
With being ranked among top destinations
with the highest growth, Vietnam’s tourism is
striving to rise to the world level with manyattractive destinations and high-quality prop-
erties honored and recognized by many of the world’s media websites.
Specifically, Hanoi and Hoi An have been se-
lected among 10 Asian destinations by one of
Southeast Asia’s most widely read travel-trademedia outlets, Smart Travel Asia. Some hotels
and resorts in Vietnam were also named in
the “Top 25 Leisure Hotels and Resorts” by
Smart Travel Asia, including the Nam Hai,
Hoi An at 2nd place, Sofitel Legend Metro-
pole, Hanoi at 3rd place, Sofitel Dalat Palace,Dalat at 21st place and Princess d’Annam
Resort&Spa, Binh Thuan at 25th place.
In addition, Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh prov-
ince, a UNESCO recognised world heritagesite, has jumped to second place among 28finalists of the online voting for the world’s
new seven wonders, by New Open World
(NOW).
The Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club has announced it will organise an international yacht
race from Hong Kong to Vietnam’s central coast next month.The club said the 656-nautical-mile, category-one VinaCapital Hong Kong to VietnamRace 2010 would start on October 20 and finish in the resort city of Nha Trang.
The organiser is taking registrations from teams.The biennial competition has been in place since 2006, with the HCMC-based Saigon-tourist Holding Company being the local partner. The 2008 edition was attended by 13
yachts. A source from Saigontourist told the Daily that the company was waiting for approval
from the Government to bring international boats to Vietnam to promote the local tourismimage.In a related development, the central coast province of Binh Thuan will organise an inter-
national sailing festival in December, with yacht performances and other activities suchas music and dance performances.The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), a professional sailing series that features nine
World Championship events worldwide, will come to Nha Trang next year.
Lighting projects to welcome the 1000th anniversary of
Thang Long-Hanoi were inspected by Hanoi Party Chief Pham Quang Nghi on 18 September.
He was satisfied with the coloured lights around Sword Lake thatmake it more beautiful. He suggested highlighting the nearby
scenery, including The Huc Bridge, Ba Kieu Temple, Turtle Toweras well as trees near the lake.
Streets including Hang Khay, Trang Tien, Trang Thi and Dien
Bien Phu have been decorated with different lights presenting
the nation’s history, peace and international integration.
The areas around Sword Lake, the National Conference Centre,My Dinh stadium, West Lake and Thien Quang Lake will be lit upat night from 25 September to 15 October.
More than VND25 billion will also be invested in lights for somebridges over the Red River.
volunteers has come together undera scheme called ‘Personal Shop-
pers India’ to help tourists find their
ways to markets.
One hundred haute couture pieces
from the renowned Italian designer
Maison Valentino will appear in
an exhibition at Singapore’s first
integrated resort, Resorts World
Sentosa 15 December-31 Janu-
ary. “Retrospective: Past/Present/
Future” will feature haute couture
looks from founder Valentino Gara-
vani’s early designs to present-day
creations. The exhibition arrives
from Paris via Brisbane.
The Kingdom of Cambodia was chosen to host the 30th Asso-ciation of Southwest Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum
(ATF) in 2011.
The annual event will be held between 15-21 January at the
Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Centre in PhnomPenh with the multicultural theme ‘Wonders and Diversity’,Express Travel World reported.
ATF 2011 Host Committee Chairman Pan Chantra said theevent opens up a channel for buyers and sellers to exchange
information and learn about the ten ASEAN member coun-tries.
“ATF 2011 will offer a golden opportunity for all participantsto discuss the development regional and individual tourism
products of ASEAN member countries,” Mr Chantra said.“It is also a cooperative regional effort to promote ASEAN, a world of wonders and diversity, as a single tourism destina-
tion.”
Mr Chantra noted that while the ATF is a great forum forinformation exchange its main purpose is to attract tourists
particularly from countries like India with growing interest totravel in the ASEAN region.
“There is a huge interest among the Indian tourists about theUNESCO World Heritage Site of Angkor Vat in Cambodia,”Mr Chantra said.
The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) will
launch a public awareness campaign to educate Thais about
the potential benefits, which could result from hosting the World
Expo 2020.
“We’ll conduct a feasibility study of three potential locations,Chon Buri, Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya provinces and educate
Thais about the World Expo,” Thailand Convention and Exhibi-
tion Bureau president, Akapol Sorasuchart told the Bangkok
Post.
“They should understand how the country could benefit from
organising this important event.”Mr. Akapol said it would cost 20 billion baht to organise the
World Expo and the event has the potential to generate eighttimes that amount in revenue.
He also said that all industries would benefit if Thailand’s World
Expo bid is successful, especially tourism.
Sea World officially launches its
new Castaway Bay. The AU$6
million (US$5.7 million), 800m²
family attraction caters for kids
with themed rides, including ‘Battle
Boats’, featuring pirate boats armed
with eight water cannons. Another
attraction, the Sky Fortress, is a
huge fort-like attraction featuring
five levels of rope bridges, tunnels,
slides, games and puzzles.
The Chinese government com-
pleted the first phase at Beijing’s
Forbidden City. Aimed at alleviating
congestion, the expansion saw the
restoration and opening of previ-
ously closed sections of the former
imperial palace. The central axis of
the Forbidden City has long been
open, but its thousands of court-
yards on the sides have largelyremained closed. The renovations
The final day of the three-day PATA Travel Mart 2010 (PTM 2010), Sep-
tember 14-17, saw international buyers, sellers and media delegatesgather at the dinner reception hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Gov-ernment of India. Rajen Habib Khwaja, Secretary of Tourism, Ministry
of Tourism, Government of India, welcomed delegates to PATA TravelMart 2011, New Delhi, India.
Said Hiran Cooray, PATA Chairman: “The PATA Travel Mart 2011 in New Delhi, Indiais one of the most exciting events and activities planned to roll out next year. We havea very special relationship with India, which is a rapidly emerging market, and we
are delighted they are hosts for the PTM2011.”
Said Arjun Sharma, managing director, Le Passage to India: “The travel fraternity inIndia is excited that PATA has chosen New Delhi as the venue for PTM2011. With
the explosive outbound numbers emanating from our country it is not uncommon forincreased and newer destinations to woo the Indian traveller. The Mart returning to
India after a gap of only three years is appropriately positioned and bears testimonyto the growth of Indian tourism. The capital city is presently gearing up to host theCommonwealth Games next month. With the increased capacities and greatly mod-
ernised tourism infrastructure, we wish to assure you that New Delhi will be a bigger,better and more satisfying venue for the best trade show of the year. We look forwardto welcoming all delegates to ‘Incredible India.’”
Said Ashok Kapur, CEO, Khiri DMC: “India is a fantastic choice as it is a rapidlyemerging destination and market. With its incredible diversity and population, India
deserves much more business, both as an inbound and outbound entity. As a travelspecialist focussing on Thailand and Indochina, Khiri Travel will continue to investstrongly in the Indian outbound market. We see huge potential there for sectors such
as leisure, MICE, honeymoon and top-end incentive trips. India’s rapidly increasingurban middle class as also more direct flights from the primary and secondary cities
to Southeast Asia are both very encouraging trends.”
Said Nicoline Dolman, director of sales and marketing, Bali Dynasty Resort: “We willdefinitely participate in PTM in India. The Indian family market has a huge potential
for the travel-and-tourism of Bali. Balinese cultures and religion are the main attrac-tions for the Indian market.”
Said Ashwani Gupta, managing director, Dove Travels, India, and a first-time at-tendant at PTM: “I am very excited about my attendance. PATA Travel Mart is world
famous for its travel trade networking opportunities and also for its high level of organisation. It is a truly international event, very well organised, with meetings with your existing business partners spread into perfect time slots, and meetings with new
exhibitors made accessible so as to improve our way of working and business.”
The kick-off times for the Rugby World Cup 2011 in
New Zealand have been unveiled.
Eden Park, the scene of the venue for the inauguralRWC Final in 1987, will herald a nationwide six week
celebration of world-class Rugby and REAL NewZealand Festival events when it hosts the Opening
Ceremony on Friday, 9 September 2011 starting atapproximately 19:30 (08:30 GMT). The opening matchbetween New Zealand and Tonga will kick-off at 20:30
(09:30 GMT).
“We have achieved a good balance,” said Martin
Snedden, CEO for Tournament Organisers Rugby NewZealand 2011. “If New Zealand is to make the most of the platform RWC 2011 gives us to showcase our coun-
try to the world, then we need to ensure we maximisethe global television audience for key matches.
“What has now been agreed with event-owner Rugby World Cup Ltd will help all hosting regions to promotethemselves to the world and help fans, both domestic
and international, to get on with planning their RWC2011 experience with the start of the Tournament nowless than a year away.”
Ten of the 48 matches will be played in the afternoonincluding the New Zealand v Canada pool match at
15:30 (03:30 GMT). A further 12 matches will begin by18:00 and another seven at 19:30.
England’s first game against Argentina on 10 Septem-
ber 2011 will take place at 20:30 (09:30 GMT). Australiaplays the following day against Italy at 15:30 (04:30
GMT). South Africa get their tournament underwayagainst Wales on 11 September 2011 at 20:30 (09:30GMT).
The tournament will culminate in Auckland at the
redeveloped Eden Park with the semi-finals and final.The kick-off time for these matches was confirmed at21:00 (09:00 GMT) when the Match Schedule was an-nounced in March 2009.
The Asia/Pacific hotel development pipeline com-prises 1,037 hotels totalling 255,208 rooms, according
to the August 2010 STR Global Construction PipelineReport released this week.
China reported the most rooms in the total activepipeline among the region’s countries with 134,832, fol-
lowed by India with 47,477 rooms. China also reportedthe most rooms in the In Construction phase with92,559 rooms.
Among the key markets in the region, Shanghai, China,ended the month with the most rooms in the total ac-
tive pipeline with 13,227 rooms. Two other marketsreported more than 5,000 rooms in the total active
pipeline: Bangkok, Thailand (9,138 rooms) and NewDelhi, India (7,215 rooms).
Four of the seven Chain Scale segments each ac-counted for more than 15 percent of rooms in the totalactive pipeline: the Upscale segment (24.6 percent
and 62,671 rooms); the Upper Upscale segment (24.4percent and 62,153 rooms); the Unaffiliated segment(18.6 percent and 47,574 rooms); and the Luxury seg-
ment (17.7 percent and 45,246 rooms).
Asia/Pacific pipeline by Chain Scale segment for Au-gust 2010 (number of rooms):Chain Scale Existing Supply In Construction Total
Active Pipeline*Luxury 136,959 32,850 45,426Upper Upscale 193,540 43,463 62,153