KAZAKHSTAN: Qazaq Air To Sell Stakes To China Express Airlines

Kazakhstan state owned regional airline Qazaq Air and China Express Airlines, China’s first private regional airline, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on strategic cooperation in international regional passenger transportation.

As well as the possible participation of the Chinese carrier in the privatisation of Qazaq Air, the Kazakh airline has revealed in a statement.

The MOU was inked during the recent official visit to China of Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of the Republic of Kazakhstan, at which a meeting of the Kazakh-Chinese Business Council saw Blair Trekern Pollock, chairman of the board of Qazaq Air, and Longjiang Wu, chairman of the board of China Express Airlines, sign the document.

With this memorandum, the two regional airlines will have the opportunity to discuss the exchange of cross-border passenger traffic and the possibility of direct financial investment by China Express Airlines into the development of our company, states Blair Treherne Pollock.

Noting the significance of the agreement, Long-Jiang Wu stressed the importance of activating regional Kazakh-Chinese cooperation in the One Belt, One Road initiative.

In this context, the mutually beneficial cooperation between Qazaq Air and China Express Airlines is a continuation of a good-neighbourly partnership aimed at strengthening trade and economic ties between the two countries.

Since its launch in August 2015, Qazaq Air, which is 100 per cent-owned by state-run Samruk-Kazyna Fund, has served more than 530,000 passengers, in doing so becoming the growth leader in the Kazakhstan air travel market.

The outlook for this year is optimistic, with the airline expecting at least 20 per cent growth to reach a targeted 300,000 passengers.

Qazaq Air is expecting to take delivery of two new Bombardier Q400 next-gen aircraft in the spring of 2019.

The fleet will thus extend to five aircraft of the type. The airline currently operates three 78-seat, Canadian-built turboprops, with an average age of less than three years.

China Express popularly known as Huaxia Airlines became China’s first private regional carrier when it was established in 2006.

It operates a fleet of 35 Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets, along with three Airbus A320s and is based at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, in south-west China.


Tourism Observer

KAZAKHSTAN: Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev Woos Singapore’s Tourism Investors

In developing tourism in Astana, Kazakhstan is studying the experience of Singapore, said Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev during a recent meeting with the founder and Managing Director of Hotel Properties Ong Beng Sen in Astana.

Hotel Properties is a Singapore-based corporation that owns hotels, resorts and shopping centres in 13 countries, including shares in Hilton International, Four Seasons, InterContinental Hotels Group and Six Senses Hotels.

The Kazakh President and his guest discussed tourism cooperation and investment in joint projects.

Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan seeks to develop its tourism sector and briefed the Singaporean businessman on efforts to boost tourism in Astana.

You are a well-known person in hospitality sector, working in many countries around the world.

Astana is a new capital and we intend to make it a tourist destination.

We are studying the experience of Singapore in this area, said Nazarbayev, noting the friendly relations between Kazakhstan and Singapore generally.

Our relations with Singapore are time-tested and good. I have been a good friend to Lee Kuan Yew, and we maintain close cooperation with the current prime minister.

We always meet at all international meetings and discuss how we can further strengthen our relations, said Nazarbayev.

Ong said Lee Kuan Yew insisted the company “to open something here,” but then the company was suffering losses.

You know, I think we are 25 years late, because when Mr Leek Kuan Yew asked me to look at two-three designer projects of hotels in Almaty, we considered the opportunities to turn hotels into modern hotels.

Of course, there were certain difficulties, because we did not know the country as we know it now.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew asked me to open something here, but then we were making hardly any profit.

You understand the difference between my experience then and now.

During these 25 years, he has been constantly telling me about Kazakhstan and its bigger potential compared to other countries, said Ong.


Tourism Observer

CHINA: Medical Tourism Booms In Hainan

Elena Pankova and her friends flew directly from St. Petersburg to Sanya, a tourist city in southern China's tropical island of Hainan, not just to enjoy the sunshine on the beach.

Pankova's holiday also included receiving therapy at a local traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital.

Each day, Pankova receives two hours of therapy at Sanya Hospital of TCM, then spends the rest of the day sunbathing. Her two-month trip, which combines travel with TCM treatment, is part of a growing industry on the island,medical tourism.

Modern Western medicine has little effect on me, so I came to Sanya to try TCM therapy, said Pankova.
Pankova is one of tens of thousands of Russians who flock to Hainan every year. The island province has received 800,000 Russian tourists in the past seven years.

Almost 80 percent of them have tried some form of TCM therapy during their stay,either to treat a particular ailment or simply to improve overall wellness, health authorities said.

The boom is particularly felt in Sanya, where Russian-language advertisements for acupuncture and cupping have popped up across the city.

Sanya Hospital of TCM has treated more than 40,000 patients from Russia and Central Asia since it introduced "TCM tours" in 2002.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev have been treated at our hospital,said Wang Tiansong, president of the hospital.

To meet the rising overseas demand for TCM therapies, the hospital built an international healthcare center in 2016 to provide medical treatment specifically for foreign patients.

An acupuncturist at the hospital, treated his first foreign patient five years ago. Since then he has started to learn Russian to allow him to communicate better with patients.

Besides providing patients with acupuncture, cupping, tuina massage, and herbal medicines, some of the most well-known TCM treatments overseas, Zang often gives TCM lifestyle information on how to keep fit and prevent diseases.

I think Chinese medicine focuses on helping prevent diseases and reduce chances of getting sick,said THE acupuncturist.
Patients from Russia and Central Asia are more open to trying TCM as these countries have had frequent exchanges with China over many years, He says.

TCM is centered around being green and natural, making it compatible with many Russians' passion for nature, said Yana Zhuravleva, a Russian national who is the marketing manager at Sanya Hospital of TCM.

Many Russian patients turn to TCM therapies for help after Western medicine has no effect, said Zhuravleva.
At the hospital, foreign patients are first given a physical health examination, then doctors create a specific treatment plan for them.

When they finish their treatment and prepare to leave Hainan, patients are given a flash drive containing their medical records for future treatment.

The boom in medical tourism also brings some problems.

In 2016, Sanya Hospital of TCM treated 8,000 foreign patients, but that number represented just a small proportion of foreign patients who came to Hainan for medical tourism.

It is the private TCM institutions that received the majority of foreign patients.

However, unregulated private clinics, exaggerated treatment effects, and a lack of qualified TCM practitioners constrain the sound development of the medical tourism market in Hainan, according to the provincial TCM administration.

Hainan has been mulling over new laws to help regulate medical tourism.

In August, the province will unveil two new regulations on TCM services and the construction of a TCM tourism model zone.

The move will ensure order in the industry including therapy costs, safety standards and service quality, which will contribute to better medical care and enhance the experiences of visitors, said Xu Qingning, deputy director of Hainan Administration of TCM.

China put a national law on TCM into effect on July 1, which aims at regulating Chinese medicine as well as the training of medical personnel.

The new law will improve the global influence of TCM and boost international cooperation and exchanges.



Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com

CHINA: Medical Tourism Booms In Hainan

Elena Pankova and her friends flew directly from St. Petersburg to Sanya, a tourist city in southern China's tropical island of Hainan, not just to enjoy the sunshine on the beach.

Pankova's holiday also included receiving therapy at a local traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital.

Each day, Pankova receives two hours of therapy at Sanya Hospital of TCM, then spends the rest of the day sunbathing. Her two-month trip, which combines travel with TCM treatment, is part of a growing industry on the island,medical tourism.

Modern Western medicine has little effect on me, so I came to Sanya to try TCM therapy, said Pankova.
Pankova is one of tens of thousands of Russians who flock to Hainan every year. The island province has received 800,000 Russian tourists in the past seven years.

Almost 80 percent of them have tried some form of TCM therapy during their stay,either to treat a particular ailment or simply to improve overall wellness, health authorities said.

The boom is particularly felt in Sanya, where Russian-language advertisements for acupuncture and cupping have popped up across the city.

Sanya Hospital of TCM has treated more than 40,000 patients from Russia and Central Asia since it introduced "TCM tours" in 2002.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev have been treated at our hospital,said Wang Tiansong, president of the hospital.

To meet the rising overseas demand for TCM therapies, the hospital built an international healthcare center in 2016 to provide medical treatment specifically for foreign patients.

An acupuncturist at the hospital, treated his first foreign patient five years ago. Since then he has started to learn Russian to allow him to communicate better with patients.

Besides providing patients with acupuncture, cupping, tuina massage, and herbal medicines, some of the most well-known TCM treatments overseas, Zang often gives TCM lifestyle information on how to keep fit and prevent diseases.

I think Chinese medicine focuses on helping prevent diseases and reduce chances of getting sick,said THE acupuncturist.
Patients from Russia and Central Asia are more open to trying TCM as these countries have had frequent exchanges with China over many years, He says.

TCM is centered around being green and natural, making it compatible with many Russians' passion for nature, said Yana Zhuravleva, a Russian national who is the marketing manager at Sanya Hospital of TCM.

Many Russian patients turn to TCM therapies for help after Western medicine has no effect, said Zhuravleva.
At the hospital, foreign patients are first given a physical health examination, then doctors create a specific treatment plan for them.

When they finish their treatment and prepare to leave Hainan, patients are given a flash drive containing their medical records for future treatment.

The boom in medical tourism also brings some problems.

In 2016, Sanya Hospital of TCM treated 8,000 foreign patients, but that number represented just a small proportion of foreign patients who came to Hainan for medical tourism.

It is the private TCM institutions that received the majority of foreign patients.

However, unregulated private clinics, exaggerated treatment effects, and a lack of qualified TCM practitioners constrain the sound development of the medical tourism market in Hainan, according to the provincial TCM administration.

Hainan has been mulling over new laws to help regulate medical tourism.

In August, the province will unveil two new regulations on TCM services and the construction of a TCM tourism model zone.

The move will ensure order in the industry including therapy costs, safety standards and service quality, which will contribute to better medical care and enhance the experiences of visitors, said Xu Qingning, deputy director of Hainan Administration of TCM.

China put a national law on TCM into effect on July 1, which aims at regulating Chinese medicine as well as the training of medical personnel.

The new law will improve the global influence of TCM and boost international cooperation and exchanges.



Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com