VIETNAM: Azerai Ke Ga Bay Opening April 2020

Azerai Ke Ga Bay, a luxurious and secluded oceanfront retreat in south-eastern Vietnam, is set to launch in early 2020.

It will become the third property in Azerai Resorts’ growing portfolio.

The hotel is scheduled to open April 1st, with first bookings available online early in the New Year.

The 55-room resort, which will succeed Princess D’Annam Resort & Spa on the same site following a six-month renovation, is located 180 kilometres east of Saigon on a sweeping five-kilometre white sand beach on the South China Sea.

Framed to the north by Hon Ba Island, with its historic 1899-built colonial French lighthouse, and to the south by soaring sand dunes, the property cultivates one of the most naturally splendid oceanfront settings in the country.

The guest rooms, suites and villas at Azerai Ke Ga Bay evoke a contemporary aesthetic defined by elegant and simple design, with 21 units boasting either plunge pools or more spacious private pools.

The resort’s three villas are generously proportioned at 360 square metres and complemented by private pools.

Azerai Ke Ga Bay marks the brand’s first beach resort, and follows Azerai La Residence, Hue, a historic city hotel overlooking the Perfume River in Vietnam’s former imperial capital, and Azerai Can Tho, a tropical retreat set on a peaceful islet in the Mekong Delta.

QATAR: Qatar Airways Commences Doha To Da Nang, Vietnam

Qatar Airways has inaugurated its first flight to Da Nang, the airline’s third destination in Vietnam. The Doha carrier deployed its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on this new route.

Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker who was pleased to extend the airline’s reach into Vietnam by launching its third gateway into this beautiful country.

The addition of Da Nang to our global network further demonstrates our commitment to the Far East region, a highly important market for Qatar Airways.

And we are excited for passengers traveling to and from central Vietnam to experience our award-winning service and product for themselves, he added.

There are up to 56 weekly flights to and from Vietnam with Qatar Airways, offering significant connectivity through its Doha mega-hub.

The route also coincided with the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Qatar. Al Baker noted that through this expansion into Vietnam, it will make ties between both countries even stronger.

The airline’s relationship with Vietnam has stemmed since 2007, which is less than between the 25 years of diplomatic ties of the countries.

Services to Ho Chi Minh City began in 2007 and launched services to Hanoi three years later.

In order to extend its presence in the Vietnamese market, October 2017 saw the airline sign an interline partnership with VietJet Air, allowing QR passengers to travel to and from points in Vietnam not served directly by Qatar Airways using a single reservation across both networks.

This is the 14th route launch from the carrier this year, earmarking significant growth for 2018 overall. 2019 will see the airline launching services into the likes of Valletta, Malta as well as Isfahan, Iran.


Tourism Observer

QATAR: Qatar Airways Heads To Cardiff

The first Qatar Airways flight between Doha and Cardiff, Wales has been officially inaugurated after the aircraft touched down. The aircraft was welcomed by a celebratory water cannon salute followed by greetings from the Mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan, Janice Charles.

This route is important to the Cardiff economy as it will connect the airport to more than 150 destinations across the world.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, was joined by the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, the UK Ambassador to the State of Qatar, Ajay Sharma as well as the Chairman of Cardiff Airport, Roger Lewis on the inaugural flight.

To celebrate this new route link, Qatar flew a one-off A350-900 service under the QR323 flight number to celebrate the first time that a commercial A350-900, whose wings are built by Airbus in Wales, had landed on Welsh soil.

However, on the normal QR323 service, it will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which will have a two-class configuration featuring 22 seats in Business Class with a 1-2-1 configuration followed by 232 seats in Economy.

However, on the normal QR323 service, it will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which will have a two-class configuration featuring 22 seats in Business Class with a 1-2-1 configuration followed by 232 seats in Economy.

Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, said:

Today marks an especially important milestone for both Qatar Airways and Cardiff Airport. The new service, our fifth gateway into the U.K., now provides the people of Wales and the South West with an extensive network of more than 150 destinations globally.

We are delighted to welcome Cardiff into our route network and to be able to provide the Welsh people with a new gateway to the world. We look forward to welcoming our new Welsh passengers on board and to connecting them to Doha and many points beyond.

Secretary of State for Wales, Cairns, stated:

The first direct flight from Cardiff to Qatar plugs Wales straight into an area of massive investment and an airport with 150 onward destinations around the world. This is the fast track for Welsh companies doing business in the Gulf.

Today’s announcement is the culmination of months of Government activity in public and behind the scenes. The ambition for a daily flight was on the agenda when I met Qatar Airways Chief Executive H.E. Akbar Al Baker more than a year ago at a UK investment summit.

The UK Government has continued to press that case supported by the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence.

The UK Government Qatari trade mission last September was all about growing links and unlocking the region for Welsh exports. Qatar is the UK’s third largest export market in the Middle East and accounts for £35 billion of existing investment.

Passengers disembarking from the first direct flight from Doha to Cardiff will get the unmistakable message that Wales is open for business.

First Minister of Wales, Jones, shared:

I am delighted to welcome the first Qatar Airways flight from Doha to our capital city, Cardiff. The new direct service between Cardiff and Doha is a huge boost for Wales.

It will open up Wales’ links with the rest of the world and deliver new economic, leisure and travel opportunities for Welsh businesses and the people of Wales.

Providing a direct route into the world’s fastest-growing hub airport, Hamad International Airport will also bring Wales closer to leading global markets such as India, China, Singapore and Australasia.

Chairman of Cardiff Airport, Lewis, commented:

This is a pivotal moment for Cardiff Airport, for Wales and the South West of England. The far-reaching consequences of this service for passengers and businesses will be transformational. I sincerely thank H.E. Mr Akbar Al Baker, for the trust he and Qatar Airways are placing in us.

I am confident that the team at Cardiff Airport will deliver a world-class service with Qatar Airways for all of our passengers both visiting Wales and those traveling across the world.

The critically important relationship between Qatar, Wales and the United Kingdom is substantially strengthened today.

The launch of the new route to Cardiff is Qatar Airways’ first-ever service to Wales, providing passengers enhanced connectivity to the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, with seamless connections to Sydney, Hong Kong, China, Melbourne and many more attractive business and leisure destinations.

Services to London Gatwick, another key entry point for Qatar Airways is due to begin from May 22nd, which will host two route additions in the UK in a single month, highlighting the rapid expansive growth in the airline’s UK network.

These new additions are a part of rapid expansion plans put forward by Akbar. Qatar Airways this year, for example, will be the first Gulf carrier to begin direct services to Luxembourg, which will be yet another niche route that they operate.

The carrier is also going to be operating out of Estonia, Malta, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey, Greece and other areas of Spain over the course of 2018.

The aircraft in question, A7-ALU, is one of Qatar’s newest A350’s, aged at just over a month old and has been in the airline’s hand for a space of a week when it was delivered towards the end of April.

By showcasing this aircraft in Wales, it shows that with the new aircraft being so new, it highlights the elements of being proud of having the A350 in their fleet, especially in Akbar’s perspective.

By then using the 787 could have been seen as quite a tactical ploy to keep both parties happy. However, if the Cardiff service was to become more popular, it would not be a surprise if we saw the A350-900 once more over there.

With the likes of Qatar Airways and Emirates launching routes into the more niche areas, it begs the question of whether this is a new strategy taken out by the Middle Eastern carriers.

Emirates is launching a new service to London Stansted, bearing in mind they already have significant operations out of Birmingham, Manchester, London Gatwick and Heathrow already.

This could potentially be because of the fact that most of the Middle Eastern carrier has most corners of the world already covered and that adding frequencies will not provide them with the growth that they actually want.

By operating to the less dense and busy airports, it gives these airlines the chance to have a further growth spurt and cover every area as best as possible.

Collectively, this isn’t just a strategy taken out by Qatar or Emirates.

I believe that going into the future, we are going to see the rise of the smaller airports, such as Cardiff, Liverpool and Newcastle to name a few and I think that these airports are going to be the solution to the overcapacity that those in the UK are currently experiencing.

With the Heathrow expansion not set to be completed for at least another five to ten years, it does beg the question into whether these carriers will need the extra capacity out of the main airports in the years to come.


Tourism Observer

VIETNAM: Mandarin Oriental Inks Deal For New Hotel In Ho Chi Minh

Mandarin Oriental has signed a management contract for a new hotel in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Vietnam.

Scheduled to open in 2020, the Mandarin Oriental, Saigon, will form part of Union Square Saigon, a commercial building in the heart of the city, that is currently under renovation.

The hotel will be situated on the upper floors of the mixed-use complex, which will also house a variety of international luxury retail outlets.

Mandarin Oriental, Saigon will comprise 227 guestrooms and suites, six restaurants and bars, a range of meeting and banqueting spaces, a fitness centre, a spa and an outdoor swimming pool.

Ho Chi Minh city is the leading commercial hub in Vietnam and at the heart of the country’s rapidly growing economy.

We are delighted to be opening a hotel in such a prime location in the city.

We look forward to working with our partners to create a world-class experience and to bringing Mandarin Oriental’s renowned level of service excellence to Vietnam for the first time, said James Riley, Group Chief Executive of Mandarin Oriental.

Mandarin Oriental, Saigon is adjacent to the Saigon Opera House and the People’s Committee Building and within walking distance of most of the key landmarks in the city.

Its position is ideal for guests wishing to enjoy the city’s vibrant dining and shopping areas.

Jonathan Au, General Director of Union Square Saigon, said, With its exceptional design, locale, history and culture, Union Square Saigon is destined to become a landmark destination.

We are delighted to welcome Mandarin Oriental to this project, which will not only raise the level of luxury hospitality in the city, but will also increase awareness of Vietnam internationally.


Tourism Observer

CHINA: Air China To Start Flying Beijing To Hanoi 1st June 2018

Air China will launch a new service between Beijing and Hanoi on 1 June 2018.

The non-stop route will enable passengers to travel from Beijing to Vietnam's charming capital city in just four hours.

The new route between Beijing and Hanoi will be operated under flight numbers CA741/742 four times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Outbound flights will depart from Beijing at 01:25 and arrive in Hanoi at 04:15 while inbound flights will depart from Hanoi at 05:45 and arrive in Beijing at 10:25.

Founded over 1,000 years ago, Hanoi has a long and complex history reflected in its eclectic range of architectural styles, including its French colonial buildings.

As well as the Neo-Gothic Hanoi Cathedral and the countless Chinese temples and pagodas that can be spotted throughout the city.

In 2017, bilateral trade between China and Vietnam surpassed USD 100 billion for the first time, while China remained Vietnam's largest trade partner for the 13th consecutive year.

According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Chinese holidaymakers made over 4 million trips to Vietnam in 2017, an increase of 48.6% over the previous year.

Air China Limited is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People's Republic of China, with its headquarters in Shunyi District, Beijing.

Air China's flight operations are based at Beijing Capital International Airport.

In 2015, the airline carried 90 million domestic and international passengers with an average load factor of 80%.

Air China was established and commenced operations on 1 July 1988.

This as a result of the Chinese government's decision in late 1987 to split the operating divisions of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) into six separate airlines.

- Air China

- China Eastern

- China Southern

- China Northern

- China Southwest

- China Northwest

Air China was given chief responsibility for intercontinental flights and took over the CAAC's long haul aircraft Boeing 747s, 767s, and 707s and routes.

In January 2001, the former CAAC's ten airlines agreed on a merger plan, according to which Air China was to acquire China Southwest Airlines.

Before this acquisition, Air China was the country's fourth largest domestic airline. The merger created a group with assets of 56 billion Yuan (USD $8.63 billion), and a fleet of 118 aircraft.

In October 2002, Air China consolidated with the China National Aviation Holding and China Southwest Airlines.

On 15 December 2004, Air China was successfully listed on the Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges.

In 2006, Air China signed an agreement to join the Star Alliance. It became a member of the alliance on 12 December 2007 alongside Shanghai Airlines.

In July 2009, Air China acquired $19.3 million of shares from its troubled subsidiary Air Macau, lifting its stake in the carrier from 51% to 80.9%.

One month later, Air China spent HK$6.3 billion (USD $813 million) to raise its stake in Cathay Pacific from 17.5% to 30%, expanding its presence in Hong Kong.

In April 2010, Air China completed the increase of shareholdings in Shenzhen Airlines and became the controlling shareholder of Shenzhen Airlines.

This allowing Air China to further enhance its position in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai as well as achieve a more balanced domestic network.

On 2 December 2010, Air China received Spain's highest tourism industry award, the Plaque for Tourist Merit.

Air China was the first foreign airline to receive the award, which is given to organisations and individuals contributing to the Spanish tourism industry.

On 23 December 2010, Air China became the first Chinese airline to offer combined tickets that include domestic flights and shuttle bus services to nearby cities.

The first combined flight-shuttle bus ticket connected Tianjin via shuttle bus with domestic flights passing through Beijing.

Air China began offering free Wi-Fi internet service on board its aircraft on 15 November 2011, making it the first Chinese carrier to offer this service.

However reported by users, the service is not allowed on smartphones, only tablets and laptops.

In 2012, after pressure from PETA, Air China stated that it would no longer transport monkeys to laboratories. PETA welcomed the airline’s announcement.

On July 3, 2013 in time for the company's 25th anniversary, Air China successfully tested Wireless LAN in flight. It was the first global satellite Internet flight in Mainland China.

In early 2015 it was announced that the airline had selected the Boeing 737 Next Generation and 737 MAX for its fleet renewal programme of 60 aircraft.

The deal, with a value of over $6 billion at current list prices, has yet to be finalized.

The entity Air China Limited was registered in 2003, and its shares began trading in Hong Kong and London on December 15, 2004.

Originally the airline corporate entity was Air China International, which was founded 2002 Air China International incorporated China Southwest Airlines and the air transportation services of the China National Aviation Corporation, becoming a new entity.

The Air China HQ Building the corporate headquarters, is located in Zone A of the Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone in Shunyi District, Beijing.

The company registered office is on the ninth floor of the Blue Sky Mansion, also in Zone A of the Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone.

The enterprise logo of Air China consists of an artistic phoenix pattern, the name of the airline written in calligraphy by former national leader Deng Xiaoping, and "AIR CHINA" in English.

The phoenix logo is also the artistic transfiguration of the word "VIP". Air China is a member of Star Alliance.

Air China is primarily based in its hub of Beijing Capital International Airport (IATA:PEK), where it operates numerous long range aircraft on routes to North America, Europe, South America, Africa and Australia.

Its fleet is made up of an assortment of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, including: Boeing 737's, Boeing 777's, Boeing 747's, Boeing 787's along with Airbus A319's, Airbus A320's, Airbus A321's and Airbus A330's.

Air China also operates a second hub in Chengdu International Airport, where it primarily flies domestic routes.

Air China's route network extends throughout Asia to the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America from its hubs at Beijing Capital International Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

It also currently reaches a significant number of Asian, Australian and European destinations from Shanghai. Some international routes operate from Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Hangzhou, Kunming and Xiamen.

It is one of the few world airlines that fly to all six inhabitable continents.

On 10 December 2006, Air China began serving its first South American destination, Sao Paulo-Guarulhos via Madrid-Barajas. This was the airline's longest direct flight.

The service was initiated with a Boeing 767-300ER, but due to increased demand, the service has been upgraded to an Airbus A330-200.

Regular flights between Mainland China (PRC) and Taiwan (ROC) started in July 2009.

Due to the political status of Taiwan, all Air China airframes that operate flights to and from Taiwan are required to cover the flag of the People's Republic of China on the fuselage.

This including a number of Airbus A320s, A330s, A340s, Boeing 777-200s, and Boeing 747-400BDSFs.

Air China introduced its new Airbus A330-300 to long-haul operations beginning with services to Düsseldorf, Germany in summer 2011.

These aircraft provided the same two-class cabin standard as the Airbus A330-200 except that the economy cabin had no seat-back entertainment system installed with the exception of the first two economy rows which also had increased legroom.

Dusseldorf is now the third German destination on the Air China network. The airline launched a new Beijing-Milan-Malpensa service on 15 June 2011, complementing the airline's existing service to Milan from Shanghai.

Deliveries of the carrier's 19 new Boeing 777-300ERs commenced in mid-2011, with the aircraft forming the new backbone of its future longhaul operations.

The new Boeing 777-300ERs replaced the Boeing 747–400s on routes to U.S. destinations such as Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, but was expected to first enter service on flights to Paris from March 2012.

The Boeing 777-300ER began to replace most 747 service once sufficient numbers entered the fleet.

Air China expanded its operations in India with a Beijing-Mumbai route begun in September 2011, while the existing Delhi route was upgraded to the A330.

The airline also launched service to Mumbai from Chengdu on 2 May 2012. The airline began using the Boeing 777-300ER on one of its two daily Beijing-Los Angeles flights on 1 February 2012.

Beginning in late-2012 to early 2013, the airline will replace the Boeing 747-400s currently servicing the New York and San Francisco routes with the Boeing 777-300ER.

With the addition of the Boeing 777-300ERs on the US routes, Air China increased frequency on the Beijing-New York route, changing the flights from 7 to 11 flights a week by adding two new flights to the route.

On 21 January 2014, the airline launched its service to Hawaii with flights from Beijing to Honolulu, the first nonstop flights between the two cities.

The airline also increased the frequency of service on the Beijing-Houston Intercontinental route from four times weekly to daily service from 30 March 2014.

Beginning 10 June 2014, Air China introduced new nonstop service from Beijing to Washington-Dulles, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER.

As of September 29 2015, Air China also introduced a 3 times weekly flight to Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in a codeshare with Air Canada.

The Montreal flight was extended to Havana from 27 December 2015.

Air China started its direct flights to Johannesburg, South Africa from 29 October 2015. The flight operates three times weekly.

Air China fleet consists of a total of 402 aircraft.

Air China has placed orders for 170 aircrafts


Tourism Observer

CAMBODIA: Small Planet Airlines Announces €5.1 million For Year 2017, Wants To Become Largest Carrier In The Baltics

Leisure carrier Small Planet Airlines has announced financial results for the year 2017, reporting a profit of €5.1 million and full recovery from a loss incurred in 2016.

The company grew its yearly revenue to €323.1 million, a 45% increase from the year 2016, and transported 2.7 million passengers – 35% more as compared to the previous year.

Small Planet Airlines reported EBITDA topped €9.6 million, a significant increase from the loss of €0.5 million in 2016.

According to the airline’s estimates, it should become the largest carrier in the Baltic states by passenger flow, revenue, and fleet size already in 2018.

We dedicated last year to stabilizing our operations and learning from mistakes we have made, adding just 1 aircraft to the fleet.

I am glad that this year we can go for a full-speed growth again! 6 additional aircraft will join us in 2018, increasing our fleet to 28 Airbus aircraft.

Passenger numbers are set to increase accordingly – we hope to carry nearly 4 million holidaymakers in 2018.

Revenue should increase by one-third, says Kristijonas Kaikaris, the CEO of Small Planet Airlines.

Improving on-time performance was a key priority in Small Planet Airlines Get it Right strategy last year.

The decision to dedicate two stand-by aircraft paid-off well: only 1.36% of flights encountered delays of 3 hours or longer. The airline is determined to improve this indicator further in 2018.

This year Germany is becoming the fastest-growing market for Small Planet Airlines with 10 aircraft to be based in various German airports.

For years, Poland was the largest market for Small Planet Airlines operations.

However, this year we do not plan any significant growth there, the situation is stable and good, and 1 additional aircraft will join the Polish fleet.

In Germany, on the other hand, the growth exceeds 200% and is influenced by various factors. Firstly, Germany is Europe’s largest aviation market, so the demand is naturally high there.

The insolvency of Air Berlin opened an additional niche.

Secondly, diversification of markets was always among our goals, it is not business-wise to keep your eggs in one basket, says Mr. Kaikaris.

According to him, the airline’s growth in Germany is key to balancing seasonality, since German holidaymakers are less impacted by winter time.

Small Planet Airlines has already sold all available seats in Germany for the upcoming Winter season.

Another strategic market for improving utilization, Asia, is on a way to triple growth.

At the moment, Small Planet Airlines Co. Ltd. operates a fleet of two Airbus aircraft, but the number is estimated to grow to six or even eight aircraft by the end of 2018.

Based in Cambodia, the company focuses on outbound Chinese tourism, currently operating flights between Palau and Hong Kong as well as between Macau and Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali.

Small Planet Airlines will fly 240 routes from 15 European bases in Summer 2018.

The airline’s European fleet will grow to 28 aircraft – 20 Airbus A320s and 8 Airbus A321s.



Tourism Observer

AUSTRALIA: Shangri-La To Manage New 500 Room Luxury Hotel In Melbourne Opening 2022

Hong Kong-based luxury hotel group Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and Malaysian property developer S P Setia Berhad Group signed a management agreement for Shangri-La to operate the planned luxury development in Melbourne’s CBD.

At 308 Exhibition Street, the two-tower development was designed by Cox and Fender Katsalidis, and will be loacted near Melbourne’s World Heritage-listed Carlton Gardens.

The property is currently under consideration for planning approval. When it is completed in 2022, the Shangri-La Hotel, Melbourne will have an estimated 500 guestrooms with three floors of amenities, including a sky lobby, restaurants, a spa, a fitness center, a pool and a ballroom.

The second tower will include about 300 luxury residential apartments and office space.

A sky bridge will connect the two towers, and retail space will be in the lower floors of the development.

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid, chairman of S P Setia, said that Shangri-La supported the project’s vision to provide development that increases capacity, creates local economic development opportunities and sets a new benchmark for five-star luxury in Melbourne.

Through the design and construction phases and for many decades to come as a luxury residence, retail and hotel precinct, the economic benefits of this project will be significant for Melbourne, Zahid said in a statement.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently operates over 95 hotels in 22 countries and 73 destinations under the Shangri-La, Kerry, Hotel Jen and Traders brands.

Primarily operating in Asia, the group has established its brand over four decades in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, North America and the Indian Ocean.

The group has upcoming projects in Australia, mainland China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

Launched in 1974, S P Setia's portfolio includes townships, eco-sanctuaries, luxury enclaves, high-rise residences, commercial and retail developments.

The group is established in the three economic centers of Malaysia, namely Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang. It also has a project in Sabah.

Its international reach now includes five countries which are Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, China and the United Kingdom.

As of March 31, 2017, the group has 30 ongoing projects, with a stake of 5,141 acres in undeveloped land banks remaining and about $11.1 trillion in gross development value.

THAILAND: Crackdown On Forced Shopping Tours, Chinese Tourists Opt For Cambodia And Vietnam

With Thailand’s recent crackdown on so-called zero-dollar tours—tour packages priced below cost that often target Chinese travelers and recoup losses from forced shopping and dining—it appears as if neighboring Southeast Asian countries are taking off in its place.

Thailand, previously the number one destination for zero-dollar tours outside China, seems to have succeeded in limiting the notorious tours domestically, but Chinese travelers’ high demand for cheap tours has simply shifted supply elsewhere.

Despite a turbulent year with its recent tourism crackdown and the general unease among tour operators surrounding the Thai king’s passing, Thailand and Japan topped China’s leading online travel marketplace Ctrip’s list of top destinations for the Chinese New Year Golden Week early next year.

If Ctrip’s predictions hold true remains to be seen, but it’s safe to say that reduced visa fees for Chinese tourists—an initiative which started this month—is boosting the attractiveness of tourism in Thailand among Chinese holidaymakers.

For Thailand’s neighbors, the vacuum left by the zero-dollar crackdown provided plenty of opportunities to tap the suddenly untapped demand for cheap overseas travel. As a result, demand for trips to surrounding countries with less regulated tourism industries has picked up, with multiple new air connections between China and Thailand’s neighbors introduced in the last few months.

However, for Thai authorities, there were many reasons to put curbs on Chinese zero-dollar tours. The Thai government has estimated that it lost approximately 70 billion baht (US$2 billion) in tax revenue annually due to the tax-avoiding nature of zero-dollar tours, with profits funneled directly back to China.

Another major concern has been the overcrowding of Thailand’s tourism infrastructure and the fear that budget travelers cannibalize on more profitable market segments.

While not the most profitable market segment, Chinese zero-dollar tourists could still prove a welcome injection of tourism revenues for Thailand’s neighbors. Vietnam, the closest competitor in mainland Southeast Asia, received 7.9 million tourists in 2015—not even a third of Thailand’s 29.9 million arrivals.

In Chinese tourist arrivals, it lags even further behind despite many shared features, such as being a budget-friendly destination that offers many similar geographic traits. Chinese tourists may be beginning to notice, with Vietnam reporting 47.5 percent growth of Chinese arrivals in the first half of 2016.

While foreign tour guides, a feature associated with zero-dollar tours, are officially outlawed in Vietnam, there have been many reported instances of Chinese tour guides operating in the country. Even without zero-dollar tours, the cheaper Vietnam proves a valid competitor for budget-conscious Chinese travelers who would have otherwise gone on zero-dollar tours in Thailand.

Cambodia, another competitor in the market for price-conscious Chinese travelers, is also seeing a growing number of Chinese arrivals and direct flight connections with China. Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, recently announced that he wants to more than double the number of Chinese tourists visiting Cambodia every year—from 800,000 in 2015 to 2 million in 2020.

While demand is picking up in China, Sen himself admitted that Cambodia lacks the number of Mandarin-speaking tour guides required to satisfy demand—presenting an ideal opportunity for Chinese zero-dollar tour operators to capitalize on the opportunity.

For countries with underutilized tourism resources, zero-dollar tours may not seem as off-putting as they are to market leaders like Thailand. While it might be tough to tap into much of the revenue from shopping and tour services provided to tourists on zero-dollar tours, airfare, and to some extent, accommodation strengthen overall tourism revenues.

Both Cambodia’s flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, and several Vietnamese airlines, including its flag carrier, have increased their capacity between China and their respective home countries.

Other countries in Southeast Asia are also gearing up for attracting a larger share of the travel-hungry and rising Chinese middle class. After the rapprochement between China and the Philippines after the election of president Duterte, the Philippines is now considering the introduction of a visa-free policy for Chinese travelers.

Malaysia, meanwhile, has also been picking up steam with Chinese budget travelers to the extent that they have had an effect on Chinese tourism in Singapore, with an increasing number of Chinese visitors to Singapore arriving in tour buses by road from Malaysia and spending significantly less than other Chinese tourists in the city-state.

For China’s rising middle class, budget travel in nearby countries is an attractive and increasingly frictionless affair, with improving visa policies and a growing number of direct flights. While Thailand may be less appealing to the thriftiest travelers than before, neighboring countries are eager to pick up where Thailand left off.


Tourism Observer
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BELARUS:UNWTO Supports Scraping Visa Requirements

UNWTO has expressed its full support to the decision of the Government of Belarus to launch the 5-day visa-free policy that will be applicable to travelers from 80 countries.

The measure aims at advancing seamless travel and attracting visitors, particularly those on business trips.

The Government of Belarus has recently decided to advance visa facilitation as a means to stimulate tourism development. The decision introduces visa-free entry at the Minsk National Airport and visa-free stay in Belarus for up to five days for the citizens of 80 states.

Among those, there are 39 countries of Europe, including the entire European Union, Brazil, Indonesia, the USA and Japan.

“Visa facilitation is among the most effective strategies to induce tourism development in a region or in a country, so we are sure that the tourism sector will experience a positive shift in Belarus,” said UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.

The promotion of seamless travel is one of UNWTO’s priorities, considering the proven capacity of visa facilitation to stimulate economic growth and job creation through tourism.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree scrapping visa requirements for residents of 80 foreign countries for a period of no more than five days, the press service of the Belarusian president reports.

“The document establishes visa-free procedures of entry into Belarus for a period no longer than five days on entry via a check point across the State Border, the Minsk National Airport, for citizens of 80 countries,” it said, specifying that the decree covers 39 European countries, including all EU countries, as well as Brazil, Indonesia, the United States and Japan.

First of all these are migrant-friendly countries, strategic partners of Belarus, states that have unilaterally introduced a visa-free regime for Belarusian nationals,” the press service explained. The decree also applies to “non-citizens of Latvia and stateless persons of Estonia.

“The document is aimed at giving a boost to travels of business people, tourists, individuals having domestic passports and will not apply to foreigners making official trips: diplomatic, business, special and other passports equivalent to them will not be taken into consideration,” the press service commented.

As for the citizens of Vietnam, Haiti, Gambia, Honduras, India, China, Lebanon, Namibia and Samoa, a compulsory additional demand for them is to have in their passports a valid multi-entry visa of a EU or a Schengen zone state with a mark confirming the entry to their territory, as well as plane tickets confirming the departure from the Minsk National Airport within five days from the entry date.

These visa-free travels don’t apply to people arriving in Belarus by plane from Russia, as well as planning to fly to Russian airports (these flights are domestic and have no border controls). The decree comes into effect one month after it is published officially.

CAMBODIA: Angkor Wat Is Eighth Wonder Of The World

They say Angkor Wat is the eighth wonder of the world, with the intricacy and symbolism of the Taj Mahal and the scale and symmetry of the Egyptian pyramids.

It had been on my travel wish list since I was a teenager and our two-week trip through Vietnam and Cambodia was designed around seeing this one building - albeit the largest religious building in the world.

The launchpad for Angkor is Siem Reap. Friends who visited ten years ago described it as 'dusty little streets with artisan crafts'.

Getting there was supposed to be an exclusive expedition. Today, however, giant neon signs point to 'Pub Street' and Western cover bands blast from the bars.

Cheap flights connect Siem Reap to the rest of Asia and tourists come in their thousands, every day. However, our sweltering seven-hour bumpy bus from the capital, Phnom Penh, meant we were at least earning our wonder.

And we hoped that a dawn start at Angkor the next day might allow some privacy.

Arriving outside the temple, the moonlight caught a huge body of water, a moat over a mile long. I hadn't been ready for such scale and ambition in architecture.

My girlfriend and I picked our way across the bridge and through the outer wall into the inner complex. And there it was, appearing in the half-light as the sun rose behind it, the towers of Angkor Wat. It was reassuringly breathtaking.

But we weren't alone - the soft light revealed thousands of others, almost clambering over each other, all sold the 'dawn package'.

As the temple moved out of its cloak of silhouette, we stood as a saluting army of raised arms and our cameras clicked, echoing the surrounding jungle of crickets.

Of course, there are dozens of temples at the Angkor complex. We persisted through the heat and humidity to giant Buddhist carvings and fig trees growing entwined in ancient bricks as if building sets for Indiana Jones.

All the while the others were there, and I persistently and carefully angled my camera to avoid them, as I tried to convince myself we had the place to ourselves.

But it was an illusion. It was like taking photos at the zoo and pretending you were on safari.

We made it through to sunset on the top of view-giving Pre Rup temple, with 150 others vying for space. The selfie sticks were clashing against each other as the excited crowd posed by pretending to catch the sun or even swallow it.

As our illuminating companion for the day was finally consumed by the trees, the others descended, ushered by an officious guard. But we loitered, still trying to catch our private moment and here it was.

The guard, thinking the temple top was cleared, paused and softened. He sat down and looked out to the distant red sky and he smiled. The secret pleasure he'd been waiting for all day was the exclusive experience we'd come to find.

Te Teuk Pus Hot Spring, located near the mountainside village of Phnom Te village in Oral district, about 60 km west of Kampong Speu town.

Cambodian government will soon develop the area into a special attraction.

Tourism and provincial environment officials will work together to establish the hot spring area. this is a rare tourist attraction and has features that can attract international travelers.

After a recent inspection, experts from Japan concluded the hot springs have good quality water with minerals that could be beneficial for skin care and beauty.

Te Teuk Pus Hot Spring is 100 meters in circumference. The hot spring water comes from six sources and has a high sulfur content emitting a pungent smell. Water temperature is 70 degree Celsius, according to the reports.

Kampong Speu province borders the provinces of Pursat and Kampong Chhnang to the north, Kandal to the east, Takeo to the southeast, Kampot to the south and Koh Kong to the west. Its capital is Kampong Speu town.

Last year, Cambodia welcomed 5,011,712 international travelers increasing 5.0% compared to 4,775,231 visits in 2015.

The country targets to welcome 7 million tourists by 2020.

Apsara authority has announced it will restrict visits to the top of Phnom Bakheng hill, a popular spot for for sunset photography where an ancient temple is located.

A maximum of 300 visitors will be allowed to visit the hill top temple at any one time.

Agence Kampuchea Presse quoted Apsara’s Tourism Management Agency president, Phoeun Sophoan, saying the limit on visitors will help to protect the ancient hill top temple .

“The authority has also arranged places for tourists to see the sunset on the hill without going up to the hill top temple.”

The report did not explain how Apsara will manage the crowd, but to ensure not more than 300 people are on the hilly knoll at any one time would probably require a head count through entry and exit points to control the flow.

Located in Angkor region, Siem Reap province, Phnom Bakheng is a 65-metre-high temple mountain built between the end of the 9th century and early 10th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman I.

Located on the top of a hill, it is now a popular tourist spot for sunset viewing with excellent views of the bigger Angkor Wat, which stands about 1.5 km to the southeast.

The large number of visitors makes Phnom Bakheng one of the most threatened monuments of the Angkor Historical Park.

Since 2004, World Monuments Fund has been working to conserve the temple in partnership with Apsara.

VIETNAM: Enjoy Coffee In Hanoi

Despite being notoriously difficult to find, Hanoi’s Giang Cafe has proved a hit with locals and visitors alike who make the trek to find the little cafe tucked away down an alley for one thing only; their famous egg coffee.

The egg coffee – or ca phe trung – concoction may sound difficult to stomach for many westerners. It’s a mix of egg yolk, cheese, butter, powdered coffee and condensed milk, plus some additional secret ingredients. Giang Cafe, however, has built an international reputation for the drink with its secret formula to get the taste just right. It’s been compared by many to liquid tiramisu, with not even a hint of egg flavour to throw you off.

Whatever the exact measurements, the formula works. Rave reviews and word of mouth have brought many tourists here out of curiosity and the vast majority have been converted to the protein-heavy caffeinated drink. If coffee is not for you, the cafe also serves egg hot chocolate and egg matcha, so there’s plenty of choice on the menu for different palettes.

Today, Giang Cafe is run by Nguyen Tri Hoa who has been making the drink all his life after his father invented it in 1946. For 25,000 dong (US $1.10), visitors are promptly served up with the unusual mixture, the cup sitting in a hot bowl to keep the drink warm, and many now call themselves converts.

Egg coffee is nothing new in Vietnam. It began during the French Vietnam war in the 1940s when milk was scarce in the country. Coffee is an essential part of Vietnamese socialising and a lack of condensed milk was not going to stop locals from enjoying it, so many cafes and bars were forced to improvise.

Vietnam is considered one of the best destinations for caffeine-lovers in the world and is the second-largest producer of coffee in the world. It also produces one of the most expensive brews; so-called ‘weasel coffee’ which is produced by civets eating ripened coffee cherries and passing them later. The beans are then picked out of the dung, thoroughly washed and roasted to produce a rich and smooth drink.

VIETNAM: Vietnam Rhino Sanctions Says WWF

Conservation organisation WWF says Vietnam needs to crack down on its rampant illegal rhino horn trade or face sanctions.

WWF said that as the world’s largest market for illegal rhino horn, Vietnam’s failure to shut down illegal markets, disrupt the trafficking networks and prosecute the traffickers would be in the spotlight as the 17th Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) takesplace in Johannesburg from September 24 to October 5.

This will be the fourth meeting of Cites on the African continent since it came into force in 1975, but it will the first held on the continent since 2000.

South Africa has lost nearly 6 000 rhinos to poachers since 2007, including more than 700 so far this year, so rhino issues will be high on the agenda.

This week Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa said there had been a significant increase in the number of arrests of alleged poachers this year.

She said a total of 414 alleged poachers had been arrested in South Africa since January 1 – of which 177 were in the Kruger National Park and 237 for the rest of the country. She said rhino poaching had declined by 17.8 percent in the Kruger National Park.

“Between January and the end of August 2016, a total number of 458 poached rhino carcasses were found in the KNP, compared to 557 in the same period last year.” However, nationally 702 rhino had already been poached since the beginning of 2016.

Molewa said there was also concern about an increase in elephant poaching, despite the determined efforts by rangers, the police and soldiers on the ground.

Since January, 36 elephants had been poached in the Kruger National Park.

Despite widespread evidence of rhino horn openly for sale in Vietnam, the authorities have made no significant rhino horn seizures within their borders and have reported no successful prosecutions. Ginette Hemley, WWF Head of Delegation to Cites said ending the illegal rhino horn trade and helping to save Africa’s rhinos was clearly not a priority for the government.

“Specifically, Vietnam must agree to enact new regulations to treat wildlife crime as a ‘serious crime’ with a minimum sentence of four years in prison; legislate to treat fake rhino horn as real rhino horn for enforcement and prosecution purposes; and successfully target and prosecute illegal traders and traffickers.” WWF said the illegal ivory trade would also be a major agenda item at the conference.

It said Cites Parties should also give greater trade protection to a range of species, including all eight species of Asian and African pangolins, thresher and silky sharks, devil rays, African grey parrot, rosewood trees, and flapshell and softshell turtles.

Close All Tiger Farms, Tigers Killed Every Week

Based on data from the 801 seizures of tiger parts recorded in Asia between 2000 and 2015, the two NGOs estimate that a minimum of 1,755 tigers were killed for those parts. That translates into an average of more than two animals killed per week. Many of those tigers were likely captive animals kept at tiger farms. Yet animals in the wild remain at as much risk of being poached as ever, TRAFFIC and WWF say.

There is also growing evidence that wildlife traffickers are still exploiting a smugglers' route that stretches from Thailand to Vietnam via Laos. In all three countries the number of tiger farms has risen in recent years. “This analysis provides clear evidence that illegal trade in tigers, their parts and products, persists as an important conservation concern," said Steven Broad, executive director of TRAFFIC. "Despite repeated government commitments to close down tiger farms in Asia, such facilities are flourishing and playing an increasing role in fuelling illegal trade."

Conservationists are bringing increasing pressure to bear on governments to close down tiger farms, which routinely market themselves as centers for tiger conservation while in fact exploiting captive tigers as tourist attractions. In an especially notorious recent case, a Buddhist temple in central Thailand, where tourists could pose for pictures with tigers, was found to have sold the parts of several tigers on the black market. In Vietnam, too, several recent seizures of tiger parts have revealed a thriving black market. The government of Laos has pledged to shut down commercial tiger farms in the country.

“Criminal networks are increasingly trafficking captive bred tigers around Asia, undermining law enforcement efforts and helping to fuel demand. Tiger range countries must rapidly close their farms or wild tigers will face a future only as skin and bones,” said Ginette Hemley, a conservationist at WWF. “Laos and Thailand have announced steps in the right direction but they need to act now and other countries should swiftly follow the same path marked ‘close all tiger farms’.”

Those farms reduce tigers to languishing in captivity as tourist draws while they also pose a clear and present danger to conservation efforts by potentially aiding in the trafficking of tiger parts. TRAFFIC and WWF have called on countries with tiger ranges to share information and intelligence on incidences of tiger seizures and poaching for improved intelligence on trafficking networks. The two NGOs have also urged “commercial trading sites and social media enterprises to work closely with national governments to shut down businesses and individuals found to be facilitating the illegal trade in tigers (and other endangered species) online.”

THAILAND: Sophia Altamirano New Vice President Sales At ONYX Hospitality Group

Thailand-based ONYX Hospitality Group has appointed Sophia Altamirano as its Vice President of Sales. She will be based at the Bangkok headquarters.

Altamirano brings with her 19 years of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked with various brands in different roles, including 14 years with AccorHotels Group, working with Mercure, Grand Mercure, Novotel and Sofitel properties in the Philippines and Vietnam as Director of Sales and Marketing before moving to her first corporate role as Regional Director of Sales responsible for Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore hotels. She was subsequently appointed Regional Director of Sales for Upper Southeast Asia based in Bangkok, responsible for seven major brands across more than 90 properties in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar, followed by a move into operations as the Executive Assistant Manager at Pullman Bangkok Sukhumvit.

In her current role with ONYX Hospitality Group, Altamirano will be overseeing the sales function and managing the Group’s sales efforts. She will work closely with general managers across the ONYX portfolio and their sales and marketing teams.

Commenting on her new role with ONYX, Altamirano said: “I look forward to bringing my experience and expertise to the ONYX Sales team as we work together with our properties to achieve their goals. It is a very exciting time for ONYX as we expand into new territories and develop new and additional properties in existing and upcoming regions, many of which I have previously worked in.”

CHINA: Ivory Trade Fuelled By China

The US government on Monday last week banned trade in ivory as part of its effort to stem the killing of elephants for their tusks.

Until the US government's decision early last week, it had for the past few years restricted ivory trade in the USA as part of its contribution to the fight against killings of elephants in most African countries.

It's latest move comes at a time when Tanzania, which was one of the most hard-hit countries by poaching, is presently locked in a war against the vice.

It initially lost its war against poaching on account of numerous factors that had included, among others, abolition by the government of the retention scheme that had been introduced in the Selous Game Reserve.

For instance, in 1976, Selous had 110,000 elephants, but by 2014, the population in been decimated to 15,000!

Killing of elephants in most African countries and in the Selous in particular, has for years been fueled by growing demand for ivory products in the Far East countries.

What has exacerbated killing of elephants is the increase in demand for ivory products by the growing middle class in China, Vietnam and Thailand.

In the three countries, ivory has been transformed into an industry that is driven largely by booming middle class, in which some people covet ivory ornaments as a status symbol.

According to wildlife conservation groups, the Far East countries have encouraged the slaughter of some 30,000 African elephants a year.

And most of the slaughter took place in Selous Game Reserve.

The US government's decision to ban ivory trade in the country is however, not new.

It would, however, help in the long run to set a new, very encouraging development in the fight against poaching.

For instance, according to investigations conducted by the National Geographic Society, in 1989 the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), banned the global ivory trade.

And when an experiment allowed Japan to buy 55 tons of ivory legally in 1999, the resulting rise in smuggling caused China to consider the Japan experiment a failure.

But just a few years later, China began lobbying to be allowed to do the same thing, namely, to buy a limited amount of ivory to sell, in a tightly controlled market, domestically.

The country lobbied hard, and in 2008, CITES granted Beijing the request. That year, China bought, legally, 73 tons of ivory from Africa and at about that time, it also built the world's largest ivory-carving factory and began opening shops to sell artifacts.

As if that was not bad enough, the Chinese government would add ivory carving to its official register of Intangible Cultural Heritage, all in an attempt to further legitimise the industry.

Later the 'National Geographic' investigators went into some of China's carving factories in 2012 and discovered, in the process, how China's actions were promoting the legal and illegal ivory trade.

Instead of keeping prices for ivory low, the China raised them, making ivory more profitable to poachers.

Meanwhile, Beijing's plan to assign legally carved ivory products photo IDs backfired,the photos are so small that an ID used to identify a legal piece of ivory could easily be attached to an illegal one to legitimise it.

The photos were so small that it was hard to tell whether the piece in the photo was the same one being sold.

In short, China's internal ivory control systems have failed, hence increasing threat to the survival of elephants in Africa and Tanzania in particular.

Going by the foregoing narrative, China now holds the key to the continued existence of elephants in Africa.

And the only way to that is for China to do exactly what the US government did early last week--ban ivory trade in China.

Of course, given the manner with which the Chinese government had allowed trade in ivory to flourish in its country, it is going to be extremely difficult to undo what it has for decades done.

But the US government had faced similar problems in the past before it finally succeeded to do what it did last week.

The US government is reported to have for years faced opposition from one of the most powerful lobbying groups in that country, the National Rifle Association.

The association is said to have actively opposed the ivory trade ban in order to protect access to ivory-handled guns.

Historic decision

But the opposition finally failed, hence the US government's historic decision early last week.

The world is now waiting with bated breath for a move by China, which has repeatedly and rightly said (through its other past actions), that it was a friend of Africa--to ban ivory trade in that country and save continent's elephants.

Sex Tourism Spreads And Booms

Portugal, Moldova and Ukraine in Europe, and Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in Asia have emerged as new child sex tourism destinations, prompting activists to call for governments to include measures to protect children in their tourism plans.

Sex tourism has spread around the world to countries that were previously inaccessible as tourism has boomed over the past 20 years and travelling has become cheaper, said a study published on Thursday by global child protection network ECPAT.

The number of international tourists almost doubled from 527 million in 1995 to 1.14 billion in 2014, it said.

In Asia, Thailand´s efforts to clean up its image as a sex tourism destination and crack down on the crime, has had the unintended effect of pushing sex tourists to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, it said.

In Europe, Moldova, Portugal and Ukraine have emerged as new sex tourism destinations.

"Many of these countries which are starting to open up - understandably they see tourism as a fantastic economic development sector," Mark Capaldi, ECPAT´s head of policy and research, said.

He said countries looking for economic opportunities from tourism often ignore the risks that some international tourists pose to children and lack the laws to protect them.

Countries need to assess the impact of tourism development projects from a child protection perspective before rushing into them, he said.

"It´s much more difficult to claw back and change the reputation of a place if it becomes seen as a hotbed of child sex tourism," Capaldi said in a phone interview.

The study said a lack of data makes it difficult to assess the scale of global child sex exploitation but the crime has outpaced attempts to curb it over the past two decades.

Capaldi said the growth in online bookings and private rental accommodation has contributed to the spread of sex tourism as this has made it easier for perpetrators to remain anonymous.

The study said children from minority groups, boys and young children are far more vulnerable to sex tourism than was previously thought, as are girls and children living in poverty.

Its recommendations include creating support systems for child victims of sex exploitation in all countries, curbing the online sale of children for sex, and creating systems to enable law enforcement agencies to share information about offenders.

Cheap Flights And Internet Encouraging Sex Tourism

Sex Tourism has “expanded” into new destinations across the world, claims a new report, which blames cheap flights and the Internet for creating a new generation of predators.

Opportunities for travellers to abuse women and children have “soared” in the past two decades, the Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism said.

The report, which is considered the most comprehensive ever compiled on the sex tourism industry, also identifies countries which have emerged as new destinations for abusers.

These include Portugal, Moldova and the Ukraine in Europe, and also Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia in Southeast Asia.

The report also said sex tourists are no longer being seen as wealthy, middle aged Westerners who travel to underdeveloped countries to seek children to abuse.

The UN-backed study says abusers are also often not tourists, but could be business travellers or expatriates who are ‘situational’ offenders, rather than paedophiles.

The study says the growth in opportunities for the abuse of children and women is directly linked to the boom in travel and the wider use of the Internet.

“The vulnerability of children has increased dramatically in the past 20 years as travel, tourism soared,” the report said.

“Although the precise scope is not yet measurable, there are alarming indicators that this crime is persistent and widespread.

“The Global Study has also demonstrated, undeniably, that the increasing use
 of the Internet has enabled offenders to groom children online, exchange information and advice on how to abuse children and avoid detection, and in some cases ‘book’ children in advance.”

The report, which was released by global child protection network ECPAT, charts the increase in sex tourism over the last two decades.

It was compiled with information from more than 70 global child protection agencies.

“Twenty years ago the offender was seen as a white, wealthy, middle-aged male peadophile from a developed country vacationing in a developing country with the intention of having sex with a child,” it adds.

“Now we understand that more children are being abused by tourists and travellers from their own country or region than by people who have travelled
 from other parts of the world.”

The report notes, for example, that Japanese, Chinese and South Korean tourists are now more likely to be offenders in Southeast Asia – a traditional sex tourism hotspot – because they travel through the region more regularly than Westerners.

The number of international tourists almost doubled from 527 million in 1995 to 1.14 billion in 2014, the report said.

“Despite 20 years of efforts, the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism has expanded across the globe and out-paced every attempt to respond at the international and national level,” it added.

SEYCHELLES: Victoria In Carnival Sounds

Minister St. Ange with his colleagues from South Africa, Madagascar and the one and only Kitty Pope of Africa Diaspora Tourism in Atlanta Georgia

'This was the best opening I have seen and I have seen them all' did a fellow journalist say when the lights in the Stade Popiler went on again after the opening act of the 2016 Carnival International de Victoria had drawn to a close amid thundering applause from the spectators.
The VIP area was crowded, led by none other than President James Alix Michel, Vice President Faure, former President Sir Mancham and tourism ministers from South Africa, Madagascar and other dignitaries.

Two short speeches, both to the point, by the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board Ms. Sherin Naiken, followed by a trilingual address in English, Kreol and French of Tourism Minister St. Ange, set the tone for the rest of the night.

When the stage lit up and the annual carnival theme song was performed as opening act were spectators on the edge of their seats and the area under the three stages immediately crowded by TV teams and photo journalists, trying to capture the performers.

On stage went Brazil, China, Vietnam, India, Sweden, South Korea, Ethiopia as well as co-hosts of the event this year, South Africa and Reunion Island, all thrilling the crowds with flashy costumes and killer moves, the combination of which brought out cat whistles and screams from in particular the open stands where thousands of Seychellois has crammed into to see and be part of what has become the islands' main trademark festival.

In his speech did Minister St. Ange refer to the Seychelles carnival festival as the United Nations of Culture, and certainly is is the United Nations of Carnivalistas, who now come in ever larger numbers to this unique festival where - unlike their home carnivals where they perform - they now showcase their crafts and skills besides the most highly ranked carnival troupes from around the world.

The teams mentioned before will be joined in the parade by two German 'Karneval Vereine', from Duesseldorf and Cologne, others from Italy, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, in total 23 foreign performing floats and groups ready to do their thing this afternoon in the centre of Victoria.

It was evident, when invited guests crowded into the Gran Kaz Casino for the after party, that the hosts, staff of the Seychelles Tourism Board, the CEO of the Tourism Board and most notably Minister St. Ange, were beaming with pride for what they have achieved, perfect weather, a balmy evening under the full moon over the Seychelles' capital and a performance, as said already, better than any seen so far, rounded up by fireworks over the stadium at the end of the night's performance.

The Seychelles, a rainbow nation in its own right, perhaps more than any other nation on earth, has the spotlights of some 124 global media houses on them this weekend and going by the look of it, this will be a huge success once more to put the archipelago on the map.

Key sponsors, worth mentioning for helping to make this happen, were Air Seychelles / Etihad, Airtel Seychelles and among others also Kenya Airways, the Pride of Africa, which flew many of the African delegations to Mahe.

Today, come 3 p.m. will the carnival juggernaut waltz through Victoria, on a different route too from previous events, to give more locals and tourists the opportunity to line the streets and cheer on the performers, 23 foreign and dozens from the Seychelles, who have taken to the carnival like the proverbial fish to water.

CAMBODIA: Proposed Border Highway Threatens Wildlife In Protected Cambodian Forest

Silvered langur monkeys climb on a tree along a river in Mondulkiri province in eastern Cambodia

A new border crossing between Vietnam and Cambodia will drive certain endangered animal species closer to extinction if it is built through a protected forest in Cambodia, according to an international environmental group that urges scrapping the highway plan.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has called for the 36-kilometer (24-mile) Srea Ampom-Kbal Damrei proposed asphalt road and border crossing project to be cancelled to protect the most endangered species of the Mondulkiri Protected Forest in eastern Cambodia’s Mondulkiri Province, the country’s largest but most sparsely populated province which borders three Vietnamese provinces.

The 4,300-square-kilometer (1,660-square-mile) area is home to 23 mammal, bird, reptile and tree species listed as endangered or critically endangered, WWF said in a news release last month. Many of them have become extinct elsewhere in Southeast Asia because of habitat loss and hunting for illegal wildlife products.

The forest is also the proposed site for the Cambodian government’s plans to reintroduce tiger populations.

“Mondulkiri Protected Forest is a treasure trove of biodiversity and has been identified by the Cambodian government as the site of a planned tiger reintroduction,” said Sam Ath Chhith, country director of WWF-Cambodia. “Unfortunately, both the spectacular biodiversity and the tiger reintroduction are in jeopardy if this border crossing and road are built through the core zone of the protected forest.”

The new border crossing and road will seriously fragment the habitat of the 23 species in Mondulkiri Protected Forest, while providing little economic benefit, WWF said.

Some of the most endangered animal and plant species include the banteng, a species of wild cattle found in Southeast Asia which has declined by more than 80 percent in the past half-century and is now restricted to small populations in Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Other endangered species at risk in the Mondulkiri Protected Forest are the giant ibis, Siamese crocodile, slender-billed vulture, Eld’s deer, dipterocarpus alatus tropical hardwood tree, silvered langur (monkey), masked finfoot (water fowl) and elongated tortoise. Many of these species have become endangered because of hunting, deforestation and habitat loss.

The WWF said it is backing the Cambodia’s government efforts to reintroduce tigers to the protected forest, where breeding populations no longer exist because of habitat loss, poaching and loss of their prey base.

“The key to ensuring a successful tiger reintroduction is to keep the landscape as intact and unfragmented as possible, which means no border crossing and road.” Tom Gray, manager of species conservation for WWF Greater Mekong, said in the news release.

Forest is vital for villagers

The WWF also issued a call in late January for the cancellation of the proposed road and border crossing claiming that it would damage the Mondulkiri Protected Forest—a UNESCO World Heritage site candidate.

The organization also said the protected forest is vital for communities that rely on its ecosystem to provide them fresh water, food and livelihoods, but that the road would not improve access to any existing villages.

WWF has said that the reintroduction of tigers could be a potential tourism driver generating long-term revenue for local communities and the provincial government, but warned that the proposed road could derail the tiger restoration program and increase wildlife trafficking between Cambodia and Vietnam.

“There is simply too much to lose and very little to gain if this road is built,” Sam Ath Chhith said in January. “Mondulkiri Protected Forest is without question a world class ecosystem, and it should remain exactly what its name says—‘protected’ for future generations of both people and wildlife.”

Donor countries have contributed $10 million to protect the area since the government designated it a protected forest in July 2002, according to an article in the Khmer Times last month.

The article noted that the proposed road would cut through a 19-kilometer (12-mile) special ecosystem zone designated for the tiger-reintroduction program inside the protected forest.

Moul Path, a WWF manager based in Mondulkiri, told the news organization that he believed the road was being built to facilitate logging because the province already had four existing checkpoints along its 210-kilometer border with Vietnam.

The article went on to say that Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Mondulkiri province authorities had assured donor countries and conservation groups that the road would not be built though the protected forest.

But the Khmer Times cited leaked memos in which Sar Kheng had written to Foreign Minister Hor Namhong last December about the establishment of a border crossing at Kbal Damrei on the forest’s southeastern border to link the checkpoint with Sre Ampom to the south.

A second leaked memo indicated that Sar Kheng ordered the governor of Mondulkiri province to arrange an official inauguration of the Kbal Damrei border checkpoint and provincial authorities to plan for infrastructure development there.

JAPAN: Japan’s Inbound Tourism To Hit Top Slot By 2030

China may be the story for the great outbound travel boom, but its neighbour Japan is the home for inbound visitor growth. Despite being one of the world’s most populous nations, with a high GDP and rich culture, Japan has hardly registered with visitor arrivals. That is quickly changing. Between 2010 and 2015 Japan added 11 million annual visitors.

Japan ended 2015 with 19.7 million visitors, five years ahead of its goal to have 20 million visitors in 2020. Tokyo has now doubled its goals: by 2020, Japan wants another 20 million, and then 30 million more in the next decade after that. Before the end of the decade, Japan expects to crack the list of 10 most popular countries for tourism. By 2030, it could be in the top five.

China and other Asian markets are driving most of the growth: in early 2016, they account for 87% of visitor arrivals, up from 62% in 1998. Long haul markets to Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand have experienced a corresponding decrease. Japan’s new tourism goal is to rebalance and gain stronger growth from these long haul markets. Yet the capacity is not there.


Overall long haul capacity has been reduced over recent years. Virgin Atlantic and Austrian cancelled service while Iberia and LOT enter, yet Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are making steep reductions.

American Airlines has added a flight but Delta is withdrawing more long haul capacity in 2016 than any airline. Japan may consider re-evaluating the joint ventures it has approved, or to be more liberal with fifth freedom rights.

In 2011 Japan set out to grow tourism rapidly, as one initiative to improve the economy. In 2010 Japan received only 8.6 million visitors but had planned to grow that to 20 million by 2020 and 30 million by 2030. Those targets proved to be too conservative.


Demand was restrained by onerous visa procedures for Asian countries. Reducing or liberalising those in mainland China and Southeast Asia ushered in growth in visitor arrivals and for airlines in the marketplaces.

Other improvements – wifi access, foreign languages, tax-free shopping – were softer touches while all markets benefitted from a weakened Japanese yen. Japan benefitted from improved relations with China, which made Japan an unpopular destination for a while.


Once Japan was essentially willing to let more visitors enter, visitors arrived in numbers well above Japan’s expectations. Japan nearly reached its 2020 goal (20 million arrivals) five years early, with 19.7 million visitor arrivals in 2015.

There was talk of Japan boosting its 2020 goal to 30m, but the plan announced at the end of Mar-2016 was to double the goals: from 20 million to 40 million visitors for 2020, and from 30 million to 60 million visitors in 2030.


Japan will need to add 4 million visitors a year through 2020, a shocking sum from the perspective that Japan crossed the 4 million mark in 1997, and then 8 million in 2007.

The growth of the past decade must be achieved annually for the next five years. Barring any major incident, Japan can be comfortable (but has work ahead). The additional visitors in 2015 were 6.3 million.


Japan intends to further relax visas for China, the Philippines, India, Russia and Vietnam. Most of the increase in visitors means growth for aviation, but Japan is also eyeing a larger cruise industry. (There are also efforts to boost outbound flows, which will be overshadowed by inbound arrivals).


In 2014 and 2015 it was mainland China that made the largest contribution to increased visitors. Of the additional visitors to Japan in 2014, 36% were Chinese. In 2015, it was 41%. There is further growth to unlock, but also a need to diversify.


The post-2020 environment may need revising. After adding 4 million visitors for the rest of this decade, Japan will need to add half as many (2 million) for the following decade. This will occur after the 2020 Olympics, which Japan hopes will significantly boost its profile.


There are questions about what a tourism industry can, or wants to, handle. On the soft side, there are growing concerns within Japan that the tourism influx is disturbing the quality of life. Elsewhere, Japan’s 60 million target for 2030 would rank it one of the world’s most popular tourism destinations.


Based on UNWTO’s 2014 rankings, only three countries – France, the United States and Spain – had more than 60 million visitors in 2014. This ranking has undergone limited changes, reflecting the disruption Japan wants to bring but also the challenge ahead to have a tourism industry that can go from being insignificant to one of the world’s most powerful.