by N. Nithiyananthan, Kuala Lumpur
TOURISM minister Ng Yen Yen is confident that Malaysia will meet its target of 25 million arrivals for the year, even though external factors have affected several major source markets.
Thailand, Malaysia’s third largest source of arrivals last year, is undergoing a transitional period, having just endured a regime change following July’s election; Europe and the US are suffering from one financial hiccup after another; while the disasters that hit Japan in March have drastically reduced outbound numbers from the country.
Competition from Singapore, with its new products such as the Universal Studios theme park and integrated casino resorts, was also expected to have an adverse effect on inbound to Malaysia, said Ng.
In spite of the challenges, a rise in tourist numbers from China, the Middle East, India and Russia is expected to take up the slack, and even boost arrivals by 0.2 per cent over last year’s 24.6 million visitors.
Ng said the tourism ministry would focus on these emerging markets, as their spending capacities were quite high, while existing promotions would remain online.
According to Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel director of sales, Andy Muniandy, the Middle East market had been especially resilient, with a surge in visitors from the region in July causing a room shortage in Kuala Lumpur.
“With Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal playing in Kuala Lumpur over 10 days in July, we could not get enough rooms because their Middle East fans travelled to the city for these games,” he said.
AOS sent the Middle East customers to various island resorts on arrival in Malaysia, before bringing them back to Kuala Lumpur for the football games.
“This was equally difficult as rooms on the islands were also heavily booked,” Muniandy said.
NO LIES... JUST THE FACTS!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
INDULGE TILL YOU FLY
MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Berhad’s (Malaysia Airports) commercial transformation journey is accelerating with the continuance of its travellers’ campaign known as Indulge Till You Fly (ITUF).
The ITUF campaign underscores Malaysia Airports’ overall strategy to create an attractive and appealing lifestyle environment for travellers at different airports under its Airports Commercial Model (ACM) development plan.
The 2011/2012 ITUF Campaign, which takes place from September 2011 to January 2012, will be held at all international airports namely KLIA/LCCT-KLIA, Langkawi International Airport , Penang International Airport , Kuching International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport
Under ACM, all 39 airports managed by Malaysia Airports is classified into four Airport Commercial Models namely lifestyle, leisure, community and corporate responsibility. ACM will also see the evolution of KLIA from an aviation hub to a self-sufficient and multi-functional airport city.
Malaysia Airports commercial services senior general manager Faizah Khairuddin said commercial development would be the most important driver for Malaysia Airports’ profitability in the next few years.
“To make sure that we achieve our goals and targets, it is crucial that we get more focused on customers’ needs and change their perception of airports from being mere transit points to exciting retail destinations with discoveries that they will want to experience again. We started this perception change last year and we are strengthening it this year, with the continuance of our campaign by positioning airports as lifestyle destinations,” she said.
Under the campaign, travellers get to take part in the ITUF “Indulge & Win” contest by spending a minimum of RM250 and completing a contest entry form. MasterCard holders will be entitled to two entry forms. Instant cash shopping vouchers worth RM10 are also given to all minimum purchase of RM250 during the Malaysia Year-End Sale. With every entry form submitted, participants will be in the running to win additional monthly shopping vouchers worth RM500.
As first prize, Malaysia Airports will be giving out 66 pairs of business-class air tickets to Kota Kinabalu or Langkawi which also include a 3-day/2-night five-star hotel stay and holiday indulgence package. The top attraction and grand prize of the contest is a Nissan Teana 2.6L V6 Premium worth RM175,000.
To encourage more people to participate in the campaign, they will be employing a new iPhone and IPad2 application called iButterfly Asia . The company will be the first organisation in Malaysia to use this mobile information and couponing technology to drive retail and F&B sales.
The ITUF campaign underscores Malaysia Airports’ overall strategy to create an attractive and appealing lifestyle environment for travellers at different airports under its Airports Commercial Model (ACM) development plan.
The 2011/2012 ITUF Campaign, which takes place from September 2011 to January 2012, will be held at all international airports namely KLIA/LCCT-KLIA, Langkawi International Airport , Penang International Airport , Kuching International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport
Under ACM, all 39 airports managed by Malaysia Airports is classified into four Airport Commercial Models namely lifestyle, leisure, community and corporate responsibility. ACM will also see the evolution of KLIA from an aviation hub to a self-sufficient and multi-functional airport city.
Malaysia Airports commercial services senior general manager Faizah Khairuddin said commercial development would be the most important driver for Malaysia Airports’ profitability in the next few years.
“To make sure that we achieve our goals and targets, it is crucial that we get more focused on customers’ needs and change their perception of airports from being mere transit points to exciting retail destinations with discoveries that they will want to experience again. We started this perception change last year and we are strengthening it this year, with the continuance of our campaign by positioning airports as lifestyle destinations,” she said.
Under the campaign, travellers get to take part in the ITUF “Indulge & Win” contest by spending a minimum of RM250 and completing a contest entry form. MasterCard holders will be entitled to two entry forms. Instant cash shopping vouchers worth RM10 are also given to all minimum purchase of RM250 during the Malaysia Year-End Sale. With every entry form submitted, participants will be in the running to win additional monthly shopping vouchers worth RM500.
As first prize, Malaysia Airports will be giving out 66 pairs of business-class air tickets to Kota Kinabalu or Langkawi which also include a 3-day/2-night five-star hotel stay and holiday indulgence package. The top attraction and grand prize of the contest is a Nissan Teana 2.6L V6 Premium worth RM175,000.
To encourage more people to participate in the campaign, they will be employing a new iPhone and IPad2 application called iButterfly Asia . The company will be the first organisation in Malaysia to use this mobile information and couponing technology to drive retail and F&B sales.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
PROMOTING LOCAL FOOD
Travel agents and companies in the tourism industry have been urged to include Malaysian food when promoting their travel packages to prospective tourists due to its variety and uniqueness. This is the understatement of the year.
As though it is something new Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said by introducing tourism packages that include local food, tourists coming to Malaysia can be introduced to attractive locations and at the same time savour a variety of local cuisine.
"To promote local food to tourists, it needs the cooperation of all the authorities since the food industry is a very important and relevant product," she told reporters after launching the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia 2011 here today.
The Minister said Malaysian food was unique because it entails cuisine from a variety of culture and race.
"We may not consider our food as special but to tourists, the variety of food available here is a special attraction," she said. For a Minister to say this is a clear example of how much she knows about our tourism.
The Minister then went on to say that last year tourists spent about RM9.7 billion on food and drinks which was approximately 17 percent of the money spent by tourists in the country. This is a lot of bull. No one can really determine the real figure, only make assumption.
The three-day Fabulous Food 1Malaysia 2011 promotion from Nov 18, will be held at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), here. Again this is a non-event and a waste of money if funded by the Ministry.
As though it is something new Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said by introducing tourism packages that include local food, tourists coming to Malaysia can be introduced to attractive locations and at the same time savour a variety of local cuisine.
"To promote local food to tourists, it needs the cooperation of all the authorities since the food industry is a very important and relevant product," she told reporters after launching the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia 2011 here today.
The Minister said Malaysian food was unique because it entails cuisine from a variety of culture and race.
"We may not consider our food as special but to tourists, the variety of food available here is a special attraction," she said. For a Minister to say this is a clear example of how much she knows about our tourism.
The Minister then went on to say that last year tourists spent about RM9.7 billion on food and drinks which was approximately 17 percent of the money spent by tourists in the country. This is a lot of bull. No one can really determine the real figure, only make assumption.
The three-day Fabulous Food 1Malaysia 2011 promotion from Nov 18, will be held at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), here. Again this is a non-event and a waste of money if funded by the Ministry.
Monday, October 3, 2011
ASIA PACIFIC ARRIVALS UP 7%
In the latest figures available, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) reported that the preliminary figures for international visitor arrivals into Asia/Pacific destinations1 for July 2011 show a year-on-year increase of 7%.
PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre notes that the growth rate has become more stable following the global economic recovery phase, which started in early 2010 and peaked in June of that year. Nevertheless, since then, Asia has continued to show healthy expansion. For the first seven months of 2011, international visitor arrivals into Asia/Pacific have grown 5%. Within Asia, South Asia is leading the pack growing by 14%, with Southeast Asia up 12%, Northeast Asia up 4% and the Pacific region up 1%.
South Asia set the pace with the strongest arrivals growth in July, recording 14% growth and adding almost 90,000 more international visitors to the sub-region’s total compared to July 2010. India (+10%) grew at a faster rate than in previous months due in part to the lower growth base of July 2010. The Maldives (+27%), Nepal (+20%) and Sri Lanka (+32%) all enjoyed buoyant growth in foreign arrivals.
The positive momentum continued for Southeast Asia in July with the sub-region returning an 11% increase in international visitor arrivals. The growth rate of foreign arrivals into Thailand (+19%) returned to a more normal level after three consecutive months of post-crisis peaks which were largely inflated on the back of comparison periods involving the political turmoil April to June 2010. Strong travel demand within the sub-region generally contributed to double-digit growth for all reporting destinations.
Northeast Asia saw a rebound during July to realise a gain of 6% for the month after posting slow growth since February this year. China (+2%) grew much more slowly than its SARs of Hong Kong (+22%) and Macau (+18%) during this period. However, because of its very large arrivals base, the Mainland still managed to welcome more than 260,000 additional visitors during the month compared to July 2010. Japanese outbound increased by 5% in July, the first positive month of growth since the tsunami in March. This promising expansion supported growth for all reporting Northeast destinations, particularly Chinese Taipei (+9%) and Korea (ROK) (+17%). Inbound visitors to Japan however, were down by 36% in July.
The Pacific saw a drop in international arrivals of just under 3% in July 2011. While this is negative, it is still a slight improvement over the 4% decline of the previous month. Most Pacific destinations reported year-on-year declines in international arrivals for the month of July. However, there were some exceptions including New Caledonia (+24%), the Cook Islands (+13%), Palau (+11%), Vanuatu (+11%) and Papua New Guinea (+5%).
John Koldowski, Director of the Strategic Intelligence Centre said: “Even during times of economic uncertainty, the Asia/Pacific region continues to perform strongly, reinforcing its image and position as a powerhouse of international travel and tourism. The source market mix, however, is changing. Some of the more traditional origin markets are losing ground to emerging ones. Arrivals from Russia for example have increased by more than 50% so far this year. Numerically, the Russians are now as important as - for example - France and even Germany .”
Koldowski said that intra-Asian growth is “substantial”, with Asia generating more than seven million additional arrivals to the Asia/Pacific region during the seven months to July 2011.
PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre notes that the growth rate has become more stable following the global economic recovery phase, which started in early 2010 and peaked in June of that year. Nevertheless, since then, Asia has continued to show healthy expansion. For the first seven months of 2011, international visitor arrivals into Asia/Pacific have grown 5%. Within Asia, South Asia is leading the pack growing by 14%, with Southeast Asia up 12%, Northeast Asia up 4% and the Pacific region up 1%.
South Asia set the pace with the strongest arrivals growth in July, recording 14% growth and adding almost 90,000 more international visitors to the sub-region’s total compared to July 2010. India (+10%) grew at a faster rate than in previous months due in part to the lower growth base of July 2010. The Maldives (+27%), Nepal (+20%) and Sri Lanka (+32%) all enjoyed buoyant growth in foreign arrivals.
The positive momentum continued for Southeast Asia in July with the sub-region returning an 11% increase in international visitor arrivals. The growth rate of foreign arrivals into Thailand (+19%) returned to a more normal level after three consecutive months of post-crisis peaks which were largely inflated on the back of comparison periods involving the political turmoil April to June 2010. Strong travel demand within the sub-region generally contributed to double-digit growth for all reporting destinations.
Northeast Asia saw a rebound during July to realise a gain of 6% for the month after posting slow growth since February this year. China (+2%) grew much more slowly than its SARs of Hong Kong (+22%) and Macau (+18%) during this period. However, because of its very large arrivals base, the Mainland still managed to welcome more than 260,000 additional visitors during the month compared to July 2010. Japanese outbound increased by 5% in July, the first positive month of growth since the tsunami in March. This promising expansion supported growth for all reporting Northeast destinations, particularly Chinese Taipei (+9%) and Korea (ROK) (+17%). Inbound visitors to Japan however, were down by 36% in July.
The Pacific saw a drop in international arrivals of just under 3% in July 2011. While this is negative, it is still a slight improvement over the 4% decline of the previous month. Most Pacific destinations reported year-on-year declines in international arrivals for the month of July. However, there were some exceptions including New Caledonia (+24%), the Cook Islands (+13%), Palau (+11%), Vanuatu (+11%) and Papua New Guinea (+5%).
John Koldowski, Director of the Strategic Intelligence Centre said: “Even during times of economic uncertainty, the Asia/Pacific region continues to perform strongly, reinforcing its image and position as a powerhouse of international travel and tourism. The source market mix, however, is changing. Some of the more traditional origin markets are losing ground to emerging ones. Arrivals from Russia for example have increased by more than 50% so far this year. Numerically, the Russians are now as important as - for example - France and even Germany .”
Koldowski said that intra-Asian growth is “substantial”, with Asia generating more than seven million additional arrivals to the Asia/Pacific region during the seven months to July 2011.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
A UNIQUE COURSE FOR TOURISM COMMUNICATORS
Most of the media releases circulating in the travel & tourism industry these days are
Boring….Banal….and Bland.
Their content and subject matter has hardly changed at all over the past 30 years.
The world has changed. The travel & tourism industry has changed. The technology has changed.But travel industry communications has not kept pace!It all sounds the same, looks the same, feels the same.
There is more “noise” than “news”.
Poor communications content is a major reason why travel & tourism gets scant respect on the global stage.
Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor of Travel Impact Newswire, one of Asia’s seniormost travel & tourism journalists, has created a unique one-day course designed to change the way industry communicators think in the Internet age.
The course will help communicators:
Develop content that is different, distinctive and produces results;
Access insights/ideas and better understand the forces of internal and external change;
Broaden both the context and content of the communications effort;
Boost the competitive edge of their respective companies/organisations; and
Get maximum productivity value in minimum time.
Course Highlight: A Special Presentation On “11 Major Mistakes Travel Industry Communicators Make”
(One way to get ahead of your competitors is by exploiting their mistakes, while fixing yours! True or False?)
Background
This is an age of Information Overload, short attention spans, instant gratification, shifting loyalties and very, very tight budgets.
The Internet has enabled the travel & tourism industry to send out more communications material, more frequently to more people than ever.
But raising the quantity of output has not always raised its quality!!
iPads and social media are merely a means of delivery. If Garbage goes In, Garbage comes Out (GiGo).
Modern technical “hardware” is bogged down by outdated “software.”
Everyone hails the slogan “Content is King”! Very few actually implement it!
Course Structure and Topics
BIG-PICTURE ISSUES — The changes in the Global World Order.
THE TRAVEL & TOURISM REVOLUTION — The changes in the industry and the way it does business.
IMPACT ON GLOBAL MEDIA – How changes in technology have impacted the media.
IT’S ALL ABOUT CONTENT — How to enhance and upgrade content to make it more interesting, readable, relevant and, most important, respectable.
Workshops and discussion to brainstorm ideas and share experiences.
Target Audience
Communications professionals as well as senior management executives seeking to bolster the brand image and stretch the value of the marketing dollar.
Format
This course is designed to be most effective if conducted on a private, individual-company basis. It helps to better address specific issues and facilitate practical problem-solving.
Participants can analyse examples of good and bad communications, and critique their own as well as their competitors’ media releases.
Boring….Banal….and Bland.
Their content and subject matter has hardly changed at all over the past 30 years.
The world has changed. The travel & tourism industry has changed. The technology has changed.But travel industry communications has not kept pace!It all sounds the same, looks the same, feels the same.
There is more “noise” than “news”.
Poor communications content is a major reason why travel & tourism gets scant respect on the global stage.
Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor of Travel Impact Newswire, one of Asia’s seniormost travel & tourism journalists, has created a unique one-day course designed to change the way industry communicators think in the Internet age.
The course will help communicators:
Develop content that is different, distinctive and produces results;
Access insights/ideas and better understand the forces of internal and external change;
Broaden both the context and content of the communications effort;
Boost the competitive edge of their respective companies/organisations; and
Get maximum productivity value in minimum time.
Course Highlight: A Special Presentation On “11 Major Mistakes Travel Industry Communicators Make”
(One way to get ahead of your competitors is by exploiting their mistakes, while fixing yours! True or False?)
Background
This is an age of Information Overload, short attention spans, instant gratification, shifting loyalties and very, very tight budgets.
The Internet has enabled the travel & tourism industry to send out more communications material, more frequently to more people than ever.
But raising the quantity of output has not always raised its quality!!
iPads and social media are merely a means of delivery. If Garbage goes In, Garbage comes Out (GiGo).
Modern technical “hardware” is bogged down by outdated “software.”
Everyone hails the slogan “Content is King”! Very few actually implement it!
Course Structure and Topics
BIG-PICTURE ISSUES — The changes in the Global World Order.
THE TRAVEL & TOURISM REVOLUTION — The changes in the industry and the way it does business.
IMPACT ON GLOBAL MEDIA – How changes in technology have impacted the media.
IT’S ALL ABOUT CONTENT — How to enhance and upgrade content to make it more interesting, readable, relevant and, most important, respectable.
Workshops and discussion to brainstorm ideas and share experiences.
Target Audience
Communications professionals as well as senior management executives seeking to bolster the brand image and stretch the value of the marketing dollar.
Format
This course is designed to be most effective if conducted on a private, individual-company basis. It helps to better address specific issues and facilitate practical problem-solving.
Participants can analyse examples of good and bad communications, and critique their own as well as their competitors’ media releases.
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