Malaysia Hotel News

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2009-11-06T10:15:00.000+08:00

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Hyatt Hotels raises $950 million in IPO

2009-11-05T14:36:00.002+08:00

There's talk of infighting among its founder's heirs and a sluggish appetite for hotel reservations around the globe. But Hyatt Hotels Corp. shares are set to begin trading Thursday now that the company raised $950 million in its initial public offering.

Questions had lingered about whether investors would feel confident enough to snatch up the 38 million shares of the iconic hotel chain that were offered. Among the issues facing the company are disputes between members of the wealthy Pritzker family, the largest holders of Hyatt stock with an 85 percent stake in the Chicago company.

"One thing Wall Street does not like is controversy," said John Fitzgibbon, founder of IPOScoop.

Proceeds from the sale - which was priced late Wednesday at $25 each, near the top end of the $23 to $26 range - will go almost entirely to the family, who will remain in control of the company with about two-thirds of outstanding shares and three-quarters of the shareholder voting power.

The board will include two family members, too: Executive Chairman Thomas J. Pritzker and his cousin Penny Pritzker.

"That basically makes the people that buy into it a junior, silent partner," Fitzgibbon said.

Hyatt won't receive any proceeds from the IPO.

Squabbling among Pritzker heirs, influential but private figures in Chicago's philanthropic, business and political circles, began shortly after patriarch Jay Pritzker's death a decade ago.

Among the contentions are allegations that family members shortchanged trust funds or mishandled the clan's hefty financial legacy and business interests.

The family also has feuded over how Thomas Pritzker administered various family trusts and the dual class structure of Hyatt stock, which gives the family 10 votes per share.

"Disputes ... among Pritzker family members and the trustees of the Pritzker family trusts may result in significant distractions to our management, disrupt our business, have a negative effect on the trading price of our ... common stock," Hyatt cautioned in a regulatory filing last month outlining a series of risks faced by the company when it become publicly traded.

Executives also noted any such problems could heap negative publicity on Hyatt and the family.

A Hyatt spokesman declined to comment.

On top of worries about the family, there's the recession that's kept hotel beds empty as both business and leisure travelers stay home. To compensate, companies - particularly high-end hotels whose rooms used to command top dollar - are slashing prices and offering amenities to woo guests.

"The timing probably isn't the best," said Morningstar hotel analyst Michelle Chang. "I think it's more of a way for the family to sell some of their interest, rather than it being a strategic move for the company necessarily."

So far, discounts have helped occupancy stabilize, but profit, revenue and a key performance measure of revenue for each available room is down dramatically at the biggest chains.

Hyatt said its revenue per available room sank 22 percent for the first nine months of the year while overall revenue fell 17 percent to $2.44 billion for the period ending Sept. 30. Its nine-month loss was $31 million, compared with a profit of $310 million last year.

The finicky IPO market has caused heartache for some companies who've been forced to price shares below expectations. But Hyatt's shares priced slightly above the midpoint of its expected range.

Any money raised from a 5.7 million-share overallotment option designated for underwriters - about $142.5 million - would go back to the company and be used for capital expenditures such as building and construction.

Goldman Sachs & Co. is the lead bookrunning manager, and Deutsche Bank Securities and JPMorgan Securities also are underwriting the deal. Shares will trade under the ticker "H" on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Hyatt was founded in 1957 by Jay Pritzker and first taken public in 1962, but has been privately held for more than 25 years.

It owns, operates, manages or franchises 415 Hyatt-branded properties, including the Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt chains, in 45 countries.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Malaysia to sell fine art, culture to world, says Yen Yen

2009-11-05T14:28:00.000+08:00

Chairs are left empty for “ghosts”, as members of a Chinese Opera group perform during the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival in Puchong near Kuala Lumpur August 23, 2009. — Reuters pic

Malaysia will start to promote its diverse arts and culture as a niche tourism product for fine arts lovers beginning next year.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the target was well-to-do foreign tourists, especially Europeans who spend on fine living and invest in art collections.

She said this would include paintings, plays, architecture as well as its world-class orchestra symphony, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, besides folks music, songs and dances and cuisine.

Speaking to Malaysian journalists after hosting a luncheon for key Finnish tourism players here Wednesday, Dr Ng said Tourism Malaysia had also fixed July, August and September next year for the Malaysian Arts and Culture Festival.

Besides being well-known as a country of sunshine, Mother Nature and friendly people, she also wanted Malaysia to be known for its fine arts and culture.

“We want the world to know that we also have a great pool of talented people such as painters and performers.

“For instance, when they come for concerts and exhibitions, they can also spend a day learning about our batik painting, songket weaving or traditional dances, or maybe learn to cook one or two of our local dishes,” she said.

Dr Ng also said that well-known classical music conductor and tourism ambassador Datuk Ooi Chean See was instrumental in promoting the country’s fine arts and culture, especially to the European market.

On another matter, she said she would intensify promotion of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme among the Finns.

She was confident that Finland had a good potential for the MM2H programme, although to date, there were only four Finns out of the 13,949 participants of the programme.

Compared to its Asean neighbours, she said, Malaysia had more advantage in terms of its more relaxed policies to lure more foreigners to participate in the programme.

“One of the perks is to allow MM2H participants to purchase property that cost more than RM250,000,” she said, adding that those interested could now apply through the Malaysian embassies in their respective countries.

She said Malaysian ambassador to Finland Cheah Choong Kit would come up with a proposal on how to promote Malaysia among the affluent Finns.

Source : TMI
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

China approves Shanghai Disneyland

2009-11-05T14:26:00.002+08:00

Walt Disney has won approval from the central government of China to build a Disneyland-style theme park in Shanghai,

Analysts estimate Shanghai Disneyland — not including hotels and resort infrastructure — will cost US$3.5 billion, making it one of the largest-ever foreign investments in China.

The initial resort, with a mix of shopping areas, hotels and a Magic Kingdom-style theme park, will sprawl across 1,000 acres of the city’s Pudong district.

The theme park will occupy about 100 acres, making it a little bigger than Disneyland in Anaheim, California and on par with the parks in Paris and Tokyo.

It is expected to open in five or six years.

Dinsney has been talking to China about a Disneyland theme park for almost 20 years amd analysts say approval of the project signals that the Chinese leadership may be more open to Western investment.

Source : TravelMole
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

MAS Offers Three Daily Flights To Bali

2009-11-04T18:10:00.000+08:00

Malaysia Airlines is flying three daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bali from Wednesday, with the additional flight departing Kuala Lumpur everyday at 12.25pm and arriving in Bali at 3.20pm.

Its senior general manager, network and revenue management, Dr Amin Khan, said customers could now travel anytime at their convenience as the daily flights were timed every three hours, with departures at 8.45am, 12.25pm and 3.20pm.

He said in a statement today that demand had been picking up, especially with passengers from other countries flying to Kuala Lumpur and connecting onwards to Bali.

"Our load factor is strong at 80 per cent, which is 10 per cent higher compared to the same time last year," Amin said.

"With the year-end break around the corner, we expect customers to snap up the tickets to the holiday resort," he said.

In conjunction with the additional flight, the national carrier is offering its "weekend getaways", a special promotional fare to Bali starting from RM480 and available until Dec 28, 2009.

The travel period will be from now until Dec 31, 2009.

In view of increased demand, MAS has also increased its flight frequency to Tawau and Sandakan in Sabah as well as Taipei, Seoul and Colombo, Amin said.

"The airline has also started offering three weekly direct flights to Istanbul," he said.

Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Malaysian Homestay Entices Swedes

2009-11-04T15:24:00.002+08:00

Hosting a luncheon for the Swedish tourism players at a hotel here Monday, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen caught the guests' interest with one word - homestay.

The tour operators, media and major airline officials came away impressed with her one-hour "Malaysia Truly Asia" presentation that began with a video showing idyllic scenes and the simplicity of village life away from the hustle and bustle of big cities.

Many of them also agreed to promote in Sweden the Malaysian homestay experience as a niche product.

"I am impressed with the informative presentation. She (Dr Ng) is very hands-on and it shows Malaysia is really serious in attracting Swedish tourists," Christina Chuck, general manager of Far East Travel Service, told Bernama.

Her agency would start to market Malaysian homestay packages, specially tailored for Swedes in the 17-35 age group from next year.

"We have been selling Malaysia for the past two years, but mostly for the high-end above 40 age group. But now, we are tapping into the younger market who seek adventure and a different educational and cultural experience," she said.

Chuck said on average, a Swedish tourist would spend two weeks in Malaysia and RM10,000.

"Swedes are affluent tourists, and they are knowledgeable about the things they want. They are willing to spend to have a cultural experience and quality service," she added.

Chuck, who last visited Malaysia in 2007, believes that Malaysia has the competitive edge over its neighbours as it has, among others, famed virgin rainforests, the Mulu National Park which is a Unesco-declared World Heritage Site, and the world-acclaimed diving haven in Sipadan.

She said awareness on environmental issues among people in the West was also a factor that could draw more Swedish tourists to Malaysia.

Gisle Dueland, marketing manager for Turkish Airlines based here, said the homestay programme could become one of Malaysia's main attractions.

A savvy traveller himself, Dueland felt that homestays provided real tourism as they offered visitors the real life experience and better understanding of a place.

He said Malaysia had good prospects as a relatively new and unexplored destination for Swedes.

"I think the fact that it is less known is also an advantage, as it still holds the charm and its uniqueness will capture the interest of Swedes to consider Malaysia as a whole new destination, rather than keep going to Thailand or Singapore," he added.

Turkish Airlines and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) entered into a code-sharing pact this year to ply the Stockholm-Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur sector.

Dueland was optimistic that with the promotiomal campaigns by Tourism Malaysia and its partners in Sweden, the air passenger load would grow.

Dr Ng said there were 146 villages in Tourism Malaysia's homestay programme.

"I always believe that whatever we do, tourism must also benefit the rural people economically, without jeopardising the environment and most importantly, the aesthetic value of the kampung lifestyle," she said.

The minister said she was also in talks with major international airlines to bring in more Swedish tourists to the country after MAS cancelled its direct service from Kuala Lumpur to Stockholm last month.

"We are looking at exploring the two-in-one packages with tour operators and airlines, where we make Malaysia as the second destination of the Swedish tourists via other cities that they visit such as Bangkok, Singapore or Dubai," she added.

Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Villagers rewarded for success of tourism projects

2009-11-04T15:23:00.000+08:00

The villagers of Sungai Kilim in Langkawi struck gold several years ago when foreigners were willing to pay up to RM200 for a boat ride to enjoy the natural view of their village.

Since then, they decided to work with the Government to develop agro-tourism products in their kampungs, which managed to lure over 10,000 tourists each month.

Their success story received government recognition when their village was picked as the winner for the Anugerah Ilham Desa 2009 last week.

Ilham Desa is a programme where villages are recognised for coming up with income generating products.

The prize presentation ceremony is held in a different state every year. This time around, it was held in Johor.

Kampung Sungai Kilim representative Ahmad Nizar Hanapiah said his team was happy to have been given the top honour and thanked all those involved.

“The idea for the project was initiated a few years ago when a tourist willingly paid one of the villagers RM200 for taking him around in a boat,” he said.

Nizar explained that the villagers expanded on the idea and started to come up with different tour packages that included trips to the nearby bat caves, eagle-watching, fish feeding and a sea tour.

“We now have a steady flow of tourists from Europe, the Middle East and Asia such as India, Pakistan, Japan and Taiwan,” he said.

He explained that some of the villagers were even attending English classes to be able to converse with the foreign visitors.

“We have already set up English tuition classes for primary and secondary students so that they have a better comprehension of the language,” he said, adding that many adults were also attending the lessons.

“Last year alone, our village welcomed more than 108,000 nature lovers and many in the cottage industry have benefitted from this tourism business,” he said.

He added that each package costs between RM200 and RM450.

Nizar is part of a team of 128 people handling the Kilim Geoforest Park project in Langkawi.

For their effort, the village received RM30,000 cash and RM20,000 for study tours overseas from the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.

Second prize was presented to Kampung Gong Guchil in Terengganu business idea centred on traditional musical instruments, while the third place went to Kampung Mawai Baru, Johor who decided to develop the reserve land for mosques in the village.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin presented the awards.

In his speech, Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said that since the awards started nine years ago, a total of 171 villages nationwide had taken part.

The award was created as part of the Government’s aim to help village folk develop and increase their income through niche projects within their kampung, he said.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Airlines And Airports Must Cooperate More To Reduce Costs

2009-11-03T17:51:00.000+08:00

Airports and airlines must have greater cooperation to reduce overall operational costs rather than just look at reducing air transport charges, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's managing directer Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad said Tuesday.

He said it was not necessarily true that airlines would come to an airport if the aeronautical charges were lower, but carriers would go to places where there were markets for them to benefit.

"Heathrow charges are high but airlines still want to fly there. So, government incentives and lower charges do not necessarily bring airlines to airport," he said at a panel discussion entitled "Cash, Capacity, Crisis" at the Airports Council International (ACI) World & Asia-Pacific Conference and Exhibition here.

Bashir said there were many things that could be done such as having a shorter turn-off or taxiway and giving airlines good slots.

"Discussions are needed on other issues in terms of total costs rather than just airline charges," he said.

At the same event, Malaysia Airlines managing director and chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin also called for greater cooperation between airlines and airports.

Although he and Bashir have scheduled bi-monthly meetings to discuss how both parties could work together to reduce cost and enhance operation, Tengku Azmil said airport charges was only one of many facets of business the airline was looking at to reduce costs.

On the regional airport industry, ACI Asia-Pacific president Max Moore-Wilton said the industry needed to resume its growth trajectory and continued with infrastructure development to further develop the markets.

"The development of airports and markets in Asia-Pacific will lead the way for the rest of the world," he said in his keynote address at the opening session of the conference.

Moore-Wilton also said that the downturn for the industry may have bottomed out, indicating the possibility of a moderate recovery next year.

"Growth may be delayed, but not stopped," he said, adding that airports needed to have a strong commitment to services to be more innovative.

At the conference, ACI World chairman Jim Cherry in his keynote address said that airports had lost 10 to 20 per cent revenue globally since the financial crisis started.

Cherry said the airports which suffered the most were the ones with weak carriers and capital expenditure underway, adding that airlines could react quickly to financial crisis by adapting its business model to the scenario while airports generally has a fixed business model.

"Airports don't have the atitude or flexibility like the airlines do. We are more of a long-term model but we have been doing better following good government support and low debt loads," he said.

Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Hotels come to the rescue of Taipei's pet dogs

2009-11-03T14:34:00.002+08:00

Taipei's dogs are living it up at hotels, complete with VIP suites and pools, that aim to ease the problem of strays that has plagued the city for decades.

Hoping to discourage people from dumping unwanted pets on the streets, two Taipei proprietors have opened giant hotels dedicated to dogs, with pools, salons, classes and playrooms.

The hotels offer an alternative to pet owners who lack the time or space to look after dogs and who can pay the room rate of $14 a day plus food, which is more expensive than home care but affordable to the average Taipei family.

"It's just like day care for children," said Kevin Lin, a former Wall Street employee who now owns the luxury Pet's Dream Park hotel. "A major reason I opened this business is to ease the stray dog problem."

Stray dogs may be a common sigh in poor, less developed countries, but more affluent Taiwan's cities also teem with them, with official figures showing there are about 180,000 living on the island of 23 million people.

In the 1980s, when Taiwan saw a boom in pets following its economic success, people would buy puppies without expecting them to grow bigger and then abandon the adult animals.

Rescue shelters and private individuals in Taipei also offer basic pet boarding services, but Pet's Dream Park and its suburban competitor, Little Treasure Pet Lodging and Comfort School, offer a deluxe alternative.

"I've seen small dogs kept in cages and wondered why if people can live in such nice surroundings dogs can't also," said Yao Pen-thun, owner of the Little Treasure hotel.

Some customers leave their animals for months at a times as business travel requires long stays outside Taiwan. There are between 30 and 60 dogs, and the odd cat, at each property.

At Pet's Dream Park, dogs spend hours paddling in an indoor pool or getting groomed at a beauty parlor. Nervous pets get their own VIP rooms at no extra charge.

Little Treasure takes its dogs for nature walks, and makes them listen to stories to help their mood, its website says.

"My dog is used to it here. Accommodations are OK, not like a cage," said Tsai Shu-ling, 40, who drops her dog off at Pet's Dream Park each day.

Source : Reuters
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

The Galatic Suite Space Resort Hotel says it's on schedule to open in 2012

2009-11-03T11:25:00.000+08:00

A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project.

The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost 3 million euro ($4.4 million) for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island.

During their stay, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes. They would wear velcro suits so they can crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.

Galactic Suite Ltd's CEO Xavier Claramunt, a former aerospace engineer, said the project will put his company (www.galacticsuite.com) at the forefront of an infant industry with a huge future ahead of it, and forecast space travel will become common in the future.

"It's very normal to think that your children, possibly within 15 years, could spend a weekend in space," he told Reuters Television.

A nascent space tourism industry is beginning to take shape with construction underway in New Mexico of Spaceport America, the world's first facility built specifically for space-bound commercial customers and fee-paying passengers.

British tycoon Richard Branson's space tours firm, Virgin Galactic, will use the facility to propel tourists into suborbital space at a cost of $200,000 a ride.

Galactic Suite Ltd, set up in 2007, hopes to start its project with a single pod in orbit 450 km (280 miles) above the earth, traveling at 30,000 km per hour, with the capacity to hold four guests and two astronaut-pilots.

It will take a day and a half to reach the pod - which Claramunt compared to a mountain retreat, with no staff to greet the traveler.

"When the passengers arrive in the rocket, they will join it for 3 days, rocket and capsule. With this we create in the tourist a confidence that he hasn't been abandoned. After 3 days the passenger returns to the transport rocket and returns to earth," he said.

More than 200 people have expressed an interest in traveling to the space hotel and at least 43 people have already reserved.

The numbers are similar for Virgin Galactic with 300 people already paid or signed up for the trip but unlike Branson, Galactic Suite say they will use Russian rockets to transport their guests into space from a spaceport to be built on an island in the Caribbean.

But critics have questioned the project, saying the time frame is unreasonable and also where the money is coming from to finance the project.

Claramunt said an anonymous billionaire space enthusiast has granted $3 billion to finance the project.

Source : Reuters
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Mamoth Empire - Shopping Mall, Suites, Office Tower & Boutique Hotel to Open In Subang

2009-11-03T10:13:00.000+08:00

A FOUR-in-one RM450mil project is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of next year in Subang Jaya.

Situated in SS16 near the Subang Jaya KTM station, The Empire Gallery Subang Jaya consists of a five-storey shopping gallery, 210 Soho suites, 12-storey office tower, and a 13-storey boutique hotel.

The total gross built-up area is 0.46mil sq metres with four levels of basement car park, providing 15,000 parking bays.

In his speech at the recently held topping-off ceremony, Mammoth Empire Holding Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Sean Ng said: “The vision was founded on the belief that a niche destination as Empire Shopping Gallery would be a valuable add-on to enhance the overall strength of the retail precinct in this part of Subang Jaya.

“Our foray into this project will complement and enhance the presence of other established malls such as Subang Parade and Carrefour to offer better varieties and choices in shopping, travel, business and lifestyle needs.

“The Empire Hotel Subang is a homegrown boutique hotel with international competitiveness, strategically located in the heart of Subang — the up-and-coming regional travelling hub of the nation.”

At a press conference before the ceremony, Ng said they were still choosing quality tenants. About 70% of retail space have been rented out.

“Empire Shopping Gallery is designed to be a lifestyle and contemporary centre that Subang Jaya would be proud to call its own.

“There will be a selection of F&B choices, and key players in the fashion, lifestyle and beauty industry.

“We believe that we are the only shopping centre to dedicate an entire floor for world-class education and entertainment for children,” he said.

Mammoth Empire Holding group executive director Danny Cheah said shoppers and visitors could expect a shopping gallery that was different as much emphasis had been placed on the interior.

“We have selected many fine pieces from various parts of the world to create an international feel, but the ambience will be comfortable and welcoming,” he said.

When asked about the traffic condition, Cheah said the Traffic Impact Assessment was done three years ago to study the projection of traffic.

“We can cope for the next 10 years and I foresee no problems.”

At the ceremony, guests were treated to a sumptuous spread and a performance by local songbird Ning Baizura.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

MAHB Targets Five Per Cent Increase In Passenger Traffic Next Year

2009-11-03T10:04:00.002+08:00

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) aims to post a four to five per cent increase in passenger traffic next year on optimism of a recovery in air travel, managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad said Monday.

Based on the industry trend observed in the last two to three months, the increase will be slightly more than the three to four per cent growth projected this year, he said.

"We believe that air travel will start to recover and this will help with growth in 2010," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Airport Council International (ACI) and Asia-Pacific Conference and Exhibition here.

Bashir said that MAHB was doing better than expected this year in line with higher tourism figures.

"The tourism industry has done a good job as it has helped to boost our traffic figures," he said.

Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Berjaya hotels to get RM130m facelift

2009-11-03T10:03:00.002+08:00

BERJAYA Hotels & Resorts, the leisure arm of Berjaya Land Bhd, will spend close to RM130 million to refurbish its six hotels in the country, says its chief.

The company operates the Berjaya Langkawi Resort, the Berjaya Tioman Resort, the Berjaya Redang Resort, the Berjaya Georgetown Hotel in Penang, Colmar Tropicale in Bukit Tinggi, Pahang and the Berjaya Times Square Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Chief executive officer Joseph Won said despite the current economic downturn, the properties have generally maintained its revenue per available room.

The four-star properties recorded an average occupancy rate of 66 per cent for the financial year ended April 30 2009.

Won said he is expecting more visitors to Langkawi, Redang and Tioman next year, as the economy improves and the company embarks on promoting its properties aggressively.

"Malaysia is a beautiful country and it has a lot to offer but it needs to be more focused in promoting local tourism in a more controlled and organised fashion.

"Malaysia needs a roadmap so that all players, including the government, will have something more firm to look at and follow," Won said.

Won said Berjaya Hotels is spending RM30 million to refurbish the 502 rooms at Berjaya Langkawi.

It will spend another RM25 million in the second or third quarter of 2010 to improve the public areas at the resort.

"We have been refurbishing the rooms since August. We want to improve the appeal of our resort so it could compete more effectively," Won told Business Times in an interview.

Berjaya Hotels will also spend RM70 million to upgrade its 670-room Berjaya Times Square Hotel, the company's best-performing city hotel, beginning first quarter of 2011.

At the same time, the company will conduct minor renovation at the Berjaya Redang Resort.

It will spend some RM7 million to refurbish the two food outlets, after spending RM35 million to upgrade its 220 rooms last year.

"We are proud of Berjaya Redang. The average room rate during the peak period is RM550 and due to high level of demand for rooms during this season, we are looking to raise the rates next year," Won said.

Source : Hotels
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Malaysia's Jom Makan Outlet Makes An Impact In London

2009-11-02T14:15:00.002+08:00

Malaysian restaurant, JOM Makan, has opened its second outlet in the United Kingdom in just over a year of its operation there.

Managing director, Mohammad Zuhri Abdullah said the aim is to open a total of five outlets in the United Kingdom by 2012.

The investment for the second outlet is 750,000 pounds sterling (RM4.2 million), bringing the total investment for both to 1.9 million pounds sterling (RM10.7 million).

The new outlet is also projected to have RM4.5 million sales in its first year of operations and RM6.8 million for the subsequent year.

"JOM Makan has created an impact in London by catering to 1,400 customers weekly, of which 85 per cent are British locals," Zuhri said in a statement, on Monday.

JOM Makan is a Malaysian franchise based in London and initiated under the Malaysia Kitchen Project.

Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Tune Hotels to open 64 hotels by 2013

2009-11-02T14:13:00.002+08:00

Some 200 hotels in over a dozen countries across Asia, the Pacific and Europe are offering clean, hip and secure accommodation for value-conscious travellers from around the world.

That, in a nutshell, is the dream being spun into reality by Mark Lankester, the chief executive officer of Tune Hotels.

Controlled by Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia and its boss Tony Fernandes, Tune already operates seven hotels – five in Malaysia and two in Bali.

“We would have had twice that number if not for the financial crisis and the credit crunch,” Lankester told BT.

According to him, development plans are already underway to set up 64 Tune hotels in India, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh. These hotels will be up and running by 2013, he added.

And it doesn’t stop there.

“With AirAsia X now flying to London and Australia, we have plans to launch 10 hotels in greater London, and as many in Melbourne and other Australian cities,” Lankester said.

Singapore, despite its high land costs, is also on Tune’s radar screen. So is China.

The hotels, where prices per night start at the equivalent of S$5 for a standard 12 square-metre room, are targeted at not just budget backpackers, but also budget conscious corporate travellers who want good, clean, secure rooms, with hot “power showers” and good quality bed and linen, Lankester said.

“We are not talking about cheap, sleazy hotels,” he said. “Our hotels are good class, hip, budget hotels, centrally located in every city, with airy rooms, full CCTV monitored security, and front glass doors which auto-lock by midnight with access only by smart keys. It will appeal to both budget leisure and budget conscious corporate travellers.”

Each hotel will have an average of 180 to 200 rooms, though some of its existing Malaysian hotels have almost 300 rooms. And the F&B outlets will be farmed out to suitable vendors, be they a global chain or localised versions of “kopi tiams”.

Lankester, a colleague of AirAsia boss Fernandes at Warner Music before he was poached not long ago by his old buddy, says the rollout will be financed by a combination of borrowing and franchise arrangements.

“We will no doubt have to gear up,” he said. “But we will also leverage on existing properties where we will be operating the hotels in franchisee partnerships with the property owners.”

Lankester envisages the Tune hotel chain spreading to locations well beyond the 120 destinations which AirAsia flies to.

“We call them Tune Hotels, and not AirAsia Hotels, for good reason,” he said. “It gives us an option of growing beyond AirAsia.”

Never mind that its owners are the same people who control Asia’s largest budget airline.

And even as Tune picks up, Lankester and his buddies at AirAsia are already rolling out new products such as TuneTalk (mobile telephony cards) and TuneMoney (pre-topped up debit cards).

“TuneMoney, which is a tie-up with Visa cards, enables travellers to top up their debit card with the currency of their destination, thus saving them the hassle of doing forex transactions when they get there,” Lankester explained. “And with TuneTalk, we essentially tie up with local telephony service providers in various countries to enable our customers to use their mobile phones at local rates.”

Lankester envisions that just as AirAsia has established itself as the undisputed leader in low cost air travel, Tune will ultimately emerge as the undisputed leader in hospitality and travel facilitation.

And it appears to have made good headway so far.

Source : TMI
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Strong Aussie dollar boosts tourism to Malaysia

2009-11-02T11:08:00.000+08:00

The strong Australian dollar and Malaysia's ranking as a top tourist destination has resulted in a 33 percent increase, to a record 427,076, in Aussie departures to Malaysia last year.

The increase by more than 100,000 visitors from the previous year is also attributed to Australians' preference for short-haul destinations especially Malaysia and other Asean holiday spots compared with the more expensive ones in Europe and the United States.

Up to September this year, Australian arrivals in Kuala Lumpur registered an increase of 20.6 percent to 371,488 as compared with the same period last year.

Tourism Malaysia Sydney director Shahrin Mokhtar said the change was due to Australians preferring affordable places closer to home as against expensive long-haul travel destinations in the west.

"We expect to see even more Australians visiting this year because of the strong Australian dollar (A$1= RM3), which is fantastic value for a holiday in Malaysia," he said.

"It's even cheaper than the high-cost holiday within Australia. In addition, Australians feel the 'destination fatigue' towards local holiday venues that do not offer the cultural and physically exotic nature as Malaysia's," he said.

Australia, Shahrin said, was among the top 10 tourist-generating markets for Malaysia because it ranked high among Australians as a "must-visit" destination.

This was as a result of Tourism Malaysia's efforts to promote Malaysia as a preferred destination among Australians and New Zealanders, and this was visible through various marketing campaigns and regional road shows (with the theme "Fun & Affordable") held in various parts of Australia.

Meanwhile, New Zealander arrivals in Malaysia has also recorded a double-digit growth of 35.6 percent to 56,117 in 2008. This year (JanuarySeptember) figures posted showed an increase of 13.5 percent to 45,362.

The Australian outbound tourism market has not suffered as much as predicted during the global financial crisis, not nearly as much as it did after the New York World Trade Centre 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARs) and Asian bird flu outbreaks.

Compared with the other Asean destinations, Malaysia is a fairly strong draw card for Australians and New Zealanders, attributed to a large extent to its positioning as an interesting alternative to the more predictable locations such as Bali (Indonesia), Thailand and Fiji, Shahrin said.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Malaysia Airports looks overseas

2009-11-02T10:58:00.000+08:00

Airport operator eager for more jobs after Turkey venture

The Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISGIA) is expected to continue growing significantly in passenger arrivals, thanks to rising demand for low-fare flights and the country’s booming tourism industry.

In anticipation of rapid growth, the Turkish authority has allocated some 100 million euros to build a second runway at the ISGIA, said Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Uluslararasi Havalimani Yatirim, Yapim Ve Isletme A.S. (ISG) chief executive officer Gokhan Bugday.

The new runway is expected to be completed by 2012.

ISG, which holds the operation rights of the airport for 20 years, is a joint venture between Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), GMR Infrastructure Ltd of India and Turkish company Limak Insaat ve San Tic AS on a 20:40:40 basis.

From left: Nihat Ozdemir, GM Rao and Tan Sri Aris Othman having a light moment at the launch of the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport’s new terminal.

According to Bugday, the airport is expected to grow 50% next year from this year’s estimated passenger arrivals of 6.1 million.

“Turkey is an important point in this region. The Ataturk Airport is already constrained, so the growth will come from ISGIA, where passenger arrivals is expected reach 10 million by 2010,” he said at a briefing in conjunction with the launch of ISGIA’s new terminal on Oct 31.

ISGIA is an economic airport, offering 25% discounts on landing and parking fees to low-cost airlines. The cost of the new terminal as well as the car park and hotels is about 500 million euros.
Bugday said Turkey was “the bridge between Asia and Europe,” and therefore, did not see any significant impact on its aviation sector from the global economic downturn.

The country’s aim was to become the transit hub between Asia and Europe, like Amsterdam, he added.
According to Limak chairman Nihat Ozdemir, the Turkish government is already mulling the idea of setting up a third airport in Istanbul due to the strong growth in passenger arrivals.

The proposal was still preliminary but if the conditions were attractive, the consortium of Limak-GMR-MAHB would consider it, he said.

GMR chairman GM Rao said the ISGIA had the advantage of having existing traffic volume, which unlike greenfield airports would have to build demand from zero.

The airport charges a service fee of three euros per passenger for domestic routes and 12 euros for international destinations.

It also offers services like refuelling, cargo warehousing and ground-handling to airlines.
Bugday said the payback period for the investment, including construction and future rentals, was seven to eight years.

This is the second collaboration between MAHB and GMR, after their involvement in the Hyderabad International Airport and Delhi International Airport projects in India.

MAHB chairman Tan Sri Aris Othman said airport development involved building capacity ahead of time to cater for future growth, and was not merely to meet existing demand.

Turkey, with its rapidly growing economy, offered a good opportunity for the airport operator to widen its presence overseas, he said.

He added that there were eight MAHB personnel involved in the operational readiness and airport transfer exercise of the ISGIA, which commenced six months ago.

“Our airport consultancy arm, Malaysia Airports Consultancy Services, is continuously exploring other overseas opportunities to further expand our expertise and knowledge in airport management,” Aris said.
GMR is India’s leading infrastructure company with a market value of more than US$7bil, specialising in infrastructure development, energy, roads and airport projects.

Limak, meanwhile, is a huge Turkish conglomerate involved in a wide range of sectors like construction, energy, tourism, cement, food and aviation.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

First five-star hotel at foothills of Mt Kinabalu - Royal Kinabalu Mountain Resort

2009-11-02T10:56:00.002+08:00

The first five-star hotel in Kundasang is set to be built on the foothills of Sabah’s iconic Mount Kinabalu.

The RM300mil Royal Kinabalu Mountain Resort will have 494 rooms and suites, half of them to be sold for private ownership akin to the time-sharing concept. Each unit costs between RM800,000 and RM1mil.

At the sales launch yesterday, only five units of the 280 hotel suites for private ownership were available following heavy bookings from a pre-launch marketing drive around the state.

“We have a waiting list of about 40 buyers,” Kinsabina Sdn Bhd managing director Francis Goh said at the launch by state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He attributed the success to the guaranteed returns of at least 6% rental yield or profit-sharing from the room revenue pool in the next 15 years.

Goh said the hotel, to be operated by Signforce, would have a grand ballroom that could seat 1,000 people, besides an indoor heated swimming pool and other five-star facilities.

Situated about one kilometre away from the Kinabalu Park, he gave the assurance that Kinsabina as the de-veloper, would adopt green building engineering.

This included micro-piling as well as harnessing solar and natural water sources for energy efficiency and conservation.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

SkyPark a model airport, says Najib

2009-10-30T15:25:00.000+08:00

The new terminal is a picture of a luxury airport with operations of its services and shops in full swing.

After a RM40mil (S$16.4 ) facelift and a name change to SkyPark, Subang Terminal is now a model airport with impressive facilities to offer local and corporate travellers.

The refurbished former Terminal 3, which was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday, is a picture of a luxury airport with operations of its services and shops in full swing. Also present was Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

Najib said he was especially pleased with the transformation because he had supported the project when he chaired the Cabinet Committee on investments.

“I have to confess I had some doubts that the vision could be translated into a reality. But somehow I thought it would be good for the country. Today, it has become a reality,” he said.

“Terminal 3 has been transformed into something quite cool, as the youngsters would say.”

Najib expressed confidence that SkyPark, which has now surpassed the 500,000 passengers mark, would be able to achieve its annual target of two million travellers and emerge as a regional hub.

He said it had the three important prerequisites of a successful airport – connectivity, convenience and cost. “The 3Cs are embodied in Subang because it is close to the city centre and easily accessible, it has connectivity via Firefly and the cost of using the terminal is much less than the KLIA.”

Earlier, Najib launched Spirit AeroSystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd, an aerospace manufacturing and design facility near the terminal.

The facility, completed within 13 months, will initially produce composite sub-assemblies for Airbus single-aisle aircraft and assemblies for the latest state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft A350 XWB.

Source : AsiaOne
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

A hotel costing 20 cents

2009-10-30T10:32:00.000+08:00

Would you believe a hotel room for as low as 20 cents? The new low-cost Tune Hotel near Kuala Lumpur’s airport is the brain child of AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes.

“The no-frills hotel, one of a slew popping up across Asia, is the definition of budget digs and anything above the basics will cost you,” say wire services.

Despite having a no-star rating, a standard room comes with a 5-star queen bed, a hot "power shower" and a ceiling fan.

Average prices are more like US$3 but there are rooms for less than a dollar as packages.

But the room is small - to say the least - albeit clean and modern, according to several reports.
Tune hotels, similar to low-cost airlines, employ a self-service online booking system and the rates are kept low by offering limited service.

The rooms are also available for three-hour stopovers, which the hotel calls its refresher pack.

There is no television or refrigerator. Want a towel? There’s a cost. Ditto for air conditioning.

It can get steamy and hot in Malasia but Fernandes thinks bargain-hunters will pass up creature comforts.

Source : TravelMole
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

AirAsia sees strong passenger load

2009-10-30T10:31:00.000+08:00

Group CEO says carrier is ‘not yield driven but volume driven’

AirAsia Bhd, which has steadfastly widened its reach to new markets even as the financial crisis was unfolding, expects its passenger load factor to remain robust next year, according to group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

“Our business is great. Our passenger numbers are up even during the puasa (fasting) month. Ancillary incomes are coming up very fast and we’re getting rights to many destinations,” Fernandes told StarBiz.

AirAsia’s load factor stood at 75% in the second quarter ended June 30. He said given the green shoots of economic recovery, yields were likely to improve and that things were not as gloomy as they were a year ago.

As such, “we are in a better position” now. However, he pointed out that the airline was “not yield driven but volume driven. That’s the key to a low-cost carrier (LCC).”

Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes ... ‘Ancillary incomes are coming up very fast and we’re getting rights to many destinations.’ - Filepic

In keeping with its aggressive route expansion, Fernandes said by year-end, AirAsia would add seven more routes to India.

It currently flies to four Indian destinations – Kolkata, Kochi, Tiruchirappalli and Trivandrum. It would continue its expansion mode next year as well, he said.

The carrier has deferred taking delivery of a third – or 16 of 48 – aircraft originally scheduled for 2010 and 2011 due to doubts over the timely completion of the new LCC terminal.

On whether this move might limit the airline’s capacity to tap the opportunities if there was a strong uptick in demand for air travel, he said it would be highly unlikely.

“We’ve got 82 planes! And we’re still getting deliveries. But if that’s the case, then it will just push our yields up.”

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, AirAsia said it did not have to pay any penalty for the revision of delivery dates for eight Airbus A320 aircraft, initially scheduled for delivery in 2011 to 2014 and 2015.
The deferment is because it “foresees infrastructural constraints with the current airport facilities” and needs to “optimise its fleet and avoid the costs associated with leaving idle or under-utilised aircraft” due to such limitations.

The carrier had signed an amendment agreement with Airbus SAS for the revision. Under a purchase agreement signed in 2005 and a number of amendment agreements, AirAsia had agreed to a firm order of 175 Airbus A320 aircraft.

AirAsia said the original number of deliveries in 2014 would be increased from 18 aircraft to 24 whereas, in 2015, the company would take delivery of two aircraft as opposed to none from before.

AirAsia had much earlier unwound its fuel hedges, a stance Fernandes said the airline would continue to adopt for a while, even as crude oil prices might rise next year on the back of an economic recovery.

“Even if it (oil price) reaches US$100 per barrel we’re ready for it. We are okay at the moment,” he said, pointing out that the budget carrier had overcome the turbulence even when oil prices skyrocketed to a high of US$150 a barrel.

Over the last two weeks, crude oil had been trading around US$79 a barrel, touching a high of US$81.37 last Wednesday.

“Fuel price is a fake price. Eventually it (price) will settle on real demand,” Fernandes said, adding that it was also painful to hedge sometimes, especially given the high volatility of oil prices.
As such, he said that although AirAsia might remain “naked” or unhedged, it might hedge some fuel requirement over three- to 12-month contracts.

Although there were green shoots of recovery, the economy still remained fragile, he said.
Last year, fuel prices fell sharply from US$145.29 a barrel in July to a low of US$33.87 in December. AirAsia had unwound huge hedging contracts in the third quarter last year that led it to post its first quarterly loss of RM465.5mil since its listing in 2004.

Since then, AirAsia has not got into new hedges. In any case, Fernandes said, fuel hedging only offered short-term benefits. “What we have to do is to build a sustainable business.”

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Spring Airlines keen to work with AirAsia X

2009-10-30T10:29:00.002+08:00

But the latter does not see any chemistry between them

China’s No.1 privately-owned budget carrier Spring Airlines wants to work with AirAsia X but the latter does not see any chemistry between them.

Spring Airlines chairman Wang Zhenghua could not hide his disappointment that he could not meet the AirAsia X boss even once.

“If I put it in a not so nice manner, they seem evasive. We invited them for a meeting and tried to see them. But, every time we tried to meet, they did not want to see us,” he told reporters at the Aviation Outlook Asia conference here on Wednesday.

»Spring Airlines needs to understand we are not interested in interlining code-sharing of flights« AZRAN OSMAN-RANI

Wang said his company really wanted to collaborate with the Malaysian carrier and share flight resources. He said both low-cost carriers could combine routes in China and South-East Asia to expand their passenger base.

AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani said his company was not looking for any profit or code-sharing model if it were to cooperate with other airlines.

“I think Spring Airlines needs to understand we are not interested in interlining code-sharing of flights. We prefer to cooperate on the basis of doing simple marketing such as I tell my passengers they can fly to Shanghai (by Spring Airlines) and you tell your customers they can fly to KL (by AirAsia X),” he said.
Azran added that the interlining code-sharing incurred costs as it required both parties to connect to each other’s system and AirAsia X wanted to keep its operational cost low.

Shanghai-based Spring Airlines flies to almost all major cities in China while AirAsia X has routes from KL to seven Chinese cities – Haikou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Guilin.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Airline passenger demand up slightly

2009-10-30T10:28:00.002+08:00

IATA says load factors for passenger and cargo have returned to pre-crisis levels

Passenger demand increased 0.3% in September compared with the same month last year, according to the latest figures issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Demand for international cargo was 5.4% below September 2008 levels while load factors for passenger and cargo had returned to pre-crisis levels of 77.1% and 50.8% respectively, it said.

However, IATA said the “apparent” year-on-year improvements in demand were “misleading”.
“It is largely due to comparisons with an exceptionally weak September 2008 when traffic fell sharply (minus 2.9% for passenger and minus 7.7% for cargo),” it said in a statement.

“It is far too early to call this a recovery,” IATA director-general and chief executive officer Giovanni Bisignani said in the statement.

The worst might be over but yields continued to be a disaster and costs were rising, he said.
“The airline industry remains firmly in the red with a fragile business environment.”

IATA noted that passenger demand was now 5% better than the low point reached in March this year but 6% below the peak recorded in early 2008.

Asia-Pacific carriers recorded the most significant improvement, from minus 1.6% in August to 2.1% in September, it said.

In terms of scheduled cargo demand, cargo traffic was 12% above the December 2008 low point but remained 17% below the early 2008 peak.
In the statement, IATA also condemned the British air passenger duty hike, saying that it was the wrong response to the industry trauma.

From Nov 1, the British government will increase its air passenger duty to collect £2.5bil annually from air travellers in the name of the environment, it said.

“The £2.5bil is completely disproportionate to the £572mil that it would take to offset the entire carbon footprint of British aviation,” it noted.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Malaysia Needs To Tap MICE Business Potential To The Fullest

2009-10-29T11:31:00.000+08:00

Malaysia could do a lot more to lure high-spending business travellers by strategically marketing the country meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) facilities.

While its focus in the past has been to promote conventional tourism, many tourism experts, who recently attended Asia's largest tourism fair, ITB Asia 2009, in Singapore, said Malaysia shoud aggressively promote itself in this sector.

Long-haul leisure tourism is fast becoming a luxury for many in the traditional markets, given the rising costs, declining incomes, high unemployment and a general mood of economic gloom and doom.

But business travel will continue to be popular despite the increased cost consciousness of many corporations that are in a penny-pinching mood and are aggressively cutting costs.

"However, companies recognise while they must cut costs they still need to avail of the MICE facilities in attractive destinations.

"Malaysia, unlike Singapore, needs to bolster its image on the international circuit as a MICE destination.

"It has beautiful landscape, beaches and wild life, not to mention golf courses which would appeal to corporate representatives," said Lothar Marzinger, a German/Swiss MICE specialist who "overwhelmed" by Malaysia's sheer natural beauty.

Tourism Malaysia, which has been promoting the country in a number of markets has yet to make an impact on the MICE business.

Though many American and European MICE delegates participated in events in Malaysia, - the KLCC in Kuala Lumpur is a popular venue for Western professionals.

The "hit-or-miss" approach would not be quite effective in the long run, given the fierce competition Malaysia faces from Singapore and Thailand.

Vietnam, Indonesia and others are also equally interested in joining the fray to capture a larger slice of the MICE pie.

Zalizam Zakaria, the Director of Tourism Malaysia in Singapore, was candid enough to acknowledge that his office would aim for more incentive programmes from ASIA.

MICE, according to Zalizam, accounted for only 5 per cent of Malaysia's tourist arrivals.

"We want to increase the share (of MICE participants in the overall arrivals in Malaysia) to 10 per cent," he said, adding that a special MICE body called MyCEB has been established and performance is expected to improve.

A bright spot for Malaysia was the interest generated amongst some MICE planners with the recent opening of the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching.

Sarawak tourism representatives told Bernama at the ITB Asia 2009 in Singapore that they expect to see more high-end hotels opening in Sarawak, predicting that some 1,686 four-star hotel rooms would be added in 2010.

One of the new hotels under construction, according to the Sarawak Tourism Board, is the 33-storey Kuching Tower adjacent to the convention centre.

A hotel will occupy the top 18 floors of the building, scheduled to open in 2010.

The Borneo Convention Centre is currently rated as the largest meeting venue in Kuching, with a total floor area of 36,500 sq metres; its pillar-free Great Hall has a capacity for 5,000 delegates.

Several other impressive properties recently opened in Kuching including the Novotel with 388 rooms while a number of properties have been given a facelift such as the Damai Puri Resort in Damai and the Hornbill Borneo Highlands Golf Resort which are premium properties on the outskirts of Kuching.

Tourism Malaysia could, for example, make a strategic bid at next year's ITB Asia in Singapore where the organiser, Messe Berlin, which also organised the world's largest tourism show called ITB Berlin, will hold a two-day "Associations Programme @ ITB Asia 2010".

Malaysian players in the MICE sector would have an opportunity to establish contacts with international experts such as the American Society of Association Executives, The Center for Association Leadership and Suntec Singapore.

The initiative, according to Messe Berlin, will attract exhibitors such as convention centres, resorts and hotels, professional conference organisers, destination management companies, solution providers and convention and visitor bureaus from the Asian region.

An impressive speaker line-up, according to Messe Berlin, is being compiled for the Associations' programme.

"The MICE world is very large," said Martin Buck, Vice President of Messe Berlin (Singapore), in an interview with this writer.

"Within it, our focus will be on expanding ITB Asia by introducing the growing associations' meeting sector. We will invite a compelling international group of speakers.

"They will share their real-case experiences with the industry and it should greatly benefit everyone joining the programme," he added.

ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership will provide valuable content for the Associations Programme through their expertise on topics such as global trends in association management and resource development for small to medium associations.

Buck, an expert on Asian markets, said: " Over the next couple of months, we will put top-level partnerships in place. The objective is to have a strong association programme that will add an exciting new component to ITB Asia from 2010 onwards," he said.

ITB Asia 2009 attracted 679 exhibitor organisations to the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The majority of exhibitors were from the leisure travel segment with MICE exhibitors and corporate travel coming in second and third respectively.

Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Inactive tourist operators licences revoked

2009-10-29T11:27:00.002+08:00

Some 100 tourist operators have had their operating licences revoked after they were found to be inactive over the last three years.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said one of the main criteria to avoid their licences being revoked was to stay active in business consistently.
“This is nothing new because every year, my ministry will scrutinise all operators to ensure they comply with the stipulated requirements.
“They should make full use of every opportunity available to spur tourism activities and generate growth for the country in the tourism sector.
“We expect the operators to be responsible, committed and conduct their business professionally as they also portray the image of the country,” she said when met here recently.
Dr Ng, who is also Raub MP, said locals, particularly youths could help the country in promoting tourist attractions.
She said they could assume the role of tourist guides by giving explanations on certain local attractions, including the country’s unique flora and fauna, arts and culture.
“They can offer themselves to be a guide by brushing up on their interpersonal and communications skills and in the process, make some side income.
“There are ample opportunities available for locals to help promote the country, and it’s a win-win situation,” she said, adding that locals residing in the respective areas had better knowledge of tourist attraction sites and could give more information to visitors than full-time guides based in big cities.
Dr Ng said it was a good opportunity for the locals to gain some working experience and decide later if they were keen on career in the tourism sector.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]