High-level government officials, travel industry players and the media are gathering in Kuching, Malaysia for Asean Travel Forum (ATF), reporting about developments in the region's hospitality industry and exchanging ideas on how to take things to new heights. Here are some of the things they have shared:
THE NEWS Tourism sector in Malaysia has had a good decade
DETAILS Dr Ong Hong Peng, secretary general, ministry of tourism, Malaysia revealed that the country had welcomed 25.03 million travellers to the country in 2012 (figures for 2013 have not been released yet).
"Tourism in Malaysia has actually grown 2.5 times since the last decade, despite 'shocks' such as SARS, the war on Iraq and the global economic crisis," said Ong. "Tourism has actually managed to sustain growth."
THE NEWS Indonesia has built a dozen new airports, with more to come
DETAILS Dr Mari Elka Pangestu, minister of tourism and creative economy, Indonesia noted in a press briefing at ATF that in order to get more travellers to visit a destination, "You'd have to have airports and ports. You'd also have to have the airlines to fly to the destination."
What the high-level official was referring to were not places such as Bali and Jakarta, which are well developed, but the many cities on more than 17,000 islands in the country that have much to offer but are not accessible enough to get on travellers' to-do lists. However, Pangestu stated that infrastructural developments in Indonesia have been progressing with 12 new airports built last year, with a further seven to be completed by the end of 2014.
THE NEWS Philippine Airlines aims for Paris, after resuming London service
DETAILS Having had its EU ban lifted, Philippine Airlines (PAL) returned to Europe last November with a five times weekly service to London. Daniel Corpuz, undersecretary for planning, the Philippines, revealed in a press conference that talks are underway for PAL to fly to Paris. One of the main issues to resolve is slot allocation at Charles de Gaulle airport. But if all goes well, the airline will hopefully be serving the French capital sometime this year. Frankfurt is another European hub being considered.
THE NEWS Airline chief says "Open Skies" can be more open
DETAILS Aireen Omar, chief executive officer of Air Asia Berhad noted that Air Asia's dominance in the region's low-cost carrier (LCC) sector has led to the airline reaching a population base of 600 million. However, Omar warned that although the current model of the "Open Skies" policy does encourage unrestricted connectivity to some capital cities, accessibility to certain markets is still being limited by issues such as restrictions on foreign ownership.
"[Only if the] countries of Asean completely embrace liberalisation, which will mean being less nationalistic, will we be able to truly enjoy open skies," stated Omar.
Clement Huang
