Asia Pacifi c & Indian Ocean Malaysia (AS700)


Malaysia’s tourism industry has had something of a rollercoaster ride of late, with arrivals fl uctuating between 27.4 million and 25.7 million from 2014 to 2017, when they eased back to just less than 26 million – although that still made it the second-most visited south- east Asian country after Thailand. Talking about Tourism Malaysia’s international Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign, director Shahrir Ali says: “We are committed to increasing the arrivals into Malaysia, with our target set at 36 million by 2020.” He adds: “Our marketing focus for 2019 will be on experiential tourism, particularly rural tourism in Sabah and culture and heritage on the island of Penang.” Increased air services are helping to boost connectivity. Malaysia Airlines launched Airbus A350s on its London- Kuala Lumpur route in March and Qatar Airways added a


a bold move by the Philippines government. At the same time, it began highlighting other islands to spread the tourism load.


Early signs indicate it has paid off, as overseas arrivals not only held up, but increased after the shutters came down on Boracay – numbers visiting between January and July were up almost 10% on the same period in 2017. All of its top 12 source markets except sixth-placed Taiwan saw gains in the first seven months of 2018 with China, the


second Malaysian destination with the launch of non-stop, three- times-a-week fl ights to Penang in February.


Plus, a partnership between Tourism Malaysia and Condor Air has led to the start of three-times- a-week fl ights from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur.


Tui-owned cruise line Marella Cruises is also undertaking a new cruise holiday as part of its 2018/19 winter programme, with passengers fl ying direct to Langkawi to spend one night there and 14 nights on the cruise, including several stops in Malaysia.


Tourism developments include


the fi rst 20th Century Fox World movie-inspired theme park in the Genting Highlands, due to open by the end of the year, and a Splash World @ Harbour City water park in Melaka opening in 2019, with new hotels including the 365-room Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast opening this month.


Chinatown shophouses, Singapore Brunei


Strong demand from Chinese tourists saw arrivals through Brunei International airport leap by 18% in 2017 to reach a record 259,000, with Chinese tourists representing nearly 40% of all arrivals, and more than four million entries into Brunei by land and sea. Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore are its other top tourist markets.


According to the country’s Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, the rise was down to factors including increased air connectivity by Royal Brunei Airlines (AS155), which expanded South Korea services, and new fl ights from Nanning and Kunming by Chinese low-cost carrier Lucky Air. Royal Brunei Airlines also launched its fi rst- ever non-stop service between London and Brunei last month. Visa regulations have been eased, allowing China and Taiwan nationals multiple-entry visas and visa on arrival, while citizens from 55 countries can now visit Brunei for between 14 and 90 days without a visa.


White Beach, Boracay


second-largest market after Korea, recording a massive 40% increase. Boracay’s reopening last month is expected to give a further boost. According to analysis by Trading Economics, tourist arrivals to the Philippines will continue to grow, reaching about 7.3 million in 2020. Strong demand from tourists and business travellers has resulted in hotel expansion, with Resorts World Manila adding Hilton, Sheraton and Okura properties in the capital by the end of 2019.


Airlines have also expanded services to gateway airports beyond Manila to ease congestion there. Pal Express began flights between Bohol capital Tagbilaran and Incheon in South Korea in June 2017 and Cathay Dragon added Hong Kong-Davao City flights last month. However, Euromonitor International sounds a note of caution, highlighting security issues and a series of travel warnings issued by countries against the Philippines in response to growing terrorism threats, particularly in southern parts of the country.


Singapore


Tourism continues to grow strongly to Singapore. The first six months of 2018 saw more than nine million visitors arrive by air, sea and land,


Marina Bay Sands is a recognisable landmark of Singapore’s skyline


an increase of 7.6% on the first half of 2017. China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Australia are currently its top source markets.


Tourism receipts rose by 3.9% to S$26.8 billion, due primarily to growth in visitor arrivals across all top 10 markets and more visitors from high-spending markets such as China, South Korea, the USA and the UK.


Lionel Yeo, chief executive of Singapore Tourism Board (STB), says: “We’re pleased to report a second consecutive year of record tourism performance [thanks to] better-than-expected global economic recovery, continued growth in Asia-Pacific travel and increased flight and cruise connectivity to Singapore.” Much of Singapore’s tourism success has been attributed to STB’s marketing partnerships with Changi Airport Group and Singapore Airlines, with which it signed a new, three-year tripartite deal worth S$34 million.


For 2018, STB forecasts


international visitor arrivals to grow further, reaching 18.1 million. Another boost is expected in 2019, when Singapore will celebrate its bicentennial with a number of commemorative events. The World’s 50 Best festival is also coming to Singapore in 2019 and will highlight the country’s multicultural gastronomy, cheap food and world-class cocktail scene. A hotel building boom, giving Singapore more than 67,000 rooms across 420 hotels at the end of 2017, has eased. A string of recent openings include the world’s first urban Six Senses property, in Chinatown, Six Senses Duxton and Six Senses Maxwell.


06.11.2018 63


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80