Medical tourism from Russia

Medical tourism from Russia is in the news a lot these days as more Russians are making their presence known in major clinics and hospitals and rehabilitation centers around the world.

Many counties and several clinics have enjoyed good business from Russia for many years and now, and as the market expands fast, we wanted to find out who are these Russian medical tourists, what do they want, and what do they spend?

With more than 3,500 visitors attending the March Moscow Medshow, it provided a superb opportunity to conduct the first major survey into the requirements and tendencies of the Russian client/patient today. The results make most interesting reading and will be conducive for many organizations either actively marketing or looking to promote their services in Russia:

So who are these Russian medical tourists?

Q. How much would you be prepared to spend on medical treatment abroad?

11% of the interviewed indicated that they are prepared to spend more than 25,000 euro on their treatment abroad, 36% indicated that the cost of their treatment could be between 10,000 to 25,000 euro, and 53% indicated that their budgets for treatments are at a maximum of 10,000 euro. This indicates that the total value of the Russian medical tourism market can be genuinely valued to be in excess of 1 billion euro.

Q. When are you looking to have medical treatment made?

With 42% indicating that they will be traveling abroad within 2-6 months, it shows that there is a substantial number of potential patients looking to travel for treatment very soon. As the market is reputedly estimated at 70,000 per year, this means that there are almost 30,000 Russians planning to travel overseas for treatment within the next 6 months. 22% of those polled indicated that they have chronic conditions and were looking to travel at the earliest opportunity.

Q. What specific treatments are you looking for overseas?

63% of the potential patients indicated that they are looking for diagnosis and subsequent treatment as required, 9% or approximately 6,300 people indicated that they are looking for surgery abroad, a further 6% are interested in cosmetic surgery, while 7% are looking for dental treatment outside Russia. A further 15% expressed their interest in spa & preventative medicine.

Q. What countries are of most interest for your treatment abroad?

Two countries, both with long involvement in the market, lead the list: Germany comes out on top with a staggering 32% of the market followed by Israel with 22%. Other high contenders are Hungary at 6%, Spain at 5%, Switzerland at 5%, and Czech Republic at 4%. Bulgaria, Austria, Turkey, and China each scored 3% (representing in excess of 2,000 visitors per year). In total, 36 countries were indicated as medical tourism destinations of interest.

Q. What is your primary reason for visiting the Moscow MedShow today?

The 3,524 visitors to the March Moscow MedShow were highly representative of the general market from Russia. 41% indicated that they were visiting the exhibition to gather first-hand information on what medical treatments are available abroad, their costs, and conditions. 17% came with a specific condition that required treatment and were looking for direct meetings/contacts with hospitals/clinics. 9% indicated that they were looking for information and details on preventative medicine, while 33% indicated that they were there out of professional interest, indicating that there are a growing number of specialized agents and facilitators emerging in Russia.

Age of the respondents.

The age of Russian looking for treatment abroad revealed some interesting statistics as 46% were aged 30-50, indicating the growing trend of middle-aged professionals representing the fast-growing affluent middle class. 40% were over 5,0 while only 14% were under 30.

Gender of the respondents.

58% female and 42% male

The survey interviewed 422 individuals at the Moscow MedShow from March 1-2, providing a comprehensive insight and detailed cross-section of the 3,500+ visitors over the two days.

The Moscow MedShow is the premier B2C medical tourism exhibition in Russia, and the next event will take place in central Moscow from September 20-21, 2014. For more information, see www.MedShow.ru

Source: Moscow MedShow, AI Group

Medical tourism from Russia

613 nominations for Kuala Lumpur Mayor's Tourism Awards

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism Awards (MTA) is back and promises to be bigger with 32 establishments and individuals competing for the prizes.

Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib said the MTA nominations had risen from 352 in 2011 to 613 this year.

“The 50 per cent increase is due to more new establishments being set up in the city in the last three years, including hotels, entertainment outlets, attractions and chic restaurants.

“We are always looking forward to new avenues to attract first-timers and tourists,” he said after unveiling the MTA trophy at Shangri-La Hotel, here, recently.

Ahmad Phesal said the aim of the MTA was to recognise establishments that had contributed to the growth of the tourism industry.

“KL is the sixth most visited city in the world and fourth for best shopping. These achievements are the results of the financial investments, hard work, dedication and commitment of every individual involved in the tourism industry,” he said.

Ahmad Phesal said a panel of 68 judges had been appointed.

“This not an easy task. They will be judging 200 shortlisted nominees from 14 categories. They are experts in different fields and they are committed to evaluate and identify the best,” he said.

Phesal said the public would also get to vote in the MTA.

“They can vote for their favourite tourism service or product. The vote will account for five per cent of the total,” he said.

The winners in the accommodation category will receive a trophy, certificate and cash incentive for paying their assessment tax.

The platinum five-star accommodation winner will receive RM50,000, while the gold winner will receive RM30,000.

The Platinum four-star accommodation winner will receive RM40,000, while the gold winner will receive RM25,000.

The platinum three-star accommodation winner will receive RM30,000, while the gold winner will receive RM20,000.

The platinum budget accommodation winner will receive RM20,000, while the gold winner will receive RM15,000.

Winners in the restaurant, nightspot, shopping mall, tourist attraction, airline and medical tourism categories will each receive a trophy and certificate. The platinum and gold winners will receive RM10,000 and RM5,000 worth of marketing and promotional support respectively.

Winners in the print media category will receive a trophy and certificate. The platinum and gold winners will receive RM10,000 and RM5,000 worth of advertising space respectively.

Winners in the events category will receive a trophy and certificate. The platinum and gold winners will receive RM10,000 and RM5,000 worth of marketing and promotion support.

Winners in the international tour category will receive three-day, two-night sponsored travel to the MTA, free stay in KL worth RM5,000 and holiday packages worth RM3,000.

The prizes and the Christofle rhodium-plated trophies, which incorporates MTA’s signature five gold stars will be presented to the winners at the MTA gala dinner in June.

Phesal said the MTA event partners were Christofle, YES 4G, Malaysia Airlines, Bon Zainal and Shangri-La Hotel.

Also present were the MTA organising committee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Victor Wee, co-chairman Datuk Normah Malik, YTL executive director Datuk Yeoh Soo Keng and Shangri La Hotel general manager Manfred Weber.

Source: nst.com.my

613 nominations for Kuala Lumpur Mayor's Tourism Awards

Giza governor announces EGP 7.5m project to boost tourism

In an effort to revitalise the tourism sector, Giza Governor Ali Abdel Rahman announced on Sunday the details of the “largest” tourism service project in the governorate at a cost of EGP 7.5m, according to a statement from the governorate.

Ministry of Tourism will fund the project which will be implemented by Ministry of Antiquities, Abdel Rahman said.

Situated near Haram Street, the project will include 280 bazaars, commercial shops, touristic restaurants and cafes with the aim of serving tourists.

According to Abdel Rahman, the tender to implement the project will be issued on a usufruct basis for the developers within a month.

The announcement followed a Sunday visit by the governor to the project site, which he said would attract tourists due to proximity to the Giza Pyramids.

A total of EGP 21m has been allocated by the governorate to develop roads in the area of Haram Street, with Abdel Rahman pointed out that the governorate has spent EGP 25m on this over the past two years.

The tourism sector struggled in 2013 after many European and foreign governments warned travel agencies in August to stop selling holiday packages to Egypt amid rising fears of violence after the dispersal of a sit-in held by supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi.

The Ministry of Finance recently announced that tourism revenues in the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2013/2014 are down 66% year on year, registering $1.9bn.

Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou announced last week an increase in visa fees for tourists visiting the country from $15 to $20.

In a positive outlook, however, Zaazou said he expected the number of tourists to increase by 3 million in 2014 to 12.5 million, up from 9.5 million in 2013, generating $11bn in revenues.

Giza governor announces EGP 7.5m project to boost tourism

Andy Murray’s Cromlix House Hotel is served top honour in tourism awards - despite being open less than a month

Rival owners stunned as hotel is deemed Scotland’s best despite opening only this month

The announcement that his Cromlix House Hotel in Kinbuck, Perthshire, is the Scottish Hotel of the Year has stunned tourism experts and dismayed rival owners.

A hotel industry veteran, Mark Linklater, who runs Scotland’s Personal Hotels website, said: “I was dumbstruck, I can’t believe that they would do something like that – to give the award to a hotel that’s only been open 20-odd days. I would have thought most hotel owners would be in utter disbelief.

“No hotel can open and be fully functioning and have absolutely everything 100 per cent [in such a short space of time] unless they have pulled out a magic wand or something, because everybody has teething problems – whoever they are.”

The Victorian mansion, set on 34 acres of grounds (including tennis courts, of course) was bought by Murray last year and has been turned into a 15-bedroom luxury hotel. Managed by Inverlochy Castle Management International (ICMI), it costs up to £595 a night to stay. The controversial decision to give the accolade to the new hotel is in stark contrast to the heritage of last year’s winner of the coveted title, the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow, which first opened in 1907.

READ MORE: WHAT ABOUT THE LONG GAME, ANDY?

The dispute is the latest controversy to hit the hotel, which was criticised this month when it emerged that five-star reviews had been posted on the Tripadvisor website before it had even opened. But it was able to evade censure by the website because the reviews had been made by guests (who had stayed for free before the hotel opened its doors to paying visitors). And in February a number of families living in the grounds of the hotel were evicted to make room for staff accommodation.

Lucy Gillmore, a food and travel writer based in Scotland, said to give Cromlix House such an award within weeks of opening “is a bit premature…  I can understand why some people would say it’s ridiculous as it’s been open less than a month”. But “the signs are all there that it’s going to be a real success… I didn’t notice any of the teething problems you normally associate with a soft opening”.

Although most local hoteliers were reluctant to comment openly, Alan Garnier, who owns the nearby 20-bedroom Clachan Cottage Hotel, said yesterday: “He took over a place that was legendary in its own right already so I’m going to guess it came with a good local following anyway. I’m going to guess there was a bit of leverage there, a bit of pressure there.”

Defending the decision, the judges’ chairman, Gary McLean-Quin, said: “Hotels often have sizeable sums of money spent on them but that’s only half the battle.” He described Murray’s hotel as a “national treasure”.

Andy Murray’s Cromlix House Hotel is served top honour in tourism awards - despite being open less than a month

Kenya “gazettes” functions and members of Tourism Recovery Committee

The recently-announced tourism recovery committee is now a legal reality after the Kenya government gazetted its functions, life span, and membership. Chaired by Principal Secretary Tourism Ibrahim Mohamed, the committee will serve for 2 years, effective April 17 and will have a mandate to deal broadly with the crisis the tourism sector finds itself in, largely as a result of absent, failed, and misdirected actions by the past and present government.

Representatives of Kenya’s leading private sector associations are members of the committee, among them the CEOs of the Kenya Tourism Federation, the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers, and the Kenya Association of Tour Operators.

Regular tourism sources have welcomed the move but at the same time expressed caution about having too high of an expectation on the ability of the committee to accomplish a turnaround of the tourism sector’s fortunes, which have in 2013 declined for a second year. “This committee is not very likely to invent a miracle cure. Sad fact is that the Kibaki government was told point blank what needed to be done at the time to offset the negative publicity over the abductions in Lamu and Kiwayu. They did not listen and Mwazo [the then Minister responsible for Tourism] proved to be utterly ineffective and in fact disruptive of industry efforts when he picked his fight with Muriithi [Muriithi Ndegwa, CEO of the Kenya Tourism Board who was suspended and sacked by Mwazo and triumphantly reinstated by court].

“The watershed for us was to lose Balala as our minister, because no one fought for the sector as he did. The present government was also told what needs to be done but they were also deaf. Now that the situation has deteriorated to this low level, they come rushing and cry wolf. It is patently obvious that the ministry structure has failed the sector. We need our own ministry back. Then we have to reverse those silly creations of a half dozen parastatals under the tourism act which was nothing but a job creation machinery for the Kibaki coalition government. Form a tourism authority under which all those bodies are united. Most important, scrap the killer taxes on our sector which have out-priced us compared to our neighbors and other African destinations. Then give KTB [Kenya Tourist Board] money instead of a pat on the back.

“They have plans, like they did in 2008, to engage in a major recovery campaign, but without money that is not going to happen. 200 million is a start but if Kandie thinks we are impressed, let that figure go to 2 billion and we can talk. For now, most of us just wait and see and hope that things happen fast and we are not wasting another year. Let them put the budget forecasts on the table now how much money tourism is getting. And finally, hands off our tourist board, we say categorically no to any attempt to merge KTB away,” contributed a senior figure on condition of anonymity, claiming that the incumbents simply cannot take criticism no matter how constructive it is meant.

Assertions that the downturn is largely caused by insecurity have also been taken with a grain of salt by the industry, and while security and the perception about Kenya’s state of affairs does play a role, it is a range of other underlying factors which have sent the country’s tourism sector and in particular the Kenya coast into a dive. Proposals have been made of late about a reduction of visa fees, as was done in 2008 following the post-election violence, permitting foreign airlines to fly into Mombasa, enticing charter companies from Europe to resume their flights by offering them incentives vis-a-vis navigation fees, landing and parking charges, and a repeat of the so-called mega fam-trip which was a huge success in 2008 and aided the recovery back then, propelling Kenya’s tourism arrivals and revenues in 2011 to an all-time high before government complacency then saw the successes evaporate again.

Government targets for economic growth driven by the tourism industry have been missed by a wide margin for the first year since taking office, and considering the run-up period needed to see a potential recovery take root, there may be another year of sectoral contraction ahead before things can get better again. That, however, will require a fundamental change of heart and attitude by the powers that be with industry observers and pundits now looking on and reading the tea leaves and staring at crystal balls to somehow predict the near and medium term future of the sector.

Kenya “gazettes” functions and members of Tourism Recovery Committee

Louisiana sets a new tourism record with more than 27 million visitors in 2013

A woman dressed as a pirate dances on Bourbon Street on Lundi Gras in New Orleans. Louisiana drew more visitors than ever in 2013.

Louisiana drew a record 27.3 million tourists to its cities, festivals, outdoor activities and other events last year, drawing $10.8 billion in visitor spending.

Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne outlined the 2013 figures Monday at a tourism promotion lunch, saying the state attracted more outside visitors than the previous record set a year earlier. He also said that tourism activity generated an estimated $807 million in tax revenue for Louisiana’s coffers.

“Tourism creates jobs, generates revenue for Louisiana, and these numbers bear it out,” he said.

The figures are from an annual tourism study conducted by the University of New Orleans’ Hospitality Research Center.

Dardenne oversees Louisiana’s tourism efforts as head of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. He said the visitor numbers were boosted by New Orleans’ hosting of the Super Bowl last year. But he said the state also has seen its tourism rebound since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, additional storms in recent years and the Gulf oil spill in 2010.

“We have truly exhibited the resiliency that everyone likes to talk about when it comes to Louisiana. These numbers represent a true comeback,” he said.

Tourism generated a 34-to-1 return on the amount of money the state spent on its tourism efforts that year, according Dardenne.

According to the UNO study, one million more people visited Louisiana in 2013 than in the prior year. The biggest draw was the New Orleans area, bringing in 9.3 million visitors who spent $6.5 billion.

More than 210,000 people are employed in tourism-related industries, making it the fifth-largest employment sector in the state, according to the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

The UNO study showed that visitors who came to the state last year spent nearly $394 on average during their trip. Casino attendance and state park visits lagged behind other tourism stops, according to the study.

Louisiana sets a new tourism record with more than 27 million visitors in 2013

Tourism Australia’s premier travel trade event, ATE 2014 to be held for the first time in Cairns

Australia’s only travel trade show dedicated to exclusively promoting Australian tourism products and experiences to the global travel market, the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) will be hosted in Cairns for the first time in 2014 from May 11-15, helping to further bolster the country’s AUD 107-billion tourism sector. ATE 2014 will span across two connected venues, including the Cairns Convention Centre and purpose-built temporary exhibition structures. The temporary structures will be on the same site as the Convention Centre.

Organised by Tourism Australia, the annual event brings together 725 overseas travel buyers from 39 countries to meet with around 1,500 Australian delegates from 470 companies from every state and territory, as per a release.

ATE is one of the most significant annual trade marketing activities for the Australian tourism industry, enabling tourism businesses to build relationships with wholesale travel agents who sell Australian holidays internationally. Representatives from ten travel agencies from India will be participating in ATE 2014.

Speaking about the event, Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “It has been observed that the relationships built at ATE are important for converting the demand for Australia’s tourism experiences. During ATE, international buyers have the opportunity to not only meet face-to-face with hundreds of Australian tourism suppliers, from hotels, tour operators, to attractions, but also experience the destination first-hand through pre- and post-event touring.”

This year’s edition will be a very special one of ATE as it will be held right at the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef for the very first time. Tourism Australia expects international buyers to make use of this opportunity to do business with Australian tourism suppliers. ATE 2014 will mark the fourth time that Queensland is hosting the event since its establishment in 1979.

Tourism Australia’s premier travel trade event, ATE 2014 to be held for the first time in Cairns

30th Costa Rican tourism expo to focus on adventure and emerging markets

Costa Rican Tourism Minister Allan Flores, center, announces the 30th anniversary of the country’s most important tourism fair, Expotur, on April 23, 2014.

Costa Rica will host the 30th anniversary of its exposition on tourism – Expotur 2014 — in mid-May, with a focus on extreme sports, adventure tours and visitors from emerging markets such as Russia and China.

The Tico Times is the official news outlet for the event.

The country’s tourism minister, Allan Flores, made the announcement about the May 14-16 expo alongside the heads of the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals, or ACOPROT, at a press conference last Wednesday.

The expo will allow invitees from 37 countries to speak directly with 290 Costa Rican tourism businesses that plan to attend the conference. The event will be held at theWyndham San José Herradura Hotel & Convention Center, 5 kilometers south of the Juan Santamaría International Airport, outside the capital.

“Expotur continues being an effective business network, which allows national businesses to put their products before a great quantity of large tour groups from all over the world,” Flores said at the press conference.

The minister went on to say that this year is especially exciting as the small Central American country looks to expand its notoriety to Russia, whose citizens now have no visa requirement, and the emerging market of Chinese tourists. Flores added that Costa Rica will continue to strengthen bonds with visitors from the United States, Canada, France and Germany.

ACOPROT President Yadyra Simón said tourists from all over the world are still enchanted with Costa Rica despite the notorious instability in Central America. She said Costa Rica has the second highest level of tourism in Latin America after Mexico, with tourists spending up to $94 million per year here. Simón credited Expotur’s long tenure for part of this success.

“Today, three decades later, we continue to reap the fruits of this magnificent initiative that undoubtedly, marked a before and after in the form of marketing the product of Costa Rican tourism,” Simón said.

Speaking before large photos of bungee jumpers and a kayaker, ACOPROT Director José Llaguno talked about focusing on a specific brand of tourism, playing off the country’s renowned natural wealth.

“This year we are emphasizing adventure tourism, the same as permitted the previous development of niches such as eco-tourism and rural community tourism,” Llaguno said.

30th Costa Rican tourism expo to focus on adventure and emerging markets

Sardinia shrugs the excesses of Mediterranean tourism in favour of pristine beaches and quaint little villages

THE understated elegance of Sardinia is a welcome break away from the regular pitfalls of mainstream tourism seen all too often in the Mediterranean, as Hollywood royalty will tel you.

Soak up the sun in the scenic Sardinia

WHEN I told people I was travelling to Sardinia, I was greeted with some odd requests to bring back tins of sardines.

But while it may be argued that the name of the fish is taken from the waters where they used to congregate, sardines are not a main attraction in Sardinia.

You won’t see loads of them taking prime position on supermarket shelves around the island, in the same way as you don’t see Scotland awash with haggis.

Instead, there’s pasta, pork, shellfish and flat bread (pane carasau) among the local specialities, as well as the offer of sunshine and a glistening blue seascape that would rival those of the Caribbean.

The seductive beaches of this Mediterranean island are a welcome sanctuary for people seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of mainland Italy.

Sardinia remains unspoiled by tacky tourism and the hotels of family-run chain Delphina that I visited oozed a class and an uncomplicated feel that fits in with its elegant, understated beauty. I travelled to Sardinia with easyJet, who run frequent flights from Gatwick to Olbia airport, and from there headed to the five-star Resort Valle dell’Erica Thalasso & Spa in Santa Teresa di Gallura on the north coast of the island.

What you save on the flights, you can spend on accommodation and my arrival at the resort, in a charming town where you can catch the ferry to Corsica, was most welcoming. There was a selection of cold meats or antipasti, pizza, and light cocktails – just an indication of the freshly prepared food that was on offer throughout my stay.

Lounging on the hotel’s outdoor sun terrace made me feel like I was in a movie.

Funnily enough, actor Michael Douglas had been spotted on his boat near Porto Cervo, the heart of millionaire’s paradise Costa Smeralda, just a day earlier. But despite bringing binoculars to peer into some of the Liberace-style cruisers, I unfortunately was never able to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood royal.

When I did make a quick trip to Costa Smeralda, all the yachts on show – including some evil-looking black ones – resembled something from a James Bond movie.

Some of the princely resort’s architecture featured in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me.

I did a spot of window-shopping, too, at some of the jewellers and designer boutiques nearby.

My five-star base had its own Thalasso therapy pools, sauna, hammam, and cardio-fitness room, as well as other open-air swimming pools and an enchanting private beach where you can dine in the evening by arrangement.

For those on a fitness and health drive, the hotel offers the low-carb Dukan diet and other protein-rich foods. I’d have happily relaxed there for most of my stay but the waters proved too tempting and a boat excursion to the archipelago of La Maddalena, between Sardinia and Corsica, proved equally refreshing.

I had a quick paddle in the water before my ichthyophobia, or fear of fish, got the better of me and I decided instead to soak in the fabulous views.

Around the bay are various rock formations which resemble figures like a hunchback friar or a big bear. We delighted in creating names for some of the more unusual rocks.

We took a quick trip past Porto Pollo Beach, the laid-back, boho resort popular with surfers and kite boarders, taking in the panorama from a high point at Palau, about 18 miles from Olbia. The sights in west Sardinia are equally stunning. We visited the local ethnographic museum in the ancient, granite village of Aggius, where among other things we learned about tapestry and bread-making traditions, as well as the methods used in cork production. It was truly like stepping back in time.

We also visited the Resort & Spa Le Dune at Badesi. The four-star resort between sand dunes and juniper trees is ideal for families, being blessed with a white sandy beach overlooking the azure waters of the Golfo dell’Asinara.

For couples and everyone else who want something even quieter, the four-star Isola Rossa Hotel Relax Torreruja Thalasso & Spa offers a stunning haven of relaxation.

The place exudes peace and old-fashioned elegance.

Sardinia shrugs the excesses of Mediterranean tourism in favour of pristine beaches and quaint little villages

Volunteering in Cambodia

It’s cheap and cheerful, a chance to teach keen Cambodians – and learn a thing or two, Ross Peake writes.

Teachers can experience culture such as the Royal Palace at Phnom Penh

If you’re thinking about travelling and volunteering in south-east Asia, Eleanor Paton wants to hear from you.

She is looking for English speakers with a passion for education who want to step out of their comfort zone for a few months and immerse themselves in a vibrant, Asian culture – today’s Cambodia.

In Phnom Penh, the curries are to die for and the cost of living is cheap – how does $US4 sound for dinner in an air-conditioned restaurant? Or $US1 for noodles with fried egg on top at the Russian markets?

Paton’s pitch is likely to resonate strongly if you are in your 20s or retired.

The task she would like you to take on is challenging at times but very rewarding – teaching conversational English to Cambodian people who have a thirst for education. You don’t have to be a trained teacher, just have a commitment to teach for a few hours a day.

And here’s another big plus – you don’t need to raise thousands of dollars nor pay to attend, as so many charitable organisations demand. Paton is the recruitment officer for Conversations with Foreigners, based in Phnom Penh, which teaches English to 900 people every day.

The CWF building is where you will see a demonstration of the determination of young Cambodians to learn English, with hundreds of students arriving at 6am for lessons, and another wave after work.

Phnom Penh has been the national capital since French colonisation of Cambodia and was once known as the “Pearl of Asia”.

There are a number of surviving French colonial buildings scattered along the grand boulevards.

The capital of two million people is bustling, with buildings going up on every block and the streets very busy with traffic that can only be described as chaotic.

But the noise of the city is a good indicator of the zest of the people and their determination to get ahead in life.

Looking around, it’s hard to believe the city was emptied under the barbaric rule of the Khmer Rouge. But S-21, the former torture camp in an inner suburb, and the “killing fields” nearby, are sombre reminders of how millions of people suffered and were executed.

Now Cambodia is a premier destination for tourists and volunteers. To cope with the influx, Cambodian people are learning English, the language of the ASEAN.

It’s a vital currency for those who wish to work in government, commerce and tourism, and converse with their neighbours in Thailand and Vietnam.

CWF was set up in 2006 with help from AusAID and now has about 20 staff, 900 students and about two dozen volunteers at any one time.

Jacinta McLennan, from Brisbane, is a typical volunteer. The 24-year-old social marketer is travelling with a friend as they both take time off from their careers.

“I had looked into quite a few volunteer programs in different countries I was interested in going to,” she says.

“At the start of this program, we visited the villages to see the work the money goes towards.

“Part of the reason we like this program is because the revenue raising is transparent … the students pay for their courses and the money goes to the rural development team.”

Her advice to those busy working and living in suburbia?

“There is no better time to travel than between when you finish school or your degree and getting commitments; you have a very short window.”

Julie Eaglen, from London, is semi-retired, seeing the world after a lifetime working as an arts administrator.

“The cost of living here in Phnom Penh is a lot lower than in western Europe and we eat out in Khmer-run restaurants most evenings because we finish teaching here at 8.30pm,” she says.

“I really enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds from my own and from cultures other than the Western culture.

“I am lucky enough to be someone who has English as their mother language and I know there is a thirst in other countries to be able to communicate in English nowadays.

“So if I am able to pass that on and help people acquire the knowledge they want, then I’m really pleased to be able to do that.”

At CWF, Paton is looking for people who can give three months, rather than spend a few days at a so-called children’s orphanage to put photos of “charity work” on Facebook.

The young British woman first came to CWF as a volunteer teacher before returning later to work on the staff. Like the young female lead in the movie Sunshine on Leith, she found her hometown London a bit boring and wanted to see the world.

“I’m here because I loved it when I came out for the first time in December 2012,” she says. “I love living here because I feel the city has a little bit of edge, it’s quite exciting.

“Cambodians are really, really friendly and they’re very warm and welcoming and it is not at all an expensive place to live. It’s very, very cheap.”

Paton had done volunteering in the UK on human rights projects, and some charity work, but she had never volunteered overseas.

“I wanted to try teaching so I came here,” she says. “CWF has a responsible volunteer program, they train you so you can teach, and it’s teaching with a development angle which I’m interested in.”

The group charges Khmer students $US50 a term, about $US1 a lesson, with the profits going to the Cambodian Rural Development Team, which works in villages.

In Phnom Penh, the English-speaking volunteers from overseas can choose to live at CWF’s Volunteer House, which has shared rooms.

“It’s Khmer style so that’s part of the experience,” Paton says.

The city’s air-conditioned coffee shops are built to the same standard you would find in Sydney or London and naturally all have free Wi-Fi.

CWF operations manager Huy Sambo says a group of friends from university, where he studied accounting and business administration, set up the rural development program and later CWF.

The first English classes at CWF were run in September 2006 and the business has expanded quickly, mostly by word of mouth among young people.

“When their English is good, they can find a good job,” he says.

Huy says the majority of volunteers come from Australia, but also from the UK and the United States.

When they sign on, they can expect to teach in the mornings and again in the evenings. In other words, most of the day is free to immerse yourself in the culture or chill out.

Volunteering in Cambodia

San Diego Tourism Authority announces new marketing representation in China

The San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA) has retained East West Marketing Corporation as their new marketing representation office in China. Beginning April 2014, East West Marketing is responsible for promoting the San Diego region to the professional travel trade, travel media and individual consumers in China. This is the first time that San Diego has retained representation in this important international market.

“East West Marketing will be instrumental in promoting travel and tourism to our region, generating Chinese press coverage and assisting the travel trade to increase bookings to San Diego,” stated Joe Terzi, President and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority. “It is vital for our region to have representation based in China, which is one of the most important global markets today, as we continue to build our reputation as a leading international destination,” Terzi added.

Outbound travel from China is growing exponentially, and Chinese visitors to California reached an estimated 783,000 in 2013 (up 17 percent from 2012) to become the number one source of overseas travelers to the Golden State. With a direct flight between Tokyo and San Diego onJapan Airlines that launched December 2012, the SDTA expects to see a marked increase in visitors from Asia-Pacific countries including China, which now represents the world’s fastest growing major economy.

Based in Beijing, with offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei and Los Angeles, East West Marketing is responsible for travel package development, media relations, social media promotions and in-country sales missions. With nearly 18 years of promoting U.S. tourism in the Chinese market, East West Marketing is a leading marketing and public relations firm that specializes in outbound tourism marketing. The company’s primary goal is to increase the number of visitors from the China region to its client destinations; its current client list includes the U.S. Travel Association, San Francisco Travel Association, Choose Chicago, Delaware North Companies and others.

San Diego also retains marketing offices in Japan, Korea, Germany and the United Kingdom. International travel to San Diego accounts for approximately 9% of the 32.3 million visitors who annually travel to the region.

The San Diego Tourism Authority is a private, non-profit, mutual benefit corporation composed of more than 1,000 member organizations, businesses, local governments and individuals seeking a better community through the visitor industry. The San Diego Tourism Authority markets and sells the greater San Diego region as a premier meeting and vacation destination.

San Diego Tourism Authority announces new marketing representation in China

Viceroy Hotel Group to operate two more hotels in Dubai

Dubai: The US-based Viceroy Hotel Group said on Sunday that it will operate two hotels in Dubai.

The hotels, which are built by Arabtec Holding, will be located on Shaikh Zayed Road and in Business Bay. The 76-floor Viceroy Dubai Shaikh Zayed Road and Viceroy Business Bay are expected to open in late 2016 and 2017, respectively.

The company is set to open its other Dubai property, Viceroy Dubai Palm Jumeirah, in late 2016. It already has the Yas Viceroy in Abu Dhabi.

Viceroy Hotel Group to operate two more hotels in Dubai

The rise of medical tourism in the UAE

With the Ministry of Health projecting over a million medical tourists visiting Dubai every year by 2020, Anthea Ayache finds out why so many people are coming out to the sun to go under the knife

Turning around to admire her newly contoured derrière, 27-year-old Imelda smiled. She had disliked her lack of curves for a long time and had longed to be a little more à la Beyoncé. Now, just weeks after visiting Dubai from her home in Mozambique, she had returned with more than just a token souvenir of the Burj Khalifa – and was already convinced her medical holiday to the UAE for a gluteoplasty had been money and time well spent.

“I knew I wanted the best doctor for the job,” she says exclusively to Friday, explaining why she chose Dubai for a procedure that can cost up to Dh45,000. “I did lots of research and I heard about a great Brazilian surgeon in the UAE, Dr Luis Toledo. After several emails, I knew it had to be him so I flew to Dubai and within a few days I had the procedure. A week later I was home and, although a little sore, happy with the results!”

Imelda is one of a growing number of medical tourists hitting our shores for a nip and tuck in the sunshine.

As one of the most popular cities in the world to visit, Dubai already welcomes near on 10 million visitors a year. According to MasterCard’s latest Global Destination Cities Index (2013), Dubai is headed to become the seventh most popular destination city in the world after the likes of Paris, London and Bangkok.

So along with year-round sunshine, sandy beaches, luxurious spa hotels, world-class restaurants and some of the best shopping on the planet, it seems only logical that visitors looking to return home with 
a smaller nose to accompany their sun-kissed skin and new Prada sunglasses would pick the UAE as 
a medical tourism hot spot.

“Dubai is ideal,” says leading cosmetic surgeon, Dr Jaffer Khan of Aesthetics International in Jumeirah, Dubai. “It has a great location, visas are easily obtainable and there is very good connectivity between countries thanks to the success of Emirates airline. People don’t have to fly to Bangkok or Singapore to get [the kind of surgery] you can get in Dubai.”

Already amongst the world’s top 20 destinations for medical tourism (a phrase Dr Khan rejects, “I don’t particularly like the term because it denotes a degree of lack of sincerity; I think it should be called Medical Procedures Abroad as coined by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery”), and with plenty of scope to reach its full potential, Dubai has all the ingredients to reach its next ‘biggest and best’ projection.

Situated between East and West with a national carrier capably flying over a third of the world’s population within four hours of Dubai and two-thirds within an eight-hour flight, it’s never been easier for people to hop on a plane for a surgery break.

“I was going to travel to Johannesburg for the procedure,” explains Imelda. “I could drive there and back from my home and I have lots of family there, so it was an easy option, but they didn’t have the [kind of] doctor I was looking for and price wise there wasn’t much difference. I already knew about the high standards and results in Dubai so I opted for a break.”

Cost cutting

While she admits salaries are comparatively low in Mozambique and so cheaper Asian countries may be more appealing for her compatriots; for patients with high expectations and high incomes, Dubai, with its sun, sand and (quality) surgery, is rapidly climbing the 
ladder of top medical tourism destinations.

“I have travelled from the UK three times for the sole purpose of having surgery in Dubai,” says a 49-year-old patient of Dr Khan’s, who wishes to remain anonymous. “I’ve had a facial procedure, abdominal surgery and a breast augmentation and the results were exactly what I would expect from an eminent surgeon. Dubai came highly recommended by word of mouth and I’d certainly pass it on.”

According to medical travel website Patients Beyond Borders, Thailand is still the most popular destination for cosmetic surgery tourists followed closely by Malaysia, both offering services at half or even 
a third of developed country costs.

With the price of surgery rising in countries such as the US and UK where surgeons have to pay heavy taxes cost has long been a main factor in luring patients away from home.

“Medical tourism is popular because there is a real need in the market,” explains Paula Vermon, international sales manager for Gorgeous Getaways, a pioneering travel agency for medical tourism 
in New Zealand. “Surgery is too expensive in the home countries of those who come to us, so we make it more obtainable for people of all income brackets.”

While the company has not yet added Dubai to its list of destinations, it is something the 52-year-old admits “has been on our radar”, adding, “We need to look at Dubai as a possibility. Our clients are primarily from Australia and New Zealand so we would need to look at flight times and logistics but we certainly will be researching the industry in Dubai.”

While undertaking that research, they’ll find a staggering amount of surgeons to choose from. “Dubai is one of the places in the world with the highest concentration of plastic surgeons,” says Dr Toledo, who is also the scientific director of the Emirates Society of Plastic Surgery.

“In the US you have one plastic surgeon for every 50,000 people; in Brazil it’s one for every 44,000 and 
in the UAE it’s one for every 18,000!”

Sifting through the surgeons is no easy process, but research will also show that while prices in Dubai may be relatively higher than Glamorous Getaways’ current destinations in Malaysia and Thailand, it will also become clear that Dubai costs reflect a standard of excellence – a reason why it is steadily becoming a stiff competitor to traditionally cheaper Asian destinations.

“India and Thailand will continue to get their share of medical tourism,” says Dr Khan. “But I believe the price point will be the main factor there. I don’t think necessarily however that’s why people will come to Dubai; especially if you’re talking about high-spend individuals in luxurious locations.”

While Gail Clough, part owner of website dubaisurgery.com, which facilitates medical tourism in Dubai for surgery-seeking sun lovers from the UK, adds, “Dubai is no longer a cheap destination for surgery. It used to be when I first moved here [20 years ago] but now it’s almost comparative to the UK, so people coming here are doing so for the cleanliness, efficiency and the quality. For many destinations it really is just about cost cutting, but not here.”

“I travelled to Dubai from Qatar so my 14-year-old son could undergo corrective surgery,” says the mother of one of 
Dr Khan’s patients, who doesn’t want to be named. “He underwent surgery for bilateral gynecomastia [an abnormal growth of the breast tissue in men and boys] and he is delighted with the results.

“The surgery has made my son feel like he is an improved version of himself. We could have had the surgery carried out in another country but Dubai came highly recommended and the quality of the surgeon was extremely important.”

As Brazilian-born Dr Luis Toledo, an aesthetic surgeon with more than 30 years of experience, highlights, “People are coming to Dubai now for surgery because it’s good, not because the price is cheap, which is the right attitude for medical tourism.”

How safe is it?

With cosmetic procedures becoming considerably more desirable as they become not only socially accepted but almost a norm, many people are flocking to countries in the sun for the incongruous combination of holiday and surgery. Often however, by the very nature of its accessibility, potential patients are not necessarily doing their homework.

“Some people spend more time selecting a handbag than they do their surgeon,” says 
Gail Clough, who has gone under the knife more than 20 times in Dubai for procedures ranging from Botox 
to liposuction.

“So my advice to anyone travelling for surgery is to thoroughly research your surgeon. It’s the most important decision you’ll make in your life because if it goes wrong, and that does happen, your life will change dramatically – and for the worse. It’s certainly not a decision to be taken lightly.”

Potential patients therefore are advised to be vigilant when choosing a clinic wherever it may be, and for whatever surgery, minor or major, in order to avoid the misery that comes with paying over the odds and ending up with a botched job.

“The most important consideration when embarking on a medical tour is not to choose it because it is cheap, but because it is high quality,” says Dr Toledo. “Sometimes the money exchange rate makes the treatment more accessible, but low price should absolutely not be a deciding factor. Remember it is much more difficult and more expensive to fix a bad job”.

An advantage of Dubai is that stringent safety regulations are in place and although the Ministry of Health in the UAE, like elsewhere in the developed world, does deal with complaints concerning malpractice and unregistered practitioners, an increased number of measures are being taken to ensure clinics, hospitals and medical professionals are carrying out the highest levels 
of care. They include tactics such 
as surprise inspections to enforce safety regulations.

“Cosmetic surgery patients are in safer hands than ever before in Dubai,” says Dr Toledo. “Many of its hospitals are accredited internationally, with the highest standards of care… That being said, the necessary steps should still be taken whenever opting for plastic surgery, regardless of where you are.”

And bad jobs do happen, albeit irregularly. Most Dubai residents will remember the case in 2010 for example, when Steven Moos, an American doctor who had lost his license, hit the headlines for impersonating leading Washington DC surgeon Dr Steven Hopping.

He operated on his kitchen table, disfiguring women and leaving many in critical conditions with reports saying his villa in Al Barsha was so poorly equipped for the procedures that fat removed during liposuction was stored in cooking pots. It wasn’t long before UAE authorities caught, jailed and deported him to the US.

Such cases, however, are few and far between, with the number of reported malpractice incidents negligible due to stringent and efficient licensing checks. This is the case more so now than ever before as the country begins to lead the way for quality surgery, firmly establishing itself as a destination that offers both world-class care and international standard safety.

This trusted atmosphere of quality has been made possible thanks to the establishment of world-class clinics by some of the world’s leading cosmetic surgeons.

“When I moved here eight years ago there were only 60 plastic surgeons and hardly any of them did aesthetic surgery,” says Dr Toledo, who is also the UAE’s International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) course director.

“Today in the United Arab Emirates we have 150 members [of the Emirates Plastic Surgery Society] and 102 of them are in Dubai.”

Members operate from certified world-class clinics in some of the most hygienic medical environments in the world.

“The hospitals and clinics are spotless here,” says 48-year-old Gail. “There are no cases of the deadly MRSA supervirus. The destination is spotless, the hotels are immaculate and the service is excellent. Not to mention the fact you can move around the city so easily thanks to 
a great public transport system.”

She does however add that accidents can happen anywhere in the world, and again, highlights the need for thorough research before signing on the dotted line.

“Every case is different,” she says. “It’s down to the clinic and the surgeon and many different factors. Yes, it does happen [here] – it happens everywhere and if you’re going abroad for surgery you need to cross your T’s and dot your I’s even more than you would if you were doing it at home.”

“I’m normally really nervous about surgery,” says Imelda. “But I really researched this and I had all my questions answered beforehand. 
I felt well informed and Dr Toledo seemed to know his work so well. Taking that extra time to feel comfortable really is priceless”.

Popular procedures

While numbers vary, it is clear that medical tourism is rapidly expanding both nationally and internationally as surgeries of all shapes and sizes grow in popularity.

“Surgery is accessible to all now,” says Paula from Glamorous Getaways. “We’re not talking extreme surgery here – its normal procedures, real people with real stories and not over-the-top sensationalism.”

The 52-year-old, who has undergone extensive surgery herself, losing 75kg under a Malaysian surgeon’s scalpel for treatments including a tummy tuck, arm lift, thigh lift, breast lift and liposuction, travelled abroad for her treatments. When asked why she says, “Simply because I could not afford the corrective surgery in my home country and they would have done the operations over the space of a year. We are finding a lot of home surgeons recommend spreading out procedures over six months, whereas abroad they don’t put your health at risk but they’ll determine correct, short and professional time frames.”

Allowing short time frame procedures to happen more efficiently in Dubai is the recent move by Dubai authorities to introduce a new three-month medical tourist visa, which can be extended twice for nine consecutive months.

“Medical visas started a few months ago,” explains Dr Toledo. “However, most of my patients still visit me on a one-month tourist visa, that’s normally long enough for a cosmetic procedure. For other medical surgery they could need a longer recovery time, and therefore the three months visa is more suitable.

“I think Dubai’s ambition to become a destination for medical tourism is a good thing and importantly the government is investing in it. The medical visa is 
the first step”.

The government, in a bid to not only attract medical visitors but acquire the best practitioners, has also started granting visiting doctors short-stay visas for as little as one day. In the cosmetic-surgery field, these tend to be star surgeons who arrive, carry out a few surgeries and subsequently return home.

Although this does offer people in the emirate a chance to go under the same scalpel as Hollywood’s A-listers, this is a practice to which some clinics are opposed.

“Visiting surgeons stay a short while, they operate on a few cases and then they go home,” explains 
Dr Toledo. “But who carries out the post-operative, the follow-up, the aftercare, who deals with any potential patient complaints? They end up leaving problems in the country for doctors here to solve.”

A point on which Dr Khan differs, “There is nothing wrong with visiting doctors provided it is backed up by a home support network,” he says. “There will always be post-operative issues that we have to deal with like bleeding, infection, wound breakdown, and these are standard things that we can look after.

“The results are a whole different story and can be assessed only after a couple of months no matter what the procedure. If after that time the patient is not happy then they can see their primary surgeon. If that happens to be a visiting doctor, they are on contracts anyway and come back every few weeks; our doctors are on a rotational basis.”

 

The rise of medical tourism in the UAE

Kerala tourism clocks record 24k cr revenue

Tourism revenues make up for one tenth of Kerala’s GDP, and brought in foreign exchange worth Rs 5k cr, the second highest after remittances.

CHENNAI, APRIL 26:   For 2013-14, Kerala’s tourism industry has netted a record revenue of Rs 24,000 crore, compared to Rs 22,000 crore the previous year. While tourist arrivals have topped 1.15 crore this year, Kerala Tourism Secretary Suman Billa estimates that “with the definition of ‘tourist’ being amorphous, somebody going from Trivandrum to Kochi to visit his uncle for a day or returning from a day’s business trip to Delhi, is also a traveller.”

But taking into account such “definition issues”, Kerala gets about 10 lakh foreign visitors a year, and “these are mostly upper-end leisure tourists”.

Tourism revenues make up for one tenth of the State’s GDP, and brought in foreign exchange worth Rs 5,000 crore, the second highest after remittances. The focus has traditionally been on high-end tourism – those who would spend $100-plus on a hotel room per night. “For us tourism is just a business like any other. With the time of a traveller being limited you have to get as much revenue as possible,” says Billa.

In the “classified sector” Kerala has 60,000 hotel rooms, not including home stays and other informal arrangements.

Ayurveda attraction

Ayurveda is of course the biggest draw for foreign arrivals and spending. Thanks to Ayurvedic treatments requiring a two to four week stay, the average stay of an international tourist in Kerala is a surprisingly high 18.6 nights, “among the highest in the world.” The number was 17.1 nights per visitor barely a few years ago.

“We say it doesn’t matter that we have only a million international tourists; the important thing is to focus on increasing the length of stay. So we’re constantly adding new activities such as adventure, festivals, backwater journeys, village life experience through responsible tourism, to encourage people to extend their holiday.”

While in 1995-96, the $100-plus per night category was only international, more and more domestic tourists, not only from the metros but also Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, are opting for high-end tourism.

While UK remains Kerala’s biggest market, “and traditionally we’ve always been a Eurocentric market, surprisingly now the US has emerged as our second market”, says Billa.

He adds that till now Kerala had not aggressively worked the US market thinking of it as a long-haul destination, but increased arrivals has enthused them to step up marketing through road shows and other activities there. “Particularly after we found that many of them come to India on business trips, which they extend for a holiday in Kerala”.

Kerala tourism clocks record 24k cr revenue

GTA drives tourism to Thailand with new campaign

International travel distributor, GTA, has launched a new campaign that promotes Thailand to Asia’s fully independent travel (FIT) agents. Given the millions of travel bookings GTA takes every year, the initiative could help the popular destination recover more quickly from the political unrest at the start of the year which resulted in travel alerts from around 45 countries.

Launched around the country’s New Year Songkran celebrations, Thailand Smiles Again is aimed at travellers from Asian countries – China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan – which are key source markets for Thailand. GTA has called on its longstanding relationship with IHG to offer a ‘Stay 3 Pay 1’ deal, saving 66% at five properties in Bangkok, one in Chiang Mai and one in Pattaya. A new G-Shop loyalty promotion will reward travel agents too: every booking made with GTA at Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ properties in Thailand earns points which can be redeemed for shopping vouchers.

GTA’s offices around Asia are also working with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to bring travel agents on familiarisation trips to the destination so they can see for themselves that the country has returned to normal and get a true picture of all they can experience and enjoy.

Says Daryl Lee, GTA’s Vice President of Sales for Asia: “GTA has been helping destinations and national tourism organisations like the Tourism Authority of Thailand welcome fully independent travellers from practically every part of the planet for almost four decades. Hoteliers and accommodation owners, as well as providers of tours, activities, attractions and experiences turn to us to help them affordably reach customers from around the world.

“This is the first time we have supported a recovery campaign on such a large scale. TAT has turned to us because of our longstanding relationships with brands like IHG and Starwood Hotels & Resort, which allow us to offer great deals that will attract travellers back to Thailand. Furthermore the extensive network we have established with travel agents means we can quickly call on them to participate in trips to get a true picture of how inviting the destination remains.”

Powering global travel, GTA’s network generates tens of thousands of bookings every day. Selling 12 million room nights every year, high street and online travel agents and tour operators rely on the company to source competitive rates for the accommodation, services, excursions and experiences that their customers – the travelling public – most want to enjoy. The sheer numbers of travel selling clients who work with GTA make the company a vital channel for trade relations and marketing campaigns.

GTA drives tourism to Thailand with new campaign

China's tourism sector needs steady, sustainable growth

SANYA, Hainan: With more Chinese willing to pack their bags and travel, the tourism boom has potential to reshape the country’s economy, but steadiness and sustainability are needed, experts said at an international tourism summit on Friday.

PILLAR of GROWTH

China’s decision to make tourism a strategic pillar of the national economy in 2009 has set a leading example for countries around the world and is paying off, said Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at the ongoing 2014 World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit in Hainan.

Total tourism consumption reached about three trillion yuan (480 billion U.S. dollars) last year, accounting for over 12 percent of total retail sales of consumer goods.

Over 13.5 million people were employed in the tourism sector in 2013, with more than 1.7 million households in the farm stay business, benefiting more than 30 million farmers.

The tourism sector has integrated itself with other sectors as the Chinese government views the industry as a strategic pillar to sustain growth and leverage modern service business, said Shao Qiwei, director of the National Tourism Administration.

Travel and tourism have upgraded the primary industry with an increase in village tourism spots and services, supported the secondary industry by churning out tourism equipment and souvenirs, while boosting the tertiary sector through tourism-themed financial, information and health-care businesses, Shao added.

FASTER PACE EXPECTED

China is already the world’s second-largest travel and tourism economy, with each Chinese person making an average two-and-a-half trips last year, and the momentum is expected to continue.

The Chinese tourism market is expected to grow 7 percent annually for the next 10 years, and may overtake the United States to be the number one tourism superpower in 2023, according to David Scowsill, president and CEO of WTTC.

The sector, especially the high-end hotel business, was challenged last year as the Chinese government launched a frugality campaign to uproot bureaucratic and extravagant work styles among public servants, a policy that has reportedly prompted star hotels to downgrade their ratings to woo customers.

“The policy impact is just short-term. Tourism is resilient as new products and services will keep growing, especially for China, which is still in the primary phase of tourism development. The potential of growth is enormous in the long term,” said Wolfgang Boettcher, Starwood Hainan Area Managing Director.

STEADINESS, SUSTAINABILITY NEEDED

The general outlook of China’s tourism sector is rosy, but market players directly feeling the pulse of tourism trends pointed out there is still a long way to go for China to be a real and sustainable tourism superpower.

The biggest challenge facing China’s tourism market is oversupply, especially in the accommodation sector, said Duan Qiang, Chairman of Beijing Tourism Group.

The days have gone when a few star hotels could easily make hefty profits, said Duan, adding that now most of them only score marginal profits with a surging number of players grabbing a piece of the cake.

Over-reliance on government and public money is no longer sustainable, and service quality has to be improved, he said.

While rising income enables the middle class to spend more on travel and tourism, an unsound social security network may dampen their willingness to enjoy more and longer travels, said David G. Brooks, chairman for Greater China at Coca Cola.

Sustainability is another major concern, Brooks added.

“We should bear in mind that the tourism business is about tomorrow tourism. You should take into account profits, people and the planet in tourism development,” said Ken Chu, Chairman & CEO of Mission Hills Group.

China's tourism sector needs steady, sustainable growth

Egypt's tourism industry hoping for post-poll relief

Cairo/Alexandria : A walk around the streets of the Egyptiian capital around 2 a.m. on a Saturday, the second day of the Egyptian national weekend, showed shisha cafes, bars and restaurants bustling with activity. In Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, the streetside kerbs remain busy with people chatting over cups of mint tea and coffee late into the night.

On the surface, Egypt looks calm after the storms. But Egypt’s tourism industry, badly hit by two successive bloody revolutions within the space of three years, is slowly recovering and is hoping for some relief after the fresh presidential election scheduled for the last week of May.

“After the two revolutions, tourists have stopped coming to Egypt,” Osama Ibrahim, associate professor of tourism guidance at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels in Fayoum University, told this visiting IANS correspondent.

“Earlier, up to around 14 million people used to come to Egypt in a year,” he said.

According to official data, the number of tourists visiting Egypt in the first two months of 2014 dropped by 28 percent to 1.3 million in comparison to January and February last year.

Otherwise a key contributor to the north African nation’s GDP, the sector was battered by the January 2011 revolution that saw the end of the over 29-year rule of president Hosni Mubarak and the 2013 revolution that saw the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president.

Noting that Egyptian tourism was first badly hit after the massacre of 62 people, mainly tourists, in the south central Egyptian tourist town of Luxor in 1997 by an Islamist organisation, Ibrahim said that “now a different kind of terrorism is taking place in the country that is putting people off”.

According to Ibrahim, around 15 million people directly under the country’s tourism sector have been affected by the drop in tourist arrivals.

“Many such people are looking for jobs elsewhere. Some people have stopped sending their children to private schools. New graduates are not getting jobs,” he said.

Sam, a tourist guide in Luxor that is famous for the Karnak temple complex, the biggest temple complex built in the history of human civilisation, concurred.

“Our economy has been devastated by the two revolutions. Whereas we used to have 1,200-1,500 people coming here daily, nowadays we hardly get 400-500 visitors and that too on weekends,” he said.

“I am not saying I was rich but I was blood rich. Now everything is gone. However, I am luckier than many others in the sense that I am not dead yet.”

Ahmed, a taxi driver in Luxor, too lamented the troubled times the town was going through.

“Our taxi service used to do brisk business earlier because of the high inflow of tourists. But nowadays we can hardly make ends meet,” he told IANS.

In Hurghada, a Red Sea resort town that is home to around 145 resorts and hotels, similar sentiments were voiced by those in the tourism business.

“After the first revolution (in 2011), we had low occupancy for around two weeks,” Hamada Mohamed, who works in the Jungle Aqua Park Resort, famous for its 32 swimming pools in a single complex, said.

“But after the second revolution, we had a major crisis,” he added.

Germans constitute around 60 percent of tourists coming to Hurghada, and the rest are mostly from Russia, Poland and England.

However, Mohamed is hopeful now that the fresh presidential election has been scheduled for May.

“We hope that the scenario will change after the presidential election is held,” he said.

“What we want are the Chinese and Indian markets. Indians only come for the pyramids and Nile cruise. They must come to Hurghada.”

Next month’s presidential election has only two candidates – former military chief Abdel Fateh Sisi, the man who carried out the coup that led to the ouster of Morsi last year, and leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi – and political observers here are predicting an easy win for Sisi.

Indeed, after the announcement of the new election, the mass protests that symbolised the 2011 Arab Spring seem to have come down markedly with people apparently resuming normal life.

From his eighth-floor hotel room in downtown Cairo, this IANS correspondent could see busy traffic late into the night with a local McDonald’s delivery boys coming and going on their two-wheelers.

“We hope, after the election, people will start coming to Egypt,” Ibrahim said.

“Tourism as it was will resume once the issues of security and safety are settled. This can happen only after the election,” he added.

Egypt's tourism industry hoping for post-poll relief

Tourism a growing industry in Saugeen Shores

“Tourism is a significant and growing industry and a top a economic driver in Saugeen Shores.”

Those were the words of Joanne Robbins, general manager of the Saugeen Shores Chamber of Commerce in a deputation to councillors at the Saugeen Shores committee-of-the-whole meeting last Monday night.

Robbins went before council to provide an update on the 2013 tourism season.

“Eighty-five per cent of businesses are directly impacted by the tourism dollar. The other 15 per cent depend on the prosperity of the tourism industry,” she explained.

She then went straight into her presentation by displaying Bruce County’s tourism and economic impact figures that were recently published by RT07. These figures were then compared to the figures of Grey County.

“What is amazing and we have to keep in mind is that our average is so close to Grey’s and they have three or four seasons, and we do it all in three months,” she said.

As presented, the average annual visits for Bruce County for 2012/2013 was 1,390,096 and for Grey County was 1,623,050.

Robbins said there were two vital parts in the area’s tourism draw, “our private cottage and cottage courts rental industry.”

“We are almost triple Grey county in cottage courts and private homes,” she added.

“We are [also] a huge leader in camping. We have a higher average than Grey and Simcoe. So we can capitalize on these strengths in these sectors.”

Robbins explained on average, a person will spend $135 a day on an overnight visit. She then took the average overnight visits from last year and calculated that overnight stays in Bruce County generated $372,416,265 last year.

“Bottom line is that our community benefits greatly with the visiting public and that our businesses would not be financially sound without it,” she continued.

During the next part of her presentation, Robbins shifted everyone’s focus to the 2013 Saugeen Shores tourism inquiries.

“Tourism inquiries were up 15,000 [in 20130],” she said.

Saugeen Shores inquiries totaled 97,826 last year.

“E-mail inquiries have been on an increase since 2009 and have leveled this past year. We are watching this trend to ascertain whether or not it is plateaued or is because our information is readily available to access through our website and social media,” Robbins continued. “Overall, our combined two locations saw an increase in visitation and phones calls compared to last year.”

She said this averages out to be 268 inquiries per day, 365 days a year. Chamber staff were asked to provide information about local events at 27 per cent, which was up six per cent from 2012, directions and maps at 26 per cent and things to do at 23per cent.

She said most visitors’ origins were locals which included all summer residents, family and friends and everyone 40-50 km away.

“The only fluctuations that you see are with visitors from other Ontario which is reflected in the trend to vacation in your own backyard and to do day trips,” added Robbins. However, “our visitation from Kitchener/Waterloo and the GTA are down.”

Robbins’ powerpoint presentation then pinpointed some trends.

“Visiting friends and relatives and pleasure travellers continue to be a huge part of our market,” she said. “The camping and private cottages see the most bookings in the local accommodation sector.

“According to the Ministry, the week-long stays are on the decline in all of Ontario. [However], we still get a lot of the family week long stays, but we need to be ready for shorter getaways and daytripping and efforts to inform and educate our local accomodators on this trend will continue.”

Robbins then briefly updated council on the Chamber’s and Town’s pilot project that was to offer a ‘man satellite’ and tourism information office at the Port Elgin beach that ran Wednesday and Saturday for the months of July and August.

“To our surprise the service was under utilized because we thought it would be swamped,” she said. “There were just over a 1,000 inquiries in total at a cost of about $3,300 so we don’t feel continuing down that path was and is financially viable or responsible.

“These insights led to the new pilot project as well for the 24 hour self-service kiosks on the beaches. They will be much more cost effective to distribute tourist information and we’re working with the town staff for optimal placement and getting them ordered,” she added.

Another initiative the Chamber took in 2013 was the extended hours to 7 p.m on Thursday and Fridays at both offices.

“Tracking indicated that over the total of 32 hours, there were 17 inquiries, but they’re not used to us being open so we’re not completely discouraged by these findings and are considering the same kind of flexibility in 2014,” Robbins said with confidence.

Overall, Robbins said 2013 was successful by the number of inquiries they received.

“Having said that, certain local tourism industry segments have seen a decrease in receipts,” she explained. “We hope by working with and encouraging our stakeholders, their continuing education to grab onto these trends and be aware of the changing opportunities that tourism numbers will continue to grow.”

Following the deputation, councillor Diane Huber suggested that the Chamber of Commerce not only accommodate those coming from out of town, but also target the ‘untapped market’, the locals.

“I think an untapped market that would have some potential are the locals that live here,” she said. “For example, there’s a whole pile people in this town who have not been to Chantry Island… and there’s a whole pile of people who haven’t been in the museum for years either.”

Huber also suggested that they come back in the fall during budget time with a better understanding of what else there is to do and what people are asking for.

Tourism a growing industry in Saugeen Shores

Sherpa strike expected to dent Nepal tourism

The multi-million dollar industry is under threat as tour guides refuse to work after an avalanche kills 13.

A local mountain guide strike could directly impact Nepal’s tourism industry. Last Friday’s avalanche at Mount Everest killed 13 Sherpas and now the guides are refusing to work under such dangerous conditions. Nearly 1,500 Sherpas, or mountain guides, work across the Himalayan Mountain range. Tourism generated $39.1m dollars in 2013 and attracted just under 800,000 visitors to the country. Al Jazeera’s Sohail Rahman reports from Kathmandu.

Source: Al Jazeera

Sherpa strike expected to dent Nepal tourism

Georgia takes part in international tourism fair held in Kazakhstan

Georgia’s National Tourism Administration is taking part in the international tourism fair KITF-2014, which is being held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The fair will be held till April 25.

Some 41 countries and 550 tourism companies are taking part in the ‘Tourism and Travel’ exhibition.

Georgia’s stand presents the National Tourism Administration, as well as, Adjara Tourism and Resorts Department, Kutaisi City Hall and 12 travel companies.

Georgia takes part in international tourism fair held in Kazakhstan

Oahu's Latest Announcement is a Win for Responsible Tourism

Last week, Hawaii announced that was establishing a conservation easement on a section of Oahu’s North Shore, effectively shielding over 650 acres of land from future development.

The agreement ensures the land, which is owned by Turtle Bay Resort, will never suffer the same fate as Waikiki and become an urban development project. Marine and land ecosystems will be protected and thus restored, and the area will become a haven for public recreation, education, and cultural activities.

While this news might disappoint developers, it should be met with jubilation by everyone else. The common knock against Oahu, both by travelers and locals, is that it has lost so much of its roots and culture to tourism that it is barely Hawaii anymore. This writer was personally told that several times on my trip last fall, especially by those who live on Kauai and Hawaii Island. It is because of those conversations that it pleases me very much to report this news, and that no significant, further development will take place on this part of the island. We cannot undo all that has been done, but we can shape the future with our decisions today.

I talked about this topic a few weeks ago, when I reviewed a book that discussed the dark side of the tourism industry and the short-sighted quest for cash that results in the demise of natural resources and landscapes. Waikiki certainly has its benefits and has been enjoyed by millions of people, but there’s no question it has come at the expense of Mother Nature. I wrote a piece last year on our sister site, HotelChatter, that tackled this very same topic with islands in the Caribbean. It goes for every destination, but for islands especially. There’s only so much land to go around, and at some point, the development of a destination changes it into something it never was before. Opinions vary on whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but regardless of where you stand, it’s fair to assume we can all agree that these decisions must be taken seriously and be thought out beyond short-term financial gain.

It’s always scary when tourism is one of a destination’s top industries because there is incredible pressure to become something other people want you to be. When you rely on money from tourists, you better entice them to spend it. To see this decision made by Hawaii for the benefit of its own people and the conservation of land for future generations is music to my travel writing ears, and there’s no question it will benefit tourism in the long run. Too often I find the reverse to be true, and I’m a fan of celebrating responsibility in tourism. Big props to the State of Hawaii, the City and County of Honolulu, the Trust for Public Land, and Turtle Bay Resort for putting their heads together on this one.

Oahu's Latest Announcement is a Win for Responsible Tourism

How flying domestic is boosting Philippine tourism

MANILA, Philippines – The steady growth in domestic travelers in the Philippines has helped stabilize the country’s tourism industry, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said on Thursday.

Jimenez said domestic tourism makes up about 70 to 80 percent of total tourism revenues.

In 2013, tourism revenues were over $4 billion. The Department of Tourism (DOT) expects this figure to rise to $6 billion this year, and $8 billion in 2016.

Jimenez noted that although the DOT has not met its targets in terms of number of tourists, the agency is on track to hit revenue targets.

“When you have a strong domestic tourism industry then the total industry is much more stable,” he told ANC.

“Travel in general, whether it is domestic or international for Filipinos, is now part of the 21st century lifestyle. The average lower to upper-middle income Filipino home now counts a vacation away from Manila as standard. Everyone gradually is getting on a plane,” he added.

Jimenez also said the growth in domestic tourism has also created more jobs in establishments and resorts registered with the DOT.

“We employ one person for every foreign tourist that we have. Because of the strong domestic business, you have over 4 million people directly employed in tourism,” he said.

The recent upgrade of Philippine aviation safety rating to Category 1 is also a boost to tourism not only for international flights but for domestic as well.

Jimenez said the downgrade to Category 2 in 2008 “affected the way people perceived travel domestically within the Philippines.”

How flying domestic is boosting Philippine tourism