Govt, tourism sector must be ready for the opportunities

Ways to meet challenge of integration addressed at PATA's 'Hub City Forum'

Senior travel-industry executives have said governments and the private sector in the Mekong region should prepare thoroughly over the next three years for the Asean Economic Commu-nity (AEC), as well as focusing on developments in communication technology to help penetrate high-potential markets such as India and China.

These issues were addressed by senior executives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, the Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH), the Myanmar Tourism Board, Khiri Travel, Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas, and LT Project Management, as well as the Tourism Authority of Thailand, during the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) "Hub City Forum" on Monday.

Steven Schipani, social-sector specialist for the Southeast Asia department at the ADB, said many tourism and infrastructure development projects were in the pipeline from this year through to 2014.

He cited as examples transport and infrastructure linking southern China to the region, community-based projects and hotel investments in each Asean country.

Liberalisation

Kyi Kyi Aye, tourism consultant for the Myanmar Tourism Board, said that after implementation of the AEC in 2015, the tourism industry would be liberalised in terms of the free flow of goods, services, capital and skilled labour.

"We need to ensure that before that tourism liberalisation we are well prepared, particularly in job creation that should meet increasing supply and demand in the tourism industry," she said.

Burma is, for instance, focusing on human-resource development with public-private partnership in key tourism zones, namely Naypyidaw, Bagan and Taunggyi, to improve service quality, while the Burmese government is offering attractive incentives for foreign investment in 11 hotel zones.

She added that this year Burma expected to see a rise of 20-25 per cent in tourist arrivals, while witnessing a significant increase in leisure travellers from Britain, Scandinavia, the United States and Australia.

In regard to Laotian tourism development, Peter Semone, chief technical adviser at LANITH, told the forum there was new construction of big hotels in the landlocked country that would create jobs in the tourism business there.

However, the problem is how to train new staff with the required skills amid this growth in hotel development, he said.

SMEs

Mason Florence, executive director at the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, said tourism development in the region could not grow without the private sector, and particularly the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Therefore, strengthening SMEs in the region could bring tourism sustainability, he said.

Seeking new consumers in all forms and segments is also among the top priorities in handling the uncertainty inherent in the global economy, said Damien Pfirsch, electronic distribution director at Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas.

Pfirsch cited India and China as major examples of markets and consumers with high potential for tourism business.

In India, half of Internet users buy products and services on the Web, while online travel bookings represent 76 per cent of overall online purchases, he said. That will lead to online travel-market growth that outpaces total market expansion.

In China, online travel revenue has changed rapidly, doubling in the past two years, he added.

Khiri Travel chief executive officer Willem Niemeijer told the forum that the use of social-media networks was also a key strategy in gaining a new generation of travellers.

Suraphon Svestasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said all sectors relevant to the industry should underline crisis management with prompt communication with target customers and business partners when a crisis occurs.

Thai Airways International president Piyasvasti Amranand said the aviation industry would face tougher competition as a result of rising oil prices across the globe.

With a price war among airlines likely this year, the national flag carrier will reduce risk by fuel hedging, he added.