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Lonely Planet Bluelist 2008: Hot Destinations

Lonely Planet Bluelist: The Best in Travel 2008 has just been released. The book profiles the 30 intriguing places for 2008, as recommended by Lonely Planet, including these Asian destiantions

Northwest Vietnam
Vietnam is a hot destination these days, But for most visitors, hot means just that – the hot and steamy lowlands of the coastal regions. But if you crave adventure more than a holiday, it is time to chart a cooler course to the majestic mountains of the northwest.

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Nielsen survey: Ignore China’s big spenders at your peril

A new survey has warned that Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and the travel industry needs to monitor changes and trends in their travel preferences, attitudes and perceptions towards various destinations,"

A report released by The Nielsen Company -The Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor 2007 - found more than one third of Chinese outbound travellers choose to stay in four-star hotels, with a further 10 percent opting for five-star luxury accommodation when heading overseas.

Dr. Grace Pan, Nielsen China head of Travel & Leisure Research, said, "While Chinese travellers appear to seek comfort, they are also becoming wise and well-prepared as they plan their trips, leveraging all the information available to them on the Internet."

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AsiaTravel.com taps Bezurk

Asiatravel.com, the pan-Asia total travel reservation service and Bezurk.com, Asia Pacific’s leading travel search engine today announced a marketing partnership as part of which Asiatravel’s hotel and flight prices will be integrated into the Bezurk travel search which will expose Asiatravel to a large new audience.

Asiatravel.com recently launched an instant confirmation flight reservation service allowing customers the convenience of booking flights departing from Singapore.  This service will subsequently be extended to departure from all major Asian cities.

“We’ve had great results to date working with Bezurk to promote Asiatravel’s hotel offerings so now that Asiatravel has entered the online flights reservations business we’re delighted to extend our already successful partnership to promote our new flights service,” said Boh Tuang Poh, Asiatravel’s Executive Chairman. “We’re confident that our partnership with Bezurk will drive new users, increased bookings and repeat customers to Asiatravel.com”

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Asia Web Direct signs Starwood

Thailand-based Asia Web Direct (AWD), an online hotel reservation and travel services provider that operates more than 100 websites covering popular destinations all over Southeast Asia, has signed an agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts to promote and distribute its fast-growing number of properties in the Asia Pacific region.

The websites in the AWD stable attract a staggering three million visitors monthly, and include top-ranking travel portals like Phuket.com, Bangkok.com and the very popular last-minute hotel reservation site LateStays.com. The Starwood partnership follows a similar agreement AWD recently signed with Accor Hotels.

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Visa and Asiatravel.com join hands

Asiatravel.com and Visa International have signed a strategic partnership that will give Visa cardholders access to exclusive travel deals and discounts on the website.

Visa data shows that Asia Pacific Visa cardholders spent more than US$2.8 billion on travel via the internet to the year ended July 2007.

Meranda Chan, Country manager for Singapore and Brunei, Visa International said this highlights that consumers are looking to the internet to not only research their next trip but also to book and pay for it online.

Asiatravel.com deals available for Visa cardholders include:
• Pay two nights and get the third night free on the Thai island of Koh Yao, valid to 27 October
• 3D/2N golf packages at leading Thai hotels and resorts such as Northern Heritage Resort and Spa in Chiangmai, valid to 27 October

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Vietnam Golf Association formed at Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail stop

In a move that closely complements the July 2007 launch of the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail, Vietnamese course owners and officials met at Kings’ Island Golf Club to discuss and celebrate the formation of a formal governing body for golf in  Vietnam.

The gathering took place a day after representatives from all seven Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail clubs, in addition to more than 150 Vietnamese golf officials, vendors and dignitaries, committed to the organization of a Vietnam Golf Association (VGA) — responsible for uniform course ratings, handicapping services and nationwide tournament administration — in 2008.

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InterContinental to open its first Crowne Plaza in Hanoi

HG has signed an agreement with Tran Hong Quan Trading to manage the Group’s first Crowne Plaza hotel in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi. Scheduled to open in early 2010, the new hotel will be known as Crowne Plaza West Hanoi and will be  part of a US$65 million mixed-development complex. The complex will also feature an upmarket commercial centre and luxury serviced apartments.

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A blue AirAsia enters Vietnam

AirAsia in Vietnam, set to take flight in July next year, will tap on the huge potential of Vietnam's population base of 84 million and the country's proximity to China, said group executive officer Dato' Tony Fernandes.

The Malaysian low cost carrier celebrated the country's 50th year of independence on August 31 by inking a deal with Vietnam's state-owned corporation, Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin), to set up the new frills-free carrier.

The new frills-free carrier, to be known as Vina AirAsia in Vietnam, is expected to be operational in July 2008.

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Saigon boosted by Russian invasion

HCM City (Saigon) drew 1.28 million foreign visitors in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 11.3% and 48% of the year's targets, according to the municipal tourism department.

HCM City Department of Tourism director Dong Thi Kim Vui said that foreign visitors from Russia, not traditionally among the city's top tourism markets, surged by more than 81% over the previous year.

The number of visitors from mainland China also grew 49%, followed by Australia (up 37%), South Korea (33%), Japan (15%), Taiwan (8%), and the US (8%).

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Vietnam’s “chaotic” hotel scene under scrutiny

In TravelMole Asia last week, Exotissimo Travel accused hoteliers in Vietnam of a "grab for cash".

An Exotissimo spokesman said, "With the recent room shortage, almost every premium hotel (from 3-5 stars) is operating at close to full capacity throughout the year, and the low-season has all but disappeared.

"Many of the hotels are now taking advantage of this current situation, and are not honouring their prior commitments, including previously negotiated and contracted room rates."

Jon Hewson, General Factotum, of the online site VirtuallyThere.ca, and a frequent contributor to TravelMole discussions, puts the other side of the story.

He writes:

"The hotel scene in Vietnam is chaotic. Many of the large hotels are joint ventures, 49% foreign owned and 51% government / agency owned and a good number are operated by Western companies.

"The market is still developing and exhibits growing pains with unfettered greed taking advantage of the situation. Capping off this volatile mess is the ability of VNAT, through the government dictat, to artificially control (distort) the market.

"If contracts are not honoured it wouldn't take many telephone calls to round up the players, many of whom would be provincial government agencies.

"Destination management companies also play a part in this as they, too, have sought to exploit weaknesses in the Vietnam market and have signed contracts that are distinctly lop-sided. Furthermore they frequently contravene Vietnamese tourism legislation.

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