Hong Kong tourism thrives: 50 million visitors targeted by 2006 (Bangkok Post, Thailand)

Having invested more than US$4 billion over the past five years in a series of new tourist attractions including the region's first Disneyland, Hong Kong is working to ensure the investments pay off in terms of more visitors.

The territory has set its sights on attracting at least 50 million visitors who would contribute more than HK$210 billion (1.05 trillion baht) to its economy in 2005 and 2006 as part of the "Discover Hong Kong Year" campaign.

Buoyed by the recent trend, Hong Kong tourism officials recently revised upward the number of targeted arrivals for this year to 23.41 million from 22.9 million, with forecast tourism expenditures of HK$ 97.8 billion.

Next year it is forecasting 27.14 million arrivals and spending of HK$114.7 billion.

The projections are a far cry from 2003 when Hong Hong's tourism industry was devastated by the Sars outbreak, causing arrivals to grow by just 6.2 percent to 15.5 million, and prompting a concerted effort to revive tourism growth. Its visitor arrivals in 2004 reached a record of 21.8 million, signifying a full recovery.

The World Tourism Organisation forecasts that by 2020 Hong Kong will rank as the world's fifth most popular tourism destination, hosting 56 million visitors in a single year.

Clara Chong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), said the territory's appeal was enhanced by four newly created magnets -- Hong Kong Disneyland; Hong Kong Wet Land, a 60-hectare nature conservation site; Ngong Ping 360, featuring a 5.7-kilometre cable-car journey to the world's largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha statue; and Asia World-Expo, a 70,000-square-metre international exhibition centre alongside Hong Kong international airport.

Hong Kong has begun to heavily promote new offerings with extra funding of HK$470 million allocated to the HKTB over its usual budget for the 2005-06 period. The HKTB's normal budget this year is about HK$400 million.

About 70 percent of the extra funds would be used for marketing overseas, according to Mrs Chong.

Hong Kong Finance Secretary Henry Tang on Monday opened the first overseas presentation of Discover Hong Kong Magic in Thailand, one of several "high-growth" regional markets courted by the HKTB.

According to Mrs Chong, the HKTB aims to ride on the healthy growth in arrivals from Thailand last year when the number jumped 71 percent to 317,000.

This year, the HKTB projects 340,975 arrivals from Thailand, up 7.6 percent from 2004, and a further increase the numbers in 2006 when the new tourism offerings are fully operational. Arrivals from Thailand in the first quarter of this year were 38 percent higher than in the same period last year.

Source: Boonsong Kositchotethana, Bangkok Post, ThailandKnight Ridder/Tribune Business News

China Southern to buy 45 Boeings

China Southern Airlines and its unit Xiamen Airlines said on Wednesday they have agreed to buy 45 Boeing planes in a deal worth up to $3-billion, as demand for air travel in China booms.

China Southern, the country's largest carrier by fleet size, would buy 12 of Boeing's 737-700 aircraft and 33 of its 737-800s, it said in a statement in the Shanghai Securities News.

Fifteen of the 737-800s will be bought by China Southern's subsidiary, Xiamen Airlines, with the planes to be delivered between 2006 and 2008.

Tourist boom in lead-up to Olympic Games

China is expected to sharply increase aircraft orders to cope with anticipated booming tourist traffic in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"Board members and the China Southern Group have approved this purchase," the Guangzhou-based airline said.

"We will discuss loan arrangements with commercial banks but up to now we haven't signed any loan contracts."

It said the purchase of the short-haul aircraft would increase China Southern's load capacity by 15 percent. The airline carried 3.63 million passengers in April, up 43.8 percent year-on-year.

"This purchase is in the interests of the company and our shareholders," it said.

The list price for a 737-700 was given as $50.5-million to $59-million, with the 737-800 running at $61.5-million to $69.5-million.

Last month Airbus concluded a deal with China Eastern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines for ten A319/A320 planes, while China Southern completed an agreement on its purchase of five A380 superjumbos.

Boeing-Airbus dogfight

US-based Boeing is locked in a dogfight with European rival Airbus for sales of their new jets in China, which is expected to build up a fleet of 2800 craft in the next two decades and become the world's second-largest after the United States.

Analysts said the see-saw announcements underscore the high-flying stakes between the two companies as they manoeuvre for orders in China where annual economic growth of more than nine percent has ramped up demand for air travel.

"You're always going to have China playing the two off each other," said Chris Sendor, an airline analyst at DBS Securities in Singapore.

"It's just how the game is played," said Sendor, adding that Airbus would likely counter with its own China order in the near-term.

Boeing market share declines

Although Boeing currently has a 62 percent market share in China, it has lost ground in recent times to Airbus, which aims to lift its share of jets in the Chinese fleet to 50 percent from about 25 percent in the years ahead.

"Boeing had been dominating the Chinese air market, but last year Airbus started to play a bigger role and won a lot more orders than Boeing," said Huaxia Securities aviation analyst Li Lei.

Li said this was in part due to the fact that in China all plane purchases require Beijing's stamp of approval and the political trade winds have recently blown in the European Union's favour.

In addition, with the development of the superjumbo Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial airliner, which made its maiden flight last month, the European company could be poised to dominate long distance travel.

That said, Boeing has a better offering of short-haul planes, said Sendor.

Source: AFP

Travel industry officials play role of tourists

The Buffalo Niagara region, this week, has become a hub for travel industry booking agents, supporters and reporters.

Three "fam" or familiarization tours have been booked this week including one that brought a dozen top sport fishing supporters to the region.
The Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp. hosted 12 sports fishing insiders for a three-day stop over that began on Monday and lasted through Wednesday. The group fished for bass in the Buffalo Small Boat Harbor on Monday, for salmon in Wilson and Olcott on Tuesday and trout on Wednesday in Lewiston.
The highlight was a member of the group catching a 7.4-pound small mouth bass in the Small Boat Harbor on Monday.
"It was the talk of the group," said Bill Hilts Jr., NTCC outdoor sports specialist.
The NTCC, on Wednesday, also hosted 21 travel industry insiders who are touring upstate New York, looking for destinations to book their groups. The group spent the day touring various Niagara County sites.
"We've caught lightning in a bottle because the weather has been perfect all week," said David Rosenwasser, NTCC president.
On Thursday and Friday, the New York State Division of Tourism will be bringing another group of international writers and tour operators to Buffalo and Niagara Falls to promote the region.
The group will ride the Maid of the Mist boats, go on a tethered balloon ride over Niagara Falls, visit the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Darwin Martin House.
"I wish we could keep this pace up all year," Rosenwasser said.
Fam tours are considered crucial in the tourism and hospitality industry. The tours show off various regional highlights and plant seeds for future bookings.

Source: James Fink - Business First

Hastert Proposes New Rules for Travel

Speaker Dennis Hastert proposed Wednesday that the House ethics committee give a written ``thumbs up or thumbs down'' in advance to lawmakers who want to take a trip financed by companies or special interests.
He said advanced approval would clear up confusion over travel rules at a time that Majority Leader Tom DeLay's trips are under scrutiny. Other lawmakers have been rushing to belatedly disclose past travel or amend previous reports to clear up any discrepancies on the trip's financing.
News reports and lobby firm records have revealed that lobbyist Jack Abramoff or his company apparently paid for travel by DeLay and other lawmakers, despite a House prohibition on lawmakers accepting trips from lobbyists or registered foreign agents.
Hastert, speaking on the Tony Snow show on Fox News radio, said lawmakers ``need to get a clearance up or down.'' He said the ethics committee should devise a ``simple way to get a thumbs up or thumbs down.''
DeLay also has called for clearer guidance on travel rules and said he was unaware that any trips were paid for by Abramoff or his clients. The lobbyist is under investigation in the Senate and by federal authorities, to determine whether he bilked Indian tribes that hired him.
Hastert said on the radio program that members should not travel for frivolous reasons. ``There has to be a reasonable requirement that work is being done, that they're not being wined and dined,'' the speaker said.
The speaker also defended DeLay, his second-in-command in the House leadership.
``Everybody's piling on Tom DeLay,'' he said.... ``It's a lightening rod. He thought he was cleared on these trips. He thought they were funded by a legitimate organization.''
DeLay has asked to appear before the ethics committee to explain his travel, and the speaker said this was the right thing to do.
``Tom needs to lay out his information ... and get cleared,'' he said.

Source: LARRY MARGASAK - Associated Press Writer