Report by: Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
ITB Asia, the grand interational travel mart of Messe Berlin in Singapore, marks its fifth anniversary, at Marina Bay Sands from 17 to 19 October 2012.
The opening speech to the delegates and the press at 9 am was delivered by Horst Schulze, Chairman & CEO of Capella Hotel Group. In his speech, Horst urges hoteliers to focus on delivering personalised services to guests, and not just selling rooms at high costs with poor services. Guests want to be recognised once they come in contact with hotels. Hoteliers should not ignore the needs of guests. In the next two days, key seminars to the travel trade were delivered by reknown hoteliers like Best Western and Jin Jiang Hotel Management Co.
At 10 am, the ribbon cutting ceremony and VIP Guided Show tour led by Mr S Iswaran, Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, Raimund Hosch, CEO of Messe Berlin and David Scowsill, President & CEO of World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) followed.
The following booths brought great news to the media.
After a year, AIR KBZ has experienced robust growth in the number of domestic passengers. It has started to work on an interline basis with Myanmar Airways International to attract more international passengers. AIR KBZ brought along aircraft postcards of last year due to overwhelming demand for such postcards last year. Copies of its inflight magazine Mai Hsoong were distributed.
AIR KBZ also informed the journalist of Sayacinta - airpost that the Immigration and Customs of Myanmar has relaxed rules of entry to journalists and writers two months ago. Authors and journalists may enter the country upon visa approval.
Vietnam Airlines revealed to Sayacinta - airpost that it is launching direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Jakarta on 28 October 2012. It flies to Jakarta on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 10.40 am and arrives in Jakarta at 1.40 pm. The outbound Vietnam Airlines flight from Jakarta takes off for Ho Chi Minh City ar 2.40 pm and touches down in Ho Chi Minh City at 5.40 pm. The flights are operated by its Airbus A321 jet..
Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines has adjusted its direct Chengdu flights. Flights departing for Chengdu from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City now transit via Shanghai on a code-sharing basis with a Chinese airline. It has also introduced a new aircraft postcard to mark its entry to Skyteam but copies of the aircraft postcard are not available at ITB Asia 2012.
Vietnam Tourism also brought further good news to travellers. Foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese can get Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds on purchases made in Vietnam from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014 when they exit through the airports of Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. They may claim back 85 per cent of the VAT charged on goods purchased in the country anytime within 24 hours daily.
To qualfy for a VAT refund, a tax refund declaration form must be issued within 30 days before the departure date cum a valid invoice for goods that cost at least VND2 million. To claim a VAT refund, a passport or identification papers must be shown.
If the purchases are not to take on board as hand luggage, Vietnam Tourism comments the visitor must present the goods and a relevant tax invoice at a VAT refund desk or to a customs officer prior to check-in.
Indonesia is the largest foreign national tourism pavilion this year such that Garuda Indonesia has set up again its booth. This time, it announced that it is adding new Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft to its fleet. The new aircraft are based in Medan, Makassar and Balikpapan hubs as part of its expansion plans.
Cambodia Ministry of Tourism updates the press with its new Destination Guide showing updated maps of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Silhanouville. It also introduced Cambodia's scenic flight oeprator Helistar Cambodia which organises charter and sightseeing flights to Angkor Wat. The tourism ministry aims to attract up to 7 million tourists to Cambodia by the year 2020.
Further news and products came from S7 Airlines at the SIBERIA booth, DAP Antartic Airways at the co-Argentina-and-Chile booth, LATAM Airlines Group, Gabontour and Tourism Solomon Islands, all of which are first-time exhibitors.
S7 Airlines, which did not appear at ITE HK 2012 as an exhibitor, shows up at ITB Asia 2012 as an exhibitor to market its route network to Singapore and other ASEAN travel buyers through its Asian flight schedules and its bilingual flight publication "Welcome to Russia". It is the preferred carrier to the Siberian cities of Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk. S7 Airlines has interline agreements with Cathay Pacific and Air China. ASEAN passengers outside Bangkok can connect to S7 Airlines' flights to Siberia from Hong Kong and Beijing.
DAP Antartic Airways markets its flights to Antartica from Punta Arenas, Chile, with a five-days tour for Asian passengers. It will have a new inflight magazine from November 2012. DAP flies from Punta Arenas to Porvenir, Ushuaia, Puerto Williams, Cabo De Hornos, Puerto Natales, Torres Del Paine and El Calafate besides Antartica with a BAe 146 and helicopter aircraft fleet.
Lan Airlines has postcards to share with buyers and the press this year. Aircraft postcards of TAM Airlines and Lan Airlines, as well as Latam Airlines Group brochure on TAM Airlines were distributed.
Gabontour, the national tourist office of Gabon, appeared to market the travel trade market of Gabon to Asia for the first time. Known as the Last Eden of Africa with 13 national parks to the country's name, it aims to find a new channel of tourists from Asia via Paris which is seven hours by flight to its capital Libreville.
Gabontour is the best African national tourism pavilion.
Tourism Solomon Islands marketed Solomon Airlines' flights via its tourism guide. Solomon Airlines is now known commercially as flysolomons and celebrates 50th Anniversary this year as the national airline of the Solomon Islands.
At ITB Asia 2012, there are many city tourism boards, including Zagreb, Phuket, Frankfurt and Munich. Phuket is the largest foreign city tourism booth as it has attracted a higher number of passengers from Singapore lately.
ITB Asia will return to Suntec City Exhibition and Convention Centre from 23 to 25 October 2013. It is the desire of the journalist to cover this travel mart which brings unexpected surprises again, next year.
The opening speech to the delegates and the press at 9 am was delivered by Horst Schulze, Chairman & CEO of Capella Hotel Group. In his speech, Horst urges hoteliers to focus on delivering personalised services to guests, and not just selling rooms at high costs with poor services. Guests want to be recognised once they come in contact with hotels. Hoteliers should not ignore the needs of guests. In the next two days, key seminars to the travel trade were delivered by reknown hoteliers like Best Western and Jin Jiang Hotel Management Co.
At 10 am, the ribbon cutting ceremony and VIP Guided Show tour led by Mr S Iswaran, Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, Raimund Hosch, CEO of Messe Berlin and David Scowsill, President & CEO of World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) followed.
The following booths brought great news to the media.
After a year, AIR KBZ has experienced robust growth in the number of domestic passengers. It has started to work on an interline basis with Myanmar Airways International to attract more international passengers. AIR KBZ brought along aircraft postcards of last year due to overwhelming demand for such postcards last year. Copies of its inflight magazine Mai Hsoong were distributed.
AIR KBZ also informed the journalist of Sayacinta - airpost that the Immigration and Customs of Myanmar has relaxed rules of entry to journalists and writers two months ago. Authors and journalists may enter the country upon visa approval.
Vietnam Airlines revealed to Sayacinta - airpost that it is launching direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Jakarta on 28 October 2012. It flies to Jakarta on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 10.40 am and arrives in Jakarta at 1.40 pm. The outbound Vietnam Airlines flight from Jakarta takes off for Ho Chi Minh City ar 2.40 pm and touches down in Ho Chi Minh City at 5.40 pm. The flights are operated by its Airbus A321 jet..
Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines has adjusted its direct Chengdu flights. Flights departing for Chengdu from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City now transit via Shanghai on a code-sharing basis with a Chinese airline. It has also introduced a new aircraft postcard to mark its entry to Skyteam but copies of the aircraft postcard are not available at ITB Asia 2012.
Vietnam Tourism also brought further good news to travellers. Foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese can get Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds on purchases made in Vietnam from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014 when they exit through the airports of Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. They may claim back 85 per cent of the VAT charged on goods purchased in the country anytime within 24 hours daily.
To qualfy for a VAT refund, a tax refund declaration form must be issued within 30 days before the departure date cum a valid invoice for goods that cost at least VND2 million. To claim a VAT refund, a passport or identification papers must be shown.
If the purchases are not to take on board as hand luggage, Vietnam Tourism comments the visitor must present the goods and a relevant tax invoice at a VAT refund desk or to a customs officer prior to check-in.
Indonesia is the largest foreign national tourism pavilion this year such that Garuda Indonesia has set up again its booth. This time, it announced that it is adding new Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft to its fleet. The new aircraft are based in Medan, Makassar and Balikpapan hubs as part of its expansion plans.
Cambodia Ministry of Tourism updates the press with its new Destination Guide showing updated maps of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Silhanouville. It also introduced Cambodia's scenic flight oeprator Helistar Cambodia which organises charter and sightseeing flights to Angkor Wat. The tourism ministry aims to attract up to 7 million tourists to Cambodia by the year 2020.
Further news and products came from S7 Airlines at the SIBERIA booth, DAP Antartic Airways at the co-Argentina-and-Chile booth, LATAM Airlines Group, Gabontour and Tourism Solomon Islands, all of which are first-time exhibitors.
S7 Airlines, which did not appear at ITE HK 2012 as an exhibitor, shows up at ITB Asia 2012 as an exhibitor to market its route network to Singapore and other ASEAN travel buyers through its Asian flight schedules and its bilingual flight publication "Welcome to Russia". It is the preferred carrier to the Siberian cities of Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk. S7 Airlines has interline agreements with Cathay Pacific and Air China. ASEAN passengers outside Bangkok can connect to S7 Airlines' flights to Siberia from Hong Kong and Beijing.
DAP Antartic Airways markets its flights to Antartica from Punta Arenas, Chile, with a five-days tour for Asian passengers. It will have a new inflight magazine from November 2012. DAP flies from Punta Arenas to Porvenir, Ushuaia, Puerto Williams, Cabo De Hornos, Puerto Natales, Torres Del Paine and El Calafate besides Antartica with a BAe 146 and helicopter aircraft fleet.
Lan Airlines has postcards to share with buyers and the press this year. Aircraft postcards of TAM Airlines and Lan Airlines, as well as Latam Airlines Group brochure on TAM Airlines were distributed.
Gabontour, the national tourist office of Gabon, appeared to market the travel trade market of Gabon to Asia for the first time. Known as the Last Eden of Africa with 13 national parks to the country's name, it aims to find a new channel of tourists from Asia via Paris which is seven hours by flight to its capital Libreville.
Gabontour is the best African national tourism pavilion.
Tourism Solomon Islands marketed Solomon Airlines' flights via its tourism guide. Solomon Airlines is now known commercially as flysolomons and celebrates 50th Anniversary this year as the national airline of the Solomon Islands.
At ITB Asia 2012, there are many city tourism boards, including Zagreb, Phuket, Frankfurt and Munich. Phuket is the largest foreign city tourism booth as it has attracted a higher number of passengers from Singapore lately.
ITB Asia will return to Suntec City Exhibition and Convention Centre from 23 to 25 October 2013. It is the desire of the journalist to cover this travel mart which brings unexpected surprises again, next year.
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