Bangkok (2010-09-03)

THAI Airways International (THAI) is pressing ahead with plans to form the region’s new low-cost carrier Thai Tiger Airways (TTA) despite opposition from the Thai transport ministry.

The ministry cited “unclear agreement” and raised concerns over air traffic rights and the entity of TTA, which will be 49 per cent owned by Tiger Airways, whose parent Singapore Airlines is a THAI competitor.

The controversy prompted Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to pay his first official visit to the THAI head office yesterday in a show of support, calling it “a corporate decision”.

THAI president Piyasvasti Amranand said TTA was expected to help THAI recoup the low-end market share within the region that had been lost to other LCCs, referring to Thai AirAsia.

He added that this and THAI’s other strategic development plans were expected to help the national carrier reach its goal of becoming among the top three airlines in Asia and top five in the world.
Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's aviation team said in a note to clients it did not expect the opposition to have any significant negative impact on the planned venture, reported The Business Times in Singapore today.

The LCC is slated to take off early next year.

Ollie Quiniquini, Udaipur (2010-09-03)

THE INDIAN Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has proposed that tourism be elevated to export industry status to benefit from national and state incentives.

At the opening of IATO's annual convention in Udaipur, association president Vijay Thakur noted that an investment of US$2 million into the tourism industry could generate 40 million jobs and US$30 billion in earnings for the country. He said India was already the second fastest-growing country in airport expansion, behind China.

Thakur added that for India to welcome 20 million tourists by 2020, the ministry of tourism should place greater emphasis on intra-regional tourism, open India Tourism offices in Brazil and Russia and establish more representation in China, streamline taxes and expand visa-on-arrival to more markets.

To make India more affordable for tourists, Thakur urged the creation of land banks in identified destinations to reduce hotel development costs, and the facilitation of better international air connectivity.

“We should allow international airlines unlimited access to and from five destinations. The restriction of seats has had a negative impact on the industry (as it results in) high-priced tickets,” he said.

 Full analysis in TTG India, November issue

Guilin (2010-09-03)

THE FIRST half of 2010 saw international tourist arrivals increase by seven per cent, according to the August Interim Update of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, with Asia-Pacific (14 per cent) and the Middle East (20 per cent) driving the growth.
Currently the second most-visited region in the world, Asia had strong results from Sri Lanka (49 per cent), Japan (36 per cent), Vietnam (35 per cent), Myanmar (35 per cent), Hong Kong (23 per cent), Macau (23 per cent), Singapore (23 per cent), Fiji (22 per cent) and the Maldives (21 per cent). Even Thailand recorded a positive growth (14 per cent) despite its political unrest earlier this year.
The UNWTO has maintained its initial growth forecast of three to four per cent for this year. However, current growth rates, coupled with an improving global economic environment, suggest that year-end results are likely to be closer to four per cent, and may even exceed this figure.

Anand & Madhura Katti, Mumbai (2010-09-03)

SOUTH India’s gateway state Karnataka is targeting luxury travellers by adding a second itinerary to its luxury train Golden Chariot and setting up a heli-tourism facility linking important historical sites.

The southern circuit on the Golden Chariot is scheduled to launch on October 4, and will cover Chennai, Mamallapuram, Kumbakonam, Pondicherry, Tanjore, Madurai and Kochi on its week-long journey. The new itinerary will alternate with the existing itinerary that covers Karnataka and Goa.

Karnataka tourism director Vishwanath Reddy told TTG Asia e-Daily that the state would also launch heli-tourism in a month or so. In the pipeline are 23 helipads, one in every district and at every important tourist destination.

Heli-tourism will first connect the heritage circuit that includes the World Heritage sites of Hampi and Pattadakal along with Bijapur, Badami, Belur and Halebidu. It will later be introduced to other circuits.

Reddy said: “We participated in ILTM last year and ALTM this year. We’ve also been marketing aggressively on the Internet and using social networking sites since April.”

Karnataka has the highest tourism budget among Indian states this year at Rs245 crore (US$52.5 million). The state received 160,000 visitors during the first six months of this year, up from 131,000 visitors during the same period last year. It is expecting a 20 per cent increase in arrivals for 2010.

S. Puvaneswary, Kuala Lumpur (2010-09-03)

SOME 858 booths were sold for the three-day Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) fair, an increase over last year's 845 booths.

The fair opens its doors today at Putra World Trade Centre.

Malaysian Harmony Tour & Travel CEO, Cooper Huang, said he expected to see positive response for long-haul travel as demand had returned since last March. He will be promoting exotic destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Morocco as well as all of Europe.

“The euro has depreciated which makes Europe an attractive destination,” said Huang.

Another exhibitor, Apple Vacations & Conventions, will be promoting tour packages to Japan. Its group managing director Desmond Lee said he had recently signed a contract with Malaysia Airlines to facilitate three direct charter flights between Kuala Lumpur and Hokkaido for December.

Prudence Lui, Hong Kong (2010-09-03)

HOTELIER Ananda Arawwawela has assumed chairmanship of the Hong Kong Hotels Association (HKHA), at a time when the industry is seeing some green shoots.

The managing director and area managing director (Hong Kong and Macao) of Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers was elected at HKHA's 50th AGM this week. The former HKHA vice chairman replaces Felix Bieger who was appointed chairman last October following the resignation of Mark Lettenbichler.

The association cited an average hotel occupancy rate of 83.34 per cent in the first half, 1.5 per cent higher than the same period in 2008. However, it was still down by two to three per cent compared to 2006 and 2007.

Average room rate improved 12.6 per cent over 2009 but remained 9.3 per cent lower than 2008.

 Accor will manage another Pullman hotel in Jakarta, after signing an MoU with Agung Podomoro Group. Indonesia's second Pullman hotel will be part of the Central Park integrated mixed-use development within the Podomoro City Superblock.
 Tokyo is the first destination in Asia to receive Air France's Airbus A380, after the airline launched its third A380 route this week. Its other A380 services are Paris-New York and Paris-Johannesburg.
 Regal Hotels International will open a four-star business hotel in Suzhou in 2013, named the Regal Fanhua Centre Hotel.

Prudence Lui, Hong Kong (2010-09-02)

NORWEGIAN SeaDream Yacht Club has appointed Jebsen Travel as GSA for Hong Kong and China for its Asian debut.

Its 112-guest yacht organises chartered cruises to the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Baltic Sea, and offers soft adventure and personalised service, sailing to destinations unaccessible by bigger ships.

?Phuket-based Richard Jones, business and development director for Asia, observed that small luxury yachts had yet to find their way to Asia. He said: “Asia is big and we’d like to take the business to next level. Our first goal is to find a GSA...We've got a big region and therefore will rely a lot on agents to follow up on bookings.”

Jebsen Travel's business development advisor, Richard Willis, said people in Hong Kong who have experienced big cruise ships want something different. “Yachting is a relatively new concept in Asia. The first thing is to educate agents and train them on how and where to get business, and then have seminars.”

SeaDream Yacht Club is a family-run operation whose clientele is mostly from the US, South America and Europe. Jones said that the company aimed for 15 per cent of its business to come from Asia, with India, Singapore and Malaysia being potential markets.

Ollie Quiniquini, Mumbai (2010-09-02)

KUONI India Outbound Division is expanding its distribution in India through franchise agreements.

As more consumers take to international destinations, Kuoni is going into tier two and tier three cities.

Kashmira Commissariat, COO of the Outbound Division, said the company would have 150 to 200 new offices by year-end, yielding some 300 distribution outlets. These would be franchisees but with Kuoni India Outbound Division-employed staff.

Publicly-listed Cox & Kings, which has 94 franchisees all over India, also plans to expand reach.
Cox & Kings’ head - relationships and supplier management, Karan Anand, anticipates further consolidation in the outbound industry.

“The organised sector dealing with outbound is very small. Competition from the unorganised sector, however, is far less now. With airlines implementing zero commissions, a lot of smaller agencies are either leaving the industry or becoming franchisees,” Anand said.?

Singapore (2010-09-02)

MARVIN Tan will be appointed chief executive of SilkAir with effect from October 11, taking over from Chin Yau Seng, who will return to Singapore Airlines (SIA) as divisional vice president Cabin Crew Operations.
Tan, 39, joined SilkAir as a board director on June 1 and is currently divisional vice president Customer Services for SIA, an airline he has served for over 14 years. He was vice president Ground Services, general manager UK & Ireland and general manager Vietnam.

Bangkok (2010-09-02)

MADAME Tussauds will launch its 10th attraction in Bangkok on December 4.

TTG Asia e-Daily understands contract rates will be available for agents and the museum will be opened for travel trade and media previews from November 15 to 30.

The museum is set to be launched to the travel trade at the Thailand Travel Mart Plus Amazing Gateway to the Greater Mekong Subregion, to be held in Bangkok from September 8 to 10.

The wax museum will feature more than 75 wax figures. It will be located on the sixth floor of the Siam Discovery building, adjacent to Siam Paragon, which houses another tourist attraction, Siam Ocean World.

Ollie Quiniquini, Mumbai (2010-09-02)

PHILIPPINE Airlines' (PAL) launch of Manila-Delhi services next year is expected to boost Indian MICE business to the country. PAL will mount non-stop thrice-weekly flights from March 2011.

Orbitz Corporate and Leisure Travels chief relationship officer Col. Shashidharan said the direct link would make the Philippines more attractive by reducing ticket costs and shortening travel time. “The Philippines is coming up as a destination for Indian MICE but if corporates have to spend 20 hours travelling, their first day or night is gone.”

Shashidharan advised PAL to actively market the destination and train agency frontliners. Another important consideration was inflight meals. “Indians need vegetarian meals. If this is not available on PAL, they would still travel on Singapore Airlines or Thai International Airways to get to the Philippines despite the non-stop option,” he said.

Lalit Sheth, Raj Travel World chairman and managing director, agreed that the MICE market would go for PAL's new service but doubted that leisure traffic would increase substantially. The group series specialist dropped the Philippines a few years ago due to the country's visa restrictions, weak law enforcement, and complaints about transport and corruption, said Sheth.

Rahul Khanna, Yangon (2010-09-02)

VIETNAM Airlines (VNA) will launch a four-weekly direct flight between Yangon and Ho Chi Minh City from October 31.

The airline will also increase the frequency of its Yangon-Hanoi service, launched earlier this year, from four to five flights a week.

VNA Yangon office general manager, Cao Xuan Phu, said it planned to deploy the Airbus A320 to boost capacity on the Yangon-Hanoi service. It currently uses a 79-seat Fokker 70 aircraft on the route.

Yangon-based ticketing agents said they expected a stronger demand for flights from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s financial hub, rather than from the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

Singapore (2010-09-02)

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) and Tourism Western Australia (TWA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote tourism to Western Australia.

Under the three-year partnership, SIA and TWA will jointly fund marketing campaigns and actively promote inbound tourism to Western Australia, using the airline's Singapore-Perth route.

The focus in the first year would be on three key international markets for Western Australia: Germany, Singapore and China.

•  Meetings Professionals International has established a MICE industry partnership with the Beijing Tourism Administration. The two will develop educational programmes for the Chinese MICE industry.
   Korean Air yesterday kicked off a new global advertising campaign. Its new TV commercials include a more sales-driven version that highlights some of the key destinations in its worldwide network.
   The Leading Hotels of the World has added three hotels to its stable: The Observatory Hotel in Sydney; Fuchun Resort in Hangzhou; and The Greenwich Hotel in New York City.
  

IATA Asia-Pacific has stepped forward to defend its Thai office's move to declare a Thai agent defaulted over a 0.60 baht (US$0.019) shortfall in payment.

The response came after Bangkok-based Thai Sky NTT Tours yesterday e-mailed its complaint for a "default" over the 0.60 baht shortfall in remittance for its sales between July 16 and July 30, totalling 625,640.60 baht.

Its director, Pornchai Pornsirigosol, said after one baht was paid to the IATA's Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) account on August 17, it was also asked to immediately make payment for sales between August 1 and 18, totalling 626,743.40 baht.

In addition, it has incurred a 550 baht penalty and another US$315 to activate the ticketing and sales system.

According to IATA spokesman, Albert Tjoeng, under normal circumstances, if an agent makes good the shortfall in their payment within 24 hours, the agent will not be placed in default.

"In the case of Thai Sky NTT Tours, this was the second occurrence of short payment within the last 12 months (the last time being December 2009). Hence in line with the BSP remittance procedures and accreditation policy, Thai Sky NTT Tours was placed in default."

At press time, TTG Asia e-Daily was unable to contact Pornsirigosol for response over the repeated shortfall payment. Nonetheless, Tjoeng added Thai Sky NTT Tours had been reinstated.

Singapore (2010-09-01)

AMADEUS IT Holding, S.A., parent company of the Amadeus Group, announced a 38 per cent increase in adjusted net profit for the first half of 2010, backed by strong performance in its distribution and IT businesses.

Total bookings were up by eight per cent, with volume of travel agency air bookings rising by 9.8 per cent, from 183 million to 201 million. Amadeus said it retained the global leadership in market share of travel agency air bookings.

In the second quarter, low-cost carrier bookings from agencies using Amadeus increased by 35.5 per cent compared with the same time last year.
In the same quarter, the Amadeus Ticket Changer solution was launched to make re-issuing easy for travel agencies in Asia-Pacific, while the Amadeus Selling Platform launched version 6.1 with improved tools for more intuitive workflows. Amadeus also released two other solutions: Amadeus FareXpert Filing and Amadeus Fare Expertise.

Jakarta (2010-09-01)

GARUDA Indonesia launched its Jakarta-Tokyo daily service yesterday.

Garuda area manager Western Indonesia Arif Wibowo said: “The flight is part of our efforts to improve our services, especially in the growing business travel sector. The direct service will make it convenient for travellers doing business in Jakarta and the surrounding areas.”

One of the conveniences offered is the immigration-on-board service, where travel documents to enter Indonesia are processed onboard, saving travellers the hassle of queuing at the airport upon arrival.

The service uses Airbus A330-200 with 222 seats in two classes. Apart from this flight, Garuda serves Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya from Bali.

KC Sim, Singapore (2010-09-01)

PHILIPPINE low-cost carrier Airphil Express has plans to expand regionally, starting with daily services to Singapore this October.

Airphil Express will make its maiden international voyage on October 27 when it inaugurates the Manila–Singapore route. The airline hopes to expand its network to include Hong Kong and South Korea by year end. The sister airline of Philippine Airlines had previously operated as Air Philippines but was rebranded as Airphil Express in March this year.

Airphil Express will operate the 177-seat Airbus A320 on its international routes along with domestic flights from Manila to Iloilo, Bacolod, Puerto Princesa and Cagayan de Oro, and four A320s will join the fleet this year. The rest of its comprehensive domestic network is served using the Dash 8 Q400 and Q300 aircraft.

Airphil Express’ vice president - media, e-commerce and product, Maria Java, who oversees all business arrangements with travel agents, said: “As soon as new aircraft are available, we intend to increase our flight frequency to Singapore by the end of this year. We also intend to operate directly from Singapore to our hubs in Cebu and Kalibo (for Boracay-bound passengers).”

Airphil Express will operate from Terminal 2 of Changi Airport.

Mumbai (2010-09-01)

MUKESH Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) has acquired a 14.12 per cent stake in EIH, which runs the Oberoi brand of hotels and resorts, for Rs1,021 crore (US$217.7 million).

P R S Oberoi, chairman of Oberoi Group, said: “RIL desired to make a long-term financial investment in the luxury hospitality industry. We are happy to encourage their investment in EIH Ltd. There is no change to control, management or operation of EIH.”

S Puvaneswary, Kuala Lumpur (2010-09-01)

CRUISE consolidator Jebsen Travel & Tours Services and its Jeddah-based partner Majed Travel and Tourism are expanding their Cruise Club brand in the Middle East and South Asia through franchising.

“We hope to make Cruise Club a well-known brand in the Middle East and South Asia,” said Jebsen managing director Lim Chee Tong.

They had 15 franchisee sign-ups at the Arabian Travel Market in May for the following locations: United Arab Emirates, Iran, Kuwait, Turkey, Qatar, Bahrain,  Lebanon, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 

“Cruising is still very much in its infancy in the Middle East and South Asia,” Lim explained. “The general consumer still believes in the traditional holiday, which is travelling by land or air to a destination, staying in a hotel and going sightseeing.”

Lim aims to develop the cruise business in those markets by training agents and working with the local media to improve consumer awareness.

He added that Cruise Club in the new destinations were not expected to be profitable within the first three years of operations.

Karen Yue, Singapore (2010-08-31)

NEWLY-APPOINTED chairman of the Association of Singapore Attractions Kevin Cheong believes the city’s attractions underestimate travel agencies’ potential to bring them business and aims to address this.

He said few attractions “truly understand the extent of distribution travel agents can offer” and that a close working relationship between the two was lacking.

“ASA will encourage and facilitate travel agents who have new ways of packaging attractions. City Tours' Singapore City Pass (which pre-packs attraction admission in a Radio-frequency Identification tag) is a good example of how travel agents can help attractions. We hope that when attractions better understand how travel agents work, they will be less intimidated (about partnerships),” he said.

Cheong also points out the need for existing attractions to remain fresh in light of new entries and that while new players have created a more competitive environment, members must not lose sight of the need to work together towards a common goal of injecting vibrancy into Singapore’s tourism sector.

ASA is planning a workshop for the CEOs and top-level management of member attractions this year-end to improve relations between attractions.

It is also encouraging members to attend trade events such as the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions to “open their eyes to what's available in the world”.

Jakarta (2010-08-31)

THE INDONESIAN government will invest 750 billion (US$83.3 million) on a new air traffic control system to manage flight control in western Indonesia, an area whose airports are managed by the Angkasa Pura II airport authority.

The new navigation equipment will replace the old air traffic control system at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, whose radar crashed for 30 minutes on Sunday (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 30). Ministry of Communications director general of civil aviation Herry Bhakti Gumay told the media the government would build the Jakarta Automated Air Traffic Services at the airport.

At the same time, the Ministry of State Enterprises is seeking private investors to develop and manage the 26-year-old Soekarno-Hatta Airport. The plan is to set up a Soekarno-Hatta management office, which will be a collaboration between the private sector and Angkasa Pura II.

Ollie Quiniquini, Bangalore (2010-08-31)

NEW convention centres are mushrooming in India as the country guns after more congresses.

Recently-opened Lavasa International Convention Centre (LICC) has 3,200m² in available space for nearly 1,000 delegates. The Accor-managed facility is part of the new Lavasa township, which will have around 4,500 rooms in 18 hotels.

LICC general manager Rohit Ahuja admitted access was a challenge – LICC is 90 minutes from Pune and nearly three hours from Mumbai – but said a link was being built to cut travel time from Mumbai down to one-and-a-half hours.

The Pune Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre, opening on November 12, will be the one of the largest convention centres in west India, with a ballroom for 1,700 people and more than 12,000m² of meeting space.

Come December, the new Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, will add a hall for 5,000 people to India's inventory of MICE facilities.

CIM Global vice president Girish Kwatra said: “The situation is improving. HICC (Hyderabad International Convention Centre) can handle conferences of up to 7,000 people. But we're bidding for larger events because in two to three years' time, we'll have bigger centres like a 40,000-pax facility opening in Bangalore by 2014.”

Ollie Quiniquini, Bangalore (2010-08-31)

CIM India rebranded itself over the weekend as CIM Global to reflect its increasingly international nature.

The PCO now has offices in Dubai, Singapore and London. The latter, which opened six months ago, will bid for conventions in Europe and work with local DMCs on operations.

CIM Global vice president Girish Kwatra said international business was expected to comprise 25 to 30 per cent of revenue in the first two years of operation as a global player.

At present, 90 per cent of CIM's business comes from association meetings and 40 per cent of revenue is derived from medical events.

The PCO also launched CME (Continuing Medical Education) Direct in May to serve as a platform between doctors and pharmaceutical companies.

Gracia Chiang, Singapore (2010-08-31)

CITY Tours today launched the Singapore City Pass and already one inbound agency has decided it will stock the sticker-form pass that allows travellers to select and access bundled attractions with tap-and-go technology.

Tour East's group vice president of sales and marketing Judy Lum said: “We are starting off with two attractions but still exploring other opportunities.”

The company will offer the Singapore City Pass for the Captain Explorer DUKw Tour and Funvee Open Top Bus city tour.

Managing director of City Tours Ang Eu Khoon said the Singapore City Pass offers a high degree of “customisation”.

Given to delegates of conventions, the pass can be used not only for granting controlled access to seminar rooms, but also for pre- and post-event leisure activities with its mix of retail and F&B tie-ups. Inbound agencies can choose to pack a themed experience into the pass based on local food, for example.

Lum felt that the pass would have greater appeal for independent travellers as MICE groups usually have limited time for leisure and “generally like to be looked after”. However, she said that the pass could be helpful in planning for post-conference activities especially for those who bring their families along for extended sightseeing.

S Puvaneswary, Kuala Lumpur (2010-08-30)
 
TOURISM Malaysia is aiming to draw Indian tourists to destinations outside Malaysia's metropolitan cities, thanks to improved accessibility between its capital of Kuala Lumpur and second- and third-tier cities in India.
 
Experiential holidays at places other than those already popular with the Indian market – Penang, Langkawi, Genting Highlands and Kuala Lumpur – are now being promoted.
 
Among them are activities such as cave exploration at UNESCO World Heritage site Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, and scuba diving and snorkelling on the islands off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and off the coast of East Malaysia.
 
Tourism Malaysia Mumbai director P Manoharan said: “We are targeting savvy middle-income professionals who are in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

“We are using more online media and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to reach this segment of travellers as it is more cost-effective compared to traditional advertising. Online media also has a wider reach.”

Red Apple Travel & Tours managing director Arokia Das Anthony said he had received more travel enquiries for East Malaysia this year and attributed this to awareness created by Tourism Malaysia.

Singapore (2010-08-30)
 
THE NATIONAL Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) ended its Holidays 2010 travel fair on a high note after smashing records for the highest number of visitors and the highest volume of sales achieved in a single show.
 
The three-day fair welcomed 70,469 visitors and generated S$85 million (US$63 million) of sales. Visitor numbers were up by 13.7 per cent and sales volume by 49.1 per cent, compared to last year's show.
 
Topping the list of favourite destinations are China, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. 
 
NATAS CEO, Robert Khoo said: “ This is the first time in NATAS history that we are crossing the 70,000 mark for visitorship and this is indeed a record-breaking fair in all aspects, marking significance for the travel industry, thanks to pent-up demand and the improving economy.”

S Puvaneswary, Kuala Lumpur (2010-08-26)

DESPITE rowdy street demonstrations by Indonesian nationalist group Bendera since mid-August, Indonesia remains a popular destination among Malaysians.

Targeted at the Malaysian Embassy, the protests in Indonesia occurred after the arrest of three Indonesian Maritime and Fisheries Ministry officers by Malaysia. The detainees have since been released.

Indonesia’s deputy chief of mission to Malaysia, Tatang Razak had told reporters that Indonesians were angry at allegations that Malaysian authorities had stripped the three officers of their uniforms and dressed them in detention clothing.

Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister, Anifah Aman said Malaysians may be advised not to travel to Indonesia should the riots escalate.

To date, travel agents have not seen any cancellations and postponements to Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia, and demand to the destination remains strong.

PYO Travel.com senior manager, operations, John Chan reported strong demand to Medan, Lake Toba and Bali from leisure travellers.

Sri Sutra Travel group general manager, KT Foo, said incentive and meeting groups to Indonesia have not postponed or changed their destination. He has an incentive group of 360 people for a five-day/four-night programme in Jakarta and Bandung early next month.

Sirima Eamtako, Bangkok (2010-08-26)

BANGKOK looks set to attract 20,000 to 25,000 foreign delegates attending nine international golf conferences and exhibitions, including two new events, to be held over the next 18 months.

The organiser, Asia Pacific Golf Development Conference (APGDC) executive director, Georgina Wong, said that it was considering holding several of the annual events permanently in Thailand.

Leading the calendar will be the 2010 Asia Pacific Golf Summit from October 18 to 20. About 600 to 700 foreign delegates, including celebrity speakers – Annika Sorenstam and Greg Norman – are expected.

This will be held concurrently with the Asia Pacific Golf Industry Show, and ahead of the Inaugural Golf Course Superintendents of Asia Summit from October 15 to 17.

Events to be held next year are the South-east Asia/India Golf Merchandise Exposition, PGA Conference of Asia, Inaugural Global Golf Tourism Forum, Asia Pacific Golf Summit, Asia Pacific Golf Industry Show and Golf Course Superintendents of Asia Summit.

– Read more in TTGmice October issue.