Third Malaysia International Shoe Festival 2012 Expects To be Bigger

By Anthony Tan email: micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

Malaysia International Shoe Festival (MISF) has been a success since it started in 2010. It is expected to have more exhibitors and visitors than last year. It will be held from March 29 to April 1 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur and the first day it is only open trade visitors. From March 30 to Apr 1 it is open to the general public from 10.3Oam to 8.3Opm with free admission.

MISF 2012 will be open by Her Royal Highness Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Haminah Hamidun.

Last year, MISF attracted over 55,000 visitors and the cash register machines rang up with total sales of RM6.2 million transacted over the three days.

The MISF is jointly organised by the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia and the Malaysian Footwear Manufacturers Association (MFMA).

At the soft launch, Minister of Tourism Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said “When buying a pair of shoe, it should be selected because it looks good and trendy fashionable shoes but it is important to make sure your health is not compromised.

Shoes can cause you to have backache and knee problem because your feet are supporting your whole body weight.”

She added “This year, MISF will focus on shoes and wellness. There would be talks by experts for visitors to learn more about ways to take care of their feet and ankles. There will be experts to help visitors on how to select the right pair of shoes to be worn according to the person body structure and foot health care.”

The Tourism Minister said MISF has been added to the Tourism Calendar together with Citrawarna Malaysia, Contemporary Art Festival and Fabulous Food Festival.

“In order to ensure our programmes are well-known, we must fix a date to inform the world and travel agents will be able to sell holiday packages to coincide with the various festivals,” she told a media conference after the launch of the shoe festival at the Malaysian Tourism Centre.

The festival is aimed at establishing Malaysia as the “Shoe City of Asia” by providing an ideal platform for shoe industry players to showcase their craftsmanship, latest designs, shoe-related products and services to become world renowned brands.

“This will turn Malaysian-made shoes are among ‘must-buy’ items for tourists during their trips here and we hope to establish Malaysia as the ‘Shoe City of Asia’,” Dr Ng said.

Also present at the soft launch were Tourism Ambassador and world famous shoe maker Prof Datuk Dr Jimmy Choo, Secretary General of the Ministry Dato’ Ong Hong Peng and president of the Malaysian Footwear Manufacturers Association (MFMA) Tony Ting.

The 1Malaysia International Shoe Festival (1MISF) which has been held since two years ago has made it into the Malaysian in a move to introduce and strengthen the position of the festival in the world.

The four-day festival this year, the organisers are targeting to attract 60,000 local and international shoe buyers with about RM6.5 million in sales turn over.

Ting said “There will 150 booths with more than 100 local and overseas shoe manufacturers from Asean countries, United Arab Emirates and Germany. About 90 per cent of the participants are local.”

According to Jimmy Choo, “The Malaysia manufacturers are good in making summer footwear as our country has a hot and wet climate throughout the year. That is why sandals are very popular here. That is why many tourists that come here, will shop for summer footwear.”

Among the highlights of MISF 2012, there will Jimmy Choo’s “Sogno”Gallery to showcase special design couture collection, a collection of conventional and unconventional bridal footwear, theme after the dragon year.

There will also be a shoe fashion show, shoe painting competition, miniature shoe design competition and the Clog Shoe-Making Gallery’ showcasing the work of physically challenged shoemakers.

The popular Shoe History Gallery’ will highlight the Rainforest Shoe Wonderland’ a gigantic 13-feet- tall rainforest shoe vying for the Malaysian Book of Records.

The 5th Malaysia Footwear Design Competition 2012 held concurrently MISF will announce the winners on March 29 with the winner will get the chance to attend the Guangzhou International Footwear Design Competition.

As a promotional gimmick, a Perodua Viva with a large Red lady high heel shoe placed on its roof will be driven around Kuala Lumpur to shopping malls, university, colleges and tourist attractions in a road show with interactive games and give away freebies to promote the shoe festival which Ng flagged off at the soft launch.

For more details and update, logon the MISF official website: www.malaysiafootwear.com

5th Thailand Trade Show 2012 at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre Kuala Lumpur

By Anthony Tanemail: micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

Opening Speech by Mrs Nannatee Wiboonchutikula – Minister Counsellor (Commercial) at the Royal Thai Embassy, Kuala Lumpur

The 5th Thailand Trade Show 2012 (TTS 2012), an annual international trade fair organised by the Office of Commercial Affairs of the Royal Thai Embassy, Kuala Lumpur. It is a division under the Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce.

TTS 2012 is a trade and consumers show with its objectives aimed to create trade & business opportunities for Malaysian importers and wholesale entrepreneurs to promote Thai products and services. It is also to expose such products and service on display to reach out the general publics’ five senses, to see, touch, taste, smell and hear to understand Thai products and services better.

This year, there are over 65 Thai companies with a wide range of industries e.g. food and beverage, toys, textile, jewellery, garments, fashion accessories, cosmetics, beauty and health care, herbal products, handicrafts, gifts items, home deco, household products, kitchenware, auto parts and tourism.

There are fun games & activities for the whole family as part of the stage programmes. There are great bargains for shoppers as the exhibitors are not going to take their products back home after the show as they would incur extra cost.

Tourism Authority of Thailand is presenting cultural dances, umbrella painting and Thai desserts as well as promoting Thai holiday destinations.

One of the items that is in popular demand is the body massage oil and other essential oils

The Thais are also strong in the manufacturing of herbal products like hair dye, bath soap, hair tonic and other toiletries.

TTS 2012 is open to public with free admission at Hall 3, Level 3 Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur from March 8-10, from 10:30 am to 9:00 pm. Please take note, it is open from 10.30 am to 7pm on Sunday March 11.



Kevin S (in black shirt), regional sales director of KPN Material Co Ltd from Suphanburi was promoting a hair tonic made from Thai-Chinese herbs with 120 years' history.

He was having a busy time at TTS 2012 with his stocks almost run out by the second day. He claimed his other product, DNA Essential is a close second to Estee Lauder anti-wrinkle cream.


Another tourism industry related link by MICE Malaysia Beyond:http://airlinesairportsmalaysia.blogspot.com/

WTTC forecast to pass 100m jobs and USD2 trillion GDP in 2012

Travel and Tourism is set for a milestone year as the industry’s direct contribution to the global economy is expected to pass $2 trillion in GDP and 100 million jobs.

According to research by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the global Travel & Tourism industry will grow by 2.8% in 2012, marginally faster than the global rate of economic growth, predicted to be 2.5%.

This rate of growth means that Travel & Tourism industry is expected to directly contribute $2 trillion to the global economy and sustain some 100.3 million jobs.

When the wider economic impacts of the industry are taken into account, Travel & Tourism is forecast to contribute some $6.5 trillion to the global economy and generate 260 million jobs – or 1 in 12 of all jobs on the planet.

In 2011, Travel & Tourism’s total economic contribution, taking account of its direct, indirect and induced impacts, was US$6.3 trillion in GDP, 255 million jobs, US$743 billion in investment and US$1.2 trillion in exports. This contribution represented 9% of GDP, 1 in 12 jobs, 5% of investment and 5% of exports.

David Scowsill, President & CEO of WTTC, said: “In 2012, when international travellers are expected to surpass one billion for the first time, the industry will pass two other major milestones: a direct contribution of $2 trillion to the world economy and 100 million jobs. But these numbers are dwarfed by the total forecast contribution of our industry – $6.5 trillion to the global economy and 260 million jobs.”

Over the medium-term, the prospects of the industry are even more positive with average annual growth expected to be 4% through to 2022 by which time Travel & Tourism will employ 328 million people – or 1 in 10 of all jobs on the planet.

David Scowsill continued: “It is clear that the Travel & Tourism industry is going to be a significant driver of global growth and employment for the next decade. Our industry is responsible for creating jobs, pulling people out of poverty, and broadening horizons. It is one of the world’s great industries”.


Other selected highlights from the research show:

• South & Northeast Asia will be the fastest-growing regions in 2012, growing by 6.7%, driven by countries such as India and China where rising incomes will generate an increase in domestic tourism spend and a sharp upturn in capital investment, and recovery in Japan

• After an extremely challenging 2011 when civil unrest and violence had a dramatic impact on demand for Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, North Africa is showing signs of recovery in 2012 with Travel & Tourism direct GDP growth forecast at 3.6%. Morocco (8.3%) will be the star performer of this region as negative perceptions of security continue to affect tourism in Egypt and Tunisia

• In the Middle East, where civil unrest and violence in some countries continues, growth will be more subdued (3%), although there are stark differences at country level. Qatar will grow fastest at 13.2% while Syria will likely see another dramatic fall, estimated at 20.5%, as the political situation worsens, increasing concerns over security. It is worth noting that 14% of all international arrivals in the Middle East in 2010 were for Syria, the second most important destination in the region after Saudi Arabia

• The mature economies of North America and Europe will continue to struggle in 2012 North America, which is saw a slight upturn in the USA’s economic situation at the end of 2011, should see growth of only 1.3% in Travel & Tourism direct GDP over the year

• The prospects for Travel & Tourism growth in Europe in 2012 are precarious. Current forecasts suggest a 0.3% increase in Travel & Tourism direct GDP for the region overall, but this will be propped up by newer economies such as Poland and, of course, Russia. A decline of 0.3% is expected across the European Union. Consumer spending is set to tighten as austerity measures kick in, and there continues to be considerable uncertainty around the future of the Eurozone and peripheral economies of Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Source: World Travel & Tourism Council – Press Release

Another tourism industry related link by MICE Malaysia Beyond: http://airlinesairportsmalaysia.blogspot.com/

Innovative Tourism Students in Spotlight at the PATA Social Entrepreneur Challenge

News Release from PATA

A View Of The City Of Kuala Lumpur

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Tourism Malaysia, and Taylor’s University are inviting students in travel and tourism to participate in the 2012 PATA Social Entrepreneur Challenge, part of the 2012 PATA Annual Conference (PAC2012), April 21-22 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO said: “The commitment to Next Gen paradigm shifts and new thinking will be centre stage during the competition. We will discover the best student business plan. Young people will share their vision for growing the travel industry in a responsible way -- PATA Next Gen in action.”

The challenge is aimed at undergraduates in tourism, hospitality or culinary arts in higher learning institutions in Asia Pacific. They should be ready to present an innovative sustainable tourism business idea at the PATA Annual Conference, the region’s premier travel industry thought leadership event.

Students are invited to form a team (maximum three persons) and submit a video on a socially responsible tourism business idea on YouTube (maximum 5 minutes). The proposal should fit in with any one of the following themes: changes in travelling patterns; changes in tourism and hospitality sectors; innovation in tourism and hospitality products; exploration of new tourism products; the influence of technology in the tourism industry; and tourism’s extra disciplinary roles.

Three final teams will be sponsored to present their idea live in front of a panel of the judges and delegates at the PATA Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur, April 21-22. Two awards will be granted to a champion judged by travel and tourism experts and the audience’s favourite via the competition’s dedicated Facebook page.

The deadline for students to submit their idea via video is March 31, 2012.

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/patasocialentrepreneur/
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/2012-PATA-Social-Entrepreneur Challenge/317776261603142
Email: pata.social.entrepreneur@gmail.com

Offer for Professors and Teachers
PATA strongly encourages students and academics to join the PATA Annual Conference with the following offer: eight students get one FREE registration -- professors or lecturers who bring at least eight students will have their conference registration fee waived. Academic registrations will be arranged on a group basis with the offer of complimentary registration for professors or lecturers conditional on them bringing eight or more students. For more information visit www.pata.org/pac2012 or email to events@PATA.org.

Source: www.PATA.org
March 6, 2012, Bangkok:

Malaysia will host 2012 Pacific Asia Travel Association Annual Conference

By Anthony Tan email: micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

Sunset view of Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia will be the venue for this year’s Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur from the April 19 – 22 and will bring together delegates from all areas of travel and tourism industry from the Asia Pacific region.

The 2012 PATA Annual Conference (PAC2012) will be hosted by Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Malaysia. The conference will address the theme "Building the Business Beyond Profits" and will feature some of Asia's most acclaimed and conscientious entrepreneurs.

The conference is shaping up as a great networking, insights, and Next Gen thought leadership forum that will deliver tangible benefits to all professionals.

Martin J. Craigs, PATA CEO, said: "PATA is proud to bring the PATA Annual Conference back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, since the last conference in 2001 when the association celebrated its 50th anniversary. PATA Next Gen expresses the association's commitment to build business with all the new tools of the trade without losing our face-to-face friendships or sense of fun."

The speakers, all Next Gen thought leaders, will share their successful social entrepreneurship business models and principles.

Founder of G Adventures, Bruce Poon Tip, will address the closing session on “Building the Business Beyond Profits.” G Adventures has grown to become a world leader in adventure travel, with offices around the world, offering small group experiences in over 100 countries to more than 100,000 travelers annually.

As one of Canada's Top 40 under 40, Bruce has also won Canada's Entrepreneur of the Year twice and has been honoured as Canada's 100 Leaders of Tomorrow. In “Profit” magazine, Bruce was hailed as one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs in Canada within the last 25 years. Bruce is a very inspiring and charismatic speaker who has presented to audiences of thousands.

Before the start of the annual conference, a number of activities will be held between April 19-20 and them is the PATA’s Annual General Meeting, the PATA Chapter Colloquium, the PATA Board & Category Committee meetings, the 2012 PATA Gold Awards luncheon, and PATA Foundation fund raising activities, will be held at The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur, the official venue.

Since this event is held in Malaysia, Malaysian travel trade and tourism industry players should not miss it.

Those interested in the 2012 PATA Annual Conference can still register and for more information about the conference, please visit www.PATA.org/pac2012

Another tourism industry related link by MICE Malaysia Beyond: http://airlinesairportsmalaysia.blogspot.com/

Thai Tourism Promotion in Penang and Kuala Lumpur

By Anthony Tan email: micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

The annual Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) tourism promotion mini Travel Mart road shows to Penang and Kuala Lumpur saw 35 sellers from 27 hoteliers, seven travel agents and one airline came to meet the Malaysia travel trade buyers.

The Thai tourism industry groups were representing tourism destinations from Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket, Phangnga, Krabi, Surat Thani and Chiangmai to promote new tourism products and packages to the Malaysian travel agents and updating the travel writers as well.

The only airline that participated this time is Bangkok Airways as they are introducing a daily flight from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Samui starting April 1. (For more details log on:

http://airlinesairportsmalaysia.blogspot.com/2012/02/bangkok-airways-to-fly-koh-samui-kl-koh.html)

Among some the hotels that were present were Khaolak Laguna Phangnga, R-Mar Resort and Spa in Patong, Phuket, Railay Bay Resort in Krabi, Ban Thai Beach Resort & Spa in Patong, Phuket, Cape Sienna Hotel & Villas from Phuket, Aonang Princeville Resort and Spa from Krabi and a few others.
A-1 Hotels were busy promoting their hotel properties in Bangkok and Pattaya including one located near Suvarnabhumi Airport

.Peach Group presented their three resort properties in Phuket with Peach Hill Hotel & Resort, Andaman Cannacia Resort & Spa and Peach Blossom Resort.

One regular travel agent that participated in the road show is Charn Wongsatayanont from Phuket Jet Tours Co Ltd, who comes to meet his old business contacts and to establish new ones every year.

Charn Wongsatayanont (right) with travel writer Laura Lee (left) and outbound travel operator Jason Lim, MD of GTT - KL

Discovery Holidays Co, Ltd and Group Company with its head office in Bangkok were busy at its promotion desk with Malaysian Travel Agents seen waiting for their turn to discuss business opportunities with the company’s reps.

TAT officials informed the attendees that Thailand had recovered from the severe flooding toward the end of last year and tourism products and attractions are back to normal operation.

For year 2011, Malaysian recorded the top arrival to Thailand with 2,470,686 tourists with an increase of 19.98% and for the first timer visitors saw an increase of 200%. Repeat Malaysian visitors to Thailand were recorded at 60% of the total arrivals.

The average spending per Malaysian tourists in Thailand was recorded at USD128.76 per day.

After the business was done, TAT invited the guests to a dinner in the evening filled with Thai cultural dances, a video show on Thailand tourism product update and ends the night with a lucky draw consisting of many holiday packages to Thailand.

Lucky people win prizes to Thailand

Johor Premium Outlets a successful tourists shopping attraction

By Anthony Tan email: micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen made a working visit recently to the Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) as part of her three days Johor tourism update programme.

JPO is a 50:50 joint venture between Genting Simon, a subsidiary of Genting Berhad, and the largest real estate company in the US, Simon Property Group, with its head office in Indianapolis, Indiana.

(Picture Left) Ng signing the visitors book at the Tourism Malaysia Information Office

JPO is the first premium outlet in Southeast Asia, a concept of a collection upscale shopping outlets highlighting international designers and leading brands offering past one or two seasons and overruns branded items. Shoppers to these outlets enjoys attractive savings of 25% to 65% on the price tag from brands like Adidas, Armani, Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Canali, Coach, Esprit, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gap, Guess, Lacoste, Michael Kors, Nike, Oroton, Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo, Swiss Watch Gallery, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Tumi and including local brands like Royal Selangor.

Ng was briefed on JPO operations and updates by Genting Simon Sdn Bhd assistant manager –

marketing, Justin Cheah who was on hand to

show her around the 80 outlets including the food court serving a wide spread of cuisine.



She was told that JPO has surpassed its expectations of the forecasted visitors and there are also plans to open two new premium outlets in Malacca and Sepang.

"JPO has managed to attract more than one million visitors since it opened in December, with 80% of them being domestic tourists," as Ng spoke at the press conference after touring the outlets.

Ng (fourth from right) with Tourism Malaysia Director General Dato Azizan (third from right) and Tourism Ministry Secretary General Dato Ong (fifth from right) together with senior officers from Tourism Malaysia with the message "JUST DO IT"

She further gave some suggestions to the management on how JPO could work with her ministry in international promotions at the various travelmarts and tourism conferences which Tourism Malaysia participate annually in order to attract more tourists to shop here.

She added “In 2011, 30% of tourism expenditure was channelled to shopping, an increase of 3% from the previous year. We expect this number to continue to increase and we target expenditure for shopping to grow up to 38% by the year 2020.”

Ng said “The opening of more Premium Outlets in the country would contribute to the economy of the country as well as attract more tourists to do their shopping here.”

To encourage tourists to spend more, Ng said some of the initiatives taken by her ministry had requested the government to make duty free another 300 popular items that tourists sort after in their shopping list.

The retailers must play their part by increasing their stocks with more variety of branded items, control the pricing of goods and offer special discounts to be competitive in order to attract more tourists to shop in Malaysia.

10th Thai International Travel Fair from 23-26 February 2012

By Anthony Tan email:micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

The 10th Thai International Travel Fair (TITF) to be organised by The Thai Travel Agents Association, the Association of Domestic Travel and with the co-operation of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from Feb 23-26.

TITF will feature over 1,100 booths which mainly promoting travel and holiday best deals to the consumer market. It is expected to attract about 800,000 visitors for the four-day event with the theme of "Oh! Summer"

TITF generated Bt1.2 billion in sales revenue at the last February event.

TTAA has over 1,000 members mostly related to Thailand’s outbound travel sector that generates about 5 million overseas trips a year.

President Charoen Wangananont informed that the TTAA will spending about 55 million baht to organise this year's event, with an increase by 10% from last year. Six million baht will be spent on the advertising to promote awareness of TIFF and expected to generate an estimated Bt1.3 billion in sales. The proportion of this year show will be 55% for domestic tourism and 45% outbound tourism.

He also disclosed that Japan continues to support TITF for the second year with 40 booths booked under the Japan National Tourism Organisation to promote its signature destinations. India has confirmed with 10 booths to highlight its promotion of the "Buddha's Footsteps". Other strong supporters are coming from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar that will be making their strong presence.

He added “The new product at the fair this year is Disneyland Hong Kong will be introducing Toy Story Land and visitors to the show will get the experience of the Asia’s first and the world’s second Toy Story land from Disneyland. The national tourist office from Uzbekistan will be here for the first time to promote its tourism products and attractions.”

“The up-coming 10th TTAA will act as a good indicator for the outbound market in Thailand. We will get a better picture after the show,” said Charoen.

TAT is confident in forecasting of 19.5 million international arrivals with the revenue of 760 billion baht, up by 7% from last year despite of the global economic slowdown.

It expected the domestic tourists this year will take an estimated 107 million tripsto generate the revenue of 440 billion baht.

Malaysia Property Exposition [1] from 2 – 4 March 2012

By Anthony Tan email:micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (REHDA) will be holding its first of the biannual national level Malaysia Property Exposition (MAPEX) from 2-4 March at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre (MVEC) while MAPEX [2] is slated to be held from 19-21 October 2012.

MAPEX is one of the key events of REHDA going into the 13th year and for the first time it will be open to international property developers with the appropriate themed “Home and Abroad”.

In an update by organising chairman and past president Ng Sing Leong said “There are 67 companies which had confirmed participation and this will the biggest showcase of properties on sale. We also have confirmed participations from Thailand and the Philippines with Australia and China in the process of confirmation.

This year REHDA will be using all the three halls in MVEC with the developers showcasing over 300 projects from all over the country like Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and others”.

Ng further added MAPEX is expected to attract 50,000 visitors over the three days.

[Picture: from left to right - Datuk Ng with National Council Member REHDA Wilayah Persekutuan (KL) Branch Chairman N K Tong]

There will be various categories of commercial and residential properties available with price ranges to suit individual budget and locations on offer. As usual there will be seminars on property subjects over the three days for house buyers.

Other regular participants in MAPEX are the banks and financial institutions as well as housing and local government authorities to play their role in providing information and advice to the public.

Click on the Youtube clip and get some tips from Ng on what to look for when shopping for a property.



Getting to Mid Valley for MAPEX

Even there are more than 1,000 car park bays available at Mid-Valley, it is advisable to be there early (before 10.30am) to get a car park easily. Anytime after that, is playing musical chair to get a parking space and it can be frustrating especial during the weekend.

Alternatively is to get by KTM Kommuter which has a train stop at Mid Valley itself. You can use the Putra line to get to the nearest stop to Mid Valley at Abdullah Hukum and take a taxi or Rapid KL after that.

MAPEX opening hours from 10am to 9pm daily and free admission.

19th Travel Tour Expo expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors

By Anthony Tan

The theme for this year’s Travel Tour Expo 2012 (TTE 2012) is “One Stop Shop to the World” and expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors from around the Philippines and the region.

The annual TTE organised by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) with the Department of Tourism, told a press conference that TTE 2012 promises visitors the event will feature wider variety of travel options and special packages that are only available onsite from February 17 to 19, 2012 at the SMX Convention Centre Halls 1 to 4 in Pasay City (Metro Manila).

“The Travel Tour Expo is very unique this year, that we have embassies participating with us, particularly the Japan embassy, PTAA believes that this is our way of helping international relations, and we are looking forward to tourism through Japan to Philippines and Philippines to Japan,” PTAA President and Co-Chairperson Aileen Clemente said

The three-day event will have over 450 booths featuring more than 200 local and international organisations including airline companies, cruise operators, domestic tour operators, government agencies embassies, national tourism organisations, hotels and resorts, travel agencies, tour operators and many more.

Philippine Airlines (PAL), the country’s flag carrier had signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with PTAA as the official carrier and supported Citibank as Platinum sponsor and official credit card partner. The event is also supported by Tieza as the Bronze sponsor.

The expo is open to the public for a minimal entrance fee of P50 for regular visitors and P20 for senior citizens.

The Travel Tour Expo (TTE) was conceptualized to showcase the products and services offered by its members since 1994.

The 18th TTE in 2011 attracted 68,000 visitors and generated P300 million in sales.

For information on the 19thTravel Tour Expo 2012, please contact:

PHILIPPINE TRAVEL AGENCIES ASSOCIATION
12-1G EGI-Rufino Plaza, Taft cor.
Sen. Gil Puyat Aves., Pasay City 1300 PH
TEL: (632) 552-0026 to 29
FAX: (632) 552-0030
WEBSITE: www.ptaatraveltourexpo.com.ph
EMAIL: info@ptaatraveltourexpo.com.ph

Or the Event Manager:

FAIRS AND MORE, INC.
19th flr. Philippine AXA Life Centre
Sen. Gil Puyat ave. cor Tindalo St.
Makati City 1200 PHILIPPINES

TEL: (632) 845.1324 / (632) 759.6680
FAX: (632) 845.1395 / (632) 759.6690
WEBSITE: www.fairsandmore.com.ph
EMAIL: traveltour@fairsandmore.com.ph

Malaysian Convention and Exhibition Bureau Targets Australian Corporate and Incentive Groups

By Anthony Tan email: micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

With Malaysian Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) successes in bringing over 9,000 participants from China under its “Malaysia’s Twin Deal Programme” launched in China last September, it is now targeting Australian corporate and incentive groups in Melbourne and Sydney to Malaysia.

The inaugural sales mission Australia by Ho Yoke Ping,

MyCEB’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing, is

offering the first package. Deal 1 offers value added support

for participants.

Among the privileges lined up are complimentary canopy walk at Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, choice of cultural showcase activities, a ‘Feng Shui’ talk by renowned Malaysian ‘Feng Shui’ master or a Malaysian cultural experience, shopping discount vouchers, welcome cocktails and police escorts.

She added, “Deal 2 offers incentive rewards for Corporate and Incentive Planners and is based on cumulative numbers of participants.

“The Corporate and Incentive Planners will be able to redeem vacation packages to one of the destinations either Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu or Kuching inclusive of return air tickets, accommodation at five-star hotels, spa session and other goodies.

“These destinations are the top ‘must visit’ incentive destinations in Malaysia, known for its lush rainforest, fantastic beaches and heritage sites.

“MyCEB would give each participant a special welcome packs containing a personalised - Welcome Letter from MyCEB CEO Zulkefli Sharif, an eco-friendly reusable drinking bottle, Kuala Lumpur map, Malaysian cultural postcards and an exclusive tote bag."

MyCEB CEO Zulkefli Sharif

The Twin Deal programme is applicable to corporate and incentive groups from Australia and confirmed bookings must be made between January and December 2012 with the groups’ arrival from January 2012 to 31 December 2013.

Ho is offering additional incentive for the first 30 bookings.

“MyCEB would like to invite all event planners in Australia to grab this opportunity and to experience what Malaysia has to offer in terms of incentive products and services. The first 30 planners to booked a cumulative group of 500 participants to Malaysia will stand a chance to redeem an iPad 2,” she added

Meeting planners and incentive agents who need more information about the Twin Deal can call MyCEB @ +603 2034 2090 or email sales@myceb.com.my

Indonesia to reinforce MICE campaign, says Tourism and Creative Economy Minister

By Anthony Tan

“The MICE industry is very important. The cities will become famous tourist destinations, attracting more and more tourists,” said the Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Dr Mari Elka Pangestu as reported by Jakarta Post.

The Indonesian archipelago, spread across the South China Sea, offers many opportunities in tourism.

Mari intends to launch a campaign to promote 10 cities as Meeting, Incentives, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) destinations,

They are Bandung in West Java; Batam (Riau Islands); Denpasar (Bali); Jakarta; Medan (North Sumatra); Makassar (South Sulawesi); Manado (North Sulawesi); Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara), Surabaya (East Java) and Jogjakarta.

Other cities under consideration are Palembang in South Sumatra and Surakarta in Central Java.

Mari, who replaced former Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik last October, said her ministry has established a MICE development department and will study how to develop international conventions, the facilities that they should have and how to train human resources.

She said the marketing department would be managed by her Deputy Minister Sapta Nirwandar who will will target conventions and bid for international events.

Sapta, formerly the Director General for Tourism Marketing in the Ministry for Culture and Tourism, was promoted to his current position during the last Indonesian cabinet reshuffle held last October.

The recent ASEAN Tourism Forum and travel exchange exhibition, held in Manado from 8-15 January as to promote it as a MICE destination, saw tourism ministers from the 10 ASEAN member countries, the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation secretary-general and many tourism industry leaders and players gathered at the Grand Kawanua Convention Centre.

Bali will be playing host for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2013.

Mari said her ministry will be looking into other cities to host APEC-related smaller meetings in Indonesia during that time.

She said MICE tourists who visited Indonesia in 2010 numbered 236,000, representing 3.37% of its seven million arrivals compared to 205,000 MICE tourists in 2009, which accounted for or 3.24% of its total 6.3 million arrivals.

According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Indonesia was ranked 39 in 2010 with 64 meetings while Singapore was ranked 25 with 136 meetings and Malaysia 29 with 119 meetings.

ICCA also ranked Jakarta 113 with 16 meetings while Bali was placed 67 with 27 meetings.

MALAYSIA'S Business Tourism "TWIN DEAL PROGRAMME" for China extended its successful promotion

By Anthony Tan email: micemalaysiabeyond@gmail.com

This programme extension will include Hong Kong & Taiwan for 2012

The Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has extended the “Twin Deal Programme” to 30 June 2012 due to its success and extension request by incentive planners. MyCEB has also extended this programme to cover incentive planners from Hong Kong and Taiwan this year.

The “Twin Deal Programme” is to reward both, incentive planners and participants, to hold business tourism events in Malaysia.

Deal 1
MyCEB will offer value added support for participants ranging from a group of 50 to 500 participants. Incentives include:
A Malaysian cultural performance for gala dinner
A choice of team building activity or a half-day city tour
Welcome gifts
Fast track immigration clearance
Shopping discount vouchers
For groups over 500 participants, addition to the above:
Provides support towards food and beverage costs
Personalised gifts
One return trip with police outriders

Deal 2
MyCEB is offering incentive rewards for meeting planners or agents who bring in an accumulative 500 participants and above.
For example, for an accumulative group of 5,000 participants, meeting planners are entitled to two return business class air tickets from either China, Hong Kong or Taiwan to Kuala Lumpur,
3 nights’ accommodation at a five-star hotel,
A half-day city tour plus shopping vouchers worth RM2,000 (USD670)

The Malaysia’s Twin Deal Programme (China) is applicable for meetings and incentives of more than 50 participants originating from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and the events must be held in Malaysia by 31 December 2013.

MyCEB’s general manager of sales and marketing, Ms Ho Yoke Ping said “The extension will provide more time for incentive planners to take advantage of this unique offer. MyCEB would like to invite all event planners to grab this opportunity and to experience what Malaysia has to offer in terms of incentive products and services. So far more than 9,000 participants have signed up for the programme”.

Meeting and Incentive planners or agents can to contact MyCEB on Tel +603 2034 2090 or email sales@myceb.com.my for further terms and conditions for the Twin Deal.

Thailand Trade Show 2011 hopes to see 10% in sales

By Laura Lee, Pix by Anthony Tan

The 4th Thailand Trade Show (TTS) 2011, which ends today, saw increased participation from 70 exhibitors offering a diverse range of products and services from various industries, including tourism.

They range from food & beverage, textile, apparels and accessories, cosmetics, health care, pharmaceutical, gifts and decorative items, plastic as well as household consumer products.

This three-day annual trade show is aimed at Malaysian entrepreneurs and industrialists who are keen to explore business opportunities and collaboration with Thailand.

Organised by the Office of Commercial Affairs, Kuala Lumpur under the Department of Export Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand, TTS 2011 occupied 1,700 sq m of space at Hall 1 of the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

We were feted with Thai cultural dance performances at its launch on Friday afternoon.

As usual, the traditional costumes worn by its beautiful lady dancers and their elegant and graceful movements were a delight to watch.

As I followed the VIP entourage to visit the booths, at our first stop, I not only had the chance to savour some of Thai sweet desserts but also saw how much work goes into making them by the two Thai girls who were doing the food demonstration.

Whisked off to the last minute press conference by the Office of Commercial Affairs, Kuala Lumpur, its director Nannatee Wiboonchutikula said bilateral trade between Thailand and Malaysia, which stood at US$20 billion (RM60.2 billion) in 2010, is expected to grow at least 10% this year.

Electrical and electronic products continue to top the list of Malaysia’s exports to Thailand and Thailand’s major imports to Malaysia.

As part of the efforts to encourage trade between Asean members, Nannatee, who has been in Malaysia for the last three years, hopes to see more Thai small and medium enterprises invest in Malaysia.

Nannatee, who is also the Minister Counsellor (Commercial) at the Royal Thai Embassy, said among the Thai companies that have invested in Malaysia are the Charoen Pokphand Group and Bangkok Bank.

“The response to the business matching session was quite good today,” adding that she hopes to see the sales and orders received from the business matching sessions to increase by 10% from the RM20 million recorded last year.

The business matching sessions are on throughout the duration of TTS 2011, which receives support from other Thai government agencies in Kuala Lumpur such as the Office of Labour Affairs, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Airways.

Visitors to TTS 2011 stand a chance to win a round trip economy ticket to Bangkok by Thai Airways by completing a simple survey which requires you to answer three questions and write a slogan of what you like about Thai products.

Make sure you submit your form by 5pm today into the contest box. Winners will be notified in two weeks’ time.

You can also participate in the games and activities at 1pm, 4pm and 6.30pm today. You might be lucky enough to walk off with some prizes if you can answer the questions correctly.

Tired from touring the exhibition? Don’t miss the booth offering you a sample of Thai massage. The service is provided free. However, you are encouraged to drop in a token.

For those who missed the Thai cooking demonstration yesterday afternoon, you can catch Chef Korn of Erawan Thai Restaurant’s session at 3pm today.

TTS 2011 closes earlier at 7pm today.

Australia posts strong growth of business and conference arrivals from HK, Germany and the US

By Laura Lee

Australia’s business and conference arrivals continue to show strong growth trends with 809,500 business arrivals registered for the year ended 30 September 2010, up 11% from the previous corresponding year.

Of this, 170,600 were convention or conference arrivals, which represented an 18% increase year-on-year (y-o-y). For the three months ended 30 September 2010, there were 52,600 convention or conference arrivals, up 16% y-o-y. For September alone, 17,200 convention or conference arrivals were registered, which represented an increase of 18% y-o-y.

Strong growth from its convention or conference arrivals was registered from Hong Kong, up 60% to 3,639; Germany (up 50% to 2,988); the United States (up 40% to 22,056) and the Philippines (up 33% to 3,389) although they are not in the top 10 placings.

South Korea and Singapore, which both posted 32% growth each to register 6,881 and 6,585 convention or conference arrivals, came within the top five and sixth placing respectively.

Malaysia, whose contribution in terms of convention or conference arrivals amounted to 3,260 for the year ended 30 September 2010, up 6% from a year ago. Malaysia was ranked number 14.

In terms of total business arrivals, Malaysia registered 19,723 for the first nine months of 2010, up 12% from the previous corresponding period. Here, Malaysia made it to the 10th placing.

Total arrivals to Australia from January to September rose 6% to 5.8 million. Malaysia, which contributed 228,252 arrivals during this period, was ranked 8th.

The top spot went to New Zealand (NZ) to with 1,142,748 arrivals. NZ also won the top ranking in terms of total business arrivals with 201,040 as well as convention or convention arrivals (42,436).

Amazing Taste of Thailand 2009 launched in Bangkok

These deep fried fresh water prawns served at Kungpen Restaurant in Suphanburi were real YUMMY. Our table cleaned up the plate.

This deep fried snake-head fish tasted so good that no one from our table bothered to find out what is a snake-head fish?

One of the overseas participants of the Amazing Taste of Thailand trying his hand to whip up a Thai dish at Kungpen restaurant

This traditional designed wooden river boat ferried our group across the Chao Phraya River to the Supatra River House Restaurant

Our group learning how to cook Thai dishes at the renowned Blue Elephant Cooking School and Restaurant in Bangkok


We also learnt how to prepare the popular red ruby dessert or Thabthim Krop (diced water-chestnuts in coconut cream and syrup)

Travel writer Laura Lee with the two Thai chefs Charles and Songsak of the Blue Elephant Cooking School and Restaurant in Bangkok

Our KL-based Japanese writer (left) and other participants for the cooking class were given each a certificate of attendance, souvenir apron and goodie bag by Blue Elephant Cooking School and Restaurant in Bangkok

Don't be mislead as this green curry dish which can be quite spicy

The deep fried chicken wrapped in screwpipe leaf is a popular Thai dish

The Thais are not only good in food preparation but are also good in their presentation. Don’t you think this tray of Khanom Lok Chub dessert looks inviting?

Amazing Taste of Thailand, the marketing power tool for Thai Tourism
By Anthony Tan

It is not uncommon for tourists to ask these questions, Where to eat? What to try? It is always the familiar tastes that will strike their minds first. In Thailand, you don’t need to ask, "What to eat?” It is simply one too many to eat, for the Thai cuisine.

When it comes to Thailand, almost everyone from all corners of world knows “Tom Yam”. This dish has become synonymous with Thailand.

Realising this, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) decided to capitalise on the global popularity of this Thai dish to further strengthen its tourism promotion and increase tourist arrivals into the kingdom.

In Bangkok, two major food events - Amazing Taste of Thailand and Thailand Brand – have been organised to be held concurrently in September.

They were jointly organised by TAT, Department of Export Promotion, Thai Hotels Association, Association of Domestic Travel and the Thai Restaurant Association.

The owners, managers, chefs of overseas Thai restaurants, famous chefs, food critics and travel agents from various parts of the world were flown into Bangkok for this occasion to take the authentic taste of Thai cuisine beyond the kingdom.

Based on the statistics from Thailand's Ministry of Commerce, plans are afoot to increase the 13,000 locations of Thai restaurants overseas in 2009 to15,000 in 2010.

The many Thai restaurants established beyond the shores of the kingdom range from simple fast-food take-aways to upmarket specialised Thai cuisine outlets.

Some are operated by the Thais themselves while others are by foreigners who simply believe that Thai cuisine is the way to go into food business.

Many of these restaurants have also been set up by Thai expatriates living abroad in their adopted country.

More than 500 media organisations from 22 countries were invited by TAT oversea offices to the launch of these two events.

From Malaysia, nine media and a hotelier were led by TAT officer Somboon in Bangkok to witness the launch of the Amazing Taste of Thailand at Central World in Bangkok.

Our group was taken to Suphanburi, which is about a two-hour drive by coach from Bangkok.

Since our trip is all about discovering the Amazing Taste of Thailand, we were taken to this Thai restaurant called Kungpen at Paknam Web in Suphanburi. We met the invited overseas media fam groups here.

Working with this restaurant, TAT had put up a showcase of Thai cuisine with food sampling and cooking demonstrations on how to prepare some of these traditional and popular Thai dishes and drinks.

After our sumptuous lunch, we were invited to participate in the cooking demo. Recipes of the Thai cusine showcased here were readily available for us to take back home.

Our group was also introduced to an upmarket restaurant, Supatra River House that served Thai and seafood cuisine in Bangkok as part of our itinerary.

We had to plough through Bangkok’s traffic jam before arriving at the Maharaj pier along the Chao Phraya River to board the boat to take us across the river to this two-storey traditional building by the river bank near the Temple of the Dawn.

A look at its a la carte menu showed the dishes priced between 120 and 750 Baht. The set lunch cost 900 Baht per person while the price of the set dinner ranged from 900 to 1,500 Baht.

Another highlight of our media fam trip organised in conjunction with the Amazing Taste of Thailand launch was where all the invited guests from 22 countries had their culinary skills put to test when we were made to cook their own dinner at the famed The Blue Elephant cooking school and restaurant at South Sathorn Road in Bangkok.

Our group had to prepare four dishes after watching the chefs' demonstrations. We started with satay kai (chicken satay with peanut sauce), which was nothing new to us Malaysians. We are learning to prepare it in a foreign land!

The other dishes we were taught were Koong Prik Paow (stir-fried prawn with chilli paste), Kaeng Phed Ped Yang (roast duck curry) and Laab Pla Tod (deep-fried fish salad with green apple).

With all these spicy stuff, learning to prepare the dessert, Tup Tim Grod (water chestnut in coconut milk) was most welcome.

All the participants were each presented with a certificate to take home. We were also allowed to take back as souvenir the apron we wore.

Most of members in our group agreed unanimously that we had one of our best Thai cuisine meals from this intensive cooking class.

The highlight of our media fam trip was to attend the official launch of "Amazing Taste of Thailand" at CentralWorld which featured unique foods and drinks from each region of the Kingdom and link them with the travel experiences for tourists.

Food from some of the best restaurants throughout the entire Thai kingdom together with ready-to-eat meals (heat and eat), export quality frozen foods were also featured. Cooking competitions from each region featuring famous menus of movie stars and celebrities at the festival were conducted as well.

TAT hosted the grand finale dinner for the international invited group at Centara Grand; Bangkok Convention Centre together with a cultural show to entertain the guests.

A sideshow was organised by TAT at the same convention hall to showcase “Thailand Brand”of products. It successfully attracted the attention of the guests. Many of them bought what was on display to take home as souvenirs.

TAT must be congratulated for a job well done!

Melaka International Tourism Show 2009

MITS Promotion at state level MATTA Fair held at Dataran Pahlawan Melaka

MITS promotion roadshow at the Travel Business Exchange B2B session

held at Riverside Majestic Hotel in Kuching

Managing Director William Chan of Stadthuys Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd

participating in the Travel Business Exchange B2B session in Kuching

Buyers and Sellers meeting face to face in the Travel Business Exchange

MITS organised a press conference during the national level MATTA Fair at PWTC in KL.

On hand at the Q&A session were (from left) MATTA Melaka chapter chairman Goh,

Nazary,

Roslin and Noorhayati Sahlan, MICE Manager of Tourism Promotion Division, Chief Minister's Department

By Anthony Tan

The 7th Melaka International Tourism Show (MITS) expects to attract 30,000 visitors this year. It will be held at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh, Melaka from 4–6 December.

Nazary Ahmad, general manager from Melaka Chief Minister Department’s tourism promotion division, told a press conference recently that it is offering 250 booths to both local and intenational exhibitors.

This is more than double last year’s 120 booths. MITS is organised by the Tourism Promotion Division of the Melaka Chief Minister’s Department on behalf of the Melaka state government.

Over the years, MITS has grown to become one of the largest events held outside of Kuala Lumpur promoting both inbound and outbound tourism to the historic Melaka.

Nazary said, “Melaka is a must visit destination, especially since its conferment as a World Heritage City on 7 July 2008.”

MITS 2009 will showcase the wide range of tourism products and services that Malaysia has to offer, in particular from Melaka.

The organiser had started its promotions to attract both visitors and exhibitors to this year’s event since August when it participated in the MATTA Fair in Melaka, held a Travel Business Exchange in Kuching and promoted MITS at the National MATTA Fair in Kuala Lumpur.

Nazary is hopeful of getting more international participation to this year’s show from the national tourism organisations, which will be presenting cultural performances, handicrafts and food promotions to enhance the event.

Tourism Authority of Thailand has shown a keen interest by taking 10 booths while the Macau Government Tourist Office will take four booths.

Another confirmed exhibitor is Quantum Success, which will be launching its privilege card for hotel bookings during MITS 2009, said Roslin Mustajab, chief executive officer of Simor Creative (M) Sdn Bhd, which is managing the event.

Arab City Melaka has also confirmed participating and will be taking up two booths to showcase their tourism project, which is now under construction and targeted to open its doors before mid-2010.

More roadshows will be organised to Southern Thailand, Singapore, Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indoneasia, as well as Sabah and other states in Malaysia.

A number of activities are in the pipeline to promote MITS 2009. One of them is co-organising a “Family Drive Holiday” to Melaka from Singapore with a Singapore-based car and travel magazine and a local car club for those from the Klang Valley.

The MITS will be held in December to take advantage of the year-end school holidays for both Malaysia and Singapore. Being held over the weekend, it hopes to cash in on the large number of Singaporeans and locals visiting Melaka as MITS will be an added attraction for them.

MITS can help these visitors plan their holidays for 2010 as many exhibitors such as airlines, hotels and theme parks are now selling their products and services ahead.

Melaka recorded tourist arrivals of 7.2 million last year, above its 6.8 million target. Nazary is confident of achieving 7.4 million tourist arrivals for 2009, with 3.1 million already achieved as at June this year.

Hotels in Melaka achieved 88% room occupancy during weekdays and were overbooked during the weekends in December 2008.

This year, the MITS organiser will be organising a B2B session on 3 December between exhibitors and travel trade buyers before opening the show to the public. Arrangements and negotiations are on-going with sponsors and invited buyers to participate in the B2B session.

MITS offers exhibitors the opportunities to develop new contacts as well as to meet qualified local and international trade buyers, including frequent travellers during the event.

The organiser is looking at using round trip shuttle buses from Melaka shopping centres downtown and partner hotels to the MITC in order to reduce traffic congestion for visitors.

As for Melaka, its tourism sector’s objectives are to reinforce its 12 sub-sectors. They are history, culture, recreation, sports, shopping, conventions, health, education, agro, makan–makan (food), Melaka My 2nd Home and youth tourism.

For more information on MITS, please contact Noorhayati at 06-2328358, Roslin at 016-2039198 or Anthony Tan 019-4455233.