Brunei Tourism road shows to lure Chinese

By Azaraimy HH in Nanning

"The Chinese see Brunei as an exotic place to visit, a unique destination that offers peace and tranquillity as well as beauty and colour, different from other Asean countries," Mr Songkai, Chairman of Beijing Longway Investment Co Ltd, said.

Some 10 top media personnel and 100 people from China's fast growing travel industry attended a Brunei Tourism Road Show in Guijing Hotel located in the high-street corner of Nanning City yesterday.

The road show is conducted by the Brunei Tourism Development Department together with members of the Brunei Tourism industry and with the assistance of Beijing Longway Investment Co Ltd, the parent company of the Royal Brunei Airlines General Sales Agent in Beijing.

It is part of a series of three road shows in Nanning, Kunming and Chongqing, where Brunei still relatively remains a less known travel destination.

"This is our strategy," said Brunei Tourism chief Sheikh Jamaluddin during the road show. "I am taking advice from travel agents here to fish somewhere that is less known.

"Some people asked me, why do we want to hold a road show in places where Brunei is still relatively unknown to the people. But this is like fishing, you never know what happens until you go fishing in that area," Sheikh Jamaluddin said.

With a growing number of affluent people in China, outbound tourism is on the rise, and Brunei could become a stop for them if only the tourism promotion keeps pace with China's growth.

Mr Songkai said Brunei still needs a lot of effort and it is an ongoing process.

Miss Lu Yeng, a travel journalist from Modern Life Daily, told the Bulletin that she does not know much about Brunei, but she said she knows Brunei as a coastal country, with beautiful beaches, lovely forests and amazing people.

After the road show, she said she would definitely feature Brunei as one of the hot destinations in Asean countries due to its uniqueness and nature. She said Brunei has a niche - its beauty and people.

Mr Songkai said the Sultanate's Empire Hotel & Country Club can be a destination of its own. He said China has a growing number of affluent people, and the Empire Hotel offers both as a beautiful getaway and a very affordable package that could make it as a frequent destination.

The Brunei Tourism said the objective of the road show is to increase awareness about Brunei as a destination and about the RBA flights available from Shanghai and Hong Kong to the Chinese media and travel industry partners at the three second-tier cities in China.

The road shows are expected to attract interest from market areas that are not yet exposed to Brunei.

The format of the road shows, according to the Brunei Tourism, will be the same in each city, and will consist of an evening reception during which a presentation on Brunei and RBA will be made, followed by a networking session between Brunei industry members and their Chinese counterparts, games, animation and prize presentation culminating with a banquet.

Brunei Tourism said the road shows are expected to result in increased sales volumes within a relatively short period of time, probably starting from the 2008 Lunar New Year holiday period.

It is customary for countries to embark on such promotional exercises for their key markets, and with China being Brunei's top market in terms of holiday visits, with some 30,000 tourists from China projected to visit Brunei in 2007, it is timely for Brunei Tourism to woo the market in a more direct way and take the opportunity to begin the road show in Nanning during their participation in the 4th China-Asean Expo.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Kuching-Macau flight for RM39.99 by AirAsia

KUCHING: Budget airline AirAsia is offering a four-month promotional fare of RM39.99 for its Kuching-Macau flight, which will be launched on Nov 15.

The fare excludes airport taxes, fuel surcharges and fees, and is for one-way travel.

The thrice-weekly flight is AirAsia’s first international connection from Sarawak.

AirAsia Kuching station manager Shanmugamnathan Suppiah said as Macau was an important gateway to Hong Kong and southern China, the direct service would boost the state's tourism.

Continue reading at: Kuching-Macau flight for RM39.99 by AirAsia

Service fee sends rural flight fares in Sabah and Sarawak up

MIRI: Rural flight fares have skyrocketed with ticketing agents imposing a compulsory service fee of RM40 for a return trip to all rural sectors in Sabah and Sarawak.

Because of this, the total fare of an air-trip in rural Sarawak has shot up by as much as 50%, putting rural folk in a quandary.

There are about a million people living in rural regions in Sarawak, most of whom depend on flights for quick travel.

A Star check revealed that MASWings, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, had not increased its fares.

It was the ticketing agents who imposed the compulsory service charge for all sectors, regardless of urban or rural.

Continue reading at: Service fee sends rural flight fares in Sabah and Sarawak up

International regatta promotes Baram cultural tourism

MIRI - The Baram Regatta which has been slated to be held in September next year in Marudi, about two hours' express boat ride from here, is expected to boost tourism in the constituency, Baram Member of Parliament Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan said.

He said the regatta should be taken as an opportunity for the people of Baram to showcase their colourful culture to the outside world, eventually drawing more tourists to the area.

"The regatta is an international event, so it should be the time for us to show to the world the unique cultures of the various ethnic groups in the area," he said at the closing of the Baram White Water Rafting Challenge 2007 at Long Apu, about seven hours by road from here.

He said the visitors' focus would not only be on the river activities during the regatta as there would be a World Sape Festival to be organised simultaneously.

At the festival, musicians from other countries will also perform using the sape, a traditional string musical instrument of the Kayan and Kenyah ethnic groups that is similar to the guitar.

Visitors to the festival would also get the chance to see the process of making the sape and other traditional handicrafts of the Baram people, Jacob said. He also wants ethnic groups less known of being traditional riverine settlers in the state to participate in the regatta for more diversity at the event.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort celebrates OKTOBERFEST

Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort (STAR)’s Grand Ballroom was swathed in green, red, white, and yellow, teasing the eye from a main entrance designed to evoke the colours and look of Munich’s Hippodrom. For one night, the Grand Ballroom became a small slice of Germany, in the resort’s first celebration of Oktoberfest in 15 years.

Oktoberfest is typically celebrated between September and October, and has its origins in a royal Bavarian wedding from the early 1800s. It has since evolved into a fantastic 16-day festival that features all the wonders of hearty German food, plenty of polka music, and, of course, barrels upon barrels of beer.

STAR’ one-night only version of the famed fiesta saw the resort’s Grand Ballroom transformed into a luxe version of the standard Oktoberfest banquet hall. Over 400 guests sat at long tables, partaking of authentic German goulash, sausage, pretzels, potato salad, the trademark apple strudel and more, served buffet-style at a nearby marquee tent.

Continue reading at: Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort celebrates OKTOBERFEST