#Thailand - Tourism sector will only start recovering next year, say experts

Businesses that have been severely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, especially those that rely mainly on tourism in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), are in dire need of support.

Pratya Samalapa, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC), however, said it is still too early to predict when the tourism industry will recover as it relies mainly on arrivals from China.

He said there may be fewer tourists even after the government lifts travel restrictions as many countries are still struggling with the pandemic and blocking overseas travel to curb the contagion.

“After the tourism business is unlocked, there will only be some stranded Thais returning and maybe some groups arriving to hold seminars. This may help some businesses, but will not be able to stimulate recovery, especially since this region fully relies on foreign tourists,” Pratya said.

The private sector is working on tourism stimulus measures to propose to the government. The proposal will focus on domestic travel to help tourism businesses survive, before preparations can be made to take in foreign tourists once the outbreak ends.

Meanwhile, Teerin Tanyawattanakul, chair of the Chonburi Chamber of Commerce, said the agency has discussed the Phase 2 of the relaxation of measures with the provincial authorities, and is considering lifting restrictions on golf courses, parks, hotels, resorts, restaurants and tourist attractions in the province.

Tourism has been hit the hardest by the Covid-19 outbreak, with most tourists having disappeared and operators losing 80 to 90 per cent of their income.

The Chonburi and EEC Tourism Development Plan, which does not cover Pattaya City and Bangsaen, was created to promote other attractions in the province, such as the Hundred Pillar House or Ban Roi Sao.

“We expect the Covid-19 outbreak to end by the beginning of 2021 and travel should once again begin once the vaccine is found. The tourism sector in Chonburi should return to normal by the second quarter of next year,” Teerin said.

Thanate Vorasaran, vice president of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), said the eastern region is suffering the most and not much can be done because it relies mainly on foreign arrivals.

All borders to Thailand are still closed and no tourists are allowed to land. It is believed that Thai nationals may be allowed to travel overseas by the beginning of July, and the government may allow interprovincial travel soon if the number of new Covid-19 cases remains low.

Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year, though it is believed that Chinese tourists may be allowed into the country by July as the number of infections in the country is under control. Operators believe there will be a large influx of Chinese tourists because they are not able to travel anywhere else.

“TCT predicts that the number of tourists in 2021 will match the number in 2019. Hence, it is important for operators in the tourism sector to start preparing for the influx,” Thanate said.

Source - The Nation

Indonesia - Bali named among top post-pandemic destinations

Bali is among the international destinations such as Andalusia and Catalonia in Spain, as well as Florida in the United States, listed as the most desirable places to visit after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The travel industry has been one of the hardest-hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic, but travelers around the world have also been eager to get back on the proverbial road and visit new holiday destinations.

Dutch online ticketing company Booking.com has recorded growing wishlists on its app, listed by people in quarantine around the world in March and April.

On the list, Bali ranks second among the most desirable tourist destinations.

The island is listed along with international destinations such as Andalusia and Catalonia in Spain, as well as Florida in the United States. Krasnodar Krai in Russia tops the list.

In a statement, Booking.com said the list was based on the number of likes for properties listed on the app.

The data was compiled in March and April and compared to similar data in March and April 2019.

Alongside Bali, there are 27 Indonesian destinations on the list, such as West Nusa Tenggara, Jakarta, Yogyakarta and West Java.

The list also revealed that Indonesian users on the app are hesitant to plan international journeys after the pandemic.

Around 76 percent of Indonesian users’ wishlists comprise domestic destinations in sunny cities and places with beaches, such as Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, and Ubud and Seminyak in Bali.

Meanwhile, international destinations are dominated by Asian metropolitans, such as Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul.

On Saturday, Reuters reported that Bali could reopen to tourists in October, following the government's success in controlling the coronavirus outbreak. If the infection curve continues to improve, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry is looking to revitalize destinations and do promotional work for some parts of the country, including Bali, between June and October.

Source - #TheJakartaPost

#Cambodia - Tourism caravan reaches final destination

The caravan entered Cambodia from Laos through the border gate in Steung Treng province.

 A caravan of 33 vehicles organised to promote tourism sites in China, Laos and Cambodia reached its final destination on Saturday.

 The convoy departed Kunming, in China’s Yunnan province, on Nov 16, crossing Laos before arriving in Cambodia on Nov 25.

The convoy crossed into Cambodia through the border gate at Stung Treng province. It then travelled to Phnom Penh, Kandal and Kampong Thom before reaching its final destination, Siem Reap. From Kunming to Siem Reap, the convoy traveled about 6,000 kilometers.

The official name of the caravan is the “Lancang-Mekong Culture and Tourism Exchange and Historical Cities Caravan Tour from China, Laos and Cambodia”.

The convoy’s goal was to promote tourism sites visited along the way as well as cultural and tourism exchanges within the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Framework.

The convoy was organized as part of the ‘2019 China-Cambodia Culture and Tourism Year.’

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the end of the caravan in Siem Reap on Saturday, Hor Sarun, undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Tourism, said the convoy helped promote Cambodia’s tourism potential.

“The caravan provided an opportunity to have cultural exchanges and promote tourism by visiting important sites along the Mekong-Lancang river, which is an important historical area,” Mr Sarun said.

 

Shi Ling, deputy director-general of Yunnan’s Department of Culture and Tourism, asked Cambodians to consider traveling to Yunnan province during their next vacation.

Source - Khmer Times

Seven language apps for pleasant, confusion-free travel experience

When traveling, sometimes the sky isn’t the limit, but the language barrier is. One second you’re excited about exploring a new country, and seconds later you're worrying about the language barrier it presents.

In the old days, many tourists walked around carrying a pocket dictionary. But these days people have it easier. With a little help from technology, traveling can be hassle-free. 

Here are seven apps that can save you from language confusion, as compiled by Insider:

1. Google Translate assists you with easy to use features

The app is mandatory. With over 500 million users, Google Translate is packed with useful features. For instance, you can type in text in one language and get an immediate translation in another. You can also speak into the microphone and have the app read it out in a different language. With the 59 languages available offline, Google Translate allows you to engage in real-time conversation with locals, even when you have no internet connection.

2. Duolingo equips you with knowledge of basic conversation

Duolingo offers short and fun daily conversation lessons to prepare you for a trip. If you need a bit of motivation, its mascot, a green owl, is there to cheer you on at all times. You can also test your skills and level up when ready. The app has 200 million users actively learning languages, including Esperanto, Hebrew, Portuguese, Greek, Welsh, Romanian and Swahili.

3. HelloTalk connects you to locals

Not only do people help you, but you get to help others as well. HelloTalk connects users with people who speak the language they need through free chat and audio calls. Offering more than 100 languages, HelloTalk also supports interactive experience through its translation and grammar correction tools.

4. TripLingo comes in handy in critical situations

If you need emergency information, currency conversion, tip calculation or briefings on local etiquette, TripLingo is the right app. Besides offering voice translators in 19 languages, the app offers live human translators on standby, available for an extra charge.

5. Tandem teams you up with a native speaker

Perhaps the quickest way to learn a new language, especially daily conversational ones, is by making friends. With more than 150 languages to choose from and a community of over 1 million people, Tandem pairs you with a language partner to help you learn even slang from the people who use it.

6. Waygo reads foreign alphabets for you

If you’re in for some local food but can’t read a single letter on the menu, Waygo can help you out. The app works by reading letters that you aim your camera at, translate and spell them out for you. The best thing is, it is available offline as well.

7. iTranlate converts speech to text with ease

Locals often can’t be bothered with typing the sentence they are trying to say into your translator app. iTranslate’s voice recognition technology ensures a smooth conversation between travelers and locals. It converts speech into words in over 100 languages and includes an extensive dictionary with verb conjugations. The app also recently introduced a visual dictionary, with the ability to suggest words corresponding to the object shown in photos

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Vietnam to update tourist visa regulations

The 14th National Assembly will debate this week some draft laws, including the law amending and supplementing some articles of the law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, as part of the ongoing eighth session.

Vietnam’s tourism has developed strongly over the recent past and brought about high economic values.

 However, experts in the tourism sector said there still remain bottlenecks, one of which being policies on the entry and exit of foreigners, which need to be settled in order to improve the sector’s competitiveness, thus attracting more international visitors.

Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the Secretariat of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said the law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam should be more open.

He cited as an example the stipulation that requires a gap of at least 30 days between two visa-free visits.

Chinh further said that many international visitors, especially those from Western Europe, Northern Europe and Russia, want to stay in Vietnam longer than the maximum visa-free 15 days.

He also emphasized the need for a national website that publishes official information about visa policies, citing a survey by the Vietnam Tourism Advisory which showed that most websites of Vietnamese embassies abroad fail to update latest information on the country’s visa policies.

Such a website should be prescribed clearly in the law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, he said.

Chinh also pointed to problems in visa granting at Vietnam’s border gates, which still requires visitors to apply for visas at embassies and receive visas at the border gates. He said this has reduced the tourism sector’s competitiveness.

Experts in the tourism sector are concerned about the fact that the visa exemption policy for tourists from major markets like Russia, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) will end on December 31, 2019.

They said the number of visitors from those markets would drop 30-50 percent if the policy is not extended.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, proposed expanding the list of countries and border gates eligible for e-visas.

 Besides, Vietnam needs to reform visa grant procedures at border gates and review its unilateral visa waiver policy, she said. – Vietnam Plus

Source - BangkokJack

#Cambodia Huge eco-resort under way in Kampong Speu province

If you are an eco-tourism enthusiast, here is another good news for you.

A leading property developer in the Kingdom, Chamreun Sambath Construction Co Ltd, has announced that it is working on another massive eco-tourism project, this time in Kampong Speu province.

The new project, which is called KC Adventure/Agricultural Resort Basedth, will sit on more than 100 hectares of land in Kampong Speu’s Basedth district, Dr Alexander Evengroen, CEO of Chamreun Sambath Construction Co Ltd, said in an interview yesterday.

Just like with their eco-tourism project in Kampot province, Mr Evengroen said their Kampong Speu venture will benefit the Cambodian people and the Kingdom’s tourism industry. Chamreun Sambath Construction Co Ltd is separately working on a multi-million-dollar adventure Resort in Kampot’s Chhouk district.

“We want to give back to the people while growing Cambodia’s tourism industry,” he said.

According to him, their latest venture will feature a Cambodian history museum, fruit farms, cattle farms, special islands, restaurants, solar park, guesthouses, hotel, hobbit homes, cable carts, flower gardens, nature hiking trails, watersports facilities, coffee shop, sky tower, fish ponds, car park, clubhouse, resort, pavilion and cottages, among others.

“What is unique about this place is that visitors will also learn about the beauty of Cambodian history while enjoying the scenery,” he pointed out.

Mr Evengroen said Basedth district is an excellent choice for such project. According to many tourism experts, Kampong Speu, with its mountains, forests, and national parks, is among several provinces in Cambodia that hold vast potential for eco-tourism development.

“The location is green and fresh, with stunning views and mountains within and in the background. It is also easy to reach and ready for development,” he stressed.

“We are developing more than 100 hectares and might expand in the future,” he added.

Source - Khmer Times

#Vietnam - CNN names Hoi An among Asia’s most beautiful towns

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U.S. cable news channel CNN has listed the 400-year-old Hoi An Town in central Vietnam among “the most picturesque” in Asia.

The UNESCO heritage site in Quang Nam Province ranks fourth in the list of 13 most beautiful towns in Asia, behind another UNESCO site, George Town in Malaysia, the beautiful river town of Zhouzhuang in China and Japan’s Yufuin.

Hoi An, which used to be the busiest trading port in Southeast Asia in the 16th century and was famous for ceramics and high-quality silk, is now "a heaven for photographers, foodies and architecture lovers", CNN said.

"Thanks to centuries as an important trade hub, the narrow streets of Hoi An ancient town feature rows and rows of charming mustard-hued merchant houses though many have since been transformed into low-key restaurants, bars, design boutiques and tailors' shops."

For many, Hoi An is not just a collection of 16th century houses for which the former port town has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. A cuisine particular to the town, influenced by many different cultures including Japan, China and Portugal, is a major part of its attraction too.

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Don’t miss the array of delicious food experiences, from banh mi, a Vietnamese single-serving baguette filled with various savory ingredients, at the famous Banh Mi Phuong Restaurant (2B Phan Chau Trinh) that has been praised by bloggers and foreign media for several years now. Anthony Bourdain referred to the banh mi here as "the world's best", CNN said.

"Foodies can also enjoy local staples like herb-covered rice rolls, white rose dumplings and fresh seafood at Ms Ly’s café."

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 Famous towns in Southeast Asia appearing on the CNN list also include Vigan in the Philippines, Luang Prabang in Laos, Kampot in Cambodia, Kota Gede in Indonesia, and Phuket Old Town in Thailand.

Hoi An has been earning one laurel after another this year including topping this year’s tourism hotspot listing by New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure.

On July 16 Google Doodle featured an image of Hoi An with symbols of Chua Cau (Pagoda Bridge) and colorful lanterns, the first Vietnamese destination to be honored thus.

The number of foreign visitors to Hoi An skyrocketed by 90 percent last year to 3.7 million.

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Source - VN Express

 

Lonely Planet names #Vietnam’s north-south rail journey among world’s best

Vietnam’s north-south railway is listed by the British travel guide, Lonely Planet, as one of 10 world’s ‘most amazing’ train journeys for 2019.

The Reunification Express, known as the Thong Nhat Railway, traverses more than 1,726 kilometers (1,072 miles) between Hanoi and Saigon, the country’s two biggest cities, in two days.

"There is no more atmospheric way to haul into Vietnam’s twin metropolises. And there’s no better way of exploring all the glories in between," Lonely Planet said.

The journey allows passengers to sit and enjoy romantic scenery and rural landscapes along coastal towns in the central region including the former imperial capital of Hue, the Da Nang City Port which was initially built in the French colonial time and the ancient town of Hoi An.

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The other train journeys Lonely Planet lists are the California Zephyr in the U.S., Baikal–Amur Mainline in Russia, China’s Beijing to Lhasa Express, and the TranzAlpine in New Zealand.

The north-south rail has been deteriorating after decades of use since being built by the French in the 1930s. Rail transport is rapidly losing popularity given the rise of cheap air travel.

Vietnam’s aviation industry has been growing at the third fastest pace in the Asia-Pacific, according to the International Air Transport Association.

The railways carried 9.4 million passengers last year, down 3.5 percent from 2017, according to government data.

Some companies have been trying to revive the romance of train travel, offering first-class trips with attached restaurant cars like the five-star services launched in 2017 from Saigon to the coastal resort town of Nha Trang and from Hanoi to the northern highlands town of Sa Pa.

Russian news agency Sputnik recently included the north-south rail among world’s 10 most beautiful.

Last year travel publisher Rough Guides named it as one of the most scenic in Asia, where one can watch buffalos grazing in rice paddies, fishermen casting their nets in the sea, deserted white beaches, and lush rainforests.

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Source - VN Express

#Vietnam - Visit to Son Doong Cave among top adventurous experiences

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 For British travellers, an expedition to Son Doong in Vietnam, the world’s largest cave, is among the greatest adventures they would like to undertake.

British TV channel Dave, a panel of travel experts and editors of U.K. tabloid Daily Mail polled 2,000 people aged 40 or under earlier this week for a survey of ‘greatest adventures around the world and across the U.K.’

Of them, 24 percent said they want to explore Son Doong Cave in the central province of Quang Binh, dubbed Vietnam’s ‘Kingdom of Caves,’ putting it fifth in the top 20 adventure list.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, topped the list (37 percent), followed by trekking along the Inca trail in Peru (35 percent), rafting in the Grand Canyon in the U.S. (31 percent) and descending into Thrihnukagigur volcano in the U.K. (29 percent).

The rest of the top 10 also included dog sledding to witness the aurora borealis in Norway, kayaking in Arctic fjords in Denmark, climbing to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal, cruising the Antarctic, and cage diving with sharks in South Africa.

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 Howard Limbert, a former head of the British Caving Association, and his wife Deb spent nearly 13 years surveying caves in Vietnam since the early 1990s. In 2009 they concluded their initial exploration and declared Son Doong the world's largest cave.

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Son Doong opened to tourists in 2013 and the five kilometer-long system, which is 150 meters high and 200 meters wide, contains at least 150 individual caves, a dense subterranean jungle and several underground rivers.

Due to limited space, registration for Son Doong tours must be made well in advance. According to Oxalis, now the only company licensed to take tourists to the cave, only 300 slots are available this year.

A four-day expedition costs $3,000, and there are buses running from Hanoi to Dong Hoi, the capital town of Quang Binh, and then to the park.

The Quang Binh government recently increased the number of tourists allowed to visit the cave in a year from 640 to 900.

The tour is growing in popularity, and with Son Doong getting prominent coverage from the National Geographic, CNN and Good Morning America, Phong Nha-Ke Bang has become the go-to destination in Vietnam for adventurous travelers

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Source - VN Express

#Thailand, the land of festivals

 

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 We’ll start with Songkran because that’s the start of the Thai new year. It’s held on April 13. Having already blown most of the budget on fireworks for the western new year on January 1 and the Chinese New Year festivities, this time they use water as a means of ‘purification’, saying goodbye to the country’s hot season and welcoming the monsoonal rains. It involves a lot of water. In the past it was a gentle festival held at temples washing Buddha images.

It’s meant to be like this…

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  Fireworks, colour, smoke, noise, costumes, absence of occupational health and safety. That could describe any of the many, many festivals held around Thailand each year. Different regions, different festivals. Some reflect an ancient culture and a rich history, other make absolutely no sense but we enjoy them anyway. We’ll go through some of the main ones and a few you’ll NEVER see anywhere else in the world.

But it’s actually like this!

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 Somehow it’s morphed into a huge water fight, in some places, running over many days up to week (in Chiang Mai and parts of Pattaya). Ladeling water gently onto Buddha statues has been replaced by all-out water fights, loud music, foam and a party that has no rules.

If you’re outside during Songkran, especially in the main tourist zones, you WILL get splashed, probably drenched. The more the authorities try and play down the fun in Songkran the more tourists arrive each year determined to party in an event that’s somewhere between a video-game and the last half of ‘Titanic’.

And that’s just ONE festival!

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 The Vegetarian Festival, principally held in Phuket with it’s Chinese heritage, is an assault on all your senses. Parades are held around the island by various community groups with participants wearing white and followed up by either one or many mah-song. These mah-song have been ‘possessed’ by a spirit and display tourettes-like ticks, grunts and choreography that suggests their claims may indeed be true. If it’s all an act, it’s a very convincing one because, apart from all the cavorting down the street, they also have their cheeks and other parts of their body pierced – not by an earring or something tame like that – we’re talking spears, swords, petrol pumps, guns. It’s insane! These days there’s an ambulance following behind and probably more mah-song succumb to blood loss than is ever reported.

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 Phi ta khon (or Ghost Festival) is held in the Dan Sai district of north-eastern Thailand (near the Lao border) each year and usually follows a parade of people dressed up in rags with ghost masks.

Phi Ta Khon is the name given to a group of celebrations held over three days in the province of Loei. The most striking is the first day, the Ghost Festival itself, when the town residents invite the protection of the river spirit Phra U-Pakut, and then parade wearing the ghosts masks made of husks and coconut leaves.

But they also carry with them large phallic axes which are meant to reflect… oh, Google it.

 In Esan and around the Laos border areas there are many rocket festivals each year around May to June. Probably the biggest is the Yasothon Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival. Imagine groups building their own rocket with the winner able to fire their rocket to the highest altitude. Like Songkran, the idea is to welcome in the forthcoming wet season (by piercing the sky to encourage rain).

The rockets used to be made out of bamboo but are more likely to be constructed out of PVC pipes these days and powered by ‘black powder’ which is regulated by certain rules (we doubt this claim!!). So there’s gun powder, loud music, alcohol and men in competition to fire home-made rockets high into the Esan sky – what could possible go wrong?! Some of the rockets reach heights of several kilometres and can travel a lot further down range.

Read more about the rocket festivals HERE.

 

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 Chinese New Year is big in China and it’s also huge in Thailand. Partly because there are many ethnic Thai-Chinese born in Thailand but also because there are so many Chinese visiting the Kingdom these days. The Chinese New Year festivities stretch from shopping centre sales to regional street parades to ceremonies for families and businesses.

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For a Buddhist country, Christmas is ironically enthusiastically celebrated. It involves presents, eating, celebrations, coloured lights and people spending money so it was always going to fly in Thailand. Thais remain completely bemused by Santa Claus, ‘baby Jesus’ and Christmas carols but, commercially, they’ve certainly embraced it now.

I have never seen better decorations or a celebration of Christmas than I have in Bangkok. My best Christmas moment was when I found a statue of Santa Claus nailed to a cross – a slight cultural faux pas where they’d confused Easter and Christmas and come up with a perfectly ‘Thai’ Christmas decoration.

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Source - The Thaiger

Here are the top 10 beaches

Iconic beach from popular K-drama named world’s best beach 2018

A beach in Greece that will be instantly recognizable to fans of K-drama tops a new list of the world’s best 100 beaches, as voted by journalists, editors and bloggers from around the world.

For its list of world’s best beaches, airfare agency FlightNetwork tapped 1,200 travel experts around the world on their picks for the most beautiful, postcard-perfect beach destinations around the world.

Taking the top spot is Navagio Beach, better known as Shipwreck Beach in Zakynthos, Greece.

The slice of paradise takes its rather ominous name from the rusty remains of the shipwrecked Freightliner MV Panagiotis, which sits anchored against towering golden cliffs in the hidden cove.

FlightNetwork says the beach has become increasingly popular in recent years, but fails to mention that the most probable reason for the spike in visitors can be traced to its starring role in the hit 2016 K-drama “Descendants of the Sun.”

The beach served as one of the backdrops for the main characters’ improbable romance in the fictional country of Urku.

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 The 16-episode drama broke viewership records in South Korea, with nearly 40 percent of the country watching its final episode in April 2016. The series was also wildly popular in other Asian countries and among K-drama fans around the world.

The rest of the list features beaches in the Philippines, Hawaii, Thailand, Turks and Caicos, Chile, Micronesia and the Bahamas, among others.

Here are the top 10 beaches:
1. Shipwreck Beach, Zakynthos, Greece
2. Whitehaven Beach, Australia
3. Hidden Beach, Philippines
4. Praia do Sancho, Brazil
5. Tulum, Mexico
6. Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos
7. Seven Mile Beach, Cayman Islands
8. Anse Source d’Argent, Seychelles
9. Maya Bay, Thailand
10. Varadero Beach, Cuba

 Hidden Beach is in El Nido, Palawan which is composed of islands and islets and is known for its massive limestone cliffs. It was in the 14th spot in last year’s list.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Why #American tourists don't come to #Indonesia

Water Palace of Tirta Gangga in East Bali, Karangasem

 Over 75 million US citizens travel abroad each year. Only about 7 percent of them visit Asia, but that is still roughly 5 million people. But only a tiny percent of that number comes to Indonesia. Most of those who do come focus almost entirely on Bali, which has, of course, been the face of Indonesia for the international jet set for decades.

Most people I know back in Canada, where I’m from, and the US where I lived for 20 years, thought that “Bali” was a country – a picture-perfect tropical isle floating somewhere in the Pacific. The fact that Bali is part of a nation called Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population on the planet (right behind the US, in fact) would come as quite a shock to most North Americans.

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 There are some logical reasons for this lack of American interest in Indonesia as a vacation destination.  There are easy links between the US and many other Asian countries. Americans fought wars in Vietnam and Cambodia and welcomed large groups of refugees after those wars – families who now go back to their homelands regularly.  Our large military presence in the Philippines and Thailand established many natural links there and a significant amount of inter-marriage. Chinese immigrants helped to build the North American railroads and have always had a prominent place in our cultural heritage. And not only is there a large and very successful diaspora of Japanese immigrants in America, there is also a sophisticated taste for all things Japanese including architectural and garden design, Zen Buddhism, sushi (and Japanese food in general), martial arts, cult movies and literature.

Indonesia on the other hand has remained unknown. There are very, very few Indonesian immigrants in America. Apart from the movies The Year of Living Dangerously and the Bali-focused Eat, Pray, Love, (plus, of course, the tsunami of 2004), Indonesia simply doesn’t come up on the American radar.

There are also some serious negatives that have filtered through the global press, including what The Jakarta Post contributor Duncan Graham calls one of the country’s “self-inflicted wounds”:  “a cruel and illogical approach to the drug problem by maintaining the death penalty”.

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 Graham is right. It’s not that American tourists would be stashing drugs in their backpacks or Gucci bags. It’s that countries with a law this primitive and archaic seem to demand some kind of conscientious-objector status, even one as simple as picking a different place to holiday.

But this issue is probably not a deal breaker. Instead, when Americans do start exploring Indonesia online, or when the word spreads about a friend’s trip here, it is a series of pretty basic lifestyle issues that inevitably comes up to muddy the waters.

There is no doubt that getting around the country outside of the Bali infrastructure is challenging. The government’s proposed new digital tool, Travel X-Change Indonesia (TXI), should be a good start toward addressing this problem. There is also the well-publicized issue of local amenities.

The backpackers may be willing to accept hostel accommodation with no air conditioning and Indonesian-style bathroom facilities, but most older American travelers will not. So providing at least some “full-service” accommodation and, just as importantly, making them accessible online, is clearly one key to attracting this market.

 Another issue that bothers many actual or potential visitors from North America even more than these inconveniences is: the garbage. America recognized its litter problem back in the 1950s and anyone caught throwing anything on the ground in that country can face a stiff fine and be required to do community service.

It should come as no surprise then that American travelers are appalled and often disgusted by the garbage strewn around many Indonesian cities and towns. People here genuinely don’t seem to consider it a problem to toss refuse on the ground or in the rivers, or to wade through piles of garbage at the side of roads.

Much of the admiration and interest the Western traveler feels for the customs, the idiosyncrasies, the good humor and the warmth of the people dissipates at the sight and smell of the garbage. It is everywhere, and very few tourists pass through without noting it and spreading the word through online reviews and social media.

To put this in a global perspective, Singapore is king in terms of cleanliness, while India and Indonesia are pretty close to the bottom of the list.

READ CONTINUE

 

#Belize is not just for backpackers any more

Tobacco Caye aerial in Belize barrier reef with a boat.

 For all of Belize’s cultural diversity—the country’s melting pot heritage is equal parts Mayan, Creole, Mestizo, Spanish, Lebanese, Chinese, British, Indian, and Mennonite—its tourism scene is surprisingly one-note.

Nearly three-quarters of its 1.4 million annual visitors arrive by cruise ship, docking for just enough time to see the Altun Ha Mayan ruins, ride some zip lines, or go tubing through its famed Crystal Cave. And while a small clutch of luxury hotels exists—led by the pioneering, culinary-focused Copal Tree Lodge and the Coppola family’s private island retreat, Turtle Inn—Belize has suffered from a backpacker reputation that undermines its true Caribbean charms.

That’s changing. “When I started coming here 15 years ago, it was Birkenstocks and REI bags on the TropicAir flights,” says Beth Clifford, founder of the three-month-old Mahogany Bay Resort & Beach Club, referring to the 14-seat Cessna flights that are ubiquitous in Belize. “I just got off a TropicAir plane today and counted no fewer than three Louis Vuitton bags,” she adds. “The profile has changed entirely.”

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Mahogany Bay is the first in a long string of luxury openings coming to Belize. It opened in December on the southeastern tip of Ambergris Caye, with a 70-acre beach club and exploration center for fly-fishing, spelunking, and scuba diving. Joining it soon are a farm-to-table project with solar-powered beachfront cottages, a Dream Hotels Group property adjacent to a jaguar preserve, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s wellness-focused eco-resort, Blackadore Caye.

All that growth shows no signs of stopping. By the time Four Seasons Caye Chapel opens in 2021 with 30 to 40 overwater bungalows on a private island, the country will be competing with the world’s hottest honeymoon destinations.

Four Seasons is leveraging an unheralded aspect of Belize’s topography: Off the country’s coast are 450 atolls that form a low-lying archipelago, similar to the Maldives or the South Pacific. 

This archipelago, however, is a five-hour flight from New York, a six-hour flight from Los Angeles, and an hour and a half from Miami. For Americans and South Americans, it’s a new destination next door. 

“It really does remind me of the Maldives,” says Michael Crawford, Four Seasons’ president of portfolio management and owner relations. “It’s pretty rare to find places like this, where you can create an entire destination unto itself on a private island, much less one that’s proximate to the U.S.—and with good infrastructure,” he tells Bloomberg.

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#Indonesia - Sabang, Aceh has a lot to offer for marine tourism

Weh Island is a paradise north of Sumatra. Sabang is located on the island.

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 When thinking about beach destinations in Indonesia, the top-of-mind places are usually Bali and Lombok. Rarely does the Sabang City in Aceh make it into the list of favorite places for underwater activities, while in reality the city actually has plenty to offer for marine tourism.

Take the Sail Sabang 2017 event, for example, it’s one of the highly anticipated events by the Tourism Ministry and will be held from Nov. 28 until Dec. 5 in Sabang.

The event will have 24 activities, among which include Sabang Underwater Contest, fishing competition and freediving competition.

The latter one is a form of underwater sports that relies on divers’ ability to hold their breath as long as they can until resurfacing.

The competition will run from Nov. 26 until Dec.1 and it has so far attracted 40 international diving athletes to participate.

To compete in this sport, the athletes need to spare some time ahead of the competition to prepare themselves.

“The competition is next week and they are already here, they need to train. You can’t reach a certain level of depth in short time, you need to adapt and do a survey,” explained Stanley Sradaputta, a freediving expert who assists divers in the event.

One of the early-comers is world-record holder William Trubridge from New Zealand. 

“I just finished my first training for Sail Sabang Freediving Competition, Sabang has a beautiful ocean,” said William.

During his first training, he managed to descend 90 meters down amid the nice weather. “Waves are great, the clarity of the water is good. The entire condition is exciting for us freedivers,” he added.

Through this freediving competition, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya is pushing for freediving to be developed by the locals in Sabang. He saw that the seas in Sabang are beautiful and deep enough to do this kind of sports activity. 

Source - TheJakartaPost

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H.I.S. to open 10 more robot-staffed hotels in #Japan

Japanese travel company H.I.S. Co. said Monday it will open 10 more hotels staffed by robots in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka and Kyoto by March 2019.

"Henn-na Hotel," or "strange hotel," featuring dinosaur or female humanoid robot receptionists and cleaning robots, will be opened in downtown areas of the cities, targeting the booming foreign tourist market in Japan, the company said.

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 Currently, H.I.S. operates three similar hotels near theme parks in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture and Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture.

The company plans to open six branded Henn-na Hotels in Tokyo between December and September next year, one in Fukuoka and two in Osaka in December 2018, and another in Kyoto in March 2019, with the investment estimated to total approximately 20 to 30 billion yen ($180-270 million).

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Source - TheJakartPost