Thursday, March 30, 2017

Tour de Lombok Mandalika to welcome international cyclists

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The 2017 Tour de Lombok Mandalika is set to run from April 13-16.
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Located in West Nusa Tenggara, the race will begin and end in Central Lombok.
Divided into four stages, the route will pass through Lombok's premier cultural and tourist attractions.
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The province’s head of tourism, Lalu M. Faozal, said the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) had granted a license for the Tour de Lombok Mandalika.
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During a press conference on Thursday at Dharmawangsa Hotel in South Jakarta, Lalu said the event would involve three national teams and 17 international teams.
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Throughout the event, the cyclists will stay in Mataram, Central Lombok.
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The organizers have teamed up with the local police to ensure the safety of the event.
Meanwhile, West Nusa Tenggara Deputy Governor Moh. Amin offered his appreciation for the event.
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“Every event helps to support the hospitality industry in West Nusa Tenggara. [The 2017 Tour de Lombok Mandalika] will help to promote tourist destinations in the province ,” he said. 
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Source - TheJakartaPost
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Thursday, March 9, 2017

Lombok to welcome thousands of cruise passengers in 2017

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The tourism industry in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), is looking forward to welcoming for 24 cruise ships expected to make fast on the island this year and bring in thousands of tourists through the Lembar seaport.
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The shipping companies behind the 24 vessels had confirmed the planned stops in Lombok, NTB Tourism Agency head Lalu Muhammad Faozal said, adding that the number marked an in...

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Miss Malaysia World stripped of title

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Petaling Jaya - In an unprecedented move, Miss Malaysia World has revoked the title of the current holder.

Tatiana Kumar Nandha has been stripped of her crown for what the organisation calls “offensive” comments online. The announcement was made via the organisation’s Instagram account (@miss_world_malaysia) on Monday.
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The post, signed in the name of former national director Datuk Anna Lin, stated that Tatiana, 18, had breached the code of conduct and contract.
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First runner-up Shweta Sekhon, 19, was named as the new Miss Malaysia World 2016/17.
When contacted, Lin said that Tatiana and her family had made several offensive posts on both the Internet and social media regarding the Miss Malaysia World organisation.
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“There are certain formalities, and she has also breached one involving an important sponsor. This has led to the contract being terminated,” added Lin, who is currently in London.
Tatiana was crowned Miss Malaysia World 2016/17 in August last year. She represented Malaysia on the world stage in the finals in December in Maryland, the United States.
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Lin was the national director and official licensee for Miss Malaysia World from 2013 to 2016. She had announced that she was stepping down from her role as of January this year, with the reason that her term had ended.
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Tatiana’s father, Kumar Nandha, confirmed that she had been served a legal letter about the termination through email on March 3. “She has done nothing wrong,” Kumar said over the phone but declined to comment further.
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Source; TheNation

Friday, March 3, 2017

Japan Travel Fair

Japan Travel Fair to promote destinations outside Tokyo, Osaka

Wakayama is one of the destinations slated to be promoted in the upcoming Japan Travel Fair in Jakarta. 
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 The Japan Travel Fair is set to return for the seventh time to the Kota Kasablanka Mall in South Jakarta on March 3 to 5.
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Six destinations are set to be highlighted at the event, namely the Kyushu (Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Oita and Saga), Okinawa, Setouchi (Ehime, Hiroshima, Kagawa and Okayama), Tohoku (Akita, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata), Wakayama and Hokkaido areas.
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“Tokyo and Osaka have already become the most popular destinations among Indonesian travelers. This year, we want them to visit other places in Japan,” Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) for Jakarta executive director Hideki Tomioka said in a press conference in South Jakarta on Thursday. He added that the selected destinations were equipped with adequate infrastructure and the local administrations and travel agents were keen to tap into the Indonesian market and were set to participate in the fair to promote their attractions.
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The Tohoku region, for instance, an area still recovering from the 2011 earthquake that had damaged nuclear plant reactors in Fukushima, is said to attend the event to promote places it deemed safe for tourists. Meanwhile, Okinawa is described as a "popular resort destination among local and overseas travelers" that is still foreign to Indonesian tourists, with attractions like picturesque beaches and diving spots.
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isitors of the event can also expect to enjoy discounts from participating airlines, travel agents and partnering banks, with the lowest price for return tickets reportedly Rp 3.9 million (US$292).
The travel fair is part of Japan's effort to attract 40 million foreign visitors from all around the world by the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Last year, up to 271,000 Indonesians reportedly visited the country, representing a 32.1 percent growth from 2015.
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Exploring Angkor Wat gets pricier despite increased numbers of tourists

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Future visitors to Cambodia may be unhappy to hear that if they want to visit the iconic Angkor Wat, they’re going to have to pay nearly double the previous admission fee.
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At the beginning of February the cost of a one-day pass to the temple went up from US$20 to $37.
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Officials justify the increase by saying that this was the first price hike in nearly 25 years for many of the sites and was long overdue.
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Angkor Wat is not the only Cambodian tourist destination to increase its prices.
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According to the English newspaper, The Phnom Penh Post, three-day passes to the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap went from $40 to $62 and week-long passes are now $72, up from $60.
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The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh was the first tourist spot to announce price increases, with fees going from $6.25 to $10. Tickets to the National Museum and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum also rose from $3 to $5.
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“The move comes amid reports of increased tourist visits last year, but lower total revenues,” according to AFP. (sul/kes)
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Thursday, March 2, 2017

Indonesia records 1.03 million tourist arrivals in January

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The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded 1.03 million foreign tourist arrivals in January, a 26.58 percent increase from the figure in January, 2016, which stood at 814,300.
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However, the 2017 January figure was 7.42 percent lower than the figure in December, 2016, said BPS chairman Suhariyanto during a press conference on Wednesday.
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He said the increase in December was pushed by the year-end holidays -- Christmas and New Year.
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The BPS recorded that the visits through 19 main gates reached 930,930 people, while visits through other gates reached 99,800 people.
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China contributed the most tourists at 200,190 arrivals from 114,770 in January, 2016, followed by Singaporean tourists, which increased to 100,860 from 96,790, Australian tourists to 100,860 from 94,370 and Malaysian tourists to 97,370 from 83,370.
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The BPS also recorded a high increase of tourists from India to 38,670 arrivals from 25,590. “There is a special tourist promotion to India,” said Suhariyadi as reported by tempo.co. (bbn)
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Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Indonesia still largest contributor of tourists to Singapore

Every year, Singapore will present various kind of leisure activities, which include sports, entertainment, culinary events and art activities.
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About 2.89 million Indonesians visited Singapore throughout 2016, the biggest contribution of tourists to the city state, about 17.7 percent of the country’s 16.4 million total foreign tourist arrivals, according to a statement released by Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
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The number of tourists from Indonesia grew by 6 percent, which was categorized as a sharp jump from the 10 percent decline in 2015, the statement says.
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STB area director to Indonesia Raymond Lim said on Tuesday in a media gathering in Jakarta that his office would continue trying to attract more Indonesians to visit Singapore.
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“We really hope that we can maintain what we had last year,” he said, adding that about 30 percent of Indonesians who visited Singapore went there for business.
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However, to boost the numbers of tourists from the eastern part of Indonesia, the board will hold roadshows in Palembang in South Sumatra and in Medan in North Sumatra in March and April, he said, adding that it would continue the roadshows in Bali in August and in Sulawesi in September.
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Lim said the board aimed for 16.4 to 16.7 million foreign tourists to visit Singapore in 2017 and expected revenues of between US$25 and $25.8 billion. (yon/bbn)

Source TheJakartaPost
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