Newsletter


LATA to elect new president and board directors  

LATA announce last week to elect a new board of directors.  According to the current board members, the election is expected to be held on 21 May 2008 after many cancellations. 

The election was postponed three times already since its announcement due to the fact that LNTA is not yet ready to have the election organized.  

There are about 14 candidates nominated to the LATA election. 

Mekong prepares for destination campaign 

THE Mekong Tourism Office (MTO) is developing a destination brand.

It will be used in the planned Visit Mekong 2010 year campaign, whose slogan is "The Mekong: Explore Asia’s Last Frontier".

MTO senior advisor, Mr Peter Semone, said the campaign “intends to focus on Mekong as a nature-based, eco-friendly, culturally exotic destination.

“(This is) very much in the spirit of community-based tourism, which features prominently in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) tourism strategy and the national tourism strategies of the seven member destinations of the Mekong."

The GMS member countries are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China’s Yunnan and Guangxi provinces.

Australia outbound up 14.5 per cent 

According to the newly released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Overseas Arrivals and Departures data, outbound travel has increased by a staggering 14.5 per cent and Asia is in favour.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels vice president research, Ms Karen Wales, said: "Australians are favouring Asia - where tourism is being boosted by government support, discounted flights and massive investment in tourism infrastructure."

Asia accounts for almost 50 per cent of all departures from Australia, up from 40 per cent five years ago.

 "Tourism infrastructure has gone from strength to strength in many Asian countries," Ms Wales said. "New quality hotels are being developed throughout the region to accommodate the influx of global visitors.”

However, Ms Wales said there might be a swing back to domestic travel in 2008.  "As interest rates bite, retail spending has softened and Australians may consider an overseas holiday a luxury that they can no longer afford.”