More tourists here for Chinese New Year
Gong Xi Fa Cai: Decorations have been set up to welcome the Chinese New Year. According to travel agencies, more tourists are coming to Brunei for the Lunar New Year festivities. Picture: Helmyshah
Saturday, January 26, 2008
TRAVEL agencies have posted an increase in the number of tourists visiting Brunei during the Lunar New Year festive period, with majority of the tourists coming from China and Hong Kong.
Some 1,500 tourists will be in Brunei from February 5 to 15, a testament that many tourists from China and Hong Kong are interested to experience a taste of Brunei's hospitality, said a representative from Bon Asia Holidays yesterday.
She said there has been about a 20 per cent increase of tourists from China and Hong Kong compared to the festive period last year.
"Brunei Tourism has been aggressive in promoting Brunei when attending and participating in trade fairs, and they have been supporting inbound operators," she said, when asked why Brunei is facing an upward trend in the number of tourists.
International television programmes on Brunei as a tourist destination have also exposed Brunei to the international tourism market, she added.
"By the look of bookings, there has been a little bit of increase of around 5 to 10 per cent during the Chinese New Year holidays," said Foo Chuan Pyng, general manager of Century Travel Centre.
He told The Brunei Times that most of the tourists are from China and neighbouring Malaysia's Labuan and Miri who are on transit holidays.
The tourists travel in family groups, with most of them staying in Brunei for one to three days, he added.
Foo said that more Bruneians are also travelling overseas during the festive season, to destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Group tours to China are also increasingly popular because it is perceived as safer, he said.
"It is good that there has been an increase, because it shows that the economy is not so bad and people are travelling," he added.
More people are now aware of Brunei as a tourist destination, which explains the increase of 30 to 40 per cent of tourists from Hong Kong, compared to last year, said Chang Ming Vui, assistant inbound manager of Freme Travel Services.
He said that there has also been a slight increase of tourists from China, especially from Shanghai.
Most of them opt for group tours because they have communication difficulties, and they usually stay for an average of two to three days, he said.
Around $20 million has been allocated for tourism promotion and marketing programmes, under the National Development Plan for 2007 to 2012.
However, efforts to promote Brunei as a tourist destination have yet to reach favourable results in attracting more tourists, according to Brunei's Long Term Development Plan.
Tourist arrivals surpassed targets last year, with 176,000 visitors in the first 11 months of the year, and a seven per cent increase compared to the previous year.The Brunei Times
Some 1,500 tourists will be in Brunei from February 5 to 15, a testament that many tourists from China and Hong Kong are interested to experience a taste of Brunei's hospitality, said a representative from Bon Asia Holidays yesterday.
She said there has been about a 20 per cent increase of tourists from China and Hong Kong compared to the festive period last year.
"Brunei Tourism has been aggressive in promoting Brunei when attending and participating in trade fairs, and they have been supporting inbound operators," she said, when asked why Brunei is facing an upward trend in the number of tourists.
International television programmes on Brunei as a tourist destination have also exposed Brunei to the international tourism market, she added.
"By the look of bookings, there has been a little bit of increase of around 5 to 10 per cent during the Chinese New Year holidays," said Foo Chuan Pyng, general manager of Century Travel Centre.
He told The Brunei Times that most of the tourists are from China and neighbouring Malaysia's Labuan and Miri who are on transit holidays.
The tourists travel in family groups, with most of them staying in Brunei for one to three days, he added.
Foo said that more Bruneians are also travelling overseas during the festive season, to destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Group tours to China are also increasingly popular because it is perceived as safer, he said.
"It is good that there has been an increase, because it shows that the economy is not so bad and people are travelling," he added.
More people are now aware of Brunei as a tourist destination, which explains the increase of 30 to 40 per cent of tourists from Hong Kong, compared to last year, said Chang Ming Vui, assistant inbound manager of Freme Travel Services.
He said that there has also been a slight increase of tourists from China, especially from Shanghai.
Most of them opt for group tours because they have communication difficulties, and they usually stay for an average of two to three days, he said.
Around $20 million has been allocated for tourism promotion and marketing programmes, under the National Development Plan for 2007 to 2012.
However, efforts to promote Brunei as a tourist destination have yet to reach favourable results in attracting more tourists, according to Brunei's Long Term Development Plan.
Tourist arrivals surpassed targets last year, with 176,000 visitors in the first 11 months of the year, and a seven per cent increase compared to the previous year.The Brunei Times
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