Brunei: Unique, new destination

FOREIGN travel agents have expressed interest in Brunei Darussalam which they see as a "unique" new destination, said Borneo-based tour operators showcasing tourism products at the Travel Exchange (Travex) 2010 at the Bridex Centre in Jerudong yesterday.

These agents come from European countries, including Spain, Germany and Italy.

Gennaro Nardone, managing director of Insight Borneo Incentive & Tours said that as a new destination, Brunei was unique not only because of the co-existence of its pristine forests and the seven-star The Empire Hotel & Country Club, but also because of the attitude towards tourists.

"Brunei is very unique. It is not too touristy; you don't have people that bother tourists like in some other countries," he said.

"(Tourists) are free to do whatever they want, as long as they follow the rules," Nardone added.

He said that for his company, Brunei was an integral part of the Borneo package (Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei).

"Borneo is not complete without Brunei. You must visit all three destinations," added the managing director.

For this Travex, Nardone noted that he had received interest from agents from Italy for the Borneo package.

Kamil Abd Hamid, general manager of Brunei's Ulu Ulu National Park Resort, said that he had also met up with buyers who wished to bring in Italian tourists, as well as visitors from countries like Spain, Germany and Poland.

"We can already see the interest (generated by Travex). With the interest that I've seen, we'll see an increase in tourists coming to Brunei," he said.

Kamil has been marketing the boutique resort as "The Only Brunei Darussalam Rainforest Resort" during seller-buyer sessions each lasting about 20 minutes at Travex.

"They are fascinated with this product. It is the only resort (in Brunei) in the middle of the virgin forest. So the 'wow' factor is there and I believe it (interest) will multiply," he said, adding that it was a win-win situation for both the resort and city hotels since due to the resort's location, visitors would have to stay a night or two in one of the hotels in the capital during their transition from the airport to the Temburong District, where the resort is located.

With regard to Travex, the general manager remarked that it was easier to talk to the buyers since the "homework has been done much earlier", and he lauded the organisers for this.

Hamdilah Embran, a tour executive from Southern Cross Travel Agencies Sdn Bhd, which is based in Brunei, agreed that Travex had facilitated their marketing drive.

"Usually, it's more difficult to get agents from long-haul markets since we have to do marketing overseas. But here, the agents come to us and we have a list where we can look up whether they are inbound or outbound (agents). So it is very useful," he said.

Hamdilah said that he had received particular interest from agents who wished to bring in Indian tourists to Brunei. Southern Cross usually dealt with Malaysian and Singaporean tourists, he added.

"They (the Indian tourists) wanted to know what entertainment we have during the nighttime (in Brunei)," Hamdilah explained, adding that they were very interested in the ecotourism activities such as jungle trekking.

According to a National Tourism Organisation briefing by Brunei on Tuesday, there were 750 international exhibitors showcasing their tourism products to 363 buyers at the Travex, which was held from January 26 to 28. Travex 2010 was held in conjunction with the Asean Tourism Forum 2010 from January 21 to 28.

The Brunei Times