Accessible Tourism
TRAVEL IMPACT NEWSWIRE โ Edition 33 (2009) โ Sunday, 14 June 2009
In this dispatch:
1. OLD SOUTHEAST ASIA COMBAT ZONE GIVES WAY TO BURGEONING TRADE CORRIDOR
(Asian Development Bank media release) June 11, 2009 โ Commercial trucks from Thailand and Viet Nam are able to enter each othersโ territory for the first time to deliver and pick up goods following todayโs formal exchange of traffic rights and introduction of a regional customs transit system among the two countries and Lao Peopleโs Democratic Republic.
Overland shipments between Thailand and Viet Nam along the EastโWest Economic Corridor โ which runs from Danang, Viet Nam, through Savannakhet, Lao PDR and into Thailand โ can now proceed directly to their final destination. Shipments previously needed to be unloaded and reโloaded in Lao territory.
The latest initiatives, in tandem with recentlyโimplemented singleโwindow and singleโstop border inspections, will sharply reduce overland transport time and boost trade and economic development. โTen years after Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam first agreed to ease crossโborder traffic rules, the promise of that agreement is truly being realized,โ said Arjun Thapan, Director General of ADBโs Southeast Asia Department. โNarrow dirt trails that were once used to transport refugees and military hardware have given way to modern highways carrying electronic goods, exotic fruits and tourists.โ
Initially, 1,200 commercial vehicles โ 400 from each country โ have been provided with permits to enter into neighboring countries. Under the Cross Border Transport Agreement, some goods shipments can be certified as โlow riskโ, allowing the shipments to be fast tracked at borderโcrossing check points. Container seals will now be routinely accepted for the duration of the transit route, which will impede theft and damage previously caused by multiple container openings and unloadings.
ADB first supported the development of the EastโWest Economic Corridor through a $57 million concessional loan in 1999, primarily to fund the construction and upgrade of roads in Viet Nam and Lao PDR. โBuilding internationalโstandard roads was an important start, but not enough by itself,โ said Mr. Thapan. โGovernments also had to slash the bureaucratic red tape that restricted the crossโborder flow of goods and people.โ
โBecause of the progress these countries have made, trade and tourism will prosper further.You can now set out from Thailand, do business in Laos, and arrive in time for dinner at Danang in Viet Nam โ all in the space of a single day,โ said Mr. Thapan.
Since the completion of the second Mekong Bridge in December 2006 โ the last link of the Corridor โ trade has already dramatically increased. Todayโs traffic rights exchange and customs transit system are expected to further reduce transport costs, producing even more dramatic increases in interโregional trade volumes.
Ceremonies to commemorate todayโs exchange of traffic rights and customs transit system are being held at the two major border crossing points along the East West Economic Corridor: Lao Bao, Viet NamโDansavanh, Lao PDR; and Savannakhet, Lao PDRโMukdahan, Thailand.
The ceremonies precede the 15th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Ministerial Conference, which will be held in Petchburi Province, Thailand on June 17โ19. At the Conference, government officials from the six GMS nations will discuss measures to strengthen transport, trade and tourism links, boost competitiveness, improve access to social services, increase energy access and security, and protect the environment.
2. AGREEMENT ON THE TRANSโASIAN RAILWAY NETWORK ENTERS INTO FORCE
Bangkok (UN/ESCAP Information Services) โ Countries throughout Asia committed to coordinate the development and operation of international rail routes linking 28 countries, as the Intergovernmental Agreement on the TransโAsian Railway Network entered into force today.
The network comprises 114,000 km of rail routes of international importance linking 28 countries in the region. The aim is to offer efficient rail transport services for the movement of goods and passengers within the region and between Asia and Europe. The network will also provide improved access for landlocked countries to major ports.
This step forward for regional integration was marked with a ceremony at the regional arm of the United Nations โ the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) โ featuring video messages from Ministers of Railways from the eight countries which have ratified the agreement. The Agreement comes into effect ninety days after China became the eighth country to have ratified the treaty. The others are Cambodia, India, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Thailand.
โModern economies cannot generate longโterm growth and employment without highly efficient transport networks that are developed with a high level of integration,โ says Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, UnderโSecretaryโGeneral of the UN and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. โThe timing of this agreement is particularly significant as leaders from our region promote intraโregional trade to stimulate recovery from the economic crisis. It will provide a more cost effective way of doing business and ensure the benefits of trade are more evenly distributed across the region.โ
โThe entry into force of the agreement today carries more significance because it finally lays the groundwork after the launch of the project โ led by ESCAP half a century ago โ in the 1960s,โ said Mr. Jang Hyun Choi, Vice Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Republic of Korea. โThe agreement will provide the institutional foundation for this historic project. I believe this is a great achievement of ESCAP Member States.โ
The Agreement provides an important framework for the coordinated development of major rail routes across Asia. Under the terms of the Agreement, a working group comprising ESCAP member states will be established, meeting regularly to discuss policies and issues relating to the development of the rail network. As secretariat of the agreement, ESCAP will organize the first meeting of the working group in December 2009.
โPromoting the TransโAsian Railway is indeed a step taken in the right direction by ESCAP for the overall benefit and prosperity of the region,โ said Mr. S. S. Khurana, the Railway Board Chairman of India. โThe Government of India is committed to early implementation of the TransโAsian Railway Network, particularly the missing link with neighbouring countries.โ
Since the agreement opened for signatures in 2006, the expansion of the TransโAsia Railway has been progressing at a steady pace. For example, projects have been completed in Uzbekistan, where construction of the 227โkm TashguzarโBaysunโKumkurgan line has sped up rail movements to Tajikistan. The 5 March inauguration of a line spanning from Nongkhai, Thailand, to Thanaleng, Lao PDR, provides landlocked Lao rail access to the port of Laem Chabang.
The Agreement also identifies stations of international importance, most of which are located inland and have similar functions to ports in the coastal areas. These soโcalled โdry portsโ will act as consolidation / distribution centres in the hinterland, creating new opportunities for growth and help bring the benefits of economic and social development to a wider population.
Implementation of the Agreement will also provide countries with an opportunity to shift from road transport to more environmentallyโfriendly rail transport.
โCountries worldwide are now realizing that rising demand for transport services can no longer be met by roads alone,โ said Dr. Heyzer. โThe recent fluctuation in the oil price, growing concern over energyโdependency and the environmental impact of the transport industry are pushing policyโmakers to promote more environmentallyโfriendly and sustainable rail transport solutions.โ
The Intergovernmental Agreement on the TransโAsian Railway Network is the second treaty to have been developed under the auspices of ESCAP and deposited with the SecretaryโGeneral of the United Nations. The other is the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network which entered into force in July 2005. The two networks are major building blocks towards the realization of an international integrated intermodal transport and logistics system for the region.
Contact: Mr. Barry Cable, Director, Transport Division, ESCAP, Tel: (66) 2 2881371. Email: cable.unescap@un.org
3. AUSTRALIA TOURISM FACING โTOUGHEST CIRCUMSTANCESโ
[From Imtiaz Muqbil at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Melbourne. First of a series of dispatches on the ATE]
MELBOURNE: The Australian Tourism Exchange, Australiaโs largest travel show, opened in Melbourne on 13 June against a swathe of negative publicity related to swine flu and the attacks on Indian students. The combination of local, medical, financial and global complications has only compounded a downturn in the first quarter as a result of the global financial crisis. Said Minister for Tourism Martin Ferguson said, โThe current circumstances are the toughest the Australian economy has faced for quite some time.โ
Nevertheless, this yearโs ATE has attracted 304 international buyers from 245 companies as well as 15 Aussie Specialists in the Eastern module (AsiaโPacific and Middle East region), and 330 international buyers from 217 companies as well as 39 Aussie Specialists in the Western module (North America and Europe).
The largest contingent of buyers is from China, a total of 55 companies and 70 delegates, the second year the Asian giant has dominated the buyers. They comprise most of the 55 new buyers in the Eastern module. There are only 12 buyers from India largely because about 100 are to be invited to a special India workshop in the Gold Coast in August.
The Western module includes 28 new buyers. So far, 22 buyers have cancelled, all of them from Singapore, largely due to an advisory on nonโessential travel to Victoria issued by the Singapore government. The Western module is due to begin on June 15, and there is no immediate indication of any cancellations.
The sellers lineโup continues to lean towards Western markets. The 1,073 Australian tourism seller delegates from 473 companies exhibiting in the Western module are nearly twice the total of 594 seller delegates from 247 companies exhibiting in the Eastern module. New sellers total 83 companies (33 in the Eastern module, 54 Western).
Minister Ferguson thanked the buyers and media for their confidence in the Australian tourism product and the commitment to invest their time and effort in continuing to do business with Australia. He sought to frame the 3% decline in arrivals in the first quarter in a braoder perspective, noting that other countries had suffered worse declines โ United Kingdom โ12%, the USA more than 10%, Singapore more than 13% and Japan a staggering 27%.
At the same time, he said the fall in actual visitor numbers had been offset by an 8% increase in visitor nights and 5% increase in spending. โWe have come out of it roughly in balance,โ the minister said.
To counter the downturn, the Minister said Australia was maintaining its competitive positioning in markets abroad and pushing domestic tourism. A new tourism strategy paper has been compiled and is due to be made public โas soon as possible.โ The strategy paper is designed to โhelp the Government build a more competitive and productive tourism industry and ensure it is ready to make the most of the economic recovery.โ The minister assured the Australian tourism industry that he would welcome debate and discussion on the document.
The Ministerโs comments aside, Australia is grappling with a slew of unprecedented external and internal problems that will impact on arrivals this year.
Last February, Victoria was affected by the devastating bushfires, which claimed 173 lives and caused extensive damage to communities. This month, local media is reporting that Victoria is the state with the highest number of swine flu cases. However, the stateโs Minister of Tourism Tim Holding said this is because they are doing more testing, and โthe more they test, the more they find.โ At the ATE, special health measures have been announced, including distribution of antiโbacterial hand sanitiser liquid for delegates to ward off the spread of germs from the hundreds of handโshakes.
Recent attacks on Indian students have grabbed headlines in both Australia and India, and escalated to an extent where leaders on both sides had to appeal for calm, including former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh. On 9 June, Universities Australia โunreservedly condemned the deplorable attacksโ and released a 10โpoint plan to address student safety. The plan affirms โthe crucial importance of international integration through educationโ and calls for a series of measures ranging from enhanced security, better communications and travel concessions โfor all students to help enhance their safety and security when moving between campuses, accommodation and workplaces.โ
One of its key recommendations is to โreinforce strategies for the integration of students of all nationalities and backgrounds on our campuses and in our communities, and promote a greater understanding of international cultures and languages in Australia.โ
On the external front, Tourism Australia has just announced the closure of offices in Thailand, Taiwan and the UAE. Tourism Australiaโs Managing Director Geoff Buckley said TA has been facing huge pressure on resources, largely due to the roughly 23% decline in the purchasing power of the Australian dollar. This had forced TA to take a closer look at its returns on investment. Roughly, he said, the country needs about 100,000 visitors from each of the markets in order to justify locating an office. He said the closed offices had a lot of โoverhead problemsโ in terms of the overall cost of maintaining and servicing them as against the numbers being produced by the respective countries.
Mr Buckley himself is to leave his job at the end of June and plans to set up a small tour operating and tourism consultancy business. A replacement had been identified by the recruitment process but the man reportedly selected for the job, Greg Hywood, Managing Director of Tourism Victoria, will now not be taking up the job. He says the reports were โpure speculationโ because the selection was never confirmed. Tourism Australiaโs chairman will be taking over as executive chairman until the recruitment process starts all over again.
[Note to readers: Melbourne is perfectly normal. Noโone is walking around with faceโmasks. There are plenty of Indian students on the streets. Its pretty much business as usual]
4. IATA LISTS AIRPORTS ON โWALL OF SHAMEโ, AND NOW FACES POSSIBLE RETALIATION
KUALA LUMPUR โ The heads of the world airport and airline organisations have clashed over levying of airport charges, following a diplomatic gaffe by the IATA chief in creating a โWall of Shameโ of airports which he said were the โworst contributorsโ to the airlinesโ cost base.
The exchange took place at the 65th annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) here between 8โ9 June. The airlines, projecting US$ 9 billion in collective losses this year, are lashing out at all those affecting their costs, including GDSs, navigation service providers, โgreedy speculatorsโ, hedge funds, security providers, amongst others.
But airports are a particular target.
Accompanied by cries of โBastaโ (Spanish for โenoughโ) IATA DirectorโGeneral Giovanni Bisigniani attacked the British Airports Authority and the UK Civil Aviation Authority, Delhi and Mumbai airports, and Qiport in Ecuador for levying increases of 79% to 207% in airport charges. He also listed ATNS of South Africa and the Eurocontrol states of Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland for proposing increases ranging from 27% to 44%.
Although last year Mr Bisigniani restricted himself only to criticising one regulatory authority, this year he upped the ante by saying IATA had given these airports โa special place on the IATA Wall of Shame.โ He added, โWhat can I say? BASTA! (sic) There is no room for this nonsense in our future. When demand drops, suppliers demand cannot divide the same cross among fewer customers. The shape of everything much change. This includes the comfortable position of our happy monopoly suppliers.
โI invite all of you to join in a strong declaration from Kuala Lumpur to all of our partners contemplating increases. Once more, BASTA!โ
The outburst did not go down well with Jim Cherry, Chairman of Airports Council International (ACI), who was an invited panellist at another session. In his fullโtime capacity, Mr Cherry is President and CEO of Aeroports de Montreal, which IATA considers an example of a โgood airportโ in terms of its dealings with the airlines. However, Mr Cherry, who was at the IATA AGM in his capacity as head of the ACI, clearly took exception to the public attack on some of his members, especially their induction into a โwall of shame.โ
Calling it a oneโsided argument to blame airports for the problems being faced by the airlines, he said that airports have been working to reduce their exposure to costs. Managing downturn has been a prime focus and airports โmust remain committed to serving 4.5 billion people who will continue to fly this year.โ
Expressing confidence that traffic will bounce back once economies rebound, he noted that some airports are doing much better than others. Many are also investing heavily through refurbishments and improved services, baggage delivery, and so forth. Serious attempts are being made at generating revenues from nonโaeronautical sources.
Noting that airports had to maintain a balance between net revenue projections and the capital required in order to generate it, he decried the fact that โcalculations can get out of whackโ when many airlines themselves go out of business, or pull out from an airport for other reasons.
Thatโs why he indicated that creating a โWall of Shameโ for airports was not exactly appropriate. โThis is not a oneโsided argument,โ Mr Cherry said. โThere is no point in beating each other up, when it is clear that both sides have to live up to their responsibilities in equal measure.โ He said he was considering creating a โWall of Shameโ to list airlines at its upcoming ACI annual meeting later this year.
In a subsequent interview, he told this reporter that he had not taken too kindly to seeing the airports โvilifiedโ publicly. โYou have to look at both sides of the equation. Many airlines are also guilty of aberrant behaviour.โ
Later in the same panel discussion, Mr Cherry objected to IATAโs push for more privatisation of airports. He said this push is only 20 years old and began with former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Now, he said there is a plethora of business models out there. โWhich is one is good? I donโt know. Perhaps we need bits of both models.โ
He agreed that airports โhave to demonstrate a great deal of private sector behaviourโ but also noted that โairports can never be entirely privateโ because they are a fundamental part of the overall national economic infrastructure as well as the community they serve. Hence, not all decisions could be made to serve the interests of private shareholders.
At a later Press conference, Mr Bisigniani was asked if he was prepared to see airports and perhaps travel agents associations retaliate by creating their own โWall of Shameโ for airlines. He first sought to dodge the question, saying that his intention was only to try and create a good example for other airlines to follow suit, and that the airlines would like to see more airports like Montreal. However, when pressed to answer the question, he said, โWell we have to be prepared for that.โ He indicated that he was only doing his job in defending the airlinesโ interests, which is what he is paid to do.
By:
When: 7/2/2014
