Cambodia: 1 million foreign travelers in first half

– Cambodia welcomed 1 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2008, an increase of 13 percent over the same period last year, according to Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.

However, the number of foreign tourists travelling to Cambodia decreased significantly in June as compared with May due to concerns over the country’s economic situation and a border standoff with neighbouring Thailand.

Cambodian Ministry of Tourism said it projected to host around 2.3 million foreign tourists this year and to reach the target, the ministry will work with embassies abroad to attract more travellers to the country.

Cambodia welcomed over 2 million international tourists, earning 1.4 billion USD in tourism revenue in 2007.-

Malaysia strives to lead Islamic tourism market

– Malaysia should take the lead in the growing market for Islamic tourism, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has said.

The tourism industry should always be on the lookout for “new frontiers” or niches to stay competitive, Deputy PM Najib was quoted as saying in a written speech at the Global Islamic Tourism Conference and Exhibition (GITC) held in Malaysia’s administrative centre of Putrajaya last week.

Efforts to draw Middle Eastern tourists since the 1990s have proven successful and the concept of Islamic tourism was now ripe for further expansion.

Islamic tourism is a niche market which is growing in volume and significance, Deputy PM Najib said, proposing the formation of a coordinating body to develop marketing strategies for Islamic tourism.

GITC defines Islamic tourism as an economic concept which includes development of new tourist destinations, as a cultural concept focusing on Islamic topics and heritage, and as a religious concept by including gender-segregation, alcohol-free venues and Islamic-financed and-organized tourism.-

RoK strives to become Northeast Asian ‘oil hub’

– The Republic of Korea plans to create new business opportunities and better insulate itself from fluctuating crude prices by striving to become a Northeast Asian “oil hub”, a senior government policymaker said on August 4.

The transformation of the country into an oil hub requires the development of more extensive petroleum refining, shipment, storage and trading capabilities that will mirror operations taking place in Singapore’s Julong Island, Yonhap news agency reported Vice Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Jae-joon as saying.

He said at a parliamentary meeting that existing bunker facilities in Yeosu and Ulsan are to be expanded to hold a combined 28 million barrels. The two cities are already key petrochemical production centres and have extensive bunker facilities.

“The RoK is situated astride the main North Pacific shipping route, with Yeosu and Ulsan possessing deep water ports and proximity to Chinese and Japanese industrial centres that make them ideal choices for the oil hub endeavor,” Minister Lee was quoted as saying.

He said for the first phase, a total of 320 million USD will be invested to increase oil storage at Yeosu to 6 million barrels by December 2011, with actual operations in the city 455km south of Seoul to begin in March 2012. Of the total, the government will foot 120 million USD, with the rest coming from abroad.-

Cambodia: 1 million foreign travelers in first half

– Cambodia welcomed 1 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2008, an increase of 13 percent over the same period last year, according to Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.

However, the number of foreign tourists travelling to Cambodia decreased significantly in June as compared with May due to concerns over the country’s economic situation and a border standoff with neighbouring Thailand.

Cambodian Ministry of Tourism said it projected to host around 2.3 million foreign tourists this year and to reach the target, the ministry will work with embassies abroad to attract more travellers to the country.

Cambodia welcomed over 2 million international tourists, earning 1.4 billion USD in tourism revenue in 2007.-

Malaysia strives to lead Islamic tourism market

– Malaysia should take the lead in the growing market for Islamic tourism, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has said.

The tourism industry should always be on the lookout for “new frontiers” or niches to stay competitive, Deputy PM Najib was quoted as saying in a written speech at the Global Islamic Tourism Conference and Exhibition (GITC) held in Malaysia’s administrative centre of Putrajaya last week.

Efforts to draw Middle Eastern tourists since the 1990s have proven successful and the concept of Islamic tourism was now ripe for further expansion.

Islamic tourism is a niche market which is growing in volume and significance, Deputy PM Najib said, proposing the formation of a coordinating body to develop marketing strategies for Islamic tourism.

GITC defines Islamic tourism as an economic concept which includes development of new tourist destinations, as a cultural concept focusing on Islamic topics and heritage, and as a religious concept by including gender-segregation, alcohol-free venues and Islamic-financed and-organized tourism.-

Philippine gov’t, MILF to sign agreement in Malaysia

– The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have finally concluded negotiations over the Ancestral Domain agenda, the last and most contentious issue in their on-going peace talks, Bernama news agency reported.

The two parties will sign an agreement on the matter in the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur on August 5, the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department said in a statement, adding that with a settlement achieved, formal peace talks could now resume after a lapse of five years.

“Malaysia is very confident that both parties can now proceed to formalize the peace talks. Malaysia will continue to facilitate negotiations through its Secretariat and the International Monitoring Team (IMT) to ensure the peace talks reach the stated objective with the achievement of a final peace agreement that will secure durable peace in Mindanao, Phillipines,” Bernama quoted the statement issued on August 3 as saying.

It has taken seven years for the Philippine government and the MILF to finally agree on the three main issues stipulated in the Tripoli Agreement of Peace drawn up in 2001.

The issues included security, relief and rehabilitation and the ancestral domain agenda, with agreements quickly achieved over the first two issues.-