ITB Asia News 2019 Preview Edition

16 SPECIAL FEATURE CITY

16 SPECIAL FEATURE CITY BREAKS The Anchorage skyline Old Austro-Hungarian atmosphere lives on in Zagreb Zagreb is an increasingly attractive destination for Asian travellers thanks to excellent flight connections and a rich history which gives the Croatian capital a lot of charm. Wildlife in the city: Alaska runs wild and free in Anchorage Only in Anchorage can you meet a moose, walk on a glacier and explore a vast, natural park all in a single day. Between mountains and an inlet, surrounded by national parks and filled with Alaska wildlife, Anchorage combines the best of Alaska in a city that has the comforts of home and the hospitality of the Last Frontier. Alaska’s largest city and transportation hub excites the visitors’ senses with urban delights and wild sights. The city combines the best of city amenities such as world-class dining, comfortable lodging and cultural touchpoints with the vast beauty and wildness that is Alaska. Travellers can look for an urban moose, walk on a glacier, and escape to a national park all in one day. Winter fun includes aurora viewing, downhill and cross-country skiing, dog mushing and winter festivals. Diverse populations such as moose, Dall sheep, black and brown bear, grizzlies, lynx, fox, coyote, beluga whales, salmon, wolves and fascinating species of birds live in abundance in Anchorage’s big back yard. HOTEL NEWS The boom in midtown hotel building is at a crescendo with the opening of StayBridge Suites and Hyatt Place. StayBridge Suites opened December 2018. StayBridge is off A Street along Calais Drive and has suites equipped with full kitchens. Hyatt Place opened in Anchorage in May of 2019. The property on Tudor Road has 133 rooms. The Lakefront Anchorage brings Lake Hood closer to guests. Alterations to exterior landscaping allow the hotel to offer a new set of lake view rooms. Guests can watch the sun slowly set as float planes taxi, take off and land at an Alaska floatplane base. NEW VESSELS FOR GLACIER AND WILDLIFE CRUISES IN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND Phillips Cruises and tours has added a new vessel, the Bravest, to the day cruise offerings from the port town of Whittier. The new, high-speed catamaran can carry 285 passengers. The vessel is the company’s third exploring Prince William Sound. Meanwhile, Lazy Otter’s new boat, the Voyager is a 46-foot, 30-passenger catamaran, specially designed for glacier and wildlife cruises STAND P05 - BASEMENT 2 Zagreb is a concentration of what the Austro-Hubngarian Empire used to stand for. The city bears the charm of Croatian hospitality with its little inns and cellars offering traditional Croatian gastronomy and wines. Its old town offers striking similarities with Buda hill in Budapest with its small baroque-style houses and its churches. However, it is far less crowded. Its 19 th century town reflects the grandeur of the Austrian empire. Monuments along its large avenues such as the National Theatre, the Croatian Fine Arts Museum, the University or the Art Pavilion all set along large parks remind us of Vienna. Zagreb is also an interesting destination for art lovers thanks to a large number of local painters and sculptors. Visitors should also take time to visit Zagreb’s Christmas market, which has been awared several times as “Europe’s Best Christmas Market”. The Croatian capital is easily accessible for travellers from overseas. The city is one of the few in Central Europe to benefit of a non-stop connection to Asia thanks to Korean Air and also via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Munich or Austrian Airlines via Vienna. From a total of 19.7 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2018, 1.4 million overseas travellers visited Zagreb, up by 16.6%. giving the city a market share of 7%. Growth is stimulated by rising numbers from Asia, especially from Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. Overseas visitors from Asia come to Zagreb for the cultural, historical and culinary experience that the city has to offer. In the Zagreb countryside, they can enjoy wine routes, biking tours as well as agritourism experiences. Shopping is also turning increasingly popular, especially with the opening of the Designer Outlet Croatia complex in Rugvica, near to the Croatian capital. Next for promotion stands now health tourism destination with spas and thermal sources STAND L25 - BASEMENT 2 Zagreb Ban Jelacic Square in the city ITB ASIA NEWS • Thursday 10 October 2019 www.itb-asia-news.com

SPECIAL FEATURE MEDICAL TOURISM 17 THAILAND IS COURTING TOURISTS FOR MEDICAL CARE Penang tops Malaysia’s list for medical tourism With no less than seven private hospitals participating in medical tourism in Penang, the island destination accounts for the major share of Malaysia’s medical tourism – which accounts for over a million annual arrivals in the country. Hospitals such as Pantai Mutiara Hospital, Lam Wah Ee Hospital, Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital, Loh Guan Lye Specialist Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital, Penang Adventist Hospital and Island Hospital are favourites in Penang for care-seekers from Thailand and Australia. Annual growth in medical tourism arrivals to Malaysia is expected to continue at around 15%. But why is medical tourism so strong in Malaysia, and in particular in Penang? Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council CEO, Sherene Azli believes the selling proposition that is strongest on top of the quality of the medical care is the affordability: “Due to heavy market regulation under the Ministry of Health, with fee schedules and price capping, our doctors cannot overcharge patients. This is especially comforting for patients coming from abroad, knowing that not only do we provide world class quality and immediate accessibility, but we are also very affordable. Within this region, the stronger players are Malaysia, Thailand, and Sherene Azli CEO, Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council historically, Singapore. Singapore however have priced themselves out, as they are three to four times more expensive than Malaysia. Thailand is priced higher than us, at around double our prices.” According to Azli, a big growth market is China. “Our largest market is currently Indonesia, which accounts for 50% to 60% of our arrivals. Last year we exceeded our target of 1 million arrivals and close to 60% are Indonesians. That being said, we are seeing growth from other ASEAN countries like Myanmar and Vietnam – so much so that we have started opening representative offices in these two countries. At the same time, we have seen doubledigit growth from China. China is growing – especially for fertility, India is also on the rise. Southeast Asia’s population is 690 million, combined with 1.4 bn in China and 1.2 bn in India we have quite a large volume of potential healthcare travellers” STAND C05 - BASEMENT 2 Thailand is not only known for its temples or its beaches but also for its excellent healthcare. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is aware that medical tourism brings to the country and has launched various initiatives to facilitate the development of medical tourism in line with government’s directive to promote Thailand as a regional hub for medical and wellness tourism. Health and wellness is one of a number of niche markets being promoted by TAT under the marketing concept of “Amazing Thailand: Open to the New Shades.” Some of the promising demographic segments include senior citizens, millennials and working women. Thailand is indeed one of the world’s most popular health and wellness tourism destinations, ranging from prevention to cure. Traditionally, Thailand was mostly visited for medical purposes from countries such as Cambodia, Lao PDR, India, Indonesia and the Gulf countries. “Over the years, demand has been emerging from countries such as Myanmar, Australia and Russia,” explained Srisuda Wanapinyosak, TAT Deputy Governor of International Marketing -Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas Back in 2017, the Kingdom introduced a special 90-day visa for citizens of China, the Mekong countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) as well as Gulf countries (GCC) who come for medical purposes. The visa is delivered with a special confirmation letter sent by a list of hospitals or healthcare centres approved by the Ministry of Public Health to make an appointment. More than 100 hospital and health facilities are listed on the ministry list. Recently, Thailand experienced the opening of Asia’s first hotel resort with an inhouse medical team. In the heart of Bangkok, Mövenpick BDMS Wellness Resort Bangkok is a very different style of hotels than other properties of the group. The resort hotel features 293 rooms and suites overlooking a garden with an adjacent clinic proposing various wellbeing programs. The Mövenpick BDMS Wellness Resort is a brand new concept of holistic hospitality STAND E05 - BASEMENT 2 Medical travellers are able to combine visits to local markets and sites with medical services in local clinics. ITB ASIA NEWS • Thursday 10 October 2019