PAL in a pickle over unpaid fees

MANILA, 2 October 2017: The Philippine government has threatened its flag carrier with legal action over unpaid fees and ordered it to pay millions in back charges, as President Rodrigo Duterte said he could cut off its access to Manila’s main airport.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) owes 7.3 billion pesos (USD142 million) in landing, navigational and other fees, according to the government, which says some of the charges date back years.

Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters Thursday that the transport ministry had issued the airline with a final demand for full payment, and was prepared to take legal action in order to “protect the interest of the government”. Read more

Shwedagon raises fees

YANGON, 29 June 2017: Entrance fee for foreigners visiting Myanmar’s iconic Shwedagon Pagoda will increase from 8,000 kyats to 10,000 kyats starting 1 December.

Global New Light of Myanmar quoted a statement by the Shwedagon Pagoda’s board of trustees, that confirmed, effective 1 December, the entrance fee for foreigners would increase to 10,000 kyats.

The price increase should have been introduced 1 June, but at the suggestion of The Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA) a grace period of six months was negotiated. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture noted that the new rate would impact on package tour operators, as prices were agreed on about a year in advance to publish in catalogues. Read more

Big boost in Angkor revenue

SIEM REAP, 22 June 2017: Ticket sales revenue earned from foreigners visiting Angkor Wat’s archaeological park reached USD45,913,000 during January to May, this year, up 64.13% when compared with the same period last year.

Agence Kampuchea Presse quoted figures released by Angkor Enterprise, the state-owned institution in charge of Angkor income management.

The report also claimed foreign visits to the World Heritage site rose 12.30% to 1,092,377 in the first five months of this year, compared to the same period last year. Read more

Pagoda suspends price hike

YANGON, 6 June 2017: Shwedagon Pagoda’s board of trustees has suspended its plan to increase entrance fees for foreigners from 8,000 kyats to 10,000 kyats.

Irrawaddy media reported the board planned to increase the fees from the beginning of June. The announcement had been made in early May.

The Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA) told the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture that the new rate would impact package tour operators, as packages were sold a year in advance. Read more

Angkor ticket revenue soars

SIEM REAP, 5 May 2017: Ticket sales revenue earned from foreigners visiting Angkor Wat’s archaeological park reached USD39.25 million during January to April, this year, up 60.21% compared with the same period last year.

The surge in revenue was attributed mainly to a 1 February increase in entrance fees, although the head count at the gate has also increases substantially.

Agence Kampuchea Presse quoted figures released by Angkor Enterprise, the state-owned institution in charge of Angkor income management. Read more

Halong bay raises fees

QUANG NINH, 4 April 2017: Quang Ninh has set new sightseeing fees for Halong Bay effective 1 April.

Local media reported that new fees for sightseeing routes in Halong and Bai Tu Long Bays will range from VND200,000 to VND250,000 (USD9 to USD11) per route.

Previously, visitors paid an entrance fee of VND120,000 (USD5.27) and additional fees for each single site they visited, ranging from VND30,000 to VND50,000 (USD1.32 to USD2.2) per one site. Read more

Preparing for the Songkran nightmare

BANGKOK, 21 March 2017: Thailand’s Cabinet announced, last Tuesday, a waiver of  inter-city tollways for motorists during the upcoming Songkran festival next month.

According to the Cabinet’s document, motorway travel will be free during the Songkran festival, from 0001, 11 April to 2400, 18 April, to encourage Thais to travel by car to visit friends and relatives in the provinces.

It didn’t say why it was encouraging Thais to travel by car. The holiday is notorious for the annual killing spree on roads that usually ends with around  500 fatalities and in excess of 3,000 serious injuries, blamed on speeding and drunk driving. Read more

Cambodia delay museum fee hike

PHNOM PENH, 20 March 2017: Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance has agreed to delay scheduled entry fee increases at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the National Museum until July.

Phnom Penh Post reported that a letter issued late last month and obtained last Tuesday, indicated the ministry had agreed to postpone the increases – from USD5 to USD10 at the National Museum and USD3 to USD5 at Tuol Sleng – which were originally slated for last January.

The decision to delay the price increase came after the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents wrote a letter to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts underlining their inability to absorb the extra charges in such a short period of time, it said. Read more

Fair Prices please for everyone

BANGKOK, 27 February 2017: We are comfortable with Fair Trade having read the small print on the label of our joggers that confidently assures us they were manufactured with an eye on ethics.

Fair play is internationally accepted as the ruling principle in the drive to rid global sports of cheats. No one challenges that enterprise.

So why is the tourism industry slow to campaign for fair prices? We don’t see the UNWTO coming out in condemnation of dual pricing that is practiced by many of its member countries. But there is no doubt that establishing prices based on nationality is a form of discrimination for the rest of the world. Read more

Higher Angkor fees will deter visits

SIEM REAP, 27 January 2017: Cambodia National Tourism Alliance says the new entrance fees at Angkor Historical Park that will be effective 1 February may trigger a drop in visitors.

Khmer Times quoted the agency general secretary, Ho Vandy, saying Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples will see a slowdown in foreign tourists once ticket prices increase.

“We have predicted that the number of foreign tourists visiting Angkor park will decrease because the cost of the entrance pass is too high.” Read more

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