Heed the call of Cambodia

CAMBODIA is emerging as the newest Asian hot spot for Australian travellers, with a 44 per cent rise in the number of Australian visitors in July, compared with the same month last year.

And Japan is bouncing back following last year's earthquake and tsunami, with numbers also increasing by 44 per cent in July.

Visitors to India rose by 16 per cent, followed by China (up 10 per cent), Singapore (9 per cent) and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam (8 per cent), Australian Bureau of Statistics arrivals and departures figures show.

But, overall, Australia's love affair with Bali continues, with Indonesia still the most popular destination, followed by Thailand.

APT sales manager Scott Ellis says travellers are heading to Cambodia because it isn't as commercialised as other parts of Asia.

"Our clients are wanting to go and experience the region before it does get commercialised," Ellis says.

"Over the last few years, Vietnam has got a lot more popular and Cambodia seems to be following on from there," he says.

"Laos will be next  - we're doing a few tours that go to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos now."

APT sponsors an orphanage in Siem Reap in Cambodia and Ellis says guests love visiting the nearby school and interacting with the children.

"People are loving that responsible side of travel."

He says sales to China have also almost doubled this year as more airlines fly there from Australia.

"I think people want to go and have a bit of a history lesson."

Helen Wong's Tours has also seen interest in tours combining Cambodia and Vietnam soar, with its 15-day Angkor and Vietnam Discovery Tour rising about 50 per cent over the past year.

Its 12-day Glimpse of Vietnam is the company's most popular itinerary, but it has also seen a 25 per cent rise in sales for its 17-day Best of Vietnam tour, which includes a train journey to mountainous Sapa in the north, as well as visits to Halong Bay, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An and the Mekong Delta.

Accor senior vice-president Paul Richardson says Australians are looking beyond Shanghai and Beijing in China and turning their attention to emerging regional and resort destinations.

The company opened the 5-star Pullman in Lijiang in northwestern China's Yunnan province last year, a popular area for tourists on their second or third trip to China.

"With narrow, cobbled streets, traditional wooden houses and canals, the city is a charming base," Richardson says.

"In nearby areas there are spectacular waterfalls, trekking, Tiger Leaping Gorge and a therapeutic poolside open space."

Travel Indochina says more people are booking specialty tours, such as culinary, cycling and family tours or to newer destinations such as Bhutan and Mongolia, especially around festivals and events.

The company has a new tour to the little-known mountainous region of Ha Giang in Vietnam.

Trafalgar is introducing Asia into its portfolio from next April, with guided holidays to China, Japan and Vietnam.

"We know that Asia is perennially popular with Australian travellers ... hence we have responded to consumer demand by introducing the inimitable Trafalgar difference to the region," Trafalgar managing director Matthew Cameron-Smith says.

Sourced: news