Bandar Seri Begawan (The Brunei Times/ANN) - Hotel establishments are gearing up for the Chinese New Year festivities as they expect tourists from Hong Kong and China to come to Brunei to celebrate.
The Rizqun International Hotel, located at the heart of the commercial district in Gadong, is expecting at least a 50 per cent occupancy rate during the Lunar New Year, from tourists, said Awangku Zulraimi, guest service agent at the hotel.
"They only stay for one night and the travel agents are normally the ones who plan their itinerary," he said.
He also said that this was a yearly event, adding that during this time, the hotel expects groups of foreign tourists to visit.
Asked about whether there has been an increasing number of tourists, he said that year-on-year the number of tourists have "increased slightly".
The Radisson Hotel is also expecting a wave of foreign tourists to boost business during the festivities, with a 'Year of the Dragon' buffet dinner from January 28 to February 4, 2012.
"The buffet dinner will include eight stalls that incorporate the true spirit of happiness, prosperity and longevity such as the 'Yee Sang', Mongolian-style hot plate with sizzling vegetables and meat roast duck, and many others," said Paula Munoz, director of sales for the Radisson Hotel.
She added that it is priced at B$30 (US$23) per adult and B$15 per child.
"As an added bonus, all Baiduri Bank cardholders will enjoy a 20 per cent discount," she added.
Munoz said that the hotel also expects half of its rooms to be filled during the holiday.
Guests are likely to be a mix of business people and foreign tourists from China and Hong Kong, she added.
"This is an annual event, but mostly the number of tourists depend on the travel agents that we work closely with," she said.
Meanwhile, the Empire Hotel & Country Club predicts that it would be fully taken up in the run-up to the holiday and shortly thereafter.
"The Empire Hotel & Country Club will be full from January 20 up to January 27, filled with tourists from China," said Hafiza Mohamad, public relations and marketing manager.
She said that this was a yearly occurrence, and added that the hotel will be having dining promotions as usual.
Last year, it was reported that travel agencies posted an increase in the number of tourists visiting Brunei during this festive period, with the majority of the tourists coming from China and Hong Kong.
A representative from Bon Asia Holidays had said that some 1,500 tourists were expected to arrive in Brunei from February 5 to 15, 2011, "a testament that many tourists from China and Hong Kong are interested to experience a taste of Brunei's hospitality".
She had said there was an increase of about 20 per cent increase in tourist arrivals from China and Hong Kong last year, compared to the festive period the year before.
"Brunei Tourism has been aggressive in promoting Brunei when attending and participating in trade fairs, and they have been supporting inbound operators," she had said, when asked why Brunei was facing an upward trend in the number of tourists.
"By the look of bookings, there has been a little bit of increase of around five to 10 per cent during the Chinese New Year holidays," said Foo Chuan Pyng, general manager of Century Travel Centre, in the same report.
He said that most of the tourists are from China and neighbouring Malaysia's Labuan and Miri who are on transit holidays.
The tourists travel with their families, and most of them stay in Brunei for one to three days, he added.
Foo said that more Bruneians are also travelling overseas during the festive season, to destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Tourist arrivals surpassed targets in 2010, with 176,000 visitors in the first 11 months of the year, a seven per cent increase compared to the previous year.
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