In an attempt to boost the tourism industry, Sri Lanka is launching its “re-branding campaign” on a global scale.

The Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau has revealed that the country is looking ahead to launch an intense “re-branding campaign” worldwide in order to promote itself as a safe tourist destination, as reported by Press Trust of India on June 10, 2009.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Faiszer Musthapha stated, “The country expects to triple the arrival of tourists from the present five lakh to two million in the next two years,” quoted expressNews on June 10, 2009.

Sri Lanka is planning to draw maximum tourist arrivals from South Asia, particularly from India, by promoting various sites of religious importance as well as other tourist spots across the country, including its northern region that was earlier under the influence of LTTE.

The campaign is to be officially launched on June 23, 2009 in Colombo. As per the reports, the Indian Embassy to Sri Lanka will support the campaign.

Sri Lanka and India jointly emphasized on the need to further strengthen their bilateral relations in the area of tourism. The constitution of the two India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group delegations may reflect a partnership approach between the private enterprises and the government. Buddhist sites would be an important area to focus upon as these serve as a key link between the two neighbors.

The efforts of Sri Lankan tourism board also include cultural as well as folk music events that are likely to extend up to many big cities in China and India.

Besides this, Sri Lankan tourism board has initiated many familiarization tours for journalists as well as tour operators, not only from its major tourism markets but also from non-traditional markets.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “After the big victory of the Sri Lankan military over LTTE, the country is now all set to lure foreign travelers by means of its aggressive promotion campaign. However, being an island nation, Sri Lanka continues to face issues like lack of infrastructure and thus, needs to work in this area. Proving the country a safe tourist destination is another tough call for Sri Lankan tourism board.”

Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Tourism-Report-Sri-Lanka .html

Taiwan has passed the Renewable Energy Development Act to take clean energy production to higher level by increasing investment, giving incentives and making regulations more flexible.

The legislative body of Taiwan passed a statute in the second week of June 2009 to promote the development of renewable energy in the country, said a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) official, as reported by Taiwan News.

The new legislation is expected to boost the renewable energy industry by pouring in investment of nearly 30 Billion Taiwan dollar (US$ 937 Million). With the enactment of new legislation, the renewable energy generation capacity will increase from 6,500 to 10,000 Megawatts in the next 20 years. According to the figures given by Taiwan Power Co. (a state-run company), the contribution of renewable energy resources to the total installed capacity in the country at present is 5.8% or 2,278 Megawatts.

The government will back the industry by providing incentives and making regulations more flexible to encourage providers to intensify their efforts of producing energy from renewable resources. It will also introduce a pricing mechanism for each renewable energy resource such as wind and solar power industry.

Earlier, providers were forced to sell electricity at two Taiwan dollars for every kilowatt hour against eight dollar recommended by them.

Industry experts have appreciated the government for clearing the bill and believe that it will produce over 10,000 jobs. Incentives scheme announced by the government seems to drive local solar, biomass, wind and other green sectors.

Apart from this, the funds given for the public construction projects by the government under its stimulus package also comprises 10% share for the development of renewable energy and efforts to promote energy saving schemes.

Besides, the new legislation authorizes the state-run Taiwan Power Co. to purchase electricity from private players and empowers the government to give other incentives for the fast-development of renewable energy technologies.

The statute gives emphasis on the development of nuclear power generation, solar photovoltaic energy, biomass energy, solar thermal energy and wind power generation.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The legislative approval of the Renewable Energy Development Act will be the beginning of new era of alternative energy production and related applications in Taiwan. It means the country will give priority to the development and application of renewable, low pollution generating sources that curb carbon emission.”

Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Indian-Solar-Energy-Market-Outlook.html

The revenue of the Indonesian insurance industry is anticipated to rise by 30% in the second quarter of 2009 due to improving people’s confidence and steadily recovering economy.

With the improvement in people’s confidence in economy seeing the signs of recovery, the Indonesian life insurance industry is expected to see 30% rise in its revenue during Q2 2009, a slight rise in comparison of Q1 2009, said the Indonesian Life Insurance Association (AAJI), as reported by Jakarta Post.

The Association reveals that the total premium revenue will likely to climb up to Rp 34.19 Trillion (US$3.35 Billion) by the end of Q2 2009 compared to Rp 26.3 Trillion recorded in the corresponding period last year. The revenue in the first quarter of 2009 posted an increase of 26%, reaching Rp 16.8 Trillion (US$1.65 Billion) from the same period a year ago.

During tough economic conditions such as the current slowdown, people postpone their plans of investing in life insurance products and even encash their existing policies to meet their urgent monetary needs. However, industry experts are optimistic of insurance industry’s recovery in the remaining quarters of this year as the stock market has rebounded with the index coming back to the level of over 2,000.

Moreover, the Indonesians have once again been showing confidence in the life insurance products, owing to the attractiveness of unit-linked insurance policies. Policies that encapsulate features of both insurance and investment still have strong demand which shows that people are keen to purchase them. .

However, the growth in the industry is even then slow as higher number of Indonesia’s exporting companies are either collapsing or slowing down their production operations in wake of reduced demand in the US, Europe, Singapore and Japan. This is further affecting the purchasing power of the individuals and companies to purchase insurance policies.

However, the gross premium income is expected to display moderate growth in 2009 as most of the companies will shift their orientation export towards the domestic market. A Senior Research Analyst at RNCOS said, “With the stabilization of the rupiah, there should be decline in the interest rates in the Indonesian life insurance market. To continue the growth trend in the industry, rising index should be maintained. Further, the conditions will get better in future with the signs of recovery already started appearing.”

Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Vietnam-Insurance-Sector-Forecast.html

In an attempt to boost the tourism industry, Sri Lanka is launching its “re-branding campaign” on a global scale.

The Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau has revealed that the country is looking ahead to launch an intense “re-branding campaign” worldwide in order to promote itself as a safe tourist destination, as reported by Press Trust of India on June 10, 2009.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Faiszer Musthapha stated, “The country expects to triple the arrival of tourists from the present five lakh to two million in the next two years,” quoted expressNews on June 10, 2009.

Sri Lanka is planning to draw maximum tourist arrivals from South Asia, particularly from India, by promoting various sites of religious importance as well as other tourist spots across the country, including its northern region that was earlier under the influence of LTTE.

The campaign is to be officially launched on June 23, 2009 in Colombo. As per the reports, the Indian Embassy to Sri Lanka will support the campaign.

Sri Lanka and India jointly emphasized on the need to further strengthen their bilateral relations in the area of tourism. The constitution of the two India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group delegations may reflect a partnership approach between the private enterprises and the government. Buddhist sites would be an important area to focus upon as these serve as a key link between the two neighbors.

The efforts of Sri Lankan tourism board also include cultural as well as folk music events that are likely to extend up to many big cities in China and India.

Besides this, Sri Lankan tourism board has initiated many familiarization tours for journalists as well as tour operators, not only from its major tourism markets but also from non-traditional markets.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “After the big victory of the Sri Lankan military over LTTE, the country is now all set to lure foreign travelers by means of its aggressive promotion campaign. However, being an island nation, Sri Lanka continues to face issues like lack of infrastructure and thus, needs to work in this area. Proving the country a safe tourist destination is another tough call for Sri Lankan tourism board.”

Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Tourism-Report-Sri-Lanka .html

Taiwan has passed the Renewable Energy Development Act to take clean energy production to higher level by increasing investment, giving incentives and making regulations more flexible.

The legislative body of Taiwan passed a statute in the second week of June 2009 to promote the development of renewable energy in the country, said a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) official, as reported by Taiwan News.

The new legislation is expected to boost the renewable energy industry by pouring in investment of nearly 30 Billion Taiwan dollar (US$ 937 Million). With the enactment of new legislation, the renewable energy generation capacity will increase from 6,500 to 10,000 Megawatts in the next 20 years. According to the figures given by Taiwan Power Co. (a state-run company), the contribution of renewable energy resources to the total installed capacity in the country at present is 5.8% or 2,278 Megawatts.

The government will back the industry by providing incentives and making regulations more flexible to encourage providers to intensify their efforts of producing energy from renewable resources. It will also introduce a pricing mechanism for each renewable energy resource such as wind and solar power industry.

Earlier, providers were forced to sell electricity at two Taiwan dollars for every kilowatt hour against eight dollar recommended by them.

Industry experts have appreciated the government for clearing the bill and believe that it will produce over 10,000 jobs. Incentives scheme announced by the government seems to drive local solar, biomass, wind and other green sectors.

Apart from this, the funds given for the public construction projects by the government under its stimulus package also comprises 10% share for the development of renewable energy and efforts to promote energy saving schemes.

Besides, the new legislation authorizes the state-run Taiwan Power Co. to purchase electricity from private players and empowers the government to give other incentives for the fast-development of renewable energy technologies.

The statute gives emphasis on the development of nuclear power generation, solar photovoltaic energy, biomass energy, solar thermal energy and wind power generation.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The legislative approval of the Renewable Energy Development Act will be the beginning of new era of alternative energy production and related applications in Taiwan. It means the country will give priority to the development and application of renewable, low pollution generating sources that curb carbon emission.”
Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Indian-Solar-Energy-Market-Outlook.html

US retail sales surged in May after three months, on the back of rising gasoline prices and higher demand for automobiles.

Reporting the first increase in the past three months, retail sales in the US surged in May due to soaring gasoline prices and an increasing demand for light trucks and cars as a result of large discounts, reported REUTERS.

A survey of 73 economists by Reuters revealed that retail sales in May rose 0.5% after April’s 0.4% decline. Projections ranged from a decrease of 0.3% to an increase of 1.4%. Further, the sales excluding autos were forecasted 0.2% up after 0.5% decline in April.

In the last two weeks of May, prices of gasoline kept on increasing, but remained around 40% down from the level in 2008. This prompted higher number of Americans to come out on the roads to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday, resulting in higher demand at the service stations.

In the meantime, car manufacturers were successful in drawing buyers into showrooms, which indicated to some that the sharp fall in sales might be bottoming out. This also assisted the positive growth in retail sales.

Moreover, there was an increase in the sales at automobile and parts dealerships in May as compared to April, with consumers taking advantage of lucrative discount offers as automobile manufacturers like General Motors and Chrysler were planning to close hundreds of their dealerships.

Although the consumer expenditure might stabilize, it is unlikely to gain significant heights this year. The approach of consumers is to focus more on saving by cutting back on spending as they are concerned about the potential increase in unemployment as well as wage cuts.

Companies continued cutting inventories in order to adapt themselves to the recession and to cope with lower consumer demand. Also, continuous decline in the purchase of luxury items and reducing sales of the high-end retailers clearly indicate that people are holding back on non-essential expenses.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “However the consumer spending has revived in May, but it’s unlikely to result into extra consumer spending in near future. The weak spending shows that the people in the US are focusing on saving in wake of recession and continuous job losses. So, to see a significant recovery in consumer spending, Americans have to wait for some more time.”

Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Middle-East-Retail-Sector-Forecast.html

The number of tourists from the Asian countries is predicted to scale up in Indonesia during the second half of 2009 due to economic slowdown in the US and European countries.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has recently said that the Indonesian tourism industry will see a new demographic change in the number of tourist arrivals in the second half of 2009 as the proportion of Asian tourists will increase, as reported by The Jakarta Post.

Given the negative impact of economic crisis on the EU countries and US, it is expected that the inflow of tourists from these two regions will slightly dip.

The predicted demographic change in tourist arrivals is a cumulative effect of two convergent factors – economic slowdown in the US and EU countries and positive growth in emerging economies of Asia. Moreover, the inclination of Asian tourists to spend vacations within the continent because of easy affordability and diverse tourist destinations is expected to boost Indonesia reputation of a good tourist spot in the region.

The new trend is expected to escalate foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia during the second half of 2009 by nearly 3% in comparison of the same period previous year (2008). The Indonesian hotel and restaurant market is likely to see similar growth of 2%-3% by the end of 2009.

According to the figures released by Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the tourist arrivals in the country have started to show signs of recovery from slowdown, particularly in top tourist spots such as Bali where 676,336 visitors reported in April 2009, an increase of 8.79% from April 2008.

With presidential election schedule to occur in July 2009, major international events such as Coral Triangle Initiative Summit in Manado, the Tour de Singkarak, the World Ocean Conference and the annual meeting of Asian Development Bank in Bali would support the government’s efforts to achieve the target of attracting 6.5 Million foreign tourists in the country.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “Although the number of Asian tourists in Indonesia will increase, the impact on the growth of the industry will not be much as the average stay of these tourists (excluding Japan) is usually lower than the European tourists. Hotels and restaurants operators have become more active about their promotional campaigns to attract visitors.”

Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Turkey-Tourism-Industry-Forecast.html

The number of tourists from the Asian countries is predicted to scale up in Indonesia during the second half of 2009 due to economic slowdown in the US and European countries.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has recently said that the Indonesian tourism industry will see a new demographic change in the number of tourist arrivals in the second half of 2009 as the proportion of Asian tourists will increase, as reported by The Jakarta Post.

Given the negative impact of economic crisis on the EU countries and US, it is expected that the inflow of tourists from these two regions will slightly dip.

The predicted demographic change in tourist arrivals is a cumulative effect of two convergent factors – economic slowdown in the US and EU countries and positive growth in emerging economies of Asia. Moreover, the inclination of Asian tourists to spend vacations within the continent because of easy affordability and diverse tourist destinations is expected to boost Indonesia reputation of a good tourist spot in the region.

The new trend is expected to escalate foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia during the second half of 2009 by nearly 3% in comparison of the same period previous year (2008). The Indonesian hotel and restaurant market is likely to see similar growth of 2%-3% by the end of 2009.

According to the figures released by Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the tourist arrivals in the country have started to show signs of recovery from slowdown, particularly in top tourist spots such as Bali where 676,336 visitors reported in April 2009, an increase of 8.79% from April 2008.

With presidential election schedule to occur in July 2009, major international events such as Coral Triangle Initiative Summit in Manado, the Tour de Singkarak, the World Ocean Conference and the annual meeting of Asian Development Bank in Bali would support the government’s efforts to achieve the target of attracting 6.5 Million foreign tourists in the country.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “Although the number of Asian tourists in Indonesia will increase, the impact on the growth of the industry will not be much as the average stay of these tourists (excluding Japan) is usually lower than the European tourists. Hotels and restaurants operators have become more active about their promotional campaigns to attract visitors.”

Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Turkey-Tourism-Industry-Forecast.html

Low fuel prices and higher consumer confidence helped the troubled US auto industry to recover from slackening sales in May 2009.

According to industry data, the US auto industry sales seemed to have stabilized in May 2009, indicating to the recovery of the battered industry following filing for bankruptcy by Chrysler, as reported by AFP.

As per the figures released by Autodata, the total auto sales in the US tumbled 33.7% to 925,824 Units in May 2009 against the same month a year ago. However, auto manufactures were satisfied with the improvement of seasonally adjusted annualized rate at 9.91 Million, the best performance of the industry in the current year.

Although the company filed for bankruptcy, Chrysler revealed that it had managed to increase sales in May 2009 compared to other months of this year.

Auto sales in the US soared during May 2009 on account of fire sale prices that encouraged Americans to buy more cars, resulting in above expectation sales by Chrysler despite its announcement of bankruptcy.

Higher consumer sentiments also gave impetus to the battered retail vehicle sales in May 2009 over the preceding month (April 2009). Customer walk-ins in car showrooms gradually improved indicating to the stabilization of the auto industry.

Moreover, the downfall in oil prices took the sales of bigger vehicles up but small cars continued to fill up the inventories of dealers. If the demand for fuel-efficient vehicles drops further, the Obama administration could face a big problem because it has been forcing auto manufacturers to produce more low-energy consuming vehicles.

In their monthly reports, all the major auto manufacturers believe that the economic crisis is gradually waning off and auto sales are recovering to higher level.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “With improving consumer confidence that plays a critical role in auto sales, the US auto industry moved towards stabilization in May 2009. Auto manufacturers have been waiting for this good news and the benefits have already started to appear in sales. Given the enormous changes in recent few months, it becomes important to find out what the American automobile industry has achieved.”

Related Market Research Report:
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Aerospace-Industry-Forecast-to-2013.html

A vehicle breakdown is the mechanical failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that the underlying problem prevents the vehicle from being operated at all, or impedes the vehicle’s operation so much, that it is very difficult or nearly impossible, or dangerous to operate, or else at risk of causing further damage to the vehicle. Vehicle breakdowns can occur for a large number of reasons. Depending on the nature of the problem, the vehicle may or may not need to be towed to an automobile repair shop.

There are various levels of a vehicle’s disability. A total breakdown is when the vehicle becomes totally immobile and cannot be driven even a short distance to reach a repair shop, thereby necessitating a tow. This can occur for a variety of reasons, including complete engine failure, or a dead starter or battery, though a dead battery may be able to be temporarily resolved with a jump start.When a total breakdown occurs, the motorist may be able to have the service paid for by a roadside assistance plan. This may be available through an organization like AAA, the vehicle’s manufacturer, the vehicle insurance policy, or in some cases, another service the driver subscribes to, such as a mobile phone carrier.

In a partial breakdown, the vehicle may still be operable, but its operation may become more limited or more dangerous, or else its continued operation may contribute to further damage to the vehicle. Often, when this occurs, it may be possible to drive the vehicle to a garage, thereby avoiding a tow. Some common causes of a partial breakdown include overheating, brake failure, or frequent stalling.

With other problems, the driver may be able to operate the vehicle seemingly normally for some time, but the vehicle will need an eventual repair. These include grinding brakes, rough idle (often caused by the need for a tune-up), or poor shock absorption. Many vehicle owners with personal economic difficulty or a busy schedule may wait longer than they should to get necessary repairs made to their vehicles, thereby increasing damage or else causing more danger.

For more information on vehicles and vehicle breakdown, kindly follow the links given below:

http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Vehicle-Breakdown-Services-Market-Assessment.html
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Percentage-Breakdown-of-US-Healthcare-Spending-2008.html