Most manufacturers in Malaysia and India are bullish on globalization making new markets accessible and offering cost savings by outsourcing, a study said Friday.Malaysia’s percentage balance, the difference between the proportions of businesses indicating an opportunity rather than a threat was 73 percent, with India right behind at 72 percent. Grant Thornton accounting firm’s International Business Report 2007 ranked Singapore third at 64 percent.

Manufacturers in Thailand, Australia and New Zealand viewed globalization as a threat, with their respective percentage balances negative 13 percent, negative six percent, and negative five percent. Global manufacturing businesses were most concerned about the impact of raw materials and energy on cost pressures.

It’s a travel agency that thousands of Indian tourists swear by. For almost a generation of outbound tourists in Western India, exotically named packaged tours like European Discovery and Dazzling Dubai were the first introduction to foreign travel. Holding their hand through the rough and tumble of the experience were familiar tour guides and Indian cooks dishing out vegetarian food from a travel agency called Shree Raj Travels and Tours, or more simply Raj Travels. The company which started three decades ago by Lalit Sheth from a small tour operator, offering trips to Kashmir, now has a national presence with several business streams. Raj travels is best known for its outbound tours, comprising 85% of its business.

The company’s latest initiative is the Raj National Express, a Volvo bus service operating in 39 cities countrywide. The buses offer fast and comfortable service on metro and non-metro routes all over the country. The transportation business will gradually form a much higher chunk as operations increase, says Mr Sheth. The company operates 51 buses with hubs in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore and Chennai.

What began as a hunt for timber to build log houses at an upcoming 350 million euro ski resort in the Himalayan slopes of India has blossomed into a vibrant partnership involving the Finnish government, a municipality in the north of the country and a semi-government body supported by the European Union. This collaboration has brought in Finnish experts in the fields of environmentally sustainable tourism, ecological snow management, resort development and best operational practices.

The Himalayan Ski Village (HSV) aims to create world-class infrastructure at Manali in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to position it amongst the world’s best tourism destinations, the project’s promoters say. Even as HSV prepares for its groundbreaking ceremony later this year, the collaboration has already begun showing results. A group of 40 skiers from Manali have just completed a three-week training schedule at three slopes in the Lapland area of northern Finland to become instructors.

With its scenic beauty and rich cultural and natural diversity, southern Spain’s Andalucia region is positioning itself as a dream destination for Indian tourists seeking a holiday with a difference. “Nowhere else in the world can you drive in two and a half hours from perpetually snow-clad mountains to wide beaches, to vast biosphere reserves and to deserts of volcanic ash,” Gaspar Zarrias, vice president of the Andalucia autonomous region, said at a presentation for the media and the travel trade here.

Andalucia is the land of flamenco and bullfights. Its 800 km of Mediterranean coastline hosts a staggering 42 pleasure marinas. It boasts of 104 golf courses - many of them by the sea - five modern airports, 24 nature parks and 32 nature reserves. The region is home to the historic cities of Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba, Malaga, Granada and Almeria. It counts among its proud son’s painter Pablo Piccaso, author Gabriel Garcia Marquez and actor Antonio Banderas.

In fact, it was from the Andalucian port of Palos that Christopher Columbus sailed in 1492 on his voyage that culminated in the discovery of America. “We have a good product to offer and this is reflected in the fact that we received 25.1 million tourists. This number has already been exceeded by one million this year,” said Zarrias, who is the number two in the regional government that has a considerable amount of functional autonomy. “Four out of every 10 visitors is a repeat traveler. This is obviously due to that something special to offer,” Zarrias contended.

Mahindra Holidays and Resorts, has launched ‘Zest’ a short break option for young metropolitans who want frequent holiday breaks. As a part of the exercise, the first two Zest signature resorts will be operational by the year end in Ooty and Kodaikanal. Over the next 18 months, resorts are also being planned at Puducherry, Coorg, Chikmagalur and other locations across the country. “Zest resorts will be unique in that they will cater to a ‘my kind of break — a holiday the way I like it, when I like it and at the pace I like it to be’,” Mahindra Holidays and Resorts chairman Arun Nanda told newspersons on Wednesday.

The product concept has been co-developed with San Francisco based consumer design organizations IDEO. Observing that travel and leisure industry is witnessing a boomtime, MHRIL managing director Ramesh Ramanathan said the zest is primarily aimed at the young metropolitan family who desires a getaway. It will offer a bouquet of resorts at destinations close to all principal metros. The national roll-out if Zest resorts and service network will be phased over the next three years. At present it will be launched in Chennai and Bangalore, he added. Located at drivable distance from metro cities, Zest gives you six nights every year for ten years thus allowing members to take multiple breaks a year.

Recently, a man travelled to one of the EUmember states on an official visit. Of course many people have done so onnumerous occasions but it wouldn’t be worth mentioning if it didn’t have atwist to it. Before he left, he had to obtain a visa with a rare condition -all successful visa applicants had to get comprehensive travel insurance(including health cover).He met all the conditions, obtained the visa and leftfor the trip. That was the expected and simpler side of the story.

Two dayslater, and after dinner, he was struck by food poisoning and had to be rushedto hospital shortly after mid-night when less-costly options - including acall-in at a pharmacy - where beyond reach. But before the medical staff wouldtouch him, they asked whether the patient was covered by a health insurance policy.Through “procedural coercion,” he had gotten the cover. The insurerwas the American Insurance Group (AIG), probably the only internationalinsurance service provider of its kind in Uganda. But if he had not hadinsurance cover, the money he had on him would have perhaps cleared only thedoctor’s consultation costs. At the hospital, the patient was x-rayed and hisblood tested for a number of factors, including analysis of the functioning ofseveral internal body organs.

Done any cross-border gambling lately? Forget casinos. When you zip across the border to do some shopping, you’re gambling unless you have travel emergency medical insurance. Unless they enjoy risking financial ruin, most people have the good sense to get travel medical insurance when they vacation in the United States and other destinations. But it’s easy to forget about coverage when you cross the border for a day or even a few hours.

CAMS offers a comprehensive Personal Accident Insurance scheme which is available to competitors, crew members and officials who may be injured as a result of an incident during a motor sport event in which they are participating. It is worthwhile however touching on the basics of the cover on offer and the manner in which those compensatory amounts identified may be able to be accessed. Firstly, it is important to identify who is covered under the policy. The policy provides benefits to drivers and co-drivers in any CAMS sanctioned event in which they are competing, irrespective of the type of event or the status, provided that a permit has been issued for that event.

This also includes CAMS authorized private practice and test sessions at race circuits and for practice activities in which a CAMS permit has been issued - for example, rally practice sessions. Likewise, members of pit crews and service crews are included in the policy. It is important for all pit and service crews to be registered with the event organizer before the commencement of the competition.

Competitors are registered through their completion of the entry form for the event. Insurance cover also extends to authorize officials of any event for which a CAMS permit has been issued. Once more, in order that all officials are registered, they must be either noted in the Supplementary or Further Regulations for an event or must be registered with the organizers and ’sign on’ before their duties for the event have commenced.

The Medical Tourism phenomenon is not new to India, as people have been visiting the country for medical treatment for over a decade. Patients from US, UK, Middle East, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan come to India to avail of health care services. In the past five to seven years, a large number of hospitals have sprung up with the required infrastructure to provide services on par with the global standards in order to tap this segment.

Earlier, patients from the neighboring SAARC countries flocked to India for treatment due to lack of advanced facilities and skill sets, and the NRI segment also came down to India due to the cost factor, which is one third in India compared to the country of residence. But of late, patients from Western countries like US, UK and other European nations, where the prohibitive costs for healthcare services and the waiting period even for baseline procedures such as a MRI scan can go upto take six months, and in countries like UK, where the healthcare system is driven by the government run National Healthcare Services (NHS), are coming down to India for treatment. 

Also, Indian doctors working abroad have earned a good reputation for their skill sets and this has also helped project an image of competent healthcare services in India. While initially tourists used to come to India to visit places and get a dental or facial treatment, they are now coming down to seek advanced treatments such as cardiac surgery, joint replacement surgery, spine replacement etc. According to Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals, “Today, patients have started looking at alternative destinations around the world for good and affordable healthcare. The healthcare delivery in India is far superior to the rest of the world, which is creating the demand for Medical Tourism.” Currently Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Chennai are the key cities in India which offer healthcare services that match international standards. Other cities like Hyderabad, Kochi etc. are also creating infrastructure to tap the segment. Also cities which have an active international airport are at an advantage as patients prefer coming directly to the location for treatment instead of travelling from one place to another.

Holiday travel continues…Holiday budgets.. Fraud UNDATED (AP) Travelers expecting the worst the day before aren’t finding it at most airports. Passengers heading through Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport have found short lines and few delays at the notoriously delay-plagued facility. NEW YORK (AP) Retailers are about to find out what kind of budgets most shoppers have for this holiday season. Rising gas prices and weak credit have left some speculating that shoppers could buy clothes at discounters instead of department stores. Others could opt for cheaper items. NEW YORK (AP) Stocks are losing ground again today, in part because a gauge of future business activity suggested the economy’s growth in the months ahead could slow even more than anticipated. The Conference Board says its index of leading indicators fell half a percent last month. ATLANTA (AP) Georgia’s top court has overturned a state law that banned registered  s from living within 1,000 feet of schools and other areas where children gather.

Civil rights groups had complained that the law would encourage offenders to stop reporting their whereabouts to authorities. MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) Prosecutors in Michigan have filed four counts of health care fraud against a woman who was kept on a county-paid health insurance plan for eight years despite being fired after 10 days.