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Bangkok Airways takes delivery of its latest aircraft A319
Bangkok Airways, led by Puttipong
Prasarttong-Osoth (center), the airline’s president, recently welcomed its
latest Airbus A319 at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The latest arrival is this airline’s 22nd aircraft. This type of aircraft
consists of 138 economy class seats and will serve both domestic and
international routes, including Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui, Krabi, Yangon
(Myanmar), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Mumbai (India), and Dhaka (Bangladesh).
Presently, Bangkok Airways’ fleet consists of 8 ATR72s, 5 A320s, and 9
A319s. For more information, please visit website:
www.bangkokair.com or Call
center 1771 (3 baht within Thailand by land line only).
Leading Thailand hotelier
receives prestigious Skål award
Skål International
Bangkok President Dale Lawrence (left) presents the prestigious Malai
Sakolviphak Award to Eric Hallin.
Dale Lawrence
One of Thailand’s most knowledgeable and experienced hoteliers, Eric
Hallin, has been presented with the Malai Sakolviphak Award by the
President of Skål International Bangkok, Dale Lawrence.
The award is presented annually in memory of Malai Sakolviphak, a
well-known and highly respected tourism industry figure in Thailand. He
passed away in 2011 after many years of distinguished service to Skål -
the world’s largest travel and tourism industry networking organisation
- at city, national and international level.
At the presentation to Eric Hallin, general manager of the Rembrandt
Hotel in Bangkok, Skål International Bangkok President Dale Lawrence
said that Hallin has showed tremendous support and commitment to Skål
for many years.
“Our organisation continues to thrive because of the selfless,
enthusiastic support by Skål members such as Eric Hallin,” said Dale
Lawrence. “Eric has served Skål in Thailand and the tourism industry
with distinction for more than 20 years and it was with considerable
pleasure that I nominated him for this very special award.” The Award
was presented during the recent Skål Bangkok monthly networking luncheon
held at Aloft hotel, Bangkok.
Commenting on the award Andrew J Wood, National President of Skål
International Thailand said, “In our annual award we remember Khun Malai
and pay tribute to the ‘father’ of Skål in Thailand. We miss his sage
advice and his knowledge of all things Skål. In 1993, August I believe,
I first joined Skål Intl and became a member of the Bangkok club, at the
behest of Khun Malai.
“Skålleague Eric Hallin is a worthy recipient of the Malai Sakolviphak
Award this year. A gracious and fine hotelier, Eric has been a staunch
supporter of Skål throughout his illustrious career,” said President
Andrew.
Skål International Bangkok is part of the global Skål organisation,
formed in 1934, that has some 18,000 members in 85 nations and regions.
In addition to providing platforms for discussion, debate and networking
opportunities Skål International Bangkok also promotes the work of NGOs
(including ECPAT International and World Vision’s Project Childhood
Prevention Pillar) fighting against child exploitation in the region.
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China in Thailand - Skål President researches the phenomenal
growth first hand
Andrew Wood
National President of Skål International - Thailand
Shanghai, China - It has taken almost no time but it was anticipated by many
- China has become the number one source market for many Southeast Asian
countries, including Thailand.
In my capacity as a former hotelier; a new travel agent; a journalist and
National President of Skål International - Thailand, I had the opportunity
to visit Shanghai and Nanjing to experience first hand China’s phenomenal
growth in outbound tourism.
Our group of senior tourism professionals made visits to TG (THAI) and TAT.
Our first stop, so we were keen and hungry to learn. There followed an
excellent briefing and overview of the market by TAT at their busy downtown
location, where we learnt that Chinese outbound travel to Thailand is set to
reach 6.09 million in 2014 - doubling since 2012. [2011 +97.6%; 2012 +63.5%;
2013 +51.2%; 2014 +45.0%]
We also learnt that there is strong growth by Chinese tourists to all short
haul destinations which will reach 97.3 million by 2014 (+12.5%) and long
haul 9.90 million (+16.47%).
As part of the road show sales calls to agents, wholesalers and OTA’s were
organised and the following day we participated in tabletop discussions
which was organised at the Jin Jiang Tower hotel. Presentations and lunch to
approx 100 Chinese outbound agents.
Commenting on the road show, Chaiwat Charoensuk, Director/Chief
Representative at the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Shanghai office, when
I asked “was he pleased with the event?” said, “We are very grateful for the
private sector support of this very well organised road show and the way it
has been arranged. The presentations and tabletop discussions with agents
are very professional and informative so TAT invited agents from Shanghai,
Guangzhou and Nanjing to attend today. Sellers from Thailand had an
opportunity to meet buyers from China. It is really great.”
Commenting on the tremendous growth of Chinese visitors to Thailand he said,
“We have three offices in China and we all work together to market Thailand
effectively … it is now easier to attract more visitors and all three
offices in China work hard to promote Thailand … we were very successful
last year.”
In discussing the challenges for the Chinese market Chaiwat said, “We cannot
solve Thailand’s image, which is seen as a cheap destination, as the Chinese
agents are reluctant to sell hotels higher than RMB 4,000 (approx THB 850 or
US$28). We try to explain that if they pay higher rates they get better
quality, value and better service, but this will take time because China has
1.4 billion population and only a small percentage are travelling to
Thailand.”
“More people are booking through OTA’s and are looking at other people’s
recommendations online. The trend luckily is moving more towards luxury and
thank you to the private sector again to identify the good quality products
such as five and six star properties and help educate the agents. The
problem, however, is that the majority of Chinese agents only sell three and
four star hotels,” said the TAT director.
The Shanghai road show was organized by Malaysian agent See Toh Holidays in
conjunction with TAT and a VIP group of hotel owners from Phuket, Krabi and
Samui. I asked MD See Toh how he felt the first road show to Shanghai had
performed: “Actually we have had many road shows in different countries but
in China this is our first and we chose Shanghai because it is quite
civilised with good spending due to high disposable incomes. With regard to
the results for today, it is very good and the attendance is quite
satisfactory.
“The feedback on the way we are asking questions is all very positive and
constructive. I think the potential is very big. Actually, we recently
handled a fam trip to Thailand from Beijing and Shanghai prior to the road
show and the feedback was shopping is not so important. However, because
China is a very busy place with very little space, we found that room to
relax is what is important to the Chinese market. They are focussed on the
living standard and lifestyle and they like quiet and comfortable, because
in Shanghai now it is too crowded. Frankly I was surprised that they are not
like normal Asians - they don’t just like shopping but are very interested
in the type of hotel with space with a high quality of service,” See Toh
concluded.
We found that OTA business in China is very sophisticated. Companies like
Ctrip, who are involved in many segments of the tourism market, whose HQ are
based in Shanghai, employ 4,000 people in just one centre and generate
2,000,000 room nights each month. And this is growing.
Commenting on this growth Helin Li, senior procurement manager for Ctrip
based in Shanghai, had the following to say, “Ctrip it is now the biggest
outbound travel agent in China, our company has been operating only for 12
years but now employs 15,000 staff. We are finding more people are making
their travel arrangements via smartphones and we have a number of apps to
help us with this business. We send over 10,000 people per month to
Thailand. In these last two years our Thailand business has increased a lot,
not just hotel bookings but also leisure tours. We have over 100 groups a
month going to Thailand and Thailand is our number one best-selling
destination,” she said.
Commenting about the number of airline seats available on flights from China
to Thailand, Helen Li had this to say, “Capacity is a little problem but now
Thai Airways are planning to increase flights daily to different
destinations, not only to Bangkok but also to Phuket and Krabi. Now we have
charter flights to Chiang Mai so I definitely think this will attract more
Chinese to travel to Thailand.”
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Paragliding along a Light Breeze and Viewing the Bend of the Watercourse
Khung Wiman Beach
A day with clear skies, the wind blowing moderately, waves crashing into the
cliffs of Khung Wiman Beach, is a great time to be floating above the sea on
the colourful engineless wings of a parachute. Open your eyes to a new point
of view with paragliding.
The Khung Wiman beachfront area, besides being known for its long curved
beach, also has a two lane street that runs along its length thought to be
the most beautiful in eastern Thailand. There is also an area in which the
mountain slopes into the sea, creating beautiful scenery and calming
atmosphere.
It is shaded by a variety of beach vegetation, such as
beach sea-oak. Moreover, the breeziness of this location is highly suitable
for paragliding, since the activity depends upon a good headwind and warmer
land surface air temperature to lift you off the ground. Also the spacious
field will allow you to set up your parachute above your head while the high
cliff helps block strong gusts of wind before you run into the head wind and
launch.
Under the parachute, over the sand, see the narrow curves of the bay and the
view of the pines along with the emerald sea sparkling in the sun. To your
side you can see the green mountains and admire them while being cooled by
the breeze as if you were in a land of happiness.
Know before you go: The best time to fly is from November to May. Flying
with an instructor for leisure takes roughly about 1-2 hours. There is a
learning program for beginners to paragliding with experienced instructors.
The course takes about 10 days before you get your first flight with the
instructor.
Recommendation: You must reserve beforehand. Strictly follow instructions
and check wind conditions before every flight.
Travel Info
From Chantaburi town, take Highway 3 (Chantaburi - Rayong) and continue
on Highway 3399 until you reach the beach. However, you need to contact the
Thaiglider Club for an appointment.
GPS Location: N12° 36.31’, E101° 52.46’
Contact: Thaiglider Club, +66 2895 8879,
www.thaiglider.com
TAT Rayong Office: +66 3865 5420 to 1, +66 3866 4585
Tree Top Adventure Park, Koh Chang
For those without fear and love the feeling of adrenaline, then
the “Tree Top Adventure Park” is the place for you. Two acres of greenery at
the seashore near Bai Lan Bay has been transformed into a place to test the
bravery inside of you with tree top adventures unlike any other place.
There are more than 30 soul-stirring activities; swinging like Tarzan,
crossing rope bridges, skating, climbing and gliding down a sling rope at
the height of 20 m. The difficulty levels are ranged from easy to extremely
difficult.
Before playing in any of the stations, please pay attention to the staff’s
explanation and introduction on the steps and how to use the equipment, so
we can have fun with the right procedures. The staff would be there for us
throughout the whole activity, so you can be confident that it is 100% safe.
Since we all know the rules, it is now time for some suspense. For those who
are not daring enough, it is recommended that you should take the easy
stations first; such as climbing rope walls, or crossing wooden bridges
which are not too high. Then be prepared for the most daring station;
swinging on a rope like Tarzan from one tree to another.
The most highlighted station is to glide down a metal sling at the height of
a 7-storey building; about 20 m high and about 150 m long. This adventurous
trip is more than just fun, but it is also considered to train your
concentration, too. This place has no genre or age restrictions; all are
welcome to join in the fun!
Know before you go: First round in the morning runs from 9.00 a.m. - 12.00
noon and the second round runs from 2.00 - 5.00 p.m. Only a traveler taller
than 140 cm is allowed to participate.
Recommendation: When you are in an activity, you should be conscious at all
times to avoid mistakes that might get you into danger.
Please: Follow the guidelines for your own safety.
Travel Info:
You can catch a local bus or arrange the time to be picked up from the
hotel with the Tree Top Adventure Team.
GPS Location: N11° 59.64’, E102° 17.825’
Contact: Tree Top Adventure Park, +668 4310
7600,treetopadventurepark.com
Facilities & Services: Tour guide, parking, food and restroom.
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