HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

English travel agents visit Pattaya

Race on to make Thailand Asia’s tourism hub

Thailand and U.S. reach preliminary air cargo agreement

Air India announces new seats in Executive Class

English travel agents visit Pattaya

Suchada Tupchai

Last week, a group of 48 travel agents from Tour East Company in England paid a visit to Thailand under the theme of ‘Tradewinds Mega Fam Trip’.

The visitors arrived for a tour of the Dusit Resort Pattaya.

First on their agenda was to visit several temples, including Wat Phra Kaewmorakot, and Wat Pho, and other tourist attractions in Bangkok. Then the Tour East agents hopped on a big bus and headed down to Pattaya City as their next destination.

Cholchan Pattaya Resort welcomed the group, shown here dancing off their meal, and the Elvis Presley 60’s rock and roll style party created great fun for all.

The group visited a selection of hotels in Pattaya including the Dusit Resort Pattaya, Garden Beach Resort, Cholchan Pattaya Resort, and Woodlands Resort Pattaya.

After dark, the pace quickened as the Cholchan Hotel arranged a poolside gathering. All the agents and welcoming officials joined in a buffet party called ‘Wholeheartedly warm welcome Tradewinds Mega Fam Trip’. Suchai Chirayunon, executive assistant manager sales and marketing of Cholchan Pattaya Resort welcomed the group and the Elvis Presley 60’s rock and roll style party created great fun for the participants.

The Woodlands Hotel & Resort led by its General Manager Stephane Bringer (front center) welcomed Tradewinds for a hotel inspection and a delightful buffet dinner during their “Mega fam trip”to Pattaya.

The representative who brought the group to Thailand remarked, “This is indeed a great chance for Pattaya to get exposed to the world, and especially the English market.”

The next morning, the group departed for a sail around Pattaya Bay and a visit to Larn Island. Woodlands Resort Pattaya organized a lavish welcoming buffet for the visitors that evening.

Before departure, one travel agent said, “I am very impressed with the gracious welcome we have experienced here and will certainly spread the word to my clients that Pattaya is a great place for a holiday.” He added that Pattaya could become the world’s most famous tourist destination if it gets a big promotional boost.

Race on to make Thailand Asia’s tourism hub

The government has begun the race to turn Thailand into Asia’s tourism hub, with strategies for the transformation of the country into a regional tourism center set to be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration by the end of the year, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Sontaya Khunpluem.

Speaking at a seminar on the development of competitiveness in the tourism industry, organized by the Tourism Federation of Thailand to mark its first anniversary, Sontaya said that the ministry was making haste to draw up strategic plans that would see Thailand emerge as a regional tourism hub during the years 2004-2006.

Expressing confidence that the plans would be ready for submission to the Cabinet by the end of the year, he said that the ministry’s strategies would put marketing at the core, whether in terms of the development of tourism products and destinations or the search for new tourism markets. He forecast that once the plans were put into practice, Thailand would see visitor numbers grow by no less than 10 percent each year, with average visitor spending up from 3,700 baht to 4,000 baht per day. (TNA)

Thailand and U.S. reach preliminary air cargo agreement

The Associated Press

Thailand and the United States have agreed in principle to allow unrestricted air cargo traffic between the two countries, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said. U.S. and Thai representatives met in Bangkok on Sept. 9-10 to discuss the proposed Open Skies Agreement, the spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity. The pact would allow Thai and U.S. freight carriers to decide on routes, fares and other logistical issues without government interference, he said.

“An agreement has been reached in principle,” he said. “It has not been formalized” but is expected to be approved soon, he added.

Thai officials hope the agreement will be signed during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Bangkok next month. The move would help promote Thailand as a production base, facilitate trade in perishable goods such as produce, and cut costs for export industries, according to a senior Transport Ministry official.

The United States has more than 60 Open Skies agreements worldwide.

Air India announces new seats in Executive Class

Installation of new state-of-the-art and highly comfortable seats to upgrade the Executive Class on long haul aircraft is now underway. While work on three B747-400 aircraft has already been completed, other B747-400s and B747-300s aircraft in the fleet are expected to have new seats in Executive Class by end of October 2003.

The new seats, with 160 degree recline, between backrest and bottom; will have a width of 54 inches in double seat configuration with a pitch of 59 inches. The seats are electrically controlled by a single actuator.

Other new features include stowage for each passenger in arm-rest area, integrated, individual, rotating reading lights, head rest with mechanically adjustable ears, wide literature pockets on the back shell and a bi-fold tray table in lateral armrest. Furthermore, a retractable lateral armrest has been provided to facilitate access to the aisle for all passengers and allows handicapped and elderly persons to be more conveniently seated.

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