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Tourists impressed by Bangkok friendliness
Bangkok has firmly won over the hearts and minds of
foreign tourists, with the capital’s friendliness proving the number one
attraction, according to a recent poll.
The Bangkok University poll of 386 foreigners leaving the
country at the Don Muang Airport found that most of them loved Thailand so
much that they were now on their third visit.
Asked whether Bangkok had met their expectations, 25.4
percent of the respondents said that the capital had actually exceeded their
hopes, while 43.8 percent said that their visit was as satisfying as they
had expected.
Only 2.8 percent said that Bangkok had proved worse than
they had initially thought. And although Bangkok is famed for its tourist
attractions such as the Grand Palace, 85.3 percent of the respondents said
that the most satisfactory thing about the capital was its friendliness,
with tourist attractions in second place. This was followed by the value of
goods and services, the diversity and quality of shopping areas and tourist
safety.
Nor did the capital’s tourist attractions come number
one in the list of the most impressive things, which was topped by food and
drink, followed by the Thai people and shopping districts.
Although the respondents inevitably grumbled about
traffic problems, dirt and crowding, 87.3 percent said that they planned to
visit Bangkok again, and would recommend it to their friends. (TNA)
Happy Birthday Charnkitti Na Ranong at Henry J Bean’s
Guest of
honor Kokaew Prakaikalvin Na Chiangmai attended the birthday celebrations of
Charnkitti Na Ranong, volunteer for Thai Red Cross at Henry J. Bean’s Bar
& Grill at Amari Watergate Hotel. Shown front row from left are Busaba
Premcharoen; Sukjai Promplan; Pratak Mahavongtrakul; Marisa Mahavongtrakul;
Chao Kokaew Prakaikalvin Na Chiangmai; Charnkitti Na Ranong; Watanyoo
Mungmai; Nichaya Chaivisuth, director of Public Relations of Amari Watergate
Hotel; Luckana Champa; Preecha Wongsasuluck. Back row from left are Denis
Richter, executive assistant manager of Amari Watergate Hotel; Werasak
Choonhajak; Pinsiri Siripin and Amari Watergate Hotel’s GM Pierre Andre
Pelletier.
Vocational students to aid public road safety campaign during Songkran holidays
Vocational students are often given bad press, but over
the next couple of weeks they will be busy earning brownie points providing
free automobile inspection services for domestic tourists traveling across
the country over the Songkran festival holiday.
Launched by Education Minister Adisai Bodharamik, the
scheme is the brainchild of oil giant PTT Public Company Limited (PTT),
which is joining hands with the Office of Vocational Education Commission to
run the program for aspiring motor mechanics.
The free service, whereby motorists will get complete
health checks for their vehicles, will be on offer at 350 vocational
colleges and petrol stations across the country from 5-16 April. (TNA)
TAT goes on the road in April
In a move aimed to boost the country’s tourism industry
this year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will organize road shows in
major markets this month, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Sontaya
Khunpluem.
Sontaya, who oversees TAT, said that agency will organize
road shows in high potential markets in the Middle East and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) later this month. “In the Middle East, TAT
will organize road shows in Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
on 17-21 April; while in ASEAN, TAT will organize road shows in the Philippines,
Indonesia, and Singapore on 21-29 April,” he said.
TAT’s offices in Kuala Lumpur and Seoul will also arrange
packaged tours for three groups of tour companies and journalists to visit
Thailand, aimed at promoting the country’s tourism businesses, and at ensuring
them of the kingdom’s safety. Other activities will be also introduced to
boost the country’s tourism industry for the rest of the year.
The moves followed official figures, released recently,
showing that the number of tourist arrivals at the Bangkok International Airport
in January and February this year stood at 1.45 million, a drop of 0.6% from the
same period of last year.
“The Thai tourism industry is still very stable, although
it was slightly affected by factors including the recent bombing in Spain, and
the spate of unrest in southern Thailand,” Sontaya confirmed. “However, we
must protect our tourism industry from unexpected blows by constant vigilance
and organizing the road shows and other activities will aid the industry,” he
said. (TNA)
Thailand plans to build sport training camp in the highlands
While the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, is drawing
near, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports has come up with a new plan to boost
athletes’ physical strength by building a sport training camp.
Minister of Tourism and Sports Sontaya Khunpluem recently
announced that his ministry was eyeing three locations in Chiangmai Province to
construct the sport-training complex. He said the high atmospheric pressure
could strengthen lung and body functions of the athletes, and enhance their
performance. “Some countries at low altitudes are now providing an air
pressure control room for training their armies of sportsmen,” he said.
According to the minister, the 200-rai area in Chiangmai’s
Samerng district, which is located at an altitude of 1,000 meters above sea
level, is the most suitable location for the training camp, and he would propose
the two billion baht project to the cabinet for approval. The pilot project
would focus on certain kind of sports such as football, volleyball, takraw,
boxing, tennis and golf. (TNA)
Thailand to join with neighbors in regional tourism campaign
Thailand is planning to bond with three other neighboring
countries to launch a joint regional tourism campaign, according to Tourism and
Sports Minister Sontaya Khunpluem. The quartet of nations will include Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam.
Sontaya explained that under the proposed plan, the four
countries will soon set up a joint committee tasked to take charge of the
regional tourism promotion. “It’s likely that the joint permanent committee
will be set up in April, or May”, he said.
To facilitate the project, roads will also be constructed or
developed to link Thailand with other parts of the region, including the one
between Mae Sot District in Thailand’s northwestern province of Tak and
Myawaddy in Myanmar, and the one between Thailand’s northern province of Nan
and Chaiburi in Laos.
The plan has real promise since each year over one million
tourists visit Thailand before they leave for these neighboring countries. (TNA)
Emirates non-stop to Vienna
Dubai-based international airline Emirates has extended its
European network with plans to link Dubai and Vienna. Flights start with four
non-stop flights a week to the Austrian capital from 1st May, rising to daily
from 15th May.
The new route - which will start barely 20 days after the
launch of two other new Emirates services to Glasgow and Shanghai - will make
Vienna the 77th destination in a route network that now already serves 74 cities
in 52 countries.
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