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HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

More English training for taxi drivers and other service sectors

Furry goodwill ambassadors earn their keep

ANZ starts San Francisco connection

Emirates makes it 10 to Jakarta

Hainan Airlines makes inroads into Three Gorges

World’s largest elephant camp to be built in Chiang Mai

Another fillip for Thai tourism

New five-year plan for Thai tourism

United Travel Mega Fam Trip from Ireland visits Pattaya

More artificial coral reefs to be created

More English training for taxi drivers and other service sectors

The Ministry of Education yesterday pledged to provide English language training for taxi drivers across the country, a program which the Education Minister Adisai Bhodaramik said would be later extended to include other service sector professions. A survey of 35,000 taxi drivers in Bangkok showed that the vast majority wanted to better their English language skills.

Addressing a seminar organized by the Department of Non-Formal Education, Adisai hailed the department’s English language program for taxi drivers as a resounding success, with overwhelming numbers of applicants following the initial training of 1,000 drivers. “The English language is a matter of national importance. The government attaches great importance to the acceleration of English language skills development among children and Thai citizens across the country. We don’t want people to study for decades and gain little from it. Even the teachers who teach don’t always improve,” said Adisai.

The core focus of English programs for taxi drivers will be communication with foreigners in order that tourists are impressed and happy when they travel to Thailand. The free program will also be expanded to other professions where there was a lot of contact with foreigners, whether golf caddies, masseurs or other jobs which serve the tourism industry. (TNA)


Furry goodwill ambassadors earn their keep

Chinese pandas at the Chiang Mai Zoo have attracted large crowds of spectators. The number of visitors to the zoo has more than doubled since the pandas arrived from China.

The economic impact created by Xuang Xuang and Lin Hui, the furry goodwill ambassadors from China, has resulted in more than seven hundred million baht in revenue for the zoo since the pair arrived in November of this year. Entry fees to visit the pandas amounted to a staggering 27 million baht. In addition to the “Panda” fees, the zoo has also generated income from the sale of souvenirs of the pandas, worth more than 34 million baht. (TNA)


ANZ starts San Francisco connection

Air New Zealand began its new thrice-weekly non-stop services between Auckland and San Francisco on July 1. Air New Zealand’s new San Francisco service operates on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays utilizing a 392-seat Boeing 747-400. (TTG Asia)


Emirates makes it 10 to Jakarta

Emirates Airlines has increased its frequency between Dubai and Jakarta from seven times a week to ten. The additional flights, which started on June 10, are operated via Bangkok every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, on a Boeing 777-300 aircraft with 359 seats in two classes. (TTG Asia)


Hainan Airlines makes inroads into Three Gorges

Hainan Airlines, already involved in running Meilan Airport in Haikou, has paid US$40 million to buy the airport at Sanxia, which serves the Three Gorges dam. The airport on the Yangtze River serving the popular tourist site could become a key tourism destination when the dam behind the river fills, presenting an entirely new cruising industry on the vast lake.

Sanxia airport now handles flights from 20 domestic destinations. Hainan Airline wants to fly to Hong Kong and Japan and Europe and North America subsequently. (TTG Asia)


World’s largest elephant camp to be built in Chiang Mai

Thailand’s Ministry for Natural Recourses and Environment has announced that the government will pour over 600 million baht into the construction of what will be the world’s largest elephant camp in the northern province of Chiang Mai, which will house 200 elephants currently plying city streets.

The announcement follows support from the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who recently visited the state-of-the-art Chiang Mai Night Safari, for the development of the camp on 6,000 rai of land. The camp will be built on land adjacent to the Night Safari, which is currently under construction, and will be linked to the Night Safari by a tram system. The 600 million baht will be used to construct a tunnel linking the two projects through which the tramway will run.

Passengers on the trams will be able to view various shows, as they move through the tunnel. The tramway will also pass by what is destined to be the largest aviary in the world, which will be constructed along an entire cliff face. A second tram system will connect with Chiang Mai Zoo, around 6 kilometers away.

The elephant camp will be designed not only to boost tourism, but also to solve the problem of elephants roving the streets of Chiang Mai.

Under the government’s plan, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment will purchase the 200-plus elephants plying the streets of the northern city although their mahouts will not go with them. Other animals to be showcased at the center will include deer and red bulls in order to generate greater visitor interest. Thailand has also requested that Australia provides koala bears for the park on a loan arrangement. (TNA)


Another fillip for Thai tourism

Thailand is planning to more than double its air capacity from 13 million seats to 28 million as part of an integrated plan to attract 20 million tourists by 2008 and make Thailand the undisputed tourism leader of Asia.

Minister of Tourism and Sports Sontaya Khunpluen said the new plan was already approved by the Thai government cabinet. “The plan requires a concerted effort on the part of several ministries. It is a national approach to tourism and encompasses many areas, and will require cooperation at every level in both the public and private sectors,” the minister said.

“For example, while the transport ministry is working on increasing air capacity and ensuring that regional airports are developed, the education ministry will be mobilizing universities nationwide to strengthen human resource development for the tourism industry,” he added.

Import duties will be reduced as part of a bigger plan to make Thailand a “shoppers’ paradise”, an idea strongly favored by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. (TTG Asia)


New five-year plan for Thai tourism

A new five-year tourism plan that goes far beyond the scope of all previous plans and heralds a new era for Thai tourism will be presented to the government later this month.

Drawn up by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports headed by Sontaya Khunpluen, it is the first attempt to map out areas of cooperation required at the highest level between ministries such as transport, environment, education and natural resources.

A spokesman for Sontaya said tourism could not longer be allowed to develop in isolation from other sectors. “The only way forward now is to involve all parties in an overall plan that will ensure sustainable development. This requires an integrated approach and that’s what we’ve got here.”

The spokesman said previous plans were limited in scope and effectiveness because they were drawn before the tourism ministry was set up in January 2003. “The adoption of the plan will reflect the willingness of the government to make tourism an integral part of the national agenda,” the spokesman added. (TTG Asia)


United Travel Mega Fam Trip from Ireland visits Pattaya

Warm smiles and Thai culture keep tourists coming back

Suchada Tupchai

Royal Cliff Beach Resort, one of the foremost hotels in Pattaya, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) welcomed a United Travel Mega Fam Trip group from Ireland last week.

Con Murchy, managing director of the United Travel Company led a group of 56 agents and 32 reporters to Pattaya during their familiarization tour to Asia. The group visited the Middle East, Hong Kong, and Thailand was the last country on their program.

56 agents and 32 reporters visited Pattaya as part of a United Travel Mega Familiarization Trip from Ireland.

Phornsiri Manoharn, vice governor of TAT and head of its international market department made sure all the agents and press were happy. He said he was pleased to receive the group from Ireland. He also hoped that after their visit here there would be more tourists from Ireland enjoying their holidays in Thailand this year.

Kanungnit Chotikakul, assistant director of the UK, Ireland, South Africa, and Middle East department of TAT said this trip was made possible through great support from United Travel, Gulf Air, and Air Asia. He said the journey was their second trip to Thailand. He added they liked coming to the East and that Thailand, especially Pattaya, served all aspects of tourism including natural beauty and scintillating nightlife for all types of tourists.

“Thailand is renowned for its people’s generosity, and welcoming attitude. Most importantly, the charming personality of the people assures that first-time visitors will repeat their journey here,” said Kanungnit. He said this year the number of inbound tourists was expected to be 10% higher than last year. “Most tourists keep coming back to Thailand because of its tradition, culture, and the warm smiles that Thais are famous for,” said Kanungnit.


More artificial coral reefs to be created

The government has announced plans to invest 36 million baht to increase the country’s coral reefs. These are intended to develop fishing areas for southern fishermen, according to Dr Sitdhi Boonyaratpalin, Director-General of the Department of Fisheries.

The plans involve establishing twelve additional artificial coral reefs in the South, especially in the provinces of Narathiwat and Pattani. Large fishing vessels will also be prevented from fishing in these areas. The cabinet has already approved the project, and it should be implemented within the next year. (TNA)