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Amari Watergate Hotel hosts
birthday anniversary party
Pierre
Andre Pelletier (left), general manager, and Nichaya Chaivisuth (3rd right),
director of public relations of Amari Watergate Hotel recently held a
birthday anniversary party for Avasada Pokmontri (front row 3rd left) at
Grappino Italian Restaurant at the hotel. Others on hand to wish her a happy
birthday included (in the front row) Dr. Preamsak Pereira (2nd left),
Nattawut Rungwong (2nd right), and Chatchalern Chalermchaiwat (right), and
back row Voracharti Ruengtrakul (left) and Tanakorn Srisooksai (right).
Malaysia to open duty free market near Thai border
In a bid to boost tourism and income among people living
near the common Thai-Malaysian border, Malaysia is scheduled to open a duty
free market near the Thai border at Wang Pra Chan in the southern province
of Satun on August 20.
Muhammad Um Soh, chief customs officer at Wang Kalian in
the Malaysian state of Perlis, said the duty free market would be similar to
the Thai border district of Padang Besar and the Malaysian Langkawi Island,
as popular liquors and cigarettes would be on sale. He said in the future
shoppers and tourists visiting the area would not have to drive over a
mountain, as a tunnel is being constructed under it.
Meanwhile, Prawat Kongkaetkaew, chief customs officer at
Wang Pra Chan border, said shoppers at the Malaysian duty free market would,
however, have to pay tax at a high rate upon entering the Thai border. (TNA)
More spa therapists to be trained
The Chiang Mai Labor Skill Development Center plans to
train more spa therapists and hotel workers to cater for the country’s
fast growing spa and hotel businesses.
There is high demand for spa therapists in Thailand’s
tourist towns where the service industry, like spas and hotels, are proving
very lucrative, according to Arin Chuchot, the Director of the Chiang Mai
Labor Skill Center.
The center has already trained 100 spa therapists to work
in the southern province of Phuket. But there is still a high demand there
for more to be trained. According to research on the service industry in
Chiang Mai, there is also a shortage of trained hotel workers there.
The center plans to provide training for female inmates
in the Chiang Mai prison so that they can help fill the demand for
housekeeping workers in the hotels. This would also mean that they can
support their families after their release, the director said.
Other plans include training more construction workers,
as Chiang Mai has several construction projects in the pipeline including a
national convention center, a handicrafts center and five-star hotels. (TNA)
Laos opens southern border checkpoint
A new border gate opened last week between Sekong
Province in southern Laos and Dot-Ta Vang in central Vietnam and is
expected to have a positive effect on the future of tourism to Laos’
least populous province.
Exotissimo executive manager Vientiane, Ms. Duangmala
Phommavong, said the opening of the border checkpoint would help to spread
tourism into the neglected southern area. “As much as 80 percent of the
national tourism income comes from Europe, Australia and the US, and the
additional entry point may help to even the balance,” she said.
The opening marks a step towards the completion of the
East-West Economic Corridor running from Myanmar to Vietnam, but until the
road is completed on the Lao side in 2006, locals primarily are expected
to use the border crossing. (TTG Asia)
Bike lanes in Bangkok
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is building
more bike lanes in all the capital city’s 50 districts. This is to serve
people’s demand for the cheap and environmentally-friendly way of
transportation amid rising air pollution and higher transport costs due to
the current oil price hike, according to the director of the BMA’s Traffic
and Transportation Department, Chitchanok Kemawutthanon.
“A number of people have lodged complaints to Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra through the prime minister’s complaint box in
front of his official residence, Ban Phitsanulok, saying they want more bike
lanes in the capital. So, BMA is building more bike lanes in all the
city’s 50 districts to serve the public’s demand. BMA sees the
importance of this issue, as the use of bicycles is a sustainable way of
transportation. Bicycling is environmentally-friendly and helps save energy
and transport costs. It is also a means of physical exercise which promotes
good health among the public,” Chitchanok noted.
Chitchanok said that over the coming months the BMA will
improve two existing bike lanes - the first 10-kilometer lane on Pradit
Manootham Road, and the 6-7 kilometer lane on Petchakasem Road. “We are
doing some repairs and adding more facilities on the two existing bike
lanes. The improvement work is expected to be completed within one year,”
he said. (TNA)
World’s largest soup prepared for H.M. Queen
Thailand’s eastern province of Rayong cooked up the
world’s largest soup in honor of Her Majesty the Queen’s 72nd birthday.
The local authorities served the special spicy, pork soup, using a ton of
raw pork from 25 pigs.
“Moo Tom Bai Chamuang” (spicy, pork soup with
Chamuang leaves) is Rayong’s traditional dish and widely recognized as one
of the country’s favorites. The soup also requires 200 kilogram’s of
Chamuang leaves and a combination of rare herbal ingredients.
The soup was cooked at a plaza outside the local Siam
Makro Superstore in Muang district. The cooking took twenty-four hours to
complete. The public took part in tasting the massive but delicious soup.
The soup preparation was part of a local trade fair
promoting One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) goods, which were also on sale.
Later there was a beauty pageant where contestants vied for the title of
Miss Food Safety. (TNA)
Krabi coast receives damning report from senator
The chairman of the Senate tourism committee issued a
damning report on the Krabi coastline, warning that tourist destinations
were rapidly becoming degraded due to the huge amount of garbage in the sea.
Speaking after a visit to the Nopparat – Phi Phi and
Than Bokkarani national parks, Senator Suradet Yaswat described the level of
garbage littering the beaches as ‘alarming’, and said that he would urge
the government to take action.
Noting that some tourists on kayak excursions were forced
to paddle through piles of refuse, he said that all parties concerned,
including local fishermen, should take responsibility for the situation.
Next month the Senate tourism committee is due to meet
with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to discuss environmental problems
which could prove detrimental to the nation’s tourism industry.
Senator Suradet also warned that beaches were
increasingly being encroached on for tourism developments, a problem
compounded by corruption among national park officials, who were being paid
to turn a blind eye.
His comments were met with pledges of urgent action from
Krabi Governor Amnuay Sa-nguannam, who said that all parties should work
together to preserve the area’s reputation as a world-class tourist
destination. (TNA)
Phuket unveils world-class tourism development strategies
Central and local government dignitaries are lining up to
express confidence that strategies to develop the tourism competitiveness of
Phuket would catapult the southern resort island into international
prominence.
Delivering the upbeat message, Deputy Provincial Governor
Winai Buapradit was joined by the deputy secretary-general of the National
Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) and the director of the
Economic Competitiveness Development Office.
The province’s five-pronged tourism development plan
focuses on the island as an international conference center to boost visitor
numbers during the low season, and as a center for health tourism, with
tourists attracted by its high number of top-class spas. In addition, the
province aims to attract tourists by developing marinas, with heavy public
and private sector investment. Equally important is the island’s claim to
be a ‘shopping paradise’ to raise tourist spending. Lastly, the province
is endeavoring to set itself up as a center for entertainment, in a bid to
encourage visitors to lengthen their stays on the island.
However, Winai stressed that the success of these
strategies was dependent on cooperation from the private sector and members
of the public. At the same time, he conceded that the island still had some
way to go on introducing orderliness and ensuring better safety regulations.
(TNA)
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