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41 nations assist Thailand’s tsunami relief effort
Thailand has received donations and assistance from 41
nations and 10 international organizations to help with its tsunami relief
effort, Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula revealed. Bhokin made the
announcement after holding talks with a delegation from Switzerland led by
Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, who traveled to the country’s
southern resort province of Phuket to express her condolences to Thailand.
Around 20 Swiss nationals are thought to have been killed
the tsunamis, while scores more are still missing. The Swiss delegation
traveled to hospitals around Phuket to visit survivors.
The unprecedented tsunamis on December 26 hit the
kingdom’s six southern provinces of Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang,
Ranong and Satun, leaving nearly 5,000 dead, with over 10,000 injured and
over 6,000 more still missing so far. (TNA)
Le Meridien updates
Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts has reported the Le
Meridien Phuket Beach Resort and Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort
were the only two Le Meridien properties in Thailand to be substantially
affected by the December 26 tsunami.
A relief fund for staff and their families has been
established from London. All guests at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort were
evacuated to safe areas and have all been accounted for. At Le Meridien Khao
Lak Beach & Spa Resort, all guests were evacuated to alternative hotels
in Phuket or transferred to hotels in Bangkok. The hotel will remain closed
until damage assessments and repairs have been completed.
Up-to-date information will be posted on www.lemeri
dien.com (TTG Asia)
Care concerning cancellation charges urged
The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) president,
Suparerk Soorangura, and Thai Hotels Association (THA) president, Chanin
Donavnik, have urged members “to use their discretion in respect of
cancellation charges”.
Tour operators and hotels are entitled to levy charges on
deposits and cancellations made on short notice under normal circumstances.
But ATTA and THA are appealing to members to play their part in repairing
the damage caused to Thailand’s image by not claiming for cancellations in
respect of paid deposits and related cancellation charges.
The catastrophic events caused by the December 26
tsunami, which has brought about an enormous loss of life, injuries and a
huge number of “displaced” tourists are worthy of special
considerations, they said.
Meanwhile, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts has issued a
general policy on postponement and cancellation of bookings. It is offering
between three and seven months grace for guest to make a visit to the same
or another resort under the same brand and reviewing case by case if guests
are unable to take up the deferment offer.
Banyan Tree Phuket and Allamanda Laguna Phuket in
Thailand and Banyan Tree Maldives Vabbinfaru and Angsana Maldives Ihuru are
fully operational now despite being in affected areas. Deer Park Hotel in
Sri Lanka was not affected at all.
Guests who have paid upfront, have the option of using up
their remaining nights’ stay in any Banyan Tree resort over the next three
to seven months. And guests who did not prepay are not being charged for the
remaining nights not used. (TTG Asia)
Good news from Tourism and
Sports Minister Sontaya
Just after seven days of chaos following the tsunami
catastrophe that battered six southern provinces on the Andaman coast,
Tourism and Sports Minister Sontaya Khunplome offered a piece of good news
to clear the clouds.
On January 1 he announced that seafront hotels and
beaches in areas hit by last Sunday’s tidal waves would be 80% operational
and should open their doors to tourists soon. “Less than 20% of the
beachfront areas in the six provinces were damaged by the tidal waves,” he
said.
“The famous Kata-Karon beaches as well as the scenic
Phromthep vista point are now open for tourists,” said the minister, who
added that tourists have gradually returned to world-renowned attractions in
Krabi including the highly-publicized split islands, Maya Beach and Mai Pai
Island.
Sontaya said Satun was the least affected province and
three national marine parks under its supervision - Petra, Tarutao and
Talayban – are open for tourists.
In Trang, tourists have started making their excursions
to Chao Mai Marine National Park and Pak Meng beach. (TNA)
PATA establishes
Tsunami Recovery Fund
PATA has launched a Tsunami Recovery Fund to be
administered by the PATA Foundation, its charitable arm. It is inviting
members, chapters, governments, NGOs, travel professionals and individual
travelers to pledge money which will be dedicated to a recovery program for
the benefit of PATA member organizations. The funds will be used to rebuild
skills and livelihoods of tourism employees.
To pledge money, email tsunami-recovery@PATA .org, or
fill out the pledge form found on the website:
www.pata.org/patasite/index.php?id=1112 (TTG Asia)
TAT top priority now is humanitarian
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says its
immediate priority is humanitarian rather than economic, one of the
authority’s top executives stated. “Many of the tourists affected by the
tsunami are still here, and new tourists are still arriving daily. We want
to do make sure that they are as comfortable as possible. We want to do
everything we can to reassure them,” Ms Phornsiri told TTG Daily News. She
said she was traveling to Phuket to see for herself which areas are safe and
which are not yet ready to receive visitors.
“When I have done this and consulted with colleagues we
will be in a position to tell our overseas offices and the trade what they
should say to consumers,” Ms Phornsiri said.
She added that it was still too early to assess the
impact of the tsunami disaster on international visitor arrivals, but the
TAT will continue to try meet government targets. The government is
expecting Thailand to attract 12 million tourists in 2005.
The TAT will be asking the government for a special
budget to promote the three severely affected provinces of Phuket, Krabi and
Phang Nga, said Ms Phornsiri. “We have an uphill task, but we have been
through other crises in the recent past and we will soon be working closely
with the private sector to do what is necessary to restore confidence,”
she said. (TTG Asia)
Tourism sector calls for drive to pull back visitors to Phuket
Tourism officials on Thailand’s southern island of
Phuket are calling on the government to launch a marketing offensive to pull
visitors back to the Andaman coast in the wake of last month’s tsunamis,
urging a particular focus on the Chinese market.
Phattanaphong Ekwanich, president of the Phuket Tourism
Business Association, confirmed that tourism on Kata, Karon and Patong
Beaches in Phuket was beginning to return to normal, following the
devastation caused when the massive tsunamis crashed into the shoreline.
Noting that only around 10 percent of the island’s
34,000 hotel rooms had been affected by the tsunami, he expressed confidence
that most of the damage could be repaired in 3-4 weeks. Nonetheless, he
stressed that an urgent marketing offensive was needed to see a complete
revival of the island’s tourism sector.
In particular, he said, the government should focus its
attentions on the domestic and Chinese markets, as normally during the
Chinese New Year demand for hotel rooms on the island exceeded supply.
“The government will need to use a huge lump sum in its
publicity offensive, and will need to restore tourism destinations on the
Andaman coast,” Phattanaphong said.
Officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand have
already met to draw up plans to launch special package tours to encourage
domestic and foreign tourists to return to Phuket and the nearby Krabi
Province. (TNA)
Amari Watergate Hotel holds management team building seminar
Pierre-Andre
Pelletier, general manager of Amari Watergate Hotel recently held a
management team-building seminar at Emerald Cove Resort. Taking part were
(from left) Tim Boda, Chetsada Techprasertporn, executive assistant manger,
Pierre-Andre Pelletier, Wanna Charoenchaimongkol, financial controller and
Somkhit Tonsaiphet, as well as many members of the Amari Watergate Hotel
management team.
Penang hotels waive cancellation charges
A number of hotels in Penang, Malaysia have agreed to
waive the charges imposed on guests when they cancel their bookings after
the tsunami tidal wave hit the island state last month.
Ferringhi Beach Hotel Penang general manager, Lau Cheong
Leong, said the Malaysian of Hotels Penang Chapter made a call requesting
its members not to impose cancellation fees. “We have been refunding our
guests who have prepaid during this super peak period since the December 26
tsunami. The cancellations are from the locals. We have none from the
foreign tourists so far except for enquiries on the impact of the tsunami on
the island. They have confirmed coming following our assurance that it is
business as usual.”
In Langkawi, Pelangi Beach & Spa Resort general
manager Francois G Sigrist said it was not charging for any cancellation fee
and peak season surcharge from December 26 until January 31. After which, he
said the situation would be reviewed. The resort is now in full operation.
Meanwhile, Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel
director of sales, Andy Muniandy said his agency has received some
cancellations from Russia and the Middle East. (TTG Asia)
Thailand’s tourist attractions to be rebuilt within a month
Tourist attractions in Thailand’s six southern
provinces along the Andaman coast, which were devastated by tsunamis, will
be rebuilt within the next month according to the country’s Tourism and
Sports Minister Sontaya Khunplome.
Speaking on January 1, Sontaya said, “Most of
Phuket’s seaside hotels are still operational. Phuket was the least
destroyed and most of its 40 seaside hotels can be repaired. I want to tell
holiday makers that these hotels are still operational and could reopen for
service as usual. They only need to clean up the rubbish and debris.”
But many holiday makers cancelled their hotel bookings
for the New Year celebrations in Phuket after the natural disaster. Only 30
percent of visitors proceeded with their holiday in the devastated seaside
resort.
Sontaya made his comments to reporters after he and
Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula had inspected the damage on Phi Phi
Island off Krabi Province and Khao Lak in Phang-nga Province. The
minister’s said he found the damage done by the tsunami smaller than he
had expected.
“The government is fully supporting the rebuilding of
the tourist industry in the six affected provinces, including Phuket,
Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun. It should not take beyond the end
of January to rebuild the places. But we must concentrate on cleaning up the
area first before we move on to renovate the damage, and speed up public
relations and marketing. We have informed tour agencies overseas that our
hotels are still open,’’ Sontaya said. (TNA)
Phuket coral sustains minor damage from tsunamis
Environmental experts have stated that coral reefs around
Thailand’s southern resort island of Phuket came off relatively unscathed
from the tsunamis, but urged local residents to help clear litter from the
beaches to ensure that no further damage would be caused to shallow-water
coral.
Sakanant Plathong, a marine environmental surveyor from
Prince of Songkhla University, said that after diving to inspect the local
coral with officials from the Institute of Marine and Coastal Research and
Development that around 5-10 percent of coral around the island had been
damaged by the giant waves. However, he warned that coral living in shallow
water could be damaged further unless urgent efforts were made to clear
refuse off the island’s beaches.
Noting that diving was one of the island’s most
important tourist attractions, Sakanant said that it was vital for both
locals and tourists to consider the implications of coral damage.
The diving team is now preparing to assess the damage to
coral off Phi Phi Island and the Similan and Surin islands. (TNA)
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