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AirAsia tops Euromoney award for Asia’s best managed companies
Based in Malaysia, the year 2004 has been a busy year for
AirAsia, a leading low fare, no frills airline in Southeast Asia. With rapid
expansions in Thailand and Indonesia through two successful joint ventures,
and the orchestration of one of Malaysia’s largest IPO on November 2004,
AirAsia has added another feather to its growing list of accolades.
AirAsia was named ‘Best Managed Company in the Airlines
and Aviation Sector’ in Euromoney Magazine’s annual Asia Best Managed
Companies Poll. The low fare airline received top honors in the category
after leading equity analysts placed it above other established companies in
Asia such as Virgin Blue, Auckland International Airport, Malaysia Airlines
System (MAS) and Singapore Airlines (SIA).
AirAsia’s impressive IPO debut in November 2004 has
also garnered the airline a third placing in Euromoney’s poll for Best
Newly Listed Company.
In presenting the Euromoney Award to AirAsia, Euromoney
Magazine’s managing director, Simon Brady said, “In a sector known for
its challenges, AirAsia has demonstrated that bold and innovative management
can deliver excellence to its customers and value to its shareholders. The
award is a reflection of our commitment to be the region’s leading low
fare airline.”
New town plans for tsunami-hit provinces
The Thai government plans to inspect property and land in
the country’s southern tsunami-ravaged areas and draft new town plans in
order to speed up the rebuilding and renovation process.
A team from the Department of Public Works and Town and
County Planning is already in the devastated areas inspecting the damages
and gathering information for the renovation plans.
The team will visit Phi Phi Island in Krabi province to
talk to property owners and local government officials on how to rebuild the
area, the team leader, Preecha Ronarong said.
When the renovation plans are completed, the department
will convene a meeting of local residents to approve the plans before the
reconstruction is started, he said. “If two-thirds of the property owners
agree to our plan, the renovation will soon begin,” Preecha said.
Krabi’s Governor Anont Promnart said the provincial
authorities planned to meet all property owners on to hear their views and
suggestions before Phi Phi’s new town plans are launched. However, the
illegal possession of land or premises must be terminated in order for the
authorities to control the reconstruction of buildings on the Phi Phi Beach,
he said. (TNA)
Rayong Province plans to push tourism
Local officials of the Tourism Authority of Thailand
(TAT)’s Central Region Office, Region 4, held a meeting on January 22 to
draw strategies and marketing plans to promote tourism in the country’s
eastern Rayong Province for the next four years. The meeting was chaired by
Rayong Governor Uthai Suwan. Over a hundred local tourism-related
entrepreneurs took part.
According to plans, TAT expects to receive five million
tourists to Rayong and generate more than 20 billion baht from local
tourism-related businesses by the year 2008.
TAT wants to promote Rayong as a center of marine tourism
and regional fruit production with an image of the land of happiness, fun
and safety, said Charnchai Duangchit, the director of TAT’s Central Region
Office, Region 4. ‘’Tourism is one of our main industries and if it is
sustainability developed, local people and communities will benefit from
it,’’ he said.
He said last year Rayong received over four millions
tourists, mostly Thai. Among them, 309,944 were foreigners. ‘’We
generated 6.2 billion baht from the local tourism industry last year, which
was among the country’s top ten. Our main attractions are beaches,
islands, including Samet Island, and seasonal fruits,’’ he said.
Charnchai said the province has a lot of potential and it
will increase its competitiveness to attract more visitors during the next
four years.
‘’We have planned to develop more attractions and
promote them. We will turn the province into the center of marine and fruit
tourism. We will also enforce the law to ensure tourists are safe and will
not be taken advantage of by local operators,’’ he said. (TNA)
Bangkok governor stresses safety of skytrain
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayothin rushed to downplay
concerns that the January 17 collision between two trains on the capital’s
underground train system represented a major safety issue, insisting that
the related skytrain system is safe for passenger use.
Speaking just hours after the subway collision which
caused about 100 injuries, Apirak held an urgent press conference with Anat
Aphaphirom, advisor to the board of the Bangkok Transit System (BTS), to
stress the safety of the elevated skytrain system. Both systems are fully
automatic and run along similar principles. Apirak said that the skytrain
system is so safe that even if technical errors occur, passenger safety will
not be compromised.
In the event of any technical fault, the skytrain will
automatically stop running, Apirak said, adding that the network also used
an ATP system to prevent collisions. However, he said that in the light of
the subway incident on January 17, the number of emergency drills carried
out on the skytrain network will be increased from once a year to twice.
Operating for the past five years, the BTS skytrain
system has carried around 400 million passengers without any serious
incident. (TNA)
Public informed of safe fish consumption
Operators in the Thai fishery industry are urging
government agencies to inform the public that consuming fish is safe because
fish do not feed on tsunami victims’ bodies.
The request was made after the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) recently announced that there was no evidence to suggest
that fish stocks in Asian areas affected by last month’s tsunamis had been
contaminated, or that fish and seafood-borne illnesses had increased.
The UN agency said it wanted to counter macabre rumors
circulating in the tsunami-hit countries, where average fish consumption is
among the highest in the world.
Prasan Silpipat, president of The Thai Fishery
Association, said what the FAO had said was accurate, and that his
association had insisted several times that fish not feed on victims’
bodies, or that it had never happened before that fish eat corpses.
The Department of Fisheries, the Ministry of Public
Health and other related government agencies should make the general public
better understand on the fact, and a food safety campaign should be
organized throughout the country, not just in the country’s six southern
tsunami-affected provinces, Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and
Satun, Prasan urged.
Panisuan Chamnanvej, president of the Thai Frozen Food
Association, said rumors on fish feeding on bodies of tsunami victims were
totally groundless. If Thais and foreigners stop eating seafood, the fishery
and related industries would suffer a lot, he said.
“The private sector is now discussing on finding ways
to assist the local fishery industry because if the operators discontinued
their businesses, there would be a lack of raw materials to make food, and
sea food exports would be affected,” said Paiboon Polsuwanna, an honorary
advisor of the Thai Frozen Food Association. “The measures to be offered
to the industrial players would become clearer next month,” he disclosed.
Three agencies under the Public Health Ministry,
including the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Medical
Sciences and the Department of Health, earlier announced that tests had been
conducted on seafood in the country’s six tsunami-battered provinces and
no contaminated heavy metals were found.
The outcome of the tests were in line with the statement
issued by the FAO, which said that risks to fish and shellfish from
naturally chemical contaminants, like heavy metals stirred up by any
earthquake, were unlikely. (TNA)
World famous artist at the Watergate
Pierre
Andre Pelletier, (right) the amicable General Manager of Amari
Watergate Hotel welcomed one of the most famous artists from Switzerland Mr. Rolf
Knie (left) and his wife Annabelle on their stay at the hotel recently.
Phuket beach restoration starts soon
Provincial authorities have submitted its plans to
restore the internationally renowned beaches on Thailand’s southern resort
island of Phuket to the central government. Government officials are anxious
to start the reconstruction as soon as possible in order to encourage
foreign tourists to keep coming to the island.
The island’s famous Patong Beach will be the first to
be restored, according to Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Maleenont.
Patong’s local administration has already completed the draft renovation
and submitted it to the government. “The government will consider the plan
as quickly as possible so that the restoration can start soon,” Pracha
said.
An increasing number of local and foreign tourists
started arriving at the beach, two weeks after it was devastated by massive
tsunami waves. The waves damaged most of the facilities on the Patong Beach
front, and killed hundreds of local residents and tourists.
The Thai government and the Phuket authorities have
agreed to renovate and reorganize entrepreneurs on Patong Beach as part of
the restoration plans, aimed to make the beach even more attractive to
tourists.
“The restoration will be completed well ahead of time
because of the cooperation between local residents and the local
government,” Pracha said. (TNA)
Foreign countries urged not to dissuade tourists from visiting Thailand
Thailand has urged foreign countries not to advise their
citizens to stay away from the country. The Thai government said Thailand
needs the income from tourism to help the country to recover from the
tsunami disaster.
Health minister Sudarat Keyurapan told reporters that she
would coordinate with other government agencies to inform foreign
governments that no epidemic has broken out in the country’s six
tsunami-hit provinces.
China has reportedly issued a warning advising its
citizens to take precautions if they travel to Thailand as it feared an
epidemic in the aftermath of the Tsunami crisis. “I don’t have any
details of the report. But if it is true, the ministry will coordinate with
other agencies to explain the real situation to individual nations,” said
Sudarat.
The Thai health minister said she could reassure everyone
that no epidemic, apart from diarrhea, which has already been solved, has
broken out in Thailand’s affected provinces. “Other countries have given
so much help to Thailand during the crisis. So, please do not stop your
citizens from visiting us, because promoting tourism will help us get back
to normal,” Sudarat said.
Sudarat also reassured tour agencies that Thai seafood is
safe to eat. “The ministry has advised the Food and Drug Administration to
send teams of officials to inspect seafood at fish ports daily to ensure
they are free from contamination,” she said. (TNA)
AWAIR maiden flight
to Singapore postponed
On January 19, no frills airline, AWAIR, had to withhold
what were to be its first international service and maiden flights between
Jakarta and Singapore, pending additional documents which were requested by
the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’s (CAAS) director of air
transport.
AirAsia spokesman, Jeamie Lee, said, “While monetary
refunds would not be given to those affected, customers were put on
alternative flights or in the case of those who could not make the other
flights, a credit shell was offered for them to redeem flights at a later
time or to use against flight on another route”.
AWAIR is the Indonesia-based arm of AirAsia. In a
statement, AirAsia claimed the documents were called for “at the eleventh
hour”, adding it thought it had submitted all necessary documents by
December 15 last year. The airline added CAAS has indicated it is
“uncertain at this stage when final clearance can be given”. (TTG Asia)
Special travel industry rates at Starwood Hotels in Phuket, Krabi and Langkawi
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has launched a new Travel
Friends and Family program with special StarFriends rates, starting from
US$39, available at Sheraton resorts in Phuket, Krabi and Langkawi.
The StarFriends rates are valid for employees (and their
family members) of the travel industry, including travel agencies, travel
related media, airlines, car rental companies, cruise lines, travel
management companies, meeting planners, national tourist offices and travel
industry associations, beginning January 17 through April 30.
StarFriends rates at the participating resorts are:
Thailand
* Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort : US$39 per night
* Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket : US$59 per night
(One-Bedroom Island Villa is also available at special
StarFriends rate of US$99). Valid from January 17 to April 30.
Malaysia
* Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort : US$39
* Sheraton Perdana Resort, Langkawi : US$39. Valid from
January 29 to April 30.
“The travel industry clearly plays a key role in the
economy of Phuket, Krabi and Langkawi. We hope that these special industry
rates will encourage members of the industry to visit and support these
destinations. Such support from industry members who are able to influence
and educate the traveling public will help to make a difference as well as
lead the way towards the recovery of travel to these destinations,” said
Oliver Bonke, vice president, Sales & Marketing Asia-Pacific.
Reservations for the StarFriends rates can be made by
calling the local Starwood toll-free reservation number or emailing
res.singapore@ starwoodhotels.com and mentioning the rate plan STARTVL.
At time of check-in, travel agent ID or a business card
confirming travel industry employment must be presented to be eligible for
this offer.
World’s biggest night safari
to open on Songkran holiday
The world’s largest night safari is scheduled to open
in the northern province of Chiang Mai in April, following top level
negotiations between the Thai and Kenyan governments on the exchange of Thai
elephant mahouts for Kenyan wildlife.
The national importance of the Chiang Mai Night Safari
project, which the government hopes will prove a massive tourist draw, was
highlighted when Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop recently led a
government delegation to the construction site in Chiang Mai’s Muang
district.
With construction now 80 percent complete, the project is
scheduled to officially open on April 13, the start of the Thai New Year
period known as Songkran.
The night safari represents a coup for the Thai
government, which has managed to secure over 300 animals from Kenya,
including lions, rhinoceroses, and elephants to populate the project. Kenyan
wildlife officials have already inspected the construction site, and have
expressed confidence that that the animals will survive.
In return, the Thai government has promised to send
elephant mahouts to help Kenya move elephants out of its urban areas.
Other animals to be included in the Night Safari project
include 40 from Australia, including kangaroos, koalas and wallabies, as
well as 1,700 animals from Thailand’s own national parks.
Suwat today described the Night Safari, which will be the
largest project of its kind in the world, as ‘the face of the nation’,
which would pull in large numbers of tourists and create at least 300 local
jobs. (TNA)
Thailand to restore coral reefs
The Thai government has launched a project for volunteer
divers to help revive the coral reefs after a site survey found last
month’s massive tsunami waves had destroyed the coral around the Similan
Islands.
The Thai government, government agencies and private
agencies conducted the survey to evaluate damage done to the coral reefs by
the tsunami disaster. The survey around the Similan Islands and nearby areas
found three spots that were seriously devastated and should be closed till
the coral reefs are able to revive.
According to the initial assessment, coral reefs lying to
the east of the islands were seriously damaged. However some 90 percent of
these are still alive and can be restored.
The tsunami waves displaced a large number of table
corals. If they are left stranded, they are likely to die within a month.
The Thai government has launched a four-month campaign to help the coral
reefs to recover.
Anyone who is interested in helping as a volunteer diver
can contact the project at telephone 02-9576198-9, or write to
[[email protected]].
Donations can be given through the Thai Military Bank’s
account “for the rehabilitation of coral reefs affected by the
tsunamis”, number 078-2-11327-8, Surawong Branch. (TNA)
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