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TAT awaits Thaksin’s go-ahead
Thailand’s tourism recovery plan is expected to get a
boost following a workshop held on January 27 when the Tourism Authority of
Thailand will present its plans to prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The PM is expected to give his blessing to the TAT plans
which were first outlined through the Ministry of Sports and Tourism some
weeks ago.
The plans include advertising and PR activities through
domestic and international channels as well as co-operation with financial
institutions to provide emergency funds to hotels and other southern
businesses hit by the December 26 tsunami.
TAT governor, Juthamas Siriwan, said the thrust of the
campaign would be to re-assure holidaymakers that the six provinces hit by
the tsunami are “free of the disease which had been feared earlier”, and
safe to visit. Juthamas said that in addition to domestic campaigns which
had already started, about 1,500 members of foreign media will be visiting
the Andaman area during the next two months. (TTG Asia)
Five to 10 percent growth; Asia faster than long haul
The ever-resilient ASEAN region is going to be hot in the
next winter season with most long-haul buyers expecting volume increases of
at least five to 10 percent and Asian buyers expecting increases of 10 to 20
percent, barring any unforeseen circumstances. And Samui Island is the new
preferred destination.
A poll of the buyers at Travex indicated renewed optimism
despite the tsunami. Osaka-based Nippon Travel Agency deputy general
manager, Teruaki Hamada, whose annual business to ASEAN averages 200,000
travelers, said he was expecting a 15 to 20 percent increase in business now
that the adverse impact caused by SARS and the Bali bombing has worn off.
“ASEAN continues to fascinate the Japanese market. They
like Phuket and Bali. Kota Kinabalu has also become very popular since a
direct flight was launched last year,” he said.
Sweden’s Choice Tours director, Paul Selvaraj, said he
was expecting a 10 percent increase in volume to ASEAN. “It has become
more affordable and new air routes have been introduced. Most of the
tourists will go to Thailand as there is good air accessibility,” said
Selvaraj
Austria-based Optimundus, product manager Asia, Verena
Horner, said a five percent increase is a reasonable projection for her.
“What was important in the aftermath of the tsunami was that our news
stations carried many positive reports about the kindness shown by the
locals and their helpfulness to Austrian survivors in Phuket. Those reports
generated a lot of goodwill towards the region and I think people are keen
to come and see how they can help,” Verena said.
But the region’s resort destinations also face
increasing competition from its counterparts in other parts of the world,
which are stepping up efforts to attract sun lovers. Hamada said Hawaii,
Guam, Saipan and Micronesia are gaining ground by offering attractive
prices. Selvaraj said the Caribbean and South America were up-and-coming for
the Swedes. (TTG Asia)
THAI to promote tourism in Andaman seaside
Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) has joined a
campaign to help stimulate tourism in the country’s seaside of Andaman Sea
by offering economic class tickets at special prices.
Vasingh Kittikul, senior executive vice-president in
charge of THAI’s Commercial Affair Division, disclosed the national
carrier will offer the tickets at special discount prices for flights to the
South, particularly the three tsunami-hit provinces of Phuket, Krabi and
Trang.
The promotion ticket offer, which has already started and
will extend to March 31, includes a discount price for the round trip
between Bangkok and Krabi from 5,120 baht to 4,200 baht, Bangkok and Phuket
from 5,250 baht to 3,800 baht, and Bangkok and Trang from 5,500 baht to
4,400 baht.
Passengers in the North and Northeast, who are bound for
the three southern provinces, will be offered a 30% special discount. State
agencies and independent organizations, which planned meetings, seminars or
workshops in the three provinces, will be also offered special discount
prices on the condition that the number of participants in a trip be 10 or
up.
As well, he said, the THAI-run Uauluang tour operator
would also join the campaign by offering a package tour from Bangkok to the
three provinces at a special price of 5,000 baht. The package includes a
round-trip ticket, limousine service, and accommodation for 3 days and 2
nights plus breakfast.
Vasingh said the promotion program excludes an airport
tax and insurance fee. Participants must take an outbound flight from
Bangkok or Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phitsanulok, Udorn Thani, and
Ubon Ratchathani to the three southern provinces. They can make a transit in
Bangkok for one night, but must set a definite schedule trip. (TNA)
Hundreds of birds found dead at Boraphet reservoir
Hundreds of wild birds have died of avian influenza in
the central province of Nakhon Sawan in a little over two weeks, according
to the Wildlife Conservation Division. On February 4 director Chawal
Thalhikorn said his organization had been monitoring the bird flu situation
among wild birds closely.
He said between January 18 and February 3, almost 500
open-billed storks had been found dead at the Boraphet reservoir,
Thailand’s largest freshwater swamp.
Officials burned the carcasses and sprayed disinfectant
to prevent the spread of disease. In other control efforts, the director
said more than 6,800 birds from 80 species in seven provinces had been
tested for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus. The result of the tests will
be disclosed soon.
However, Chawal said testing by other agencies had found
the bird flu virus in 11 samples collected from four central provinces,
including Sukhothai, Uthai Thani, Lopburi, and Chachoengsao. (TNA
Government admits failure
of anti-smoking drive
Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang has conceded that
the government’s campaign against smoking and drinking has not produced
satisfactory results, while pledging that further campaigns would be
systemically worked out as part of government policy.
Speaking on January 26 after a meeting of the committee
on the control of alcohol, tobacco and intoxicants, Chaturon told reporters
that the committee was not satisfied with the results of measures including
a ban on cigarette sales near educational institutions and limitations on
the hours during which alcohol could be sold.
Speaking of the need for ‘tightening the knot’, he
also conceded that legislation was being inadequately enforced. Chaturon
noted that such campaigns should form a clear part of government policy, and
that mechanisms should be put in place for the examination and assessment of
the anti-drinking and smoking drive.
The meeting also called for the merger of the Alcohol
Control Committee and the Tobacco Control Committee, with the new committee
chaired by the deputy prime minister.
In February the government will hold a national level
meeting on cigarette and alcohol control, during which it will gather views
on future campaigns and lay down policy directives. The Thailand Health Fund
will meanwhile launch a series of campaigns aimed at reducing cigarette and
alcohol consumption in the private sector.
Chaturon said that funding for the campaigns, expected at
around 100 million baht a year, and would come from cigarette and alcohol
taxes, which total over 1 billion baht per annum.
According to government figures, around 10 million Thais
are smokers. The government is particularly keen to see a reduction in the
take-up rate of cigarette smoking among young people. The Ministry of Public
Health has said that cigarette taxes are likely to be raised from 75 to 80
percent in order to help deter smoking. (TNA)
Thai research points to role
of personality in road accidents
Personality plays an important role in a driver’s
tendency to instigate road accidents, with ‘A breed’ drivers who are
naturally competitive and prone to anger most at risk, according to
award-winning Thai research.
The research, conducted by Asst. Prof. Dr. Tawatchai
Laosirihongthong, head of the Department of Civil Engineering of King
Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, shows clearly that the vast
majority of traffic accidents can be attributed to driver behavior.
Disclosing the findings at the award ceremony held on
February 4 for a road traffic engineering competition jointly organized by
the Ministry of Transport and the police, Chadab Phatamasut, head of the
Council of Engineers, noted that road accidents cost Thailand over 59
billion baht each year.
The research, conducted in 10 provinces in 2002, found
during interviews with drivers that 60 percent of accidents on days other
than holidays were caused by driver behavior, while 17 percent were caused
by vehicles and 13 percent were attributable to a combination of driver
behavior, vehicles and the environment. During holiday periods, the
percentage of accidents caused by driver behavior decreased marginally to 52
percent.
Hardly surprisingly, the research said that most injuries
and fatalities were a result of drivers violating road rules, including
failure to wear safety belts and crash helmets, speeding, and failure to put
indicator lights on while overtaking. Around 11 percent of offences were
also attributable to the use of mobile telephones while driving.
The research also pointed to the direct impact of drink
driving on the severity of accidents, while noting that it also had an
indirect impact on driver behavior.
For the purposes of their study, the researchers divided
drivers in a number of ‘breeds’. Those most likely to be involved in
accidents were ‘breed A’ people who were naturally aggressive,
competitive, highly self-confident and easily irritated.
The researchers said that the best way to reduce
Thailand’s huge road accident rate was to focus on changing driver
behavior, as well as strictly enforcing traffic regulations and introducing
harsher penalties for violators. (TNA)
School evacuated after cracks appear in structure
An eighth school in the southern province of Satun was
evacuated on Wednesday, January 2 amid concern that cracks in the walls,
apparently caused by the December 26 earthquake which triggered the Asian
tsunami, could put the safety of pupils and teachers at risk.
The decision was made to evacuate Baan Khuan School in
Muang district after 10 cracks of up to half a meter in length were
discovered in the pillars and walls of the two-storey school building. An
inspection by the Department of Mineral Resources confirmed that the school
was standing on a massive crater.
Khanueng Yoiseritsut, director of the provincial
education office, said that the provincial public works office had now been
contacted, with a view to demolishing the old building and constructing a
new one elsewhere.
To date, cracks have been discovered in eight schools in
the province, although in five of the cases there does not appear to be any
danger. (TNA)
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