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Cycle from Chiang Mai
to Bangkok
Jeffrey Studebaker
Bangkok bicycle tour operator Spice Roads will introduce
an ambitious 10-day tour from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, on October 23 to
November 1.
The 950km ride avoids main highways, following well-paved
side roads through historical destinations such as Lampang, Sukhothai,
Kampang Phet, Nakorn Sawan and Ayutthaya, where riders will stay at three-
to four-star hotels.
General Manager Struan Robertson said riders should be
moderately fit. “We will be on the road a minimum of five hours per day,
but the road bikes we are using can cover the distance quickly and anyone
who is in decent shape could handle it,” he said.
The company’s cycling trips have been popular primarily
with visitors from Europe and the US, “but recently we are seeing a growth
in interest from the region, especially from Australia and New Zealand”.
Following the inaugural trip the tour will be added to
the operator’s regular schedule, running three times yearly beginning on
January 8, 2006. Prices will be set at US$950.www.spiceroads.com
Evacuation prepared, drill set for six tsunami-hit provinces
Plans for evacuating the population of Thailand’s six
southern coastal provinces hit by the tsunami last December are now ready,
said the head of the Interior Ministry’s Disaster Prevention and
Mitigation Department.
As directed by the Cabinet, an evacuation drill will be
held in Phuket on April 29, according to Sunthorn Riewluang, director
general of the department. He said that the evacuation plans apply to the
six provinces - Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Ranong, Satun and Trang - that
were directly affected by the December 26 tsunami. He said his department
will send a working committee to advise the evacuation and drill procedures
to appropriate officials gathering in Phuket.
Concerned officials from both public and private sectors
in Phuket as well as representatives of tourism associations, schools and
hotels met on April 20 to review the disaster evacuation plan and drill.
Officials from the five other resort provinces will be invited to observe
the Phuket drill.
Officials hope that the preventive measures will create
confidence among local and foreign tourists visiting Andaman coastal
provinces. (TNA)
Marcel Sawyere appointed
resident manager, Royal Wing & Spa
Panga Vathanakul, managing director or the Royal Cliff
Beach Resort, recently announced the appointment of Marcel Sawyere as the
resident manager of the Royal Wing & Spa. Sawyere, a Swiss national,
will oversee the day-to-day operation and administration of the Royal Cliff
Beach Resort’s premier luxury hotel, the Royal Wing & Spa.
 Marcel
Sawyere
Sawyere started his career in London at the Savoy Hotel
and “Claridges”, followed by a few years in Switzerland. In 1989 he
moved to the Regent of Melbourne. He then opened Restaurant Forty-one in
Sydney with his brother, which has won more than 24 best restaurant awards
in 6 years. He then moved to the Grand Plaza Park Royal in Singapore and
later to Sofitel Silom in Bangkok. Prior to his appointment at the Royal
Cliff Beach Resort, Sawyere held the position of general manager of the
Impiana Resort & Spa on Samui.
His extensive hotel and restaurant background makes Sawyere an ideal
choice for the all-suites Royal Wing & Spa, widely acknowledged as one
of the world’s leading hotels.
Jeeradech Dedkaew appointed Chinese head chef at Dusit Resort’s Empress Chinese Restaurant
Jeeradech
Dedkaew
Chatchawal Supachayanont, general manager of the Dusit
Resort, Pattaya Hotel recently announced the appointment of Jeeradech
Dedkaew as the new Chinese head chef at the Dusit Resort Pattaya’s
Empress, Chinese Restaurant.
Jeeradech has a wealth of experience in the restaurant and hotel field,
in which he has been working for more than 15 years. Prior to joining the
Dusit Resort, Pattaya Hotel, he was sous chef at the Imperial Queen’s Park
Hotel, Bangkok.
Phuket Air woes deepen
Phuket’s problems worsened on April 13 when a
government official said the carrier would be closed down if it was found
the beleaguered carrier’s management was not capable of operating to
international standards.
A spokesman for transport minister, Suriya
Jungrungreangkit, said there was a question mark over Phuket Air’s
management. “This is damaging the country’s reputation as an aviation
hub,” the spokesman said, adding the closure of the carrier could not be
ruled out.
Earlier, Suriya’s deputy, Phumtham Vejjayachai, told
reporters Phuket Air could lose its license if the airline did not improve
its operations. He said, “If we conclude from inspections that Phuket Air
is inefficient, its license will be revoked.”
Department of Aviation inspectors has declared only two
of Phuket Air’s aircraft were fit to fly – a Boeing 747-300 and a
B757-200. Of the remaining 17 aircraft, 16 failed to pass or were not put
forward for safety checks; one other – a B747 – is still grounded at
London’s Gatwick Airport.
Meanwhile, an estimated 300 would-be domestic
holidaymakers holding Phuket Air tickets were at Don Muang airport this
morning hoping to get a seat on alternative airlines. But most flights are
already overbooked because of the Thai New Year.
Attempts by TTG Daily News to get information from Phuket
Airlines management were unsuccessful. (TTG Asia)
Golf to lure
tourists back to Andaman
On April 16 the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)
launched a golf contest which it hopes will pull tourists back to the
country’s Andaman region following the December tsunami.
TAT Deputy Governor Suraphon Svetasreni said that the
Tiger Skin Games would help restore the reputation of Phuket, whose beaches
sustained considerable tsunami damage, as an international sporting
destination.
The games drew some of the world’s top golfers,
including Colin Montgomery, Thomas Bjorn and Grace Park, and were broadcast
across the world, as well as receiving mentions in top sporting magazines.
Suraphon noted that the event would help restore tourist
confidence in the Andaman region.
Normally held in Singapore, the event was held in
Thailand this year at the express wishes of the organizers, who felt a
change of atmosphere was needed. (TNA)
Thai Air Asia to
sue consumer watchdog
Thai Air Asia is planning to sue Thailand’s Consumer
Protection Board after being told they have to pay a fine of 50,000 baht
(US$1,250) for misleading advertisements.
Chief executive officer, Tassapon Bijleveld, said he will
“definitely not pay the fine”, and he will be discussing joint action
with Nok Air and Orient Thai’s One Two Go, both of which were also fined
50,000 baht.
“If we pay the fine it means we accept the accusation
and the ruling of the CPB, and we most certainly do not. I will sue them. I
will not pay it (the fine), even if the other two (airlines) do,” said
Tassapon. “Just about every low-cost airline in the world advertises the
same way. If the CPB doesn’t like the way we word our ads they should
spell out how we should do it,” he added.
CPB chairman and deputy prime minister, Pinij
Chalusombat, told reporters the fines were in connection with promotions
that had conditions buried in the small-print.
“Most people do not read the small-print and assume
that cheap prices apply in all situations,” Pinij said. He also warned
that if any board members of the three carriers knew about the
advertisements before they were placed, they might be fined 50,000 baht in
an individual capacity. (TTG Asia)
Valuair makes China breakthrough
Valuair will launch four weekly flights to Chengdu which
started April 20, making it the first Singapore-based budget carrier to
break into the highly sought-after China market.
Tickets are already available for booking and passengers
who buy return tickets by May 19 are entitled to the promotional fare of
S$360 (US$219).
This is the fifth destination the airline has introduced
in its first year of operation and chairman, Lim Chin Beng said a sixth
would “be added in a few days.”
As previously reported by TTG Daily News the destination
is most likely to be Xiamen.
Valuair flies to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Perth.
(TTG Asia)
Drought dampens
Songkran fun
The Thai New Year is supposed to be a celebration of
water, but this year in the northeastern province of Sri Sa Ket severe
drought has reduced water courses to a trickle, with the result that
tourists have gone elsewhere.
Reporters who visited the Huay Chan waterfall, one of the
most popular in the province, spoke of what was once a beautiful torrent
reduced to a meager drip, with refuse littering the rocks below.
In previous years the Songkran period has been marked by
crowds at the waterfall, but less than a handful of tourists even deigned to
approach it, and many souvenir and food stalls in the vicinity were boarded
up.
Pramuk Thonglamul, who sells food to tourists visiting
the waterfall, said that the cascade was the driest he had seen it for three
decades. There was now no evidence, he said, to show that it had once been a
site of extreme natural beauty.
One of the two tourists visiting the waterfall was Sanoh Worarak, who
spoke of his disappointment at the state of the falls. (TNA)
Jet Airways may be next
to cut commissions
Jet Airways may decide to lower the seven percent
commission given to agents for sale of their international flights, chief
operating officer, Peter Luethi, said.
“Since we are a newcomer (with international flights),
we will have to follow the lead of the big boys,” he said. However, he
reiterated the importance of the trade to the airline, with 90 percent of
domestic flights sold through agents, and said it would come up with a
“win-win” situation.
In India, Air India will soon cut its commission from
seven to five percent and several European, US and Asian carriers are
expected to follow suit.
Speaking to reporters after arriving in Singapore Changi
Airport on Jet’s inaugural flight from Mumbai, Luethi said based on
forward bookings the average load factor on the new daily flights are at 50
to 60 percent. The airline wants to achieve an average load factor of 75
percent from the third month of operation.
Jet will start daily flights to Kuala Lumpur and London
from May 5 and May 23 respectively and six weekly flights to New York from
end June or early July.
It also plans to introduce a flight to Thailand by winter and is
considering operating flights from Chennai and New Delhi to Singapore. (TTG
Asia)
SilkAir marks a milestone
Slightly over one million travelers flew on SilkAir for
the year ending March 31, the highest-ever passenger number recorded in a
single year since the airline’s inception in 1989.
Commercial vice-president, David Lim, said: “That more
passengers are choosing to fly with us than ever before, regardless of the
choices available, is indeed vindication the investments we have made in a
wide range of service areas including on-board service, flight frequencies
and network connections are paying dividends.” (TTG Asia)
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