TRAVEL & TOURISM
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Opening ceremony of “Lively Thailand” art exhibition

Vegetarian festival in Phuket attracts many tourists

Accor plans two new hotels for Phuket

Le M้ridien seeks Khao Lak commitment

Serviced residence sector grows

Reporting live from IT&CMA 2005 - Hot markets to watch and nurture

New contract for Thai Marine Leisure

Thai Airways grabs more front-end deals

Pattaya attracts many new sellers

Opening ceremony of “Lively Thailand” art exhibition

M.R. Somlabh Kitiyakara (center) cuts the ribbon to mark the opening. Front row from left: Pierre Andre Pelletier, general manager of the Amari Watergate Hotel, Wattana Poolcharoen, artist, Nichaya Chaivisuth, director of public relations at the hotel, Avasada Pokmontri, and Mongkol Cheusiripakdee.

M.R. Somlabh Kitiyakara, secretary to HRH Princess Soamsawalee, recently presided over the opening ceremony of the art exhibition titled “Lively Thailand” by the Bangkok Artist group led by Wattana Poolcharoen. The exhibition is located in the exhibition area, 3rd floor of the Amari Watergate Hotel. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Ramathibodi Hospital Foundation. The exhibition is being displayed from today until October 30, 2005


Vegetarian festival in Phuket attracts many tourists

This year’s vegetarian festival in Thailand’s southern resort city of Phuket drew many local and foreign tourists to visit and earned more than one billion baht for local people, according to a senior official of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Suvalai Pinpradab, director of TAT Southern Office, Region 4, said that the tourism in Phuket had significantly improved during the vegetarian festival (October 3-11) this year.

It is clear evidence that the resort island is fully ready to welcome tourists following the devastation from the tsunami disaster late last year.

She said more than 50,000 local and foreign tourists, particularly from Malaysia, Singapore, China and Taiwan, traveled to participate in the vegetarian festival. It is estimated that the tourists spent more than one billion baht during the festival.

Suvalai said she believed the vegetarian festival in Phuket next year will be more attractive than this year because local people from all segments of the island will be united to organize the festival. (TNA)


Accor plans two new hotels for Phuket

Accor has announced plans to open two new hotels in Phuket, the 245-room Mercure Patong and 300-room Grand Mercure Karon.

The low-rise Mercure Patong will have two pools, two restaurants, bars, a fitness center with a spa and meeting facilities. It is slated to open in the third quarter of 2007.

The four-and-a-half-star Grand Mercure Karon will feature two pools, two restaurants, two bars, a ballroom, meeting rooms and a business center, and has been scheduled to open in the final quarter of 2007. (TTG Asia)


Le M้ridien seeks Khao Lak commitment

Le M้ridien Hotels & Resorts has called for verbal support for the Andaman Coast to be turned into concrete action. Le M้ridien Hotels & Resorts’ Thailand resort area Director of Sales and Marketing, Werner Senft, said yesterday the verbal support for tsunami-affected areas has been great, but actual support had been slow in coming. “We’re seeing some reluctance from Singapore and Hong Kong companies,’’ he said.

Le M้ridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort in Phang Nga province re-opens on Saturday after a 280 million-baht (US$6.8 million) renovation. Senft said the property, an hour’s drive from Phuket, was ready to re-open six weeks ago, but was being held off until the start of winter. “We didn’t want to re-open in the middle of the rainy season,’’ he said.

Despite the major renovations, he said the resort had a look and feel of a property which had been operating for a while. “The place looks better than before. It’s in wonderful condition,’’ he said. (TTG Asia)


Serviced residence sector grows

The Ascott Group has secured a contract to manage a 265-unit serviced residence in Bangkok for 10 years, with an option to renew for another 10.

The Ascott’s third property in the Sukhumvit area, named Somerset Grand Sukhumvit, is expected to be ready in the first quarter of 2008. The 38-storey property will offer a choice of studio apartments and one, two, and three-bedroom units.

Ascott will have more than 1,300 units in six properties in Bangkok and Seoul with the latest addition.

Another Singapore-headquartered company, Fraser Serviced Residences, has signed a contract to manage its second 235-apartment property in Seoul, South Korea. DongSung Development owns the 23-storey building with a 35,000m2 of floor area.

Fraser Place Central, Seoul, is due to open in the second quarter of 2006. The group claims its existing Fraser Suites Insadong, also in Seoul, has been running at more than 90 percent occupancy. (TTG Asia)


Reporting live from IT&CMA 2005 - Hot markets to watch and nurture

Although crisis-hit destinations Phuket and Bali may take some time to recover, opportunities in the region remain.

India: With the signing of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement between India and ASEAN, more corporate travel and meetings are expected. India has already signed an AFTA with Thailand and is now looking at Vietnam.

New Delhi-based Global Sojourns Chairman, Jyoti Kapur, said: “With these agreements, duties are expected to go down, making it easier to trade. Indian companies are looking forward to establishing themselves in this part of the world. There have been many business delegations from India visiting the Mekong area to check out the infrastructure and opportunities. My company sends at least one such delegation weekly, and about 3,000 to 3,500 people a year. Despite some of the challenges in southeast Asia, such as security, there is a lot of interest from India.”

Dubai: The incentive travel market in Dubai is fast expanding because of competition among companies to keep good employees. Many MNCs are setting up in Dubai, because it is tax-free, and there is a need to motivate staff or else they get poached.

Dubai-based Al-Tayer Travel Agency Incentives & Promotions Manager, Pankaj Sen Gupta, said: “The incentive travel market is big, and growing by at least 10 percent yearly. Companies in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics tend to look for value-for-money, so Asia is the first choice. For the same reason, Asia also gets larger groups compared with Europe and the US, where mid-size groups of not more than 60 people are usually top employees.”

Australia: The incentive market from Australia to the Asia-Pacific region is strong. This is because traveling time, less than eight hours, is convenient, unlike traveling to Europe, which takes about 24 hours.

The prices offered in Asia are competitive compared to other regions. From Australia to the Asia and Pacific region, trips cost around A$2,500 (Bt.75,000; US$1,882) and A$3,000 (Bt.90,000) respectively. Trips to Europe start at A$3,500 (Bt.105,000).

Catalyst Marketing Managing Director, Peter Cavanagh, said in the last five years, the company had sent more groups to countries in Asia such as Thailand, Japan, China, Malaysia and Singapore. It sent out 800 incentive travelers to Asia last year. It is looking at Hong Kong and Macau for its 2008 programs. (TTG Asia)


New contract for Thai Marine Leisure

Nautor’s Swan has appointed Thai Marine Leisure general sales agent for the sale of its yacht charters in Thailand.

Thai Marine Leisure Managing Director Vincent Tabuteau said: “Thai Marine Leisure has been involved for many years in the development of yachting in Thailand and we are strong believers in the region’s potential. The extension of Nautor’s Swan Charter in South-east Asia is an important landmark for our regional marine industry.”

Nautor’s Swan Charters is involved in the organization of corporate events such as the Club Swan Caribbean Rendezvous, to regattas such as the Rolex Swan Cup, held biannually in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. It also offers the opportunity of hosting VIP’s on Swans during events such as the Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival and America’s Cup regattas.

Tabuteau added he was expecting a good winter season in Phuket and to supervise the development, appointed Caroline Payen as manager for its Yacht Charter Department.

Nautor’s Swan Charter currently has a charter fleet of some 63 boats. Boats are available in the Mediterranean, Caribbean Greece, Turkey and Asia. For more information, call: (66-76) 239 111 or at email: [email protected]. Website: www.thaimarine .com. (TTG Asia)


Thai Airways grabs more front-end deals

Thai Airways International (THAI) has pulled off a major coup by securing an agreement with the UN and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fly their representatives to meetings in southeast Asia.

The national carrier said the deal, expected to generate about US$1.5 million annually (Bt.60 million), was the result of its direct flights between Bangkok and New York, which were launched in May. The UN and IMF are both headquartered in New York.

THAI executive Vice-President, Commercial Department, Vasing Kittikul, said the deal was also the result of the airline’s new premium revenue strategy. “THAI has been left behind, to be frank, because we were mainly looking at passengers in the back seats. But now our product has improved, so we have to emphasize corporate accounts more.

“The board of directors, especially Acting President Somchainuk Engtrakul, wants us to promote our revenues and that’s why our strategy will be more aggressive in promoting our quality revenue.”

Vasing said the new strategy was not only aimed at foreign companies but also major Thai-based corporations and small and medium enterprises. (TTG Asia)


Pattaya attracts many new sellers

The second Double Bill IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific debut in Pattaya has attracted 1,425 registered delegates.

They comprise of 350 buyers and corporate travel managers from 40 countries, and 301 exhibiting companies from 29 countries from Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, the UK and the US.

Host country, Thailand, is occupying the largest country pavilion with 42 co-exhibitors. This is followed by Singapore with 24 co-exhibitors; Malaysia, 22; and Australia, 15. For the first time, Cambodia has its own country pavilion. First-timers at the show include Czech Tourism, Dubai Tourism, Yokohama Convention and Visitors Bureau, West Japan Industrial and Trade Convention Association, Challenge Hospitality, Etihad Airways and South Africa’s Sun International.

An online diary system for corporate travel managers and IT&CMA suppliers to set up business appointments has also been introduced.

TTG Asia Media Managing Director Darren Ng said MICE professionals could attend IT&CMA morning seminars and sales training workshops, while corporate travel managers could attend a two-day conference of corporate travel workshops, seminars and attendance certification sessions.

Delegates are encouraged to participate in the Sticky Awards. It is the fun Oscars’ version of awards to recognize and reward exhibitors who have gone the extra mile to delight buyers and trade exhibitors with their creativity and effort in their booth designs and promotional activities. (TTG Asia)