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)
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