Pattaya responds to calls for help

After the tsunami hit the south, and when the call for help went out, Pattaya’s residents, tourists, Thais and foreigners responded quickly and without hesitation. Blood was donated, food, clothes and necessities were collected, and all was sent down south to the affected areas. Literally every local organization and nearly every business in Pattaya joined in the effort. The following is just a small sampling of the help Pattaya provided:

Pattaya mayor rallies support to help the south

On December 28, Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn told an urgent meeting with administrators at city hall, “The loss is massive; the disaster is almost unbelievable.”

Pattaya’s community didn’t hesitate when joining the rest of Thailand and the world in the outpouring of aid, regardless of status or nationality. There were blood drives, and points were set up around the city to collect donations of food, clothing and cash.

Pattaya City transported all items, with the help of the Sawang Boriboon Foundation, to people in the south.

Out of respect for the victims of the disaster and in line with the central government’s wishes, Pattaya’s New Year Festival was cancelled and instead transformed into a fundraising activity.

Burapa Motorcycle Club, which donated many items, help load the truck destined to deliver them to those in need.

Chatchawal Supachayanont, Dusit Resort Pattaya’s general manager and his team do their bit to help.

Pattaya’s Sikh community, led by Amrik Singh Kalra, did their part to help.

Sheri Ferguson donates blood at the temporary Red Cross donation point set up in a clinic on Pattaya 2nd Road very near the Grand Sole Hotel.

Prefab housing headed south

On Tuesday (28 December 2004) while watching the disastrous effects of the tsunami on the TV, Kevin Fisher formed an idea. Prefabricated, modular buildings to be made from steel and other lightweight materials might just help with the recovery effort in the south.

Kevin called an associate of his, Dave Doll of S.O.S. (Sea and Oilfield Services Co Ltd) and both Kevin and Dave agreed that much could be done to help the survivors and people aiding them.

Swiftly and silently members of Lodge Pattaya West Winds assisted the south to recover by building CKD schools for the Tsunami affected children. With the assistance of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia, the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya and private donors.

The following day the two of them proceeded to the fabrication yard and conferred with the owners and designers at the yard. By the end of the day, production costs, time frames, production capabilities and other relevant details had been worked out.

Kevin and Dave immediately started to contact various organizations and agencies to help spread the word to fund and find the most advantageous placement for the rapid deployment units in the disaster areas. David Garred volunteered to help organize and manage the logistical end of the operations while Kevin and Dave work in the field teaching others how to assemble the buildings on site.

With the input received from various sources, the plan became a reality and the first buildings were delivered and assembled in the middle of January.

The rapid deployment frame buildings were the fastest to produce and set up in the disaster areas during the first phase. They are most commonly used for medical facilities, kitchen and dining facilities, dormitories, shower/toilet facilities, schools, office complexes, maintenance and various types of storage areas.

Pattaya Sports Club meets the needs of those in the South Bernie Tuppin PSC Charity Chairman PSC Charity joined hands with the local Sawang Boriboon Foundation in a trip to the devastated Phang-nga province. Travelling overnight and well into the next day the convoy of 8 fully laden six wheelers and 10 support vehicles finally arrived at the operations centre in Phang-nga. On board the trucks were tons of rice, dry foods, water and clothing as well as thousands of specially packed bags containing essential items (towels toiletries eating utensils dry foods and candy for the kids). Ban Nam Khem School, or what was left of it. It had taken the full force of the wave, but thankfully the disaster occurred on Sunday morning with no children in attendance, or the tragedy could have been much worse. Before leaving the centre a donation of 350,000 baht was made to Khun Chalasak, the director of School Ban Nam Khem, whose school was almost demolished in the disaster. Our first camp visit was Ban Muang, a virtual tent city with around 1,200 displaced people. While the famous Thai smile was still evident it was a little slower in coming and was tinged with a degree of sadness. Many of the specially prepared packages were left at this site to be distributed later along with several hundred thousand baht. Next stop was Khao Lak where a camp had been established behind the Pak Wiap School. Here, over a hundred and twenty people received relief packages and were given 2,000 baht cash each to help them over the next few days. The same format was followed at two camps in the Ban Khuk Kak area. At no time was there any sign unruliness or ingratitude. These folk were still gracious and thankful in spite of the ordeals they had suffered. At one of these camps temporary dwellings were being constructed while we were there, and people who previously were living under sheets of plastic spread over or between trees were being relocated as the structures were completed. Counselling and healthcare were also available, a pat on the back to the donors and organizers of these services. Our last stop was at the naval installation at Ban Nam Khem, which is right on the water’s edge. Here the buildings were badly damaged and many lives lost. Across the road sat the Ban Nam Khem School, or what was left of it. Almost every classroom had walls knocked out and had obviously taken the full force of the wave. In all over 3 million baht in cash was distributed to very needy folk as well as many tons of essential items. While Pattaya Sports Club donated only 500,000 baht of this total, its members can feel proud to have contributed to a very worthy cause. Redemptorist Vocational School in Pattaya helps tsunami victims in the South Suchada Tupchai The Pramahathai Vocational School in Pattaya, led by school director Suporntham Mongkolsawat, with a total of 24 teachers, students, and foreign volunteers, went to help the tsunami victims in southern Thailand. PM Taksin Shinawatra and his teams checked in on the team and lifted their spirits. Pramahathai Vocational School in Pattaya teaches computer skills and electronics and therefore students and staff were in a position to help with information processing, such as creating data bases for lost and missing persons, registration, retouching old photos, taking photos, and other help needed. The group worked at the Yan Yao Temple in Pang-nga, which was heavily damaged. The devastation and death toll was heartbreaking and the calamity was on a scale never before been seen in Thailand. Work on the first day was slow because the team didn’t have enough support from the other organizations. The next day the team brought all necessary equipment by themselves, including computers, printers, digital cameras, scanners and mobile phones. Gathering all the data was hard work under the existing conditions, but Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra and members of concerned departments cheered everyone up, which significantly boosted morale and willpower.

Changing population trends call for new strategies

An Asian population ageing faster than its birth rate and growing affluence will drive changes in buying trends in the next decade, and the hospitality industry must find a strategy to accommodate the trend for the best gains.

This trend was spelt out by Mastercard during its Global Hospitality Forum last week. Results and forecasts were based on findings regarding spending on personal travel extrapolated from household income and expenditure account data.

Countries accounted for included Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Australia and New Zealand. GDP growth trends from 1990 to 2004 and population growth and lifecycle stage distribution numbers were taken into account.

MasterCard Asia-Pacific economic advisor, Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, said: “Retired travelers will be the major segment in the future because Asia’s population is ageing very fast and they have much more spending power...those who are in the middle income bracket of US$30,000 to US$100,000 spent US$17.5 billion in 2004 (16 times more than singles in the same income group, who spent US$1.2 billion last year) and will spend US$23.6 billion by 2014.”

Retirees in the US$100,000-plus income bracket will also double their spending from US$5.8 billion in 2004 to US$10.2 billion in 2014.

Dr Hedrick-Wong highlighted the multiplier effects of Asia’s rising income with an average annual personal travel threshold of US$5,000. “For every one percent increase in income, there is a three percent increase in the households that travel,” he said.

In 2004, there were 97 million people with annual incomes of US$30,000 to US$100,000 and a combined spending of US$32 billion. He projected this group would grow by 7.2 percent to 104 million people by 2014, but total potential spending would grow 53 percent to US$49 billion. Estimated overseas travel spending per traveler was US$1,000 in 2004 and is forecast to rise to US$1,200 by 2014.

But the group to watch is those with annual incomes of more than US$100,000-plus. Last year, there were 15 million people in this group with combined spending of US$8.2 billion. Although projected to grow by only two million to 17 million people by 2014, this group’s total potential spending is set to double to US$17.6 billion by then. Estimated spending per traveler is forecast to increase tremendously from US$2,500 to US$6,500 per year in overseas travel.

The desires of the much-coveted mainland China traveler are also undergoing a “dramatic shift”, from shopping to cultural activities.

And the rise in Internet bookings among those who have traveled 10 times or more, was also another trend that was highlighted. (TTG Asia)

Governor Juthamas Siriwan to retire next year

Sirima Eamtako

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will add a new deputy governor for strategic planning of special events and products within six months, as its current five deputy governors are “overloaded”.

The new deputy governor, most likely to be in charge of two departments, will also be responsible for creating tactical marketing schemes. TAT’s Director of policy and planning department, Auggaphol Brickshawana, has been named as a possible candidate.

The new organization chart has been drawn up and TAT Governor, Juthamas Siriwan, will present the draft for approval to the TAT board of directors later this month.

Juthamas is retiring on September 30 next year, but the reform plan is expected to materialize within her last nine months at TAT.

After the establishment of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) in 2002, TAT streamlined by increasing the deputy governor posts from three to five. The current deputy governors are for administration, tourism products, domestic marketing, international marketing, and publicity and public relations.

Sources said the proposed organizational structure might not last long as the MOTS would undergo a restructuring by mid-2006. Any MOTS restructuring is likely to have an impact on TAT’s organizational chart.

Private sector sources told TTG Asia they felt TAT should reassess itself and place emphasis on its two core strengths: marketing and public relations. This is particularly so for international markets.

Laguna Phuket Managing Director, James Batt, said the approach should be the same as in other business corporations, and that TAT, as the sales and marketing arm of the government’s tourism effort, should be judged on results.

Thailand has seen growth and hence the TAT has enjoyed growth, he said. “But this year has been difficult. It has been a misery to us. We still don’t understand why TAT placed such emphasis on domestic and South Korean markets that did not respond well due to superstitious reasons,” he said.

Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) President Apichart Sankary, said TAT should place emphasis on international emerging markets with new direct flights to Thailand, such as India and Russia.

He said road shows should be organized to India to capture the affluent middle-class, which comprise around five percent of the total population.

“More proactive marketing strategies should also be introduced to lure back the UK and German markets, which have dropped significantly following last December’s tsunami,” Apichart said.

He added: “The markets are returning to the Andaman coast, but the figures are not as good as pre-tsunami period.”

However, Apichart praised the TAT for working more closely with the private sector.

“We have seen tremendous improvements in cooperation with TAT. The agency has included ATTA in many activities such as brainstorming of marketing strategies and organizing road shows and events.”

But Batt in part disagreed, saying his letters to the TAT governor seeking a discussion with the government body on marketing support “never received the courtesy of a reply”. (TTG Asia)