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

Marriott unveils its “great room concept”

THAI halts Australia-Phuket service

New pollution-free tourist destination discovered in southern Thailand

More public-private sector partnerships wanted

Ibis makes Bangkok debut

Vietnam-Israel direct flights soon

Thailand named World’s Best Tourist Country

Shangri-La Asia buys Parisian palace

PATA’s top five winners for third quarter 2005

ATTA reports drop in Thailand tourism

Marriott unveils its “great room concept”

Marriott International has announced plans for its “great room concept”, a move that will transform the public spaces of its Marriott Hotels and Resorts and Renaissance Hotels and Resorts.
The new concept will cater to the work patterns of modern business travelers by creating adaptable spaces for guests to more easily meet and work in small groups, or casually dine in more open spaces with easy access to the latest technologies.
It will comprise of the Welcome Zone with its front desk, personalized concierge services and retail outlets; the Individual Zone offering quiet spaces for personal rest and leisure; the Social Zone with areas for guests to snack, converse or hold impromptu meetings; and the Business Zone, which will include a multifunctional boardroom, spaces for small groups and a revamped business centre. (TTG Asia)


THAI halts Australia-Phuket service

Thai Airways International has announced it will halt its direct service from Australia to the resort island due to poor response.
THAI commercial executive vice-president, Vasing Kittikul, said the thrice-weekly flight linking Phuket, Sydney and Melbourne was suspended on February 1 after losses of around 260 million baht (US$6.6 million).
The national carrier launched the service following the December 2004 tsunami to help resuscitate the tourism industry. But Vasing said a cabin occupancy of between 62 to 65 percent meant the service was running at a loss. “We are not even breaking even. With higher fuel prices, we have to review non-profitable routes. If there is a contribution from other areas, we still can fly. But for Australia-Phuket, there is no contribution from other areas.”
Vasing said passengers flying from Australia and New Zealand to Phuket could connect through Bangkok. (TTG Asia)


New pollution-free tourist destination discovered in southern Thailand

A new naturally pristine resort island has been discovered in Thailand’s southern Surat Thani Province and has been declared as a pollution-free tourist destination.
Deputy Governor of Surat Thani Thawatchai Terdphao told journalists that “Koh Tan”, the newly-discovered resort island, is located three kilometers South of Koh Samui.
The resort island with white-sand beach, abundant resources and ecological attractions was discovered in a recent survey by local authorities, he disclosed. Deep in the sea around the isle of 18 household-dwellers, there are plenty of charming reefs and a variety of attractive marine life. In the near future, hundreds of tourists and divers will be welcome daily, said the deputy governor.
“Koh Tan has been declared a pollution-free tourist destination and the province is developing town planning and infrastructure on the island, including local power systems and communication networks,” he said.
“To preserve its pristine natural environment, local authorities have decided to ban all engine-based vehicles and motorcycles from the isle,” added the deputy governor. (TNA)


More public-private sector partnerships wanted

The Thai tourism industry has called for more collaboration between tourism-related government agencies and the private sector at the first monthly ‘meet the press’ function brokered by the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), held yesterday.
The private sector has also called for more involvement in the annual tourism budget planning and negotiations, and foreign meetings such as bilateral trade talks. This year, the private sector expects 13 million international tourist arrivals, which falls short of predictions of 13.8 million by the Tourism and Sports Ministry and 13.2 million by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
ATTA, together with the Thai Hotels Association, the Thai chapter of PATA, the Domestic Travel Association and the Thai Travel Agents Association, initiated the event in order to regularly update the media on the tourism situation from the private sector’s standpoint.
ATTA president, Apichart Sankary, said the industry has pushed for government agencies to set up a Tourism Intelligent Unit and a Tourism Crisis Management Centre to keep tourism operators abreast of competitors and to professionally handle crisis.
Apichart said violence in the southern provinces, high fuel prices, and aggressive media reports on crimes against tourists would post as major threats to the tourism industry. “There are, however, three key positive factors that could help spur the tourism industry. These are His Majesty the King’s Diamond Jubilee, the opening of the Suvarnabhumi Airport, and the positive impact from the recent tsunami anniversary.” (TTG Asia)


Ibis makes Bangkok debut

Accor has recently launched its three-star Ibis brand in Bangkok with the opening of the 180-room Ibis Siam Bangkok, located near Pratunam shopping district, and the 269-room Ibis Huamark Bangkok, situated near Ramkamhaeng University and some 25km from the new Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Both hotels offer high speed WiFi Internet coverage in all guestrooms and meeting facilities. Ibis Huamark also features a swimming pool, pool bar and fitness facility for guests.
Opening rates at Ibis Huamark Bangkok start at 888 baht net (US$22) a night, and 999 baht net (US$24) a night at Ibis Siam Bangkok until April 30.
Accor senior vice-president for sales and marketing Asia Pacific, Ray Stone, said he hoped both Ibis properties in Bangkok would be just as well received as the ones recently opened in China and South Korea. “We had over 90 percent occupancy within one month,” he said.
Stone said Accor was under discussions with potential partners to open ‘several’ Ibis hotels throughout Thailand. Slated to open later this year is the 150-room Ibis Fenix Bangkok on Sukhumvit near the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Fenetex International, which owns the Ibis Fenix Bangkok, has already committed to developing two more Ibis hotels in the city over the next two years. (TTG Asia)


Vietnam-Israel direct flights soon

The governments of Vietnam and Israel signed an aviation agreement to begin direct flights between the two countries - a move expected to benefit Vietnam in more trade and visitors.
Every year, approximately 140,000 Israelis travel to Thailand, according to Israel Ambassador to Vietnam, Ephraim Ben-Matiyau, who signed the agreement with Deputy Transport Minister, Nguyen Tien Sam, who is also head of Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Administration, local press reported.
The aviation service agreement paves the way for the countries’ airlines to begin negotiations on flight routes, codeshare arrangements, licensing, tariffs and other formalities. Officials could not predict when direct flights would actually begin, but Ben-Matiyau said Vietnam is an attractive destination for Israeli tourists. (TTG Asia)


Thailand named World’s Best Tourist Country

Thailand has been named as the World’s Best Tourist Country in the 2005 Grand Travel Award held in Norway early this month.
It is the third consecutive year Thailand won the award with Greece and Italy coming second and third.
Chitriya Pinthong, Thai Ambassador to Norway, and Nattheera Kachornserilikitkul, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Stockholm Office in Sweden, represented Thailand at the annual award presentation ceremony.
The accolade was granted to Thailand under the deliberation and decision by the Travel Trade Jury and 300 tour companies in Norway.
It shows tourists remain impressed by the friendliness of Thai people, as well as natural beauties and charms of Thailand’s tourist sites, although the country experienced great loss from the tsunami disaster in late December 2004. (TNA)


Shangri-La Asia buys Parisian palace

Shangri-La Asia, parent company of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, has plans to convert its latest acquisition, the 110-year old historic palace of Prince Roland Bonaparte, into Paris’s first luxury hotel fully owned and operated by an Asian hotel group. This will mark the group’s entry into Europe.
Scheduled to open by late 2008, the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris, will have its inner spaces renewed and enhanced in keeping with its original architectural touches.
Located at 10 avenue d’Iena, near the Trocadero, the seven-storey property will have 140 deluxe guestrooms and suites with some featuring private balconies. It will also have meeting facilities, pool, health club, retail space, business lounge and restaurants. (TTG Asia)


PATA’s top five winners for third quarter 2005

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has published its report on Asia-Pacific destination performances for the third quarter 2005.
The top five origin-destination growth performances are: Indonesia to Taiwan (up 181.9 percent), China to the Philippines (up 161 percent), Spain to China (up 115.9 percent), South Korea to Cambodia (up 95.1 percent) and South Korea to Malaysia (up 73.5 percent).
However, in purely volume terms, the top five origin-destination pairs showing the greatest gains were the US to Canada (up by 1,079,000), Hong Kong to China (up by 1,049,000), Macau to China (up by 950,000), Canada to the US (up by 411,000) and Russia to China (up by 181,000).
The top five destinations in terms of arrivals growth, from all markets, compared to the third quarter 2004 were Vanuatu (up 50.9 percent), Cambodia (up 41.78 percent), Laos (up 23.8 percent), Nepal (up 23.8 percent) and Macau (up 19.1 percent). (TTG Asia)


ATTA reports drop in Thailand tourism

The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) said there was an 8.5 percent drop in tourists handled by its member companies at Bangkok International Airport last year.
ATTA members served 2,457,548 travelers at the airport last year, down from 2,688,455 in 2004.
The association said the decline was mainly the result of economic concerns such as rising fuel prices and strong competition from other destinations. Security concerns in Thailand’s restive South and the tsunami fallout were also contributing factors behind the fall. (TTG Asia)