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Emirates launches First and Business Class offer
Flying Emirates First and Business Class has just become
even better thanks to a special super value deal the airline is offering
from June 15 - August 31.
 Emirates
First Class passengers traveling to Dubai from anywhere on the network will
receive 2 complimentary nights in a deluxe room at the Ritz Carlton Dubai
whilst those traveling Business Class can stay overnight in a deluxe room at
the Jumeirah Emirates Towers. Both classes can additionally choose between a
US $100 credit at their hotel or a Sundowner dune dinner Safari. The offer
also includes a 96-hour visa.
The accommodations include breakfast and all applicable taxes and service
charges. The US $100 credit per person can be used towards food and beverage
and/or spa facilities.
In order for the offer to be applicable, travel must originate from outside
the UAE and turnaround passengers or those traveling on frequent flyer
redemption tickets cannot apply. Accommodation has to be pre-booked and need
not be used immediately on arrival in Dubai.
Soonthorn Suree, Emirates Airline’s Area Manager for Thailand and Indochina
said: “Dubai offers a wide range of world-class tourism products and
services and is also a fantastic place for shopping. This offer truly is a
great opportunity for our Thai First and Business Class customers to enjoy
the finest of Dubai.”
Emirates flies to over 80 destinations in more than 55 countries and is
promoting the First and Business Class offer worldwide.
Bigfoot mania hits
Malaysian town
The sleepy village of Kampung Lukut Kota Tinggi, a
half hour drive from Johor Bahru in southern Malaysia has become a huge
draw for tourists since the first sightings of large footprints early
this year.
The village has been getting more than 100 visitors during weekends,
mostly domestic tourists, keen for a glimpse of “Bigfoot”.
Kota Tinggi District Office executive officer, Mr Aziz Hassan said his
department is keen to exploit the tourist potential with new tourism
products. A preliminary meeting was called last month with relevant
government agencies such as the agriculture and forestry departments
providing their inputs.
The mood was upbeat, although nothing concrete had been decided: “Ideas
were thrown around...we want to add new products to the existing
home-stay programme and cottage industries,” he said.
“We will call for another meeting next month,” he added, no doubt hoping
the village would one day be as famous for Bigfoot as Inverness,
Scotland, is for the legendary Loch Ness Monster. (TTG)
Ashes series to
revive Aussie tourism
The Australian tourism industry is banking on a Barmy Army Ashes invasion
next summer to offset a slump due to the soccer World Cup. Tourism Australia
managing director Scott Morrison said he expected overseas arrival figures
to sag in the second half of 2006.
“We can expect the World Cup in Germany to suppress global demand for
travel,” he said. “There will be those, particularly in Europe, who would
have planned a big trip and would have decided this year it would be the
World Cup. So I think you could expect some suppression of visitation
largely around and after the World Cup.”
Mr Morrison said the industry would be looking to an estimated UK Barmy Army
of 30,000 plus to provide a tourism boost during the Ashes series.
“There is phenomenal interest over the Ashes,” he said. “These events have a
massive impact because people are coming and spending, going out, going to
restaurants, riding in cabs and spending a lot of money. The Ashes tour runs
for an incredibly long period of time and it really opens up opportunities
to get people to go out and do other things here.”
Mr Morrison said Tourism Australia next month will launch an ‘Ashes planning
tool’ on its website, www.australia.com, to help visitors plan their
itineraries around the Test matches.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics last year 1.38 million
Europeans visited Australia, with summer the most popular period. Britain,
with more than 708,300 visitors, is overall Australia’s second most
important market while Germany with 146,400 arrivals was the most important
continental market. (TTG)
Thailand on course for opening Suvarnabhumi International Airport in September
After a prolonged delay, Thailand’s caretaker government
has issued assurances that the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport will
open for commercial operations on September 28. The new airport is designed
to initially serve up to 45 million passengers a year.
Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal confirmed the plans for the new
airport. The government hopes Suvarnabhumi International will surpass rivals
Singapore and Malaysia as the region’s most important hub.
The new facility will replace Don Muang as Bangkok’s sole international
airport. When Suvarnabhumi officially opens, Don Muang will close to all but
charter operators. However, its long-term fate is yet to be decided.
Six local airlines are slated to conduct 13 commercial test flights ahead of
the planned opening in September. Thai Airways International, Nok Air, Thai
AirAsia, Orient Thai, PB Air and Bangkok Airways have already submitted
their flight plans to AOT. Various systems, including check-in, explosive
device monitoring tools and conveyors will be tested on July 29.
Airports of Thailand (AOT) has been conducting two integrated systems tests
a week, said Somchai Sawasdeepon, Suvarnabhumi airport general director.
“All involved agencies confirmed with the prime minister that everything is
going well and we will be ready for the opening on September 28,” said
Somchai
As an incentive for low-cost carriers to take part in the test, there will
be no service charges or landing fees at Suvarnabhumi airport and airports
such as Chiang Mai, Phuket and Hat Yai. AOT said it will invite domestic and
international airlines to Suvarnabhumi to talk about moving operations from
Don Muang after July 29, if the tests are successful.
“We want to extend the opportunity to Thais in all parts of the country to
join the historic commercial test flights,” said Chotisak Asapaviriya,
president of Airports of Thailand Plc. “They will be the first passengers to
use this airport.”
AOT will give passengers on these flights special fare air tickets,
souvenirs and certificates. Travellers eager to compare the two airports,
old and new, can take a 30-minute flight from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi for
999 baht. For resort destinations like Phuket and Chiang Mai, one-way
economy class tickets will cost 1,999 baht and round-trip tickets 3,999
baht. Ticket sales open July 1. (eTN Asia)
Thai Airways in cooperation with the Airport Authority
of Thailand is inviting the general public to test their new facilities and
check in and arrival procedures at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in mid July.
In order to mark this auspicious occasion, a trip is being planned for
Pattaya residents interested in taking part. Tickets can be reserved for a
200 baht deposit at Massic Travel, Pattaya Second Road, next to Grand Sole
Hotel. The exact date of the trip has yet to be confirmed and will be
announced shortly.
Etihad Airways meets Pattaya ticketing agencies
Chaiyavut Chomsakorn, Etihad
Regional Marketing Manager talks about the virtues of the airline to Pattaya
travel agents and hotel reservation staff
Piyavadee Suvannahong
A seminar to promote Etihad Airways of the United Arab Emirates to Pattaya
ticket agents and hotel reservation personnel was held June 9 at the Dusit
Resort.
Chaiyavut Chomsakorn, the airline’s sales and marketing manager for
Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, said that the new airline,
which was founded only in 2003 and has its head office in Abu Dhabi, is
growing rapidly as a result of the importance it places on both its
passengers’ satisfaction and on technological and engineering innovations.
More than 100 agents attended the seminar.
One Pattaya agent said many Middle Eastern tourists now regularly find their
way to Thailand, and Pattaya is one of the destinations that these tourists
have at the top of their list of places to visit. Etihad Airways is one of
the most popular choices of carriers for travelers from the Middle East
region, due in the main to its spacious aircraft seating arrangements,
cleanliness, facilities, and the good service provided.
The airline was established in Thailand in 2004 and has its office on the
18th Floor, M Thai Tower, All Seasons Place, 87 Wireless Road, Phatumwan,
Bangkok. Inquiries can be made on 0 22530-088 ext 200.
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