HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Royal Cliff Beach Resort celebrates induction into TTG Travel Hall of Fame

Thailand ‘Best Country Brand’ for value for money

Oasis expands fleet,gains Russian permit

Los Angeles-based company to design suits for space tourists

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Royal Cliff Beach Resort celebrates induction into TTG Travel Hall of Fame

Narisa Nitikarn
The multi award-winning Royal Cliff Beach Resort celebrated its elevation to the “TTG Travel Hall of Fame” at a colourful Awards Celebration Party held at the poolside of the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel on December 2.

Panga Vathanakul, managing director of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort can be very proud of her achievements to make Pattaya a world-class tourist destination.
The Royal Cliff Beach Resort became the first hotel in the world and the first tourism business in Thailand to be inducted into the “TTG Travel Hall of Fame” at the 17th Annual Travel Awards 2006, held in Pattaya on October 12. Induction into the coveted Travel Hall of Fame is an accolade given only if an organisation has won at least 10 TTG Travel Awards instituted by the Travel Trade Gazette Asia (TTG Asia) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
Since the inception of the Awards 17 years ago, the Royal Cliff Beach Resort has won 11 such awards: the Best Resort Hotel - Asia Pacific award for eight consecutive years from 1989, and the Best Meetings & Conventions Hotel award in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Sakthip Krailerk, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports pays tribute to the successes of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and PEACH.
In recognition of this unique achievement, the Royal Cliff Beach Resort was inducted into the prestigious TTG Travel Hall of Fame, becoming the first representative from Thailand and the first hotel in all of Asia to be admitted. So far, only three other organisations in the world have achieved this elevation.
Congratulating the management and staff of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and PEACH, Sakthip Krailerk, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports said, “The elevation of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort to the TTG Travel Hall of Fame is truly a remarkable achievement and a tribute to the standards of Thailand’s Tourism industry, showing that Thailand can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world. It also serves as a recognition of how Pattaya has moved with the times and reinvented itself as a truly world class Tourism destination.”
Pattaya is Thailand’s favourite beach resort, attracting over three and a quarter million international visitors annually and today has earned a reputation for developing emerging markets such as Russia, India and China and MICE business, as well as retaining a healthy share of the mature markets, he observed.
In her welcome address, Mrs. Panga Vathanakul, managing director of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and PEACH, said the 34 year history of the Resort has been honoured with numerous awards and citations from distinguished organisations around the world, the most recent being the ‘Thailand Tourism Award of Excellence as the Best Convention Hotel in the Eastern Region’.
“But the news that the Royal Cliff Beach Resort has been elevated to the TTG Travel Hall of Fame marks a milestone for us - and indeed, for Thailand’s hotel industry. Our elevation to the TTG Travel Hall of Fame inspires all of us to continue to strive to achieve the best in all that we do. This award is an endorsement of Thailand’s Tourism industry and of the world class standards which our country can achieve - thank you all, for helping us to achieve it,” Mrs. Panga added.
The Awards Celebration Party was attended by top representatives of travel agencies, industry partners and media.

Ranjith Chandrasiri, Deputy GM, Alex Haeusler, GM and Panga Vathanakul, MD welcome guests to the colourful Awards Celebration Party.

Thailand ‘Best Country Brand’ for value for money

Thailand has been named “The Best Country Brand” in terms of value for money in a global study by FutureBrand, a leading global brand consultancy.
The study involved a survey of more than 1,500 international travellers, travel industry experts, and hospitality professionals as part of a broader Country Brand Index.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications, Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni said, “It is heartening to see that Thailand has such a high level of recognition in one of the most important decision-making criteria for global travellers.
“In an era of volatile currency fluctuations and high oil prices, travellers are constantly seeking ways to stretch their hard-earned income on leisure travel, Suraphon said. “One of the key elements of our marketing strategy has always been to position our excellent products and services as being value for money, and we are happy to see that the message is having an impact.”
Visitor arrivals to Thailand totalled 11.5 million in 2005, generating a total of US$9.13 billion, or an average of US$96.72 per person per day. This ranged from US$120 daily expenditure by visitors from Kuwait to US$79 spent by visitors from Lao PDR.
This year’s CBI survey not only identifies countries as brands but also studies emerging global travel trends in the world’s fastest-growing economic sector - travel and tourism. This sector accounts for more than one in every 11 jobs worldwide.
The CBI also identified China, Croatia and the United Arab Emirates as the top three “rising star” countries - those likely to be major tourism destinations in the next five years.

Oasis expands fleet, gains Russian permit

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines has added its second Boeing 747-400 to its fleet and has finally received the green light from the Federal Air Navigation Authority in Russia to fly over Russian airspace.
This route will shorten flying time on the Hong Kong-London route. Oasis flights will now take 12 hours 20 minutes to travel from Hong Kong to London and 10 hours 50 minutes on its return route.
When Oasis launched its inaugural flight to London in October, it was delayed for a day because the Russian air authority denied its access shortly before the scheduled departure.
Chief executive officer, Mr Stephen Miller, said: “After London, we will fly to Oakland (San Francisco area) in California in the first half of 2007 and later to other European and North American cities including Cologne/Bonn, Milan, Berlin and Chicago.”
The average passenger load factor was at 73 per cent last month and nearly 40,000 customers have already booked flights with the airline.
The company is seeking to acquire up to five aircraft a year and expand its fleet to 25 aircraft by 2010. (TTG)

Los Angeles-based company to design suits for space tourists

A new Los Angeles-based company, Orbital Outfitters, last week announced its plans to design outfits for space tourists and crew-members. The company also aims to lease spacesuits and other equipment to private rocketeers.

According to the company’s website, “The Mission of Orbital Outfitters is to provide affordable, industrial-quality spacesuits and related services to commercial and government space travelers and explorers.”
The company plans to launch its first spacesuits in 2007 for crews of the California-based rocket-powered vehicle company XCOR. Additionally, it plans to lease custom-fitted suits to the first mass of space tourists.
Orbital Outfitters president Rick Tumlinson said in a media interview: “When someone puts on an IS3 (sub-orbital spacesuit), they will be protected by the best technology we can muster, yet they will look like they’ve stepped off the set of a science fiction movie.
“With billionaires funding the new space companies and passengers paying up to $200,000 for a ride, safety is important. We intend to also make it chic,” Tumlinson added.
The company says that by next two years, spacesuit fashion will be the most talked about thing in the space-tourism industry.
Spacesuit designs are still in nascent stages, but they will look more or less like Grand Prix or NASCAR jumpsuits and will feature the colors and logos of the rocket firm on which the passenger is flying.
The company has prioritized safety as the main concern in designing and creating the spacesuits, which will help protect the space tourists from extreme cold, a lack of air and atmospheric pressure.
Additionally, they will provide life-support functions for 30 minutes at 500,000 feet, or 95 miles, high. The cost for leasing a suit is about $3,000 to 6,000 per trip. (eTN)

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