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Hotels aid Pattaya evolution
Sirima Eamtako
(TTG Asia)
Buoyed by its proximity to one-year-old Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand’s
main gateway, Pattaya is seeing a burgeoning number of new hotels while
existing properties are being upgraded.
Pattaya is having a renaissance, the trade says.
Amari Hotels and Resorts sales and marketing vice-president, Duncan
Webb, said the overall outlook for Pattaya as a destination now was
light years away from what the beach resort was 10 years ago. He added
it had become an established beach resort with international standards
and the destination was continually evolving with new developments.
 The
Amari Orchid Resort & Tower: an exciting example of the new Pattaya.
This once small fishing village, which began its transformation to a
beach resort in the 1960s, had a negative image for many years. But the
city administration has been working hard to erase its sleazy image, in
a bid to transform the beach resort into a family- and business-focused
destination.
While there are still girly bars and massage parlours, the
administration wants visitors to look beyond them to see that Pattaya
has much more to offer.
One of the first founders of Pattaya as a beach resort, Royal Cliff
Beach Resort managing director, Ms Panga Vathanakul, said the image of
Pattaya had improved significantly in recent years with efforts to
reinforce its standing as a MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and
exhibitions) destination.
She said over the past few years, Pattaya had been chosen as the host
venue for a number of international events, including Skål World
Congress and PATA Annual Conference in 2006 and IT&CMA/CTW in 2005 and
2006. All were successful.
The increasing attention from large event organisers, including
International Congress & Convention Association hosting the 46th ICCA
Congress & Exhibition in October, prompted Ms Panga to expand PEACH
(Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall).
The expansion, which will be completed in December, brings PEACH’s new
capacity to 7,600 people theatre-style, from 5,800 people.
Ms Panga said: “Overall, the type of visitors are changing toward
high-end crowds – those with interests in golf, shopping, island hoping
and sightseeing – and a number of international hotel brands are
entering the destination to capture this high-yield market segment.”
New hotel projects, scheduled to open over the next few years include a
Mövenpick resort, Le Méridien resort, Holiday Inn hotel, Centara resort
and dusitD2 hotel. The extensive facelift and expansion at Amari Orchid
Resort & Tower, Dusit Thani Pattaya and Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa
have also enhanced the inventory of high quality hotel offerings in
Pattaya.
Amari’s Mr. Webb said: “With international hotel chains entering Pattaya
and the existing properties reinventing themselves, a greater marketing
effort will be put towards generating a level of international awareness
in Pattaya.”
Diethelm Events executive manager, David Barrett, said Pattaya’s
proximity to Suvarnabhumi Airport and its location near heavily
industrialised eastern seaboard areas (Laem Chabang in Chon Buri and
Mabtaput in Rayong) had also made it a suitable destination for
incentive groups.
Mr. Barrett said Diethlem Events handled a number of companies that
brought incentive groups to Pattaya in combination with factory visits.
It usually uses Sheraton Pattaya Resort for incentive groups of less
than 60 people, and Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Dusit Thani Pattaya, Amari
Orchid Resort & Tower and Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa for groups of
between 80 and 200 people.
Mr. Barrett said: “Pattaya fits the bill as a high-quality destination
with well-packaged elements such as shopping, offshore island hopping,
sightseeing of man-made attractions like Nong Nooch Tropical Garden and
the Sanctuary of Truth, and soft-adventure activities like elephant
riding.
“But while the beach resort has all the ingredients to make it an ideal
high-quality destination, it also has other elements for the media to
present it in a negative light.
“It’s like a mirror that has two faces, and it’s up to us which image of
Pattaya we want to reflect.”
Unfortunately, he said the negative image of Pattaya made it very hard
to sell to Australia, the UK and Germany and additional marketing
efforts would be needed if the destination wanted to win over these
markets. But for incentive groups from new and emerging markets such as
Russia, South Africa, India and China, there was no image problem.
Pathfinders Travel managing director, Ashley Monteiro, said for the
Indian market, which sought good products but was very price sensitive,
Pattaya emerged as a reasonable destination at a price range cheaper
than that of Bangkok.
He said his company promoted Pattaya and Bangkok equally as incentive
destinations. It had been sending between 10 and 15 small- and
medium-sized incentive groups from India to the beach resort each month.
Each group comprised between 10 and 200 people.
In contrast to the optimism over the entry of international brands, Mr.
Monteiro cautioned hotel developers against mismatching their
expectations with the reality of the destination, where supply was
higher than demand. “Yet rates are becoming unrealistic for the
destination, making it hard for us to push for the business,” he said.
Royal Cliff’s Ms Panga countered that hotels in Pattaya when compared to
those in the surrounding cities were selling five-star products at
four-star rates, making it a good value-for-money destination.
Chaophya Park Hotel
wins top Green Award
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) together with the Green Leaf Foundation
recently bestowed a prestigious environmental award on the Chaophya Park Hotel,
Bangkok. The “Thailand Tourism: Environment Friendly Hotels Award “ was
presented by the Minister of Tourism and Sports H.E. Dr. Suvit Yodmani at a
special award ceremony in Bangkok.
 Lamphong
Booddar (left), Vice President of the Hotel’s Environmental Task Force receives
the award on behalf of the Chaophya Park Hotel.
Organised to commemorate the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the King’s 80th
Birthday Anniversary celebrations by the TAT and the Green Leaf Foundation, the
awards received 151 hotel entries with only a small handful making it to the
final selection process.
The Chaophya Park Hotel is notable as being an environmentally conscious
establishment reflecting the award’s objective in recognising meritorious
contributions within the hotel industry.
“We are immensely proud of this award not only because it means our work is
receiving recognition but it will also make other hotels or large establishments
more aware that there are means of preserving the environment,” commented Andrew
J. Wood General Manager of the Chaophya Park Hotel.
“In the past 4 years we have pursued an ambitious program to help the hotel
become increasingly aware of the impact we have within our society and community
and how we can become greener with regards to our environmental
responsibilities. Our most rewarding project so far is switching from diesel
burning boilers to heat pumps and LPG with its primary objective in cutting down
the use of diesel fuel completely,” Mr. Wood added.
The installation of Heat Pumps has not only brought a noticeable reduction in
fuel consumption but also certification from The Energy Efficiency Institute
(Thailand) that acknowledges the Chaophya Park Hotel as its partner in energy
conservation and energy efficiency.
The Chaophya Park Hotel’s General Manager further added, “Various measures have
been introduced which include seeking cooperation from guests in reducing the
amount of water, detergent and energy without compromising their comfort during
their stay with us.
“We continuously evaluate and explore techniques that the hotel can adopt to
follow on the path of ecological preservations. We firmly believe that every
little effort adds to the bigger picture and the future of this planet is in all
of our hands.”
Singapore launches tourist pass
The Singapore Tourism Board and the Land Transport Authority have launched the
Singapore Tourist Pass (STP), a comprehensive public transport guide to offer
greater savings and make commuting easier.
The STP offers tourists unlimited rides on Singapore’s public transport system,
from MRT, LRT and bus services, with the option of a one-day, two-day or
three-day pass at S$8 (US$5.50) per day.
Tourists may add on more value to the card and use it as a payment medium at
selected retail outlets. The card also offers tourists a variety of shopping
privileges. (TTG)
Popular Surat Thani cave re-opens with warning system
A popular cave at Khao Sok National Park in the southern
province of Surat Thani has been re-opened, two months after six European
tourists and their two Thai guides died when a flash flood engulfed the cave
they were exploring, Khao Sok National Park chief Chaithat Boonphuphantanti
announced last week.
Mr. Chaithat said the National Park re-opened Nam Rod or Nam Thalu Cave for
tourists on December 16, in time for the annual influx of visitors during the
New Year’s holiday.
The cave is located north of Ratchaprapha Dam in Ban Ta Khun district.
The park chief said the safety systems installed in the National Park included
the siren warning signals, rain gauges, and monitoring of the water colour to
prevent a recurrence of any natural disaster in the future.
Six European tourists and their two Thai guides died in October when a flash
flood engulfed the cave as they were exploring it, officials said.
The holidaymakers were trekking with their guides in Kao Sok National Park when
heavy rain caused the water level in the cave to rise suddenly.
Mr. Chaithat also said that the National Park would provide staff to accompany
tourists and that visitors must register before entering the park.
Signs to warn tourists not to enter the cave during the rain were also
installed, he said.
Kao Sok National Park is about 650 km south of Bangkok. Its large lake, dense
rainforest, limestone cliffs and numerous caves make it a popular destination
for trekkers. (TNA)
ASEAN airlines introduce new Visit ASEAN Pass fare
ASEAN airlines participating in the Visit ASEAN Pass (VAP) have introduced a
new air pass with a lower fare called the Special Visit ASEAN Air Pass.
The new air pass is priced at US$319 for three sectors or coupons and each
additional sector/coupon is priced at US$120, up to a maximum of five
sectors/coupons. This air pass is valid until November 30, 2008 and the
eight participating airlines are Garuda Airlines, Lao Airlines, Malaysia
Airlines, Myanmar Airways International, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei
Airlines, Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines.
At the same time, the validity of the original air pass - the Visit ASEAN
Air Pass, which can be used on 10 airlines, has been extended for another
year until November 30, 2008. The fare for the original Visit ASEAN Air Pass
is US$399 for three sectors or coupons and each additional sector/coupon is
priced at US$150, up to a maximum of five sectors/coupons.
The ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) created the VAP in January 2006
which incorporates an air pass, a hotel pass and a tour pass. There are more
than 1,070 hotels and 25 inbound tour operators from the 10 ASEAN countries
participating in the VAP and providing their services on the portal
www.visitasean.travel. (TTG)
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