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PATA Thailand appoints new executives
The PATA Thailand Chapter
new Executive Committee for 2008-2009.
The PATA Thailand Chapter, which represents over 100
international tourism-related organizations in Thailand, has appointed
its new executive committee for 2008/2009.
The executive committee was appointed at the chapter’s annual general
meeting on January 16. Mr. Luzi Matzig, Group CEO of Bangkok-based tour
operator Asian Trails was appointed Chairman.
The committee’s focus will be to deliver education and skill training
workshops for members and to offer tourism policy advice to the Ministry
of Tourism and Sport and the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The
committee will also address ways to give members practical knowledge to
help them comply with environmental requirements. An increasing number
of overseas tourism companies now insist that Thailand’s tourism
operators must have environmental policies and procedures in place
before doing business with them.
The chapter has therefore appointed Mr. Vincent Tabuteau of East West
Siam to head a new environment committee. It will be tasked with
providing practical pro-environment procedures for member organizations
to implement.
Mr. Matzig said: “The committee comprises very experienced hoteliers,
travel agents, and experts in training, the environment, e-commerce and
tourism support services. Together we will work to boost Thailand’s
competitive position in international tourism.”
The committee also comprises senior executives from THAI Airways
International and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
The Chapter has pledged its support for PATA head office, which will
organize the PATA CEO Challenge “Confronting Climate Change”. The
two-day event, aimed at CEOs will take place in Bangkok April 29-30 and
is being hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Oman Air to operate
daily Muscat-Bangkok
Oman Air plans to increase the frequency of its direct Muscat-Bangkok service
from five flights per week to a daily flight in March.
The airline launched the service in November last year. It is using a 129-seat
Boeing 737-800 on the route, and is planning to switch to a 256-seat B767-300
within the next few months.
Country manager for Thailand, Mr. Bennet Stephens, said the airline enjoyed an
average load factor of 70 per cent in the first two months of operations and a
full occupancy in the first two week of January. The popularity of the flight
prompted the airline to plan to increase the frequency, he said. (TTG)
New smoking ban no big deal, Thai hoteliers say
Thai hoteliers have downplayed the impact of the new ban on smoking in the
country’s bars, nightclubs and pubs.
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry is to launch the new regulation, banning
smoking in air-conditioned entertainment venues and Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak
outdoor weekend market in February. The fine for violators will be 2,000 baht
(US$67) for individuals and 20,000 baht for the owners of nightclubs, pubs and
bars.
This new regulation is in addition to the ministry’s ban on smoking in public
areas such as government buildings, hospitals and train stations, which was
imposed four years ago.
Bangkok’s Siam @ Siam Design Hotel and Spa general manager, Mr. Sanya Saengboon,
said all the hotel’s f&b outlets were already smoke-free and there were separate
smoking areas for guests. “The impact from the new smoking ban will be minimal.
There have been no serious complaints about this so far,” he said.
However, Holiday Inn Chiangmai general manager, Mr. Alan Watts, said that while
the new law might not hurt the hotel’s f&b outlets, it would create a big impact
for the standalone indoor entertainment venues. (TTG)
Egypt’s The Great Pyramids gets nod as world’s leading attraction in 2007
Hazel Heyer (eTN)
The World Travel Awards (WTA) chose the Giza pyramids as the world’s
leading attraction in 2007 during its fourteenth annual ceremony held at the
Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa in the Caribbean, Wednesday, Jan.
16.
Conceived in 1993, the WTA acknowledges, rewards, and celebrates excellence
in travel. Awards are especially coveted as the votes are cast globally by
167,000 fellow professionals from 198 countries.
Voted by industry peers, WTA is undoubtedly the world’s most comprehensive
awards’ celebration with trophies given in over 1,000 categories. Attended
by top tourism executives, the events are highly regarded and
well-established as a forum for bringing together many different aspects of
travel and tourism in order to recognize achievements in these fields. The
WTA is broadcast by the BBC World and other networks to over 254 million
households around the globe making it sort of like the “Oscars of the travel
industry.”
Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities
(SCA), was elated about the award. He explained that 167,000 travel
agencies, tour and transport companies, in addition to tourism organizations
in 160 countries across the globe voted for the pyramids of Giza through the
WTA web site.
Hawass stressed this award is a strong response to claims by some
individuals that the Giza pyramids should not be included in the “New Seven
Wonders of the World,” a competition that was held July 2007 by an
organization that has no connection to archaeology or tourism, he said.
New7Wonders Foundation president and founder Bernard Weber and Amir Dossal,
executive director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, last year
presented plaques to the top finalists in a lavish ceremony held in Lisbon’s
Benefica Stadium.
Egypt was vocal about its disapproval of the “New Seven Wonders of the
World.” The first-ever global election, the New7Wonders campaign, lists The
Great Wall of China, Petra, The Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Machu Picchu,
Chichén Itzá, The Colosseum (in Rome) and The Taj Mahal (in India) as the
new Seven Wonders of the World.
Egypt, home to the Great Pyramids in Giza, the world’s last remaining
ancient Wonder of the World, challenged the results.
Early in May 2007, Hawass challenged Weber’s group detailing in a letter to
Koïchiro Matsuura, director general of UNESCO that the campaign has offended
him, his archaeologist colleagues and the scientific institution who have
dedicated their lives to the preservation of cultural heritage. He protested
the selection was made by amateurs. “Average men are neither scientific nor
trained to judge what is or what is not a ‘World Wonder,’” he contended.
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