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Black, Red …and Green.
 by
Andrew J Wood
Yes its official - the colour of the boardroom has definitely
changed. Green is in!
No-one can escape the fact that caring for the environment not only
makes sense but it also makes cent$.
Still only a trickle, but soon a stream of customers who will want to
know what the travel & tourism industry is doing to protect this fragile
planet for our children? The answer is not so easy, but those businesses
that ignore this issue will definitely loose out if customer choice
dictates a desire to support eco-friendly businesses.
Companies appear to be queuing up to declare themselves neutral with
zero carbon footprint emissions (offsetting their carbon emissions 100
%.) It certainly sounds appealing. Let’s face it, if we are enjoying
ourselves and not adding to global warming, then it certainly has a
‘feel good’ factor that money can buy.
Hotels have been conscious of the need to go green for years and many
lead the pack, undertaking many of the best sustainable practices, such
as energy saving and promoting the four pillars of sustainable tourism,
namely: Recycling, Reducing and Reusing and Replacing.
More and more corporate leaders are pledging to fight the climate
crisis, reaping huge social and financial rewards with green strategies
and enacting comprehensive environmental policies. Its time to get your
company to make the same commitment!
To help, Skal International has just released a booklet entitled “Tips
for Sustainable Tourism.” It’s a small easy read booklet. To get a FREE
copy, log onto www.skal.org or email [email protected].
Note: Andrew J Wood is the General Manager of the Chaophya
Park Hotel in Bangkok, President of Skal Int’l Bangkok, Skal Int’l
Councillor-Thailand and Skal Asian Area-Director of Development.
Emirates launches
‘Early Bird’ promotional fares
Emirates Airlines has launched an ‘Early Bird’ promotion that offers customers
great discounted fare deals to major destinations around the world.
The special fares include 6,500 baht for a return Bangkok-Hong Kong flight in
Economy Class; 21,000 baht for a return Bangkok-Dubai flight and 23,000 baht for
a return Bangkok-Sydney-Auckland flight. Round trip tickets to Europe, Africa,
Middle East and GCC start from 27,500 baht, 27,500 baht, 23,000 baht and 22,000
baht respectively.
The promotional is valid on tickets purchased by June 15, 2008 and for travel by
June 30, 2008. For more details contact Emirates ticketing office at 02-664-1040
or visit www.emirates.com/th
Thailand braces for tourist slowdown
Tour operators expecting tough second half,
but see bright spots in Vietnam and Bali
Sirima Eamtako
(TTG Asia)
Tour operators and wholesalers in Thailand are reporting a drop of between five
and 20 per cent in forward bookings compared to the same period last year, and
are closely watching the impact of the global economy, rising fuel price and a
weakening US dollar.
World Travel Service (WTS) managing director, Kusa Panyarachun, said: “Bookings
(for Thailand) dropped by 20 per cent from January to March compared to last
year.”
Diethlem Travel Group COO, Richard Brouwer, reported its inbound tour business
during the first three months of this year was on budget for all destinations
across Asia, except China due to the incidents in Tibet.
“However, it looks like we will face the challenge of meeting the budget for the
second quarter. April’s performance was not overly impressive and bookings for
May are lower than expected,” he said
While Vietnam would continue to do well in the second quarter, Mr. Brouwer said
the rest of the company’s Asian destinations would be lower than budgeted.
Apart from Vietnam, Kuoni Group contracting manager, Andre van der Marck, said
Bali – quoting in US dollars – would continue to do well.
“However, Thailand will be most affected, particularly in the beach resort
destinations, where prices have gone up by up to 30 per cent, and twice in a
year over the past two years.
“Rates at some hotels in Phuket are now 60 per cent higher than right after the
(2004) tsunami,” he said.
Mr. Kusa said Bangkok was the most affected destination for WTS, due to the
political situation. “The steady rise in fuel prices and fuel surcharge imposed
by airlines will prevent some tourists from travelling overseas,” he added.
And the weakening US dollar against the euro was drawing a growing number of
European tourists across the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in a booking slowdown for
Asia, they noted.
Kuoni’s Mr. van der Marck said the US had become significantly cheaper for
European travellers. At press time, he cited an exchange rate of US$1.60 for 1
euro, compared to US$1.19 for 1 euro last year.
Meanwhile, online wholesaler WD Travel CEO, Heiko Wilms, said: “Increasing food
costs in Asia may contribute to a slowdown in leisure travel.
“Increasing oil prices in Europe may lead to a drop in Asian inbound because of
higher transport costs.
“A combination of both will affect the travel industry adversely. Phuket will be
more badly affected compared to Hong Kong and Singapore, which will continue to
do well as they attract business travellers and conventions,” he said
Asked what would be the impact from the anticipated tourism slowdown, Diethelm’s
Mr. Brouwer said he believed the impact would be short-term as the expected high
season, from October to December, would help offset the decline during the
second quarter. “We also know that if Thailand and Vietnam had more flights, we
would be able to produce more tourists in the high season,” he said.
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