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Amari Resort & Tower is best
newcomer at annual TTG Awards
Amari Orchid Resort & Tower, Pattaya, received TTG Asia’s coveted ‘Best
New Beach Resort’ Award on 9 October at the 19th TTG Annual Travel
Awards 2008. This prestigious award signifies deserved recognition from
the readers of TTG of the resort’s excellence in quality and service.
 Michael
Chow (left), TTG Asia Media Publisher, presents the award to Dominik
Stamm, General Manager, Amari Orchid Resort & Tower.
A delighted General Manager, Dominik Stamm, was quoted as saying “Amari
has created a trend-setting, cutting edge hotel-living experience with
the new 5-star Ocean Tower, in a prime location. The innovative design
features enhance our guests’ experience, especially when combined
seemingly effortlessly with the warmth and professionalism of our
traditional Thai service.”
Following the opening of Ocean Tower at the end of 2007, the hospitality
industry in Pattaya has reached new heights. The resort is complete with
superb facilities, such as the luxurious Sivara Spa & Sivara Salon, the
executive Horizon Club floors experience, fine wining and dining and a
new level of personalised service and innovations in exclusive
accommodation. In addition, the state-of-art freestanding conference
venue, Aranda Ballroom, and Mantra Restaurant & Bar have become the talk
of the town.
This brand new hotel has already been awarded 5-star status granted by
the Thailand Hotel Standard Foundation.
Floating eco-resort
at tsunami-hit village
Villagers in the southern province of Phang-nga welcome tourists wanting
to learn their way of life, at a floating eco resort. The business helps
locals earn income after their village was struck by the December 26
tsunami almost four years ago.
Baan Kra-chang, an eco-friendly resort, is an idea initiated by local
residents to earn a living after they lost their fishing equipment when
the Boxing Day tsunami struck the village four years ago.
The floating resort, located in a mangrove area in Khura Buri district,
promotes eco tourism as well as the traditional way of life of locals.
Tourists who stay here have the chance to learn about local fishing and
floating basket fish farming.
Thai cooking and handicraft workshops are also available for female
tourists who want to learn the duties of local housewives. Other
activities such as diving, forest trekking and boat rowing in the
abundant mangrove forest are also available to raise awareness of
environment conservation and of living in harmony with nature.
“Tourists can learn how to make natural tie-dyed cloth from our group or
they can go out to sea by long tail boat with local fishermen to lay
nets, the local fishing method,” said Rokima Tohfor, Baan Krachang
Housewife Group coordinator.
The community-run resort not only helps locals earn supplementary income
but also helps tourists learn more about the local livelihood of
fishermen. Baan Krachang resort is another option for tourists who want
to experience the real life of fishermen in this Andaman coastal
province. For more information check out www. baankrachang.com. (TNA)
Taiwan steps up bicycle
tours promotion
In a move aimed at attracting younger visitors, Taiwan is stepping up promotion
of the island as a destination for bicyclists.
The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has mapped out six routes in Hualien and Taitung
counties that it intends to promote to both international and domestic tourists.
The routes cover sections of Taiwan’s east coast and scenic rift valley and
include such popular destinations as the Taroko Gorge, Liyutan and Guanshan.
The Tourism Bureau also announced it was cooperating with Giant Bicycles,
Taiwan’s largest bicycle manufacturer, to promote bicycling in Taiwan.
Giant will display Taiwanese tourism and bicycle travel information at its 2,000
outlets in Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
In a further move to promote bicycling, Minister of Transportation and
Communications Mao Chi-kuo said that any future designs for new highways would
include room for bike lanes.
The Kaohsiung City Government, a pioneer of setting up bicycle trails in Taiwan,
plans to greatly expand its 130km network of bike paths in time for the
Kaohsiung World Games which open in July 2009.
A spokesman for the city’s Public Works Bureau said 20km of bike paths would be
added by the end of this year with another 50km being completed before the games
open.
The Taipei county government also recently announced that it would spend NT$770
million (US$23.98 million) before end-2009 to expand its network of bicycle
paths. A county official said that plans called for the network to eventually
grow to nearly 130km. (TTG)
Paradee Spa picks up top award
Paradee Spa on Koh Samet was named the best Destination Spa at the Tourism
Authority of Thailand’s recent Thailand Tourism Awards 2008 event. Seen
receiving the TAT’s Award of Excellence Destination Spa from HE Weerasak
Kowsurat (right), Minister of Tourism & Sports, was Paradee Spa’s Managing
Director, Nawat Thongswang (left). The Paradee Spa is part of Samed Resorts’
luxurious Paradee resort, situated on Koh Samet, and is renowned for its special
Four Elements spa treatments along with its Sunrise and Sunset massages on the
beach.
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