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Indian Federation of Travel Agents at home in Thailand
Andrew Wood (right) and the Green Imperative
Panel in Chiang Mai.
Andrew Wood
The Travel Agents Federation of India held their annual
convention from October 22-25 in Chiang Mai. In a landmark tie-up
between the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) and Tourism
Authority of Thailand, Pradip Lulla, President of TAFI and Chattan
Kunjara Na Ayudhya, Director of TAT New Delhi office on behalf of TAT,
organized the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Convention 2009.
Indian travel agents and tour operators who attended the convention were
wowed with Chiang Mai. From Doi Suthep to the Panda family, the city met
and surpassed the delegates’ expectations.
Following the convention, from October 25 - 28, delegates had the
opportunity to participate in a three-night familiarization trip to 10
destinations in Thailand, and beyond. Destinations on the itinerary were
Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Phuket, Chiang Rai, Cambodia, Vietnam and the
Philippines.
Chiang Mai City and its administrators did an excellent job of welcoming
the Indian market to Chiang Mai. This should help boost the number of
visitors to Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand from the Indian
sub-continent.
The convention theme was “Breaking Barriers- Believe to Achieve”; the
business sessions and speakers were aimed at preparing agents for a
tough and challenging business cycle as agents prepared to live with
zero airline commissions.
There were many interesting speakers and presentations, including our
very own Thailand speaker, Andrew Wood, who spoke on the topic of “The
Green Imperative - The Challenges before Travel and Tourism.” Wood is
Skål International’s chairman of Responsible Tourism for Skål Intl
Worldwide and is also the general manager of the Chaophya Park Hotel in
Bangkok.
The TAFI convention was well attended with over 900 delegates finally
making it to Chiang Mai. Thailand hoteliers and travel trade suppliers
also attended the 2 day B2B sessions and took the numbers to over 1000
delegates.
Major sponsors for the convention were the Tourism Authority of Thailand
and convention official carrier Thai Airways International. Congress
Hotels were the Shangri-La and Le Meridien Chiang Mai.
Previous TAFI Conventions were held in Mauritius, Kuala Lumpur,
Singapore, and Kota Kinabalu. Each of these destinations has seen a
steep increase in Indian tourist arrivals as a result of the
conventions.
The city was so full that for the first time in many months, the airport
was stretched with airlines reporting overbooking and all flights to
Bangkok sold out.
It is good to see Chiang Mai so busy again and it is time for this rose
of the North to make a recovery. Hopefully the Indian market will be in
the forefront helping to revive the city’s fortunes.
Air Berlin enters into cooperation with Bangkok Airways
Codeshare flights to Koh Samui, Chiang Mai
and Phuket available for booking
(2nd left to 2nd right) Prote Setsuwan,
Bangkok Airways Vice President of Marketing; Peter Wiesner Bangkok
Airways Senior Vice President in charge of Marketing; Stefan Magiera,
Air Berlin General Manager for Thailand; and Rungnapa Leechaianan, Air
Berlin Head of Marketing & Sales in Thailand, flanked by air
stewardesses from both airlines announce the new codeshare agreement.
Air Berlin has now strengthened its presence in Thailand. In addition to
the direct flights already available to Bangkok and Phuket, Air Berlin
passengers can now book connecting flights from the Thai capital to Koh
Samui, Chiang Mai and Phuket. This has been made possible by a
cooperation agreement with Bangkok Airways.
Also, during the 2009/10 winter, Air Berlin will be operating four
non-stop services a week from Düsseldorf, three non-stop services a week
from Berlin-Tegel and two non-stop services a week from Munich to
Bangkok.
Feeder flights will be available from Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover,
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Cologne, Münster-Osnabrück, Nuremberg, Vienna and
Zurich.
Germany’s second largest airline is offering passengers the flights
operated by Bangkok Airways under its own flight number. Customers
benefit from a wider choice of flights and convenient connections.
The codeshare flights are now available for booking by calling Air
Berlin’s Service Centre any time, tel. 01805-737 800 (Germany), tel.
0820-737 800 (Austria), tel. 0848-737 800 (Switzerland) or via travel
agents.
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