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Amazing experiences underwater
Scuba diving is Thailand’s most popular water sport and
the country’s coast and islands have some of the most beautiful dive sites
in the world. The water is clear, with plentiful marine life, and transport
and accommodation readily available.
There is a high standard of training, too. All reputable
dive shops are affiliated with PADI or other international dive bodies, and
most hold courses in several languages.
With thousands of miles of coastline, hundreds of
islands, dazzling marine life and breathtaking natural beauty, it is no
wonder that most visitors to Thailand head for the sea for at least part of
their stay.
At present, two of the most popular new activities in
Thai waters are wreck diving, mostly in the Gulf of Thailand, and cave
diving along the Andaman Sea coastline. The Gulf of Thailand has many
pottery wrecks from sunken merchant vessels, some of which date as far back
as 700 years.
At some recommended sites, the water is so clear that the
underwater world of whale sharks, manta rays, marlin, flying fish, dolphins
and coral reefs is visible from the surface. All over Thailand, you can
expect modern amenities, international standard boats and professional
facilities.
Diving is possible at all times of the year, although
visibility changes according to the season. In the Andaman Sea, the best
time is from October to April, and the Gulf of Thailand from May to
September.
Pattaya dive sites
Pattaya is a diving paradise for both experienced and
non-experienced divers. Koh Khrok is the nearest diving place where you can
see the breath-taking coral reefs at the depth of 3 - 12 m. The current is
suitable for drift diving. You may see sea turtles as well.
The “Pattaya Vessel” is the point where you can observe
an ancient vessel at the depth of 26 m near “Phra Nang Rocks”. The vessel is
covered with hump coral, disc coral, mushroom coral, staghorn coral, sponges
and sea fans.
Koh Lan is another diving area where rare marine animals
and beautiful sea slugs can be seen at the depth of 6-20 m. The current is
not so swift.
Diving also can be done at Koh Phai where you can see
beautiful fish, or you can visit the past by diving at the “HTMS Khram
Wreck”, a World War II vessel which was sunk at a depth of 30m with 2
anchors. This vessel is the first man-made diving spot in Thailand.
Not far away, the coral and Neptune’s cup sponges are
very abundant at Koh Mara Wichai. The sea water here is very clear. Various
marine animals - red soldierfish, bluering angelfish, regal anglefish,
longnose butterflyfish and pennant butterflyfish - can be seen at the depth
of 5 - 20 m.
At a further distance from Pattaya is the diving spot at
Koh Rin where coral reefs and rare marine animals can be observed. For
example, hump coral, staghorn coral, table coral, mushroom coral, black
coral, sea whips, colorful soft coral, sea fan, Neptune’s cup sponges, blue
sponges, nudibranch, xeno crabs, sawblade shrimp, rabbit fish, squirrel
fish, barracuda, sea turtles, and more.
Know Before You Go:
The HTMS Khram Wreck dive site
requires Advanced Open Water Diver.
Recommendation: Stay over on Koh Lan for at least 1
night. (TAT)
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Dusit announces appointment of Nick Bauer as general manager of dusitD2 baraquda Pattaya
Nick Bauer
Dusit International recently announced the appointment of
Nick Bauer as general manager of dusitD2 baraquda Pattaya. Bauer, a German
national, is responsible for the overall hotel operations and oversees the
implementation of new initiatives, further strengthening the positioning and
reputation of the hotel to the markets in Thailand, and across Asia-Pacific
region.
Bauer is conversant in English, German, French, Italian,
Spanish and Thai. Nick joined the Dusit Group as director of food and
beverage at the Royal Princess Hotel Bangkok in 1998. Then he rejoined Dusit
in January 2011 as general manager of the Dusit Princess City Centre, Dubai
before being transferred to Dusit Thani Bangkok as hotel manager in December
2011.
Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya announces an appointment
of front office manager
Suranchana Thanbunphairach
Andre Brulhart, general manager of Centara Grand Mirage
Beach Resort, Pattaya recently announced the appointment of Suranchana
Thanbunphairach as front office manager with immediate effect.
Suranchana graduated in Political Science from
Ramkhamhaeng University. She has 12 years experience in hotel front office
operations such as Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa, Hua Hin Marriott Resort
and Spa. Prior to joining Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya, she was
the front office manager at Rest Detail Hotel Hua Hin for 2 years and rooms
division manager of Hotel De La Paix Cha-Am for 6 months.
Royal Cliff Hotels Group
receives 5 stars certification
Deputy Prime Minister Chumpol
Silpa-archa presents the award to Royal Cliff Hotels Group’s assistant to PR
manager, Phusanisa Janyouk
On Tuesday, May 15 at the New York Amporn Garden, the
Royal Cliff Hotels Group received a certificate from Thailand Tourism
Standard Year 2012 as a 5-star resort by the Department of Tourism and
Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Chumpol Silpa-archa, deputy prime minister
presented the award to Royal Cliff Hotels Group’s assistant to PR manager
Phusanisa Janyouk.
The Royal Cliff’s modern amenities, unique Thai style,
high standard of services and commitment to developing environmentally
friendly practices were the primary attributing factors for being chosen for
this award. The Royal Cliff Hotels Group has won over 100 international and
domestic awards to date and it is a privilege to include the “Thailand
Tourism Standard 2012” to that remarkable list.
Pattaya’s hotel market expects a
record 8 million hotel guests in 2012
Bill Barnett
Thailand’s popular Eastern Seaboard resort destination
Pattaya is on track to accommodate over 8 million hotel guests in 2012 - a
record for Pattaya and the highest ever for any Thai resort destination. The
sharp upturn in trading can be attributed in part to the growing Thai
domestic market, which has been attracted by a vast enhancement in access
and transport infrastructure.
Leading hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks
recently released their Pattaya Hotel Market Update, which highlights a 9%
surge in hotel occupancy last year as a clear indication of an upward cycle.
An increase in branded hotel offerings has induced
greater demand with the chain-operated properties hitting 74% annualized
occupancy for the year ending December. This equated to an 8% premium over
the non-branded hotel inventory.
Speaking about the destination’s evolution C9’s Managing
Director Bill Barnett said, “With the geographic shift away from long haul
tourists to the Asian and domestic segments key demand generators such as
large-scale retail, tourist attractions and a rising resort residential
market has fueled positive sentiment.”
A leading example of the new Pattaya is Centara’s Grand
Mirage Resort which has successfully seen their experience based theme
property delivering a “no need to leave” factor for families and couples.
On the flip side Centara Hotel’s and Resorts Senior
Vice-President Sales and Marketing Chris Bailey comments, “With three
operating properties in Pattaya and three more in the pipeline, there are
parallel opportunities in two distinct market segments.
“For those wishing for more value-driven offerings,
customers want quality accommodation but not an extensive range of
facilities. For them Pattaya as the destination is the main attraction.”
Looking forward through this year and into 2013, C9’s
report points to the major investment into internationally affiliated theme
parks in Greater Pattaya that will broaden demographics. The milestone
Central Festival retail complex was the touch point of an ongoing
destination extreme makeover.
With 49,348 rooms in registered tourism establishment,
much of the build up came between the period of 2009 thought 2010 when
supply increased 28%. This has flattened out with 1.779 keys now in the
pipeline that equate to an upward swing of 4%.
One benefactor in a shifting hospitality scene is the
upscale international tier with Sheraton Pattaya ranking high. Here hotel
developer Aswani Bajaj of Amburaya Hotel and Resorts cites that “the
increasing demand of more affluent visitors is creating a strong sustainable
financial business model for the hotel.”
According to a source at the Thai listed Erawan Group who
own the Holiday Inn Resort the new dynamic of Pattaya is that the city can
serve both the corporate and leisure markets. Increasing investment into the
nearby industrial estates and a changing perception on the back an
increasing number of family holiday visits are strong positive fundamentals.
Appraising Pattaya’s DNA, Bill Barnett adds, “Comparing
Pattaya to other resorts in the country such as Phuket, Chiang Mai and Koh
Samui, the former has less pronounced seasonality which results in
mitigating volatility. Currently supply and demand remain balanced as
limited prime land availability points to a future regime of hotel
redevelopment versus new build properties.”
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AirAsia X Achieves Top Operational X-Cellence Award
(L to R) Philippe Gourdon,
Vice President of A330/A340 Program Customer Services, Philippe Mhun, Airbus
Vice President Programs, Soo Hoo How Loon, AirAsia X Head of Maintenance,
Laurie Alder, Airbus HO Customer Support Asia Pacific.
AirAsia X, the long-haul low cost carrier of the AirAsia
Group, was awarded the Airbus Top Operational Excellence Award 2010-2011,
for being the world’s best Airbus A330-300 operator (small fleet category)
at the Airbus A330/340 Technical Symposium event held in Bangkok June 13.
Airbus awards the best performing airlines every two
years based on Airbus’s global database of technical dispatch reliability
performance across all operators of the aircraft type. AirAsia X head of
maintenance, Soo Hoo How Loon, was in Bangkok to receive the award which is
a testimony to AirAsia X’s engineering and operational excellence where
AirAsia X has achieved a record of 99.53% for 2011 for its operating,
maintenance and safety systems.
Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X said, “We are proud
and humbled by the recognition from receiving this prestigious award from
Airbus. This is not only a win for us, but it is also a validation of our
commitment to operational excellence. This demonstrates that a
high-performing airline can achieve the world’s lowest unit cost performance
while still delivering the world’s best operational reliability and customer
service - where true competitive advantage comes from its amazing team of
AirAsia All Stars and the unique AirAsia culture of continuously striving to
be the best.”
AirAsia X attributes this success to three main factors
which are AirAsia X’s young fleet of new aircraft, the organization’s
culture and the commitment from the board of directors and management team.
AirAsia X operates a young fleet with new aircraft and a
comprehensive maintenance reliability program that includes Rolls Royce and
Honeywell for long-term Total Care programs and other advanced predictive
maintenance programs and tools.
The open and collaborative organization culture at
AirAsia X is also different from traditional hierarchical and unionized
cultures. This allows engineers and technicians to share knowledge and
information, collaborate effectively towards common goals, and work
efficiently and cross-functionally with pilots, flight attendants, and
ground operations teams.
This award is also made possible by AirAsia X’s board of
directors and management which have given their top level commitment when
engineering reliability performance is reviewed and deliberated at every
board meeting, and every top management meeting, with resources committed
towards achieving the best performance.
AirAsia X operates 9 Airbus A330-300 in Asia Pacific to
12 destinations in Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Korea, China and Iran.
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TCT to propose launching ASEAN Family Theme Park
The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) has announced plans
to launch the ‘ASEAN Family Theme Park’ to attract tourists within the
region to Thailand.
TCT President, Piyamarn Techapaiboon, said that after a
meeting with relevant tourism agencies, the council is planning to propose
the construction of the ‘ASEAN Family Theme Park’ to Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra on June 17.
The project was devised to serve the government’s policy
to increase tourism revenue to 2 trillion baht within 5 years. The park will
be the country’s newest large-scale man-made tourist destination, aimed to
attract mainly ASEAN visitors.
Piyamarn elaborated that 2,000 rai of land will be
allocated for the theme park which is set to embody the unique cultural
elements of all ASEAN countries, featuring a variety of cultural
performances and replicas of important landmarks in the ASEAN region.
The new attraction is tentatively planned to be built in
one of the lesser-known provinces in a bid to boost local income. Hotels,
shopping complexes and other amenities will also be constructed within the
theme park.
Additionally, the agencies participating in the meeting
with the TCT also agreed that the Royal Barges Museum in Bangkok should be
promoted alongside the Grand Palace, which is a main attraction of Thailand.
They also suggested that light and sound shows be staged along the Grand
Palace’s walls to attract tourists at night. (NNT)
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