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TRAVEL & TOURISM
 


A breathtaking rainforest adventure in the majestic treetops

Flight of the Gibbon, Mae Kampong

Take an adventure and enjoy the scenic jungle from the top. View the area from the air in the 18 platforms. A unique sling tour at the top of the tree will show you a green fertile tropical jungle with a 1,500-year-old tree. This jungle flight will raise your adrenaline as you will glide along the longest zipline course in the world, at over 5 km. It begins on a very high tree, which you cannot see its top with your bare eyes through different layers of the rainforest canopy in pretty much the same fashion like the monkeys.

Aside from the cable ride, there is a station where you can climb down from the tree to the ground. Sometimes you will have to walk across a rope bridge which is a narrow route made from timber and rope hanging between two high trees. It will take you about 3 hours to complete all routes.

There is no need to be worried about safety since this place was designed and supervised by an expert from New Zealand with over 20 years of experience in building an adventure station. So, take a flight and have no fear, this is pure fun in a safe environment. The next thing you hear is the sound of your own shriek and see different kinds of birds flying around, along with apes and boars running below.

Know before you go: Open daily from 8.00 a.m. - 2.30 p.m. Complimentary transfer service from the airport, railway station and hotels in town.

Recommendation: Wear well-fitting clothes and sneakers. Jewelry is not recommended. Do not forget to visit Ban Mae Kampong village.

Please: Strictly observe the instruction of your guide and keeper.

Travel Info

From Chiang Mai, take Highway 118 and continue on Highway 1014 after passing the Doi Saket District Office, for 5 km. Then turn left and follow the signs “Flight of the Gibbon, Mae Kampong”.

GPS Location: N18ฐ 50.225’, E99ฐ 8.413’

Contact:

Balloon Adventure Thailand

+668 3838 0898

+668 9500 3732

balloonadventurethailand.com

Facilities & Services: Pilot, various sizes of balloons, transfer service, breakfast, restroom and parking. (TAT)


Thung Prong Thong - A canopy walkway over a golden mangrove field

This 2,400-acre mangrove plantation is considered the largest in Rayong province. Not only is it an important supporter of the local livelihood through the fishing of crab, shrimp and fish, but also presently there has been development in the field of ecotourism of Pak Nam Prasae’s natural areas.

A one-kilometer long wooden walkway has been built in the mangrove forest allowing you to walk on the roof of the forest that has in turn become yellow and gold fields when lit by the warm sunshine. The view becomes especially beautiful in the morning or evening light.

In your walk, you will see many types of plants. Display boards have been put up for study of an ecosystem. At the end of the walkway is a pavilion that reaches out into the sea used for resting and relaxingly enjoying the view.

Moreover, it is also possible to adventure by renting a long-tailed boat at the entrance. A 20-minute ride will take you into the mangrove forest where you can see rare birds, such as the Eastern Curlew, the River Tern, the Terek Sandpiper, the Bar-tailed Godwit, the Grey Plover, and more.

Please: Dump garbage in the specified area.

Recommendation: Take a cruise on the Prasae River at night to see the beautiful fireflies. If you have enough time, you should go to observe the way of life of the Pak Nam Prasae Community.

Travel Info

From Rayong town, take Sukhumvit Road and enter Klaeng district, then continue for 60 km. At the Pak Nam Prasae Junction, turn right and continue for 15 km before you reach the destination.

GPS Location: N12ฐ 42.741’, E101ฐ 42.167’

Contact:

The Pak Nam Prasae Sub District Office

+66 3866 1720 to 1

TAT Rayong Office

+66 3865 5420 to 1

+66 3866 4585

Facilities & Services: Display boards of how ecosystem works, restroom and parking. (TAT)


Tourist arrivals to Thailand Jan-May 2012

Wat Rong Khun (the White Temple) Chiang Rai. (Photo by Andrew J Wood)

Andrew J Wood

It would appear that the global economy slow down has had little impact on tourist arrivals to Thailand and we are heading for a bumper record year 2012. The Kingdom had a total of 8,871,930 visitor arrivals for the period of January through May 2012, up 7.27% compared to the same period in 2011. China was the best performer with 943,161 visitors, up 26.13% with the largest market share for an individual country of 10.63%.

Overall growth remains strong for Thai tourism with visitor arrivals to Thailand from all European countries of 2,690,783, a 10.9% increase for the period January through May 2012, according to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. European countries, even with the Eurozone crisis, accounted for a market share of 30.33%, up from 29.33% for the same period in 2011.

The numbers showed that in May, arrivals from Spain, one of the worst-hit European countries, totaled 6,472, up 39% over May 2011. Arrivals from all the top three performing European countries were up significantly in May 2012, with Russia at 64,212 (+52%); UK at 60,216 (+12%); and Germany at 41,032 (+35%). For 2012, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has set a target of 20.5 million total international visitors and foreign exchange earnings of 766 billion baht (25 billion US dollars).

Below is a summary of the overall figures for the period of January through May 2012, with the percentage change over the same period of 2011, tabulated on arrivals by nationality at all points of entry into Thailand:

Overview

Europe 2,690,783 (market share 30.33% of total arrivals); the Americas 467,221 (5.27% share); South Asia 508,666 (5.73% share); Oceania 394,500 (4.45% share); Middle East 228,606 (2.58% share); and Africa 71,666 (0.81% share). Arrivals from East Asia grew by 5.02% to 4,510,488 (market share: the remaining 50.84% of total arrivals).

East Asia

* China was the best performer with 943,161 visitors, up 26.13%% with the largest market share for an individual country of 10.63%.

* Malaysia was the second biggest source market with total arrivals of 916,367, although with a decrease in arrivals of -7.87%.

* Japan: 5334,556, up 10.32%.

* Korea: 457,644, up 4.40%.

* Arrivals from the neighboring ASEAN countries also showed good growth, e.g., Vietnam (+20.19%), Brunei (+10.90%), Cambodia (+10.51%), Myanmar (+9.63%), Laos (+8.01%), Indonesia (+6.71%), Singapore (+4.82%), while the Philippines was down (-5.77%).

Europe

* Arrivals from Europe grew by 10.91%.

* Russia remained ahead of the UK and Germany as the largest source market from Europe. During the period of January through May 2012, Russian visitors to Thailand totaled 578,687, up 9.62% over the same period of 2011.

* The United Kingdom and Germany ranked the second and third largest sources of visitor arrivals 372,746 (+1.02%) and 326,733 (+10.44%) respectively.

* French visitor arrivals totaled 2776,617 (+17.84%).

* Arrivals from the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark grew by 18.86%, 17.67% and 16.69% respectively.

The Americas

* Arrivals from the Americas grew by 10.992%.

* USA visitor arrivals totaled 321,552 (+8.92%).

* Canadian visitors to Thailand grew by 10.82% to 101,050.

South Asia

* Visitor arrivals from South Asia showed growth of 5.58%.

• India, the biggest source of visitors in South Asia, experienced growth of 6.81% to 405,719 arrivals.

* Visitors from Sri Lanka grew by 16.47% to 27,320.

* Bangladeshi visitor arrivals totaled 26,533.

Oceania:

* Visitor arrivals from Oceania grew by 10.06%.

* Arrivals from Australia and New Zealand were up 10.33% to 354,646 and 7.88% to 38,615 respectively.

PARASUB: Middle East

* Visitors from the Middle East declined by 2.01%.

* Key Middle East markets grew significantly, especially Saudi Arabia (27.25%) and Kuwait (21.11%). Arrivals from Egypt were up by 22.16%, while the UAE experienced a decline of 1.58%.

Africa

* Visitor arrivals from Africa grew strongly by 30.46% to 71,666.

I believe that TAT has under forecast arrivals this year (hardly surprising given the difficulty in forecasting 4Q 2011 figures during the devastating floods). My own findings would suggest a figure of 21+ million international tourist arrivals this year, given that there are no surprises natural, political or otherwise and Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports remain fully operational.

Threats on the horizon...

Myanmar, the Eurozone, rising fuel costs, Chinese stability and AEC2015.

Once again and on into the future, intra-Asia business will be the main source market providing the lion-share of international tourist arrivals into Thailand.


Hua Hin Thailand destination report

Andrew J Wood, Director, Worldwide Destinations Asia Co., Ltd.

Mention Thailand’s great seaside resorts and favorite escapes and a short list of perennial holiday destinations roll off the tongue: Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi, Koh Samui, Pattaya, and perhaps Koh Chang, Koh Phangan, and a few smaller islands.

Hua Hin’s famous beach. (Photo by Andrew J Wood)

Lately, however, another, more traditional Thai town is being quietly shared and acclaimed among those in the know: Hua Hin. Located a short 3-hour drive from Bangkok, it has long been the weekend getaway of choice for Thais with a bit of disposable leisure income and savvy expats looking for some down time after a hectic week in the capital.

In fact, this old world ambiance is a large part of Hua Hin’s attraction: unlike other popular tourist destinations, there is a wonderful cultural mix of local, Asian, and Western tourists, all enjoying the peaceful charms of this classic hideaway by the sea.

HM King Rama VII discovered Hua Hin’s charms in the 1920’s and subsequently built a palace here so he could enjoy the area during his longer stays. In many ways, the palace established the old world charm of the place, and was appropriately named Klai Kangwon Palace, meaning “far from worries”; in a phrase, this sums up the Hua Hin area to a tee.

The town offers a laid back and friendly seaside atmosphere with good infrastructure, excellent facilities, beautiful resorts, amazing golf courses, and a constantly growing list of fascinating attractions, such as floating markets and themed shopping parks.

Being the Royal beach resort, cabarets, discos, and other nightspots are more regulated than normal and somewhat limited, which many will find refreshing, especially those with families and couples hoping for some restful quality time surrounded by sand, sun, sea, and abundant fresh seafood.

Hua Hin has a famous, stunning 5 km (3 mile) beach, lovely waterfalls, lush limestone mountains and plenty of leisure activities. It has become world renowned as a superb place to rejuvenate at one of several internationally renowned spas in a great location.

The central market sells fresh fruit and fish to locals as it’s been done for ages. The night market is the ideal place to sample street food cooked fast and fresh. International travelers visit Hua Hin for the coastline and wonderfully natural hotels, but the locals arrive for the food, with the town’s fishing fleet delivering baskets of prawns and fish every day, helping the town maintain its reputation as one of Thailand’s top seafood spots.

Hua Hin is certainly one of Thailand’s premier golfing destinations, with eight world-class courses and several driving ranges in the nearby area. Additionally, fishing, hiking, cooking classes, horseback riding, diving and snorkeling are only a few of the other options for those with a more active disposition.

World-class shoppers need not worry either: With two night-markets, a local market, and numerous boutique stores, Hua Hin is an excellent place to shop for locally produced handicrafts, fabrics, souvenirs and food products.

Coastal cruises, day trips around Monkey Island and Dolphin Bay, local fishing excursions and night time deep-sea trips are all available from Hua Hin, while freshwater fishing, river cruises and eco-tours run along the waterways inland. Half-day and full-day trips are available.

Popular destinations include: Pa-La-U Waterfall, a 15-tier feature in the jungle 60 km from town; Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand’s largest reserve, stretching to the Burmese border; Sam Roi Yot National Park, a landscape of limestone peaks; and Khao Takiab, a hill at the end of Hua Hin beach sprinkled with Buddhist shrines and well worth climbing for the panoramic view; and Monsoon Valley vineyard for wine, superb restaurant, with stunning views of the wine lands, or elephant rides amongst the vines.

Whether undergoing spa treatment, holistic therapy, learning Thai massage, taking advantage of the excellent medical services, horseback riding, or just relaxing and reading a good book, Hua Hin is the perfect place for those who love a more sedate holiday style in a gorgeous seaside resort. And who doesn’t?


THAI Smile’s first direct flight takes off to Macau

Chokchai Panyayong, executive vice president of Strategy & Business Development and acting president, along with other board members, executive management members, and VIP guests.

THAI Smile, the new sub-brand service by Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI), is proud to announce that THAI Smile’s first direct flight took off from Bangkok to Macau July 7 in the newly delivered Airbus 320-200 aircraft.

Chokchai Panyayong, executive vice president, Strategy & Business Development and acting president, said “THAI is pleased to introduce Macau as its first destination with roundtrip twice-daily flights from Bangkok. Thereafter, THAI Smile will operate roundtrip domestic flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani and Chiang Mai-Phuket. The THAI Smile brand character Trendy- Friendly-Worthy reflects the new generation lifestyle of business travelers who seek a relaxed, stylish on board atmosphere, placing greater importance on smart choices with value for their money.”

On this auspicious occasion, Ampon Kittiampon, THAI’s chairman of the board of directors presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony of the first departure flight TG750 from Suvarnabhumi Airport’s Boarding Gate D5 to Macau International Airport.

Upon the arrival of flight TG750, Miss Suning Liu, executive director of Macau International Airport Co., Ltd., (CAM) graciously welcomed VIPs, guests, media and passengers traveling onboard.

For more information, passengers may contact the THAI Contact Center at Tel. 02-356-1111 (24 hours per day) or via www. thaismileair.com and your preferred travel agents.


HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]

A breathtaking rainforest adventure in the majestic treetops

Thung Prong Thong - A canopy walkway over a golden mangrove field

Tourist arrivals to Thailand Jan-May 2012

Hua Hin Thailand destination report

THAI Smile’s first direct flight takes off to Macau
 

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