HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Star Cruises commended

Thailand’s 26 airports to be privatized within 5 years

South African Airlines supports local TV tourism excursions

Tourists returning to Phuket

PATA selects PR partner

Star Cruises commended

Star Cruises has received a certificate of commendation for its cooperation with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services with regard to its handling of passengers and crew on all matters related to health, medical, sanitation and hygiene including the measures taken to combat SARS.

The SuperStar Leo and SuperStar Virgo were deployed to Australia during the height of the SARS situation in Asia. (TGG Asia)

Thailand’s 26 airports to be privatized within 5 years

The Ministry of Transport announced it is making plans to hand over all 26 of Thailand’s state-run airports to the private sector within the next five years in hopes that privatization will restore them to profitability.

Deputy Transport Minister Phichate Satirachaval said, “Several airlines, including Bangkok Airways and PB Air, have expressed an interest in running the airports, currently operating under the auspices of the Department of Aviation. Signals indicate that all six private-sector domestic airlines would enter into business partnerships with foreign allies to act as airport administrators.”

Phichate said that plans to gradually privatize airports within a five-year period had come in response to signs that private-sector airlines were unhappy with the strict privatization criteria laid down by the government, and the fact that they only wanted to administer airports that currently made a profit, such as Krabi, Phuket and Chiang Mai.

Under the new scheme profitable airports would be privatized first. Phichate expressed confidence that agreements on revenue sharing and privatization criteria would be reached by the end of 2003. (TNA)

South African Airlines supports local TV tourism excursions

South African Airways recently supported “We’re Za” TV program and “I-Zine” TV program to film a documentary series at various tourist attractions in South Africa. Shown here are Ms. Sawitri Rochanapruk (left), I-Zine TV program presenter, Ray Macdonald (2nd left), “We’re Za” TV program presenter and Ms. Nattawan Iamsittipol (right), public relations advisor for South African Airways with TV crew members at South African Airways check-in counter before departing for South Africa. Currently, South African Airways operates 3 direct flights a week from Bangkok to Johannesburg.

Tourists returning to Phuket

The head of Phuket’s international communicable disease checkpoint, Weerasit Raden, stated that tourism in Phuket is picking up as visitors from across Asia begin to put aside their concerns about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). He also revealed that thanks to stringent regulations, checkpoint officials had not come across any SARS or suspected SARS patients.

Expressing confidence that the revival in tourist numbers showed that the SARS problem was disappearing; Weerasit said the number of tourists from Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan traveling to Phuket had shot up by 60 percent. He forecast that the situation would continue to improve, saying that airlines from the affected countries had now begun increasing flights to the island, and that the number of flights from these countries was now nearly up to pre-SARS levels. (TNA)

PATA selects PR partner

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has appointed Michael de Kretser Consultants (MDK) as its partner in its tourism initiative named Project Phoenix.

PATA CEO, Peter de Jong, said, “This is a reputation management program. It is designed to help PATA restore the region’s reputation as a travel destination now and into the future and dovetail with the existing national and regional recovery campaigns which are being launched around the Asia Pacific. Project Phoenix goes beyond responding to the current SARS crisis. We must always be prepared for a relapse of SARS or a new crisis.” (TGG Asia)

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