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THAI welcomes HRH Princess Ubolratana at ITB 2014
Seated (center): Her Royal
Highness Princess Ubolratana Mahidol. Front Row (from right): Soodrak
Chanyavongs, Manager of the Promotions Department; Thera Buasri, Airport
Service Manager, Frankfurt Airport; Warote Intasara, General Manager, Munich
- (from left): Srikit Kattiyakulvanich, Accounting Manager, Germany;
Veerayot Purananda, Airport Services Manager, Munich Airport; Pricha
Nawongs, Area General Manager, Scandinavia, Finland, Iceland and the Baltic
Countries. Second row (from right): Air Hostess; Jutta Yelden, Manager Sales
Services, Frankfurt (from left): Air Hostess; Matthias Horn, District Sales
Manager, Germany, Austria & Eastern Europe.
Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana graciously visited
Thai Airways International’s booth, set under the theme, “Amaze Your Journey
by THAI Legendary Services, THAI Smooth as Silk” at the Asia Pavilion at ITB
(International Tourism Bourse) 2014.
HRH Princess Ubolratana was welcomed by Pricha Nawongs, THAI Area General
Manager of Scandinavia, Finland, Iceland and the Baltic Countries, and
Warote Intasara, THAI General Manager of Munich and the Federal Republic of
Germany, together with THAI management from Frankfurt and Munich offices.
ITB held during the first week of March 2014 in Berlin, Germany, is the
world’s largest tourism convention which provides unique opportunities to
benefit from the leading think tank of the global tourism industry. More
than 170,000 visitors attend ITB every year; among these are 113,000 trade
visitors, and 11,000 represented companies from 180 countries.
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An Open Letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tourism Authorities and the Ambassadors of all Nations Represented in Thailand
I recently wrote an open letter addressed to the ambassadors of all
nations represented in Thailand, asking them to remove or re-word their
warnings that had been placed, at times, unnecessarily and unfairly on
travel to Bangkok and Thailand. I sincerely thank those who assisted in
changing their country’s travel advisories to reflect the true
situation, that while disruptions in certain parts of Bangkok were
occurring, travel to other parts of the capital and the Kingdom remained
trouble free.
Following on from recent events where the majority of the demonstration
sites have been dismantled and central Bangkok has returned to business
as usual, now is the time to move forward and start rebuilding the
country’s tourism sector and economy.
This will require a united front and I hereby call on the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the tourism
industry as a whole to come together to act on behalf of the nation. I
ask the interim government to immediately lift the current State of
Emergency. I also call upon the ambassadors of all nations that have not
yet done so, to update their country’s travel warnings to reflect the
current peaceful and limited nature of the protests. Lastly, I call upon
the Kingdom’s business leaders across the economic and social welfare
spectrum to put the interests of the country first as we rebuild an
industry and economy that have suffered greatly and unnecessarily in
recent months.
Taking into account that unfortunate instances occur in other countries
and no stern travel warnings have been enforced, it is deeply
disappointing to see that Thailand is still being portrayed as a
dangerous country, when this is indeed not the case. Along with the rest
of the world, I was shocked to learn about the recent terrorist attack
that took place in Kunming, China and my condolences go out to the
families who lost loved ones in the attack. To date, I am not aware of
many countries, if any, that have issued a travel warning to Kunming,
and China has not been designated as a danger zone for travelers.
Unfortunately this only goes to emphasize the point that unfortunate
incidents can occur anytime and anywhere. As a consequence, stringent
travel warnings which are placed on a country can badly affect or even
destroy industries and the economy. The world as we know it has changed
and it is time to review how travel warnings are issued and how they
specifically address the concerns of travel. Today’s travelers have
access to information from reliable news sources updated regularly and
they can easily make well informed decisions. I really feel that this
needs to be considered before travel warnings are issued.
Although many media outlets over sensationalized their reports on the
protests there are still reliable news services and social media
outlets, such as Twitter that tend to give a more up to date assessment
of the travel risks and offer a real insight into the actual situation
on the ground.
Official reports in Thailand state that almost half of the active
population is employed by the service industry, which creates over 40
percent of the annual GDP. In addition, it has been stated that tourism
makes a larger contribution to Thailand’s economy than that of any other
Asian nation. With the current State of Emergency and travel warnings
still in place, the recent drop in tourism is really starting to show.
Hotels across the country are facing a reduction in arrivals which has a
knock-on affect not only on those directly employed by the industry, but
also the livelihoods of millions of people who are indirectly employed
by the tourism sector. For example, all of our hotels source food
locally and there are millions of farmers who will feel the effects of
overly stringent travel bans and lack of confidence in the tourism
sector.
I am passionate about the recovery of Thailand’s tourism sector and how
we can actively transform any negative perceptions worldwide that linger
from the recent protests. At times, Thailand has been unfairly portrayed
by certain media outlets as an absolute danger zone. It must be
remembered that the political upheaval in Thailand has always been a
national affair and that tourists and visitors to the Kingdom have never
been the target. Please do not misunderstand me, I agree that travel
warnings serve a purpose, but they must also be realistic and true in
their use.
In looking to the future, we must all persevere in our efforts to
re-establish a true international image of safe travel in Thailand.
There may well be more instances of disharmony in the future, but the
reaction by all bodies should not lead to such terrible damage to the
travel industry and the economy as a whole.
Speaking out may not always be a popular choice, but I cannot sit back
quietly whilst Thailand’s tourism sector, associated industries and
individuals continue to suffer unnecessarily. Now is the time to unite
and demand change so that Thailand can continue to be one of the world’s
leading tourist destinations.
Yours faithfully,
William E. Heinecke
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Minor International Pcl
Bangkok, Thailand
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Bangkok Airways upgrades its Mobile Application
Bangkok Airways has recently re-launched its mobile application service
for smart phone users and is now ready for everyone to enjoy its new
design with a range of convenient features. This upgraded version allows
smart phone users to make flight reservations, manage flights, search
flight information, and search the latest promotions as well as to
locate the airline’s sales offices around the world.
Bangkok Airways’ mobile application is now ready for smart phone users
to download for any IOS and Andriod devices. Please visit
http://bit.ly/LTHgPv for more details or download the application at
Android: http://bit.ly/1eLzaoU
iOS: http://bit.ly/1dDpoPn
Jetstar launches low fares services between Bangkok and Fukuoka
 Jetstar
will begin daily flights between Bangkok and Japan’s sixth largest city
Fukuoka from 26 June 2014, opening up low fares travel options between
the two popular Asian destinations.
Fukuoka is located in Kyushu, the third largest island in Japan and is
the third international Japanese port for Jetstar.
Jetstar Asia CEO Bara Pasupathi said the visa waiver for Thai travelers
has made Japan a popular overseas destination.
“For the first time, Jetstar customers from Bangkok will be able to
enjoy the first direct LCC flight to Fukuoka,” said Pasupathi.
Japan is continuing to present growth opportunities for the Jetstar
network.
“Japan remains a popular destination for travelers in our region and it
also represents a market where low cost travel is growing enormously,”
he said.
“We have seen Jetstar Japan, now the largest LCC in Japan, really open
up the domestic aviation market and stimulating new travel opportunities
for new low fare destinations,” said Pasupathi.
LCCs were introduced to the domestic Japan market in 2012, with airports
across Japan experiencing increasing passenger traffic. Japan’s Ministry
of Land Infrastructure and Tourism attributed the 8.7% increase in
domestic air travel year on year in November 2013 to the introduction of
LCCs and the strengthening Japanese economy.
“Fukuoka has lots of attractions that our leisure travelers love, like
mountains, hot springs, food and culture. New low fares access allows
our customers to enjoy more of what Japan has to offer,” said Pasupathi.
The mayor of Fukuoka, Soichiro Takashima said that the service heralds a
new era of travel choices and opportunities for the city.
“Since Jetstar Japan launched its domestic operations to Fukuoka in
2012, the residents have benefitted from more holiday destinations at
low fares,” Takashima said.
“Over the last two years, Fukuoka has seen more visitors from all around
Japan as well as an increase in the number of international tourists
arriving at Fukuoka Airport with the easing of visa requirements to
Japan.
“With the launch of Singapore-Bangkok-Fukuoka by Jetstar Asia, Fukuoka
Airport will gain importance as an international gateway to the Fukuoka
and Kyushu region.
“We look forward to welcoming more visitors from the two cities when the
service takes off,” he said.
The Jetstar Group currently operates 62 flights a week to Thailand with
services from Singapore, Melbourne, and Sydney to Phuket and services
from Melbourne and Singapore to Bangkok.
The Bangkok-Fukuoka service will originate from Singapore as part of
flight 3K509.
The new daily service will be operated by Jetstar Asia’s 180-seat Airbus
A320. Fares will be available for purchase from 19 February and start
from THB3,990. To book flights, please visit Jetstar.com.
Fares are one-way, checked baggage not included. You can choose from
15kg to 40kg checked baggage for an additional THB405 to THB1,185.
Availability is limited, not available on all flights or days.
Conditions apply.
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