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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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