|
Qantas Shanghai flights prepare for takeoff
Qantas will begin flying between Australia and Shanghai
from 2 December with three non-stop services from Sydney with an
international connection from Melbourne.
The Executive General Manager of Qantas Airlines, John
Borghetti, said the resumption of flights to Shanghai coincided with
Qantas’ 55th anniversary of services to Hong Kong. “The new services to
Shanghai will provide a real boost to business travel and tourism in both
China and Australia.”
Borghetti said the airline’s new two-class Airbus
A330-300 aircraft, fitted with the award-winning sleeper seat Skybed, would
operate services to Shanghai on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Flying time
is 10 hours and northbound flights depart in the morning and arrive in the
evening, while southbound flights depart at night and arrive in the morning.
Qantas also currently operates 28 flights per week to
Hong Kong, and has applied to the International Air Services Commission for
the right to operate three Boeing 747-400 services via Hong Kong to the
United Kingdom. Qantas also recently announced it would commence non-stop
services from Australia to Mumbai in India in September. These services will
operate three times per week from Sydney, subject to government approval.
Pattaya Marriott receives awards from Marriott International
Thomas
G. Christiansen, (left) resident manager of the Pattaya Marriott Resort and
Spa was delighted to have recently accepted three awards from Marriott
International. The awards were for various categories of service as reported
by the resort’s guests compared to other Marriott properties. The awards
were for having “Highest Overall Satisfaction”, “The Lowest Problem
Experience” and “Highest Overall Dining Experience.” The presentations
were made during the Asia Pacific and Australia Operations Meeting in May.
Free ride on Bangkok’s subway
The general public who hold tickets for free underground
train ride, issued in April and May, can use the tickets again in June. The
Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) announced on Monday that
those who had received the MRTA’s free ride tickets could enjoy the trial
ride again on 7-28 June.
Passengers who are eligible for the test runs of the new
subway system in Bangkok are those who hold the underground train ticket for
13-18 April, and those who received the new set of tickets on 21 May.
The MRTA assured that it has rectified hiccups
experienced during the test runs of the new system in April, saying that the
system was now safe for passengers. Passengers complained that the air
conditioning at the stations was too low, the doors on one of the trains
failed to open and shut properly, and there was a burning smell of brake
fluid on a test run. (TNA)
Second Malaysian flight for AirAsia
AirAsia will commence daily flights between Jakarta and Kuala
Lumpur (KL) from July 1, with prices starting from RM99.99 (US$23) one way. With
this, Indonesian travelers will have two options to travel to Malaysia, as the
low cost carrier also operates a second service to Malaysia, via its hub in
Senai Airport, Johor.
Fares on the Jakarta-Johor Bahru (JB) flights start from
RM88.88. Other Indonesian destinations operated by AirAsia include Bandung and
Surabaya flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
AirAsia will also increase frequencies to Tawau and Bangkok
from July 1. A second service will be added to the KL- Tawau and the KL- Bangkok
flights. (TTG Asia)
TAT organizes Thailand Festival in Seoul
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is organizing a
Thailand Festival in the South Korean capital of Seoul in its bid to transform
Thailand into the ‘tourism capital of Asia’. The festival, which will run
from 18-24 June, is being organized by the TAT’s Seoul office in conjunction
with the Thai Embassy, the Ministry of Commerce and Thai Airways International.
The TAT hopes the festival will lay down the routes for its
latest marketing campaign, which projects Thailand as Asia’s tourism capital.
By doing so, the government hopes to generate more foreign revenue and increase
the tourism competitiveness of Thailand’s public and private sectors, while
promoting tourism in conjunction will other countries in the region.
South Korea was Thailand’s third largest tourism market
last year, accounting for 6.94 percent of all visitors. Many Korean visitors
come in groups, whether or students or older people, and often make repeat
visits. This popularity is expected to continue this year, especially among
honeymooners and tourists wishing to use Thailand’s spa facilities. (TNA)
High speed rail link for new Bangkok international airport
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has announced plans for a
high speed train link for Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
The planned train link will transport passengers at 160 kilometers per hour from
Makkasan to the Suvarnabhumi Airport in 15 minutes. There will eight stations on
the route. Included in the plan are baggage conveyor belts that will handle
baggage, and baggage check-in booths on the train for the travelers’
convenience.
The project will cost an estimated 30 billion baht. The
cabinet has also approved a 1.6 billion baht budget for the study and design of
seven projects related to Bangkok’s transportation systems and the reduction
of traffic. (TNA)
Tourism minister hails growth in foreign arrivals
The number of foreign visitors arriving at Bangkok’s Don
Muang Airport in May was a staggering 111 percent higher than last year, Tourism
and Sports Minister Sontaya Khunpluen revealed. Noting that the rise had come
despite domestic problems in the southern border region, Sontaya cited the
latest figures from the Immigration Police Bureau, showing that 585,773 foreign
visitors arrived at the Bangkok International Airport, or the Don Muang Airport,
last month, up 111.6 percent from May 2003, and 4.13 percent from May 2002.
This meant that visitor arrivals from March to May had
recorded a steady rate of growth, flying in the face of the adverse impact of
avian flu, the violence in the southern border region, and subsequent warnings
against travel to Thailand by a number of countries, and the continuing unrest
in the Middle East.
Sontaya attributed the nation’s tourism success to the
dedicated work by Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) offices around the world
to generate confidence among trading partners and tourists and that Thailand had
also benefited from tourism promotion campaigns by neighboring countries.
“More than half of all long-haul tourists tend to visit more than one country
each time they travel”, he said. “Thailand is an important tourist
destination, as well as an aviation center, which is why we have seen growth
despite the emergence of minor domestic problems”. (TNA)
|
