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Invitation open for 2007 Thailand Tourism Awards
Ministry of Tourism and Sports and TAT jointly initiate new Thailand Tourism Awards for community-based tourism and ‘Green’ Hotels/Resorts
Members of the Ministry of
Tourism and Sports and the TAT announce the new Thailand Tourism Awards
for 2007. (Photo courtesy TAT)
The 2007 Thailand Tourism Awards is a special edition
of the biennial tourism awards programme initiated by the Tourism
Authority of Thailand (TAT) in 1996. These new awards are being launched
as a tribute in honour of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX,
of Thailand on the auspicious occasion of His Majesty’s 80th birthday
anniversary in December 2007. The awards presentation ceremony will be
held in the same month.
The two award categories being featured in this year’s Thailand Tourism
Awards are the “Most Outstanding Community-based Tourism Award” and the
“Most Outstanding Green Leaf Hotel/Resort Award”. These recognize
outstanding contributions by an environmentally friendly hotel or resort
property.
Both awards are designed to promote the conservation of the country’s
precious natural and cultural resources and support sustainable tourism
development in tandem with the quality development of the Thai tourism
industry.
TAT, on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Office of Tourism
Development, is currently inviting applications and entries for the 2007
awards.
To be eligible for the “Most Outstanding Green Leaf Hotel/Resort Award”,
participating properties will need to demonstrate their commitment to
environmental conservation through the implementation of a stringent
in-house programme that fosters environmentally-friendly practices, such
as the efficient use of energy and water, water management, recycling,
proper waste management, and policies that favour the purchase of
products and services from equally committed environmentally-friendly
companies. The closing dates for the receipt of applications are as
follows:
“Most Outstanding Community-based Tourism Award” - Closing date: 16 June
2007: For details please contact the TAT on Tel. 02 250 5500 Ext 2773,
2787-8, www.tat.or.th.
“The Most Outstanding Green Leaf Hotel/Resort Award” - Closing date: 31
July 2007: For details please contact The Green Leaf Foundation, Tel. 02
281 9496, www.greenleafthai.org
Huge Thai travel fest in June 2007
Three of Thailand’s primary travel & tourism showcase events
are to be merged into one large function targeted at both the trade and
consumers during 7-10 June at the Challenger Hall, Impact Muang Thong Thani
Exhibition Center.
The event will bring together the Thailand Travel Mart (TTM) 2007 plus the
Amazing Gateway to Greater Mekong Sub-region and the Thailand Tourism Festival
2007 (TTF 2007), making it the biggest such event to be ever held in the
country.
About 315 sellers from Thailand and GMS countries are expected to participate in
the Thailand Travel Mart (TTM) 2007 Plus Amazing Gateway. These include 224
hotels, 5 airlines, 8 eco-tourism and adventure operators, 18 medical & health
tourism facilities, NTOs and other services, 29 tour operators and 31 companies
from the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
The broad range of sellers will mean that the 350 invited buyers will have an
opportunity to get information about products and services about Thailand as
well as all its neighbouring countries.
Hosted buyers are carefully selected by the TAT with cooperation from its
overseas offices and the private sector. The registration fee is US$200, EUR155
or Bt7,400 for each hosted company with complimentary air fares, accommodation
and transportation to and from the venue provided.
Other local and overseas operators are also allowed to participate at their own
expense. The registration fee is USD70 or EUR55 or Thai Baht 2,590 for each
non-hosted buyer.
About 50 corporate buyers from Thailand will be invited to attend on the
afternoon of the final trade day to give additional exposure to the sellers.
This will be followed by two days of consumer participation on June 9-10.
The event is especially important for the small and medium sized enterprises
which do not have the large marketing budgets to afford participation in the
major international trade shows.
Meetings between buyers and sellers are arranged by a matching appointment
system with 70% of scheduled appointments being pre-arranged before the mart
opens, leaving the rest to be done on-site. Each appointment will last 15
minutes.
The official programme will begin on June 6 with a welcome reception in the
evening at the Siam Paragon shopping and entertainment complex. The business
functions will be held on June 7-8 at the Challenger 3, Impact Muang Thong Thani
Exhibition Center, the world’s largest column-free exhibition hall, Asia’s
largest indoor exhibition center and Thailand’s largest ballroom.
Interested parties wishing to find out more information on the Thailand Travel
Mart (TTM) 2007 Plus Amazing Gateway exhibition should go to web site
www.thailandtravelmartplus .com, or visit www.TATnews.org
SAS to launch Stockholm-Bangkok
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will begin a new Stockholm-to-Bangkok route
starting October this year.
It will be operated three times a week and is in addition to the existing
Copenhagen-Bangkok flight. The new service is in response to increased
demand for connections to Thailand from Scandinavia.
SAS director and general manager, South-east Asia, Mr Hakan Olsson, said:
“All our flights to Thailand for this winter season have been sold out a
year ahead.”
He said the new Stockholm-Bangkok flight would also benefit Singapore, where
there are 800 Scandinavian companies and is home to about 4,000
Scandinavians. The island is the airline’s most important corporate market
in Southeast Asia.
SAS has code-share arrangements with its Star Alliance partners for the
Singapore-Bangkok-Singapore sectors. (TTG)
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