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Thai airports offer discounts
Watchiranont Thongtep, TTG Asia
Airports of Thailand (AoT) is giving a further discount on
landing and parking fees at its five airports in an effort to boost
frequency and capacity.
Until the end of this year, airlines operating through Bangkok (two
airports), Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai will receive a 30 percent
discount on landing and parking fees, up from a 20 percent discount
introduced in mid February.
AoT president, Serirat Prasutanond, said the incentives proved
attractive and more airlines were expected to fly and increase frequency
and capacity to Thai airports, particularly in the coming winter
timetable (October to March).
Emirates will increase capacity on its Dubai-Bangkok flight by operating
the 489-seat Airbus 380. It will be the first airline to operate the
aircraft through Suvarnabhumi Airport.
While Suvarnabhumi Airport had suffered a 14 percent drop on the number
of passengers in the first four months of this year, Serirat was
confident the airport would be able to attract 42 million passengers.
Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas wins top environment award
Sofitel Public Relations
Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas Hua Hin has been presented
with the Thailand Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Monitoring Award
for 2008, initiated by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental
Policy and Planning, under the Department of Natural Resources and
Environment.
The award was presented by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
Suwit Khunkitti, who said that it was being given in recognition of the
hotel’s outstanding contribution to community service and tourist
accommodation.
This is the third occasion that the Sofitel Centara Grand Resort &
Villas Hua Hin has won this award, the previous two years having been
1999 and 2007.
Thirayuth Chirathivat, senior vice president for project management at
Centara Hotels & Resorts said that environmental protection and energy
conservation are central to the policies of the Centara Hotels &
Resorts.
“Tourism is one of the world’s biggest industries, and therefore carries
a great deal of responsibility for protecting and conserving the
environment,” he says. “We ensure that our own environmental protection
and energy saving policies are carried out at every one of our
properties.”
Thirayuth says that the Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas Hua Hin
has been presented with Green Leaf Certification, and was named as
Environment Friendly Hotel 2007 in an award presented by the Tourism
Authority of Thailand and the Green Leaf Foundation.
Additionally, the hotel was presented with the Ministry of Labour
Welfare’s Safety, Hygiene and Environment Award in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Formerly the Railway Hotel, one of the classic hotels of the East, the
Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas Hua Hin was constructed in 1922.
Centara Hotels & Resorts acquired the property in 1985, and with every
sensitivity towards its original elegance has extended and upgraded the
hotel, which stands on 16 hectares of beachfront land amongst topiary
gardens that are one of the great local landmarks.
New Skytrain route over river begins operation in Bangkok
Commuters get three-month free ride
A new extension of the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) or so-called Skytrain
connecting Thonburi with downtown Bangkok went into operation last week, helping
commuters avoid notorious traffic jams from the Taksin Bridge to Sathorn Road
while effortlessly crossing the busy Chaophya River.
 The
new Skytrain route over the Chaophya River began operation in Bangkok last week.
The new 2.2 kilometer elevated train extension route from Saphan Thaksin station
to Wong Wian Yai is Thailand’s first BTS train running across the river to
facilitate people living on the Thonburi side wishing to travel to the main
business areas of the city.
A free ride on the route is also offered to the public during the first three
months it was announced after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva presided over the
launching of the new route.
He told reporters the government will go ahead with electric train route
extensions to cover all areas of the city of Bangkok.
Public transportation development is an urgent policy priority for the
government and necessary to help stimulate the economy, he said. (TNA)
Authorities step up monitoring of arrivals for flu at Thai borders
Medical officers posted at Thai border provinces have stepped up monitoring
tourists and others entering Thailand at all border crossings after two persons
returning to Thailand were found to be infected with the potentially deadly
Influenza A (H1N1) virus.
A quarantine centre in the northernmost province of Chiang Rai is cooperating
with Mae Sai Hospital in opening another centre, and the local border crossing
at the immigration checkpoint in Mae Sai district is now equipped with
thermo-scanners.
Any arrivals found to have a body temperature exceeding 38 degrees will be
quarantined at the hospital and put under the close supervision of doctors and
nurses.
A similar upgrade in monitoring is also in place at the border checkpoint in
Sadao district in the southern province of Songkla following reports of an
outbreak of the disease in Malaysia.
In Kanchanaburi, a province bordering Myanmar, public health officials hold
meetings on a daily basis to review the situation. Close cooperation is also
established with hotel and resort operators in the province as well as with
immigration authorities at Sangkhla Buri district to monitor for tourists or
other arrivals suspected of carrying the virus.
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