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Australian demand for Thailand hindered by political instability, recession
Reporting from Thailand Travel Mart
Plus the Greater Mekong Subregion 2009
Sirima Eamtako,
TTG Asia
Agents from Australia say stability is the key to winning back
Australian tourists to Thailand, but the strength of the return will
depend on the global economic situation.
A1 Classic Holidays product and marketing director, Wayne Robertson,
said the Bangkok airport closure late last year was bad enough, but the
red-shirt riots in the Thai capital in April had made the situation
worse.
“Malaysia and Indonesia (Bali) are now the winners, grabbing Thailand’s
share of the Australian market due to the Thai political instability.”
However, Robertson said people had started making enquiries but under
short lead times, since the global economic crisis had prompted
consumers to tighten their belts.
He added that Thai hotels could keep lowering rates, but it would only
help in a limited way. “Hotels are still running at low occupancies so
(lower rates) are not really helping, are they?”
Mitsui Travel director, Len Browne, said: “Australians still want to
travel but it is a bit hard at the moment. The trend now is for them to
just come in and make bookings and pay. The booking window is shorter.”
Browne brushed off deals from carriers, saying, “It’s not worth it for
IATA agents such as me to turn on a computer and make a booking for just
A$5 to A$7 profit from an A$199 ticket.”
Pattaya gains tourism division,
spending boost
Sirima Eamtako,
TTG Asia
Pattaya City is upgrading its tourism working team, turning it into a
dedicated tourism division following an increase in spending on
marketing and infrastructure.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome said the new division, slated to be in place by
August, would enhance the city’s efforts to stimulate tourism amid the
current economic and political crises.
Pattaya attracted about 5.5 million visitors and generated about 49
billion baht in revenue last year, down from 53 billion baht in 2007. It
is aiming for 45 billion baht in revenue this year.
The city has been given a budget of 20 million baht, up from last year’s
17 million baht, to spend on domestic and international road shows and
tradeshows and it will launch the Pattaya, Be Our Guest campaign on June
15, offering 20,000 free room nights for participating Thai and foreign
tourists.
Meanwhile, about one billion baht is being invested on infrastructure
development while an inner-city monorail project is under a feasibility
study.
In further news, U-Tapao International Airport is seeking a one billion
baht budget approval to expand its terminal capacity from 400 to 1,000
passengers per hour.
Itthiphol, who is also the airport’s board chairman, said the budget was
likely to be approved within the year and the expansion should be
completed by end-2010.
Planet Ocean exhibition in Bangkok carries important message
2009 marks the 6th consecutive year for the annual French Cultural Festival ‘La
Fête 2009’ in Bangkok. As part of the festival, which runs until October,
various exhibitions and shows are on offer. One of these, ‘Planet Ocean: Voyage
to the Heart of the Marine Realm’ was launched on Friday to coincide with World
Environment Day. It’s one of the festival’s highlights, in which the mysterious
beauty of marine life is unveiled.
Occupying over 75% of the earth, the undersea world’s natural richness is still
very much a secret, despite scientists having confirmed the oceans as having
been the source of all living creatures.
Yet, the list of damages man is imposing upon the sea and its myriad inhabitants
- like global warming, pollution, and over fishing - is extensive.
With his passion and devotion to the marine environment, Palme
d’Or-award-winning photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta hopes his
audience will appreciate the marine world’s values and be aware of the
indispensability of this ‘world beneath the waves’.
“It’s very close related to us. It links to our own survival, and when you start
to understand that … (it is) our pleasure to make the photo. I think that’s the
beginning of the respect and of the conservation,” said Laurent Ballesta, a
marine biologist and photographer.
With the oceans holding our past and stating our future, scientists remind us
sustainable exploitation of marine resources is a major challenge which must be
addressed.
Ballesta’s beautiful shots have appeared in numerous exhibitions across Europe
over the past 3 years. They carry a significant message and are now being
exhibited in Asia for the first time in the ‘Planet Ocean’ exhibition with the
aim of raising awareness in this part of the globe of the critical need to
protect the oceans.
“Sometimes, I’m afraid that people think ocean is just seafood. It’s not just
seafood. It’s so many other sources of happiness, you know,” said Laurent
Ballesta, a marine biologist and photographer.
All forms of nature should be respected, as this helps man live in harmony with
the natural world. For those interested in exploring more of the under-water
world, the ‘Planet Ocean: Voyage to the Heart of the Marine Realm by Laurent
Ballesta and Pierre Descamp’ is now on display at Bangkok’s Zen Department Store
until August 12. (TNA)
Hua Hin readies
for annual Jazz Festival
The eighth Hua Hin Jazz Festival in the picturesque seaside town of Hua Hin is
scheduled to take place on the beach from June 12-14.
Among the many international and Thai acts coming to the festival will be
headline musician Malene Mortensen from Denmark, a winner of the Danish
Eurovision Song Contest.
Mortensen will be staying at the Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa during the festival
and on June 14 will offer an exclusive Jazz Workshop for Hilton guests and
enthusiasts along with other key players offering the popular workshops at the
resort, including “Moon” from Japan and “Mocca” from Indonesia.
Chiang Mai wins Indian agents meeting
Sirima Eamtako,
TTG Asia
Thailand’s MICE industry received a further boost with the news that the country
beat Malaysia in the bid to host the annual meeting of the Travel Agents
Federation of India (TAFI) to be held in August.
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) deputy governor for international marketing,
Santichai Eauchongprasit, said this was the first time the meeting would be held
outside India.
About 1,000 TAFI members are expected to attend the meeting in Chiang Mai. Koh
Chang was TAFI’s preferred choice, but due to the lack of proper facilities for
the large group, the TAT had proposed Chiang Mai as an alternative.
Santichai said Chiang Mai has a wide range of hotels and large convention
facilities. “It was also part of our plan to help beleaguered Chiang Mai, which
is suffering considerably low levels of tourism.”
Santichai added, “I believe this event will help generate future tourism
business from India as all the attendees are tour operators.”
In related news, Phuket Receptif has landed a deal to handle a seven-day
all-inclusive incentive trip for 70 delegates from France.
The company’s general manager, Dave Chang, said the client visited Phuket just
two weeks ago and made the decision on the spot to hold the event in November.
Chang said he would seek support under Thailand Convention and Exhibition
Bureau’s various financial subsidy schemes.
THAI turns LA flights
into daily service
Sirima Eamtako,
TTG Asia
Thai Airways International (THAI) will increase the frequency of its direct
four-weekly flights between Bangkok and Los Angeles to a daily flight beginning
July 1.
THAI commercial executive vice-president, Pandit Chanapai, said the flight was
to meet the healthy demand on the route.
According to Pandit, THAI operates the Bangkok-Los Angeles flight at around 80
percent load factor and expects to enjoy a similar load factor after the
frequency has been increased.
However, he said the airline expected an impact from the influenza A(H1N1) virus
on the Bangkok-Los Angeles service. “The system is activated, but we are closely
monitoring the bookings. If it’s below our expectation, the increased service
may be delayed.”
Meanwhile, the airline will commence the new direct five-weekly flight between
Bangkok and Oslo from June 15. Bookings have been coming in and the airline
expects to run an 80 percent load factor from October, Pandit said.
Space travel takes
off in Hong Kong
Prudence Lui, TTG Asia
Hong Kong’s Miramar Travel has outgunned rivals to clinch a five-year
deal with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic to sell space travel products in the
city. Virgin Galactic is looking to launch affordable sub-orbital space travel
in 2010.
Miramar Travel General Manager Alex Lee said, “We’ve secured (under) 10 bookings
since the launch, mostly from clients in their 50s. There is even a couple
registered to celebrate their honeymoon in space.”
While the cost may send some into orbit, a cool US$200,000, the price tag will
cover a two-hour long journey, including a four-minute stay in space. There are
plans for the spaceship to cut off engine power about 110 km above earth to let
clients experience gravity-free conditions.
“We have set up a six-member space division to handle this niche segment. All
enquiries will be directed to an individual hotline for our special team to
provide personalized service.”
Several agencies competed for this deal, with Lee saying space travel would be a
trend in the future. “Who can imagine, a century after the first airplane took
off, that the airplane would become an integral part of our daily lives. When
pushing this new travel concept, staff have adopted a simple approach to explain
exactly what space travel is. It will take time to nurture the market.”
Each spaceship has room for six passengers and the current global queue of
would-be space travelers is about 300. The spaceship will depart from Spaceport
America, New Mexico, the US and aims to fly twice a week initially. All
travelers will need to undergo three days of training before the trip, and
clients with heart disease and high blood pressure will not be accepted.
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