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Dusit Thani Pattaya follows the MICE business trend in Pattaya
Napalai Ballroom at the Dusit
Thani Pattaya.
Pattaya City is fast becoming a premier MICE destination,
thanks to its convenient proximity to the country’s international airport
and its other cosmopolitan attractions that pique the interest of the
growing influx of clients for business meetings and conventions as well as
corporate groups looking for offsite experiences while taking a short break.
Dusit Thani Pattaya, a Thai brand hotel in the northern part of Pattaya has
come up with products that cater to every meeting scale. The hotel embraces
the changing trend in its visitors from mainly leisure to the current MICE
status through enhanced meeting facilities for both domestic and regional
markets. And with the emerging demand for luxury meetings, the resort has
upgraded Club Rooms and Grand Rooms for high-end corporate clients.
Additionally, MICE customers have also shown diverse requirements. Hence,
luxurious accommodations trickle down to a more customized option for event
organizers who now have the ideal response to their clients’ demand for
quality budget accommodations.
The hotel’s location is one of its most excellent advantages over its
competitors as it is located right in the core of the city and yet guests’
privacy is exceptionally guarded from the bustling sound of the metropolis.
There are twenty meeting rooms all configured for small,
medium and large scale events, and a pillar-less convention hall for up to
3,000 participants. Meeting organizers have a choice of themed coffee breaks
and a Green Meeting option plus a professional team to lead delegates in
teambuilding activities. For other incentive events, guests will welcome the
opportunity to explore Pattaya’s shopping scene where the world’s luxury
brands can be found as well as the best of local items that they can
treasure when they go back.
Chatchawal Supachayanont, vice-president of Thailand Incentive and
Convention Association (TICA), Thai Hotels Association and also the general
manager of Dusit Thani Pattaya believes that the future is bright for
Pattaya as it evolves into a popular MICE destination.
“With the significant growth in the MICE business coming
in, our team will have the opportunity to showcase the new and fresh look of
our rooms and meeting facilities. In addition to the twenty meeting rooms
that we already have, we have also created another meeting venue that I’m
sure our corporate guests will write home about. The room has a more
intimate and relaxing atmosphere since it affords the panoramic views of
Pattaya Bay.
This is one of our latest unique facilities in our
constant wish to provide our guests with enhanced products and a quality
service that they deserve to ensure a rewarding and successful MICE event,”
adds Supachayanont.
Kittiratt: US stimulus package
will not affect Thailand
Thailand will not be battered by an inflow of capital
into Asia from the latest US stimulus package, Finance Minister Kittiratt
Na-Ranong said on Friday, to reassure those who fear the impact of the
American actions.
Kittiratt, who is also deputy premier, said the US Federal Reserve’s
announcement of a third quarter economic stimulus package on Thursday will
stabilize US and European economies. He warned, however, that Thailand will
have to cope with a stronger Thai currency.
He said he believed the Bank of Thailand has worked out measures to ensure
that the Thai baht is not too strong while the Finance Ministry has hinted
that current interest rates would not encourage profit making by investors.
Kittiratt said the government will encourage Thai investments abroad as one
of the attempts to stabilize the Thai currency at a suitable rate.
He added that Thailand’s exports in the remaining months of this year are at
a satisfactory rate given the government’s implemented mechanisms to
eliminate export obstacles.
Asian countries must closely monitor the situation and the impact from the
new US stimulus package, he said, adding that Asian leaders will possibly
meet soon to discuss measures to jointly protect their economic interests.
(MCOT)
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MCOT chairman Sorajak
becoming THAI president
Sorajak Kasemsuvan, chairman of MCOT Plc, was last week
selected as president of Thai Airways International, succeeding Piyasvasti
Amranand, whose employment contract was abruptly terminated by the THAI
Board of directors in May.
 Sorajak
Kasemsuvan
THAI board of directors chairman Ampon Kitti-ampon said Sorajak was the only
candidate qualified by the selection panel and he also was interviewed by
the panel.
He said Sorajak will be informed of the board’s decision, appointing him as
THAI president, after which a negotiation for salary and other benefits will
be done between him and Finance Ministry representatives.
The board of directors, Ampon said, must inform the Transport Ministry of
the employment after which it will be forwarded to the Cabinet for approval.
Sorajak will become THAI’s 16th president.
Sorajak, a PhD recipient in international law from London School of
Economics, was president of MCOT Plc in 1999 but resigned before his
four-year term expired. He returned to MCOT late last year as chairman of
the board of directors.
In between, he had served as vice minister to Foreign Minister Surakiat
Sathirathai. He started working for the Foreign Ministry after receiving his
doctorate from the University of London.
Meanwhile, some 100 THAI employees, led by labor union leader Jaemsri
Sukchoterat, rallied at the lobby of THAI headquarters to demand a change in
the employment contracts of temporary workers, who are hired on two-year,
four-year or five-year basis. They called on the management to review
workers’ employment contracts to entitle them to work with THAI until the
compulsory retirement age of 60 - and not on short terms.
If their demand is not met, the demonstrators said, they would lodge a
complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, the House standing
committee on labor and the prime minister.
Ms Jaemsri said more than 2,500 Thai workers have been hired on a contract
basis when they should be employed until the required 60-year-old retirement
age given the professional specialties and exclusivities of their jobs, such
as ground and inflight services, and equipment sourcing.
These are the jobs that need experienced people, and not employees who work
for a short term, she said.
The labor union’s demand will probably be one of the issues in the ‘list of
challenges” pending the new president’s action. (MCOT)
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PTTEP, Vietnam discuss
added energy investment
PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) has discussed with
Vietnam two more expanded investments for oil and natural gas exploration
drilling there with production of 490 million cubic feet/day expected.
 PTTEP
senior manager on Safety, Security, Health and Environment, Jirapong
Dharaphop, said the company exchanged information on the exploration field
with Vietnam and was invited to take part in a joint venture with Vietnam to
increase investment in the country after a previous success.
The two projects under development are the Vietnam 48/95 field, in which
PTTET is a 7-percent shareholder, and Vietnam 52/97, in which the firm holds
8.5 percent of shares. Both projects have Chevron as the main shareholder
and project manager.
Currently, it is in the last stage of negotiation with the Vietnamese
government on natural gas prices. It will then take another 42 months to lay
the piping in the sea, with first production expected in 2016 with a
capacity of 490 million cubic feet/day.
Jirapong said the advantages of investing in Vietnam are that it is
Thailand’s neighbor and both nations have good relations. Also, Vietnam has
potential for oil exploration drilling.
Exploration is done mostly on Ho Chi Minh City’s southeastern approaches, he
added.
PTTEP currently has four investment projects on the field in Vietnam. The
first two are Vietnam 16-1 and Vietnam 9-2, now under construction.
Vietnam 16-1 is expected to produce crude oil at 55,000 barrels/day within
the fourth quarter from the current 53,000 barrels/day, and to produce
natural gas at 33 million cubic feet/day. PTTEP holds 28.5 percent of shares
in this project.
Vietnam 9-2 is to produce crude oil at 6,600 barrels/day and natural gas at
15 million cubic feet/day. The Thai company holds a 25-percent share.
According to Jirapong, the Vietnamese government is promoting exploration
and production for petroleum. The country has one oil refinery with a
production capacity of 140,000 barrels/day. However, domestic demand is
higher than current production capacity. (MCOT)
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