- HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:
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Pattaya to stage shopping festival
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Emirates launches new flights
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Suvarnabhumi aims to be in top 20 global ranking for 2008
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Bangkok Airways pushes for Mekong visa
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Pattaya to stage shopping festival
Models in costume and
Govt. and City officials pose for a photo to announce the “Amazing
Pattaya Sale 2007”, to be held Sept. 1 till Oct. 31.
Pattaya City has announced it will stage a two-month
Amazing Pattaya Sale 2007 event aimed at creating an image for itself as
a shopping paradise and generating more revenue.
The event, jointly organised by Pattaya City and the Tourism Authority
of Thailand (TAT), will be held from September 1 to October 31. More
than 13 private organisations such as shopping complexes, super stores,
home-supply outlets and hospitals will be taking part to offer up to 70
per cent discount on goods and services.
TAT Pattaya office director, Mr. Chaiwat Charoensuk, said the event
would stimulate tourists to spend more while holidaying in Pattaya. He
said during the first six months of this year, the number of tourists
had increased by 10 per cent when compared to the same period last year.
There were 6.11 million tourist arrivals to Pattaya last year, a 14.55
per cent increase on 2005, and generated tourism revenue of 53 billion
baht (US$1.64 billion). International tourists represented more than 70
per cent of the total visitor numbers.
Mr. Chaiwat said Pattaya City and TAT Pattaya would stage the event
again next year, but would lengthen the duration to three months.
Emirates launches new flights
Narisa Nitikarn
Representatives of 70 travel agents in the Eastern region recently attended a
conference held by Emirates Airlines at the Aisawan Resort & Spa to update them
on three new routes that are being added to the airline’s schedules in September
and October.
 Mr.
Virasakdi Vongkositkul (Sales Manager of Thailand & Indochina of Fly Emirates)
introduces the airline’s new products and routes to agents from the Eastern
region.
The evening saw a cocktail party with a Brazilian night theme, and there was a
competition with prizes, first prize being two return tickets from Bangkok to
Hong Kong.
Virasakdi Vongkositkul, Emirates sales manager for Thailand and Indochina
announced new routes and fares for flights out of the airline’s Dubai hub. July
1 saw Emirates begin flights to Venice, September 1 will see a new route to
Newcastle in the United Kingdom, and October 1 will see flights to Sao Paolo in
Brazil, and to Houston in the USA.
Plans are also imminent to begin flights from Dubai to Toronto, and an
announcement is expected within the next 18 months.
In Thailand, said Virasakdi, Pattaya was the airline’s second best market after
Bangkok. Most of Emirates customers are in the European zone.
Currently Emirates has 104 aircraft flying to 90 destinations, and with the
increasing demand the airline is adding to the fleet at the rate of one or two
aircraft each month for the next three years. The projection is for Emirates to
have a total fleet of 218 aircraft in 2010.
Suvarnabhumi aims to be in
top 20 global ranking for 2008
Suvarnabhumi Airport looks set to become one of the world’s
top 20 airports next year and to subsequently rank among the top 10 in 2009,
says the airport’s general manager, Mr. Serirat Prasutanond.
The airport, which started operations on September 28 last year, has served 35
million passengers in its first 10 months and is expected to reach 40 million
passengers by its first anniversary. Its maximum handling capacity is 45 million
passengers per year.
Mr. Serirat said the airport was ready to enter its second year although he
admitted it had been a tough first year. “We have been trying hard to fix all
the problems and at the same time to raise our standards with an aim to become a
one-stop aviation service hub,” he said.
The airport has established six teams to improve upon key areas: airport
facilities and services, collaboration with airlines and government bodies,
commercial airport management, security management system, airport service
mindedness and airport environment.
Serirat said the airport was taking part in a survey on airport service quality
conducted by Airport Council International and the results would be released by
October.
Meanwhile, Airports of Thailand (AoT) plans to develop a 160-hectare plot of
land near Suvarnabhumi Airport into a commercial complex comprising a hotel,
exhibition hall and retail shops. Construction is likely to start next year and
AoT is considering either investing in the project itself or allowing private
investments. (TTG)
Bangkok Airways pushes for Mekong visa
Bangkok Airways is lobbying for the introduction of a Mekong visa to
facilitate tourist travel through the Mekong region.
President and CEO, Mr. Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, said the airline had been
in talks with government bodies in the five Mekong countries - Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam - to formulate the initiative.
The airline’s idea is for Thai and foreign visitors to be able to travel to
the five countries under just one visa and use just one air ticket for all
connecting flights. The scheme is in line with Bangkok Airways’ positioning
itself as a feeder airline linking Thailand with the four Mekong countries.
Mr. Prasert said: “We expect to complete our route network connecting
Thailand with at least three cities in each Mekong country by the end of
next year.”
At the moment, the airline already covers three cities in Laos - Vientiane,
Luang Prabang and Pakse - and two cities each in Cambodia, Myanmar and
Vietnam. Cities in the pipeline are Sihanoukville in Cambodia, Danang in
Vietnam and a beach resort town in Myanmar.
However, the closest thing to a Mekong visa so far is the single-visa policy
to be offered by Cambodia and Thailand. Cambodia’s tourism minister, Dr
Thong Khon, said the two kingdom’s single-visa pack would be in place by the
end of this year. (TTG)
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