THAILAND - Resort's 'white beach' inflames residents' ire

Bangkokpost, January 23, 2008

Villagers in Phangnga's Takua Thung district have demanded immediate legal action against a resort developer who cut down a lush mangrove forest in the area to create an artificial beach.
Three rai of the mangrove forest, which local people have looked after for 20 years, had already been cleared, he said.
''A few days ago, workers started dumping huge amounts of sand onto the land despite it being a protected forest area,'' said Mr Sommai.
According to villagers, the developer of the White Sand Villa project bought a seven-rai block of land adjacent to the protected mangrove forest two years ago and planned the construction of a luxury resort and pier.
''We are not against business development in our community, but it must not destroy our traditional way of life and our precious natural resources,'' he said.
Local people's loyalties had been divided by cash poured into the community by the resort developer.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Marine tourism the cornerstone of 4-year provincial development plan

Phuketgazette, January 18, 2008

The provincial government’s next four-year development plan aims to establish the island as a world-class marine tourism destination by 2012 while sustaining annual 10% increases in tourism-industry revenue over the four-year period starting in 2009.The ambitious plan, drawn up by the Governor’s Office, was presented to elected local officials and representatives of government agencies at a meeting at the Phuket Merlin Hotel yesterday afternoon.The event was chaired by Phuket Governor’s Office Chief Rapeepat Na Nakorn in place of Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, who left Phuket yesterday on a study trip to Spain and Portugal.Gov Niran plans to visit marinas, deep sea ports and medical facilities in both countries before his return on January 25.

>>Full article

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - Thailand-based developer's foray into Langkawi signals a new trend

Bangkokpost.com, January 21, 2008

As he sees it, Langkawi's emergence is not a threat to Phuket and actually complements the Thai resort island. The trend, he believes, is to view the whole Thai-Malaysian-Singaporean peninsular area as the ''Caribbean of the East''.
''Stretching from the Andaman Sea is Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi, the coastal area of Trang, then there is Langkawi, the coastal area of Penang all the way down to Singapore, then the northern islands of Indonesia,'' notes Mr Lai. ''From there it goes back up the Gulf of Thailand to Pattaya and from there a little bit east to Rayong and then Sihanoukville in Cambodia. This area is now being identified as the Caribbean of the East and I think this trend will become more and more obvious and significant.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Holiday season sees B2bn boon for tourism sector

PHUKETGAZETTE, Jan 9 2008

Businesses in Phuket’s tourism sector enjoyed a prosperous festive season, with many hotels fully booked and more than 2 billion baht generated by the industry during the period December 24 through January 2.Runjuan Tongrut, assistant director of Tourism Authority of Thailand Southern Region 4 Office, made the announcement at a press conference on January 2.A large number of Thais and foreigners came to Phuket to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, with many Europeans choosing to stay on the island beyond the New Year, K. Runjuan said.She added that an estimated five million people visited Phuket last year, which equated to an estimated 95 billion baht generated by the tourism industry in Phuket.

>>Full article

THAILAND - New hotels to heat up competition

Nationmultimedia.com, December 27, 2007

Operators nationwide can expect only a modest rise in their room rates compared to this year.
THA president Chanin Donavanik said the number of new rooms was expected to increase by 30,000 during 2006-2008, with more than 3,000 set to hit the market next year in the capital.
It would appear that many new hotels are planned for major destinations such as Bangkok, Samui, Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai.
"I noticed four hotel categories increasing their presence in the market: guest houses, serviced apartments, boutique hotels and international chains," said Chanin.
He said the new hotels would bring about tougher competition in the coming year, meaning operators would be forced to increase their room rates by less than the adjustment in earlier years.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Phuket's Villa Santi partners with the IndoChine Group

Asiatraveltips.com, 19 December 2007

Villa Santi, a newly established luxury resort and villa development in Phuket, has signed an agreement to partner with the IndoChine Group - a Singapore-based company which operates stylish bars, restaurants and nightclubs around the region and in Europe - to open IndoChine Villa Santi next month.
The IndoChine Group, a veteran in stylish and sophisticated bars, restaurants and entertainment in Asia and Europe, currently has 15 outlets in Singapore and establishments in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Hamburg in Germany, and New Delhi in India.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Hotels aid Pattaya evolution

TTGasia.com, Dec 14 - 20, 2007

BUOYED by its proximity to one-year-old Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand’s main gateway, Pattaya is seeing a burgeoning number of new hotels while existing properties are being upgraded. Pattaya is having a renaissance, the trade says.Amari Hotels and Resorts sales and marketing vice-president, Mr Duncan Webb, said the overall outlook for Pattaya as a destination now was light years away from what the beach resort was 10 years ago. He added it had become an established beach resort with international standards and the destination was continually evolving with new developments.The once small fishing village, which began its transformation to a beach resort in the 1960s, had a negative image for many years. But the city administration has been working hard to erase its sleazy image, in a bid to transform the beach resort into a family- and business-focused destination.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Bookings hit the roof for south Thailand

TTGasia.com, Dec 14 - 20, 2007

Thailand is seeing unprecedented confirmed bookings to Phuket, Khao Lak and Krabi this high season.Tour operators told TTG Asia Phuket and Khao Lak in particular, devastated by the December 2004 tsunami, were seeing an absolute turnaround and Krabi was hot on their heels.Diethlem Travel Asia chief operating officer, Mr Richard Brouwer, said: “For us, the absolute winners are Phuket and Khao Lak; hotels are full and right now, some have even stopped selling.”In terms of clientele, Mr Brouwer said Khao Lak was a gathering place for Germans and Scandinavians while Phuket enjoyed a mix of tourists from every market worldwide.Stockholm-based TUI Nordic product area manager for Italy and South-east Asia, Ms Lin Wessblad, said her company saw about 6,000 clients booked for Phuket per month this high season from October 2007 to April 2008. Krabi and nearby Koh Lanta were also doing very well in terms of volume at about 3,000 clients a month.

>>Full article

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - Cambodia and Thailand sign single tourist visa deal

Reuters, 17 december 2007

Thailand and Cambodia agreed on Monday to allow foreign tourists to enter on a single visa.
"This means a tourist can get a visa either for Thailand or Cambodia and can visit the two nations," Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said after signing the agreement with visiting Thai counterpart Nitya Pibulsonggram.
The deal was the first of a hoped for series also involving Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, he said.
"We want to see the five countries become one tourist destination," Hor Namhong said.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Forum to boost arrivals to Chiang Mai

Tourism Authority of Thailand, 17th December 2007

A recent forum in Thailand Chiang Mai was aimed at giving much-needed exposure to the vast range of high-quality products emerging in Northern Thailand and support the growing number of international airlines mounting flights to the city known as the “Rose of the North.”The Tourism Authority of Thailand together with the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association organised the Chiang Mai Tourism Forum 2007 during 6-9 December, 2007, at the Holiday Inn Chiang Mai Hotel.TAT invited over 120 buyers from East and Southeast Asian countries, to meet with 50 local sellers representing golf courses, spas, boutique hotels, shopping plazas, hospitals, and restaurants in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas in the north of Thailand.

>>Full article

THAILAND - courting Chinese tourists after 12% drop-off

Bangkokpost.com, December 17, 2007

Thailand hopes to welcome about 1.3 million Chinese tourists next year, about a 10% increase from one million visitors estimated in 2007, the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Beijing reports.
The number of Chinese arrivals visiting Thailand has been falling since last year due to Thailand's political problems and the bombs in the capital, drawing 12% fewer Chinese visitors in the first 10 months to 655,154, down from 747,067 in the same period of 2006. Total Chinese visitors would have zero growth this year.
But TAT hopes that its marketing campaigns together with explanations about the real situation in Thailand would bring back tourists from China.

>>Full article

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - Survey launched to set up sea tourist route

VietNamNet Bridge, 11/12/2007

A delegation left Rach Gia port in southern Kien Giang Province on December 10, starting a trip to survey a sea tourist route linking Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.The delegation, including 162 representatives from the three countries’ travel administrations and agencies, will call at tourist sites in Kep, KoKong and Shihanoukville of Cambodia and Thailand’s Trat and Chanthaburi provinces and Pattaya resort city, to assess local tourism potential and then propose orientations to tap the advantages.At every destination, the delegation will work with local authorities on tourism development and host exchanges between visiting and local enterprises.

>>Full article

VIETNAM - Doing business successfully in Vietnam

Bangkokpost.com, December 08, 2007

As Thai businessmen continue to look at Vietnam as a destination to invest, experts warn that doing business in the country that is just opening up its doors can be a double-edged sword.
Doing it right means you have hit a jackpot but landing on the wrong footing can send shivers through your business. As one who has been involved with Vietnam for a long time, I am writing this as a piece of advice for all entrepreneurs who are looking at Vietnam as their investment destination.
Doing business in Vietnam can be easy or difficult, depending on the nature of your product, your business skills, and your awareness of its culture, working and consumption habits and laws.

>>Full article

THAILAND - High-end tourists targeted

nationmultimedia.com, December 10, 2007

The Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association have just concluded the four-day Chiang Mai Tourism Forum 2007, held in a bid to attract more high-end international visitors.The TAT invited more than 120 buyers from East and Southeast Asia to meet 50 local sellers representing golf courses, spas, boutique hotels, shopping plazas, hospitals and restaurants in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Investors line up for Phuket projects

Traveldailyasia.com, 12/4/2007

Foreign investors have revealed plans to spend about Bt6 billion in hotels in Phuket and other major tourist destinations in Thailand over the next three years.
The Nation reported that at least four international investment companies from Singapore and Malaysia and some Thai operators had confirmed big investment plans in Phuket last week.
According to the report, the main focus of their interest is Phuket but others such as Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Ayutthaya and Koh Samui are also in their radar screen.
Fong Wiai Leong, a partner in Kuala Lumpur-based investment consultancy Devonshire Development Capital, was quoted saying that said the group was planning to invest in "lifestyle hotels" in Phuket, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai with a total budget of more than US$100 million.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Dream destination taking shape in Bang Saray

Bangkokpost.com, 3 December 2007

Thailand's money-spinning tourism industry could get a major boost when the first phase of The Beaches, a major destination resort and spa development at Bang Saray Bay, is completed in three and half years.
This project is positioned to have something for everyone _ a water-themed park, man-made private beaches, a kilometre-long boardwalk lined with shops and restaurants, and even villas over the water, taking their inspiration from the Maldives. All this grandeur will be very 21st century, with the whole site being served with super high-speed Internet and a cashless payment system.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Medical Tourism Creates Thai Doctor Shortage

eTN, Dec 3 2007

Millions of people come to Bangkok for medical care. They get everything from face-lifts to heart-bypass operations. These medical tourists have helped boost the Thai economy, but there's a downside. Doctors in Thailand have become so busy with foreigners that Thai patients are having trouble getting care.
When medical tourists come to Bangkok, they usually go to places like Bumrungrad Hospital. It's a private facility, downtown, near the fancy hotels. It has a sushi bar, interpreters who speak Arabic and Mandarin, and VIP suites with marble bathrooms.
Most Thais can't afford it. They're more likely go across town to Siriraj Hospital, along the banks of the Chao Phraya River.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Koh Phangnan sees condos on horizon

Property Report Thailand - November 07 2007

Koh Samui’s property market has boomed in recent years with developers and ex-pats rushin for slice of the tropical pie. So rapid is the expansion that attention has already been placed on the environmental impact caused by such a flurry of construction. The desire for real island living has propmpted development opportunities further a field on neighbouring Koh Phangnan, with a number of projects already setting the standard.
Koh Phangan gained popularity with young partygoers and the alternative lifestyle fraternity, thanks mainly to its monthly full moon celebrations. However, much of the original island charm survives and this is behind what may become a boutique development boom.

>>Full article

THAILAND - Koh Yao expands its horizons

Asia Property Report - November 26 2007

Koh Yao may be experiencing a growth spurt. The remote, idyllic setting has been a well-kept secret hideaway for a few lucky travellers in the past but those days seem to be gone. With the number of developments on the island kept below the amount you could count on one hand, the island has been able to captivate visitors with it astonishing beauty and local charm. Now, word is getting out and with the addition of some well-known names in the resort industry the question is, can this island become a “branded” winner while retaining its beauty and without outgrowing the magic that sets it apart?

>>Full article

THAILAND - Don Muang airport for international flights

Traveldailyasia.com, 11/20/2007

The Airports of Thailand (AoT) was told to submit plans on the Suvarnabhumi airport expansion and the use of Don Muang to the government before the December 23 Thailand election.
''We are rushing to seek cabinet approval for the overall framework, but not going into budgets or any investments,'' Thailand's Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um was quoted saying. With the number of people using Suvarnabhumi airport approaching the annual capacity of 45 million passengers, the new airport needed an additional terminal as well as other buildings, he was quoted saying. As part of the plan, the AoT must conduct a study and initiate plans to shift some international airlines back to the old airport.

>>Full article