- HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:
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THAI Introduces New Royal Orchid Holidays Packages
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Meritus Chiang Mai Riverside Spa Resort opening soon
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More Singaporean visitors come to Chiang Mai
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Northern provinces welcome more Spanish tourists
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THAI Introduces New Royal Orchid Holidays Packages
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited has
introduced new Royal Orchid Holidays (ROH) packages for 2005-2006, for all
customers to experience a variety of traveling styles which are fun,
adventurous, peaceful and relaxing.
Vasing Kittikul, THAI’s Executive Vice President for
Commercial Department said that the new packages aim to promote tourism in
Thailand and introduce more variety in traveling preference for customers.
Interesting packages include:
Spa package: gives you more selections of spas with
touches of Thai.
Thai Boxing Training Course: teaches all interested
people about how to perform Thai boxing with its uniqueness and beauty
In addition, THAI’s ROH would also like to introduce
many new contemporary-styled hotels such as Metropolitan Hotel located on
Sathorn Road, Bangkok; Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai; Novotel,
Chiang Mai; Islandia Tropical, Phuket; Poo Lay Beach, Krabi; A-Prime Resort,
Krabi; Aiyapura Resort and Spa; and Amari Emerald Cove Resort, Chang Island,
Trat. This also includes new destinations such as the Koh Chang package for
travelers who love the natural beauty of underwater scenery at Thailand Bay.
As for travelers who love the beauty and nature of the
North, ROH also offers:
Panda Visit package, Pang Chang, Chiang Mai and botanical
garden.
Adventurous travel package.
Off-road package: travelers can experience the beauty of
Chiang Mai, Hmong Village and Doi Suthep in four-wheel drive.
Rock climbing: travelers take an exploratory tour,
traveling on a kayak, see an elephant show, swimming and fishing.
Cooking course in the jungle: travelers take a cooking
course in a jungle where they can experience survival skills in a real life
situation such as cooking with bamboo, setting fire or searching for raw and
fresh materials for their cooking.
Meditation retreat at Lumperng Temple, Chiang Mai:
suitable for Thai people who live abroad and visit their home country where
they can perform a peaceful activity in meditation.
In addition, THAI’s ROH programs offer a selection of
packages for outbound destinations, including newly launched New York,
U.S.A. and forthcoming Moscow in Russia that will be available at the end of
2005.
For more information and to make reservations, interested
passengers may call THAI travel agents.
Meritus Chiang Mai Riverside Spa Resort opening soon
Exotic Lanna splendor promised
Sandy Clark
Meritus Hotels and Resorts, a Singapore-based hotel
management company with luxury resorts, will soon have a base in Chiang Mai.
The new property will soon be seen at its riverside location, comprising 77
rooms, spa, fitness center, art museum, gallery and a conference room.
Inspecting
the site were (from left) Assistant Managing Director Vorapong Muchaothai,
Kritsana Sribnjarat, Standard Tours; Chiang Mai mayor Boonlert Buranupakorn,
TAT Director Norther Office region 1 Junnapong Saranak and president of
Chiang Mai Guide Association Somrit (Paul) Haikum.
Assistant Managing Director Vorapong Muchaothai launched
the marketing drive on behalf of the owner, Chiang Mai mayor Boonlert
Buranupakorn.
The smallest room will be 60 sq. m and a medium size room
110 sq. m with modern Lanna designs under the artistic influence of Thai
Yai, Thai Lue and contemporary western styles.
One of
the stylish rooms reflecting Lanna heritage and culture.
Mayor Boonlert stated in his welcoming address, that the
opening was delayed for a couple of months due to the recent floods in
Chiang Mai and a soft opening is now planned for May 2006 with the grand
opening date set sometimes in August next year.
Meritus will bring Chiang Mai one step further to becoming the center of
the Greater Mekong Sub region (GMS) development plan under the current Thai
government proposals to promote Chiang Mai as a ‘City of life and
prosperity’.
More Singaporean visitors come to Chiang Mai
eTTR
Chiang Mai is beginning to attract more Singaporean
visitors due to new flights directly connecting the two cities. In the first
five months this year, direct visitor arrivals from Singapore to Chiang Mai
International Airport increased 71 percent over the same period of 2004.
Tiger Airways, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore
Airlines, inaugurated its first Singapore-Chiang Mai service 18 February
2005, adding to the three weekly direct flights being operated by Silk Air,
also a Singapore Airlines subsidiary.
In August, the Tourism Authority of Thailand organized a
major road show in Singapore to attract Singaporeans as well as the large
number of expatriates residing there.
TAT is promoting Chiang Mai as a cultural destination,
health and wellness city, city of handicrafts, and gateway to the Greater
Mekong Sub region countries.
“The direct flights are increasing travel to Chiang
Mai. They will also help open up other destinations in north Thailand, such
as the provinces of Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son and Lampang, as well as our
neighboring countries of Myanmar and Lao,” said TAT governor, Juthamas
Siriwan.
She said the new flights fit in very well with TAT’s
cluster development policy, which involves promoting tourism to areas around
the popular tourist destinations in order to prevent congestion there, while
distributing visitors to new areas they may not have previously seen.
Over the past few years, the Thai government has poured
billions of baht into investment to upgrade Chiang Mai’s infrastructure
and tourism products to accelerate its transformation into a regional
transportation hub for the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
The TAT Singapore office is working with local travel
agents as well as with THAI Airways International and the Singaporean
carriers to promote special packages to Chiang Mai.
Silk Air has informed TAT that its sales of special
packages covering Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son have grown by 25
percent above the projected figure.
Chiang Mai is also getting good press in Singapore,
becoming known as the hometown of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
New destinations like the Night Safari and the increasing number of deluxe
hotels opening there are also attracting visitors.
Ms Juthamas said the destination is also being actively marketed to
Singaporean honeymooners, women travelers and families. There are many spas
and wellness centers, botanical gardens and hill tribe villages in Chiang
Mai.
Northern provinces welcome more Spanish tourists
eTTR
Photo: Chiangmai Mail
Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son provinces
welcomed 30 percent more Spanish visitors in the low season compared with
the same period last year.
 Chiang
Mai Guide Association president, Somrit Haikum.
The northern provinces promote mainly nature and hill
tribes as the selling points to attract Spanish visitors. Chiang Mai Guide
Association president, Somrit Haikum said that all Spanish tourists visit
the Golden Triangle and hill tribes, especially the long neck people.
“I realize the northern provinces can sell and market
themselves. Previously we were always sold together with Phuket until the
tsunami disaster. Now we have to sell alone and everything is going well. We
found out that northern destinations need not be sold in combination with
beaches and tourists are not decreasing to our region,” he said.
As a leading guide, Somrit explained that the guide
association should increase the number of guides for Spanish and Korean
tourists. “If we do not produce the guides, both markets will be
overloaded and we will lose customers. Currently, many tour guides are
interested in learning Spanish. Also I think, persons who want to be tour
guides should speak at least two languages to survive in their
occupation,” he said.
Chiang Mai Guide Association holds its committee meetings 29th and 30th
of every month. This month’s topic is on the development of guide
potential. Tel: 0 5381 8360.
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