Krabi rated Thailand’s best family destination
Anyone who is looking for the perfect family destination in Thailand should head straight for the tropical paradise of Krabi. Located in the south of Thailand near the popular tourist islands of Phuket and Phi Phi, Krabi offers a more natural, relaxing atmosphere that all the family can enjoy together.
At least that’s what Thai Airways International (THAI) executive Teerapol Chotichanapibal believes. In a recent interview with the Bangkok Post the airline veteran said that: "Whenever I can squeeze in the time for a family outing I head to a beach destination in Thailand. Krabi definitely comes out tops for its natural beauty. As I'm not the type who's content to sit still, you'd probably find me out on a boat fishing or snorkelling ... basically, soaking in the tranquillity to help myself unwind."
Teerapol has been working with THAI for just under 30 years and has certainly spent plenty of time exploring Thailand. With Teerapol’s local knowledge, THAI have been working hard to make special packages and recommendations for passengers. Although there are plenty of fantastic destinations to choose from, he still rates Krabi very highly.
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:56:49 +0200
Thailand set to welcome Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines have just announced their plans to increase its service from Istanbul to Bangkok. This is great news for anyone who plans to use the airline to explore South East Asia as they will be offering connecting flights from Bangkok to a number of destinations including Ho Chi Minh City and Manila.
Starting in December of this year, Turkish Airlines will double the number of non-stop flights on the Bangkok-Istanbul route to 14 per week. According to Dr Temel Kotil, president and CEO of Turkish Airlines, the change is being made in response to overwhelming high-season demand from air passengers.
As Dr Kotil said in a recent interview with the Bangkok Post: "We really want to strike the deal with THAI because it benefits both of us, enabling us capture the larger pie [of business].”
At present, Turkish Airlines flies to 118 international destinations, including 17 in Asia as well as 36 cities in Turkey. They will shortly receive 19 new aircraft, including seven Airbus A330s and seven Boeing B777s, which will be used to facilitate the extra flights.
Turkish Airlines have been working hard to offer passengers a selection of outstanding deals and offers, set to make travelling to Bangkok and beyond smooth and cost effective.
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:55:45 +0200
Travel to northern Thailand still proving popular
Trouble may be on the horizon for leading airline Thai Airways Internationals. It seems that their route from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son has such a positive effect on local business that tour companies and other local companies are planning court action if the company decides to scrap the route.
Thai Airways International (THAI) announced a few months ago that they were considering discontinuing the route as part of a scheme to cut loss-making secondary domestic routes. However, according to a report by the Bangkok Post, they plan to allow budget carrier Nok Airlines to take over the service.
In a recent press statement, the chairman of the Mae Hong Son chamber of commerce, Supot Klinpranit, announced that the tourism industry were distressed by THAI’s comments and that a number of tour operators were already starting to exclude Mae Hong Son from their programs.
However, it seems that there is a demand for the route as last year around 92,000 tourists travelled by plane to the province, generating a total of two billion baht per year in tourism.
With so much at stake, it seems that the service may continue a little longer.
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:43:02 +0200
Monkey viewpoint gets a facelift
Anyone who has visited Phuket recently may have taken a trip to the ‘monkey viewpoint’ area, which can be found on Koh Sireh. This is a great place to watch the colony of crab-eating macaques that live in the area.
The monkey viewpoint has proven so popular in recent years that a project has been proposed to entirely revamp the area. A large central government budget has been requested from the Rassada Municipality to set up three tourism projects in the area, which would include a system of boardwalks leading through the mangrove forest, restoration of the Mali Kaew Dam and Wat Phranon and the construction of facilities such as a health park, restaurants and a car park.
Although the project would take up to 80 million baht to complete, Rassada Mayor Surathin Lianudom seems confident that the work could be finished early next year. In a recent interview with the Phuket Gazette he stated: “In the past, Koh Sireh has not been attractive for tourists because it is dirty and unorganized, but our new project will ensure the island is viewed as a major selling point for the Phuket tourist market.”
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:41:59 +0200
Samui authorities crack down on drugs
Residents and holiday makers on the island of Samui need to think twice before taking illegal drugs. The island’s District Chief Sakchai Jorphalit is heading an operation to stamp out the use and dealing of narcotic drugs.
Known as Post Box 188, the new campaign is the brainchild of newly launched Operation Center to Fight against Drug. They also intend to launch other programs and activities to encourage residents to help stamp out the island’s drug problem.
As Sakchai said in a recent interview with the Samui Express “Our Operation Center to Fight against Drug has just established the Post Box 188 so that residents and tourists on Koh Samui can send us letters, news, reports, suggestions, proposals related to drug usage on Koh Samui. It is another channel for us to receive information directly from people about the sources of narcotic drugs. We need quality tourist, not drug-using ones. Let’s make Samui drug-free. Tourists should come here to appreciate Samui’s natural beauty, and not to take drugs.”
This is great news for holiday makers with children as the island’s new safer image will make it easy to relax and unwind.
Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:58:07 +0200
New vaccine set to save the day
Thailand’s residents and tourists will soon be able to breathe easily. It has just been announced that a vaccine designed to protect against the type-A (H1N1) virus will soon be fit for human trials. Next month, the Government Pharmaceuti-cal Organisation will start carrying out human trials the live-attenuated vaccine produced by laboratories in the Netherlands and Russia.
It shouldn’t be long before the vaccine is available in Thailand and will be available for people concerned about contracting the type-A (H1N1) virus. If things go according to plan, the vaccine will be available at major hospitals in all of Thailand’s tourism hotspots, including Bangkok and Pattaya.
In a press statement reported by The Nation GPO's board chairperson Dr Wichai Chotewiwat confirmed that the virus-seed vaccine has already proven to be safe on animals: "The e-mails say that the virus-seed vaccine proved to be safe on animals and that there were no toxins or mutation," he said, adding that: "More samples need to be tested before we can confirm the virus is resistant.”
Dr Wichai revealed that this week the GPO would be receiving the first few doses of FluMist, which is a nasal spray live-attenuated vaccine.
Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:56:40 +0200
Thai Airways improving passenger experience
Travellers flying to Bangkok with leading airline Thailand International (THAI) will be pleased to discover that standards have significantly improved. The airline has introduced a new fleet of Airbus A330-300 jets, which offer economy passengers 32 inches of leg space and individual touch-screens.
THAI has pulled out all the stops to update their in-flight passenger equipment, which was previously below the high standards of competing airlines.
As a senior THAI executive said in a recent interview with the Bangkok Post "With these new offerings, we no longer feel embarrassed about our in-flight products. And we can put to rest the oft-mentioned criticism about the lack of personal screens on many economy-class flights."
The changes have put THAI on a par with other leading Asian carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, making them a great option for those travelling between major destinations in Thailand and the rest of Asia.
THAI received its third A330-300 from the Airbus assembly plant in southern France last Thursday and anticipate the arrival of further planes in August, October, December and January of next year. There are now a total of 25 in-service Airbus A330/340 serial jets, taking passengers smoothly and comfortably to a wide range of destinations.
Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:23:22 +0200
Strong Baht weakens Thai tourism
For the first time in many years, the baht is becoming stronger, already having strengthened by 6% since March. In many ways the strengthening of the Baht will have a positive impact on Thailand. Essential materials will become significantly cheaper as will medicine, meaning that people can afford health care more easily and their general standard of living will improve.
However, this means that the exchange rate for foreign currency has plummeted, with US$ now down to now to 34.02. Tourists travelling to Thailand in search of a cheap holiday are now finding that they get significantly less for their money, and foreign manufacturers are starting to look elsewhere.
Many of Thailand’s chief tourist destinations are being heavily affected, including the picturesque island of Krabi.
However, as Central Bank governor Tarisa Watanagase said in an interview with the Bangkok Post "The baht has not appreciated unduly. It moved from 35 to a dollar at the beginning of the year to 33 and to 34 to the dollar now. The baht has not caused Thai exporters to lose competitiveness.”
The good news for tourists is that there are some great deals available on hotels and flights, meaning that Thailand is still a great destination for budget tourism.
Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:24:45 +0200
Pattaya welcomes scheduled flights
Those who like to visit the seaside city of Pattaya will now find getting there even easier. Last week Pattaya’s U-Tapao airport received the first passengers, who flew in from Korea to receive a warm welcome.
According to a report in the Pattaya Daily News a large party was waiting at the airport to greet the passengers of flight KE 9645 from Korea. Among those present were Pattaya’s deputy mayor, Mr. Weerawat Kakai who was waiting along with a team of officials to greet the arrivals personally. There was even a special Thai classical dance show arranged for passengers by Nongnooch Tropical Garden owner Mr. Kumpol Tunsatja.
Mr. Niti Kongkrut from the Pattaya office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said in a press statement that the new airport should give the Pattaya’s tourist industry the boost it needs to allow it to regain its position as one of Thailand’s most prominent locations.
Pattaya’s modern airport is located conveniently close to the airport. Many of the city’s leading hotels offer free airport transfers, meaning that within minutes visitors can get on with the serious business of soaking up the sun on the beach and exploring some of the area’s exciting tourist attractions.
Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:53:55 +0200
Breaking through the language barrier
One of the toughest things about travelling to Thailand is the language barrier. Even the most confident linguist can get their tongue caught up in knots as they try to work out the tones and nuances of the Thai language.
However, all that may soon be a thing of the past as the Bangkok based National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) has developed an innovative speech-to-speech translation system.
The system is simple; words are spoken into a microphone and are accurately translated into languages such as Thai, Japanese or Korean by a network-based dialogue-to-dialogue translation system.
Chai Wutiwiwatchai is Nectec’s director of Human Language Technology Laboratory. In a recent interview with the Bangkok Post he revealed the wonders of the new machine:
"We can create a database for each specific domain, although at the moment it is tourist industry which is the playground of Thailand. We are developing the Thai-Malay language database and so far there are some 500 pairs of sentences.”
Although still at the development stage, it shouldn’t be long before the dialogue-to-dialogue translation system is widely used throughout Thailand’s tourism industry, allowing hotel staff and tour operators to communicate with travelers easily.
Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:53:01 +0200
