Different perspective on Chiang Rai
CHIANG RAI, 26 January 2012: When you ask Le Meridien Resort’s general manager Justin Malcolm to profile his hotel, he invariably starts by saying let’s first talk about Chiang Rai.
Le Meridien Chiang Rai Resort is the far north town’s only five-star resort and the affable general manager is showing me the landscaped gardens that merge with an infinity pool. From the vantage point of my bar stool the pool melts into river, a blurry placid line of water and beyond in the distance, hazy forested mountains complete the tranquil tapestry.
“Marketing the resort is inherently linked to Chiang Rai,” he explains. “First we introduce a fascinating new destination to customers who are looking for art and culture. Read more
Soaking up the stress
BANGKOK, 17 October – It is all about snapshots, or quick takes in the world of TV media. The camera lens is about the size of those silly postcards we sent to relatives that always ended with the fib; “wish you were here”.
Of course, we didn’t and I suspect that TV news editors, if they had their way, would have us all lolling aimlessly on sofas back home glued to the box twenty-four seven rather than travelling and posting our snapshots on Facebook.
They do warn us every 15 minutes or so; “don’t go away we will be straight back with….”
But occasionally we see the TV media up close on location. They are now loitering around Klong (canal) Rangsit bridge obviously waiting for the sand bag barrier to burst.
Someone hit the panic button
BANGKOK, 13 October 2011 – Thailand’s Foreign Ministry has instructed embassies, worldwide, to concentrate on delivering accurate updates on the flood situation after 21 nations posted travel advisories earlier in the week.
They have a battle on their hands. TV channels worldwide present an image of a nation under water. Maps of Thailand are painted red suggesting the entire country is a disaster area. Predictably it triggers the panic button and scribes who pen travel advisories scribble away like there is no tomorrow.
The bulk of advisories are relatively mild with just three (Japan, Spain and the US) suggesting travellers postpone trips. Mild or not they are pressing a panic button that raises doubts about Thailand’s ability to host travellers safely.
Safety should never be in doubt as all of Thailand’s major tourist destinations are flood- free with the exception of Lopburi and Ayutthaya that attract mainly day-trippers from Bangkok. Read more
Curtain falls on PATA essentials
BANGKOK, 13 September 2011 – Pacific Asia travel Association will take its annual PATA Travel Mart back to Manila, Philippines in September 2012, after an absence of 33 years.
The association’s chairman, Hiran Coorey confirmed the 2012 event would be held, 25 to 28 September, at the SMX Convention Centre, the largest private venue in the Philippines and one of the flagship establishments of the country’s MICE industry.
It will be the first PATA Travel Mart in the association’s history to be outsourced to a third party, a company that is currently being established by the association’s deputy CEO office of marketing services, Sheila Leong. Read more
Passion turns hobby into business
BANGKOK, 15 August 2011 – If there is anything whacky about cycling I can always rely on friends to forward details, although most of dispatches focus on the damage cycling does to specific parts of the anatomy, or they have the odd question on why cyclists shave their legs, or walk like penguins when kitted up for a ride.
One expatriate asked me why low-slung road bikes are called “Sua Morb” in Thai. It’s a reference to the handlebars that position the rider like a crouching tiger. Most of us look more a like a luckless rabbit about to be overhauled by a 10-wheel truck.
Occasionally, there is an interesting snippet on cycle tours and this particular one highlights salient points about niche travel markets. Read more
PATA stacked like a pack of cards
BANGKOK, 4 August – At least three Pacific Asia Travel Association executives have been asked to either accept an outsource proposition, or have been made redundant in moves that surprised both PATA members and industry observers.
Deputy CEO and head of the office of strategic management, John Koldowski, was negotiating an exit settlement with interim CEO Bill Calderwood,Wednesday, that will lead to the shut down of the strategic management office in late September.
Earlier in the week, the association announced it was outsourcing most of its research projects to Mr Koldowski, who has worked for PATA for 15 years. Read more
Magical moments in marketing
BANGKOK, 13 July 2011- If tag lines and quirky slogans win hearts then Tourism Authority of Thailand’s latest market plan, released 1 July, will be overwhelmed with fans.
TAT governor, Suraphon Svetasreni, made a point of telling a packed audience of mainly hoteliers that the Amazing Thailand campaign continues for at least another year.
At brainstorming sessions, earlier in the year, “expatriate” travel executives argued the campaign theme had been worked to death and could be misinterpreted as a negative exclamation. Read more
Journalism is a kid’s game
BANGKOK 28 June 2011 – It must be time to retire when a hotel issues a press release announcing a competition to recruit a cub reporter, seven to 15 years, to promote awareness for the annual elephant polo tournament in Hua Hin this September.
This is the death knell for every travel hack in town who has farewelled their teenage years and was hoping for a comfy room at Anantara to spin a tale on elephant polo.
Pitching all the goodies that seasoned travel writers enjoy, Anantara Hotels and Resort says the successful young reporter will “spend seven glorious days and nights at the royal seaside resort. But it is not all fun and games.”
The poor kid, sentenced to a career in journalism, “will have some hard hitting stories to cover for the rest of the world including interviews with the elephant vets, the players and of course the winners”, or so the public relations office would have us believe. Read more
Another trade show ticks over
BANGKOK, 14 June 2011 – Observing the business flow at the Thailand Travel Mart, last week, from one of the comfortable buyer-lounge chairs was an easy enough task. Almost too easy.
Despite having 335 registered buyers, TTM was quiet. Perhaps it was the wide aisles and a considerable vacant patch of real estate at the back of the hall where another 100 booths could have been assembled with ample space to spare.
There were 368 seller organisations according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s official count, but was the turnout representative of the best Thailand and its Mekong Region neighbours have to offer? Read more
TTM buyer brash about selling
BANGKOK, 10 June 2011 – A siren over the booth should have gone off when a Thailand Travel Mart buyer started selling his wares to TTM exhibitors known as sellers in popular travel mart parlance.
It didn’t because most hoteliers have learned to ignore inappropriate behaviour. It’s one of the downsides of travel marts. It begs the question, just who is a buyer and a seller these days?
But there was no doubt in my mind that the guy sitting right across from me at one of the mart’s coffee corner tables was a buyer. He had a badge to prove it and he sat down sighing like a senior citizen claiming he was bushed; walked off his poor feet such was the pressure of doing the buyer’s rounds at the TTM. Read more
