Petty Pata antics over an Emeritus
BANGKOK, 9 July – Criticising the US immigration policies is nothing new, but when a former Pacific Asia Travel Association CEO and president, Lakshman Ratnapala, attempted it in his Travel Talk email despatch, recently, it raised eyebrows for entirely different reasons.
Veterans of PATA immediately were on the attack, not on behalf of Uncle Sam, but to take the former PATA CEO to task for awarding himself a lofty and honourable title.
Togetherness missing in travel industry
If there was ever a trio called Tom, Dick and Harry, you could bet confidently that they would each have a unique solution for every ill that humanity could encounter and that routinely the other two characters would reject any solution, but their own.
It’s happening right now as a throng of experts tell Thailand how to recovery from a political disaster.
TAT stands in the firing line
UK tour operator TUI’s decision to urgently evacuate its guests from Thailand, late last week, shocked travel agency executives. One said it was a worst-case scenario, a nightmare that we all hoped would never happen.
Yet it has been heading that way for weeks, a slow but steady decline on a path of confusion and chaos that can only lead to financial ruin for players in the tourism industry.
Watch the small print
Publishers of the Exhibitors Directory for Fairs and Exhibitions in Mexico are asking Thai hotels and travel companies to assist them to update facts for their latest edition of the Expo-Guide.
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
ASEAN’s new tourism website http://www.southeastasia.org goes from soft mode to a full content launch at ITB Berlin this week.
Where are the TIGA’s teeth?
Pacific Asia Travel Association plugged into its new US$25,000 website, www.pata.org, yesterday, and it was bold enough to ask for feedback from the media.
Mekong Odyssey 09: Dream trip review
December 4, 2009 by Don Ross
Filed under Blogs, Don Ross, Mekong Odyssey 09
TTR Weekly’s Mekong Odyssey 09, an 18-day cycle tour from Chiang Rai to Ubon Ratchathani following as closely as possible the Mekong River, reached its target of 1,600 km, or 1,000 miles and raised Bt80.000 for charity.
Day 18: End of the road in Si Sa Ket
November 30, 2009 by Don Ross
Filed under Blogs, Don Ross, Mekong Odyssey 09
This is the last day of our Mekong Odyssey when we should pass the 1,600 km mark at Si Sa Ket, a busy market and university town on highway 226 on the route to Nakhon Ratchashima.
Mekong Odyssey 09: Tale of the Tape
November 30, 2009 by Don Ross
Filed under Blogs, Don Ross, Mekong Odyssey 09
The 18-day tour following the Mekong River as closely as possible through Thailand from Chiang Rai to Ubon Ratchathani and Si Sa Ket represented 1,600 km or 1,000 miles of trouble-free travel.
No punctures, no accidents and only minor technical snags with our Cannondale touring bikes.
Day 17: Bike to big town Ubon
November 27, 2009 by Don Ross
Filed under Blogs, Don Ross, Mekong Odyssey 09
Like most of the small towns we stayed in breakfast poses a problem in Khong Chiam. Resorts come with hot and cold water, even the internet, but the B&B concept, so popular in Europe, has not quite caught on.