Barrett farewells Diethelm

BANGKOK, 3 February 2012: Events specialist, David Barrett, said farewell to Diethelm Travel Group end of January after a 12-year stint heading the company’s events division at its Bangkok head office.

His departure is part of a restructuring of Thailand’s oldest privately-owned travel company that began in 2010 and has resulted in what the CEO, John Watson, describes as “right sizing,” company-wide.

In the events division it began with some redundancies leading up to Mr Barrett’s negotiated departure. Some of the group’s satellite offices in Thailand were closed or outsourced. Read more

Are we ready for the next crisis?

BANGKOK, 1 February 2012 – A prominent Thai economics professor has alerted the Thai tourism industry to the impact of an Israeli attack on Iran, including high oil prices and the dangers of a wider conflict, Travel Impact Newswire reported Tuesday.

Addressing the joint annual meeting of the Thai Hotels Association and Association of Thai Travel Agents on 30 January, Assoc.Prof. Somchai Pakapaswiwat PhD., who also advises the Thai government via the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), analysed how an Iran attack would pan out, including the possibility of expanding into a wider war involving the United States, China and Saudi Arabia.

It is the first time that the Thai tourism industry has been directly told to be prepared for the business impact of a potentially catastrophic geopolitical crisis. It also answered in advance the question posed by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in the marketing pitch for an upcoming series of seminars: “Are you ready for the next crisis?”

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Sofitel hires team for new hotel

BANGKOK, 1 February 2012: Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit announced, earlier this week, the appointment of its pre-opening team.

The new property is scheduled to open in the second quarter of this year with 345 rooms.

The three appointments are: Christophe Caron as general manager; Anthony Slewka director of sales and marketing and Virinya Maytheepattanachat director of marketing communications. Read more

Thai hotels off the pace

BANGKOK, 31 January 2012: Despite the flood crisis, Thai Hotels Association member hotels closed 2011 with a slightly higher occupancy nationwide, THA president, Prakit Chinamornpong, reported on Monday.

He made his 2011 business review at the association’s first meeting of the year, noting the performance was still off the pace when compared to  forecasts made half way through the year.

Nationwide hotel occupancy for 2011, based on data collected from 339 THA member properties, stood at 59.21%, up 12.45% from 52.65% in 2010. But it was still viewed as a disappointment, Mr Prakit told members yesterday, claiming the industry had hoped to reach 62% to 65%. Read more

Agents close 2011 ahead

BANGKOK, 24 January 2012: Association of Thai Travel Agents’ member companies handled 2,803,350 international tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport in 2011 representing an improvement of 38.17% from 2,028,894 visits in 2010.

ATTA released its 2011 performance details based on meet-and-greet services at Suvarnabhumi Airport last week.

As usual, comparisons with 2010 are tricky. It was not a good year for travel agents due to political upheavals and violent street battles between military and red shirt protesters. The negative trend had its origins in political wrangling and airport closures in 2008. Read more

India at your fingertips

BANGKOK, 23 January 2012: Thai Hotels Association invites member to join a tabletop sales event, Hotels Meet Local Agents India Market, 9 March at Holiday Inn Silom Bangkok. THA will close registration for the event 31 January.

Hotels Meet Local Agents India Market should welcome 40 local agents,who handle inbound Indian tourism to network with Thai hoteliers.

There will be four main sessions: A seminar on directions and marketing plans for India by Tourism Authority of Thailand; a summary on tourism data for the India market by the Association of Thai Travel Agents; tabletop session; sellers meet buyers at a cocktail party. Read more

Sea Pearl names GM

PHUKET, 20 January 2012: The Sea Pearl Villas Resort, a stand-alone property in Phuket, named Wouter Hazenbroek as its new general manager last Tuesday.

Mr Hazenbroek has over 20 years experience in management and sales. Prior to joining the resort, Mr Hazenbroek was the general manager of the Amari Boulevard Bangkok.

He has also worked for InterContinental Hotels Group, Golden Tulip International and Bilerberg Hotels & Restaurant.

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Absolute names sales director

BANGKOK, 19 January 2012: Absolute Hotel Services named Anan Phongsuriyahchote as its Thailand its director of sales – leisure.

Mr Anan started work last week overseeing sales strategies for leisure markets and travel agency markets in Thailand for properties under the Eastin Hotels & Residences as well as U Hotels and Resort brands.

He has 20 years of experience working for Crowne Plaza Hotel Bangkok, Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom, Meritus Suites State Tower, Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket and Furama Hotels International. Read more

TAT lists training programme

BANGKOK, 19 January 2012: Tourism Authority of Thailand’s training network division announced Wednesday a new seminar curriculum for 2012 that will focus on sustainability and improving online marketing for industry players.

Training network division director, Panjit Santhatkollakar, said there are 17 seminars in six categories that will focus on knowledge-based tourism. They are in addition to brainstorming sessions that seek to tap feedback from industry leaders for next year’s marketing plan.

“We have six major seminar topics including three new themes to support our objective of achieving sustainability,” said Ms Panjit. Read more

Thai hotels suffer declines

BANGKOK, 17 January 2012: Chiang Mai  made big improvements in hotel performances during December, while other major tourist destinations such as Bangkok and Pattaya reported declines.

Thai Hotels Association president, Prakit Chinamornpong, told TTR Weekly Chiang Mai occupancy rates reached 100% during December bettering even the country’s star performer, Phuket, that reached occupancies of 85% to 90% in December.

He credit success to the domestic market, mainly Bangkok residents who were visiting Chiang Mai for the annual flower expo.

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