Thai outbound travel declines

BANGKOK, 31 March 2011 – Kasikorn Research Centre estimates that travel to Japan from Thailand will decrease by 150,000 to 200,000 trips, this year, after the 11 March earthquake and nuclear catastrophe.

KRC research indicated earlier in the year that outbound trips to Japan could reach 300,000 with an estimated worth of Bt12 billion in tourist receipts during 2011.

Japan received 260,000 Thais visitors in 2010, up 16.5% from 223,217 visits in 2009, with a spending of Bt10.2 billion.

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Macau loses Thai visits

BANGKOK, 4 January 2011 – Fewer Thais visited Macau’s glitz casinos last year, according to statistics released by the Macau Government Tourist Office, which recorded a visitor decline of 13% from the Thai market.

Officials blamed the decline on competition from other destinations such as Korea and Hong Kong, particularly in the highly competitive events or MICE sectors. However, Singapore is the more likely culprit. It established two Las Vegas style casinos in 2009 and early 2010 linked to family-style theme parks that were a big hit with Thais.

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TTAA names new committees

BANGKOK 16 June, 2010 – Thai Travel Agents Association has appointed new board committees and discounted its membership fee by Bt1,000.

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JTB expands offices in Thailand

JTB Travel expands two new offices in Thailand, at the Emporium and Pan Pacific Hotel, to handle its outbound travel in the Thai upper market.

The new JTB Travel Saloon@The Emporium opened, earlier this month, on the 4th Floor at the Emporium Shopping Complex. Working hours are from 1100 to 2000.

Another branch is scheduled to open 1 April on the 1st Floor at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Silom. Read more

India relaxes two-month gap rule

India gave travellers a New Year present by rescinding an earlier ruling that required visitors to stay out of the country for a minimum of two months between trips.

Holders of a short-term tourist visa, valid for multiple entries within a six-month period, are now exempt from the two-month gap requirement. The ruling still applies for those who hold long-term tourist visas that are valid for multiple visits over one year or more.

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Thai company sells World Cup packs

World Planet International will launch 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa packages in Thailand starting from Bt100,000 to Bt250,000 for a six-day to seven-day trip; travelling period from 11 June to 11 July 2010.

FIFA has appointed two authorised travel agencies in East and Southeast Asia, one in Japan while the other one is World Planet International, which won the bidding to sell 1,200 tickets in Thailand. There are 120 tickets available for the cup final.

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Berlin on a tourism roll

Berlin saw a positive growth in tourism during the first nine months of the year with a 4% increase in visitor arrivals and a 5.2% increase in overnight stays.

The German capital drew a record of 6,110,551 visitors (+4%) and 14,123,277 room nights (+5.2%) during the first three quarters. There were 146,886 visitors from Asia mostly Japanese with 32,192 arrivals, a decrease of 15.4% but Chinese market including Hong Kong are strongly increasing with 25,206 arrivals, up 21.1%, followed by Israel with 36,455 arrivals, up 14%. Other Asian markets mostly saw negative figures.

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Berlin beckons Christmas travellers

Christmas and New Year celebrations are always special in Germany’s capital, Berlin, but more so this year as the city celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the notorious wall that separated families for decades after World War II.

Berlin has an incredible 60 Christmas markets offering variety of event programmes during the festive week that begins with Christmas and ends with New Year.

Every year the city is decorated with an array of festive lights on all the main streets and large boulevards, frequented by visitors. The lights adorn shopping malls, but also historical buildings and museums.

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Berlin on a tourism roll

Berlin saw a positive growth in tourism during the first nine months of the year with a 4% increase in visitor arrivals and a 5.2% increase in overnight stays.

The German capital drew a record of 6,110,551 visitors (+4%) and 14,123,277 room nights (+5.2%) during the first three quarters. There were 146,886 visitors from Asia mostly Japanese with 32,192 arrivals, a decrease of 15.4% but Chinese market including Hong Kong are strongly increasing with 25,206 arrivals, up 21.1%, followed by Israel with 36,455 arrivals, up 14%. Other Asian markets mostly saw negative figures.

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Narita upgrades city transfers

East Japan Railway Company introduced the new Narita Express or N’EX Series E259, earlier last month, in a move to replace all of the N’EX trains by the end of June 2010.

The new train makes for a more convenient 53-minute transfer to and from Narita International Airport. In addition to Tokyo, the service also has direct lines from Narita airport to Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Shinagawa, Omiya and Yokohama.

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