Mekong countries risky for business

BANGKOK, 8 February 2012: Two Mekong region countries, Cambodia and Myanmar, appear in a listing of the world’s worst legal system for doing business, according to a report released Wednesday.

Myanmar has been on the list for the last five years despite recent reforms.

It remains “the country offering the least legal protection for foreign companies”, said British risk analysis group Maplecroft, in a warning to investors attracted by the prospect of Western sanctions being lifted. Read more

Scoot off to Australia

SYDNEY, 7 February 2012: Singapore Airlines’ new long-haul budget carrier Scoot said Tuesday Australia’s Gold Coast would be its second destination, having already announced routes to Sydney.

Scoot will begin flying from mid-2012 with a fleet of four Boeing B777-200s bought from parent company Singapore Airlines in a challenge to Australian carriers Qantas and Jetstar.

“Scoot’s all about offering great value, fun and a unique attitude, ‘Scootitude’,” the airline’s chief executive Campbell Wilson said on the Gold Coast as he announced the new destination. Read more

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

Thailand awash with illegal hotels

BANGKOK, 3 February 2012: Over 300 unregistered hotels in Bangkok are being promoted heavily through internet hotel booking sites without service or security monitoring, Thai Hotels Association vice president, Surapong Techauvichit reported earlier this week.

He claimed hotels that failed to register and comply with the nation’s hospitality laws were a potential hazards and also deterred genuine investment in the industry.

He was speaking at a joint THA and Association of Thai Travel Agents meeting on Monday. Read more

Dumping Delhi fares

BANGKOK, 31 January 2012: Airline seat capacity on the competitive Bangkok-Delhi route will drop significantly, 24 March, when Thai AirAsia terminates its service claiming fuel prices were prohibitive.

Indian-based carriers will now slug it out in the budget travel sector with yields continuing to drop against rising fuel costs.

Thai AirAsia launched its service 14 December 2010  offering a daily service. It will stagger the pull-out starting with a reduction of services, 14 February, from daily to four a week. It will close the route entirely 24 March.

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

Nok Air adds services

BANGKOK, 26 January 2012: Nok Air last week increased services to Nakhon Phanom to double daily and started a new interprovincial link between Phitsanulok and Chiang Mai.

Nok Air added a morning flight to its Suvarnabhumi-Nakhon Phanom service, lifting daily frequency to two.

The new flight departs Bangkok at 0820 and returns from the Northeast border province at 1000. The other flight departs in the afternoon at 1350 and returns at 1600. Read more

Flower fest draws tourists

CHIANG MAI, 26 January 2012: Chiang Mai’s international horticulture expo, known as Royal Flora Ratchaphruek, has attracted more than 1 million visitors, according to Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative.

Agriculture and Cooperative Minister, Theera Wongsamut, said since the royal flora opened its doors, 14 December until 25 January, there were 1,246,973 visitors based on ticket sales.

“This is a great performance for just one month so we can attract far more than we had earlier anticipated,” he said during his update yesterday. Read more

Lao elephant festival privatises

LAO FESTIVAL

VIENTIANE, 25 January 2012: The annual elephant festival in Laos’ Sayabouly province is scheduled for 17 to 19 February in Sayabouly district town run for the first time by a private company.

The 6th Elephant Festival is now being managed by the private sector after the Lao government said it was no longer underwriting the event financially. It also hopes a private company will improve the quality of the event and raise its profile regionally.

RiverOrchid Communications Agency won the contract to manage, but the Elephant Conservation Centre and ElefantAsia will continue to supervise the elephants welfare within the festival framework. Read more

Bangkok alerts continue

BANGKOK, 25 January 2012: Travel alerts issued by 21 countries continue to warn citizens to be cautious when visiting Bangkok.

According to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are now 21 countries led by the United States that are advising caution.

They are: US; Ireland; Italy; Sweden; Netherlands; Denmark; Israel; Japan; Taiwan; New Zealand;  Germany; France; Greece, Norway; Austria; Canada; Romania; Brazil; United Kingdom; South Korea and Australia. Read more

Next Page »