Dubai – December 13, 2012:  The Tourism Authority of Thailand marked the start of a daily Emirates Airlines flight between Dubai and Phuket by hosting a high-level delegation of 10 media and five special guests aboard the inaugural service on December 10.

Phuket, the biggest island in Thailand and now the second most important tourist city after Bangkok, has become Emirates’ second destination in Thailand. The flights have been launched in time for the holiday high season.

Operated by a 267-seat Airbus A340-300 aircraft, EK378 will depart Dubai at 1245hrs and arrive at Phuket at 2155hrs. The return flight, EK379 will depart at 0035hrs the following day and arrive at Dubai at 0435hrs.

The TAT designed the December 10-14 trip in line with the themes, “Phuket and Beyond” and “Family Destination.” The itinerary was packaged to showcase the broad range of fabulous tourism products and services both in Phuket as well as surrounding provinces.

In addition to the media from various print publications and TV stations, the TAT hosted five guests of honour: Mr. Warawudh Chuwiruch, Ambassador, Royal Thai Embassy, UAE, and his wife; Brigadier Obaid Mehayer Bin Suroor, Deputy Director of Dubai Immigration, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (DNRD); Mr. Khalid Bin Touq, Executive Director Licensing & Classification Section, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), and Mr. Salem Obaidalla, Senior Vice President, Far East & Australia, Emirates Airlines.

A press conference and lunch was held at Indigo Pearl Phuket.

Phuket will become the 15th route launch for the airline this year and the second in South East Asia after Ho Chi Minh City in June.

According to Mr. Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airlines, “We have been operating flights to Bangkok since 1990. We currently operate four daily flights between Dubai and Bangkok, including one with our ultra-modern Airbus A380 aircraft. We are confident that Phuket will prove a popular destination for our passengers, especially those from the UAE, Middle East and Europe.”

Emirates Holidays, the airline’s tour operating arm, offers tailor-made holidays to Phuket, that include a hand-picked selection of five, four and three-star hotels. Its annual brochure, A World of Choice, highlights many of Phuket’s attractions from lush vistas and the turquoise waters of its sandy western shoreline, to cultural landmarks such as Chalong Temple and old Phuket Town.

Often dubbed as the Pearl of the Andaman, Phuket has become Thailand’s second most important direct-access gateway with a total of 56,673 domestic and international flights in 2011. In 2011, the island attracted over 9 million domestic and international visitors, generating 188 billion baht in tourism income.

In January – November 2012, Middle East visitor arrivals to Thailand totalled 563,743, up 0.30% over the same period of 2011. Of these, 103,906 were UAE visitors, Kuwait (61,884), Egypt (18,196) and Saudi Arabia (16,396).

Czech – December 13, 2012: Readership polls conducted by two of the Czech Republic’s popular consumer and travel trade papers have shown that Thailand ranks among the most popular destinations for Czech travellers this winter season.

The daily tabloid newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes, in its 3-4 November, 2012, edition, reported that Thailand was one of the top destinations for Czech tourists during the winter season, highly regarded for the scenic beauty of its many islands, safety and security, good atmosphere, value for money, and good transport systems. The newspaper claims to have an average daily readership of around 224,000, making it one of the country’s most popular and influential newspapers.

Moreover, Thailand was selected as the third best tourist destination for Czech travellers in 2012 by readers of the Travel Trade Gazette (TTG), according to a report from the Royal Thai Embassy in Prague. The awards ceremony was held on 9 November, 2012. TTG is a popular travel trade paper in the Czech Republic and conducts regular readership polls to identify travel trends and customer preferences. 

In 2011, Thailand welcomed a total of 29,126 Czech visitors, up 5.68% over 2010. During January - September 2012, Czech visitors totalled 23,615, up by 0.14% over the same period of 2011.

Ms. Supranee Pongpat, Director of the TAT Frankfurt Office, which also oversees tourism in the Czech Republic commented, “The Czech Republic is one of our important emerging source markets that is producing good results in spite of the somewhat difficult economic conditions in Europe. The growing popularity of Thailand also shows that our marketing strategies there are working. In January 2012, we worked with various Czech media groups and events organisers to have Thailand featured as a backdrop destination for the widely-televised Miss Czech beauty pageant.”

Thousands of Czech citizens seek out warm weather destinations to get a brief respite from their cold winters. The fact that they get a 15-day visa on arrival in Thailand facilitates the decision-making process. First time visitors mostly visit Pattaya while repeat visitors venture beyond to the beaches of Krabi, Phuket and Surat Thani.

Although there are no direct scheduled flights between the Czech Republic and Thailand, visitors come via charter flights organised by various travel agents and tour operators or via other transit points in Europe and the Gulf countries.

Sukothai Turns Back the Clock

Rim Yom Market, Kong Krai Las District, circa 1894

Miss Saratwadee Asasupakit, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Sukhothai Office, together with the Kong Krai Las sub-district of Sukhothai, would like to invite you to the Rim Yom Market to look back on life and commerce in the year 1894. This special celebration held the first Saturday of every month will allow tourists to experience the turn-of-the-century lifestyle and culture of the Chinese community there.

TRANG, November 30, 2012: The stunning southern Thai province of Trang welcomed its one millionth visitor, Mr. Wichaya Kiatying-angsulee, on 29 November 2012. Senior executives of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Trang Provincial Authority, Trang Chamber of Commerce and Nok Air presented a certificate to the millionth tourist of 2012 at the Departure Lounge of Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok.

The event was presided over by Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni, TAT Governor.

Hong Kong, November 30, 2012: Thailand won the Asian Spa Capital of the Year award at the 8th annual AsiaSpa Awards for 2012, organised on 15 November in Hong Kong by AsiaSpa magazine. The award was one of five picked up in total by Thai spas, health and wellness resorts, more than any other country. 

The remaining four were:

• Day Spa of the Year: The Oasis Spa Lanna, Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Spa Retreat of the Year: Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa, Ko Samui, Thailand 
• Medi-Spa of the Year: S Medical Spa, Bangkok, Thailand 
• In-Spa Training of the Year: Banyan Tree Spa Academy, Phuket, Thailand

Mrs. Titiporn Manenate, Director of TAT Hong Kong Office said, “When the Chiva-Som International Health Resort opened in Hua Hin in 1995, it broke new ground in the annals of Asia-Pacific health and wellness tourism. Ever since then, Thailand has continued to raise the bar in the quality and diversity of its spa offerings. Today, the kingdom has a huge range of health resorts and spas offering superb herbal treatments and traditional massage, all of very high and certifiable standards.”

She added: “Thai spas blend traditional well-being therapies with relaxing massage, holistic treatments and numerous other ways to relieve and detox an overworked physical and mental system. Enjoyed by people around the world, Thai spas are becoming as popular as Thai cuisine.”

Originated in 2005 to recognise what the organisers refer to as the “sensational spa industry of Asia,” the AsiaSpa awards now cover a total of 24 categories. This year’s awards event attracted more than 350 industry professionals representing spas, hotel and resorts, retreats, academies, personalities and products. The categories recognise achievements in luxury standards, innovation, ecological awareness, and exceeding the benchmark in spa training.

“2012 has been a very interesting year for the spa industry, with many new brands and spa additions,” says Vivienne Tang, Editor-in-Chief of AsiaSpa magazine. “We’ve never received so many nomination entries like we did this year, and it has been a truly thrilling experience to see who eventually took home an award.”

Of the other award winners, spas from Singapore won four awards, and from Hong Kong and Indonesia, three awards each. The Maldives won one award. The rest went to industry personalities and products around the region.

The trophies were provided by Baccarat with additional event sponsorship by Thalissi, W Hong Kong, Alissi Brontë, Phytocéane, Acantha and Hedonist. The W Hong Kong hosted this year’s Awards.

AsiaSpa describes itself as being Asia's only magazine totally dedicated to the pursuit of complete well-being. It has a readership of over 120,000, many of them brand-conscious urban females.

Contact information:
International Public Relations Division
Tourism Authority of Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4544-48
Fax: +66 (0) 2253 7419
E-mail: prdiv3@tat.or.th
Web site: http://www.tatnews.org

Thailand won “The most favourite Country” for Conde Nast Traveller 2012

New Delhi, November 29, 2012:Thailand has won the “The Most Favourite Country”, voted by the discerning readers of Conde Nast Traveller. Conde Nast Traveller India honours the best in travel and tourism.

The world’s most prestigious and credible travel award was held at The Oberoi,

Gurgaon on 29 November 2012. The magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, was launched more than 25 years ago in the US, and now boasts several international editions the world over. The Indian edition was launched in 2010 to much acclaim. The magazine has become the undisputed voice of luxury travel amongst sophisticated Indians with a print circulation of 30,000.

His Excellency Mr. Pisan Manawapat, Thai Ambassador to India received this prestigious award at the glittering ceremony where all the who’s who of the travel Industry were present.

Thailand was also awarded: