In third place last year, Thailand has slipped twelve places to 15th in the latest "favourite destination" survey conducted by the UK edition of Conde ' Nast Traveller Magazine to determine the winners of this year's Readers' Travel Awards.
Readers of the magazine voted Italy their favourite destination, the country scoring highly for its food, restaurants, culture and climate, while Kenya and Mexico were best value for money, Brazil offered the warmest welcome and hospitality, South Africa had the greatest variety, and India the most glorious scenery.
The awards announced annually extend to various other categories including favourite cities hotels, spas, airlines and airports.
Leading the "favourite cities" category was New York followed by Paris, Rome, Sydney and Barcelona (same scores), Venice, San Francisco, Cape Town, Hong Kong and Amsterdam.
Sicily was their favourite island, followed by Maldives, Barbados, the Cyclades (in the Greek archipelago), Cuba, Seychelles, Mauritius, Phuket (13th last year), Koh Samui (6th last year) and Cyprus.
Their favourite airport was Beijing for flight information/clarity of signs and accessibility, Dubai for shopping, Kuala Lumpur for baggage handling while Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi failed to figure even in the top-15.
The airline category was segmented into short-haul leisure, long-haul leisure, business and low-cost airline.
THAI placed 9th in long-haul leisure segment, Virgin Atlantic took the honours for flight service and lounge facilities, Qantas for in-flight entertainment, Air New Zealand for catering and Singapore Airlines for service/staff.
Seven Thai hotels figured among the top-20 in the "overseas leisure hotels" category: Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai (3rd, up from 15th last year), the Chedi Phuket (6th, down from 2nd), Six Senses Hideaway in Samui (8th, top of the list last year), Amapuri in Phuket (10th, down from 4th), Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai (11th, down from 5th), Six Senses Hideaway, Hua Hin (16th, up a notch) and Anantara Phuket Resort and Spa (20th).
"The Chedi Phuket has the most appetising food and Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai has the most polished service/staff," the survey said.
Chiva-Som International Health Resort in Hua Hin ranked second (up from 5th), behind Zara Spa in Jordan.
For the complete list, visit http://www.cntraveller.com/ReadersAwards/2009.
Airports tap AIS
Airports of Thailand (AoT) has joined hands with I-Access and AIS to launch flight information service via mobile phones.
Called "Airports Flight Info," the service provides quick access to check flight information via SMS and WAP or mobile Internet website, said AoT President Serirat Prasutanond. "The wireless service is regarded as an alternative to access information in response to people's lifestyle today which is always on the move."
The information includes flight schedules, check-in counter numbers, boarding gates and carousel numbers of airlines landing at the following airports: Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Hat Yai.
"There are plans to improve and develop facilities so as to make Suvarnabhumi among world's 10 best airports in terms of service by the end of this year. Already, it's handling more than 100,000 passengers and 700 flights daily," said Nirandra Theeranartsin, Suvarnabhumi's general manager.
To check flight schedule, one is required to type flight details and send it to 471-4714. The fee is six baht. The information can also be accessed through WAP Portal of mobileLIFE by dailing *702# to get the link to "Airports Flight Info" page.
Aviation and travel business operators needing information on a regular basis can apply for Smart SIM based on Dynamic SIM Tool Kit technology equipped with built in application for information search. The SIM is convenient when accessing through WAP and SMS and the cost is one baht at a time.
Airports Flight Info SIM will hit the market this month.
Bus service to Laos
Chaipattana Transportation, a major operator of public buses in north Thailand, plans to launch a service linking Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang in Laos next year.
According to company Managing Director Somchai Thongkumkoon, the idea to launch a bus service on this route was spurred by boom in passenger traffic on the R3A highway that links Thailand, Laos and China.
It hopes to ply the route using a fleet of five coaches. Currently the company operates boat cruises and buses to Luang Prabang in tandem with a company in Laos. Travel time is two days by boat and 12 hours by bus.
Balloon festival
Following its resounding success in Khao Yai last year, this time the Thailand International Balloon Festival travels to Ayutthaya where it will be held from Dec 3-6.
Organised by Earth Wind & Fire and backed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the event drew 300,000 spectators last year and this time it should go one better as some ranking international balloonists and their crew are expected to converge on Ayutthaya, the ancient Thai capital that's now a World Heritage site, for the three-day spectacle.
To mark the occasion, the organisers have joined hands with Krungthai Bank and MasterCard to launch the "Magic 9 Campaign", a photo contest, in which holders of KTC-MasterCard credit cards are invited to send nine photographs together with captions to the web site http://www.ktcworld.co.th.
At stake is about 900,000 baht in prize money. The deadline for sending entries is Nov 1, and the winners - nine in all - will be announced on Nov 25 via the portal http://www.ktcworld.co.th. They qualify for free balloon rides during the festival.
Korean Air seat upgrade
Korean Air is refurbishing some 9,720 seats on 32 mid- and long-haul Boeing 777 and Airbus 330 aircrafts.
As part of the refurbishing, it is installing lie flat seats in first and business class, while seats in economy class will have a new design. Latest audio and video systems are part of the package that is expected to cost US$200 million (6.8 billion baht) by the time it is completed in April 2011.
If you have any comments or news to share, send them to karnjanak@bangkokpost.co.th.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment