TRAVELTITBITS
The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects the Chinese New Year festival to attract 2.6 million domestic and international travellers who will spend more than 10.8 billion baht between now and Feb 14.
According to TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni, special celebrations supported by the authority will be organised in 12 provinces _ Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Sawan, Suphan Buri, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chon Buri (Pattaya), Songkhla (Hat Yai), Phuket and Trang.
The highlights will be cultural performances from China, he said, adding that the TAT has joined hands with China's Ministry of Culture to bring in 180 performers from seven provinces to perform their beautiful and colourful shows in rotation in the dozen participating provinces.
The cooperation marks the 38th anniversary of Thai-Chinese diplomatic relations. In Bangkok, the highlight will be the Tibetan performance which is scheduled for the opening ceremony of the Chinese New Year festival in Yaowarat on Feb 10.
"It is a remarkable display and you must not miss it as this will be the first Tibetan performance in Thailand," Suraphon said.
The Chinese media will also be invited to cover the event and indirectly promote Thailand's attractions in China.
Last year, Thailand welcomed 2.8 million visitors from the Middle Kingdom. The number is expected to increase at least 10% to more than 3 million, if the political situation is stable, he said.
According to the Department of Civil Aviation, about 400 charter flights from China will fly to Thailand from Feb 9-14, bringing in almost 80,000 tourists from mainland China. There will also be 115 charter flights from Hong Kong, 83 from Vietnam and 35 from Taiwan.
"A total of 633 charter flights will land here during the festival and bring in almost 140,000 visitors," the TAT governor said. When combined with all international visitors to Thailand, the Chinese New Year will be another successful event generating around 10.8 billion baht, he said.
Cartoon theme park in the pipeline
Amazon Falls Company, the developer of Cartoon Network Amazone theme park, is looking for partners to complete its project.
"We welcome partners who can help realise our vision of creating Thailand's leading family entertainment destination," said chairman and CEO Liakat Dhanji.
Set to open later this year, the theme park will feature 10 entertainment zones such as adventure, rain forest and water zones. Each will be based on Cartoon Network's famous characters such as Ben 10, Finn and Jake from Adventure Time and the Powerpuff Girls. The construction site of Cartoon Network Amazone is located in Bang Saray, about a 20-minute drive south of Pattaya.
Free tickets to zoos
Nok Air and the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand have joined hands to offer free tickets to zoos in Chiang Mai and Songkhla.
The tickets are offered to those who show boarding passes to or from those provinces together with their ID cards. The tickets are only for entering the zoos, but exclude entrance fees to special exhibitions within both zoos.
The programme for Chiang Mai Zoo will run until Aug 31 and Songkhla zoo until September.
Rooftop farm showcase Novotel Bangkok has planted freshwater spirulina on its rooftop.
The hotel has joined hands with EnerGia, a producer of fresh and dry spirulina and algae products, setting up the algae farm on the 130m2 hotel rooftop last November. The project can produce about 80kg of spirulina a week and is expected to produce more than 2 tonnes of this vegetarian protein per year, according to the hotel's general manager David Baldwin.
"We were attracted by the innovative use of space, and the idea that we could incorporate the finished product in our healthy menu offerings," he said.
Novotel Bangkok also expects that the project will serve as a showcase of urban farming.
"With continuous maintenance, the existing facility of 160 bioreactors can technically last indefinitely," he said.
Hotels update
- The Dusit Thani Group plans to open Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi in the first quarter of the year.
The property will be its first hotel in the United Arab Emirates. The 37-storey glass tower will house 402 rooms and suites as well as 131 deluxe serviced apartments. Other facilities also include a 785m2 ballroom, conference halls, exhibition rooms, a skydome and dining outlets serving international cuisine including authentic Thai fare. There will also be spas and Wi-Fi service.
The hotel is about 20 minutes from Abu Dhabi International Airport, 10 minutes' drive from the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition.
If you have any comments or news to share, send them to karnjanak@bangkokpost.co.th
Share this article
About the author
Writer: Karnjana KarnjanatawePosition: Reporter
Bangkok Post online classifieds
Try buying selling goods and properties 24/7 in our classifieds which has high purchasing power local expatriate audience from within Thailand and around the world.
Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/02/08/a-bumper-chinese-new-year/
0 comments:
Post a Comment