Posts Tagged ‘Pan-Asia’

Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific

Monday, May 31st, 2010

The annual Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific Update in Singapore last week wrapped up on generally positive comments from most of the international operators weighing in with cautious optimism for the country.

One owner/operator French global hospitality giant ACCOR who manages over 40 hotels in Thailand was less than positive, as Chairman and CEO for Asia Pacific Michael Issenberg said “based on the protracted political events in Bangkok, that he was indeed very worried , and that the company was reviewing it’s regional Bangkok office.”

Currently the company has an extensive presence at it’s regional offices in Central World office tower which provides back office functions for much of Southeast Asia.

While Thailand has announced a new round of recent zero tax incentives for ROH(regional operating headquaters) of international firms, clearly the timing may not be wise given the uncertainty facing businesses who have suffered from protracted volatility over the past 24 months.

It was good to see a reasonable turnout from the Thai hospitalty sector at the major investment forum including Amari (newly cristened management arm Onyx) , Anantara, CBRE Thailand, Jones Lang LaSalle, Outrigger, Keen Media, Royal Phuket Marina, Golden Land and Limcharoen Hughes all working to keep the country visible in Asia’s spotlight.

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TAT pins hope on international expos

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Thailand is counting on its presence at the twin international travel fairs now in progress in Shanghai, China, and Dubai in the UAE to bolster its tourism profile bruised by red-shirt supporters protesting in Bangkok.

Opening earlier this month Shanghai’s World Expo is a showcase of ideas, culture and technology from 200 countries, and by the time it ends in October it expects to have drawn some 70 million visitors.

The Thai pavilion put together at a cost of nearly 600 million baht takes up 3,117m2 of space at the expo and the message it conveys is one of “Thainess: Sustainable Ways of Life,” allowing visitors to trace the history and evolution of the Thai society from the Ayutthaya period until the present day, and reinforces it with the help of 4D presentation which also highlight tourist attractions around the country.

Issara Somchai, minister for social development and human security, is hoping that Thailand’s presence at the expo would help convince visitors, particularly from the host country, the merit of travelling to Thailand for a holiday.

Separately, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is leading a team of 85 local operators to the Arabian Travel Market 2010 that opened at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre last week.

The event is the biggest of its kind ever held in the Middle East and, according to TAT’s Juthaporn Roengronasa who is in charge of Europe and the Mideast region, a good stage for presenting Thailand’s case because also present at the event are tour agents and media from 60 other countries.

Which makes the event a fitting stage for driving home the point that the beaches of Thailand – Phuket, Samui and Pattaya – remain safe and free of strife even if their reservations about Bangkok linger on.

The Thai booth occupies 440 m2 and its underlying theme is : “3G: Good Food, Good Health and Good Price.”

According to TAT, on average tourists from the Middle East stay 8.65 days in Thailand and spend 4,834 baht a day. They usually travel here between May and September.

The Bangkok Post

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Phuket Q1 Economy Rode High Before Fall

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

PHUKET rode high economically in the first quarter of 2010 before the red rebellion, newly released figures show. But a dramatic downturn is now being predicted for the second quarter.

”Travel warnings for people to stay away from Thailand will hurt Phuket, and investment will slow for the same reason,” the report said. ”While the global economic recovery is going well, Thailand and Phuket are now moving in the opposite direction.”

Rising fuel prices are also a problem.

Graphs and pie-charts in the Q1 review by the Office of Commercial Affairs on Phuket reflect a contribution to Thailand’s GDP of 65,740 million baht and an average annual income on Phuket of 224,275 baht, highest in the south and tenth highest in Thailand.

Tourism on Phuket expanded in the first quarter, with 519,120 arrivals from overseas compared to 348,214 in the same period of 2009. It was a dramatic increase that is now in full reverse thrust mode, following travel alerts and advisories by more than 40 countries.

The information about Q1′s stunning success for Phuket tourism is already instant history, the good times that were rolling before the bad times.

Commercial Affairs notes that Bangkok politics will turn away investors and tourists in Q2, with the normal low season downturn accelerating.

A chart in the report notes overseas and Thai passenger numbers at Phuket International Airport peaked at around 600,000 arrivals and departures in February and by March was back to a much-lower figure equal to November.

Board of Investment support in Phuket totalled 693 million baht in just two projects, three million for a software business . . . and 690 million for a waterpark, which has to be Splash Jungle at West Sands in Mai Khao. Previous estimates have put the ”spend” for the project at 500 million baht.

BoI supported more projects in Q1 2009.

New business registrations on Phuket in Q1 totalled 414, up from 313 the previous year, with a capital value of 931.60 million baht. The number of registered companies rose 32.27 percent, with investment totals up 77.68 percent. Most investment, almost 60 percent, was in Phuket City with Kathu/Patong accounting for about 32 percent.

Farm product exports from Phuket, including rubber, are maintaining their place in the market because of improving demand overseas, especially from Japan and China.

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ASEAN Markets to Surge after US Rebound‏

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Expect ASEAN Markets to leap forward this morning after a strong session in New York, even Thailand should start to recover today.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index moved up 3.71 points, or 0.50 percent, to close at 753.20 points on Thursday.
Some 1.41 billion shares worth 13.58 billion baht (about 424 million U.S. dollars) changed hands.

PTT, Thailand’s largest publicly listed company, expects net profit and revenue in 2010 to be higher than last year as the global economic recovery pushes up demand and oil prices, and says its growth will continue in 2011.

For 2011, PTT’s capacity will rise because its sixth gas separation plant and a 1 million tonne ethane cracker operated by PTT Chemical are expected to run fully, while its liquefied natural gas import terminal will be completed next year as planned.

Prasert, who has worked at PTT for 28 years, did not rule out the possibility of the company listing shares on a foreign stock market, but it was not in its short term plan.

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Air freight and travel up in S’pore

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Airport reported its third consecutive double-digit growth in passenger traffic.

SINGAPORE’S Changi Airport, Asia’s fifth largest, saw an 18.8 per cent rise in air-freight movements by tonnage last month from a year ago, data showed on Thursday.

The airport also recorded an 18.8 per cent rise in passenger movement in the same month, its third consecutive double-digit growth in passenger traffic.

Changi Airport Group said it handled 3.45 million passenger movements last month, and 157,211 tonnes of air-freight movements.

But the recovery might be dented by air-space closures in most parts of Europe this month due to volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland.

Singapore Airlines, the world’s second-most-valuable carrier by market value, said this month that it filled 72.9 per cent of the passenger and cargo space available on its planes last month, up from 62.6 per cent a year ago and 71.4 per cent in February.

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Cathay Pacific CEO Says 2010 Will be ‘Good’

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Hong Kong’s flagship air carrier Cathay Pacific is expecting 2010 to be a good year after a dismal 2009, CEO Tony Tyler told CNBC on Tuesday.

“The signs for this quarter (are) reasonably good, ” he said. “I think we’re gonna have a pretty good Chinese New Year. January saw pretty good traffic and the premium traffic of course was nothing like it was during the peak premium seasons of October, November, December, but nevertheless it was a lot better than the year before.”

He noted that premium and cargo traffic will have to recover for the airline to post strong results. While Cathay Pacific has no trouble filling its economy class, Tyler said the key is to attract premium passengers.

“That’s why we’ve kept our product up there as the world’s best so that those premium passengers have got a reason to fly Cathay Pacific.”

The recovery of the airline industry continues to be dependent on the world economy, especially Asia, Tyler said.

“As usual, Asia seems to bounce back a bit faster. I think the China economy remains robust, the Hong Kong economy is in pretty good shape, other Asian economies also. They’re looking better than those economies in America and Europe.”

The rebound in the sector has also allowed Cathay to add new destinations to its list, he added.

“We have one or two destinations on our radar screen. We are doing it Cathay Pacific style. That’s to do these things cautiously, sensibly, (and) without going mad.”

CNBC.com, 2 Feb 2010

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