Cambodia - Hun Sen welcomes stranded cruise ship passengers

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 Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen this Friday (February 14) travelled to Preah Sihanouk Port to welcome MS Westerdam cruise ship’s passengers who disembarked.

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 The cheerful atmosphere was broadcast via BTV Cambodia television station and the official Facebook page of the Cambodian leader.

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The 1,455 passengers include tourists from 41 countries, including 651 Americans, 271 Canadians, 127 English and 91 Dutch.

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A spokesman for the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation of Cambodia said that charter flights were ready to take passengers from Sihanouk International Airport to Phnom Penh International Airport. Five to six flights were expected since each flight would be able to pick up around 180 passengers.
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The decision allowing Westerdam with more than 2,000 passengers and crew to dock at Sihanoukville, after being rejected by five countries, earned Cambodia appreciation from the World Health Organisation, the ambassador of the United States to Thailand and the European Union.

Source - TheNation

Thomas Cook demise will affect British tourism to Thailand for the rest of 2019

“British tourists have contribute between 900,000 – 1,000,000 tourists to Thailand annually for the past seven years.”

The failure of the British Thomas Cook travel business will cut the numbers of arrivals from Britain to Thailand for the remainder of this year.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says they are also assessing a drop in northern-European tourists where tourists use the services of Thomas Cook subsidiaries. The TAT will issue their new projections when the full impact of the failure of the 178 year old British travel business is assessed.

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 According to the Bangkok Post, talks will include agencies such as Asian Trails, the main destination management company for Thomas Cook, and hoteliers at popular beach locations such as Phuket, Phangnga and Koh Samui, namely Dusit Thani, Anantara and Mandara.

 In 2018, 987,456 tourists from Britain visited Thailand and 600,000+ from northern-European countries. British tourists have contribute between 900,000 – 1,000,000 tourists to Thailand annually for the past seven years. The figures for the first six months of 2019 had already exceeded 500,000 visitors (584,626) and would have pushed past the million-mark for the year, but that figure is now being re-assessed.

There is currently a repatriation of existing British tourists overseas, some 150,000, back to UK shores following the collapse of the business. Confusion reigns as some hotels are charging Thomas Cook customers before they’re allowed to check-out, fearful they won’t be paid.

A prominent hotelier in Phuket, who asked not to be named, says there is still a lot of confusion about who is responsible for payments of existing customers and contractors as they work through the web of agents, insurance companies, tour companies and hotel contracts.

 Kanokkittika Kritwuttikorn, director of TAT’s Phuket office, says the failure of the British travel company won’t affect the island’s upcoming Christmas and New Year holiday season.
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“Even with Phuket the preferred destination for British tourists, the closure of Thomas Cook will not affect overall tourism in the province, especially over the upcoming high season, she told the Bangkok Post.

President of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, Vichit Prakobgosol, says the closure of Thomas Cook will “slightly affect Thai tourism”, according to the Bangkok Post.

“The fall of the firm, caused by the failure of a Brexit deal and a depreciating currency, is a wake-up call for tour operators about the impact of digital disruption as intense price wars from online travel agencies take a bite.”

Source - The Thaiger

 

Bangkok - Thousands of passengers stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport after their tour agent fails to show up.

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Thousands of passengers were stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday night after staffs of a company that promised them of a trip to Japan during Songkran Festival did not show up.

Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanawarangkul has to step in by holding a meeting with authorities concerned at the airport. Police have to relocate to new floor those who said they paid fees, ranging from Bt15,000 to Bt20,000, to a firm, Wealth Ever, for a trip to Japan between April 13 and 15, to give space for other passengers. Their numbers are said of them were reported to be about 1,500.

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The airport is already crowded with Thais going out of the country during the long holidays of Songkran. Police are told that there would be a lot more of passengers, about 2,000 who are scheduled to travel with the firm in trouble coming to the airport on Wednesday.

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Source - TheNation

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