From the Pimex International Boat Show in Phuket, Thailand, to the F1 Grand Prix in Singapore, the news is one of expansion. Plus new Hotels in Cambodia.
Thailand is forging ahead with new hotels, malls and entertainment complexes opening almost weekly. It is also concentrating on making new Marinas to cater for the ever-growing local demand plus the overseas yachting fraternity that lands up on its shores in ever increasing numbers.
With this in mind the Pimex International Boat Show to be held on the 8th and 9th December next is relocating from the Phuket Road Lagoon Marina to the Royal Phuket Marina. This year the Show will feature the very latest boats and equipment and it is expected that up to 50 boats will be on water and on land.
Singapore is another country set to boom as a result of a sporting event, the 2008 F1 Grand Prix which will take place next year. It is hoped that tickets will be on sale as low as S$40 with a 3-day pass costing between S$44 and S$1391. Compared to other F1 races in Asia, these prices are remarkably low, and the organizers are hoping that 60% of the buyers of these tickets will be locally based, with perhaps 40,000 overseas tourists picking up the rest. Between 10,000 and 15,000 will be reserved for VIPs.
For those who know Singapore, the seating arrangements look very attractive. There will be permanent seating standsat starting and finishing lines and the rest of the seating will be distributed between the Padang, Esplanade Drive, Raffles Avenue, Marina Promenade Park and along the Marina Channel. There will be public vantage points at the Pan Pacific, Marina Mandarin, Ritz Carlton and the Fullerton Hotels.
The Tourism Industry of Singapore hopes to make in excess of S$100,000 from the race but it is expected that the hospitality industry will reap the most benefits. Some hotels , it is presumed, will double or even triple their room rate although it is expected that the government will impose an excess. Meantime, the T.B. Is advising the Singapore Hotel Association on how to lend support to the event.
Meanwhile in Australia, Tourism Australia has had to abandon its “So where the bloody hell are you” advert in its Japanese version, due to a poor response from that country. They are going to replace it with another, more “trade engagement approach” (no I don't know, either), as the former was considered too passive.
And as proof that Cambodia is really coming in from the cold, comes news that Starwood Hotels and Resorts is set to open its first Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at Angkor, in 2009. The hotel will have 150 rooms and it will offer three restaurants, meeting rooms and a luxurious spa and pool.
