As Thailand and Vietnam surge ahead with new hotels, tourists are being advised to avoid Burma because of the riots. Bombings in Hat Yai are having same effect
That the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is to open an office in Ho Chi Minh City is good news to those who fly between Thailand and Vietnam, as often a small problem can be eased by the good services of a tourist office.
There are 67 direct weeky flights between Bangkok and HCMC and Bangkok and Hanoi and over 250,000 Vietnamese tourists fly to the Thai capital each year. Bangkok is also the main East Asian hub for Vietnam.
In Thailand, Best Western Hotels is opening a new 100-room establishment in Chiang Mai this December, and each room will have a view of Doi Suthep Mountain and the Thai countryside.
Movenpick Hotels are also moving into Thailand, with a 72-room venture in Pattaya in 2010.
Dusit D2, the trendy hotels under the Dusit Hotels umbrella also opens in Pattaya in 2008 and in Koh Samui in 2009 following their success with the D2 brand which opened in Chiang Mai in 2005.
Koh Phangan in Southern Thailand which saw a massive increase in tourism last year, has a new de luxe hotel, the Manda Lai Hotel, which will offer 12 beach front suites as well as luxury rooms.
Meanwhile, on the downside, Orient Express is offering to refund money to clients who have booked holidays with them in Burma, suggesting they defer their trip. Orient Express owns the beautiful Governor's Residence in Rangoon, Burma, and cruises the Irrawaddy River between Mandalay and Pagan and Mandalay and Bhamo in their own ship.
Trouble also in Hat Yai, Thailand, where the police managed to foil a bomb attempt. 20 bombs were defused, twelve of them bombs outside a restaurant owned by the Royal Thai Navy, 5 near the fence of the University, the others in a public park.
