Samed plans road shows

Samed Resorts Group will organise roadshows linked  to international travel  trade fairs to clarify the resort’s situation after an oil slick closed two of its six properties last July.

The group sales and marketing assistance director, Verasit Nuangnit, said the group hopes to rebuild Samet Island’s image at a pre WTM 2013 road show in Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt, Germany 29 to 31 October ending with a visit to WTM 2013 in London, 4 to 7 November.

Samet will be represented at the WTM  Thailand stand no 11 .

Two out of six hotels in the group were affected by the oil slick on Phrao Bay; Le Vimarn Cottages & Spa and Ao Prao Resort, but they will be reopen by 1 November.

All the other beaches on Samet Island escaped the oil slick and were opened for visitors throughout the crisis. There are 14 beaches on the east coast of Samet Island with just one Phrao Bay on the west side that was in direct path of the oil slick.

The group owns and operates Paradee, Le Vimarn Cottages & Spa, Ao Prao Resort, Sai Kaew Beach Resort, Samed Club and Baan Ploy Sea.

At Phrao bay Beach, the clean-up has been completed, but tests are on-going to assess damage to coral and ensure the water quality is safe for visitors.

Mercury and cadmium levels found in sea water near Samet Island are decreasing according to the Pollution Control Department.

The crude oil leaked from a PTT Global Chemical pipeline, 27 July, drifting northwards to Phrao bay on the western coast of Samet. About 50,000 litres of oil leaked into the sea about 20 km off the coast of mainland Rayong province.

Samet Island, about 3 km off the coast of Rayong and 150 km southeast of Bangkok, is a popular holiday spot for Thais and foreigners living in the capital. The island attracts about 1 million visitors a year, mostly on weekends.

Sourced: ttrweekly