Roundup of Thailand news with AJW

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BANGKOK BRIEF:

PM invokes Internal Security Act, says some may be planning Saturday violence. Kittiratt admits rice purchase will lose, "but not 300 billion baht." The Constitution Court rejects petition for it to order the cancellation of the Pitak Siam group's rally on Saturday.

WORLD SUMMARY:

On the first day, the Gaza truce holds. US UN ambassador defends false comments. US details bin Laden's burial at sea. Royal Opera chief is new BBC director.

OTHER NEWS:

- THAI PROTEST: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra asked the public to stay away from the Royal Plaza and Gen Boonlert Kaewprasit's Pitak Siam rally on Saturday, fearing violence "to subvert democracy." She explained on national television why she invoked the Internal Security Act that could allow the use of troops.

"Public gatherings and protests, especially those arising from public grievances, is provided for and protected by the Constitution,'' she said, ''But such public gatherings must be peaceful, without the use of weapons, and within the boundaries of the law."

One political insider said the government has made a mistake by invoking the Internal Security Act, which blocks protesters from the provinces from joining tomorrow's protest at the Royal Plaza. The source said some critics saw the mobilization of 50,000 security officers, both from Bangkok and from nearby provinces as a sign that the rally has unnerved the government.

- ANURA WINES SOUTH AFRICA: Held an extremely successful South African wine dinner at the Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa recently.

Anura owner, Mr.Tymen Bouma's, superb range of Anura and Joy wines were featured to accompany dinner providing a unique dining experience.

Organized by Pasit Foobunma, Board member & webmaster SA/Thai Chamber of Commerce; Tymen Bouma, wine maker and owner of the Anura wine estate; Allan Riddell, Director SA/Thai Chamber of Commerce; Dylan Counsel, Director of Operations - Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa; and Ross Edward Marks, Head of the Wine Division Central World Thailand.

Tymen Bouma has developed the family farm from the original 2 blocks of vineyards into 150 hectares of vines, with a production potential of 700 tons, over 10 years. Anura creates handcrafted wines for those looking for a unique experience when drinking wine. Its passion is to produce wines of individual character, which combine the robust fruit of the new world with the elegance, and complexity of the old world in order to better achieve the ideal style of wine.

Wines from the Joy range include sparkling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet/Merlot.

The Anura range include Chardonnay, Rose, and Pinotage/Syrah, and Anura Shiraz.

- THAILAND'S TOURISM TO SURPASS 21M: TMB Bank’s think-tank unit, TMB Analytics, estimates international tourist arrivals to Thailand will reach 21 million by year-end, which would generate Bt 920 billion in tourism revenue. The government expects tourism to earn Bt 2 trillion within three years from both domestic and international visits.

But the bank’s research unit warned that its optimistic projection depended on the country remaining “normal.” It was probably a reference to the call for a military coup by certain pressure groups that are unhappy with the Yingluck administration.
TMB Analytics said its forecast Bt 920 billion revenue would breakdown into Bt 280 million for accommodation costs followed by the souvenirs business at Bt 220 billion, food and beverage at Bt 170 billion, and other business at Bt 250 billion.

It added that provinces gaining the most benefit would be Bangkok, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi, and Songkhla.

Tourist arrivals for January to October, this year, reached 17.7 million, an increase of 9.7% compared to the same period last year, according to Department of Tourism data.

For the first 10 months, 10 million East Asia and ASEAN travelers topped the supplier list up 11.3% and accounting for a 56.4% market share.

Meanwhile, 4.3 million European tourists visited the country accounting for 24.1% of all arrivals and an increase of 9.5% year-on-year mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. The Eurozone crisis has hit arrivals from Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Italy.

Travel agencies that traditionally focused on Europe are facing tough times, but those who diversified to include India and Russia have made good the shortfalls.

Some companies were slow to make the shift to the Asia Pacific market believing the spending power of Europeans would compensate for any drop in numbers. But the Eurozone crisis is affecting both spending and visits. Travelers are shopping for bargains, reducing their spend on food and beverage, and scaling down to lower hotel categories.

Other markers were: South Asia (1.1 million; +1.7%); the Americas (853,690; +9.9%); Oceania (844,012; +8.7%); Middle East (523,963; -1.4%); and Africa (122,456; +10.1%).

TMB Analytics said that tourist arrivals should grow 7% next year and it was possible the country could reach 22.5 million visits.

The unit also suggested that the government needed to strengthen and consolidate strategies and measures to support of tourism to boost travelers’ spending.

It urged tourism operators particularly in the accommodation sector to be aware of fierce competition and the challenge of an increased investment flow from ASEAN once liberalization policies kick in at the end of 2015. They will allow foreigners to invest up to 70% in tourism and services business giving them a legal majority stake for the first time.

Some travel agencies reported shortages in vehicles for land transfers in Thailand during the busy November-January high season, a further indicator of a strengthening sector.

- PHUKET'S FULL MONTY: On December 8, 2012, Skal International Phuket is organizing an annual charity dinner. And for the first time (and possibly the last...) the committee will do the Full Monty. All for a good cause. All monies raised during that dinner will go towards 2 charities that Skal International Phuket is supporting, the Phuket Has Been Good to Us foundation, and Skal's charity fund helping children in Khao Lak and Rawai districts.

- LOY KRATHONG: Spending during the Loy Krathong festival next Wednesday will reach an estimated 10.3 billion baht, the highest in seven years, as sentiment recovers in the absence of massive flooding this year.

According to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), Loy Krathong will be bustling this year, with spending up by 24% from last year.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently disclosed it has set aside 20 million baht to support eight major events during the last week of November in honour of Loy Krathong.

In Bangkok, the Delightful Color of Stream will highlight Chao Phraya River attractions like Asiatique, Krungthep Bridge, and Krung Thon Bridge.

An illuminated float procession and light show will take place from November 26-28 along the river.

At Sukhothai Historical Park from November 24-28 will be the Dawn of Happiness procession, where visitors can enjoy floating lanterns, a fireworks display, and a Miss Noppamas beauty contest.

- EUROZONE GREEK DEBT TALKS FAIL: Greece's international lenders failed for the second week running to agree how to get the country's debt down to a sustainable level and will have a third go at resolving their most intractable problem in six days' time.

After nearly 12 hours of talks through the night during which myriad options were discussed, eurozone finance ministers, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank failed to reach a consensus, without which emergency aid cannot be disbursed to Athens.

"We are close to an agreement but technical verifications have to be undertaken, financial calculations have to be made, and it's really for technical reasons that at this hour of the day it was not possible to do it in a proper way and so we are interrupting the meeting and reconvening next Monday," Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said.

- SKAL BANGKOK: Skal International Bangkok, part of the travel and tourism industry networking organization which has 19,000 members worldwide, met at the Dusit Thani hotel in Bangkok on Wednesday, November 21, 2012 to discuss aviation issues in Thailand.

Guest speakers were two Bangkok-based airline industry experts: Sharuka Wickrama-Adittaya, GM of Sri Lankan Airlines, and Joe Rajadurai , GM at Qatar Airways. Skal International Bangkok President Dale Lawrence moderated the panel discussion.

- DUBAI SEX: A British woman and an Irish man accused of engaging in sexual activities in a Dubai taxi have been sentenced to three months in prison and then deportation. The case is the latest in which Westerners have fallen foul of the United Arab Emirates' decency laws.

In related news December will usher in the start of direct flights from Dubai to Phuket by top airline carrier Emirates. Daily service will commence on December 10.

- THAI AIRASIA: Thai AirAsia posted a profit of 199 million baht (US$6.5 million) in the third quarter while the Indonesian venture had net income of 74.5 billion rupiah (US$7.7 million) the company reported.

Sourced: eturbonews