SATISFACTION surveys among Nordic travellers to Thailand suggest standards in the kingdom are falling, and must be addressed if the destination is to maintain the loyalty of high-value, repeat visitors.

Surveys of travellers from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden showed that satisfaction ratings in Phuket decreased over the last three years from 4.34 in winter 2010 to 4.17 in winter 2012. While ratings are dropping across the country – from 4.35 in 2010 to 4.25 in 2012 – the trend is most pronounced in Phuket. TUI Nordic has a 29 per cent share of the inbound market from the four countries, which collectively generated 762,088 arrivals to Thailand in 2011.

Tomy Serban, product and purchase manager for TUI Nordic, said: “Seeing (that the ratings dropped) from a very strong to normal satisfaction level, we are seeing a negative trend that we have to tackle before it’s too late.” He attributes the decrease to reasons such as congestion at Phuket International Airport, changes in market mix and increased tourist numbers in Kata, Karon and Patong.

Niels Steeman, group product director of Destination Asia, pointed out that the Russian market had started to move over from Pattaya to Phuket. “It means that it is too busy, and the peace and quiet that the destination has always been known for is suddenly beginning to change,” he explained.

TUI Nordic has raised these issues with the Tourism Authority of Thailand. “We have to keep quality at the back of our minds and work on it to keep Thailand as the destination we like. Thailand is extremely popular in the Nordic countries, and we want them to come back year on year,” said Serban.

Despite this, the company expects to receive more than 100,000 arrivals this year from the four markets. About 30-40 per cent of TUI’s business to Thailand are repeat travellers who stay for up to 15 days.

– Read more in TTG Asia July 13, 2012

Reporting by Timothy France

UNITED Airlines will deploy Boeing 747-400 aircraft on its daily, non-stop Hong Kong-Singapore service, effective October 27, 2012. The route is currently operated with a B737-800.

The aircraft will offer 12 United Global First, 52 United BusinessFirst, 70 Economy Plus and 240 United Economy seats. Global First and BusinessFirst passengers will also be able to enjoy flat-bed seats and a range of premium services and amenities.

United said it is the first US airline to introduce the 180-degree fully-flat beds in premium cabins and that it has such seats on 144 aircraft, more than any US carrier.

TOKYO-based hospitality company Fujita Kanko will take over the management of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so, debuting the rebranded Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo on January 1, 2013.

Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo will offer 259 guestrooms and 36 meeting rooms, including one that accommodates banquets for up to 2,000 guests. Fujita Kanko also plans to invest US$90 million over the next three years on hotel renovations and upgrades.

Chinzanso is a 6.6-hectare Japanese garden in the heart of the capital, and Fujita Kanko already operates two buildings on the property that house 22 well-equipped banquet/meeting rooms and six restaurants.

Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo will begin taking in reservations from July 2 online and through phone.

SHANGRI-LA Hotels and Resorts will acquire and manage Traders Hotel, Brisbane from August 7, the first Traders to be operated by the chain in Australia.

Following the group’s recent acquisition of the 563-room landmark Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney and its current majority stake in Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina in Cairns, Traders Hotel, Brisbane will mark its third venture in Australia.

The 191-room property will offer a rooftop fitness centre, an all-day dining restaurant serving modern Australian cuisine and a bar.

It will also have 700m2 of meeting space, including seven rooms that can be converted into a ballroom for up to 500 guests, and a fully equipped business centre. Meeting planners are also available.

Located above the Brisbane Transit Centre and next to Roma Street Parklands, the hotel is a 10-minute walk from the centre of Brisbane’s entertainment and dining district of Southbank.

FIREFLY will launch four weekly services between Kota Bharu and Singapore and re-introduce three weekly flights between Penang and Koh Samui which were suspended in 2009.

The flights will start from August 10. Three weekly services between Subang and Hat Yai will also be launched on August 17.

Firefly will be the only airline to provide air links between these destinations.

PYO Travel, senior manager, sales, distribution & global support, John Chan, said: “It opens up opportunities to tourism players in these destinations and allows them to tap the Gen X and Gen Y segments with money to travel and are looking for short breaks to distract them from work and daily pressures.”

The new services and increased frequencies on certain high traffic routes are designed to maximise its 12 ATR72-500 aircraft utilisation.

Effective August 10, Firefly will add one service on Sunday between Subang and Pekanbaru in Indonesia, bringing the weekly number of services to four. Services between Singapore and Kuantan will be increased to daily, from four weekly services.

To make way for the new services between Kota Bharu and Singapore and the increase in frequencies between Singapore and Kuantan, Firefly will reduce its weekly services between Subang and Singapore from 49 to 42 weekly services as it does not have additional traffic rights.