Post ATF 2007 Tour Of Bangkok: Pt 1
3 – 5 February 2007
Bangkok, Thailand

A SOUJOURN IN BANGKOK POST ATF SINGAPORE 2007

The 26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum (ATF2007) was held in Singapore from 26 January - 3 February 2007. The event was jointly organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) and Singapore Hotel Association (SHA). The venues for the event this year was at the Raffles City Convention Centre and the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Held in Singapore for the fifth time to promote the ASEAN as a single tourist destination comprising of the 10 member nations of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the event was attended by more than 1,600 delegates for the forum as well as key decision makers in the travel trade industry worldwide. The annual forum comprises of the meetings of ASEAN Tourism Ministers and Heads of the National Tourism Organisations (NTOs). To coincide with the forum, a travel mart (TRAVEX) took place from 1-2 February where key decision makers in the travel industry were invited. TRAVEX gave them an opportunity to negotiate business with major hotels, travel agents and other travel services from Asean participating at TRAVEX.

Thailand's press briefing was presented by its tourism minister Dr Suvit Yodmani and the new TAT Governor Mrs. Phornsiri Manoharn. Both of them introduced the Royal Initiative Discovery, consisting of 9 unique Royal Project sites to visit, namely in Chiang Rai, Sakhon Nakhon, Ayutthaya, Lampang, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Phanom, Phetchaburi and Chonburi to coincide with his Majesty the King's 80th Birthday. The Thai tourism industry welcomed some 13.8 million international visitor arrivals in 2006 and will celebrate throughout 2007 His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday.

The 27th Asean Tourism Forum will be held in Bangkok from 18 January to 26 Jan 2008.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) was, as always, gracious in hosting foreign journalists to a post ATF tour around Bangkok from 3 -5 January and 7-9 January. We took the tour from 3-5 January and what a sojourn it turned out to be.

We arrived in Bangkok's Survanabhumi Airport and were greeted by our guide Khun Torntida of Tour Square Travel Service appointed by TAT to look after us. We were made to feel very welcome right from the very beginning which is a sign of things to come when Thailand plays host to ATF 2008.

We were taken in a very comfortable mini-coach to Chachoensao district which was about halfway between Bangkok and Pattaya along jam-free highway