TRAVELTITBITS
Bangkok-Chumphon bus route
The Transport Company has launched a Bangkok- Chumphon interprovincial bus service from Bangkok Bus Terminal (Chatuchak).
The terminal is the central station for bus services to the North and the Northeast. The service to Chumphon in the South will be an alternative to the Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) on Boromratchonnanee Road.
The bus to Chumphon will have two routes. One is Bangkok- Muang district and the other is Bangkok-Lang Suan district, which is about 65km further south from Muang station.
The station in Muang Chumphon can connect passengers to Ranong and popular provinces along the Andaman coast such as Phangnga and Phuket while the Lang Suan station offers connections to southern provinces along the Gulf of Thailand including Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla.
The routes are operated by air-con bus with 40 seats. The bus leaves the station in Chatuchak on Kamphaeng Phet 2 to Muang Chumphon at 8.30am while the bus to Lang Suan station leaves at 8pm. For return trips from Muang Chumphon and Lang Suan stations, the buses will leave at 8pm. The travel time from Bangkok to Muang Chumphon is eight hours and from Bangkok to Luang Suan district nine hours. The one-way ticket fares are 328 baht and 374 baht respectively.
Visit home.transport. co.th/ index. php/th or call 1490.
Wongnai targets Thais
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has partnered with Wongnai, which is known for user food reviews, to promote eateries in Singapore.
The website presents information in Thai language. It allows users to find restaurants near their location or search for types of food. Also provided are sections of popular restaurants in Singapore based on user reviews, recommended restaurants or dishes by Wongnai, promotions and events.
“Thailand is our 11th largest visitor source market in 2017. Over half-a- million Thais visited our country last year,” said STB Southeast Asia executive director Edward Koh, adding that food is a major attraction for Thais visiting Singapore.
Singapore welcomes all Thai foodies to discover new flavours they have yet to experience, he said.
Visit wongnai. com.
Airlines AIRLINES update UPDATE
Bangkok Airways introduces new online payment channels.
The airline worked with 2C2P (Thailand), the payment service provider that offers multichannel payment solutions allowing the airline to accept other platforms of online payment such as LinePay, WeChat and AliPay. The system also supports the standard of UnionPay, the Chinese credit and debit card standard.
“The system support multi- currency payments which should broaden opportunities for Bangkok Airways to tap into some new markets in Southeast Asia and China,” said airline president Puttipong Prasarttong- Osoth.
Visit bangkokair. com.
Thai Airways will stop its direct flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui.
The last day of the service will be Sept 2. At present the airline flies two daily flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Koh Samui in Surat Thani with Boeing 737- 400, offering 12 business class seats and 138 economy class seats.
Samui Airport is owned and operated by Bangkok Airways. When Thai Airways ends the service, Bangkok Airways will be the only airline to offer direct services from Bangkok to Koh Samui.
Visit samuiairport. com.
Hotels HOTELS deals DEALS & update & UPDATE
U Hotels & Resorts celebrates its 10th Anniversary by offering a night’s stay with the prices starting at 1,000 baht on every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in the 10- month campaign starting from June to March 2019.
The hotel also will offer 10 special dishes and drinks priced at 100 baht at all U Hotels & Resorts throughout the month of June.
Visit uhotelsresorts. com.
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok has launched “Discover Bangkok Creative District” package.
The promotion is valid for a minimum twonight stay with prices starting at 19,975 baht.
The package includes accommodation with breakfast, a private two-hour guided walking tour in Bang Rak by Bangkok River Partners, afternoon tea in the Authors’ Lounge and 24-hour personal butler service.
Bangkok-based Minor International plans to acquire the NH Hotel Group to expand its hotel business in Europe.
The target shareholding in NH Hotel Group is between 51%- 55%, with a total investment of about 94.5 billion baht.
The NH Hotel Group operates 382 hotels in 30 markets across Europe, the Americas and Africa.
Minor International is a hotel owner, operator and investor with a portfolio of 161 hotels and serviced suites. It is also one of Asia’s largest restaurant companies and a large lifestyle brand distributor.
Visit minorinternational. com.
The Pavilions Phuket hosts a charity art exhibition of the Brazilian- born, Phuket- based artist Leticia Vaz Marques from June 15 to July 30.
Guests can purchase her artworks and some proceeds will be donated to the Phuket Hotels Association and its clean- up campaign.
Visit pavilionshotels. com/phuket.