Passenger terminal at Trang Airport.
The Department of Airports plans to build a new passenger terminal for Trang airport.
It aims to quadruple the capacity from 300 passengers per hour to 1,200 within the next four years.
According to the department, the total number of passengers to Trang has been increasing. At present, the airport serves about 864,000 passengers a year and expects to rise to 1.5 million passengers over the next five years.
The 1,659 rai airport has only one terminal for departures and arrivals, one runway and three parking bays. Nok Air, Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air service Trang.
During the second phase of expansion, the two-story passenger terminal will initially expand from 3,000m² to 6,000m². The project will be completed within the next year.
A second terminal will be built and completed in 2022. It will be able to handle 3.5 million passengers a year.
Additionally, the airport will expand its runway from 2.1km long to 3km to serve larger aircraft. The project is expected to be finished in the year 2024.
New cultural hub
Siam Piwat, the developer of the Iconsiam retail complex on the banks of Chao Phraya River, will open SookSiam as a new cultural attraction in Bangkok next month.
Located on the ground floor of the newly built Iconsiam, the 700 million baht project will occupy 15,000m². It will be a centre for selling selected products from 77 provinces as well as a place for presenting the cultural heritage of Thailand’s four regions.
To make the attraction more appealing, each regional zone will have a landmark attraction such as the floating market for the Central Region, kad mua or art and food streets of the North and Sino-Portuguese-style shophouses to represent the South. There will be outlets for selling handicrafts, food and for hosting performances.
SookSiam will offer tour packages starting at 750 baht for visitors who want to wear a traditional Thai dress. The packages also include a signature drink and snack.
Airlines update
– Thai AirAsia will launch its first direct flights from Bangkok to Gaya in India on Dec 3.
Gaya is home to Bodh Gaya, the Lord Buddha’s place of enlightenment and one of the four holy sites of Buddhism. The site contains the Mahabodhi Temple, Buddhist Temple and the Thai Monastery of Bodh Gaya, the first Thai temple in India.
The airline will fly four flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Don Mueang Airport at 8.20am and will arrive in Gaya at 10.10am. The return flight leaves at 10.40am and will arrive at Don Mueang at 2.50pm.
During its introductory period from now until Sunday, an all-in fare for its loyalty BIG member is 3,990 baht per trip and 4,030 baht for other travellers.
Visit http://airasia.com.
– Thai VietJet will launch its first direct flights between Bangkok and Taichung on Nov 3.
The service will be available five times per week on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It will depart Suvarnabhumi Airport at 9am and will arrive in Taichung at 1.45pm. The return flight will be at 2.30pm and the arrival time in Bangkok will be 5.15pm.
Visit http://vietjetair.com.
Hotel deals update
– Centara Q Resort Rayong has been opened.
Located on Laem Mae Phim Beach, the beachfront boutique resort features 41 rooms with a total living space ranging from 34m² to 58m².
The property also has a function room that can accommodate up to 90 attendants, restaurant, bars, swimming pool, spa, E-Zone for teenagers, mountain bikes for rent and shuttle service to local markets.
Meanwhile, Centara Hotels and Resorts plans to open Cosi Pattaya Na Kluea Beach in North Pattaya next September.
The hotel will have 282 rooms, swimming pool, fitness, laundromat, a 24-hour social hangout and digital playspace, a 24-hour café.
The hotel will be the second Cosi hotel brand after the Cosi hotel in Samui.
The third Cosi property, which is under development will be opened in Krabi in 2020.
Visit http://centarahotelsresorts.com.
– Five resorts in Thailand have been voted among the top 20 best resorts in Asia by Readers’ Choice Awards conducted by the US-based Conde Nast Traveler magazine.
They are Iniala Beach House Phuket (ranked 10th), followed by Soneva Kiri on Koh Kood in Trat (11th), Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve Krabi (12th), Anantara Hua Hin Resort (14th) and Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp Resort Chiang Rai (20th).
Visit http://cntraveler.com/readers-choice-awards/asia/asia-top-resorts.
– Sala Hospitality Group is offering a “Suite Escape” package to promote its exclusive two-bedroom Presidential Pool Villa.
Highlights of the three-night package includes daily Champagne breakfast served in the villa for four guests, cinema night in the villa with fresh popcorn and confectioneries, and round-trip transportation to and from Phuket airport.
Valid from Nov 1 to March 31, the package prices start at 83,500 baht for staying in the Sala Phuket Resort and Spa, 79,000 baht for Sala Samui Choengmon Beach Resort and 100,828 baht for Sala Samui Chaweng Beach Resort. The promotion prices are not applicable during the peak Dec 23 to Jan 7 period.
Visit http://salahospitality.com/phuket/promotion/suite-escape.
Email [email protected] if you have any comments to share.
