New Flights to Samui from Australia

Etihad Airways and Bangkok Airways have announced a codeshare service from Brisbane to Samui, via Singapore and return, saving two hours on the journey. The two airlines will also operate a codeshare service to/from Bangkok.

3rd February 2011 CHINESE NEW YEAR

- With many people of Chinese decent in Thailand this occasion is widely celebrated over a period of three days. Prepare to see and hear fireworks all over the island.

Macha Bucha Day 18th February

- Witness ceremonies taking place at temples all over the island.The highlight of the celebration will be the “wian tian,” where people with lit candles will hold processions around temples or chedis three at night.This most auspicious day is decided every year by the lunar calendar. Makha in Pali means the third lunar month and Bucha means to honor and the day is a national holiday in Thailand.

Koh Samui Marathon Results.

It is unlikely there is much local interest in the results but they are all here!

New way to reach Samui from BKK

Written by CHERDSAI THAWEEMUNG Thursday, 26 August 2010 13:34 BUDGET airline Nok Air has joined hands with Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran Co. Ltd., the biggest ferry line on Samui, in opening a new plane-and-ferry alternative mode of transport for travelers going to Samui from Bangkok and vice versa. The new route and Nok Air–Lomprayah partnership were announced at a press conference held at ibis hotel on Aug. 5. Lomparayah uses high-speed catamarans between Koh Samui and Donsak in Suratthani mainland. Passengers going to Bangkok then take a bus to Nakhon Sri Thammarat airport and fly to Don Meuang airport. Total travel time between Samui and Bangkok is less than five hours. Nok Air flies to Samui daily, departing from Don Muang airport at 6 a.m. The traveler reaches Samui at 10:40 a.m. Return travel departs from Samui at 1 p.m., and the flight reaches Don Muang airport at 5:40 p.m.

Baht May Climb to 13-Year High on Fund Inflows, Barclays Says.
August 31, 2010, 4:54 AM EDT
Thailand’s baht may strengthen to levels not seen since 1997 over the next year as accelerating growth encourages foreign investors to keep pouring money into the nation’s assets, according to Barclays Plc. The London-based bank predicts the currency will appreciate 1 percent to 31 per dollar over three months, 1.8 percent to 30.75 in six months and 2.6 percent to 30.50 in a year, Singapore-based economist Rahul Bajoria wrote in a research report today. Barclays’ January forecast was for the baht to advance to 31.75 in a year, Bajoria said in an interview. “We expect the baht to enjoy continued trend appreciation as the external position remains robust,” Bajoria wrote. “Strong inflows into local-currency bond and equity markets, along with current-account surpluses, should generate further upward pressure on the currency.” The baht advanced 3.2 percent in August, its biggest monthly gain since February 2008, to 31.29 per dollar as of 3:20 p.m. in Bangkok, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Koh Samui Marathon.

Start and finish in Nathon 19th September 2011- join in the fun and do something good!

Koh Samui Jazz Festival

It's free so don't miss it!! At various locations 24th - 30th September.

Koh Samui Taking Flight Again.

Bangkok Post-After taking a hard hit during the global slump, the island resort is showing strong signs of a recovery
Published: 29/08/2010 at 05:21 AM Newspaper section: Spectrum

The controversy over oil exploration off the coast of Koh Samui does not seem to have dented tourism on the island. The number of visitors increased by 19% in the first half of 2010 compared with last year, which admittedly was a low tide for Samui, said Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks. While the uplift is encouraging, it must be emphasised that Samui was probably the local resort market most affected by the global financial crisis. "There was a pretty sharp decline two years ago and this year we saw a high recovery, but it started from a low base," said Mr Barnett. Research by C9 Hotelworks shows that total tourist arrivals in the first half of this year were 8% higher than in the same period of 2009, with the recovery in overseas visitors reflecting a 21% increase in international flights from a year earlier. Aside from Bangkok Airways, which owns Samui Airport, two other airlines, Berjaya Air and Firefly of Malaysia, now fly to the island. "Certainly people are coming from Malaysia, people are coming from Indonesia _ we are seeing a sharp increase in regional travellers over the past two years so that is a strong fundamental," said Mr Barnett. He noted that the recovery in Samui tourism has begun despite the political events in Bangkok in April and May. Overseas tourists seem happy to come to Thailand as long as they don't see Bangkok on the boarding pass. C9 Hotelworks' research also shows that hotel performance on the island in the first half of this year saw surges in occupancy, rates and revenue per available room night

Koh Samui International Film Festival August 6th - 8th.

9th Koh Samui International Sawadee Yacht Regatta, Jazz Festival & Golf Tournament 31st May-5th June.

The vessel "Hi-Fi"that won top honours at the 2009 Regatta is expected to be one of the many competitors at the 9th Samui International Yacht Regatta in 2010. Now known as the Sawadee.com Regatta, the event is in its second year of title partnership with Sawadee.com, a leading in-bound travel company.

The regatta will take place on sunny tropical island of Samui from 31st May to 5th June 2010.

For the 9th consecutive year, this important event will attract competitive and social sailors from around the world. The five-day regatta is established as one of the most glamorous sailing events in Asia and is part of the Asian Yachting Grand Prix Championships. Excellent sailing conditions prevailed at the 2009 regatta and a round-the-island race was attempted for the first time in the history of the event.

In addition to the competitive sailing, the Regatta is about fun parties and it is firmly established as the umissable event on the international sailing circuit.

The 2010 regatta welcomes new event partners Pran Resort and Beach Republic, as well as the debut of a golf tournament that will tee off at the premier Santiburi Samui Country Club. Returning to the regatta as event partners are B1 Villas & Spa, Dhevatara Properties and Samui Villas & Homes. Headquarters for the event for the 9th time will again be the Centara Grand Beach Resort, home of the regatta since its inception.

Spectator boats will provide the opportunity for members of the public to get up close to all of the on-water sailing action. Public tickets will also be available for the legendary parties that occur most evenings during the regatta, featuring renowned bands and great entertainment. The regatta has teamed up with the Samui Jazz Festival, ensuring great entertainment for the many spectators attending from all over the world.

IBIS Koh Samui Trophy 2009

The Ibis Koh Samui Trophy 2009 Adventure Race and Fun Run Racing for a greener Koh Samui takes place on Sep 19th, 2009, supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as part of the Amazing Thailand Adventure Race Series. The Koh Samui Trophy will offer Running, Cycling, Kayaking and Swimming. The competitors will hike and run through jungle, paddle and swim on the turquoise waters of the gulf of Thailand and cycle over the hills with spectacular views on the ocean.

Pool Villa Promotion

SaveCancelCloseEdit FileWhen finishedThe Tourism Authority of Thailand will promote Koh Samui as a high-end destination, the goal being to leverage the island?s growing number of luxury pool villas, according to a member of the Thai Hotel Association. Thailand now has a total of 126 pool villas and 40 or one third of these pool villas are on Samui. As a typical example see http://www.samuisunsetpavilions.com

Children Free Sailing Lessons

Samui Yacht Club's Junior Sailing Program offers Kids of Koh Samui to learn to sail Optimist International dinghys free of charge. Many children have already signed up and Classes are held each weekend.

The Samui Mala Festival

September 19-27. The aim of this green event is to raise awareness of healthy living and environmental issues on Koh Samui. The event is held on several locations of the island. More details on the official website:http://www.samuimala.org/

Chinese Charter Flights July 2009.

A LARGE tour operator in China will open charter flights to bring Chinese tourists to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan starting July, an official of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said. The Canton Nanher International Travel Service, a leading tour agency in China, will bring in Chinese tourists directly from Guangzhou to Samui and Phangan

Top Yachts Register for Koh Samui Regatta 2007-27th May-2nd June.

Preparations for the 6th Koh Samui Regatta are well underway, with several top class entries already confirmed and a record level of sponsorship, including a number of leading brands.
Twenty-one confirmed and provisional entries, including Jelik, Abraxas, FfreeFire, Foxy Lady III, Happy Endings, Mandrake, Yasooda and Panic!, had been received by the organisers by 15 April, with a total of about 30 entries expected, mainly from Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand ? although Robbo Robertson?s new Enigma 34, Flight of the Gull, is being shipped from Australia just in time to make its Thailand debut at Koh Samui Regatta, and the regatta expects to see the first ever Firefly 850 one-design class racing in the Gulf of Thailand.
Full details at www.samuiregatta.com

Thailand Tops New Poll as No.1 Destination

A survey, conducted by Visa International Asia Pacific and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), found that 52 per cent of respondents were considering Asia as their next travel destination, 9 per cent more than in the previous year's survey.

The survey, called "Asia Travel Intentions 2007", questioned more than 5,000 international travellers from 10 key travel markets around the world and examined their travel intentions, as well as the drivers of and barriers to their travel. Around two-thirds of those surveyed had already visited Asia, and 47 per cent had been to Thailand before.

Thailand was again rated the No-1 destination on travellers' holiday lists. At least half of the respondentsin each market surveyed chose Thailand as their most likely holiday spot despite international media attention on Thailand's civil unrest in the weeks before the survey was conducted. They emphasised the country's reputation as a relaxing place where visitors could enjoy the local culture, natural beauty and friendly people.

New Samui Airport Terminal

Designed to look and feel like a tropical resort, the new terminal is a low-rise development with thatched roofs, palm-tree pillars, and wooden and rattan walls in an open-air layout that blends with its coconut-plantation surroundings.
The terminal will almost triple the passenger-handling capacity of the privately owned airport to three million a year, from around 1.3 million now.
As part of the overall upgrade of Samui airport, Bangkok Airways is also resurfacing its runway enabling it to handle larger and heavier aircraft such as the Boeing 737-400 and prepare the airport to accommodate the Airbus A319 jetliners that the airline will be adding to its fleet over the next two years, also supporting Bangkok Airways' plan to use Samui as a key base to expand its international network.
For community and environmental protection, flights are limited to 34 a day with operations banned between 10 pm and 5 am. Noise restrictions have also impeded Thai Airways International's plan to operate Boeing 737-400 jets through Samui airport under an agreement with Bangkok Airways.

NEW CHARTER FLIGHTS

Two new charter flight routes directly linking Surat Thani with Stockholm and Helsinki in the next high tourist season later this year (2007)are expected to boost Nordic tourist numbers by around 85%.
TUI Nordic will operate the services during the upcoming 2007-8 winter schedule, from October 2007 through March 2008, served by Boeing 757 aircraft.
The tour operator will also be introducing a 14-day Surat Thai leisure travel/holiday package featuring the islands of Koh Samui, Phang-ngan and Koh Tao.

THAILAND TOURISM

13,821,802 international tourists arrived in 2006, slightly over the target of 13.8 million, and a 20.01% growth over 2005.
Malaysians topped the list with 1,591,328 tourists mostly arriving by land, followed by Japanese at just over 1.3 million, Koreans with just over 1 million, Chinese with about 950,000, then British at 850,000 ahead of Americans, Singaporeans, Australians, and Germans.
All other nationalities were less than 500,000 arrivals. The nationalities with the highest growths were Saudi Arabians at 99%, Russians at 83%, East Europeans at 54% and Egyptians at 51% and the rest were less than 50%.

Announced by TAT.

With property prices half those of Phuket, laid-back Koh Samui is now luring investors.

Sunday Times article Jan 19th
http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/overseas/article1293903.ece

Four Seasons in Samui

Opened on February 1st this hotel is the fourth for the Company in Thailand,.
Set in a hillside location with individual villas stretching right down to the beach in North West Samui, the hotel features Sea food, Thai and Italian food, served either on the beach or high above on the crest of the resort.

Artificial Reef


189 old garbage trucks were dumped off the Thai southern coast on Friday 23rd June, in an attempt to build an artificial reef. The trucks, which were once used to collect refuse in Bangkok, were dropped into the Gulf of Thailand, about 5 km from the southern province of Pattani. Under a project initiated by Thailand's queen in 2002, many discarded items have been dumped at 47 sites in the Southern Thailand waters. A Fishery Department spokesman said some 43 species of fish were now living around these artificial reefs, an increase of 28 species since before the dumping.

Mobile Phones - 10 Digits


All mobile phone numbers are to be 10 digit in September 2006, both new and existing connections.

The number 8 will be added after the first zero of each number. Thus an existing number of "09 1234567" will change to "089 1234567". All local mobile phone operators will launch the 10 digit numbers on a trial basis in July, to facilitate the rapidly increasing demand for new numbers. The non mobile service will remain with 9 digits as long as this remains sufficient to accomodate new users.

Singha Light Promotion

As part of the promo campaign for the Light Beer introduced earlier this year, Singha have teamed up with Cleveland Golf of California for the next 12 months on a "Singha Light Vijay Singh Golden Golf Ball" promotion.

At the conclusion of each tournament in which Singh participates, assuming he makes the cut to the 72nd hole, Singh, who represents Cleveland on tour, will toss a special golden ball to the fans which can be redeemed for an 8 day trip for two to Samui, Thailand, including economy airfare, lodging and unlimited rounds of golf at Santiburi Golf Club, Koh Samui, plus a set of Cleveland Clubs.

Whoever catches the ball can log on to the Singha Beer web site to register their catch for verification.

If it was needed, here is an excellent reason to go and watch the game. What are you waiting for?

Koh Samui Music Festival 2006

The event this year will be held from the 29th September to the 8th October, the venue being the Coco Blues Company in Chaweng.

The first weekend will feature Blues and related music, with the second weekend aimed at the local population, featuring mainly Thai bands, with a mixed final night on the Sunday. The event is scaled down somewhat this year, with no lakeside performances. Keep an eye on the Official KSMF site for updates.

Koh Samui-Top Ten Islands Travel Award

The Readers Choice Awards, have been conducted by Traveler Magazine since 1998. This year, 28,000 tourists participated in the survey and placed Samui as the 5th best island holiday destination in the world.
Traveler Magazine, published by Conde Nast, is considered as the world's best travel magazine and has a worldwide circulation of around 750,000 a month. The magazine, the only six-time winner of the US National Magazine Award, is said to "elicit a readership of the most affluent, stylish and experienced travelers in the world."