Flower extravaganza set to return

       The floral extravaganza Ratchaphruek Festival returns to Chiang Mai next month from Dec 1-10 to celebrate the 82nd birthday anniversary of His Majesty the King, the world's longest reigning monarch.
       Organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives,the provincial administration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the festival is expected to draw more than 200,000 visitors.
       According to Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT's deputy governor for marketing communications, on Dec 5,which is the King's birthday,there will be a grand ceremony involving the lighting of candles and offering of prayers wishing His Majesty sound health,followed by fireworks and light and sound presentation.
       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will preside over the festival opening on Dec 1 when he'd join local notaries to release 999 floating lanterns, followed by Thai classical dances from the four regions of the country,with 99 performers from each region.
       Taking place at the same venue that played host to the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of His Majesty's accension to the throne in 2006, the festival is an exhibition of flowers, plants and fruits,sale of farm products, handicrafts and OTOP goods, and contests featuring farm commodities.
       The event three years ago featured roughly 2.5 million plants and flowers,including some rare orchids, and drew about as many visitors.
       "The festival should help boost tourism and raise hotel occupancy in Chiang Mai," said the deputy governor.
       A first in Chanthaburi
       Launched on Oct 26 in Chanthaburi,the first training centre for management of shipwrecks and underwater cultural heritage brings together 16 archaeologists from across the Southeast Asia region.
       The training programme is a part-nership between Unesco, the Ministry of Culture and the Underwater Archaeology Division of the Department of Fine Arts.
       "Thousands of historical items have already been stolen by treasure hunters and if preventative measures are not put into place to combat the illegal trade,even more priceless treasures will disappear from Asian waters," said Ricardo Favis of Unesco's Bangkok office, adding "Asian maritime archaeologists are still in their infancy, so we must improve their knowledge and skills."
       The first batch comprises trainees from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.The course runs until Dec 5. It is conducted by experts from Australia, England and Holland, and covers subjects such as maritime law,in situ preservation of shipwrecks and underwater sites, museology, treasure hunters and monitoring techniques, shipbuilding technology and ethnographic boat recording.
       The Chantaburi facility is one of the best-equipped in the region and located in proximity of shipwreck sites, allowing the trainees to field-test practical skills.
       Major TAT push in Moscow
       The Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) office in Moscow has embarked on a major offensive after the number of Russians visiting Thailand dropped 29.43 per cent in the first four months of this year.
       In 2008, Russian visitors to Thailand totaled 319,587, up 14.23%over the previous year, and generated 16.24 billion baht in tourism revenue. During 2002-08, the number of Russian visitors to Thailand grew by an annual average of 28.79% while their spending grew by 32.76% annually. However, the global financial crisis saw their number drop by 29.43% during January to April this year.
       Therefore TAT's Moscow office launched the "Welcome to Thailand Mega Fam" campaign last week, reining in 70 Russian travel agents and media representatives to its cause."Our research shows many opportunities for growth," said Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT's deputy governor in charge of marketing communications."Russia is mainly a winter-season market as Russians love our warm weather, the beaches and the sea. Many also enjoy learning diving and exploring underwater treasures around the Andamans and the Gulf of Thailand."
       TAT is targetting high-end tourists and meeting delegates through tour packages to Bangkok with a detour to neighbouring countries, and expects the campaign to generate 293,000 visitors from Russian alone, not to mention the Central Asian republics, for a turnover of roughly 14.03 billion baht this winter.
       Park encroachment
       The Department of National Park,Wildlife and Plant Conservation last week raided a marine park in Trang Province,the site of a private resort, and seized 20 workers before ordering a halt to further construction.
       Almost 80 per cent complete the resort,valued at 20 million baht, belongs to a Songkhla businessman. Located in Hat Chao Mai Marine Park, it's built on a strip of land where construction is forbidden.
       The raid followed complaints from locals. Somchai Masathien, director of the Forest Fire Control Division led a 50-strong force to the construction site and arrested the workers, after which he told the local media that the building will be demolished.
       Tiger resumes flights
       Anticipating a rise in passenger traffic during the upcoming tourist season, Tiger Airways has resumed flights between Singapore and Krabi.
       "We are very excited about the resumption of Krabi flights. With four flights a week you now have an additional choice of a holiday destination," said Tiger Airways Managing Director Rosalynn Tay.
       All of them are afternoon flights available Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The start-up price is at 535 baht excluding surcharges.
       Visit www.tigerairways.com for more information.