Day Tours for Transit Passengers at the Airport

Richard Barrow · #1 22-05-09, 06:16 PM

We have just received the following press release and an invitation to the press conference for the launch of the special tours for transfer passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Quote:

SPECIAL TOURS FOR TRANSFER PASSENGERS AT SUVARNABHUMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Transfer passengers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport making a stopover of 12 hours or less will soon be able to take short “appetiser” tours of the Thai capital and its environs in order to whet their appetites to return later for “main course” tours.

To be inaugurated on 1 June, 2009 by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Chairman Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, the “Package Tour for Transfer Passengers” project is being organised by TAT together with the Association of Thai Travel Agents, Airports of Thailand, Ministry of Transport, Immigration Department and Thai Airways International. It will be effective until 31 May, 2011.

The facility will allow thousands of daily air passengers with time to spare between connecting flights to take a wide variety of tours in Bangkok and surrounding areas. As an incentive to take the tours, they will not be required to pay the 500-Baht airport tax, upon re-checking in for their onward flights.

TAT Chairman Weerasak commented, “The campaign will give transfer passengers a chance to enjoy a brief tour of the Thai capital and nearby provinces. By giving them a quick first impression, we hope to encourage them to come back for a longer stay in future.”

“Certainly, the money they spend during this whirlwind transfer will go some way towards helping some of our travel and tourism enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized companies, and keeping Thai people in jobs,” Mr Weerasak said.

ATTA has been appointed the sole official organiser of the tours, which are of about four hours duration each.

Information on the tours will be provided to all transfer passengers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport through a number of in-flight collaterals, especially on THAI Airways International aircraft, and in the transfer halls.

Passengers keen to join the tours will need to follow these simple procedures:

* Check whether their stopover time is enough to take any of the tours (not over 12 hours), and then select the appropriate one. Full tour programme details including costs, travel times to and from the airport will be provided.

* Contact either of the two tour counters that will be set up on both sides of the Transfer Hall and fill in the application form requesting an exemption of the airport tax.

* Tour counter officials will assist the passengers with all immigration formalities and take them to join the selected tours.

* After the tour, guides will take the passengers back to the airport for their departure flight and help them with immigration formalities.

List of interesting tour packages:

* Klong Tour
Take a boat ride to the Thonburi canals, discover a part of Bangkok that remains the “Venice of the East”.

* Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha
Tour the Royal Palace complex which is still used for ceremonial occasions. Thailand’s most superb royal temple with some of the finest murals in Asia.

* Shopping Paradise
Enjoy the prime shopping area at Central Chidlom, CentralWorld, Zen, Siam Paragon, or MBK Shopping Complex. On the return to the airport, stop to visit the Gemopolis jewellery factory.

* Massage & Spa
Relax with the Thai traditional massage package, followed by a Thai herbal hot compress massage and aromatherapy full body oil massage.

* Golf Tour
Experience the high standard of golf courses nearby Suvarnabhumi International Airport such as, Kiarti Thanee Country Club, Summit Windmill Golf Club, etc.

* Erawan Museum and Crocodile Farm
The Erawan, the three-head elephant is the vehicle of the Hindu God Indra. The museum houses a collection of antiques and contributes to the preservation of yjr Thai cultural heritage. Many of these are priceless objects of art. Proceed to the world largest crocodile farm. Over 60,000 crocodiles of different kinds in various pits. Watch a live demonstration of crocodiles being caught bare-handed and enjoy the elephant show.

* Siam Ocean World
Billed as the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia, with world standard exhibits and features.

* Siam Niramit
One of the world’s largest theatres stages a lavish production exploring the cultural heritage and beliefs of the Thai people.

The prices will include an air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking guide, and admission and tour expenses as mention in the programme. Golf tours will include transport, green fees, and caddy fees.

According to the Airports of Thailand, the number of transfer passengers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport totalled 1.5 million (-9.79%) in 2008 and 446,997 passengers during January-April 2009, a decline of 9.29%.

We will report back with more details later after we have attended the press conference. They are also inviting us to join one of the tours on that day though our only choices seem to be either Emerald Buddha or Erawan Museum/Ancient City.

**Khun Don** · #2 22-05-09, 06:32 PM

Looks to be one of TAT's better ideas-glad to see they have sensible enough to wave the B500 airport tax as an incentive-though of course it all ultimately depends on the cost of these tours.

**David_Loves_Ubonwan** · #3 22-05-09, 07:13 PM

I didn't know there was still a 500 baht airport tax; I haven't had to pay it on my last two trips?

David

Richard Barrow · #4 22-05-09, 08:10 PM

David you are right of course as these days the 500 baht fee (didn't it go up to 700 baht?) is now included in your flight ticket. However, don't forget that these people are only in transit in Thailand. They wouldn't normally leave the airport so they don't need to pay departure tax. However, if you leave the airport and come back the same day then maybe they argue that you now need to pay the departure tax. However, how do they tell the difference between the people who have the fee already included in their flight tickets and the people who break their transit time by going on a tour? Maybe they cannot tell the difference and that is why they decided to waive it. It makes them look good and solves a problem at the same time.

**David_Loves_Ubonwan** · #5 22-05-09, 08:52 PM

I didn't know it was added to the ticket. The trip before last I enquired at check-in as to whether the fee was still 500 baht so as to not spend to much before going through the gate, and was told by SriLankan check-in staff that there was no longer a depature tax.

David

Richard Barrow · #6 22-05-09, 09:12 PM

It went up last year. In order to disguise this raise in fee they decided to hide it by including it in the price of your airline ticket. When I last flew they said "most flights". I guess it must be all flights by now.

**Betti** · #7 22-05-09, 09:24 PM

> In order to disguise this raise in fee they decided to hide it by including it in the price of your airline ticket.

I think most airports have higher departure taxes - but they have always been included in the plane tickets so we never really knew they were there.

**David_Loves_Ubonwan** · #8 22-05-09, 10:17 PM

Yes, I think the only other place I had to pay a tax in the airport was Saigon in Vietnam where it was $20 paid in dollars and not local currency. They also had a lower tax on internal flights payable in Vietnamese Dong, but on the internal flight I took the lady at the tax desk told me I didn't have to pay.

David

Richard Barrow · #9 01-06-09, 10:59 PM

We were invited over to Suvarnabhumi International Airport for the press conference to launch the "Transfer Passenger Tours". We then passed through immigration to meet the first transit passengers coming off the plane who wanted to join the tour. You can see my report here.

http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php/...sengers?blog=5

In a moment I will post some more pictures of the press conference and then later more details about the different tours on offer.

Richard Barrow · #10 01-06-09, 11:10 PM

This is Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, the chairman of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) leading the press conference.

He then led a parade through the airport to greet the first transit passengers taking advantage of these tour packages.

We went through baggage claim....

Where Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat chatted with some foreign tourists.

Here I spotted the "Fruit Paradise" stand which wasn't related to our even. When I later when out through customs to the arrival lounge they were handing out bags of free fruit to the arriving passengers.

More pictures to come....