Vote for PEACH - CEI Industry Survey 2009

As you know, our Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), the world-class meetings facility of the multi award-winning Royal Cliff Beach Resort, is now set to host large-scale events for as many as 8,000 delegates under one column-free roof. By virtue of a billion-baht (USD 31.67 million) expansion plan, the capacity of PEACH increased from 5,800 to 8,000 delegates further strengthening its position as the largest convention centre on the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand.

Already one of the main convention venues in the Kingdom, the extended facility has elevated Pattaya as the destination of choice in the global congress market. Commenced in August 2006 and completed in May 2008, the expansion programme helped the venue to facilitate large-scale events that were going to outgrow the existing facility or that could not be accommodated in Pattaya because of space constraints.

Since its inception in 1999, PEACH has been the venue for several prestigious global events. Some of the recent events include the District Governors-Elect Seminar held at part of the 91^st Lion’s Clubs International Convention, the United Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific Congress 2008 (UCLG-ASPAC Congress), the 8^th Global Symposium for Regulators organised by the International Telecommunication Union, the 46^th ICCA World Congress and the 67^th Skål World Congress. These truly global events involving conventions, exhibitions and a series of breakout meetings/seminars, elevated Pattaya as the meeting industry’s preferred choice in the Asia Pacific!

You may be aware that CEI Asia Pacific magazine is conducting an online survey – CEI Industry Survey 2009 – to discover Asia’s Best Convention and Exhibition Centre. In this connection, we kindly request you to vote for our Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH). For your convenience, I have pasted hereunder a sample voting form.

Please visit the CEI Industry Survey 2009 and cast your vote in favour of PEACH as shown above.

Many thanks in advance for the consideration.

Royal Cliff Beach Resort travel to the bottom of the world

The multi award winning Royal Cliff Beach Resort recently travelled to the bottom of the world in an effort to promote Pattaya and all the splendors that the Royal Cliff Beach Resort has to offer.

Representing the Royal Cliff Beach Resort on the journey was myself, Michael Swart, Deputy Director of Sales & Marketing.

The journey started Friday the 8^th of August from Suvarnabhumi International airport in Bangkok, with a direct Thai Airways International flight to Auckland the capital of New Zealand located on the north island. The flight went smooth and after flying non stop for almost 11 hours we finally arrived at Auckland International airport on Saturday morning at 10H25. A half hour shuttle transfer later I was checked in at my hotel adjacent to the tallest tower in the Southern hemisphere

The remainder of Saturday was spend in bed recovering from jet lag, and Sunday was planning the sales calls for Monday.

Monday was back to business and I visited several MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition) agents whom we have been dealing with in the past. The purpose of the visit was to update our partners on recent developments at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort which included the completion of our expansion of PEACH (Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall), which is now able to accommodate up to 8000 people in for a meeting.

That evening I participated in an Amazing Thailand Products presentation by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and its private sector partners. We had a record number of 40 leisure agents that turned up for the event. The evening started with a table top presentation by the private sector where we had the opportunity to interact with the agents and provide information and to answer questions.

This was followed by a formal sit down presentation by TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) and then each of the co participants had the opportunity to showcase their products and destination. A sumptuous buffet dinner followed.

The following morning it was up at the crack of dawn to catch a 09H00 flight to Christchurch. A short 1 hour flight and we arrived in Christchurch and were welcomed to freezing cold 2 degrees celsuis, it is then that i longed for the warm Pattaya weather where night time tempretures are around 25 degrees.

The first day in Christchurch was spend on visiting several of the local travel agents based in Christchurch and providing updated product informations and general feedback on current happenings in Pattaya and at the award winning Royal Cliff Beach Resort.

The following evening was another product presentation similar to what we did in Aukland. This time around i decided to place heavy emphasis on promoting Pattaya as a destination and my message was that Thailand has so much more to offer than the usual Bangkok, Phuket and Chiangmai which is generally receiving the bulk of all marketing and visitor. Pattaya stretching 500 kilometres along the Gulf of Siam and only a few hours drive from Bangkok, the East Coast of Thailand has long been the favourite getaway destination for both residents and visitors to Thailand. Attracting more than 3 million tourists from all over the world annually, Pattaya offers the highest standard of hotels, restaurants, sports, entertainment and shopping facilities. In recent years, Pattaya has become home to an ever expanding number of businesses and business-related service institutions, underlining its evolution from a tiny fishing village to a pivotal player in Thailand’s social, cultural and economic scene.

We were presented with another great buffet and this was followed by the price draw. The Royal Cliff Beach Resort donated 2 nights complimentary in a Mini Suite at the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel. The lucky winner was Sarah Andrews from Flight Centre in Northwood, Christchurch, who happened to be sitting right next to me during the dinner

Double click on the below album to view all photos taken during the trip

Michael Swart, far left with the rest of the delegation whom participated in the Thailand Travel Products promotion in New Zealand