Best Western Hotels & Resorts has launched an 11.11 sale promotion campaign, offering 11 full days of discounts with up to 50% off at hotels and resorts in many destinations across Asia.
Available to book from now until Nov 19 for stays until March 31 next year, this promotion starts from less than US$30 (980 baht) per night and can be booked at a wide range of midscale hotels in many desirable locations in Asia, such as Best Western Plus Wanda Grand Hotel in Bangkok, Best Western Patong Beach in Phuket, and Best Western Kuta Villa in Bali. Every booking includes complimentary Wi-Fi.
A room rate of less than $50 per night includes SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western Sukhumvit 2 and SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western AC Luxe in Angeles City, the Philippines.
Visit BestWesternAsia.com.
Suralai Koh Samui ready to welcome tourists
Suralai, a six-bedroom luxury villa on Koh Samui has undergone extensive renovation to retain its reputation as one of the island's premier private villas. Now, the hotel is welcoming foreign visitors from a list of 46 approved countries, with no quarantine requirements.
Travellers need to undergo an RT-PCR test upon arrival and stay a night in an SHA-approved hotel within two hours of the airport.
Recent renovations of Suralai have seen all rooms refurbished with cool grey ceramic floors, new louvred blinds and drapes, as well as stylish new soft furnishing accents in rich Jim Thompson silk fabrics. New outdoor furniture has also been added to the wide wrap-around terrace, and the open show-kitchen and long island-bar upgraded for a sharper and fresh new look.
For reservations, visit elitehavens.com/suralai-villa/bophut-koh-samui-thailand.aspx.
Bath and shower oil collection. (Photo: Mandarin Oriental)
Mandarin Oriental products now available online
Guests and fans of Mandarin Oriental can now experience a range of the group's branded products in the comfort of their homes. Providing a global online shopping experience, Shop M.O. features a collection of signature luxury items, from hotel bedding and award-winning spa products to bespoke gifts from individual hotels within the portfolio.
Shop M.O. will feature products from various categories namely Bed & Bedding (mattress, bed linen, pillows, duvets); Bath & Spa (robes, slippers, aromatherapy spa products); Fragrance (candles, diffusers, perfumes for the home); M.O. Signature Gifts (branded travel items and exclusive collaborations with partners such as Orlebar Brown and Aquazzura); Little Fans (gifts and products for children, including bathrobes, bedding, soft toys); and Hotel Exclusives (unique products from hotels, including tea sets from Bangkok, kimonos from Japan, and autographed cookbooks from some of the group's Michelin-starred chefs).
New products and categories will be added to Shop M.O. on an ongoing basis.
Visit shopmo.com/en.
Suralai on Koh Samui.
Study shows Thais favour domestic travel
Visa recently released a study titled "Visa Voice Of The Consumer Research", revealing that Thai leisure travellers will continue to discover domestic destinations through 2022 as shorter, safer trips become the preferred mode of post-Covid travel.
The study found that 51% of Thai respondents are likely to take a leisure trip in Thailand within the next year while 23% plan to travel overseas. The study also found that the top three factors that will make Thai travellers comfortable to travel again are being vaccinated, (67%), reduction of global cases of Covid-19 (55%), and having Covid-19 insurance (41%).
When it comes to the top overseas travel destinations, the majority of Thai travellers are keen to visit Japan, followed by China, Australia, South Korea, Canada and France.
When asked about their appetite for travel, 48% said they were keen to travel within a bubble but not in the immediate future. Meanwhile, around 33% said they were keen to travel as soon as possible when a travel bubble is available, and the remainder said they were not interested in travel bubbles.
Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Thais remain cautious about international travel
While Thailand is gradually welcoming international tourists with initiatives such as the Sandbox and reopening of the country, a survey by digital travel platform Agoda found that Thais expect outbound travel to return soon with one in two thinking travel in Asia will be possible within the next six months and 29% for travel outside Asia. However, they are not inclined to hop on a plane to travel just yet until they feel safe about health and safety protocols and vaccination rates.
Half of Thai respondents anticipate that travel within Asia will be possible in the next six months, with 40% anticipating some travel restrictions in place or travel through bubbles or corridors only. When it comes to taking trips after restrictions are lifted, 51% plan to travel in Asia and 42% outside of Asia within a year or more, while 4% and 5% respectively hope to travel immediately. Just under a quarter, 23%, don't plan to travel within Asia until at least 80% of the world's population is vaccinated against Covid-19.
