Business
Kata Group taps into trillion-yuan wedding market

PHUKET: Kata Group Resorts Thailand aims to host up to 2,000 weddings in Phuket over the next three years after forming an alliance with Travel Wedding (Beijing) to exploit the growing market of Chinese honeymooners.
The group, which owns seven hotels in Thailand, this month launched a range of wedding and honeymoon products to be exclusively promoted in China to the country’s outbound tourist market, with their China-based strategic partner Hunluhao Co, which operates Travel Wedding Beijing.
Pramookpisitt Achariyachai, Kata Group Resort’s chairman, said that China has become Thailand’s largest and fastest growing tourism market since the visa-on-arrival policy was introduced.
“We aim to solidify the group’s leading position in the wedding and honeymoon industry and make Phuket known as a must-go wedding destination,” he said.
Hunluhao’s CEO Zhang Sihua said almost half of the 12 million Chinese couples getting married each year go abroad for their honeymoons.
“China’s population is more than 1.3 billion and the wedding industry has expanded to 1.5 trillion renminbi (yuan) a year, which is 2.7 per cent of China’s GDP. More than 5 million Chinese go abroad each year to take wedding photos,” he said.
“With increasing incomes, information symmetry and rapid improvements in transportation infrastructure, foreign destinations have become an ever more popular choice for potential newlyweds,” said the CEO.
“Destination weddings, wedding dress photo shoots and honeymooning will allow Chinese couples to experience something completely different to a domestic wedding – stunning scenery, foreign cultures and a honeymoon all at the same time.
“This is the project’s core competency. Through Sino-Thai vertical integration, our products will have a leading advantage in terms of service, markets, and channels, giving us a competitive edge in the Chinese market,” he said.
Mr Pramookpisitt added that the resort chain will offer global-standard products and services especially for the Chinese market.
“This strategic cooperation with China is part of Kata Group’s strategy to differentiate products, shift into the high-end segment and penetrate deeply into the market,” said Mr Pramookpisitt.
“The group benefits from this vertical integration cooperation as it allows us to more thoroughly understand the Chinese consumer. With a united and consistent sales and marketing strategy, our coalition will raise product awareness and sales.”
— Chutharat Plerin
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Business
Governments & old media versus social media – who will win? | VIDEO

We look at the recent changes made by the Australian and Indian governments to except control over the world’s biggest social media platforms. India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social. There is now an open battle between the rise of social media platforms and the governments and ‘old’ media that have been able to maintain a certain level of control over the ‘message’ for the last century. Who will win?
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told. The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
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Business
The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”
India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.
They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.
The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Turbulence ahead for Thailand’s aviation industry | VIDEO

When the airlines, in particular, were asking the government to put their hands in their pockets for some relief funding in August last year, it was genuinely thought that international tourists would be coming back for the high season in December and January. At the very least local tourists and expats would head back to the skies over the traditional holiday break. And surely the Chinese would be back for Chinese New Year?
As we know now, none of that happened. A resurge in cases started just south of Bangkok on December 20 last year, just before Christmas, kicking off another round of restrictions, pretty much killing off any possibility of a high season ‘bump’ for the tourist industry. Airlines slashed flights from their schedule, and hotels, which had dusted off their reception desks for the surge of tourists, shut their doors again.
Domestically, the hotel business saw 6 million room nights in the government’s latest stimulus campaign fully redeemed. But the air ticket quota of 2 million seats still has over 1.3 million seats unused. Local tourists mostly skipped flights and opted for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
As for international tourism… well that still seems months or years away, even now.
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