Business
Laguna Phuket ready for Amway mega-event

PHUKET: The Laguna Phuket resort complex in Cherng Talay is gearing up for its largest-ever incentives event in April and May, when it will host some 16,000 Amway sales representatives from China.
Phakwiphoo Tanpradit, project manager for Laguna, said the Amway employee seminars will run from April 15 to May 14. They will arrive in staggered batches, with about four to six hundred participants daily.
At the “Governor’s meet the Media” conference on January 31, Ms Phakwiphoo explained that Laguna Phuket hotels would accommodate the guests, with four hundred VIPs staying at the Banyan Tree Phuket.
Such is the size of the group that it will require the resources of the entire complex to accommodate them.
“The remaining guests will stay at Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket, Laguna Holiday Club Resort, Best Western Allamanda Laguna Phuket, Angsana Laguna Phuket and Laguna Beach Resort,” she said.
Events and activities will include trips to islands in Phang Nga Bay such as Koh Phi Phi or Koh Hei.
Starting April 17, a Chinese-themed dinner for seven to nine hundred diners will be served nightly for the duration of the event.
Amway China representatives will arrive in Phuket from Taiwan mid-month to organize the event, then return on March 10 to set up the party, she said.
Central to the event will be a floating stage set up for entertainers at the gala dinner venue.
Expressing concern, Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa asked Ms Phakwiphoo to give special consideration to water safety issues throughout the event.
“The floating stage will be organized by Amway, but we will have workers help in some of the preparations, “Ms Phakwiphoo told her.
Rough seas are another concern, as the event will be held at the time of year when monsoon conditions typically set in, causing dangerous riptides and other hazards.
In terms of logistics, arrangements are well underway.
“We’ve already completed a lot of the preparations. At Phuket Airport there will be a priority lane to facilitate the large number of guests arriving, whose buses will have a police escort,” she said.
“Arrangements for parking buses at the locations the groups will visit, including Patong, have already been arranged,” she said.
“Also there will be small One Tambon One Product sales booths in all host hotels,” she added.
The representatives should have some extra pocket money, because growth Amway in China has been growing phenomenally since China revised its law prohibiting direct sales in 2005.
By 2008, China was Amway’s single largest market, reporting 28 per cent growth and sales of US$2.5billion.
Bloomberg Businessweek reported in April 2010 that the company had 237 retail shops in China, with 160,000 direct sales agents and US$3 billion in revenue.
— Atchaa Khamlo & S. Fein
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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.
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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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