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Post-tsunami anxiety, meditative spas, private pools and the boondocks
Some travelers like to stick to the places they know and love, but more
adventurous types want to explore new destinations. It is the latter sort
that drives each year’s travel trends. While demand fueled booms in
low-budget airlines and boutique hotels in 2004, this year visitors sought
out nature travel and trips involving Thai history and culture – basically,
the least touristic places they could find.
Clearly, the tsunami altered the travel landscape, and many people who
usually vacation on the Andaman coast chose alternative destinations. While
things have recovered to a large extent in the affected areas, domestic
occupancy was down 40 percent and 25 percent overall at such places as the
four-star
Metropole Hotel Phuket.
John Gray, who has run John Gray’s Sea Canoe in
Phuket for 16 years, says
that bookings are a quarter of what they were before the tsunami. He
compares the situation to post-9/11 New York in that it will take time for
many travelers come back. “People on holiday want to enjoy themselves.
They’re thinking ‘I don’t want reminded of everyone who died here,’” he
says.
Places like
Hua Hin,
Cha-am, Pran Buri and
Koh Samui grew in popularity,
due in part to the unfortunate circumstances elsewhere. More than a million
people came to Samui, up from 850,000 last year. While parts of the island,
like the popular Chaweng Beach, have seen unprecedented growth and gone
fully commercial, a new type of spa opened on the southern part of the
island. The Kamalaya Koh Samui caught the eye of yogis and meditative types,
as well as Joe Cummings, the author of Lonely Planet: Thailand, who claims
it was the island’s “big buzz.”
Kamalaya goes beyond the usual pampering associated with a spa and
considers itself “a holistic wellness center” that employs an acupuncturist
and offers 6:30am breathing classes as well as Tai Chi on the beach. Founded
by former Kathmandu expats with backgrounds in Tantric studies, its mission
is to help get in touch with “the inner beauty of ourselves and to help find
more balance in our lives,” according to marketing director Lawrence Oh.
The
Sofitel Central Hua Hin, the most recognized hotel in the town that
His Majesty the King calls home for much of the year, had a double-digit
increase in occupancy, according to resident manager Franck Loison. Annual
events in Hua Hin, such the June Jazz Festival, September’s Elephant Polo
tournament and the Hua Hin Vintage Car Parade early this month are enhancing
Hua Hin’s reputation as more than a quiet family getaway.
Nearby Pran Buri is also growing in popularity, according to Peter Myers,
editor of Thailand’s Lifestyle and Travel, among “discerning travelers, who
think Hua Hin is getting too commercial.”
But probably more than anywhere else, it became apparent this year that
Chiang Mai is fully reaping the benefits of the investment and effort that
has gone into building it up over the past several years. It was even listed
by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine as the fifth “best city” to visit in
their annual survey this year – ahead of New York, San Francisco and Oaxaca
– after never having made the top 10.
The openings this year of two new intriguing five-star options, the
Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi resort and
D2 hotel by the Dusit Group,
exemplify how the area is moving in different directions at the same time.
D2 offers a “modernistic style with Thai accents and Southeast Asian
fusion” that can serve corporate functions. In the words of Philip
Cornwel-Smith, editor of Time Out Bangkok, its ambiance is “modern, bright
and funky, with danceable music and staff in attire by Greyhound, one of the
leading Thai design labels to break out” abroad.
 D2
Hotel Chiang Mai
The D2 Hotel Chiang Mai is located on the
Chang Klan Road and is within walking distance of Chiang Mai city centre
and its famous Night Bazaar. The hotel is only 5 kilometres from the
train station and 7 kilometres from the Chiang Mai International
Airport. Numerous restaurants and bars are only a short stroll from the
hotel. Whatever Chiang Mai attractions you want to visit, you will find
them all within easy reach. |
The Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi describes itself as a “perfect retreat
from which to explore the rich cultural heritage of Northern Thailand.” The
architecture and employees’ uniforms are distinctively Lanna. Guests can
pound rice, learn to make crafts or take weaving or traditional dance
classes.
The Chedi Chiang Mai was another notable opening. But the hotel was badly
damaged in the floods that swept through the area this summer, perhaps a
sign that for all the buildup in the “Rose of the North,” its infrastructure
may not be ready for prime time.
While Chiang Mai is a destination in itself, many people used it as a
launching pad to explore elsewhere. Travel writer and photographer Charlotte
Shalgosky, who has lived in Thailand for seven years, says that places like
Phrae, Lampang and Lamphun are gaining a great reputation as “stepping-off
points that are undiscovered and off the beaten path. They’re less known but
are some of the most charming places in Thailand because they have not been
developed in any commercial way, and have retained Burmese and
Chinese-influenced character where you can discover much about Lanna.”
Even scenic Pai, once considered a hippie backpacker haven, has been
noticed by a different sort of traveler. Cummings says it’s “hotter than
ever, difficult to find rooms all year long, and has been discovered by
Thais, who flock there on weekends.” If you want to check it out, go soon,
because once the Pai airport is completed, it will never be so quaint again.
Travelers looking for quiet natural settings are venturing even farther
north to the gates of the Golden Triangle in
Chiang Rai. The Four Seasons is
betting on this becoming more of a movement; its Tented Camp Golden Triangle
is about to open, marking a huge departure from the hotel group’s
traditional offerings. The “rooms” will be in large tents, and guests can
learn to drive an elephant through the jungle, venture out onto the Mekong
and explore the world of the hilltribes. But they can still expect the
five-star treatment, and prices to match.
As opposed to last year’s boutique hotels, this year saw a growth in
“villa-style living resorts,” says Myers of Lifestyle and Travel. He
attributes the change to people wanting more enclosed space and private
pools. “It’s kind of depressing,” he says. More encouragingly, he notes “a
slow move toward a more eco-friendly tourism, a niche of travelers who
demand hotels that are environmentally responsible.”
Perennial favorites like Pattaya and
Bangkok remained so, but more
travelers shunned the cities for the countryside. Khao Yai National Park got
a boost after being granted World Heritage Site status this year, resulting
in a big increase in visitors, both foreign and local, according to a
spokesman.
As Tanes Petsuwan, director of international public relations at the
Tourism Authority of Thailand, puts it, “People are looking to get back to
nature...they want to keep themselves away from the materialism and the
hectic world. That’s why Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have been so popular
among tourists and why the hotels are fully booked up there during this New
Year period.”
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