Tropical storm Mirinae is reaching Vietnam’s south-central coast today (2 Nov 2009) at around 6pm near the town of Thuy Hoa. Other affected areas will be the beach destination of Quy Nhon further north and Nha Trang further south.

Exotissimo currently has very few customers in this area but all those in the vicinity and clients scheduled to arrive tomorrow have been informed of the situation.

All clients have been advised to stay indoors during the worst of the storm and to follow instructions given by the hotels.

If you have clients affected by the storm, you would have heard from our Travel Consultants about what has been done by now.

Please contact your usual Exotissimo contact for any question or more details about the situation on the ground.

The center of the tropical storm Parma is reaching Vietnam’s northern coast today around 7pm after ravaging the Philippines for one whole week. The storm is much weaker than the Category 2 typhoon Ketsana which affected central Vietnam two weeks ago.

At the moment the main affected area is Halong Bay as all boats are forbidden to leave port and all cruises were cancelled for yesterday (Tuesday), 13 October and today (Wednesday), 14 October and most probably also tomorrow.

Since yesterday, we have been talking to all our clients booked on cruises and we have informed them about the situation. We then proposed alternative programs and re-arranged all bookings. Options varied from day trips to Hoa Lu, additional sightseeing in Hanoi, cooking classes to overnight excursions to Mai Chau to the west of Hanoi.

If you have clients affected by these changes, you would have heard from our Travel Consultants about what has been done. The changes are done with minimal inconvenience for your clients and without them having to spend any extra money. In cases in which the changes result in a lower total pricing, we will inform you first to seek your opinion on how you want to handle things.

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW?

- The storm will be moving inland from Halong to Hanoi and will weaken considerably once it touches land this evening. As of 2pm (Vietnam time) today, it did not even rain in Hanoi.

- Visits in and around Hanoi for today and tomorrow will be affected by the wind and rain. We will plan all visits as well as possible.

- We do not see any reason to postpone or bypass a trip to Hanoi and do not expect any hotel closures unlike during the Ketsana storm.

VIETNAM

We are pleased to inform that everything is almost back to normal in Hoi An town and Danang.

HOTEL UPDATES

- Life Resort Hoi An remains closed until 14 Oct.

- Golden Sand Resort closed till end of this month.

- Victoria Hotel is open but swimming pool will be closed for another 3 days.

Boat trips in Hue and Hoi An are now possible again.

CAMBODIA

Cambodia has seen great improvements in the affected cities over the last weekend. In Siem Reap, it has not rained for the past two days. Water is receding and traffic is almost back to normal.

LAOS

In Laos, the typhoon threat has passed with only the southern provinces bordering Cambodia affected by floods. The situation remains fine in major tourist destinations.

VIETNAM

In Vietnam, we are glad to announce that the ground situation in Hoi An and Danang has improved significantly since yesterday and we even experienced some sunny weather in Hoi An!

Hoi An

- Hoi An: Bach Dang and Nguyen Thai Hoc streets are still flooded. However all other sightseeing sites are open, including Japanese bridge, Fujien Pagoda, Phung Hung and Quan Thang old houses, Ceramic and Sa Huynh Museums.

- Restaurants Cargo Club, Mango Room, Morning Glory and Brother’s Café will not open until tomorrow (Friday).

- Hotels Pacific, Ancient House and Lotus are now accessible again.

- The pool at Riverside Resort will take a week to be cleaned.

- Boat trips are still not possible on Thu Bon.

- My Son is NOT accessible yet.

Hue

- Hue City: water has receded and all sightseeing sites are open.

- Boat trips on the Perfume River are NOT possible yet.

Roads

- Road to Hoi An from Cua Beach: OK

- National Road No. 1 between Hue and Danang is open again

Train

- From Danang/Hue to the north: OK by today (Thursday); To the south by Friday, 2 Oct 09.

Hotels Partly Opened

- Victoria Hotel: the SUP and DLX rooms remain operational although the garden, pool and the beach need a complete clean-up. All cancellation fees will be waived until 5 October and normal operations will resume on 6 October 09.

Hotels Still Closed
- Golden Sand Resort: closed until 7 Oct 09 inclusive

- Life Resort Hoi An: closed until 14 Oct 09 inclusive.

LAOS

The Lao Government has urged the population to remain vigilant against Ketsana’s potential threat in Bolikamxay, Khamouane and Vientiane, the 3 provinces bordering Vietnam. The Mekong River is not threatening to flood yet and no heavy rains have fallen in Laos. There are no disruption to flights or tours in major tourist destinations such as Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Pakse and Champassak.

CAMBODIA

Currently the situation in Siem Reap and northern Cambodia is stable, but there has been severe flooding in a number of areas including the Siem Reap city center. The Siem Reap river has overflowed its banks and the water level is still rising. The airport remains open, but we had to cancel all boat trips to the lake as all access roads are closed. Transportation around various parts of the town has been affected by the flooding. All our clients are completely safe and no hotels have been affected. We are staying in constant contact with all our clients and will keep everyone updated as the situation progresses. The road between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap is partly flooded around Kampong Thom but remains accessible. The situation in Phnom Penh is good despite seeing heavy rains every day.

THAILAND

The situation in Thailand is fine with only the northeastern part of the country on high alert. Heavy rains and some flooding have been experienced in provinces such as Ubon Ratchathani but Ketsana is expected to weaken as it moves further inland. There is no flight disruption and all roads and airports remain open and accessible.

Typhoon Ketsana attained Category 2 level yesterday (Tuesday) before reaching the Vietnamese coast near Quang Nai. After landfall, the storm weakened rapidly and although it claimed 38 lives unfortunately, its passage was less destructive than what we have seen in the Philippines. Rains have stopped and this morning, the sun even broke through in Hoi An!

The streets close to the river in Hoi An town are flooded but water levels are receding. Visits are currently impossible. The affected streets are Bach Dang, Tran Phu, Le Loi, Nguyen Thai Hoc. The access road to Hoi An from Cua Beach is also underwater. The other access road to Hoi An via Tra Que village and the main coastal road from Danang remain open.

Hue and Danang airports have re-opened since this morning.

The damage assesment and clean-up is in full swing now and below is a list of facts as per Wednesday afternoon (Vietnam time).

The situation evolves by the hour and we will post updates on our website from tomorrow onwards. Please check http://traveltrade.exotissimo.com/ for the latest updates.

1. Open hotels

Danang & Hoi An:

- Furama Resort

- The Nam Hai

- Sandy Beach Resort

- Palm Garden Resort

- Hoi An Hotel

- Hoi An Beach Resort

Hue:

- La Residence

- Pilgrimage Village

- Huong Giang

- Century

- Saigon Morin

Some smaller hotels in the low-lying center such as Asia Hotel, Camelia and Queen have flooded access but remain open.

2. Inaccessible/damaged/closed hotels

Danang & Hoi An:

- Golden Sand: road access is blocked and clients have to walk 1 km to the main road for pick up. Hotel will be closed until 7 Oct 09.

- Victoria Hotel: road access is blocked, closed for 1 week to repair damage. Opens on 7 October 09.
- Life Resort: hotel’s ground floor is underwater with substantial damage. Closed until 14 Oct 09.

- Hoi An Riverside: hotel’s ground floor is underwater with road access blocked as well.

- Pacific, Ancient House and Lotus: inaccessible due to flooded roads.

3. Roads

- The main coastal road between Hoi An and Danang is partially covered with sand but remains passable.

- Access to Victoria and Golden Sand: full of sand, needs to be cleaned up. Guests must walk to main road.

- The National Road No. 1 between Hue and Danang is cut off and not passable at the moment.

4. Trains

No departures/arrivals from/to Danang and Hue. Just from Quang Ngai in the south and Quang Binh in the north.

5 . Restaurants

Hoi An:

- Brother’s Cafe, Nam Long, Fullmoon, Cargo Club, Morning Glory, Pho Hoi Garden: flooded and closed.

- Secret Garden, Ngoc Tuyet, Pho Hoi 1: OK, remains open.

Hue:

- Ancient Hue, Tropical garden, Royal Park: not accessible

- La Thong, Biet Phu Thao Nhi: OK

6. Sightseeing

- Hoi An & My  Son: No sightseeing possible until water recedes. We expect things to be OK by Thursday afternoon although clean-up in town will still be going on.

- Hue: Thien Mu Pagoda, Minh Mang Tomb, Citadel: not accessible right now due to flooded access. OK by tomorrow.

- Tu Duc, Khai Dinh tombs: OK

- Cham Museum Danang, Marble Mountains: OK

- Boat trips in Hue and Hoi An: impossible

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW?

- We do not see any reason to postpone or bypass a trip to Hoi An and central Vietnam after today.

- Sightseeing: all itineraries and meals will be re-arranged as best as possible by us in agreement with our clients.

- Existing and coming bookings: all current clients and clients arriving in the next week booked in hotels touched by the storm will be moved to the best possible alternative hotel of the same standard (in case the original hotel does not operate properly).

We will do all our best to fix any issue and to minimize any inconveniences for your and our clients.

Please contact your usual Exotissimo contact for any question and more details about a service/supplier not mentioned above.

The heart of tropical storm Ketsana reached the central vietnamese coast on Tuesday 29 Sep evening 200 kms south of Danang near Quang Ngai. The affected areas are mainly Danang and Hoi An.

Rains have been very heavy in the last 2 days and some streets in downtown Hoi An are flooded and it is now impossible to move around as car transfers are interrupted due to downed power lines. Some clients in hotels close to the beach have been moved to hotels further inland in Hoi An or to Danang. The rest of clients remain in their hotels in protected areas in the main building. The Victoria Hotel Hoi An has already announced a closure of 1 week since Tuesday.

We have been in touch with all clients in the last 36 hours to keep them informed about the situation and have moved some clients out in the last 48 hours by plane when possible and else by train. The airport in Danang closed on Monday mid-morning and Hue Monday afternoon and today Tuesday both airports are closed. We do not expect them to reopen before Wednesday 30 Sep 09 afternoon, but could be Thursday morning 1st October.

All passengers are safe and are now advised to stay in their hotels until the storm has passed. We expect the worst of the storm to be over soon.

Once the storm has passed we will continue to work on program changes individually with each client in order to re-arrange itineraries and minimise inconveniences.

For any questions please contact your usual Exotissimo operator at any time.

In case you cannot contact us by mail or office phone please see below our usual 24hrs contact details:

Main Emergency contact (24 hrs)
Mr. Long (English and French): +84 (0) 9 1380 1350
When in Vietnam dial: 09 1380 1350

Additional Emergency contacts (24 hrs)
German: Mr. Dominik Schaufler : +84 (0) 9 0999 2797
When in Vietnam dial: 09 0999 2797
Spanish: Ms. Saskia Butin : +84 (0) 9 3857 9734
When in Vietnam dial: 09 3857 9734
North Vietnam (French/English): Mrs. Thuy : +84 (0) 9 1323 7135
When in Vietnam dial: 09 1323 7135
Central Vietnam (English) : Mr Quang : +84 (0) 9 0544 3009
When in Vietnam dial : 09 0544 3009

OFFICES
- Ho Chi Minh City Office
9 Dinh Tien Hoang, District 1
TEL: +84 (0) 8 3825 1723 | FAX: +84 (0) 8 3829 5800

- Hanoi Office
26 Tran Nhat Duat
TEL: +84 (0) 4 3828 2150 | FAX: +84 (0) 4 3828 2146

- Danang Office (Central Vietnam incl. Hue and Hoi An)
206 Nguyen Tri Phuong Street, Danang
TEL: +84 (0) 511 3647 755 | FAX +84 (0) 511 3647 744

At 13.00 today (5 August) the Koh Samui airport reopened and flights have resumed as normal.

A Bangkok Airways plane crashed earlier today at the Koh Samui airport. There were no Exotissimo clients on board this airplane. Flights to and from Koh Samui are currently suspended but we are expecting them to resume this evening or tomorrow morning. We will keep you informed of the updates and will make alternative travel arrangements for clients should the need arise.

Dear Partners,

Bangkok – Thursday 4 December 2008: 17:00pm

Airport and flight situation
This will be the last airport and travel update since the situation is almost completely back to normal in Bangkok. Don Muang Airport has fully resumed normal operations, including check-ins since 06h00 this morning. Domestic carriers are using this airport for their regular scheduled flights. At Suvarnabhumi Airport, flights have been departing and arriving since yesterday while check-ins are still done at a location outside the airport. Starting from 1100 on Friday 5 December, check-in counters will open at Suvarnabhumi airport.

Some airlines are still using UTP airport (with check-in at Bitec convention centre) or CNX and HKT airports. Most of these airlines have announced the dates that they will start operating from the BKK airport again (most of them within the coming days). Thai Airways continues to use several airports (including Suvarnabhumi) for their international flights out.

All Exotissimo clients now have confirmed tickets in their hands for departure flights in the coming days (or hours). All Exotissimo Thailand staffs are exhausted but happy that we managed to take care of each and everyone of our clients. I am very proud of our Exotissimo Thailand Team for doing such a great job.

Since the airports are about to run normally again, airlines and hotels are now becoming stricter with cancellations. So in case your clients are hesitating about continuing their planned holidays to Thailand (although there is no reason to postpone the trip), please first check with our staff about the cancellation fees.

Promotional Package
Our product department has put together an interesting promotion package which gives more then monetary discounts to clients – click here for details. As always, we can customise the itinerary although the number of nights in each hotel is fixed and we cannot give breakdown quotations for this promotion package. Because of the great discount and the long validity period (11 Jan ? 31 Oct 09) of this promotion, we hope that it will give you exactly what you need to send out a promotion package to all your clients. Please inform our reservations department (achrawadee@exotissimo.com) if you are interested in this package for certain clients.

We value your opinions!
What kind of promotional packages would you need for your clients? Exotissimo values your opinions and we would like to hear from you on what you think is needed to get tourism back on track in Thailand. Please inform our product department (soonie@exotissimo.com or chakrawooth@exotissimo.com) if you want to make other promotional packages to send out to your clients. Thailand will be, more than ever before, a destination which offers great value for money and Exotissimo is ready to negotiate with all our suppliers to create the best value for your clients.

King’s birthday
Tomorrow, Friday 5 December is a public holiday in Thailand in celebration of the king?s birthday. The Exotissimo office will be partly open (operations, reservations and ticketing) for urgent cases.

Last of all, I would like to thank all the Exotissimo clients who showed so much patience while dealing with the fact that they had a forced extended holiday in Thailand (I would imagine that was hard and unexpected) and all our agents who showed such good cooperation with our Exotissimo staffs in working hard to make the extended holiday as short as possible.

Best regards,
Exotissimo Travel Team

Dear Partners,

Airlines are slowly succeeding in re- booking clients on alternative travel routes (from UTP, HKT and CNX) so more people have a confirmed flight reservation in the coming days. Some clients have decided to buy new flight tickets back to their home countries (if their own airline could not rebook their tickets). Some of the clients currently in the country (and scheduled to leave within a few days) already found their reservations automatically re-scheduled to another airport by the airline. For instance, clients planning to depart from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport on 5 December find their reservations changed to UTP (Uthapao airport).

Thai Airways

Most international airlines seem to have most of their bookings reasonably under control and are re-routing rather then cancelling their flights. Thai Airways (TG), the airline which handles by far the biggest number of passengers and had most of their airplanes stuck at Suvarnabhumi airport till yesterday, has encountered more problems. To re-book flights, TG clients have to go in person to the TG office in Bangkok and present their old tickets. Some of our agents managed to re-book their clients’ flights in the Amadeus airline system.

The best advice we can give to clients stuck in Thailand with a TG ticket is to buy a new ticket with a different airline and try to get a refund from TG for the unused sector. TG announced to give refunds to clients who do not use a sector. Attention: TG also announced that if a TG ticket is changed to another flight with a different final destination, TG will NOT pay for the additional travel costs between the destination you arrive in and the final destination mentioned on your TG ticket. For example, if you decide use your TG ticket with Paris as final destination for a TG flight going to Copenhagen you can not expect TG to pay for the additional stretch from Copenhagen to Paris.

Extra flights

Some budget airlines have scheduled extra flights in the region to give people the possibility to travel as planned – it means that clients have to buy a new ticket and try to get a refund at a later stage. Governments of some countries have decided to send extra flights to Thailand to get their people back home. These kinds of extra flights are usually not available for booking in the airlines reservations system. However, governments of most countries decided not to send extra airplanes simply because there is no security risk or negative travel advice against travelling to Thailand.

Postponing travel plans

If your clients feel nervous about travelling to Thailand at the moment, we understand their feelings. If your clients wish to postpone their travel plans to a later date (travelling dates up till 15 December), Exotissimo will rebook everything planned without any extra charges.

Outlook and Update

Today, the Thailand Constitution Court has dissolved the People Power Party and its coalition partners due to election irregularities and banned its executives from holding political office for five years. This means the Prime Minister has lost his job so technically the PAD protestors have got what they wanted. We are hoping this will allow the PAD to leave the airports. However, at the time of writing there is no movement.

Exotissimo sincerely hopes that the situation will be back to normal soon.

Best regards,

Exotissimo Travel Team