New Chiang Mai Hotel adds to boutique offerings
18-room Butterfly Resort located 10 minutes north of town

Located on the Ping River 10 minutes from Chiang Mai’s old town, the Butterfly is an independent resort featuring 18 deluxe rooms and 1 villa suite. The quiet location and spacious garden setting creates a relaxing atmosphere suited for couples or FITs and is winning accolades as being an oasis-like, unpretentious resort. Amenities include a riverside bar and lounge, all-day dining, a lap pool, plunge pool, library and free shuttle service to town. The large rooms have dark wood floors and furniture accented by local textiles and wifi internet is available throughout the property.

For more details and pricing click here
Booking and inquiries can be sent to: thailand@exotissimo.com

During the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet), Exotissimo’s Vietnam offices will be closing at noon on 12 February (Friday). The offices will fully re-open at 9AM on 18 February (Thursday). During this time, our operations staff will be working as usual and our 24-hour emergency phone numbers will be in effect to handle any urgent issues. Sales staff will be present, but replying only to urgent matters. Emergency numbers are as follows: Hanoi/North (Mrs Thuy +84 9 1323 7135) Hue/Hoi An/Central (Mr Quang +84 9 0544 3009) and Ho Chi Minh City/South (Mr Long +84 9 1380 1350)

Exotissimo Vietnam Lends a Helping Hand to Local Communities

In keeping with our responsible travel ethos, Exotissimo gives back to local charities and the disadvantaged in Vietnam in a number of ways:

Aid assistance in typhoon-struck province- A week after the devastating Typhoon Mirinae hit South-central Vietnam, the Exotissimo team arrived in Phu Yen Province to render aid to four affected villages. Altogether three tons of rice, instant noodles, cookers, blankets, personal hygiene kits were given out, totaling more than 2.000 USD in aid given.

Sponsor for a kids’ day out- Over 40 impoverished children from Mekong Delta villages in Ben Tre Province were sponsored by Exo Vietnam on a fun day out at the Water Park and the Botanical Gardens in Ho Chi Minh City. For most of the children this was their first time to the city and they were overjoyed at the opportunity. In addition, one child was given a year of scholarship sponsored by Exo Vietnam.

Sponsor for KOTO Charity Bike Ride- Proudly sponsored by Exotissimo Vietnam, the annual KOTO Charity Bike Ride was successfully held in Hanoi on 21 November 2009. Over 150 riders turned up for this event. KOTO is a not-for-profit restaurant and vocational training program for the disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.

Click here to view other causes your clients can support while on holiday in Vietnam. For more information, please contact Le Hong Lan, Project Manager for CSR and Special Projects, at honglan@exotissimo.com.

Exotissimo Cambodia Teams Up with Local Charity

Exotissimo continues to play a part in the development of sustainable tourism in Cambodia by teaming up with American aid organization Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) in their inaugural Hidden Treasures Cambodia contest. This initiative seeks to identify and promote lesser known attractions in order to increase awareness amongst potential visitors and encourage tourist spending outside established areas. The winning destinations were offered consultation with Exotissimo Cambodia and media promotion. This year’s winners are:

o Peam Krassop – Mangrove forest in Koh Kong Province
o Chi Phat Ecotourism village in the Cardamom Mountains
o Chambok Community Based Waterfall – an ecotourism site in the Cardamom Mountains
o Ta Tai Waterfall – an ecotourism site in the Cardamom Mountains
o Phare Ponleu Selpak – an arts school and circus center in Battambang
o Banteay Chhmar – a cultural tourism site
o Kampong Luong Floating Village – an ecotourism site in Pursat Province

Click here to view other causes your clients can support while on holiday in Cambodia.

We are pleased to welcome David King as the new Operations & Adventure Manager of Exotissimo Cambodia. David was originally from Ireland and possesses extensive knowledge of adventure travel in Southeast Asia through his previous living and working experience in Vietnam. Based in Siem Reap, he can be contacted at david_king@exotissimo.com.

Exotissimo will be attending EIBTM at Barcelona from 1-3 December. We will be represented by Mr. Olivier Colomes, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Dominique Thomas, General Manager of Exotissimo Travel Spain and Mr. Gaetan Decherf, Sales Executive of Exotissimo Travel Spain. You can choose your own timing and Exotissimo representative you would like to meet. Click here to schedule an appointment with us at EIBTM.

We have recently appointed Le Hong Lan as the Project Manager to develop our responsible travel initiatives by working with various charities and sustainable tourism projects in Vietnam. Lan joined Exotissimo Vietnam in May 2005 as the MICE Operation Coordinator and was in charge of operations for incentive groups as well as developing MICE products. During this time he was able to see the impact of tourism in Vietnam and his involvement in charity events led to his strong interest in social responsibility. He can be contacted at honglan@exotissimo.com.

We are pleased to welcome Miles Gravett as our new North American Sales Manager and he will be responsible for the US and Canadian markets. Based in our Bangkok head office, Miles will make frequent visits to North America and have communication channels to the US and Canada open at all times. A US native from San Francisco, Miles was formerly our Siem Reap Operations Manager and possesses excellent destination knowledge of Southeast Asia with his seven years’ professional experience in the Asian travel industry. He can be contacted at miles@exotissimo.com.

At the same time, our US office will remain open with Beth Ringhofer based in San Francisco to handle enquiries and to liaise with our American agents in real-time. She will work closely with Miles and together they will form a very experienced and capable team. Beth can be contacted at beth@exotissimo.com.

Our annual Professional’s Guide is now available. In this 2010 edition, you will find the inclusion of Indonesia as an Exo destination in addition to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The guide continues to be a showcase of our expertise in tailor-making tours and include other interesting features such as a hand-picked selection of hotels and resorts, stunning photography and staff picks. To view the brochure, click here.

Also available is our newest Adventure Brochure, an all-encompassing guide to adventure travel in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Indonesia. It features an exciting line-up of experiential adventure travel options, ranging from biking and trekking to kayaking and snorkeling, as well as a highlight of our responsible travel initiatives and tour products. Click here to view the brochure.

For more information about our brochures, contact marketing@exotissimo.com.

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.

Our Vietnam Seat-in-Coach (SIC) tours are now available at an unbeatable price of 599 USD per person, including domestic flights, first class accommodation and tours, while the superior option is offered at 834 USD with the same inclusions. Departing every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from October 2009 – April 2010, this 9 Days / 8 Nights package visits Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City. Optional extensions to Angkor Wat or beach breaks are available on a non-SIC basis. Click here to view the full itinerary and rates. For booking inquiry, contact vietnam@exotissimo.com.