Even though the serious floods hit Cambodia hard, we are happy to announce that the situation is calming and tourist trails are open.

Heavy rain in the Northern provinces has caused the water levels to rise which has resulted in some localized flooding in Siem Reap. This is limited to river front properties, downtown Siem Reap and Tonle Sap access points. All hotels are fully accessible and operational apart from Villa Kiara whose access road is blocked. The floating villages of Chhong Kneas and Kampong Phluck are currently not accessible and our clients are rerouted to Kampong Kleang. Further services that are currently suspended are the quad bike adventure, microlight flights, horse back riding and the camping experience at Wat Amphil, as well as some restaurants along the river. All other services continue to operate as normal and all major Angkor temples are open for visits. In order to protect the UNESCO World Heritage from erosion, only small vehicles of less than 25 seats are currently allowed on the roads around the Angkor Park.

In Phnom Penh the water levels of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers are high but have not resulted in any flooding and the Cambodian South Coast is not affected by floods. Low lying farm land is flooded along the Northern parts of the Mekong. However, access to tourist destinations is possible in all areas. Sambor Village Hotel in Kampong Thom will remain closed in October for renovation because of previous flood damage. Please rest assured that travel in Cambodia is still possible with little disruption and we are taking the best possible care of clients who are affected by any changes in their itinerary and will augment or upgrade services where possible. Whilst the situation is changeable, our operations team are constantly monitoring and will keep you updated on any developments.

Please contact cambodia@exotissimo.com for more information.

Exotissimo Travel will be present at a number of travel trade shows later this year and would be more than happy to answer your questions at these shows. Alongside ‘Pure Life Experiences’ in Marrakech and ‘World Travel Market’ in London, we will also be attending ‘PAICE’ on 09/11/2011 at The Skycity Auckland Convention Centre in New Zealand. You can find us on stand 67. For more information please visit: www.paicexpo.co.nz

Visit Mr Olivier Colomes, our CEO at EIBTM in Barcelona, Spain. This fair takes place between 29 November – 01 December 2011 and you can find Exo at booth E520. In Brussels, Belguim Jean-Marie Mell, Director Exotissmo France will be at BTExpo 2011 between 8-9 December. This is the very first time Exo have exhibited at this show so please come by to say hello.

For more information on any shows or to book an appointment, please contact marketing@exotissimo.com

Hue’s Phu Bai Airport will be closed from May 05th – June 05th 2011 for urgent runway maintenance.  Almost all confirmed bookings flying into Hue during this period have been suggested alternate routes in and out of Danang Airport. All flights into Hue during this period will be rerouted or rebooked to/from Danang by airlines without fee for all issued tickets. Other central region airports close to Hue include Dong Hoi to the north however flights to and from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are not daily and flight times are limited. For any future requests Sales Consultants will suggest new routes according to requested programs. For any further questions contact vietnam@exotissimo.com.

We have just been informed that the International Airport Tax payable for all passengers leaving from Siem Reap and Phnom Penh International Airports will be included in the air tickets effective of 1 April, 2011. Exotissimo Cambodia will include this tax of USD25 per adult and USD13 per child in the air ticket price for all tours starting on this date.

All clients with existing bookings for travel dates starting 1 April, 2011, that have already been confirmed and paid will be required to pay a supplement of USD25 per person to Exotissimo Cambodia on arrival. All partners with these affected bookings have been contacted by Exotissimo Cambodia.All clients travelling before 1 April ,2011, will still be required to pay the International Airport Tax separately upon departure at the airport. For more information please contact, Cambodia@exotissimo.com.

This weekend saw increased tensions on the Thai-Cambodia border over the land dispute between the two countries around the UN World Heritage Site, Preah Vihear. The disputed area is an isolated border region, far from any of Thailand or Cambodia’s main attractions, and not an area visited by tourists on either side of the border. Exotissimo Travel only operates a one day excursion to the Preah Vihear temple; we have no clients in the area or scheduled on the tour and will not be selling this excursion until further notice thus ensuring that this contained unrest has no impact on our clients or any of our routes.
Over the past 48 hours the situation has calmed and reports suggest both countries are open to resolving the matter amicably; however in the interim some of the borders between the two countries have been closed. These borders are Chong Sa Ngam/ Anong Veng border and Chong Jom/O’Smach. None of these are the main land borders are used by Exotissimo and any clients that have been affected have already been contacted.
If there are any developments we will send another announcement. For any questions please contact marketing@exotissimo.com.

Qatar Airways is spreading it’s wings in Vietnam by launching scheduled flights to Hanoi as well as increasing it’s frequency to Ho Chi Minh City nearly tripling the airline’s number of services in and out of the country. The Hanoi flights go via Bangkok and Doha, and the Ho Chi Minh service flies direct from Doha.
Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways said, “Qatar Airways appreciates the support provided by the Vietnamese government in allowing us to almost triple the number of flights we operate to the country. The bilateral relationship between Qatar and Vietnam has grown significantly in recent years and this route development is one of the results of this growing friendship. Vietnam has long been an attractive leisure destination and with the country’s economic strength continuing to build, we are also seeing more business travel in and out of the country.

Today there was a decisive move by the Thai authorities to end the six-week protests in central Bangkok. Throughout the day there were violent clashes as troops used force to remove the Red Shirt protesters from their rally sites in Rachaprasong, Din Daeng and Lumpini. By early afternoon the protestors had dispersed and the main Red Shirt leaders had submitted to the authorities. There have been further sporadic clashes throughout the afternoon but the main protest sites have now been cleared. The government have declared a curfew in Bangkok tonight from 20.00hrs to 06.00hrs tomorrow and all Thai citizens and foreigners have been asked to stay inside or in case of necessary travel to ensure they have their passports with them at all times.

We would like to let you know that all Exotissimo staff and clients in country are safe and will not be moving tonight during the curfew.

The security of Exotissimo clients visiting Thailand remains our highest priority. We would like to advise all clients scheduled to arrive in Bangkok tonight or early tomorrow morning to postpone their travels if possible. Any clients that do arrive will be transferred directly out of the city to avoid any potentially dangerous area. We have moved all clients in country away to safe zones either by the River or completely outside Bangkok. We are not offering any touring services in Bangkok and encourage clients to stay inside their hotels and are well taken care of and receive daily communications from our staff until they leave Bangkok.

The Airport is still open and clients transiting to other destinations will not be affected by the curfew. Elsewhere in Thailand the atmosphere remains calm and clients in Phuket, Samui, are not experiencing any difficulties although there have been disturbances in Chiang Mai and some cities in the north and north east of Thailand.

We are recommending clients scheduled to arrive in Thailand over the next few days consider changing their plans or postpone until the situation improves. We are doing our best to avoid cancellation fees on case by case basis. We will also be pleased to offer alternatives in any of our other destinations with no additional charges.

Exotisismo’s Bangkok office is located in Silom and we are still unable to access our building and will operate from remote offices this week and do our best to respond to all requests as quickly as we can. Our offices in Chiang Mai and Phuket are open as usual.

In case of an urgent or emergency situations only please contact the following senior staff:

Emergency Contacts:
Emergency Contact Number: +66 81 8672806
Edwin Briels (General Manager): +66 81 9337328
Ms. Waleerat (Operations Manager): +66 846418020
Hamish Keith (Managing Director): +66 81 8088395

We continue to follow developments very closely and update the travel advice as and when we judge that the risk changes. We sincerely hope that the events of today will signal the end of the violence and that peace and common sense will soon return to our beautiful country.

This week has seen the celebrations of ‘Songkran’, Thai New Year and one of the world’s greatest water fights take place. This is a time when many Thais return to their families to celebrate the New Year, meaning not only have the streets of the city been quieter than usual but many of the ‘Red Shirt’ protesters have left Bangkok to return to their hometowns, and are being encouraged not to return to the city. Many of the festivities have continued, the atmosphere has been great and revelers have enjoyed the traditional water fights on some of the streets both in Bangkok and throughout the rest of Thailand. Tourist sites, hotels and restaurants are all open and shops and businesses continue to trade as normal.

For any further information contact thailand@exotissimo.com

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

For total seclusion and the joy of having one’s ‘home’ while holidaying in Hoi An, Villa @ Red Bridge is the perfect choice. Overlooking Thu Bon River, this 300 square meter villa is located on a private compound between Hoi An ancient town and Cua Dai Beach. The self-contained villa offers expansive living and dining area, including a library, a fully-equipped kitchen and a fitness room spread across two levels. Each of the three bedrooms has a king sized bed, walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bathroom. Featuring natural stone and wood finishing with a traditional style Vietnamese roof, the villa is surrounded by a vast garden filled with tropical flora. The adjacent property has a pool which guests may use.

Daily breakfast is included in the rate. Guests also have the option of using the private chef for in-villa dining or barbeques in the garden. A ‘shopping list’ system is available for guests to stock up the kitchen with ingredients and drinks for self-catering. Nanny service is available for those travelling with children. A private car and driver can also be arranged or guests can take advantage of Red Bridge’s boat which goes to and from the town center 3 times a day.

Click here to view the villa details.