Centara targets Gulf in awareness drive

Thai hotel group appoints Fusion Marketing to lead Middle East exposure campaign

Centara Hotels & Resorts has embarked on a brand awareness campaign in the Middle East market in a bid to better promote its weighty portfolio of properties in Thailand.

The company, which has 20 hotels and resorts spanning “every major tourism location” in Thailand, with plans to soon open a property in the Maldives, has appointed Dubai-based destination marketing firm, Fusion Marketing, to represent it in the GCC.

“It’s the first time we’ve implemented a long-term strategic vision for the Middle East market,” said Centara Hotels & Resorts senior vice president sales and marketing Chris Bailey.

“We have dipped in and dipped out of this market before, but have never come here in a big way.”

He said that in the past strong sales from key source markets such as the UK, Europe and Australia meant capacity was tight, but now, with more hotels opening in Thailand and the leisure market worldwide softening, the time was right to target new destinations such as the Middle East, and also India.

Bailey said Fusion would carry out sales, marketing and communications functions in the GCC and to also educate the travel trade.

He encouraged Middle East travel agents to sign up to Centara’s online training programme (www.chr.co.th) to learn more about the properties in the portfolio.

Agents can also book online and still get their commission, or they can negotiate net rates, Bailey added.

Sales tools in the form of downloadable brochures in both English and Arabic were also available online, he added.

The hotels and resorts most relevant to the Middle East market, said Bailey, were probably those located in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai.

However, the company also boasts properties in Krabi, Koh Samui, Trat, Hat Yai and Mae Sot. The company’s Maldives property — an all-inclusive product — will open in November.

Bailey said that Centara’s properties fell into the “premium four-star to value five-star category”.

They also fall into a wide range of accommodation types catering to the leisure, corporate and MICE sectors and comprising both large and small properties.

For example, the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld comprises a fully-integrated hotel, convention venue and retail and leisure complex, while the new Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya, soon to be completed, is a 554-room five-star beach resort designed according to a Lost World theme.