3 Malaysians win Friends of Thailand award

A total of 38 individuals, institutions, companies and organisations which have provided unstinting support to the Thai travel & tourism industry over the years were presented with the Friends of Thailand Awards 2013 at the Thailand Travel Mart 2013 Plus, the kingdom's most important travel trade show, on 5 June 2013.

Initiated by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in 1996, the Friends of Thailand Awards are conferred every two years to recognise and reward the efforts of the award-winners to maintain a positive image of Thailand and ensure a steady flow of visitor arrivals. This year's awards will be particularly important because Thai tourism is generating record-breaking arrivals, a clear result of the successful contributions of the Friends of Thailand. This year there were three recipients from Malaysia - Mr. Teoh Weng Kim of PCP Publications (publisher of Travelution, Travelmate and Advanced Images); Madam Vickie Yeong Mei Choo of Airlink Travel & Tours and Mr Richard Sim Soo Guan of HYT Travel Services.

Commented TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni, "The awards presentation ceremony for the Friends of Thailand, is normally organised alongside the Thailand Tourism Awards towards the end of the year. But this year, for the first time, we are organising it alongside the Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2013 (TTM+) so that the award-winners can gain more recognition and also see the results of their efforts." He added, "The TAT realises and appreciates the efforts of both Thai and foreign organisations and individuals which have generated many benefits for our tourism industry, including economic development, job creation and preservation of our culture and heritage.

The award-winners also include stakeholders who have contributed to preservation of the environment, culture and national identity." The ceremony for 2012 has been moved to this year's TTM+. Through the 14 years (1996-2010), the TAT has conferred 510 awards on recipients from 59 countries.