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Tag: new year

  • Vietnam stock market makes bright start after Tet holidays

    Vietnam stock market makes bright start after Tet holidays

    The VN-Index began the new lunar year with a 1.5-percent jump Monday morning, led by aviation and energy stocks. It gained 22 points to 1,503 points at 11.20 as the market reopened after the nine-day Tet break, reaching a near four-week high. It represents a 4.1-percent recovery from the bottom of 1,439 points reached on January 18 as investors booked profit before the holidays.

    Most brokerages expect the index to rise this week since no negative news came out during the holidays. Analysts at ASEAN Securities and BIDV Securities said the VN-Index is set to stay in the 1,500 levels this week. It closed in the green on an opening day on five of the last six years since 2016, only dipping in 2020 when Covid-19 first hit Vietnam.

    The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 24 of them gain Monday, led by VJC of budget airline Vietjet, which rose by 6.6 percent as investors expect a recovery by the aviation industry after the government announced plans to revive international tourism by March-end.

    Vietnam Airlines (HVN) gained 7 percent to the ceiling and its highest in over three months.

    Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) rose by 7.4 percent with volumes reaching 321 percent of the average of the last 10 sessions.

    Energy stocks also rose, with PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex climbing by 6 percent and GAS of state-owned Petrovietnam Gas gaining 6.2 percent. POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation was up 6.5 percent. Companies expected to benefit from rising consumer demand, such as VRE of real estate retail firm Vincom Retail and MSN of conglomerate Masan Group were the other gainers.

    The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid-and small-cap companies, was up 1.2 percent, and the UPCoM-Index on the Unlisted Public Companies Market had gained 1 percent at the time of publishing.

  • Retail News Asia Wishes you a Fantastic 2022

    Retail News Asia Wishes you a Fantastic 2022

    Wishing you a very joyful New Year despite these difficult times. We really wish things were different and that we could visit you! We hope that the new year brings your family much happiness and prosperity, and that in time the world will be a safe place again. Take care of yourselves and see you online soon!

    The entire Retail News Asia team wishes you, your family and friends all the best.

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  • E-Red Packets Gain Traction

    E-Red Packets Gain Traction

    With physical gatherings limited, red packet gifting via digital channels on the first two days of the Lunar New Year grew considerably from the year before.

    Efforts to digitalize the longstanding custom of giving hong bao (red packets) during the Lunar New Year have been given a boost by the pandemic and limited social gatherings in Singapore, according to local banks, which reported a rise in e-hongbao adoption.

    DBS reported more than 9,000 DBS eGift transactions on Friday and Saturday – a 108 percent increase from last year – and 215 percent more at S$595,000, with some S$2 million loaded on 32,000 of the bank’s QR gift cards compared to S$660,000 on 18,000 QR gift cards in 2020. Transactions on OCBC Bank’s Pay Anyone app rose more than 140 percent compared to last year, while the volume of PayNow transactions made by UOB customers tripled on the first two days of the Lunar New Year from 2020, the banks said.

    Limitations with regard to physical interactions and gatherings, and new cashless habits adopted in the past year among consumers contributed were behind the rise in digital giving, a spokesman for Standard Chartered, which saw PayNow transactions rise 400 percent, told the paper.

    While community transmission of the Covid-19 virus in Singapore is largely contained, households in Singapore are limited to a maximum of eight visitors per day, which has put a dampener on celebrations.

    Despite the rise in digital alternatives, old habits die hard, as evidenced by the efforts of banks that have continued to produce red packets with elaborate designs.

  • ATMs stutter during busy Lunar New Year lead-up

    ATMs stutter during busy Lunar New Year lead-up

    Many people in Hanoi and Saigon were unable to withdraw cash from ATMs while online bank transfers also took longer than usual during the weekend.

    Three ATMs belonging to a bank on Hanoi’s Pham Ngoc Thach Street stopped working several times in the past few days, including on early Saturday evening when all simultaneously flashed that services were “not available at the moment”.

    Nguyen Hoang, a customer who tried to withdraw money, said: “I came here because the ATM in Ha Dong District did not let me withdraw, but not only did the transaction fail but my card was also swallowed. I have urgent things that require cash but when I called the hotline, they said I had to wait until Monday to get my card back.”

    Two ATMs belonging to Vietcombank and BIDV in the area also failed to deliver cash, as did others belonging to VietinBank and PVCombank elsewhere in the capital.

    At around 5 p.m. on Saturday a long queue could be seen outside two ATMs in front of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Hai Ba Trung District.

    Lien, who had to queue for over 10 minutes to withdraw cash, said: “There are three BIDV ATMs next to each other on Ton That Tung Street, but two of them showed errors resulting in a large number of people queuing up. So I came here.”

    The ATMs have been frustrating customers in Ho Chi Minh City as well.

    Two ATMs on Le Duc Tho Road in Go Vap District saw dozens of customers entering and leaving the cubicles Sunday evening after being informed they had insufficient cash. Some of them said they had already tried four or five ATMs earlier.

    In an industrial zone in District 7, Minh Buu, a blue-collar worker, said many ATMs in the area reported errors when he tried to withdraw cash.

    “There are already very few ATMs in the suburb; now errors keep popping up, tiring us out.”

    The run-up to Lunar New Year is a peak time as demand for shopping and payments skyrocket, especially during weekends, causing even transfers through some banks’ online systems to become slow and error-prone.

    This month, especially during the past week, many Agribank customers have reported being unable to use the bank’s mobile application, which has been showing the “service not available at the moment” error.

    Some have also reported not receiving notifications about money being transferred to their account several days after transactions. The bank’s employees have claimed it was due to system maintenance.

    To meet the soaring demand, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has instructed banks to make specific plans for ATM operations during the end of the year and the Lunar New Year holidays, and closely monitor their ATMs to ensure they operate normally.

    It also told them to take appropriate measures to reduce the load on ATMs in busy areas, warning they would be fined if an ATM is out of order for over 24 hours without customers and the local central bank branch being notified of it.

    But technical issues and local congestion could still occur during peak hours, especially in the case of banks that have yet to upgrade their ATM systems.

    According to the SBV, in addition to existing solutions to supply ATMs with enough cash, banks also need to promote cashless payment methods such as internet banking, mobile banking and paying through POS terminals and by scanning QR codes.

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  • New Year’s Eve was WhatsApp’s biggest messaging day in its 10-year history

    New Year’s Eve was WhatsApp’s biggest messaging day in its 10-year history

    It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since people are using WhatsApp. Luckily, the messaging company is here to remind us that WhatsApp was launched on iPhones back in August 2009. One year latest, the app made it to Android and the world will never be the same for the messaging ecosystem.

    Last year, WhatsApp released an interesting infographic that highlights some of the app’s most important milestones since its release. Today, the messaging service announced that New Year’s Eve was the biggest messaging day in its 10-year history.

    On December 31, 2019, between 12 AM and 11:59 PM, people across the globe sent a record-breaking 100 billion messages on WhatsApp, including over 12 billion photos. Also, in case you’re wondering, here are the five most popular WhatsApp features that people are using throughout the year: text messaging, status, picture messaging, calling, and voice notes.

    Today, WhatsApp has more than 1.5 billion users every month and will probably reach 2 billion users by the end of 2020. The app is now present on Android and iOS platforms, but a desktop app is also available since May 2016.

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  • EON and Aurora unveil special Songkran promotions Offering 10 months of 0% interest on gold and diamond loans

    EON and Aurora unveil special Songkran promotions Offering 10 months of 0% interest on gold and diamond loans

    Ms. Saranya Pipoppinyo (middle), Vice President of Marketing at AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Company Limited, together with Ms. Lapatlada Ruetivarangkoon (left), Vice President and Mr. Anirut Srirungthum (right), Vice President Business Development of Aurora Design Company Limited unveils two summer promotions for AEON Member Card and AEON Credit Card holders through the AEON Happy Pay and AEON Happy Plan services. The first promotion is 0% gold loan installment for up to 7 months, starting from April 12th-14th, 2019. For the second promotion, customers will be able to take on a “Diamond loan” with 0% interest rate for up to 10 months, starting today until 30th April, 2019 at all Aurora Gold and Jewelry branches nationwide.

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  • Hotels in rural Vietnam struggle to recruit staff

    Hotels in rural Vietnam struggle to recruit staff

    Vietnam’s Con Dao Islands businesses are unable to hire staff despite flourishing tourism, with people preferring to work on the mainland. Almost a week after Tet, Vietnam’s longest holiday of the year, resorts and hotels in Con Dao, a 16-island archipelago off the country’s southern coast, are looking to hire hundreds of employees for various positions including managers, waitresses and tour guides.

    The Poulo Condor Resort on the island is looking for 33 new employees for 14 positions, while the Saigon Con Dao Resort and the Six Senses Con Dao Resort are looking for seven new staff each.

    Phuong Ly, head of recruitment at Saigon Con Dao Resort, said that more resorts and hotels are being built on the island but there are few experienced staff available to work in them.

    “The local authority does provide training courses, but not many participate. Most staff are young people, so they jump between jobs very often.”

    Smaller businesses are also looking for people. A café on Pham Van Dong Street is looking for 32 staff, offering bonuses, meals, accommodation, social insurance and annual travel to the mainland.

    Thuy, owner of a local seafood restaurant, said businesses start looking for staff in March when tourists start arriving in large number.

    “But this year, many businesses are already short-staffed so we are already searching for people as the number of tourists has been rising. Last year, a tour guide could earn up to VND30 million ($1,296) a month during peak season.”

    Con Dao is 180 kilometers away from the shores of southern Ba Ria- Vung Tau Province, and accessible by air and boat.

    Industry insiders said that attracting people from mainland to Con Dao to work is a challenging task given the long distance from the shores while most people don’t want lower income jobs like serving in restaurants, driving taxis or guiding tours.

    The high cost of living on the island is another reason that people prefer to work on the mainland, they said.

    Con Dao served as prison islands for political prisoners during the French colonial era, and in later years the Saigon regime imprisoned opponents of the regime in the infamous cells known as the “tiger cages”.

    The old prison buildings are still standing and are open to the public as is a small museum tracing Con Dao’s history.

    Con Dao also boasts pristine natural beauty with forested hills, sandy beaches and extensive coral reefs.

    Last year, Con Dao welcomed over 286,000 tourists, up 17.31 percent from 2017.

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  • Retail meets art in HK for Chinese New Year

    Retail meets art in HK for Chinese New Year

    Next week it Chinese New Year. It officially begins on February 5th, 2019, and ends on February 19th. This year will be the year of the Pig. It is the most important festival for Chinese people, so the city is fully decorated with festive installations. The retail world celebrates it with decorations and promotions. In Hong Kong, all shopping malls have already unveiled their gigantic installations.

    In the financial heart of the city,  the floral pinwheels have turned IFC into the Garden of Fortune.

    Dedicated to providing memorable and engaging experiences for guests beyond shopping and dining, the Chinese New Year is no exception for IFC mall as it presents The Garden of Fortune, a splendid installation featuring pinwheels to welcome good fortune and embrace new changes along with incorporating floral elements for a contemporary spin.

    From 26 January to 17 February 2019, shoppers can visit the interactive display and enjoy music performances to ring into an auspicious new year.

    Pinwheels have long been a symbol of luck with fascinating roots in Chinese culture. Traditionally associated with welcoming wealth, pinwheels are constructed using a variety of bright colors to greet the god of fortune, which are believed to bring prosperity and blessings to both homes and businesses. Playing on the Chinese tradition that pinwheels attract good luck, The Garden of Fortune is embellished with this auspicious symbol.

    The pinwheels are designed in the shape of peach blossoms, peonies and begonias – flowers that represent prosperity and fortune in Chinese culture – to empower guests with positive vibes as they walk through the Garden of Fortune.

    Upon entering the installation, guests are invited to play an interactive pinwheel game to start the new year with blessings to share and bestow upon friends and loved ones. ifc mall has collaborated with young local calligrapher, Rita Lee, to create downloadable “fai chuns” to share with family and friends after completing the game.

    Lee started learning Chinese calligraphy at the age of 6 and has nurtured her talent with over 20 years of experience. She is known for blending different styles to create art that balances the tradition of Chinese calligraphy with contemporary flair. “I’m excited about this partnership with ifc mall as it allows me to use my craft to extend blessings to all Hong Kongers who visit the Garden of Fortune,” says Lee. “The installation’s fusion of traditional pinwheels with modern floral elements also reflects the same juxtaposition in my style of calligraphy.”

    Pacific Place has built “Where Fortune Takes Flight” to welcome the Chinese New Year 2019. Queenie said that her design ideas come from the traditional Chinese New Year Candy box and chocolate from her childhood. Thus, they became the patterns of the kites, flying in the shopping mall. Queenie used vibrant colors and energetic brush strokes to draw on the kites, symbolizing a colorful and fruitful new year.An exquisite spring garden filled with blossoming flowers and over 60 flying kites, symbolising “Where Fortune Takes Flight”. Exclusively designed by Queenie Law, the kites soar to the highest heights and spread Chinese blessings throughout the mall and into the new year ahead.

    In Tsim Sha Tsui, Harbour City will welcome the Year of the Pig with the “HAPPIG New Year” celebration, featuring a seven-metre tall gigantic “Wishing Treasure Bowl” at Ocean Terminal Forecourt from 25 Jan to 19 Feb 2019.

    The treasure bowl is structured with multiple frames, on which colorful ropes were tied delicately to create geometrical festive patterns from cherry blossoms to gold coins.

    The contemporary design is a stylish take on the Chinese New Year classic, wishing everyone joy and fortune for the Year of the Pig.

    Newly introduced this year is an interactive wishing experience, inviting visitors to win a lucky pouch by taking part in a mini game and donating HK$20 near the“Wishing Treasure Bowl” installation.

    Each lucky pouch contains a Good Fortune Card with predictions for the coming year, and a “Wishing Gold Coin” which can be deposited into “Make a Wish Piggy Bank” for making a wish. The coin will roll through a lucky tunnel connecting the piggy bank to the gigantic “Wishing Treasure Bowl”, bringing fortunate blessings to everyone for the New Year.

     

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  • Starbucks’ Lucky Bags entice customers in Korea

    Starbucks’ Lucky Bags entice customers in Korea

    Lee Min-joo, a 43-year-old cram school teacher, made it a point to be at the Starbucks outlet near her house last Thursday at 6 a.m. She wasn’t there for the coffee – she was waiting to buy a limited edition “Lucky Bag.” Lee said she has bought Starbucks Lucky Bags for nine years in a row. She confessed that two years ago, she was in line at 5:30 a.m.

    “I am a collector of diverse Starbucks products,” Lee said. “And I always get curious as to what’s in the bag.”

    This year, Starbucks’ Lucky Bags are bigger than ever.

    Lucky Bags were the most-searched term on the internet in Korea last Thursday and social media was abuzz with people posting pictures of the products they got in their Lucky Bags.

    Four stores near Seosomun, central Seoul, were sold out before 10 a.m.

    Lucky Bags are mystery bags sold at a given price, 63,000 won ($56) this year. The products contained in the bags are unknown to the customers who buy them. The value of the goods inside exceed the selling price.

    Starbucks introduced its Lucky Bags in 2007 and they have become the chain’s unique annual New Year’s ritual in Korea and Japan.

    One of the reasons Starbucks’ Lucky Bags sell out so quickly is their limited supply.

    The total number of Lucky Bags prepared in Korea is 17,000 and each store only get 15 or so -there are over 1,200 Starbucks in Korea.

    In 2016 the bags sold out in just five hours nationwide. In 2017, that time was shaved down to 4 hours and 40 minutes.

    Each customer is only allowed to buy one Lucky Bag.

    Lucky Bag devotees have now become a tribe with their own nickname. They call themselves “Sudeok,” which combines the first Korean syllable of the chain’s name as pronounced by Koreans, “Su,” with “deok,” a shortened version of deokhoo, Korea’s own version of otaku, Japan’s term for a person with obsessive interests.

    The Sudeoks who purchase Lucky Bags even swap items to get the items they really want.

    In 2007, the Lucky Bags were sold for 28,000 won and the price has continued to climb. The value of the things inside is said to be more than 100,000 won.

    The bags often have tumblers, water bottles and coffee mugs, as well as gift coupons. This year, 1,000 Lucky Bags contained four additional free coupons.

    “It’s a good marketing strategy that combines a limited edition appeal and the emotional appeal of winning a jackpot,” said Lee June-young, a professor who studies consumer trends at Sangmyung University.

    But not every Lucky Bag fan is satisfied with their haul.

    On social media, one disappointed fan posted a message reading, “It is not a Lucky Bag, it is an unlucky bag.” Another wrote, “The only lucky one is Starbucks.”

    “I have been buying the Lucky Bags for three years, but this year I decided not to because of the 60,000 won price tag,” said Lee Hyun-jeong, a 29-year-old office worker.

  • AEON Thailand and Mastercard celebrate new year with promotion

    AEON Thailand and Mastercard celebrate new year with promotion

    Mr.Nuntawat Chotvijit (2nd from left), Executive Director of AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Limited Company together with Mr.Donald Ong (2nd from right), Country Manager Thailand and Myanmar, Mastercard joined hands to give away a special year-end promotion for AEON Mastercard credit cardholders. With every spending of 1,000 Baht, customers will be entered win a 3 days 2 nights Singapore travel package that includes an Economy Class roundtrip to Singapore, by Singapore Airlines” accommodation at the Resorts World™ Sentosa Universal Studios Singapore™, along withfun-filled experience at world-class theme parks such as Universal Studios Singapore and S.E.A. Aquarium™ A total of 10 prizes will be up for grabs (2 people/prize) worth a combined value of 700,000 baht.

     

  • Vietnamese banks report solid profits, employees hopeful of high bonuses

    Vietnamese banks report solid profits, employees hopeful of high bonuses

    With Vietnamese banks reporting substantial profits last year many of their employees are expecting higher Lunar New Year bonuses. The banking sector’s overall profit before tax increased by 40 percent year-on-year, according to the National Financial Supervisory Commission. Vietcombank, the largest bank by market capitalization, said in a recent report that its consolidated pre-tax profit was up 62 percent to VND18.3 trillion ($789.55 million).

    TPBank said pre-tax profit doubled to VND2.26 trillion ($97.5 million), exceeding its target of VND2.2 trillion ($94.93 million). The lender’s profit has almost quadrupled against 2015.

    Sacombank’s profit before tax of VND2.2 trillion ($94.93 million) was 20 percent higher than its target.

    Bank employees are thrilled by the performance ahead of Tet, Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, which falls on February 5 this year.

    Mai, a Sacombank worker who asked to be identified only by her given name, said: “Our bank’s profit is a few times that of 2017, so we hope to have a higher bonus.”

    Minh Nhat of Orient Commercial Bank, said his bank determines Tet bonuses based on the performance of each branch and individual. Last year his most productive colleagues had received a five-month bonus, while everyone got at least a month’s salary as bonus. He hopes this year it would be even higher.

    Le Minh Tan, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, told VnExpress that the highest Tet bonus this year is by a HCMC-based bank — VND1.17 billion ($50,493) for an employee.

    Companies plan to pay VND3.4 million ($147) on average, 30 percent higher than last year, he added.

    Three bank leaders said they are still calculating the rewards.

    “We calculate rewards using personal KPI (key performance indicator) and branch productivity, so the bonus will vary between individuals,” one CEO said, adding that some employees would receive a three- or four-month bonus or even higher, while some would get nothing.

  • Average New Year bonuses in HCMC up 30 pct

    Average New Year bonuses in HCMC up 30 pct

    Average New Year bonus given by HCMC firms to an employee is VND3.4 million ($146), 30 percent higher than in 2018. For the 2019 Roman Calendar New Year, bonuses have been significantly higher than in 2018, Le Minh Tan, director of the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said, citing a survey. The survey covered nearly 2,000 enterprises and 415,000 workers.

    On average, bonuses given by foreign invested enterprises for the New Year was VND9.4 million ($403.65), 70 percent higher than the last, the survey found.

    For this Roman Calendar New Year, the highest bonus was VND500 million ($21,470), given by a foreign-invested enterprise.

    For Lunar New Year (Tet), which falls in February, the highest reported bonus was VND1.17 billion ($50,343), coming from a bank headquartered in HCMC.

    The average reward for Tet offered by enterprises surveyed is over VND10 million ($430.78) per person. Only four respondent businesses reported facing difficulties and not giving Tet bonuses for employees.

    There are still some enterprises that have not announced Tet bonuses for workers, waiting for business results. These firms plan to announce their bonuses by mid-January.

    Last Tet, the highest Tet bonus in HCMC was VND855 million ($36,718), given by an unidentified private enterprise.

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  • DFS Group Kicks Off Its Seasonal Gifting Campaign

    DFS Group Kicks Off Its Seasonal Gifting Campaign

    DFS Group has kicked off its annual gifting campaign at T Galleria by DFS in Okinawa. The “Give Joy”-themed campaign opened on November 24, showcasing DFS’s first ever “Personalisation Gift Shop” concept, where an assortment of specially curated luxury gifts can be personalised, along with services. The concept will now be rolled out in T Galleria by DFS stores in Hong Kong’s Canton Road and Macau’s City of Dreams, along with stores in Singapore, Angkor (Cambodia), Saipan, Bali, Guam, Okinawa, Hawaii and Sydney.

    The store was transformed into a “gifting wonderland” at the launch as guests were invited to try the personalisation services – monogramming leather goods, and adorning t-shirts and tote bags with Foxy’s six DFS exclusive emoji iron-on patches.

    DFS Group executive VP merchandising Ariel Gentzbourger said: “Thanks to our unique approach to gifting, and our understanding of what our customers are seeking, we have created a shopping experience that is a joy in itself.”

    Gifting-themed entertainment at the event included a life-size advent calendar overflowing with holiday treasures, a special visit from Santa Claus and a “candygram” corner for guests to pick and mix sweet treats.

    View the gallery below for the report of the event (11 images) :

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  • Singapore retail sales buoyed by Lunar New Year

    Singapore retail sales buoyed by Lunar New Year

    Singapore retail sales – excluding motor vehicles – rose 14 per cent in February, reflecting the changed timing of Lunar New Year observation.

    Compared with January, they rose 1 per cent.SG Feb retail sales

    Statistics Singapore estimated the total value of retail sales in February – including motor vehicles – at S$3.7 billion. Online sales accounted for 3.9 per cent of total retail sales.

    Food retailers (excluding supermarkets) recorded the biggest increase by category – up 61.2 per cent as people prepared for celebrating the New Year. Apparel sales rose 42.4 per cent. Sales at supermarkets and department stores rose by an average of 25 per cent.

    Meanwhile, sales of food and beverages at cafes and restaurants rose 4.9 per cent year-on-year.

    SG Feb retail sales FB

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  • Centara Hotels & Resorts Celebrate Thai New Year in Traditional Style

    Centara Hotels & Resorts Celebrate Thai New Year in Traditional Style

    Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, will observe the upcoming Songkran Thai New Year period by wearing colorful traditional dress. Visitors and guests to the company’s properties are treated daily to graceful Thai service and cultural traditions that have become Centara’s hallmark; this Songkran, 13th – 15th April, they can enjoy the added delight of seeing staff dressed in the beautiful costumes of historic Siam.

    “Thailand’s world-famous, genteel hospitality is at the heart of our company culture,” said Centara’s Chairman of the Board Suthikiati Chirathivat about the idea. “What better way to emphasise our unique Thai-ness than trading our uniforms for charming, traditional costumes over the Thai New Year. It is our way of wishing our guests, partners, and friends a happy and healthy festive season.”

    All 33 of Centara’s hotels and resorts within Thailand are taking part in this celebration and guests are invited to enjoy festive dining options or a relaxing stay over the Songkran period, where they will receive the inimitable Centara Thai welcome.

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