Gladiator
04-19-2007, 06:24 PM
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117...s_editors_picks
Full article:
PATTAYA, Thailand -- Few cities have a raunchier reputation than the Thai beach resort of Pattaya.
This one-time fishing village, notorious as an R&R hot spot for U.S. servicemen during the Vietnam War, draws mostly male visitors from as far away as Europe and North America to its 1,000-plus girlie bars and go-go joints.
When ad agency Leo Burnett was asked to create a slogan for Pattaya, as part of its work in 2001 for the state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand, the firm came up with "Extreme City." Some city officials thought the phrase had a negative connotation and persuaded the mayor not to adopt it.
"In the past, anyone who valued their reputation would never admit to visiting there," says Paul Logan, a vice president for InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific.
Now, thanks to Thailand's prosperity and the location of its new international airport, city officials believe that perceptions of Pattaya are ripe for change --and they've gone into overdrive to remake them. Pattaya now boasts a pair of slogans, both home-grown: "Fun Every Square Inch" and the mayor's own "City of Variety."
Local officials cite a rise in Pattaya's corporate conventions business, a crackdown on street crime and a widening array of wholesome activities, such as rock climbing and golf. Hotels are getting more guests from the flourishing industrial region east of Pattaya, and real-estate brokers say condominium prices in the city have jumped by 60% or more during the past five years.
High-end hotel chains such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., Accor SA and InterContinental are opening new properties here, and the city council has approved plans for a 92-floor office and residential tower that it says will be the tallest building in Thailand.
To spread the word about Pattaya's incipient transformation, city officials have taken a marketing effort that was almost nonexistent three years ago and amplified it into a roadshow to tour operators in major markets, including Russia, South Korea, China and Hong Kong.
Though modest, Pattaya's ad budget of $420,000 for the current fiscal year is 60% larger than two years ago, when Thailand was struggling to recover from the tourism-damping effects of the 2004 Asian tsunami.
The biggest boost to Pattaya's image and economy could come from Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand's new international gateway, which opened in September. Suvarnabhumi is a 90-minute drive from Pattaya -- an hour closer than its predecessor -- and some hoteliers are already seeing more business, in spite of troubles the airport is having with congestion and cracks in its taxiways. The Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa credits Suvarnabhumi with a 10% increase in visits from foreign businessmen compared with last year.
Pattaya is hardly the first tainted place to strive for a new civic image. In the U.S., Las Vegas and New York's Times Square overcame unsavory reputations to become family destinations. But skeptics question whether Pattaya's reputation simply might be too far gone to salvage. "It would be the ultimate challenge," says Mike Amour, chairman and chief executive in the Asia-Pacific region for ad agency Grey Global Group Inc.
For one thing, crime remains a problem. Early one February morning, two Russian women were gunned down in their deck chairs while relaxing on a city beach. City officials say that police have arrested a Thai man for the killings, but his motive is still unclear. "We wish the world to know how bad the state of affairs is here in Pattaya," said the English-language Pattaya Daily News after posting lurid photos of the crime scene on its Web site.
City officials say they are tightening up on public safety by installing better radio equipment for police and beefing up security patrols with 16 new motorcycles and, to prowl the beaches, a golf cart. Pattaya has also installed 85 closed-circuit television cameras, many at key intersections downtown, and along some beachfront areas. Then there are the many hotels that charge a fee for women who join guests in their rooms for the night. At the Sheraton Pattaya Resort, this "joiner's fee" is about $25.
One visitor from a market Pattaya is trying to crack, Mehmet Fakioglu of Istanbul, recently made his first sojourn here. The minerals exporter said he and his wife "were shocked at what we saw. ... In Europe, you have cities with red-light areas. This whole city is red light." Prostitution isn't a crime in Thailand. Police in Pattaya are trying to keep flagrant solicitation away from family areas.
All over Pattaya are the contrasts of a town in transition. On the edge of the red-light district, a swank new Asian-European fusion restaurant called Mantra recently opened. Among the signature features of Accor's Pattaya Mercure are the condoms in every room's mini-bar, offered up in a red box that "matches the decor," General Manager Erwann Mahe proudly notes. At the same time, the Mercure's dozen "family suites" feature Sony PlayStations and cartoon wallpaper.
The Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya cultivates a family-friendly image with volleyball games in what it claims is Pattaya's biggest swimming pool -- just a few blocks from a string of bars leading to "Walking Street," the red-light district's main thoroughfare. Meanwhile, police make sweeps of streetwalkers on the beachfront, advising them to take classes in hairdressing or cooking at the "Fortune of Life Center" for vocational training near city hall.
The new push seems to be having some impact: Pattaya attracted 5.3 million hotel guests last year, a 17% increase from 2005. Russians, Chinese and Koreans led the pack.
Yet even Pattaya's boosters say there are limits to the image makeover. As city council chairman Tawich Chaiswangwong notes, "People don't come to Pattaya city to pray."
Full article:
PATTAYA, Thailand -- Few cities have a raunchier reputation than the Thai beach resort of Pattaya.
This one-time fishing village, notorious as an R&R hot spot for U.S. servicemen during the Vietnam War, draws mostly male visitors from as far away as Europe and North America to its 1,000-plus girlie bars and go-go joints.
When ad agency Leo Burnett was asked to create a slogan for Pattaya, as part of its work in 2001 for the state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand, the firm came up with "Extreme City." Some city officials thought the phrase had a negative connotation and persuaded the mayor not to adopt it.
"In the past, anyone who valued their reputation would never admit to visiting there," says Paul Logan, a vice president for InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific.
Now, thanks to Thailand's prosperity and the location of its new international airport, city officials believe that perceptions of Pattaya are ripe for change --and they've gone into overdrive to remake them. Pattaya now boasts a pair of slogans, both home-grown: "Fun Every Square Inch" and the mayor's own "City of Variety."
Local officials cite a rise in Pattaya's corporate conventions business, a crackdown on street crime and a widening array of wholesome activities, such as rock climbing and golf. Hotels are getting more guests from the flourishing industrial region east of Pattaya, and real-estate brokers say condominium prices in the city have jumped by 60% or more during the past five years.
High-end hotel chains such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., Accor SA and InterContinental are opening new properties here, and the city council has approved plans for a 92-floor office and residential tower that it says will be the tallest building in Thailand.
To spread the word about Pattaya's incipient transformation, city officials have taken a marketing effort that was almost nonexistent three years ago and amplified it into a roadshow to tour operators in major markets, including Russia, South Korea, China and Hong Kong.
Though modest, Pattaya's ad budget of $420,000 for the current fiscal year is 60% larger than two years ago, when Thailand was struggling to recover from the tourism-damping effects of the 2004 Asian tsunami.
The biggest boost to Pattaya's image and economy could come from Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand's new international gateway, which opened in September. Suvarnabhumi is a 90-minute drive from Pattaya -- an hour closer than its predecessor -- and some hoteliers are already seeing more business, in spite of troubles the airport is having with congestion and cracks in its taxiways. The Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa credits Suvarnabhumi with a 10% increase in visits from foreign businessmen compared with last year.
Pattaya is hardly the first tainted place to strive for a new civic image. In the U.S., Las Vegas and New York's Times Square overcame unsavory reputations to become family destinations. But skeptics question whether Pattaya's reputation simply might be too far gone to salvage. "It would be the ultimate challenge," says Mike Amour, chairman and chief executive in the Asia-Pacific region for ad agency Grey Global Group Inc.
For one thing, crime remains a problem. Early one February morning, two Russian women were gunned down in their deck chairs while relaxing on a city beach. City officials say that police have arrested a Thai man for the killings, but his motive is still unclear. "We wish the world to know how bad the state of affairs is here in Pattaya," said the English-language Pattaya Daily News after posting lurid photos of the crime scene on its Web site.
City officials say they are tightening up on public safety by installing better radio equipment for police and beefing up security patrols with 16 new motorcycles and, to prowl the beaches, a golf cart. Pattaya has also installed 85 closed-circuit television cameras, many at key intersections downtown, and along some beachfront areas. Then there are the many hotels that charge a fee for women who join guests in their rooms for the night. At the Sheraton Pattaya Resort, this "joiner's fee" is about $25.
One visitor from a market Pattaya is trying to crack, Mehmet Fakioglu of Istanbul, recently made his first sojourn here. The minerals exporter said he and his wife "were shocked at what we saw. ... In Europe, you have cities with red-light areas. This whole city is red light." Prostitution isn't a crime in Thailand. Police in Pattaya are trying to keep flagrant solicitation away from family areas.
All over Pattaya are the contrasts of a town in transition. On the edge of the red-light district, a swank new Asian-European fusion restaurant called Mantra recently opened. Among the signature features of Accor's Pattaya Mercure are the condoms in every room's mini-bar, offered up in a red box that "matches the decor," General Manager Erwann Mahe proudly notes. At the same time, the Mercure's dozen "family suites" feature Sony PlayStations and cartoon wallpaper.
The Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya cultivates a family-friendly image with volleyball games in what it claims is Pattaya's biggest swimming pool -- just a few blocks from a string of bars leading to "Walking Street," the red-light district's main thoroughfare. Meanwhile, police make sweeps of streetwalkers on the beachfront, advising them to take classes in hairdressing or cooking at the "Fortune of Life Center" for vocational training near city hall.
The new push seems to be having some impact: Pattaya attracted 5.3 million hotel guests last year, a 17% increase from 2005. Russians, Chinese and Koreans led the pack.
Yet even Pattaya's boosters say there are limits to the image makeover. As city council chairman Tawich Chaiswangwong notes, "People don't come to Pattaya city to pray."