The News Review:

- Agoda announces 2009 Gold Circle Award winners
- Russian mafia godfather Vyacheslav Ivankov shot in Moscow
- Cops scamming tourists at Bangkok airport
- A bicycle trip through Thailand becomes a tribute
- Thailand offers deals and discounts in face of tourism slump

Agoda announces 2009 Gold Circle Award winners
eTurboNews
The first Gold Circle Awards were recently handed out to hotels in Thailand Singapore Malaysia Indonesia Hong Kong Taiwan China South Korea and Japan. Robert Jaermann general manager of Bangkok?s Dream Hotel Thailand noted: ?The Gold Circle Award proves that the Dream Hotel is popular with online consumers. We would like to thank Agoda for this award as we greatly appreciate our excellent and mutually-beneficial business relationship. We work closely with Agoda?s team to maximize promotional strategies throughout the year taking into consideration what the market dictates while respecting our hotel?s brand image and pricing strategy. Agoda?s team is the most pro-active in the market ? they work hard frequently updating us on market trends and how they impact our strategic goals. By working together we are able to learn from each other in this fast and ever-changing market of online hotel reservations.
Related from Prmonster: Pittsburgh Public Relations Society of America Announces 2009 …

Russian mafia godfather Vyacheslav Ivankov shot in Moscow
Times nline
He continued to run his criminal empire from prison and on his release in 1991 he was flown to Moscow in a private chartered jet for a lavish celebration party at the prestigious Metropole Hotel a stone’s throw from the Kremlin. Mr Ivankov left Russia in 1992 for the United States claiming to be interested in working on film projects. Instead he began a reign of terror over the Russian community in the Brighton Beach area of New York and attended a summit in Miami with fellow Russian mobsters to divide up the US into gang “turfs”. He was arrested by the FBI in 1995 and served nine years in the high-security Allenwood prison in Pennsylvania for entering into a sham marriage to gain citizenship and extorting $3. 5 million from two Russian immigrants.

Cops scamming tourists at Bangkok airport
Ethiopian Review
At Bangkok’s main airport cops are accusing international visitors of shoplifting from the airport stores and then extorting money from them to drop the charges. Sometimes a “friendly translator” will help the desperate travelers and then charge exorbitant fees for his services. This is a variation of the old “zig-zag” scam that is found in Thailand and other countries. This reminds me of a shake down a couple of guys tried on me in Karachi Pakistan. I had just left my hotel and was walking along the street when a car pulled up. The driver produced a card saying “Sindh Police” and the other guy said “Give me your backpack I need to search for drugs!”I immediately had my doubts–the card was in English their vehicle was unmarked and neither guy wore a uniform. So I replied to them in a very loud voice “Show me some real identification!” They insisted on seeing my bag but neither got out of the car.

A bicycle trip through Thailand becomes a tribute
Los Angeles Times
“I don’t want to go with a bunch a guys or too many couples” I blubbered over the phone and she searched the upcoming trips and found me the right combination. My husband and I had toured Bali China Costa Rica and many other countries over the years with Backroads so I knew I’d be in good company even if I wasn’t very good company myself. That night assembled around the pool at our first hotel we lighted fire balloons to send away bad luck. Rice paper domes heated with bees wax candles silently floated up disappearing into the moonlight. “This is always done for the king’s birthday” said Ghing another Thai guide “and for many other celebrations. We hadn’t even really started biking yet but the trip was bound to be blessed in many ways unimaginable. Bike to shop or shop to bike?We were 12 women and five men on this bike adventure and I didn’t know a soul.

Thailand offers deals and discounts in face of tourism slump
USA Today
He expects the tourism industry will lose about 200 billion baht ($5. 6 billion) down by more than a third from about 540 billion baht last year. To offset the drop-off in visitors from abroad Thailand is promoting domestic tourism — and hotels are offering rock-bottom discounts to Thai residents. The government is extending a holiday next week to get Thais on the road. It has also cut airport landing fees and offered low-interest loans to small businesses catering to tourists. But many fear recovery is a long way off for the industry that employs 2. 5 million people and is a pillar of the economy which has already slid into a recession.

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