ESOMAR is saddened by the recent events in Thailand and is hopeful that the situation will be resolved shortly. To ensure the safety of our conference attendees and staff, ESOMAR has regretfully decided to change the venue for our 2010 Asia Pacific conference from the InterContinental in Bangkok, to the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The conference dates shall remain the same, April 25-27.

The 2010 ESOMAR Asia Pacific conference will now be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The conference dates of April 25-27, 2010 will remain the same. The new venue will be the JW Marriott Hotel:

JW Marriott Hotel
183 Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur, 55100 Malaysia
Phone: +60 3 2715 9000
Access Hotel website here

Yes, the reservation code for your new hotel booking forms will be available on the ESOMAR website tomorrow, 13 April, 2010.

Should you already have made reservations in the InterContinental, we have confirmed with the hotel management that all reservations for the conference dates can be cancelled without penalty. Please contact the hotel directly to cancel any reservations. The contact details for the Intercontinental Bangkok are:

Intercontinental Bangkok
973 PLOENCHIT ROAD, PATUMWAN
BANGKOK, 10330 THAILAND
Front Desk: +66-2-656 0444

We have been in contact with several airlines (Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways, Bangkok Airways, KLM, Malaysia Air, Thai Airways, Quantas) and each has its own policy with regards to refunds or transfer of tickets to alternate locations.

Many of the airlines suggested that their policies may change over the next couple of days, therefore we suggest contacting your airline carrier directly to see what their cancellation/re-route policy may be.

ESOMAR recommends that all conference participants check with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malaysia to confirm the visa requirements for their travel.

For quick reference - citizens of the following countries will require a visa to enter Malaysia. Please contact your local Malaysian Embassy or Consulate to obtain the visa requirements for your country and to determine the processing time.

Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo Democratic Republic, Congo Republic, Cote D'ivoire, Djibouti, Equat. Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong (C/I or D/I), India, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Serbia & Montenegro, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Western Sahara.

If you need a new letter of invitation for a Malaysian visa please contact the ESOMAR Customer Service team immediately so that we can supply you with the visa form.*

*Please note that letters of invitation are only issued once payment for the event has been received.

It is our hope that you will be able to join us in Kuala Lumpur for the 2010 Asia Pacific conference. If you are unable to attend, there are several options with regards to your registration:

• Transfer your registration fee and apply it to another ESOMAR conference of your choice for 2010*.
• Apply your current registration fee to the 2011 ESOMAR Asia Pacific Conference registration fee. The 2011 Asia Pacific conference will be held in Sydney, Australia*.
• If you must cancel, all terms and conditions will remain the same with regards to the ESOMAR cancellation policy. As with any event, it is inevitable that certain planning and reservation costs are incurred which are non-refundable, therefore a cancellation fee of EUR 400 will be retained for the conference and a fee of EUR 200 for the workshop.

*Please note that any price difference between conference registration fees must be paid to attend a substitute conference.

Unfortunately we cannot issue you a refund. As is stated in the Disclaimer in the ESOMAR Exhibitor contract, ESOMAR reserves the right to alter or cancel, without prior notice, any of the arrangements relating directly or indirectly to the event, due to circumstances beyond ESOMAR's reasonable control.

ESOMAR will not accept liability for any losses and/or damages that participating companies and individuals/accompanying persons may suffer on account of alteration or cancellation. Participants are advised to arrange adequate travel and health insurance.

Due to the public holiday in Thailand today, we are awaiting a response from our freight handler on how we can move the shipments from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur. As soon as we have further information, our Sales and Marketing Team will be in contact with you. For more information, please contact business@esomar.org.

Unfortunately we cannot provide assistance for shipments that were not made through our freight handler.

Our Exhibition supplier in Bangkok also has an office in Malaysia. We are currently in negotiations for alternate exhibitor materials with the Kuala Lumpur office. As soon as we have further information, our Sales and Marketing Team will be in contact with you. For more information, please contact business@esomar.org.