SCENES of political turmoil in Bangkok are being broadcast across the globe this week, with People's Alliance for Democracy protesters gearing up for a confrontation with police after a state of emergency was declared last night for the two major airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.
But sitting in a crowded cafe popular with lunching office workers in Phuket City, if you hadn't turned on the news, you would never know you were in a country on the brink of a government overthrow.
Beneath the calm exterior, however, many Phuket businesses are already badly suffering from the effect of the airport closures, reporting losses of millions of baht and earning half of what they'd expected for this time period.
The long-term effects are incalculable, especially if the political situation in Bangkok fails to come to a swift resolution.
As Phuketwan reported yesterday, resorts are seeing a sharp drop in bookings for the season, and have faced an onslaught of cancellations since the airport occupation began.
The political unrest has cast its net across a broad range of businesses in Phuket -- and some are faring better than others.
One boat charter business commented on Phuketwan yesterday: "Now with this new threat, our bookings are down almost 98 percent on bookings from the beginning of November last year."
Hotel booking websites are seeing an instant downturn in sales. Jirapa Eawsakul, CEO of Asia Web Direct, whose major sites include Bangkok.com and Phuket.com, said, "As you would expect, we saw a number of cancellations for the same day and the immediate days after [the airport closures] ... and have seen a slow down in bookings checking in, in the short term.
"Further out than this, however, bookings are still stable through Asia Web Direct's sites. I don't suspect we will know the full effects for a few more weeks.
"The key region which has seen these effects is Bangkok, however, our other regions throughout Thailand and Asia in general are continuing as they were before the events."
Nantana Phiromros, an executive at Touring Asia Online Co Ltd, says about 20 percent of hotel and tour bookings for this month have cancelled. Most of the agent's customers are Italian.
Business started to decline in the middle of this year, she says, and now it's gotten much worse. She says her company is advising customers to go to other countries around Thailand, such as Vietnam, Cambodia or Malaysia.
Revenues are down 20-25 percent, and since October, Touring Asia Online has lost about two million baht. At the moment her agents are busy helping customers trapped in Bangkok, she says.
Pantira Rangkla, from hotel and tour booking company Asia Sensations Travel, says her company's business is down 50 percent from last year, and has had a decline in bookings and many cancellations.
They have had enquiries from customers but people are holding off on booking until the situation improves.
Some 70 people who booked tours and hotels through her company have had to extend their stay in Phuket because they could not catch flights to Bangkok, Khun Pantira says.
At Phuket Butterfly Garden, manager Wasin Koysiripong says the tourist attraction's visitor numbers have dropped nearly 60 percent since the Suvarnabhumi airport was shut down November 25.
She expects that business will decline further, adding that she doesn't know if tourist customers will ever come back.
Sailmaker Rolly Tasker has had to reroute its export products, but general manager Michael Tasker says business is operating normally. "It's more complicated to get things out, but Thais are ingenious in getting things done," he said.
Mr Tasker says the company's cargo service supplier, UPS, has had to completely reorganize its operations to ensure the company's sail products reach its overseas buyers.
Orders for their products have not yet slowed down, however; most of the sailmaker's business is overseas.
The closure of the two national airports is also disrupting postal operations. Narin Sangsuan, assistant head of the Phuket Post Office, says there will be delays on letters and packages going overseas.
Its international business is down more than two-thirds; normally the main post office in Phuket City has 30-40 foreigners a day sending packages abroad. This week it's down to 10.
Mail service within the country was still operating normally, however, since the postal service has shifted all its mail transport through Bangkok from air to truck.
Phuket Resorts Facing Cancelled Bookings
Hopes for a good high season have been shattered as Phuket resorts face cancellations following strengthened travel advisories to Thailand.
Phuket Resorts Facing Cancelled Bookings
Phuket King's Cup Set to Race
Update: Racing Delayed to Dec 2. Bangkok airport closures have forced sailors joining the King's Cup Regatta to find alternative ways into Phuket, but the event is going ahead as planned.
Phuket King's Cup Set to Race
Stranded Tourists on the Hunt for Tickets Out
The national air travel crisis saw thousands in Phuket waiting and watching as their flight plans rested on events in the capital.
Stranded Tourists on the Hunt for Tickets Out
Phuket Airport Open but Tourists Trapped
Thousands of tourists cannot reach Phuket today as Suvarnabhumi airport's closure has forced inbound flights to cancel. Resorts offer 70 percent discounts for stranded passengers.
Phuket Airport Open but Tourists Trapped
Phuket Airport Flights Cancelled
Phuket's tourism industry is reeling from flight cancellations as anti-government protesters tighten their grip on both Bangkok airports.
Phuket Airport Flights Cancelled
But sitting in a crowded cafe popular with lunching office workers in Phuket City, if you hadn't turned on the news, you would never know you were in a country on the brink of a government overthrow.
Beneath the calm exterior, however, many Phuket businesses are already badly suffering from the effect of the airport closures, reporting losses of millions of baht and earning half of what they'd expected for this time period.
The long-term effects are incalculable, especially if the political situation in Bangkok fails to come to a swift resolution.
As Phuketwan reported yesterday, resorts are seeing a sharp drop in bookings for the season, and have faced an onslaught of cancellations since the airport occupation began.
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The political unrest has cast its net across a broad range of businesses in Phuket -- and some are faring better than others.
One boat charter business commented on Phuketwan yesterday: "Now with this new threat, our bookings are down almost 98 percent on bookings from the beginning of November last year."
Hotel booking websites are seeing an instant downturn in sales. Jirapa Eawsakul, CEO of Asia Web Direct, whose major sites include Bangkok.com and Phuket.com, said, "As you would expect, we saw a number of cancellations for the same day and the immediate days after [the airport closures] ... and have seen a slow down in bookings checking in, in the short term.
"Further out than this, however, bookings are still stable through Asia Web Direct's sites. I don't suspect we will know the full effects for a few more weeks.
"The key region which has seen these effects is Bangkok, however, our other regions throughout Thailand and Asia in general are continuing as they were before the events."
Nantana Phiromros, an executive at Touring Asia Online Co Ltd, says about 20 percent of hotel and tour bookings for this month have cancelled. Most of the agent's customers are Italian.
Business started to decline in the middle of this year, she says, and now it's gotten much worse. She says her company is advising customers to go to other countries around Thailand, such as Vietnam, Cambodia or Malaysia.
Revenues are down 20-25 percent, and since October, Touring Asia Online has lost about two million baht. At the moment her agents are busy helping customers trapped in Bangkok, she says.
Pantira Rangkla, from hotel and tour booking company Asia Sensations Travel, says her company's business is down 50 percent from last year, and has had a decline in bookings and many cancellations.
They have had enquiries from customers but people are holding off on booking until the situation improves.
Some 70 people who booked tours and hotels through her company have had to extend their stay in Phuket because they could not catch flights to Bangkok, Khun Pantira says.
At Phuket Butterfly Garden, manager Wasin Koysiripong says the tourist attraction's visitor numbers have dropped nearly 60 percent since the Suvarnabhumi airport was shut down November 25.
She expects that business will decline further, adding that she doesn't know if tourist customers will ever come back.
Sailmaker Rolly Tasker has had to reroute its export products, but general manager Michael Tasker says business is operating normally. "It's more complicated to get things out, but Thais are ingenious in getting things done," he said.
Mr Tasker says the company's cargo service supplier, UPS, has had to completely reorganize its operations to ensure the company's sail products reach its overseas buyers.
Orders for their products have not yet slowed down, however; most of the sailmaker's business is overseas.
The closure of the two national airports is also disrupting postal operations. Narin Sangsuan, assistant head of the Phuket Post Office, says there will be delays on letters and packages going overseas.
Its international business is down more than two-thirds; normally the main post office in Phuket City has 30-40 foreigners a day sending packages abroad. This week it's down to 10.
Mail service within the country was still operating normally, however, since the postal service has shifted all its mail transport through Bangkok from air to truck.
Phuket Resorts Facing Cancelled Bookings
Hopes for a good high season have been shattered as Phuket resorts face cancellations following strengthened travel advisories to Thailand.
Phuket Resorts Facing Cancelled Bookings
Phuket King's Cup Set to Race
Update: Racing Delayed to Dec 2. Bangkok airport closures have forced sailors joining the King's Cup Regatta to find alternative ways into Phuket, but the event is going ahead as planned.
Phuket King's Cup Set to Race
Stranded Tourists on the Hunt for Tickets Out
The national air travel crisis saw thousands in Phuket waiting and watching as their flight plans rested on events in the capital.
Stranded Tourists on the Hunt for Tickets Out
Phuket Airport Open but Tourists Trapped
Thousands of tourists cannot reach Phuket today as Suvarnabhumi airport's closure has forced inbound flights to cancel. Resorts offer 70 percent discounts for stranded passengers.
Phuket Airport Open but Tourists Trapped
Phuket Airport Flights Cancelled
Phuket's tourism industry is reeling from flight cancellations as anti-government protesters tighten their grip on both Bangkok airports.
Phuket Airport Flights Cancelled
