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Meter taxis are the preferred form of transport now at Phuket's airport

Fly, Fly, Fly Away Phuket Passenger Numbers Tipped to Jet Straight Back Soon

Saturday, September 6, 2014
PHUKET: Passenger numbers at Phuket International Airport dipped in August for the third month straight but indications are that the downward trend may be brief and coming to an end soon.

With major changes being undertaken to end some of Phuket's chronic problems and a remake adding a new international terminal, Phuket's appeal as a tropical island holiday destination could resume its positive upward spiral as early as September or October.

Latest figures show a fall of 6.80 percent year on year for August, a steady improvement on the figures of -12.56 percent for June and -9.69 percent for July that came as people reacted to the military takeover in Thailand.

To the end of August, the total number of arrivals and departures for the first two-thirds of 2014 reached 7,577,848. That's an infinitesimal 0.09 percent rise over last year to the same point, hardly an increase to boast about.

However, bookings for resorts from October on will be watched closely to see whether there's any detectable reaction to the removal of all sunbeds and umbrellas from Phuket's beaches.

While the lotus-eating layabouts are complaining, most tourists and residents see the demise of private enterprise on Thailand's public beaches as an encouraging steps towards promoting and preserving the natural attractions of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi for generations to come.

As the island grows into a city with good beaches, the Army and police are wisely trying to turn the troublesome and expensive taxis and tuk-tuks into a transport service to make Phuket proud.

The cab named ''New Phuket'' has been despatched but it may take a little extra time yet to arrive, anxious passengers are being told. Put the delay down to the traffic.

In 2013, passengers through Phuket airport reached 10.9 million for the year. This means there were 5.45 million arrivals, including by our reckoning about 2.8 million international tourists.

Phuket's run of three straight months in decline follows a remarkable five-year period when the figures for all 72 consecutive months rose.

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

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I wonder what the indicators for a rebound in passenger numbers are, other than wishful thinking.

Posted by Herbert on September 6, 2014 11:23

Editor Comment:

Enormous amounts of TAT marketing, an open, low-cost approach to Chinese tourists, and an acceptance by the international media that a coup in Thailand is not the same as a coup in Cairo or Moscow.

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"but indications are that the downward trend may be brief and coming to an end soon". What indications?

Posted by Phuketandsee on September 6, 2014 11:52

Editor Comment:

See above.

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And what exactly is the difference between a coup in Moscow or Cairo and in Thailand?

Posted by Remarkable on September 6, 2014 13:30

Editor Comment:

Most coups are power grabs. Thai coups are fix-it coups, designed to restore balance and democracy as soon as possible.

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We'll the Army are doing a great job , the beaches look great the taxi ranks are gone from the hotels and I am happy to be going back to enjoy the beauty of kata Karon and even a walk on Patong .
I for one think the tourists will be happier than ever . Forget what you read on Thaivisa with the doom and gloom . Anyone who does not like the changes go home.

Posted by Tony Kenny on September 6, 2014 13:39

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So is Phuket going to be little Moscow or little Beijing. What about tourists from other countries. Free Visas for Chinese but all I hear is that they do not spend much and only go around in tours to pre-selected places? Err I am no economist but they therefore are not as diverse for the local economy than Europeans etc but there is over 1billion Chinese potentially who can come to Phuket more than the US/Europe/Australia put together! So yippee problem over let's all relax now and start learning Mandarin. Hohohohoho.

Posted by Fiesty Farang on September 6, 2014 13:54

Editor Comment:

Phuket has a diverse audience base and that's a strength. Too many from any single destination is not to be encouraged.

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Are the Chinese the quality tourists and big spenders always seen as targets ? Definitely not, they are stopgaps many times only. In this case again ( visa alterations for Chinese only ). Maybe numbers can be pushed up, but if the island's and surrounding province's businesses & economy reach their targets, is a different story.

Posted by Resident on September 6, 2014 13:56

Editor Comment:

The article is purely about tourist arrival numbers, resident.

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I agree with you, Ed. It is a fix-it coup.

And what they are going to fix is to find enough obstacles so the uneducated masses won't vote in an undesirable way.

Posted by Remarkable on September 6, 2014 16:17

Editor Comment:

You are confusing fact and opinion and putting down all Thais in the one big puff. Best to wait and see rather than making uninformed guesses.

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Thank you for the response. However those are expectations, not indicators.
Something you can verify like increasing advance booking numbers, increased flights bound for Phuket etc.
Not intending to be argumentative, just making the point that though the first 2 items you mention should indeed encourage more tourists to come, it has yet to be established. As to the coup in general and the international media, I very much disagree with that.

Posted by Herbert on September 6, 2014 17:35

Editor Comment:

I read the international news outlets thoroughly every day. Generally, the coup has a much better press than it did 100 days ago. The message is that Thailand is much safer for visitors now than it was when rival political factions threatened violence on Bangkok's streets. As the article says, ''indications are that the downward trend may be brief and coming to an end soon.''

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Time will tell. In my personal opinion I actually think Phuket would be better off with less tourists but more of the caring and considerate kind. China has many virtues but protecting the flora or fauna is not one of them. Russians I do not have much experience with, other than them buying cars in Germany and at that job they did not necessarily gain a commendable reputation for honesty or being sensitive to local ways and customs.

Posted by Herbert on September 6, 2014 19:53

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There usually is an uptick in visitors come high season if the winter is particularly harsh in the west. Unfortunately, the worldwide economic indications are that discretionary spending on items such as holidays in the sun will decrease over the coming months. The Russian economy is taking a hit, aviation fuel prices & airline load factors are creeping upwards) (causing airfares to increase, the Chinese economy is no longer robust, and westerners just don't have the money to spend anymore. It's not just Phuket that is seeing the reduction. There is a shift in the worldwide tourism market and it started a few years ago - at least that's what he research shows. Phuket is in a fight to keep what it has, just like other sun destinations. I believe that it will be a stable but lacklustre high season.

Posted by Ryan on September 7, 2014 02:09

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It would surprise if tourist numbers are not up again by the end of the high season

Posted by peter allen on September 7, 2014 11:21

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While total tourist numbers can be semi interesting the more important number is revenue. Sure tourist numbers might be down only a little bit but revenue in majority of tourist related businesses i know is down by anything from 20 to 50%.

Chinese/Russians just don't/can't spend like Europeans/Australians/Americans and while replacing the latter with former might keep headline numbers up,it just hides fact that income across the island is going down.

Also, to many Russians or Chinese put off the more affluent tourists from rest of the world as can be seen in Pattaya.


Phuket airport needs to break down the figures by nationality to give a better perspective into the real situation

Posted by Lashay on September 7, 2014 16:58

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"Enormous amounts of TAT marketing, an open, low-cost approach to Chinese tourists, and an acceptance by the international media that a coup in Thailand is not the same as a coup in Cairo or Moscow". These are not indicators Ed. Indicators would be things like hotel and airline bookings. Have you looked into those or are you just trying to fill space with nothing to back up your story?

Posted by Phuketandsee on September 8, 2014 18:35

Editor Comment:

They're indications all right, P&S, not to be confused with hotel and airline bookings. Or with trolls posing as readers.

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I guess I am lotus-eating layabouts. Actually I am a retired soldier from Canada. Last year we spent two months in Phuket, Surin beach area. We have booked three months this year. I am very disappointed that the beach chairs are gone, there needs to be a balance. We spend approx. 30,000.00 during our vacation...So no, we are not low life party tourist. There is no way I can spend 5 hours on the beach without shade...So what are the options available now. We can stay at our condo by the pool everyday....that's no fun. We may move to Bang tao beach and buy a membership at one of their legal beach club. We enjoy options and spreading our money around, now we will be forced to give our money to only one beach vendor. Not so great for the local economy eh... Another option is that we will purchase our own beach chair and umbrella and carry it to the beach everyday, not very practical. In the end we will use this vacation to travel to both Cambodia and Vietnam to look for another destination.....

Posted by Derek on September 11, 2014 01:59

Editor Comment:

Thanks, Derek. It's a major transformation and at least people are now aware of the need for putting preservation ahead of profit.

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Derek,

you want to tell us that your vacation is completely ruined if you can not lay on a rented beach chair at Surin beach?

No plan to fill your day?

Instead, you are looking for another location?

Good idea!

Posted by Georg The Viking on September 11, 2014 10:05

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A lot of tourists think exactly like you Derek!

Posted by Peter on September 15, 2014 02:35

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And a lot of people are not thinking like you Peter and Derek.

And now?

All the complaining and whining is embarassing.

Reminds me of babies, which has removed the icecream.

Posted by Georg The Viking on September 15, 2014 10:35


Saturday November 23, 2024
Horizon Karon Beach Resort & Spa

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