PHUKET: Indian domestic carrier Kingfisher Airlines is planning to launch regular services to Phuket from New Delhi and Mumbai from November, Phuketwan has learned from reliable sources.
Charter flights from Warsaw in Poland to Phuket are also to begin next year, following on from the already-reported new Copenhagen-Phuket regular service from October.
The new routes demonstrate the power of the Phuket brand as the popular holiday island scores a breakthrough into two nations where most economic indicators are on the upswing, along with spending power.
Central Europe and India are both strong-growth visitor markets for Thailand - and it appears Phuket will be gaining the cream as its western beach location draws honeymooners and heat-seekers.
Significant increases in tourist traffic have already pushed the capacity of Phuket International Airport beyond what was once seen as its upward limit, with a record eight million arrivals and departures likely in 2011.
Details on the new routes to India and Warsaw have yet to be announced. Phuketwan has been assured by reliable sources that both are firmly inked. Expect a Kingfisher announcement any day.
Former Phuket region Tourism Authority of Thailand director Suwalai Pinpradap, who is now based in Franfurt, will lead the push to Poland by going there in September for talks, and again in November to cement the Phuket connection.
She told a congress of TAT regional directors recently in Thailand's Nakhonpathom province that German visitors are also showing a healthy return to Thailand, with annual numbers expected to rise from 590,000 to 630,000.
Concerned about the quality of tourists being drawn to Thailand, the TAT aims for more ''celebrity marketing,'' with beauty contestants and well-known names likely to replace journalists on junkets in future.
The TAT ''road map'' for 2012 includes an aim for 19.5 million tourists and a revenue increase of nine percent, with high-tech and value for money among the selling points.
The TAT has chosen Samui, Pai, Nan and Chiang Khan as pioneer destinations for its venture into a deeper investment in eco-tourism. Phuket, it seems, will have the numbers but must wait its turn to try a more balanced approach.
Other ideas are also being tried. New York TAT regional director Srisuda Wanapinyosak said talks were being held with Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific to try to encourage a ''three countries, one destination'' package for US travellers that would take in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand.
Charter flights from Warsaw in Poland to Phuket are also to begin next year, following on from the already-reported new Copenhagen-Phuket regular service from October.
The new routes demonstrate the power of the Phuket brand as the popular holiday island scores a breakthrough into two nations where most economic indicators are on the upswing, along with spending power.
Central Europe and India are both strong-growth visitor markets for Thailand - and it appears Phuket will be gaining the cream as its western beach location draws honeymooners and heat-seekers.
Significant increases in tourist traffic have already pushed the capacity of Phuket International Airport beyond what was once seen as its upward limit, with a record eight million arrivals and departures likely in 2011.
Details on the new routes to India and Warsaw have yet to be announced. Phuketwan has been assured by reliable sources that both are firmly inked. Expect a Kingfisher announcement any day.
Former Phuket region Tourism Authority of Thailand director Suwalai Pinpradap, who is now based in Franfurt, will lead the push to Poland by going there in September for talks, and again in November to cement the Phuket connection.
She told a congress of TAT regional directors recently in Thailand's Nakhonpathom province that German visitors are also showing a healthy return to Thailand, with annual numbers expected to rise from 590,000 to 630,000.
Concerned about the quality of tourists being drawn to Thailand, the TAT aims for more ''celebrity marketing,'' with beauty contestants and well-known names likely to replace journalists on junkets in future.
The TAT ''road map'' for 2012 includes an aim for 19.5 million tourists and a revenue increase of nine percent, with high-tech and value for money among the selling points.
The TAT has chosen Samui, Pai, Nan and Chiang Khan as pioneer destinations for its venture into a deeper investment in eco-tourism. Phuket, it seems, will have the numbers but must wait its turn to try a more balanced approach.
Other ideas are also being tried. New York TAT regional director Srisuda Wanapinyosak said talks were being held with Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific to try to encourage a ''three countries, one destination'' package for US travellers that would take in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand.
I laughed when you described Eastern Europeans and Indians as "the cream" who are coming to Phuket. These are the dross, the lowest end of the tourist market, with little money to spend, which shows you just how far Phuket has fallen. As a hotelier, I can tell you that these nationalities you mention just don't spend money. They are precisely the kind of tourists we DON'T need.
Posted by Henry on July 15, 2011 13:42