PHUKET: A group of Phuket resort and villa managers has written an open letter to the Governor of Phuket decrying a plan for a two-day New Year party on Phuket's Surin beach.
The letter is signed by representatives from Amanpuri, the Surin resort, Twinpalms Phuket, The Chava Resort, Surin Beach Hotel Ltd, Ayara Hilltops, Ayara Surin and DoubleTree Surin by Hilton.
The managers suggest holding the event at Patong beach or Bang Tao - but a well-known Patong resort manager has responded: ''Not good enough for you guys in Surin, dump it onto Patong. Your concerns for Surin, valid and well documented are also valid for Patong.
''Hopefully it stays with you.''
The plan for a massive Phuket beach party was announced in Bangkok at the weekend by celebrity Paris Hilton.
Promoters suggested as many as 50,000 people would come to the pleasant Phuket beach, bordered by five-star resorts and villas, to listen to techno music at 2000 baht or more per ticket.
What has yet to be made plain is how the organisers managed to gain permission to promote the attraction, and who stood to gain financially from permitting a public beach to be used for private commercial use on such a grand scale.
Interestingly, Paris Hilton and the DoubleTree Surin by Hilton appear to take opposite views on the event. At least one Phuket resort - based at Mai Khao beach, well away from Surin - appears online to have given its support to the event being held at Surin.
The missive from less happy managers, dated October 30, reads as follows, with the second letter - the Patong Letter - beneath it:
Dear Phuket Governor,
In recent weeks we have seen considerable publicity in Phuket,Bangkok and on international websites of a "PHUKET MEGA NEW YEAR TECHNO PARTY" to take place on December 30 and 31 for a 48 hours non-stop period at Surin Beach, organised by ''Sydicative Element.'' This has naturally gained a lot of attention.
As a group of luxury hotels (listed below), owned and operated by both Thai people as well as Foreigners, who have been welcoming guests from around the world to the beautiful and still pristine Surin Areas for many years, we have the following comments and suggestions to share with you.
..The welcomed news of worldwide publicised and supported party for Phuket
Attracting stars, VIP's and a large number of guests, could be a great way to promote Phuket as a prime tourism and entertainment destination.
..The very unsuitable choice of date (December 30 and 31)
Phuket has since many years been ''fully booked'' over the New Year period. There are almost no seats on flights available to and from Phuket during this period making it virtually impossible for additional guests to visit Phuket. The infrastructure is already overwhelmed during this time of the year leading to traffic jams around Phuket in general and around Surin beach in particular. The organisers are hoping for 50,000 guests to attend this paid event. Given the challenges above, it would likely that much fewer people will attend, leading to disappointment for both guests and organisers. During several months of the year, when Phuket hotel occupancy is lower and travel infrastructure readily available, an event such as the proposed would be welcomed and surely supported by all businesses in Phuket.
..The definitely inappropriate selection of Surin Beach & Park for the event
The Surin Area is surrounded by luxury hotels that are, as in the past, already fully booked during the Peak Season, hosting families visiting from all over the world and several international VIPs. These hotel guests are not aware of the proposed activities, which undoubtedly will disturb the traditional Surin Area and the planned New Year celebrations. The Surin area is also the home of many luxury villas and estates, which welcome either their wealthy owners or VIP guests during this period. None of which are likely to enjoy the noise, traffic and other disturbances related to this event and the ''occupation'' of the Surin public beach and park and all the relaxing beach restaurants they come to enjoy.
..The massive round the clock noise disturbance in the whole area which is home to thousands of tourists and villa owners, will severely disturb and would probably interrupt or even block the access to the public beach and park for a week before and several days after the event which wlll lead to massive disappointment from hotel guests, villa owners and bathers visiting the famous beautiful Surin beach from all over the island.
..The fear that a Techno Event as in other part of the world is often associated with drug and alcohol, therefore attracting drug traffickers and other criminal elements to Surin. Alcohol is also likely to be consumed in excess both being harmful for locals and tourists and surely a detriment to Phuket and Thailand.
As such and for the benefit of all parties involved, whilst you are discussing this event in the near future, we would ask that you reconsider the date and most importantly the venue. We suggest that ''free seaside/beach spaces'' such as the north end of Patong sports field with adjacent open land along the beach road, could host the guest services of the proposed party (same location as the Phuket Bike Week). lt would also ease up the infrastructure and trafic issues, as most of the guest of the party are likely to be coming from Patong anyway.
Another suitable location could be the north end of Bangtao Beach lt offers much free space, has no luxury hotel or luxury private homes in the immediate surroundings that would be disturbed.
Both locations would also allow much better crowd control and therefore improve security, parking, transportation and health and hygiene issues. We do hope our request assists you in making the the best decision for Surin Area, Phuket and all parties.
Yours truly, undersigned
TP Surin Beach Hotel Ltd
Carl G Langenskiold
Chairman
The Chava
Larry Cunningham
General Manager
Ayara Hilltops
Jean-Pierre Dousse
General Manager
Ayara Surin
CBRE
Property Management
Amanpuri
Frederic Varnier
General Manager
Twinpalms Phuket
Olivier Gibaud
General Manager
Double Tree Surin by Hilton
Simon McGrath
General Manager
The letter has been copied to
Sommai Preechasilpa, Phuket Vice Governor
Chanchai Doungjit, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket Office
Ma-Ann Samran, President of the CherngTalay OrBorTor
and media organisations on Phuket and in Bangkok.
Dear Colleagues in Surin,
Thank you for your open letter to the governor and your concerns regarding the planed VIP concert on your serene and beautiful beach.
Your suggestion to move the event to Patong has filled your colleagues and fellow hoteliers with great pleasure.
Not good enough for you guys in Surin, dump it onto Patong. Your concerns for Surin, valid and well documented are also valid for Patong.
Hopefully it stays with you.
Best regards from Patong
Wolfgang Meusburger
General Manager
Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Patong
The letter from Mr Meusburger was sent via Phuketwan as a comment on this article this afternoon.
The letter is signed by representatives from Amanpuri, the Surin resort, Twinpalms Phuket, The Chava Resort, Surin Beach Hotel Ltd, Ayara Hilltops, Ayara Surin and DoubleTree Surin by Hilton.
The managers suggest holding the event at Patong beach or Bang Tao - but a well-known Patong resort manager has responded: ''Not good enough for you guys in Surin, dump it onto Patong. Your concerns for Surin, valid and well documented are also valid for Patong.
''Hopefully it stays with you.''
The plan for a massive Phuket beach party was announced in Bangkok at the weekend by celebrity Paris Hilton.
Promoters suggested as many as 50,000 people would come to the pleasant Phuket beach, bordered by five-star resorts and villas, to listen to techno music at 2000 baht or more per ticket.
What has yet to be made plain is how the organisers managed to gain permission to promote the attraction, and who stood to gain financially from permitting a public beach to be used for private commercial use on such a grand scale.
Interestingly, Paris Hilton and the DoubleTree Surin by Hilton appear to take opposite views on the event. At least one Phuket resort - based at Mai Khao beach, well away from Surin - appears online to have given its support to the event being held at Surin.
The missive from less happy managers, dated October 30, reads as follows, with the second letter - the Patong Letter - beneath it:
Letter One: The OPEN LETTER
Dear Phuket Governor,
In recent weeks we have seen considerable publicity in Phuket,Bangkok and on international websites of a "PHUKET MEGA NEW YEAR TECHNO PARTY" to take place on December 30 and 31 for a 48 hours non-stop period at Surin Beach, organised by ''Sydicative Element.'' This has naturally gained a lot of attention.
As a group of luxury hotels (listed below), owned and operated by both Thai people as well as Foreigners, who have been welcoming guests from around the world to the beautiful and still pristine Surin Areas for many years, we have the following comments and suggestions to share with you.
..The welcomed news of worldwide publicised and supported party for Phuket
Attracting stars, VIP's and a large number of guests, could be a great way to promote Phuket as a prime tourism and entertainment destination.
..The very unsuitable choice of date (December 30 and 31)
Phuket has since many years been ''fully booked'' over the New Year period. There are almost no seats on flights available to and from Phuket during this period making it virtually impossible for additional guests to visit Phuket. The infrastructure is already overwhelmed during this time of the year leading to traffic jams around Phuket in general and around Surin beach in particular. The organisers are hoping for 50,000 guests to attend this paid event. Given the challenges above, it would likely that much fewer people will attend, leading to disappointment for both guests and organisers. During several months of the year, when Phuket hotel occupancy is lower and travel infrastructure readily available, an event such as the proposed would be welcomed and surely supported by all businesses in Phuket.
..The definitely inappropriate selection of Surin Beach & Park for the event
The Surin Area is surrounded by luxury hotels that are, as in the past, already fully booked during the Peak Season, hosting families visiting from all over the world and several international VIPs. These hotel guests are not aware of the proposed activities, which undoubtedly will disturb the traditional Surin Area and the planned New Year celebrations. The Surin area is also the home of many luxury villas and estates, which welcome either their wealthy owners or VIP guests during this period. None of which are likely to enjoy the noise, traffic and other disturbances related to this event and the ''occupation'' of the Surin public beach and park and all the relaxing beach restaurants they come to enjoy.
..The massive round the clock noise disturbance in the whole area which is home to thousands of tourists and villa owners, will severely disturb and would probably interrupt or even block the access to the public beach and park for a week before and several days after the event which wlll lead to massive disappointment from hotel guests, villa owners and bathers visiting the famous beautiful Surin beach from all over the island.
..The fear that a Techno Event as in other part of the world is often associated with drug and alcohol, therefore attracting drug traffickers and other criminal elements to Surin. Alcohol is also likely to be consumed in excess both being harmful for locals and tourists and surely a detriment to Phuket and Thailand.
As such and for the benefit of all parties involved, whilst you are discussing this event in the near future, we would ask that you reconsider the date and most importantly the venue. We suggest that ''free seaside/beach spaces'' such as the north end of Patong sports field with adjacent open land along the beach road, could host the guest services of the proposed party (same location as the Phuket Bike Week). lt would also ease up the infrastructure and trafic issues, as most of the guest of the party are likely to be coming from Patong anyway.
Another suitable location could be the north end of Bangtao Beach lt offers much free space, has no luxury hotel or luxury private homes in the immediate surroundings that would be disturbed.
Both locations would also allow much better crowd control and therefore improve security, parking, transportation and health and hygiene issues. We do hope our request assists you in making the the best decision for Surin Area, Phuket and all parties.
Yours truly, undersigned
TP Surin Beach Hotel Ltd
Carl G Langenskiold
Chairman
The Chava
Larry Cunningham
General Manager
Ayara Hilltops
Jean-Pierre Dousse
General Manager
Ayara Surin
CBRE
Property Management
Amanpuri
Frederic Varnier
General Manager
Twinpalms Phuket
Olivier Gibaud
General Manager
Double Tree Surin by Hilton
Simon McGrath
General Manager
The letter has been copied to
Sommai Preechasilpa, Phuket Vice Governor
Chanchai Doungjit, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket Office
Ma-Ann Samran, President of the CherngTalay OrBorTor
and media organisations on Phuket and in Bangkok.
Letter Two, the PATONG RESPONSE
Dear Colleagues in Surin,
Thank you for your open letter to the governor and your concerns regarding the planed VIP concert on your serene and beautiful beach.
Your suggestion to move the event to Patong has filled your colleagues and fellow hoteliers with great pleasure.
Not good enough for you guys in Surin, dump it onto Patong. Your concerns for Surin, valid and well documented are also valid for Patong.
Hopefully it stays with you.
Best regards from Patong
Wolfgang Meusburger
General Manager
Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Patong
The letter from Mr Meusburger was sent via Phuketwan as a comment on this article this afternoon.
Dear Colleagues in Surin,
Thank you for your open letter to the governor and your concerns regarding the planed VIP concert on your serene and beautiful beach.
Your suggestion to move the event to Patong has filled your colleagues and fellow hoteliers with great pleasure.
Not good enough for you guys in Surin, dump it onto Patong. Your concerns for Surin, valid and well documented are also valid for Patong.
Hopefully it stays with you.
Best regards from Patong
Wolfgang Meusburger
General Manager
Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Patong
Posted by Wolfgang Meusburger on October 30, 2012 16:19