PHUKET will become a special economic zone and the island will be given much fairer funding from now on, a senior minister in the new national government said today.

Foreign Minister Kasit Pirom said that the island could expect to benefit when the new Government announces its policies on Monday and Tuesday.

He was speaking at a surprise meeting called by the Governor, Dr Preecha Ruagjan, who asked Khun Kasit to continue his stay on Phuket to meet with the island's government and tourism industry leaders.

The governor's move looks like paying off, with Khun Kasit expressing strong practical support for the island after the meeting at Phuket International Airport.

Instead of basing annual funding for the island on the 320,000 registered voters the way that the Thaksin governments and its successors have done, Khun Kasit said that the five million tourists and unregistered Thai workers would also be taken into account from now on.

''I was surprised to hear how little money the national government returns to Phuket,'' he said. ''This has been going on for too many years.''

Khun Kasit said he had already urged Thai ambassadors to speak out about the safety of the country as a destination and was doing his best to have travel warnings lifted.

The promises coming from Khun Kasit seem to indicate a better year for Phuket in 2009 under the new Democrat coalition.

Declaration of the island as a special economic zone would give additional powers to the new Governor, Dr Preecha, who has already expressed strong views about the island's future.

It was largely his doing that Khun Kasit stayed over to speak today.

Dr Preecha attended a tsunami memorial service yesterday, went to the airport to greet a ''lucky'' flight from Perth, attended another ceremony at Patong in the evening, then found time to greet a charter flight from Milan back at the airport.

Khun Kasit said the Foreign Office was planning to open a new passport office in Phuket's Provincial Hall that would speed the issue of passports for Thais and also answer passport queries from foreigners.

The concept would save a lot of time wasted by sending documents back and forth to Bangkok, he said.

Khun Kasit said Phuket was almost as clean as Singapore and had as much culture as Bali, but the proliferation of billboards turned a beautiful destination into an ugly one.

His comments echoed those of a former chief of the local Tourism Authority of Thailand who once described the island as ''the billboard capital of the world.''

Khun Kasit said he was attempting to restore charter flights from China (16 flights a week were cancelled after the Bangkok airports blockade) and was also going to try to build additional markets in Dubai, Bahrain and Russia.

Phuket will be the first to know if China cancels its travel warning, he said. The Thai ambassador to China had been instructed to work to make this happen.

Phuket's situation should improve from Januray 26, Chinese New year, he said.

In a wide-ranging series of comments, he said that beaches on the island needed to be kept clean, and so did public amenities, including toilets.

Khun Kasit added that coral reefs and other natural assets needed protection and fishing vessels should stay clear of them.

The local Phuket government website should be in six languages. ''English is not enough,'' he said. ''The information should be there in Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, French and German.''

The culture of sea gypsies in the Andaman region was a tourism asset and the people who claimed traditional status should not be treated as second-class citizens, he added.

Having listened to the comments of the governor and the gathering of tourism chiefs today, Khun Kasit undertook to write a detailed note and send it to the Tourism Minister.

Tourists from Australia were propping up Phuket this high season, Khun Kasit was told at the meeting.

On Friday, visitors on Thai Airways TG 986 from Perth were treated to a ''Splendid Phuket Merry Christmas and Happy New year 2009'' series of lucky draws.

Among the big prizes: a Phuket-Perth-Phuket flight for two; two Bangkok Airways flights from Phuket to Bangkok; a Muang Thai life insurance policy for one million baht; three day two nights vouchers from Laguna Holiday Club, JW Marriott, Patong Resort and Patong Paragon, with other prizes including dinners at the Hilton Arcadia, and tickets and trips to FantaSea, Simon Cabaret and Island Safari.