PHUKET: January's record number of passengers through Phuket International Airport has been leapfrogged for the first time by February.
This means that Phuket's single-runway airport has achieved more than one million passengers for two straight months - an astonishing feat.
With a year-on-year jump in international arrivals and departures of 35.21 percent, February soared to 1,062,527 - making it the most popular month on Phuket ever.
And bear in mind that February lasted just 28 days.
The year's tally so far for the first two months amounts to 2,110,828, an increase of 12.93 percent over 2012.
This compares with the unusually strong arrivals and departures total for Phuket of 2,575,874 through the October-November-December quarter.
Passenger numbers usually fall away dramatically after peaking each January. This year, they've increased instead.
Whatever the street vendor on the corner might tell you, Phuket's tourism numbers are now reaching unprecedented heights.
Whether they shop at the corner vendor, dive with your dive company or stay at your resort is entirely up to market forces.
The internationalisation of Phuket during January and February is comprehensive, with 639,607 overseas arrivals and departures compared to 423,664 coming or going on domestic flights.
February was always predicted to be a big month with Chinese New Year being stretched by canny marketing through St Valentine's Day into an extended Phuket Old Town Festival.
The rumble about whether Phuket has the tourists it deserves and whether limits should be placed on its carrying capacity to save its natural assets from destruction will continue.
For the time being, though, all complaints about the numbers of tourists visiting Phuket should be addressed to the street vendor on your corner.
This means that Phuket's single-runway airport has achieved more than one million passengers for two straight months - an astonishing feat.
With a year-on-year jump in international arrivals and departures of 35.21 percent, February soared to 1,062,527 - making it the most popular month on Phuket ever.
And bear in mind that February lasted just 28 days.
The year's tally so far for the first two months amounts to 2,110,828, an increase of 12.93 percent over 2012.
This compares with the unusually strong arrivals and departures total for Phuket of 2,575,874 through the October-November-December quarter.
Passenger numbers usually fall away dramatically after peaking each January. This year, they've increased instead.
Whatever the street vendor on the corner might tell you, Phuket's tourism numbers are now reaching unprecedented heights.
Whether they shop at the corner vendor, dive with your dive company or stay at your resort is entirely up to market forces.
The internationalisation of Phuket during January and February is comprehensive, with 639,607 overseas arrivals and departures compared to 423,664 coming or going on domestic flights.
February was always predicted to be a big month with Chinese New Year being stretched by canny marketing through St Valentine's Day into an extended Phuket Old Town Festival.
The rumble about whether Phuket has the tourists it deserves and whether limits should be placed on its carrying capacity to save its natural assets from destruction will continue.
For the time being, though, all complaints about the numbers of tourists visiting Phuket should be addressed to the street vendor on your corner.
I've been here 6 times in 2 years, engaged to a Thai girl, transport to locations should be better and prices have gone up, be careful u don't out price yourself. People will go elsewhere like Vietnam
Posted by Martin on March 18, 2013 17:34