PHUKET: The biggest ever single group of tourists to visit Phuket has grown to 14,000, Phuket's administration heard yesterday as planning continued for an ''invasion'' in just six months.

During April and May next year, sales giant Amway China will deliver visitors in their thousands to its annual incentive travel and leadership seminar, being held at Laguna Phuket.

As it happens, Laguna Phuket, the region's largest destination resort, is also the new home for the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival during the last weekend in February, after seven years in southern Phuket.

And the beat - decidedly upbeat for Phuket - goes on. Planning for the Amway visitors and the expected bonus to all forms of tourism on and around Phuket was the key at a meeting in Phuket City's Provincial Hall yesterday between Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthriak and Amway Thailand marketing executive Jatha Tharala.

In many ways, the Amway gathering highlights the positives and negatives of Phuket: the island has appeal in its own right now around the world, but its facilities, especially the obsolete and painfully inadequate airport and the non-existent conference and exhibition centre, do not measure up.

Careful planning will be needed to fly in the 14,000 visitors in rotation over several weeks for events at Laguna Phuket that will basically be repeat perfomances. It's a triumph for Laguna Phuket and for Phuket.

Previously, the Amway event has gone to great international cities such as Sydney this year and Los Angeles last year. The event will present a great opportunity for Phuket to showcase itself to China and Asia especially.

Paticipants on Phuket will basically be treated to four or five days of fabulous fun on and around one of the world's best tropical island holiday destinations. Adventures for Sydney participants this year included a walk across the Harbor Bridge, taking in one of the world's great views, and visits to Bondi beach and Hunter Valley wineries.

Perhaps in anticipation of the floodgates opening in terms of Chinese visitors, national carrier Air China this week announced four scheduled services each week on the Beijing-Phuket route from November 18.

Yesterday's meeting was aimed at making sure the Amway event is a cooperative venture where nothing is left to chance. Local products and Phuket tours are expected to benefit hugely. Will Phuket's Chinese history become a key ingredient?

It should. What about a Vegetarian Festival sampler, six months early? The Tourism Authority of Thailand is probably working right now with Laguna Phuket on ways of matching that Harbor Bridge walk.

Laguna Phuket will be ready. The old Sheraton Grande reopens on December 1 as an Angsana, spruced up in a remake said to have cost a cool $US30 million.

The April-May visit to Phuket will be a bonus for the people responsible for notching up record sales of more than 20 billion yuan (90 billion baht) in toiletries, vitamins and make-up.

What's it worth to Phuket?

That's still open to speculation, but estimates of the value of the Sydney adventure this year range as high as 12 billion baht, an enticing sum for Phuket tourism, tour managers and ideas people.