PHUKET: ''Huge numbers'' of Chinese are expected on Phuket with arrivals this year already surpassing last year's record number, says the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Six daily flights from China have deposited 400,000 Chinese visitors on Phuket so far in 2012, topping the 343,125 who came in 2011, TAT Assistant Director Wanaphapar Suksombul told a Phuket meeting yesterday.
But fierce competition meant that safety standards were being undermined and Chinese tour companies often ripped off their own customers, the meeting heard at Provincial Hall in Phuket City.
Khun Wanaphapar emphasised the positive of the boom in travel from China to Phuket, making the point that the 400,000 visitors this year was a dramatic increase on the 80,000 who came four years ago.
''Huge numbers are coming now,'' she said. ''From Asia China is number one, foll.owed by Malaysia and Korea.''
The traditional independent traveller markets of Europe, Scandinavia and Australia are making way, but at a cost to safety and security.
Chinese tour operators were known to sell packages to travellers then cut or change the items in tours in the package to take a bigger profit for themselves.
The President of the Phuket Professional Guides Association, Panomphol ''Pete'' Thummachartniyom, said that Phuket's guides spoke excellent Chinese because family members came from there to Phuket.
But the Chinese tour companies brought their own guides, he said.
''The Chinese tour companies bring Chinese guides and it's the Chinese tour companies who make trouble for Chinese tourists,'' he said. ''But because these problesm occur on Phuket, it's Phuket's reputation that suffers.''
He told Vice Governor Jamleran Tipayapongtada at Provincial Hall in Phuket City the tour business from China to Phuket was becoming increasingly competitive.
''These firms are using old buses because they are cheap,'' he said. ''This is very dangerous. And when a crash happens, the guides will flee the scene because they are illegal.''
Whether the increasing number of Chinese tourists boosts Phuket's tourism future or undermines Phuket's revenue base is a topic of debate among Phuket resort managers.
Six daily flights from China have deposited 400,000 Chinese visitors on Phuket so far in 2012, topping the 343,125 who came in 2011, TAT Assistant Director Wanaphapar Suksombul told a Phuket meeting yesterday.
But fierce competition meant that safety standards were being undermined and Chinese tour companies often ripped off their own customers, the meeting heard at Provincial Hall in Phuket City.
Khun Wanaphapar emphasised the positive of the boom in travel from China to Phuket, making the point that the 400,000 visitors this year was a dramatic increase on the 80,000 who came four years ago.
''Huge numbers are coming now,'' she said. ''From Asia China is number one, foll.owed by Malaysia and Korea.''
The traditional independent traveller markets of Europe, Scandinavia and Australia are making way, but at a cost to safety and security.
Chinese tour operators were known to sell packages to travellers then cut or change the items in tours in the package to take a bigger profit for themselves.
The President of the Phuket Professional Guides Association, Panomphol ''Pete'' Thummachartniyom, said that Phuket's guides spoke excellent Chinese because family members came from there to Phuket.
But the Chinese tour companies brought their own guides, he said.
''The Chinese tour companies bring Chinese guides and it's the Chinese tour companies who make trouble for Chinese tourists,'' he said. ''But because these problesm occur on Phuket, it's Phuket's reputation that suffers.''
He told Vice Governor Jamleran Tipayapongtada at Provincial Hall in Phuket City the tour business from China to Phuket was becoming increasingly competitive.
''These firms are using old buses because they are cheap,'' he said. ''This is very dangerous. And when a crash happens, the guides will flee the scene because they are illegal.''
Whether the increasing number of Chinese tourists boosts Phuket's tourism future or undermines Phuket's revenue base is a topic of debate among Phuket resort managers.
What can I say, if the buses are old and dangerous, why are they on the road, aren't they supposed to be safety checked by the Dept of Transport, something is very wrong. Shouldn't be too hard for immigration to check guides at the airport, or spot checks at the hotels, just a little bit of effort is required.
Posted by Laurie Howells on May 31, 2012 19:53