PHUKET: Thailand may be in torment but tourism is holding up well, last month's passenger numbers through Phuket International Airport show.
In November, the figure of 968,077 arrivals and departures at the Phuket facility was up 15.42 percent on the same month last year.
However, that was the smallest increase since January. Figures may also not rise so dramatically in December and January, if recent reports are a guide.
Macau travel agencies have been cancelling package tours to Bangkok since the beginning of this month because of the political unrest, says the Macau Business Daily today.
''All tour group trips to Thailand from December 2 to December 18 have been cancelled,'' said EGL Tours (Macau) Co Ltd's general manager, Sabrina Iong Ut Iong.
''Altogether we had six or seven tours cancelled, each for groups of about 20,'' Ms Iong said.
Often in the past, Phuket has benefitted from direct flights and continued to prosper through conflicts in Bangkok.
This is likely to be the case again, even if some package tour cancellations are being made for Bangkok and Thailand generally. Independent travellers tend to be more resilient.
Macau Travel Industry Council president Andy Wu Keng Kuong said most Macau travel agencies had cancelled package tours to Bangkok since the Hong Kong government had issued a warning.
''The number of tourists heading for Thailand will definitely see a drop this month due to the political situation,'' Mr Wu said.
''But I would say the negative impact is limited to the travel agencies' revenue, as many package tourists have opted for other places for five-day holidays, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Japan or [South] Korea,'' he said.
Ms Iong said her agency was keeping a close watch on developments in Thailand: ''After December 11 we will decide whether or not to resume package tours to Bangkok.''
The total pasenger number for January to November at Phuket airport rose to 10,306,038, up 19.90 percent on the same period the previous year.
This figure already exceed the 9,526,243 record for 2012 and it's likely to reach around 11.3 million once December's figure is added.
The ''new'' Phuket airport now under construction will have a capacity of 12.5 million when it opens in 2015, so the difficulty that managers Airports of Thailand has in keeping pace with Phuket's rapid growth becomes obvious.
Over the past five years, the number of international passengers has moved up 10.39 percent, down 5.26 percent, up 45.56 percent, up 30.96 percent and up 16.54 percent.
Little wonder that the airport, along with the rest of Phuket's infrastructure, has struggled to cope.
In November, the figure of 968,077 arrivals and departures at the Phuket facility was up 15.42 percent on the same month last year.
However, that was the smallest increase since January. Figures may also not rise so dramatically in December and January, if recent reports are a guide.
Macau travel agencies have been cancelling package tours to Bangkok since the beginning of this month because of the political unrest, says the Macau Business Daily today.
''All tour group trips to Thailand from December 2 to December 18 have been cancelled,'' said EGL Tours (Macau) Co Ltd's general manager, Sabrina Iong Ut Iong.
''Altogether we had six or seven tours cancelled, each for groups of about 20,'' Ms Iong said.
Often in the past, Phuket has benefitted from direct flights and continued to prosper through conflicts in Bangkok.
This is likely to be the case again, even if some package tour cancellations are being made for Bangkok and Thailand generally. Independent travellers tend to be more resilient.
Macau Travel Industry Council president Andy Wu Keng Kuong said most Macau travel agencies had cancelled package tours to Bangkok since the Hong Kong government had issued a warning.
''The number of tourists heading for Thailand will definitely see a drop this month due to the political situation,'' Mr Wu said.
''But I would say the negative impact is limited to the travel agencies' revenue, as many package tourists have opted for other places for five-day holidays, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Japan or [South] Korea,'' he said.
Ms Iong said her agency was keeping a close watch on developments in Thailand: ''After December 11 we will decide whether or not to resume package tours to Bangkok.''
The total pasenger number for January to November at Phuket airport rose to 10,306,038, up 19.90 percent on the same period the previous year.
This figure already exceed the 9,526,243 record for 2012 and it's likely to reach around 11.3 million once December's figure is added.
The ''new'' Phuket airport now under construction will have a capacity of 12.5 million when it opens in 2015, so the difficulty that managers Airports of Thailand has in keeping pace with Phuket's rapid growth becomes obvious.
Over the past five years, the number of international passengers has moved up 10.39 percent, down 5.26 percent, up 45.56 percent, up 30.96 percent and up 16.54 percent.
Little wonder that the airport, along with the rest of Phuket's infrastructure, has struggled to cope.
Protests only turned violent and gained international attention sparking travel alerts end of last month so the November figures tell us nothing about a possible impact the protests may have on tourism.
Next month will be telling.
Funny how figures considered positive like increasing tourism numbers are faithfully reported every month but potentially damaging statistics like drownings and traffic deaths are not.
Posted by ThaiMike on December 10, 2013 18:55