PHUKET: Sonkran is going to the beach this year on Phuket with world's biggest water fight scheduled to dominate activities in Patong over two days, Thursday and Friday.
The ''Songkran on the Beach'' campaign comes with the backing of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Patong Municipality. Songkran has always started early in Patong so the tradition now has official recognition.
What's a plus for the west coast of Phuket is a loss for Phuket City. The TAT has no budget this year for the popular Thalang Road event that was held last year.
However, the TAT is offering a Songkran road rally, with people invited to sign on for a Songran on wheels that will take vehicles north from Phuket on April 13-14 through Phang Nga to Ranong and back at an entrance fee of 2565 baht per vehicle.
Phuket Director of the TAT, Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, expects this Songkran to be a bumper year because of Easter being this weekend and Songkran being just days away.
Europeans were taking advantage of the break, along with Australians, Koreans and Chinese, she said. There had been no hint of a drop in tourists visiting Phuket because of the Had Yai bombing, she said, estimating that resorts on Phuket would have 70 percent occupancy over Songkran.
The TAT had advised all its international bureaus that Phuket was hundreds of kilometres from the troubles in the deep south and had never been a target, she said.
The president of the Phuket Tourist Association, Somboon Jirayoot, put the Phuket Songkran resort occupancy rate even higher at 80 percent, noting that tourists could rest assured that security was always a consideration and would be even more closely maintained this year.
The ''Songkran on the Beach'' campaign comes with the backing of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Patong Municipality. Songkran has always started early in Patong so the tradition now has official recognition.
What's a plus for the west coast of Phuket is a loss for Phuket City. The TAT has no budget this year for the popular Thalang Road event that was held last year.
However, the TAT is offering a Songkran road rally, with people invited to sign on for a Songran on wheels that will take vehicles north from Phuket on April 13-14 through Phang Nga to Ranong and back at an entrance fee of 2565 baht per vehicle.
Phuket Director of the TAT, Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, expects this Songkran to be a bumper year because of Easter being this weekend and Songkran being just days away.
Europeans were taking advantage of the break, along with Australians, Koreans and Chinese, she said. There had been no hint of a drop in tourists visiting Phuket because of the Had Yai bombing, she said, estimating that resorts on Phuket would have 70 percent occupancy over Songkran.
The TAT had advised all its international bureaus that Phuket was hundreds of kilometres from the troubles in the deep south and had never been a target, she said.
The president of the Phuket Tourist Association, Somboon Jirayoot, put the Phuket Songkran resort occupancy rate even higher at 80 percent, noting that tourists could rest assured that security was always a consideration and would be even more closely maintained this year.
Couldn't be happier to find this out and know that I left the Island two weeks ago. Choke Dee !
Posted by Zig on April 8, 2012 17:52