IT WOULD be easy to talk up the latest figures for passengers and flights to Phuket. We could jump in the air and say: ''Have a look at these! Everything is wonderful!''
And we are willing to bet that the people at the Tourism and Sport Ministry who claim there is now ''full occupancy'' at all resorts in Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and Samui will continue to look at the world in that rosy fashion.
''Full occupancy,'' as everyone on Phuket knows, is a long way from the truth. And while the latest figures show that Phuket had a 14.5 percent increase in arrivals and departures for October, following on from the 36.48 percent increase in September, everything is not really wonderful.
You see, there were no departures or arrivals at Phuket International Airport for about 72 hours in late August 2008, apart from the comings and goings of the yellow-shirt invaders.
And that's the reason why we are not jumping for joy about the latest large and seemingly wonderful year-on-year rises. September and October last year were disastrous. Come to think of it, so were November and December.
And someone better tell the Ministry of Tourism and Sport and the TNA soon. Being positive is one thing, being totally inaccurate is another.
A more realistic comparison can be made by looking at how 2009 figures stand with 2007, when Phuket was heading towards its best-ever high season.
In October 2007, Phuket had 448,301 arrivals and departures. This compares with 488,474 last month. So that's a healthy improvement. In 2007, the good news kept on coming, with a total of 506,879 in November rising to 600,850 in December.
While a lot of airline activity is returning and signs are good, forward bookings at resorts leave much to be desired.
But if, as the ministry and TNA tell us, all the resorts are already full, where are these people going to stay anyway?
The bottom line is that Phuket's visitors are paying less for their accommodation and spending less while they are here.
WHILE ON the topic of the record high season of 2007-2008, we now have accommodation figures for the January-March period of 2009 that show a 20.44 percent drop by comparison.
Nation by nation, the decline won out with the Swedes (75,607 down 7.76 percent) towering head and shoulders above others in the quarter. Finland (47,685, up 4.92 percent) Australia (40,613, down 19.26 percent) Russia (37,685, down 4.60 percent) Britain (35,688 up 21.05 percent) Germany (33,880, up 10.24 percent) Denmark (26,893, up 14.66 percent) France (22,767, steady) and Japan (19,893 up 72.40 percent) were the other large contributors.
And we are willing to bet that the people at the Tourism and Sport Ministry who claim there is now ''full occupancy'' at all resorts in Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and Samui will continue to look at the world in that rosy fashion.
''Full occupancy,'' as everyone on Phuket knows, is a long way from the truth. And while the latest figures show that Phuket had a 14.5 percent increase in arrivals and departures for October, following on from the 36.48 percent increase in September, everything is not really wonderful.
You see, there were no departures or arrivals at Phuket International Airport for about 72 hours in late August 2008, apart from the comings and goings of the yellow-shirt invaders.
And that's the reason why we are not jumping for joy about the latest large and seemingly wonderful year-on-year rises. September and October last year were disastrous. Come to think of it, so were November and December.
And someone better tell the Ministry of Tourism and Sport and the TNA soon. Being positive is one thing, being totally inaccurate is another.
A more realistic comparison can be made by looking at how 2009 figures stand with 2007, when Phuket was heading towards its best-ever high season.
In October 2007, Phuket had 448,301 arrivals and departures. This compares with 488,474 last month. So that's a healthy improvement. In 2007, the good news kept on coming, with a total of 506,879 in November rising to 600,850 in December.
While a lot of airline activity is returning and signs are good, forward bookings at resorts leave much to be desired.
But if, as the ministry and TNA tell us, all the resorts are already full, where are these people going to stay anyway?
The bottom line is that Phuket's visitors are paying less for their accommodation and spending less while they are here.
WHILE ON the topic of the record high season of 2007-2008, we now have accommodation figures for the January-March period of 2009 that show a 20.44 percent drop by comparison.
Nation by nation, the decline won out with the Swedes (75,607 down 7.76 percent) towering head and shoulders above others in the quarter. Finland (47,685, up 4.92 percent) Australia (40,613, down 19.26 percent) Russia (37,685, down 4.60 percent) Britain (35,688 up 21.05 percent) Germany (33,880, up 10.24 percent) Denmark (26,893, up 14.66 percent) France (22,767, steady) and Japan (19,893 up 72.40 percent) were the other large contributors.
Why do all the big hotels then sell rooms to under half price ??
Why is everyone complaining about the business, there is maybe a few more people arriving, but not the right ones, people who buy budget tickets, and do not spend money. Chinese tourists do not spend anything at all !
So good luck TAT and others may be totally blind, Phuket is soon closed down for good ! What happened with all the nice talk about Tuk-Tuks ??? Nothing ! And people do not want to pay these crazy prices and being called bad words at the same time !
Posted by Peter on November 5, 2009 17:03