PHUKET: The idea of having a ferry to take tourists from Phuket International Airport to Surin or Patong is still being considered, the governor's forum with honorary consuls heard today.
It's yet another misguided piece of logic: if ferries work on the river in Bangkok, so the theory goes, then a ferry would work on Phuket.
What the seaborne ferry idea fails to take into consideration is that most passengers coming off a long flight or even a short one don't want to lug their luggage out of an airport onto a pier, onto a ferry, and then take a trip that will most likely be unpleasant as its side on to the rolling waves.
Passengers generally prefer to get to their resort as fast as possible by road, then take in the sights.
The sea ferry idea, like the 23.5 billion baht tram link from the airport south to Chalong Circle, really needs to be thoroughly tested among long-haul and short-haul arriving passengers.
Phuketwan believes that most of them are likely to say: ''Give me a taxi or a minivan straight to my resort by the fastest possible route, please.''
The possibility of a future Phuket handicapped by a sea ferry that always will have to be cancelled in bad weather and a slow tram heading in the wrong direction is becoming more likely with every passing day.
Permanent piers at Patong and Surin would be great for long-tails and tour boats, but destroy the beach holiday ambience.
An extension of the tram from Phuket Town to Patong is also likely to be considered next year, today's meeting heard.
But Phuket people used to riding motorcycles door-to-door are going to be difficult to persuade to catch a safe but expensive and slow tram.
It's time someone stood up at the next honorary consuls' meeting next month to say: ''The emperor has no clothes. And neither of these ideas works.''
It's yet another misguided piece of logic: if ferries work on the river in Bangkok, so the theory goes, then a ferry would work on Phuket.
What the seaborne ferry idea fails to take into consideration is that most passengers coming off a long flight or even a short one don't want to lug their luggage out of an airport onto a pier, onto a ferry, and then take a trip that will most likely be unpleasant as its side on to the rolling waves.
Passengers generally prefer to get to their resort as fast as possible by road, then take in the sights.
The sea ferry idea, like the 23.5 billion baht tram link from the airport south to Chalong Circle, really needs to be thoroughly tested among long-haul and short-haul arriving passengers.
Phuketwan believes that most of them are likely to say: ''Give me a taxi or a minivan straight to my resort by the fastest possible route, please.''
The possibility of a future Phuket handicapped by a sea ferry that always will have to be cancelled in bad weather and a slow tram heading in the wrong direction is becoming more likely with every passing day.
Permanent piers at Patong and Surin would be great for long-tails and tour boats, but destroy the beach holiday ambience.
An extension of the tram from Phuket Town to Patong is also likely to be considered next year, today's meeting heard.
But Phuket people used to riding motorcycles door-to-door are going to be difficult to persuade to catch a safe but expensive and slow tram.
It's time someone stood up at the next honorary consuls' meeting next month to say: ''The emperor has no clothes. And neither of these ideas works.''
This idea is right up there with the"Movie Museum" on Nai Harn Beach! Unbelievable!
Posted by Jim McGowan on November 25, 2015 22:37