Tuesday TRENDS
CENTRAL Festival plans a 140 million baht overhaul that will add more brand-name shops and restaurants to the existing shopping mall.
An extra 5000 square metres of shopping space is to be made available as the battle for the Phuket sales dollar grows more intense.
The changes to Central Festival, Phase II of the mall's development, should be complete before the end of January 2009.
Central, like its Patong rival Jungceylon, appears to have tapped a penchant for shopping in malls that sceptics would have thought represented the urban converse of a tropical island holiday.
Not so. The human shopping gene apparently likes to travel, and eat, too. It is not unusual for patrons at Central to have to queue outside restaurants on busy evenings.
However, the effects of the political turmoil have crunched the numbers a little.
Central Festival reports a 15 percent downturn in shopper numbers since the state of emergency was declared for Bangkok a fortnight ago.
As many as 23 countries have issued travel warnings about dangers in Thailand, the International Herald Tribune reports.
Some of these otherwise neighborly nations are disinclined to act as fast in removing warnings as they are in putting them up, so the ending of the state of emergency may not necessarily ease the pain fast for the tourism industry.
Australia, home to the largest group of international visitors to Phuket, urges travelers to exercise ''a high degree of caution,'' warning that ''further violence cannot be ruled out.''
Mixed reports to Phuketwan indicate that Patong, always the strongest of destinations in a crisis, is recovering more rapidly than the rest of the island.
At Central Festival, the longer-term patterns are a good indicator of Phuket's core appeal.
''Phuket is growing fast compared to other Central facilities around Thailand,'' said Executive Secretary Tanapon Tangkananan.
Sharper, Healthier Vegetarian Festival
WHILE ON festivals and pain, the Vegetarian one begins early this year, at the end of September.
Organisers say that despite the round of troubles, the nine-day festival should still attract plenty of onlooker-visitors.
We rank it one of the world's great undiscovered secrets. And maybe it should stay that way.
This year local hospitals and clinics will be involved in trying to make sure the items for insertion are free from bugs and as sterile as possible.
An ambulance will follow the daily processions.
The local authorities have also asked for smaller sized needles to be used rather than once again seeing a competition for the largest and most inappropriate insertions.
So leave the beach umbrella, the bicycle and the AK-47 at home this year, please, fellas.
That Reef Sinking Feeling
AN IMPORTANT meeting is scheduled for 3pm on Tuesday at Provincial Hall to plan precisely how the various bodies involved will deliver the Sky Dive Reef, aka the Coral Reef Squadron, to the bottom of the bay off Bang Tao.
It will be no easy task. It's hard to imagine the parts being reassembled underwater, so the aircraft will have to be put back together again on dry land, transported offshore, then . . . what?
The 10 aircraft and helicopters, with a few trucks thrown in (but perhaps not literally) will need to be carefully weighted and chained together in position so that the amazingly powerful tides do not break up the artificial reef over time.
It's a task that was inevitably postponed earlier this year by the arrival of the monsoon, and the lowering has now been rescheduled for the start of high season.
But delays seem to be inevitable with the reef. This will be the fifth time this vital Sky Dive Reef gathering has been scheduled.
Put that down as another unexpected consequence of the political turmoil.
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every day, Monday to Friday, at Phuketwan. It's essential reading. To tell us your news, email bigislandmedia@gmail.com or telephone 081 6513489.Latest
TRENDS
from Phuketwan:September 15
This week should give Phuket and Thailand a new leader. The best role model for 'new politics' is Singapore; Travel warning stays; Rawai supermarket opens with showgirls
Phuket and Thailand Need a Benevolent Dictator
September 11
The Andaman's added attractions this high season will include a month of widespread price cutting in November, part of a push to revitalise the tourism industry on Phuket and in the region.
Phuket Price Packages Chase Tourism Rebound
September 5
Why did they do it? That's the week's big question. The invasion of Phuket International Airport was a big mistake that is going to cost Phuket people dearly. Why?; Jobs is the critical topic as tourism slows.
Phuket Flights: Why Was Airport Invaded?
September 4
The Prime Minister defends his right to remain in power, and Cabinet follows up with a plan for a public referendum to defuse the political crisis. A referendum may also divide the protestors.
Samak Tells Thailand: I Am Not Going Anywhere
September 3
Phuket occupancy rates are down from 55 percent to 30 percent and the recovery will take up to two years, a tourism industry leader says. The island and airlines continue to count the cost of the airport siege.
Phuket Air Siege: Two Years For Recovery
September 2
With a state of emergency announced in Bangkok, a survey of Phuket resorts indicates that the airport siege cost the tourism industry dearly. One thing is sure: Phuket is no longer the haven from political unrest it was last week.
Phuket Resorts Report Cancellations, Uncertainty
September 1
Phuket is flying again. Perhaps not as high as it would like yet, but that will come in time. What was the cost of the airport blockade and what are the lessons for the island? Here's our analysis.
Phuket Flights Return, Island Counts The Cost
