PHUKET: Bookings are ''quite strong'' from Europe for Phuket this high season, says the island's Tourism Authority of Thailand Director Anoma Vongyai.
''Britons, Germans and Scandinavians are still fans of Phuket and we are finding appeal in the new markets of the Middle east, China and India,'' she said.
Numbers will probably be down on last high season but Phuket was doing much better than other destinations in Thailand affected by the military takeover, Khun Anoma added.
Russians were not coming in such great numbers because they had problems of their own at home with the Ukraine.
''It's important that Phuket gets its appeal right,'' Khun Anoma said.
Back in 2009, when Khun Anoma was Deputy Director, she told Phuketwan that intense development of the island was continuing, raising the need for sustainability as a long-term strategy.
''Some businesses think we need more visitors but there has to be a balance,'' she said. ''We need quality tourists who will spend more.''
The key to the future, she told PW, lay with setting a finite maximum ''carrying capacity'' of Phuket, defining the island's ability to support a certain number of residents and visitors.
Not a lot has changed.
In a survey of Phuket resorts, Phuketwan was provided with the following information on occupancy rates and forward bookings. The first figure is percentage for October, the second for November and the third for December.
Katathani Phuket Beach Resort 83 55 52
Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa 70 26 14
Club Med Phuket 90 100 95
Diamond Cliff Resort and Spa 40 55 50
Merlin Phuket 56 61 60
Royal Phuket City 40 45 45
Patong Resort Hotel 79 60 40
Centara Karon Resort Phuket 83 72 76
Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa 66.30 82.01 45.18
Novotel Phuket Resort 67.05 44.76 38.47
''Britons, Germans and Scandinavians are still fans of Phuket and we are finding appeal in the new markets of the Middle east, China and India,'' she said.
Numbers will probably be down on last high season but Phuket was doing much better than other destinations in Thailand affected by the military takeover, Khun Anoma added.
Russians were not coming in such great numbers because they had problems of their own at home with the Ukraine.
''It's important that Phuket gets its appeal right,'' Khun Anoma said.
Back in 2009, when Khun Anoma was Deputy Director, she told Phuketwan that intense development of the island was continuing, raising the need for sustainability as a long-term strategy.
''Some businesses think we need more visitors but there has to be a balance,'' she said. ''We need quality tourists who will spend more.''
The key to the future, she told PW, lay with setting a finite maximum ''carrying capacity'' of Phuket, defining the island's ability to support a certain number of residents and visitors.
Not a lot has changed.
In a survey of Phuket resorts, Phuketwan was provided with the following information on occupancy rates and forward bookings. The first figure is percentage for October, the second for November and the third for December.
Katathani Phuket Beach Resort 83 55 52
Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa 70 26 14
Club Med Phuket 90 100 95
Diamond Cliff Resort and Spa 40 55 50
Merlin Phuket 56 61 60
Royal Phuket City 40 45 45
Patong Resort Hotel 79 60 40
Centara Karon Resort Phuket 83 72 76
Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa 66.30 82.01 45.18
Novotel Phuket Resort 67.05 44.76 38.47
A high percentage of Russians, Indians & Chinese who might be considered well off in their own countries, do not command a fraction of the salaries of westerners. It is logical that they then do not have the same spending power outside their own country. I am afraid that as always, TAT is clutching at straws. Bums on seats does not equate with quality spending tourists, especially in they are pre-paid package in their own countries.
Posted by Logic on October 9, 2014 10:38
Editor Comment:
As the article says, Logic, fewer Russians are coming. The rest we know . . .