PHUKET: Holiday islands do have quieter moments, and we suspect Phuket is due for one. The figures for passenger numbers through Phuket International Airport rose in April, but it was an exceptional month.
Political protests in Bangkok probably forced some people to look at alternatives, especially Phuket. Thailand's New Year was followed by Easter. Yet arrivals and departures on Phuket rose by just 7.89 percent.
It's true that this is carping. Most of the time, 7.89 percent would be deemed a great effort, with Thailand struggling to hold its tourists.
Yet given the good numbers that have been generated over the past 18 months on Phuket, April could be considered a bump in what has become a levelling off of Phuket arrivals and departures.
With banks spruiking the tourist numbers to sell condos and some false figures still flying around, the turnstiles at Phuket airport are a reasonably accurate measure of Phuket's popularity.
The 994,966 total for international and domestic passengers fell just short of seven figures. But the outlook is not especially positive.
Since October, the rate of international passengers has levelled out like so: October +21.73 percent, November +18.98 percent, December +10.94 percent, January +14.40 percent, February +4.47 percent, March +4.74 percent.
There is no need for panic yet. But anyone planning to open a resort really needs to do their research and work out whether Phuket is going to continue its amazing trajectory of increasing tourist numbers, or level off.
With more tourists turning left from the airport and choosing holidays in Phan Nga and Krabi, we suspect numbers of arrivals and departures are about to level off.
Sadly, there is nobody who gets to decide when Phuket has about the maximum amount of tourists to achieve a balance with nature. At some point, there will come a day when Phuket can cope, and a tomorrow when it cannot.
The big news story in April was the polluted water at Phuket's beaches. We think that the critical decisive moment for Phuket sustainability is just about here.
Political protests in Bangkok probably forced some people to look at alternatives, especially Phuket. Thailand's New Year was followed by Easter. Yet arrivals and departures on Phuket rose by just 7.89 percent.
It's true that this is carping. Most of the time, 7.89 percent would be deemed a great effort, with Thailand struggling to hold its tourists.
Yet given the good numbers that have been generated over the past 18 months on Phuket, April could be considered a bump in what has become a levelling off of Phuket arrivals and departures.
With banks spruiking the tourist numbers to sell condos and some false figures still flying around, the turnstiles at Phuket airport are a reasonably accurate measure of Phuket's popularity.
The 994,966 total for international and domestic passengers fell just short of seven figures. But the outlook is not especially positive.
Since October, the rate of international passengers has levelled out like so: October +21.73 percent, November +18.98 percent, December +10.94 percent, January +14.40 percent, February +4.47 percent, March +4.74 percent.
There is no need for panic yet. But anyone planning to open a resort really needs to do their research and work out whether Phuket is going to continue its amazing trajectory of increasing tourist numbers, or level off.
With more tourists turning left from the airport and choosing holidays in Phan Nga and Krabi, we suspect numbers of arrivals and departures are about to level off.
Sadly, there is nobody who gets to decide when Phuket has about the maximum amount of tourists to achieve a balance with nature. At some point, there will come a day when Phuket can cope, and a tomorrow when it cannot.
The big news story in April was the polluted water at Phuket's beaches. We think that the critical decisive moment for Phuket sustainability is just about here.
I work in a luxury resort in Phuket and low season kicked in this week, as of today we have 70% less guests than last week and the trend is set to continue for the next couple of months,this has all been forecast for,the larger hotels are still reasonably busy but talking to my colleagues in similar properties small luxury hotels they are all becoming very quiet.
Posted by Steven Jameson on May 13, 2014 08:52