PHUKET: The tourism industry on Phuket needs to quickly alter its approach or lose its appeal to ''quality tourists,'' a seminar heard yesterday.
Resorts now competing on price should compete on service instead, the President of the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Division), Suchart Hirankanokkul, told a meeting.
Speaking at a tourism and technology forum in Patong organised by True Vision, Khun Suchart warned that Australian visitors were down by five percent in the second quarter.
Chinese tourists were coming in large numbers, with passengers to Phuket constantly increasing. But he said selling cheap accommodation was a mistake.
''If we sell cheap, what do we get?'' he said. ''Nothing. All we get is tourists in large numbers. Quality is what's important.''
Resorts also needed to develop an appreciation of the natural environment and work to preserve it, he said.
High-end European visitors were already abandoning Patong for Khao Lak: ''Unless we turn things around on Phuket, more will leave.''
On a recent road show trip to London, he said the message was plain from agents. One of them told him: ''Don't try to sell anything about Phuket to me.''
Several times, Khun Suchart noted, the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand had suggested that officials on Phuket should put up signage in the Chinese language - including warnings about the dangers in the water.
There was no sign yet of replacement signage, he said. ''If you let the problems continue, tourism on Phuket will. start to decline,'' he said.
The gathering at Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa noted that conventional marketing of destinations had speedily been replaced by social networks and smart telephone technology.
On a positive note, Khun Suchart said that the coming of the Asean Economic Community in 2015-16 represented a good chance for Phuket to evolve ''if we are strong enough.''
He said it was vital for Phuket resorts to stop the competition to drive prices lower, to exploit new technology effectively, and to target high-end tourists.
Khun Suchart owns the Graceland Resort and has recently constructed a second resort near Khao Lak, north of Phuket.
Resorts now competing on price should compete on service instead, the President of the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Division), Suchart Hirankanokkul, told a meeting.
Speaking at a tourism and technology forum in Patong organised by True Vision, Khun Suchart warned that Australian visitors were down by five percent in the second quarter.
Chinese tourists were coming in large numbers, with passengers to Phuket constantly increasing. But he said selling cheap accommodation was a mistake.
''If we sell cheap, what do we get?'' he said. ''Nothing. All we get is tourists in large numbers. Quality is what's important.''
Resorts also needed to develop an appreciation of the natural environment and work to preserve it, he said.
High-end European visitors were already abandoning Patong for Khao Lak: ''Unless we turn things around on Phuket, more will leave.''
On a recent road show trip to London, he said the message was plain from agents. One of them told him: ''Don't try to sell anything about Phuket to me.''
Several times, Khun Suchart noted, the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand had suggested that officials on Phuket should put up signage in the Chinese language - including warnings about the dangers in the water.
There was no sign yet of replacement signage, he said. ''If you let the problems continue, tourism on Phuket will. start to decline,'' he said.
The gathering at Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa noted that conventional marketing of destinations had speedily been replaced by social networks and smart telephone technology.
On a positive note, Khun Suchart said that the coming of the Asean Economic Community in 2015-16 represented a good chance for Phuket to evolve ''if we are strong enough.''
He said it was vital for Phuket resorts to stop the competition to drive prices lower, to exploit new technology effectively, and to target high-end tourists.
Khun Suchart owns the Graceland Resort and has recently constructed a second resort near Khao Lak, north of Phuket.
This may seem somewhat ambiguous to the Editor, but being factual it bears out some hidden truths.
I'm not a doomsayer; in fact I live in hope that someday I shall be able to return to Phuket for a holiday and meet some of my long time friends again (many having already departed) when and if things improve on the island. Of all these new proposals I think it will take a rocket scientist to sort out the mess Phuket is in and the results that changes can bring; hence the need for some variants of Murphy's Law as follows:
Murphy's Original Law:
If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it.
Murphy's Law:
If anything can go wrong it will.
Murphy's First Corollary:
Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
Murphy's Second Corollary:
It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
And last, but not least:
The Murphy Philosophy:
Smile... tomorrow will be worse. (Doomsayers don't smile).
Many people tend to think that Murphy was an Irishman, but truth be told he was a rocket scientist.
I have just finished reading a book entitled ''Murphy's Law and other reasons why things go wrong'' by Arthur Bloch, and Captain Ed Murphy really was a rocket scientist with the US Airforce and was indeed the originator of Murphy's Law. Many parallels can be drawn with the happenings and the comings and goings on Phuket today - it's a worthwhile read.
Posted by Pete on August 16, 2013 10:47