Phuket Tourist Records Smashed as Air Passengers Ignore Bangkok Bombers
By Alan Morison, editor of Phuketwan Monday, September 7, 2015
PHUKET: Any concern that the Bangkok bombing would affect Phuket tourism has disappeared with record numbers of passengers recorded through the island's international airport last month.
Phuket's capacity to attract people the way a magnet attracts filings only leaves unanswered the pea-and-thimble question: who are these visitors and where is their money being spent?
August, 2015, produced yet more extraordinary figures for arrivals and departures by air tp Phuket, with Airports of Thailand totting up 1,139,457 passengers - an increase of 21.47 percent on the same month last year.
The remarkable low-season result - if Phuket still has a low season, which seems unlikely - means that the holiday island has recorded more than a million people coming and going on flights every month this year, except for May and June.
The total of 8,613,201 arrivals and departures to September 1 means that the total 12.5 million capacity of the new airport is almost certain to be exceeded before it opens in 2016.
As well as needing to know who the tourists are and what they do while they are on Phuket, industry businesses will be eyeing how many are now turning left from the airport's gates and heading for the greener pastures of the neighboring eco-friendly provinces of Krabi and Phang Nga.
Phuketwan believes the time has come for authorities in all three provinces to plant the foot on the expansion brake. Strip developments now going up along main roads in all three provinces give the Andaman the instant appeal of a Beijing suburb. Tourists don't fly thousands of miles to see the same worn concrete vistas.
It's time to make development more expensive and supportive of infrastructure. The Phuketwan plan would make it mandatory for resorts and condo or villa projects beyond a certain size to provide their own water supplies and 20 percent of their own power. The development brake would extend the life of the Andaman tourism industry beyond the next decade.
Currency issues may be seen as alarming international tourists these days yet overseas travellers increased in number by 20.06 percent, just a couple of percent behind a similar domestic lift.
The pea was last seen going under the third thimble. Or perhaps it was the second thimble. Then again, it could be under that first one . . .
Students of the Phuket numbers are advised that the AoT figures are for arrivals AND departures, so cutting the figure of 8.6 million in half gives a rough approximation of the number of arrivals.
Just how many of those 4.3 million are from international destinations and which particular countries they come from is something only the magician with the pea and thimbles can reveal.
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Comments
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Phuket suffers more and more visitors, more tension on and needs for better Phuket island infra- and environment issues. How many tons of carbage disposal nowadays what can not be handled by Phuket and just dumped at the skirt of Phuket town? Water problems, even in low season. Water will become a real big issue during the next dry season if by than many extra people on Phuket need it.
This are issues to be addressed now today by Phuket authorities, not 'tomorrow'. And ofcourse a normal civilized public transport, ( but that is broken record stuff).
Posted by
Kurt
on
September 7, 2015 11:22
Went out for a meal in Bang Tao two weeks ago......dead....nobody on the streets. Met my friend in Rawai for a few beers and dinner last week.....never seen it so quiet. As for Karon & Kata....they are like ghost towns & have been for ages Just where are these figures coming from Ed?
Posted by
Michael
on
September 7, 2015 11:25
Editor Comment:
The AoT, Michael. No doubting their accuracy. The issue is not about the figures, but where the tourists are going.
According to 2014 statistics HKT (VTSP) has on average 208 aircraft movements per day.
The quoted passenger numbers for August would mean 182 passengers per aircraft.
Taking in consideration average industry load factor of 70 to 80% and the fact that almost half the HKT flights are on narrow body jets which, even in a single class configuration can accommodate no more than 180 passengers, these numbers seem astonishing.
Flight radar data statistics will show not only the exact number of aircraft movements but also the type of aircraft used. Let AOT give us these numbers and we can all to do the math and see if it adds up. It's all public information.
What is not public is the passenger manifest (names of passengers) but the number of PAX is. Gaining access to this information would give the exact number of passengers on every flight in and out of HKT.
If I can find it, I'll post it (incl links) here. It would provide and alternate, verifiable source of data to see if what AOT reports is actually correct.
Posted by
Herbert
on
September 7, 2015 11:25
Editor Comment:
The flight numbers are also provided, Herbert, but of interest only to doubters. Spend half a day - or even more to the point, half a night - at the airport and you'll see plenty of arrivals and departures. We've asked for detailed stats in the past and been provided with them. There is no reason why these figures would be falsified. Only Doomsayers look for faults in the figures instead of wondering where the tourists are going now.
@ Ed
The reason why I am suspicious of the numbers provided is because of what I and my circle of friends see on the ground does not match it.
No need to spend any time at the airport either. All data is available online. Took me 1 hr to compile.
Older data takes more effort to access but these are the statistics for Sep 3rd 2015.
Total aircraft movements 222
Narrow-body 181
Wide-body 41
Total max seats available 45931
Given August statistics equals apprx 36765 PAX per 24hrs. To reach the same number the total load factor for Sep 3rd should be 80%.
Next time you fly, look around onboard and see if 80% of the seats are filled and make your own conclusions.
Movements by type
ATR72 10
B738 46
B739 3
A320 109
A321 13
A332 5
A333 12
B767 10
B773 12
B788 2
There is a slight variation in max seating capacity among different airlines. LCCs usually have a single class cabin, Legacy airlines 2.
Sources
http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByAirport.do
http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Qatar_Airways/Qatar_Airways_Boeing_787-8.php
http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b767-28264.htm
Posted by
Herbert
on
September 7, 2015 12:55
Editor Comment:
Go to the airport at 1am, Herbert. There is standing room only.
Suggest, you read the report from Bill Barnett from C9, the Phuket Mid Year Business review.
It gives clear insight that the health of the destination Phuket can not be measured only by the arrival numbers.
It is actually very simple, European, Australian and Russian business is declining, Chinese arrivals have grown 40% and the growth from China is mainly among group tours who have a different spending pattern. I am confident the 7/11 has never had a better year.
Wolfgang Meusburger, General Manager Holiday Inn Resort Phuket
Posted by
Wolfgang.Meusburger
on
September 7, 2015 14:54
Editor Comment:
So Phuket heads towards becoming what it does not want to be - a tourist destination for people from one nation. The airport figure is merely a big number.
Phuket's capacity to attract people the way a magnet attracts filings only leaves unanswered the pea-and-thimble question: who are these visitors and where is their money being spent?
I am on an increasingly rare visit to Phuket & this point you have raised is a real conundrum.
The roads seem busier than usual for supposedly low season ...
... yet restaurants & bars have closed for good; massage shops & dive shops say business is less than poor.
It is a complete mystery to me. Something, somewhere, does not add up somehow!
Posted by
Logic
on
September 7, 2015 15:45
@ Ed
Having you or me sit at the airport would be just as unscientific and statistically irrelevant as my gut feeling of how quiet Phuket appears to be.
I can see no harm in having an additional and above all, independent source of information. Both AOT and especially TAT measure their success by and large by the number of visitors they manage to attract.
Thus they are at least tempted to be biased in their reporting.
A former Finance Minister of Thailand even admitted publicly having presented falsified statistics, i.e. telling a "White Lie" so it's not like it's unheard of in Thailand.
Posted by
Herbert
on
September 7, 2015 16:04
Editor Comment:
Guesswork doesn't promote full disclosure, whether it's meant as a help or a hindrance.
@ Ed
Yes I understand and agree with your point.
However in this case a full disclosure is fortunately not necessary because independent data sources exist which can be used to verify what's being spoon-fed to the public.
I wish that was equally true for traffic fatality statistics.
Posted by
Herbert
on
September 7, 2015 16:32
I own a business in Patong (massage shop not, a bar) and our business lately confirms what is seen in the airport arrival numbers. End August/early September is usually the slowest time of the year but this year is unusually busy. In fact this last week tops even Xmas/New Years business last year. The customers are from all over. China, Hong Kong, India, Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, still a lot of Aussies, and last month still a lot from Europe, especially Italy and France. If you run a business in Phuket you have to adapt to the type of customers you have not just expect business as usual with mostly European and Scandinavian customers like in the past before the Tsunami.
Posted by
Richard S
on
September 7, 2015 17:00
Logic... there is no mystery to why you see bars, restaurants massage and dive shops empty. The mix of customers is not the same as the previous mostly European crowd. They are mostly not interested in European food, sleazy bars, sex oriented massage and dive tours. If you offer good quality at a fair price and cater to the new mix of nationalities and religions you can do very good business in Phuket now..
Posted by
Richard S
on
September 7, 2015 17:08
@Logic remember the government did a buying incentive for cars and people say credit is easier than it was...so now people are in debt and some losing their jobs.
Posted by
Where is Sue?
on
September 7, 2015 18:22
Good question 'Where is Sue?'. Very quiet suddenly,The Fount of All Knowledge. Prob on hols @ the airport.
Posted by
Sue Yu
on
September 8, 2015 02:12
Even though I have been coming to Thailand for over 12 years, this was my first time in Phuket. Visited late August. Did not see that many tourists. Hotel in Patong was quiet as well. To be honest I really did not like Phuket. Overpriced and not clean. Quite smelly too. Also this was the first time that I got a stomach virus while in Thailand. Over 12 years never had problems, but Phuket broke that record. Will not return anytime soon. I prefer Koh Chang better, or Krabi.
Posted by
Tony
on
September 8, 2015 03:32
I don't think it is the end of Aussie tourists due to the dollar being down. A lot of people I know are still traveling to Phuket. The dollar has crashed to below 70c US and the exchange is about 22.7THB (in Aus) to the dollar but they all say traveling to Thailand and other parts of Asia is all they can afford as it is just too dear to go to Europe or US. That's if they travel at all. Plenty will come, it is the other issues that decide if it is Phuket or Krabi, Thailand or Vietnam or elsewhere.Travel agents here are advertising all sorts of specials so the appeal is still there. A relative who just returned from Patong highlighted that a lot of his favorite stalls and shops were closed. I haven't been over since March and it was a bit quiet then. Sorry no answers just more questions.
Posted by
Davemc60
on
September 8, 2015 04:36
I flew back from KL three days ago.
A Boeing 737 jet with about twenty passengers.
Posted by
Sir Burr
on
September 8, 2015 06:48
I just received a promo email from Asiatravel.com. Headline is
Clearance Sale !! Hotels in Thailand save UP to 80% !!
A couple of examples on Phuket (Reg / Promo price)
Le Coral Hideaway 12000 1499
Supalai Resort and Spa 5935 1500
Wanaburi Hotel 3500 500
The Aim Patong 2720 500
Movenpick Residence 23146 9999
If it's such a remarkable low season, why the Fire Sale ?
Posted by
Herbert
on
September 8, 2015 10:21
Editor Comment:
There are those who adapt and those who don't, Herbert. The numbers are higher than ever before. There are also more unregistered apartment houses and resorts than ever before . . . ''competition.''
Herbert,darkng,as fat as I can see these are peak season prices vs. what they offer for the most rainy season of September.
"Pls come into the trap of Le Coral Hideaway for just 1200THB and spend 2500THB per head on F&B as there is no alternative on Natai beach, and taxi to Khokkloy will set you for the same"
Posted by
Sue
on
September 8, 2015 10:45
I refer to Herbert's figure of 208 'aircraft movements' per day. Am I not correct in saying that an 'aircraft movement' includes a landing and a take off, and would also include private planes and courier/cargo planes? (if any.) In which case, for the figure of 1,139,457 passengers for August (36,756 per day) to be correct, an aircraft would have to be carrying - on average - 353 passengers.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
September 8, 2015 12:55
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Phuket suffers more and more visitors, more tension on and needs for better Phuket island infra- and environment issues. How many tons of carbage disposal nowadays what can not be handled by Phuket and just dumped at the skirt of Phuket town? Water problems, even in low season. Water will become a real big issue during the next dry season if by than many extra people on Phuket need it.
This are issues to be addressed now today by Phuket authorities, not 'tomorrow'. And ofcourse a normal civilized public transport, ( but that is broken record stuff).
Posted by Kurt on September 7, 2015 11:22