Friday TRENDS
Latest: Air Asia is to add an extra daily flight on the Bangkok Phuket route from October 1, making eight AA flights daily. The number of passengers has been increasing since the August airport standoff, a spokesperson said, with the average 180-seat flight now half-full.
MEDIA junkets, road shows and discount packages are the three prescription medicines for a case of tourism deprivation of the kind now being suffered by Phuket.
Letters have also been sent to 26 embassies by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, requesting the lifting of travel warnings that continue to damage Thailand's tourism image.
Whether the recovery can take place in time for this high season is now the big issue. Media junkets and road shows take time to organise and weeks to seep through to the markets.
Prakit Chinamourphong, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said: ''We have never had business as bad as it is now.''
Some Phuket resorts, though, do not fancy the prescription for recovery, especially the bitter pill of discount packages.
Leading hotel brands Accor, InterContinental, Imperial Hotel Group, Marriott, and Centara Hotels and Resorts have declined to join the campaign.
A cut in room rates is usually the last thing they want because it can take hard work to restore normal pricing value. Besides, they say, the future of the Andaman lies with high-end tourism.
According to the latest Phuket flight figures supplied to Phuketwan, the falloff in tourism this Phuket low season is around 27 percent compared to August-September last year.
What's being done to repair the damage?
Well, about 800 foreign media representatives are going to be visiting Thailand on familiarisation junkets from October 8.
And by the end of the year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and travel industry representatives will have participated in 13 travel shows around the world.
Eight road shows are also being undertaken, beginning in September with one to China.
Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat says the focus will be on accurately reporting the lack of violence in Bangkok, the lifting of the state of emergency and the lack of blockades at Phuket and other airports.
Similar roadshows are expected to follow to Japan, Korea, India, Russia and European countries to restore confidence.
To attract more domestic tourism, the ministry will negotiate with airlines and travel agencies, asking them to reduce airfares because fuel costs are now declining.
But discount campaigns planned for Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi should be scrapped because they would have a negative impact on the business in the long term, agents and operators say.
Those kinds of campaigns would damage the price structure of the industry, said the Tourism Council of Thailand, a grouping of 60 tourism related associations and major hoteliers.
Coming next: the weakening global economy.
Bikini Battle Looms in Bali
JUST WHEN Phuket's biggest regional rival, Bali, was recovering and beginning to attract more Australians, along comes a devastating threat.
A new pornography bill for the whole of mostly-Muslim Indonesia threatens the Hindu traditions and the bikini-clad tourism on the holiday island.
Like Phuket, Bali is noted for its easy-going lifestyle and sensual charms. Its mountain temples are also dappled with ancient Hindu phallic symbols.
Now Balinese legislators, rights activists, artists and tourism entrepreneurs are planning to join forces in a campaign of civil disobedience against what they say is ill-conceived and politically motivated meddling from Jakarta.
They say the bill overlaps with earlier legislation, defines pornography too broadly and will encourage Muslim extremists to enforce their values on the Hindu holiday isle.
''Balinese and other ethnic groups have a different view on what sexual or pornographic materials are,'' local cultural identity Wayan Sayoga told a protest rally of 5000 people this week.
''We can view nudity without being trapped by lust because we look at it from an aesthetic perspective.''
Yes, well said.
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TRENDS
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 18
Tiger Airways is to double flights on the Phuket to Singapore route, first indication of a return to normality this high season; Island consumer prices drop; How Sky Dive Reef will be sunk.
Phuket Singapore Flights To Increase; Inflation Drops
September 17
The political turmoil that has damaged Thailand's reputation as a safe haven tourist destination is likely to continue despite the election of a new Prime Minister.
Phuket PAD weighs Next Move Against New PM
September 16
Central Festival Phase II brings a 140 million baht expansion, with new brands set to arrive; The 2008 Vegetarian Festival is sharpening its act, too; Sky Dive Reef meeting planned . . . again.
Phuket Central Festival Phase II Set to Sale
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
