Phuket News Analysis
PHUKET: One of the most respected names in resort management has called for improvements in Thailand's approach to overcrowded airports, pollution and safety issues.
Chanin Donavanik, the chief executive of Dusit International, the Thai hotel management chain, added his name in today's 'Bangkok Post' to the increasing number of experts calling for change.
Distanced from Bangkok and it revenue, Phuket spotlights the consequences of an industry that outpaces investment in infrastructure, enforcement and services.
Phuket Tourism Association Vice President Bhuritt Maswongsa is among those who want Phuket's future to be properly assessed and for its ''carrying capacity'' to be the key to a sensible strategy.
He believes constant attention to growing numbers of tourists has taken Phuket in the wrong direction, and that it's time for a dramatic reassessment.
''The airport needs to improve in terms of quality, not capacity,'' he told Phuketwan. ''Phuket's high-end market has been slipping from where it was three years ago.
''Today I'd say only 10-15 percent of Phuket tourists are high end. The cheap mass market trips are what will destroy Phuket's future.''
He said more and more tourists were coming for shorter breaks, sometimes just two or three days.
''These are people I would categorise as visitors, not tourists,'' he said. ''Tourists spend between two weeks and two months visiting Phuket.
''The difference is between having seven rooms occupied for a day and one room occupied for seven days.
''At two staff per room with additional water and electricity, the mass option is far more costly.''
One horror story told to Phuketwan concerns a five-star resort that decided to boost low-season numbers with package tours from China.
Among the guests were some who sat down for breakfast at 7am and continued to eat until 10am, then spent days in their room with the television and the aircon on full.
''Phuket people have to ask themselves whether they follow short-term thinking or encourage the government to plan for the future.
''It's not too late to solve these problems. And there is no need to expand the airport further.
''The latest design now underway will give Phuket the number it can cope with and still retain a balance with the environment. But it would be better if all the arrivals were tourists, not 'visitors.'''
A large proportion of the blame for the catastrophe that is now Phuket must lie with the TAT with their promotional road shows in such countries as China, Russia, India etc. Secondly Airports of Thailand have procrastinated for so many years about upgrades to the Airport. I was lucky enough to get away from Phuket at the right time; that is before it changed from a paradise island. To say that the cheap mass market trips are what will destroy Phuket's future is akin to looking in a mirror. It has already happened and will never recover the high end business. Perhaps it should be renamed Pattaya 2!
Posted by Pete on May 16, 2013 11:15