PHUKET: A new 'Festival of the Yachts of Thailand' is to be discussed in Bangkok tomorrow with Phuket Marine 5 Office director Phuripat Theerakulpisut representing the holiday island at the top-level meeting.
The regular yachting events in place on Phuket and around the Andaman region are supported by private industry and sponsorship and it's not clear how a 'Festival of the Yachts of Thailand' - being proposed for November - would dovetail with the King's Cup, which is usually scheduled around that time.
Thailand already has boat shows in Phuket and Pattaya but these are also privately funded. A second annual boat show, proposed for Phuket, has been postponed.
While the number of yachts that visit Phuket each year has risen to 15,000, yachties are reasonably capricious and inclined to choose their currents and destinations with caution.
Khun Phuripat said today that he believed Phuket would continue to be more popular than the neighboring province of Krabi because there were more activities and facilities for visitors on Phuket.
''Phuket already has four private marinas and the fifth at Ao Makham is under construction,'' Khun Phuripat said.
Reports from Bangkok say the government is looking at Krabi, Pattaya and Phuket as possible destinations for the November 'Festival of the Yachts in Thailand.'
It's unclear just what incentives officials had in mind in terms of attracting more yachts. Sailors generally fit the concept of ''quality'' tourists that Thailand appears to wish to encourage in greater numbers.
The prospect has also been raised of two more deep sea ports being created in Thailand for cruise liners, at Krabi and Surat Thani.
Khun Phuripat said today that Phuket's deep sea port, which continues to attract a limited number of vessels because of lack of space to take more than one vessel at a time, would need a substantial investment to widen the narrow berthing facility.
Cruise line passengers also are considered ''quality'' tourists and are likely to be sought by the rival deep sea facilities proposed for Krabi and Surat Thani.
The regular yachting events in place on Phuket and around the Andaman region are supported by private industry and sponsorship and it's not clear how a 'Festival of the Yachts of Thailand' - being proposed for November - would dovetail with the King's Cup, which is usually scheduled around that time.
Thailand already has boat shows in Phuket and Pattaya but these are also privately funded. A second annual boat show, proposed for Phuket, has been postponed.
While the number of yachts that visit Phuket each year has risen to 15,000, yachties are reasonably capricious and inclined to choose their currents and destinations with caution.
Khun Phuripat said today that he believed Phuket would continue to be more popular than the neighboring province of Krabi because there were more activities and facilities for visitors on Phuket.
''Phuket already has four private marinas and the fifth at Ao Makham is under construction,'' Khun Phuripat said.
Reports from Bangkok say the government is looking at Krabi, Pattaya and Phuket as possible destinations for the November 'Festival of the Yachts in Thailand.'
It's unclear just what incentives officials had in mind in terms of attracting more yachts. Sailors generally fit the concept of ''quality'' tourists that Thailand appears to wish to encourage in greater numbers.
The prospect has also been raised of two more deep sea ports being created in Thailand for cruise liners, at Krabi and Surat Thani.
Khun Phuripat said today that Phuket's deep sea port, which continues to attract a limited number of vessels because of lack of space to take more than one vessel at a time, would need a substantial investment to widen the narrow berthing facility.
Cruise line passengers also are considered ''quality'' tourists and are likely to be sought by the rival deep sea facilities proposed for Krabi and Surat Thani.
The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Mind-blowing... And K. Phuripat representing the Island? A jet-ski show perhaps?
Posted by Duncan on March 2, 2015 19:02