The Bangkok Post reports that tourist arrivals and hotel occupancy plummeted, particularly in the Central and Northern provinces of the Kingdom.

According to the Bank of Thailand, arrivals declined 12% year-on-year in May, after a record number of foreigners came to the country in the first quarter. Still, here that helped shore up the economy was no other than international trade and investment with their strong external demand.

Despite the violent protests in May, the overall economy expanded moderately from the previous month, says Mathee Supapongse, director of the central bank’s Domestic Economy Department.

Although we can consider that tourism was a disaster here with hotel occupancies falling to 35% in May compared with an average of 50% for the past five years.

Bangkok and the North were hardest hit, but some southern destinations, particularly Phuket, enjoyed a slight increase from the same period last year.

News by Phuket Gazette

The meeting will be held on June 18 to 20 at Ratilanna Spa, Sobtana Aunprasert, Assistant Director of the TAT office in Chiang Mai office, announced this.

In July, members of the TAT Chiang Mai office will come to Phuket to study the tourism market here.

There are currently two daily flights between the two cities aboard Thai AirAsia flights.

The low-cost carrier began a second direct daily service on June 1 using aircraft that had been flying its Phuket – Hi Chi Minh City and Phuket – Medan routes, both of which are now temporarily suspended.

The two-hour flights between Phuket and Chiang Mai are a big improvement over the past, when all air travel had to do stopovers at Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang airports in Bangkok.

Driving one way from Phuket to Chiang Mai takes two about days, putting the cities too far apart for most domestic tourists planning a holiday by car or bus.

Mr Sobtrana said the main goal of the meeting is to increase travel between the provinces, including domestic tourism that is needed in Chiang Mai to help keep struggling tourism businesses afloat during the low season.

Good marketing and public relations strategies are essential to expanding the overseas market and both markets would benefit with even more direct flights between the two cities, he said.

News by Phuket Gazette

PTA President Somboon Jirayut says for targeting Australia because since there are direct flights to Phuket from most major cities there, including Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

“The association is also planning to make road shows in China, Korea and Japan – probably next year, but it’s not confirmed yet,” he said.

Thai Airways International (THAI) was planning new direct routes to Phuket from seven cities abroad, Mr Somboon said.

The airline had yet to confirm which cities would be chosen, but the THAI board would probably make an announcement near the start of the next high season, he said.

News by Phuket Gazette

In a story headlined “Protests Not Expected to Hurt Thai Economy”, the magazine notes that fallout from the civil unrest is expected to be limited, with most economic analysts predicting a year of strong growth. Indeed, the Bank of Thailand announced on May 27 that GDP would still grow between 4.3% and 5.8% for the year, not far off the forecast by the World Bank before the violence began.

Exports are the primary driver of the Thai economy. They are expected this year to contribute a record-breaking 60-65% of GDP, nearly double their contribution in the late 1990s.

Tourism, as a major infrastructure for industry growth, has yet to achieve a double-digit percentage in what it brings to GDP. In 2008, a boom year for Thai tourism, the sector contributed less than 8%. This year, by all accounts, it is expected to deliver something a bit over 6%, about one-tenth of the contribution of exports.

Time refers for the bloodshed takes place in Thailand during their low-tourism season as a “Small blessing” for their tourism industry noting that that industry executives are now put again their hopeful confidence in the country for it can be restored as a holiday destination before the start of October high season.

With confidence in Phuket damaged far less than has been the case in Bangkok and the north of the country, it is not unreasonable to assume that Phuket will play a leading role in restoring tourism’s national health over the months ahead.

News by Phuket Gazette

The west coast of Phuket maybe the best representation of developments in the island. Along the coast with majestic vistas, between Karon and Patong, there is a newly completed road hiking up to a palatial construction of Centara Grand, a luxury five-star-plus resort with 262 rooms sets to open in the next high season. The 1.9 billion Baht investment reflects how promising Phuket’s future is.

Phuket has been seeing the up and down before and after tsunami and both international and Thai brands have been continuously seeing medium and long term benefits on investments in Phuket. But the night when political protest turned to become a horrible bloodshed brought a huge question mark to the continuation of those investments.

The incident severely damaged Thailand social and political stability. The image of Thailand has been changed into a destination tainted by spilled blood of civilians, soldiers, even foreigner.

On Nai Harn beach there is a magnificent resort property The Phuket Yacht Club Puravarna which is already put to the market for sale. The incident in Bangkok definitely hit the seller as property market is inevitably affected, in which situation confidence on getting expected return fades away.

Learning from the picture when Tsunami hit the region back in 2004, significant disaster took a while to unfold, and even longer to recover. Tourists who have been in Phuket when the tsunami swept the continued their stay. They did not pack up and left in a hurry. But will they come back or will others come along are completely different question. Protests started back in March 12th does not show any signs of compromise resulting in escalating level of uncertainty. People may have booked and paid their holiday for April so they may still come. But beyond that bookings may get evaporated.

Tourism facility operators may promote the fact that Phuket is far away from Bangkok, but if government fall and the country runs into chaos, offering discounts are not going to attract tourists. News reported that five star brands have already offering significant discount.

Foreigners entering Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption category (free of charge) must possess a return or onward ticket plus adequate finances for the duration of stay in Thailand. The permitted length of stay given is 30 days when entering via an International airport, or 15 days if entering through land border crossing or sea border. Therefore, countries went under visa exemption are : Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam.

Thailand holds bilateral agreements on visa exemption for holders of passports from Brazil, South Korea and Peru, and these passport holders are given a 90-day stay.

Citizens of Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan and Ukraine who need to apply for a 15 day Visa on Arrival at designated checkpoints and Airports will again be charged from March 5, 2010.

News by Phuket Gazette

Five architects have emerged victory in the opening skirmishes of a battle for the right to design a new 300-million-baht historical park commemorating the Battle of Thalang. The new park is expected to become a major tourist attraction displaying Phuket’s colorful history. The committee of this competition consist architecture experts, historians and local politicians have whittled a field of 12 full proposals down to just five. The winning firms will now have until February 20 to produce scale models of their designs.

On March 1st, the winner will be announced. The winning firm will receive 100,000 baht and the right to sign a construction contract for the project. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, who chairs the judging panel, said the winning model would be put on display at the annual Thalang Victory Memorial Festival that starts on March 13.

The Battle of Thalang made legends of Phuket’s ‘Two Heroines’, Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn, statues of whom grace the Heroines Monument close to where the new park will be built. The pair, known as ‘Jan’ and ‘Muk’ before they were ennobled, led Siamese fighters in successfully repelling a Burmese invasion force in the battle in 1785. The five grand designs, put the heroes at center stage, all feature plenty of space for re-enactments of the victory. At least one of the designs will see a large statue of the Two Heroines overlooking the park. All five proposals will feature a museum, education zone, performance area, shops, restaurants and a mock sea gypsy-fishing village.

Managing director of local firm Able Architects, Pakhin Aunggulsant, is a member of the judging committee said “we can’t name the finalists as it might affect the judging, but they are all quite famous.”

“We’ve had five fantastic designs and it’s going to be really hard to decide who is going to win,” he added.

News by Phuket Gazette

C9 managing director Bill Barnett said despite the delays, new developments continued to enter the stream, with 38 properties offering 6,231 rooms at various stages of advancement in the construction cycle. “Non-traditional product, such as hotel-managed villas and condos, now represent 34 per cent of the upcoming inventory,” Barnett said.

The research shows tourist arrivals declined 14 per cent in the first half of the year, but a combined luxury/upscale/middle-market occupancy rate of 60.4 per cent produced an average room rate of US$141 (Bt4,800).

The report also said branded hotels outperformed non-branded properties in terms of rates by 33.7 per cent, although the non-branded sector outperformed the brands on occupancy by 12.4 per cent. “Looking forward, short-term trading will focus on occupancy at the expense of long-term rate strategies,” Barnett said.

“Cash flow is a key underlying consideration in this market, with most hospitality assets largely carrying low debt ratios. Defying the trends are the high-end tier luxury properties which operate in a favorable supply-and-demand segment and budget-tier hotels that have captured changing demographics are experiencing business from price-conscious travelers.”

The report concluded Phuket’s long-term outlook remained positive with brand concentration, growing airlift and infrastructure improvements, although a recovery has effectively been written off for this year, with prospects pushed into next year instead.

News by The Nation Business – www.nationmultimedia.com

Phuket’s natural resources – rocky capes, limestone cliffs, white powdery beaches, tranquil broad bays, and tropical inland forests contribute to making it the Asia’s most visited and most popular island. Phuket has a great deal to offer its visitors other than its natural heritage of sea, sand, sky, beach, forest, and world-renowned diving sites. In addition, accommodations ranging from world-class resorts to tropical-style bungalows have warmly catered to the different needs of travelers. For seafood lovers, there are delicacies galore, including the famous rock lobster.

The main attractions of Phuket include Hat Kata (Kata Beach), Hat Patong, The View Point, Sirinat National Park, Phuket Submarine, Phuket FantaSea, Jungceylon and Phuket town. The following places offer enjoyable activities: Phuket Water Ski Cableways, Simon Cabaret, Tarzan’s Jungle Bungy Jump, Tarzan’s Catapult Bungy, Patong Go-kart Speedway, Phuket Joyland, Horror House, to name a few.

Phuket, Thailand’s largest island is approximately 862 kilometers and about 1.20 hour (by flight) south of Bangkok. Thai Airways International, Phuket Air and Bangkok Airways operate several flights daily between Bangkok and Phuket.

Top 10: Island Escapes (As per TripAdvisor’s ranking).
1. Maui, Hawaii, United States
2. St. Lucia, Caribbean, North America
3. Santorini, Cyclades, Greece
4. Puerto Rico, Caribbean, North America
5. Jamaica, Caribbean, North America
6. Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia
7. Bahamas, Caribbean, North America
8. Phuket, Thailand, Asia
9. Turks and Caicos, Caribbean, North America
10. St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, Caribbean

So as we careered down Kata beach in the warm evening air just a couple hours after landing at Phuket airport, we were filled with the same sort of excitement as when we arrived as squiffy-haired backpackers 10 years previously. Except the unmistakable throb of Kata’s neon waterfront was strangely subdued for reasons which soon became apparent – the king’s sister had died.

As anyone who has been to Thailand will tell you, members of country’s royal family are viewed through the same sort of dewy-eyed goggles as Americans look upon Barack Obama, or, at the very least, Jesus Christ. There would be a mandatory period of mourning. For four days. Plan scrapped.

As good as the nightlife might be, Phuket is tailor-made for the early riser. For beach dwellers, 6am is the best time to go. The monks, fluorescent in gold and orange, will be pottering about with their food bowls on their early morning rounds searching for tasty offerings. The persistent taxi drivers are still snoozing lazily in their flip-flops. The sand will be clean, the surf ripe for some early morning body-boarding and, most of all, it’s empty.

Kata, on the south peninsula, is divided into two beaches: Kata Yai and Kata Noi, both equally inviting and an ideal spot for the medium-budget traveller. Past the beach, along the Thanon Patak road, there is a fantastic day market full of some of the ugliest fish you have ever seen and trays of gorgeous vegetables laid out in row after row of rich Technicolor. Do, however, avoid the butchery section and mind out for the faint whiff of manure.

If you have hit the town the night before, you’re fortunately never far from the perfect hangover cure from one of the numerous noodle bars which pack the streets. I would recommend a bowl of pad see-ew (hot noodle soup) followed by moo grob (literally thick chunks of crispy pork fat) which is great at soaking up alcohol. Give the western beers a swerve, and order a large Singha, without a doubt the best lager in the world.

A 20-minute tuk-tuk journey further round the southern tip of the island will take you to Nai Harn. It’s worth the trip alone for a drink at the bar of the Royal Phuket Yacht Club, with its panoramic view of the beach. There are worse ways to spend an evening than at the Yacht Club in full few of Nai Harn’s turquoise surf, enjoying a cocktail as the staff, resplendent in their pristine white ducks, pack up the sunbeds below before the last shafts of sunlight disappear for another day.

It is my favourite viewpoint in the world, the one where I escape to each day in my head as the Jubilee Line once again grinds to a stubborn halt, the one that sits in front of me as my screensaver, and the one where I asked my wife to marry me.

Should anyone be tempted to perform a similar stunt, they mix a gargantuan martini which will do just the trick.

Written by Henry Deedes
Published on The Independent – www.independent.co.uk