Phuket has asked for that a long time already since it would financially benefit Phuket. Apparently Phuket puts in more than it gets out of the government coffers.
I was wondering the same. I guess it would depend on how they filled out the application. 'pilot of a submersible going to 4000 meters deep' sounds different from 'manager of a tour company '.
No commercial benefits? I think it is one commercial enterprise.
The costs of the search and rescue should be on the company offering this trip. After all I'm sure they are insured?