Direct Indian flights to Phuket set to boost tourism

[webfact]

Direct Indian flights to Phuket set to boost tourism

By The Nation

 

FILE photo

 

India holds great potential for Phuket, says the chairman of Royal Phuket Marina as GoAir is the first airline to fly directly to Phuket.

 

Five direct flights a week from Mumbai and Delhi began this month.

 

Jeh Wadia, managing director of GoAir, said: “Phuket is our first international route. The level of interest from Indian travellers has been excellent. Thanks to Gulu Lalvani [chairman of Royal Phuket Marina], who convinced me to open up Phuket to the Indian market, we are making Phuket our Thai hub. 

 

"We already have routes from Mumbai and Delhi to Phuket, and by the end of next year we will increase this to 10 cities flying direct to Phuket."

 

India’s more than 1.3 billion people have a rapidly growing appetite for international travel. The World Bank said almost 22 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017 while the UN World Tourism Organisation predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020.  

 

Lalvani said: “I have been looking at India for a number of years and India holds great potential for Phuket. Indians are already familiar with Thailand, but never before have there been direct flights into Phuket. 

 

"Having worked closely with GoAir and highlighting Phuket's potential to them, I am very excited to see Jeh Wadia and his team have invested in Phuket and think this is the beginning of great things for the island.”

 

Rising numbers of Indians will help to soften the impact declining arrivals from China.

 

“The upside for Phuket is clear and the potential is limitless. These direct three-to-four hour flights from India will benefit Phuket's economy immensely. 

 

"As well as bringing lucrative Indian weddings to Phuket, their average holiday spend is high. Typically May and June have the lowest hotel occupancy in Phuket, yet this is the school holiday period in India and a time when many Indians travel. GoAir's direct flights will help to provide a big boost to the island's businesses during this period,” added Lalvani.

 

“India has the highest level of pollution in the world today and once Indian travellers realise they can go non-stop to the paradise island of Phuket, I wouldn't be surprised to see Indian arrivals outnumber Chinese within three years.”

 

Owned by the Waida Group, one of India’s oldest conglomerates established in 1736, GoAir was recently reported to be the fastest growing airline in the world by Routes Online.

 

“We will also soon be flying into Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. Thailand is a big part of our international expansion, it is a destination popular with Indian travellers and Phuket is at the heart of that,” said Wadia. “Ninety per cent of our fleet is new and within six months this will be 100 per cent. We placed an order for 164 planes and have taken delivery so far of 41. Our plans for Phuket and the region are big.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/business/30357098

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-25

[simoh1490]

And you thought the rants about Chinese tourists were getting bad, you've not heard anything yet.

[chrisandsu]

2 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

And you thought the rants about Chinese tourists were getting bad, you've not heard anything yet.

Phuket’s already gone to the dogs .... when you start to appeal to Indian tourists you know they place has really gone down the shitter! 

 

[SheungWan]

If some of the 'upmarket' Indian visitors to Pattaya decide to make Phuket their choice in future, well, one can only hope.

Edited October 24, 2018 by SheungWan

[simoh1490]

6 minutes ago, chrisandsu said:

Phuket’s already gone to the dogs .... when you start to appeal to Indian tourists you know they place has really gone down the shitter! 

 

Jeeze, how racist and stereotype is that! There's plenty of wealthy and educated Indians around and there's already plenty of very good Indian restaurants on Phuket..

[Genmai]

14 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Jeeze, how racist and stereotype is that! There's plenty of wealthy and educated Indians around and there's already plenty of very good Indian restaurants on Phuket..

"Not all X are Y!"

Thanks simoh, thanks.

[chrisandsu]

23 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Jeeze, how racist and stereotype is that! There's plenty of wealthy and educated Indians around and there's already plenty of very good Indian restaurants on Phuket..

Being racist to a nation ? Don’t be a fool . Have you ever been to India ? I have.......

Edited October 24, 2018 by chrisandsu

[Thian]

28 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Jeeze, how racist and stereotype is that! There's plenty of wealthy and educated Indians around and there's already plenty of very good Indian restaurants on Phuket..

Real indian restaurants?? With a free Delhi Belly?

[LomSak27]

Great idea, although given the events in Bangkok earlier this month, they have a lot of blowback to wade through to convince Indians it is a safe tourist destination also.

Quote

Indian tourist killed in teen gang shoot-out in Bangkok

 

Edited October 24, 2018 by LomSak27

[simoh1490]

7 minutes ago, chrisandsu said:

Being racist to a nation ? Don’t be a fool . Have you ever been to India ? I have.......

Yes, several times.

 

So the Chinese get the thumbs down, the Indians clearly do, along with any Arabs and let's not forget the Russians who are totally unacceptable at every level! ep, thanks to all for re-confirming, yet again, that TVF posters only consider white western anglo-saxon types as acceptable tourists into Thailand and even then only some of them.

 

[chrisandsu]

1 minute ago, simoh1490 said:

Yes, several times.

 

So the Chinese get the thumbs down, the Indians clearly do, along with any Arabs and let's not forget the Russians who are totally unacceptable at every level! ep, thanks to all for re-confirming, yet again, that TVF posters only consider white western anglo-saxon types as acceptable tourists into Thailand and even then only some of them.

 

Wow did you have trouble finding your sacks today ? 

[simoh1490]

Just now, chrisandsu said:

Wow did you have trouble finding your sacks today ? 

Nope, I filled several of them with sand and rubble already this morning.

[chrisandsu]

Just now, simoh1490 said:

Nope, I filled several of them with sand and rubble already this morning.

Why don’t you go on the Indian /Russian /Chinese Thai Visa . I’m sure they will be moaning about all the Aussies ,Americans ,British , Germans , scanadanivians ......  so when you went to india was the country clean ? How was the toilet facilities ? How was your bartering skills ? I’ll bet there is a reason you decided you didn’t want to spend your most glorious years there .do tell? 

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, chrisandsu said:

Why don’t you go on the Indian /Russian /Chinese Thai Visa . I’m sure they will be moaning about all the Aussies ,Americans ,British , Germans , scanadanivians ......  so when you went to india was the country clean ? How was the toilet facilities ? How was your bartering skills ? I’ll bet there is a reason you decided you didn’t want to spend your most glorious years there .do tell? 

I've visited many many countries around the world for work and for pleasure, some I've lived in for up to two years each, including India, my home however is in Thailand and England because that's where my family and my assets are.

 

But back on topic for a moment, if that's OK!

 

One of the interesting aspects of being a foreigner and a member of TVF, is witnessing the degree to which my fellow western posters are increasingly intolerant of people of other nationalities and other countries, you'd have thought that travel and living in other countries, such as Thailand would have taught at least some degree of racial tolerance but not so it seems. What is that I ask myself, is it shades of the Empire syndrome, ingrained racism or is that those posters haven't really travelled at all, per se - a few weeks hols in Pattaya each year and then Benidorm in the Spring is hardly Michael Palin material now is it!

 

[chrisandsu]

1 minute ago, simoh1490 said:

I've visited many many countries around the world for work and for pleasure, some I've lived in for up to two years each, including India, my home however is in Thailand and England because that's where my family and my assets are.

 

But back on topic for a moment, if that's OK!

 

One of the interesting aspects of being a foreigner and a member of TVF, is witnessing the degree to which my fellow western posters are increasingly intolerant of people of other nationalities and other countries, you'd have thought that travel and living in other countries, such as Thailand would have taught at least some degree of racial tolerance but not so it seems. What is that I ask myself, is it shades of the Empire syndrome, ingrained racism or is that those posters haven't really travelled at all, per se - a few weeks hols in Pattaya each year and then Benidorm in the Spring is hardly Michael Palin material now is it!

 

Done a great job going off track . I have been all over the world and worked in over 20 countries . In my travels I have seen realities , you can deny them all you like with your finger pointing of little englanders . India is a filthy country I wouldn’t recommend anyone to go there (Sri Lanka is a different story)  but of course you won’t agree with the truth .

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, chrisandsu said:

Done a great job going off track . I have been all over the world and worked in over 20 countries . In my travels I have seen realities , you can deny them all you like with your finger pointing of little englanders . India is a filthy country I wouldn’t recommend anyone to go there (Sri Lanka is a different story)  but of course you won’t agree with the truth .

It doesn't really matter whether I agree or not that India is a dirty country, that's got nothing to do with the subject. The subject, in case you've lost track, is your remark that Phuket will go down the toilet if Indian tourists start to visit there, that's racist and an unnecessary stereotyping, that's all.

[chrisandsu]

1 minute ago, simoh1490 said:

It doesn't really matter whether I agree or not that India is a dirty country, that's got nothing to do with the subject. The subject, in case you've lost track, is your remark that Phuket will go down the toilet if Indian tourists start to visit there, that's racist and an unnecessary stereotyping, that's all.

Just in case your brain can’t handle the idea , how is it racist ? That’s just a word thrown around just to give yourself a little justification . The place is a dump , the reason it’s a dump is because the people see no value in a clean well run society . Good luck with your new visitors ..... 

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, chrisandsu said:

Just in case your brain can’t handle the idea , how is it racist ? That’s just a word thrown around just to give yourself a little justification . The place is a dump , the reason it’s a dump is because the people see no value in a clean well run society . Good luck with your new visitors ..... 

Goodbye!

[pastprime]

They sure as hell do not spend,see what prices are first,good for ex pats to seek out medical care over there though..world class

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, pastprime said:

They sure as hell do not spend,see what prices are first,good for ex pats to seek out medical care over there though..world class

How can that possibly be, we're told the place is a dump, filthy and the people see no value in a clean well run society! 

[chrisandsu]

1 minute ago, simoh1490 said:

How can that possibly be, we're told the place is a dump, filthy and the people see no value in a clean well run society! 

Just don’t walk outside .

[Joe Mcseismic]

Don't think the Thais in Phuket will take this as good news.........not from what I've heard them say about people from the sub-continent.

[Esso49]

2 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

And you thought the rants about Chinese tourists were getting bad, you've not heard anything yet.

Well at least the Phuket hoteliers won't need to worry too much about toilet facilities for the Indians.  It is the local landowners who better watch out !  ????

[AhFarangJa]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

“India has the highest level of pollution in the world today and once Indian travellers realise they can go non-stop to the paradise island of Phuket,

Twenty years ago, maybe, not now I fear.....

[grego49]

Good luck Phuket more zero dollar tourists.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

Hahaha, here we go...Big Joke is going to be busier now!

[Pedrogaz]

Great news.We'll be able to get cheap flights from Phuket to India.

[Desmondo69]

Best get stocks of stripey t shirts for the onslaught that is about to begin,

the minute a direct flight from India comes to Samui..I’m out✈️✈️✈️

[Oziex1]

Will they buy suits from the the Indian Taylors, does anybody?

[xylophone]

On ‎10‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 7:12 AM, simoh1490 said:

It doesn't really matter whether I agree or not that India is a dirty country, that's got nothing to do with the subject. The subject, in case you've lost track, is your remark that Phuket will go down the toilet if Indian tourists start to visit there, that's racist and an unnecessary stereotyping, that's all.

I like the reference to "going down the toilet" as just about all of that country doesn't have one!!

 

And I very much doubt that we will get the high spenders coming over here, this esp if the current crop are anything to go by, as these are pretty well despised by all and sundry here. Not racist, just fact.