Phuket tourist numbers over long weekend low, as expected

[webfact]

Phuket struggles to attract domestic tourists

By The Phuket News

 

Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has his temperature checked at Phuket International Airport yesterday, during a weekend that saw low numbers of tourists visit Phuket for a holiday, as expected. Photo: AoT Phuket

 

PHUKET: Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office Director Napasorn Kakai has revealed that some 15,000 tourists came to Phuket to enjoy the four-day long weekend Sept 4-7, altogether spending an estimated B80 million over the holidays.

 

Ms Napasorn said that the 125 hotels on the island currently open, providing some 8,000 rooms for guests, had recorded an overall occupancy rate of around 30%.

 

Of the 15,000 tourists who came to Phuket, 98% were Thai and 2% were foreigners, she said.

 

Source: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-tourist-numbers-over-long-weekend-low-as-expected-77232.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2020-09-07

 

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[kotsak]

Check the air ticket and hotel prices during and after the holiday and you may find the answer..

 

[emilyarin]

maybe that there money has to be used for bills  and food and not for long public holidays

[Phuketshrew]

8000 available rooms with 30% occupancy equates to 2400 rooms being occupied. So 15,000 tourists were averaging over 6 per room? More dross from TAT.

[Oldie]

When the planned 200 tourists from foreign countries arrive even the 15.000 local tourists will stay away out of fear... 

[nobodysfriend]

  On 9/7/2020 at 7:55 AM, webfact said:

altogether spending an estimated B80 million over the holidays.

 

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It is all about the money . Always .

Sooner or later they will realize that Thais or chinese will never replace the big foreign spenders .

They will put in place a few more restrictions , and then they will open up to farangs again , Virus or not .

Because it is money what they want .

 

 

[Venom]

Seems the only way in is by air as the Phangna model requires a 14 day quarantine (each way) to pass!

 

The tourism and sports minister ia doing a hell of a job. ????

 

[mrwebb8825]

It's because the Thais that CAN afford the outrageous prices there refuse to be ripped off like a common tourist and the elite owners are willing to steal from anyone in these desperate times. God forbid they make less than 100m baht a month. What would the gik and mia noi say? ????

[howzat]

  On 9/7/2020 at 11:56 PM, nobodysfriend said:

It is all about the money . Always .

Sooner or later they will realize that Thais or chinese will never replace the big foreign spenders .

They will put in place a few more restrictions , and then they will open up to farangs again , Virus or not .

Because it is money what they want .

 

 

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of course its money they want due to loss of income. Same everywhere. You don't have to be blessed with a bunch of brain cells to understand that.

[Dukeleto]

Yawn????

[Geoffggi]

  On 9/7/2020 at 10:06 AM, Phuketshrew said:

8000 available rooms with 30% occupancy equates to 2400 rooms being occupied. So 15,000 tourists were averaging over 6 per room? More dross from TAT.

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Maybe not, a friend of mine went to Koh Chang and said many Thai's were sharing rooms with 6-8 people in each room ..!!

[Geoffggi]

  On 9/7/2020 at 7:55 AM, webfact said:

Phuket struggles to attract domestic tourists

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It is not surprising, there has been so much false or confusing information regarding outsiders coming to Phuket that some people maybe concerned if the travel bubble has started yet or not.

[steven100]

So each visitor spent 5,333 baht that included hotel room and food.  

I doubt 80 mil was achieved.   imo

[soalbundy]

In three years time they will laugh about this.

[Henryford]

Rip off Phuket deserves to go down the tubes.

[GlassWayOverHalfFull]

The taxi mafia make it impossible to enjoy Phuket. Ridiculous prices mean you are confined to 1 area

[JonnyF]

  On 9/8/2020 at 1:07 AM, Henryford said:

Rip off Phuket deserves to go down the tubes.

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Totally agree. I lived there from 2006-2008 and it was a constant battle to get anything like the correct price, even from shops that I'd been frequenting for months. 

 

Taxis, tuktuks, markets, shops, food stands. All of them out to rip off foreigners and they didn't differentiate between tourists and long stayers. I stopped supporting 'local style' businesses completely in the end and just used 711, Tesco, Makro etc.

 

Not to mention the locals who were (on the whole) the most unfriendly of any part of Thailand I have visited or lived in.

 

I was glad to leave. No sympathy from me I'm afraid. 

[zzzzz]

  On 9/8/2020 at 1:29 AM, JonnyF said:

Totally agree. I lived there from 2006-2008 and it was a constant battle to get anything like the correct price, even from shops that I'd been frequenting for months. 

 

Taxis, tuktuks, markets, shops, food stands. All of them out to rip off foreigners and they didn't differentiate between tourists and long stayers. I stopped supporting 'local style' businesses completely in the end and just used 711, Tesco, Makro etc.

 

Not to mention the locals who were (on the whole) the most unfriendly of any part of Thailand I have visited or lived in.

 

I was glad to leave. No sympathy from me I'm afraid. 

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what BS:
I've lived here sine the mid 80's, never had any trouble getting locals prices, making friends with the locals or enjoying my life here

 

If you live here, you have no reason to ever use a tuktuk...

 

It was different here in the 80's for sure, but even now, its a great place to retire or raise a family

[Olmate]

  On 9/8/2020 at 1:40 AM, zzzzz said:

what BS:
I've lived here sine the mid 80's, never had any trouble getting locals prices, making friends with the locals or enjoying my life here

 

If you live here, you have no reason to ever use a tuktuk...

 

It was different here in the 80's for sure, but even now, its a great place to retire or raise a family

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Yes totally agree. The same old rants never end when Phuket is the topic. How these types ever got here to be “ripped off” in the first place amazes.

[robkennedy]

Can you blame expats for not wanting to go to Phuket. Anyone who has had to deal with the arrogant taxi mafia that rule the island would know better than to waste their holiday time on  that island. Value for money certainly doesn't apply to Phuket.

[hotchilli]

  On 9/7/2020 at 8:38 AM, kotsak said:

Check the air ticket and hotel prices during and after the holiday and you may find the answer..

 

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The problem with Phuket is it's geography... too far south for most Thais to bother with.

4 days holiday - lost time at airport arrivals/departures etc etc make it nonviable to do it.

Too far for road travel.

Anyone already in the south has a plethora of alternative beach locations to stay on.

 

 

[wensiensheng]

  On 9/8/2020 at 1:07 AM, Henryford said:

Rip off Phuket deserves to go down the tubes.

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Well it certainly is going down the tubes. In my area of Phuket buildings are closing up everyday and the place has a quiet deserted feel.

 

its quite pleasant. Far better than when tourists are thronging around the place. Long may it continue as far as I am concerned. Local businesses relying on local farang trade continue to do ok, just the rip off tourist places are closing. ????????

[Jester69]

  On 9/8/2020 at 12:46 AM, Geoffggi said:

Maybe not, a friend of mine went to Koh Chang and said many Thai's were sharing rooms with 6-8 people in each room ..!!

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I was in Khao Lak yesterday and the beach was empty ........ I was the "ONLY" person on the beach for 3 klms...........

 

[IamNoone88]

If 15,000 Thai's spent THB 80 million over 4 days .... thats about THB 1,300 per day per person including hotels, food and entertainment. That is hardly pumping the local economy. Apart from the beach stalls and odd, the vast majority of business remained closed and deserted.

[chilli42]

Selfish I know but I have never liked Phuket more than I do now.  Choice of hotels, good rates, now crowds etc.

[hotchilli]

  On 9/7/2020 at 7:55 AM, webfact said:

Phuket struggles to attract domestic tourists

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Something to do with the prices?

[Thomas J]

  On 9/7/2020 at 7:55 AM, webfact said:

Phuket struggles to attract domestic tourists

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Until having a Covid Free test and eliminating the insurance requirement and quarantine virtually no one will take the time and expense to come to Thailand.  Even assuming Thailand has ZERO Covid cases for one year, do they really think that the rest of the world will also have none?  If not, as soon as you re-open the border to international travel you are likely to have someone come in to reintroduce Covid.  SO WHAT  The vast vast vast majority of people who contract Covid survive and most with out the need to be hospitalized. 

 

[Sean60]

8000 available rooms with 30% occupancy equates to 2400 rooms being occupied.

15,000 tourists were averaging over 6 per room?  

I thought it was only Chinese who did that.

You want to save your economy and tourism? Open the borders . No quarantine.

There is no other way.

 

[JonnyF]

  On 9/8/2020 at 1:40 AM, zzzzz said:

what BS:
I've lived here sine the mid 80's, never had any trouble getting locals prices, making friends with the locals or enjoying my life here

 

If you live here, you have no reason to ever use a tuktuk...

 

It was different here in the 80's for sure, but even now, its a great place to retire or raise a family

Expand  

Oh dear. Always a shame when people are in denial due to their inability to accept they made a poor decision.

 

I made friends with quite a few locals, but local businesses were always out to rip off foreigners. Even local restaurants that I was friendly with unashamedly had 2 menus (the English one was always around 50% higher prices than the Thai one). 

 

I refuse to drink drive so I did on occasion need a TukTuk or taxi. Rarely was I quoted under 500 Baht even if you're going a few hundred metres up the road (a 50 Baht trip in a modern air con car in Bangkok). The place is a total rip off. 

 

And before you say "it must have been you", I never had issues on anywhere near this level in other parts of Thailand that I have lived or currently live (Bangkok, Korat) or frequently travel to for holidays (Rayong and the north). Phuket was head and shoulders above the rest for all the wrong reasons. 

 

So no, they don't have any sympathy from me.

[dallen52]

They don't seem to get it.

 

1... Who wants to go to Phuket?

 

2... Who wants to put 3 weeks equivalent in a isolation facility?