Koh Samui Voted 14th Down From 6th Last Year

[Devil]

A survey of 30,000 readers of luxury travel bible Conde Nast Traveller put Thailand in third place for

favourite overseas country, behind only India and Italy.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=121371

Favourite Islands

1. Maldives (1)

2. Greek Islands (=4)

3. Balearic Islands (new entry)

4. Mauritius (3)

5. Barbados (7)

6. Seychelles (2)

7. Bali (new entry)

8. Zanzibar (new entry)

9. St Lucia (10)

10. Great Barrier Reef Islands (new entry)

11. Hong Kong (new entry)

11. Phuket (11)

13. Cuba (new entry)

14. Koh Samui ((6)

15. Capri (13)

16. Sicily (=4)

17. Langkawi (18)

18. St Barts (8)

19. Bahamas (new entry)

20. Sardinia (16)

[ClaudeFeller]

Should be translated and given to the Tessaban and to the TAK.

[Mid]

might want to frame it ,

ain't getting better any time soon ...........................

[womble]

It's still good to be on that list. Samui is smaller than most of the other destinations and has less visitors than most of the others yet it is still 14 most popular island in the world.

That is a great achievement!

[Mid]

That is a great achievement!

moving from 6th to 14th ??

[Charma]

That is a great achievement!

moving from 6th to 14th ??

Agreed - this is not good news. Even Phuket managed to hold its position at least. This should be a wake up call for the island otherwise it will continue its demise. Somehow though, I doubt if those that matter will do anything at all.

[terryp]

Langkawi 17th ???????????????????????

Must be a very strange bunch of people questioned as Virgin Atlantic was No1 Airline ?????

[Prakanong]

Langkawi 17th ???????????????????????

Must be a very strange bunch of people questioned as Virgin Atlantic was No1 Airline ?????

Given the market segment that the magazine caters too I se nothing wrong with them placing Virgin Atlantic at No 1 - look where they fly too - these people are not the same as the biz travellers voting SIA number 1

As for Langkawi - the Malaysia Truly Asia campaign has been running in all the right places and Thailand's is pretty anonymous therefore I am not surprised Langkawii is on the rise.

These are the "Quality Tourists" Thailand is aiming for - TAT might now just want to re-evaluate their marketing planm and have a re-think given this and other evidence!

[meatgrowler]

A survey of 30,000 readers of luxury travel bible Conde Nast Traveller put Thailand in third place for

favourite overseas country, behind only India and Italy.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=121371

Favourite Islands

1. Maldives (1)

2. Greek Islands (=4)

3. Balearic Islands (new entry)

4. Mauritius (3)

5. Barbados (7)

6. Seychelles (2)

7. Bali (new entry)

8. Zanzibar (new entry)

9. St Lucia (10)

10. Great Barrier Reef Islands (new entry)

11. Hong Kong (new entry)

11. Phuket (11)

13. Cuba (new entry)

14. Koh Samui ((6)

15. Capri (13)

16. Sicily (=4)

17. Langkawi (18)

18. St Barts (8)

19. Bahamas (new entry)

20. Sardinia (16)

Maybe something to do with snippets of news that seep out occasionally to the rest of the world,about biker mafia,murders , rapes etc...if i didnt know and love the island....im sure id be a tad worried ....hence the drop to 14 th

[Samuian]

...sure, samui has it's downturns, but other places face similar threads, as it is with statistics I only believe in the ones I faked myself!

It's like the equation with the chicken, 4 guys sit on a bench in a Park, one eats a whole chicken - in statistics all of them would have eaten a quarter of a chicken!

Still I think the TAT and Tessaban will have taken notice of this.... something will happen, because the investors, investing ever larger amount into samui, won't sit idle and watch the golden goose go down the drain!

First good step would be - OPEN UP THE AIRPORT for competing airlines - this is one of the largest obstacles to the growth of toursim arrival numbers on the island!

Puket has direct flight arrivals from europe!

Edited September 5, 2007 by Samuian

[meatgrowler]

...sure, samui has it's downturns, but other places face similar threads, as it is with statistics I only believe in the ones I faked myself!

It's like the equation with the chicken, 4 guys sit on a bench in a Park, one eats a whole chicken - in statistics all of them would have eaten a quarter of a chicken!

Still I think the TAT and Tessaban will have taken notice of this.... something will happen, because the investors, investing ever larger amount into samui, won't sit idle and watch the golden goose go down the drain!

First good step would be - OPEN UP THE AIRPORT for competing airlines - this is one of the largest obstacles to the growth of toursim aarival numbers on the island!

Puket has direct flight arrivals from europe!

Hear hear...clap ,clap.....id love it if i could fly direct from heathrow to samui,bypassing a naughty night in bangers!{maybe} ...open that airport to thai and eva air.....start a petition samuin...pencil me in..

[bmanly]

First good step would be - OPEN UP THE AIRPORT for competing airlines - this is one of the largest obstacles to the growth of toursim arrival numbers on the island!

Puket has direct flight arrivals from europe!

Hi there Samuian, I too think the only way to get more tourists is to allow other airlines to fly to Samui. I personally like Samui better than Phuket but at around 8 to 9,000 baht return to BKK it is far too expensive. We ended up going to Phuket earlier this year for around 2,400 baht each (return) with Air Asia. When will the powers that be wake up to this terrible monopoly?

By the way we can fly direct to Phuket from Sydney too, the fares were $279 with Jetstar but now they are $378 O/W but that's still cheap.

Samui is so nice, but it is so under utilized through difficult access, cheers and lets hope for better times.

[Monkeybeag]

Personally, I wouldn't put too much faith in any survey that had Majorca/Ibiza as the 3rd best islands in the world.

[suegha]

Personally, I wouldn't put too much faith in any survey that had Majorca/Ibiza as the 3rd best islands in the world.

Hey little monkey, that's a very good point!

You also have to ask, how do they score it? I mean, personal prejudices will enter into it. I don't rate nightlife as high as some, but I rate restaurants higer than most!

[keepsamuiclean]

From 6 to 14...and almost all who are in hospitality business noticed it already before this ranking came out. Seems that the new high-star properties do not suffer as much with all their contracts with agencies were the per-person rates seem to be better than two flights and one room rate. But when a hotel is charging 650 US$ per night incl. breakfast and the guests get a bill of 650 US$ plus a la carte breakfast this hurts too! There are so many hotel reviews on the net that also these high spending people who do not get the value for their money will not come back. Phuket had a very good low season with almost 80 % occupancy, Samui had a high season much below average - for many even compared to low season.

Bangkok Air plays a role too. But as long their hotel Samui Palm Beach is getting booked via packages and their newly planned 60 room boutique hotel might get booked too, I have the feeling that they do not want more tourists on the island spending their money in other hotels.

[ClaudeFeller]

Just had a long talking about this and that with our Nathon SAPA group:

They know about these probs. Everybody -Thai or Farang- is suffering under the same problems.

The TAK has a good idea: They want to promote a Surathani-"Your hotel on Samui"-Trip with better service. Means: No luggage carrying from Airport to Bus to Ferry to Taxi , and no Taxis on Samui but Van-Service to your hotel like Lompraya.

We, the Nathon SAPA group, will try to organize an island wide political convenience in the long term.

The aim is to install a more efficient and competent planning on Samui.

Maybe it will happen one day....

At least, Nathon SAPA will talk about his masterplan for the Nathon Seafront and the political impacts

on september 19th at Rotary in Chaweng Regent at noon.

Our group is far more experienced than the rest of Samui.

If sb wants to join the speech and discussion, please contact Rotary Samui.

[email protected]

[Gatorade]

First good step would be - OPEN UP THE AIRPORT for competing airlines - this is one of the largest obstacles to the growth of toursim arrival numbers on the island!

Puket has direct flight arrivals from europe!

Hi there Samuian, I too think the only way to get more tourists is to allow other airlines to fly to Samui. I personally like Samui better than Phuket but at around 8 to 9,000 baht return to BKK it is far too expensive. We ended up going to Phuket earlier this year for around 2,400 baht each (return) with Air Asia. When will the powers that be wake up to this terrible monopoly?

By the way we can fly direct to Phuket from Sydney too, the fares were $279 with Jetstar but now they are $378 O/W but that's still cheap.

Samui is so nice, but it is so under utilized through difficult access, cheers and lets hope for better times.

Well then, stop the so called monopoly Actually do something about it, stop whining. Do the same as Bangkok Airways had the foresight to do some 20 years ago. Buy some land build an airport and hey presto!

And by the way, there are a lot of people out here in Samui who are happy with Bangkok Airways, like the reliability, service and safety If you can't afford to fly them then don't. You have alternatives. It is not a monopoly and it is not a right to expect cut price/el cheapo air travel at someones private airport.

[JimmyCA]

A survey of 30,000 readers of luxury travel bible Conde Nast Traveller put Thailand in third place for

favourite overseas country, behind only India and Italy.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=121371

Favourite Islands

1. Maldives (1)

2. Greek Islands (=4)

3. Balearic Islands (new entry)

4. Mauritius (3)

5. Barbados (7)

6. Seychelles (2)

7. Bali (new entry)

8. Zanzibar (new entry)

9. St Lucia (10)

10. Great Barrier Reef Islands (new entry)

11. Hong Kong (new entry)

11. Phuket (11)

13. Cuba (new entry)

14. Koh Samui ((6)

15. Capri (13)

16. Sicily (=4)

17. Langkawi (18)

18. St Barts (8)

19. Bahamas (new entry)

20. Sardinia (16)

9. St Lucia (10) - CRAP

14. Koh Samui ((6) - CRAP

[bmanly]

First good step would be - OPEN UP THE AIRPORT for competing airlines - this is one of the largest obstacles to the growth of toursim arrival numbers on the island!

Puket has direct flight arrivals from europe!

Hi there Samuian, I too think the only way to get more tourists is to allow other airlines to fly to Samui. I personally like Samui better than Phuket but at around 8 to 9,000 baht return to BKK it is far too expensive. We ended up going to Phuket earlier this year for around 2,400 baht each (return) with Air Asia. When will the powers that be wake up to this terrible monopoly?

By the way we can fly direct to Phuket from Sydney too, the fares were $279 with Jetstar but now they are $378 O/W but that's still cheap.

Samui is so nice, but it is so under utilized through difficult access, cheers and lets hope for better times.

Well then, stop the so called monopoly Actually do something about it, stop whining. Do the same as Bangkok Airways had the foresight to do some 20 years ago. Buy some land build an airport and hey presto!

And by the way, there are a lot of people out here in Samui who are happy with Bangkok Airways, like the reliability, service and safety If you can't afford to fly them then don't. You have alternatives. It is not a monopoly and it is not a right to expect cut price/el cheapo air travel at someones private airport.

I Actually did do something about it, I took all my bahts and spent it in Phuket instead because I wasn't going to pay 10,000 baht in return fares.

It seems not everybody is happy.

"The October 29 action caused the price for return tickets for economy class flights from Bangkok to the island to rise to Bt10,170 (US$277), and Mr. Seni says the island has lost over US$5 million in just one month." The story can be read in full by clicking on this link.

[Prakanong]

Personally, I wouldn't put too much faith in any survey that had Majorca/Ibiza as the 3rd best islands in the world.

There is a very wealthy upmarket side to Ibiza away from the raves - it was there before the raves, is still there and will outlast them.

[Samuian]

..... You have alternatives. It is not a monopoly and it is not a right to expect cut price/el cheapo air travel at someones private airport.

are you a PR representative of this airline? (tongue in cheek)

There is NO alternative and it IS an advantage taking monopoly situation!

Why are flights bkk-puket a third of the price bkk-usm?

not only your opinion counts, other opinions do count as well!

its the costliest 50-70 Minutes flight all over asia!

the pricing politics only benefits the airline shareholders.

but damages a large field of tourism related businesses.

besides, who are the guys running bkk-air? how was the airport "aquired"?

was there an airfield before?

Last not least: if it is so that :"it is not a right to expect cut price/el cheapo air travel at someones private airport."

then it is an absolute must to cut away from this dictating situation and build asap a public one - samui tourism business will thrive!

[lazeeboy]

It's still good to be on that list. Samui is smaller than most of the other destinations and has less visitors than most of the others yet it is still 14 most popular island in the world.

That is a great achievement!

a gree with you ,15 years ago only real travellers knew about samui ,now gets mentioned in hollywood movies ,dropping is just a small set back ,samui will come good after the elections im sure ..........

[jasreeve17]

Personally, I wouldn't put too much faith in any survey that had Majorca/Ibiza as the 3rd best islands in the world.

There is a very wealthy upmarket side to Ibiza away from the raves - it was there before the raves, is still there and will outlast them.

I agree with Prakanong. Majorca and Ibiza are exceptionally beautiful places. I doubt if Monkeybaeg has spent time there, looking at the places away from the low end night life.

[Solosiam]

Langkawi 17th ???????????????????????

Must be a very strange bunch of people questioned as Virgin Atlantic was No1 Airline ?????

Given the market segment that the magazine caters too I se nothing wrong with them placing Virgin Atlantic at No 1 - look where they fly too - these people are not the same as the biz travellers voting SIA number 1

As for Langkawi - the Malaysia Truly Asia campaign has been running in all the right places and Thailand's is pretty anonymous therefore I am not surprised Langkawii is on the rise.

These are the "Quality Tourists" Thailand is aiming for - TAT might now just want to re-evaluate their marketing planm and have a re-think given this and other evidence!

Yes, Thailand should copy Malaysia's marketing, then they could have an Island in at No.17, oh wait...

[Prakanong]

Langkawi 17th ???????????????????????

Must be a very strange bunch of people questioned as Virgin Atlantic was No1 Airline ?????

Given the market segment that the magazine caters too I se nothing wrong with them placing Virgin Atlantic at No 1 - look where they fly too - these people are not the same as the biz travellers voting SIA number 1

As for Langkawi - the Malaysia Truly Asia campaign has been running in all the right places and Thailand's is pretty anonymous therefore I am not surprised Langkawii is on the rise.

These are the "Quality Tourists" Thailand is aiming for - TAT might now just want to re-evaluate their marketing planm and have a re-think given this and other evidence!

Yes, Thailand should copy Malaysia's marketing, then they could have an Island in at No.17, oh wait...

Well coming from a low base I expect the marketers in Malaysia will be happy.

If TAT were to undertake a real marketing audit I expect they would not - are they providing real value for money?

What rates of return are they getting on their marketing budget?

Whatever - you could not understand why Virgin was voted number one by the marketing segment involved - enuff said there then.

[Mid]

enuff said there then.

same market segment who voted Samui #6 the year prior ...................

carry on .

[Monkeybeag]

Personally, I wouldn't put too much faith in any survey that had Majorca/Ibiza as the 3rd best islands in the world.

There is a very wealthy upmarket side to Ibiza away from the raves - it was there before the raves, is still there and will outlast them.

I agree with Prakanong. Majorca and Ibiza are exceptionally beautiful places. I doubt if Monkeybaeg has spent time there, looking at the places away from the low end night life.

With all due respect, you doubt wrong.

I'm very well aware that Majorca is more than Palma Nova & Magaluf, and that Ibiza has more to offer than San Antonio.

Nice as they are, whether they are "exceptionally beautiful" is a matter of personal taste & opinion. Having been to Majorca, I think, 6 times, and 3 times to Ibiza, as well as a reasonable number of the other islands on the list, and several which are not, I feel very comfortable with my opinion. My opinion being that they are not the 3rd best islands in the world.

[keepsamuiclean]

"its the costliest 50-70 Minutes flight all over asia!

the pricing politics only benefits the airline shareholders."

...and the police. Had to visit Nathon station 3 years ago and was very astonished about a sign that said the police was very grateful to Bangkok Airways for the reburbishing of their office.

Imagine any police station in Germany thanking Lufthansa for new furniture..

[highdiver]

"its the costliest 50-70 Minutes flight all over asia!

the pricing politics only benefits the airline shareholders."

...and the police. Had to visit Nathon station 3 years ago and was very astonished about a sign that said the police was very grateful to Bangkok Airways for the reburbishing of their office.

Imagine any police station in Germany thanking Lufthansa for new furniture..

I think you ans samuian dont get the point.

As per pricing..

BKK airiways has invested its personal mony in creating an airport in Samui when it was still undevloped.

the stages of planing and developing an airport may seem trivial but they are not.. and they are allowed to profit on this investment.

the fact that some people dont like the fact that they have a monopoly is understandable...they are just plain jelous that bangkok airtways had he brains to do this 15 yeras ago and they are one of the only profitable airlines in Asia ....

yes profit thats usualy what you do when you open a business and not a welfare.

bangkokj airways dont need to appologise to anyone about being profitable or very profitable. they took a chance 15 years agomade a beautifull airport with great service and they now improved it again they did it because they wanted to profit and as much as possible. thats usualy the reason you invest in the first place.

hence my request to all those who complain about BKA

first dont use them anymore i amsure you will be happy taking the farry route... or if yo can put your money where your mouth is then go out there and apply for a permit design and develop an airport and compete with bangkok airways and try and make a profit.

if you cant do the above then spare us your coments.

As per contribution to the police.

BKAhas been affiliated in many projects contributing to the local comunity. they are flying kids for school excursions for free and are promoting many island events.. and yes they contributed to the police buiding. whats wrong with that?? you think Dr prasert needs favours from the local police???

[chinthee]

Highdiver, would you like to detail for us all the places in the world where one airlines has a monopoly on all flights in and out of that destination and tell us you approve of that?

Edited September 6, 2007 by chinthee