Prediction Phuket Tourism Will Be A Thing Of The Past

[LivinginKata]

I think beaches will be too dergraded within a few years to remain a draw.

Visibly raw sewage poured in to the various bays.

Recently it's not just monsoon wind encrusting entire lengths with plastic.

Really .... folks have been saying that for many years. I suggest it will take a lot more than 'a few years' to 'degrade' ALL the beach. Sure Patong isn the worst, but plenty more beautiful beaches that are unlikely to be ruined for a decade or so.

[sadman]

I don't yet live in LOS full-time, but I have to say that I don't recognise the descriptions of Phuket in this thread. I recognise them as depicting certain parts of certain sois in Patong sometimes, but you know what you get in Patong.

I have a house in Cherngtalay and am in the process of building another one, which is where I shall live full-time. We are semi-rural, very quiet, but just up the road from Bangtao if we want bars, restaurants etc. I have no issues with service, people etc. Yes, prices are higher, but I knew that before I decided to build there.

I have been lucky enough to travel extensively throughout Europe (eastern and western), the USA, Africa (south and north) and Asia and have chosen Phuket as the place I want to live.

Locally to Phuket, I have been to Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and China, and I wouldn't swap a single one for Phuket. As for being ripped off, I have had attempts to do so to me in all those places far more than in Thailand.

It's horses for courses, I guess - I'm happily planning my future in Phuket.

[stuandchris]

It is a difficult one, there are many tourists who haven't been here and Thailand is marketing heavily in Europe to sustain interest, there are the emerging markets as well that are largely untapped [partly due to dissaportionate wealth distributions in these Countires that leave a smallish target audience]

Against this is the rip off mentatilty that has set in here, terrible crime stats and the ability of the Gov to do everything possible to shoot the goose that lays the egg. Coup's, endless beaurocracy, 40 mins to get through immigration, bars shut for elections in tourist areas, the new proposal to shut bars for Songkran, Buddist holidays and now Western New Year for Christ's sake.

Peak season this year the bars were shut for two consecutive weekends, don't bother me I live here but if that was my two week hol I sure as hel_l wouldn't be coming back.

I understand that The Thai Gov has to protect it's heritage etc but unless they learn how to compromise to keep the gravy train flowing and sort out the crime then I will give it ten more years before the rest of Asia has caught up.

As strange though it seems I love living here and I have had many hols here I wouldn't think of having a hol here again, there are few places better to stay long term than Phuket but there are hundreds of better holiday destinations now.

[hagler]

It is true that Phuket has tapped into new markets, Russia, Middle East, India etc. That is because they have totally burnt all the tradtional markets. It is a sad fact that the business done in Phuket is along the lines of, get the baht today, who cares what happend down the line. A recent Colliers Jardine survey showed that tourism in Vietnam will gro by 30% over the next 10 years, compared to 6% in Thailand. Those figures cannot be laughed away.

aahhh good old statistics. what you didnt mention is the NUMBER of touirst going to each respective country currently. check that out and you will find that LOS gets many many more tourists per annum than Vietnam does now. So of course Vietnam is going to grow faster than LOS in the coming years. it is an underdeveloped tourist destination currently.

Best thing LOS could do now is follow Bhutans example on tourism. You want to go there you HAVE to be willing to spend AT LEAST $ 200 USD a day and the reality is that the average spend is probably around $ 400 - 500 USD a day. Fantastic idea ,it keeps all the low life cheap charlie riff raff out and the place is a delight to visit as it is not overun with tourists and yet they still make the same money as if they were letting in all the cheapskates. Cant say enough good things about the place.

[ade100]

It is true that Phuket has tapped into new markets, Russia, Middle East, India etc. That is because they have totally burnt all the tradtional markets. It is a sad fact that the business done in Phuket is along the lines of, get the baht today, who cares what happend down the line. A recent Colliers Jardine survey showed that tourism in Vietnam will gro by 30% over the next 10 years, compared to 6% in Thailand. Those figures cannot be laughed away.

aahhh good old statistics. what you didnt mention is the NUMBER of touirst going to each respective country currently. check that out and you will find that LOS gets many many more tourists per annum than Vietnam does now. So of course Vietnam is going to grow faster than LOS in the coming years. it is an underdeveloped tourist destination currently.

Best thing LOS could do now is follow Bhutans example on tourism. You want to go there you HAVE to be willing to spend AT LEAST $ 200 USD a day and the reality is that the average spend is probably around $ 400 - 500 USD a day. Fantastic idea ,it keeps all the low life cheap charlie riff raff out and the place is a delight to visit as it is not overun with tourists and yet they still make the same money as if they were letting in all the cheapskates. Cant say enough good things about the place.

Interesting to hear about Bhutan.

I was also impressed with the tourism policy on Mauritius: No cheap hotels, no budget airlines and, as far as I was aware, no sex industry. Consequently they attract high end of the market families and couples. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with travellers on a tight budget.

[Sir Burr]

Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with travellers on a tight budget.

........or the sex industry.

[Tony Clifton]

If they don't clean up their act soon, starting right at Suwarnabhumi, they've got very few years of good tourism income left with all the sh!t going on.

[Sir Burr]

^

Another 'virtual' dollar in the piggy-bank......

[chercheur888]

If you want to know what tourism experts think about the island, have a look on the following link.

In case you don't find Phuket in the top 10, have a look at position 46

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler...11/islands.html

[RICHFROMOZ]

If you want to know what tourism experts think about the island, have a look on the following link.

In case you don't find Phuket in the top 10, have a look at position 46

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler...11/islands.html

Phuket gets a score of 46, which rates it as "In serious trouble". Need I say no more...

[toptuan]

I spend 3-4 days in Patong last year, and never again. My hotel was 3-4 blocks from the beach. Walking from there to the beach was like running a gauntlet--the touts, massage parlor ladies, tailor shops, etc. All with very aggressive sales people who made what should have been a care-free and leisurely stroll a major headache. Beyond that, I endured the tuk tuk drivers who threatened bodily harm if I parked my rental motorcycle near them, the police harassment, etc.

Tourists don't want to be treated like that. Just a little more dignity, please. Phuket/Patong's best days are behind it, not ahead.

[peter991]

I visited Phuket a fortnight ago. First visit to the island for 7 years.

Two things immediately stood out:

1) The locals seem much friendlier now than pre-tsunami.

2) All those beautiful islands off the coast are now packed daily by hundreds of speedboats. Last time I could hire a speedboat and have an island to myself.

If tourism numbers are anything to go by - Phuket is doing okay. Hotel and guest house room rates are quite high, but occupancy rates are also high.

Phuket is extensively marketed. Mention Thailand to most people and their word association is PHUKET. Personally, I wish more people would get out of 'Tourist Thailand' and visit 'Real-Remote Thailand' but Phuket is a fair introduction.

Peter

[cclub75]

There is not limit to bad taste, stupidity, and gregarious attitude.

My point :

-yes Phuket is on the verge to be a dump, Pattaya style. Nothing more, nothing less.

-but, let's be real : look at the Costa Del Sol in Spain. Look at the monstruous BENIDORM, close to Alicante. Look at the view, here and here.

It's surreal : at peak season, dozen of thousands of drunk low class europeans in a city of uggly towers... It's like a Hong Kong on the beach. It's a nightmare. But they love it !

-therefore, we'll always have tourists in Phuket, always.

[DLock]

RICHFROMOZ...I also moved from Phuket to Chiang Mai 2 years ago...and have never looked back and will never visit Phuket again. Ever.

I lived in Phuket for 6 years and had the perspective of watching it slowly deteriorate over time into what it is today. 8 years ago it was a nice place, especially in the low season. Relaxed, fun and safe. There are places in Phuket that still have some charm, but beyond the front gates, you are still exposed to what Phuket has become.

People who come to Phuket for a 2 week holiday or have lived here a short time find it a fantastic place, and will rightly defend it, but their perception will change over time like mine did.

But I disagree that tourism will ever really slow down. The planes are queing up over Phuket airport full of people that think the Thai smiles, the hand shakes of the Tailors on beach road or the Issan girls screaming "Hallo Handsum Man" actually mean something. The quality of those tourists are in question, but the numbers are not.

The threat that Vietnam or Malaysia will take tourists away from Thailand is unlikely...or at best they will be different tourists. Like Chiang Mai, it gets a lot of tourists, but more families and couples who are looking for something different, and not the beer bars, crowded beaches, lousy food, overpriced hotels and dailys ripoffs.

Phuket is not really a pleasant place. Under the thin veneer of smiles is a pretty sad place where it's all about getting as much money from the tourists as possible. If you can accept that fact, then maybe you will enjoy Phuket....for a while.

I'm sure people will say I'm bitter or had a bad experience in Phuket. No. It just got old, and I got older.

[Sir Burr]

Funny how everybody wants to be the last person to come to Phuket.

As soon as they get here they want to slam the door and stop all developement. They want to keep it just the way it was when they first arrived.

From the posts above, many people are confusing Patong with Phuket. Yes, Patong has developed hap-hazardly with a disregard for the environment etc. But, it is not representative of Phuket as a whole.

Go up to the view-point between Kata and Nai harn. Take a look. Still plenty of green hills. The view has hardly changed over the years.

I've been here many years. I still remember all the inconveniences when I first started living here:-

All the roads were dirt, you couldn't drive on them during rainy season.

You had to go to Phuket Town to make a reasonably priced international telephone call.

The only place to buy cheese was in a single shop in Phuket Town.

There was no bread, except that sweet stuff that is coloured green or yellow that the Thais eat.

Only a couple of dentists on the whole island.

And what about the Thai people? I'm sure it's very idylic to take snaps of fishermen and paddy farmers, but, for them, it's a hard life. The developement of Phuket has raised the living standards of not only the local Thais, but the Thais who have come for work and their families, too.

You don't like Phuket? Think it's overdeveloped and "spoilt"?

Take some initiative. Go off the island to the north, or, east around Phang-Nga Bay, or, south of Krabi. There are hundreds of deserted beaches with not a soul on them. Course, after a few hours it'll get boring.

Trust me when I say, the "good old days" had just as many disadvantages as now. Just different.

[huggybear]

If you want to know what tourism experts think about the island, have a look on the following link.

In case you don't find Phuket in the top 10, have a look at position 46

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler...11/islands.html

Need I say no more...

Classic Freudian slip, good one

The cliche is "Need I say More?"

"Need I say no more" means no more posts? O.k.....

[duchovny]

I've only been to Phuket once and I was bitterly disappointed.

I've been to 30+ countries and all of SE Asia and I'd say Phuket was one of the slickest of con jobs I've seen. (apart from India of course)

Overpriced, superficial, bad service, bad attitudes, etc etc. I didn't feel comfortable or welcomed.

I can see why big tour operators are now seeking out other alternatives such as Cambodia.

[Sir Burr]

I've only been to Phuket once and I was bitterly disappointed.

I've been to 30+ countries and all of SE Asia and I'd say Phuket was one of the slickest of con jobs I've seen. (apart from India of course)

Overpriced, superficial, bad service, bad attitudes, etc etc. I didn't feel comfortable or welcomed.

I can see why big tour operators are now seeking out other alternatives such as Cambodia.

You were probably using an out-of-date Lonely Planet guide book.

[LivinLOS]

Trust me when I say, the "good old days" had just as many disadvantages as now. Just different.

Thats exactly it..

I am one of those people that has zero use for 'the real Thailand' as a place to live.. I have travelled around the country fairly well but if my options were living in Nakhon Nowhere or leaving I would be on my way out. Phuket has almost first world prices and almost first world amieneties, of course becuase thats in a 3rd world country you get a lot of hustle and the crossing point of those two.

But as you point out (and I havent been here for that long, 6 years or so now) when I arrived it was a struggle to get things that are pretty basic, the changes in the last few years have allowed me to radically improve my living standard but at a cost.

[RICHFROMOZ]

RICHFROMOZ...I also moved from Phuket to Chiang Mai 2 years ago...and have never looked back and will never visit Phuket again. Ever.

I lived in Phuket for 6 years and had the perspective of watching it slowly deteriorate over time into what it is today. 8 years ago it was a nice place, especially in the low season. Relaxed, fun and safe. There are places in Phuket that still have some charm, but beyond the front gates, you are still exposed to what Phuket has become.

People who come to Phuket for a 2 week holiday or have lived here a short time find it a fantastic place, and will rightly defend it, but their perception will change over time like mine did.

But I disagree that tourism will ever really slow down. The planes are queing up over Phuket airport full of people that think the Thai smiles, the hand shakes of the Tailors on beach road or the Issan girls screaming "Hallo Handsum Man" actually mean something. The quality of those tourists are in question, but the numbers are not.

The threat that Vietnam or Malaysia will take tourists away from Thailand is unlikely...or at best they will be different tourists. Like Chiang Mai, it gets a lot of tourists, but more families and couples who are looking for something different, and not the beer bars, crowded beaches, lousy food, overpriced hotels and dailys ripoffs.

Phuket is not really a pleasant place. Under the thin veneer of smiles is a pretty sad place where it's all about getting as much money from the tourists as possible. If you can accept that fact, then maybe you will enjoy Phuket....for a while.

I'm sure people will say I'm bitter or had a bad experience in Phuket. No. It just got old, and I got older.

DLock, your post made great sense. You did put across a balance view. I too will never return to Phuket. The difference between Phuket and CM is chalk and cheese. In CM I do not get ripped off, harassed, threatened etc. The local Thais are genuinely friendly, and I feel real and genuine hospitality. I think Phuket has become a magnet for louts, and as such has attracted likeminded Thais.

[RICHFROMOZ]

Trust me when I say, the "good old days" had just as many disadvantages as now. Just different.

Thats exactly it..

I am one of those people that has zero use for 'the real Thailand' as a place to live.. I have travelled around the country fairly well but if my options were living in Nakhon Nowhere or leaving I would be on my way out. Phuket has almost first world prices and almost first world amieneties, of course becuase thats in a 3rd world country you get a lot of hustle and the crossing point of those two.

But as you point out (and I havent been here for that long, 6 years or so now) when I arrived it was a struggle to get things that are pretty basic, the changes in the last few years have allowed me to radically improve my living standard but at a cost.

Phuket has firstl world ammenities, OH PLEASE.... By that do you mean the fantastic infrastructure like the swamp road the runs out the back of Jung Ceylon. Phuket is Thailands Toilet.

[Sir Burr]

If you read LivinLOS's post more carefully, he says "almost first world".

Why use a dirt road as a comparison. Why not use the tarmac bypass road?

A dirt road does not a third world country make. No dirt roads in your own country?

Phuket is not a toilet. Obviously, you have had bad experiences, but, it's only your experiences.

The year by year increase in tourists and foreign residents belie your stupid statement.

[chiang mai]

Just returned from a short trip to Krabi and Ao Nang and was surprised to see that by comparison, both seem much more heavily populated by tourists than Patong or Kata. Our hotel in Ao Nang reported 73% occupancy. My best sense is that there is a gradual shift away from Phuket to other places, including those already mentioned.

[RICHFROMOZ]

If you read LivinLOS's post more carefully, he says "almost first world".

Why use a dirt road as a comparison. Why not use the tarmac bypass road?

A dirt road does not a third world country make. No dirt roads in your own country?

Phuket is not a toilet. Obviously, you have had bad experiences, but, it's only your experiences.

The year by year increase in tourists and foreign residents belie your stupid statement.

Sir Blurred, you are naieve if you think Phuket tourism is not going to suffer long term. Phuket is a toilet. It has all the hallmarks of a toilet. It is filthy, the people, thais and farangs are downright rude. Phuket is a blatant rip-off, crime is high, corruption is rife. What is there to like about all of that. Sure, two-week package tourists may still come (until the smarten up anyway) but that the culture in phuket isnt it, live for the day, who cares what happend tomorrow. Come up to Chiang Mai sometime and you will see real time friendliness and hospitality.

[Sir Burr]

And as I've already said before, I've been hearing this 'Chicken Little' crap for the last twenty years, yet they just keep a commin'.

Just because it is your opinion, doesn't make it fact.

Edited April 25, 2008 by Sir Burr

[Sir Burr]

In addition. I have found the Thais great. Very friendly and helpful (do you speak Thai?)

Have met some very good westerners here over the years, too.

Which is right? My experience, or, your experience?

[Tony Clifton]

There is not limit to bad taste, stupidity, and gregarious attitude.

My point :

-yes Phuket is on the verge to be a dump, Pattaya style. Nothing more, nothing less.

-but, let's be real : look at the Costa Del Sol in Spain. Look at the monstruous BENIDORM, close to Alicante. Look at the view, here and here.

It's surreal : at peak season, dozen of thousands of drunk low class europeans in a city of uggly towers... It's like a Hong Kong on the beach. It's a nightmare. But they love it !

-therefore, we'll always have tourists in Phuket, always.

I wonder how they do with tourists and balconies over there compared to here?

[Sir Burr]

Balconey diving is a specialty sport in Pattaya.

In Phuket, the prefered way is an upside down neck-tie.

[IgnacioE]

I am sure Phuket will always have some sort of tourist industry. However they don't seem to be very good at attracting the right type of tourists.

Retirees with good income and second home owners are now being wooed by other places in the region such as Malaysia, Bali and Vietnam. While these places are all making it easier for these folk to get long term visas and to enjoy home ownership, Thailand seems to be doing everything it can to keep them out.

If your selling points are beaches, sex industry and cheap booze, its pretty obvious who is going to show up.

Over the last year or 2, I've seen way too many families and couples in the Soi Bangla area of Patong. And western females IMO are about as welcome as androids returning to planet Earth in the Blade Runner.

"Thailand seems to be doing everything it can to keep them out."

Yes, and the 400k baht requirement (which gets even more stricter as time passes) for multiple entry non-immigrant 'O' visas recently introduced in Singapore is a nice touch. With the outrageous rise in the cost of living there, Phuket could soon be overrun by Singaporeans like ants on an anthill if not for that.

The more bad publicity Phuket gets - like this thread - the more farangs stay away. I like that. Keep up the good work.

"If your selling points are beaches, sex industry and cheap booze, its pretty obvious who is going to show up."

Let me guess: first-world men that spend gobs of cash, of which most of it goes to support poor families throughout the kingdom. To me, that's quite a charitable act and for a noble cause.

And, as has been pointed out many times, Patong does not equal Phuket.

[JiveTalker]

Trust me when I say, the "good old days" had just as many disadvantages as now. Just different.

Thats exactly it..

I am one of those people that has zero use for 'the real Thailand' as a place to live.. I have travelled around the country fairly well but if my options were living in Nakhon Nowhere or leaving I would be on my way out. Phuket has almost first world prices and almost first world amieneties, of course becuase thats in a 3rd world country you get a lot of hustle and the crossing point of those two.

But as you point out (and I havent been here for that long, 6 years or so now) when I arrived it was a struggle to get things that are pretty basic, the changes in the last few years have allowed me to radically improve my living standard but at a cost.

Phuket has firstl world ammenities, OH PLEASE.... By that do you mean the fantastic infrastructure like the swamp road the runs out the back of Jung Ceylon. Phuket is Thailands Toilet.

Seriously dude, Patong is not Phuket. Sure parts of Patong are crappy but I went to Chiang Mai once and the Thai dudes in the nightmarket tried to rip me off. Did I get all stressed and start calling Chiang Mai a hel_l hole? No, I went somewhere else in Chiang Mai and had a great time. The same in Phuket, you avoid the crappy places and spend your money in the welcoming places.

I've lived in Phuket for over 3 years. I don't visit Patong much, but I have a great time when I do. I visit the quiet beaches and quiet restaurants that you have to explore to find. Most of the Thai people have been lovely. Life is what you make of it. You need to chill out sunshine.