TAT To Push Phuket As Wedding Hub

[webfact]

TAT to push Phuket as 'wedding hub'

An Indian wedding party at the Hilton Arcadia Resort & Spa in Karon. File photo.

PHUKET: -- The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will push Phuket as a wedding and honeymoon destination in selected markets including India, the head of the local TAT office said.

Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the TAT's South Region 4 office in Phuket, said the TAT will offer special promotions to induce large wedding parties to Phuket.

The announcement follows a recent trip to Phuket by Sansern Ngaorungsi, TAT Deputy Governor for international marketing.

"Phuket is second only to Bangkok for the number of foreign couples choosing to have wedding parties in Thailand. It is also the top choice among couples wanting to exchange vows in a beautiful beach setting in Thailand," she said.

The TAT is keen to host more weddings of well-heeled couples from India, known for its elaborate and often very expensive matrimonial services.

"Indian wedding parties are the largest, with groups from 300 to 500 people sometimes coming in and booking entire resorts and paying over one million baht," Mrs Bangornrat said.

The luxury Banyan Tree resort in the Laguna Phuket resort complex recently hosted one such event, she said.

"The TAT is already marketing in Mumbai and New Deli, offering special inducements to groups of 300 or more," she said.

"Indian groups always bring in their own wedding organizers, consultants and cooks. They prefer to hold weddings from November to February. Having wedding parties in internationally branded hotels seems to be a new trend among affluent Indian families," she said.

The TAT will also try and lure more wedding parties from Australia as well as South Korea.

Phuket is already a popular destination for South Korean honeymooners, she said.

Staff at the JW Marriott Resort and Spa in Mai Khao said three or four foreign couples would exchange vows at the resort during the current high season she said.

The TAT is also hoping to bring in more groups of beauty pageant contestants from Europe for photo shoots and pre-pageant publicity events, as these are an effective way of introducing Phuket's tropical charms to Europeans, she said.

Phuket has already played host to three such groups: 37 French beauties in 2008; 24 from Poland in October 2009, and 20 Miss Belgium contestants in November last year.

Hosting the French contestants gave Phuket so much positive publicity that it led to the introduction of regular charter flights from France, with tourists taking part in the same activities they watched the contestants doing on television, she said.

As for the current tourism picture, Mrs Bangornrat said current hotel occupancy rates on the island are in the 70%-80% range on average, but advance bookings at resorts in March are currently only about 30% to 40%.

The TAT hopes independent travelers and people booking late will keep occupancy rates high for the rest of the high season.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-01-28

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[animatic]

Groom beaten by 4 Tuk tuk drivers on way to his wedding ,

after arguing over extra charges for 9 valiums found in

katoeys purse in an adjoining tuk tuk, causing overweight charge.

Police say falang at fault, since all falangs are at fault.

Groom agrees to pay 15,000 baht fine to be allowed to continue his wedding journey

and not be sent to detention for 3 weeks and charged with extra baggage fees,

being within 10 meters of a katoey with valiums, and losing the tuk tuk drivers face.

Phuket Governor is outraged, and pays for valiums so katoey can go home.

Edited January 28, 2010 by animatic

[edwinchester]

Wonder if they'll be advertising in Germany?

[LivinLOS]

Quick another about face..

We want volume.. No we want high rollers.. We want Indians and Chinese.. Or did we want middle easterners.. Or people getting married.. Or people needing medical.. Or was it spas..

Just comical really..

[RKASA]

Medical Hub of Asia No .... wait

IT Hub of Asia No ....

Wedding Hub of Asia. Yea, if that don't work we can just drop back to being the sex spool of Asia. We know that was working.

[Crushdepth]

Is there no end to this hub stupidity?

[brahmburgers]

Indian groups always bring in their own wedding organizers, consultants and cooks.

Cooks, I can understand, as they probably don't like getting snowed under with MSG - which is what Thai cooks use.

Probably should bring their own drivers also, although they would then take a chance on getting blindsided with a tent pole for parking in a parking zone.

Edited January 28, 2010 by brahmburgers

[hazz]

No

[BLUEEYEDTHAI]

Is there no end to this hub stupidity?

Evidently not

[petebkk]

With that level of creativity, the people that come up with this idea should work in front of 'entertainment' places in Patpong.

[hazz]

*llocks duplicate post

Edited January 28, 2010 by hazz

[Thai at Heart]

They prefer to hold weddings from November to February

......................................

So who has been snoozing on this wonderful market since last Nov? 3 days to go then. I wonder if their wonderful effort will be able to attract 1 and I mean truly 1 more wedding to the island.

In fact on the basis that with 500 attendees to the previous weddings, at least 50 of the visitors will have had some bad experience or other and will have told 10 of their friends never to think of having a wedding there. So they are already at a net loss for the entire marketing escapade.

[petebkk]

How about Phuket as "Hub of hubs"! I bet they never thought of that, and, not to leave out the City of Angels, Bangkok as "Hub of hubs of hubs".

[tso310]

Can't remember this one being suggested before. The boyz in the ministry are getting creative these days. Now with a bit more thinking they could go for the complete Hub of Life package.

1 - Hub of Wedding

2 - Hub of Honeymoons

3 - Hub of Conception

4 - Hub of Births

5 - Hub of Divorce

6 - Hub of Death

7 - Hub of Burial

[Sisaketmike]

Groom beaten by 4 Tuk tuk drivers on way to his wedding ,

after arguing over extra charges for 9 valiums found in

katoeys purse in an adjoining tuk tuk, causing overweight charge.

Police say falang at fault, since all falangs are at fault.

Groom agrees to pay 15,000 baht fine to be allowed to continue his wedding journey

and not be sent to detention for 3 weeks and charged with extra baggage fees,

being within 10 meters of a katoey with valiums, and losing the tuk tuk drivers face.

Phuket Governor is outraged, and pays for valiums so katoey can go home.

I won't get married again, thanks a lot.

[Sisaketmike]

Can't remember this one being suggested before. The boyz in the ministry are getting creative these days. Now with a bit more thinking they could go for the complete Hub of Life package.

1 - Hub of Wedding

2 - Hub of Honeymoons

3 - Hub of Conception

4 - Hub of Births

5 - Hub of Divorce

6 - Hub of Death

7 - Hub of Burial

8. Hub of Deportation

9. Hub of Lies

10. Hub of supersized Prices

11. Hub of third Genders

[ThailandTommy]

So this is an example of 'big spending' tourists V's quantity?

Lets say 500 (500 of course not being a large 'quantity'?) guests pay not 1 million (as quoted in the report) but 2 million THB to stage a wedding, thats's 4,000 THB per head, (4,000 THB makes them big spenders?).

With the Maldives being nearer, and a little more glamorous without the bad press the real 'big spenders' will go there.

You can see it now the bride and groom on a couple of elephants and 250 Tuk Tuks following in convoy with the guests, each one being charged a different amount....

Then a mass mugging at 7/11 as the guests realise they are being 'tucked up' and go to 7/11 for cheaper booze..............MIB faced with 500 crime reports to process....yeah right

I wish TAT well!

[webfact]

one post deleted.

If you want your post to live use civilized words.

[bubblegum]

Do they actually know what a hub is ?????

[LuckyLew]

You guys are all so negative

At least they are trying

I thing they should sell it as Disney land

for men and introduce a flat rate

"One entrance price and get a ride all day bracelet"

[ESB7]

Is there no end to this hub stupidity?

Boutique stupidity though

[Bagwan]

Can't remember this one being suggested before. The boyz in the ministry are getting creative these days. Now with a bit more thinking they could go for the complete Hub of Life package.

1 - Hub of Wedding

2 - Hub of Honeymoons

3 - Hub of Conception

4 - Hub of Births

5 - Hub of Divorce

6 - Hub of Death

7 - Hub of Burial

Can you not find a place for Hub of Hubris?

[junkofdavid2]

Kudos to our great sponsor "The Nation"!!!

They really understand the concept of "BREAKING NEWS" don't they?

And ThaiVisa is the "Breaking News Hub"

[animatic]

Kudos to our great sponsor "The Nation"!!!

They really understand the concept of "BREAKING NEWS" don't they?

And ThaiVisa is the "Breaking News Hub"

Uh JoD...

it's the Phuket Gazette this time...

[lordsux]

Just stay away from crazy elephants whilst on your honeymoon in Phuket

[ding]

If it were up to me...

I'd promote Thailand as a happy place to chill and party, easy and free, in a tropical setting - and at a low cost.

Kinda like what draws the tourists already. It's air fare that keeps people away now. TAT could stop spending on fancy ideas and promotion, and spend the Baht subsidizing Thai Air getting farang in the hotels, bars, and cafes.

[kennkate]

You guys are all so negative

At least they are trying

I thing they should sell it as Disney land

for men and introduce a flat rate

"One entrance price and get a ride all day bracelet"

By god sir I think you have it :D

[sharecropper]

Is there no end to this hub stupidity?

Ask the brides. They'll soon be marrying their "Hub"bands, in this wonderfully romantic Wedding hub.

Edited January 28, 2010 by sharecropper

[grandpops]

Can't remember this one being suggested before. The boyz in the ministry are getting creative these days. Now with a bit more thinking they could go for the complete Hub of Life package.

1 - Hub of Wedding

2 - Hub of Honeymoons

3 - Hub of Conception

4 - Hub of Births

5 - Hub of Divorce

6 - Hub of Death

7 - Hub of Burial

Can you not find a place for Hub of Hubris?

They should limit the amount of Hubs that Phuket can be in the running for.... That would be a Hub Cap I suppose .

plenty of wedding opportunites still available last night though in the Bangla Bride Bars. Maybe this is one of the more sane (less insane) ones.

Edited January 28, 2010 by grandpops

[animatic]

As opposed to the Bangla Boy Bride Bars,

which are reported to be less sane in general...