Phuket Looks Gloomily To The Future -tourist Chief

[george]

Phuket Looks Gloomily to the Future -Tourist Chief

PHUKET: -- The future is looking bleak for tsunami-hit Phuket, with revenues falling by half this year and the prospects for 2006 little brighter, the head of the Thai resort island's tourism body said on Thursday.

The island's tourism revenues, which usually account for a fifth of the Thai industry's income, would fall to 45 billion baht ($1.1 billion) this year from 85 billion baht last year, Phuket Tourist Association President Pattanapong Aikwanich said.

"Everyone has been hit very hard and we don't see a future yet," Pattanapong told Reuters in an interview.

"Phuket can barely survive now. We all are dying as every hotel is running losses of millions of baht each month," Pattanapong said six months after the giant waves crashed ashore at the height of the tourist season on Dec. 26.

The waves caused widespread damage on Phuket and elsewhere along the coast, leaving 279 people dead and 610 missing on the island alone. In total, 5,400 people died on Thailand's Andaman Sea coast and islands that day -- nearly 2,250 of them foreigners -- and 2,800 are still missing.

Phuket recovered swiftly, but tourists stayed away, with many people refusing to go on vacation in an area ravaged by death.

Only 15 percent of Phuket's 35,000 hotel rooms were occupied in May and June this year compared with 50 percent last year, only marginally better than in January, when the rate slumped to 10 percent from 90 percent a year before.

Advance room bookings for the coming high season starting in November, which should be flooding Phuket hotels by now, were very few, said Pattanapong, who owns two up-market hotels on the island.

"PEOPLE ARE SUSPICIOUS OF US"

Despite heavy publicity given to Thailand's blossoming early warning system -- with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra himself supervising the first test of loudspeaker towers on a major Phuket beach -- it has failed to reassure, Pattanapong said.

"Tourists don't have confidence in our warning system. They don't know how effective it is," he said. It needed the cachet of independent approval, he added.

"What we need is certification by internationally recognised experts on our system. We just can't install it and certify it by ourselves since people are still suspicious of us."

There were no early warning systems or evacuation plans when the strongest earthquake in 40 years set off a tsunami that killed or left missing about 230,000 people and left more than a million homeless in 13 countries around the Indian Ocean rim.

Thailand has moved the fastest to rectify that.

By the end of the year, it intends to have an early warning system at sea which would transmit data to the new National Disaster Centre.

If a tsunami were detected, the system would send out alerts to media, text messages through mobile telephone networks and trigger sirens on 50 warning towers.

And if fears of the death and destruction in natural disasters were not enough, Phuket was also having to cope with fears of a spread of the violence in the country's Muslim far south, Pattanapong said.

The daily killings and bombings in which more than 700 people have been killed near the Malaysia border since January last year were keeping tourists from Malaysia and Singapore away from Phuket, he said.

Island hotels and Thai airlines would soon offer Thais and foreigners living in Thailand a Bangkok-Phuket return air ticket, airport pickup and two nights at a three-star hotel for just 3,500 baht ($86) until October, he added,

"We have to do this, otherwise we will surely die." ($US1 = 40.67 baht)

--Reuters 2005-06-17

[george]

67% drop in arrivals to Phuket

PHUKET: -- The Tourism Authority of Thailand has released statistics collected at Phuket International Airport revealing a 67 per cent drop in visitor arrivals from January to May compared with the same period last year.

The figures showed Phuket has received 159,423 visitors since a Tsunami hit the island last December, compared to 487,419 that visited the tropical island between January and May last year.

However, the statistics represented some growth from January to May, with figures doubling in the past few months.

During the same period, Bangkok International Airport recorded 3,184,496 arrivals or a slight increase of 0.06% from the 3,182,481 arrivals during the same period last year.

Statistics from all entry points to Thailand revealed visitors from January to March decreased 10.12% from last year.

--Agencies 2005-06-17

[Sir Burr]

I was expecting to see an avalanche of "Business for sale" ads in the Phuket Gazette over the last few months, but, this hasn't happened. I guess people are still hoping that the next high season will get them through.

Also, these initiatives to attract people to come to Phuket all seem to be initiated by the government. Very few "good deals" being generated by the private sector.

[baht&sold]

Island hotels and Thai airlines would soon offer Thais and foreigners living in Thailand a Bangkok-Phuket return air ticket, airport pickup and two nights at a three-star hotel for just 3,500 baht ($86) until October, he added,

--Reuters 2005-06-17

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Encouraging domestic travel to Phuket is welcome. Perhaps they could have launched something far sooner tho given the obvious drop off in intnl bookings. 3500 baht, is this for 1 person, or must travel with two one wonders? (ie:7000 baht in reality).

A quick search to compare on air Asia- dept 25th of June for example, shows 799 baht deptarture and 499 baht return as the cheapest flights. Adding in the surcharges, round that to 2100 baht. That leaves taxi to and from and hotel expense for two nights of course. Point being, you could probably match the 3500 doing it independently. (??)

Is this enough of an incentive to the domestic market? Having said that, I couldn't think of a better time to go and visit Phuket regardless.

Edit: When they refer to 'foreigners living in Thailand', are they referring to the tiny minority like myself with valid work permits, or anyone with a Non'B' or 'O'? Again, a minority. Better to just open it up to ALL.

[beerguy]

The tourists from Hong Kong aren't going to Phuket due to what they tell me are ghosts.

Don't laugh, for those of you unaware with chinese culture, this place is now considered a graveyard and it will take years for them to return enmass.

[Patong Bob]

People overseas are still under the impression that Phuket was destroyed on 26/12. This is due to the misreporting and downright lies of CNN & BBC, and FOX who arrived a week late and filed their report from in front of the rubbish dumb, inferring that this is what was left...........

[Jai Dee]

The tourists from Hong Kong aren't going to Phuket due to what they tell me are ghosts.

Don't laugh, for those of you unaware with chinese culture, this place is now considered a graveyard and it will take years for them to return enmass.

Not just the Chinese... my Thai friends and work colleagues also tell me that they would never visit Phuket because of the "pee".

[punisher]

I would say a bit late to come down with the prices,Phuket is anywais much more expensive than other destinations,and in my feeling they have kind off bad attitude,I went there{Patong}last month,after more then 7years abstinence,nothing much changed,including taximafia,hotels and other tourist related stuff is far overpriced,special after the tsunami,now im curious when they start 3500Baht offers,probably only for thais if they do

[lucadg]

Thai people have the same fears. It was hard to bring my gf to Phi Phi a few weeks ago, due to ghosts.

Once there she was, or looked like, quiet. But still would avoid some dark places at night.

I guess it's gonna be easier to bring back intl tourism.

By the way, see some pics I took in post tsunami Phi Phi a couple of weeks ago:

Post Tsunami Phi Phi

[dave111223]

I wonder what the price is for a trip for 2 but sharing a room? Still 3500 each?

[kreon]

as ususal a big public relations failure, took them 3-6 months to get of their butt

some belgian friends went, thought they rather had a depressing holiday, seeing all the poor thai families and businesses still in ruins, typical corruption take-over, so went to koh samui instead

[coldcrush]

The tourists from Hong Kong aren't going to Phuket due to what they tell me are ghosts.

Don't laugh, for those of you unaware with chinese culture, this place is now considered a graveyard and it will take years for them to return enmass.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not just the Chinese... my Thai friends and work colleagues also tell me that they would never visit Phuket because of the "pee".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

On a similar line, I asked my Fiance "why she was not eating fish no more", as she loves it, as anyone knows Thais love plau. She replied "because of all the people in the sea in phuket, the fish eat the people, so they were no good. I think this indicates the general everyday fear in certain Thai people. However I promptly explained to her how crazy her thoughts were and asked who had told her this, she replied "Mare".

[dereklev]

I was expecting to see an avalanche of "Business for sale" ads in the Phuket Gazette over the last few months, but, this hasn't happened. I guess people are still hoping that the next high season will get them through.

Also, these initiatives to attract people to come to Phuket all seem to be initiated by the government. Very few "good deals" being generated by the private sector.

Guess that even if people put their businesses up for sale no one would be interested in buying!

I am sure anyone who previously wanted to set-up a business on Phuket will wait at least a year to look for proper signs of a recovery.

[Zemran]

as ususal a big public relations failure, took them 3-6 months to get of their butt

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do not think they have got off their butts yet. This is just a little PR excercise so that they can say that they are doing something. The reality is that the whole area is now associated with great sadness no matter what culture you are from. The area needs a complete face lift to turn it into something new. A bit of paint over what is a disaster area is not going to make the average person think of Phuket as a happy holiday destination.

[george]

Update:

Gov airs ideas to boost Phuket

PHUKET CITY: -- Almost six months after the tsunami, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is hoping to turn the first anniversary of the disaster into a major public relations coup for the island.

At his weekly CEO meeting, Gov Udomsak unveiled a “wish list” of promotional events aimed at attracting the world’s attention.

An international beach volleyball competition, a property show, and cancellation of national park entry fees were all ideas put forward by the Governor.

He said, “The volleyball teams could coordinate with airline companies who, in turn, could fly in the teams and spectators.

“There are many businesses that are willing to help boost tourism on Phuket by reducing the price of their products. For example, airlines and hotels have slashed their rates by introducing local low-cost package deals.

“We, representing th e public sector, should cooperate to help bring more tourists to Phuket.”

He explained that a property show would attract upper-end tourists who would then invest in land and real estate.

Gov Undomsak also recommended that the island copy Chiang Mai’s “Night Safari” project, and invited the private sector to invest in Khao Pra Taew National Park.

Panomphol Thummachartniyom, President of the Phuket Professional Guides Association, agreed that Phuket is offering many promotions but also pointed out that excessive taxi and tuk tuk fares could spoil all the good that low cost promotions do.

He explained that many tourists have complained that, although they had booked low-cost package holidays, when they used local transport they were forced to pay exorbitant prices.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-17

[Jai Dee]

Interesting article from the Phuket Gazette George.

I note that Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura unveiled his "wish list" at his weekly CEO meeting, but although the article says that Panomphol Thummachartniyom, President of the Phuket Professional Guides Association, mentioned the extortion and inflation of taxi and tuk-tuk fares ... and also the tourist complaints, it does not state that the Governor was made aware of them, or even if Khun Panomphol was even present and made those statements at the meeting.

Selective journalism?

... or am I reading it wrong?

[sriracha john]

I wonder what the price is for a trip for 2 but sharing a room?  Still 3500 each?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, according to ThaiAir's website, it's each... and it's 5,000 to 7,000 baht per person :

Our special 'Southern Sun & Sea' packages allow you to enjoy breathtaking

Phuket from now till 31OTC05.

Included features:

* Roundtrip air ticket from/to Bangkok

* Roundtrip airport-hotel transfers

* 2 nights accommodation with American breakfast

Choice of Hotels Price per person (In Twin Room)

Islandia Resort Pearl Hotel 5,000 THB

Pearl Village 7,000 THB

[gharknes]

I was expecting to see an avalanche of "Business for sale" ads in the Phuket Gazette over the last few months, but, this hasn't happened. I guess people are still hoping that the next high season will get them through.

Also, these initiatives to attract people to come to Phuket all seem to be initiated by the government. Very few "good deals" being generated by the private sector.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Guess that even if people put their businesses up for sale no one would be interested in buying!

I am sure anyone who previously wanted to set-up a business on Phuket will wait at least a year to look for proper signs of a recovery.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I find the whole situation quite sad, those pictures are an obvious indication that nobody there really wants to clean the place up, I would guess that people who survived the disaster are mentally scarred and will take a long time to recover (if ever) Can't imagine wanting dig into the ground anywhere for fear of finding human remains which is probably why the place is still a mess, I think we should all remember that this is a disaster area on a huge scale and many of the people that lost their lives are still missing i.e. no body recovered.

The Thai government need to take drastic measures to clean the place up, then make an effort to attract people back.

One thing that puzzles me about Thailand, they don't seem to understand where the countries money comes from i.e. "US" tourists etc, maybe when they realise they will treat us better.

[ray23]

Update:

Gov airs ideas to boost Phuket

PHUKET CITY: -- Almost six months after the tsunami, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is hoping to turn the first anniversary of the disaster into a major public relations coup for the island.

At his weekly CEO meeting, Gov Udomsak unveiled a “wish list” of promotional events aimed at attracting the world’s attention.

An international beach volleyball competition, a property show, and cancellation of national park entry fees were all ideas put forward by the Governor.

He said, “The volleyball teams could coordinate with airline companies who, in turn, could fly in the teams and spectators.

“There are many businesses that are willing to help boost tourism on Phuket by reducing the price of their products. For example, airlines and hotels have slashed their rates by introducing local low-cost package deals.

“We, representing th e public sector, should cooperate to help bring more tourists to Phuket.”

He explained that a property show would attract upper-end tourists who would then invest in land and real estate.

Gov Undomsak also recommended that the island copy Chiang Mai’s “Night Safari” project, and invited the private sector to invest in Khao Pra Taew National Park.

Panomphol Thummachartniyom, President of the Phuket Professional Guides Association, agreed that Phuket is offering many promotions but also pointed out that excessive taxi and tuk tuk fares could spoil all the good that low cost promotions do.

He explained that many tourists have complained that, although they had booked low-cost package holidays, when they used local transport they were forced to pay exorbitant prices.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-17

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmm!!!! Great idea which foot should we shoot ourselves in. I guess when they don't have anyone to overcharge they can sell the tuk tuk and work the farm

[eddieold]

Update:

Gov airs ideas to boost Phuket

PHUKET CITY: -- Almost six months after the tsunami, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is hoping to turn the first anniversary of the disaster into a major public relations coup for the island.

At his weekly CEO meeting, Gov Udomsak unveiled a “wish list” of promotional events aimed at attracting the world’s attention.

An international beach volleyball competition, a property show, and cancellation of national park entry fees were all ideas put forward by the Governor.

He said, “The volleyball teams could coordinate with airline companies who, in turn, could fly in the teams and spectators.

“There are many businesses that are willing to help boost tourism on Phuket by reducing the price of their products. For example, airlines and hotels have slashed their rates by introducing local low-cost package deals.

“We, representing th e public sector, should cooperate to help bring more tourists to Phuket.”

He explained that a property show would attract upper-end tourists who would then invest in land and real estate.

Gov Undomsak also recommended that the island copy Chiang Mai’s “Night Safari” project, and invited the private sector to invest in Khao Pra Taew National Park.

Panomphol Thummachartniyom, President of the Phuket Professional Guides Association, agreed that Phuket is offering many promotions but also pointed out that excessive taxi and tuk tuk fares could spoil all the good that low cost promotions do.

He explained that many tourists have complained that, although they had booked low-cost package holidays, when they used local transport they were forced to pay exorbitant prices.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-17

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hello George

Reference the proposed property show mentioned above. To whom would land on offer belong? Would it be persons displaced by the tsunami. Would they get the sale proceeds?

Also it is hoped that buyers will be upmarket 'tourists'. To buy land they would have to be Thais - or have the rules changed.

olded

[Aikido]

Update:

Gov airs ideas to boost Phuket

PHUKET CITY: -- Almost six months after the tsunami, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is hoping to turn the first anniversary of the disaster into a major public relations coup for the island.

At his weekly CEO meeting, Gov Udomsak unveiled a “wish list” of promotional events aimed at attracting the world’s attention.

An international beach volleyball competition, a property show, and cancellation of national park entry fees were all ideas put forward by the Governor.

He said, “The volleyball teams could coordinate with airline companies who, in turn, could fly in the teams and spectators.

“There are many businesses that are willing to help boost tourism on Phuket by reducing the price of their products. For example, airlines and hotels have slashed their rates by introducing local low-cost package deals.

“We, representing th e public sector, should cooperate to help bring more tourists to Phuket.”

He explained that a property show would attract upper-end tourists who would then invest in land and real estate.

Gov Undomsak also recommended that the island copy Chiang Mai’s “Night Safari” project, and invited the private sector to invest in Khao Pra Taew National Park.

Panomphol Thummachartniyom, President of the Phuket Professional Guides Association, agreed that Phuket is offering many promotions but also pointed out that excessive taxi and tuk tuk fares could spoil all the good that low cost promotions do.

He explained that many tourists have complained that, although they had booked low-cost package holidays, when they used local transport they were forced to pay exorbitant prices.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-17

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

say no more the tuk tuk mafia will &lt;deleted&gt; it up for everyone Ifor one will not go back there after getting ripped off by tuk tuks in 2002.

[charlesfrith]

Some might question the contribution of appalling mass advertising that would prefer to imply that nothing has happened instead of finding a creative solution to the problem, which is that within the international mindset, perception is stronger than reality. Fix that and the tourists will place Phuket in the consideration set. But please. Leave the cheesy superlative family ads in superalative clean seas to the amateurs. There's a communications issue to solve.

Not Rocket science to fix, but who is listening?

Charles Frith

[baht&sold]

Some might question the contribution of appalling mass advertising that would prefer to imply that nothing has happened instead of finding a creative solution to the problem, which is that within the international mindset, perception is stronger than reality. Fix that and the tourists will place Phuket in the consideration set. But please. Leave the cheesy superlative family ads in superalative clean seas to the amateurs. There's a communications issue to solve.

Not Rocket science to fix, but who is listening?

Charles Frith

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds great Charles. You must've thought this important enough to make your first post after a year or so. Don't leave us hanging- what exactly should be done in your opinion?

I'd advocate at cost flights to Phuket and at cost hotel rooms on a one-off, spaced to accomodate. The Airlines could fill empty seats, gain some loyalty and some could reinstate flights already taken away. The hotels would gain by associated sales (food/beverage etc) and all would benefit. This is of course, idealist thinking since it would require a paradigm shift in business pratices and crucially, cross cooperation...

[sadman]

I was expecting to see an avalanche of "Business for sale" ads in the Phuket Gazette over the last few months, but, this hasn't happened. I guess people are still hoping that the next high season will get them through.

Also, these initiatives to attract people to come to Phuket all seem to be initiated by the government. Very few "good deals" being generated by the private sector.

Guess that even if people put their businesses up for sale no one would be interested in buying!

I am sure anyone who previously wanted to set-up a business on Phuket will wait at least a year to look for proper signs of a recovery.

I find the whole situation quite sad, those pictures are an obvious indication that nobody there really wants to clean the place up, I would guess that people who survived the disaster are mentally scarred and will take a long time to recover (if ever) Can't imagine wanting dig into the ground anywhere for fear of finding human remains which is probably why the place is still a mess, I think we should all remember that this is a disaster area on a huge scale and many of the people that lost their lives are still missing i.e. no body recovered.

The Thai government need to take drastic measures to clean the place up, then make an effort to attract people back.

One thing that puzzles me about Thailand, they don't seem to understand where the countries money comes from i.e. "US" tourists etc, maybe when they realise they will treat us better.

Forgive me, but I can't help feeling highly incensed by this view. The idea that nobody wants to clean the place up is asinine: pretty much everywhere I go on the island there is work going on to put things right. It may be slow, but it's happening. As for bodies, I think the full-on rainy season will unearth a lot of horror stories, but people are expecting it.

The greatest disaster at present is the lack of tourists - it is this that threatens livelihoods and standards of living. Perhaps the government could do more, but sitting back and tutting isn't the answer - come to the island and spend money, thereby supporting the local economy and aiding the recovery.

As for not understanding where the money comes from - this takes the biscuit in the arrogance department. May I point out that Phuket is not a Truman Show-esque spectacle for your entertainment. If you ever ventured out of your resort and had a look around the real island and spoke to real people (if you could suppress your arrogance sufficiently to learn even a few polite words in Thai), you'd find that they are a warm and friendly people. How better would you like to be treated?

[JimsKnight]

Friend of Mine from BKK is constantly roving the island trying to buy land which by rights should of dropped in price. No such luck, the thais are grimly holding on to their land and will not take a drop in price for land prices.

He wants to start up a Scuba Dive school while the dust settles from the disaster in readiness for when tourism recovers. But its really 50/50 if he can get it up and running!

On the whole recovery thing, guys its gonna be a lot longer than a year to get tourist numbers up to the boom town numbers of pre-tsunami years! Part of the problem is a number of the overseas tourists that will switch to alternate destinations not only in Thailand (the gulf being an example) but other countries as well.

[Scott]

I do wish all the people of Phuket the very best. I haven't been there quite a number of years. When I was there, I found it to be beautiful and relaxing, although it was overprices (even then) for Thailand.

I'm not much of a beach person, so I haven't gone back. I've sent visitors to Phuket who fully enjoyed it, however, they felt slightly ripped off after having visted a few other places in Thailand.

Transport was an especially distateful experience. Paying an exhorbitant fee to go a short distance to the hotel. This is not a good way to make a "first impression."

[ray23]

I was expecting to see an avalanche of "Business for sale" ads in the Phuket Gazette over the last few months, but, this hasn't happened. I guess people are still hoping that the next high season will get them through.

Also, these initiatives to attract people to come to Phuket all seem to be initiated by the government. Very few "good deals" being generated by the private sector.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Guess that even if people put their businesses up for sale no one would be interested in buying!

I am sure anyone who previously wanted to set-up a business on Phuket will wait at least a year to look for proper signs of a recovery.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I find the whole situation quite sad, those pictures are an obvious indication that nobody there really wants to clean the place up, I would guess that people who survived the disaster are mentally scarred and will take a long time to recover (if ever) Can't imagine wanting dig into the ground anywhere for fear of finding human remains which is probably why the place is still a mess, I think we should all remember that this is a disaster area on a huge scale and many of the people that lost their lives are still missing i.e. no body recovered.

The Thai government need to take drastic measures to clean the place up, then make an effort to attract people back.

One thing that puzzles me about Thailand, they don't seem to understand where the countries money comes from i.e. "US" tourists etc, maybe when they realise they will treat us better.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Forgive me, but I can't help feeling highly incensed by this view. The idea that nobody wants to clean the place up is asinine: pretty much everywhere I go on the island there is work going on to put things right. It may be slow, but it's happening. As for bodies, I think the full-on rainy season will unearth a lot of horror stories, but people are expecting it.

The greatest disaster at present is the lack of tourists - it is this that threatens livelihoods and standards of living. Perhaps the government could do more, but sitting back and tutting isn't the answer - come to the island and spend money, thereby supporting the local economy and aiding the recovery.

As for not understanding where the money comes from - this takes the biscuit in the arrogance department. May I point out that Phuket is not a Truman Show-esque spectacle for your entertainment. If you ever ventured out of your resort and had a look around the real island and spoke to real people (if you could suppress your arrogance sufficiently to learn even a few polite words in Thai), you'd find that they are a warm and friendly people. How better would you like to be treated?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You know I can understand your attitude, yes are right the real Thailand is filled with nice friendly people. But that is not what brings tourist dollars in The people who work all year for that two weeks off don't want problems that is what they are trying to escape. On the other hand those of us who live in Thailand are not going to large amounts of money to visit what we have back yards anyway. I can walk through my nieghborhood with my limited Thai and meet really nice people. So if I am going to spend my money there then I want something different.

So I guess if you can make better plan, now would be the time.

Perhap there is a way, but I think this is really going to take sometime. I know that if a person has a bad experince ( such as being ripped off for transportation) there he will share that with everyone he knows and doubt that is going to help.

[bkk_mike]

Tourists won't go back to Phuket in pre-tsunami numbers for maybe 3-5 years minimum.

Don't get me wrong - a lot of people will still go, but all it takes is one person in a family to say they don't want to go because being in Phuket would remind them of the tsunami coverage last year, and put the holiday in a sombre mood, and a whole family goes somewhere else.

Phuket will only go back to it's old tourist volumes once people are not thinking Tsunami when they look at a holiday in Phuket. That's not going to happen this high season.

Probably the best comparison will be to New York tourism post 9/11. It's taken several years for tourist numbers to recover.

If the government wants to help - they can try and fix the things in the meantime that annoy people about Phuket (ie. rip-off tuk-tuks, extremely slow internet access, poor roads, etc.), and try and get conferences to go there.

At the moment, Phuket has a lot of goodwill with individuals and companies. - i.e. American Express agreed to move a global (ex-US) conference there in March when they asked the government what they (Amex) could do to help following the tsunami. More of that sort of conference would help the local economy, increase hotel occupancy rates, and the people going to the conference can go back to their native countries and tell people that Phuket has recovered from the tsunami. What's more, as people travelling on business tend to be able to spend more (at least some on expenses), they're probably better for the overall economy than tourists looking for a bargain.

[logpoacher]

I've never been to Phuket, but thought I might go now it's cheaper. I have been to two of these supposedly cheap travel shows at the Queen Sirikit Centre and spent several hours walking round trying to find the amazing deals they keep talking about in the publicity. I haven't found any that don't sound about the same as doing it yourself, or even slightly more expensive. The second time, I went with a Thai, so it's not just communication problems! She actually ended up buying a deal for a resort on Koh Chang, which was quite cheap considering that it is normally a very expensive resort - but both prices way out of my league. So I am puzzled as to how you can find these amazing deals and discounts that they keep talking about.

Coupled with the fact that even my Thai friends have warned me about the cost of transport on Phuket and the fact that the only couple I know who have been there recently were victims of bag snatchers and lost all their money, credit cards and passports (and they weren't staggering around drunk in the middle of the night, or in a dodgy area), I don't think I'll be rushing there any time soon.

[frenchFARANGbkk]

What are they waiting to give a REAL discount?!

Are they stupid? (private and gvt)

It seems they don't understand the situation, the only way to make people come back there would be to give THE-NEVER-SEEN-BEFORE-YOU-CAN'T-GET-BETTER discount and they discount 500 baht on a room!

So they will be crying again next year and I will reply them: SOMNAMNA !!!

You should have understood that there are too many nice islands in the worlds for tourist to go where they could die...