Phuket Ready To Party, But Where Are Tourists?

[george]

Phuket ready to party, but where are tourists?

PHUKET: -- The beach huts are back up and hotels and other businesses that cater to tourists are raring to go: all that's missing are the tourists.

This famed resort area has undergone a massive cleanup since the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster.

But hotel rooms are empty; related businesses are weathering a massive slump; even fishermen are struggling to make a living-now that there is little demand for their catches.

The Thai government is trying to get the word out to tourists that the popular island resort destination is clean and safe.

"Most of the damage caused by the tsunami on the island is already repaired," said Phuket Vice Governor Winai Buapradit. "Now we are in the next stage, strengthening safety measures."

As part of those measures, a 15-meter-high tsunami warning tower was built in mid-April on Patong beach on the western side of Phuket island, which lies south of the Thai mainland.

If a tsunami advisory is issued by the central government's weather bureau, the tower's huge siren will blare a warning.

In late April, the first tsunami evacuation drill was held at the beach. About 2,000 people, including locals and tourists, participated in the drill.

Teams of "tourism guards" sent by the Thai navy also took part in the drill. The teams are assigned to monitor waves round-the-clock and help people to evacuate the beach before disaster strikes.

The Thai government is planning to set up similar tsunami warning towers on other beaches on Phuket island as well as other tourist spots on the mainland, such as Khao Lak, about 50 kilometers north of Phuket.

The quake-induced tsunami off Sumatra, Indonesia, left tens of thousands of people dead across the coastal region. It also wiped out buildings and infrastructure.

According to the Phuket provincial government, about 900 local homes were damaged in the disaster. But 90 percent have been repaired or rebuilt.

Also, more than 1,000 fishing boats were wrecked, but more than 90 percent are now shipshape again, officials said.

More than 90 percent of hotels are taking reservations, and most restaurants and shops on the island have reopened.

But business is abysmal.

The average hotel occupancy rate in May on Phuket island was around 30 percent, about half the rate recorded in the same month last year, according to officials at the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

They said the decline was due to a sharp drop in the number of foreign tourists, especially from Japan and China.

"Japanese travelers in this year's Golden Week consecutive holidays were only 10 percent of that in a normal year," said an employee of a travel agency for Japanese tourists. "We have received few reservations from Japanese tourists for the coming summer vacation season. Why aren't they coming here?"

The sharp drop in the number of foreign travelers has also affected fishermen.

In Rawai village in the southern part of the island, about 130 fishing boats were damaged by the tsunami. About 100 boats have been repaired, and fishermen are busy catching fish again. But their current total sales don't even approach 50 percent of what they were before disaster struck.

Their main clients, hotels and restaurants, have cut back on orders because of the drop in clientele.

"The (Thai) government should speed up its efforts to implement safety steps and publicize those measures to foreign countries," said a hotel manager who works in the Patong beach area. "As long as foreign tourists are not back on the island, we cannot say Phuket has fully recovered."

--IHT/Asah 2005-06-25

[bdenner]

Just had a friend return to Isaan after 2 weeks down there to renew old aquaintences and his favourite hotel had INCREASED their rates by 20%

[LotNoiKop]

Just had a friend return to Isaan after 2 weeks down there to renew old aquaintences and his favourite hotel had INCREASED their rates by 20%

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would find suspect any one paying hotel rates that have increased...... he place is is jumping.....

[george]

QUESTION OF SURVIVAL

Tour guides, who previously thrived in Phuket, now face a dismal future

PHUKET: -- Empty tourist boats lie at anchor in a neat row parallel to the shore. At Patong, Kata and Karon beaches, they face equally empty entertainment venues lining the shore. There is plenty of parking between sea and land, along the main roads which formerly were packed with cars each evening.

The tourism business is down, if not out. Competition and promotions have proved ineffective. Some tour agencies are closed indefinitely, and while the majority have kept their doors open, they have been forced to lay off staff, and half the salaries and working hours of those who remain. For now, it is a question of survival.

Tour guides were indirectly impacted by the Dec 26 tsunami. Previously seen as a freelance, high-income profession and a road to a life of luxury, the guide business changed suddenly and drastically on the morning after Christmas.

Guides were in the upper ranges of Phuket tourist-business income, making typically 30,000 baht a month, according to Panompol Thamachartniyom, president of Phuket tourists guides association.

All of that changed suddenly and many of the island's more than 2,000 guides have not pocketed a baht in six months. Tourism businesses have collapsed, regular flights are indefinitely suspended.

''Now, some guides are withdrawing their savings every day, just to live,'' said Mr Panompol. ''Most of us have sold something _ a house, car, furniture, electrical appliances _ to pay for school tuition and living expenses, and we always announce it is just to live until tourism comes back in the high season (from October to March next year). But that is a dim expectation.

''Sales of assets for meals are no longer strange in Phuket, but part of every day life. It is like catching fish in the air to hope that tourism will come back soon, but we are keeping on, blindly expecting prosperity as before.''

A career as a tour guide offered freedom _ but that included freedom from legal protection and social security and all types of welfare.

Mr Panompol said that in practice the guides had to do the same work as full-time employees. Most had informal or word-of-mouth contracts with tourist businesses, whose owners often barred them from working with other companies or signing outsourcing contracts with other agencies.

Anyone who demanded fair treatment simply risked losing their work. The result, seen most strongly after the tsunami as life got harder: no credit, no welfare, no social security, and no serious help from either the government sector or private agencies.

Former guides now take work if it is available _ wage earners when lucky, wandering ice-cream or food vendors in other cases.

''Some people have been forced to move to Koh Samui, Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai for jobs,'' said Mr Panompol. ''The remainder will pull out in the next two months.''

It's not quite so easy as saying it, though. A small number of guides have nationwide licences, but those with local documentation cannot simply move to work elsewhere _ at least not legally.

''Recently the Phuket tourist guides' association asked the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to train these guides for temporary nationwide licences. The association expects training would start within the next month.'' Mr Panompol said.

However, the guides are trying to survive until the next high season. For many, that looks a long way away.

--The Post 2005-06-25