PM Yingluck In Phuket: Senators Pitch 'Special Economic Zone' Plan

[webfact]

PM Yingluck in Phuket: Senators pitch 'special economic zone' plan

Phuket Gazette

Phuket Senator Thanyarat Achiriyachai and appointed senator Wichai Praisa-gnop after their visit with PM Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday. Photo: Warisa Temram.

PHUKET: -- On the eve of the mobile Cabinet meeting that starts today, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra held closed door talks with local tourism industry leaders who urged her to establish Phuket as a special economic zone.

The unscheduled talks, which were off-limits to reporters, saw PM Yingluck meet with Phuket Senator Thanyarat "Ghee" Achariyachai, who chairs the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism, as well as fellow committee member Wichai Phraisa-ngop, a former Governor of Phuket.

Also meeting with Mrs Yingluck to discuss problems facing the tourism industry along the Andaman Coast were the president of the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter), the presidents of provincial tourism associations from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, as well as the president of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce.

After the meeting, Senator Thanyarat told the Phuket Gazette that she recommended action by Cabinet in addressing many developmental issues facing Phuket because of its booming tourism industry.

PM Yingluck said her committee had received numerous complaints from tourists about unregulated activities on many island beaches. These appeared to be beyond the ability of local administrative bodies and other responsible agencies to control.

She thus requested Cabinet to get involved by setting up a work group to study the issues in depth and come up with an integrated reform strategy to take back and better regulate acceptable activities at beaches, which remain the island's most important tourism asset.

Sen Thanyarat also asked PM Yingluck for the government to consider the long-standing issue of insufficient central government funding for Phuket, which is unlike other provinces in that its tourism industry attracts 4 to 5 million visitors annually.

As such an important revenue generator for the national economy, Phuket should be established as a "special economic zone for tourism", she said she told PM Yingluck.

Yesterday's meeting provided a forum for PM Yingluck to discuss this and other issues with Andaman region tourism industry leaders, she said.

PM Yingluck said she was already informed of many issues facing the growing tourism industry, including recent complaints about long lines to clear Immigration checkpoints at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok as well as Phuket Airport.

However, seeing the situation first-hand improved her understanding, she said.

She intends to visit more regularly and set up a team to establish a systematic plan to study Phuket's problems and make recommendations on how to solve them, she said.

The meeting was the last on PM Yingluck's busy schedule yesterday, which included: meeting with protesting sea gypsies and other slum dwellers at Phuket Airport; a trip to Phang Nga to visit tsunami memorial sites; a visit to the site of the long-delayed road project at Klong Koh Pee in Wichit; opening of a One-tambon One Product (OTOP Fair) at Saphan Hin; and a brief stop at Prince of Songkla University, where the mobile cabinet meeting begins today.

The Thai premier is staying at the Hilton Arcadia Phuket Resort & Spa in Karon during her stay here.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle12651.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-03-20

[draftvader]

I hope the author didn't spend too long writing this or they might have spent more time than the PR team did dreaming up (read: copying) the concepts rather than establishing a series of projects and programmes designed to implement them. Nice holiday for the PM though. Who's paying?

[Soupdragon]

Committees, work groups, in depth study, systematic plan. Wake me up when the words action taken, achieved its goals, or even conclusion reached appear in one of these articles. Yawn.

[WackySomchai]

Thought this government's policy was 'Thaksin Thinks, Thailand Sinks', but seems more like 'No Action Talk Only'.

[seaeagle]

Lots of meetings with various people and bodies regarding tourism - however, none of which seem to be with representatives of the tourists / tourism-providing countries!

Would be useful, don't you think, to seek the input of those coming here for holidays, rather than just Thai interested parties?

It's called 'customer focus group', or something like that - you should try it!!

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Nothing "special" should be done to help Phuket until they've done a significant cleanup of the corruption. Until then everything possible should be done to discourage growth, especially in tourism, to try to reduce further damaging Thailand's reputation.

[Soupdragon]

Lots of meetings with various people and bodies regarding tourism - however, none of which seem to be with representatives of the tourists / tourism-providing countries!

Would be useful, don't you think, to seek the input of those coming here for holidays, rather than just Thai interested parties?

It's called 'customer focus group', or something like that - you should try it!!

They do actually have quarterly meetings on Phuket that consulates are invited to attend to air their grievances, but IMHO this is done to give the appearance that someone does care what others think, but in reality nothing has ever come from them other than "we will talk more at the next meeting".

Edited March 20, 2012 by Soupdragon

[Lite Beer]

Cabinet to consider development projects for Phuket

The Nation

PHUKET:-- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will chair Tuesday's cabinet meeting in Phuket, during which a provincial agenda of development projects totalling Bt48 billion are likely to be considered.

Phuket is submitting 66 development projects worth Bt47.68 billion for consideration by the cabinet. These include a light rail project around the island and a route linking the Phuket international airport to the city centre, together worth more than Bt25 billion.

Other projects are the Patong Tunnel estimated at Bt5.5 billion, which would link Patong Beach with Kathu district and the Green Phuket project, worth Bt175 million, which aims to promote the use of alternative energy.

These three projects require cabinet approval in principle. Eleven other projects come in at less than Bt100 million each.

On Monday evening, the premier chaired a Regional Joint Public/Private Sector Consultative Committee meeting and discussed development projects for five coastal Andaman Sea provinces - Ranong, Krabi, Phang Nga, Trang and Phuket - as proposed by the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking of the three private institutions (JSCCIB): the Board of Trade of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Thai Bankers’ Association.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na Ranong told reporters that the meeting discussed a wide range of projects including the expansion of Highway No 4 along the coast of the Andaman Sea and a dual track railway to the southern provinces (Bangkok-Chumphon-Su-ngai Kolok- Padang Besar) aimed for completion by 2017.

The Asean Connectivity principle, he said, should be taken into consideration

Other projects include a study on the feasibility to develop Phuket international, Krabi and Trang airports, measures to promote the para wood industry, an artificial coral project to restore coral reefs, and tourism industry development.

Kittiratt said the prime minister noted at the meeting that the Andaman coastal provinces, particularly Phuket, have strong potential for tourism and are already well-known tourism destinations worldwide, generating Bt100 billion of income to the country.

She called for cooperation between the private sector and residents in helping to maintain the provinces’ status as world class destinations.

-- The Nation 2-12-03-20

[steelepulse]

>>Phuket is submitting 66 development projects worth Bt47.68 billion for consideration by the cabinet

>>particularly Phuket, have strong potential for tourism and are already well-known tourism destinations worldwide, generating Bt100 billion of income to the country.

It would be nice to get at least have the taxes generated back!

[belg]

special zone ? tuk tuk, jetski maffia zone, it is already

phuket = hub of crooks

[Tanaka]

Lots of meetings with various people and bodies regarding tourism - however, none of which seem to be with representatives of the tourists / tourism-providing countries!

Would be useful, don't you think, to seek the input of those coming here for holidays, rather than just Thai interested parties?

It's called 'customer focus group', or something like that - you should try it!!

Yes, yes that may be working in your country but this is Thailand so it is different. You are not Thai so you do not understand. And it would not work anyhow. No foreigner can come here and teach us Thais how to run our country.

Edited March 20, 2012 by Tanaka