Shorter peak season expected in Phuket

[webfact]

Shorter peak season expected in Phuket

Phuket Gazette 

 

          

Patong's oversupply is affecting guest quality, with certain higher-end segments shifting into Kata and Karon. Photo: Gazette file

 

PHUKET: -- Phuket is bound to experience a shorter peak season this year due to a change in the market, and it is a matter of concern for hospitality firms when it comes to the low season, says Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks.

“In previous peak seasons, rates or surcharges had benefited many hotels in Phuket, but this year the period will be shorter – in most cases ending after just the first few days of January,” warns Mr Barnett. 

“Looking to Chinese New Year and the first quarter in general, trading is looking strong, but three months will not make up an entire year and low seasons are a cause for concern. What is evident, however, is that other Thai beach destinations like Krabi and Khao Lak, as well as some locations in Vietnam, are honing up to take on local destinations in an evolving tourism market, so competition ‘is heating up out there’,” he adds.

According to a survey by C9 Hotelworks, there continue to be many questions on the resort-island about the impact of Thailand’s crackdown on zero-dollar tourism, as the issue affects the hospitality trade on the island. 

 

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Shorter-peak-season-expected-Phuket/66070?desktopversion

 

-- © Copyright Phuket Gazette 2017-01-02

[LivinginKata]

"there continue to be many questions on the resort-island about the impact of Thailand’s crackdown on zero-dollar tourism, as the issue affects the hospitality trade on the island"

 

Who would have thought a 'crackdown' would impact tourism .... for sure not the TAT ... 

 

And   "Patong's oversupply is affecting guest quality, with certain higher-end segments shifting into Kata and Karon" ... as a business person then I sure don't see any rush over to Kata ... our worst high season ever.

Edited January 2, 2017 by LivinginKata

[alant]

"What is evident, however, is that other Thai beach destinations like Krabi and Khao Lak, as well as some locations in Vietnam, are honing up to take on local destinations in an evolving tourism market, so competition ‘is heating up out there’,” 

Well I never...

[geisha]

This is what you get when you welcome mass tourism ! The authorities have not followed up with a good infrastructure, the tourist profit  has been taken and none has been used to help the islands lacking in water treatment, garbage problems and road/ pavement  improvements, Not to mention the total absence of public transport! Phuket must be the only place in Thailand where there is no / or very little public transport ! Incredible. They have allowed people to build anything anywhere where ever they want, and have only succeeded in turning Phuket into one hideous 

mess ! Money, greed, what up market tourist wants to go to Phuket now ? 

[helloagain]

Stop killing tourists. Crap exchange rate but we still have new year new price mentallity. 2 tier pricing which all non thai hate but they love and still do. Too many people trying to milk the same cow. Too many non alcohol days for tourists. And ripoff prices for rental properties over high high season. And lastly too many tourists getting beaten up normally 4 on to 1 person. Thailand you get what you ask for

[Psimbo]

As ye sow, so shall ye reap.   Phuket's mistakes are starting to bite it in the backside.  Less tourists works for me though!

[SGD]

1 hour ago, helloagain said:

Stop killing tourists. Crap exchange rate but we still have new year new price mentallity. 2 tier pricing which all non thai hate but they love and still do. Too many people trying to milk the same cow. Too many non alcohol days for tourists. And ripoff prices for rental properties over high high season. And lastly too many tourists getting beaten up normally 4 on to 1 person. Thailand you get what you ask for

 

If the populous of Phuket cannot dislodge the "mafia" which controls the island then why should I prop up the corrupt thieving classes with my tourist dollar ?

[cracker1]

I don't believe the "Short Season" will only affect Phuket. I feel strongly that all of Thailand will be affected and have been watching this decline for the past 10 years. I have never seen anything positive from TAT that would encourage more Overseas Tourists.

[SGD]

1 hour ago, geisha said:

This is what you get when you welcome mass tourism ! The authorities have not followed up with a good infrastructure, the tourist profit  has been taken and none has been used to help the islands lacking in water treatment, garbage problems and road/ pavement  improvements, Not to mention the total absence of public transport! Phuket must be the only place in Thailand where there is no / or very little public transport ! Incredible. They have allowed people to build anything anywhere where ever they want, and have only succeeded in turning Phuket into one hideous 

mess ! Money, greed, what up market tourist wants to go to Phuket now ? 

 

I can afford to visit anywhere on vacation but I cannot truly construct an argument for Phuket.

 

Elements are fine but if you are just going to stay within the walls of your 5* resort then you might as well be anywhere warm ?

 

I remember one girl I knew from more than a decade ago who I bumped into one evening in Phuket. Asking how she was faring, she replied that everything was good and that she was a "Phuket girl now". What she mean was that she was selling exactly the same wares, with more miles on the clock and in an older condition for more money simply because she was hawking her wares in Phuket and not Pattaya.

 

Innocently, she hit the nail squarely on the head.

[SGD]

2 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

"there continue to be many questions on the resort-island about the impact of Thailand’s crackdown on zero-dollar tourism, as the issue affects the hospitality trade on the island"

 

Who would have thought a 'crackdown' would impact tourism .... for sure not the TAT ... 

 

And   "Patong's oversupply is affecting guest quality, with certain higher-end segments shifting into Kata and Karon" ... as a business person then I sure don't see any rush over to Kata ... our worst high season ever.

 

Too many troughs and not enough buffalo perhaps ?

 

On a personal side, as I look to book another family trip somewhere in Thailand, why would I look at Kata or even the wider Phuket, against some other places ? For reference, our last couple of trips have included 7/10+ day stays at Rayavadee in Krabi.

 

Kata comes up on "beach" radar but I am fairly unimpressed with the wider Phuket.

[peter48]

Thailand must get to grip with European currency both Euro and pound especially. It's 41.4 in some ATMs today + ATM charge of 250 or even 270 baht.  That's approaching £6 charge on Thai bank side. Brits on moderate incomes will just fade out post brexit. Pound at least 18℅ down since the uneducated voted Brexit

Edited January 2, 2017 by peter48
Depreciation

[peter48]

Thailand must get to grip with European currency both Euro and pound especially. It's 41.4 in some ATMs today + ATM charge of 250 or even 270 baht.  That's approaching £6 charge on Thai bank side. Brits on moderate incomes will just fade out post brexit. 

[sanemax]

6 minutes ago, peter48 said:

Thailand must get to grip with European currency both Euro and pound especially. It's 41.4 in some ATMs today + ATM charge of 250 or even 270 baht.  That's approaching £6 charge on Thai bank side. Brits on moderate incomes will just fade out post brexit. Pound at least 18℅ down since the uneducated voted Brexit

 

    The Pound was 44 Baht about four years ago and its 43.50 today , although it did go up to 55 for a while , but currencies fluctuate .

    You can also not pay the ATM charges by using counters at the bank and bank kiosks

[peter48]

Depends if you accept that Bank rate conversion offered by machine or just go with visa rate. The rates are down on previous years that's for sure and visitors are getting less for their money now in tourist places. Drinks only  Tab can easily get over 1000 in bars quite quickly with just 2 people. Now then here is the shocker on some ATM rates that is £25 and night is still young. 

 

[geisha]

I loved Kata beach. I arrived there 32 years ago , took one look and decided it was my dream place to spend my winters, and eventually retire. In 2004 I decided I couldn't live in a place where there was no public transport, rip off taxi merchants , architectural monstrosities, and a society that was degrading by the day. I moved. I've been back regularly over the last 10 years to see my friends, only to see them.

The last time I went, I waded out of the sea, sticky ! Horrified, I rushed back to my hotel and nearly scrubbed my skin off. Friends told me later that it was quite often like that these days, so that was my last visit. 

[spidermike007]

A shorter season due to a change in the market? What nonsense. The entire country is suffering from a declining tourism industry. And that will not change. It is a permanent declining trend. For a hundred valid reasons. As I stated previously:

 

I have a friend who recently stayed on Samui. He stayed at a resort that has 54 rooms. Normally, they are 100% booked, from about Dec. 20th, to about January 5th. This year, they only had 22 rooms filled. They are down 60% for the peak season. Many resorts are experiencing similarly alarming numbers. These hotels counted on the government to support them, when they spend millions on their properties, and the government has let them down, once again. They continue to drop the ball, at every opportunity. 

 

They trot out these projections, every time they get scared, and see the numbers dropping. Who was it that said, if you tell the people something often enough, eventually they will believe it? Well, not us. We are not buying your simpleton lies. Tourism is declining by the day. Perhaps 50 years from now, in a hospitality industry class at a university here, they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism. Those tourists, unlike most Chinese tourists, spent anywhere from $100 a day, to over $1,000 a day. They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something very special, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned.  

 

The real solution is about encouraging tourists, and ex-pats, from countries that spend real money, to come here and visit. That message seems to have gotten lost, in the fervor to court the Chinese tourists, many of whom do not spend much money at all here. So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. 

 

The neighbors are trying too hard, and making too much effort, and investing money. Thailand is not. Though this topic relates mostly to tourism, in a way it pertains to ex-pats living here too. And I too am considering other spots. Currently the top spot under consideration seems to be Spain. So much culture, great wine, alot of fascinating places to visit nearby, reasonable real estate, a language I speak, and a reasonable standard of living. The other spots in this region offer too much similar nonsense, and bad infrastructure. Too many "so called leaders" in this region too, who lack creative juice, nor do they care one iota for their people. And the really hot weather, which seems to be getting hotter, and drier, is not all that appealing, as I get older. Thailand is making no steps whatsoever, to improve upon itself. On alot of levels, it feels like it is either standing still, or more than likely going backwards. Frankly, the biggest draw at the moment is being close to my wife's family, the food, the relatively pleasant people, and the weakening of the baht. But, I dislike the government, and the level of ignorance being perpetrated by the fabulously inferior educational system here does not appear to bode well for the future of the place. I also despise the practice of face, and the staggering level of cowardice that accompanies that weak, pathetic quality. 

 

It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. There are many aspects of life here, that I truly enjoy. I am sure many feel the same way. Just wish the country was not moving backwards, and was instead moving forward under the leadership of progressive minds, and due to a system of meritocracy, and forward looking vision. A nice dream indeed. Moving the country forward? I think not. 

[spidermike007]

12 hours ago, geisha said:

I loved Kata beach. I arrived there 32 years ago , took one look and decided it was my dream place to spend my winters, and eventually retire. In 2004 I decided I couldn't live in a place where there was no public transport, rip off taxi merchants , architectural monstrosities, and a society that was degrading by the day. I moved. I've been back regularly over the last 10 years to see my friends, only to see them.

The last time I went, I waded out of the sea, sticky ! Horrified, I rushed back to my hotel and nearly scrubbed my skin off. Friends told me later that it was quite often like that these days, so that was my last visit. 

 

On my first trip to Thailand, 40 years ago, in 1976 I was fortunate enough to visit Phuket. There were only a few tourist resorts on the entire west coast of the island, in the SW corner, on the beach. All bungalows, right on the sand, at $3 a night. Just a few restaurants here and there, and the land was selling for 1,000 baht a rai, beachfront. Same on Samui. Nobody wanted it. It was considered nuisance land, since it has too much salinity to grow anything. So, it was being given to the women in the family, and the hillside land, which was considered more desirable was being given to the men (far more important, LOL) in the family. Who was the joke on? It was an entirely different country. 

[sendintheclowns]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

A shorter season due to a change in the market? What nonsense. The entire country is suffering from a declining tourism industry. And that will not change. It is a permanent declining trend. For a hundred valid reasons. As I stated previously:

 

I have a friend who recently stayed on Samui. He stayed at a resort that has 54 rooms. Normally, they are 100% booked, from about Dec. 20th, to about January 5th. This year, they only had 22 rooms filled. They are down 60% for the peak season. Many resorts are experiencing similarly alarming numbers. These hotels counted on the government to support them, when they spend millions on their properties, and the government has let them down, once again. They continue to drop the ball, at every opportunity. 

 

They trot out these projections, every time they get scared, and see the numbers dropping. Who was it that said, if you tell the people something often enough, eventually they will believe it? Well, not us. We are not buying your simpleton lies. Tourism is declining by the day. Perhaps 50 years from now, in a hospitality industry class at a university here, they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism. Those tourists, unlike most Chinese tourists, spent anywhere from $100 a day, to over $1,000 a day. They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something very special, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned.  

 

The real solution is about encouraging tourists, and ex-pats, from countries that spend real money, to come here and visit. That message seems to have gotten lost, in the fervor to court the Chinese tourists, many of whom do not spend much money at all here. So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. 

 

The neighbors are trying too hard, and making too much effort, and investing money. Thailand is not. Though this topic relates mostly to tourism, in a way it pertains to ex-pats living here too. And I too am considering other spots. Currently the top spot under consideration seems to be Spain. So much culture, great wine, alot of fascinating places to visit nearby, reasonable real estate, a language I speak, and a reasonable standard of living. The other spots in this region offer too much similar nonsense, and bad infrastructure. Too many "so called leaders" in this region too, who lack creative juice, nor do they care one iota for their people. And the really hot weather, which seems to be getting hotter, and drier, is not all that appealing, as I get older. Thailand is making no steps whatsoever, to improve upon itself. On alot of levels, it feels like it is either standing still, or more than likely going backwards. Frankly, the biggest draw at the moment is being close to my wife's family, the food, the relatively pleasant people, and the weakening of the baht. But, I dislike the government, and the level of ignorance being perpetrated by the fabulously inferior educational system here does not appear to bode well for the future of the place. I also despise the practice of face, and the staggering level of cowardice that accompanies that weak, pathetic quality. 

 

It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. There are many aspects of life here, that I truly enjoy. I am sure many feel the same way. Just wish the country was not moving backwards, and was instead moving forward under the leadership of progressive minds, and due to a system of meritocracy, and forward looking vision. A nice dream indeed. Moving the country forward? I think not. 

It is a pity that it is already 2017, otherwise I'd vote yours the wisest post of 2016. :) My wife and I, who retired here 23 years ago, relate to much of what you describe. We are unhappy about the deterioration of all that was so attractive. We moved away from a touristic centre, 10 years ago, for those same reasons. The people in the countryside are still unspolied; in part (ironically) because of the small numbers of foreign tourists and retirees. What is working, is that domestic tourists are starting to discover their own natural heritage. Foreign eco-tourists are discovering and enjoying the slow pace of life.  Unfortunately, native Thais are only starting to learn about resource management (garbage, clean beaches, not overpricing nor 2tier pricing, and so on) but they are learning. The one worry is that TAT has arrived. thanks for your lengthy post. It should be required reading for everyone in the tourist business, esp. on Phuket.

[sendintheclowns]

21 hours ago, alant said:

"What is evident, however, is that other Thai beach destinations like Krabi and Khao Lak, as well as some locations in Vietnam, are honing up to take on local destinations in an evolving tourism market, so competition ‘is heating up out there’,” 

Well I never...

if you can't do it - lecture others